#it is. so very tough to pick between your ocs but i had to go with my favorite neon girl <333

[jendoe]

me, fucking up every important thing: well, rock and roll

happy birthday @shadowglens!

[lillysdreaminnn]

Labyrinth.

Labyrinth; introduction.

Pairing; aaron hotchner x fem!oc

Words; 2.2k

Summary; Ivy got accepted to fill the empty place in the behavioural analysis unit - what she's been after her whole life - and meets her boss and colleagues for the first time.

Warnings; swearing, Derek being Derek, JJ being a little shit here and there (but we love her 🫶🏻), not proofread, i suck at warnings that's all ive got :)

A/n; hi! I decided to post my fic on here too! You can also find it on wattpad under the name Oceanbringerr (my dad picked it out 💀). It's my first fic 🫢 comments and reblogs are heavily appreciated and I hope you enjoy 🫶🏻🫶🏻

"So, do you think I'm hired?" Ivy muttered, fixing her blazer for what seemed to be the fifteenth time. April just shot her a glare, basically scolding her.

 "Okay babe; relax. You've been after this your whole life. You got this, I promise you honey." April tried to reassure her sister once again, watching her mess with her outfit more - messing it up even more.

 "Ivy, I swear to fucking God if you mess with your blazer one more time I will murder you." Violet, the eldest of the family, yelled as she shot up from her spot on Ivy's bed. She stormed over to her sister, forcefully fixing the blazer and top.

 "You're beautiful, honey." She said, a lot calmer this time. "I don't want him to employ me just because I'm beautiful." Ivy scoffed at her two sisters, putting her hair up in a slick ponytail, wanting to seem as serious as she felt about all this.

"So you haven't even met your boss yet?" Violet asked, popping a piece of chocolate in her mouth after she sat back down on Ivy's - once - perfectly made bed.

 "No, not yet. I only met section chief Erin Strauss... She seemed... Fine?" Ivy said with a soft laugh, turning back to her sisters who shot her a thumbs up. "Anyway, I have to go. Don't eat all of these, your date will go perfectly fine, plus you have seven more hours to stress about it." The girl snatched the chocolate away from her sister, smiling as Violet whined like a child.

 "Fine. Have fun!" The oldest sister called out after the youngling - in Violet's very words - as she ran out the door.

 Blasting some music in her car, Ivy was quick to arrive at the bureau. She took a moment to herself, staring at the building in complete and utter awe, telling herself that she finally made it. After all those years of pure blood, sweat and tears - maybe even literally - she was finally there.

 Taking a deep breath, she put her name-tag on and walked inside the huge building with a box of her stuff. She was greeted by the usual lovely agents she always passed as she made her way to the elevators, pressing the number eight.

 "Hold the doors!" A voice called out, making Ivy put her hand between the doors to keep them from shutting. Once the sensor got her hand, the doors re-opened, revealing a tall, strong man.

 He's handsome. Ivy thought to herself, smiling politely at him.

 "Thank you." He smiled at her, holding a cup of coffee in his left hand. "You're new here?" He asked Ivy, making her look up at him. "Uh, not exactly. I've just been promoted to the behavioural analysis unit." She said with a smile.

 She thought she was bragging, but she had every right to; she had been chasing after this her entire life.

 The man smiled, making Ivy smile a little wider too. "So you're the new recruit, huh? Nice to meet you, I'm Derek Morgan." He introduced himself, making Ivy almost drop her stuff. Of course she had heard of Derek Morgan. Who hadn't?

 The specialist on obsessional crimes.

 "It's very nice to meet you, Derek." Ivy offered him another friendly smile, since she was holding a pretty heavy box in her arms. "I take it you're meeting Hotch today." He laughed a little at Ivy's worried expression.

 "Yup." She nodded, her polite smile never faltering. "He's not as scary as he seems. He likes to play it tough, but he's very nice." Derek said as the two walked out of the elevators and into the bullpen.

"Good luck and welcome to the team, agent." Derek said with a small smile as he walked to his desk, leaving Ivy lost.

 "Staircase, first door to your right." A girly voice called from next to her, making her head snap towards the blonde woman next to her. Finally a familiar face.

 "Hi JJ." Ivy smiled, wrapping her free arm around the girls waist, as she hugged Ivy back with a similar smile. "Hi honey. Let me take you to Hotch, he's been quite stressed as well." JJ said with a laugh, leading Ivy to their boss's office.

 She knocked on the door and waited for the green light, so they could walk inside. When they did get the green light, JJ opened the door, Ivy standing behind her like a lost child.

 "Hey, Hotch. Look who's here." JJ said, making the man look up from his papers, a subtle scowl on his face. The scowl disappeared when his eyes landed on the terrified girl behind JJ.

 Jesus Christ, man up Ivy. You're a full blown FBI agent, for fuck's sake.

 "You must be agent Monroe." Said Hotch, as he got up from his chair, stretching his hand out to Ivy, who gladly gave him a handshake with a smile.

 "It's very nice to meet you, sir." She said, using both hands to hold her box again. JJ had left the two be, shutting the door behind her as well. Hotch motioned for Ivy to sit, which she did after putting her box next to her feet.

 "Strauss told me all about you and your achievements and I have to admit; I'm surprised. In the best way, of course." Hotch said looking down at some files and then back up at Ivy.

 He's stressed.

 The files on his desk had nothing to do with Ivy and she knew it. He looked down because of the awkwardness in the room, which didn't take a profiler to notice.

 "Thank you, sir. I'm very honoured to be here." She said, a small smile on her face as well. Derek told her Hotch looked - and she quotes - 'scary' but to her he seemed just fine. Maybe a little intimidating, but that's about it.

 After a very in depth talk about the job and some of Ivy's accomplishments, Ivy was cleared to go set up. With a polite handshake, she picked up her box and started heading out, when Hotch's voice stopped her.

 "Oh and please; call me Hotch. We're collegues now."

 Ivy smiled and nodded, mumbling a soft 'bye' as she shut the door behind herself. She made her way down to the bullpen and found the desk Hotch had told her about, placing her box on it and sighing. She took a moment to look around, smiling to herself.

 "Meeting with the boss went well?" Derek's voice rang out of nowhere, making Ivy slightly jump. "You're jumpy for an FBI agent." He joked, making Ivy laugh. "I'm not gonna fight that." She chuckled, staring to set up on her desk.

 "Need any help?" Derek offered and before a woman scoffed with a laugh, "Let the poor girl set up her stuff before you start flirting." A woman with raven black hair said, laughing a little.

 Damn, why's everyone so fine in here?

 "Hey, I wasn't flirting! I was just... offering a helping hand to the newbie." Derek defended himself, making the woman laugh again as she shook her head. "Don't mind him, he's a flirt but a really nice guy. Hi, I'm Emily Prentiss." Emily stretched a hand out to Ivy.

 Ivy gladly shook her hand while politely smiling at her. "Nice to meet you, Emily, I'm Ivy." She said, making Emily smile as well.

 "Very pretty name." Emily chuckled, making Ivy's cheeks turn a dusty pink. "Thank you." Ivy said with a smile, staring to set up her stuff on her desk.

 Derek was sat in his spinny chair while Emily was standing, both watching the younger agent set up her office. "Do you need anything?" Ivy laughed awkwardly, as the two agents basically ogled at her. "Sorry, you just look so much like JJ..." Derek said, sounding as confused as he looked.

 "We're second cousins." Ivy laughed, stopping her movements so she could look at the two with an amused smile. "Oh my God! You're the Ivy she talks about!" Emily realised, pointing a finger at Ivy, who was horribly trying to hold back her laughter.

 "That's me" She said, motioning to herself.

 "I pictured you a redhead." Emily mumbled, mainly to herself, but Ivy heard and chuckled.

 "It's the name."

 "It's the DC villain."

 "Maybe both."

 "Both." Both women nodded, a similar grin on their faces.

 Derek just sat confused, watching the two women talk as if they had known each other for ages. "I'm very confused." He commented, mumbling to himself, "You look confused." Emily pointed out as Derek scoffed jokingly.

 "I do not." He defended himself.

 "Why's Derek confused?" A tall, scrawny boy asked as he walked by, sitting across Ivy's desk. God damnit, he's cute too.

 "Oh fuck you."

 Ivy could only laugh at the sibling-like interaction between Emily, Derek and the boy - who seemed awfully young to be witnessing such horrors the BAU saw daily. "Because; Spencer, this is Ivy. The cousin JJ always talks about." Emily introduced, making Spencer nod with a side smile.

 "JJ talks about you very often. I always pictured you a redhead, though." Spencer said with a chuckle, making Ivy smile. He was indeed very cute.

 "Well, I'm obviously a blonde. But I've been thinking about changing it up a li-"

 "Don't even finish that sentence missy." JJ's voice called out suddenly, making Ivy groan. "Why do you always spawn so randomly? Does the universe put money in the slot or something?" Ivy mumbled, making Derek laugh subtly.

 "Ivy, you remember how it went last time you tried to dye your hair." JJ laughed, sitting on her cousin's desk with a smile eerily identical to Ivy's, who just smiled softly and looked down to her feet.

 "How'd it go?" Emily asked with a curious smile.

 "Miss Monroe here had greenish hair for like a month." Ivy shot her cousin a glare, trying to hold back her own laughter. Eventually she gave in and started laughing as well, shaking her head a little.

 "Yeah okay, it was a disaster. Something went wrong with the dye and I ended up with green hair." Ivy explained, everyone laughing at the mental picture of their new friend with green hair.

 Ivy continued setting up her desk while chatting with the rest of the team, getting to know them better. Ny the end of their shifts, they had done their work and even tried to help Ivy but she wouldn't let them.

 "Go home, Emily." Ivy said with a laugh as Emily sighed in defeat. "Fine. But text me when you get home." The raven haired woman said, patting Ivy's shoulder as a goodbye gesture.

 It was nine when Emily left, leaving Hotch and Ivy alone.

 Two hours later, Hotch exited his office, seeking some caffeine to keep him up for the ridiculous amount of paperwork he had for some reason, when he spotted his new agent. "She's still here?" He mumbled to himself, surprised that Ivy was there.

 He shrugged it off and made his way to the coffee machiene, deciding to leave the girl be for now. That was all out the window when he saw the exhaustion in her face when she lifted her head from her paperwork to sip her own coffee.

 So he decided to be a good boos and check on her.

 "Hey, Monroe. You alright?" He asked, reaching her desk.

 Ivy looked up from her files and smiled at Hotch, nodding her head. "Yeah, I just want to get these out of the way so I have less for tomorrow." She said with a soft smile, making Hotch smile too.

 She's interesting.

 "What are you still doing here?" Ivy asked back, as Hotch sighed and rubbed his eyes, "Chief duties." He said with a faint smile, making Ivy giggle. "It's eleven at night." Ivy pointed out, a soft smile on her face.

 "Your point?"

 "It's too late to work."

 "You're working too."

 "Not for long." Ivy smirked, tapping her pen shut and putting her hair up, "I'm officially done with these, plus if I stay an other minute awake I actually think I'll go crazy." She chuckled, taking the thick stack of files in her arms.

 "I'll take them to my office, don't worry about it; go home." Hotch said, putting the full coffee mug down on Ivy's desk as he reached for the papers. "It's fine, Hotch, honestly." Ivy tried to stop him, but he insisted.

 "You look exhausted, Monroe. Leave those to me and go rest." Ivy gave up and sighed with a smile, "Fine." She passed the files over to Hotch, who easily held them up with one hand while Ivy needed both.

 Damn.

 Ivy sighed and put her coat on, placing her bag over her shoulder. She finished off her coffee and threw away the papercup, while making sure she got everything she needed. Once she gathered the last of her things, she walked to the doors about to leave when a voice called out to her.

 "Goodnight Monroe." Hotch's voice called out, not even looking at her as he opened the door to his office.

 "Goodnight Hotch." Ivy chuckled, shaking her head as she walked to the elevators, calling it a day finally.

[smokersbaby]

Hi, if you're comfortable with writing this, can I request some angst to fluff where Zoro & Sanji ( separately ) reacting to ( gender neutral ) reader sleeping on the couch after an argument? Only if you're comfy ofc, no pressure ^^

Hi! Thank you so much for your request and I apologize if I took some time before answering but I haven't written angst fics before so this is my very first try! I hope you like it, tough! Characters: Zoro, Sanji TW: angst, fluff (there's no real TW tough) Author's note: the arguments are not that serious oc, this is also my first writing with gender neutral reader, it was kinda easy, probably just because it's SFW fanfic but I'd love to try it even with others genres :)

Zoro

You almost hate him when he answers like that. "You shouldn't do that, you're going to hurt yourself," Zoro says as he sees you picking up a very heavy weight of his. Probably it was a little too much for your training, but as soon as he said that, you wanted to prove him wrong. Useless to say that in less than a second the weight fell on your toes, making you swear in pain. "I told you so" Zoro says watching you hurt yourself and coming towards you to land a hand. "Leave me alone!" you shout at him, leaving him speechless. It wasn't your real intention to send him away like that, but at that exact moment, you felt so irritated hearing his know-it-all way to speak. Zoro glanced at you without saying a word and went away, leaving you alone in the room. As the time of going to sleep arrives, your anger dissipates, but yet you are not in the mood to say sorry to him or even to sleep in the same bed, so you decide to rest on the couch for tonight. As you pass in front of your shared bedroom, you see the door slightly open and Zoro in bed, probably already sleeping as if nothing happened. You get some blankets and a pillow as you try to make yourself comfortable on the couch even though the material wasn't enough soft to sleep on with ease. You had a hard time trying to fall asleep, the sound of the things you shouted at Zoro before echoes in your mind, probably you overreacted, but why didn't he try to resolve things as soon as it happened? Tears start falling down your cheeks, overthinking isn't the greatest way to catch some sleep, but in one way or another your eyelids become heavy and you manage to fall asleep on the hard fabric. You didn't sense him approaching you on the couch, but as soon as you feel his arms hugging you tight over the blankets you can't help but hug him back, a soft grunt slips out of his mouth. "Y/N, you don't have to sleep here" you can hear the softness in his voice even though his words seem quite rough. Zoro lets out a sigh as he holds you tighter through the fabric of the blankets. "I didn't want to upset you, I'm sorry" he whispers, you can't resist him when he opens up to you, so you put your arms around his neck to feel him closer. "I'm sorry too, I overreacted" you feel tears running down your face. "No need to apologize" he picks you up from the uncomfortable couch and brings you to your shared bedroom, he places a kiss on your forehead as soon as he holds you in his strong arms. It feels so relaxing to be held like that, you can sense his protectiveness towards you. He places you on the comfy bed and tucks you under the cosy blankets. You probably look like a burrito right now, all rolled up in the sheets, and your eyes are still reddish from the tears and tiredness since it's quite late. Zoro puts himself under the blankets too, hugging you tight and making your head rest on his chest, his hands play with your hair as he helps you fall asleep, his soft touch relaxes you and you start to forget even the reason why you argued with him. "My little stubborn baby" he whispers as he senses you already dreaming between his arms with a soft smile, knowing everything is okay as long as you are with him.

Sanji

Sanji can't be upset with you, even if you get on his nerves with some serious arguing. He keeps calling you "baby or love" all the time and probably this was the main reason that made you lose your temper in that situation.

He couldn't understand all your concern when you told him that he was being too uncautious when fighting. He replied superficially to your statement, even though he got a scar on his chest from the previous battle. "Let me bandage your wound Sanji" you said in a quite angry tone, preventing yourself to tell him -I told you so-, even though it's what you would have liked to say most to him. "No, it's nothing love…" he replied, hiding the pain and trying to look confident even in a moment like that. He continues: "it's not that serious". You gave him a deadly look, how could he answer you that way when his fresh wound was bleeding? Why did he have to act like that? There's nothing wrong in asking for help, furthermore, you are his s/o, and he should know how much you care about him. In that exact moment, you've let your emotions take the lead, as you said to him in such an irritating tone the simple words "Fine, do that by yourself then", making appear a blown away look on Sanji's face. He couldn't understand why you were being so rude to him, just because he didn't need your help with that wound (or probably because he didn't want to appear weak to your eyes). Now you were in the guest room of your shared house, refusing to sleep in the same bed as Sanji and trying to make yourself comfortable on the guest's bed that nobody has ever really used. You could feel the hard mattress springs underneath your body, probably rusty due to using it only a few times. You covered yourself with the blankets trying not to think about the previous argument with Sanji, but how could you not think about it? Tears started running down your cheeks, the tiredness of the day was mixing the thoughts inside your head, making you get up from the uncomfy bed after a few minutes. You went to your shared bedroom and you peeked at the door, seeing Sanji sitting down on the bed trying to bandage himself clumsily. You couldn't help but chuckle a bit seeing him trying to do his best but still not succeeding. You entered the room, Sanji turned his head suddenly hearing your footsteps on the floor. You grabbed the bandages and started wrapping up his wound, without letting him say a word. After you were done, he whispered a soft "Thank you", making you smile slightly. He wrapped his arms around your body, keeping you tight against him. "Let me help you right away next time, there's no shame in asking for help," you said to him, staring into his eyes with a look full of love. He nodded his head while he was still holding you tight, Sanji placed a soft kiss on your cheek, making you smile more. "Where would I be without you, Y/N?" he whispers to you caressing your hair. Your heart starts pounding faster as he tells you these words, making you feel loved and forget why you were angry with him. You're too in love with Sanji that there's no way you could hold a grudge when you are with this lovely man.

[bonny-kookoo]

is seven days yoongi's oc also inexperienced? how do they meet bonbon? seven days yoongi is such a dream i wanna be his baby too 🥺

Seven Days Yoongi's oc was inexperienced when they met. Now she's certainly not haha

"You can stay and watch the soundcheck if you want." Your friend says, as she picks up her keys. "I'll have to get back to work. Text me when you leave and get back to your hotel though!" She says, hugging you once before she disaappears.

You've never been this close to a stage, so in between the whole hassle going on around it.

Walking around, you find a nice spot to watch the band prepare, one of the bass players starting a random beat you nod your head to while you lean on the edge of the stage, looking around.

It's then that you notice someone squatting almost in the middle of the stage, his head turned towards you, nodding along the same beat with a slight smile on his face as he clearly watches you. It flusters you, and causes you to tense up, instantly stopping all movement as you watch him stand up and slowly walk towards you.

When he leans down again, he watches you for a second, intrigued by your contradicting body language. You hold eye contact, the rest of your body trying to act tough and confident. But he can spot your hands fidgeting, the way you chew the inside of your lip, how you correct the placement of your feet.

Interesting.

"Is there something you need?" He asks you, and you're taken aback by his rather low voice, before you shake your head.

"No- my friend works here, she's.. Kim Hara? She's one of the safety team.." you try and explain and justify your presence, and he seems to think for a second before he nods.

"She never told me she's got such pretty friends." He flirts, and you're completely caught off guard by that. "Sorry, I'm usually not like this. Apologies to your boyfriend." He jokes, and you lean back a little, letting go of the stage.

"Ah well, thanks for.. the compliment?" You say, or almost question more so. "And, there's no boyfriend so, yeah.." you say, and he can see how uncomfortable you seem to become.

"I'm really sorry if that gave the wrong message." He says more seriously now, voice sounding a bit kinder. "I don't take on groupies or anything like that. Was just.. curious, since I've never seen you around before." He says, and you seem to relax quite a bit at that.

"Oh I'm not part of the crew." You shake your head. "Just.. IT stuff. Hara said you guys had some last-minute technical issues and no one was able to figure out what was up so.. I jumped in, cause I'm staying in a hotel here close by." You shrug, explaining your situation.

"I assume you fixed it then, considering all is working now." He chuckles, sitting down with his legs dangling off the side of the stage. "You gonna be here tonight?" He asks, but you shake your head.

"No, I didn't buy tickets." You say sheepishly. "I.. like your music, but I also like being able to afford food." You joke, and he laughs.

"Thats understandable-" He agrees, watching you while he plays with his microphone. "-and a very good choice to make." He nods, making you smile, a lot more comfortable now- before you tense up again.

"Oh God you're supposed to be rehearsing right?" You suddenly remember, stepping away from him. "I'm sorry- I should leave anyways, it was really nice meeting you though!" You thank him, bowing politely.

"Hey, before your run off-" he asks, reaching out his hand to wave you closer so he doesn't have to shout. "-is it okay if I ask Hara later for your number?" He wonders bluntly, and you tense up again.

You're really jumpy. He wonders what must've happened to you to make you act like everything's constantly a threat.

"I- yeah? I mean okay, but, didn't you say you didn't" you wonder, and he nods.

"And I meant that." He agrees. "But I'm also just a guy who's spotted a pretty girl right now, and I wanna get to know you if you're okay with that." He says, and you're hesitant.

That's Min Yoongi. Rapper, singer, producer, artist- an entertainer. The man he wants you to think he is, might jot be who he really is down the line. And yet there's something about him, something about this simplicity in which he handles this whole ordeal that just draws you in.

Maybe you could give him a chance.

[hana-bobo-finch]

teleports in here for ask game purposes. asking this one again bc I like this question

🌼 what's your favorite thing about your oc !! any of them! whichever one(s) you wanna talk about 🦅🦅🔥🔥🔥

OOOOOO HELLO!!! That’s a tough question I got no idea 🦅🦅💥💥 I love everything about my ocs but I will attempt to answer!!!

I have a ton of ocs a majority of which I have never and may never post about so I’ll try to stick to the ones that I have shown to the world (though I’ll briefly summarize those too because i doubt anyone remembers them) but I might sprinkle in some of my Super Scary Secret Ones as well

• OC NUMBER ONE!!! TERRI (the dumbass pikmin oc with the moth I posted about yesterday I think? Was it yesterday? I must admit I have been completely out of it this week and I have lost any concept of time but REGARDLESS)

I HAVE NOT DONE MUCH WITH HER SO THERE IS NOTHING TRULY DEEP TO HER CHARACTER. BUUUT I like how she was my first real oc based on a preexisting franchise. for a loooong time I was in the horribly toxic mindset of “heheheh oc? that’s so cringe hehehe” so a few months ago I made her as a big middle finger to that previous mindset. YES I made a pikmin oc YES she’s the sibling of a preexisting character YES I posted it on tumblr and NO I do NOT give a damn!!!

Or if you want a more basic answer I like how I made it so her hair kinda looks like butterfly wings cause it looks really goofy but she probably thinks it is So Awesome heeheehee

• OC NUMBER TWO!!! PUTTERS AND GAF (counting them as one)

I just think they are very silly. If I had to choose a favorite aspect it’d be how they influence other characters, like the pure, blinding jealousy and rage that Putters brings upon her owner’s husband. You either love putters and gaf or you want to see them dead and there is no in between

• OC NUMBER THREE!!! DOMITONE!!!

actually in my original post bout her I didn’t fully mention some of her personality traits. I was focused more on her relation to the Turtlemeister but there’s more to her. Not a whole lot more admittedly but yea. If I had to pick my favorite though I’d sayyyy her brashness. I feel like I didn’t get that across well in the original post but she is intense. She will speed down the road at speeds way over the limit (and in this universe driving is already a taboo unless you have good reason for it) while blaring music, she tried to start the “sequel to the ice bucket challenge” (the boiling water challenge, it did not go well) and has zero filter. She’s not completely insane (I think if she was constantly like that it’d be way too much) but those aspects are definitely my favorite

• OC NUMBER FOUR!!! GOURDIE

fear not if you have no idea who this is! You aren’t simply forgetting or weren’t around for me mentioning her, I have just never mentioned her existence! She’s putter’s owner. I could go wayyyy into her but then we’d be here all day and I’ve already been typing this out for way too long soooo. It’s incredibly hard to pick one favorite aspect soooo I’ll just go with:

she’s prooooobably the most emotionally intelligent of the ocs in this universe…….not to say she’s a complete saint by any means, hell she’s kinda the catalyst for a LOT of problems with some Really Bad Decisions but she actually owns her fuck ups (except for the time she accidentally killed someone and was too horrified to tell anyone so she staged an accident and lived with the guilt the rest of her life but shhhhh) and tries to improve. Which by the end she does! Yippee (SHE IS NOT OK BY THE END) (SHE WON BUT AT WHAT COST)

She’s also just one of the nicest characters, you wouldn’t get that from my brief description but she actually is. She’s forgiving to a fault, like she got back with her ex husband MULTIPLE times on and off despite the fundamental disagreement that caused them to break up in the first place never being resolved, and tries to be the best parent possible (uhhh she might’ve failed with her…fish daughter….crap I haven’t mentioned the fish people….uh BUT SHE TRIED HER BEST AND WORKED THINGS OUT WITH SAID FISH DAUGHTER AND THEY ARE A HAPPY FAMILY NOW YAYYYY)

• OC NUMBER FOUR!!! I AM YAPPING SO MUCH SOMEONE STOP ME: DEUX SOURIS

once again you are not crazy I have just never mentioned her before. And yes her name is French for “two mice” you will see why that is. Brief summary, she’s French (shocking) and joined the police force at a young age and was on path to be an incredibly successful and talented officer (much to the chagrin of her…grandmother I think? Yeah it’s her grandmother, who attempted to do the same as her but failed miserably and ended up being a lifelong traffic cop in a region where there is like. No traffic) but then!!! Had to go on a rescue mission and ended up getting. Extremely traumatized in the process! But she rescued the fellas she had to (said fellas losing their eyesight in the process uhhhh don’t ask) and got all sorts of medals for her bravery but she was like. Nah screw this I’m quitting (again to the chagrin of her grandmother, HOW COULD YOU THROW AWAY YOUR CAREER LIKE THIS I WORKED SO HARD AND I NEVER EVEN—) and spent the rest of her life in a group called the “two blind mice and one seeing eye mouse” with the people she rescued where she was the, well, seeing eye mouse! She didn’t actually have to do much work guiding them because the other “mice” in the group were incredibly adaptive and could pretty much function independently immediately but she stuck around anyway. Let’s pretend the story ends there heehee she had a happily ever after mmmhm nothing bad happened after that ahahaha. Um way too much exposition for a simple point but! My favorite thing about her! She carries a soundboard everywhere so she can make goofy sound effects for certain situations. She also plays the horn. Like a car horn. She will make music with car horns. She does a very good job at it surprisingly

I could yap so so so much more but I will restrain myself. Final oc who I am obligated to mention but I will be So Vague about: i won’t say his actual name but. Some call him pumpkin daddy. He has been haunting my thoughts for over 2 years now. He is not even an oc. He is not original. He is someone else’s old oc but when I mentioned he was my favorite part of his original universe, the original creator randomly gave me full ownership of him. So technically he is mine now I suppose. I changed him beyond belief, the only remnants of his old life being his name and appearance. I’m speaking of him like a cryptid lmao my favorite thing about pumpkin daddy is everything. That is all

I am still awaiting the shadowban lifting but pretend that I sent in an ask to you asking the same question!!! @starlightswordfight What’s your favorite part of your ocs!!!

[cyanityy]

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE HARIN ART IT FILLS ME WITH JOY AND IT WAS SO UNEXPECTED

but but do u write oc x oc? if u do how do u think harin would interact with one of ur ocs?

AAA YOU'RE WELCOME ANYTIME !! I'm glad you liked it, she was such a delight to draw! I don't write OC content often but I can definitely try. I don't have any other OC besides Sonya (yet..) so I'll be dedicating these interactions between her and Harin!

[I've interpreted OC x OC as platonic for this ask.]

Sonya is both intimidated and fascinated by Harin's greaser status. On the one hand, she's brewing all sorts of conversation starters: should she say something about her jacket? but she can't just ask where she got it from..what if she gets angry, or worse? on the other hand, if something feels like daggers in the back of Harin's head it's Sonya focusing really hard on being friendly.

Once they move aside from their first impression, the first mention of Harin's Elvis vinyl has Sonya looking at her saucer-eyed. Not wanting to betray her girly outlook, she waters down her enthusiasm a LOT. Harin doesn't mind, she also thought that maybe Sonya wasn't into her music taste, but after several niche names were dropped during some "simple questions" she caught onto the fact that Sonya is VERY interested, actually.

Harin is very self-assured in her style, so she takes Sonya thrifting for a taste. She doesn't haggle but boy does she know how to get the good picks without a fuss and eventually even Sonya gets the hang of it. She admires Harin for this as it reminds her of her uncle, who she had a very close bond with (also a diehard thrifter). Sonya's got Harin to thank for a lush wardrobe of Jeans, skirts and an old Marshall radio!

Sonya could be a pushover sometimes, especially around her clique. The day that she told Harin about how Mandy invited her for a girl's day out only to be told she came on "the wrong day" was an inspiring one indeed. Harin met her eyes after a pause and goes "I thought you were cooler than that" Before the shock wore off she continued "Mandy's lame. She doesn't look and talk that way because she's happy with herself you know?" Even if Harin had a tough way of showing it, she still cares about Sonya's happiness. After that evening, Sonya sleeps a little easier knowing that Harin's got her back.

Sonya drives like she's always on five stars, if Harin's telling her to stop the car then she probably can't hear it over the sound of wind breaking against her ears.

Harin's idea of a good time is trespassing onto Vale property to stargaze on someone's roof, says there's "less smog here" and.. she's right? You can see how the stars are a little brighter than those in New Coventry if you don't think about the security gate, the CCTV, or the car alarm going off at the wrong gust of air, even Sonya's string of murmurs that she thinks somebody saw them.

Safe to say they make a truce that Sonya will drive responsibility in exchange for Harin to find new, less incriminating hobbies.

Sonya's a physical affection girlie, Harin is not. Whenever Harin sees that girl walking to her with her arms held wide, better believe she'll stop her by the shoulders. Hugs feel too stuffy to her, in fact, any proximity is annoying and opts to spend quality time instead. it's something they disagree on.

Horrible enablers to each other. Not the good kind of horrible, it's the Awkward, tried-your-best kind. Imagine being the victim of their insults and it sounds like "Who died and made you the queen of bad taste?" "-ruler of yucktopia" "which is only a little island" "-made of garbage" - It could go on for a while.

I think their dynamic has potential for complexity especially because Harin would be one of the first greaser girls she gets along with - excuse all her questions and poking, she's just happy to be here!

thanks for sending in a request!

[dilucsfavorite]

What's your opinion of Irene and the Divine Warriors? What were their dynamics?

Personal, a joke headcanon I have is that Irene is like a neurodivergent Jesus who doesn't pick up on social cues (romantic or otherwise) and is completely oblivious to the Shad/Esmund/(Enki) love square she's caught in. Menphia and Kul'zak are in the background cracking up and panicking because they're basically babysitting a God-like deity (Irene) with the mental awareness of a five-year-old, a traumatized possessive Great dane (shad), a giant Golden retriever (Esmund), and most of their days are consumed with trying not to let Enki die in the crossfire

Before I get into my opinions, I think that joke headcanon is super funny. Also, I'll refer to the Divine Warriors as DW during this entire thing just to make it more easier to write and everything.

As a whole, I believe they are a very dysfunctional family. The way I see them, none of them have romantic feelings for one another as I do not feel as if any of them have the time to even have emotional connections like romance. They all used to be the best of friends, but as the weight of being important people and powers came crashing down on them, so did their friendships.

Some dynamics include:

Enki and Kul'Zak: These two are the closest out of the bunch, they are good friends and trust each other with every fiber in their body. However, to history and to the others, these two rarely interacted. Most of their friendship was hidden within letters sent between the two of them.

Irene and Shad: I hated the dynamic between these two on the show. Like.. they loved each other.. but like they didn't? In my opinion, They are polar opposites, both power wise, personality wise, and philosophy wise. They butt heads a lot, but they have their moments. To me, they are the type of found family siblings that will insult and throw punches at each other, but god forbid someone else insults one or the other.

Now, like their names suggest, They all had jobs within the group, though all acted alone and were all worshiped by different groups of people.

Irene was obviously the healer of the group due to what her powers are and what her name suggests. Here's the thing, I believe her powers are like.. too god-like for an entity described multiple times to be a mortal being. Like.. bring people back to life?? Its like a badly written OC. While I do believe she has the best healing capabilities, and some healing powers, I do not think she should be able to bring people back to life. However, she is the person who makes healing medicine a thing to be studies, and not just something left to witches or healing magic users. She started the idea of doctors.

Enki is the keeper. As the name suggests, he is the keeper of all knowledge, he records everything that has happened within the divine warriors, history that has happened in every nation. I like to think that he has a giant library hidden deep beneath the earth's core. It is like the library of Alexandria, but it has never been found. Most scholars do not believe it exists. But it does.

Esmund the protector. I think he has some pretty cool magic, and since we don't know what is powers are, I am going to make something up. He is the protector, meant to protect the people and his matron. I believe he has the power to harden his skin, but he does not use this to his advantage during fights, he only uses it when the fight is getting tough (which rarely happens). I also believe is a tall, buff man. Intimidating to anyone who does not know him, but he has a giant heart.

Kul'Zak the wanderer. He goes between nations, gathers history, records art, records the people and rulers of villages, and also the resident map maker. He and Enki work close together to fill the library up to anything that can fit into it. Also, he blends in so much that it was no wonder that people did not know he was the wanderer.

Shad the destroyer. I believe his old title was Shad the fighter. Unlike Esmund, Shad was always on the front lines fighting. He never really protected anyone, but he was sure a fighter. He was the type to blindly go at it when it came to war, and it had gotten him in trouble many of times with the other DW. He got the title of destroyer during the war. The title of fighter is only kept within the Library that Enki has. Books and other history was destroyed in the book burning of history books.

Menphia the fury. She was usually in the back of wars, having magic that allowed things to fall from the sky to attack enemy lines. Things like fireballs and such. The reason why she is not so talked about is because she wanted it that way. She did not want to be known, she did not want to be remembered. In some regions, the story of the raining fireballs became that of myth, became a story. One that only happens during war full of magical energy converging. Menphia only wanted to live a quiet life, not fight others, espessially people she used to call her friends.

This took forever to type up but coming up with ideas like this was fun !!!!!

[cosmoknightchaos]

hi for the ask game,,, can I learn a bit more about Kat,,, specifically with 🧐 and 🍝 (yes I know the obvious answer for the latter but like. does she like any other foods)

This one has been sitting in my drafts for a while. I finished it, saved it before adding tags, and then completely forgot about it lmaooo

🧐- Is your OC more logical or emotional?

Ough. That's a tough one. I'd say overall, Kat is more logical. She's been on the run for long enough that she knows what to do to survive, and she HAS to do that. If she slips up, even once, and word gets out she's a shapeshifter, that's a death sentence. She has to constantly balance staying completely inconspicuous with getting enough nutrients to keep herself in human form- basically, balance being a normal human with having to kill people to live. And because of that, she is very logical.

However, that's offset by the fact that if Kat ever gets in an emotional state, it's awful. Every now and then the stress just punches her in the face and she has a complete breakdown. These are few and far in between (though become more common during her time with Paisley&Crew, since they help her learn to manage her emotions better), but are often so bad she'll be in this mood for hours, even days. And, since at some point, she always has to go back to trying to survive- the more logical thought process- Kat never gets the time or ability to really recover from those breakdowns, which means the stress keeps building more and more until the next. Rinse and repeat.

🍝- What is/are your OC's favourite food(s)?

Haha. Well

Besides the obvious answer (To be fair she does that mostly to survive, she doesn't enjoy it much), Kat... doesn't actually eat that much. There are very few foods she can eat that won't mess up her body composition and appearance, and it's hard enough to stay as a human without other foods messing that up. So that immediately rules out a lot of fruits, veggies, meats, dairies- basically anything that is naturally grown or animal product will mess up her composition.

However, that doesn't mean she can't eat anything else! A lot of processed foods, which have had nutrients taken out/altered, won't affect her enough for it to be an issue! My current scale for how much food affects her depends on how close that food is to it's natural state- so an apple freshly picked from the tree will fuck her up, apple pie or applesauce won't affect her as much. So thank goodness Kat lives in America, land of the overly processed foods!

Rest of the answer below the cut, since this is getting long and I'll be talking about Kat's actual eating habits (TW: cannibalism)

Which. To be fair overly processed food fucking sucks and if I had to rely on McDonald's burgers to live I would also resort to cannibalism

The issue with Kat is that she's stuck between eating highly-processed garbage food, which sucks but at least it won't mess up her composition, and eating human flesh, which tastes delicious but also requires illegalities to acquire. Remember kids: cannibalism isn't illegal, it's how you procure the meat that is.

I really do think that, despite how much she hates it, Kat will always prefer the flesh, organs, bones, and/or other vitals of whatever species she's disguised as over any "normal" food she can eat. Because bodies are filled with a bunch of tasty nutrients that her body needs in order to keep a consistent form, and processed foods don't have those! Where else is she gonna find food that tastes good?

I think it's best described as that feeling you have when you're craving awful food. Like it's late at night and a shitty hotdog or fast food burger sounds fantastic and you buy one and it is the best thing you've ever eaten. That's how Kat feels about cannibalism. Under normal circumstances (her body at a standard composition with enough nutrients to maintain that form), she's disgusted with the idea of eating human meat and will go out of her way to avoid it. But when she's hungry (low on nutrients and struggling to keep a consistent form), human flesh is absolutely fucking delicious.

I mean, she probably thinks human meat is delicious either way. It's just a matter of moralities, and whether or not she needs it to survive in the moment.

But, to finally answer your question: Kat is a very big fan of sushi! Raw fish fucks her up extremely bad, but she doesn't care. As long as she eats it in moderation and not very often, she can recover quick enough. She also has a very big sweet tooth, especially for cake-like substances like muffins (<-Which can often come ultra-processed, so she can eat them with minimal problems), brownies, and cakes.

[bluestar22x]

I Will Drive You Home

The Writing Contest - Chapter 6: I Will Drive You Home

Summary: Nora makes plans to go back to California

Pairing: Javi Gutierrez x Female!OC (Nora Delaine)

Rating: 18+ Series

Word Count: 2,700(ish)

Warnings: Romance, body insecurity (Nora isn't thin)

Author’s Note: This was a tough chapter for me to write, I'll admit. With the massive writer's block I had over it, it might be a rough one. But we're heading into territory I'm really anxious to get into. <3

xxx

Stirred awake by the morning sunrise for the first time in months, you crept downstairs after a quick shower and brush of your teeth.

You found Javi where you'd left him the night before, still dressed in the clothes he'd been in the previous day and curled up in the fetal position on the couch, one of its throw pillows trapped between his head and his right forearm.

You couldn't help but take a moment to study his prominent features as he continued in his slumber, his closed eyes and relaxed face making him look even more softer than usual.

It was the first time you'd ever seen him asleep, and it made you yearn for more mornings like this, where you woke up to see him still in dreamland, open mouthed drooling and all.

You didn't want to rush your relationship though. Didn't want to wake up next to him anytime soon. You wanted to do this right. Your last relationship had been rushed and it had been a disaster, though you didn't fully realize that until it was over.

Javi was not the same man your ex was, he was everything opposite to him, but that made it all the more important to you to build your romantic relationship up properly. To give it a solid foundation.

You could wait for more.

You dragged yourself away from the pleasant view in your living room to pull everything you'd need to make omelettes out of your kitchen cabinets and get to work on breakfast for you both, softly humming I Will Drive You Home by Bon Jovi, one of his lesser known songs, and one of your top favorites.

You were almost done the second omelette when Javi groggily strolled into the kitchen, swiping a palm over his right eye as he did so.

You thought a man so tall and broad should not look so adorable.

"Morning, sleepyhead. How'd you sleep?" You grinned.

"Not bad," he replied honestly. "Your couch is more comfortable than it looks."

"That's why I bought it," you said, before nodding towards the hallway. "If you want to brush your teeth before eating, go now. Food's almost ready."

"You didn't have to make anything," he told you, peering over your shoulder curiously.

"I wanted to," you promised him.

"Smells wonderful."

You pecked him on the cheek, which made the corner of his mouth twitch upward.

"Then you'd better get to it, Jav, before it gets cold."

Without another word he headed for the bathroom with the carry on bag he'd brought with him and you heard the door close behind him.

You made some coffee, wrapped up the omelettes, and set out one in a plate at your favorite spot at your kitchen table and another in the closest spot to your right.

A minute later Javi joined you at the table.

"This looks delicious," he commented as he sat down and picked up his fork.

"It's a family recipe," you told him. "Nothing special. The usual suspects. Just more cheese and basil."

He chuckled. "Much better than the soggy cereal my cousin used to serve."

He frowned at the memory and you wondered what that was about. You knew he was estranged from his family, but not the why, though you were convinced they hadn't been very good to him. He had never openly talked about any of them before, and the first time he'd ever mentioned a cousin seemed to have been a slip up.

It reminded you that you still had much to learn about each other.

Forcing him to open up to you about a sore subject on your first official day as a couple wasn't the way to go about it though.

So instead of prodding you picked up your fork and cut a piece off of your omelette, shoving it into your mouth after. Javi followed by example.

He hummed appreciatively as he chewed and then swallowed.

"Fantástico!" he exclaimed, lighting up.

You shrugged. "It's just an omelette."

"Just," he muttered. "Just one of the best I've had in ages!"

You huffed. "You have a cook."

"She does not add extra cheese!"

You smiled and quietly accepted the praise, reaching out over the table to interlock your fingers with the ones on his free hand instead of continuing to fight it. Javi wasn't one to lie. If he said it was one of the best, it was.

You sighed dreamily. "I still can't believe you drove all this way to see me."

"No?" Javi frowned at you in between bites. "Why not?"

"I never thought a guy like you would ever be interested in a girl like me," you admitted, thinking of your soft belly. "I mean, you could have pretty much any woman you wanted, Jav. You could have someone taller, skinnier, and as equally successful as you are."

He seemed caught off guard by your admission, lower jaw going slack. "What do you take me for, cariño? I may be wealthy, but I am not a vain man. Despite this, I know you are the most beautiful, and the smartest too."

You blushed. "I don't know how to respond to that. I just...I've spent all my life with classmates and strangers, even family sometimes, telling me otherwise."

How many times had you been told you'd be prettier if you wore more make up and lost a few pounds? You'd lost count.

"Shame on them, hermosa," Javi said intensely, bending to kiss the top of your hand that was still holding onto his.

Something in his chocolate eyes sparked, told you that he was going to make it his mission to convince you of it. Determination. Your heart leapt at it.

"What are your plans today?" he asked a few beats later.

"I didn't have any," you answered. "But now you're here I was thinking I could show you around town before I start packing. Maybe we can meet up with Sierra for lunch. And I should stop by my parents' house to tell them in person that I'm moving to LA."

You'd stayed up late with Javi the night before planning everything out.

When he left Garrison, you were going with. You'd very temporarily stay in his guest house until you found an apartment in Los Angeles and then move back out while you were dating. You'd also be keeping your current rental in town, that way you could visit your family often without having to always stay with your parents or at the dreaded motel. You were sure Sierra would help keep an eye on the place when you weren't around.

Javi respected that you wanted to date more like a typical couple, that you wanted your own space, at least for a while. "Whatever you wish" he'd said. It didn't matter to him that LA was nearly six hours away from his vineyard by car. He'd been willing to travel farther for you.

"Would it be too soon to ask if I could go with you to meet your parents?" he inquired. "It would be rude of me to not do so when I'm visiting in the same town, no?"

"You don't need to if you don't want to," you told him. "I'd just tell them it was my idea to wait. But if you want to, no, I don't think it's too early. We've been friends long before this, and I'm sure my mother's just itching to meet you."

"I want to."

"You sure? She can be pretty intense."

He looked a little nervous, but Javi still nodded. "I'm sure."

You nodded back at him. "Alright. I'll text Mom later. Let her know when we're going to show up so they're not caught off guard. They're not big on surprises."

"Are you?" he asked.

You winked at him. "It depends on the surprise."

x

"Javi!"

As soon as Sierra's eyes took him in, she was pitching forward, giving him a full-on bear hug.

He chuckled and squeezed her back before she pulled away. "It's nice to see you again too, amiga."

"Finally one of you did something!" she exclaimed. "I was this close to setting up an intervention for you two." She nearly pressed the thumb and index finger on her right hand together.

You fake coughed into your fist. "Meddler."

She raised her eyebrows at you. "So what if I am? Someone has to be."

"If you're our number one shipper, does that mean you'll watch my rent here while I'm living in LA?" you inquired.

You'd texted her the news that you were moving back to California earlier, when you had set up your lunch meet with her.

"Yes, I will," she told you. "Miss I'm-rich-enough-to-have-two-rentals."

You stuck your tongue out at her. "That's your fault."

"Where's my cut?"

"It's coming at Christmas."

You weren't lying. You were planning to get her something big come Christmas to thank her for her meddling that opened Hollywood up to you.

"Better be," Sierra warned jokingly. She turned back to Javi as you all seated yourselves at an outdoor table at the local bar and grill. "So how'd you like the Garrison tour?"

You'd showed Javi around town for less than an hour before showing up for your meet with her.

"It's quaint," he replied.

"And boring," she guessed.

"Maybe so," he said hesitantly, "But that is part of the charm, no? I've been around several cities. I've been in dangerous scenarios. Trust me, boring is not a downside. Though it is a shame the local theater is so run down."

"Yeah, back in the day that was the place to be," you told him. "But the owner's having a hard time keeping it going with how little people go out to see movies nowadays."

"A shame," he repeated with a click of his tongue. "Movies were meant to be seen on the big screen!"

"Tell that to Gen Z," Sierra huffed.

"Society in general," you argued. "Economics doesn't help. It's much cheaper to rent online than buy a ticket."

She nodded. "Truth."

A waitress arrived at your table to take your orders, and when she left Sierra took the opportunity to switch up the conversation.

"Sooo...any spoilers you can give on your next movie, Jav?"

He winked. "I may have a few."

x

Once you'd all eaten your fill you and Javi parted ways from Sierra to visit your parents, who were already waiting in the kitchen of their house when you arrived.

Your mother opened the door and you spotted your father behind her, seated at the table in the corner.

He was focused on repairing one of the pairs of glasses he had laying around the house and that didn't change when your mother greeted you both with a wide grin plastered on her face.

"Come in!" she exclaimed joyfully, making room for you both on the rug at the door. She placed a hand on Javi's upper arm. "So nice to finally meet you, Javi! I'm glad you decided to visit us."

"It's nice to meet you, señora," he said, returning the gesture enthusiastically. "The both of you."

His eyes fell on your father, and your father, having heard him glanced up. "It's nice to meet you too. Sorry that I'm preoccupied. My favorite pair of glasses has loose screws again."

"Maybe I can help, señor?" Javi offered in a rush. "I've got steady hands. So I've been told, at least."

"I could use a third one," your father told him and Javi correctly took that as a yes, sitting down in the chair next to his.

Your mother watched as he worked with your father and leaned into your personal space. "He's even hotter in person."

"Mom!" you hissed, cheeks flushing.

"What? I have eyes! I'm not a cougar for lookin'."

You groaned.

"So, he stayed over last night?" she prompted, cocking an eyebrow.

"Nothing happened," you told her knowingly, kicking off your shoes and dragging her away from the men at the table. "We made plans. He slept on the couch."

"What plans?"

"I'm moving to LA," you answered. "I'm leaving tomorrow. Javi's going to let me stay at the guest house on his property while I look for a rent in the city and then I'll be on my own for a while, at least until we get to know each other better."

"You lived on the same land for months," your mother pointed out.

"Not the same kind of relationship though," you explained. "And I want to do this right. Javi...he's not like the other guys I dated, Mom, and I don't wanna mess things up like I did the last time we were together."

She nodded understandingly and patted your face. "My sweet girl. Finally found the one."

You felt your mouth go dry. "It's a little early to jump to that conclusion. We just kissed for the first time last night."

She lit up. "Oh my god! I thought you said nothing happened?"

You sighed at her reaction to your careless mention of it, having regretted it as soon as the words flew out of your mouth. "I didn't know it counted."

"It all counts," she told you, pausing, "So, how was it?"

"I'm not going to be giving you a play by play of my romantic life Mom, it's not natural. You didn't with grandma."

She pouted. "Fair."

You smiled slightly. "But it was a very good one."

It wouldn't hurt to indulge her a little, you'd decided. Maybe then she'd be a little less nosy later on.

She smiled broadly at that. "I'm so happy for you, Nora! Ah. I'm going to miss you, but you deserve very good. You deserve the best, sweetie. Will you both stay for supper? Please?"

"Of course." You'd already asked Javi before you even arrived at the house. You had been almost certain she would offer you both a meal. She often had you over and this would be her last chance to do so for a while. Not to mention you were sure she was well prepared to ask Javi twenty questions in between bites. She'd always taken a lot of interest in whoever you dated or were friends with. It was one of her ways of protecting you. If she noticed red flags, you'd hear about it later that night.

It hadn't always helped you, but at least she cared.

x

"Is that all?" Javi inquired, throwing the last of your bags into his backseat, next to the travel crate that contained Buttercup and Tux.

You nodded tiredly, having packed late into the night the day before. You and Javi had stayed too long at your parents' house, but at least Javi seemed to have both of their stamps of approval. You hadn't gotten any feedback from your mother to suggest otherwise. Not that you'd have expected it. Javi had been his most charming self all throughout the day and continued to be so.

"Ready to go?"

You gave your rental one last glance and faced him, looking at him from across the hood of his Land Rover. "I'm ready."

You both slid into the vehicle at the same time and as you tried to get comfy in the passenger seat, settling in for the long ride ahead, Javi started the engine, heading onto the main road as soon as he was buckled in.

You watched as you passed through main street, doing your best to memorize it all. Your hometown would only be a flight away, but you'd miss it, and you'd miss your family and being able to see Sierra in person every week, but you were also excited, looking forward to what the next chapter of your life held for you.

For you and Javi.

At that thought you compulsively reached for his right hand over the narrow gap between you and clasped your hands together, an action that had him beaming at you, which in turn made your heart skip. A smile of your own spread across your face.

LA here I come.

xxx

Tagged: @harriedandharassed

xxx

Series Masterlist

Main Masterlist

xxx

[practically-an-x-man]

I'm back with an OC ask :3

What would your characters bring for a week long camping trip? Who's actually prepared and has done this before? Who's running out of food on day two? Who's saying 'fuck it' and disappearing off into the woods, never to be seen again?

Ooooh thank you!!

Rae: Hasn't been camping before, but she grew up in a rural town and has spent a lot of time traveling internationally. She'd do some research, bring some decent supplies (but might overpack a little out of first-trip anxiety), and would have a decent if not perfectly streamlined week.

Robin: Probably ends up underprepared and has to send Peter out for a quick resupply halfway through the week, but they have a really good time despite the struggles and hitches.

Madison: Dude, she LIVES for this! She grew up camping, and at one point spent five years living out in the wilderness, so she's absolutely golden here. If she's on her own, she's probably just bringing her knives and the clothes on her back, as a challenge to keep her survival skills sharp. If she's going with her family or friends, she'll bring some more typical camping supplies (and a lot of marshmallows) so it's actually fun and decently comfortable.

Ophelia: Nope. She is a city girl, has been her whole life, even getting her to agree to a camping trip in the first place would take an act of god. If she has to go, she's picking a camping resort with cabins and dedicated trails and organization, and she's still a little miserable with the spiders in the shower stalls and the mosquitos and the lack of technology.

Gia: She's a tough one: she'd enjoy camping itself, and she'd have fun hiking through the forest and looking at all the plant life (especially the interactions between species, like parasitic vines on trees and that sort of thing). However, getting her to leave her shop, and the clover that holds her life force, is a very difficult task even just for a few hours, so it would be hard to convince her to leave for a whole week. In the end, she brings a pot of her clover with her for security, and is anxious and jumpy the first couple days, but eventually settles down a little and learns to enjoy it.

Jasper: Grew up out in the boondocks on the outskirts of New Orleans, so stuff like bugs and wildlife isn't going to bother them. Kyle gets a little uncomfortable (the humidity makes his scars itch, and some of it reminds him of Misty from when he was first brought back), and they end up calling it quits halfway through the week and spending the second half of the trip at a hotel, but it was kind of a nice break from their usual chaotic lives.

Kestrel: Is just disappearing into the woods. I mean, they're a changeling, they already live in a cabin on a magical wildlife preserve, a camping trip would most likely just be a mission to another preserve for them, which they've done hundreds it not thousands of times. It's easy, it's familiar, it's not even a big deal.

Katherine: Has been camping a few times as a kid, but never as long as a week. I could see her taking a little trip upstate with Jace and Emily and turning it into a little friends-trip, but they'd definitely rent an RV and go to a campsite somewhere instead of just going out to the middle of the wilderness. It would be fun! Definitely becomes an annual thing, though not any more than an annual thing, if you get what I mean.

Quinn: Please god no. She would probably die. She's lived in cities her whole life, sleeping on the ground would be an absolute nightmare for her joints, and there's just... really not much for her to do? If there's water nearby, she could swim, but she's not going hiking up a mountain any time soon. If it was some cosmic curse where she has to go camping Or Else, they'll book a camping resort somewhere and spend most of the week just killing time in the cabin they rented.

Eris: Probably brings a few basic supplies, but could also just live off the land if they had to. They honestly don't enjoy camping very much (it's just so quiet, and they've gotten used to the comfort of the modern world), so it's kind of a dull week for him, but he doesn't run into any serious trouble... unless she tries to fight an alligator or mountain lion just for the hell of it, because she would.

Nikoletta: She's a tough one. She knows how to survive on her own, but only in an urban setting, so there's pros and cons to all of this. Pro: she doesn't have to deal with people or social situations or anything like that. Con: she would really rather be back at her apartment, in her bed with her cats and Abner, instead of a sleeping bag in a tent. Pro: she's never been camping before, and finally has the freedom for new experiences like this. Con: she's never been camping before, and has no fucking clue what she's doing. Pro: she could bring Abner and turn it into a nice bit of alone time for the two of them. Con: that just reminds her of Corto Maltese, and he's even more uncomfortable with the bugs and the mud than she is.

Jimmy: I mean... he's a ghost. He doesn't need to eat, drink, or sleep, he can't get hurt by any animals or toxic plants, a camping trip for him would really just be him wandering through the woods for a while and hoping he doesn't get lost. It probably turns into more than a week... he's a city boy in his life and his death, and he definitely doesn't know where he is.

[illusion-of-death]

✿ for Pay What You Owe and ✦?

✿ did anything major change when you started writing [fic] to when you finished?

Pay What You Owe my beloved....

So, I'm kind of notorious for utterly refusing to create OCs for fic purposes, ever, at all. And I really didn't want to be doing that for this fic either! But I eventually realized that you really can't explore nearly four decades of a performer's life without showing some of her first ever performances, and all of those were in the Light, which we know next to nothing about when it comes to the entertainment scene Saskia was once a part of. Thus, Vela Furvus was born. (It was also very advantageous to be able to have a character who could serve as that straw-breaking-the-camel's-back moment that finally got Saskia to actually fully commit to the Breach cause.) But, yeah, she initially wasn't going to exist at all, and now she's among my favorite characters I've written. Lol. Lmao, even. Maybe a slightly different version of her will show up in an original work of mine one of these days.

✦ what was your easiest fic to write & your hardest?

Ooh, this one's pretty tough.

Easiest might honestly be One More For the Winning Streak, in that I was able to write it REALLY fast because I was drawing such heavy inspiration for its tone and certain plot beats from an original short story I'd written a couple of months before. (Also, it's Revali. The snark and chip-on-shoulderness practically write themselves.) I think the haste with which it was written definitely shows, and I would absolutely write it differently now were I to do it over, but it's also one of my most popular fics, so I suppose it has that going for it.

As for hardest... I have quite a few contenders, and all for wildly different reasons. My one and only Pan's Labyrinth fic is written in Spanish, because that's the language the film is in and I didn't feel I could do it justice in any other way, but that's also my third language so it wasn't particularly easy to feel like I was phrasing things the way I wanted them said. My Daruk character study, Strength of the Mountain, was started LONG before I felt like I had any sort of accurate read on who he was as a character, though the process of writing said fic was able to really cement his personality for me and I really love him now. Clarigate is set between seasons 2 and 3 of Midst, but I spent so long writing it that season 2 episodes kept coming out and completely changing things I was intending to implement, and the fic changed so much that it doesn't really have anything to do with its initial premise any more. (I don't really like that one very much, to be honest.)

But if I had to pick one, I think I'll probably give that honor to There's a World Where I Can Take Flight. It felt hard to write just from a mechanical standpoint, and also, that's a fic that feels really, very personal to me. I'm just really touched that it seems to have brought some of the same healing and closure to others that it did for me.

Thanks for asking!

[mypunkpansexualtwin]

psst i saw you reblogged a bg3 (which im currently 30 hrs in on, god what a game.) ask meme earlier but i forgot to like it to find it again. dealers choice on which numbers you'd like to answer. lemme hear about your tav & your playthrough

I did go and unbury that in case you want to do it too. Link there for anyone who wants to use it.

You're getting more Maya (although there's probably gonna be a Cat run soon, probably gonna roll her up, get off the nautiloid, then truck on her save once I'm done with Maya's since I'm solidly into act 3 with her. I should work on my other saves too but whatever.)

As far as dealer's choice, I'm gonna limit myself to 5 because I will be here for hours otherwise.

1) Tell us about your Tav! Name, class and subclass, race, pronouns, etc. Do you have a headcanon where they're from? Their family? Are they a Dark Urge? Did you choose an original character or an Origin Character? Was it an easy decision?

Maya Cutter, Vengeance Paladin, Duergar (headcanon is her mother was a Duergar and her father was a Gold Dwarf and that's why the grey complexion only shows as a vague ashy cast and as hyperpigmentation in her scars, and why her hair was lightly shot through with silver all her life.) She is indeed a Dark Urge, so there's some stuff I've adjusted in the backstory to fit with what we learn in act 3 regarding that, but for the most part it remains unchanged. Mainly that her mother was not exactly a good Duergar down in the Underdark and her father wasn't exactly a willing part of the household. Briefly had her own family, but Vengeance Paladin things happened that set her on a very bad path, so the memory loss was a nice hard reboot. Lot of tragedy, lots of death, because if you're gonna pick the edgelord background, might as well lean into it. Plus, I'm bad at letting the coping mechanism characters have a good time.

It was definitely an easy choice for OC playthrough every time, and definitely easy preexisting OC choices for both TDU saves; Maya for the "actually I hate this" and Felicity for Full Murder Hobo. I've got like 8 more not-TDU OCs waiting in the wings at this point and I'm only considering an Origin because I want Karlach and Wyll to smooch.

2) Was there something about the character creator that just couldn't capture your character? Please tell us about their hair, tattoos, piercings, disabilities, their trans or intersex body, or anything else you feel comfortable sharing!

A few things, yeah. First and foremost, Maya is a Tough Old Broad, but physically the cc only allowed for Tough. She's old and fat and happy with that, and while she's got a decent amount of muscle, she's not nearly as buff as the Dwarf character model. (That said, if female dwarves can have beards they should also get body hair. Unshave her.) Woman's built like a dumpling and, outside of the battle scars and edgelord coat of paint, looks more like she should be a cookbook mascot.

Another big one is a consistent thing for her between every au is she has a prosthetic arm. Right arm specifically, starting just below the shoulder, always lost in a fight against something significantly bigger and nastier than her because she put herself between it and someone who couldn't put up a fight. Probably skeletal in this case, reinforced with infernal iron, but it's kinda vague in my head.

Last bit is she's more heavily scarred all over (some of it so severe it looks like pieces of her had to be stitched back onto her body) and with some different stuff written on her face now that I know Larian used the actual Infernal alphabet. Probably slightly luminous scarring rather than just lurid orange face paint, across the face as seen here, as well as around the amputation site on her arm.

...I should dig out my tablet.

19) Did your character spend a night with a companion either the night of the party or earlier? Is it someone they have continued interest in?

Yes and no? She chatted everyone up and about half the party was sad to be shot down, save Lae'zel (already got shot down day fucking one after getting off the nautiloid), Wyll (having his introspective time that she left him to), and Astarion. Astarion immediately headed off any interest (that wasn't actually there, I misclicked) with the "it's not you, it's me. I have standards." line, which (headcanon) got a really good laugh out of her and a "careful there, prettyboy, keep that up and I might actually start to like your skinny ass." She likes a friend she can argue and be catty with.

As far as actually spending the night, she and Karlach did a lot of flirting and then uh. Thinking about each other after working themselves up without having a chance to properly fix the whole Too Hot, Hot Damn issue. Karlach has continued to be Maya's romance, but it is a tragedy she couldn't be poly with her and Wyll. (That said, if I were to replay another Maya save, TDU or not, I'd probably lean less into my own preference and more into Maya being an old slut before sticking with one of the Act 3 companions who's a little closer to her age.)

(I'm rolling these two into one question)

28) Did you recruit Scratch the dog? Did you encounter him at all? (29) Did you adopt an owlbear? Do you have a name for your child?

His name is Baby.

35) Has your character done anything that they regret?

*sweats in Dark Urge*

Aside from any TDU stuff, Maya was very conflicted about how she handled Mayrina's stuff after the Hag. Found the wand, regretted not snapping it. Instead, she used it, felt bad about it, passed it off to Mayrina, felt weird about it, and basically kept wondering on and off during quiet moments "was that...... was that the right call?" well into act 3.

(Even in act 3, it's basically "y'know what, we all grieve on our own schedule. Still weird tho.")

[furys-mercy]

If you've not received this one yet from the OC question list: What is your favourite thing about your OC or OCs? Is there something about them of which you are particularly proud?

It's going to be really tough for me to pick just one thing or a few things about each character. I love them all and could gush about them and their antics for weeks if people would let me.

I'll try to keep it short, though.

Mercer is the hardest because I am just proud of him. He's my longest played active character and I have enjoyed every single moment of development that he has been through. But, I can narrow it down to a couple of things. Starting with the fact that he went from running away from his problems, his family, and his home to turning around to face them head on. The amount of growth it took for him to get there was significant. And it has been a blast to write and play through. Aside from that, I am pretty proud of the more magical aspects of the character. Mercer's echo, his connection to his drone and how he utilizes them in combat, his upcoming summoner tattoos... these are all long term progression arcs for Merc that I am extremely fond of.

For Sebastian, I am currently very into how he is torn between two worlds. While he is a bastard, he was raised noble. Sure, people looked at him differently and treated him differently, but his mother made certain that his upbringing was the same as his siblings (or, perhaps, slightly better) . When he found out that his father was a foot soldier from the Brume and that he had living family, things shifted. He's been sitting on the fence between the Mercer side of him and the Vairemont side of him. Rising tensions are forcing him to choose and to truly find out who he is and who he wants to be, not simply what was expected of him by his mother or by society. And I can't wait to see how he turns out.

I'd do my other characters, too, but this response would be ten years long. So, have those two!

[thezenanna]

Hi! Same anon that asked about Dina, Maya and Gadrielle's face shapes... I wanna ask about body shapes now. So what shapes do you tend to use when designing their bodies, how different are they from each other? What do you categorize/view their bodies being like (this can be as specific as you want it to be. I like reading your answers).

Also! If you had to assign a kibbe body type to them... What would you pick and why (I don't enjoy the kibbe body types when applied to real people. But ocs are totally fine imo).

heyyy thanks for the question!

Also totally did not know what kibbe body types were so ya learn something new every day yay! That being said, cuz I'm not quite familiar with kibbe body types so imma try my best to describe my ocs' shapes as clear as i could and hope thats suffice somehow?! (words are hard pls bare with me! >.<)

Short answer: Dina and Maya both have a gender-neutral athletic body type being a weird trait of aasimar plus the rigorous monk training. Dina is much lankier than Maya because the bitch is kinda depressed and doesn't look after herself very well, which makes the size difference between Dina and her buff blacksmith orc gf Laura very funny. Maya is slightly taller and buffer than Dina. It's one of the few things Maya would forever hold over Dina like 'im taller so im the big sister here'. Gadrielle, whom to me and my DM's pov, is very much a power femme, her body shapes is almost a small hourglass, but very graceful and she's usually in some humble but flowy and loose clothing. And yes their clothing also aids in shaping them!

Longer explanation below (if u dare)

When you design a character from a concept artist pov, u usually need to take into account their backstory, context, environment etc... So briefly the context for all my ocs here and general high fantasy dnd, which explains the magical features like elven ears, white pupiless eyes, sometimes wings, etc...

Backstory is what's the oc has gone through. Both Dina and Maya have grown up majority of their youth in the Cobalt Soul, where they've gone through rigorous monk training and discipline. Fair to say, they are incredibly in shape. Dina's fighting style however is different from Maya. Dina is a 9th level monk while Maya is a 3 Monk & 7 Warlock and has not gone through as much training as Dina did. Maya's fighting style leans more towards the warlock magic as well as brute strength at times. Dina leans towards dexterity. Maya is more buffed than Dina and Dina is lankier and leaner than Maya. On the other hand, Gadrielle grown up as a humble merchant on the streets and doesn't involve in any martial training, so her physique is rather graceful and soft. Her power lies in her charisma!

Dina doesn't wear any armor at all as a monk so very clean cut clothing that allows her mobility to shine through (croptop, baggy pants). Maya wears something of a cloak and a tough leather vest. Gad wears humble and flowly and loose garment.

Other than that is the little environment bits! Dina has gone down a lot in battles (cursing DM for well play and beat her AC every time), so Dina is sure racked up with scars, I even think there are subtle physical internal parts of her body is deformed or something after this many death saves. Maya also adorns some scars but the magic does save her from having to go toe-to-toe melee we love that for her. Gadrielle does not get in any physical fighting as far as we know of (and we surely hope so!!!)

[darklight-owl]

3,5,7,10,11,16,22 and 13,you said 3 years but what has changed since nice then?

EEEEEE tysm for the ask!!

3.) any recurring images/elements?

I'm not really that good at using motifs tbh, but I have a lot of scattered feathers deliberately placed in a few scenes. Smoke as well, even though I haven't illustrated any of those yet. I'll leave the interpretation to the readers :]

5.) pick a theme song for the tv adaptation.

Laplace's Angel by Will Wood! (this has been the theme song from before my Will Wood phase started, it's just got very similar themes)

7.) how would you describe the relationships between the characters in the story within eight words or less?

Not friends, just people sharing the same pain.

10.) if your story is titled, why did you choose that title?

It was always going to be called after whatever I named the organization. I had this idea of a kind of cultish group of assassins who worshipped a god of hunting. Since all the characters are animals hunting is pretty much just murder in this world, after all. My placeholder name for it was Artemis' Children, but I wanted to create my own mythology since I know virtually nothing about irl myths. the name Ullyca (and Ramedin while we're on it) was a result of me mashing words together at 1am until it sounded right. (I think it sounds cool though)

11.) give a general summary of the plot/world/characters.

Set in a world populated by several species of anthropomorphic animals, a serval named Umbra finds herself covered in blood, a body at her feet. With no memory of what happened, yet desperate to keep her involvement in this event from coming to light, she winds up making a deal with an organization of hitmen known as the Children of Ullyca, and by the time she realizes she's in over her head, it's too late to turn back.

16.) imagine the entire story takes place but in the meantime the characters all also have tumblr. what kind of (terrible) tumblr posts would happen?

Ahhhahahaha yk I'm pretty sure Fier has a tumblr (if anyone in this series does it's them) but for the other ones I'm absolutely sure Amala would be blazing Umbra's vent posts all the time, Hadron would do nothing except rb the worst takes known to mankind, Rena would have a bait account and Uriel just uses his to promote his fanfiction. Not sure what Kan would use his for, but something tells me he keeps getting blocked because he never made a profile and everyone thinks he's a bot.

22.) you have been given unlimited funds to make two adaptations of some sort, however you cannot make any other adaptations of any other sort. which two formats do you choose?

Ohhhh this is a tough one. I've always thought CoU would make for a banger animated series but for the second adaptation? Maybe a novel. I would have really loved for it to be a novel (even if the comic medium does fit better)

13.) how long have you been working on this project? what has changed from the outset?

SO much has changed in the past three years. Hell, not even joking this thing started as a bunch of Beastars ocs until I realized they didn't have anything to do with Beastars anymore and I was just a furry. Now, aside from the anthros and the canniballism, they have absolutely nothing in common.

The architecture has changed, it used to be just normal human cities but somewhere between the original chapters and the Call to Action entry I changed the buildings to use more natural elements like trees and cliffsides. I still struggle with it (a lot) but I love how lively and a little wild it looks.

Some designs have also changed, the uniforms used to all be plain dark grey jumpsuits but now all of them have their own unique design for each character for different purposes (Kan's uniform has armor plates, Rena's is a wetsuit, etc.) Out of all the characters, Kan has changed the most physically. I didn't know how to make the "grizzled war veteran" look I wanted so he just kinda looked... weird. Also he didn't have any scars which I later realized was stupid, he's been an assassin for 20 years.

Speaking of characters, Umbra's character has changed a LOT. She used to be the definition of an edgelord, a cold hearted killer with no remorse. However that was boring as shit and I thought it would make for a more compelling story if she really didn't WANT to join the CoU but was pressured into it.

I used to post pages on Instagram (i know, ew) but I realized the story was very disorganized and stopped to work on the script. I'm remaking the first chapter bc my art has... definitely improved. This is 2021 vs. 2023:

I know they say don't redraw old pages but... I think you get why I started over in this case lol

[sataniquepanique]

The Queen of Hellfire: Part One

Part One: Labyrinth

Summary: Two women had a monumental impact on Eddie Munson's life: his mother, and Meg.

Genre: angst, some fluff, Eddie x OFC

Warnings: mentions of DV, mentions of alcoholism, trauma responses, smoking

Word Count: 8.8k

A/N: I'm very interested in knowing Eddie's backstory, so I created something with that in mind. I always imaged Eddie being a shy kid, who eventually grew into the character we know and love. I have a few chapters planned. This is my first go at an OC, so go easy on me <3

September, 1980

The hallways of Hawkins High were stifling; even though it was September, summer still had a vice grip on the state of Indiana with no immediate plans of letting go. Eddie was nauseous. The heat paired with his nerves about the first day of freshman year were eating away at his internal organs; it would be a miracle if he made it through the day without spewing all over the hallway. Running a hand through his hair, he tried to tame the short curls in what he knew was a futile attempt. 

Mental note: never shave your head again, Munson; the growing out phase is painfully embarrassing. 

No one could guess by his calm demeanor that Eddie was fighting the overwhelming urge to sprint all the way back home to Forest Hills, seeking the asylum of his room, back to the safeguard of Uncle Wayne. A neutral expression hid the fear coursing through his body like poison; he had gotten very good at masking over the years, a mechanism he picked up back when he was in the care of his parents. 

He gripped the strap of his backpack tighter, the old canvas bag had seen better days. What was once black, is now a deep, dull gray, littered with small tears, scuffs, and a few painted doodles. Duct tape was basically holding it together at this point, having used it throughout middle school and abusing it almost daily by cramming each pocket full of novels, DnD manuals, firecrackers, and any other bizarre paraphernalia that peaked his curiosity. Money has always been tight, even with Uncle Wayne working overtime at the plant, so back-to-school shopping was non-existent in the Munson household. Any new clothes that Eddie owned were more than likely shoplifted by the young teenager, the rest of his meager wardrobe consisting of thrifted pieces mixed with Wayne’s old hand-me-downs. He had only recently started fitting into his uncle’s clothes, having finally started to grow into himself within the past year. Though they were all still a size too large, Eddie would frequently wear one of Wayne’s old flannels; the threadbare fabric brought comfort on days where he just wanted to disappear. 

Days like today. 

Grasping a class schedule in his fist, Eddie quickly maneuvered the crowded hallways, careful to avoid eye contact with any upperclassmen as he searched for his locker assignment, number 116. Wedged between the biology lab and the library, the small expanse of lockers revealed numbers 105-125. Tongue poked out in concentration, he spun the dial a few times, trying to remember the combination.

31.

17.

…2?

Yeah, 2.

According to the crumpled grid in his hand, he had the earliest lunch period, meaning only two classes stood between him and sneaking outside to read in solitude. Tossing some textbooks into his already over-stuffed bag, he slammed the metal door shut and made a beeline for English. The thought of 40 minutes full of literature calmed his nerves a bit. Books had always been a safe haven for him, even as a young child. His mom had read to him often, almost every night before bed, painting his imagination full of far away worlds and magical creatures. Beneath his bed were always piles of books, hidden away from his father who would more than likely try to throw them in the garbage given the chance. Eddie would escape to his fantasy worlds when things got tough; frequently hiding in his closet to read while his dad was storming around the house in a haze of alcohol and anger. 

In Middle School, he was a frequent flyer in the guidance office, usually for talking out of turn or pulling a prank on an unsuspecting student; but during the end of 7th grade his counselor called Wayne in for a meeting. Eddie was doing poorly is most of his classes, and his uncle immediately jumped to his defense, citing the visible intelligence of the kid, one that the counselors agreed wholeheartedly upon. He wasn’t dumb by any means, he just wasn’t being challenged, leading to him slacking off and not completing any of his work. They explained at length about how smart Eddie was, providing written statements from teachers about his knack for building narratives and the quickness at which he could problem solve. The solution provided was to put Eddie in some accelerated classes, to which he gave a stark refusal. The other kids had already labeled him a weirdo, with his tattered clothes and quirky interests, he didn’t need to add anything else to the list. Eventually, through the coaxing of Uncle Wayne, he agreed to Advanced English. As it turns out, AP English was one of the best things to happen in the young boys life. Mrs. Lewis incorporated so many great literary masterpieces into her curriculum, even doing a deep dive into the writing style of Tolkien, Eddie’s favorite. 

This year, he chose to forgo enrolling into any higher level classes, wanting to make a fresh start in high school; a clean slate where no one knew his name. He could fly under the radar and just be a normal teenager, no more bullies, no more taunts. High school would be different.

———

The exit door was across the cafeteria, flanked by long tables filled to the brim with rowdy students, conversing loudly and adding to Eddie’s already overwhelmed senses. As his eyes scanned the occupied tables, he noticed the numerous other freshman that had seemingly found their respective cliques. A storm of jealousy and sadness formed in his gut; he didn’t have any friends in his grade, so like with most things throughout his life, Eddie was on his own. His two partners-in-crime, Gareth and Jeff, were younger and still in Hawkins Middle, and although he knew he’d see them after school, it doesn’t do him any good as he stands in the proverbial lion’s den. Making friends was never his forte, choosing to keep to himself for the most part. After growing up in a broken home, Eddie had grown accustomed to loneliness; it had made him apprehensive about anyone and anything, so getting into his tight knit circle was an exceptional feat.

Clutching a tattered copy of A Wizard of Earthsea, Eddie hiked his backpack up higher and quickly snuck towards the door to the outside patio before anyone noticed him. Head down as he reached for the door handle, his body crashed into an immovable object. Dazed, he looked up to see the largest boy he’s ever seen, clad in a white and green Hawkins Tigers football jersey, blocking the exit and staring down at him menacingly. 

“Where’re you headed, dork?” He spat, teeth showing somewhere between a snarl and a smile.

Eddie tried to push his way past, “I-I’m just going outside—“

The jock slapped the book out of Eddie’s hand, the paperback losing a few pages as it bounced off the floor. He stared at the large boy’s chest, too afraid to look him in the eye, but also too scared to move. 

“Well…?” The older boy motioned towards the floor, “are you going to pick your shit up or just keep staring at me like some sort of homo?”

The slur caused Eddie’s throat to constrict, bringing back memories of his father hurling the same exact insult at him a few years back when he had first attempted to grow out his hair. Swallowing the bile in his throat, he bent down to pick up his novel, only to be kicked over by the linebacker, head hitting one of the metal chair legs of a nearby table. Eddie shakily started to get up, as the other boy moved to push him over again, only this time someone stepped in between.

“Enough, asshole!” 

Her voice was demanding and strong as she squared up in front of a boy that was at least twice her size. Eddie peered around her legs, trying to make out the expression of the older boy. 

“Fuck you, Meg,” the jock barked, any hint of a smile wiped from his round face. 

Eddie glanced up at the girl as she shifted her weight slightly to one hip. 

“Oh Petey,” she crossed her arms mockingly as she coo’d, “you wish you could be so lucky.”

The jock (now understood as Pete apparently), clenched his jaw, the tips of his ears growing pink.

“Go back to your gang of fuckin’ losers, crazy bitch,” he steps closer to the auburn haired girl, looming at least a head taller, but she doesn’t flinch. Eddie watches as she tilts her gaze upward to meet Pete’s beady eyes, straightening her spine as a threat.

“I’ll show you fucking crazy, Petey boy. Is that what you want? Remember what happened last time?” Her voice was calm, but something in the tone visibly effected Pete. He pushed past her, glaring down at Eddie still cowering on the floor. 

The mystery girl watched him leave, finally turning her attention to Eddie, squatting down to help pick up the scattered pages of his novel. 

“You okay?” Eye level with him now, Eddie looked at the face of his savior. 

He swears the blue of her eyes is his new favorite color.

Her face was soft as she searched his own for a response. He grabbed the destroyed paperback quickly, averting his gaze, “y-yeah, I think I’m good. Uh—thank you.”

She handed him the loose sheets of paper that had fallen out, “You’re a freshman, right?” 

Eddie nodded, shoving the book in his backpack. His eyes drifted back to her, taking in the numerous patches on her black denim jacket that was a few sizes too large. KISS, Queen, Iron Maiden, and a few other graphics he couldn’t make out littered the worn garment. 

“Do you wanna come sit with us?” The girl stood up, pointing casually over towards the back of the cafeteria. Eddie rose off the floor and followed her finger; a table of four students of varying grades was posted up in the furthest corner, clearly in a heated discussion about something. If he was being honest, he wanted nothing more than to follow this girl, but every part of his body was screaming at him to run away to seclusion. Uncle Wayne’s voice popped in his head, gruff but encouraging, “do it kid, put yourself out there.” Tossing his backpack over a shoulder, he gave a shy nod, and the girl smiled. 

“I’m Meg, by the way,” she held out her hand, a formality which, to Eddie, made her seem older than she was. She couldn't have been more than two years his senior. He cautiously took her hand, squeezing slightly as she shook it.

“Eddie,” he managed as they approached her lunch table. 

“Well, Eddie the Freshman, welcome to the Island of Misfit Toys,” she motioned towards her group of friends, and something in Eddie’s chest sparked a feeling that could only be described as belonging. 

The kids before him were all dressed in shades of black, three sporting shirts from bands he loved. One of the boys was standing with a leg perched on a chair, waving wildly while he argued with a mousy-haired kid across the table. A small blonde girl sat beside the latter, laughing occasionally at their antics while she watched the banter like a tennis match.

“Guys!” Meg called, breaking the attention away from the raven-haired boy on the chair.

“This is Eddie, he’s gonna sit with us, today’s his first day,” she said, rounding the table to sit next to the tall kid that was still leaning on the plastic chair, the one who was now glaring at Eddie. The group went around introducing themselves, the small blonde named Kate was very sweet and moved her bag for Eddie to take up residence next to her. The boy beside her was Rick, he wore a weathered denim jacket atop a Led Zeppelin tee that reeked of weed; his incredibly chill demeanor made Eddie instantly like him. A boy named Matt was seated at the end of the table doing homework. He had round glasses that made him look extremely smart, not to mention the stack of textbooks in front of him with numerous papers and bookmarks scattered throughout. The tall argumentative boy finally sat down next to Meg, reaching across to steal a carrot from her lunch. After a few silent seconds, it was clear he had no intention of introducing himself.

Meg pulled her lunchbag away from his reach, “…and this is Adam, he’s a piece of shit,” she joked, the boys angular face finding her cheek where he placed a chaste kiss followed by a playful bite. She smiled, giving him a shove as he grinned deviously. 

“Eddie,” Adam turned his focus towards the other side of the table, eyeing up the new freshman, “we were just discussing our latest campaign,” 

“—you mean Meg’s slaughter-fest?” Matt interjected, looking up from his work.

Meg smirked from across the table, putting her hands up in defense, “Listen, it’s not my fault you’re unlucky in combat.”

Eddie’s heart skipped a beat, “Wait…are you talking about Dungeons and Dragons?” He asked quietly.

The table stared at him like it was obvious. 

“Yeah, we have a weekly party that gets together. We rotate houses and make a night out of it,” Kate chimes in, her eyes were kind as they blinked up at Eddie. 

Uncle Wayne had gifted him with a Dungeon and Dragons Basic Set for Christmas a few years ago, not entirely understanding what it was, but knowing that his nephew was so enthralled by anything fantasy that he was eager to contribute to the boy’s interests. Eddie was hooked the second he saw the cover, quickly involving Jeff and Gareth to create a small adventuring party. They learned as they went, letting Eddie take over DM duties and hosting one-shots almost every weekend. The three of them had been teased in middle school for playing, but it hadn’t bothered Eddie because he at least had his friends by his side. He wasn’t about to give up D&D now that he was in high school, but he was also not about to advertise the fact that he played, afraid of the ridicule he’d face at the hands of older kids. He understood the perception of the game, the claims of satanic indoctrination and ritualistic practices. To say he was shocked by the open admission of a functioning high school D&D party would be an understatement. 

“Do you play?” Meg’s voice brought his heart rate down, meeting her gaze with a shy smile.

“Uh, yeah. I’m not very good though…” he looked down at his hands, knowing that he was selling himself short.

“Gotta start somewhere, right?” She offered happily.

He felt safe with her, something he hadn’t experienced this quickly since being taken in by Uncle Wayne. 

“I actually DM for my party,” Eddie mumbled, not sure why he was being so open with this group of strangers.

Meg’s eyes went wide, “Wow, really? That’s amazing!”

Eddie liked the way her eyes crinkled at the edges when she smiled.

“I DM for this group—“ she motioned towards her friends.

“—yeah and she’s fucking ruthless,” Adam rolled his eyes. 

The sound of the bell made Eddie jump, the shuffling of the cafeteria growing louder as everyone made their way to the next class. Meg stood up, swinging her bag over a shoulder as she bent down to whisper in Adam’s ear, “Yeah, but you like when I’m ruthless.”

He smirked, pulling her down into a fierce kiss before she returned to full height, running a hand through Adam’s dark curls.

“C’mon Eddie,” she motioned to him, “I’ll walk you to your next class.”

He practically jumped to follow her, trailing behind as she effortlessly weaved her way through the throngs of students. She asked him questions about himself, something that threw him off; no one ever really cared enough to inquire about his interests, save for Wayne. Consistently being written off as “the problem kid”, growing up he was always being told by adults that he was “too much” or “annoying”; the comments shut him down, at least in public, forcing him into a reserved shell that only broke around the three key people in his life. Meg seemed to have no problem opening up to him, and Eddie was a little jealous of her confidence. Even the gait in which she walked was one of self-assurance, and he struggled a little to keep up, occasionally tripping over his own timid feet. Meg gave him more insight into her world; she was a junior, her other hobby is writing, and her favorite band is Queen. Eddie wanted—no, needed—to know more. He wanted to discuss literature with her, wanted to drive around and listen to A Night at the Opera with her singing every lyric beside him. 

“The party is meeting tonight to do a planning session for the next campaign, wanna join?” Meg stopped at Eddie’s World History classroom, spinning on her heel to face him.

The invitation gave him pause. He felt weird joining a different party from his own, but he didn’t want to pass up any chance to get closer to her.

Swallowing any bit of apprehension, Eddie nodded. 

Meg suddenly grabbed Eddie’s hand, pushing up his flannel sleeve and uncapping a pen with her mouth. Scribbling onto his forearm in a rush, she winks as she starts to walk backwards down the hall. 

“That’s my address, come over at 7!” She calls before turning around. 

Eddie looks down at the note on his skin, tracing a finger where she had held so delicately onto his wrist.

———

By the time they got to Meg’s house, Wayne was already 100% tired of hearing about her. Eddie had talked about her the entire ride over, annoying the daylight out of his uncle who had graciously offered to drive the boy across town on his night off. When Eddie jumped out of the car, Adam’s yelling from inside the rancher permeated the front walk; he couldn’t tell if it was serious or in jest. Eddie rang the doorbell, hands shoved into his pockets nervously. Just as he glanced back at Wayne driving off, the door swung open, Meg breaking into a wide smile at the sight of him. 

“Hi!” She chimed, opening her mouth to say something else but interrupted by another outburst courtesy of Adam.

“—DUDE! Come on!—“

Eddie grimaced slightly and looked at Meg’s annoyed expression, “What’s got him all revved up?”

She rolled her eyes, “Who fucking knows…” 

Moving over and motioning him to come inside, she shut the door and ushered the him into the living room where the rest of the lunchroom crew had gathered around the coffee table. Meg took a seat at the head of the table, as Eddie moved towards an empty spot next to Rick. 

“Eddie,” she called, “sit next to me, as a fellow DM I’d love to get your input on some stuff.” 

He bowed his head as he took a seat beside her, trying to hide the rush of blood to his face. 

The session went well, Eddie had never played with this large of a group before and it was a lot more fun than the threesome he was used to. Towards the end of the night, after a particularly divisive decision, Adam got agitated again. Eddie watched from the end of the table as he argued with Rick and Kate, voice rising as he stood and began to point his finger aggressively at the two of them. Eddie felt his heart start to race, an involuntary reaction due to his early years of hearing his parents violent outbursts. Clasping his hands together under the table, he willed his body to stop shaking, taking deep breaths through his nose. 

Adam slammed his fist onto the table, scattering miniatures and making Eddie jump. 

Meg leapt up and put her hand on Adam’s forearm. 

“Adam, babe,” she said softly, “everything’s okay, please calm down—“

“—Shut the fuck up, you don’t know what you’re talking about,” he slapped her hand away, and Eddie felt a surge of emotion. He watched as Meg slunk backwards, rubbing the hand Adam had hit. Her eyes were glassy as she sat back down next to Eddie, and he instinctively reached to take her hand in his. She looked at him sheepishly, and he watched as his favorite shade of blue clouded over. 

Adam stormed out shortly afterward, slamming the front door and revving the engine on his truck loudly before peeling out of the driveway. Eddie hadn’t let go of Meg’s hand, rubbing small circles over her knuckle, the same thing he did to comfort his mother when he was younger. 

The rest of the party cleaned up, slowly starting to joke and goof around again. Meg released Eddie’s hold, and walked the newcomer to the door when she saw Uncle Wayne’s headlights outside. Holding the door as he left, Meg grabbed the back of Eddie’s sleeve before he walked away. 

“Hey,” her voice was low and sad, “thanks for coming, sorry for…all of that, he—“

“—don’t worry about it,” Eddie interrupted, he frankly didn’t need to hear any excuses for Adam’s shitty behavior, and he wasn’t about to listen to Meg apologize for something that wasn’t her fault, “I had a lot of fun, see you tomorrow?” 

Meg nodded, a small smile playing at her lips, “See you tomorrow, Eddie the Freshman.”

Visually tracing the water stains on his bedroom ceiling, Eddie couldn’t stop his mind from drifting back to Meg, but more specifically Meg and Adam. He didn’t like the way Adam spoke to her, arrogance seeping out of every syllable he spoke. More importantly, Eddie hated the way Adam touched her; full of aggression and disrespect. She deserved passion without anger, tenderness backed by admiration, love without the jagged edge of pain. 

Eddie mentally argued with himself; maybe he’s just projecting. He barely knows Adam, he could just be having a few off days and isn’t actually a bad guy. Meg’s smart, and he desperately wanted to trust her judgement, but a small voice in the back of his head was screaming.

He’s seen this dynamic before.

———

Eddie searched for Meg in the sea of students the next morning before homeroom, hoping to catch any glimpse of her auburn hair or black denim jacket. Rick and Kate stopped by his locker when they caught sight of him anxiously waiting. They wasted no time in reiterating how much fun the previous night was, giving no mention of Adam’s episode. The first period bell rang, a cue for the three of them to go their separate ways. He gave up looking for Meg with a sigh. He’d catch her at lunch, but he’d also have to see Adam, which created a pit in the bottom of Eddie’s stomach.  

He practically bolted towards the lunchroom at 11:00, eager to sit with his new found friends. Slowing down as he approached (he didn't want to seem desperate), he saw Meg laughing at something Adam was whispering in her ear. Seeing them happy caused conflicting emotions, Eddie was relieved to see them getting along, but he also yearned to be the one making her laugh, to be the one that could get that close to her. He set his bag down and took the empty seat next to Meg. She turned immediately, smiling broadly as she playfully bumped his shoulder.

“Hey fresh meat,” she sang, “how’s your second day going?”

Eddie stifled a nervous laugh, opting to shoot a sarcastic grin her way instead. 

The rest of lunch was uneventful, something he was grateful for. The five of them joked around and talked about making plans for the weekend. Adam was actually kind of funny, and very charismatic; Eddie could almost see why Meg fell for him. The shrill cry of the bell echoed through the cafeteria, and Meg groaned as she grabbed her bag off the floor.

“What’s up?” Eddie asked, concerned at her pained face.

She shook her head, “It’s nothing, I have to meet with my guidance counselor this period to talk about my ‘future plans’ after high school,” she feigned a gag. 

The dramatics made Eddie laugh, “What’s wrong with that?”

Meg shrugged as they walked side by side from the lunchroom, “Nothing, really, I just…wanna do life my own way. I don’t want to be told what I should do, y’know?” 

Eddie stops at the intersection of two hallways, “What do you want then?”

She stared off into the distance thoughtfully, “…I want to write. I’ve always wanted to be a writer. It’s also partly why I’m the DM of the party,” she chuckled, “I’m the only one that can actually keep up a good narrative.”

Her sincerity made Eddie’s heart soar. The second bell rang, and she quickly took to the opposite hallway, “Want a ride home later?” she called.

Eddie nodded a little too quickly, and Meg shot him a smile before opening the door to the guidance office.

“See ya later, Munson!”

———

Slumped against the brick wall outside the front of the school, Eddie waited for Meg after the final bell. Carefully picking through each face that streamed past, he finally caught sight of her as she pushed past the doors. His stomach dropped when he saw her defeated expression. Jogging over, he fell in step as she strode towards the parking lot, avoiding eye contact with him. 

“Hey!” He bumped her shoulder like she had done to him earlier, trying to be chipper in the hopes of being the one to lift her spirits, but she wouldn’t crack.

She walked him over to a black Dodge Dart, unlocking the door and sliding behind the wheel. Eddie waited as she leaned over and unlocked the passenger side, quickly throwing his bag onto the floor and settling in next to her. They sat in silence for a beat, Meg staring straight ahead while Eddie watched anxiously. If she was anything like him, she would talk when she’s ready, she didn’t need someone prying incessantly. 

In a single burst of energy, she smacked the steering wheel with her palm as hard as she could. Eddie’s eyes widened in alarm as he reached for her, pausing and thinking it better to not touch at the moment. 

“FUCK!” She yelled, throwing her head back against the headrest, eyes falling closed with a sigh.

He watched as her chest rose and fell, paying attention to when it started to slow.

“Hey…” he whispers softly, “what happened?”

Meg rolls her head to look at him, eyes dull and tired. 

“They’re threatening to make me repeat a year,” she scoffs, and Eddie can hear the pain behind her words.

He shakes his head in disbelief, “For what? You’re super smart!”

Meg lets out a sad chuckle, “Thanks dude, but that doesn’t mean shit apparently. I’m failing math and gym, and Ms. Kelly said that I need to have at least one extracurricular activity to graduate next year,” She rubs her eyes with the heels of her palms.

A few seconds pass before Eddie speaks up, “…how do you fail gym?”

Meg coughs out a loud laugh, and he smiles knowing he caused it.

“You refuse to participate, that’s how,” she turned the key in the ignition and looked over at him, “Wanna go somewhere? I don’t really want to go home right now.”

Eddie grinned, rolling down his window and pulling a loose cigarette from his backpack, “Of course, I have nowhere else to be. You got a lighter?”

When Meg didn’t answer, he looked over and she was staring at him with an incredulous expression.

“How fucking old are you, dude?” She giggled.

“Fifteen, why?

Meg shrugged, “Don’t you think you’re a little young to be smoking?”

Eddie pulled a face, “Weren’t you just telling me earlier how you don’t like when other people tell you what to do?”

She laughed again, pushing in the cigarette lighter on the control panel, “Fair enough. Did you at least bring enough to share with the class?” 

She held out her hand expectantly, wiggling her fingers as Eddie dug through his bag, emerging with another cigarette. He stuck them both in his mouth, pulling the now popped lighter and holding the smoldering coil to both tips. 

Passing one to Meg’s waiting fingers, he took a drag of his own.

“I could’ve done that myself, y’know,” she smirked.

Eddie rolled down the passenger window and blew a steady stream of smoke outside, “Pretty girls don’t light their own cigarettes, didn’t you know that?”

Out of his peripheral he caught her shy smile as she pulled out of the parking lot. 

———

Turns out ‘somewhere’ is a secluded bank along Lovers Lake, and according to Meg it’s her favorite place to hide from the world. She backed in along the tree-line, her expert maneuvering a sign she had done this many times before. Once parked, she hopped out, opting to leave the battery running in order to keep the radio on. She jumped up onto the trunk, taking a seat to look out at the water. Eddie followed suit, pulling one boney leg up towards his chest. They hadn’t spoken on the drive, just sat and listened to music with the late summer air rushing through the open windows. The lack of communication wasn’t awkward, in fact it made Eddie feel at ease. He had watched how the afternoon sun highlighted the red in Meg’s hair as it danced in the breeze, how her lips moved when she sang along to Led Zeppelin, closing her eyes a beat longer than a blink when she really resonated with a lyric. Now that he was sitting closer to her on the trunk, he mapped the light smattering of freckles on her nose. She turned to look at him, and he felt the blush bloom in his cheeks at being caught. 

“So, Eddie Munson,” Meg smiled, “tell me more about yourself.”

“W-what do you mean?” He stuttered, not used to the attention.

“Tell me about your family, tell me about your hobbies,” she hugged her knees, resting her head against them.

“Uh, well, I live with my Uncle Wayne. I’ve been with him since elementary school, since…since my dad went to jail…” he looked down at his hands. 

He’d never admit it out loud, but he was embarrassed of his father. Even as a young child, he couldn’t ignore the whispers around town about the ‘no good Munson’s’, not to mention the dirty looks and disapproving head shakes from people in the grocery store when they passed by. The first time Eddie was caught shoplifting, the clerk at the convenience store called the police, resulting in him sitting in the back of a squad car until Uncle Wayne came to pick him up. As he sat and stared at the metal cage separating the front seat, he heard the officer outside speaking to his partner, “—gonna end up just like his old man at this point. Wouldn’t surprise me honestly—“

Eddie hated his dad; hated the way he treated his mom, hated the way he had complete disregard for his own son. He would never end up like him.

He’d make sure of that.

Meg’s head quickly rose from her knees, eyes full of sympathy, “Oh, Eddie, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to bring up any bad shit…I had no idea—“

“—it’s okay,” he waved it off, shooting her a quick, sad smile, “I’m not upset or anything, Wayne takes good care of me. He’s more of a dad than my actual father could ever hope to be.” 

Meg nodded, “What did your dad go to jail for, if you don’t mind me asking?”

Eddie laughed, “What didn’t he go to jail for. He won’t get out for a while, not that he was really ever present to begin with…”

“What about your mom?” She whispered, afraid of the answer.

Eddie’s stoic as he looks over at her, “She’s dead. About a year before dad went to prison. He was always a piece of shit, but I think something about losing her really sent him off the deep end. Even after all the shit he did to her, there’s a part of him that still cared. At least, that’s what I choose to believe.” 

He felt something warm touch him, looking down to see Meg’s hand wrapping around his own. 

“Fuck him,” she whispered, and Eddie nodded.

“Fuck him,” he said proudly, smiling back at her, “What about you, Dungeon Mistress? What’s your origin story?”

Meg shrugged, gazing out at the water, “Not much to tell, honestly. My dad is a businessman, he’s in Indianapolis a lot for work but he’s a lot of fun when he’s home; we’re really similar personality-wise. My mom—“ she tapers off to take a deep breath, “—my mom is…complicated.”

Eddie squeezes her hand, “How so?”

“She’s got these expectations, ones that she forces on me specifically since I’m the oldest. She’s a teacher, so she has this crazy obsession with proper education, and I have no other choice but to go to college.”

“Don’t you want to? Go to college I mean…” He asked.

“Absolutely, I need to get out of this town. She just wants me to be a teacher or a doctor or something like that; she doesn’t support my writing, says I can’t make a living with it and she won’t pay for school unless I major in something practical. She ‘refuses to have Jack Kerouac for a daughter’,” she furrows her brows, shaking her head in the process, “we fight a lot, about everything pretty much. Nothing I do is every good enough for her. I just…I don’t want to have a career that keeps me here. I want to get out.”

No one had ever been this vulnerable with Eddie before, nor had he ever spoken about his own upbringing openly. Sure, his friends knew the story, but they had watched most of it unfold in real time and didn’t need to ask questions. Until this point, nobody else had been worth opening up to. 

Meg and Eddie fell into another comfortable silence, hands clasped as the sun set below the horizon. A flock of geese flew over the lake, a sign that summer was finally coming to an end.

Meg let go of Eddie’s hand and laid against the back window to stare at the indigo sky.

“What am I gonna do about school…” she groaned as Eddie leaned back next to her. 

“Well,” he thought out loud, “My best friend Jeff is like, a genius. He’s still in Hawkins Middle, but he’s been doing college level math shit for a while; something about wanting to get into MIT or whatever. I could ask him if he could tutor you?”

Her eyes sparkled as she looked over, “Yeah? That’d be awesome, thank you.”

Eddie nodded, “As for your extracurricular, do you have any like…talents or hobbies you can put to use in a club or something?”

Meg laughed, “Fuck no. I can’t play a sport to save my life, I have almost zero coordination, I’m not a chess genius, and I can’t sing or act well enough to join the theater kids.” 

Eddie hummed in thought, gazing up at the emerging stars, “Play any instruments?”

“Besides air guitar? Nope.”

Eddie grinned, scratching his cheek as he wracked his brain for an idea.

Just as Meg mumbled a small “I’m so fucked,” it hit him.

“What about D&D,” he sat up, looking over his shoulder at her confused expression.

“What about it…?” She responded suspiciously.

Eddie hopped off the trunk and faced her fully, “Start a D&D club. I guarantee the entire party would join, maybe we could even gain a few closeted players too. We could still meet once a week, but we would have a permanent spot at school to play.”

Meg rose up on her elbows, eyes narrowed, “Eddie, Principal Higgins would never allow us to start that up, you know what they say about D&D—”

“—Who gives a shit!” He threw his arms out, “It’s worth a shot, and if we make a convincing argument, maybe it’ll work.”

Her eyes softened as she sat up fully, “…will you help me?”

“Of course, with anything you need.”

Meg slid off the trunk, a smirk forming as the cogs in her brain started to turn, “What would we call it? It needs a cool name, something that sounds mysterious but doesn’t scream ‘nerd alert’.”

Eddie turned to look out at the lake again, running a hand through his short waves, wracking his brain for an idea. 

From behind him, Meg starts rattling off any thought that popped into her head, “What about ‘Dragon Riders’?”

Eddie huffed out a laugh, “That definitely screams ‘nerd alert’.”

“Knights of Hawkins High?”

“Hmm…no.”

“Board Buddies.”

“You’re fucking joking, right?”

Eddie squinted over the expanse of the shoreline, deep in thought. He heard Meg kick some dirt behind him. The radio hummed from the open car windows, the dull sounds of Highway to Hell filling the air.

—Hey momma, look at me,

I’m on my way to the Promised Land,

I’m on the highway to hell—

Eddie spun around. 

“Hellfire.”

Meg looked up from her shoes, “What?”

He smiled broadly, “Hellfire Club.” 

Everything clicked into place, Meg matching his expression as she walked closer.

“Hellfire Club,” she whispered, relishing in the way it flowed off her tongue, “You’re a genius, Eddie Munson.”

She held out her pinky, “Co-chairs?” 

Eddie wrapped his finger around hers, solidifying an unspoken alliance.

———

It had a name, but Hellfire Club needed to have a full write-up of details before it could be presented to Principal Higgins for approval according to Ms. Kelly. The next few weeks were filled with organizing and brainstorming sessions, at first only involving Eddie and Meg, but after they brought the idea up to the lunch crew, the unofficial club had a full roster. Everyone was ecstatic about Hellfire, at the possibility of having a stable meeting place, of bringing D&D to the forefront of the school’s population and not just a shadowy hobby practiced at home. They wanted to show the world that Dungeons and Dragons was an inclusive, fun, escape from the mundane daily drain of the world. All of Eddie’s free time was spent planning for the presentation; he was an almost daily fixture at Meg’s house now, talking animatedly about every detail that came to his brain as he ate dinner with her family. She never made him feel weird or stupid, she listened intently and would bounce outrageous ideas off him in return, eliciting eye rolls from her younger sister. 

As D-Day approached, Eddie was inseparable from Meg, spending every lunch period hunched over a notebook with her as they planned. 

The day before the presentation, Adam slumped into the seat next to Meg, slamming his backpack onto the cafeteria floor dramatically as his eyes connected with Eddie’s. The emotion behind them wasn’t kind. 

Meg paid him no mind as she reached over and stole one of Eddie’s chips, he broke away from Adam’s stare and smiled at her. 

Adam coughed, attempting to get Meg’s attention, “You wanna come over after school today?”

She shook her head, shoving a notebook back into her bag, “Can’t, sorry. Me and Eddie have to put the finishing touches on the final presentation for tomorrow.”

Adam let out a strained laugh, “You’re fucking unbelievable, y’know that?”

His tone made the table fall silent, Meg stopped rummaging through her bag to look up at him.

“What are you talking about?”

He shook his head in disbelief, dark hair flopping in front of his eyes as he stood up and grabbed his bag, “I haven’t hung out with you in weeks, you’re constantly ‘busy’ or so you say,” he made dramatic air quotes, and Eddie watched as Meg visibly deflated.

“I am busy, Adam. I need to get this club approved, I need to do this to be on track for graduation next year,” she was trying her best to sound calm, but he was only getting more frustrated.

“Oh yeah, so you can run away to New York or LA for college?” He spat.

“Adam please,” she sounded exhausted, “don’t do this right now…”

“Or are you just trying to spend more time with your new boy toy—“ he walked up behind where Eddie sat and pushed the back of his head towards the table aggressively.

Meg shot up from her seat and grabbed Adam by his arm, pulling him away, “What the fuck is your problem? Eddie didn’t do anything to you, he’s helping me build all of this.” 

Adam stared at her, eyes narrowed in anger, “Whatever you say, Meg.”

Kate appeared behind him, putting a small hand on his forearm, “C’mon, we have to get to Bio,” She offered Meg an apologetic smile, leading Adam out of the cafeteria but not before he shot her one last disgusted look. 

Eddie stared at the lunch table, unsure of what to say or do. He felt Meg’s presence settle next to him again.

“You okay?” She whispered, reaching down to pick up her bag again.

Eddie nodded, “I don’t have to come over tonight if you don’t want me to…”

“Don’t be ridiculous, of course I want you to,” she shut his offer down immediately.

“But Adam—“

“No, Eddie, please. Hanging out with you is the best part of my day,” she stood up without further explanation and walked out of the cafeteria without looking back.

———

“Do you want to run over it one more time?” Meg flopped back onto her bed, landing beside Eddie who was cross-legged amongst a sea of papers and notebooks. 

He shook his head, “Not unless you really want to, I think you’ve got it down.”

She rolled onto her side and smiled up at him, “You really think so?”

Eddie shot her a look, “Of course I do, you’re a really good speaker,” he picked up a few loose sheets of paper and waved them around, “and all of the outlines and campaign examples you’ve written are amazing.”

“Really?” She whispered, doubt lining the edges of her words. He realized at that moment that the confidence he had first admired was shallow, and deep down Meg was just as insecure as him.

Eddie grew serious, “Yeah, they’re really good. You’re a great writer.”

Meg closed her eyes and rolled onto her back, “Thank you…Adam hates it. Says I ramble too much, and the words I choose are pretentious,” she gave a short, sad laugh.

“Or maybe Adam’s just a moron that can’t understand anything past a fifth grade reading level…” Eddie muttered a little too loudly.

Meg’s head shot over in his direction, mouth open in shock but quickly erupting into hysterical laugher. It was infectious, and Eddie joined in, falling back next to her and laughing up at the ceiling. 

As they came down from their fit, Meg grew quiet, and Eddie grew bold.

“What’s Adam’s deal?”

“Hmm?” She rolled her head over, eyebrows raised.

“Today at lunch, he made a comment about you ‘running away’.”

Meg hummed again, “Oh that. Yeah, he uh…he doesn’t support me going away to school.”

Eddie furrowed his brows, “Why?”

“He’s content here. His entire life has been in Hawkins, family hasn’t moved anywhere in generations. Adam’s life is…cushy to say the least. Dad has a job lined up for him after he graduates this year, so his future is already set. All he wants is a nice little housewife to come home to at the end of the day, and that is not going to be me. I need to get out of here, I need to explore the world, and Adam holds that dream against me.”

Eddie watched as she stared upwards, gazing at something a million miles away. 

“Has he ever…touched you?” He whispered at the popcorn ceiling.

“How do you mean?” She mumbled. It was already out of his mouth, he couldn’t take it back now.

“Has Adam ever hurt you?” He dared to look over, and watched as her jaw tightened. It took a few moments for her to speak, swallowing dryly before confessing into the cool air of the room.

“…once,” it came out as a whisper, and he watched as her eyes glassed over.

“What happened?” His voice was paper thin; it was taking everything to not scream. He wanted to find Adam and make him pay. 

“I uh…I didn’t want to have sex with him one night. He got upset and accused me of seeing someone else…and he shoved me into a wall. Hit my head on a shelf and cut the back of it a little.” 

Eddie watched as a solitary tear escaped and ran down into her hair. He searched for her hand and grabbed it, interlocking their fingers, “Why are you with him?” 

She wiped her eyes with her other hand, “He’s a nice guy, you just need to get to know him, Eds.”

He felt a deep rage start to smolder in his chest, words spilling out before he could stop them, “My mom used to say something similar about my dad…”

Meg looked at him, eyes wide and brimming with tears. She didn’t respond, and Eddie just stared back. Anger faded to sadness; remembering all the times he had stood between his parents as his father hurled beer cans at his mom, spewing accusations and insults as she cowered against the kitchen floor. Eddie had been too young to help his mother, but he refused to let Meg end up a part of the same cycle.

———

  The last time Eddie was this anxious, he was playing in the Hawkins Middle School talent show in front of the entire student body. He sat on a bench outside of the principal’s office, tapping his converse against the linoleum floor. He couldn’t hear Meg talking through the heavy wooden door, but he would occasionally catch the low grumble of Principals Higgins’ voice. She had been presenting their Hellfire Club proposal for 15 minutes now, assuring Eddie she could fly solo and leaving him in perpetual purgatory outside the office door. 

After 18 minutes (not that he was counting), the door groaned open, and Eddie’s slender body leapt upright from the bench as Meg slowly emerged stone-faced. 

“What happened?” Eddie whisper-screamed, falling into step with her as they exited into the deserted main hallway.

He pestered her with questions in the short walk to cafeteria, Meg silently leading the way with a straight face. With every second of silence, Eddie’s heart dropped further into his stomach. They had worked so hard on this, Meg had been so excited.

She swung the cafeteria door open, a cacophony of voices and laughter smacking them in the face as they weaved towards the table in the corner. Eddie stood behind Meg nervously as she approached the group, all of them immediately ceasing conversation to hear the verdict. 

“Well…” Meg stated, looking down at the folder in her hand. 

Eddie inhaled sharply, waiting for the hammer to fall.  

“…I hope you’re all free next Friday, because the inaugural meeting of the Hellfire Club is at 3pm!” She slammed the folder onto the table as the rest of the group cheered. 

Eddie exhaled the breath he was holding as Meg spun and threw her arms around his shoulders. He squeezed her middle, bending down to whisper into her ear.

“You did it.” 

Her hair smelled like strawberries, and the smile she returned when pulling out of the embrace was as warm as the summer sun.

Eddie glanced past Meg’s face at Adam seated at the table.

If looks could kill, he’d be six feet under. 

———

Now that it was an official club, Hellfire needed some advertisement. A sign-up sheet was promptly posted to the main bulletin board by the front office, and was just as quickly defaced. Scribbles of ‘losers’, ‘nerds’, and ‘freaks’ littered the lined sheet, a few doodles of the devil accompanied the monikers. They had assumed it would happen, knowing full well the general attitude towards D&D, so Meg had multiple copies on hand to replace any that were ruined. 

The first official meeting was held on the auditorium stage, Kate had pleaded with the drama instructor to let them use the space when it wasn’t being utilized for the theater club. It was overall much more of a conducive environment to play, plenty of room and the addition of miscellaneous props from old productions created a mystical ambiance. The first session was the start of a new campaign Meg had made, and so far it was brutal in the best way. The gameplay adrenaline paired with the new meeting spot had the group buzzing, bringing them all closer as friends. 

Winter passed through the state of Indiana like a freight train, pummeling it with snow so thick that Eddie swore the blisters on his hands from shoveling would be there for the rest of his life. The ground finally thawed in late March, leading into the final two months of his Freshman year. 

Hellfire was such a key factor in his life now, not only playing but also learning how to better run a campaign. He still hung out with Jeff and Gareth, recounting the events of that weeks club meeting to them every time. Eddie didn’t have to convince Jeff too much to help tutor Meg in math, the second he met her, he understood why Eddie was so enamored. They made a recurring bi-weekly date to study algebra, with Eddie sometimes tagging along just for fun. Both of his younger friends couldn’t wait to make it to high school, knowing that spots in Hellfire were waiting for them.

As the school year wound to a close, Eddie felt a shift in the group of people he’d come to call his friends. Adam and Rick were graduating, leaving not just the school but also Hellfire behind. Meg had offered an invitation to keep playing, but Rick had plans to travel out west for a bit, and Adam flat out refused, citing his need to put ‘childish things aside’ now that he was going to have an adult career. The statement had made Eddie bristle when he heard it, and he knew that Meg was upset as well. Her face remained neutral as she stared at Adam, but Eddie saw the hurt in her eyes. The cracks were forming, and Eddie could only hope it was just a matter of time before the dam broke.

The last day of school was almost as stifling as the first, and Eddie cringed as he felt a bead of sweat drip down the back of his neck. His hair was getting longer, almost out of the weird growing-out phase, and it was taking some getting used to. As he slammed his locker door shut for the final time until September, sound of running footsteps caught his attention. Meg was running down the hallway, pushing past the dozens of students clamoring to leave for the summer. She collided into Eddie at full force, wrapping him into the biggest bone crushing hug. Though caught off guard, his smile was so wide he thought his face might rip in two. Meg pulled back, thrusting a piece of paper into Eddie’s face.

“What is this?” He took a closer look, it was her final algebra grades. A solid C.

“Holy shit! You did it!” He handed the page back to her, eyes full of pride.

“No Eddie, you did it. You’re the one that got Jeff to help me. You’re the one that helped create Hellfire. I can’t thank you enough,” she stared at him, admiration and gratitude spilled from every part of her. 

“What about gym?” Eddie chuckled as they started to walk out to the parking lot.

Meg unlocked her car, “Oh, yeah, I have a week of summer school for that.”

He laughed as he slid into the passenger seat, “I still don’t understand…”

“I’m never going to run the mile, Eds, I refuse,” she started the ignition, pulling out of the lot to head to their spot by the lake. 

Adam and Rick’s graduation was that night, and Eddie had promised he’d come along for support, but for now he was content sitting beside Meg next to Lover’s Lake, talking about their big plans for next year; her last hurrah at Hawkins High, and the year she’d pass the Hellfire torch to Eddie.