#i dunno what this is it just came to me today i think post canon these two hang out but it sucks and they have shitty 2 person game nights

[ourhouseishaunted]

Vash and Chronica's terrible sibling game night

[new-eyes-extra-colors]

WIP asks: 1, 6, 9, 11, 20

1, 6, 9, and 11 answered here, but I'm going to do some of them again because I can! Under the cut because this post is miles long.

9. What is your favorite dialogue you’ve written so far?

“So do you have another case you’re working on?” Nat bounced on the balls of her feet, looking at him eagerly. “Is there anything I can help you with?”

“Well, we’ll see once I get back to the office.” He cracked a smile. “What, Ellie only shared the one with you?”

Nat planted her hands on her hips. “Ellie went out with Piper and Nora last night and didn’t get back till late, so she’s still asleep.” Her voice dropped to a conspiratorial tone. “And maybe she came back a little tipsy. So maybe you’re out a secretary today, detective.”

Nick chuckled. “Glad she got to unwind. What about Nora?”

“She went back to your office last night and wasn’t here this morning, so I guess she’s still there.”

Huh. Probably got restless and decided to pore over some cases. God knows he could relate.

Nat crossed her arms again. “But she’s your partner, not your secretary, so it kinda sounds like you still have a staffing problem.”

Nick paused, and then leaned away, squinting at her. Most folks might’ve been intimidated being under that level of scrutiny from a synth, but Nat knew him well. She set her jaw and stared back.

“What’re you on about, kid?”

“I’m glad you asked. I could be your secretary for the day.”

“Yeah? Does Ellie know you’re gunning for her job?”

“I’m not! It would just be today.” Nat winced. “And maybe tomorrow. And the rest of the week. And you wouldn’t even have to pay me!”

“That ain’t how employment works, kiddo.”

“Oh, yeah? And how much did you charge your client after her lousy husband took off with their savings?”

Alright. Maybe Nat knew him too well. Nick could only look away.

“Uh huh, that’s what I thought.” She deflated a little, arms dropping back to her sides. “Besides, the real payment would be not having to go to school.”

He leveled a serious look at her. “Why? Is that Kawolski kid bothering you again? Piper, uh, told me what happened.”

“What, that I knocked him on his ass?”

Nick bit back a laugh. “Language, Nat.”

11. What scene are you most hyped for this chapter/fic?

I'm really excited to iron out the scenes that lead up to the confrontation with Kellogg. It's where the canon divergence in the fic really starts, and I'm hoping to get an "uh, what the hell is going on with that?" reaction from readers. Plus, it's got a big cast--Glory, Deacon, Preston, Piper, and Nick are all there, plus a few minor characters, and I love writing things where a group gets to bounce off each other. Actually, here, have some more, from the scene following the confrontation:

“Weird that they didn’t call for backup,” Glory said.

“Maybe the storm’s interfering with their communications, too,” Preston suggested.

“Maybe.” Glory shook her head. “I dunno. Something’s going on and I don’t like it. Kellogg was their best field operative. This was way too easy.”

Deacon scoffed. “Easy?” He lifted the skeletal hand of a dead synth by the wrist and dropped it for effect. “There were dozens of these guys, Glo.”

“Man, don’t be a jackass.” Deacon just shrugged against the force of her glare. “There were maybe thirty.”

Nora pulled her gaze away from the synth’s limp hand to look at Glory. “You were counting?”

Glory scuffed her boot against the concrete, nonchalant, or at least trying to be. “I mean, yeah. I think I missed a few outside, though.”

There was a long, uncomfortable pause. Glory was counting dead synths. Nick was getting patched up in the next room. He was so close to being one of them.

“I don’t know if easy is the word I would use,” Preston started diplomatically, “but we could have done a lot worse. No casualties on our side is good.”

20. Share 3 images that would fit to a mood board for this chapter/fic.

would you believe i've never made a mood board in my life How about three in-progress illustrations I'm working on for it...?

That third one is old, but I'm working on drafting up a more detailed redraw of it for another thing I'm working on. I'm also still trying to decide if I want to do like illustrated chapter title cards or something similar for the fic itself. (Opinions welcome!)

[harmcityherald]

NORMAN MAILER'S EGYPTIAN NOVEL - The New York Times

An absolutely scathing review of Ancient Evenings" by Norman Mailer. published in 1983. when I saw @davidhudson 's post and birthday mention the memory of this novel came flooding back with its sexual overtones and the juxtaposition of gritty violence and spiritual connection. We should all thank Mr. Hudson for this invaluable resource he provides. without him we would forget everyone's birthday. He deserves a Tumblr Grammy award all his own.

I truly remember the character as honey pot but my memory has suffered too many chariot battles. I will seek that tag and correct it. One passing note, I read this book in high school. I checked it out of our school library. I distinctly remember, chariot battles be damned, I was excited to read it. Ancient Egypt being a pet love of mine. I started the book in class and quickly engrossed myself on the way home on the bus ride. I was last stop which all rural kids should relate to. my bus driver, a wonderfully powerful man, would let me smoke after all the nits were gone. I digress, it was on this ride when I hit the first gay blow job, forced by ramses onto the hero. "....and ramses cock was in his mouth." This was my introduction to mailer. and I did look up from my book to driver, book to driver a few lurid times. after that my bus driver was now ramses in my phantasm world. He never knew that, of course. Pity really. I'm sometimes reminded of him when I watch "Mars Attacks". Pharaoh in a bus. (what a weird fantasy) Funny to be reminded of it today. (he really missed out)

Then after diving headlong into the book my heart lept to honey balls defense. why I remember her as honey pot I dunno. but I reread this book a few times lol. on the library card there was my name, my name, a girl, my name, my name, lol, that was me outing myself and not realizing it. I look back and think I am damn glad I had access to this book. It was pretty cool my school had this in '85 no less. That's why libraries and books are so important. Especially school libraries. This was validation for me. I wasn't an alien because I was bi and those finds were great. Another fine book like this hidden on my school library shelves was a science fiction novel "Dhalgren" by Samuel R. Delany. but that's another post. I recommend it. It scored high on my bi chart and again it was hidden on a shelf and passed over by the white bread majority, making it a good find indeed, but again thats another post. My point is these books helped me along the way. they didn't entice me or 'lead me from the path of righteousness' lol. No, they were quiet affirmations of what was already a tumultuous storm inside me, letting me know that what I was experiencing wasn't new or unknown. someone else, somewhere, knew just how I felt. I was not a creature that needed to hide.

That's why they want to take these books away too. To rob kids like us of that affirmation. we tend to think that those who want to ban books must be less intelligent than ourselves, when in reality, they are very calculating and very driven to do harm and isolate those they deem worthy of isolation. I wonder if any school shelves still dare to carry these gems. I commend my rural high school on Maryland's eastern shore for its courage in 1985. They were banning books way back then too. reagan was at the helm and they were shooting bibles at us with canons. That's when Frank Zappa and Dee Snider went to bat for us in congress. look that shit up. Dee is saying terfy shit now so I cringe to mention him but he did do that shit back then. maybe he will wake up again. We can hope. Anyway, it spurred my thought and I stand corrected on my oldtimmer's brain induced mistake, but I did remember who I fell in love with in that novel and it wasn't ramses cock. it was honey pot or honey balls. that girl got mistreated in the old world. I wanted to save her. Again an important lesson about misogyny that would be lost on a young man's ears. The very ears it should reach. If we ban every book with those lessons and replace them with 3,000 year old concepts its no wonder we get the fucked up world we have today.

from above article....

"The modern obsession most absurd in its appearance in ''Ancient Evenings'' has to do, predictably, with female sexuality as a wound. It surfaces in the extended chronicle of Menenhetet's passion for an overweight concubine named Honey-Ball, ''the greatest little queen of them all,'' whose ''hips were like the hips of a horse'' -a person who once displeased the Pharaoh and, for punishment, had a toe amputated. Impossible to summarize this story in neutral tones. Powerfully drawn to each other, Honey-Ball and the Charioteer are nevertheless unhappy about their lovemaking until, by accident, a breakthrough occurs. Angered one afternoon by his beloved's ''bawdy mirth,'' the Charioteer seizes the woman's foot. Immediately she begins kicking him, and the Charioteer, taking a good deal of ''punishment around the head,'' is confused -has he ''committed some terrible act?'' Light shortly arrives. The foot in the Charioteer's mouth is ''the one with the missing toe.'' And it emerges that the place of the missing toe is a G-spot."

I can almost taste the fat phobia in that paragraph. This guy (writer) has obviously had too much bible for lunch. Maybe its not honey balls at all and that's an intentional typo. And maybe, instead of perceiving mailer as a male chauvinist prick, we should look at it as presented as a lesson many missed. starting with this reporter.

~ciao

[citrusella-flugpucker]

Posting snippets from that WIP challenge post one at a time, part 24

((This WIP challenge post!

Today’s fic from the random draw is #25: this has leak spoilers in it and i am once again here not knowing how to title things

(The “leak” here I think was originally Together Forever’s audio leak of the proposal.)

This is an outdated treatment of what was originally the first chapter of It’s Okay to Need Help--technically it is nearly fully complete but because it is no longer the first chapter it’s not something I can post. It largely counts as a WIP here because I still mean to cannibalize it for the second chapter of that fic if I ever get a satisfactory version written now that it’s firmly canon divergent since that stuff that happened at the end of Future.

Snippet in which Steven compares his monstering with cat fingers:

"It… felt weird. Like… cat fingers. But faster."

"Cat fingers?" She cocks an eyebrow, her interest piqued. This is a gem thing, she's certain, but it sounds so… organic. Human. Or… well… cat.

"It's… Okay, when I shapeshift now it's usually just… like… me but more? I guess. But I can—" he produces an orange tabby at the end of his index finger, "make cats and they feel different?" He licks it away. "They're hard to control so maybe that's why, but they feel all tingly, like the part of me they're on fell asleep or something. I dunno how to… to… describe it."

"When I first tried to learn how to shapeshift, like… four years ago? I tried for something else but ended up with cat fingers and it just kind of got worse until it was…" he chuckles, though there's little humor in his tone, "...it was me being an 'adorable cat monster'. They were all over me and it's like I was barely there anymore, until Dad hit me with water because the cats hated it. It was just like everything was asleep and I couldn't keep a hold on it." He's silent for a moment, but something about him clearly wants to continue, so Dr. Brooks doesn't fill the lull yet.

"Getting corrupted felt like that. At first. Swallowed. Out of control. Like… I … disappeared." He pokes at a spot on his hand. Something about it is thoughtful rather than frightful, as if the poke is supposed to make some sort of point. "I think everyone thought stuff like the horns or the spikes and how it came out of me and stuff felt painful but it was really just… numb. Which, like, was a weird sensation, but I felt," he pats his heart, "a lot worse than I felt, you know?”

This part is actually probably not getting cannibalized but that’s mostly because the actual attempt at a second chapter doesn’t touch on this much at all. ._.

Two of a kind!

(The complete randomly generated order is this:  9, 2, 6, 10, 18, 19, 22, 20, 15, 8, 14, 26, 11, 17, 16, 23, 21, 1, 3, 12, 24, 5, 13, 25, 4, 7 FWIW XP)

))

[epersonae]

Fic asks: multiples of 5?

Ma'am. Pls. But sure, I don't actually have anything better to do today

How many words do you write per day? I don't have anything you'd call a set writing pace???? at the height of my original TAZ writing, I was probably clocking better than 1500/wpd, but then I didn't write fic for like two years, more or less (yay pandemic! yay cancer! yay grief!) but also yesterday I did kick out better than 1500 words of OFMD, so here we are.

Origin of your username? Awfully enough, sort of came from my ex-husband, and also long enough ago that at this point it might as well be my actual legal name. I don't remember the exact story anymore tho.

Do you ever delete works? I haven't so far!

Do you write in your native language? Yes. (I am regretting losing the Spanish cussing skills of my late teens now that I'm writing OFMD fic and trying to get Jim's dialogue down.)

An neglected work you wished you would finish? There's three that sort of haunt me:

Lupcretia smut that is part of what Ryn and I referred to as "The Dramaz" that I last remember working on in October 2019 (also I don't know that I'll ever have the heart to go back to that narrative thread)

The "Burnsides Island" fic, which is about Taako visiting after Lucretia dies, and also there's the ghost of a little girl (named after you!), and I think I have to completely rewrite the beginning based on what I know now about grief (and kinda wish I didn't), but if I do it'll be the final installment of "the only life you could save"

sweetness follows, which is the ducknerva post-canon fic that I started thinking "if Ryn doesn't know I have a crush on them after reading this fic I will have failed as a writer" and mannnnn I dunno if I can do it but also I really wanna

First fandom your write fanfiction for? The Adventure Zone Balance, baybeeeee. Forty-two goddamn years old and had never, and I started reading, and then fucking Stolen Century happened, and my brain exploded.

Longest fic you ever wrote? The Reckoning Arrives takes the prize on that one. Without looking it up, something like 75k? A wholeass novel.

What do you think your writing speciality is? I just asked you lol and you said "pain with a payoff" and I was like huh but perhaps you are right, as I think over both the TAZ stuff and the OFMD that I'm working on now. (And also this gets me thinking about the plot thread I'm having trouble with!) I know there was a time when "porn with feelings" was kind of my brand also, which I guess is the same thing expressed the opposite way lolololol.

A fic you look forward to writing in the future? I'm in the middle of a big one right now, so I don't know if I have something in mind for after that.

Is there something you often repeat in your fics (a verb, a trope etc)? Does Taako and Lucretia smoking weed together count? I would not have expected that of me, but here we are.

[britesparc]

Weekend Top Ten #531

Top Ten Multiverse Movies They Should Make

Okay, so here’s a confession. This wasn’t supposed to be the list this week. I had one totally planned, and it was still going to tie into Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. It was all about random Marvel characters who could make a cameo in the film. There was gonna be, like, Death’s Head (obviously), but mostly me trying to cherry-pick from previous non-MCU films who I’d like to see: Emma Stone as Spider-Woman, Ioan Gruffudd as Mr. Fantastic, anyone from Agents of SHIELD, that sort of thing. It would have been a bit funny and a bit silly and I was really looking forward to it.

Then I realised I’d kinda cocked up the schedule and that by the time my list was up, not only would Strange be out, but I’d have already seen it. So no longer speculative wish-fulfilment, more post-hoc fan-fic. It just felt a bit daft, although I’ve almost sorta managed to scratch the itch by listing a couple of candidates above (and yes, I’ve seen the film at this point, and no, that has no bearing on that list of names, any or none of whom may turn up in the movie).

So instead what we’re looking at today are other, alternative multiverses. Coz Hollywood bloody loves a multiverse right now, yeah? After Into the Spider-Verse came the live-action reboot, a.k.a. No Way Home; and after Strange we’ve got Everything Everywhere All at Once, a terrifically bonkers look at alternate realities. Then, delayed until next year, possibly for karaoke-related reasons, is The Flash, which looks like maybe-sorta smushing a bunch of DC alternate realities into one, giving us Michael Keaton’s Batman again.

It's only going to get sillier, because if there’s one thing Hollywood loves, it’s taking an idea someone executed really well that one time, and running it into the ground. I have every belief that the desire to make more multiverse movies will go down just as well as the varied attempts to set up shared universes. But – hey – if Hollywood needs some pointers, well, here I am. Because that’s what we’ve got this week: a list of ten popular franchises, IP, whatever, ready for the multiversal mashup treatment.

It's not quite as funny as Lou Ferrigno painted green to play an aging Professor Hulk, but what do you want from me, I do this for free.

Star Trek: this one writes itself, probably because – I’ve not checked – this must have happened in a comic book. Trek regularly crosses the timelines, but what about a movie that mashed up the “Prime” timeline with its “Kelvin” variants? Chris Pine’s Kirk meeting, I dunno, Riker and Troi, or even Ansel Mount’s Pike? But beyond that, we could see other alternate realities – they’re ten a penny in Trek canon – and an older, still alive Shatner-Kirk could chat to his young variant; we could get Mirror Universe cameos; Discovery could pop up; the version of Q from the My Little Pony universe could gatecrash proceedings looking for a glass of water. They could even incorporate elements from the many spin-off books, games, and comics. The possibilities are endless!

Transformers: one of the longest-running franchises with the most permutations, in Transformers there is no generally-recognised sacred continuity or – snigger – “Prime timeline”, allowing for all kinds of parallel universe shenanigans. I think this could be a great animated movie, bringing in the original G1 cartoon universe, plus subsequent iterations – the live-action movies, the “Unicron Trilogy”, the “Aligned Continuity”, and – most excitingly of all – animated interpretations of the most beloved comics continuities. Imagine how many times Optimus Prime could die and come back to life!

Disney Princess: fans love trying to generate links between the movies where there clearly are none, but in the last decade most of the films have at the very least shared a visual style which makes mashups more enticing. Ralph Breaks the Internet was not a particularly good film, but the Disney Princess scenes were by some considerable margin the most exciting and funniest bits. In worlds filled with literal magic, inventing some catastrophe that crosses time and space and brings these women together isn’t too outrageous, and could offer all manner of humour and drama. You could even blow it wider and bring in all Disney animations; the Rescuers riding Dumbo into battle with Mad Madam Mim? Bring it on.

Batman: I’ve tried to steer away from alternative comic book universes here, because it feels too obvious, but I had to include Batman. I’m actually amazed that Spider-Man beat Batman to the multiversal punch, because, well, we’ve had about nineteen Batmans in popular culture in the last thirty years. Whilst I would kill for a live-action movie that saw Keaton, Kilmer, Clooney, Bale, Affleck, and Pattinson all united on-screen, I have to concede that doesn’t make sense for the realities established in several of those films. But an animated movie that not only featured Kevin Conroy, Rino Romano (The Batman animated series), Diedrich Bader (The Brave and the Bold), and – yes – animated versions of some live-action characters (I definitely think Keaton and Affleck would fit perfectly) would be terrific. You could really dig deep into comic history to pull alternative versions of these characters out; Clint Eastwood as a Frank Miller-esque Batman? Hugh Jackman as the globetrotting Dark Knight of the Adams/O’Neal era? Or – get this – Chris O’Donnell voicing the “Batman Reborn” version of Dick Grayson. Don’t stop there! It never ends! Seriously, this makes even more sense than a “Spider-Verse” and the only thing to stand against it is that Spider-Man kinda got there first now.

Star Wars: this is weird, because whilst it’s a sci-fi/fantasy universe, I’m not too keen on time travel or reality-hopping here. But let’s run with it for a sec – what could they do? Well, there’s always a “what if” element, with maybe a version of Anakin Skywalker who didn’t fall to the Dark Side and instead fought the Empire; there’s all the various no-longer-canon “Expanded Universe” fiction to draw upon, like Han and Leia’s children, or characters such as Mara Jade and Kyle Katarn; then there’s the possibility of exploring Lucas’ original vision for the sequels or even – this is where it gets wild – the unrealised, original ideas for Star Wars: hello, “Luke Starkiller”.

Doctor Who: this universe, on the other hand, totally lends itself to trippy shenanigans. Yes, of course, we can mess with time and have multi-Doctor mashups; but what about other universes too? After all, Ten and Rose were on a different Earth; they could come back, along with characters from other, unknown realities, the Doctors that never where (Paterson Joseph, maybe?) – or even a version of Peter Cushing’s Doctor from the movies!

Terminator: hot take alert: I think the general idea of Terminator: Genisys is actually pretty good; go back in time and re-do the timeline a bit like Star Trek ’09. But what if we go further? What if various attacks on the timeline from Skynet (or, urgh, “Legion”) have damaged the time-space continuum, and all alternate realities are merging into one? You could have Edward Furlong’s John Connor meeting Nick Stahl’s John Connor meeting Christian Bale’s John Connor meeting Jason Clarke’s John Connor. At the end of the film, everything is totally undone and all the various terrible sequels are erased from continuity, giving us – canonically – only the two entirely good Terminator films. Hooray!

Bond: look, this is stupid, but is reality-hopping really much more ridiculous than an invisible car? It’s certainly more realistic than Bond surfing. So this film is about different Bonds of different eras meeting up for one wild case. Obviously it’s complicated now by the sad deaths of Connery and Moore, but you could still have no-nonsense Dalton rubbing shoulders with suave Brosnan and butting heads with gruff Craig. And Lazenby I suppose. I’ve not seen that film. But can you imagine the headlines? Yes, it’d anger the purists to such a degree that they’d burn a hole through the centre of the Earth. But it might just be worth it.

Kevin Smith Movies: Kevin Smith’s “View Askewniverse” is already a shared universe, really. So why not go one step further? You could bring in characters from the films he’s made that don’t really have Jay and Silent Bob in them – I’m sure he’d love to revisit Cop Out, for instance. Or, like with Star Wars, there’s the whole “roads not taken” element; Smith was supposed to play Dante in the original Clerks, for instance. Or what if his unmade films cropped up – some copyright-dodging versions of Superman or Fletch? Whilst this sounds phenomenally daft, I actually think Smith could make some good gags about it.

Dark Universe: think about it! After years of scorn and ridicule, Universal come out swinging! They’re not ignoring their stillborn shared universe idea, they’re doubling down and making it a multiverse! Instead of shoehorning celebrity-stacked films together, we have a dozen Draculas! Hugh Jackman recruiting a team of reality-straddling Van Helsings to combat an army lead by Gary Oldman, Luke Evans, Claes Bang, Gerard Butler, Nicolas Cage, maybe even Adam Sandler. Aaron Eckhart and Robert DeNiro as battling Frankensteins! Kevin Bacon’s Invisible Man terrorises Elisabeth Moss! And at the end Tom Cruise flies in to save them all!

[wangxianficrecs]

Follower Recs

~*~

Hi! First of all, thank you so much for running this blog, It's become one of three reasons why I haven't yet committed arson (I jest but the Feeling is true). [Hee, hee, hee.] I have a rec for you! It's called "wholesome life usurp immediately" by comfect on ao3 and it's. So good. It's unfinished but the author updates it literally every other day if not faster! It's a lovely fic, I hope you enjoy it. 🌻

Wholesome Life Usurp Immediately

by Comfect (T, 55k, yunmeng sibs, qingli, wangxian, WIP)

Summary: Wen Qing examines Jiang Yanli at Cloud Recesses and has a cure for her poor cultivation.

Now there are Three Prides of Yunmeng.

Everything kind of fixes itself from there.

~*~

hello mojo!! I would really like to recommend standing still (but we keep going) by lwjromantics!! it's really good!!

standing still (but we keep going)

by lwjromantics (justfantaestic) (T, 5k, wangxian)

Summary: Lan Wangji supposed that if having to take care of little A-Yuan and Mo Xuanyu and having to look at the reminders of Wei Ying in their habits and mannerisms was punishment for his actions, he would willingly take it and flay his own back open.

— There are children in the Burial Mounds.

~*~

hii mojo! I just read this cute fic and I loved it so I wanted to rec it :) 

Word Up, Talk the Talk

by Larryissocute (G, 2k, wangxian)

Summary:  It wouldn’t have been a problem (it really wouldn’t) if they weren’t best friends. Wei Wuxian doesn’t know what good deeds he did in his past life to be blessed with Lan Wangji as a friend nor does he know what evil things he did to be cursed with being only a friend to Lan Wangji.

Or the one where Wei Wuxian kisses Lan Wangji and then runs away.

~*~

Hey! Love your account — and proud of you for taking the hiatus you needed.  [Lol - it was really nice!]  Idk if you take fic recommendations, but I'd love to rec Roots by ardenrabbit. Fantastic characterization, I really love it!

Roots

by ardenrabbit (E, 46k, wangxian, WIP)

Summary:  After Wei Wuxian's duel with Jiang Cheng, he finds that stab wounds aren't so trivial when he doesn't have a core to heal them. He wakes to find Lan Zhan in the Burial Mounds with him, already beloved by the Wens and making himself at home. When Lan Zhan tells him that he wants to stay and offers more help than Wei Wuxian knows how to accept, he fears that it's only too good to be true.

Lan Wangji knows that Wei Ying is doing the right thing, and he couldn't live with himself if he let him do it alone. For everything Wei Ying has sacrificed, Lan Wangji is determined to give something back to him.

Hanguang-Jun has turned his back on the clans to join the Yiling Wens and their demonic cultivator leader, and every clan has a different opinion on the matter.

~*~

Hello! I wanted to rec a fic on ao3 called "Restoration" by jelenedra. It's complete, an alternate universe of the sunshot campaign told nonlinearly. It has strong fairy tale and fae elements, with a touch of mystery. Bit of a fix it. Some delightful one liners, and the final ending imagery is just LOVELY. The fic deserves much more love. There's also some YilingWei, wwx not raised by Jiang, and sentient Burial Mounds elements. Enchanting read that keeps you enthralled and curious and intrigued.

Restoration

by jelenedra (M, 85k, wangxian)

Summary:  They say he was thrown into Luanzang Gang by the man who killed his parents; they say that he is an immortal cultivator who had been in a deep trance until the Wen sect disturbed his rest and incurred his wrath; they say that he is the fierce corpse of a cultivator who had somehow regained his mind and his spiritual powers.

When Lan Wangji sees him for the first time, he understands why people talk.

Meng Yao wants safety. Xue Yang wants vengeance. The Sunshot Campaign wants victory. Yiling Laozu provides, for a price.

~*~

I usually read all your recommendations. Thanks for gathering all good recs of wangxian. I am in love with every single story your recommend especially the favorites. [I’m so glad!]  I just wanted to suggest a fic i came across while searching for phoenix!wwx. Its a new story I think as author has published it today. The first chapter was very interesting that i thought ill recommend it you and know your opinion. The legendary phoenix and his dragon -Devipriya and Hidden Path to Love by ShadowTenshiV

Hidden Path to Love

by ShadowTenshiV (G, 78k, wangxian)

Summary:  Wei Ying is a servant working at the Gusu Lan castle. One day he enters through a secret passage way connected to the library where he meets a Lan for the first time. He may have left quite an impression, gaining the other´s attention and slowly becoming friends. They would like to become something more, but a servant can´t be with a prince, but maybe his secret can change that.

~*~

hello mojo! i was wondering if I could make a fic rec? it’s called “and the calm is deep where the quiet waters flow” by izanyas. it used to be on ao3 but the author has since moved it to eir own website and has started posting updates there. i was wondering if this could also act as a signal boost bc some old readers on ao3 might not have known that it is now on another website.   Author's been through a tough time so I think it deserves a lot more love.

For new readers, please mind the warnings in the prologue and the beginning of each chapter! it’s omegaverse and a very heavy read as it deals with (possible spoiler) off-screen rape that results in an unwanted pregnancy, as well as secondary gender oppression which runs deep, but for people who can bear it the writing, worldbuilding, and emotions are truly spectacular.

and the calm is deep where the quiet waters flow

by izanyas (E, 270k, wangxian, WIP, link is to WordPress rather than AO3)

Summary: Cangse Sanren was the first of her kind to become a cultivator. Talented, passionate, free-spirited, she bested everything that ever came her way until the very end.

Jiang Fengmian refuses to see her son deprived of that same freedom.

~*~

Hello Mojo! I dunno if this's been recced before, but here's another ficrec for you? It's complete, on ao3, "The Third Young Master of Qishan Wen" by KouriArashi. It's 'if wwx was raised by dafan wen, but gets recognized as 3rd heir due to his skill' scenario. Some really nice banter and characterization. Wwx and lz get together before the sunshot campaign. Story follows the live action but diverges into au, and does some cool callbacks to original canon. Love Meng Yao in this!  [Oh, I know KouriArashi from my last fandom, I love her works!]

❤️The Third Young Master of the Qishan Wen

by KouriArashi (T, 139k, wangxian, my post)

Summary:  The fic where Wei Wuxian is adopted by the Dafan Mountain Wens instead of the Yunmeng Jiang.

~*~

Hi Mojo! I can count the number of times I’ve spoken on Tumblr on one hand (I’m shy heh) but I found this fic that I think you and others would really like? I’m a sucker for emotional hurt/comfort and this was just too sweet for me not to share (did I go through 20 pages of bookmarks just to make sure you don’t already have it? Maybe …) [Aww, you can do a sidebar search in the bookmarks for the author’s name.  But I hope you found other good fics by carding through the whole catalog!]  It’s “Close Your Soft Eyes” by timetoboldlygo! I also wanna say thank you for all the hard work you put into this blog! It’s a treasure beyond compare. :D [Thank you so much!]

Close Your Soft Eyes

by timetoboldlygo (G, 12k, wangxian)

Summary:  When Lan Wangji woke, the first thing he noticed was the slip of paper, folded and tucked between his index and middle fingers, not Wei Wuxian’s absence. His fingers trembled as he unfurled the paper. A donkey with a little smile beamed down at him.

-

On the nights that Wei Wuxian was gone, Lan Wangji woke to gifts on his pillow.

~*~

Hey Mojo! I love your blog it is beyond awesome! [Thank you!]  I was wondering if you would consider reading JaenysBloodcourt series "A Bond to Takes us home"? The summary is weird but I like the fics and would love to hear your opinion on LWJ POV (it's part 2). Part one is Mingxian but part two (Wangxian) reads as a standalone for the most part. Anyways, thank you for all your hard work! <3 [I’ll put it on my list!]

A Bond to Take Us Home

by JaenysBloodcourt (T, 10k, mingxian - nmj/wwx, wangxian, series in progress)

Summary:  Wei Wuxian has two soulmarks. He has two soulmates that seem to be the opposite of him. During his first life he meets both of them, loves only one and longs for the other. In his second life, the one he loved first is dead, and the one he pined after is pining after him.

These are the many tales of his soulmates and the raucous they made across the cultivation world.

Some are dark, some are light. Beware.

~*~

I forgot to send this in for Mother's Day a few weeks ago, but have you read dragongirlG's "into the light of a dark black night"? It's a short canon divergence where Mama Lan escapes the Cloud Recesses after spending one last, heartbreaking night with her sons. It's so beautiful and bittersweet! [Oh, ouch.  I just read this author’s time travelling juniors au, but hadn’t seen this one.]

into the light of a dark black night

by dragongirlG (T, 3k, Madam Lan & sons)

Summary:  The night that Wu Yuhua, formerly known as Madam Lan, plans to escape from the Cloud Recesses, she runs into an unexpected complication.

That complication comes in the form of her younger son A-Zhan running up to her door and kneeling in front of it, hushed whimpers escaping from his throat.

Wu Yuhua knows it's not the full moon, knows that it's not the one day a month she's allowed to see her children—but like hell is she going to leave her six-year-old son out there trying to stifle sobs in the snow.

She opens the door. "A-Zhan," she says, bending down and reaching out a hand. "Come in, my sweet boy."

On a snowy night in the dead of winter, Wu Yuhua, formerly known as Madam Lan, unexpectedly spends one last night with her sons before escaping from the Cloud Recesses.

~*~

Hello queen I’d like to recommend for ur follower rec posts Avatar: The Untamed Waterbender by KouriArashi. Banger of an ATLA au, def the best one I’ve seen. It’s a WIP but the author updates pretty regularly and it’s all around an A+ fic [Oh, yes, I’ve been waiting for this one to finish before I jump in.]

Avatar: The Untamed Waterbender

by KouriArashi (T, 123k, wangxian, WIP)

Summary:  You know the drill. Long ago, the four nations lived in harmony. Then, everything changed when the Fire Nation attacked.

100 years later, Jiang Cheng and Jiang Yanli find Wei Wuxian sealed in an iceberg.

Featuring: avatar WWX, waterbending JC, firebending Wens, airbending Lans, earthbending Nies and Jins, Jiang Yanli in possession of the brain cell, et cetera.

~*~

[My ko-fi.]

[steve0discusses]

S5 Ep12: Brand New Mokuba Just Dropped

My tumblr has decided that it can’t save drafts again. Which sure is a problem I keep having but no one else seems to have...but were back. Back and ready to talk about cards.

First off, lets address the best thing about this episode, it’s the return of The A Team animation team! Dunno if it’s the same ones that did the seasons before, but it is a pretty good team this episode, so there’s lots of that to look forward to. Everyone is now 2 feet taller (Kaiba is 4 feet taller) and there’s just some really nice shots going on. It’s not as shiny as other seasons, which makes me think it might be a different team or a different studio using a different method (you don’t really see them playing with line weights anymore which makes it seem like a different method to me) but still--it’s a nicer looking episode today.

So we start off this episode with Seto begging us all to forget the hell that just happened and just get on with it. Of course, no one’s gonna do that, because yo, what just happened was kind of weird.

And because there’s only like...I dunno...maybe 2 episodes left in this arc? (kind of a quick arc, honestly) Leon decides to do a complete personality reversal. Although, it’s really hard to do a reversal when you didn’t have a personality in the first place...so I guess this more Leon showing us A personality--and I’ll take it.

He’s a little jackass now, but it’s youknow...still Leon so it’s not really that bad. Like we deal with Seto on the reg, so I feel like Leon as a jackass is just like...well that’s just how you play cards in this universe.

Everyone speculates whether or not Seto actually did a crime, and a SURPRISING number of them said he did not! Weird! But hey...I’ve gone over a billion times before, their memory is like when you throw popcorn into the ocean--it just fffzt’s and then it’s gone.

Roland was THIS close to actually saving Kaiba corp a huge hassle for once. This Close, Roland. You almost did it.

(read more under the cut)

I love that Roland has decided to give all these teens maybe the uncoolest nicknames in the entire world, and the teens have not made any indication whether they do or do not appreciate their alliteration nicknames.

But despite the fact that although Roland uses these opportunities behind the microphone to embarrass them just SO MUCH, the Kaibas still persist in having him introduce most of the matches. It makes it feel like the Kaibas freakin love this. They love his Dad jokes. I cannot tell if they are like “yes, please embarrass my friends.” of it they’re like “yes. Roland that was so cool. Yeah Leaping Leon. Good one! You’re so cool!” Because they don’t know what fun is.

Also, look what I see in the sky.

Truly a sign that they have overcome their trauma of seasons 2-3.

Or maybe they had a lot of blimps laying around and this is a completely unrelated blimp? Either way, I’m glad they can still handle the sight of a blimp.

And then, just out of nowhere, Mokuba hit puberty.

Which I mean, it was inevitable. It was going to happen some day. Luckily, we will be getting a new Mokuba this episode to make up for the fact that this one has done A Flirt and it was probably a completely innocent turn of phrase he has no idea is a double entendre but do the writers know that?

And while we ruminate the decisions there, lets bask in the glory of purple staircase.

This is such a purple staircase!

On another, identical staircase walks Leon, who gets to have a discussion with Zigfried, who probably just stood next to the wall and just chameleon’ed in here without getting caught cuz coincidentally this staircase dresses like him.

Freakin Mai?

Anyway, lets start this duel where like...I dunno, it’s a little late to start stealing souls, but maybe Leon will do a stab? (He will not)

So glad the storyboarder is back to kind of flex. I don’t normally see Roland drawn with this much attention. Look at him go. That’s the stance a grown man takes when he’s ready to embarrass a bunch of teens.

Kaiba writes a speech introducing himself, or Roland just kinda made up a speech as if Kaiba hadn’t asked him to do that. Either way it’s kind of a big way to talk yourself up--but he is trying to talk up the theme park so people will actually like...go. So it makes sense.

Also what is this nonsense where people worldwide are watching a theme park opening match? Card culture is so weird because we’ve noticed in other seasons there are people that don’t play cards, and I feel like they’re not watching this for fun. It’s like when I watch news unfold--they’re watching to see if they have to raid the toilet paper aisle and the canned goods again to prepare for yet another onslaught of card nonsense.

Legit Mokuba was like “Look at my bro. Look at how he gave up dueling to throw this nice tourney for everyone!” and it’s like...Mokuba...he just dueled...Mokuba...he’s putting all the profits directly in your pockets this is hardly a martyr up here.

Seto Kaiba decided to inform the world that he would have won if he was actually playing and that was sure a statement he made after losing to Yugi like...3 times now? Several times.

Everyone else converses how Leon’s acting weird. I don’t know why they care all of a sudden, because no one acts normal playing this game, but the plot desires them to care.

Which is when we find out...

...the new Mokuba...

That’s right. He was a Mokuba the whole time. For once we haven’t abducted Mokuba, instead...we have too many Mokubas.

This Mokuba even has hella long hair, too. I imagine if Mokuba proper had a ponytail it would probably look just like this but black. It would have been just--so good if he whipped off that ribbon and shook out his hair and it fluffed into a horrible Mokuba mess, but you know, that’s one of the many reasons why I don’t write for this series. That and I was like in high School when this came out.

(Please admire Kaiba’s head of Security who looks like he’s about to drop a poop out of terror. It’s a really small detail, but I appreciate that the storyboarder had him kind of antsy in the background)

Seto insists that the only one to beat Yugi Muto will be himself and it’s like...I know. That’s why I keep expecting someone to get stabbed by this tiny purple haired Mokuba. But instead, Leon’s too busy feeling mad that he’s not necessarily playing the game for fun.

But he’s still playing the game though? so I feel like Yami doesn’t have many stones to throw here. Leon hasn’t even cheated yet. (As if Yami isn’t cheating basically all the time by being 2 people in one body)

I can’t BELIEVE this show would throw that at me after the number of times I have seen Yami Muto nearly murder other people (and sometimes literally do a murder) out of revenge. Yami is basically a revenge god...like...show...what? It’s season 5, I thought we’ve basically cemented this in. Occasionally the show will just be all “card games are supposed to be fun though!!!” and it’s like...these are the last children on Earth who are playing card games for fun.

If anything, it should be Leon lecturing them on how to have fun. They just murdered a Great Leviathan with cards. Before that they were dealing with Noah, with Marik, with Pegasus, with Bakura. The times that Yugi has just played a game for fun has been...This Arc.

So maybe Yami is just begging himself to have fun for once. Maybe he’s just mad that he can’t play a single tournament without someone getting possessed? Maybe his frustrations really aren’t about little Leaping Leon, and more to do with Yami sick and tired of being a protagonist.

But, youknow, it’s not an anime, unless the protagonist hypocritically can get away with every sin out there and everyone else gets punished for it. So lets find out just how far Leon fell from fun-having grace with a flashback.

This Belle cosplayer went off in like...one of the most hilariously bad accents I’ve heard in a while, it was just so much, I’ll probably cap it because lolol.

But since Leon wasn’t actually in line to inherit the company, he has to sort of hole up in his room for his entire childhood. It’s kinda weird, since we can’t assume that Zigfried will either a.) live forever or b.) have or adopt or raise children in any capacity. But they’re pretty sure Zigfried will live forever, and in this universe--maybe.

Also, I’m really not sure why they have to dress like it’s 1890, but they sure are. The Victorian era just never left the Von Schroeder house. Like these women are wearing corsets to be in that dress, and you can’t BUY a corset to match this type of dress, you have to make your own, and I know, because in Quarantine, I got really into historical sewing videos.

I can’t believe I spent an entire year watching historical sewing videos. Holy crap. I don’t even sew.

But then again...Seto is kind of drawn like he wears a corset...so maybe people are still wearing them in the Yugioh universe? Maybe that’s how their fashion just works?

Guys...I analyze Yugioh fashion a lot but the fact that the Edwardians never freakin left this worldly plane is just...that’s canon to Yugioh. I really just want to sit back and analyze Yugioh fashion with a moodboard and try to connect all the dots logically as if they aren’t just one-off jokes, but I don’t know how I’d fit that on this post.

And like, one of y’all brought up in a comment in the last post that what’s neat about this arc is we are seeing Zigfried as what Seto would have been like if he hadn’t like...gotten cursed by Yugi Muto. So, going off that idea, I think it’s kinda fun that Zigfried’s outfit is a bit of a younger take on Pegasus’ whole look with the wrist lace and a fusion of Gozaburos look of wearing a cravat with a smoking coat. It’s fun to imagine that this is what Seto’s inner gremlin dresses like (which...now I think about it...was a thing from S1 where Yami defeated a Seto gremlin but...I don't remember much about it) Of course, Seto would also be hella dead if he hadn’t gone through the Yugi cycle, but it’s still a fun road to think about.

Plus, when we go down that road, it really makes this arc look even more like it’s just about Seto Kaiba’s therapy sesh to recover from the last several seasons that he’s accidentally (or intentionally??) invited the entire world to watch and that’s very funny to me.

Bro has informed me you can make a deck out of Jerry but could not show me any receipts.

...I mean that is Dartz right?

Like I know all the characters have cards of themselves IRL and all the characters are also based on cards that were made before they were on TV (with the exception of our main cast that was...youknow, a horror manga) but like...

...what’s up, Dartz?

Anyway, our little Mokuba decides to sneak out the house and run around the world at the ripe ol age of ... what I’m guessing is like 10-12, and is pretty sure he can just get away with that. Luckily, the crimes he’s committing are exactly the type of crimes that Zigfried needs.

(Pretty sure their Dad died or is incapacitated but OK, dub, go ahead and pretend that plot point didn’t go down last episode.)

Also, I’m really glad we got a good storyboarder for this part who was like “Zigfried looks...like that?” and still managed to make this character design really work this episode. In some parts they even gave Zigfried those wide Marik Eyes that are kind of ubiquitous with Yugioh. It just needs the right hands to draw it, and then any amount of...this outfit...can work.

So, just like when we met Mokuba in S1, he’s gonna do a duel on Yugi to save his family and probably also like Mokuba, not give a damn for how this game is supposed to be played. Luckily, this time Pharaoh doesn’t have any star chips lying around for this kid to just run around and steal before booking it out the back gate.

Yugi over there with his twitter-brand hot-takes, not knowing the difference between actual brainwashing and blackmail/family pressure.

(WHY IS MAI HERE?)

Look at that hatching!

Ah this is the 00′s content I’m here for! Check out the soft brush! The dodge and burn! Ah! Man this sure was an era of computer art! and stuff like this cost a lot of money to make and it looked ... like this!

Now I’m pretty sure we can make art that looks this dated on like...a free phone app.

PS please do not ever shade your art like this. This is what you don’t do. Do not do this. I will shed a single tear shaped like the Photoshop symbols for dodge and burn.

Also...guys...

next episode is Ep 13. Every season so far this show has been like “we’re normal, everything is normal” getting us complacent until exactly Ep 13, when everything gets really effed up. So...

will that happen? Will they continue this tradition into S5 or has it been a coincidence until now? Excited to find out.

Anyway, if you just got here, this is the link to read these from the beginning in chrono order:

https://steve0discusses.tumblr.com/tagged/yugioh/chrono

[iffeelscouldkill]

Five Times That Park and McCabe Were Mistaken For a Couple

Summary: Despite what a lot of people assume, Jin-Seon Park and RJ McCabe are not a couple. 

A/N: The spark of inspiration for this fic came a few months ago when I was on a Murderbot Diaries fic-reading kick. Specifically, I was reading some fics that had great queerplatonic vibes between Murderbot and ART, and it hit me that I really envision Park and McCabe's relationship in the same way: a closeness that most would probably parse as romantic, but isn't necessarily. And I suddenly really wanted to do a fic for them which contained a bunch of 'romantic' tropes, but in a non-romantic context.

Behold the result! I started writing this in May, though most of it was written over the past couple of weeks. It was originally a post-2.05.5 fic, but I sprinkled in some references to characters we meet in the second half of season 2; however, it wasn’t written to be compliant with the finale, so you can read it as a canon divergence AU, or maybe far future canon fic? Reader’s choice :D

Also, if I had £1 for every time I wrote a 5 Times fic starring RJ McCabe I’d have £2, but it’s weird that it happened twice.

Cross-posted to AO3

                                                              I

“So… are you my dad’s new datemate?”

RJ almost jumped out of their skin at the question, which came from a girl who looked to be about sixteen or seventeen, with long hair that was tied up in a high ponytail and had dyed blue streaks in it. Right, this was Shelly – Agent Park’s daughter. Agent Park had mentioned, when he invited them to drop by later that evening to pick up some annotated copies of documents connected to the Iris casefiles that he’d been working on at home, that his teenage daughter was staying over. Apparently she lived with her mother, but spent alternate weekends at her father’s place. RJ had been inwardly hoping not to bump into her; they weren’t great at interacting with teenagers.

“…Datemate?” they repeated, when Shelly continued to look at them expectantly. Agent Park was upstairs, looking for the promised files, and had left RJ standing awkwardly in the kitchen clutching a mug of green tea. RJ began to wish even more desperately that he would reappear.

Shelly flicked the end of her ponytail over one shoulder. “Yeah, y’know, his… special friend? Dating partner? Romantic interest?”

RJ spluttered at the assumption Shelly had made, based purely on walking in to find a strange person in her father’s kitchen. “We’re colleagues! I’ve – I’m here to collect some files, that’s all.”

As if going to their superior’s house hadn’t felt intrusive enough – Agent Park had issued the invitation completely nonchalantly, like it was a normal thing to do, but RJ had been self-conscious from the moment they’d stepped through the door – now here they were, being mistaken for his dating partner. (At least, a small part of their mind noted, it meant that Shelly thought they were old enough to be in a relationship with Agent Park. But that was an odd silver lining).

Shelly shrugged. “I know there’s probably an edict somewhere forbidding workplace relationships among Agents of the Republic, but I just thought… I dunno. He never invites anyone over. I guess I was hopeful that he’d finally found someone new.”

RJ sipped at their tea to try and control their expression. Inappropriate didn’t even begin to cover this conversation (also, there were three edicts forbidding workplace relationships among IGR Agents) – but mostly RJ was baffled and fascinated by how uninhibited Agent Park’s daughter seemed. Having got to know him a little better over these past few weeks of working day and night on the Iris casefiles, they knew he wasn’t just the staid paper-pusher they’d initially pegged him as, but they’d still never imagined that his daughter would be so… lively. Irreverent.

As the silence stretched out, RJ offered, “I think he’ll be back down soon. He was just looking for the documents he needs to give to me.”

“It’s fine,” Shelly said, not seeming concerned. “I was just curious – I mean, something had to have happened to make him start liking his job again.”

RJ’s eyes narrowed. “What do you mean?” they asked, and almost immediately regretted the question. It wasn’t any business of theirs, even if it was to do with the job. They kept an ear out for Agent Park’s approach, almost guiltily hoping he wouldn’t walk back into the kitchen at that moment.

Shelly appraised RJ for a moment, as if deciding whether or not to confide in them, then said, “You know, working longer hours, actually seeming happy for a change… He didn’t hate it before, but I think he was bored. And tired. He always changed the subject when I brought it up, but then today, when I asked how work was? He actually smiled.”

Okay, so RJ could kind of see where the ‘new relationship’ conclusion had come from. They thought back, trying to determine whether they’d noticed the radical transformation in their boss that Shelly was describing. But it was hard to say, because at the beginning they’d been caught up in the excitement of their first real case, and trying to get up to speed with things as fast as was humanly possible. Plus, they knew now that their early impressions of Agent Park didn’t represent the whole picture.

And Agent Park did smile, sometimes – just the other day they’d caught a glimmer of amusement on his face as they complained about the crabbed handwriting that Clark had used to submit her latest report, wondering aloud if they should get a specialist from the Decryption Unit in to decipher it. (RJ couldn’t lie – it felt pretty good to make their typically-stoic boss crack a smile).

Read the rest on AO3!

[dato-potato]

Broken

Yo, here’s a thing a wrote a while back and decided today was the day to post it. Anyway, I totally ignored canon for this but when do I not? Enjoy!

——————————

Tim groaned as he lay in bed. This was the worst. Being on bed rest with a broken leg? Bad. But your (adoptive) father calling your (adoptive) brother, who, by the way, only just got over not trying to murder you to come by and look after you while he goes off on a trip? Worse. That was worse. 

Tim chewed on the inside of his cheek as he waited for Jason to arrive. They had started to get better, Jason stopped trying to kill him on sight so that was improvement, right? Tim looked down at the cast on his leg and cursed it. If only he hadn’t been stupid, he wouldn’t even be in this situation. It wasn’t even during patrol, he fell on the stairs and broke his leg, how lame was that?

He heard Jason’s bike pull up and tensed up. He wasn’t sure how Bruce had convinced him, or if he had even convinced him yet. If he told him to look after Tim, surely he wouldn’t just listen. 

Tim received his answer in the form of crashes and loud voices before a vehicle left the manor. He was sure it was Jason who left until there was a series of stomps getting closer and closer to his room. 

His door slammed open, Jason glaring holes as his gaze passed over Tim’s room and finally fell upon Tim, lying helpless in bed. Jason grumbled about something but Tim couldn’t hear. He then threw himself into Tim’s desk chair which Tim was sure would break under the force. 

“I’m here to look after you until Bruce gets back,” Jason informed Tim with a scowl. 

Tim nodded, “Right, uh, how exactly did he convince you to do that?” he asked curiously, but cautiously. 

Jason’s glare met Tim’s eyes, “He didn’t.” Tim waited for Jason to elaborate. When Tim didn’t drop Jason’s glare, he sighed, “Alfred called me, saying there was an ‘emergency’ so I came over as soon as I could and Bruce told me he needed me to stay and look after you, and then he left. Just like that.” 

Tim furrowed his brows, “You could’ve said no or just leave.” 

Jason looked as if he hadn’t considered that and then promptly shook his head. “I already told Alfred I would. It’s fine, it’s only until B gets back. Just have to waste time until then.”

“Right,” Tim agreed.

The silence that fell over the two of them was not by any means comfortable. Neither really knew what to say, Tim wracking his brain to think of something he could talk to his brother about but coming up with nothing. He wasn’t sure what they really had to talk about. Should he thank him for not trying to kill him? 

Before Tim could decide, Jason cleared his throat. Trying to lessen the tension, he spoke up, “So,” he started awkwardly, “You like books?”

“What?” Tim chuckled lightly. 

“Books, you know, to kill time,” Jason explained lamely. 

“Are you suggesting you read me books or something to pass the time?” Tim couldn’t suppress the grin on his face. He never really pegged Jason for a book kind of guy. 

“It was just an idea, you got any better ones, replacement?” Jason asked gruffly and Tim shook his head. 

They sat in silence, listening to the clock tick. Tim desperately wanted to say something but the silence had grown too heavy. It was like when you ordered something at a restaurant and they gave you the wrong order but you just eat it anyway. Or maybe that was just Tim. Shaking his head, he decided to just sit back and wait it out. How bad could a whole week of just, this be?

Turns out, really bad. By the second day, both boys were even more awkward than the first, even though Tim didn’t think it was possible. They’d watched movies for the rest of the day, Tim letting Jason pick whatever movies he wanted. They all turned out to be pretty interesting to him. On the third day, they tried to make small talk but that had ended horrendously and they turned back to watching TV for help but there’s only so much TV one can watch before it’s just boring. On the fourth day of rotting their brains, Jason finally snapped. 

Jason stood up abruptly, startling Tim. “I’m calling Dick,” Jason announced as he sped out of the room. 

Tim was grateful for a moment to himself but was slightly worried about Jason calling Dick. Bruce would have called him but he seemed to be busy lately and they didn’t want to bother him. Not even a full minute later, Jason returned to his spot in Tim’s desk chair. 

“He’s on his way,” he told Tim simply. 

Tim contemplated for a moment, surprised. “What’d you tell him?”

Jason shrugged, “He didn’t let me get past telling him you had a broken leg before he was out the door and on his way here.”

Tim nodded and let out a short breath. It wasn’t great with only Tim and Jason, maybe having Dick there would help?

He could only hope.

Dick showed up with his arms full of an assortment of goods from snacks to games, blankets to puzzles. He spent a good hour fussing over Tim to make sure he was comfortable before he brought a second chair into Tim’s room and finally started asking questions. 

“So what happened?” Dick asked Tim before turning from Jason and back to Tim, “He didn’t do something did he?”

Jason looked rightfully offended and fully prepared to defend himself but Tim spoke up. “It wasn't him, I did it to myself a few days before he even got here.”

Jason nodded, throwing a hand out in Tim’s direction. “See?”

Dick nodded thoughtfully, seeming satisfied that Jason hadn’t assaulted their youngest brother. “So what did happen then?”

Jason turned his attention to Tim, “Yeah, how’d you get your arm broke?”

Tim chuckled nervously, “Well, that’s a funny story…”

Neither brother budged as Tim continued to avoid both their gazes, to no avail. It was a difficult thing to accomplish when you’re on bed rest. 

“Ok… well you’ll have to tell us eventually,” Dick told him with a raised eyebrow.

Dick pulled out the games he’d brought, starting with Uno. It definitely got both Tim and Jason to relax which Tim was immensely appreciative of. Turns out it’s kind of fun to play games with your older brothers. 

The next day, they played some of the other games Dick had brought, making much more comfortable conversation than when it was just Tim and Jason. However, there was only so much bed rest Tim could take. 

“I want to get up,” he stated as Dick shuffled a deck of cards. Jason had suggested they play poker using the snacks as money. 

“That’s gonna be hard in your current state, replacement,” Jason said, eyeing Tim’s cast. 

Tim rolled his eyes, “Obviously. That’s why I need your guys’ help. I want to move, at least to like, the sitting room. Please?”

Dick looked between Jason and Tim before sighing. “Come on Jay, let’s just move to the sitting room. Probably have more comfortable seats for us too.”

Jason thought for a moment and then nodded. Tim exhaled with a grateful smile. Dick dug out a pair of crutches for Tim so he could move around easier and then the two older brothers helped him down the stairs. 

They played some more games in the sitting room until Tim spoke up. “Can we maybe do something else? This is getting mega boring.”

Jason swiped the game pieces into their box and folded the board, “I thought you’d never ask.”

Dick sighed, defeatedly. “And I was winning that round too.” 

Jason looked around them, “Any ideas for what to do next?”

Dick looked behind himself at the things he brought, bringing his hand to his chin in thought. He turned back to his brothers with a mischievous grin. “I have an idea.” 

Dick and Jason began to travel around the manor, gathering every blanket, pillow and cushion they could find and brought it to the sitting room where Tim would sort them into which materials would be best for what purpose. They moved the furniture in the sitting room around and after all the materials were collected, they started building. 

Before long, they had a decent sized fort, complete with a laptop, snacks, the games Dick brought, extra blankets for comfort, a table and Alfred brought them tea. The boys all settled in, making sure there were a few extra pillows to elevate Tim’s leg as well. Once they were all comfortable, they decided to watch a movie. After a lot of arguing, they decided on The Princess Bride. 

Alfred called them out for dinner, the boys having to crawl out of their fort. When they finished, they were all pretty much done for the day and returned to the fort. They lay on their backs, Dick playing with a flashlight, making shadow puppets, making up random stories as he did. 

“I fell down the stairs,” Tim said abruptly.

Dick turned to him, worried, “When?”

Tim gave him a look and Jason burst out laughing. “Replacement, you broke your leg falling down the stairs?”

Tim’s face felt heated, “Yeah, I just missed a step…”

Dick was obviously trying to keep his laughter in but Tim sighed, “It’s fine. You can laugh.”

Dick joined Jason laughing hysterically and even Tim couldn’t keep himself from smiling. It was pretty stupid, he knew that. 

After they’d all settled back in and finished laughing at Tim, he turned his head and looked over at Jason. 

“Hey,” he said, getting Jason’s attention, “What about a book?”

Jason raised a brow at him, “What book?”

Tim shrugged his shoulders, “I dunno, you mentioned books the first day. You got any in mind?” 

Jason grinned at his little brother, “Oh, replacement, maybe you’re not so bad after all.” Before Tim could ask what Jason had in mind, he was already up and out of the fort, his footsteps retreating to presumably get a book. 

Dick chuckled beside Tim, “Now you’ve done it.”

Tim looked inquisitively at Dick, “What? What’d I do?”

“The kid’s a literary nerd,” he told Tim with a smirk. 

Tim shifted into a more comfortable position, “Can’t be that bad.” When Dick didn’t say anything Tim got a little concerned, “Is it that bad?”

Dick didn’t answer again and Jason returned, holding a rather thick book that Tim only caught one word from; Shakespeare.

Before long, the boys began to doze off to Jason’s reading of Hamlet. As Tim fell asleep, he briefly wondered why Jason stayed after Dick came. He could’ve easily left, saying that Dick was there and he’d look after Tim. And yet, here he was, sitting in a pillow fort, reading Shakespeare for Tim and Dick. Not to mention the few times Tim was struggling to move and he huffed about how useless Tim was but still helped him.  

Tim glanced over at Dick who had long fallen asleep and leaned over on him. Closing his eyes, he couldn’t help but think about how he never thought he’d get even one older brother, and now he had two. It was nice. Maybe the week wasn’t so bad after all. Tim didn’t think Jason would admit it, but he thought they’d all really enjoyed their time together. 

Bruce returned later that night, hoping to let Jason off early. 

“How bad was it?” Bruce asked when Alfred greeted him at the door.

“Oh, simply atrocious, Sir,” Alfred informed him gravely. “In the sitting room,” he directed.

Bruce rushed inside and to the room, finding a mass of blankets and pillows, a light shining from inside. He had to crawl through the small opening. Inside, he found his three boys, sleeping side by side. Jason had the big Shakespeare book from the library still open, laying on his chest, Tim was leaning on Dick who was sprawled out across Jason. All three were fast asleep. Bruce looked behind him at Alfred who smiled through the entrance to the fort.

“I dare say they had a good time,” he said as he stood up.

Bruce nodded and looked back at his boys. Moving carefully, so as not to wake them up, he draped blankets across each of them. 

[heirloommtomatoes]

you’re in a car with a beautiful boy

I’m at least 90% sure this ask was not sent with the intent of receiving a fic as a response but. Here we are. This got way longer and more convoluted than I had intended it to be and I’m jus gonna post it at this point bc i’m losing my mind re-reading it jsksk ! The title is from part 24 of Richard Siken’s poem “You Are Jeff”. Perfect poem for their first kiss, I think! Enjoy reading! :)

Warnings: Two instances of canon-typical homophobic language; canon-typical swearing.

Word Count: 2.6k~

The day Ian Gallagher shows up at his door, red-cheeked, out of breath, and wanting, no — “I need to see you” — needing him, Mickey knows he’s done for.

What comes out is: “I thought you were working today.”

Nice, dumbshit, that’s helpful, he registers the thought somewhere in the back of his mind, but mostly he just can’t stop staring at Ian. His eyes flick over his face, and he doesn’t have time to be shocked by how much he cares.

He’s embarrassed to reveal that yes, he did memorize Ian’s work schedule because he was in fact listening to the guy when he was busy running his mouth at the convenience store. Instinctively, he casts a quick glance over his shoulder. He can’t let Terry see this gay shit, Ian all worked up about some mommy issues and Mickey trying in his own way. To do what exactly, he’s still not completely sure. Comfort him, maybe? He doubts his father would clue in, his head’s too far up his homophobic ass for that, but like hell Mickey’s gonna risk it. Nothing’s gonna touch Ian. Fucking ever, if it’s up to him.

“I’ll meet you there in twenty,” Mickey says a short while later. He closes the door and goes back inside to stand around the dining table where Terry was going over some kind of raid or bust or heist while somehow managing to boss Mandy around every other word.

Mickey can’t focus on anything. He’s going to see Ian in twenty minutes. He’s bubbling with palpable excitement and fear and feelings he has no name for. What if Ian wants to talk about everything? Does he smell bad? What could Mickey say so he doesn’t leave? So Ian doesn’t see what a miserable shit he is? He hates Ian fucking Gallagher for making him care about dumb stuff like this, for making him incapable of hearing a word his Dad is saying to him and his brothers, for making him want to do some astronomically stupid thing like kiss him.

“Mickey, why you over there starin’ like some dumb fuckin’ fag?”

He doesn’t work up the courage for over another year.

Mickey slams the door to his room after running errands with Iggy all morning. It smells stale and one of the posters is curling off the wall in the mid-summer humidity. He’d changed his sheets this morning. The same red ones from the day Ian had burst in here like a maniac demanding the gun back. From then on, the two had been inseparable; no matter how hard their South Side circumstances had tried to pry them apart, every time they came back together like magnets.

Mickey knows he can’t really hide from Ian, and it scares him as much as it excites him. Ian reads him like no one ever has. The guy even had the nerve to smile that adorable smile that makes Mickey’s chest tight when he’d told him he’d rip his tongue out back in juvie. For some reason that Mickey cannot begin to fathom, Ian seems to want to spend time with him. Seems to believe in him.

He had thought himself perfectly fine to live a life half-awake, to spend his days either in prison or in the Milkovich household (one in the same, he thinks - except that juvie doesn’t have Terry), probably die by shivs or bullets or fists, and have his body buried in some unmarked grave all before his 50th birthday. Ian had wedged his place in the timeline of Mickey’s life. There was a before, and an after, and neither of them would ever be the same. Mickey pretends that its not this thought that keeps him up at night.

As soon as he realized that Iggy and Colin and Terry looked at girls and actually wanted them, that it wasn’t just some bizarre social act they all bought into, he knew he was fucked for life. His whole existence feels like some grand joke that everyone is in on but him, and when he lays down at night and stares at his ceiling and thinks about Ian Gallagher, Ian Gallagher, Ian Gallagher, he wonders if maybe he was the butt of it all along.

Ian Gallagher, who knew him and wanted him anyway, who took the time to care about him, who sought him out to spend time with him just because he wanted to. When had their ten minute fucks turned into smoke breaks? When had their smoke breaks turned into —

Mickey’s phone dings in his pocket as he sits on the steps of the Milkovich house, a cigarette dangling idly from his mouth.

Ian

what are ur plans today

He swallows his heart back down as it leaps into his throat, almost dizzying him with excitement. Get a grip, you fuckin’ girl. He’d done all that he needed to do for the day. He’d helped Iggy with some errands in the morning and had planned on laying low, playing Halo 3, and chain-smoking his way through a pack until dinner.

He chews on his lip as he considers what to say. He texts back:

Mickey

don’t have any

He wants to say “why, what’s up?”, he wants to say “let’s go to the dugouts”, he wants to say “let’s do something”, “let’s hang out”, “i want to see you”, “i want you”. But he’s not allowed to want things. Certainly not…this. Whatever this is. He receives a response almost immediately and can’t help but crack a fond smile. Someone’s eager.

Ian

come with me to that abandoned building near the L

you know the spot

That’s how Mickey finds himself sitting atop a wooden platform, watching Ian run military drills below at 1 in the afternoon on a Sunday.

He fires his gun into the sky while resolutely pretending not to be checking out the younger boy below.

“Hey,” Ian says, breathing heavily and squinting against the sun and Mickey finds himself realizing he is made of things he cannot ever have, “You know that guy you beat the shit out of at that club?”

Of course Mickey remembers. His stomach flops at the mention of him.

“He wants me to sneak into his mansion and take all of his crap.”

“Really,” Mickey responds dryly, firing off another shot. He doesn’t want Ian to keep talking about him, “Hi-larious.”

“Can’t get it himself,” Ian continues, as if Mickey cares. And the worst part is that he thinks maybe he does — he cares about everything this alien-looking ginger has to say and he hates it and he can never, ever get enough of it, of him, of Ian, “Divorce. Says I can take whatever I want. He’s loaded. You want in?”

Mickey fires shots at the ground by Ian’s head where he’s crawling under some boards. He’s remembering seeing them at that bar in Boystown, out in the heat and in the sun and in public, cracking jokes and living a life Mickey can only watch from behind glass, from behind bars. Fuck that old guy for getting handed on a silver platter what Mickey so desperately craves but cannot have. Not just Ian — freedom. Though Mickey thinks they’re one in the same these days.

“Jesus! Use blanks, maybe?! Fuck.” Ian shouts up at him, dragging himself up off the ground.

“Bring my cousins?” Mickey asks, refusing to look at him. Every time he does he sees them together and wishes that it had been him, sun-drunk and laughing and free by his side.

“Yeah,” Ian shrugs.

“‘Aight, I’m in,” Mickey fires off another shot. He’s angry at Ian for nothing other than exercising his complete right to see other people since they weren’t really together anyway, he’s angry at that old ass man for being able to go out for drinks with him, touch him, kiss him, and most of all he’s angry at himself.

He feels broken for wanting him. He feels broken for not being able to be brave enough to admit that he wants him. He gets cut on his own self-hatred any direction he turns.

“I dunno what you see in that geriatric viagroid,” he says, forcing himself to meet Ian’s gaze, if for a brief moment.

“He buys me stuff, orders me room service,” Ian says nonchalantly, looking up at Mickey. It’s obvious how much he’s been working out. His shoulders are hard and defined, his chest chiseled through the dark green of his military shirt. Mickey feels the familiar sting of contempt rising in his throat and fires off two more shots.

He can’t buy him anything, let alone room service. The fuck kind of response is that? More than anything, it annoys Mickey because he knows it isn’t really true. He’s bullshitting him, and that gets to him more than Ted or Ned or Fred or whatever the hell is name is ever could. He knows he’s not that superficial. Sure, he doesn’t doubt those are nice bonuses, but he knows there’s more to it than that.

He knows Ian. He knows Ian and he wishes that didn’t have to mean he loves him, but it does. He doesn’t understand how anyone could know Ian and not love him. But he’s not quite ready to admit that yet, least of all to himself.

“He isn’t afraid to kiss me,” Ian adds.

Ah. There it is.

His world has become a breathing thing with Ian in it. Before it was stagnant, stale, drowning. It has become a beast with teeth that threatens to tear him from the careful scaffolding he has built around the most fragile parts of his life.

If he kisses him, then everything he fears he is will be true.

Some dumb fuckin’ fag.

So Mickey brings his cousins later that evening and doesn’t stop thinking about Ian’s comment for the rest of the day. The van ride is full of loud music and rolled down windows that let in the warm, fresh summer air, and Iggy and Colin are endlessly bickering and hitting each other in the back of the car.

“Can you assholes quiet down when we get closer? You’re gonna wake up the old lady and everyone else in the goddamn neighbourhood before we even roll in the fuckin’ driveway,” Mickey says, swatting at them from where he’s sitting in the passenger seat. Ian glances his way with an amused smile that Mickey only just catches when he settles back. He grins in return around the cigarette dangling from his mouth.

“Oh hey, pass one?” Ian asks, holding out his hand. Mickey’s about to give him one before a car speeds around a corner and almost T-bones the side of the van. Ian’s hand snaps back to the wheel to swerve out of the way, and Mickey drops the cigarette to the floor of the van in all the commotion.

“Asshole, watch it!” Ian exclaims as he uselessly flips off the car that’s now long gone down the road. Mickey lets out a guffaw of a laugh and abandons handing him the lost cigarette in favour of placing his own half-smoked one right between Ian’s lips.

The intimacy of the action doesn’t strike him until he’s nudging the cigarette against his mouth and his eyes are tracing the outline of his lips and he can feel the warmth of his breath against his tattooed knuckles. The raw familiarity of the action and the fact that Mickey’s own lips had just been on the cigarette that’s now resting on the edge of Ian’s mouth has his heart racing so quickly he can feel it in his chest like a ton of bricks. Ian casts him a side-glance out of the corner of his eye as he parts his lips to accept it. Mickey takes his hand away and clears his throat, glancing at the rear-view mirror to an oblivious Colin and Iggy.

“Thanks,” Ian mumbles, remembering himself as he snaps out of whatever it had been that passed between them just now.

Mickey wants to kiss him. He really, really wants to kiss him. He’d tried fucking girls and had been less turned on than he was just now doing nothing other than placing his cigarette in Ian’s mouth.

Ian pulls into the drive minutes later, cigarette since burned through and discarded out the window. Mickey tries not to feel the absence of it as though it were his own lips against his and not just the ghost of them stained onto the cigarette.

Colin drags open the side door and hops out with Iggy, zipping open a duffel bag full of guns. Mickey’s grateful for the distraction, for the absolute focus violence requires that he hopes will shove his desire to do something as stupid as kiss Ian out of his head.

“Hey! Whoa, guys, guys! No fucking guns, alright? It’s just a drunk old lady in there,” Ian says, brow furrowed as he looks at Mickey.

Trust Gallagher to be the defender of drunk old ladies. Mickey bites at his lip, trying and failing to ignore the way his chest swells with adoration at Ian’s request. Soft motherfucker. He’s right, though — any unnecessary violence and this could be a way bigger deal than it needs to be. Plus, he’d rather not piss off his only and best friend. He grabs the guns back from his cousins, much to their disappointment, and makes off toward the house.

He hadn’t woken up this morning thinking that today would be the day he’d kiss Ian. Hell, even now he’s sure that if he thinks about it any more he’ll chicken out and never kiss him at all. Mickey Milkovich, with the F-U-C-K U-U-P knuckles, who wears dirt and a scowl like they’re permanent accessories, is going to kiss Ian Gallagher, the freckled boy who protects drunk old ladies and smiles at him like he hangs the damn stars. He figures he was about to storm into an old lady’s house brandishing firearms without second thought or fright. Is kissing someone really that much more terrifying?

Abso-fuckin-lutely.

But there’s nothing between them but the van and Mickey’s fear. And fuck the fear. Fuck it. 

He can pretend that he kisses him for no other reason than to prove a point, than to fulfill some implied dare. 

At the end of the day, he kisses him because he wants to. 

He kisses him because he likes him. 

He kisses him because he loves him.

Mickey’s heart is racing so badly he feels that he might throw up and well, what an impression that would leave. Every part of him is shaking as he turns and takes one step, two steps, pulls himself into the van and…

His lips are against Ian’s. They’re so much softer than he’d imagined (and he had imagined, often) and warm and Mickey can feel the breath from his nose against his own face. He tastes like smoke and freedom and something sweet Mickey can’t place -- a fucking Snickers bar? -- but loves the taste of anyway.

His brain short-circuits. He lingers longer than he had intended to, but it’s real and it’s better than he ever thought it could be. He’d kissed Sarah Perkins on a dare back in 7th grade and he’d gargled vodka afterwards to wash his mouth out.

He’d thought himself broken for it just not feeling right. But this…this feels right. Ian makes him feel right. He had expected, hoped even maybe, that it would feel wrong. That he would kiss him and feel as though he had done something terrible, something worse than stealing from an old lady’s home, but if it does he can’t bring himself to care at the moment.

On his tongue, in his touch, with his laugh, Ian has given him the vocabulary to understand himself. To put a name to feelings mostly only understood in the illuminating glory of hindsight.

He’s spent his whole life outside of himself. Is this what it is to know yourself? Is this what it is for everything to suddenly make sense? He isn’t allowed soft things. He isn’t allowed this.

But here he is anyway.

And the world spins on.

He wants to kiss him again and again and again but he remembers his cousins in the house and what he suspects was probably less than five seconds feels like an eternity and Ian’s lips are starting to respond and move and is that his hand starting to lift to touch him? oh shit what if they come back to get him and this is what they walk in on and --

He pulls back and retreats as quickly as he’d arrived, throwing up a middle finger at Ian. Afraid to kiss him, Mickey’s ass.

Fuck he thinks as he runs back to the house, and can’t think much else but fuckfuckfuck, every inch of him charged and shaking and electric.

“Forgot somethin’,” he says breathlessly to the two boys who are, as it turns out, barely paying him any mind as they bicker between themselves about how they’re going to manage picking up a cabinet heavier than the two of them combined. Mickey’s not listening to them as they end up dropping it to split up and tackle smaller bait.

He grins wickedly to himself. He did it. Mickey goddamn Milkovich made a choice that wasn’t about pain or hurt or violence. He’d made a choice that was his and his alone and it was soft. Mickey Milkovich could choose to be soft, and gentle, and maybe even caring.

And if he can kiss Ian Gallagher? He can do anything.

[cryptidofthekeys]

Yandere Chase x Reader (An Average Day in Hell)

TRIGGER WARNINGS: YANDERE BEHAVIOR, KILLING/BEATING TO DEATH, DEATH, SLIGHT MANIPULATION??? (unintentionally and intentional technically speaking), MENTIONS OF A CAR CRASH BUT NOTHING TOO IN DETAIL OF THAT, ALSO DIVORCE MENTIONS, AND SOME SLIGHT ABUSE AT THE END PLEASE KEEP THESE IN MIND BEFORE READING

im not good at titles either also this one is like SUPER fucking long as well- so a keep reading is 100% needed also probs gonna tag it with long post just to be super safe

also wanna interact with the yandere egos? Well, shoot me an ask and I’ll post a link to the sideblog on my main (not gonna copy n paste that here, it took a good few minutes to get this story off my docs n shit lmao)

You were out for a nice walk on one of the trails nearby your house, it was one of the trails you could walk on without worrying about running into anyone, and you liked it that way… You’d rather not deal with a lot of people, you continued onward, taking in the beautiful scenery of the trees, the forest surrounding the area was so beautiful this time of year… The trees were all turned to such pretty colors, that doesn’t mean they weren’t pretty before of course, they just became even more beautiful than before that’s all. You were so distracted you hadn’t even noticed the man that was suddenly walking next to you, you were so fixated by trees until the man coughed into his sleeve and this made you jump and stumble backwards until you were suddenly on your ass.

The man looked down at you and he almost seemed panicked “Oh shit dude! I’m so sorry! I didn’t like, mean to spook ya!” He extended a hand “Are you alright, bro?” You looked at the man for a moment, he had a dark gray heather shirt on, black denim jeans, combat boots, and his hair was a grassy green color, and he wore a baseball cap of sorts with a skull on it, his eyes were a bright ocean blue, overall he looked like a pretty average dude, an average bro some would say (that was the stupidest thing thats ever come outta my mouth imma shut the fuck up now), you realized you had been staring at him for the past few moments, to avoid making this any more awkward, you took his hand and thanked him for helping you get to your feet.

The man grinned happily “No problem, I mean, it was my fault after all, I scared the absolute fuck outta ya” There was a pause before he cleared his throat “My name’s Chase, Chase Brody!” He offered a hand for you to shake, of course, not wanting to be rude you returned it “It’s nice to meet you, Chase… My name is (Y/N)... I uh, don’t think I’ve ever seen you around here before?” You questioned which made the man chuckle a little bit “Yeah, I uh, I’m new here technically, I just like, needed to go out and get some fresh air ya know, that’s all… I take it that not many people use this trail here, yeah?” You nodded “Yeah, it’s rare to see ANYBODY on this trail, well, except for me that is, I always use this trail for that reason” You smiled, this man was at least friendly enough… The two of you continued walking up the trail, might as well at least have someone to converse to while you're walking “Sooo…” The man began “How long ya lived in these parts, because it’s like, really beautiful!” You nodded “Yeah, it’s one of the reasons I moved here actually, because of the beautiful scenery…”

Chase nodded at this “Same, I mean, don’t get me wrong, where I lived before?” He paused, rubbing his shoulder rather awkwardly “Aha… It had SOME beautiful areas but nothing compared to this!” Chase looked as if he were about to say something else but he must’ve decided against it because he just paused for a few moments, trying to think of something else to say “So uh, what do you do exactly? Like, do you have a job? Orrr any hobbies?” You shrugged “A few things here and there, as for a job? Uhh, well… I work at that old timey family diner in town actually” Chase’s smile widened “Oh damn, that sounds cool, I don’t think I’ve been to that one yet, I have explored a little bit of the town though…” 

You nodded “Well, I mean, there’s always time to check it out!” Chase nodded and looked up towards the sky and frowned “Ah shit, it’s getting a lil late… I need to like, go pick my kids up from school n shit, you know how it goes”

You blinked in surprise “You have kids?” Chase nodded “Yep! Two boys and one girl!” Damn… You didn’t expect that, but then the man began to run off, he turned back to wave "Gotta hurry n go! I’ll seeya sometime maybe!” You gave him a wave back and just like that he was gone… You smiled, that was a nice conversation at least… Even if you usually liked to be alone on this trail and not to talk, in fact this time it was the exact opposite… You hoped you’d see him again, truth be told ...Maybe one day, for now you focused on getting through the rest of the trail, and maybe then after this, you’d head into town if you still had time for it… Eventually, you did manage to get through the trail, it took a long while, longer than you would’ve liked but you still had some time to kill for the day, so you headed back and then off into town you went, you’d just browse around for the day… Seeing what was at the shops today and such as that.

You headed into one of the bookstores to see if they had anything you’d be interested in reading or purchasing, you looked around each aisle and looked at each genre, you found a book called an 'An Average Day in Hell' ...You inspected the book and skimmed through some of the pages, it was about a man ironically enough named Chase, you snorted at the title, the dialogue and narration was just... "...This all sounds cheesy as fuck..." You then put the book back and finished up in the bookstore, nothing really caught your eye so you then headed for the next shop, it was a clothing store, maybe you could find some cute outfits in there! You headed inside and glanced around at all the options, this store had a lot of things... There were fancy suits, casual clothing, etc. As you browsed around the shop you suddenly paused and shivered, you had a feeling... A weird feeling, like someone was watching you... You casually turned around and saw that nobody was there ...Maybe you were just imagining things.

(this is future me at past me while breaking the fourth wall there: ...Hm, not the WORST but definitely not the best use of fourth wall breaks, im, not proud of that part okay moving on)

You shook your head and continued to browse around, you pulled out one of the outfits that had particularly caught your attention, and went into one of the changing rooms, you tried on the outfit and examined how it looked on you, you liked this one, you liked it a lot ...You just needed to make sure it was within your price range before you actually bought it, you looked at the price and it was... Way too much for you to afford unfortunately, you sighed and took the outfit off and put your original clothing back on, you then put the outfit back on the rack and went on your way, you headed for one of the ice cream shops, some ice cream would cheer you up for sure! You were about to head inside before three kids rushed into the shop, practically pushing you aside, a very familiar voice called out to them in a scolding manner "Now kids! It's rude to push people like that! No ice cream until you apologize!" The man turned towards you and was about to apologize for his kids before... "No way... (Y/N)? Is that you?" 

You smiled and turned to face Chase "Hey Chase! Takin' the kids out for some ice cream?" The man grinned and nodded "Yepperino!" The kids came up to you "We're sorry for shoving you (Y/N)! Very sorry!"

You shook your head "It's alright, I imagine you were just excited for the ice cream, yeah?" The kids eagerly nodded and were about to run off again before their father stopped them "Now now, don't just go runnin' off! Ya need to meet daddy's friend!" The kids came over and Chase pointed at the eldest son "This is Trey" then to the second eldest, the daughter "This is Chelsea" and then finally to the youngest son "And this is Greyson...!" 

(looked on wiki for the potential boys, so two potential canon names and one I just bullshitted til I got a girl-esque name in my brain)

Greyson hid behind Chase, the boy seemed pretty shy... Meanwhile Trey and Chelsea greeted you instantly "It's nice to meet you (Y/N)!" You smiled "It's nice to meet you too kiddos!" Greyson grabbed Chase's shirt who knelt down instantly "What's up kiddo?" Greyson whispered into Chase's ear who smiled "Greyson says it's nice to meet you too..." Chase stood back up and whispered to you "He's a very shy kid around strangers, he'll get used to you eventually" You nodded and with introductions and such out of the way, you all proceeded to get some ice cream, Chase insisted on buying you some but you refused, you were not going to make him pay for you like that.

Eventually after defeating Chase and getting him to relent from his actions... All of you then sat down to enjoy your ice cream, Trey got some vanilla, Chelsea got some strawberry, Greyson got some chocolate, Chase had gotten some cookies and cream, and you had gotten your favorite as well 

(i'm not gonna specify that, i mean y'all know what ya like)

 As you were eating some of your ice cream, you sighed and set the cup down for a few moments, Chase noticed this and he looked concerned "Is somethin' wrong (Y/N)?" You looked up at Chase before leaning in to whisper, you didn't exactly want the kids hearing this "I dunno... It's just... I was browsing in the clothing shop near here and I just... I got the feeling someone might've been watching me..." Chase's concern grew at this as he whispered back "Oh? Did ya like, manage to see anybody...?" You shook your head "Not at all... I dunno, maybe it was just my imagination playing tricks on me or something..." Chase shrugged "I'd hope it's just your imagination... I'd be pretty spooked if someone was followin' me for sure..." Chase then paused to...

...No, no, he did not just do that... He did not do what you think he just did ...Oh my god he did, he did the absolute thing you thought he did, it's evident in the ice cream... ...Chase just bit. Into. His. Ice. C r e a m... You cringed at this "Chase, Imma be honest with you, if you do that again in front of me, I WILL get up and leave this table" The man grinned and let out a little laugh "Aww c'mon bro! Don't leave me!" ...His tone sounded off there, maybe his voice cracked, because it definitely sounded like a bit of one, either way you couldn't help but giggle "I'm kidding, but please, resist from biting your ice cream like that" Chase chuckled "Okay, okay, I won't bite my ice cream again ...Maybe..." You gave him a playful glare to which he just grinned and finger gunned at, the rest of the evening was spent cracking jokes back and forth, Chase threatening to bite into his ice cream again and then threatened to bite yours, to which you responded by holding the cup near you and muttering out a 'my precious...' in a low raspy voice.

The way you said that and the sheer silliness of the situation caused Chase to practically burst with laughter, you joined in as well, it did turn a few heads but the two of you didn't seem to care, his kids had finished their ice cream a good bit ago and were just sitting there, they seemed... Really happy at the scenario right now... Eventually you looked out the window and your eyes widened as you immediately stood up, this caused Chase to pause before tilting his head "What's up?" You sighed "As much as I've enjoyed our evening... I really need to get going... It's getting super late, and I just, I hate walking home late at night..." Chase nodded "Ah yeah... I should get the kids home too, if ya want, I can drive ya back to your place" You smiled "Oh no no, I don't wanna trouble you..." Chase reached out and gently grasped your hand "(Y/N), I promise, it isn't any trouble at all, you didn't let me buy ya any ice cream so at LEAST lemme do this for ya" You sighed, you couldn't argue with this one and you nodded "If you insist"

Chase smiled and nodded, standing up and getting out of the booth, motioning for his kids to come on which they did, you all headed out and hopped into Chase's car, he cranked it up and then off he drove, in the direction of your house, there wasn't much talking in the car, as both Chelsea and Trey had fallen asleep, Greyson was in the seat twiddling with his thumbs, eventually Chase did make it back to your house, he pulled into the driveway "Welp, here we are, home sweet home! Er, for you that is I guess" You smiled and turned toward Chase "...I just, thank you Chase... Really, you know... I had a lot of fun tonight, that's the most fun I've had in awhile..." The man smiled "Honestly? Me too... I uh, I'm glad you had fun..." You nodded "...If you wouldn't mind, I'd like to do it again actually..." Chase's face flushed immediately and his eyes were wide, he turned towards you in shock "R-Really? You... Want to... Meet up again?" You nodded "Yeah, I mean, er... If you want to do that!" Chase had the biggest and happiest smile on his face "YEAH!!" He shouted, startling his kids awake and then he cleared his throat and spoke much softer to his kids first "Sorry...!" And then he reiterated what he said before "Yeah, I'd love to meet up with ya again...!"

You smiled “Hmm… Ice Cream shop meet up again?” Chase chuckled and nodded “It’s a date! ...E-Er, wait no… I didn’t mean it like that, I-I meant…” He was getting nervous to which you responded by resting your hand upon his “...It’s a date, for sure, I’d like to get to know you better actually! So how about… Six PM?” Chase’s breath hitched, whether it be at your hand upon his or your words, but he had the biggest smile on his face “O-Oh… Ye-Yeah… Yeah, okay…!” You then hopped out of the car, thanking Chase for the ride home, he gave you a thumbs up and then you headed quickly inside your house, it took Chase a few moments before he pulled out of your driveway and headed off. You smiled to yourself, Chase was such a sweet man, sure, it hadn’t been too long ago since you had met him but you already wanted to hang out with him again, this time, you wanted to get to know him a little better… Calling it a date out of the blue like that was weird, but you… You were beginning to really like the guy! 

… You then paused your thoughts, that dude must’ve been a single father, you didn’t see a wife or partner of any kind around, maybe he has been divorced or he divorced someone, you don’t know how someone could divorce someone who seemed so sweet, so loving, so kind! Then again, you also didn’t know the full story... Divorces and stuff can be a tricky mystery, it’s not really any of your business anyways so either way, you headed off towards your bedroom and got changed and ready for bed, tomorrow was going to be an eventful day, you had to get some sleep for sure, you flopped down onto your bed and closed your eyes, slowly drifting off into dreamland…

And then it was morning, you slowly opened your eyes to the sun shining brightly on your face, you squinted and slowly rose up from bed, rubbing at your eyes and looking around at your room, you looked at the time… 10 AM… You slowly got up and opened your closet, for now you’d put something comfortable on… You were going to save your best outfit for tonight! You smiled at the thought of getting to see Chase again, for now you had to make yourself some breakfast and then clean up around the house, really just so you can get that out of the way but also to kill some time today, after putting on your outfit, you then went to the kitchen, fixed yourself some breakfast and then got to cleaning for the rest of the day, you had some extra time so you freshened up a good bit and then put on your favorite outfit.

And with that you headed out the door, rushing off to the ice cream place, you had to admit while there was a nervous feeling building in the pit of your stomach you were also very excited for this… In your excitement you had arrived at the shop a little earlier than you intended, but either way, you took a seat at one of the booths and waited for Chase… When the clock hit six, he had practically rushed through the doors, a smile on his face as well, he looked just as excited as you were, he scanned over the shop but he didn’t see you which worried him for a moment… You then waved him over and he strode over towards you immediately, he didn’t have the kids with him this time “Hey (Y/N)!” He greeted you and sat down, he then took a proper look at you and he looked surprised “Woah… You look… Awesome…!” You smiled and blushed at his comment “Thank you Chase… You look awesome as well…” You looked at his outfit, it uh, was the exact same one he usually wore but you liked his main outfit, it was cute and fitting for him.

Chase was blushing as he suddenly pulled a box out and slid it over to you, it was a fairly large box and it was wrapped so neatly, you looked up at Chase who was rubbing the back of his head awkwardly “I got this for you… I hope you like it…” You looked down at the gift and slowly began tearing into it, once you got the wrapping paper off you opened the box and gasped at what was inside… ...It was an outfit, but not just any outfit, this was the EXACT same one you had wanted at the clothing shop nearby! ...You looked up at Chase in shock, you then bit your lip “O-Oh jeez… This is the EXACT outfit I wanted... Chase… I… I didn’t even get you anything in return… And this was… So expensive… H-How?” Chase smiled and laughed “Don’t worry about gettin’ me anything! And besides, I thought it’d look good on you!” You reached over to hug him from across the table which surprised him, Chase’s hands twitched for a moment before he slowly reached up to hug you back… This felt… So good to him…

“So… Warm… And soft…” Chase muttered, you blinked and pulled back from him “What was that?” Chase’s eyes widened, he had a blush on his face,  before he shook his head and just smiled “Oh nothing… I just… Was saying thank you for the uh, hug…!” You smiled and nodded “No problem!” Chase nodded and then he realized “Oh uh, we should, probably like… Get some ice cream, if ya want of course” You grinned “I’m always up for some ice cream!” Chase and you had gotten up from your seats, getting in line to get some ice cream, when the two of you got to the counter, Chase was absolutely refusing to let you pay this time, you sighed in defeat after a moment of bickering but gave him a smile nonetheless, a stubborn man this one could be… Either way, he got a milkshake that the both of you could share and you headed back to your booth, sitting down and enjoying the milkshake together. You took a few sips before pausing and looking at Chase “Soo… Were you, uh, married at one point…?”

Chase frowned suddenly and sighed “...Yeah, I uh used to be… I’d… Rather not talk about what happened of course, I’m sure ya understand…” You gave him a sympathetic look and nodded “Of course, we uh, don’t have to talk about it… Sorry for bringing it up” Chase shook his head and gave the milkshake another sip before continuing “Nah, don’t worry about it…” You sipped on the milkshake as well, trying to think of another question to ask, something that… Wasn’t, a marriage themed question… “So, why did you move here exactly? Aside from the beautiful scenery…” Chase looked as if he were in thought for a moment “Eh, to be honest? I just needed to get away from it all… Where I lived before was alright but like, I needed something new, something fresh! I got so used to seeing the same ol’ same old… And the kids did too… They were getting bored of the old place… I do feel a little bad because they did have some friends back there but… They don’t seem to mind at all, in fact, they’ve made more friends here actually”

You smiled at this “Well… That’s good, at least they have made new friends here, the people of this town are… Pretty friendly, I’ve made a few friends here myself actually” Chase seemed to perk up at this “Really? I mean, like, I wouldn’t be surprised because you’re an awesome person!” Chase paused for a moment before getting embarrassed “I-I mean…” You shook your head, not giving him time to finish his sentence “Thank you… I’m glad you think so…” You then paused and sighed “...I am worried though… I haven’t heard from one of my friends in awhile… I hope they're doing alright…” Chase gave you a nod “I’m sure they’re just fine… Maybe busy with some stuff, I’m sure they’ll call ya soon enough” You looked at Chase, he was so sweet… “Yeah… I hope so” And then there was a pause, the two of you taking the time to enjoy the milkshake in silence before you looked at Chase “What do you do for a living exactly?” Chase shrugged “Meh, I’ll take what I can get really, gotta support the kids ya know… I mostly do youtube stuff of course but I gotta do a lotta other shit, I don’t want… I don’t wanna risk them going hungry or some shit” You gave him a sympathetic look “Sounds really rough… I’m sorry…” Chase shook his head “Don’t be, there’s not much you can do about it anyways, it’s not your fault”

You nodded and offered Chase the cherry after finishing the milkshake to which he shook his head “Nah, you have it, I insist” You shook your head and used one of the knives at the table to cut it in half and you offered one half to Chase “We’ll just share it then, how about that?” Chase gave you a smile and took the half of the cherry, the two of you clinked your halves together

(listen, i know i said its an ice cream shop but they have knives there for some of the other desserts, its not just specifically ice cream, just- sh- sh, let the plot advance okay?)

“Cheers” and then popped it in your mouths, giggling slightly at the silliness of that situation before you stood up and stretched out and looked out the window “Hm… We still have some time left, is there anything else you had in mind for the night?” Chase shrugged “I mean, if ya want, you can come back to my place and we could hang out, I got some video games we could play together!” You grinned and nodded “Sounds like fun!” Chase smirked at you and stood up “Just be warned though… I’m one of the best gamers around! Although, I could let’cha win at the very least” You chuckled “That’s very bold of you… And very naive to think I need or want you to let me win, do NOT underestimate me, Chase~” The two of you exchanged a playful glare as you headed out of the ice cream shop, hopping into his vehicle and heading back to his place.

Once Chase pulled into the driveway, you looked at his home, it wasn’t.... Too terribly big, in fact rather small to have three kids in but you wouldn’t say that, it wasn’t really any of your business anyways, and besides maybe it was bigger on the inside than you thought, looks can always be deceiving you know… Chase hopped out and you soon followed, he gently opened the door after unlocking it and it wasn’t as small as you thought it’d be inside but it’s definitely not large either “I uh, it isn’t… Much, but at least it’s a roof over our heads, ya know?” You nodded at the man’s words, you then both turned around upon hearing the kids voices call out, they immediately ran up and hugged their father and gave you a smile and a wave, then another voice called out “Oh! I didn’t expect you to be back so soon, Mr. Brody!” Chase nodded “Well we didn’t have much else to do in town really, so, (Y/N) and I decided to come back here and play some video games” You assumed this was the babysitter, they approached and smiled “Ah, so you must be (Y/N) then, actually… The kids have been talking about you nonstop tonight…” They extended their hand for a handshake, you smiled and exchanged a handshake with the other, meanwhile Chase had bit his lip and looked away and toward his kids, who seemed preoccupied and happy they’re father was home.

Chase then grabbed his wallet from his pocket and paid the babysitter who then waved goodbye to the kids, Chase, and you as well and headed out, you noticed Chase staring them down as they went out which made you raise a brow, you gave him a nudge “You okay?” Chase looked back at you and smiled “Oh uh yeah, just… Thought I saw something out there?” Oh, maybe you were quick to assume he was staring at them then… Either way, you were excited to play some games with him! You quickly grabbed his arm which he gasped at, he barely had time to react as you dragged him off to the couch, the kids giggling while following the two of you. He had quickly gotten the game set up and tossed a controller your way, Chelsea had a grin on her face as she read the title of the game once it popped up “Oooh daddy’s really good at the super smash bros games! He’s gonna kick your butt (Y/N)!” Trey then interrupted “Yeah he’s the king of these games!” 

You chuckled “I hate to be the bearer of bad news kiddo but… Your daddy’s about to lose that crown of his~!” Chase raised a brow “A very bold claim your makin’ there, eh (Y/N)?” He had a cheeky grin on his face, you challenged his grin with a playful glare “I don’t plan on losing tonight Chase, you might as well kiss that crown goodbye” He chuckled at that “Alright then, whatever ya say… We’ll see what happens” And then the game booted up, Chase chose a character called Ridley (I like to imagine he has a few mains but you know he be choosin that one especially) and then you chose Isabelle (listen I’m sorry if this ain’t y’alls main but just trust me on this one okay? It’ll be worth it in the long run and I know the match up itself is… a lil silly but just shh) Chase couldn’t help but snort at the selection you made, although Chelsea seemed happy enough, she must’ve liked Isabelle a lot! And then the game began, before Chase did anything he paused it and looked at you “Ya need any tips or you good for this one?” You shook your head “Nah man, I’m good, I’ve got this… What, you scared to lose your crown?” Chase snorted “Not a chance, ya really are full of yourself sometimes (Y/N)” He unpaused it and then the fight began.

The fight… T’was an epic battle of skill and wit… This battle was like no other, the children cheered with each punch thrown, each move made, and to Chase’s surprise, you were REALLY good at this game, you were almost giving him a run for his money! BUT the fight wasn’t over yet, he was still on the stage and kicking, at first there was some banter, some swearing under your breath so the children wouldn’t hear, but now? There was nothing but pure silence and concentration, complete focus and even the kids had fallen silent now, watching in sheer awe at how good you were, and now… It was time for the ultimate end game, as you hit the buttons and watched Isabelle unleash her Final Smash and this caused Chase and the kids jaws to drop to the floor, you all watched as Isabelle delivered her move and then it was endgame… You sat the controller down, crossed your arms and had a wide smirk on your face as you looked over to Chase who wasn’t even mad, he merely looked over at you and solemnly tipped his hat to you

“Damn (Y/N)... That was e p i c… You’re really good at this!” He grinned and he seemed happy enough, which you were glad of, you nodded “I told ya, not to underestimate me, that’s what’cha get!” Chase nodded “Yeah, I did kinda do that, didn’t I?” he chuckled nervously, to which you only gently punched at his shoulder “No hard feelings of course!” The kids were clapping, Chelsea was practically beaming “Wow!! (Y/N) that was so amazing!! I’ve never seen anybody as good as dad!”

Trey nodded “Yeah, that was awesome!” You smiled at this, and then Chase was looking up at the time and then he stood up “Alright, it’s time for bed kiddos” And at this the kids pouted “Aww dad, do we have to?” Chase nodded “It’s a school night, gotta get a lotta rest so you can be ready for tomorrow” And despite the kids not really liking this reasoning, they agreed and headed off to go get ready for bed, you looked at Chase “Hey, uhh, where’s your bathroom?” Chase pointed down the hall “At the very end of the hall and to the right” You nodded and headed down that way, upon getting halfway down the hall you felt a tug at your shirt and looked down to see Greyson, you knelt down and looked at him “What’s up buddy, need somethin’?”

Greyson twiddled with his fingers and looked down, keeping eye contact with the ground before suddenly reaching out and hugging you “...T-Thank you…” He stuttered, you raised a brow at this “Uh…” You paused before carefully hugging him back “Why are you thanking me exactly buddy?” There was a pause before Greyson pulled back “D-Dad… He… He um… He seems m-much more… ha… uh… He seems to be m-much happier… Ever since… h-he fir-first… me… first met you…” You were… Shocked by this…  “Greyson’s right you know” Chelsea called out, a smile on her face, Trey was also smiling as he began “Yeah! Please… Don’t tell dad we told you this… But, we’ve noticed he didn’t seem as happy as he used to be… The last time he was happy was before… Before…” Chelsea interrupted, a hint of sadness in her voice “...Since mommy left…” You felt sorry for the kids and for Chase but even then you didn’t know the full story, and you sure as hell weren’t going to ask why, it wasn’t in your place to just ask about personal things like that… You only smiled “Well… Hey, kiddos… I… I’m glad I’ve made your dad happy at least, I’ve had a great time with him, really, he’s a sweet man and he seems to care a great deal for all of you… I’m sure things’ll be just fine, yeah?” Chelsea nodded “I hope so, just um… Please don’t tell daddy about this, he doesn’t like talking about mommy or the past really… Don’t tell him we told you” You nodded “Don’t worry, I won’t” The three kids hugged you tightly and then ran off to go to bed.

You smiled at this, they really did seem like such nice kids…  They just wanted their father to be happy again, you would try your best to help them out with their little wish, you headed to the bathroom finally to do your business and then finally back to the living room, you saw Chase laying there on the couch scrolling mindlessly through his phone, upon noticing you he gave a friendly smile and a peace sign “What took ya so long dude? Get lost down there?” You glanced back to the hallway before laughing “Nah, nothing like that… It was just that… The kids were still amazed at how I beat you at the game like I did~” You grinned to which Chase scoffed at “I let you win just so you know, just to be nice…” You laughed at this and walked over, moving his legs out of the way so you could sit down “Mmmhhmmmm suurrree you did, you just can’t admit or accept defeat can you?” Chase cheekily grinned as he rested his legs over your lap now “Nope, I can’t and won’t admit defeat, not ever, you might have won the battle but you won’t win the war! You’re going d o w n next time” You rolled your eyes at this “Yeah right” you tried to push his legs away and off of you but he seemed content just leaving them in place “C’mon Chase, get your legs off me, don’t be salty just because you lost” This made the man playfully glare at you and then he went back to looking at his phone, ignoring you for the time being as you tried to push his legs off, he was a stubborn one for sure.

Although you knew he was just messing with you, it was nothing serious, nothing serious from you either, honestly… You were having a lot of fun tonight with Chase… You sighed, you felt content “You know, Chase… I’ll be honest, I’ve been having a lotta fun with you tonight, it’s the most fun I’ve had in awhile actually” And that made Chase smile, a genuine smile… “I’m glad, I was worried I’d bore you or some shit ya know? I uh, don’t consider myself to really be any fun to hang around with” You looked at Chase and shook your head, placing a hand in his which made his breath hitch in his throat “That couldn’t be farther from the truth! Ya don’t need to be so hard on yourself Chase, you are a really sweet man, you are kind, caring, and-” And then you were trailing off, your face turning bright red as you realized what you were saying to him… 

“I uh, I mean…” Chase only smiled at this, his face also a bright red “Hey… Uh, (Y/N)...? I actually have something I’ve been wanting to ask you…” He began rather nervously, and you were curious as to what he was going to say before your phone buzzed in your pocket “Oh uh, hold on a second, then you can tell me” Chase nodded at this and watched as you pulled out your phone, he watched your eyes scanned through whatever it was and he could see the look of shock and worry on your face “...(Y/N)...? I-Is everything alright?” You immediately got up from the couch and looked at Chase in a panic “O-One of my friends is in the hospital… I...I fuck… It sounds serious too, they were in a bad car crash!” Chase’s eyes widened at this statement, while he didn’t like to see you so stressed, he didn’t like the fact this little nuisance had interrupted his confession “I mean, maybe they’ll be fine? I… I mean like, I’d hope so anyway is what I’m trying to say!” You barely registered his words and quickly shoved your phone back into your pocket “I’m sorry Chase but, I gotta go! I promise you can tell me what you wanted later, but right now, I need to go be with them, I just… oh god, fuck... ” There was a pause before Chase nodded, he wanted to clench his fist but to avoid suspicion he stood from his spot “I’ll drive you over there, you’re panicking too much to drive by yourself right now, what I want you to do is take some deep breaths while I get stuff ready” He gently placed his arms on your shoulders for a moment.

“Can you do that for me, babe?” You slowly nodded “I-I’ll try…” Chase smiled “Good, just, stand here and take some deep breaths for me, I’ll be right back” And with that he was off, he had to go get a pencil and a piece of paper JUST in case the kids woke up, he didn’t want to worry them if he wasn’t back in time… He quickly wrote a note, putting his eldest in charge until he got back, mentioning if they needed anything, they had the babysitter’s phone number and his as well, it was extra precaution, and then he grabbed his keys, looking back over at you “C’mon (Y/N), let’s go” you immediately came running over and the two of you headed out the door, quickly hopping into his car and then speeding away, he knew how to get to this particular Hospital, after all, you can never be too careful when you have children, and knowing how to get to things like that is very important, the drive was mostly in silence, until you looked over to Chase and you wouldn’t deny, something about him seemed… Off…. He had a darker look in his eyes “...You, uh… Okay…?” Chase looked over to you, that darkness quickly fading “Oh uh, yeah, even though I don’t know ‘em personally, I’m still worried about your friend and I know your worried sick too” Ah, so that was what the weird look in his eyes was for, Chase was so nice…

He cared about his family, friends, and you as well it seemed, hell, even people he didn’t know, complete strangers he had a great deal of care for, he was such a sweet man, and it felt like no time at all had passed and then you were both at the Hospital, Chase got out quickly as did you and he let you lead the way, you knew what room they were in so it’d probably be for the best if you led him there, one of the nurses had came over and stopped you both “Excuse me, are you (Y/N) by any chance?” You nodded quickly and pointed toward Chase “He’s with me as well” The nurse nodded and began to escort you both to the room “Your friend really desperately wanted you here with them, you two must be very close”

(i know thats probs not how it works in hospitals, they probs dont let’cha visit like that but listen, its just for plot- just s h h-)

You nodded at this “Yeah, we’ve uh, always been pretty close” Meanwhile Chase’s eyes darkened momentarily, he didn’t like the sound of that but, nonetheless, he just needed to calm down, before something v e r y bad happened… Eventually you both reached the room and immediately you ran over to your friend’s side “I’m here (F/N)! I’m here” (just give them whatever name ya want) Your friend looked at you and shakily reached out a hand to grasp at yours “(Y/N)... F-Fuck… Everything hurts like hell, th-that accident really did a number on me, one of the nurses just gave me s-some pain meds though” They laughed a little dryly, they looked to be in pretty bad shape “I just, I’m glad you’re alright, er, well, I mean not dead or anything… Jeez, what the hell even happened to you?” Your friend sighed “Some shithead wasn’t p-paying attention to… To where they were… Were going… I don’t even… I don’t even fucking know wh-what happened to them…” Your friend then turned over toward Chase “Oh? Who’s this guy?” You looked over and then back to your friend “Oh uh, this is Chase, we’ve uh, just been hanging out today ya know, had some ice cream and then went to go play some video games” Your friend then gave you a look and a weak smirk “Oooh~ So (Y/N)’s got themselves a lil date, yeah?~” Your eyes widened and you blushed a little “W-Well uh, I dunno if I’d call it that…”

Your friend then grinned “C’mon, (Y/N), really, your literally blushing…! It’s gotta be a date if your going that red faced over my simple question…!” And then a pause before a genuine smile crossed their lips, or well so you thought anyway “I uh… I’m… Really glad for you… Glad you found someone you like to spend time with…” Even though you couldn’t really see it, Chase could, that was no genuine smile… They were hurt… And for what? It’s not like you would have ever fallen for them, you two were just friends! ...And yet, the thought of them taking you away made Chase clench his fist and his breath hitch, he jumped however as you called out to him “You okay over there?” Even the nurse had looked concerned who was in the room, mostly checking to see if everything was still okay with your friend, Chase stood up and awkwardly chuckled “Oh uh, yeah I’m fine… I uh, I feel a bit awkward just idling here so Imma step outside, give ya some alone time with your friend…” And with that he stepped out of the room, pulling out his phones and earbuds, he leaned up against the wall and placed the earbuds in, although he definitely wasn’t planning on listening to music, he was just going to pretend he was so he could listen in on your conversations with t h e m…

Once the nurse had deemed everything was in order, she had left the room, on the way out she gave Chase a look who only flashed her a peace sign, and with that she walked away, you looked at your friend who was staring out of the room and you looked at them confused “...Uh, why are you just… Staring…?” Your friend looked back to you with a concerned expression on their face “Just, just be quiet for a few seconds…” You were confused but you did as told, staying quiet and for a few moments that’s all it was, except for the, well, the sounds of the Hospital, and then your friend turned to you “Just… Thought I heard something… That’s all…” There was a pause before you spoke “Are you like, okay…? You’re acting a bit weird…?” 

Your friend only smiled “I’m fine, I swear, don’t worry so much (Y/N), I just genuinely thought I heard something, that’s all but I guess it was nothing, aside from that, I do gotta ask… Are you REALLY on a date with this uh, Chase guy…?” You shrugged “I mean… I dunno if I’d call it that…? I uh, I mean, I do like him honestly, he’s very sweet and kind…”

Your friend looked down at this “...I just, listen, I know this might sound outta place, and hell, it’s probably not even my business… But, I dunno about the guy… He gave me some, strange vibes… How did you two even meet?” You looked at your friend, a little offended at that statement but you’d carry on for now “Well, he bumped into me while I was out for my usual walk on the trail” Your friend looked over at you “...On the trail… That nobody but YOU usually goes on, yeah?” You didn’t like what they were trying to imply but you needed to keep your cool “(F/N), I mean, come on, there’s other people out there that walk the trail I’m sure of it” They only looked at you quizzically “...Have you ever seen these people…?” You were about to argue with that but then you thought about it and your friend did have a point at that, you really never saw anyone out there… However before you could speak out against them, they continued on “Like, what if he was stalking you or some shit?” And that’s when you narrowed your eyes “...(F/N), I really don’t like what you're implying here… I’m sure there are other people who walk the trail aside from me, I just so happened to run into one of them and that was Chase that day”

Your friend looked at you, almost glaring “I just, I dunno I don’t trust this dude… There’s something off about him” You looked offended at that “(F/N)...! I don’t exactly appreciate you saying that, Chase is a lovely man, he’s so sweet, kind, and honestly very caring” Your friend rolled their eyes “I dunno I just, I just don’t think he’s good for you…!” You glared at them and crossed your arms “I don’t think this is really any of your business, he’s treated me so nicely so far, and I think if there was something off about him I woulda noticed…” Your friend shook their head “I just, like, dunno about him! ...During your date or even before, did anything strange happen?” You were surprised by your friend’s sudden change in behavior, you didn’t understand this at all and honestly, you were beginning to feel a little hurt by it before you began remembering something… “...Well, before the date, I was just browsing through the shops, and I…” You paused, pondering for a moment before you frowned “...I… I DO remember getting a sensation of being watched while going into the clothing shop though now that I think about it…” And then the more you thought about it… Your eyes widened as you realized something “...And… And I was looking at one thing in particular… And, then I left because I couldn’t… I couldn’t afford it…” Your friend was looking more and more intrigued and concerned “And then what happened…?”

You looked up at them “...I remember Chase giving me… The… The EXACT same outfit…” You then shook your head “But there’s no way, he would NEVER do that” Your friend only sighed “How do you know that though?! You don’t KNOW him as well as you think you do, I guarantee he’s got some dark weird shit to hide…” Meanwhile outside, Chase was clenching his fists and gritting his teeth, he immediately stepped away and headed off to the bathroom, he had to… He couldn’t explode right there because then he’d scare you off… Eventually he found his way and slipped into the bathroom and he snarled, looking at himself in the mirror “...They're trying to take them away from me…” He muttered to himself.

He took his cap off and ran a hand through his hair, gripping it tight and tugging at it, he was s o fucking angry… How DARE they… First they interrupt him from telling you that he loved you, he was SO fucking close to FINALLY making a proper move… But nooo, that dumb b i t c h just HAD to get in his way… … He stared into the mirror for a few moments before glaring and punching it, he didn’t put enough force to break it but it definitely made a noticeable crack “...I need to take care of them… Before they take (Y/N) away from me,  before they convince them with their shitty little ‘assumptions’... I… I just…” And then his eyes went wide a bit, he began shaking not only out of anger but also, there was fear, fear of losing you… Fear that you’d believe them, fear that you’d… You’d fucking h a t e him “God, oh god… Fuck, I can’t… I can’t lose them… I can’t lose them like I lost h e r…” 

He tugged at his hair again, heavily breathing, he slumped to the floor, dropping his hat and mumbling over and over the words of ‘I can’t lose them’ mumbling all kinds of things, all the things he would do to your friend… But you’d never know about it, oh no, god no… Chase would never want that, he’d never want you to be scared of him, he loves you so much and he just… Needs to show you his love, that’s all… Needs to prove your friend wrong with the assumptions about him... After a few moments of panicking, he took some deep breaths, trying to calm himself down and focus, he knew what he had to do... He then picked his hat back up and stood up, placing it back on his head and storming out of the bathroom, he knew his plan, he’d come back when you weren’t here, that’s when he needed to strike… Meanwhile, back inside the hospital room, you and your friend had gotten into a heated argument, you not being able to believe that Chase would stalk you or be weird like that.

“Fucking hell (Y/N)! Are you that fucking dense?! There’s NO fucking way he got you the EXACT same outfit you were JUST looking at just, fucking randomly like that! He’s a fucking stalker! He was stalking you on that trail too I GUARANTEE it!” You shook your head “You don’t know that!! I… I just…” And that’s when you broke down… You were crying now, falling by their side and just sobbing, you just… Couldn’t believe this, you didn’t know if you should… They WERE your best friend, they always looked out for you, but… You really liked Chase so far, he seemed so genuine, so sweet and caring and just… Your friend’s gaze softened and they put a hand on your shoulder, maybe, maybe they took it a bit too far this time…  “I… I… …(Y/N)... I’m sorry… I just, I’m scared for you… I don’t want you to get hurt, especially not when I can’t fucking be there to protect you… I… I’m sorry for calling you dense, and being so hostile… Please, just, be careful around him okay? Stuff just… Doesn’t add up with him…” You nodded, still face down by their side, all this had made you feel sick… Your friend patted your shoulder a bit “I mean, I’ve always looked out for you, usually I know what’s best and I just… I dunno, he gives me bad vibes… ...I-I’m not, just, look I’ll be honest… I was a bit jealous of him at first but-” Before your friend could finish you roughly pulled away from them and stared at them in disbelief.

“...You…. Your jealous of him…?” Your friend had realized perhaps that was a bad time to say that but before they could speak again and clarify, you glared “No, just fucking s t o p… I’ve heard enough from you, I don’t NEED your fucking ‘protection’ I see exactly how it is… THAT’S why you’ve been acting so weird since you saw him! You’re only protecting me because of jealousy” You paused before shaking your head “Listen to me, we’re JUST friends, I’m sorry… I just, I’ve never felt THAT way about you… And I NEVER will… I can’t fucking believe you tried to fool me into thinking Chase was a bad guy! When really YOUR the bad one here!” You yelled, standing up and then storming out, ignoring your friend calling out to you, you bumped into Chase who looked confused now “(Y/N)...? What… What’s wrong? You look angry…” You only looked at him then back at the room “Go ask them, I’m going back to the car okay? Just… Whenever you get ready you can come on…” 

And then you left without another word, before Chase could even say anything, the man bit his lip and then wandered into the room, looking at your friend who laid there, sniffling just a little bit “I...I’m sorry…” They mumbled, and now, if you had been calm they might would have gotten sympathy from you, but from Chase, there was never going to be any fucking sympathy from him, he casually sauntered over to where your friend lay and startled them once he sat down in the chair “Care to explain to me why (Y/N) was so pissed? Like, damn, I’ve only known ‘em for awhile but still, ain’t seen ‘em that angry even yet”

Your friend only glared at Chase “Shut the fuck up… This… This is all y o u r fault… You sick fuck, you were following them, weren’t you? You were fucking stalking them! Nobody else but me and (Y/N) has ever walked that trail, and the EXACT same outfit they just so happened to want?! That’s not a coincidence, listen to me you shithead… I might not be able to get up and go with them right now or anything like that, but when I get out of here, I swear… I’ll p r o v e to (Y/N) that you’re a sick bastard, I’ll fucking p r o v e it to them” Chase’s eyes darkened, however there was a sly smirk playing on his lips “...Aren’t you the jealous type? Fuckin’ hell dude… And I thought I could be jealous sometimes… But you? You are really ridiculous…!” Chase leaned closer, causing them to try and lean away in case the man tried something “...What makes you think even for a second (Y/N) would even believe you…? You really shouldn’t have admitted your jealousy to them, that’s such a rookie mistake…!” Your friend’s eyes widened “You...You fucker! You were listening in on our conversation! I… I…” They immediately tried to sit up and Chase grasped at them, not too roughly of course, he didn’t want to hurt them ...Yet… However at that, they immediately smacked him in the face “GET THE FUCK AWAY FROM ME!” And that made Chase yell for one of the nurses who quickly came running in “What’s going on here?!” Chase feigned innocence at this “I… I don’t know…! Something’s wrong with them…! They were trying to get up and walk outta here and then when I tried to stop them, they hit me…!”

(I thought for a moment that i fucked up but Chase, had probs come back from the bathroom and was right there as they admitted jealousy maybe? Idk, just- gonna cheese this part n say that- also I really dont like how the friend fight went, if I had time or patience, I’d genuinely probs try to re-write it but you gotta understand, this is already a LONG ass story so thats a big oof, and a big goof on my part so yeye)

The nurse was shocked by this, and even your friend was shocked by this, damn… He was good… Real good… They tried to explain as the nurse got the doctor and then they came over with a needle, they struggled, trying to kick at the doctor’s and nurses, trying desperately to explain that Chase was lying… But they didn’t believe it for one second, just thinking they were in pure hysterics, they gasped as Chase took a hold of them and smiled so sweetly

“Don’t worry (F/N)... I promise you, I’ll take EXTRA good care of (Y/N) while you’re here...” And with that, the doctor managed to FINALLY sedate them, the last image running through their mind before passing out was of you, of Chase doing so many horrible things to you… Chase then sighed deeply “Phew… I don’t know what happened… I just didn’t want ‘em tryna get outta here, I uh, know a thing or two when it comes to bein’ in hospitals, and in their case, I guess it’s like, really important to get rest n stuff like that” The doctor nodded “We do appreciate your help and for you notifying us Mister…?” Chase smiled and extended a hand “Just call me Chase, dude…” The doctor nodded, returning the handshake “Of course, thank you very much Chase” And with that the doctor began looking over the other’s vitals, and honestly, he seemed to be pondering what on EARTH could have caused a reaction like that…? The nurse came over to Chase and looked at the bruise forming on his cheek “Sir, would you like me to help you with that…? They must’ve slapped you pretty hard…” Chase shook his head “Nah, trust me, I uh, I’ve been through worse… Imma go, (Y/N)’s waitin’ for me in the car… I should… Definitely get them back home” The nurse nodded, waving as Chase left the room, he was turned to where they couldn’t see but he had a pleased smirk on his face, he’d be back for them tonight…

There’s no way he could just let them live now, they knew too much, they’d get in his way… He had to eliminate them but first things first, getting back to you so he could comfort you, after all, the fight you two had must’ve been pretty severe… The thoughts of your friend upsetting you in such a way only fueled his anger and hatred toward them even more as he made his way into the parking lot and to his car, he saw you through the window, he could tell you were crying and his gaze softened, a frown on his face, that fucker… They made you c r y… Oh the t h i n g s  he wanted to do to your ‘friend’ more than likely former friend after all that’s happened… He wanted to just strangle them, beat them to death with his bare hands even, he wanted to feel their blood on himself but given they were in the hospital, he needed a quicker method, luckily… He had something but, not now… He took a deep breath and hopped into his car, noticing how he startled you “Sorry! Sorry…! I just, uh, had to use the bathroom…” You looked at him, not caring if he saw your red and puffy eyes really, because you had noticed on his cheek, a large bruise forming “What happened to you…? Did you get into a fight in the bathroom?” Chase looked down “Not… Exactly… U-Uh… I just…” He took his cap off and ran a hand through his hair before putting it back on “...Your friend, was like, trying to escape the hospital and shit like that… And I just, didn’t want ‘em hurting themselves more than they already were and then they hit me… They called me a sick fuck, a stalker, all kinds of things… I just… I don’t, understand… Did I do something wrong...? Why do they hate me already?”

You gently placed a hand on his cheek, making sure not to apply any pressure to the bruise “...No Chase, no you haven’t… They were just fucking jealous, and I don’t even know w h y… I don’t like them, not like that, but… Now, I’m not sure I like them at ALL… Not even as a friend anymore, they literally just fucking HIT you…! And for what?! Because they were jealous?! That’s NO excuse to hit anyone!” You sniffled, and at that Chase pulled you into a hug “(Y/N) just, sh… I… I… I’m sorry… I didn’t… I didn’t mean to come between you and your friend… I… I never wanted to do that…” ...Well, part of that was technically a lie, Chase couldn’t care less about coming in between you and t h a t friend in particular, they are too much of a hazard…

He knew, if they had continued to live, the moment they got out of the hospital, they’d try taking you away from him ...N o t. This. Time… He might have slipped up and let h e r escape but not you… No n o… You are so much more special to him than she was anyways at this point… You wrapped your arms around him “C-Chase, please… It’s not YOUR fault… I just… I dunno about them, g-god if they hit you… Oh jeez, what if they hit me…? What if they tried to hurt me…?” Chase gripped you tighter, that thought not sitting well with him at all “...I wouldn’t let them, not ever” You couldn’t help but smile at those words, your friend was wrong, so wrong about Chase, he wasn’t a creepy stalker, he was a nice caring man, it was THEM who was bad, hell, for all you knew excluding the outfit THEY could have been the one stalking you earlier… You just didn't know… This was all too much for one night “Can we, uh, go back home…? I… I don’t wanna be here anymore…” Chase nodded “Uh yeah, I do have something to tell you though… I’ll make it quick I promise” You looked at Chase, a bit confused by this but then you remembered earlier “Oh yeah, go ahead and tell me, what’s up?” Chase bit his lip and he was shaking suddenly, it was now or never… He took your hand gently in his “(Y/N)... I genuinely care so much about you, I’ve needed to get this off my chest for a while now… I love you, with all my heart, you mean the world to me… And I… I just, uh, do you… Feel the same way…?” He looked so nervous and scared, you had honestly felt bad for him but you simply smiled and placed a quick peck on his cheek “...Despite what my ahem, ex-friend had to say… I don’t think you're a bad guy, you’ve been nothing but kind and sweet to me… And, if I’m being honest, I’ve had a wonderful time with you so far, so what I’m trying to say is, yes, yes I do feel the same…”

And that’s when Chase could swear, had it not been something cartoon-y or in drawings, his eyes would have formed into hearts right there (cursed thought: Chase doing the very stereotypical yandere pose and you know he’d have them heart eyes motherfucker) he had so much adoration and love for you, he really did… He then pulled you into almost a too tight hug and began sobbing into your chest “I… I was so…. I was so scared… Scared yo-you’d say no, scared… You wouldn’t… Love me back…” You were a bit shocked by that but you only held him back “Chase…” You spoke, your voice soft “I promise, to love you, forever… You’re the sweetest, kindest man… It’s okay hun, I promise, I’ll always love you no matter what” (-eyes reader nervously-) That made Chase smile “...Thank… Thank you… I’ll love you too… Forever and always… I promise, I’ll take good care of you…” And with that Chase let go, wiped some tears away and cranked up his vehicle “C’mon, I’ll get you back to your place, it’s uh, been a l o n g ass night…” You nodded and the ride was mostly in silence, apart from you leaning over onto Chase’s shoulder, the man smiled at that, he seemed so happy… So much more happier now that you had both confessed your love for each other “Go ahead and sleep a little babe, it’s gonna be a pretty long ride back to your place from here…” You nodded and yawned, nuzzling into his shoulder which he blushed at, that happy smile never leaving his face.

You then slowly fell asleep, comfortably nuzzled into Chase’s shoulder, now… Chase hadn’t forgotten what he had to do, but first thing was first, getting you home safe and sound… Blissfully unaware of the man’s intentions and he’d try his damnedest to keep it that way… Eventually he pulled into your driveway and looked over at you, he nudged you a little and you stirred slightly, rubbing your eyes and looking around a bit disoriented “Mm…?”

Chase then carefully hopped out of his car and made his way over to your side, opening the door and scooping you into his arms bridal style, he was careful to not jostle you too much “Don’t worry (Y/N) my darling… I’ll take ya inside... I put my kids to bed all the time, so this is a piece of cake” He grinned, and you only grumbled at that “I’m not… nng, a kid… I’m a gro...grooowwwnnnn asssss…. Adult…” You slurred, making him chuckle a little bit “I know babe, I know…” He made his way inside, furrowing his brows a bit “...Honey, you need to remember to lock your doors next time… No tellin’ what kinda freaks and sickos could get in here…” You only nodded, half-understanding what he said, he made it to your bedroom finally and laid you down carefully into your bed, letting you get into your most comfortable position and then proceeding to tuck you in, you mumbled a soft goodnight before passing out once more and Chase only softly chuckled, leaning forward to brush his fingers against your cheek before giving it a quick kiss “Goodnight babe… Seeya tomorrow…” He whispered, and with that, quietly made his way out of your room and out of your house, he crept back into his car and pulled out of your driveway carefully, his car… Wasn’t the MOST silent on the planet but he was sure it wasn’t enough sound to wake you up.

Now, before he headed home… He had one more thing to take care of, the night was going to be over soon so he had to act fast… He drove back toward the hospital, he kept thinking about your little friend or as you said earlier, former friend… But even then, that wasn’t enough because he knew, deep down, that if your friend had made it out of that hospital then they would definitely take you away from him, the thought of them trying to take you away made him grip the steering wheel tightly in anger, no… There was no fucking way he was going to let that happen, no one would take you away from him, not EVER! And with the last thought going through his head, he sped up, luckily he had the perfect weapon in the back of his trunk, perfect for this particular occasion… Eventually… He reached the hospital, slowly getting out of his car and retrieving said weapon, he looked toward the building in question, a sick grin spreading across his face “...Let’s take care of ‘em before they become a b i g g e r problem…” He muttered to himself, heading toward the building in question, he knew his way around this hospital so far, it wasn’t too terribly hard to navigate the place, and of course likewise he knew exactly where their room was now…

He headed toward the back of the building, it’d be easier to enter from there and he also wouldn’t be spotted too easily, however upon getting back there he saw your friend limping away, looking back at the door and around to make sure nobody was around to see them, however when they locked eyes with Chase their eyes widened, they immediately limped over “What the fuck are YOU doing here…?!” They half-whispered, not wanting to draw any attention to themselves, Chase only raised a brow at this, a small smirk on his face “I could ask you the same question bro, what’cha doin’ sneakin’ outta here?” They shook their head “None of your business, now get the fuck out of my way, I’ve got things to do…!” They tried to move past but Chase only shoved them back, they glared at him but he only chuckled “Now see… I can’t let’cha do that dude… I KNOW exactly what you’re gonna go and do… I can’t let you take (Y/N) away from me, I love them t o o much for that…” He paused before grinning “And besides… They k n o w what you did, they saw the bruise on my cheek, and now…”

He paused for a few moments, the weapon in question he had pulled from his car earlier was a baseball bat, he revealed it to the other and their eyes widened, suddenly their confident demeanor had changed and Chase seemed to get a chuckle out of that “They’re afraid of you… Afraid you’ll hit ‘em or do some other awful shit, I promised (Y/N)... I’d never let you hurt or take them away from me… ...And I came here to make g o o d on that promise…” They backed up as Chase came closer “...You… You are fucking insane… No w a y (Y/N)’s afraid of me…! I… I would… And I’d NEVER fucking hit them…! They don’t know what you said to me, if they did, they’d understand WHY I hit you then…! You manipulative piece of shit…!” Still had so much spite, despite their confidence going down the drain “...They even said you were their former friend now, it sounds to me like (Y/N) doesn’t wanna associate with you or be around you anymore…” Chase spoke and that made them pause, their eyes wide “...They… You… No, NO! You’re fucking lying!” They paused for a moment, even though Chase had a bat and the crazy bastard probably wanted to kill them, they still had one trick up their sleeve “I’m not going to let you manipulate and hurt my friend like this…!” Chase only smirked and tilted his head “I would n e v e r wanna hurt (Y/N), you ain’t gettin’ it through your thick skull are you? I l o v e them with all my heart, I just want to make them happy… I just want (Y/N) to be happy, with me… And besides, just how exactly are ya gonna prove to ‘em what I said? They’ll NEVER believe you now…”

A pause before he continued “They’ll never believe ya if you told ‘em I was listening in to your conversations, they’ll never believe you if you tell ‘em I stalked them on the trail and of course at some of the shops, but ya know… I’ll go ahead and admit to ya right now, seein’ as they’ll never believe shit you say… Oh and of course, the fact that I’m gonna kill you... I w a s stalking them… They were just so beautiful… I needed to know what (Y/N) liked, what they wanted, and from the very first moment I laid eyes on them I knew… They were the one for me… They were m i n e… And I just had to have ‘em” They only glared at Chase as he spoke, wrinkling their nose in pure disgust, before they suddenly grinned, this caused Chase to raise a brow “...I’ve got proof… At least now I do… See, I figured you would come back… I KNEW you’d want me outta the picture so you could be with (Y/N)...” They pulled out their phone and showed him it had been recording all this time and now it was Chase’s turn to lose his confidence, his eyes widened as he watched them put it back in their pocket “...And once I get out of here, I’m going to let them hear e v e r y t h i n g you said… The part about you stalking them, you listening into our conversations, even you threatening to kill me! I’ve got it all recorded, your ass is as good as gone when they find out, they’ll leave you, they’ll never want to be around you EVER again!”

((BTW: Here’s the fight/beating/death part, just as a reminder to you all okay?))

Chase hadn’t accounted for this… For them to plan this far ahead, if he didn’t get rid of them right now… If he didn’t finish them off right now, they really WOULD be able to take you away from him… Slowly, he began to spiral, the thoughts of losing you to anything really made his heart hurt and his eyes then darkened, he clutched his bat and immediately lunged for the other, knocking them down on the ground, their eyes widened and they pulled a scalpel from their pocket, raising up to cut into Chase who grunted and then backed off to avoid anymore cuts, despite being small, if he let them, that scalpel could do a hell of a lotta damage if he wasn’t careful, all he needed was a good hit with his bat and it could stun them or maybe even…

Kill them immediately… However, that’s not really what he wants, he wants to drag this out for a bit, he really wants to make them suffer, suffer for them for getting in his way so much, for trying to tear his beloved (Y/N) away from him, eventually they made a move and tried to get past him, not really wanting to fight him or even kill him, they just needed to get back to you with the evidence before it was too late, however… Chase saw the opportunity and swung the bat at them, hitting them in the back mostly but it was still enough to knock them down and then the scalpel had unfortunately fallen out of their hands and onto the ground, before they could manage to crawl over and get it, Chase had stood his boot onto their ankle “No, no ya fuckin’ don’t…! I’m NOT letting you take (Y/N) away from me! You just can’t STAND us being together! And for what?! Because you’re fuckin’ jealous or some shit? Lemme make it VERY clear for ya… (Y/N) is not and will NEVER be interested in you…! They are MINE…” He snarled, venom lacing every word he spoke as he leaned down to spin them onto their back, he then raised the bat up and proceeded to hit them over and over, repeatedly, as they screamed for help he leaned down and roughly slapped a hand over their mouth “Shut the fuck up…!” He spat, giving them a harsh punch with his hand, then he raised back up and continued his onslaught with his bat, making sure to deliver heavy and harsh hits to the other.

They coughed up some blood and looked up at Chase, their vision blurring as they whimpered and cried out “P-Please… I… I… I won’t… I’ll leave… you… alone… Just… F-fuck…” They groaned in pain, their eyes staring up into Chase’s “Please… Please don’t kill me…” They begged, but Chase only laughed at that “No way…! After ALL the bullshit you’ve tried to pull you HONESTLY fuckin’ think I’m going to spare you ANY mercy…?” He lifted the bat high above his head, a sick grin spread across his face “Go to hell!” He yelled, slamming the bat down hard on their head, blood splattering all over the pavement, the bat itself, and even over Chase, with that last hit they fell limp, no life detected in their eyes whatsoever, just to be sure however… Chase leaned down and checked their pulse, checking for any breathing as well, he smiled to himself when he heard nothing, not even the faintest sign of breathing, he reached into their pocket and grabbed their phone, looking over the recording and sighing, he dropped the device to the ground and smashed it underneath his boot, no way in hell was he going to let that thing stay in tact… Now however, came the big problem of getting the body out of here, and just where the hell was he going to put this thing…? Before he could even decide, he heard someone coming up and his eyes widened, he made sure not to leave his bat behind and ran off into the darkness, he needed to get back to his vehicle and quickly before someone caught him.

He could hear the scream in the distance as he made his way back to his vehicle and hopped inside, placing the bat in the back underneath one of the seats, luckily the blood was beginning to dry, well, okay no, that wasn’t THAT lucky… Considering he wanted to clean the bat later but oh well, he then sped off into the night, not even glancing back at the Hospital, he smiled to himself, very pleased with his work, at least they wouldn’t ever come between him and you anymore… No more worries, all he needed to do now was get home and- ….THE KIDS! His eyes widened as he sped up a little more, while, preventing them from becoming a nuisance was very important, he still cared about his kids, and oh god… He didn’t want them to see him like this, not with blood all over his clothes, how would he ever even explain that to them…

Eventually, he made it back home and slowly opened the door, looking around to make sure his kids weren’t awake yet, it was almost time for them to get up given it was a school day so Chase quickly crept off to his own room, firstly he put the bat into his closet, outta sight outta mind he thought before grabbing another shirt and jeans, he didn’t really care what he put on so long as it WASN’T bloodied… He went to the bathroom and looked over the wound from the scalpel, frowning slightly, he had a med kit, okay, well… A few med kits lying around, he wanted to be extra prepared just in case, he then began cleaning the wound of any blood, disinfecting it which made him hiss in pain, damn… Stab wounds are a bitch to deal with, after making sure it was disinfected properly he wrapped it up with some bandages, he then ran some water and scooped some up in his hands to splash on his face, cleaning himself up just a bit more, once he was finally free of any and all the blood stains he put the new shirt and jeans on and smiled “That’s better…” He then headed out to go wake the kids up, even though they didn’t really want to but really what kid ever wants to get up that early…? ...Eh, either way… He fixed them some food, helped get them dressed, and then waited with them until the bus arrived, he then kissed their foreheads and waved them off as they headed off to school. Now… He needed to do some laundry, get those bloodied clothes outta the way…!

Some time later in the day, you woke up with a groan and looked around, you remembered what had happened the other day and you honestly still felt like shit because of all that… You wanted to just relax for the day… Maybe later you would go and visit Chase but for now you just slowly got out of bed and headed for the shower, taking a quick one and changing clothes just to get freshened up a bit, which honestly had helped you feel just a LITTLE better… You then went off to grab some cereal, taking it to the living room to watch some tv, you had turned on the news not… REALLY to watch the news portion of it but you just wanted to know the weather for today before planning anything, as you were watching for a bit and eating your cereal slowly, your eyes widened slightly as the headline read ‘’(Friend’s full name) was found last night by one of the nurses, the reports say what likely caused their death was more than likely a baseball bat and a very nasty blow to the head, there is no information on whom the killer may be at this time but we’ll keep you up to date with any new information.’’ you stood up and accidentally dropped your bowl, it came crashing to the floor, bowl shattering and the rest of the milk and cereal pieces splattering everywhere, you were shaking as you raised a hand up to cover your mouth, tears beginning to pool around your eyes, you… Despite claiming they were a former friend just the other day, th...that was just out of anger!

You didn’t want anything BAD to happen to them! You DIDN’T want them to fucking D I E! You had broken down into sobs and almost borderline screaming, you whispered your friend’s name a few times, muttered so many apologies to them and wishes that it wasn’t them… Why did it have to be them? Why couldn’t it have been YOU instead?! You regretted the big fight you two had, you regretted calling them a former friend, you regretted it all… You wondered if they had regretted it, you wondered who could have even done such a thing?! Who had it out for your friend?! ....It… No... You didn’t want to start thinking like that… Besides, Chase would NEVER do something that cruel, that horrible! He’d NEVER fucking murder someone in cold blood!

You just wondered… Who could have done this? You just… You couldn’t… You continued to sob and wail, the grief was overwhelming, you didn’t even hear the door open… Chase sighed “Again, babe, the do-” before he could finish his scolding, his eyes widened when they landed on you on the floor, practically bawling your little eyes out, a broken bowl and a mess on the floor, he immediately dashed over and was going to reach down to pick you up but then he paused “H-H-Hey… hey baby, darling… What’s wrong…? Can… Can I touch you…? I wanna, like, help you up outta the floor…” He needed to be sure, once he got your nod he carefully picked you up and placed you on the couch, he noticed you had gotten some milk and remains of the bowl on your pants, he’d deal with all that in a moment however, first and foremost… He sat down beside you, placing a hand on your back and rubbing in soothing circles “Honey… What’s gotten you THIS distraught…?” You continued to sob, your throat was growing hoarse and you felt like vomiting, you couldn’t even manage to tell him what was wrong, you just pointed to the tv and Chase looked over, since it was still fairly early and it hadn’t been too long, the news, weather, and all of that repeated, the same story you saw about your friend came on and Chase’s eyes widened, he figured this was the case…

He would have hidden the body where no one could have found it had he had the time… He hated to see you this upset and distraught “O-Oh… Fuck… Babe, I’m so sorry for your loss… I-I know, you both had that big fight… And just… That makes it… just, fuck… C-Come here, do you want me to hold ya? I-I mean like, is… is that okay dude?” You slowly gave a nod and Chase leaned over, gently taking a hold of you and embracing you in a tight hug, it wasn’t tight enough for any discomfort, quite the opposite actually, his arms around you and being this close to him was what you needed, you sobbed into his chest and he began slowly stroking your hair  “Shhshhshsh… It’ll be okay…” He paused before whispering little reassurances into your ear “I...I know how it feels… To lose someone close to you… I-I mean, I don’t… I don’t know if she’s dead or not… But… My… My ex-wife, she left, a l o n g ass time ago, left me, the kids, all by ourselves… And it, it still hurts even to this day… Just, not as bad as it USED to... Grief… Look, I’m no expert, but grief can come in many forms but eventually… you’ll… You’ll get through it, eventually, it, it won’t hurt as bad ya know? And baby, listen, Imma be right here with ya every step of the way, I promise…” He smiled slightly, pulling you a bit closer, you listened to his words and you didn’t have the ability to speak at this point, your voice was hoarse from all that sobbing but you slightly smiled at that, you were… Glad he’d be there for you… The one thing you managed to utter out was a “sorry… about… the shirt…”

Chase chuckled and shook his head “Eh don’t worry about it, I have plenty more shirts where this one came from… Now just… Here, lemme get this cleaned up for you and then I’ll getcha some water, and then we’re gonna head over to my place, or if ya wanna stay here at home that’s fine too, I just gotta be back before my kids get home from school today though…” You looked at Chase and he could tell you were about to argue with him “Before you even try to say what I think your going to, please baby, I insist, I’ll clean this up for you, it isn’t a problem” You then sighed and just let him do what he wanted, first and foremost he grabbed some water, tossing it your way and he was surprised when you got it “Nice one babe!” He called out from the kitchen proceeding to go and look for the tools he needed.

He came back over, proceeding to sweep up all the bowl shards, he didn’t know whether to be lucky that the milk had dried up or not but either way, he managed to get the shards into the dustpan and then he began mopping up the milk, eventually he managed to get it all cleaned up and threw the shards into the trash can, and then he came back over and looked at you “So… You wanna stay here, or head on over to my place? Ya… Ya don’t gotta speak if ya don’t wanna, just hold up one finger for your place, two for mine” You smiled at how thoughtful he was being, you then took a few sips of water and held up two fingers to which he nodded at, he then scooped you up “Welp, c’mon then, let’s go chill for awhile, take our minds off all the bad shit!” He grinned and carried you out the door to his vehicle, opening the door and putting you inside, you slowly managed to get buckled as he hopped in the driver’s seat, he had really wished he had time, time to hide that body, time to prevent you from seeing that tragedy on the news, from making you bawl your eyes out, part of him felt guilt, not for killing them, oh n o… The bitch deserved it, but… You didn’t deserve to see that, you didn’t deserve to hear them announce their death, you shouldn’t have even known about that in the first place…

That was the only reason for guilt but at least you didn’t know he was in fact the one that did it… Nothing could get in his way now! Nothing could come between you, nothing could ruin this day! The drive back to Chase’s place was mostly in silence aside from Chase cracking a few jokes, he really was trying his best to help you feel better, and you won’t deny some of the jokes definitely made you crack a smile, as he pulled into his driveway, he hopped out and helped you out and inside, he sat you down on the couch and then grabbed some controllers, he handed you one and then turned on Minecraft “Let’s uh, play a more chill game this time around, yeah?” You smiled and nodded, watching as Chase created a new world for the both of you, he kept it on survival mode but he then set the difficulty to peaceful “Next time if ya want, we’ll play in easy, normal, or hell- hard if you’re feelin’ brave enough! But for now, let’s just gather supplies, food, and have some fun” You nodded, still not really wanting to talk, you didn’t want to wind up straining yourself… So you two sat in silence, just gathering up some food, supplies, and various other items, honestly this was pretty relaxing, it was really helping you de-stress… You even managed to find a good amount of diamonds which Chase seemed proud and impressed by “Guess the seed we spawned in is a pretty damn good one ain’t it, babe?” You nodded at his words.

You two played Minecraft for a long time, it was more than likely hours actually, minus getting up to fix some food or grab a snack or something to drink, eventually you got tired of playing Minecraft and cuddled up next to Chase who smiled at this, he placed an arm around you, pulling you closer to him, the embrace felt so nice… Your eyes fluttered shut as you leaned in a bit more, snuggling up close to him, you were just beginning to get comfortable before your eyes opened “...Annnd I have to pee…” You groaned in frustration and shot up from your spot and you heard Chase snickering as you walked down the hallway, you looked at his room and noticed the door was cracked open, now… Going into someone’s bedroom all of a sudden without their permission was… Pretty bad to say the least, but something in your head was telling you to go satiate whatever curiosity that had just sparked in your brain…

(it's the writer astral projecting curiosity onto the reader bc he needs them to go into that room to advance the plot- im kidding ofc but still tho)

You quietly crept toward the door, looking back to make sure Chase wasn’t there, you didn’t… Really want to upset him by doing this, all you wanted was just a quick peek and then you were done… Upon pushing open the door your nose scrunched up, you smelt something awful… It smelled… Metallic… It was an absolutely rotten stench that had plagued your nose, you looked over toward his closet, whatever the smell was it seemed to be coming from that direction, you were thinking now that maybe you shouldn’t have come in here, for some reason… The Closet had given you an unnerving feeling… You felt as though you should just turn back now and forget you ever came in here, however… It was too late to turn back now, your curiosity was too strong, just… One quick peek and then you’d forget the whole thing… You stepped closer to the closet, your body growing tense as you shakily reached out for the knob, you then pulled the door open and your eyes widened at what you had seen on the ground… It was a baseball bat… Your mind flash-backed to this morning, the reports on the news had said the weapon was a baseball bat… ...No, just no- There was no way… Chase would never- this had to be a coincidence, you noticed some dried red stains on the bat, the closer you got the more that smell overwhelmed you, you knew that scent, after all… Blood, even when dried, is a hard scent to mistake…

You slowly backed up from the closet, eyes wide and in shock, how… why… Why would he?! There’s no reason, this HAS to be a misunderstanding surely, you jumped and almost screamed when you heard a small tsk sound come from behind, you spun around quickly and looked Chase in the eyes, he was leaning on the doorway, arms crossed and a neutral expression on his face, he didn’t look angry but then again he didn’t look happy either “(Y/N)... Hasn’t your parents ever taught ya not to snoop through people’s shit…? We all have our private stuff dude, that’s so not cool…” You looked at Chase then back at the bat then back at him “Ch-Cha...Chase…” You whispered, this seemed to catch his attention and his expression softened a little bit “...Babe… I’m just, look, I’m not mad I promise… I AM disappointed however” He was scolding you, as if you were like a child… “Cha...se… did…” You took a shaky deep breath, your hands and legs beginning to shake, you… You just needed to know “...Did you do it…?” The man still had a smile on his face as he tilted his head slowly “...Did I do w h a t, baby…? Are you… Trying to accuse me…” And then there was a pause before slowly he stood, still blocking your exit “...Are you seriously trying to accuse me of murdering your friend…?” There was some hurt to his voice but something was off, he didn’t have that loving and caring aura around him anymore, you felt… Nervous… More nervous than you should have ever felt around someone you had come to love.

“You… You di….You did, didn’t you…? I….I… You… You got mad… That they hit you… d-didn’t you? You killed them didn’t you?!” You suddenly yelled and Chase looked taken aback before he frowned “...Babe, I think you’re overreacting and jumping to conclusions here… I didn’t touch your friend, I swear…” You shook your head “How...How can I trust you, how can I believe you? That bat has fucking dried blood on it!” Chase shook his head “It’s just a design!”

You then glared at him “IT EVEN SMELLS LIKE BLOOD, CHASE!” You shouted, tears welling in your eyes, this wasn’t… This couldn’t be happening right now, this wasn’t… You couldn’t… Just… Chase seemed to notice your panic “H-Hey… Heyy… Sweetheart… Please, just… Calm down, it’s alright… This is all one big misunderstanding… I promise you…” He tried to step closer and you immediately backed up “S-St...Stay away from me, Chase… Just… Just stay away… I… I don’t… I think… I-I just…” You were breathing heavily, staring into his eyes “I...I just… wanna go home… I just… I just need some rest I think ahaaa… I-It’s been a long day already and just…” Chase nodded “C’mon then, I’ll drive you-” You interrupted him “NO!” You shouted but then coughed and shook your head “I-I mean, no, no… I...I’d rather just walk…” Chase’s eyes darkened and he clenched his hand into a fist, the next sentence he seemed to grit his teeth as he spoke “Then how about I walk ya home, s w e e t h e a r t…?” You shivered as he stepped a little closer “I… I… C-Chase please-” He interrupted you “Baby, I don’t know why you're acting like I’m some kind of monster, I told you already… I didn’t do SHIT to your little f r i e n d… And b e s i d e s… Just…” He took a deep breath and looked at you, pure adoration in his eyes “Baby, I love you, so much… I’m not a monster, I didn’t kill your friend… I would n e v e r do that… Please, you have to believe me…” You looked at him, you just… You thought back to what your friend had said.

“...Maybe they were right about you… Th… Oh my god…” You had just realized something “...They told me they had a bad feeling about you, I thought they were just jealous…” Chase then tried to interrupt “Because they w e r e honey, they were jeal-” You shook your head and cut him off “No… No they weren’t just jealous, maybe there was something there but… They… They’ve been my best friend for as long as I can remember… They’d never lie to me… I… Fuck, I’ve made a mistake… I just, Chase, I just… I don… I don’t think… It’s going to work out between us” And that made Chase snarl, he reached out and gripped your arm tightly, this made you cry out in pain “(Y/N)... No, don’t you d a r e say that… I just- Listen… I have TRIED my damnedest here… But if this is how your gonna be... You wanna know the truth? Do you REALLY wanna know the truth? About EVERYTHING?” You looked at him confused before your eyes widened, the sudden grin on Chase’s face made your stomach churn “...I did it… But, I didn’t do it to hurt you… Baby… They wanted to get in my way… In OUR way… They were going to get out of that hospital and try and take you away from me… I just… I couldn’t, I couldn’t handle the thought of losing you… I… I know what I did was wrong, I know… But I just… You have to understand, I do NOT want to lose you…”

(Another BIG reminder: Abuse is bout to happen!! Chase is about to do something he regrets MORE SO than forgetting to expose that bat fkjdslfdjsl)

You felt sick, you felt absolutely sick and disgusted with what you heard “...Chase… You fucking killed my BEST friend! YOU FUCKING KILLED THEM, YOU FUCKING BASTARD- JUST LET ME GO- I DON’T WANNA BE WITH YOU ANYMORE!” You began thrashing in his grip, trying to get away from him, but suddenly out of the blue, a fist had came crashing down on your cheek, it wasn’t hard enough to break a bone but it was sure gonna leave one hell of a mark, your eyes were wide and so were Chase’s as he let you go for a second, you stumbled and fell onto your ass and held your cheek, tears beginning to well up in your eyes as you stared up at Chase fearfully who looked… Regretful, looked shocked even, he placed a shaking hand over his mouth as he stared down at you “I…” He began, but then paused, what could he say now…?

He knelt down and tried to get closer to you only for you to back up in fear, your heart beating out of your chest right now as tears ran down your face, little sobs escaping your form as Chase shook his head “No… No no no… Babe…. That… I didn’t… Please, I’m sorry… Really I am, I didn’t mean to hit you… I just… It’s just, you… You promised to be with me forever, you promised you’d love me no matter what, and I just got angry and just… Please, c-come here, let me see…” He reached out to grab you again and you went stiff even if his touch was gentle this time, he moved your hand from the bruised area and gently and ever so carefully ran a finger down it “F-Fuck… I did the one thing I said I was never going to do… I s w o r e I’d never fucking hurt you… I’m such a fucking idiot…” Tears were now in his eyes as he thumbed over the bruise “J-Just… Come with me… I’m going to take care of this…” You were like a deer caught in headlights as he pulled you up and along with him, he wasn’t being as rough or forceful this time but you were fucking terrified, terrified he was going to hit you again if you tried anything or said anything… You flinched away as he began doctoring the area he just hit, you really didn’t want him touching you, you really didn’t even want to be around him anymore, but you had a funny feeling if you said that again… Well, there’s no telling what he’d do, after he finished doctoring the area he leaned in and kissed it better, you cringed in disgust at his actions.

“T-The...There… All… All better now… I… I, (Y/N)... I know you don’t believe me right now… I k n o w you probably even fucking hate my guts right now but l-listen… I… I genuinely d o n ‘ t want to hurt you, my anger just… Got out of control but I can promise you, I can and WILL control that from now on, I won’t ever hit you again… I swear, I...I know it’s hard to believe me right now, but I’ll show you… Jus-Just, just please, give me another chance? Whatever you want, I’ll give you the fucking WORLD if I have to just… pl-please… oh god, please… Please don’t leave me… Please don’t…” Tears fell from his eyes and sobs racked his body, he… He really did regret that, but you said nothing… You just let him hold you there, too frightened to move or say anything… But Chase only looked at you, a pleading look in his eyes “...(Y/N)...? I… I can be good, y-you just… Need to trust me again… Th-That’s it… I… Look, if I could have I would have just hidden your friend, that way, you didn’t even have to see that tragedy on the news, besides… Y-You really don’t understand j-just…” He let out a heavy breath as he stroked your hair lovingly “Just how much I love you… Th-They were literally going t-to… to… Take you aw...away from me… I can’t lose you… I had a fucking panic attack in the hospital after I heard all they said… I just…” Your heart twinged at that but… N-No! NO! You… You shouldn’t feel sorry for him, he killed your best friend and then he fucking HIT you! ...T-There was no way you’d feel sorry for him…

Yet… There was something… About it… He seemed so genuine, so genuinely desperate and guilty… It made you feel… Conflicted… Chase then pulled his shirt down a little to expose a bandaged wound “This, is what your friend did to me last night… They stabbed me with a scalpel, t-this wasn’t like… This was b e f o r e I did what I did…” Chase looked as if he were about to say something before he heard the front door open and his kids all scream for their dad, they sounded so worried and both your eyes immediately widened “...(Y/N)... Please… Don’t tell the kids… A-After all… A-Ahh… Haa…” He chuckled dryly before continuing, his tone reeked of panic and desperation as he spoke.

“Y-You wouldn’t wanna upset the kids, yeah? If you tell anyone about what I did, if you expose me… Y-You’ll make these kids lives a living hell… You’ll hurt them, and I’ll be honest (Y/N)... While I love ya, I won’t allow you to hurt my kids… Nobody gets to hurt them… So please, for me, but more importantly… For the kids, please… Stay…” (despite being a yandere Chase does truly care about his kids and he won’t ever let anything bad happen to them or do anything bad to them, he’s still a monster but not THAT kinda monster) You swallowed, hard, your throat felt dry but you nodded at his words, the thought of breaking these kids hearts was too much… You remembered how happy they said you had made their dad, reluctantly you finally spoke “O-Okay Chase… I- I promise, I… I won’t… I won’t tell anybody…” Chase then looked at you quizzically “...Annnd…?” Your eyes widened “A-And I won’t leave you!” You quickly added in fear he’d get angry at you again but then he smiled, just then the kids burst into the room and saw you two there, they noticed the bruise on your cheek and Chelsea was the first to speak up “D-Daddy?! Wha...What happened to (Y/N)!? Who hurt them?” Chase only smiled nervously “U-Um…” You quickly spoke up then, the fear of the kids finding something out too much to bear, the kids didn’t deserve to have their father ripped away from them, they seemed to care so much about him “I had a little accident kiddos but, I-I’m… I’m fine now…!” You sounded strained unfortunately but the kids still seemed to believe that part “A-And yo...your dad… He was just, um… Helping me! Yeah, I’ll be fine, I promise”

Chelsea smiled “Oh…! That’s good then” Trey spoke up next “We just got worried when you weren’t at the bus waiting for us, Greyson almost started crying” And Greyson frowned at that and turned to Trey “D-Did not…!” Trey looked at him and grinned “Did too!” And oh boy, you and Chase both knew where this was going… Chase quickly spoke up “Kids, now, come on… That’s enough, how about you go, wait in the living room and I’ll be right there with you, okay?” The three nodded and went off, you both could still hear Trey and Greyson arguing albeit a bit more quieter, and then you and Chase looked toward each other, you wouldn’t deny, you were definitely still afraid of him, but you had every right to be! ...But you just, you couldn’t hurt those kids like this… and Chase, you could see it in his eyes, he was desperate “...(Y/N)...” He began and you couldn’t help but flinch as his hand reached out which he quickly retracted back “S-Shit, sorry… Sorry… Listen, I know… You really don’t like, believe me and shit right now… But, I...I promise, it’ll get better… I just… When you said you didn’t wanna be with me anymore… It just, it really fuckin’ pissed me off… but, th-that… That’s not an excuse, and I know that…”

Chase paused and looked at your arm, he winced at the bruising he seen there too “F-Fuck… We’re REAL lucky the kids didn’t see that but I-I’ll get to that in a second…. Just, look… (Y/N), I promise I will NEVER hit you again… I don’t want to hurt you, I genuinely don’t… I just… I just wanna be happy together, I want to be with you, and I don’t want you to like, be with me out of fear and shit, I genuinely want you to love me… I’ll... In fact, actually... I’ll prove to you that I’ll NEVER hit you again! And… Listen, y-your friend… I’m… Just, I was just so scared they’d get in our way, scared they’d take you away from them and y-ya know they say f-fear… Fear can make… Can make you do some crazy shit… Y-Ya know…?” You looked at Chase and bit your lip, damn this man… Even after all this bullshit, your heart can’t help but twinge, he sounds so genuinely upset and sorry… Your head was a mess of emotions and thoughts, it honestly made your head hurt…

You felt an overwhelming sense of exhaustion even, then Chase looked into your eyes “B-Babe…? Pl-please… Please talk to me…?” You sighed and there was a brief moment of silence before you spoke up “A-Alright Chase… I...I’ll stay… I… I won’t… I won’t leave you…” You shouldn’t be saying that, you shouldn’t but really, what would happen if you said no again, what would happen if you had denied him and told him you wouldn’t stay here? ...The thought of that made you shudder, you weren’t… Secretly, deep down, no, you weren’t… You were NOT doing this because you felt sorry for him, you didn’t feel any pity for him, you were doing this for his kids… You were doing this to protect the kids, and… It’d break their hearts to see their father so unhappy, just… You could get through this, yeah… I- Maybe… Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad, you flinched as Chase started bandaging your arm up next “T-Thank you… Thank you so much (Y/N)... I promise… I’ll make it up to you…” And then he smiled and gently took a hold of your face, his hands were definitely shaking as he touched you and then he gave you a gentle kiss “...I promise… We’ll all be one big happy family… You and me, together f o r e v e r… And of course don’t forget the kiddos… We’ll all be happy, okay?” You nodded at his words and he seemed ecstatic “Love ya babe… I really do” You glanced at Chase, together with him forever… Christ, this… What the hell had you gotten yourself into? You did regret not listening to your friend when you had the chance but it was too late now, it was f a r too late to turn back “...I..I… Lov… Love...you too…” That made you want to retch but Chase seemed so fucking happy.

...This truly was going to be hell, your hell, and honestly, you didn’t see any ways out of it, you were trapped in a bad situation, between a rock and a hard place, you were going to be stuck here, with him, forever… If there were ever a next time, you would definitely listen to your friend instead…

(An Average Day in Hell? More like an Average Eternity in Hell amirite? Lmao anyway this shit is long and honestly I never intended it to be- And I know y’all probs wanna finish this and be done with it already so lemme clarify a few things here, 1: I completely forgot how I was supposedly going to like end this thing, I forgot a few plot points and I just went in the direction my brain told me too and now we got this. 2: In the Yandere AU I have here technically speaking, these are NOT his canonical kids names, I ripped some of these from a wikipedia page I saw, the only canon name I MIGHT keep for one of his kids is Greyson bc that’s fitting, I just needed some names for the story, im sure y’all understand.

3: Im not gonna defend Chase, but I will say, he can be… Well, hm, how should I put this… I mean sometimes im sure he can do it intentionally, but half the time his manipulative tones and the shit he says is by sheer accident, and him hitting the reader? Well, I can absolutely say this would be the only time EVER Chase did that, he genuinely means it when he says he doesn’t want to hurt ya, but you see… Rage in the wrong hands, in a person’s hands who’s heard those exact same words from a certain… OTHER person can definitely be a potent and fatal combination… Aside from that shit tho.

He genuinely just like, wants you to be happy, he wants to be with you because he really does love ya ….but, the shit he can do can make loving him a bit… Difficult to say the VERY least.

Anywho I feel like that’s enough explaining how this process went, just one more thing and I promise it’s the last thing then you can go do what’cha wanna do n shit yeah? There was going to be an alt ending but I’ve got too many other stories to do already so I present you with the alt ending summarized p much

1: Chase successfully hides the body, now on this path you probs would still find out on the news or some form of device that your friend is missing but, it’s like a 1 in one million chance you’d find out Chase did it so bam, happily ever.  Alright, im done)

[fangirlauthor]

vld season 8 [SPOILERS]

Okay, so these are my thoughts on voltron season eight and a little bit on voltron in general. I’m not here to hate on canon, or the voice actors, or the writers, or hate on anyone, really; they’re just my opinions. If you haven’t seen season 8 or don’t want spoilers or don’t want to read my opinions, stop here. 

I’m going to split my thoughts into sections, so here goes. Sorry this isn’t lok themed, I promise I’m still writing things for lok, but I guess I’ll be writing things for other fandoms now as well; my brain can be kind of erratic, so what I’m writing depends on what I’ve been doing recently. 

Also, if you have different opinions or thoughts or anything you want to ask about my opinions on Voltron, feel free to send me an ask. 

Characters

Hunk - Honestly, I thought he was pretty cool. I liked his ending mostly, and how he got to continue to do the things he loves while spreading peace and promoting cooperation between people and using his cooking to accent that. I also don’t have any particular headcanons or anything for him as of right now, but maybe in the future. 

Pidge/Katie Holt - I didn’t have any problems with Pidge’s ending either, I actually kinda liked it, and headcanons... she definitely pursues a career in a STEM field, and I think she goes on to do super cool science things I wouldn’t understand. 

Shiro - I didn’t hate his ending as well, I do wish they hadn’t killed Adam though, so maybe I’ll pretend he’s alive somewhere. I dunno. I’m really glad they made him happy, and let him finally find peace. I kinda have a headcanon that he’ll run a space orphanage or something that works with the Blade of Marmora humanitarian relief thing or whatever they are now. I hope he gets to take all the naps he needs.

Keith - I also liked his ending a fair amount, I think it’s cool that he’ll get to help people and I think that it’s in alignment with his character arc from what I can tell. He went from suffering to helping make sure no one else does, and that can a difficult jump to make, from what I understand. 

Lance - Okay, so this is a hot topic. Honestly, I don’t agree with him being a farmer forever; I think at some point he’s going to start to heal and grow again and that he’ll start travelling the galaxy. Maybe he’ll continue to teach about Allura, but in different places and in different ways, all across the galaxy, like I said. Maybe, at some point, he’ll discover that happiness doesn’t have to be something to remember, but that it can be something to discover once again, even if it’s different then before. At some point, he’s going to continue to grow and spread light and love and maybe even find his own. 

He could have definitely had more character development in the show, instead of them spending the last season focusing on changes due to romance rather than other forces (or even the effects those romantic feelings had on him after could have been handled better). That’s why, in case this wasn’t clear the first time I said it, I think that he’s going to go around the galaxy, maybe even with Keith and the Blades, to teach not only about Allura but about other heroes, about missions he’s been on and the things he’s learned from war. I don’t think he’s going to be a farmer forever, but I think that some time to rest before he gathers the courage to start growing as a person again will help him/is necessary. 

Allura - Okay, I’m going to say right off the bat that I don’t think she should have died. I do like that she was designed as a strong, brave character who makes her own decisions. Yeah, I really don’t like that she died and I don’t think she should have, but she did, so yeah. I think that she was smart enough to find another solution and that her death was unnecessary, like I’ve said, but I respect that her sacrifice was on par with her character/character traits/personal values. I’ve got some other things to say in a minute, but we’ll get to that. 

As a group, after the show ended - I definitely think they saw each other more than once a year, and that they all still treated each other like the family they claimed to be during battles. Bonds made in war are hard to break, and theirs is most certainly unbreakable. They’ll be a team for their lifetime, even if their jobs take them to different places for a time. 

Ships

Okay, so this is also a hot topic from what I can tell. I’ve gotta say I don’t a) ship Pidge with anyone and b) I’m not here to hate on any ships unless they’re legitimately abusive or wrong in the manner of, y’know, pedophilia and such. 

Allurance - I don’t hate this ship, and I don’t hate it being canon. I don’t actively ship it and I don’t think that, even if Allura had lived, they would have been endgame anyway. I do disagree with people who say that they don’t have any chemistry at all, because I think they have at least some. I definitely don’t ship it as an endgame ship, but I think they were/could’ve been great friends. I do feel like it was a little forced in the beginning, and I feel like it sends a slightly negative message about men being overly persistent after a woman says no and negates Allura’s individual strength a little bit. I do think that if it had been done slightly different, it would have seemed less like Allura was guilt-tripped or practically coerced into the relationship and could have shown that people don’t need a significant other to make them whole because people are their own, whole person; it could have shown that bonds between people make two whole people stronger, in a sense, with both people respecting that the other person is their own person and makes their own choices/has their own opinions. (As long as those opinions aren’t harmful to the other person or to other people.)

Klance - Okay, so if you couldn’t tell, I ship klance. I personally think they have a lot of chemistry, especially in some scenes, and I think that (in accordance with my Lance headcanon) that they’ll eventually start working together in humanitarian relief efforts/teaching trips and either end up together or even just be friends. I think they have a great relationship either way, and that they support each other really well; Lance being Keith’s impulse control guy and Keith being Lance’s confidence. Like I said, they definitely have great chemistry but as long as they end up working together some way and benefit each other, I’m good if they stay friends. 

Shay and Hunk - Is there a ship name for this? I haven’t seen one, but I might’ve missed it. Anyway, I think their relationship is pretty sweet and I don’t ship it aggressively but I really do think they’re cute. 

Shiro and Curtis - I think they’re cute as well, I’m glad Shiro’s happy and hopefully he gets lots of time to rest while still helping others.  I do miss Adam and I’m sad he’s dead; I’m also cool with a ship with Shiro in a relationship with both of them or all three of them in a relationship with each other. I’m sad we didn’t get to see Curtis and Shiro interact with each other before the wedding, but again I’m trying not to be salty even though I don’t like that we never got to see a dynamic between the two. 

The Ending

Okay, I’m a little confused on what happened at the end. I’m pretty sure that the lions are circling the planet, minus the blue lion which is not, but I can’t tell. It is a little bittersweet to me that they don’t still pilot the lions, but I understand that things have to come to an end for other things to take place. Still bittersweet though. 

Overall

Overall, I’ve gotta say I didn’t hate it. There were a few things I would have preferred to be canon (like klance or better character development for some characters) or preferred not to be canon (Allura dying) but I came in with low expectations so it kept me fairly entertained. Like I said, not here to hate on anything just my opinions. 

So that’s all I can think of right now, I might talk about my thoughts on Lotor later, maybe on lotor x allura as well, but I’m running out of time so that’s all for today. Also, sorry for the long post.

[muffintonic]

Alright, I think i’m done BOTW 2 spamming for today. Anywho, time for some thoughts in general!

1) I hated how the shrines in BOTW were so cold and dark compared to the bright and lively nature outside (I wish they had all looked like the Master Trials challenge where there were trees and stuff incorporated inside), so I hope if we’re forced to have dungeons they’ll be more like the Wind Waker ones. 2) I hope they don’t make us use the grappling hook or anything like in Wind Waker to move around the sky islands (I hated that mechanic). 3) I’m probably one of the few people who wanted less Zelda and more of the Champions in HWAOC since i’m only really attached to BOTW (and we saw a fair amount of Tetra in Wind Waker)/apparently Zelda’s been sidelined in all the other games, so i’m hoping in vain that we get more Champions material in BOTW 2. Also, Link could stand to have some more cutscenes centered around him as well (the few we got in some of the sidequests in BOTW were great). 4) I only really somewhat care about Riju and Sidon, so I won’t mind if the new gang gets sidelined in BOTW 2 (I still think Nintendo wasted the found family/band of brothers aspect on the dead characters--I love them so much and they’re all I want!! The problem is, they’re dead and I don’t really care all that much about their replacements!!! I dunno, maybe i’m hampered by the fact that I can replay the original champions’ memories whenever I want/read their diaries, but I can’t rewatch the new gang’s cutscenes AKA i’ve forgotten their characterization since they don’t talk to me much now that the game’s over). It’d be great if they have some weaving storylines in BOTW 2 that will get me more invested in them, but currently i’m not that interested. 5) Speaking of which, I know it’s 100% not going to happen, but goddang if I don’t want the Champions to have been returned to life. Nintendo totally squandered HWAOC by not making it a true prequel/canon to BOTW (the Champions Ballad confirmed that the Divine Beasts had trials in order to be synced to the champs, so the new gen use of them wouldn’t have happened without that + Mipha thought Link had changed in BOTW yet says in HWAOC that he hasn’t changed + some scenes like “Champion Revali’s Song” never happened at all/got replaced with alternative scenes that really changed some dynamics + basically all of Revali’s time-relative characterization from his diary/pre-100 years of solitude got thrown out + I feel like Daruk got totally sidelined), so i’m still craving that Champions content. Also, I feel like it’s totally unfair that Zelda came out of 100 years totally unaged while everyone else died. Life seems to really suck for people in the LoZ universe who aren’t chosen by divine powers. 6) They’d better keep it open world and non-linear. I can’t go back to being forced to backtrack/trudge through things, I just can’t. BOTW was everything i’ve ever dreamed about in a game (truly open world + non-linear + interactive + meaningful story + lots of outfits + beautiful landscapes) with Skyrim previously being the only thing that came close to what I wanted, so I really hope BOTW 2 doesn’t deviate too much from that. 7) I really liked Kass in BOTW, but i’m not sure what direction they’d go with him in BOTW 2/i’d be fine if he sat BOTW 2 out. I worked so hard to complete all his quests in BOTW so he’d go back home to his family, GODDANGIT, KASS. 8) Someone mentioned that since the first trailer had underground aspects, we’re probably going to be playing as Zelda with the Slate there, and I agree. They didn’t make a playable model for her in HWAOC for nothing. 9) I want to be able to stable the deer and bears and stuff, but I know that won’t happen. Being able to ride the moose and rhino things from the Hebra area probably won’t happen either, but I want to ride them!!! 10) I hope there’ll be at least a few new buildings and stuff in the towns/they’ve started construction on some areas in Central Hyrule, but I guess that’ll depend on how long it’s been in-universe since BOTW. Or maybe not, considering how there’s still Karson and Hudson even though Bolson retired from Bolson Construction--insta-towns like Tarrey Town could totally be feasible if they wanted! 11) I have one foot in the camp that believes there’ll be time shenanigans in BOTW 2. HWAOC totally threw me off with it being an alternate timeline, so i’m not sure whether we’re going to be experiencing that again or time travel itself, but I definitely won’t be surprised this time around if Nintendo goes that route again (and it would be super interesting to see the Link from 10,000 years ago). I’m not entirely convinced that the Link we see exploring the sky in the second trailer isn’t our Link, mainly because he seems to still have on the blue boxers from BOTW. 12) I also heard that maybe this will be the last LoZ game ever since something something Demise something Skyward Sword something something lore from games i’ve only vaguely looked into (i’ve only ever played BOTW --> Wind Waker --> HWAOC)??? If so, it kind of sucks that I came in just when they started making games with playstyles palatable to me (I had to look up every single thing when playing Wind Waker, but BOTW let me solve things according to MY logic/I missed being able to explore in HWAOC), but at least it’ll end on a super high note/I won’t experience later disappointment, I guess. If BOTW 2 involves breaking the reincarnation cycle for the Triforcers, I would be really surprised. (On a related note, Nintendo making Ganondorf good would also be a 100% shock to me, but it would be great to end on that as a subversion. Yes, I want them to bring back the semi-complicated Ganondorf from Wind Waker.) 13) I hope they don’t rush releasing it. I heard they pushed back BOTW originally (I got it in 2019), but it came out fantastic for it! I know COVID’s been affecting things, so I really hope they’re treating their staff right and are mindful of crunch. 14) I want even more outfits (there seem to be at least two new ones, if the variant of the Hylian Tunic crossed with Link’s Champion’s Tunic counts). Give me all the outfits!!! Also, I hope we get even more hair variations in addition to the hair down option (which is all i’ve ever wanted since I saw the mod that altered the Ancient Helmet). 15) I wonder if we’re going to get a bonus for having both BOTW and HWAOC save data. 16) I wonder if we’re going to be keeping the Champions’ skills. I’m going to miss being super overpowered, if not. 17) I hope Nintendo doesn’t cave in and make surfaces climbable in the rain. Having that limiter is more realistic and Link would otherwise be too overpowered with a super climbing ability. 18) I liked BOTW’s scattered music that got more noticeable in populated areas because it was fitting for the post-apocalyptical/nature aspect. Hearing your footsteps in an open field and the buzzing of insects was super nice and prevented me from getting music fatigue (which i’d probably experience since whenever I play BOTW it’s for 5-10 hours at a time). I hope Nintendo either keeps that or makes audio options. 19) I heard that BOTW 2 is going to be super dark or something, and i’m okay with dark, but not GRIMdark, so I hope it doesn’t go that far. From what we’ve seen in the second trailer it still looks beautiful, but I hope it doesn’t do that thing that some games do where after the midpoint/a certain story point all the scenery permanently changes to be dark and scary (that’ll seriously hamper post-game playability for me if so). 20) If they expand on the Zonai, that would be super cool! Doubly cool if the time travel shenanigans involve them/ancient Link being one! 21) I kind of want windstorms to be a weather feature. We had lightning, heat, and cold, but no wind! No, I don’t count the wind geysers and the occasional breeze in Tabantha. 22) I want a chest in my house to hold more weapons than just the gear mounts. BOTW only had enough mounts for the champions’ gear, but it also had rare items like the Kite Shield and Forest Dweller’s Sword that you can’t get anymore once you use them up! 23) I want to be able to stable my horses at my house. What’s the point of that little area if you can’t stable your horse there! 24) Speaking of Link’s house: where is Zelda going to live? If the castle’s not reconstructed, it’d be neat if Link adds an extension to his house for her. 25) I hope they open up part-time jobs (think Mabinogi) as an option to earn rupees. Having to hunt for Luminous Stone deposits or feed Trott to make money can be such a chore. I think some of BOTW’s minigames/sidequests might count as those, but those minigames were either frustrating if your goal is to earn money (since most of them cost money to play in the first place and the mechanics weren’t always easy), or didn’t earn that much in general. 26) I wonder if Kilton is going to have updated items since the monsters seem to have changed. 27) I want to be able to dive underwater (mainly so I can explore the beautiful reefs over at Lurelin). A dive meter like the one from Super Mario Sunshine would be cool. Also, it’d doubly be neat if you had a separate stamina wheel for swimming and could permanently upgrade your swim/diving stamina (the speed+ swimming items just consumed your stamina faster, which was a pain)! 28) It’s definitely too late for this, but it’s a shame that the Hylians have so many face/body/hair and outfit variations, but the Zora, Rito, and Gorons don’t. The Gerudo were kind of okay with the hair and body variations, but the other races seemed to have a serious copy-paste problem. I guess technically some of the more important NPCs (ones with quests/cutscene triggers) had different coloring, but they were severely lacking in clothing variation. Also, the only old Rito was the elder??? At least the Gorons and Zora had some old folks besides their leader walking around. Very weird, but I don’t think BOTW 2 can fix any of this. 29) I wonder how they’re going to do the final boss battle, considering how epic/cinematic the BOTW 2x battle was. What can top fighting (on horseback, no less) a giant, flaming boar made out of malice? 30) I wonder what the Yiga are going to be up to, considering how Ganondorf seems to be somewhat kicking in BOTW 2.

[we-are-inevitable]

when you’re gone // jack & crutchie

hi !!! so, i’ve made the executive decision to delete one of my collections of fics, but i’m posting each one as their own thing instead of all being in the same ao3 post. therefoooore, have this !! i’ll be posting all four at varying times today!

When You’re Gone

some good things about this fic: -WHATTTTTT??? JAC WROTE SOMETHING IN CANON ERA??? SAY SIKE -crutchie crutchie crutchie -Big Brother Jack Kelly -bonding !! light angst/comfort !!! -Accents (TM)

i hope you guys like this !! (side note: please do not tag this as a romantic ship when reblogging.)

He's different. A bad kind of different, and it's written all over his face.

The strike was won. Jack took that job as a cartoonist down at The World, though he's still staying in the lodging house- just until he has some money saved up, just until he's stable. Everyone else carries on like normal, and for the most part, it is. Jack is still gone at the same time as the rest of the boys, and usually comes back just a little bit earlier than most, but nothing has really changed. Jack is still there.

Yet Jack knows something is wrong with Crutchie.

The kid barely talks to him anymore. Jack isn’t sure why, but he had thought back through their conversations, overanalyzing his comments and picking apart everything he could remember from what Crutchie has said, but there's still nothing that stands out.

But still, something is wrong. If it isn’t painfully apparent by the way Crutchie only says a few words to him a day, it's obvious because Crutchie has moved. He no longer spends his nights out on the rooftop with Jack; no, instead, he shacks up with Race and Albert, which… has to be a lot worse than facing the elements outside. The thought causes Jack to shudder.

It's rough, really. Jack can feel that he's losing Crutchie, who was the one person that Jack knows he couldn’t live without. Katherine is his friend, ex-girlfriend, and self-appointed stylist, David is his lover- he still gets butterflies in his stomach whenever he thinks about that- and Race and Albert are his built-in annoyances, but Crutchie… Crutchie is his brother. Has been for years.

Jack can’t lose his brother.

***

Saturday is a warm welcome. Not necessarily warm- no, no, the temperatures are nearing freezing, but at least Jack doesn’t have to go into work. Pulitzer had graciously given Jack the day off, probably because Jack had turned in five drawings to his supervisor instead of one, and, quite frankly, he was sure that Pulitzer was tired of him for the week, so Jack didn’t protest when he came to him and told him to take the day for himself.

He figures that he'll just spend the day with David. David is back in school now, so his Saturday is free, and the university isn’t that far of a walk from the lodging house, so Jack won’t be freezing his ass off for too long.

Part of him is considering selling again, too, for old time’s sake, but now that he has an actual job, standing on a corner in freezing conditions and hoping that someone is stupid enough to brave the elements for a newspaper just… doesn’t sound appealing. He feels bad for the boys, though. Most of his crew are getting older, so they won’t have to do it for much longer, but it seems that they're getting more and more littles each week and it hurts him to see the young ones have to go out in this weather.

Jack sighs to himself as he climbs out of bed. As the weather took a turn for the worst, Jack had made the executive decision to stay in a spare room in the lodging house rather than risk freezing to death on the rooftop. Besides, this is the room where he stores his nice work clothes anyway- the clothes that he was still going to try to pay Katherine back for, as soon as he has the funds. He decides against wearing any of his work clothes, though, settling instead for an old undershirt from his selling days and some paint-stained trousers. He checks his watch and huffs, knowing that the boys are likely already gone.

Jack makes his rounds anyway. He walks through the lodging house, noticing that a few of the littles decided to stay in, under the careful watch of Smalls. No one else seems to be in the building, though. No one but…

Shit.

Jack takes in a deep breath as he walks toward the door, shaking his head when he hears one of the beds inside shifting. He doesn’t want to disturb him, but then Jack hears something- a sound of pain, a whine, a whimper, whatever it is- and he decides to open the door. Slowly, Jack peeks his head in, a look of concern on his face. “Crutch? Are ya… You okay?”

Crutchie doesn’t answer. Instead, he looks up at Jack with tears in his eyes, and Jack knows that look. He hurries over to sit on the edge of the bed, pulling the blankets back, and Jack winces as soon as he sees the contracting muscles on Crutchie’s bad leg. “Shit… Is it bad?”

“Couldn’t even walk this mornin’,” Crutchie answers with a groan, rubbing his forehead. “Jackie, can ya--?”

“Yeah, I got ya,” Jack murmurs. He rubs his hands together for a moment, then gently moves up against the wall, maneuvering Crutchie’s leg into his lap. This reminds him so much of years ago, doing the same thing as a twelve year old, trying to do whatever he can to help his friend with the debilitating pain. It had always been so scary back then, because Jack didn't know what to do and Crutchie was often too in pain to instruct him, but Jack did his best under the circumstances. After all Crutchie had done for Jack, it’s the least he could do.

They sit in silence as Jack massages his leg, continuing on for about ten minutes, until Crutchie’s face relaxes and he’s able to take a deep breath. He gulps, opens his eyes and looks up at the ceiling. “Thanks, Jack. You- You can go now.”

“Go? Nah, Crutch, I ain’t leavin’ today,” Jack says simply, looking down at the younger boy. He's only sixteen, and won't turn seventeen for at least five months... Jack can't stand the thought of making Crutchie- a kid- stay alone in this condition. “I’s off today. Don’t got no work. I was, uh, gonna spend the day with--”

“With Davey?” Crutchie says with a smirk, nudging Jack’s shoulder with his fist, and Jack just shakes his head. “Go, go, have fun with your man. I’s fine right where I is.”

“No. I said I ain’t leavin’ today, Crutchie, and I mean it. ‘Specially since your leg’s all outta sorts today,” Jack gives him a pointed look. “Smalls’ takin’ care of the littles, so if I do need to go do somethin’ I have her keepin’ an eye on ya, but my schedule is free. ‘Sides, I think… I think we need to talk.”

Crutchie swallows. “Talk?”

“Well, yeah. We ain’t been able to talk for a while,” Jack shrugs, then sighs. “You’s been avoidin’ me, Crutchie, and don’t act like ya don’t know it. I just… Did I do somethin’ to piss ya off? Is it somethin’ I said?”

“I ain’t been avoidin’ you, Jackie!” Crutchie lets out an incredulous laugh, then looks away. “What makes ya think that? I ain’t--”

“Charlie.”

That makes him stop. Jack is the only one allowed to call him by his real name, and even then, he only ever does so when it’s important. Crutchie takes in a deep breath and sits up, wincing as he moves himself to sit next to Jack with his back against the wall, legs out in front of him. “‘S just… hard, y’know? You’s gonna be gone soon. For real. You already stopped sellin’ and- and don’t get me wrong, I’m real happy for ya ‘nd all, but… I dunno, I just… don’t want ya to leave yet. Figured it would be easier if I stopped talkin’ to ya now, ‘stead of waitin’ for you to go.”

“Charlie, just because I ain’t here don’t mean I ain’t gonna talk to ya,” Jack says softly, wrapping an arm around Crutchie’s shoulder. “You and I- we’s brothers. Always gonna be brothers. You know that, right, knucklehead?” Jack nudges Crutchie in the side, which makes the younger boy let out a laugh. “Once I got enough money to get myself a place, you’s comin’ with me, ya hear? You and me, Crutch.”

“Thought you was gonna live with Dave?” Crutchie tilts his head, a lopsided grin on his face.

“Davey’ll be fine on the couch,” Jack shrugs. There’s a few beats of silence before they both break out into soft laughter, which results in Crutchie resting his head against Jack’s shoulder, just like he used to do when they were younger.

After a few moments, however, Crutchie sucks in a deep breath. “...What am I gonna do with ya gone? Who’s gonna help me get down from the roof?”

“Uh, no one, ‘cause after I’m gone, ain’t no one stealin’ my roof.”

“Who’s gonna antagonize the Delancey’s with me?”

“Where the hell did ya learn the word ‘antagonize’?”

“Who’s gonna make sure I don’t mess up? What if I mess up, Jack? I don't know what to do, and you--”

“Crutch, calm down,” Jack says gently, then rubs the younger boy’s arm. “You’re gonna be fine. You’re gonna do good things, kiddo, I promise. I am so, so proud of you, Charlie… You’re gonna be just fine.”

Crutchie looks up at Jack and gulps, but eventually nods, biting his lip. “I... I guess you's right. Thanks, Jackie.”

They settle into a comfortable silence after that. Things will be a lot different once Jack is actually gone, sure, but Jack has a feeling everything will be alright. He's going to make sure of it.

For his friend.

No, for his best friend.

No, for his brother.

[stry-someone-to-remember-you]

Plan(ed) to Have Something Ready, By The Ball Drop &/or Tomorrow!!! If Everything Works out...

Hey Everyone, 

HAPPY NEW YEARS EVE!!!

Wow, this is the second message without any art added or anything... LOL... Seems odd really to do this without having something up by now... By the way, yes the current avatar pic is related to the comic as you’ll come see soon. It’s and early sketch so some kinks aren’t worked out in the current image. But it was the one I was ready to have when I made this blog so there was at least something...

So as you probably can see by this title, I do plan on having something posted... I just don’t know to what extent. Due to some family drama, and continually piling on work I wasn’t able to get my Christmas Pic out to you guys, which was just a static scene with a few of the characters to get us started here. But... well family got in the way, continually decorating till Christmas day... a lot of things going on, bickering (though we all love each other) it’s just... you know life. I fully expected this as well, which is why I promised something before New Years, but didn’t specify as to what.

I postponed that idea to be released today or tomorrow, after seeing how I was completely unable to get to the work by Christmas Eve. But, by the looks of the progress I made on it and my families continually need of me till we get some things done in this house (that always has something to be done in it... LOL, at least things are coming fairly together).  So lets just say, I may not have anything out by tomorrow. But with hopes I want to have something out. So We’ll see. I could release early the character sketches. But I want to keep this blog clean as possible, so I feel releasing the character profiles, cards and blogs together prior to the Prologue, would fit better and keep this page having a cleaner look to it at the start.

 Maybe even by midnight tomorrow PST I could have something... But that again depends. I need to clean stuff for the internet/cable guy and I’m seriously allergic to dust... So the next few days I may be in an almost sickly comatose state regardless of the precautions I take. If dust gets kicked into the air at all and isn’t properly vacuumed up, than I’m often sick for days... I feel like all I’ve been doing the whole month is cleaning or working story wise on this comic... Mostly cleaning if you ask me, but at least after Saturday things should be more relaxed and I can have a better work schedule planned out. So yeah, that’s my life...

But DIDNT’ WAN TO LEAVE YOU HANGING with this Negative Nancy Talk ;D ;P ;D lol....

I want to tell you what I have so far:

I have the Christmas Image at least with the basic building blocks to complete it. Like I’ve drawn where I want things, but not detailed anything... So that’s why it may be a day or so... Technically its a Happy Holidays and New Years piece, but with the Christmas Tree in it I have the habit of calling it such...

I may have plans to detail it a bit more then I plan on having the comic, but that also depends on things. I may just leave it in the same style and not fully decked out to make it easier to finish...

~Several Characters for the beginning have their final forms created. These are major characters that will be scene in the prologue. I’m just having to figure out out little things with background characters in some instances.

~The prologue is almost completely written out. I had a change of heart a week ago on some things and had to change it around, which is why the written format for the prologue isn’t complete as it initially was. I just felt some things didn’t fit, so I added and took away some things so it flows better and also works both fanfiction wise for the story, but easily mixes for the Ask AU... I also have at least the beginning portion of the Intro script written, the parts unaffected by the changes. However, parts of the intro will be written out, depending on the questions you ask the characters in this prologue so these portions I’m leaving open on purpose. It’s the plot driven portions I’m mentioning that I’ve changed slightly. ;) I have fun plans for the prologue. Remember this story has a clear direction I’m taking it with plot. But the Ask portion will be a part of it, I have such a fun way of Ask’s being tied into the plot driven story, and it will change depending on the context, person and setting which makes this really fun to plan out. 

                   -With that said, here’s an early heads up, that for Ask Questions, I will allow any sort of asks, but if it has potential to spoil a part of the story, then I won’t answer it. Alongside this, I’ll allow Anon magic to a small degree. I won’t include Asks that like spoil something for a character, or tell the character where someone is, give away what someone else is doing to another character, etc... Unless it may fit the context, but generally I won’t use these types of asks. I will allow Anons to appear occasionally rather then just be unseen voices, as I have fun ways of incorporating Anons into the story that also works with different points in the plot. I will accept things like... say a dog or cat to appear for ex. amount of asks. I already know who they’ll be and have been planning out their designs, but I may draw the line at other animals (e.g. horses, fish, racoons, squirrels, lizards, etc.) Although, I do really love rabbits, I chose to make it concise to just two animals that if asked could appear. It’s not because I can’t draw them but I don’t want things getting out of hand. Types of anon magic I’m not going to use if put in the Ask portion, are things like giving people certain powers or items that may completely effect the tone or plot of the story, accept maybe if I did a non-canon AU to this au for fun one day. I will go more in depth in the general rules later. In no way is this to discourage anyone from asking such things. I may set reminders at times if I get to much of something. But, in general I’ll do what I can to make this a fun Ask blog all the same.

~The Larger Summary, I promised like a trailer would be in the comic form I have rendered the Script for, and have two slides so far drawn out, just not completed. (for the time I didn’t have around the Holidays compared to normally I actually surprised myself with this)

~The story itself is really coming together, I already have a starting and stopping point (which I had prior to this blog) as it will have several Acts and Arcs, some which have greatly changed and take on new depth since the point I started this blog. The themes and story in general are drawn out pretty well.  I don’t have all the chapters I’d want fully written. As I have my plan, but I also want to get the prologue in first, just to see if there’s anything I should change with my concept. It’s just a precaution, something I’ve learned well when taking on something new. So I don’t have things that are written in stone and hard to change if the form I’m hoping to take doesn’t work out and needs to be retooled or something. But these are minor and shouldn’t change the overall scope and plot I’m taking this story on either.

~I’ve created several of the character bios, many in fact are already written in true Henry Stickmin fashion. But as I took inspiration to make this into a AU as well, I will possibly make both the bio cards and show a static shot of the characters alongside it or something... It’s an idea, but I want this to also be the easier comic. But, considering that I’ll always have a static shot I use as reference for any character I make, this is what makes this more realistic to occur as well. ~I’ve nearly drawn out all the characters for the intro portion. And already know how I’ll handle Anon’s in the story. In the Prologue itself, I’ll actually have you Anon’s being referenced as audience members in a conference of sorts. Think of it like those conferences when a new Apple or Microsoft product is first advertised as something new to the news conference, those big rotunda’s where someone's being interviewed and presenting the hot new item. Think of the opening to the prologue being something like this scenario. So the questions directed at the character in there, who... *cough* I will introduce later after I fully render both their character profile and have their character bio(s) fully done. Which considering how fun and easy it’s been to do this so far shouldn’t be to long now... Although to keep from getting questions to soon on them, I may hold off on posting the Characters and Bio’s till I have that Intro/Trailer completed... I’m still considering which to do first actually. But top on my list out of all of these is having my cover art for the top completed. That’s something I admit though I have the layout I have hardly started on and should focus on first.

~I’m also taking close looks at how to properly make the rules for this group. When I posts either the Character Bios, Holiday Pic, OR the Trailer Comic... Maye even just the cover art... Then I will try to have out an official Rules list. The one I have on the group posts is just general stuff... But I’m reconsidering some rules I already wrote... Basically keep things family friendly, be kind an courteous, nothing vulgar or disturbing. 

I may change this from a PG-13 comic to maybe PG-15. I’ve realized recently, there are some points that some characters do swear... sometimes more then once. I’m not someone who talks with vulgarity myself, but I sure can write characters with it.... Let’s just say I’m going to see if in those scenes I might just bleep out words and see if the dialogue still comes through. But, I dunno... LUCKILY, we don’t have to worry about many of those scenes till way further into this comic. So lucky for either of us, this isn’t a major concern at the moment. And on the plus side it’s not the crudest words I could have chosen so... it may still work as a PG-13 work... I’ll make this decision soon as possible. 

Another reason for the sudden change, came as I realized as the story goes, and even in early chapters there will be scenes where blood is shown and physical mortal danger and peril is experienced by the characters. I do have heavy theming sometimes, later on it may seem constantly about. As this story is heavily Drama/Mystery and some suspense based. As the story progresses it will become less Drama/Mystery and more based around the drama/suspense itself. This will obviously be some more intense scenes that showing less blood would allow me to make PG-13, however I also don’t want to undercut the certain tones using representations of a mortal wound would bring. I also want to look at things like these future scenes realistically. Which is why I’m mostly considering changing this story to a PG-15 or at least more certain I am. I just don’t want people shocked that I’m doing this. I don’t feel this story will be R, there was a time where I heavily considered it. But for once I decided no, I didn’t want that. I just didn’t want to open the door for scenes I didn’t intend to have in this story. There will be heavy themes that my have TW for some people. But I didn’t want some TW’s  that having a R rated story could potentially have. I mean certain themes people are free to write fanfictions for, and depending on the content can make art for. But again this will be family friendly group... As You can see I’m considering more then a little here when it comes to the official rules. These details will be followed up on the official rules post.

~~~~~~

Now I apologize for the length.

The structure of this and the previous Authors Notes will probably fall under their own category for length. I’ll work to make sure posts in the future won’t be so long and hard to read. It is early morning for me when I woke to write this, and I found once much of the day passed that I still wanted to include the stuff I did into this update.

I have more to tell you, but I think this post has spurned the energy in me out. Anything that I missed in this post, I’ll try to remember to update in the next post (hopefully after I get some art on here). What I can’t do at the moment is promise dates right now till I’m more certain of schedule to work on this or can promise that my general allergies won’t cause me to delay this at all. But I can confirm that I should have several things coming out this next month, including the comic Prologue I hope. Depending on the traction the comic and fanfic gets, I may try to work on it quickly, or take my time with it. I may do a mix of both as my perfectionist self won’t let me just shoot something out without giving it my all first. I’m shushing that side slightly so this comic will be easier on me then the more detailed one I have planned. All the same, I’m planning to work on this one more at the moment till I can get an idea of my work flow. Sometimes the easiest route of work is better for planning, rather then diving head first into the deep end right away. You don’t learn to swim by jumping head first into the ocean. Piece of advice that it took years for me to learn myself ;). Anyways, I figured since I did promise something hopefully by today or tomorrow, I’d give you a formal update... Also... Well I can’t promise that updates won’t be like this in the future. I’ll try to keep them concise. But as people who know me, well have learned when it comes to personally talking I tend to write or talk out epistle. So... When I give updates, I may have lengthy ones... I’ll try my best to keep this side of me out of updates, if I can help it. Anyways Happy New Years Everyone!!! I hope everyone's Christmas and Holidays were extra special, despite the state of the world!!! 

HAPPY NEW YEARS EVE AND DAY!!! Sincerely, <3 (Mod) Sweet Heart Blaze