#middle school me FOUGHT with guys for things less weird than what happened to me???

[fountainoflove]

.

[earnestly-endlessly]

kind of an odd request — do you have fics where erik is grumpy with everyone else but a ray of sunshine with charles?

Hi anon, thank you for the ask. First and foremost, I'm so sorry for how long this took me but I've been searching for all the fics that come to mind that fit your request. Second, this is not an odd request because I love this trope so much. I mean, it's basically canon that he's grumpy with everyone except for his Charles, right? Anyway, I might add to this list later on, but I can't sit on this any longer and hope that you have found some fics that you enjoy!!

Fic Recs Where Erik is grumpy with everyone but a ray of sunshine with Charles

Twice as Blind – Darksknight

Summary: Erik is probably the biggest asshole on the face of the earth, and because of this, he'll probably die alone. Charles is a complete flirt and playboy and, probably, will never commit to anyone ever.

(The lesson here is that when you have two friends who are BOTH secretly seeing someone, well, it's probable that they're seeing each other.)

In the moonlight, on a joy ride – scarlettblush

Summary: Librarian AU. Charles is the young librarian and Erik is the college student who is completely besotted with him.

The Proper Care of Actors – Clear_Liqueur, Clocks, Etherei, afrocurl

Summary: Erik is an A-list action star who is notoriously difficult to work with, until the day he gets cast alongside Charles Xavier, rom-com darling who can charm the pants off movie audiences the world over and apparently even one Erik Lehnsherr. The paparazzi catch them out and about soon enough, and their real-life Hollywood movie romance becomes instant tabloid fodder.

Rumor Mill – ikeracity

Summary: Erik is the grumpiest, most foul tempered worker at Stark industries. His grumpiness is the stuff of legends.

So it's obviously the talk of the office when Erik is being made to go to the company party and he's bringing his husband. There's rumors flying round about how much of a masochist or equally antisocial bastard Erik's husband must be to put up with him. Others think he must be a meek mouse perhaps bullied by Erik.

What they weren't expecting was the confident, charming, adorable and unbelievably nice Charles that turns up on Erik's arm. What they certainly weren't expecting was how much Erik obviously adores his husband and how happy he is to let others see this.

Work/Life Balance – pocky_slash

Summary: Alex is pretty sure his weird, anti-social boss is a robot. Right up until the guy's adorable husband shows up. His adorable husband who happens to be a famous actor. His adorable husband who happens to be the very same famous actor who was the source of many of Alex's teenage fantasies.

Terrifying Domesticity – ishipitsobad

Summary: Erik is the most dangerous and notorious mafia boss around for miles, and yet the strangest things terrify him.

For example: his children, and his very pregnant mate.

Of kittens and teacups and love – Ren

Summary: Modern AU in which Charles and Erik are flatmates. Charles studies psychology and likes tea and chess and keeps bringing home stray kittens, and Erik lets him because he's maybe perhaps a little bit sort of in love with him.

Fools Rush In – LoveSupreme

Summary: Erik owns a cafe on the edge of campus and accidentally starts maybe-stalking a Biology Professor there.

Growing Pains – ikeracity

Summary: Twelve-year-old Erik Lehnsherr is an angry, closed-off foster kid with trust issues and a bad temper. Ten-year-old Charles Xavier is a lonely kid in boarding school who just wants a friend.

Logan pretends he doesn't think they're both fucking adorable.

Series

Home Together (The Finding Our Way Remix) – significantowl

Summary: Erik is not the sort of person other students strike up conversations with. His expression, his posture, every part of his manner say: Don’t talk to me. I don’t want to talk to you. But none of that stops the boy ahead of him in line with the collapsible white cane, and nothing can stop Erik from falling for him, like it or not.

Melted Ice Cream and Macaroni Art – pocky_slash

Summary: Everybody likes Charles. Nobody likes Erik. And that's really the source of Erik's doubts. Also, there's ice cream and a baby. Part of ‘the Daycare’ verse.

Walling in or Walling Out – stlkrchck

Summary: Erik stifles a sigh. Of course this is Mr. C. F. Xavier. Of course.

For the prompt: Charles and Raven are throwing a holiday party. Erik is the grumpy neighbor who is annoyed by how loud they are being. So he goes to complain, and Charles makes it up to him.

(Wise Men Say) Only Fools Rush In – wildelybroken

Summary: After reading a fic where Erik and Charles are super sluts, meet at what is presumably Raven and Emma's engagement party, and end up sleeping together, I made the following comment and just inspired myself.

"They start casually texting each other throughout the day, maybe while they’re bored or frustrated at work, and start out meeting up and sleeping together semi-frequently. And eventually they accidentally start dating without noticing it at first, not until Raven and Emma get them alone and are like “wtf you two super sluts are actually dating??” And at first they deny, but then they’re both like “holy shit, we are!” And they meet back at one of their places and they don’t have to say anything, they just look at each other and come together immediately, kissing passionately and ~making love~. In the middle of it they realise that’s what they’ve been doing for a long time now and they confess their love to each other and they live happily ever after because they deserve all the good in the world."

For Charles – Shigai

Summary: Tired of being told he has to find his 'heart', classical piano graduate Erik Lehnsherr decides to travel to Italy and drink from the famous Italian passion for music. While searching for it, he meets Charles Xavier, a graduate in Fine Arts who is basically travelling around the world perfectioning his technique, and who will turn his world upside down.

Together they will discover that, sometimes, what you thought you didn't need is what you needed the most.

Erik Hates People – Anonymous

Summary: Erik hates people- it's his rule, a way of living.

Sugar – humanitys_cutest

Summary: Erik glances at the clock for what feels like the tenth time in less than half the minutes. It feels like he's been in some meeting or other since the day started almost 10 hours ago, and he's had just about enough of listening to these pompous old men discuss what would be the best design for his building like they know anything about it. He tries as subtly as possible to massage his temples to assuage the building migraine, but he knows it's no use.

He just wants to go home.

Everyone Likes Charles – Rosawyn

Summary: '“Everyone who's met him likes him.” Cain's grin was even stupider than before. “Once you meet him, you'll see.”

It was almost like a challenge then. And damn. Erik hated saying no to a challenge.'

Still Going Strong – JackyJango

Summary: Speaking of forty-eight, Erik hates it. Hates it even more that others are aware of it. While he’s pragmatic enough to know and accept that aging is inexorable, the increase in number gives the people around him the freedom to pounce at him with questions, opinions and advice he'd fought to keep at bay all year.

Besides, Erik believes that youth is a state of mind, not a phase in one’s life.

You have a child’s mind in a man’s body, Charles constantly tells him.

But despite his age, Erik is healthy. He works out daily. His muscles are steel and he can dead-lift four hundred pounds. He can break bones without breaking a sweat. Most importantly, he can still carry Charles to the bedroom and fuck him senseless. And as long as Erik can do that, he’s perfectly happy.

All I know is pouring rain and everything has changed – hllfire

Summary: Charles meets Erik, the man he had heard about many times from his sister and some friends, on a rainy Sunday morning. The stories about Erik paint him as a distant and intimidating man, but Charles finds out that maybe the stories had been wrong.

How to Successfully Ruin Your Life – humanveil

Summary: Seventeen-year-old Charles Xavier accepts a job at his local café, expecting nothing more than a fun, new pastime. What he gets is a mysterious customer and a schoolboy crush.

Stolen – ishipitsobad

Summary: Erik is a miserable, grumpy, cantankerous bastard, and he has every fucking right to be. He drew the short end of the stick when he got the Underworld as his domain, and there isn't very much fun to be had in judging and governing dead souls who would rather be anywhere else but with Erik in the depths of Hell.

So when he meets Charles, brilliant and lovely Charles who is more popularly known amongst the mortals as Persephone, and feels the promise of something wonderful that could make his eternally doomed existence infinitely more bearable... you can bet all your drachmas Erik's not going to let Charles go any fucking time soon.

Erik Lehnsherr's Guide to Saving the Universe By Meeting Your Soul-Mate and Falling in Love in Less than 72 Hours – magneto, pangea

Summary:Army Pilot Erik Lehnsherr is just trying to enjoy his day off when a mostly naked person crashes through the roof of his car. Even more alarming, the strange falling naked person—who goes by Charles Xavier when he's not speaking an ancient dead language—brings tidings of the apparent potential end of the world, and begs Erik to help him put a stop to it.

Well. His mother has been nagging at him to go out and meet new people.

The Theory of Partnership Dynamics – Pangea

Summary: “Detective Lehnsherr, how wonderful to see you out on the job!” The fed in the front greets him as they draw nearer. He’s shorter than the other two by a full head, and he’s beaming at Lehnsherr as if completely undeterred by Lehnsherr’s paint-peeling scowl.

“What do the feds want?” Lehnsherr asks bluntly.

“You know I can’t tell you that,” the fed answers cheerfully. Then his gaze lands on Alex, and, impossibly, his grin gets even brighter. “Did you get a new partner?"

“No,” Lehnsherr says through his teeth while at the same time Alex says, “Yes.”

[herstarburststories]

Important Milestones (Damian Wayne x reader)

✾ Summary: An intimate look through your and Damian's relationship. Requested! It’s been a hot bit since I wrote for Damian, so I hope this one is good!

↼❈⇁

First meeting

Dick was taking Damian to the circus

Add a long conversation and lots of "Yeah, Dami. I'm sure the animals are treated well-- Actually, animals aren't allowed in legal circus anymore. You don't have to worry."

They were watching the show, and Damian couldn’t believe that Grayson was so excited about clowns

Damian excused himself to get some food

Dick asked him to get a hotdog, but Damian will bring him popcorn #beaveg

Thing is, you and Damian arrived the food trunk at the same time

Which leaded to an argument

Y/N: I got here first!

Damian: You are not on the line!

Y/N: Because you almost ran over me!

You two kept going long enough for a worried Dick to show up

How to trust each other

You know when you've never seen a person before, but once you lay your eyes on them, you start seeing their face in every crowd?

That's basically you and Damian

How come you didn't know the idiot from the circus was also the Wayne guy that studied with you?

How he, with Talia and Batman's observation skills, never noticed you walking around Gotham's School and now he always caught a sight of you?

You and Damian quickly fall into a weird routine:

Glare each other during lunch

Rolls your eyes when the others was talking in class

Annoy each other whenever you had the chance

Jon teased him a lot

Talking about Superboy...

He seemed off in the morning and he hadn't showed up for lunch like he always did

Damian decided to look for his best friend

Surprisingly, he found Jon crying in your arms in the middle of the chemistry laboratory

You just looked at Damian and nodded for him to come in

Y/N: His parents had a big fight. I found him here alone and thought I could help. Since you are here, guess I'll go.

Damian: You can stay. I mean, Jon probably could use your emotional assistance.

Damian still finds you annoying (and so do you), but you helped his friend

He trust you... A bit

Recognize your feelings

Damian came to school one day. He is clearly hurt-- he couldn’t even walk straight

Jon remained quiet. He was there when the week's villain throw Damian against a wall as if he was a bag of potatoes

But you don't know about the Robin detail

Besides, you are sort of a trinity with them now

Therefore, you worry

And you ask

And you worry some more

It's been a few weeks since your friendship started. Damian trusts you, he really does, but not enough to tell you

Let's keep in mind that pretty much like Bruce, Damian isn't the best when it comes to expressing his feelings through anything but violence

So, he acts like an idiot

Y/N: Damian, come on. I'm not stupid enough to believe you’d fall hard enough to get yourself hurt like this. Talk to me.

Damian: Stop pushing your need to fix everything on me, Y/N. You are not my mother. Don't waste your worry on me, I don't need it.

You realized you liked him when you felt way more worried than you usually would

But Damian just noticed his cherish for you when you glared at him with evident hurt in your eyes and left the table

He just wanted you back, making silly jokes with Jon and stealing his fries

Kiss me, idiot

Two days

48 hours + 12 minutes since you two fought

A whole weekend

LISTEN, his life was going perfectly well before you came along

Now it seems like you opened a spot that's exactly your fit and put yourself there

Whenever you aren't around, Damian feels this weird sensation of missing

Jon convinces him into talking to you

As soon as he sees you in school, he does

Apologize becomes another argument (surprise, surprise)

Damian: Why do you care so much?!

Y/N: Because I like you, idiot!

Damian: You, you like me? As in--

Then you kiss him

Because, let's be clear, you'd end up kissing or punching him

Finding out he's Robin

It's the most stupid way possible

Like, for real

Last night, his Robin's duties kept Damian up until 5am

Instead of leaving his clothes inside the Batcave as usual, he just crumbled to his bed

The sun arrived and so did you

School project

While Damian was out to grab some books, you were studying his room

A picture of him and Jon. Some papers with Arabian words. A dog's bed. Robin suit. A sword

Wait, come back

A. Robin. Suit.

Damian Wayne was many things, but cosplayer certainly wasn't on the list

The pieces glued together fast

A rich family would make sense: Batman and Robin's instruments never looked cheap. Four Robins existed among the years, and Damian had 3 brothers. Not to mention that he'd show up with random scratches and never explain what happened. He was good with swords, and the current Robin had been seen with them a lot of times. Besides, Damian Wayne would never wear a costume willingly, much less keep one in his room

He walks inside the room to see you wearing his cape and mask

Y/N: Guess I'm robin' your persona, huh? Wanna tell me something?

Meeting the family

You come from a big family

Good thing because anybody else would be scared if they were in your shoes

MESS, MESS, MESS

Dick is smiling like a crazy all the time, and making dad jokes

Tim is teasing Damian by asking you to blink twice if you need saving

Jason is directly fighting Damian and calling him devil spawn

Bruce is quietly watching everyone with a subtle smile on his lips. He asks you a few questions, and occasionally asks the boys to behave before answering his phone and excusing himself

Babs, Steph and Cassandra come in later

Now the teasing is divided between you and Damian and Steph and Tim

You tease them a lot, blushing Tim is adorable

You are wearing purple boots, and Steph already loves you for that

Dick tells Babara about you being aware of the family secret

She offered to train you for some self-defense

YOU ACCEPTED, DUH. SHE IS THE BATGIRL!!

Cass is more quiet, but very friendly

Alfred was the first batfam member that you'd met, though (also your fav)

You try (key word being try) to help him in the kitchen

Batcow became your best friend, sorry Jon

You met the Titan family as well

Now you had munition to tease Dick as much as he teased you and Damian

Thank you, Kory

Also, Kor is a real life alien princess, how cool is that!?

Beast Boy is the funniest guy -- and now you are pretty sure you became a vegetarian because you can't eat animals after seeing his transformation

Raven reminds you of Cass

Donna is so powerful, and she knows so many languages!

You get along with his two families

Although Damian rolls his eyes a lot during y'all interaction, he is really happy

First kid

You and Damian are in university when it happens

You both know it's a big step

There's no turning back, you two will always be connected

Damian and you are now responsible, parents

Of the cutest bunny!

Yep, you insisted on naming him Robin

The first kid you both adopted together

Get on your knees for me

Damian isn't much of a romantic

You don't really mind

But when he proposes, it's the sweetest thing

You two had ordered some veggie food to celebrate the end of your finals

Finally a break!

Damian was holding you on the couch as you both watched one of your favorite movies when Robin, the bunny showed up

Y/N: Batbunny, just because we have vegan food, it doesn't mean you can get some. Go eat your lettuce.

Damian: Beloved, maybe you should see what he brought for you.

The bunny had a necklace wrapped around him!!

And the said necklace was attached to a ring!!

A FUCKING DIAMOND!?

Extra of love:

You became a vigilant for a bit before deciding how you truly wanted to help people

Besides charity, you became a lawyer specialized in cases of racism and immigration

Your and Damian's wedding was a mix of your culture and his

Comment/Reblog if you liked it, feedback is magic! Wanna see more? Check my Masterlist! How about get tagged on my batboys or just Damian works? Ask me or add yourself to my taglist!

[ecofinisher]

Lady Frost and the Fire King - A familiar partnership - Chap 39

Chapter 39

https://archiveofourown.org/works/31330631/chapters/84485965

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13886468/39/Lady-Frost-and-the-Fire-King-A-familiar-partnership

In the evening several students had arrived at the Françoise Dupont school to attend the prom night organized by the school.

In the meantime, other students, which were invited for the prom were arriving as well at the moment, under them, Rollan was present along with Wayhem and Michael. Wayhem wore a black shirt and pants, which were from Gabriel, and a red tie, which belonged to the same brand. Michael wore dark-brown pants and a green vest with a bow tie.

„You paid 140 euros for that all?“ Asked Rollan shocked as he looked at the dark colors the boy wore.

„I like it. I‘m also planning to use it in the future on other occasions. No one says it‘s a one-time deal,“ Said Wayhem making Rollan nod.

„Unless it‘s a wedding. I hear many people do buy clothes for every different wedding. At least women,“ Commented Michael. „And the dress prices for women compared to our are huge,“

„Have you seen the prices for elegant suits of other brands? Or better for the ones specially used in weddings? They‘re more expensive than you think,“

„Okay, I believe so,“ Admitted Michael and the trio stopped in the middle of the court to see a few students standing around talking, two duos dancing and a few ones at the bankett table eating.

„Are you guys going to eat something?“ Asked Rollan making Wayhem nod and Michael shake his head.

„I‘ll be waiting here for Sofia,“ Responded Michael making the two boys nod.

„I‘m actually interested in trying out those snacks,“ Commented Wayhem, then Rollan nodded.

„I‘m actually a little hungry. I‘m coming as well,“ Mentioned Rollan, which followed Wayhem at the table to check out the various plates with different snacks, which had already a few missing.

„Lots of healthy snacks,“ Commented Rollan picking up a small toothpick with two cherry tomatoes and a mozzarella ball in it and shove a tomato into his mouth. Wayhem had picked up in the meanwhile from an etagere a triangle-cut sandwich with ham and salad and looked at Rollan taking the last two balls from his toothpick.

„Hey over there you got sweet stuff if you‘re interested,“ Commented Wayhem pointing at the end of the table, where Rollan just walked to encounter a plate with macarons only, then looked at the other ones and decided to pick up a half banana, which was covered in dry chocolate cream, which Rollan looked at it with a warily look.

„This looks interesting?“ Asked Rollan taking the stick, where the banana was attached to and took a bite from it, and smiled. „Mmh,“

„While you‘re on that I‘m gonna take this large Linzer cookie,“ Mentioned Wayhem picking up a large cookie, which had a smiley face on it, where you could see the jam filling of it. „Is this strawberry?“

Rollan finished the banana, then looked at Wayhem which was tasting the cookie and Rollan looked at the entrance to see more students enter, but there was no spurt of Gerda yet.

„Did you come on your own or have you a date?“ Asked Rollan making Wayhem shake his head.

„Nope, I‘m all on my own,“ Mumbled the brunette. „I‘m fine for now,“

„Okay,“ Replied Rollan walking around the table to look at the available snacks, then approached a table across the one with the salty snacks and looked at all the glass, that had been filled in with various drinks and Rollan picked up one, which was grape juice then he took a sip of it and frowned a little disappointed at the taste. Rollan watched the baker of the bakery across the school appear with a plate with hot ham croissants and added them into a plate, which had been empty.

„Want to give my croissants a try?“ Asked Mr. Dupain. „They‘re filled with smoked ham and cream cheese Trust me, you‘re going to love it,“

Rollan smiled, then picked up one to try it and blew at it due to its temperature.

„Gracias,“ Answered Rollan, then Tom pondered for a little while and questioned the boy.

„You‘re alone here?“ Asked the adult making Rollan shake his head.

„Wayhem and Michael came with me,“ Answered Rollan. „There‘s also a girl, I‘m waiting for, but she hasn‘t arrived yet,“

„Really?“ Asked Tom making Rollan nod, then Tom approached the raven-haired Spaniard and led him to his side, where three piles of plates were and took one for the boy. „Why don‘t you collect this girl a few little snacks for her to when she arrives?“ Asked Tom watching Rollan look at the plate and shrug his shoulders.

„I guess it‘s a good idea,“ Commented Rollan and looked at the large variation, wondering what he should pick. „Epa, how should I know, what she‘s interested in?“

„You don‘t have to, just take a few things you think she should try. A few salty things, sweet things or healthy things,“ Suggested Tom. „There must be something, that would make her curious to try,“

„Yeah, I think there are a few things she could try,“ Admitted Rollan, then approached the table to look for diversity.

At the entrance, stood Kim together with Max and Nino talking with an African student, which wore headphones and carried under his arm a laptop.

„You‘re telling me, that Yuki and Urioto broke up because of an empty balloon someone left in his dorm?“ Questioned Kim shocked making the boy nod.

„It‘s hella stupid man. Werner only was in his room to ask Urioto‘s roommate for his party box and he had dropped it and eventually left it there. He wasn‘t expecting that there would happen such a big drama,“

„That‘s nuts,“ Commented Kim while Nino nodded.

„I don‘t know how people could mistake that for a contraceptive product, but yeah that really is crazy, that the two boys there fought because of this,“

„It‘s kind of weird this even happened that way,“ Commented Max making Kim nod.

„Hey before you go up at the stage, are you interested in meeting Rollan? The guy I told you about the basketball skills?“ Asked Kim making the older boy shrug his shoulders.

„I‘ve got to see, what exactly I have to plug in and out at the device, maybe I‘ll pass by before I start or after my part is over,“ Answered the dark-skinned boy making Kim nod, which then heard a familiar, squeaky voice and looked down to spot Luka coming along with his sister, the younger girl Rose and the new girl he knows from his class Gerda.

„Hey is that Gerda?“ Asked Kim surprised at seeing Gerda in a short, sleeveless dress with a woven surface over her front and small, white pearls on it. The skirt of the dress reached to her knees and had her shoes replaced with black ballerinas. Her hair she had let it open, passing over her shoulders down at her back. Nino looked along with Max and the DJ at the Quartett, that came upstairs.

„Hey guys!“ Greeted Rose, while Juleka waved at the group and Luka nodded with a smirk.

„Hey,“ Greeted Kim along with the others, while the unfamiliar boy approached Luka to high five.

„Is that your girl?“ Asked the boy curious making Luka shake his head.

„No, this is Gerda. She‘s in my sister‘s class,“ Answered Luka. „She has been invited to the prom by someone else if you‘re wondering,“

„Oh okay. Well, I‘d be surprised if someone like her wouldn‘t have someone. She‘s a natural beauty,“ Commented the boy with a smirk making Gerda feel embarrassed.

„Thanks,“ Answered Gerda, then looked up at the boys. „Has Rollan arrived yet?“ Asked Gerda making Kim shrug his shoulders.

„I know Wayhem did. Maybe he is in there as well and I haven‘t noticed,“ Answered the Vietnamese boy, then Gerda looked at Rose, which smiled and the group followed into the court, looking around at the decorations made for the evening, which were holiday-themed.

„The images up there of the things you see at the beach look realistic,“ Commented Gerda making Rose nod.

„That made our crafting club,“ Mentioned Rose proud. „A big chunk of the things we see all here now at the prom were done by the various after school activity groups,“ „Cool,“ Commented Gerda, then she spotted near the buffet tables Rollan looking around the table for more food for the plate on his hand, then Gerda chuckled and nudged Rose to show her his crush. „He‘s up there,“

„Aww, he‘s just like Nathaniel. Passionate about eating,“ Commented Rose holding her hands together against her chin.

Gerda approached the Spaniard, which was looking at the macarons, then she stepped beside him to look at his plate.

„That looks yummy,“ Commented Gerda, then Rollan looked at the girl and widened his eyes as he saw her now differently as usual.

„Gerda?…..Is that you?“ Asked Rollan surprised making Gerda nod. „I have never seen your hair open…...“

„Is it good?“ Asked Gerda while Rollan admired her hair dazzled, then Gerda moved her hand in front of his face to obtain his attention. „What do you think of it?“

„Your hair?“ Asked Rollan making Gerda nod. „It‘s great. Did your hair always look like this, when you had it open?“

„More or less,“ Commented Gerda. „Juleka cut the edges of my hair, cause it was a little sprouted,“

„You gotta keep your hair like that more often, it makes you look even more beautiful…..You know, you already are but like this you‘re…..uh better,“ Explained Rollan making Gerda laugh.

„That‘s sweet and you look stunning as well,“ Commented Gerda looking at his clothing. „White actually suits you well,“

„Gracias….I actually was going to take a red one, but then Arthur came along with a few of his old ones and I picked up this one here. It‘s slightly a little large, but it works well for me,“

„It really does,“ Admitted Gerda, then Rose gave Gerda a thumb up, which pulled Juleka away leaving the Norwegian back with the taller boy. Gerda watched her friends leave, heading to the other side of the court, then she smiled that the two girls have let her alone with Rollan without any other tries of helping them out.

„Gerda?“ Spoke Rollan getting the girl‘s attention, then he showed her the plate with the various snacks. „I picked up some variations for you….to try it out?“ Offered the Hispanic boy making Gerda smile and pick up a crystalized ginger slice to eat it. „If you want you can take them all. I had specifically picked up them for you,“

„I‘m probably not gonna eat all of this. You can have one or two as well,“ Said Gerda making Rollan nod, then she picked up one macaron and held it in front of Rollan‘s mouth, making him furrow his eyebrows, then he smiled and allowed Gerda to lead it into his mouth for him to eat. Rollan warped his face in disgust making Gerda shut her eyes up in shock.

„You‘re alright?“

„I‘m not very fond of pistachio,“ Commented Rollan making Gerda chuckle.

„Oh alright I‘m sorry,“

„It‘s fine,“ Commented Rollan watching Gerda take a small canapé with salmon on it and Rollan observed her eating with a smile.

At the small stage, which was placed under the stairs appeared the organized DJ, which had fixed his laptop to play on it and picked the microphone up to greet the students.

„Good evening students of the Françoise Dupont!“ Greeted the boy calling the attention of half of the students. „The name‘s Cristiano and I‘m one of the DJs for this prom. For the next 90 minutes you‘ll be listening to my mix, afterward, Principal Damocles will have for us a few words, before we continue with our next DJ, which most of you know, Nino Lahiffe. In the end, there will be a voting for our prom King and prom Queen and we will know who our winners are. So I suggest you all show your best side and show what you‘re worth for the prize!“

The students applauded watching the DJ give them a thumb up, then turn on the first song, which was a house-electronica song meant for partying.

„Oh yeah, our first song coming from the US-Rapper Okla-Homa. Always good for a wild night,“ Commented Cristiano loud watching students beginning to gather together in the middle to dance.

Gerda watched the students begin to dance with each other, then chuckled at the way some were dancing which was unfamiliar to Gerda. Gerda moved her fingers to pick up the last snack, which was a vanilla cookie and at the same time Rollan placed his finger as well meeting Gerda‘s and shrieked, then rolled his eyes at the girl, which beamed at the boy.

„You can take it,“ Offered Rollan shoving it with his index finger at the girl, which accepted it to eat. Rollan placed the plate aside afterward watched Gerda finish the cookie and looked up at Rollan, which smiled and looked at the students, that were dancing, additionally more students were arriving to join the others.

„Can you dance?“ Asked Gerda making Rollan shrug his shoulders.

„I can waltzer and others in company, but this style the others are doing I have never done before,“

„Neither have I,“ Stated Gerda. „Shouldn‘t we at least give it a try together?“

„Hmm I don‘t think it looks that hard….just in my imagination me doing that would be ridiculous,“

„If you want me to be honest I think everyone kind of dances awkwardly. Maybe this is the point of it,“ Commented Gerda making Rollan shrug his shoulders. „What do you think? Are you able to give it a try?“ Questioned the Norwegian girl, then Rollan watched the others dance and returned his eyes at Gerda.

„Let‘s go for it,“ Answered Rollan, then walked along with Gerda at the field, then both stood there waiting for one of the two to start, then Gerda watched Rollan observe the others, then looked back at her grinning a little sheepishly and Gerda began to dance as the others with Rollan watching her, then she approached the Spaniard placing her hands on his arms pushing him nearer to her and moved her shoulders and arms. Rollan grinned at Gerda‘s moves, then tried to copy the girl and looked at the others, which were all dancing on their own or with another person. Rollan looked back at Gerda, which continued dancing as the others were dancing, then Rollan slowly began to copy her moves and watched her nod and do a full spin, making Rollan smile, which stopped and did a quick spin while going on a tip toe and earned a small applause of Gerda.

„Hey that spin was good,“ Commented Gerda making Rollan chuckle, then he began to move his arms and dance, making Gerda glow at his confidence at copying the random movements, therefore she went along with the boy with their odd dance moves while the song was almost over.

„This is kind of funny,“ Commented Gerda making Rollan nod, then looked at the others, which began to jump up in the air, while holding their hands up and the duo did the same, then Gerda laughed excited about it.

„Eso es genial!“ Commented Rollan making Gerda grin, then the song was over and they stopped along with a few duos.

Marinette sat in her bedroom doing her homework and had on the computer a live stream of the prom night, which showed the DJ playing the music and it switched slowly to the dancing students. Marinette sighed, then picked up her smartphone to use the calculator, then shrieked as on her display appeared a phone number calling, which she attended it.

„Hello?“ Greeted Marinette.

„We‘re here,“ Said the voice making Marinette nod and turn the call off. Marinette went upstairs to get to the balcony, then encountered on the roof Su-Han along with a mysterious monk she had never seen before.

„Good evening,“ Greeted Marinette, then Su-Han held out his hand at Marinette to show her the fixed Ladybug miraculous making her smile and embrace the senior, which widened his eyes in shock. „Thank you so much for healing the miraculous for me,“

„There‘s no need to thank me for it. Now please put on your earrings to make sure she‘s good,“ Commented Su-Han watching Marinette put on the miraculous, then they got activated and Tikki showed up in front of Marinette.

„Welcome back, Tikki,“ Greeted Marinette holding out her hands at the kwami, which smiled and hugged them. „I‘m so sorry I have let an akuma take over me and…...you were now gone for a while,“ „What matters is, that we‘re both okay and the akuma was defeated,“ Stated Tikki making Marinette smile and look along with the kwami at the master guardian.

„This is the son of the former guardian of the Scandinavian miraculous box. He was going to step into his feet as the next heir until one faithful night the Snow Queen cursed the entire peninsula with her curse freezing almost every citizen including his father,“

„Oh and what happened next?“ Questioned Marinette looking at the monk.

„I never got the chance to work with that miraculous box, so after the Snow Queen was defeated I studied other legends, under them was the one of the wishing stone and this is where my topic is going to. You have these two new heroes in your group. The fire-themed one and the ice-themed one,“ „Yeah, Cat Noir said he found it in Gabriel Agreste‘s mansion. He has brought them from Norway I think according to his son Adrien Agreste, which we tried to send him undercover into figuring out details,“ Explained Marinette. „I already mentioned you that the other day, Master Su-Han,“

„I know that. This is now a way different topic now. Let him tell you, what he has to,“

„Okay, sorry, go on, Mister,“ Asked Marinette looking at the monk, which nodded.

„Those miraculouses your friends there were, you know the one with the fire and the ice powers. They‘re in potential danger to lose their control and be overtaken by the spirits of the Snow Queen and the Fire Demon. You have to get these miraculouses back, before they get turned into their slaves and lose their control for good,“

„Oh…...uh and how much time do I have to take them back?“

„I‘m not sure. I‘m the one, who experimented with their powers believing nothing would occur, but I have seen in one of the recordings made by surveillance cameras or any other ones, that recorded one of their fights. The fire boy‘s mind was nearly changing before something had interrupted him and prevent him to lose its tempter,“

„Does this mean…..if Fire King loses his tempter in a way he loses his control or….I don‘t understand,“

„I can‘t tell to 100% when exactly this could happen, but you really need to get them back before it happens. The spirits of the Fire Demon and the Snow Queen shouldn‘t be freed. They should return back into the wishing stone and I‘m at the moment the only one, who knows how to do that. I just need your help,“

„Okay, I just will need to know, where they are exactly. I don‘t know their identities to have it easier to find them,“

„Is there a way to gain their attention and get to them? Like a real-life issue? A faked akumatization?“ Questioned the monk making Marinette shrug.

„I haven‘t thought of anything yet, but I can come up quick with a plan,“

„We better leave it to you then and beware, if one or both of them end up losing their souls to these spirits, I‘ll tell you, it will be the hell to be able to defeat them all over again,“ Commented the monk making Marinette drop her mouth in shock at his comment.

„Don‘t break your head about it. I have my full trust in you, you‘re going to get them without a problem,“ Mentioned Su-Han making Marinette nod, then he jumped down off the roof along with the monk and Marinette dropped her back on the deck chair in shock.

„Did you hear that Tikki? What if we fail again?“ Asked Marinette making Tikki shake her head.

„We‘re not gonna fail, Marinette. All we need to do is to find out, who Fire King and Lady Frost are, then tell them what‘s up. Figuring out, who Fire King is won‘t be hard, Cat Noir already knows and we have proof, that something is wrong with Fire King. He will for sure understand and give the miraculous back,“ Stated Tikki making Marinette nod, then look around and back at Tikki.

„Let‘s get charged, we will look for Cat Noir,“ Warned Marinette making the kwami nod.

Later into the evening, Rollan stood at a corner watching a young couple take a picture in front of a wallpaper, which illustrated at the wall a picture of a beach and the ground had actual sand on it with a deck chair, a handmade sandcastle with a lying, red bucket and a shovel next to it. Rollan watched the couple being pictured by the photographer in a few poses at their choice making Rollan smile and cross his arms enjoying the sight.

The photographer gave the couple a thumb up, then looked at Rollan, which was watching the photo session, then approached the Spaniard.

„Hey! I haven‘t seen you here,“ Commented the photographer, then grabbed Rollan on his cheeks. „You‘re not from here aren‘t you?“

„I‘m from Spain,“ Mumbled Rollan, then watched the photographer take his hands down.

„I assumed you were Italian for some reason, but by looking at your built you‘re far too sporty in my opinion,“ Commented the Italian photographer making Rollan furrow his eyebrows confused.

„My friend Wayhem is sporty and Italian,“ Commented Rollan making the photographer grin.

„You‘re probably right, I was referring to the ones I know,“ Commented Vincent. „At least around here…...what do you think? Would you like to participate in a little photo session? I can see inside you hides a boy, that has potential to become a super model“ Complimented Vincent making Rollan shake his head.

„No, I‘m not interested in that kind of thing. I‘m more interested in being able to do something like helping people,“

„Alright and is it okay, if I take a normal picture of you?“ Questioned Vincent.

„Hmm I‘m not really fond of taking pictures,“ Commented Rollan making the photographer nod, then Rollan made his way along the side of the court to get closer to the restrooms, then watched a cook pass by with a plate filled with various cheese sorts shove into one single pike and Rollan took one giving the cook a smile, then took a bite of the first cube, then watched out of the restroom Gerda come out to his direction.

„Did you want a stick?“ Questioned Rollan moving his head at the cook, which was offering one piece at Myléne Hapréle from Gerda‘s class.

„It‘s fine,“ Responded Gerda, followed by Rollan shoving the last cubes into his mouth and looked around for a trash bin, then placed it on a plate, which contained more used sticks near the buffet table.

„What are you planning to do now?“ Questioned Rollan. „Shall we go to the dance floor again?“

„Are they going to play softer songs and not only the energetic ones?“ Questioned Gerda watching Rollan shrug his shoulders,

„Maybe they will play some,“ Answered Rollan. „We probably have to wait a little longer. They exchanged the musician over there, he might give us something else,“

„You‘re right,“ Agreed Gerda looking at the corner to see Juleka and Rose take pictures together, then she nudged Rollan on the shoulder and pointed there. „They‘re taking pictures,“

„That guy there asked me before if I wanted to take pictures,“

„And you didn‘t want?“

„I‘m not very comfortable with taking photos,“ Admitted Rollan, then she grabbed him by the hand and led him to the corner.

„Come, let‘s just take one picture together. As a memory of this night,“ Suggested the blonde. „Come you won‘t look bad I promise,“

„Alright, I‘ll do it,“ Announced Rollan, then the two stopped by the photographer, which took the last picture of the same-gender couple.

„Fantastic!“ Exclaimed Vicent, then looked at Rollan and Gerda that had alined for the photo session.

„I changed my mind,“ Said Rollan making Vincent smile and see Rose and Juleka pass by the man, then Rose picked the man by his arms as the older duo entered into the corner, so she could whisper something into the ear of the Italian.

„Okay, I‘ll do it,“ Said Vincent, then picked up his remote on his pocket to exchange the image behind the two into an image of a Balinese beach showing a beautifully light-blue water, and near the ground was the sand of the beach, which was compatible with the floor of the set. Vincent looked at the two, which stood beside each other normally, then he moved his hands to sign the two to get closer.

Rollan stepped to Gerda closer with an embarrassed face, while Gerda had rolled her eyes down heating up on the face at the boy‘s approach, then they smiled at the camera, which took a snapshot.

„Have something more in mind for this picture?“ Questioned Vincent seeing Rollan and Gerda look at each other, then Rollan grabbed Gerda‘s hand giving Gerda an unsure look. Gerda had a different idea, then shove the arm, which Rollan had grabbed into the gap between his arm and body, then held her other hand up over his upper arm. Rollan got surprised at her touch, then smiled a little seeing the girl look up at him with a smile, then Rollan‘s grew slightly more and together they faced the photographer, which gave them a thumb up to take a picture. At his third try, Gerda leaned her chin on Rollan‘s shoulder making Rollan exchange his facial expression seconds after the picture was taken and he looked down at the girl.

„Perfecto!“ Commented Vincent, then Rollan looked back at the picture and got bewildered about it.

„Didn‘t we had another picture before?“ Asked Rollan making Gerda shrug her shoulders, then they walked out of the corner to the middle of the court. Rollan stopped, followed by Gerda bumping into him and she giggled as she did that, afterward Rollan pointed out at the DJ, which had picked up his microphone to speak into it.

„Ladies and Gentle-dudes! We‘ve been through a wild ride together, but now it‘s time for us to slow it down a little with some light music and easy listening. I tried to search for something, that‘s a little known under some of you, maybe you‘ve heard it in your childhood, who knows. Our first song comes from a known country singer under the girls here,“ Nino said, then he pressed the play button to start the song, which had at the begin of the music a guitar solo.

The court now remained with couples and duos only beginning to dance slowly to the music.

Gerda looked at the pairs dancing, then noticed how close Juleka and Rose were to each other during the dance with the little blonde having her head lied against the chest of the girl friend. Rollan looked around to see the other couples dance together, then he looked at Gerda seeing her smile enchanted at seeing her two best friends happy together, then Rollan pondered about the circumstances and turned around at the girl.

„Gerda?“ Spoke Rollan earning the girl‘s attention, then he bowed down holding out his hand at the girl. „Puedo solicitor este baile?“

„You're asking me what?“ Asked Gerda looking down at his hand, then studied his sentence. „You‘re asking me to dance?“ Questioned Gerda making Rollan nod. „Oh…..so baile means dance?“

„El baile. Si,“

„Si,“ Responded Gerda. „Quiero bailar,“ Answered Gerda taking Rollan‘s hand, then he guided her into the middle to be distanced from all the other couples, then he received the hands of the blonde and he moved one hand after the other, placing one on his shoulder and the right one on his hand. The free arm, Rollan placed behind Gerda‘s back, then both gazed at each other‘s face, Rollan having a dumbfounded expression while Gerda had an enchanting smile, which had begin to bewitch the Spaniard.

Gerda signaled with her eyes the friend to move further, then Rollan shook his head returning to reality, and began to waltz with the girl to the country song.

The singer began to sing, then Gerda focused on the friend during their act with Rollan leading her on the dancefloor keeping her and himself steady on the floor to avoid making a mistake. Rollan made a stop, then allowed Gerda to roll out, while he held his hand up to hold her and she returned back to the Spaniard, that reversed back with her on his arms. A few steps later Rollan let Gerda spin again, then she returned back into his arms slowly locking her eyes up with the ones of the Spaniard, making her wide them from seeing his maroon-colored eyes.

„But you came along and you‘ve changed everything…..“

The two teens waltzed together away from their standing point around the floor along with the other duos, which were focused on themselves leaving the two lovebirds go with the flow in a very identical manner without a failure as if they had been practicing together for a while.

Alya, which had been filming from the side the people dancing had Juleka and Rose pass near her, then noticed Rose point at the side, then Alya saw Rollan along with Gerda have wonderful act together making the alter ego of Rena Rouge smile and aim the camera at the duo, which was slowing down a little to go along with the song.

During the dance, Gerda had twirled around Rollan‘s arms, then he felt the long, blonde hair pass in front of his nose, making him chuckle and he grabbed the edge of Gerda‘s streak to sense it between his thumb and index finger.

„Has your hair always felt so smooth?“ Questioned Rollan making Gerda chuckle and shake her head.

„Juleka borrowed me her hair conditioner. Oh and have you smelt the scent of the shampoo I got from her?“

„Uh no?“ Responded Rollan, then Gerda moved her head down at Rollan‘s hand, then he reached his nose to her hairstreak to pick up the scent. Rollan cackled, thereafter he leaned his face nearer to her head to get the full scent into his nose and took his head back. „It‘s very good. What smell is that?“

„Honey and Almond,“ Responded Gerda. „It‘s a mixture. You like it?“

„To be honest I like that smell on you. It fits you perfectly,“ Admitted the Spaniard, making Gerda beam at his compliment. Rollan smiled glad at seeing his date was having a blast tonight, then adjusted the girl‘s hand back on him to lead the girl along the dancefloor, making her drop her head back smiling brightly as the song returned to the refrain.

„You lift my feet off the ground, spin me around…..“

„Hmm…..Hmm…..“ Gerda hummed to the song, making Rollan smile enamored at the sweet tune of her voice. She took her head up to look at the Spaniard, which had his eyes deeply focused on her, then she went along his lead on the floor and made a rotation, while being assisted by Rollan afterward she returned onto his arms.

„I don‘t want to hide it anymore…..“ Rollan leaned his forehead on Gerda‘s making her smile lovely, enjoying the tender moment between the two, then gazed up at the brown eyes of the Spaniard, which from a happy smile changed to a charmed one and Gerda placed her hands up under Rollan‘s chin to plant her lips on his making him wide his eyes at her move, then he shut them down, wrapping his arms around her slowly, followed by taking the lead and have Gerda move her arms down up on his shoulders, crossing her wrists on the other behind Rollan‘s neck with a slight mumbling noise of delight.

Adrien sat on his chair in front of the desk reading a book as Plagg sat on the desk looking at the live stream of the prom watching the crowd dance slow, which made Plagg yawn.

„Your father did well to not allow you to this. It looks so boring,“ Commented Plagg, then Adrien looked at the stream to see half of the duos, which were mostly lovers to the other have their heads leaned to each other to the calm style of the music.

„If I had the chance there to be with Ladybug or even with Kagami, it would have been pretty,“ Commented Adrien, then looked at the side to see images on the side mostly from Ladybug and two of them were from Kagami.

„You had great chances with Kagami, but you fucked it up by yourself because you couldn‘t leave alone your other crush,“

„I tried to forget her, but I couldn‘t,“ Commented Adrien. „Kagami was my chance to get through it, but I couldn‘t from seeing Ladybug every day,“

„You know the difference here Adrien is, you didn‘t always see Ladybug because it was a superhero case, you saw her because you wanted to. You missed moments, you could work on your relationship with Kagami or even something different, but you didn‘t,“

„Alright, alright, Plagg. Enough. I know I did terrible back there. I would have taken it all back, but I can‘t,“

„Yeah. Fire King probably will learn it from your mistakes or at least I hope he‘s going different,“ Commented Plagg looking at the screen, making Adrien raise his left eyebrow up then noticed on the live stream Fire King‘s alter ego sharing a kiss with Gerda.

„Well at least he seems pretty relaxed for a first kiss,“ Stated Adrien, then he got up and made his way to the windows to look at the schoolhouse, which was lightened by lights. „I think our class is the only class, where a few students didn‘t go to attend the prom. I, Nathaniel, Lila, and Marinette I think too,“ „Weird, why wouldn‘t Lila come?“ Questioned Plagg making Adrien shrug his shoulders.

„I assume her mom didn‘t sign her declaration. The same thing happened when we went to New York and Toronto. Marinette probably stayed back because of the bakery tasks for tonight. Nathaniel must have been because of his grandmother,“ Recounted Adrien then saw in front of his eyes the superheroine Ladybug pass by running above the roofs, heading to the Trocadero.

„Oh look Ladybug is back,“ Stated Adrien with a smile.

„Great to know Tikki is alright,“ Added Plagg, then Adrien looked down at her.

„Shall we do her a little visit? Just to see how she‘s doing?“ Questioned Adrien making Plagg shrug his shoulders.

„I don‘t care to be honest, but it‘s better than watching this boring live stream there,“ Responded Plagg, then Adrien opened the window and announced his transformation phrase.

„Plagg, Claws out!“ Shouted Adrien transforming into Cat Noir, then jumped out of the window to follow the superheroine and whistled loud to call Ladybug‘s attention, which stopped on top of a building before crossing the Seine.

„Cat Noir?“ Asked Ladybug watching Cat Noir arrive by the roof. „Oh great to see you right now,“

„How are you doing? What‘s with Tikki?“ Asked Cat Noir making Ladybug nod.

„She‘s fine now. Thanks for asking. Great that you showed up right now. I need your help, remember what happened last time with Fire King?“

„You mean his transformation issue?“ Questioned the blonde making the heroine nod. „What‘s up with it?“

„Su-Han introduced me to a monk and he told me about a relict they call the wishing stone. Fire King and Lady Frost‘s powers in the miraculous were taken from there….we have to take their miraculouses away or they both will lose their minds to the Snow Queen and the Fire Demon, which will cause destruction to our city. This apparently already happened 100 years or more ago and they were hardly manageable to defeat.“ „Really?“ Asked Cat Noir in shock. „And how are we gonna do that?“ Asked Cat Noir.

„You know, who Fire King is, right?“ Asked the blue-haired heroine making Cat Noir nod. „You‘ll talk to him, what‘s up and retrieve his miraculous, and I will see if I can find Lady Frost anywhere. If you spot there anyone with a wreath, that resembles Lady Frost try to speak to her. Or we‘ll have to wait for her to show up,“

„You could ask Rena Rouge to fake a situation and call her attention?“ Suggested Cat Noir, making Ladybug wide her eyes.

„Hey, that could work. Make your way up to Fire King, if you know where he is. I‘ll see if I can contact Rena Rouge,“ Ordered Ladybug watching Cat Noir salute at her and jump down at the road to head to the school.

At the prom after a couple of songs, Gerda and Rollan had gotten nearer with the other during the evening. Rollan was leading the girl during the current song, which had more pep than the previous one, then smiled as Gerda lied her head next to his face to lean on the shoulder.

„How are you feeling?“ Asked Rollan quiet, then heard the girl sighed enamored and the Spaniard understood, that she had been feeling well. „This is….“Began Rollan, then chuckled softly to watch Gerda move up her head to look at the raven-haired boy. „I have never thought about how both of us would have come this closer. I assumed we would be just friends and now…….this all happened,“

Gerda nodded, then leaned her arms around Rollan‘s head to nudge him with her nose gently.

„Me neither,“ Commented Gerda. „But when I got to know you a little I began to want more than just this,“

Rollan chuckled, then held his arms down aside Gerda‘s waist, allowing her to lean her forehead on his, then he rolled his eyes down to look into her crystal-blue eyes, which kept her focus on the brown iris.

„Remember, when I spoke about that one girl I liked?“ Asked Rollan making Gerda mumble.

„Uh hum,“ „You know I believe….I really never loved that girl. It‘s…..I don‘t know. I saw her every day and thought Damn, she‘s so beautiful, I never understood what was up there if I just found her pretty and was glad, when I was around her. With you….it‘s…..different. I‘m glad to see you and have you as a friend….. We…..we understand each other's lives and could be with each other when no one else could,“

„I have never been in love with someone before. You‘re the first guy I do perceive something and the need to get closer to you just grew more, instantly, that…..now that we‘re here together I‘m…...I couldn‘t be happier now,“

„I‘m sorry I didn‘t realize before how you felt about me,“ Apologized Rollan making Gerda chuckle, then get her head away from the boy to gaze at him.

„It‘s alright. You…..you spoke once about her right?“ Questioned Gerda making Rollan shrug his shoulders.

„I believe so. Her personality from the short time I saw her reminded me of you,“ Commented Rollan.

„Where did you see her in those short moments?“ Questioned Gerda curious, then Rollan pondered about what he should answer.

„Uhm basketball, after school,“ Lied Rollan making Gerda chuckle.

„This took you long to answer?“ Commented Gerda a little bewildered making Rollan nod.

„I had forgotten the word,“ Commented Rollan. „I‘m sorry,“

„It‘s alright,“

„I haven‘t seen that girl in her…...true form you know,“ Stated Rollan. „She wears a…..a long coat and has more makeup on her face, but I‘m not complaining about it. It‘s made well on her, it‘s not overly exaggerated as you‘ve seen on that blonde girl, that you saw bickering with Aurore from my class,“ Commented Rollan making Gerda chuckle.

„That‘s Chloé. Yeah, she‘s a little overdressed and overpainted. There I have to agree. This is why I begged Juleka and Rose to keep my face decent. I wanted you to like me for my real me, not an overly-changed Gerda,“ Stated Gerda watching Rollan cup her cheek, passing his thumb under her eye to uncover a bit of make-up, which had covered the freckles.

„I can‘t believe they covered up your skin points,“ Mentioned Rollan making Gerda a little confused, then figure out what he meant.

„Ah freckles you mean,“ Commented Gerda making Rollan nod, then Gerda took her hands down to grab Rollan‘s to question him something. „Just curious, what do you like about me? Do you have anything specific?“

„Personality-wise or something else?“

„Up to you.“

„Your kindness and confidence you‘ve shown, have caught my eye a lot,“ Commented Rollan, then both shrieked as the DJ had picked up the microphone making it shrill.

„Ops sorry dudes,“ Commented Nino, then showed up a paper on his hands. „Before our last song, I‘d like to announce to you the winners of the voting. As said before, The most voted girl and boy become the King and the Queen of the prom and in second place we get the Prince and the Princess. So open up your ears and listen up,“ Said Nino watching Principal Damocles come up at the stage along with Mrs. Mendeleiev, which were bringing the crowns and the tiaras for the winners. „Those aren‘t real ones, by the way, those were created by the crafting club together with the design club of Mr. Ross and Mr. Nickel,“ Explained Nino watching half of the students applaud.

„Okay dudes, we‘ll start with the second place“ Announced Nino. „Princess of the prom night tonight will be with 21 votes Aurore Boreal from class 12B!“ Announced Nino looking at the light, which searched for the girl, that was near the stage jumping excitedly in front of Wayhem and Luka, which observed the girl get up on the stage to receive the tiara, then the Principal ordered the girl to step forward at the stage to look at the crown, still excited about her win. „Our Prince Charming has gotten silver with 32 votes. Funnily equally voted by both genders. The award goes to Rollan from class 12B as well!“

„What?“ Asked Rollan confused looking at Gerda, which gave him a thumb up. „Why did I win?“ Asked Rollan confused, then Kim Chien Le showed up to clap the friend on his back.

„I voted for you man,“ Commented Kim, then pointed up the stage for Rollan to walk up in which he did and he received a silver-colored crown.

„Actually boys get the crown. Our DJ misunderstood me,“ Said Principal Damocles after setting the crown over Rollan‘s head, then he walked at Aurore, which waved at the Spaniard, which nodded and saw at everyone clapping at him, then swallowed hard tensed about the amount of attention.

Down came Vincent with his camera to take a picture of the two teens, then up the stage appeared the janitor to bring the two a simple rose with a ribbon on it with the number two written on it to hand it out to the silver-winners. After the prize, Rollan returned to Gerda, which stood there with Kim and Max, which were happy about Rollan‘s prize, then Kim held up his hand to have Rollan high-five him.

„What was the prize for?“ Asked Rollan, then watched Max adjust his glasses before explaining him.

„About 145 students had the chance to vote for any girl and anyboy here to become Prom King or Prince. You were elected by 32 students and got second place,“ Explained Max. „According to calculations sportsboys, Chads and anyone good-looking has greater chance to become the most votes, which happened to you,“

„Really?“ Questioned Rollan making Kim nod.

„You‘ve earned our votes. Sadly you didn‘t make it to King thought,“ Mentioned Kim making Max nod.

„I‘m fine with Prince. I would also be fine, if I didn‘t win,“ Mentioned Rollan looking at Gerda, which was looking at the ribbon and the quartett heard the next announcement, afterward Kim began to laugh as he heard Chloé had won the first prize.

„Who voted for her?“ Asked Kim making Rollan shrug his shoulders.

„I had no idea, where to vote,“ Said Rollan, then Gerda pointed at the box under the stage, which had large written Vote on it. „Oh,“

„I would have voted for you, if I knew that,“ Mentioned Rollan making Gerda grin at the comment.

„It‘s fine. I‘m also fine without the prize,“ Commented Gerda, then Kim began to yell as he saw Luka Couffaine get up on stage as he was elected Prom King.

„Almost all my classmates won,“ Commented Rollan making Gerda nod watching Luka and Chloé smile at the camera to get a picture taken, then they moved away and Nino played the next song, which was a pop song, which a soul-like topic.

Rollan placed his hands around Gerda‘s waist again, then watched her place her hands over his shoulders to go on for another dance session together, then she embraced the boy leaning her head by his head and noticed his shirt‘s collar have a notable, failed wrinkle on it, then passed her finger on it.

„Did you iron your shirt?“ Asked Gerda making Rollan nod.

„Yeah, did I miss something?“ Asked the Spaniard making Gerda shake her head.

„No I had noticed one wrinkle on it, which was made by the iron,“

„I was a little trebling with my hands,“ Commented Rollan. „I think I have two more, but under my arms somewhere,“

„Funny I haven‘t noticed anyone yet,“

„You know ironing isn‘t something I do every day, just once a week. Sometimes I do well, sometimes not so well. This one was okay thought,“

„It looks here like you have ironed from your back,“ Commented Gerda. „You know the textile part,“

„I do the arms first, then the body and the collar is the last thing I do,“ Explained Rollan watching Gerda move her head back to listen to his conversation with a charming smile while tapping him on his neck with her index finger. „Maybe the way I learned could help you better,“ Suggested Gerda moving her hand up at the collar lifting it up. „The best thing is to start at the collar and iron it from the inside, afterwards you move it around and go down here at the shoulder part,“ Guided Gerda moving her hand down under his neck, while going up slowly on her tiptoes to peck him on his lips, rousing up the boy, which had lost his attention when following the girl‘s words.

„I will give it a try tomorrow,“ Promised Rollan smiling courteously at the blonde, which replied back with a amused one and placed her head aside his, continuing their last dance under the open skyline over the school ground.

[lomlmarvel]

It’ll Always Be You

Randall Carpio x fem!Reader Series

Part One :)

Sophomore year of college was said to be more relaxed and less stressful than the previous year. Although, for most people, the stress they referred to was being independent for the first time, being home-sick, finally being responsible for your own things and the start of adulthood. For you, all of those were included, but another event that made your year more interesting was joining the Knights. It wasn't something you had planned to happen; it just did.

You passed all the freshmen walking through the corridors with their parents and moving boxes. Some cried, others were ecstatic, and others were pushing their parents out. You had a take-out bag in one hand while the other held a drink carrier that you swiftly maneuvered away from people's bodies. Randall was meant to meet you a couple of minutes ago but said he got held up, showing a first-year student to his dorm and settling him in. You offered to meet him at the dorms, and that's how you ended in the freshmen building.

You were nearing the room number Randall had told you, and you could hear a male voice talking inside. 

"There's so much to experience, so much to taste. Don't let someone else define you. Don't waste this opportunity. Don't... touch my shit. Also, nice to meet you".

"You too."

As you were about to knock on the door, a tall guy in a white shirt walked out and looked around like it was his first time there. He basically ignored you as he continued walking down the hall. You poked your head in through the open door and saw Randall, who waved you to come in.

"I'm almost done. Sorry, Jack, that's my friend, (Y/N)" Randall said, introducing you as the mysterious guy in the middle of the room remained with his back to you. So, you looked down to let Randall finish his little speech.

"Any questions about changing roommates? No? Great. You lose your key. It's 75 bucks to replace it," Randall continued, standing up from his position.

"(Y/N)?" the mysterious unknown freshmen said. You looked up as his voice sounded familiar and saw the one and only Jack Morton.

"Jack? I didn't know you were coming to Belgrave!" You said, approaching him and pulling him in for a hug. He returned the hug and pulled away to look at your face.

"Wow, I haven't seen you since..." Jack replied, trying to think of the last time he saw you.

"Since my Grandma moved us away. Yeah, wow! It's so good to see you! How's Grandpa Pete?" You asked, completely forgetting about the other male in the room.

"He's good—stubborn, pushy, kind of a dick, like always. Do you remember? How's your Grandma?" Jack was then interrupted by the dark-haired male in the room.

"Wait, you guys know each other?" Randall asked, turning to look at you first, then Jack, then back at you. Randall could see the wide smile on your face that told him there was some history between you. 

"Yeah, we grew up in the same street. Went to school together until my Grandma forced us to move, and we just lost contact," You answered as you set the bag of food and drinks on the table nearby. 

"Wow, small world," Randall made a comment that you could tell was sarcastic, "Anyways, Jack. Here is your welcome package. It's got your map of campus," Randall pulled out his clipboard and handed Jack a stack of papers. "Complete with all-male, female, and non-binary bathroom locations. There's a bunch of coupons--"

"--for stuff, you'll never buy," You said to Jack, causing him to chuckle. Randall sent you a weird glance, which you returned.

 "There is a rape whistle and a 'How Not to Rape' pamphlet. Any questions?" Randall asked as he grabbed the take-out bag and handed you the drinks. He started moving towards the door as you stayed in the same location.

"Nope. But if you need a hand with anything, don't hesitate to ask," Jack replied with a smile on his face, causing you to laugh.

"I think I'm supposed to say that," Randall laughed as he grabbed your hand to pull you out of the room, but you pulled away.

"But seriously, Jack. If you need anything, you can ask Randall and if not, here's my number," You said, grabbing Randall’s pen, writing your number down on one of Jack’s paper and handing it back to him," It's really great to see you. I hope we can catch up soon," You stated, and Jack nodded.

"Yeah, for sure. I just have my orientation later, and maybe I'll send you a text after," Jack replied. You nodded and said goodbye as Randall managed to pull you out of the room. 

As soon as you reached the outside of the dorm building, you punched Randall on the shoulder. 

"Hey! What was that for!" He yelped, rubbing his upper arm with his free hand. You rolled your eyes at his obliviousness. Randall could tell that you noticed his change in attitude towards Jack once he saw you.

"You didn't have to be rude! We could've left like normal people," You stated. You kept walking alongside him. He looked perfect sporting khaki jeans, a black graphic tee, and a black sweater. He rarely wore anything other than sweats and a shirt. But since freshmen were moving in, he had to look 'professional.'

"What are you talking about? I like Jack; I wasn't rude," Randall quickly said, taking his hand and grabbing yours. You and Randall weren't dating. He was your best friend, and you were his. But he didn't act the same way with you than he did with Lilith. He always reached for your hand, always touching you, whether it was an arm around your shoulder, his hand on your legs when you would watch TV together, and you two cuddled regularly. You had feelings for Randall, of course, you did, but he didn't feel the same. He flirted with girls whenever you guys were at the Blade and Chalice, a restaurant/bar on campus. However, you liked it when he was affectionate; that's why you never said anything. Whenever he reached for your hand, your heart always accelerated; you could feel the blood rush to your cheeks, and the hairs on your arm stand up. 

"So, where do you want to go to eat this? Your place? The den? Or our place!" Randall asked, drifting the conversation from Jack to you two.

Randall wasn't jealous of Jack Morton. He had barely met the guy. What was bugging him, however, was the fact that you had never mentioned him before. He knew Jack was a friend, but there was something more; he just couldn't pinpoint it. Also, Randall Carpio wasn't a jealous type. He was confident, charming, and he knew how to tell a girl he was into her, but with you, it was different.

"Let's go to our place. We haven't been there in a while," you mentioned. He agreed, and the two of you began your walk to your destination.

'Your place' wasn't really yours, to begin with. It was no one’s. It was a big oak tree somewhere in the woods where you had run into Randall the first time you met him. You had been on a run and got distracted, which ended up with you getting lost in the woods and Randall finding you. You were confused about what he was doing in the woods, but you got to learn that information a few weeks later. Randall had offered to walk you back to campus, and you thanked him. The walk back wasn't uncomfortable or awkward; the two of you got to know each other and hit it off right away. The rest was pretty much history.

"So I was thinking about Jack and the Knights," Randall stated once the two of you sat down on the ground. You took out your food and handed Randall his.

"Yeah, I don't think so," you mumbled, taking a bite of your food.

"And why not?" Randall asked. You sent him a look, and he looked puzzled.

"First off, Lilith hates almost everyone, and I have a feeling she'll hate Jack. Two, Hamish is still pretty much getting used to me joining the Knights, and I've been here a while. Three, remember how hard it was to convince Hamish about me?" You pointed out. Randall agreed with your first point but then disagreed with the rest.

"No, that's not true. Hamish loves you! He prefers you over me," Randall fought back. The charming asshole knew what he was doing. He was kissing your ass so you could back him up if he ever decided to bring up Jack to the Knights.

"Look, let Jack settle in first, and then you can scout him for your little fantasy wolf pack," you replied. Randall smiled at your comment and bumped shoulders with you.

"You can't date him, though. Because then that'll be awkward," Randall got a boost of confidence in him as he said this. He wanted to ask about your history with Jack but didn't want to seem nosy or jealous.

"Yeah, not gonna happen. We were best friends growing up, but strictly platonic".

Randall couldn't help but smile at this revelation. He had been trying to tell you how he felt about you all year. However, he managed to convince himself to ask you out once school started. Still, he just hadn't had the chance even though you hung out almost every day.

"Hey, by the way, remember how I was wait-listed for Hamish's class? Well, I finally got a seat!" You told Randall who put his hand up for a high five. He clashed your hands together and smiled.

"That's right!" He exclaimed, holding onto your hand for a while. You smiled at his enthusiasm and chuckled. You loved that about Randall. He was always so supportive of anything you did. He was your personal cheerleader and confidant. He was your drinking buddy, study buddy, comforter, and anything you needed. He was the whole package. You just wished you had the guts to tell him so.

While you had been in your own thoughts. You hadn't noticed how close the two of you had gotten. You could feel his breath on your lips, and with each glance from his lips to his eyes, he seemed to be getting closer. This was it. This was the moment you had been waiting for since realizing your feelings for him. You parted your lips and tilted your head to align with his lips.

"Do you want me to walk you back to the den?" Randall asked, quickly jumping back and creating distance between the two of you. Your cheeks flushed in embarrassment, and you turned to pick up your trash.

"I totally forgot I have another freshman coming in. I also just want to do another round before I call it a day," Randall continued as you stood up.

"Uh... no, it's fine. I can walk myself," you replied, wiping your hands on your jeans. "Are you coming to the den later, or no?"

"I'm not sure. I'll let you know. If not, I'll see you tomorrow?" He asked. You nodded and said bye to him as you began walking in separate directions.

That had been weird. You were sure he was going to kiss you. But maybe he just got caught up in the moment and didn't actually feel anything romantic towards you. That broke your heart, but that's how it was sometimes.

Making his journey back to campus, Randall mentally kicked himself for being so close to finally doing what he's been wanting to do for a long time. Truthfully, he got scared. He was scared that you didn't reciprocate feelings for him and that it would ruin your friendship. But maybe, he got the courage to really tell you next time.

A/N: Will be writing the other parts soon and will updating them:)

[dropoutparty]

ngc ramblings part 3- chapter 5

here we are at part 3!!! sorry this one took so long, i originally was gonna make this post include entropy and extus (along with finally talking about face in depth) but it was so fuckin long that im splitting it into 2 different posts! the next part isnt done yet but im like almost halfway done so it shouldnt be too much longer until its out! also before we get into this one:

tw for: death, animal death, and suicide. pls take care of urself and don't read this if those things are triggering for u <3

ok lets get on with the post

at the start of entropy zach doesnt waste any time getting right to the point. this place is bigger than the other planets so far, and zach says the music this time around is a melody that “started out normal but then got distorted” played by a violin sounding instrument. even tho i do sometimes forget that this is supposed to be a creepypasta im not surprised that he said it made him feel depressed and unnerved lmao. anyways, this planet has all new level types in it!! no reused ones!! ok now this is epic. the bosses this time around are megalon, battra, and mechagodzilla, but itll be a good while before we get to those guys because this chapter is long as hell holy shit?? buckle up babez <33 now, before i get into the meat of things as usual im gonna talk abt the planet name! entropy basically means “a lack of order/predictability or a gradual decline into disorder” and that's very accurate to this part of the story. at this point, red is pissed off and is getting desperate, which means from here on out things are going to be getting more intense and more unstable. this world is the turning point in the overall story, basically.

now with that out of the way, zach first goes to the worlds quiz level as usual! this time something was different. usually, in the quiz levels there would be goofy ass music playin in the bg (specifically the GH1D0RA cheat music, if you wanna like listen to it ig?) but from here on out its been replaced by the music from the games password screen, which zach called creepy earlier on in the pasta. im gonna glaze over the quiz again this time, but when we get to the next planet ill talk about all of the quizzes in depth all at once. basically all you need to know for now abt what happens here is face asks “do you like mothra?” and when zach picks no (after going on a tangent abt how mothra sucks lmao,, bro i swear im good at the game my controllers just messed up /s), face enters bastard mode and goes “TOO BAD!” and boom now zach cant play as anyone but mothra. zach is pissed for now but little does he know this is just going to become an even more epic gamer bc of this,, youll never get better at something if you never try and all that.

after that, zach moves on to the first level type- the forest. immediately zach gets an eerie feeling from this level bc he has some kinda fear involving forests at night (i can think of a reason why but ill have to talk abt that later just to be sure). hes also not feelin great about being forced to play as mothra, so the pressure of it all is def starting to get to him by now. the music in the forest is woodwinds followed by slow, rhythmic drums and chiming bells. must have been some ominous woodwinds and bells bc it made him feel like he was intruding somewhere he shouldnt be (oh rlly?? u dont say,, everything up until now has been fine /s). getting into the level itself, eventually zach comes across some weird deer-like monsters just vibing and scares them away when he gets close. later in the level he finds more of these weird deer along with a sloth-like creature on some of the trees and some raptor dudes killing some of the deer. zach shoots one of the raptors but thats about it. nothing really happened in this level but zach noted that he didnt feel like he was playing a video game, but instead it felt more like he was exploring a forest in another dimension. thats interesting for reasons ill ~get to later~ (yall must be so tired of hearing that by now omg,, i know im tired of saying it at least. i was gonna wait until after replay to talk about things but i severely underestimated how long this whole project would be, so i might make a post for the “more on that later” stuff before i get into replay. let me know what u think i should do).

anyways, the next thing zach checks out is the first tv screen level so far. these levels just play an animation with some music in the background, and theres a different animation per level. this time around the animation is of a kid with a beaver(?) head licking a lollipop and the music is the GH1D0RA music that the quiz levels used to use. the only thing of note here is that zach says he had a shirt that looked just like that when he was a kid. after that, were off to some of the weirdest fuckin levels in this whole thing imo- the hourglass levels. these levels have an entirely brown color palette, with grandfather clocks standing in the background (the level appears to be in like a hallway or something) and various time measuring things floating in the air. the music is the same as the board (ig cosby just didnt feel like thinking of what theme this place would have lol). after a little bit zach was rlly happy to see actual enemies from the normal game show up! these are basically like aircraft, tanks, etc. thats not the main attraction here tho, bc this level has its own unique mechanic! this mechanic is the colored hourglass items you can pick up. there are three of them, a blue one that slows time down and makes enemies from the past appear, a red one that speeds up time and makes enemies from the future appear, and a green one that made the time flow normally and spawned enemies from the normal game. zach found the blue one first, which caused a bunch of prehistoric enemies based on real animals to show up. after that he found a green one and fought normal enemies again, and then he found a red hourglass. the future enemies here look like aliens to me, and zach says that one enemy reminds him of something he saw in a book once. eventually, a special future creature showed up and zach was suddenly in a boss battle! or a mini boss battle? that description is probably more accurate. this guy doesnt have a face, and he can only attack by shooting a beam from his face, it sure does look cool! after zach beat it tho, he was off to the next level type, which is basically a toxic waste dump.

zach called it grungy and inhospitable, with the music being a synth ambient loop that made him feel dizzy while he listened to it. this is important because this is the first instance of the game making zach feel something *physically*, not just psychologically. all of the enemies here are mutated to some degree, with him first seeing green mummies with bird skulls coming out from vats of toxic slutch and a brownish cow skeleton monster with spider legs. later zach comes across a deer from the woods, drinking some toxic slutch (delinchous). zach got close to it to try making it stopped but suddenly some enemies came out of nowhere and scared it into running right off a ledge and into the slutch. rip :pensive:. after that zach found more mutated enemies (i.e some things with tentacles and some other deformed thing with human teeth) before he finally gets to the end of the level, where theres another miniboss waiting for him!! this ones a toxic sludge monster with a whale skull who attacks with a mouth projectile and by charging into you. the monster sank into the slutch and thats all for this level babeyy!

the next level is another forest, but this time its winter! its still at night, but this time zach doesnt feel off put, which he mostly attributes to the music. he describes it as a gentle, calm song that almost sounded romantic. the entire first segment of this level had no enemies in it, but dw this level is interesting i swear. the next segment starts out just as empty as the last one, but this time its silent. that is, until the music from “unforgiving cold” starts playing. yaa you remember that place!! i think i said it was less interesting than i remembered but its interesting again now bc it was foreshadowing these levels!! anyways soon after the music started up, zach started to come across tons of frozen bodies of the deer from earlier. some were mutilated, some werent, but they were all frozen and covered in snow. eventually zach does come across something living though, a sloth creature from earlier! its just vibing when suddenly the winter versions of the raptors from earlier rush in and fuckin obliterate the sloth thing. those things just blindly try killing everything in sight, and even start fighting themselves before zach finally gets to the last part of the level.

now this is where shit starts to get crayzay. this part opens up to a big empty field with a full moon and the nice music from earlier back. despite the nice music tho, zach immediately starts feeling dread and eventually he finds a lake. the lake comes down from the sky and starts to crack like an egg, a humanoid figure curled up in the fetus position dropping into the lake below and the moon halves disintegrated. this spawned the moon beast, the hardest challenge zachs had to deal with so far. after he finally defeats it, the screen goes to black and the name “melissa” is on screen, written in red. after that, the screen then says kys. the word kill then fills up the screen, layering over itself until it forms a picture of reds face. its now that we finally get to hear abt the whole melissa thing (which makes it sound like shes been mentioned in the pasta before this but thats not what i mean lmao). to summarize, zach had a middle school gf named melissa (also bro middle school?? wadda hell) who often went into “episodes” where she would stare off, expressionless, before trembling and putting her face in her hands. she and zach hung out in a field at night a lot but one night she just stared at the moon the whole time before running into traffic and dying.

NOW its finally later!!! were not done with entropy yet, but this is the end of part one of entropy so i wanna just take a little break to talk about things so far. this planet is FULL of symbolism and foreshadowing. to start off, i think a lot of the questions face asks at the beginning foreshadow things that happen. some examples are “is time slipping though your fingers?” which could allude to the time levels, “do you have any regrets?” which i think obviously foreshadows the whole melissa thing, “is it safe to go out at night?” and “do you find it hard to sleep at night?” both follow the same kinda theme, which i think relates to how the melissa incident happened at night, specifically out at night. i dont think the forest levels have anything too important in them, other than to introduce the presence of an innocent, harmless creature that doesnt deserve what happens to it later (aka the deer things) which might symbolize melissa. more evidence for this symbolizing melissa comes from the encounter with the deer in the toxic dump and the winter forest, where in the former zach tries to stop it from hurting itself but is too late, being forced to watch it die, and in the latter the same innocent thing from earlier is found dead close to where the real incident took place. the two big themes to keep in mind here are death and time, more specifically the past. most of the enemies here are either made from bones or kill other enemies, there's a dedicated time level referencing things that zach remembers seeing at one point (aka that one alien zach recognized), the beaver head had the same shirt as child zach did, it all connects to zachs past and the death of melissa. as for the moon beast, its the most obvious reference for reasons ive already explained. i dont really know what the moon cracking open and dropping a curled up human into the lake could mean other than some other thing melissa related, but i *do* think that the fact that the moon beast is the most difficult thing zach has faced so far is symbolic of the fact that the trauma from this event has followed him throughout his entire life, and its something he struggles with daily. it could even be the reason why he said no when face asked if he could sleep easily at night. the moon beast also has some black fur around its neck, which i think is meant to represent a tire track, referencing and/or mocking the way melissa died.

its so cool how this entire part of the story builds up to and foreshadows the bomb it drops at the end of the part, giving people something to look back on. a lot of ppl say that as soon as the melissa stuff gets introduced the story goes down in quality, and i do somewhat agree with that sentiment, especially if they want the story to actually be scary, but i think the direction the story goes from this point on is so unique and cool. it does follow the whole “theres a ghost in the game” troupe (even tho it was probably seen as a spin on that originally) but it doesnt do the same cliches as so many other gaming creepypastas do and it really takes the concept and makes it its own. i just think its neat,,,

anyways im done gushing abt this story, lets get on with part 2 of extus!! basically zach has a fuckin panic attack and, after taking a few minutes to calm himself down when its over, he decides that he has to finish the game now because if he doesnt its just going to haunt him for the rest of his life. zach has now realized that the game is “alive” and can somehow see his thoughts and memories, so understandably hes pretty freaked out by it at this point. when he keeps playing, the first thing he does is check out another tv screen level. this time, the animation is of a fish dude just kinda standing there with his mouth flapping open and closed and the music is the neptune board music from the original game. the only reason i can think of for why this is here is maybe the game is mocking zach for the panic attack he just had (bc when u have a panic attack you feel like you can barely breathe, if ur lucky enough to have never had one before and u dont know) but thats abt it. its probably just a random goofy thing cosby threw in there.

anyways, the next actual level is the first labyrinth level. this time around, its a gold labyrinth specifically. the music in these levels is a slow, ominous drum beat with female vocals occasionally coming in and (basically from here on out) the monster zach plays as is now half the size it used to be. i think this shows how zachs feeling at this point, like this whole thing isnt just being a big strong monster and beating up enemies any more, he feels small and scared and helpless in the face of something potentially dangerous that he doesnt understand maybe his confusion about the game is the reason *why* theres so many labyrinth levels here in the first place. anyways im getting ahead of myself. personally, i think the aesthetic of the gold labyrinth is very similar to the green temples back on trance. while trance had a more circular and soft theme to it's architecture and sculpture, entropys is much more square or rectangle oriented. despite this, i think that the golden mazes at least are another religious kind of building, and the architecture is just different because theyre two different cultures who just happen to worship the same spiritual figure (aka melissa. did i say that earlier? i think i did,, if i didnt well the religions worship melissa, not knowing she's a dead human or anything. probably).

moving on, zach notes how the gold labyrinth would probably have been impossible to navigate as any of the other monsters, so turns out face being an asshole was a blessing in disguise after all huh? anyways this place is full of weird gold monsters, lava/fire traps, and stone faces (both in more of an easter island head style and in the regular feminine headshot weve seen so far). zach comes across two feminine heads, one that is more adult looking and pure gold, and another one that looks much younger and whos eyes have red irises and blue scleras. this statue apparently looks a lot like melissa did on the night she died, so zach leaves it pretty quickly. i *think* this is the first time we see the color blue associated with melissa? if it isnt sorry abt that, its been a couple days since i worked on ngcr so ive forgotten some of the smaller or more subtle things by now. GOD i keep getting side tracked ANYWAYS eventually zach finds a non-gold enemy and sees it get picked up by like an arcade crane claw. hes curious so he follows the claw, only to see the monster be put in a big gold cauldron and walk out the side of it as a gold monster.

gonna be honest, no idea what the hell this could mean. like? theres been no themes of corruption or good things becoming evil so far so this just kinda. exists,, yea idk lol. im not part of like any discord servers or anything so all this theorizing and analysis has just been me, maybe getting some small ideas from like random youtube comments or something, so if something ive said so far has been unanimously disagreed with somewhere i dont know about it. thats also why this isnt really a definitive or comprehensive analysis (even tho im trying to be as comprehensive as i can).

anyways zach finds the exit soon after and hes on to the next level type (there's so fucking many of them ik dont worry weve almost gotten to all of them now), the indigo cliffs. the background of these levels is similar to the blue mountains from trance, but now the moon and clouds from the toxic dump background is also here (and colored indigo to match). the music here is just a deep rumbling noise. the first “enemies” he sees here are just a bunch of multicolored little guys coming out of a hole in the ground and jumping off a cliff. were continuing the death theme yall!! anyways zach continues, flying over some more weird creatures (tho some of them just look like dinosaurs lol) before he sees a bunch more of the multicolored guys out and about but this time theyre getting grabbed by birds!! wadda heel!!! zach comments on how the multicolored dudes seem eager to die and thinks maybe the moon has something to do with it (like melissa dude wat!!!! that's crazy /s). at the end of the level there were some more multicolored dudes just walking into a creatures mouth so zach attacked the thing and killed it and the levels over yay!

now its time for the bosses babeyy!!! first zach fights battra (basically an evil moth kaiju), the music is varans theme. battra starts off in his larvae form, where he basically just fought by running into you and shooting stuff at you. while fighting this form, zach noticed that the game buffed mothra because his gamer skillz were too cringe lmaoo. he beats the larvae form and battra goes into his second form, where hes basically a stronger clone of mothra (misogyny). zach fights battra and has fun doing it (for once,, good for him) and he wins yay! next hes fighting megalon (a big beetle/bug kaiju), whos music was gigans theme. im tired when im writing this so ill just give you zachs description of how he fought: “strong, persistent, but dumb”. after this, zach checks out the last tv screen of entropy. this time, it shows a big buff guy with a sack over his head hit a womans head with a sledgehammer while shes tied to a table or something. the music for it was the password theme. i think this is probably here because red is getting angrier? like this guy is still here after i triggered his ptsd?? what the hell!!!

anyways before we get to the last boss we have one last level type to get through- the shadow labyrinth. at this point, zach starts to feel drained because no shit sherlock you just had a panic attack and youve been playing this game for fuckin several hours at this point of course youre fuckin drained. anyways zach enters the shadow labyrinth, which is a black recolor of the gold labyrinth. the music is “evil ambience” similar to unforgiving colds music but distinctly different apparently. there werent any enemies so zach just kinda wandered for a while until the lights turned off, darkening the whole screen and (secretly) spawning tons of spooky enemies thatll chase and hit mothra in the dark. eventually the lights came back on and zach started scrambling to the exit. when the lights turned back off, zach was able to find one of the melissa looking statues and stood next to it. it warded off the monsters while the lights were off, so zach was safe. i think this shows 2 things: 1) its a little more validation for my “religion in this world worships melissa” theory and 2) it foreshadows the way melissa wants to protect zach at the end of the game. zach beat the shadow labyrinth a lot faster than the gold one so were done with all the stages now!! now theres only the last boss and red and were done with entropy!

the last boss is mechagodzilla, but when zach starts the level, normal godzilla is there instead!! its whatever tho bc soon the disguise is gone and its just pretty much the normal mechagodzilla fight (but now hes got a gay beam). at about half health tho, mechagodzillas sprite breaks into pieces like gezoras did way back on earth and reforms into not-mechagodzilla. even tho it looks uncanny (and the usage of the face statue on the front is probably there to further mock zach bc melissa) zach beats it p easily and now its time for the chase. ba dum ba dum thats the sound of a chase.

as usual tho, before i get to the red chase its time to talk about entropy as a planet!! i think the best way to describe the layout is “a big forest with a toxic waste dump in it takes up half the planet while the other half is a large religious temple/labyrinth with a dangerous underbelly”. there doesnt seem to be any intelligent life there now (its all dead by now probably) but there was at some point at least because imean the huge labyrinth is there dude!!! i dont have much to say for this section tbh bc i feel like i've already said everything i wanted to, so its time for the chase ig!!

basically the chase with red here takes place in a labyrinth level bc of course it does. this labyrinth, however, seems to be made of some kind of organic matter. is it flesh? organs? nondescript viscera? idk but it's pulsating and bloody. also this time red has wings too!! anyways, basically zach avoids red throughout the maze, red breaks through one of the walls with his big alien tongue, and zach gets to the end of the maze. nothing crazy happens at the end of this chapter (i think it was crazy enough as is) so thats the end of that and now its time for the penultimate planet- extus.

[bellaslilpapercut]

Eclipse reread part 2! This is gonna cover a lot of chapters because I forgot to include stuff from chapters 4, 5, and 6 in part 1 (in my defense your honor, this book is very grating to read). Awayyy we go:

1. so chapters 4-6 really could have been one chapter tbh since the plot is: Bella ditches work at Newton’s Outfitters to hang with Jake and then writes some graduation invites with Angela. She pushes her rusty old behemoth as fast as it can go through driving rain but then hangs outside with Jake the whole time so I don’t really know where the rain went. She also manages to hear Jake gasp through her closed car door! Super sonic! Anyway, Bella insists that Edward is a good guy, Jake makes Bella hold his hand, Jake explains imprinting (yuck we can skip that), and then Edward drives threateningly past Bella while she’s on her way to Angela’s house. Angela reminds Bella that, at his core, Edward is a teen boy who is Totally Jealous of how Ripped and Sexy her 16 year old best friend is. Then Alice kidnaps Bella. Fun times!

2. During the imprinting convo it becomes very apparent that Meyer thinks the worst thing that can happen to a girl is getting broken up with. Somehow Leah got the “worst end” of the Sam/Emily/Leah fiasco despite Sam turning into a “monster” and Emily getting literally mauled in the face. What’s worse is later in the book, during the “Legends” chapter, when Bella wonders if Leah thinks Emily’s scars are a form of “justice.” Yea, Bella, that’s justice. 

3. I love this Rosalie quote but hate the entirety of they way meyer writes her story. Others have mentioned it before but Meyer writes Rose's dialogue there as if Rose is an author and not like...a person telling a story. An easy fix would be to format Rosalie's story "flash back" style rather than have her narrate all the way through. Then you can include all the superfluous details of exactly what everyone's voice sounded like and all the excessive dialogue tags you want.

I also Violently Abhor this quote here:

Yea, meyer, the Hot Girl hates your self-insert because her stupid ass brother didn't have the hots for her. It just reads like weird middle school revenge fantasy "I only hated you because you were so Special!!!" Sure, sure. Also "all those females!" People don't talk like that @stephanie

4. I do love the scene when Bella “escapes” from Alice with Jake (I don’t know why i put escape in quotes, Alice could definitely murk Bella) but then that whole adventure ends with Jake telling Bella he’d rather she die than turn into a vampire. And yeah, fair buddy, but also you’ve known Bella for a long time. This should not be a surprise to you at all even a little bit. a) she mentioned it before, b) you knew she would never get over Edward even if your plan in NM had worked, and c) you’ve known that she’s fully obsessed with the Cullen’s since you started hanging out with her again. The last time you guys hung out she went on an impassioned rampage about how lovely and good and fantastic Edward is (footage not found) I really don’t know why you’re surprised that this hard-headed girl is prepared to commit to vampirism for him. She is not normal lmfao.

5. The legends chapter. Oh boy. Stephanie, Meyer, Smeyer. Honestly it might have been less offensive if she had just made up a whole new tribe to give these backstories to, for all that they have in common with real Quileute legends but actually that would still be offensive and terrible anyway. I don’t know how to describe this adequately but if you’ve ever seen G.I. Joe’s portrayal of indigenous people that’s exactly what meyer made Old Quil and Billy’s dialogue sound like. Just absolutely dripping with Mystical Native/ Magical Native trope from the content to the tone. https://mthg.org/ Because it can’t be plugged enough.  

6. The legends chapter ends with this Wuthering Heights quote:

I have no qualms with it's inclusion, if you really want to push the Edward is Heathcliff and Bella is Cathy agenda, I don't believe it but fine, whatever. But those last two paragraphs are such a dumb way to end a chapter. Every chapter ending should make the reader want to turn the page: this makes me want to shut the book (actually I did take a long break after this lmfao). Anyway, just end the quote on "drank his blood," bold those three words, and end the chapter there. Don't go back and say "the three words that stood out were... Anyway it could have fallen to any page I believe in coincidence teehee!!" That's just annoying.

7. Okay guys I hate to say it but Edward does get a lil bit of ~character growth after the first few chapters. He comes home after having Bella kidnapped (she decides not to be angry, surprise surprise) and is all "so I've been thinking about it and you're right my Beloved Angel Face or whatever, please hang out with Jacob but also wear a helmet on your motorcycle my Beloved Dumb Idiot or whatever" (paraphrase). And he also says this in chapter 12:

Which is like, man I hate when I agree with Edward but I agree with Edward here. Now I know from MS that he only wants Bella to stay human because he's creating an Unfolding Drama in his head but this bit of dialogue is really sweet. And it's funny that he thought Bella didn't want to marry him because she just wanted to use him for immortality but it's also a Dark Reminder that he's literally only romantic with her because he can't read her mind and can't tell that she's just as obsessed with his looks as the other Teen Girls TM.

8. uuuh Jasper’s Backstory Time. This is so infuriating to read for so many reasons. So we know that smeyer got Jasper’s name from a confederate memorial/ listing (from a New Moon Q&A but the link isn’t secure so I can’t share) so I know that his backstory was always meant to be Confederate Soldier which makes everything else about his characterization just baffling. Again, he was the only Cullen that was genuinely kind to Bella besides Carlisle for the entire first book and he’s still incredibly kind during Eclipse (which is another issue I have though because no one mentions again that Jasper tried to eat Bella and they stand close to each other and hang out and Bella’s never like “this is scary, this dude tried to kill me” but i digress). The point is: smeyer knew he was going to be a confederate from book 1. She never addresses that this was bad, she never has Jasper mention that he regrets his role in the war, he is the only Cullen that’s actually capable of empathizing with humans anymore (Carlisle cares but I would not categorize him as empathetic), it just... None of these pieces fit together. This is a fraught and bloody history that smeyer throws in with no thought to how it might alienate black readers (though tbh she constantly emphasizes “white beauty” throughout the series so I doubt she cares) and the editors don’t question it either. No one, at any point in time, said “Hey, steph, you know confederates fought for slavery, right?” Every black american deserves reparations. White women and men who glorify the civil war should be the first to pay up. 

9. I’m gonna jump back to chapters 9 & 10 here (target & scent, respectively) to say: no tension is being effectively built. I get it, someone stole your clothes. You’re annoyed because you have nothing to wear and Victoria is scary. But where is she? Where is the volturi? Move it along, please! This is one of the challenges of 1st person narrative because the author is stuck in the eyes of, usually, the person who knows the least. Meyer is not a talented enough author to make this interesting. Not to bring up THG again but Suzanne Collins really knew how to work 1st person. Everything that Katniss asserts with certainty throughout the series gets either confirmed or denied by the narrative, keeping it interesting. She assumes the worst of the people around her so we’re pleasantly surprised when people violate those assumptions. We’re kept on edge by how little Katniss knows and SC never gifts Katniss with more knowledge than she could be expected to have. Bella is constantly gifted with knowledge and her assumptions are rarely proven wrong. You can dig into the canon a little bit more, read the lexicon and the guide, and find all the examples of Bella being unreliable or making wrong assumptions. But within the narrative she is rarely incorrect. She doesn’t get opportunities to grow out of her false assumptions (while Edward does, at least in Eclipse). So to keep the Victoria debacle interesting, smeyer has to plant seeds like- during these two chapters- Bella thinking of Laurent and Victoria while the cullens discuss who could have been in Bella’s room. That just doesn’t cut it for me. 

This is hella long and I’m only halfway through the book. I probably should split the second half into two parts as well but based on how talented smeyer is at stretching out the mundane, especially just before the climax, I probably wont need to. 

[yandere-mha-blog]

Chapter 9: Test

words: 2257

The news story about U.A having a false alarm quickly died down as you were changing your bandaids, this isn't how you thought life on the run would be, why was it so boring, still not like you could do much while you were healing, Hawks was out doing who knows what, and you looked down at your thumb, still black and blue. You had rummaged through all his stuff the only thing you found weird was an endeavor plush that was stuffed in his pillowcase.

Finally, Hawks came back, he opened the window and stepped in

“Heyo i'm back,” he said

“I can see that,” you said

“Hey what's with the snappy remark?” HAwks asked

“I am bored, what else is there to say, you left me in here with nothing to do, meanwhile you can fly around all you want,” you said crossing your arms and glaring him down

“Sorry sorry, here I got you a gift.” Hawks said handing you a box, you shrugged and opened it up to see a glove, well it sorta looked like a glove, there was a place for it to wrap around your wrist, and your left thumb, you decided to try it on.

“Okay now flex your fingers like you usually do.” Hawks said and you did, and your long-lost thumb talon came out with your other fingers.

“Oh wow.” you said looking at it “Is this my talon?”

“Yup, I found it and got a broker to make it, I also got you a few other things if you are going to go out with me.” HE said handing you night visors, a thick jacket, and nonslip boots, and a belt for some weird reason.

“I can understand everything else but why a belt?” You asked

“OH easy, there are two ports where I can put my feathers in, so I'm not yanking you out with your shirt, also here is a book.” HAwks said handing you a medical book

“Oh thanks, but I already read this,” you said

“Drat.” HAwks said, so anyway get dressed in your new rags, we are heading out, you said you were bored right.”

“Finally.” you thought

“The break out of a college student from the Hero public safety commission with the help of the high-rank VIllain nighthawk has no new updates, if you have any information please contact the HPSC we asked a couple of her classmates and this is what they had to say.”

“I mean she was always very quiet and attentive with her work, never would have thought she would do something like this.”

“I didn't really notice her that much, she never really talked to the other class members.” “I just invited her out to drink one night and next thing I know she is being arrested.”

Your dad turned off the tv and sighed to himself, he never would've thought that any of this would happen, it really did come out of nowhere. Still, he knew you and he knew the HPSC, truth be told he always thought you would make a good hero but after the loss of his wife and your mom he never wanted that life for you, so he was more than relieved when you never showed any interest in becoming one yourself. Still, the fact that now this was where you were in your life just made him even more on edge, he just hoped you were safe where you were.

And right now you were on top of a building looking down at the people walking around, some were drunk and happy, where others were drunk and toppling over and vomiting on the side of the alley wall. Some high school girls were out late and came out of an arcade holding a new stuft animal and looked happy, while some guy who was holding a bunch of gacha capsules looked pissed off.

Oh, the duality of humans.

“So how are you enjoying the nightlife?” hawks asked, as you pressed your hand against your chin and kept looking down

“Hmm I'm just people watching.” you said “Beats doing an all-nighter before a test, but why are we up here again?”

“Good question.” Hawks said leaning over the side and placing a hand on your head and turning it towards a man “That's why we are here.”

“What about him?”

“I have been getting information on this guy for a while, he is well, why else would I be tailing him.” Hawks said

“Just looks like an overworked businessman.” you said “but looks can be deceiving.”

“Yup, he is overworked to the point where he makes other people's problems, he got off with a slap of the wrist after attacking a middle school student, and well you were people watching those two girls right, look who is he following.”

You looked ahead and sure enough there they were laughing amongst themself as they were taking turns squeezing the stuft animal they won, now some random guy was coming to ruin their night, it was crowded, but the fact the girls had already made four left turns and the man was still about ten feet behind them was concerning, the two of them were just looking at the different shops, window shopping. Then the two waved as one of the girls held a cab and the other walked in the other direction towards the train station, and there was the man following her.

“So what are we going to do?” you asked,Hawks just gave you a pat on the shoulder

“I think you mean what are you going to do?”

“Me?” you asked “But I have not fought anyone, well I have but not like this, what if he overpowers me, You saw how easily Akio was able to overpower me.”

“You got nothing to worry about, think of this as a test run.” Hawks said as you followed him through the top of the buildings, he had two feathers and each side of your belt that was in a compartment so flying around was getting easier since he was basically piloting you around the area “And besides if the situation gets out of control I'll swoop in and handle the rest.

You nodded your head, still, he did look like an out of shape middle-aged man, you walked down the fire escape and waited for the man to walk by, Hawks gave a thumbs up and sent a few of his feathers into the man's back shoving him into the ally way and into a brick wall, he was all yours now.

“What the...what happens, who are you?” the man asked

“That doesn't matter,” you said as you flexed your right hand your talons shooting out the man backed up

“Hey look, I don't want any trouble.” He said, “I'll hand it over okay.” “I'm not interested in your money.” you said ‘i saw you stalking that girl what were you planning on doing to her.”

“I- I wasn't stalking anyone,” he said as you raised your hand and slashed his chest

“I hate liars.” you said as he held his now open wound, now tell me what were you planning.”

The man was just gasping, you didn't even cut him that deep, just a warning scratch, what a baby, Hawks was looking down, you looked hesitant would you kill him or let him go after roughing him up a bit, he placed a hand on his chin and continued to watch.

“I'm telling you I wasn’t doing anything-” he said before you gave him a swift kick to the chest causing him to fall on his back, you loomed over him “Please just let me go.”

“No, you won't learn your lesson, you hurt women with your hands so you don't need them anymore,” you said grabbing his wrist and pressing your fingers to the wrist before flexing your nails, bones could heel, tendons and ligaments were harder. The man cried out in pain as someone stopped and looked down the ally way

“Hero, we need a hero down here!” the person yelled as you let go, leaving the man on the floor and hawks using his feathers to fly you back up and the two of you getting out of the scene of the crime as you hawks gave you a thumbs up.

“So what exactly did you do to him?” he asked

“Hm oh simple I cut his tendons and ligaments that connect to control hand movement, see bones can easily be fixed, but tendons and ligaments once they are slashed it's really hard to get them working again if you aren't a hero with the top medical practitioners in the region.”

“Huh smart, I would have just cut his hands off, like your idea though,” Hawk said as he picked you up from under your arm and lifted off

“This is very effective, using the two on your sides is cool but this takes less work.” Hawks said as you grabbed the sides of his arm and looked down at the city till he landed on a building far away from the scene of the crime, he pulled out a napkin and started whipping the blood off your hands “still I think this partnership is going to work out just fine.”

“You think so.” you said,” still hawks I have a question, what is your real name?”

“Whatcha mean my real name, just call me Hawks.” he said

“...but Nighthawk is what the commission calls you, I call you hawks because saying Nighthawk is just ridiculous to say every time, you do have a name right?”

“Hawks is a good name for now.” He said as he perched himself by the side of the building “you came up with that name so ill use that.”

“But...okay I can tell you don't want to tell me.” you said, “you sure are secretive.”

“Add that mysterious charm to me, don't you think?” he said, “your charm is your smart wit, glad to see you're not wasting it anymore.”

“Thanks?” you said, “still, I can't help but feel sad.”

“Sad?” Hawks said, “Why are you feeling sad?”

“My dad mostly... can't get him out of my head, he is most likely shocked and worried and upset, i mean who wouldn't be.”

“Ah come on Chickadee, I'm sure your dad isn't upset.” Hawks said

“How would you know?” you asked

“Well mostly I left a feather in the house, he is mostly worried you are going to get hurt.” Hawks said

“You put a what in his house,” you said

“A feather I can kinda hear people talking through them if I really focus, mostly through vibrations.” HAwks said

“Like how an eardrum work,” you said, and hawks nodded

“Yes, like that.” Hawks said patting you on the head with a wing and pulling you in closer “We have a lot of work to do, I'm sure the HPSC is still on the lookout for you and I am not about to let someone else get in there grubby little mitts.”

“HAwks, why do you hate them so much?” you asked, he sighed

“Well guess I can tell you this story.” Hawks said, “See my dad was an assassin for hire and one day got caught, man I was so happy that he was gone, my mom wasn't, we had to go on the run, she had me steal things for our survival, one day when I was walking back to see her, I saw a crash about to happen, so I used my feathers to save everyone, but then the HPSC got a hold of the incident and started looking for us even harder, my mom was upset and she...well I wasn't any use to her, so she just tossed me to the side, so I had to fend for myself that day on and evading them, the more I ran the more I saw how messed up they were, seeing them go down was the thing that was making me keep going each day.” Hawks said

“You never saw your mom after that?” you asked

“She tried looking for me, once she learned that they would have paid her a great sum of money if they could take me in, she tried to help them find me, never did, I almost turned myself in for her, but I kept remembering her words when she shoved me away.”

“What did she say?”

“I don't need you anymore, what good are you if you aren’t of use to me, what makes you think i would want a brat like you around now that the whole damn HPSC is looking for you.” Hawks said as his wings dropped, you walked over and pet them

“I'm sorry you had to hear that from your own mother.” you said as his wings got puffier “Not every parent deserves a child.”

“I'm...okay now, I've been preoccupied with life and all.” Hawks said, “I just want to see a world where there isn’t a real need for organizations like the HPSC to exist, maybe one where heroes can just relax, and where good people can just relax.”

“Well I'll be here to help see that though,” you said

“Thanks, partner, I'm glad to have someone next to me for this.”Hawks said, pushing his night glasses up and taking in the bright lights of the city, with you next to his side.

[camelely]

13rw S4 Fix

 So i did one of these for last season and I think now that I’ve had some time to think about S4 I’ll do the same. While last season I thought the issue was one character being overused. But here it seems like there were multiple smaller things that could have improved the whole season Again I’m keeping the same basic plotline and characters :) 

1) Winston 

Have Winston stay at Hillcrest. Him moving to Liberty did nothing for the main plot and he was basically a red herring through most of it. Let him try are befriend the characters from the outside. He can learn about Jess from Bryce’s trial and the news coverage and then try to befriend her at Monet’s. This is where he meets and later starts to date Alex. Since he doesn’t go to liberty school Alex sees him as a sort of escape and lets him in. Clay and Ani dont tell everyone about him because they dont know he is trying to get close to them. It makes them seem less like assholes and more like people. They don’t mention his connection to Monty because they dont realize how close he is getting to answers. Clay can still suspect he did the graffiti, after all it was a break in and a non student could have done that. Plus Estella is another red herring in the school. She serves that purpose so let Winston be the outsider looking in. His arc would still be about knowing a different Monty and not knowing who is was at Liberty but now he is literally the outsider who didn’t really get Monty, rather than it just being a figurative thing at the prom. You can still have the prom scene it would just be entirely imagined rather than the half imagined thing they went with. I think they overused the people talking to ghosts thing so here it would be a  fantasy of Monty and the relationship they had rather then a representation of what could have been. However I don’t think this would have retracted from the point. Also play him up, he is a sympathetic antagonist and it sucks how much he is sidelined for Diego. I didn’t hate Diego but Winston and him basically went through the same arc. They were pro Monty and ending up dating a member of the group, couldnt believe that member was involved and then learned something about Bryce and Monty agreed to move on and just did. All while saying they will alway care for that member of the group. It was an unnecessary rehash. Having WInston be the outsider looking in and Diego the insider looking out also lets their characters compliment each other. They should still work together, just have Winston contact him looking for Monty’s friends. It’s simple. 

2) Tyler and Tony 

Oh Tyler. The character who seems to be in the middle of everything despite never doing anything himself. I didn’t mind his arc of helping the cops find the guys who sold the illegal guns. But Tony’s suspicions, eventually leading to Clay and Tony finding out the truth and just moving on never really go anywhere. I think  it would be cool if Tyler tells Tony, despite the cops telling him not to tell anyone, because he trusts Tony. But Tony, who has had bad run ins with the cops, thinks it is a bad idea. He doesn’t want Tyler taking the deal. Tyler says its the only way the guns wont be traced back to them but Tony thinks teh cops are planning to double cross them to mind out more about Bryce and Monty. At the same time he starts getting close to that cop that takes him boxing and helps him get into college (i dont remember his name for the life of me lol). Tyler sees this as being hypocritical and pulls away. Tony still suspects Tyler is behind the lock down because he is pulling away and Tony is getting paranoid. The rest of their story can still be the same but this way they can show Tony’s paranoia and his loyalty. 

As for Tyler and Estella, It was fine. The scene of them in the bathroom was really powerful, being in the bathroom with a de la cruz and becoming comfortable because isnt her brother was really nice. This could even be another reason Tony and Tyler fight. Tony can be paranoid that Tyler is trusting her too quickly and think she will turn on him. 

3) Jess

Her arc with the principal, being scared and agreeing with the security measures before she sees them in action was really interesting. Focus more on it and less on her manipulating Diego. I did like parts of that arc for her so I don’t want it completely gone but I do think focusing on her working with the principal would have been cool. I would call more attention to her first meeting and her agreeing with the measures and slowly show her change her mind and start to turn against them. Maybe even have an early scene of her and ANi talking about it and have Jess admit she feels safer. Move the creepy cop trying to pat her down to the second or third day. So she can have a moment where they make her feel safe before the negative experience. I loved the protest and a bit better build up would have made it amazing

Her arc with Ani. They fought over Bryce... It should have been a conversation. Not a moment where Ani judges Diego and then they argue. I still think this arc should have been Chloe and Jess and should have been in last season. But they had the opportunity to include Chloe this season and just didnt. I’ll talk about this a bit more in the Zach section but I think Chloe should have been at Prom and the moment between the Ani Jess and Chloe should have been then. It would be right after Jess and Ani made up and would have been cool. 

I don’t think she should have had scenes where she saw and talked to Bryce. Yes it created some powerful moments but they could be reworked. Have WInston use his wealth to commission a positive thing in the paper about Bryce and Monty and have her talk to his idealized photo of Bryce. I will mention it in the Clay section but her hallucinations detracted from his journey with mental health. 

4) Clay

Okay two thing here the first is his arc with mental health, hallucinations, and blackouts. They used it for drama and I wish they hadnt. It should have been about him healing. I didnt mind the way they handled the realization for clay that it was him doing everything (Did they explain the symbol he kept drawing because I missed it if they did? or i just forgot because it was that forgettable lol) but I think the whole thing could have been handled a lot better and a more educated fan then I can provide a better explanation for what exactly was off about it. I will say the the therapy sessions were repetitive and I know thats realistic but for a tv show its boring. The scene were Clay goes to his home was weird and low key scary. I understand the purpose but  I wish he had called him and asked to meet at his office instead. A more likable and relatable journey for Clay with his mental health would be really good for a show that was accused of glorying suicide (personally i dont think it did. My inbox is open if you wanna talk though :))

The second thing is the phantom phone caller. I hate this trope so it might just be me but this is so stale. There are exactly two ways it could go. The person could know everything and be a real problem or the person could be fishing for information and not be a real problem. The whole thing was predicable since Winston had red herring written all over him, Estella was barely developed, and on this show it is always the football guys. Instead let the pranks be smaller and less crazy. Like these boys had to coordinate a lot to mess with Clay. There should be more than one prank and end with a Monty doll and Clay holding a knife to set up the camp episode. But they should be pranks, not the phantom caller psychological torture bs. The blood shower can also happen just on a different day. Clay can be confused about what is real and what isnt making him even more worried about his blackouts and again assuming the mental health arc is handled well, the pranks can be a real part of it. Dumping him in the pit on the camping trip also seemed kinda attempted murdery so maybe do something like tie him to a tree of the path or in a small dirt ditch not a rocky pit where if he hit his head or fell weird the team would all be murderers. 

5) Alex

His arc with Charlie was one of my favorite stories this season. I was also not bothered by him getting close to and exploring his sexuality with Winston and Zach. I’m in the minority but I’m glad Zalex wasn’t made canon and Zach was used to be an effective (kinda) ally and good friend. Plus this way Zalex can live on in the fandom untouched or ruined by the writers interpretation. 

They should have given us Alex in therapy. He tried to kill himself had a traumatic injury, an arc with steroid abuse, and an arc about killing someone. All of which were forgotten this season. All the other characters seemed to be dealing with Bryce and Monty, why not focus on Alex? Even if it isnt in therapy just let him exist in his feelings.

6) Zach

I have one major issue with Zach’s arc, the lack of Chloe. She was the reason he almost killed a man. Let them date, let him start to spiral while dating her. She doesnt know what he did. Have them grow apart on screen but her still connecting to him and not wanting to give up on him. They should go to prom together. I know the hooker was supposed to represent Zach turning into Bryce with the hookers and the drunken sex/potential rape  and cocaine. But Chloe fills the same comparison. He brings cocaine she is not okay with it, He tries to convince her to have sex in the back she is not having it. Maybe he tries to convince maybe it becomes a bit worse than that but she breaks up with him at prom and leaves early. She sees Bryce in him, she doesnt have to say it but you can see it on her face and she walks away when her mind and heart tells her to this time no making excuses. Boom Chloe actually has an arc. As for Zach this is a big wake up call for him he sees what we had become. I know it is later in the actual show but I think it should be in the prom episode so he can have a better conclusion in the finale, like the other characters. The whole season was a downward spiral and I wish we got to see more of him pulling himself out of it. If the whole finale is him getting better even though he wont be all the way done he will be in a better place up the end.

7) Justin

Okay the hard one. I think the writers really wanted to kill him. I mean a fan favorite, who did bad things, and the death would be in the series finale. this is a tv writer’s drug of choice. So I’m gonna do a fix where I still kill him first then to the ideal version. Ok so first Justin dies. No HIV/AIDS. It was out of nowhere, unneeded, and seemed a bit insensitive. If you want it to be related to his drug use, make it so he got a bad batch when he relapsed. Or maybe organ failure. If it doens’t need to be drug related it can be an accident or someone he knew on the streets getting revenge, like that drug dealer we spent time with last season. Or if Justin helps Tyler put the gun salesmen behind bars then have it be retaliation for that. He can still go to the hospital and have goodbyes but it wont be an aids diagnosis and death in the same episode. I know they had signs in earlier episodes but the timeline is still really fucked up...

An ideal ending would have him live. He can still pass out at Prom. The diagnosis can be a combination of stress and withdrawal symptoms.He can be the red herring for the person in the coffin. If Justin lives he can represent hope. He can show the audience that you can get better and things can work out. Even if you are sick and think you will die you can do better be better and live in a better world. Plus I love him and really wanted him to be happy. The message would be you can get out of a bad situation and wold have ended a sad series on a positive note. Even if you are a bad person. Even if you have bad circumstance. Even if it feels like the world is against you, it can get better if you put in the effort. Which felt like the message the show was going for in eariler seasons by showing the people on the tapes doing better but abandoned this last season.

So who would I put in the coffin. Ani’s mom. Now I know she wasn’t a well liked character and her mom wouldn’t have the same audience or character reaction Justin’s death did. But this version isn’t about making the audience sad. Ani would finally have a plot that was really about her, her mom died, Bryce’s mom basically wants to provide for her. And she isn’t sure what to do. Justins funeral felt like it was overshadowed by graduation anyway. Now Ani’s moms absence and the funeral being overshadowed both make sense. She is going to college and doing what she can to honor her mom. And the death of a parent causes Clay to immediately appreciate his own family more. The theme in the first season with Clay was appreciating and acting on his feelings for Hannah before she was gone. Ani’s mom dying is a reality check for him and he know the most important things are his family and friends. Justin’s arc was about finding a family and he did. The core of the show is about family, friends, and the importance of  a strong support system. And starting it with a mother grieving her daughter and ending it with a daughter grieving her mother would be a cool full circle moment.

This post is really long so if you read all the way down Thank you! :) 

[wonderland-in-bloom]

an unexpected day off

[leona kingscholar x fem!pomefiore!reader]

anon asked: Yay requestss are open! May I request a oneshot where Leonas fem Pomfiore s/o's little sister comes to Night Raven to visit her and meets Cheka who is also visiting Leona and they become friends and all that cute stuff ( bonus Leona and readers reaction )

yes!! cute indeed uwu hi guys how are you all, are you dying over silver and lilia’s cards as much as i am? heheh 

le fic under the cut

TODAY was going to be a chill day filled with activies which could be tied to lazing around. well at least that’s what both you and your boyfriend thought. but the both of you were wrong. horribly wrong. that morning leona was woken up by cheka literally jumping on top of him. while on the other hand, you were having a beautiful dream until the door to your room slammed against the wall after it swung open. “(Y/N)-NEEEEEEEEE!!! WAKE UP! I’M SPENDING THE WHOLE DAY WITH YOU TODAY!” in your half awoken state, you were still able to recognize that high pitched voice. it was your younger sister. 

“what the hell are you doing here?” you groaned as you buried your head in your pillow. “mom and dad want me here! besides i want to see how miserable you are.” you growled and threw a pillow at her. you two argued and fought so loud that vil came storming into your room with his face still full of cucumbers and a face mask and scolded both you and your younger sister. you really did just want to have one day off without anything crazy or chaotic happening, but hey, when is life ever calm? you sighed as your little sister dragged you around the whole campus. some students gave you glares and in return you gave them back glares which signaled “please help me i beg you”. they legitimately just laughed at you. after all, it was only entertainment for them. in the middle of the way as you trailed behind your sister in the courtyard, she suddenly stopped. 

your eyes sparkled when you saw your boyfriend walking towards you from the other end. “leona!!!” you cheered as you rushed over to him. you saw a glint in his eyes as he was happy to see you too. you wrapped your arms around his torso and he placed his hand on your waist. “please help me....” you whispered. “yeah i could say the same.” you both turned around to face the children you were forced to babysit. they both froze as they eyed each other up and down. “oho? what do we have here?” cheka stepped closer to your little sister and eyed her even more intensely. “who are you?” cheka asked. 

“i could ask you the same! i didn’t know kids were allowed here.” she shot back. “i’m cheka kingscholar...ojitan...leona’s nephew. and you?” you and leona saw the two bashful kids. “i’m (l/s/n). (y/n)’s litle sister.” it was a little awkward for a while. you were debating with yourself wether to break it up or do something at least. however as you were about to step closer to them, leona grabbed your hand. “wait, (y/n). this might be a really good chance. if the both of them gets along, then they’ll just wander off on their own. less work for us, ya know?” you bit your bottom lip. a negative multiplied by a negative equals a positive. which means that both their chaotic-ness and irresponsibility would cancel each other out and you and leona would have no trouble. you two would have a day filled with relaxing and lazing around just as you both thought. “hmm, you’re right.” you smirked. you and leona chuckled evilly as the two kids started a conversation. 

you and leona didn’t even pay attention to them for five seconds and they were already running off to go play somewhere else. leona smirked as you both turned around, planning to head over to his room and just continue your beauty sleep which was cut short. leona slung his arm over your shoulder as you snuggled close against him and started walking to the savanaclaw dorms. however not long after, you heard a surprisingly high pitched yet familiar screaming coming from somewhere not too far from you. you and leona briskly made your way to the source of the scream to see...idia in a tree? “idia...senpai?” his eyes were wide filled with terror and fear. “(Y-Y/N)! L-LEONA! PLEASE HELP ME!” he pleaded. you two looked down to two very familiar figures right below the branch idia was gripping to dear life on. “YOUR HAIR IS SO COOL! WE JUST WANNA PLAY!” your little sister chirped. “PLEASEEE COME DOWN.” cheka joined her. 

leona growled and grabbed cheka by the collar. “oi, what are you doing?” cheka pouted. “we were just curious!” he replied. “we just wanted to play with him...it’s not our fault he’s a scaredy cat.” your little sister joined. you smacked the back of her head. “that’s not nice. we’re so sorry idia-senpai. you can go now.” he slowly climbed from the branch and down to the ground and started running off. “heeeh, what a weird guy.” your little sister commented. “well you two were basically invading his boundaries. so.” she rolled her eyes. “sheesh (y/n)-nee, can’t you just let us have a little fun? come on cheka! we have more places to go to!” she giggled and the two kids started running off. remember when you thought that the chaotic-ness would cancel each other out? yeah. wrong. instead it multiplied and now they get into more trouble as a duo than you both thought. 

and thus your day off from school was filled with running around, trying to catch the two kids, and apologizing to the other dorm leaders and students. to keep things short and simple, there were a lot of things those two did which disturbed the other students. first, they managed to leave the hedgehogs riddle used in his game of croquet to almost die because of shock and fear. this left riddle in a frenzy and it took the adeuce duo and cater to calm him down while trey urged the two kids to run off. but he didn’t even hesitate giving you and leona a little lecture. second, they sneaked into savanaclaw’s daily magift training sessions and held onto a couple of senior’s brooms. they almost fell a couple of feet from the air and had to be caught by jack and ruggie. ruggie (wholeheartedly) told leona off and when you wanted to catch the two troublemakers, they were already gone. third, they managed to infiltrate the mostro lounge and begged jade and floyd for piggyback rides. it went well at first but let’s just say the lounge didn’t look so good after the whole session ended. azul ended up threatening leona with blackmail and scolded the both of you for doing that to his precious lounge. (of course he threatened to sue leona but he just brushed him off. after all, leona was a rich boy so he didn’t really mind. lol)

fourth, they played hide and seek with kalim in his treasure room. for once, this was the one instance where the dorm leader wasn’t mad or troubled, but rather joined them in the fun. in the end, jamil had to drag kalim by the collar and scold him instead of you and leona. they continued their game without kalim and this time it was hide and seek with you and leona. of course you didn’t find them anywhere in scarabia and concluded that they headed off to pomefiore. rook was in a panic because the peacocks from the gardens escaped and started to cause havoc, making the garden a mess. epel was chasing the two children (as ordered by vil) but they just laughed and thought it was a game of tag. your dorm leader didn’t hesitate to blabber a handful of comments which made your ears ring and he also didn’t hesitate to slap the back of leona’s head. “irresponsible. just like their relatives.” he mentioned, hinting at the fact that like nephew/little sister like uncle/older sister. finally, cheka and your little sister stepped foot into diasomnia but regretted it the instant they stepped in. 

they were greeted with sebek and silver who scared them off and made them not even dare to do anything which involves diasomnia. lilia tried to be nice to them and tried to calm the down as best he can (he is a father after all ha ha) but he managed to make them cry. at the end of your tiring and NOT AT ALL peaceful day, you found the two snuggled next to each other under a tree. they were both fast asleep. you and leona sighed in relief. you exchanged glances with each other before collapsing yourselves. “finally~” the storm has passed and you two could finally calm down. you both leaned against the tree and sat down with a ‘thump’. with aching feet and ears just having enough of lectures and rambles, both your eyes felt heavy. you were already drifting off to sleep when you felt leona’s hand position your head to lean against his shoulder. you smiled and that’s when you were engulfed in a deep slumber. 

this really wasn’t the day off both leona and you were expecting. but at least you spent the whole day together and managed to work together as a pair to solve the mischief caused by the two children. well....somewhat solved it at least. 

BONUS: “AAAWH THEY’RE SO CUTE! THEY’RE LIKE A LITTLE FAMILY!” cater whisper shouted from behind a bush. he took out his phone and readied his camera. you and leona were out cold. snoring and dead asleep as leona leaned against the tree and you leaned against his shoulder. cheka rested his head on leona’s lap whilst your little sister did the same thing to you. the four of you really did look like a cute, little family. “this might be a good time to ambush. don’t you think my beautiful queen?” rook commented as he put aside the binoculars. “hmm...maybe we can make use of cater-kun. those pictures can easily be blackmail. we can get them to do our bidding as long as we have their picture.”

“ah! smart and beautiful! that is our dorm leader, vil schoenheit!”

“that’s what the both of you get for disrupting my day off.” 

♡

lol i included a sentence or two related to math (simple math tho lol). wai? i finished like four weeks of math hw in a day haha. yeah well it was stupid for teachers to give us summer hw. like i’m already stressed sm and now they’re just yeeting more stress to me. yeeeets. rant over. 

love, a♕

[artificialqueens]

And Everyday: When Life Gives You Lemons, Put Some Vodka in Your Lemonade (Crystal Methyd/Gigi Goode, Jaida Essence Hall/Jan Sport) - Campvanjie

AN: This was originally written for a fic exchange, and posted to AO3 under my now deleted account there on May 1st, 2020. Reposting here, because I’m proud of it, and am clearing old S12 fics from my Google drive. I’m the original author of this work, and there’s absolutely no plagiarism going on!

Summary: Gigi needs a soft place to land after her quarter-life meltdown, and Crystal realizes the happily every after she gave up on, might not be totally out of reach. Meanwhile, Jaida and Jan work on restoring an old barnhouse; because marriage begets home improvement.Prompts: Parenthood AU, Enemies to Lovers, Idiots in Love, and Angst all used to varying degrees.

CW: conversations around divorce/child custody and (past) bullying behavior, character mentions (non-specific) mental health issues as the reason for a past breakup.

-

“- Ugh, anyway, it’s like 3:30, he’s almost an hour late and I don’t know why the fuck I even got all dressed up just to sit at court being looked at like I’m some cheap bitch-”, Gigi grumbled into her phone. It was pressed against her cheek as she tried her best to juggle her purse and a extra-large coffee held in her other hand, her livid glare captured perfectly in the harsh, white light of the bathroom mirror across from her.

“I dunno, maybe because you have to be there? Kind of the mom thing to do.”, Crystal told her, static edging into her voice.

It was a long-distance call after all, and Gigi had fought against her fingers dialing the number almost by muscle memory. She had only relented once she had gotten through the packed hallway of the courts complex, and almost collapsed into what seemed like the only empty bathroom.

Call Crystal, had been the only thing she could think of do, in between beating her palms against the cool, brick walls, and shaking with sobs she refused to shed for fear of ruining her makeup.

Without missing a beat; Crystal had picked up, her voice always high and slowed, syllables enunciated in a way that had trained Gigi into asking for coffee, like it was spelled with a K, calling her son’s name, with the E in the middle a sharp, upward spike.

Crystal, Gigi realized with a start; was who had taught her to gulp in her breaths to hide herself crying, and shove her fist into her front pocket, to keep herself from shaking so much.

“I know. I know you’re right. I just- God, I’m so sick of it. It just want this all to be over so I can go back to what’s important, and stop feeling like my entire world is crashing down around me."

Crystal laughed, a little too dry for it to be genuine. "Hey, Gigi?"

"Hm?"

"If you- if you wanted, maybe you and the little munchkin could visit? Come see me in Missouri, maybe it’ll get your mind off things."

Gigi’s hands stopped underneath the stream of lukewarm water flowing from the faucet, her eyes meeting her reflection in the mirror. She looked like shit, no matter how much her carefully applied façade remained in place, her gaze jittered around the small room and she had never felt so truly tired in her entire life.

"Seriously?"

"Yeah. I mean, me of all people should know something about everything falling apart."

Less than an hour later, Gigi found herself dialing Crystal’s number again. She stood outside the courthouse, her glasses misted from the early- evening rain shower as she waited for her car.

Relinquished. She didn’t know whether to laugh, or cry, or take her parents up on their offer to live in their Florida timeshare and disappear off the face of the planet, too.

"He’s not coming because he filed paperwork to relinquish parental rights two weeks ago. In the eyes of the law, it’s just the two of you.”, her lawyer had told her, after finding Gigi just outside the bathroom. Jackie Cox was always dressed in tweed, pastel, pantsuits, dark hair coiffed in buttery smooth curls at the top of her head, her lips pursed in a thin, straight line, as though she was perpetually exhausted.

Gigi supposed that, being one of the city’s longest-serving family court attorneys would do that to you.

“I don’t know how I missed it on the dockets, but I should have told you first.”, Jackie apologized; her hand warm and steady at the small of Gigi’s back as she walked her client back up the hallway.

Gigi grunted, shrugging her shoulders underneath her jacket. “It’s fin- It wouldn’t have changed anything, Jackie. Really, thanks for everything."

She let herself lean against Jackie, letting one of her oldest friends wrap her arms around her, breathing in the scent of Jackie’s honeysuckle perfume on the courthouse steps.

"I’m sorry this happened-”, Jackie started, and Gigi could feel her heart sink to her stomach.

She had never done well with pity, least of all when she truly deserved it.

“Don’t be. Please, just don’t.”

“What are you going to do now?”, Jackie asked, as Gigi stepped out of her embrace, surveying the street before them that was quickly filling with cars and bikes and buses as the work day finished and school let out for the day.

“Right now? Get in an Uber and hope they don’t charge me triple for being late at daycare again.”

Crystal picked up on the fourth ring, and Gigi could hear the sound of a sink running in the background. Water splashed against metal, and the distinct sound of another woman’s voice, screeching with laughter, buzzed through the speakers of Gigi’s phone.

“Whoo- chile, I’m telling you if you come any closer with that flour, I’m gonna-"

"Shit. Sorry.”, Crystal had muffled the phone against her chest, the static only cutting out when Gigi was sure she had ducked into another room.

“How quickly can you get that guest room set up? I’m pretty sure we can make it for tomorrow if I drive through the night.”

-

“Mom- Mom it’s twelve-thirty-five. It’s way, way, way past your bedtime!”, Destiny crowed from his carseat, kicking at Gigi’s back. His blonde curls were plastered to the side of his face, lips dusted with salt from the bag of chips that Gigi had let him pick out form himself at their last rest stop.

Their entire lives had fit neatly into the sickeningly suburban five-seater that his father had insisted on, the largest luggage case filled with her son’s clothes and bedsheets still having enough room to jostle under his bare feet.

She knew it was impulsive, and stupid, and half-expected the police to pull them over several states away, but as the highways emptied to nothing bur a ribbon of white lines that kept them on the right side of the road, Gigi became more and more convinced she was doing the right thing.    

“My bedtime is five-thirty, kiddo. Yours is eight, so you get to stay up so much later.”, she joked easily, never having had Destiny for so many hours, all by herself in the years since he had started preschool.

“Wait, that doesn’t make sense! It’s eight at night and right now it’s morning! Nobody goes to sleep at five in the morning!”, he shrieked, and giggled at his own reflection in the rearview mirror.  

“That’s when the garbage truck wakes up!”, he added. Gigi didn’t remember, if he had ever talked so much, his voice jarring and so different from the toddler babbles she had recorded, and kept on her phone to watch on her worst days.

Her textile studio had taken up her days, until her partners had grown tired of Gigi stumbling in at eleven in the morning, unable to force herself to care very much about their bottom line, and the grey, dull world outside until Destiny had come to kick her out of bed.

Afterwards, his father would take her nights, the pressure incessant that they be exactly what they looked like- a family that belonged in a catalog, with a perfectly dressed, perfectly quiet child, money to burn and success in spades; drinking from matching flutes of champagne while Destiny was left alone in his basement bedroom with a baby monitor and his collection of stuffed animals.

Gigi faltered in a sea of plastic smiles and shallow conversations, and at the end of the day, all of her friends who had warned her off marrying her senior-year rebound, giving her life over to the promise of a bright, empty future, had been right.

He wanted to live in a dream, where she was only ever a sidekick; their son nothing more to him than a prop to parade, an filled-in item on a checklist that he had given up without a second thought.

Gigi had named him Destiny, because she liked it first, but second, because it had sounded so good with his last name; that she had never even considered having to change it.

Destiny Goode was a name that sounded like a motivational quote from a caveman, and she briefly wondered, merging on to the next interstate her GPS system highlighted- if a six-year-old would remember his name if she changed it right now.

He could be a Garret, or a Jaden, just like every other boy at school.

A fresh slate with no more questions to be asked, and nothing left to tie her perfect boy to Gigi’s worst mistake.

“-So, she’ll be here at nine-thirty, and we’re all going to be nice as fuck and not make it weird, okay?"

Crystal smoothed down the pleats of her skirt with her palms, her legs crossed in front of her at the breakfast table, as her eyes flitted between Jaida and Jan, who both had forks in hand as they enjoyed the chilaquilles that Crystal had set out for their meal, knowing this was going to be a big conversation.

"Chile-”

“Okay, go back to the part where she broke up with you and then ended up married to darksided Warner-"

"Guys!”, Crystal protested, glaring down at her friends.

Jaida and Jan had bought the barn on her family’s property not even weeks after Crystal had agreed to put it on the market, the decrepit, white-washed wood tower an eyesore along the country highway.

They were the closest thing she had to neighbors, in the wide acres of rolling plains that separated everyone by miles along the road, and it hadn’t taken long for the three of them to grow close.

Together, they had carved a guest house out of the front entryway, laying water pipes and television cable; and were working on renovations to turn the barn’s hall into an event space, with glass lanterns hanging high along the rafters that Crystal remembered walking across like a tightrope when she was a child.

Jan drilled in heavy wood planks to form a catwalk that overlooked the barn floor, which you could reach from the outside fire escape, and Crystal had been thrilled to finally put her years of following behind her father to use, toolbox in hand as she sanded down the reinforced beams holding up the roof.

If Gigi hadn’t called her, Crystal and Jan had a day ahead of them of hauling the shingles from a pallet left by the side of the road, in Crystal’s truck up to the barn, while Jaida had her camera, and a full calendar of Senior Portraits to finish before the end of the school year.

“I know it sounds like a lot, but please, please, don’t make it weird. Gigi always…- She always needed everything to go perfectly, and I hate to say it but… I might be her only real friend. Like, ever.”, Crystal told them, biting down on the inside of her cheek.

Gigi, who for the past few years, had been nothing but  a collection of memories that would fire in her brain occasionally, like a slight twinge from an old injury, would be back in the flesh at her doorstep, at any minute. Crystal barely had the time to recruit Jaida’s help in clearing out her guest rooms for Gigi and her son, much less process how she truly felt about offering up her home as their refuge.

Gigi had never responded to the birthday cards she sent for Destiny after his third birthday; barely ever logging into her Facebook page that had been filled with photos of the two of them through college; and seemed to abruptly be cut off after she had gotten married. Occasionally, something would trickle through, a vacation photo of her little family, and anniversary note, a first day at school and a post that asked everyone to go and follow her business page.

For all of the refreshing Crystal did, Gigi’s studio seemed to never upload anything beyond its logo and business hours.

“Nah, listen, I get it, babe.”, said Jaida, a tortilla chip hanging from the corner of her mouth. “People grow and change and we gotta meet them where they’re at."

She nodded towards Jan, who was gulping down her orange juice, with a fond grin. "If you would have told my queen bitch ass when I was in high school, that I would end up married to Miss Team Too Much, I would have stole your man and told the whole school some dirty secret.”, Jaida laughed. “Everybody’s dealing with something, and I was so closeted and angry I was acting a fool for free."

"You were never closeted.”, Jan piped up, her voice rising an octave from normal, making Crystal widen her eyes as she looked to her side.

“Glass closet, honey. Besides, my point is, it’s water under a bridge, whatever we do when we’re young. I love you now.”, she said, pressing a kiss to Jan’s temple as she rose to go take their dishes to the sink. “You ended up turning out to be an amazing woman. I’m sure Gigi’s just the same."

-

The sun was high over the horizon line when Gigi’s car rumbled up the range road, rocks spraying into the grass as her wheels skipped over the pockmarked dirt.

She had taken Destiny to a hotel waterpark with a free breakfast, the absolute joy and shock on his face more than worth being several hours off of the arrival time she had texted Crystal. He was asleep now, only dressed in a pair of shorts and his sneakers, the buckles of his carseat starting to chafe red against his skin.  

Gigi turned left at the barn, towards the yellow-shuttered house she remembered visiting over so many spring breaks and reading weeks, surprised to see two workers, stacking pallets of shingles by the barn door. One was a gorgeous, darker-skinned woman, the sun glittering from the highlights in her hair as she waved over to Gigi, making her grin despite herself.

Crystal’s tiny town had always been welcoming, the huge open expanses of space seeming to make everyone all the more willing to seek a connection- though Gigi would have never guessed that Crystal and her family would ever do anything with the barn, which looked just a little less decrepit than she remembered, so many years later.

She parked by the balcony, just in front of Crystal’s truck, and shook Destiny awake, helping him into the first shirt which she could reach from his bag.

"C'mon, Des. We’re here. Are you excited to say hi to Mom’s friend? She stayed up all night to make you new room!”, she asked, watching as he took in the word around them.

“You have friends?”, he blurted out, so plainly that Gigi couldn’t keep a smile off her face, even if he had probably heard that from a TV show she probably shouldn’t have been letting him see.

“That’s not very nice."

Still, she kissed the top of his head, and helped him out of the car, his tiny hand feeling heavy in hers as they made their way up the stairs to Crystal’s door.

The balcony creaked under their feet, as Gigi raised her hand to press against the doorbell, Destiny tugging against her shirt, pointing up at the colorful strips of cut paper that still adorned the windows, the sun cutting what must have been a stained-glass glow inside the house.

"Snowflakes, like at school!”, he called to her, pressing his face against the windowsill before Gigi pulled him back.

“No, it’s called papel picado.”, Gigi corrected, remembering how Crystal had spent hours at her paper press in the basement of the art rooms in college, a mess of stencils spread across the desk, a chisel and mallet in hand as she studied the pictures her grandmother would send her.

Crystal’s tongue would poke out of her mouth, her pupils blown wide in concentration, oblivious to the darkening sky above her until Gigi would find her, at half-past midnight, standing still wide awake in the middle of confetti slices of cut paper piling around her.

They would kiss, exhilarated and young and alone together, and Gigi would never think anything was wrong until-

“Gigi! Geegs! Look who’s late to their own party!”, Crystal squealed, the door swinging wide open to reveal her; red-brown hair still as wild as ever, piled into a messy ponytail atop her head, and a smile so wide Gigi could see nearly all her teeth. Crystal sparkled with the same craft glitter that had always hung from her fingertips, her cheeks flush as though she’d run from one end of the house to the other.

Her eyes looked bright again, the memory of which was so foreign to Gigi that she took a moment to take it all in, Crystal’s bright skirt and her tight, sleeveless top looking all the more like relics of the summers they had spent together.

“Ahoy.”, she greeted, raising a hand to her forehead in a mock salute.

Crystal giggled.

Giggled, like she always had, and waved them inside with a flourish of her hand.

“Are you mad at me?”, Jaida asked, kicking open the toolbox that she and Jan shared.

They had watched Crystal let the storied Gigi into the house, and decided to occupy themselves with bolting down the side light fixtures in the barn, until whatever was probably going on between their neighbor and ex calmed down enough for Crystal to invite them in.

But, Jan’s temper had grown increasingly short through their day, her drill now clenched in a white-knuckled grip as Jaida held the ladder she was on steady below her, digging in the tool box for the next drill bit she would need.

“Why- the fuck- would I be mad at you?”, she said through gritted teeth, over the sound of the power tool in her hand.

“‘Cause you just said fuck, for one.”, Jaida muttered, her eyes rolling skyward. Her wife had always been a little dramatic, but there was nothing Jaida hated more than the silent treatment, far preferring a knock-down, drag-out, screaming fight to being frozen out for hours with little more than a sharp glance or a silent nodded sent her way.

Jan shrugged her shoulders, her favorite blue and red flannel shirt stretching deliciously tight across her back.

Was Jan teasing her? Was it all some kind of elaborate game that was intended to be finished in their bedroom?

“Well, whatever you’re doing, it’s killing the mood, babe.”, Jaida teased, hoping that Jan would get the hint.

Instead, she dropped the drill from her grip, clattering down the ladder as it bounced on the hard-packed ground. The battery pack popped from the tool’s back, not that Jan could be bothered as she stalked away, ignoring Jaida’s raised eyebrows.

“Hey- hey- you can’t just wreck stuff because you’re having a bad day!”, Jaida called after her wife, looking down at the mess of wires at her feet. “And I don’t know how to fix this shit so-"

She fell silent, as Jan’s steps echoed up the outdoor fire escape, her body disappearing until Jaida could only see the outline of her long, blonde hair, blowing in the wind from the balcony.

"Jan?”, she shouted, following her up the steps. “Hey, I know I fucked up, but you gotta tell me how otherwise I’m not gonna know how to fix it."

"Right.”, Jan scoffed as Jaida rounded the corner, the two of them facing towards Crystal’s house, where a second-floor light flickered on and off several times. “I forgot that everything’s so easy for you, I just have to spell it all out."

"Okay, what does that even mean?"

Jan glowered at her wife, crossing her arms across her chest.

"Why did you tell Crystal the reason you were a bully in high school was because you weren’t out?"

"That’s what this about? Baby-”, Jaida reached forward, her hand only barely touching Jan’s shoulder before her wife flinched away. “I was just trying to make her feel a little better about the whole thing, everything going on with Gigi. I don’t even remember if I was a bully in high school."

"Maybe I do.”, Jan snapped, her eyes flashing up in anger for a split second.

Jaida sighed, looking back over the horizon; where the sun was starting to dip at the back of scattered farmhouses and cottage homes littered accross the plains. “Look- I- I’m sorry and I shouldn’t have brought it up-”

“You’ve never apologized."

"You want me to say sorry?"

It had been years since Jan and Jaida had reconnected, long separated from the people that they had been as children.

Jaida had remembered Jan as an easy target from their first day in kindergarten, a tiny, loud girl who fell into a pattern that followed until Jan had left for college on a musical theatre scholarship, and Jaida had gone to play basketball for a small, comfortable liberal arts college in the heartland. When she had met Jan again; she was another person who shared the same name, at an alumni event where both of them had been invited to promote their respective colleges.

Where Jan had always worn her heart on her sleeve, the woman Jaida had married was confident, and passionate, witty and driven beyond belief.

She hadn’t had a second thought proposing to her, in the middle of the butterfly sanctuary at the zoo in the springtime, kissing her passionately without question at their Central Park wedding, their families both swaying together underneath the canopy of a white tent, to the music of the very first DJ they had found on Google.

"I just want you to- admit that it happened.”

“You’re acting like this was a big deal.”, Jaida groaned. “Baby, we were kids."

"It was a big deal. I thought about the stupid shit you and your friends said, for years after- and you don’t know what that was like."

"Okay- I-”

Jaida sighed, laying her hands on the railing that rounded the balcony, squeezing the metal rung tightly against her palms, the fight seeping out of her as she studied her wife, who looked on the verge of tears.

“Jan- baby, hey, I’m sorry. I’m really, really sorry.”

Silence fell between them, the sound of the crickets the only thing that cut in between their breaths. Jan buried her face in her hands, elbows resting against the railing beside her wife.

“I know. It’s just, that stuff adds up sometimes.”

She pressed herself into her wife’s shoulder, letting her head rest against Jaida’s arm.

“It adds up the other way around, too. Don’t think it doesn’t.”, Jan whispered, and Jaida finally let go of a breath she hadn’t realized she was holding in, her arm snaking around to rest around her wife’s waist. “It’s just a lot of work.”

“Then I’ll work on it, baby. Just tell me what you need.”

Gigi was surprised, at how instantly familiar Crystals kitchen was, breakfast leftovers heaped on top of Destiny’s plate while she quietly accepted a Diet Coke, sipping at the flat beverage as she finally began to relax. Gigi could tell her son was starting to feel sleepy, his eyes losing focus even as he kept lifting his fork to his mouth.

“Cielito.”, Crystal cooed, as she ruffled his curls, passing by the two of them as she moved to shutter the blinds in the kitchen. Destiny clearly thrived under the attention, and Gigi wondered if he had always craved touch, or if he was only a child who was excited by all of the new things around him. The heat was sticky, and Crystal’s brightly painted walls made the whole house look even more like an eternal birthday party, the fridge covered with photos and magnets.

Crystal had never learned to speak Spanish, at least as far as Gigi knew, having begged Crystal to help her pass her class for months when they had been roommates, but she supposed, she must have picked up more of it, with all the time she must have spent with her family afterwards.

“Where are you Mom and Dad?”, Gigi asked, swirling her straw in her Diet Coke. “I should say hi, right?"

Crystal shrugged. "We could Facetime? They were back in Mexico for a while after my Dad got sick, but right now they’re travelling Europe, living the old people dream. I’m sure my Mom still misses you."

Gigi took a deeper breath, her lips pursed as she watched Crystal dump dirty dishes in the sink.

"Is um- are you getting the barn demolished? I saw a couple people working on it outside."

"Oh, that’s just Jan and Jaida. They live there. I sold it a few months ago, and they’re trying to turn it into, like, a wedding hall. You’d love them- they’re the gayes-”, she paused, looking down at Destiny as he tipped his glass of orange juice into his mouth. “They’re super, super in love, and so gross."

Gigi could feel herself start to blush, even though she had started having that conversation with her son almost as soon as he had started to learn to talk.

"I usually have them over for dinner, so you can say hi."

Gigi coughed, swallowing the question that had been at the tip of her tongue since she had spoken to Crystal the day before.

"So? are you seeing anyone?”, she asked.

Crystal shook her head. “I’m not really looking.”, she said. “Still putting the cry in Crystal!”, she laughed. “And you were right, I wouldn’t want to put that on anyone else."

"I- ”, Gigi bit back her reply, not quite knowing if this was a talk she wanted to have, with her son arranging chips on his plate not two feet in front of her.

“Hey- buddy”, Crystal tapped on Destiny’s shoulder, nudging him with her hip. “Go wash your hands in the bathroom. It’s the one with the fish on the door and Star Wars on the curtain."

He looked back up at his mother, Gigi giving him a curt nod of approval as he skittered up the hallway.

"He’s a cute kid, you know? You’re doing a good job.”, she told Gigi, pushing the boy’s chair back in.

“Yeah… mostly not my job, but I’ll pass it on to our last nanny."

Gigi had stood with their plates, following Crystal to the sink where she happily plunged her arms into the hot, soapy bubbles, not caring very much for how her shirtsleeves got soaked in the water, navy fabric clinging to her wrists.

"Seriously. Gigi- look at me.”, Crystal reached around her, shutting off the faucet with a decisive clicking noise. “I don’t blame you for being twenty-one and not sticking around after I flipped out because I didn’t know how to deal with college, and real life and everything. It’s a day by day thing.”, she shrugged, reaching to open a cabinet and put the glasses in the drying rack away.

Crystal’s body was almost uncomfortably close, pressing into Gigi’s side like she remembered them being like, when they had shared their first apartment, having barely enough room for two people in between the fridge and the stove.

“Some days are better than others. But it’s-”, she paused, and smirked, her lips curling into the same wicked grin that Gigi could never shake from her memories, no matter how hard she tried. “No offense, but you’re not important enough for it to have been your fault."

"Oh, that’s how it’s gonna be, huh?”, Gigi couldn’t help but laugh, shaking her head. “Kick a girl when she’s down?"

"Or, some people just have shitty brain chemistry, and other people are assholes. Stop thinking it’s all on you all the time, you absolute flaming fuck-up.”, Crystal told her, her words softening behind her smile.

“Maybe don’t say flaming, but I did fu-"

Destiny padded back into the room, rubbing at his eyes. "Is it adult time yet?”, he asked, his tiny mouth yawning open. “Everyone’s saying all the bad words."

Crystal snickered, turning her undivided attention back to rinsing out the sink, her back turned to the both of them as if to say Gigi was on her own with that one.

"Good night, I guess.”, she muttered, shuffling across the tile towards him.

“See you tomorrow, Geegs. Just don’t forget, there’s always that.”

-

Gigi laid in bed with Destiny resting half on her chest, her son not wanting to leave her side, once the novelty of their adventure had worn off, and he had started to realize that there was a certain kind of permanence, to Crystal’s rainbow-colored walls, to the laughter from the kitchen that came from Jan and Jaida, who had eyed Gigi with enough suspicion to let it be known to her that she was absolutely not welcome in whatever little world they had built.

Okay, maybe the last bit was just in her head, and she could just introduce herself properly at breakfast the next morning- but she had still jumped at the chance to lock herself in Destiny’s appointed bedroom, pretending that he would need her to fall asleep, even though he had only wanted to cuddle before passing out completely the second that she dimmed the lights.

She scrolled through her phone, mindlessly as her son shifted in her arms, the message bubble beside his father’s name still lit up red with unread texts, that she skipped through to flick past her Instagram feed, landing on Crystal’s profile at the very bottom of her following list. The very first account which she had followed, years ago, and the very last that she kept up with, the creeping intimacy of being under Crystal’s roof, trying to piece together the life she had dropped out of, thicker than the heat of the air around her.

Crystal’s photos were all filtered through something that made them look brighter, more vibrant than the rainy afternoons and damp wetlands that they featured in the background, the captions all long, effusive essays about the importance of showing up to vote, or the beauty of the creek behind her house in the summertime. The most recent photo, featured her lying in a bed of sunflowers, grinning up at the sky, eyes half-shut against the sunlight.

Don’t look right into a solar eclipse!, the caption started, followed by at least a dozen laughing emoji faces, alternating with bright pink flowers. Sometimes life just punches you in the face, dummy! And you just gotta deal with it anyway. Don’t waste a second!

Gigi chuckled, locking the phone and laying it back on the bedside table, trying to move as little as possible as she turned off what was left of the light in the bedroom, and drew herself closer to her son in her arms.

His breathing was steady, his hands reaching for her hair in his sleep.

“Okay, kiddo. I got you.”, she said to nobody in particular, sinking lower in the sheets so she could tuck them tighter around him.

There’s always tomorrow, she could hear Crystal telling her, her voice clear as the dream Gigi was starting to slip into.

The next morning, she would start putting everything back together again.

[yurtletheturtlehenderson]

S.T. REWRITE - S2:E8; Chapter Eight, The Mind Flayer - [Pt. 4]

A Will Byers x Reader Series

An unlikely hero steps forward when a deadly development puts the Hawkins Lab on lockdown, trapping Will and several others inside.

||3rd Person POV||

Scattered amongst the Byers house, the group of survivors mill about, processing the newest development as a whole. The party occupies the dining table, aside from Y/n who has positioned herself on the floor by the end of the couch where her best friend and crush lay unconscious. She sits with her legs folded beneath her, and her body leaning against the arm of the couch, happy to be sitting down and letting her legs and feet properly rest for the first time all day. It didn't help her exhaustion much either that she was still processing the information that Hopper had given them on the drive over.

Her last conversation with Will runs over in her mind, and despite the taste of pain and rejection it leaves on her tongue, a strong pull in her gut tells her to be patient. It isn't really him. And more than anything, she knows she can't leave him again. Something deep inside her told her to be nearby.

Jonathan is beside her, kneeling at Will's side with one hand on his brother's arm and the other kindly stroking the hair away from Will's paled and clammy face. Nancy stands just to the side, a comforting hand on his shoulder and a pained look on her face. She can't help but feel a deep sympathetic ache in her heart, not only for the poor young boy caught in the middle of such a tremendous disaster but the visible toll it puts on his loved ones.

"Hey," Jonathan croaks to his unconscious brother. "Hey there, it's me. I'm sorry, bud. I'm sorry I wasn't there. I should have been here."

Y/n's watery e/c eyes move to Jonathan and she feels a large spike through her heart at his words. While she does not entirely understand where the two teenagers were during the past few days, she doesn't need to know for her to feel the weight of his words on her heart. She knows all too well the feeling, the overwhelming guilt, and regret that she hadn't stayed with him.

She should have known, or at the very least she should have come back. And had she never left, would she ever have had her trip with El? Once again she has to correct herself on her friend's name, Jane is what she went by now. Either way, the question brought too many unwanted scenarios flooding her mind, so she casts away the thoughts, focusing on the moment. Instead, Y/n's attention drifts to the Chief's agitated voice as he stomps anxiously back and forth, gripping the telephone.

"Sam Owens. Dr. Sam Owens,"

There's another beat of silence apart from the muffled and garbled voice on the other end.

"I don't know how many people are there," Hopper snaps. "I don't know how many people are left alive!"

A strained sigh leaves Steve's lungs and he folds his arms over his chest, continuing his pacing in the kitchen.

"I am the police!" The man barks back into the phone. "Chief Jim Hopper!"

Y/n's head lifts sluggishly off the arm of the couch, and she watches glumly as he tries to contact help. Though deep down she knows they are alone. He scoffs, shuffling back to the wall where the phone was mounted.

"Yes, the number that I gave you, yes... 6767... I will be here,"

Hopper slams the phone back onto the hook, and the shrill 'ding' of the phone fades out in the air. Dustin meets the man's eye, thinking the same thing as his sister.

"They didn't believe you, did they?"

"We'll see."

"'We'll see'?" Mike retorts. "We can't just sit here while those things are loose!"

"We stay here, and we wait for help," Hopper growled, his voice low. Hopper does not give Mike another chance to speak and he stalks off down the hall. Upon arrival, he had taken a headcount, and it didn't take long for him to realize they were now one head short. His instincts correctly lead him to the end of the hall, and he stops at the only closed door. Her door.

He knocks softly, and unsurprisingly, he receives no answer. Tentatively, he opens it, and it parts with a defining creak. His shoulders slump sadly at the sight of her, she sits on the end of her bed, draped in a knitted blanket and is staring numbly at the floor.

With a heavy heart, he lumbers across the room and takes a seat on the floor in front of her. He grunts softly as he settles in against the wooden dresser that presses into his spine. But he does not move, nor does he say a single word. He knows that there is nothing he can say to her that will fix anything, cause he knows, Hawkins lost a good man today.

His heart breaks for her as a weak and tired sob shakes her body. All he can do for her is be there, and as he does so he too can feel the tremendous loss Bob had left with them.

It was a loss that touched everyone that night. Once Hopper had ended the phone call and disappeared down the hall, not a single person spoke. The entire house was bathed in a heavy silence that weighed down their hearts and dimmed all hope. Not so much the loss of a good man, but the crushing reality of the situation they all now face. No matter the terrors that Will and the others had faced the previous year, as horrible as they were, were dwarfed in comparison to the grim truth.

No one was safe now.

Mike tore his eyes away from the table he sat at, his mind playing back the short amount of time he had spent with Bob. His eyes were pulled along the walls as they traced the puzzle of tunnels the man had helped them solve just hours ago. His eyes took him across the room to one of many locations they had mapped out, the Eno River that ran just past Y/n by the couch. His gaze halted when he saw her, she was now at Will's side, still slumped over with her weight against the couch and her eyes numbly grazing over Will, making sure he was okay.

He tried his hardest to brush away the ache in his chest as he saw the way she looked at Will. Not out of jealously for her or her affection, but it reminded him all too well of the night he last saw El. Just before she vanished with the Demogorgan, when he stayed by her side, hiding her away from the danger for as long as he could. The look on Y/n's face, the worry her eyes held, and her loyalty to the one she cared so deeply for was not something foreign to Mike.

It was an expression he wore several times in the week El had been apart of his life. And it was the overall fear and dedication he felt towards her when the bad men almost got her. How ill she had become, the turmoil and strain that she had been subjected to her entire life, and then some just to save him. The longing he felt just for her to be okay. And it was this longing he saw between Y/n and Will, and now more than ever he wished El was with him. She would understand.

Finally, Mike looks away, unable to dwell on the sight much longer. That's when he spots the forgotten pile of puzzles Bob had brought for Will. He feels another painful prick of sadness at the sight; the remains of one of countless good gestures.

He rises to his feet and trudges towards the pile of puzzles, limply picking up the blue plastic Soma cube. A sullen look crosses his face as he stares at it, thinking back to the conversation from the previous day.

"Did you guys know that Bob was the original founder of Hawkins AV?"

Lucas picks up his head, as does the rest of the founding Party. "Really?"

"He petitioned the school to start it and everything. Then he had a fund-raiser for equipment." He looked to Dustin, in particular. "Mr. Clarke learned everything from him. Pretty awesome, right?"

Choruses of agreement rippled through the party, and Mike returned to the table with the puzzle in hand.

"We can't let him die in vain."

Y/n's gaze breaks away from Mike and her friends, returning one last time to Will's sleeping form. She rises to stand on her knees, keeping one ear on the conversation as she hesitates to leave.

"Well, what do you want to do, Mike?" Dustin asks pointedly. "The Chief's right on this."

Y/n's hand falls on Will's hand out of reflex, signaling to him with a single squeeze that she had to leave, but she'd be nearby. He does not react immediately in his unconscious state, but his hand under hers begins to twitch, trying to pull away. She frowns at this, a strong sense of déjà vu washing over her though this time she does not jump back. Instead, she pulls her hand away, and rises to her feet, a spark of interest in her eyes as pieces begin to fall into place.

"We can't stop those Demodogs on our own." Dustin finishes.

"Demodogs?" Max asked, less than impressed.

Dustin looks around at his friends expectantly, disappointed in their lack of enthusiasm for the nickname. A look that was not lost even on his own sister that had joined the table, standing next to Mike.

"Demogorgan, dogs," he explained with both hands, pushing them together so his palms met. "Demodogs. It's like a compound. A play on words-"

"Okay," Max conceded.

"I mean, when it was just Dart, totally," He gestured to Y/n briefly. "But there's an army now. We don't stand a chance, not even with Y/n."

The group, including Steve, nods in agreement, aside from Mike whose brow molded into a confused frown. "Wait, say that again?"

Y/n was once again reminded of the secret she was forced to harbor, and winces involuntarily knowing she has to avoid telling him. Quickly, her mind jumps to Darts escape only days ago.

"Remember what happened when Dart got loose? What I accidentally did?" She asks, breaking her silence since her arrival.

His mind flashes to that day, a flicker of confusion contorts his face before it settles on a look of intrigue. "You mean, that weird thing you did with your hands?"

A dry laugh leaves her throat and she nods. "Yeah, you could say that. Point is, I've... gotten some practice at it."

"Yeah, man," Lucas cuts in, fighting back an impressed smile. "You should have seen it, she fought off a couple of those things,"

"Demodogs," Dustin mumbled, earning an annoyed glare from his friend. "Whatever man, it doesn't matter. What matters is how we defeat an entire army of... Demodogs."

"His army," Mike mumbles, something clicking in his mind.

"Huh?" Y/n asks.

"What do you mean?" Steve asks, pushing himself off the fridge he was previously leaning on.

Mike meets the older boys' eye, excitement growing in his demeanor as it all began to fall into place.

"His army," Mike repeats, raising several brows. "Maybe if we stop him, we can stop his army, too."

Without a word, he turns and marches down the hall towards Will's room; the last place he saw the drawing. The rest curiously follow, and Mike thrusts the drawing into Dustin's hands, the others circle him to catch a glimpse. An icy chill runs down Y/n's spine when she recognizes the drawing from her last visit.

"The shadow monster," Dustin murmurs.

Mike nods. "It got Will that day on the field. The doctor said it was like a virus, and it infected him."

Max nods along, her brows knitted together in thought. "And so this virus, it's what's connecting him to the tunnels?"

"To the tunnels, to the monsters, to the Upside Down, to everything."

"'Kay, woah, woah, woah," Steve urges, taking the paper from Dustin to examine it. "Slow down, slow down,"

"Okay, so, the shadow monster's inside Will," Mike explains. "And if the vines feel something like pain, then so does Will."

"And so does Dart," Lucas adds.

"Yeah, it's like what Mr. Clarke taught us. The hive mind."

"Hive mind?" Steve asks.

"It's some sort of collective conscious," Y/n answers.

Dustin nods eagerly, finishing her thought. "Basically, it's this super-organism."

"And this is the thing that controls everything," Mike says, pointing to the monster in Will's drawing. "It's the brain."

Dustin becomes entranced at the creature, his eyes stretching wide as he recalls something. "Like the Mind Flayer,"

Lucas snaps his fingers suddenly, his eyes widening as large as Dustins and they share a knowing fearful look. A grave look befalls the original members of the party, recognizing the evil creature they had fought on so few campaigns. It was damn hard to fight, and near impossible to defeat with no casualties. It was their greatest challenge.

Steve and Max wear a similar frown, speaking simultaneously, completely lost. "What?"

⊹ ⊹ ⊹

Will's D&D handbook is thrown into the center of the kitchen table, creating a loud 'thwack' as the hardcover meets the surface. In the center of the pages is an illustration of the cloaked figure with an angled head. It had large beady eyes and where the mouth should be, were several long tentacles, not unlike Will's drawing.

"The Mind Flayer,"

Dustin looks around the table, addressing the group. Everyone was now gathered together in the kitchen, aside from Joyce.

"The hell is that?" Hopper asked tiredly.

"It's a monster from an unknown dimension. It's so ancient that it doesn't even know it's true home. Okay, it enslaves races from other dimensions by taking over their brain with its highly developed psionic powers."

The Chief lets out a heavy sigh.

"Oh my god," he grumbles, gesturing to the open book on the table. "This isn't real, this is a kids game."

"N-No, it-it's a manual," Dustin defends. "And it's not pretend. And unless you know something we don't, this is the best metaphor."

"Analogy," Lucas corrects.

"Analogy?" Dustin fires back. "That's what you're worried about right now?"

"Hypocrite," Y/n mumbles.

"-Okay, fine! It's an analogy for understanding whatever the hell this thing is." Dustin continues, unware of his sister's criticism.

Nancy shakes her head from beside Dustin, dismissing the argument and she leans down to examine the book.

"Okay, okay, so this Mind Flamer thing--"

"-Flayer. Mind Flayer." Dustin corrects irritably.

Nancy wears a similar expression and fights an eye roll as she moves on.

"-What does it want?"

"To conquer us, basically. It believes it's the master race."

"Oh, uh," Steve motions for the lost word on his tongue as he makes a connection. "Like, uh, like the Germans!"

Steve receives a room full of vexed expressions. To his right, Dustin looks at him blind-sighted.

"Uh, the Nazis?"

Embarrassed, Steve nods. "Yeah, yeah, yeah, uh, the Nazis."

"Uh, if the Nazis were from another dimension, totally."

Unbeknownst to the rest of the circle, Hopper turns away in disbelief and overwhelmed with great annoyance. He sighs, beginning to rub his eyes, completely exasperated as Dustin continues.

"Uh, it views other races, like us, as inferior to itself."

"It wants to spread and take over other dimensions," Mike adds.

Y/n looks around the table, specifically at those unfamiliar with the beast. "And it won't stop until it gets exactly what it wants, it's relentless."

Lucas nods. "We are talking about the destruction of our world as we know it."

"That's great," Steve sighs, turning away to pace as he continues mumbling to himself. "that's great, that's really great. Jesus!"

Nancy leans forward once more to examine the page, before picking up the manual. "Okay, so, if this thing is like, a brain that's controlling everything, then if we kill it-"

"We kill everything it controls." Mike finishes.

"We win," Dustin nods.

"Theoretically," Lucas reminds them.

Hopper steps forward, taking the book from Nancy, his voice laced with sarcasm. "Great, so how do you kill this thing? Shoot it with fireballs or something?"

Dustin suppresses a laugh and shakes his head. "No. No, no fire-- No fireballs. Uh, you summon an undead army, uh-"

Dustin's excited demeanor falters when he sees the Chief's agitated gaze, and instead stutters through.

"because- uh, because the zombies... you know, uh, don't have brains, an-and the Mind Flayer, it uh, it... likes brains."

Hopper has already closed the book, and Nancy only dawns a perplexed look. Trying to ease the Chief's temper, he shakes his head and shrugs it off.

"It's just a game," Dustin shrugs, meekly.

THUD

Hopper threw the book back down on the table in his anger, turning away.

"The hell are we doing here?" He grumbles to himself.

"I thought we were waiting for your military backup?" He calls after him.

"We are!"

"Even if they come, how are they gonna stop this?" Mike points out. "You can't just shoot this with guns."

"You don't know that! We don't know anything!"

"We know it's already killed everything in that lab-!"

"And we know the monsters are gonna molt again!" Lucas defends.

"And we know that it's only a matter of time before the tunnels spread pass the edge town." Dustin proclaims.

Finally, Y/n jumps in, feeling a swell of confidence. "And we also know that Will is the only host, which means we have to find a way to get the Mind Flayer out of him without killing him. Guns definitely won't accomplish that."

"They're right," a soft broken voice cuts in from the hallway.

Everyone turns to find Joyce, her voice is strained and her eyes are puffy from crying.

"We have to kill it... I want to kill it."

Hopper steps toward her, concerned.

"Me too," Hopper agrees, his voice immediately softer. "Me too, Joyce, okay? But how do we do that? We don't exactly know what we're dealing with here.

"No, we don't," Y/n agrees, a hint of hope in her voice. "But he does."

Everyone watches as Y/n returns to the edge of the living room, her gaze fixed on the small boy on the couch. Her e/c eyes grow soft momentarily at what she sees. She knows the Mind Flayer has almost completely taken over, but deep in sleep, all that's left is Will. Her best friend, the boy who always treated her with such kindness. The boy who had invited her in, the boy who had won her a duck at the arcade just cause she admired it in passing. The boy who never wanted to hurt a soul, and would do anything for the ones he cared for.

"If anyone knows how to destroy this thing, it's him." She looks over her shoulder at Hopper briefly. "We also know that Will has a connection to it. He sees what it sees, and he knows what it knows. He'll know how to defeat him."

"I thought we couldn't trust him anymore?" Max asks. "That he's a spy for the Mind Flayer?"

Y/n shakes her head thoughtfully.

"Not necessarily," she mumbles, growing more excited as a plan begins to form. "Not if we find a way to confuse the Mind Flayer. He won't be able to spy-"

The same thought crosses Mike's mind and he brightens happily, meeting Y/n's eye. "-if he doesn't know where he is!"

Y/n smiles excitedly and nods.

"Exactly."

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

Please do not stop fighting for Black Lives! Here is a list of links that I encourage you to explore. As always, links will be in the comments which can be accessed if you are on a computer, OR if you are on mobile, should work so long as you are logged in through the website, not the app. Thank you!

Looking for resources such as books, tv, movies etc to help educate yourself but have limited/none access to obtaining them? Thanks to @ thechekhov   on tumblr for providing such links, there are plenty of other ways to educate ourselves.

1. Netflix released 13th and is now available on YouTube for free!

[link] 2. YouTube also houses plenty of other educational videos. For instance, a 20 minute video on the racial wealth gap

[link] 3. They also recommend googling specifically free anti-racism resources. Podcasts can be one of many such resources. Here is just one such article with a multitude of such resources

[link] HOW TO PROPERLY PROTECT PROTESTORS: I'll still post the link to the video just incase you might need a visual but essentially, it is not enough to blur faces before posting. According to the video, the police do have the tech to unblur and get past this. Instead, download any app that allows you to paste text, specifically emojis, over the picture. Snapchat is a good one. Place the large black square emoji [⬛] over protestors faces AND THEN SCREENSHOT SO IT IS ALL ONE LAYER. Saving as is is not enough as it is still counted as layers. If you post anything from protests make SURE to do this since police are tracking people by photographs and videos.

[link]

Granted, I do not know how credible this is but it is SO worth it to be safe than sorry. I love you guys, and please stay safe 💕💕💕

+++

Tag List: @dickkwad​ @aimee-lucass​ @iblesstherainsdown-in-africa​  @miscellaneoustoasts​ @happyandlonely-blog​ @missmulti​ @youpi-chan​ @peeperparkour​ @ba-responds​ @bibliophilesquared​ @blogforhoes​ @witch-of-all-things-soft​ @shawkneecaps​ @whothefuckstolemykeds​ @mirdall @fishswimbetterunderwater​ @daughter-of-the-stars11​ @stranger-things4​ @heavenlycat567​ @nightbu-g​ @grapesauze​

DM me, or drop by my inbox if you want to be added!

[skycruise]

Jared virtual panel Sunday 22 Nov 2020

As with Misha, tried to type as he talked as much as possible. I did get interrupted by a couple of brief phone calls & I’m sure someone will post a video later today, but for now--

--Just got out of the shower. Didn’t do his hair lol. It is SHORT Y’ALL.

--Been a hell of a week, we all know why. Series finale. Shed some tears, watched it at his house, everything came flooding back, was really emotional. Wishes he could see our faces. He feels the love.

--Top 3 episodes and why? Series finale is his favorite, he is a fan of storytelling & looking at SPN as a whole the finale wrapped up things in a way that were meaningful and poignant and “wonderfully frustrating”. #2, Sacrifice. Another moment of seeing deeply inside the boys but they were flipped Sam thinking he was dying vs Dean dying. #3 French Mistake, doesn’t know if any other TV show could have done that.

--Was pie in Dean’s face scripted? Yes and he got to do it a few times! When Sam throws the pie in Dean’s face there is a passerby looking on, that is Bob Singer. It being scripted didn’t make it any less fun.

--How were the first days on the set of Walker? Thank you for asking, it’s been awesome. Strange but incredible. Feels lucky and fortunate to be able to see his kids in the morning and and at night, proud of what SPN was and hoping to recreate some of that with Walker. Learned so much from Sam and wants to do that with another character.

--Bad hair days? Puts on a beanie. Never learned how to do anything with his hair. 

--Crossover between SPN and Walker, would Cordell and Sam be friends? Absolutely. Both trying to do their best in a weird world to make it a better place and hopefully ease other people’s pain. Sam and Dean found themselves in situations where there’s no perfect answer and Cordell deals with the same type of things.

--Fave Harry Potter book & movie & spell? Book--Deathly Hallows, Sorry, missed the rest! Oh Expecto Patronus lol

--Craziest/funniest bts moment? 2 moments, one where he was awaiting birth of first son Tom, scene where Sam is chasing Kevin around. Same situation where Jensen was waiting for twins--Jensen getting that call. Just a weird situation where something huge is going on personally while trying to act. Talks about Jensen not having his passport and it had to be all hands on deck to find Jensen’s passport and get him back in the states for the birth.

--If SPN all over again as a different character, who & why? Biggest part of him says he has to be Sam. He would be Sam again. But if he HAD to change he would be Lucifer. Mark made it seem like such a fun character to play. Also possibly Chuck, Rob was phenomenal. 

--Would love to do/have reaction videos for cast reaction to reaction videos. (Me too, Jared)

--Had a hard time thinking about who he was going to be without SPN 

--How did you start your acting career? Acted in middle/high school. Won a contest to be trophy presenter (pulls out surfboard award thing) at Teen Choice awards, met an agent & auditioned over tape. Was supposed to be premed in school but got Gilmore Girls.

--What is always on your Thanksgiving table? Turkey, as much as possible. Stuffing, pumpkin pie. Big Dallas Cowboys fan so would always watch Cowboys game and make awful turkey nachos (tortilla chips with Thanksgiving leftovers) that night

--How would Sam spend his time in quarantine? Giant library at bunker doing a lot of reading. Would probably use a pedometer to make sure he got his steps in for the day. Sam is an introvert.

--What country would Sam and Dean like to visit on vacation? Puerto Rico. Wishes Sam and Dean got their beach vacation that they had talked about. Not sure if the car could have gotten there. Maybe they could have found some floaties for it lol.

--Were any lines adlibbed or added by him and Jensen (finale)? Yes. In the barn scene when Dean tells Sam to keep going, it was written Sam said he couldn’t do it without you (Dean), Sam thought he should say it more similar to the pilot, which is what they did. First thing Dean said to Say was Heya Sammy and Sam was Dean? Sam thought those should also be their last words on the bridge. J2 tried to convey how they thought the characters felt in that barn scene especially. When Sam says It’s okay, you can go now, Jared thought Sam’s son should say the same to him at his death.

--Sam wearing Dean’s watch in the finale? Jared happy fan caught that. Jared thought it was something Sam would have kept and worn.

--Jared doesn’t catch the reference SamLicker81 lol. 

--Jared had a lot of time to think about Sam’s ending, at first he thought it was jarring but how do you feel about anyone’s ending? Would you ever be ok with your own ending? There was a finality to it that no matter what happened it would be difficult to wrap his head around. Once he digested it, he felt it was the best way to tell Sam’s story. Sam tried to live his life the way Dean would have wanted him to life his life. He tried to do what Dean would have wanted. If Dean had come back 20 years later and saw Sam hunting he wouldn’t have liked that, he wanted Sam to live his life. That’s what they all fought for, for whoever was left to live as normal a life as possible.

--Any other props end up at Jared’s house? Yeah he has some stuff. His stand-in Jason had got 2 picture frames for Jared and Jensen, got copies of the last call sheet along with their marks (red tape for Jared, blue for Jensen), and framed them. 

--Super excited about producing and acting on Walker, felt like he and Jensen were pseudo-producers on SPN but will be different on Walker, hopefully he can help guide the story in a way that’s best for the show

--Acting advice? Everybody is different. Acting is trying to be somebody you’re not...but don’t try to be somebody you’re not. Don’t try to be like another actor. Just be you and figure out what story you want to tell, remember you’re there to tell a story, commit to who you are and who you have been. There are things you’ve been through no one else has, so don’t discredit that.

--Fave song that reminds you of Sam? Carry on Wayward Son, especially having just watched the finale, it’s such a powerful song. 

--Pre and post COVID scripts? They can’t fire me now! Biggest deal with post COVID script was the mandatory 2 week quarantine. There were going to be a lot of beloved characters in Heaven with us but it was just a scene or 2 so they couldn’t really ask Rob, Richard, Samantha Smith, Jeffrey Dean to come sit in a hotel room for 2 weeks for one scene. The Heaven Dean deserved was filled with people but because COVID it ended up being just Sam and Dean.

--One thing he will miss the most? The crew/family. Life long friends made over 15 years. He grew up a lot on SPN, been through so much and so much history with those people. It’s so different shooting Walker right now because with COVID there’s less human contact. Misses human contact (with fans too).

--How did you prepare to shoot Dean’s death? How could you possible prepare to shoot Dean’s death? We shot it in September, I had known about since June or July 2019, had been reading the script since February. Lot of time spent on set was trying not to cry. Massive massive fight scene, shot for 3 days but 30 seconds on screen. One day for after Dean’s been impaled so they wouldn’t have to fight all day then get emotional. Was emotional about that scene, didn’t want Jared to get in the way of Sam’s story.

--Did Sam tell his kid about all the hunting stuff? Yeah of course, told him all about uncle Dean, why he was named after him, and the importance of taking care of himself and not spending his life saying goodbye to friends and family and then his son just wanted to get a tattoo.

--There are tons of shows Jared wishes SPN could have crossed over with. Would have been funny to cross over with Walking Dead, for them to see John and he doesn’t know who they are.

--First people Sam would want to see in Heaven? Obviously Dean. Bobby. Mom. Sully. Sam’s Heaven is mostly Dean. He wanted Sam’s wardrobe from the pilot because that was Sam’s happiest moment, going on the road with his brother. 

--If he had the chance to work with Jensen again (and he WILL he says, hopefully sooner than later)...Jensen has a standing invitation to come to Walker, but they will find something somewhere and it will be great.

--What weird or gross food do you enjoy? Jared eats everything and a lot of it. Except olives. Doesn’t really like chocolate despite his sweet tooth. Doesn’t like black licorice. Will try anything once. Loves spicy food.

--Advice for people with anxiety? One thing that’s worked for him is just accepting that it’s not going anywhere. If you’re trying to get rid of anxiety you’ll frustrate yourself. Talks about Eddie Vedder saying he sees his demons as somebody who’s riding in the car with him. Take care of yourself. You got this.

--Grateful for you guys, hope to see you soon.

[bird-in-a-cage]

@hotdadlicense, part two of your ask!

#45 “Lets get wasted and then go piss on his grave.”

Release

Hawkins had exactly two bars; the bar out east and the bar our west. The bar out east was called Dixies’, it was definitely the rowdier of the two, notoriously known for not carding so it was wildly popular with college kids returning home for the holidays desperate to escape the crushing boredom of family life, and old enough looking high school kids. The cops tended to leave it alone, maybe raiding once or twice a year but always with a few hours notice. As far as law enforcement was concerned if these kids were in a building drinking they weren’t doing it on the street, so less work for them and the community. For the greater good and all that crap. 

The bar out west was called The Tavern. It was a little more old school. The wall behind the bar was lined with whiskey and bourbon bottles rather than tequila and different flavoured sambucas. It had an older clientele. Steve liked working there, whenever he came back from college for the holidays and wanted to pick up a few shifts here and there to help save money to move to Chicago permanently. He didn’t like drinking there though, the air was too smokey and there wasn’t a good looking person in sight, but in many ways they helped. Dixies’ was for fun. The Tavern was for work. Regulars seemed to like him too, only if they could ask about his father and what the old man was up to now, trying to rub elbows for a potential business deal or to get an invite to the Christmas party up at the cabin. Steve was more than used to it, played along just enough to bump his tips.

They didn’t need to know he hadn’t spoken to either of his parents in a good six months, and that his father was busy cosying up to some woman younger than Steve in Milan or that his mother was getting trashed daily in the Bahamas, making eyes at pool boys. Frankly Steve didn’t need to know that either, why they didn’t just divorce years back he never understood. But then, he never really understood his parents on any level.

So, whenever he would come back to the holidays it was purely to make money. He had an empty house to live in and didn’t have to pay a dime for apart from to put food in the fridge. He would rather stay in Chicago though. He liked his life up there. It was so different from being stuck in small town America where nothing exciting happened. The most exciting thing that had happened since he’d been away from January was a new stop sign getting erected by the elementary school. Chicago was alive. He had friends there. Friends he could sometimes make out with. Friends who actually wanted to be around him by choice and not by circumstance, something which he’d learned the difference pretty quickly after leaving the first time.

There wasn’t really anyone around from the old days. Nancy had moved to DC to pursue political journalism. Jonathan had found his way to Seattle, a place which by all handed down stories suited him perfectly. Even Tommy and Carol had gone. The rumor was they’d had a bit of a shotgun wedding after a pregnancy scare and skipped town to New Mexico to go stay with Tommy’s grandma.

Steve couldn’t imagine how fun that was.

He was tending the bar alone. Thursday night, so not exactly a hive of activity. His regulars had come and gone. Mr Jones was propping up the end of the bar, barely awake, not from drink just because he was old now and he just fell asleep sometimes. Things in Hawkins never changed. The entrance was pushed open, and in staggered a face Steve hadn’t seen in years, one he was certain had skipped town by now.

Billy fucking Hargrove.

The last time they’d seen each other was before Steve had left for college. They’d maybe fooled around once or twice that summer but it wasn’t anything serious. Turns out they were only beating the crap out of each other in high school because of some weird sexual tension that would spill over and become beat downs in the parking lot. Outside of the hallways, away from prying eyes, with a chance to actually use their words, they kind of got on. Even if Billy was still kind of a pushy asshole.

Billy didn’t look great though, decidedly drunk as he made his way over to the bar, dressed completely in black. Pants, shoes, belt, his old leather jacket and a plain shirt which he was making quick work of undoing a couple of the top buttons of. His hair was cut short, but not too short, and he’d gotten another piercing in the same ear as his signature hoop. But aside from that, he looked just the same. It was a real blast from the past.

“Whiskey please,” he muttered, rummaging around in his pocket for his wallet. He hadn’t noticed who was behind the bar yet.

“You know, legally, I’m not allowed to serve you if you’re already drunk,” Steve said with a smile, trying to be as kind as possible. He didn’t know what Billy was like now. He could still have that wicked hair trigger for all Steve knew. And he really didn’t want to have to deal with glass getting thrown around. It was a nightmare to clean up. Billy’s head popped up from his lap at the sound of Steve’s voice. His blue eyes were glassy. Like marbles. Just as loose too. He grinned and let on the bar. He was definitely using it for support.

“Stevie!” He slurred around his tongue. Yup, wasted. “What are you doin’ here? Nevermind, whiskey please ol’ friend. For me and everyone here! ‘Cause why the fuck not huh?” Billy slapped a dollar bill on the bar and fought with his jacket to rip it off. There was a light dusting of a boot mark on the side of his shirt, just above his hip. It didn’t take a genius to put two and two together.

“You got kicked out of Dixies’, didn’t you?”

“Mayybee,” Billy giggled, before staring right at Steve, waiting for his drink. “And the liquor store closed already so you’re my only hope ol’ friend, ol’ buddy, ol’ pal of mine!”

Steve sighed and checked the time on his watch, there was still an hour before he could close up. There was no way he was going to ply Billy with more alcohol, so he gave him a glass of water instead, which received a very annoyed look in return. “Drink that first then maybe.”

Billy muttered something dark under his breath but wasn’t so far gone he was going to start a fight. He grabbed the glass roughly and took a sip. His ring hit off the rim and echoed dull. “What you doin’ here anyway? Thought you’d escaped this shithole.”

Before Steve left they’d spoken about escaping this town. Billy was more desperate for it than Steve was. He had dreams of going back to California, staying near the coast, surfing everyday, maybe going to study mechanical engineering, something practical he could do with his hands. By the looks of it they were still just dreams. The story he’d heard from Dustin one time was, before the conversation was quickly changed, was his whole home life had gone to even more shit than it already was. Billy’s stepmom got sick so couldn’t work, his dad jumped back on the wagon with abandon so didn’t work, leaving Billy to make sure Max got through high school and all the bills were paid at the end of every month single handed.

“He’s still a dick, but he’s not that much of a dick anymore. Anyway, how’s the pizza there? Is it awesome?!”

“I come back sometimes,” Steve answered. Billy’s body rolled like a chuckle but no noise came out. “What’s with the look? You ditch the metal and go goth?”

“It was my dad’s funeral today.”

Well, if that didn’t just suck the fun out of everything.

“Shit. Shit man, I’m sorry. I was just having a joke-”

“No no it's okay,” Billy interrupted, smiling again like he hadn’t just dropped a complete bombshell into the middle of their stilted conversation. “I’m not commiseratin’. I’m celebratin’! The old cunt’s heart finally popped. Surprised they fuckin’ found one instead of a black hole…”

Billy drank his water back in one like it was hard liquor. It didn’t look like he was celebrating. Steve refilled the glass quietly.

“How is...everyone?” Steve asked. Because that’s what you did when things like this come up. Least that’s what he had done with funerals in the past. Extending empathy.

Billy shrugged. “Everyone’s fine. Happy to be rid of him.” He ran this thumb around the edge of the glass. It didn’t make a noise. “When’d you getoff?”

Steve felt himself get a little hot under the collar. A long time had passed since that summer, but the memories of it sometimes still remained. Echoes of it all would sometimes dance over his skin if someone he was hooking up with touched him certain ways, or kissed certain spots. As much as they’d hated each other in high school, it had made for some pretty fun make up sex. But no, Billy was far too gone for any of that. And Steve wasn’t about to start being that guy, hanging around his childhood home and hooking up with old flames because there was nothing better to do other than watch the corn grow. “About an hour. Why?”

Billy felt around in his pockets for what felt like an age before tossing his keys behind the bar into the corner. They landed with a metallic clatter against the floor. “I shouldn’t drive. Can you take me somewhere?”

“Bill-”

“Please?” For a moment Billy actually looked vulnerable. Steve had never seen that before. It didn’t suit him. Not in the slightest. “I’m a fuckin’ orphan now man just, please? Then I’ll leave you alone. And you can escape again. Just one place.”   

There was that too. Steve had learnt through Dustin, who’d learnt through Will, who’d gotten it off Jane, who’d gotten it from Max herself, that Billy’s mom died when he was a kid. Apparently it was rough, but he never talked about it. Just wore it around his neck like a constant weight, let it wear him down and let the sadness feed the anger. Two snakes chasing each other’s tails. And Max wasn’t around back then to have seen it. It was all second hand stories heard through her stepfather. God only knew how much of a reliable narrator he was. 

Steve really didn’t want to be a babysitter again, he’d left those days in the past even if Dustin still sent him a mother’s day card for a joke. He really didn’t want to have to babysit a drunk, emotionally unstable adult. But he couldn’t exactly leave Billy to his own devices. Not when he was like this. God only knew what he was capable of anymore.

“One place?” He reiterated, just to make sure. Billy’s glassy eyes lit up as much as they could.

“Just one. That’s all. I promise.”

“Fine,” Steve said, going for sounding annoyed by it all, but he probably just came off as normal. Taking care of other people. That’s what he did best. Even at college he was Dorm Mom, leaving out glasses of water and snacks and advil. It was something that was never going to leave him. Maybe he just had to accept that. Billy smiled, probably about as close to warm as he could manage and leant down to scoop his jacket off the floor.

“I’ll get you outside. Yous still drive that shitty beamer right?”

He was staggering away before Steve even had time to answer. His quiet night plans of just going to sleep were in tatters.

-

Billy was sitting on the ground when Steve finished and had locked up for the night, clearly not giving a damn about the dry dirt he was getting over his pants, or all up the side of Steve’s car where he was leaning, swigging from a small half empty bottle of Jack Daniels. Steve couldn’t even pretend to not be annoyed. It was late, he’d been on his feet for six hours, and he wanted to go home and eat something. Not be taken on a drunken adventure.

“Where did you get that?” He asked, walking over to his car to open it up and get them both inside. He wanted to get this over and done with as soon as possible. Billy scrambled to his feet without help but just creating a little cloud of dust.

“I had it’in my pocket the whoooole time. Don’t tell the barman. He might get mad at me.”

“Might huh?” God this was going to be a long night. It was already a long night. Steve got into the driver’s side, Billy sprawled himself into the passenger seat, somehow worse than before. He just had to keep reminding himself that Billy had a rough day. The roughest of rough days whether he would ever admit it or not. “So, where am I driving you too?”

“The church.” Billy took another swig and Steve wanted to just bat that bottle out of his hands already, but he didn’t want the car he used barely three months out of the year to stink of bourbon the next time he got in it and be reminded of all this.

“The church? There’s four churches in this town, you’re gonna have to help me out more on that one.”

Two bars. Four churches. Welcome to the midwest.

“The one with the tree...” Billy slowly spread his arms out to imitate branches, tilting his head to make the shape in his mind.

Steve wound his hand tight around the steering wheel, still trying to give the benefit of the doubt but this was already driving him crazy. “Yeah, no, still gonna have to work a little harder helping me out here man. I’m not a mind reader.”

BIlly sighed dramatic and loud, ripping a flyer from an inner jacket pocket and thrusting it under Steve’s nose for him to take. Neil Hargrove’s funeral flyer. Oh. Oh god they were going to do this? There was no way Steve wanted to sit in his car and listen to Billy cry or whatever while staring at a fresh grave. He signed on for a ride home, maybe once through the drive thru to sober the guy up, not get strapped into the emotional rollercoaster that was maybe about to start.

But they were both here. And Billy had just finished the bottle and tossed it out the door to smash to pieces in a far off part of the parking lot hidden by darkness. Steve couldn’t kick him out now. Nothing about who he was as a person would let him. He still sighed annoyed about the whole thing though, and started the engine, driving off to the edge of town where this church was. Billy was relatively quiet on the drive, staring out the window at passing street lights, warm yellow dots reflecting in his eyes. Steve wanted to make conversation, maybe ask how it had been, what he’d been up to, what his plans were now Max was getting close to graduating, but it didn’t seem right to do so. How do you really flow into a conversation about how you’ve been stuck in a place you despise for longer than you ever wanted to be, and you’re now an orphan to boot. Even though Steve never saw his parents, a fact he was more than used to since he turned thirteen, he still couldn’t imagine them dying. Just being left alone forever. They called a few times a year. They were horrible people but they were still his parents. It was something Steve didn’t want to think about too hard. 

Billy still had enough common courtesy left to roll the window down a crack before lighting up a cigarette though. So there was that at least.

The church was quiet and dark. As it should be past midnight. Steve parked up out front and followed Billy’s staggering steps as he suddenly knew exactly where he was going and went with drunken determination. At least Steve hoped that he knew where he was going. He stayed a couple paces behind, had brought a flashlight just in case Billy stumbled or anything and needed to be picked up out of the headstones before someone called the police on them trespassing. Steve didn’t need that on his record, and he dreaded to think how long Billy’s must be by now.

Even in the dark Neil Hargrove’s stone looked brand new. It was light grey granite. Didn’t have a lot of words etched into it. Just his name, the dates of his life, and the words ‘son, father, husband’. Steve flashed his light over it, watched Billy stand to attention and lean over the fresh dirt, a leg keeping him stable on either side of it, body close to the stone. He laughed darkly and spat venom at the letters.

“You fuckin’ deserve this. Fuckin’ cunt.”

For what felt like slow, painful hours there were only the sounds of Billy’s heavy laboured breaths, little metallic echoes of a belt and zipper being undone, then the ungodly splash of piss, quickly evolving into an endless stream that just kept coming and coming. Steve was frozen to the spot he picked a few feet back. He wanted to at least not illuminate the for sure crime he was witness to now, but no part of him could move. Just in shock. Steve had joked about stuff like this sure, but do actually do it? Billy laughed as it just kept coming, cackling and howling in delight to no one but himself.

Like he’d been waiting his whole life to unload like this.

Eventually the stream came to an end, he audibly tucked himself away and spat again, before either the drink or the emotion of the day finally got too much, and he collapsed flat on his back in the grass. Probably where he’d stood earlier in the daylight to check his father was really dead. That seemed like a Billy thing to do. Steve waited a few beats before stepping closer, making sure not to shine the light directly into his glassy marbles and more aim it towards his heaving chest.

“Feel better?” was all he could come up with to say. What’s even normal to say after watching someone piss on their own father’s grave, no matter how much you hate them? Billy grinned wide, his lips reaching to his ears almost, and laughed. He sounded free.

“I’ve been waitin’ to do that alllll day!”

“You don’t say,” Steve couldn’t help but smile, and bent over to help Billy up from his sprawled state. He was quite the lump to move but was soon on his feet with his arm slung over Steve’s shoulder and moving without needing pulled. Steve held onto his waist to keep him upright and in a straight line. He smelt horrific.

“Can we get pizza? Really want pizza.” Billy slurred as his head found its way onto Steve’s shoulder easily, like all the fight and hate and decades of built up resentment and anger had literally just been pissed away. 

Steve couldn’t help but chuckle. “Yeah man. We can get pizza.”

[theonlyrealgod]

Kaminari Denki x Reader; Jiro’s Best Friend

relationship: Kaminari Denki x Reader

fluff ~

warnings : literally one curse word

2.5k words

“Are we there yet?” Kaminari groaned for the thousand times since he and Jiro got on the train but was, just like the past two hours and a half of the ride, only greeted with silence.

The purple-haired girl sat across from him with one headphone in quietly listening to music and occasionally tapping the armchair she rested her hand on. They got very lucky with the seats, no one around them and a lot of space and quiet that was quickly filled with Denki’s rambling about his training with Sero and what Mina told him about Todoroki one time and how mad Bakugou was after he pranked him.

Jiro has honestly gotten used to having Kaminari around. Sure he was annoying and loud and kind of stupid at times but nonetheless he was always there to keep her company and make her laugh if he tried he could make a really good friend. He also matured a lot during their time at UA and wasn’t just a horny teenager all the time. Sometime during the time they spent together at school and then at the dorms, she found herself texting him during the summer vacation and at some point they became somewhat close to best friends. Of course, if anyone asked he had Kirishima and she had Momo but it just so happened that here she was, with him, driving to meet her best friend from middle school.

“And then Mina said she heard some weird noises from Kirishima’s room when he had Bakugo over for studying and-“ his one-sided chatter was cut short by the announcement of the next stop they were approaching. Jiro put her headphones away and looked at her friend “This is it.” she said and got up moving towards the doors with Kaminari following right behind her.

“So Jiro, what are they like?” he asked. The train stopped and the doors slide open revealing the streets of a town ni ether of them had seen before.

“As far as I can remember they are freaking awesome, they were my best friend after all” Jiro said stepping off the train and wiping some invisible dirt off her clothes.“Well yeah obviously” Kaminari laughed standing beside her. Jiro sighed heavily and looked around looking for anyone who looked even remotely like what you looked like.

“Hey, are you sure you’re ok?” Kaminari said, his facial expressions slowly turning into a more concern one. Jiro was honestly very nervous. She wasn’t even sure what to do when she saw you or what to say or how to act, so much has changed and she hasn’t seen you in two years. You moved away just before Jiro had her UA entrance exam, you weren’t there to support her, to celebrate when she told you the good news. You guys kept in touch but as her hero work became more serious, she had less and less time to call you and it honestly surprised her when she saw your name written across the screen asking her to visit you during one of her free days. And here she was, unsure of how this will go. 

“I’m just worried about you to know this... us meeting her and-“ her spoken thoughts were interrupted by a voice, a familiar voice she hadn’t heard in years

“Kyoka!” you screamed maybe a little too loud for many people passing and turning, shaking their heads disapprovingly and poor Kaminari that got scared at the sudden voice. Jiro turned to look at you and her worries were suddenly gone, replaced by nostalgia. “Y/n,” she said breathing heavily as you went and hugged her. She tensed up for a second before giving in and hugging you back.

“This is... uh,” Jiro’s face suddenly fell when she looked back at her male friend who looked like he just used too much electricity. “Kaminari Denki,” she said slowly still concerned over his state. His eyes were fixed on you and his jaw was almost hitting the floor. He had become very good at controlling his hormones but whatever he had expected it definitely wasn’t this.

“Um..” you laugh awkwardly at his reaction “I’m F/n L/n” you extend your hand for him to grab. “Oi” Jiro punched Kaminari in the arm and he finally woke up from his trans, red in the cheeks “Ah yes h-hi. Kaminari” he said introducing himself again and shaking your hand. You just laughed playfully at him and blushed a little yourself. 

Jiro was narrowing her eyes watching the weird tension between you two. “Ok... what now?” she asked looking at you since you obviously knew the town better than them. 

“Oh good, you asked! I actually have the whole day planned out for us” you said with a big smile. “You guys must be starving, let’s go eat first” you smile looking first at Kyoka and back at Kaminari who was still blushing.

“Do it again ahahahaha Kaminari I can’t” Jiro was choking on her words from laughing as she begged Kaminari to show you what happens when he uses too much of his quirk for the sixth time. You were cracking up at the results but didn’t want him to completely wear himself out as you guys just finished eating.

The people around you were probably giving you three weird looks because of how much noise you were making by laughing. 

“Ah Kaminari you’re quirk is really amazing!” you said to cheer him up after Jiro teased him. “Thanks,” he said and scratched the back of his neck giving you a warm smile. 

“What’s your quirk Y/n?” he asked curiously. You blushed slightly “It’s nothing special and also really weak but I can turn any non-organic material into clothing.” you explained with a slight smile. Kaminari thought for awhile “That can be useful” he said eventually. You chuckled looking at Kyoka who was grinning “Well she got lucky” Jiro said. Denki furrowed his brows in confusion looking back and forth between the two of you. “What do you mean?” he asked. “I’m actually studying to be a fashion designer so my quirk is indeed very useful” you smiled explaining. It wasn’t your quirk that made you chose fashion, it just so happened to help a lot with achieving your dreams. 

Kaminari looked surprised for a moment “Oh” he said “Wait why didn’t you tell me this before Jiro! That’s so cool.” he said sounding genuinely excited for you.

You just laugh and shake your head continuing the conversation, talking about school and the hero course, the villains they have fought and the teachers.

Time flew by as you took them to all of your favorite places around the town. You all probably couldn’t remember when was the last time you had such a good time outside of school. 

Not only were you able to catch up with Jiro but also got to know Kaminari really well, it felt like you have known each other for years.

  “So you actually have a pervert in class?!” you ask widening your eyes at all the stories about their class. “Well if you count out Denki, we have one yeah” Jiro said casually sipping on her drink. You almost choke on yours and Kaminari spits him out to yell over you “Ah!? I’m not a pervert, you are!” Jiro turned to him flipping him off “You know I’m right. You’re always checking Momo out when she’s in her hero costume.” Kaminari said and that made Jiro blush like crazy 

“I- I do not!” she protested but you saw right through her lies. She must have noticed your expression when her lips turned into a thin line and her face even redder than before “You have a crush? I can’t believe you didn’t tell me Kyoka!” you said smacking her hand. 

“A-ah it’s not anything yet” Jiro finally gave in but regretting it immediately when she saw the smug on Denki’s face. He will not stop teasing her about it once they get back. 

“Alright guys” you began checking the clock. It was already getting late. “I have one last thing planned for us to do,” you said excitedly. Kaminari sulked a little, realizing they’re leaving soon. 

“What is it?” Jiro asked looking at you a little less flustered this time. 

“It’s karaoke!” you sing loudly and cheering up your idea. Kaminari and Jiro soon joined in both loving the suggestion. “Hell yeah, cmon let’s go we can’t waste another second” Kaminari panicked pulling you down from the fountain you were sitting on to run towards wherever you were taking them. 

You laugh “Denki wait!” but he was already ahead of you.

“What about this one?” Jiro asked remote in her hand.

“No way, gimme that” Kaminari protested trying to get the remote from her. “Stop it, it’s my turn and I wasn’t asking you” she snapped and turned towards you. “Fine! Let Y/n decide then” Denki said crossing his hands on his chest. “Ok” was all Jiro said before all attention was on you again. 

You have been singing for at least an hour now and they still haven’t gotten tired of it. 

“I actually agree with Denki,” you said slowly not wanting to start another fight between the two of them. “Ugh you people probably share the same brain cell for shit music,” Kyoka said pouting 

“I’ll excuse myself to the bathroom then, have fun,” she said before walking away and you were left alone with Denki- what was she thinking leaving you two alone, you just met today and he was kind of low key, ok really cute. You blushed a little at your thoughts. 

“Alright I guess,” he said shrugging and walked over to you. “You don’t have to sing if you're uncomfortable with just me you know?” he smiled shyly knowing Kyoka did this on purpose, she probably figured out he liked you. 

“Actually do you want to dance?” you asked hoping he’d say yes. You loved dancing and the thought of dancing with Kaminari really didn’t seem all the bad, quite the opposite actually. “Oh” you caught his surprised expression, he almost looked scared. “I don’t know how” he finally said still showing little to no emotions other than surprised. “Don’t worry, I’ll teach you... if you want?” you said hoping he wouldn’t just leave you standing. 

“Alright” he simply said awfully calm and got up walking towards you. “It’s really nothing special, just enjoy yourself,” you said a little panicked since you were nowhere near a professional dancer turning on the music and Accidentally in love started playing. 

You moved around to the melody having fun with it. Kaminari, on the other hand, was lost, his body just didn’t move like yours and you made him very nervous. When you stopped to get a glance at him you tried but really really tried not to laugh. Didn’t work, you burst into laughter and watch as he blushes embarrassed. 

“Don’t laugh at me!” he said. “I told you I don’t know how to dance,” he said crossing his arms. You go and grab his hand pulling him closer to you “Just follow my lead” you said in his ear so he could clearly hear you over the music. You two started dancing and even though Kaminari stepped on your toes countless times he was getting better. You were smiling and laughing at his silliness the whole time. 

“No Denki, what is that?” you asked while laughing “This how I dance TEACHER,” he said emphasizing the fact that it really was your job to teach him as you promised. “Alright alright come here boy” you laugh and pull him closer. “I’m not a dog you know-“ his eyes widen when you were suddenly closer than expected and your arms went slowly to wrap themselves around his neck. Kaminari didn’t know what to think, he looked down at you sighing deeply, his hand automatically went on your waist when suddenly the door opened and Jiro walked in. 

You and Kaminari jumped away from each other both blushing and looking at anywhere bit Jiro. “What?” Jiro asked annoyed looking at the two of you. 

“Nothing,” you and Kaminari said at the same time making it even weirder. “Alright weirdos we have time for one more song,” Jiro said and walked up to you. Kaminari wasn’t sure what just happened a few minutes ago but couldn’t help and wonder; would you have kissed him if Jiro wouldn’t barge in?

“Ok Kaminari, wait here I’ll go buy us tickets”

Jiro ordered once you got to the station. She walked away leaving you and Denki alone once again.

You were sad they had to leave already but you also understood how hard hero work must be. “I guess this is goodbye then,” Kaminari said looking at you. “I guess it is” you sigh “It was really fun hanging out with you,” he said smiling “sort of took our minds of hero work for a while” he chuckled 

“aw I’m so glad I was able to do that,” you answered with a big smile. 

“Should probably wish us luck though.” Kaminari said looking around “Oh why’s that?” you ask curiously “It’s way after our bedtime” he explained and you immediately burst into laughter interrupting him “What are you five? Heroes who fight deadly villains have a bedtime?” you kept laughing while Denki just rolled his eyes. “Don’t laugh, it’s serious. If they catch us sneaking in after-hours we’ll be in big trouble” he scolded you and you couldn’t help but feel bad for them. 

“Alright, how bout this for good luck?” you pull him close by grabbing his shirt and press your lips onto his. Kaminari widens his eyes at the sudden action but slowly melts into the kiss and kisses you back. 

Jiro finished buying tickets and headed back only to find you two exploring each other’s throats “Ew” she said furrowing her face and cringing “You guys are disgusting” you both stop what you were doing both blushing and looking at Jiro. 

Kaminari quickly put on a smirk “Go ahead, I’ll be right after you” he said and winked. Jiro made a barfing sound and pushed past you two to get to the train waving you goodbye. “Now... where were we?” Kaminari smirked leaning in again only to be stopped by your hand “You need to get on this train” you said reminding him that it’s the last one.

“Nah I’ll just sleepover,” he said jokingly and you just rolled your eyes. 

“Here, I have a little fashion show next month. You can come and see me if you’ll have time” you said and pulled out an invitation handing it to him. “Jiro will give you my number and then maybe we’ll continue this,” you said with a smirk.

Kaminari took the piece of paper and put it in his pocket making sure he doesn’t lose it. “I’ll try my best,” he said and quickly pecked your lips before waving you goodbye getting on the train home. 

I think it’s needless to say Jiro was teasing him the for the whole ride and nobody at the dorm believed him that you kissed him and not the other way around. However, Kaminari was never home again when they had a free day.

[inumakkis]

Chapter one ; lost and found

warnings ; light angst ( okay maybe a substantial amount )

It's gonna be posted to be my ao3 when I actually edit it more because we know ao3 is superior . ( .lichtenberg is my username ! ) Stay safe guys ! I haven't properly proof read it because I'm tired but I'll probably see a mistake in a week and then fix it then after panicking .

-----

Things were always tough for Hitoshi Shinsou. That's how life was for him , he'd wake up and go to school only to be faced with the relentless bullying from his peers which his teachers dismissed. In a world full of quirks, he would much rather be quirkless.

Everyday felt like a battlefield , trudging through the trenches , avoiding any hits from the enemy and soon enough, he was at the front line. His guard was up and yet everyone saw the little cracks on how to get him down.

It wasn't so bad at first , the occasional taunt , nothing that he couldn't manage . though when he got to middle school, things got worse, kids got meaner. Well, so did he . A strong hatred grew towards the world from his bones that supported his figure.

Yet , the blond boy in class 1a would disagree . He never thought that Hitoshi was mean . No , he found his reserved and quiet . He enjoyed it . He enjoyed how he would follow Shinsou around like a lost puppy ( though Hitoshi would change that to a cat ) and the purple haired teen wouldn't spare him a glance.

Yeah , in Denki's mind ? Things were great .

23rd of June

Denki asked Hitoshi out after sitting besides him at lunch for over a month now . He turned him down.

27th of June

Shinsou had a bunch of lavender dropped at his doorstep , all plucked from the ground . He didn't even need to read the note to see who they were from . He simply tossed them on top of his desk before going back to reading.

29th of June

It was Kaminari's birthday and much to his distaste , there was no happy birthday from the boy he wanted to hear it from the most .

Shinsou knew the date , how could he not? When it was all the blond talked about within the recent week, eyes bubbling with happiness, only getting a glance from Hitoshi and maybe a nod of the head.

He would rather people think that he doesn't care then face the pain that comes with having a friend.

30th of June

Denki still hung around him , acted as if he didn't ignore the day he was most excited for out of the entire year . Shinsou didn't say a word.

1st of July

When hitoshi woke up , he had a gift at the foot of his bed and he wondered how Denki managed to break in to the dorms to drop it off. With tired eyes, he grabbed the note taped to the package .

— to toshi shinsou

“ I understand that you may not like me but I like you dude ! You think you're so tough but you're totally not . I hear boys like handwritten notes and I should know that since I am one but I have yet to receive one so it's a new experience for me too !!!!! Hppay happy birthday , I'm not mad at you . I know you don't want to be my friend and that's a-okay ! Just please let me down slowly ? I won't hang around with you anymore if that's what you want . I mean, you probably didn't like me in the first place and you wouldn't be the first so don't worry ! Pikaboy is fine with it ! Happy birthday .

Ps . A thank you would be greatly appreciated.

Pss . Also come on a date with me this Tuesday? I'll be at the restaurant down the road at 7pm . ”

Sincerly sincerely , Kaminari. :)

Shinsou paused . They were back to a last name basis now, Denki had officially removed his nickname from his vocabulary.

He pondered on why Kaminari would constantly go through trouble to make him happy and yet didn't even get a smile in return. Heck, by the last sentence , Denki seemed happy enough to be stood up publicly. Could he really do that to him though? Judging by the ink smudges on the paper , he couldn't . Sunshine boy had either spilt water very precisely or cried while writing it . He hoped it wasn't the latter. It made his chest ache and twist as he reread it four times . He noticed the spelling mistakes and how there would be another teardrop straight after as if he hated himself more for ruining the letter .

Hitoshi eventually tore his tired eyes away from the paper and opened the box which was at the bottom of his bed. He couldn't help the sweet laugh that escaped him. There would be no point hiding it now , after all no one was here to judge him or swear they say him show more than a stoic look.

It was a hoodie , purple and a few shades darker than his hair with the word ' mind fuck ' written across each sleeve while the front was decorated by cats .

Custom made , suddenly a tear dropped and Shinsou stared at it as if it had personally insulted him. He watched as the hoodie took it in , leaving the wet mark for show.

He would turn up to that date . He refused to wear anything fancy but he couldn't let Kaminari know .

5th of July

" dunce face , he isn't going to come ! He hates you ." Bakugou exclaimed as he watched Denki apply his eyeliner for the fifth time. Each time he applied it, he would cry it off .

" you think I don't know that ? I have to try though ! We're meant to help people and if my purpose is just getting myself involved in things that he doesn't like just to show that I care then I can proudly class myself as a hero !"

Mina rested a pink hand on his shoulder , wiping his eyes once more. " Come on, Danks ! He's gonna come , Bakubabe is just jealous because he can't get a date with Kiri ."

" WHAT THE FUCK DID I TELL YOU ABOUT CALLING ME THAT, RACCOON EYES— "

Hanta laughed from the background , playing some weird game on his phone . " Bakugou and Kiri sitting in a tree , K-I-S-S-I-N- OH MY GOD." The boy exclaimed as he ducked from an explosion that was sent his way .

Denki only laughed as Mina tilted his head back to stop the tears and began giving him some sharp winged liner . " Right , you look hot now go get that outfit on and get your sweet ass back here so i can do your hair."

" but I already did my ha-"

Mina out a finger to his lips. " Ah— Mama Mina knows best now hurry up . "

It turns out that Mama Mina did know best because low and behold, Shinsou was waiting right at the restaurant , 7:01 sharp. Hitoshi was far from a people pleaser , perhaps the opposite to Denki. He could give less of shit about what everyone else wanted but when someone had shown him unconditional care ? He knew he had to do something because what kind of hero would he be if he let them suffer due to his ignorance ?

" Let's make this quick." He commented , eyes sharp as he looked to the bubbly boy who had just turned up. It was clear that he wasn't expecting the other man there. His face lit up.

" O-oh yeah ! Sure dude !" Denki managed to get out as he walked inside the restaurant. It was far from fancy, that was clear . " Hey hun !" A woman gave a wide smile to Denki who wrapped his arms around her.

Hitoshi's mind wandered . Was this some kind of joke ? Why was he hugging a girl on a date with him ? Did he say date ? No he meant an outing because he felt sorry for him. That's it . Yeah -

" and you must be the boy that Denki has told me so much about - "

" AOI !" Denki's face flushed scarlet .

" sup, I'm his sister . "

Oh. . .

Oh .

That makes sense.

He looked between the two of them , why didn't he see it before ? The golden yellow hair , sitting in spikes across their heads , though hers was much shorter. They had the same smile and same eyes , the only difference was that her hair had a sideshave with the lightning bolt there.

Needless to say, Hitoshi felt dumb which wasn't meant to happen.

" that's very nice , I guess ?" It came out as a question , he had no idea on how to interact with people. That kind of went with his whole " no friends " thing .

" yeah , so get us a table , pronto !" Denki exclaimed and shoved Aoi along . " I'm going ! I'm going! There's a table over there , it ain't nothing fancy but you'll live. Your date " she wiggled her eyebrows at Denki who groaned. " doesn't seem like a people person , who knows why he's hanging with you - wait , sorry! I've been calling you a he ! You are okay with that , aren't you ?" Her attention turned to Shinsou who only managed to get out a little nod.

She let out a sigh of relief as she handed them both the menu's as they sat down. It wasn't long until she was off to go flirt with someone. Classic Kaminari's.

" She works at an lgbtq+ shelter for teenagers so she's really hyper aware of everyone's sexuality and stuff. " Denki commented , tapping his fingers on the table .

" that's good, I guess ? " Shinsou pondered their background for a moment before the blond boy pulled him from his thoughts.

" hey , my back hurts -"

" what? Why ? "

" from carrying this entire conversation." Kaminari let out a laugh and Hitoshi gave a fond roll of his eyes in return along with a chuckle.

He didn't realise his mistake until it was too late .

" you laughed at my joke ! You laughed ! Fuck yeah ! "

" wait no I didn't !"

And so came joke galore from Denki for the rest of their date . Kaminari wasn't funny , but the way he delivered each joke made Hitoshi's chest pound more and more.

He had been ignoring this .

As they walked out after a very full stomach and a very large discount, he tried to ignore the guilt eating up at him.

Denki had cried because of him, he had cried because he was ignored and he was now acting like Shinsou hadn't done anything to offend him ? What had this kid gone through ?

" so I said - hey are you listening ?" Denki pulled away from his ramble that he was on about Sero and Mina.

" uh yeah , Sero accidentally kicked Ashido in the face and she fought him."

Denki's face lit up and he continued to talk. He tried his best not to zone out this time .

Yeah , things weren't perfect but he could make an effort . Right ?