#she really is the best and coolest mom I know

[thattheater-kid]

My system friend: Oh, we should tell the waiter it’s one of our birthday to get the free dessert! Who volunteers?

Me: Well, it is actually kind of my birthday.

My system friend: It is? That’s right, it is! It should be you because it’s technically your birthday!

My other friend, who knows our legal birthday (in October) and doesn’t know we’re a system: What do you mean, it’s your birthday?

Me: It’s a… complicated story.

[delicatetaysversion]

sometimes i miss talking to that one person who didn't NEVER turned it into a competition about who has it worse and never told me well atleast you have [x]

[ariestrxsh]

⚠️ content warning: ⚠️ smut, innocence corruption, praise, blowjob, eating pussy, fingering, loss of virginity, almost getting caught, softdom!matt, innocent!reader

📝 author's note: 📝 this is the third and final part to show me how. 💖 here are parts one and two!

✍️ Summary: ✍️ After Matt goes down on you on your birthday, you want to know if there's any way you can make him feel just as good. Even better, he shows you a way for you both to feel good at the same time.

show me how part three

A few days had passed since your best friend Matt had come over and brought you the coolest gifts ever - your first lingerie set and your very first vibrator. The two of you had nearly been caught by your mom when Matt showed you how to use it and brought you to orgasm with it for the first time.

Thankfully, Matt was quick on his feet, and he'd gone downstairs to greet your mom and help her with the cake when she arrived home. He had told her you were in the bathroom when really you were changing out of your new lingerie and catching your breath. Matt even brought another gift that was appropriate for opening in front of friends and family, which was the next book in the series you were reading.

Matt was very generous and caring and would never ask you to return the favor, especially because he really did just like doing it, and it was a present. But every night since you'd been gifted it, you couldn't stop thinking about returning the favor while you used your toy to lull yourself to sleep, feeling the sweet sensation of the buzzing against your most sensitive spot.

It was much tougher to keep quiet while you pleasured yourself with your vibrator, and you'd often find yourself having to slip your palm over your mouth to muffle the sounds that begged to be set free. Fantasies about Matt filled your thoughts, wondering how you could make him feel as good as he made you feel.

It weighed on your mind so heavily that you decided to bring it up the next time the two of you were alone. You were sitting on Matt's bed in his room while you watched him play Hogwarts Legacy when you cleared your throat and said, "Hey Matt?"

"What's up, princess?" He asked, turning his attention towards you. "You know how you did that thing with your tongue I really liked on my birthday?" You looked up at him innocently with your big, doe eyes. "Yeah, you want me to do it again?" He asked eagerly, turning off his game and already getting into position to eat you out. "I mean, of course I do, but I was actually gonna ask if there's anything I can do to you with my tongue to make you feel good?" You nibbled on your tender lip.

"Oh, that's sweet of you. You don't have to. It was a gift," he smiled at you. "I know I don't have to. I really want to," you whispered, looking intently into his blue eyes. "Really?" Matt asked with a surprised expression on his face.

"Mhmm. It's all I can think about when I use that vibrator you got me," you quietly admitted. "Really?" Matt wondered, his voice came through a bit needily while he stared at you lustfully. You nodded at him. "Princess, I'd love it if you did that," Matt responded, leaning in and kissing you deeply.

"The only thing is, I don't know what I'm doing at all," you giggled once you pulled away from the kiss, hoping he'd show you how. "That's alright, princess. I'll talk you through it," he promised, stroking your cheek and staring at your full lips.

"I wore my lingerie on underneath my clothes in case you said yes," you whispered to him with a twinkle in your eye. His gaze widened, and his jaw dropped. "Let's get this off of you, princess," Matt whispered back, wasting no time lifting your dress up over your head.

He took in the sight of you sitting on his bed in the lingerie he bought you, glad that he had picked out the set he did. Your soft skin looked so pretty in the white lace and pink bows, your breasts beautifully on display for him and your pussy barely covered by the fabric.

He sat at the head of his bed with his back up against the wall, admiring your body while he slowly undid the button and the zipper on his pants. "Wanna see it?" He peeked up at you. You eagerly shook your head yes. He teased you, slowly reaching into his underwear. "Are you sure?" He smirked at you, biting his lip. "Please," you whined, giving him puppy dog eyes.

His cock recoiled as he freed it from the fabric it was trapped behind. "Wow! It's so big," you exclaimed as your gaze widened and began to wander his pink tip and the clear liquid oozing from his slit. "I made a little mess, princess. Will you lick it up for me?" Matt cooed with his lip trapped between his teeth, giving you an innocent look and gesturing towards the beads of precum forming.

You leaned in and gently slurped it up, and Matt let out a soft sound that immediately made your pussy wet. You ran your tongue over the tip once more for good measure, hoping to elicit a similar reaction. "Good girl," Matt groaned while he stared down at you intently with his lips parted and a cute little wrinkle forming between his eyebrows.

"Okay, princess. The next thing I want you to do is put your hand where mine is," he quietly told you, urging you to grip his shaft, and so you did. "You're gonna grab it, not hard, but not too soft, and then you're gonna move up and down. Oh my god, that's it," he moaned as you did as he said.

It was so thick that your hand barely fit around it, and you could feel all his veins as you stroked it for him. His pink, dome-shaped head was swollen and leaking, so you graciously drank from it again, and Matt let a few more whimpers pour from his lips. "Stick out your tongue, angel," Matt requested, and he gently slapped the tip of his cock against your tongue, exciting all his nerve endings.

"Open up your mouth a little wider, sweetheart and wrap your lips around it," Matt directed you, and once you did, he gently placed his hand on the back of your head and pushed your mouth down onto his rod. "Now move your head and your hand up and down at the same time," he urged you, gently guiding the pace.

You softly gagged while he pushed your head all the way down. "Good girl," he praised you, delighting in the sound. Once you got the hang of what he liked, he released the back of your head and started to caress your cheek while you bobbed up and down on him. "Suck on it," he whispered, and you did, eliciting deeper groans from him.

He admired the way your breasts bounced around in the white lace while you sucked him off and the way he could see your perfectly-shaped ass as you laid on the bed between his legs. You loved the way his face looked, his eyes squeezed shut and his mouth contorting in an o-shape.

"Now, when you come back up, flick your tongue across the tip," he smiled, biting his lip as you listened. "Now twist your hand a little while you stroke it," he muttered, and you did.

You started combining the techniques he taught you, twirling your tongue around the tip while suckling on it. Then you started moving up and down on it while you pumped your hand back and forth, swiveling your wrist, creating a wonderful sensation for Matt. He looked down at you with his bedroom eyes lustfully, taking in the sight of your lips and fingers wrapped around him.

"Oh fuck," Matt whimpered, his breathing pattern becoming irregular and shallow. He started subtly bucking his hips up for deeper access into your mouth, causing you to gag a little more. He couldn't take it. The sound of you gagging on your first cock sent him over the edge, his eyes rolling back and his head falling back and gently hitting the wall behind him while his cock twitched against your lips.

"Swallow it, angel," he whispered, putting his hand on the back of your head again, holding you down while he released onto your tongue. You were surprised by the warm, thick, gooey substance filling your mouth. You did as Matt requested and gulped down the tangy taste while his needy moans filled the air.

He loved the feeling of having his dick buried in between your lips while you sucked down his seed. "Wow," he looked down at you wide-eyed after you swallowed every last drop, wiping your spit from the corners of your smile.

"What did you think, princess?" Matt inquired, looking flushed in the face and trying to catch his breath. "I really liked doing that. It made me all wet between my legs," you admitted, releasing your grip on Matt's member. "Can I see, princess?" He asked you, jumping at any chance to get another front row view of your pretty pussy. You nodded at him.

"Lay back on the bed, baby," he told you, taking off your panties. He maneuvered between your legs, hooking his arms around your thighs and pulling you closer to his face while he held eye contact. "Wow, you are wet. Want me to take care of it?" Matt asked, spreading you open and admiring the pink petals of your flower. "Mhmm," you nodded, biting your lip.

He slipped two fingers into your hole, the cool metal of his rings shocking you when you felt them against the warm flesh of your inner thighs. With the same hand, he started massaging your clit gently with his thumb. You whimpered while he pumped his digits in and out of you, coating them in your wetness.

"I love making you feel good, sweetheart," he whispered, replacing his thumb with his mouth, licking soft little circles on your most sensitive nerve endings. You loved the feeling of your own touch and your vibrating toy, but nothing compared to the warm, wet sensation of Matt's tongue and the way his long fingers would curl around and hit your deep, special places that felt so good when he'd reach them.

Matt gently alternated between kissing, licking, and sucking on your sweet little bud while desperate whimpers passed through your lips. You grabbed onto Matt's hair as you felt that pressure building in your lower stomach, but suddenly Matt slowed the pace, teasing you and eventually stopping.

"I know a way we can both feel good at the same time," Matt hungrily peered up at you, imagining how good it would feel to be the first to venture your virgin heat. "Really?" You asked in an excited tone. "Yeah, just lay back and relax," he whispered, leaning down and his lips enveloping yours.

He started taking his cock out again, and he started running the tip up and down your wet folds, teasing your hole. "Oh, that's nice," you cooed against Matt's lips as the head gently brushed up against your responsive bundle of nerves. "I'm gonna put it in, okay? It might hurt at first," He told you, holding eye contact and lining himself up with your entrance.

"Take a deep breath," he told you as he started to push the tip in, and you winced, letting out a pained whine in response. "Matt, I think it's too big!" You cried out. "It's not, sweetheart. I just gotta stretch you out," Matt promised, secretly relishing in the way naively thought he was too big for you.

He pulled back to get a better view of you and to relieve some pressure off his wrists, grabbing ahold of your hips, and watching the head disappear into your tight pussy. You writhed underneath him, a few tears stinging your eyes, and he wiped them away as they streamed down your cheek. "Shhh, don't cry, princess. I'm gonna make you feel so good if you can hold on just a bit longer," Matt whispered, cradling your face.

He bit down on his bottom lip, inserting himself further into you. He loved how tight you were, and he handled you with the utmost care, wanting this to be a wonderful experience for you. He reached down and rubbed your special button with his thumb while he gently rocked his hips back and forth, letting you get used to his size.

A few minutes later, your facial expression relaxed and your sounds of discomfort merged into sounds of pleasure while Matt sunk deeper into your hole, stretching it out and thrusting a bit faster. The girth of his cock that you were earlier so intimidated by was now something you relished in, how he filled you so perfectly.

"Starting to feel good, princess?" Matt cooed, still tantalizing your clit with his thumb while he pumped back and forth into you. "Yes, Matt. So good," you squealed. The wetter you got, the more easily Matt slid in and out of you, creating a lovely sensation for the both of you, and the sounds of your combined satisfaction filled the otherwise quiet house.

"Pretty girl, you take me so well," Matt grunted, peering down at you and the way your tits bounced as he pounded you. He loved the way you looked beneath him, needy and desperate. He loved the way your pussy looked, swallowing his rod and covering him in your juices. You were so swollen and sensitive and every stroke had you getting closer and closer to the edge.

"Please don't stop," you begged, grasping for the sheets underneath you, your legs starting to tremble, and your core shaking. Matt could tell you were getting close, so he continued everything he was already doing, making sure not to throw you off track on the way to your climax. "Good girl, take it," Matt whimpered, getting close as well.

You were overtaken by pleasure, moaning uncontrollably, rhythmically clenching around Matt's dick as you finished. You couldn't get enough of the way Matt looked at you, relishing in how good he made you feel. The experience was magical, leaving you with a heavenly and tranquil feeling once you started to come back down.

Matt was tipping over the edge, pumping away. His thrusts were fast, sloppy, and uncontrolled. His eyes rolled back into his head as he moaned your name, completely overwhelmed by the incredible sensation of you throbbing around his needy cock.

He pulled out at the last second, finishing all over the folds of your pussy and looking down at the pretty mess he made. He loved seeing your most intimate spot covered in his essence, and as he admired the way you looked like art work, the two of you heard the front door shut down stairs, followed by the sound of Chris and Nick arguing unintelligibly with one another, their voices getting louder as they moved closer.

"We're home!"

taglist: @bsturnzmtt @sturniolo-girl @munchingmini @butterbean-01 @coolasice01 @theyluvme-2315 @zariyam @brookiecookie-18 @maggot3647 @slut4chriztopher @miss-delicious @strnlslvr @sleepysturniolo @lvrsturniolo @sofieeeeex @imjusthereforthesturniolosmut @matts-myloverboy @mattsfavbigtitties @new2024cats4life @witchofthehour @slutforsturniolosss @jaysturniolo @sturniolosweetheart33 @whoahoahoahoahoa @ilovechrissturniolosposts @smt-obsessed @sturnioloxlver @that1fangirll @aaliyahhasacrush @hrtz4alex2211 @luvhsien @sp3ncerslvt @sturniolo-munch44 @jakewebberswifee @karttpet @ssturniolooss @thenickgurl @sturniolo-fann @sst7niolo @slxtformatt @chestersturniolo @riowritesitall @camzeecorner @mattsturnixlo @annedebeijer @scorpioosworld @mynameisuser834 @mattlover-00 @sweetlikesug4rvenom @m11rx

[steddieas-shegoes]

homework

for @corrodedcoffinfest prompt 'let's talk about that'

rated t | 990 words | no cw | tags: therapy, gareth pov, personal growth, self-discovery

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

Gareth hates therapy.

Okay, hate might be a strong word.

He dislikes it strongly and wishes he could just write in a journal or something.

“Let’s talk about that some more,” the therapist, Jessica, smiled encouragingly.

“Talk about what?” He genuinely has no clue what she wants to hear more about.

“Your need for validation from your bandmates.”

Oh. That.

He wouldn’t really call it a need. He just doesn’t ever do anything that they’d dislike him doing. Even if it would make him happy.

“I don’t know what you mean.”

“You mentioned that sometimes you have ideas for songs, but you know one of them won’t like it, so you don’t suggest it. Why don’t you give it a try even if they don’t like it?” She clarified.

“It’s not that easy.”

“Why not?”

“Because Jeff and Eddie basically run the band. They come up with most of the shit we do, I just add the drums,” he explained. “It’s worked that way this long, why disrupt the flow?”

“Do they tell you not to give your opinion?”

“Of course not. They always ask what I think.”

“And you choose to not give them honesty.”

“I…”

He didn’t realize that’s what was happening. And he hates that it took a therapist to figure it out.

“I’m not lying to them!” He rushed to say.

“Maybe not. But you’re not being completely truthful, either. Do you think they’d be upset if they knew that you were holding back to maintain the peace?”

Gareth hates therapy.

If Steve hadn’t insisted they all go twice a month, he wouldn’t even be here. If Sam hadn’t backed Steve up, a knowing smirk on his face when Gareth and Frankie argued they didn’t need therapy, he would be sitting on his couch or behind his drums.

“I guess there’s a chance they would be a little upset,” he finally admitted. “But not nearly as upset as if I disagreed with them and we argued.”

“How do you know a disagreement would lead to an argument?”

“Because all disagreements lead to arguments. Arguments lead to fights and silence and cold shoulders. Cold shoulders lead to people not wanting to be around each other anymore.”

Damn, Jessica was fucking good at her job. He didn’t even mean to say all that.

He didn’t even know he felt all that.

“Is this a pattern you’ve experienced before?” She set her notepad aside, all attention on him.

“I guess, yeah. My parents. My older brother and my dad. My grandparents and my mom. My first best friend.” He shrugged. “Just easier to go along with things. It’s not like I’m not happy.”

“Settling and being happy are two different things.”

“I am happy. Really.”

He is. He’s never been happier, actually. He gets to do the coolest job in the world with his best friends, he has a boyfriend he loves more than anything, and he gets to drink his favorite coffee every morning. Life is great.

“Do you think that happiness stems from the peace you’ve forced yourself to accept or from being content in your life?” Jessica leaned forward.

“Do you do this with everyone? Is this magic?” He asked, suddenly having the overwhelming urge to cry or run or both.

She laughed. “No, it’s not magic. It’s just understanding my people. You don’t give me much to work with, but sometimes something sticks out and I can run with it.”

“Seems like magic.” He sighs. There’s no way out of this conversation. “What am I supposed to do? Cause problems until no one wants me in the band anymore?”

“No. Do you want actual advice or do you wanna try to figure it out yourself?” She leaned back in her chair. “I’m pretty sure you won’t like my advice.”

“I don’t like most of what you say.”

“Fair enough.” She smiles. “I think you should try being honest next time there’s something you have a different opinion on. No one is going to hate you or want you out of the band. They value your opinion or they wouldn’t have you there to begin with.”

“Easier said than done.”

“Not necessarily. It’s only as hard as you make it.” She makes a note in the planner next to her. “I’m expecting you to give me at least one example of doing this by our next session.”

“Homework? I’m busy enough!” Gareth didn’t want this to get in the way of tour prep. They were starting rehearsals next week and had a few last minute adjustments to make on their album before the tour started.

“And it’s the perfect time to speak up,” she raised a brow, daring him to continue arguing. When he didn’t, she spoke again. “I’m not expecting you to do it all overnight. Just once.”

“Fine.”

****

The first rehearsal was a shit show. It always is, but everyone’s nerves were shot today after barely sleeping and a flight delay keeping two of the tech managers unavailable for an extra few hours.

Frankie snapped on him earlier, but he walked away. That wasn’t the time to follow Jessica’s advice.

Eddie stormed from the room a few minutes ago, said he needed a break to call Steve. He’d been arguing with his guitar tech over which of his five guitars to use for a song.

Gareth started to speak up to give his opinion, but Eddie was already too frustrated.

See, Jessica? This is why you should stay quiet.

But Eddie came back a few minutes later and asked Gareth what he thought.

“The one you use for Blue Night is probably what you should use for Invade. Sounds are similar enough for those songs,” he said without thinking.

“Yeah, you’re right,” Eddie agreed, knocking his shoulder against Gareth’s. “Thanks, man.”

“Dunno why he listens to you and not me,” the guitar tech grumbled.

Gareth smiled.

Okay, Jessica. Maybe you were right this time.

[exodusin]

♱ — 𝕬𝖓 𝖚𝖓𝖍𝖊𝖆𝖑𝖙𝖍𝖞 𝖔𝖇𝖘𝖊𝖘𝖘𝖎𝖔𝖓 𖤐 yandere!bill cipher x goth!reader ; MOSTLY triangle bill and some FEW human bill in some parts, human bill is based off this design, no twinkification of the nation, stalking, manipulation, gore, abuse, just overall out of pocket, there will be smut but it is consensual, NO NONCON we don’t do that here, reader’s personality is kind of based of Henrietta Biggle from South Park and Emily the Strange

TW; childhood trauma, bullying, abuse, torture, stalking, creepy ass behavior, manipulation

𝖕𝖗𝖔𝖑𝖔𝖌𝖚𝖊

* ੈ✩‧₊˚

August 25, 2016 — Gravity Falls, Oregon

You and your best friend, Wendy Corduroy, were at the mini-store plazas in downtown Gravity Falls, looking for stuff for college. You were entering the art field, despite your mother's objections that you should study something more lucrative. But you didn't mind; just one year of arts wouldn't hurt. You wanted to pursue something you truly enjoyed.

You picked up a few goth band pins for your backpack: Siouxsie and The Banshees, The Cure, Bauhaus, Sisters of Mercy, etc.

"Dude! Tambry is back. It's been a while since we've seen her," Wendy said, showing you a recent text from Tambry about returning to Gravity Falls. You exhaled smoke from your lips and smiled.

"How's she doing? Did she mention anything about me?" you asked. Wendy shook her head. "Not yet, but hopefully she'll be excited to see us. I think she's still a bit... traumatized by the apocalypse."

"I think everyone is, but we cope with the 'Nevermind that!' thing... It kind of works for me," you said casually. It had been frightening to think about but knowing your abusive mom had been turned to stone made you feel slightly better.

Shaking off the thought, you continued walking and talking with Wendy. You both were headed to the Mystery Shack for work. Upon arrival, you clocked in and placed your backpack near your workspace.

"There you are!" You smiled at the familiar voice of Soos, the coolest manager ever, especially since Grunkle Stan retired in a way.

"Good news, dudettes! You two are getting a raise!" Soos announced.

You and Wendy looked at each other and grinned. "Wait, really?" Wendy asked excitedly.

"Of course! I understand college is a money grab, dudes," Soos chuckled. "Does $19 an hour work?"

"Better than okay, it's perfect!" you exclaimed. Tambry walked into the shack, her hair a bit longer this time, grinning when she saw both of you and Wendy.

"Guys!"

"Tambry!" You and Wendy exclaimed, giving each other a group hug, reminiscing about 2012.

"Purple-haired girl! Is it Tambry? Please correct me, dudes," Soos said as he joined the hug.

"You guys are crushing my bones..." Tambry groaned but chuckled.

"Now that we have a strong trinity of young ladies, I want you three to find something, anything that can attract tourists, as long as it isn't hazardous. Make something up, just like the old Stan ways!" Soos smiled. Tambry looked at him. "But I don't work for you?"

"Oh, come on! It's a good excuse for you three girls to have a night out and go on some sort of scavenger hunt."

"That feels like something Dipper and Mabel would do," you said, memories flooding back.

"Better get going now. Melody is making bomb enchiladas, and I don't want you dudes missing out."

"Bet, c’mon, let’s go see what this creepy-ass town has to offer," you said, grabbing your black trench coat with goth band patches, unaware of the reptilian slit on the moon watching you—only you—invisible to others, but you remained oblivious.

Oh, dearest

Oh, my dearest

[bittenbyyou]

Smitten

High School!AU | Peter Parker x Reader

genre: fluff

description: Just Peter Parker falling for you and coming up with the silliest plan to talk to you more.

word count: 1.8k

warnings: some Spider-Man Homecoming spoilers, Peter being a dork lol

a/n: Hello! This is my first time writing for Peter and I’m such nervous posting it, but I adore him and thought the origin story of how my bf and I got together suited Peter so well. Lol. So enjoy! 

The first time Peter heard about you was in freshman year when you were ranked number one in academics, earning jealous stares from everyone. But not from him; he was rather impressed.

Sophomore year was when your name came up again through his ex-girlfriend, Liz. Turns out you were her partner for an English project, which he didn’t think much of. He was happy with Liz… until he defeated her dad, who turned out to be a villain called “The Vulture”, and she and her mom moved to Oregon afterwards…

Anyway, it was now junior year and for the first time ever, he had a class with you—good ol’ AP U.S. History. 

“Dude, over here,” Ned called out from the first row of seats near the back corner. Peter smiled at his best friend and made his way over, taking the seat behind him.

“Hey Ned.”

“So glad we have another class together.”

“You said it.”

The two made small talk until you arrived, taking the seat next to Ned. He was mutual friends with a lot of your friends, so you felt comfortable sitting next to someone you were at least acquainted with rather than a stranger.

“Hi Ned,” you said sweetly.

“Oh [Y/N], you’re in this class too? Nice!” Ned gestured a hand towards Peter. “This is my best friend, Peter.”

“Peter… Parker, right?” you asked. Peter was surprised you knew his full name, but then remembered Liz. He nodded his head a few too many times, but you found it endearing. 

“Y-Yeah. Hi.”

“Hi. Nice to meet you. I’m [Y/N].”

Wow. You were cute.

“Sup losers,” a deadpanned voice said from behind you. You turned around to see MJ, jumping out of your seat to give her a big hug. 

“MJ! We’re in the same class, yay!”

“I know you’re not hugging me this early in the morning,” she said with her index finger raised. 

“You know you love me.”

“Ew.”

She gave you two pats on the back and you let go, giggling at her expression of faux disgust. You returned to your seat, which was in the middle of MJ and Ned. MJ then quickly whipped her head around to look at Peter.

“Sup Parker,” MJ said with a salute of two fingers.

“Hey MJ.”

“You met [Y/N] yet?”

“Yeah, Ned introduced us… you know her too?”

“Met her in an elective. She looked lonely.”

“You make me sound like a loser with no friends,” you said, pouting your lips. 

“I have no friends either.”

“You have me!” you chirped.

“And what about us?” Ned asked, gesturing back and forth to him and Peter.

“Whatever,” MJ brushed off. The three of you laughed while Peter watched, feeling somewhat left out even though he was mentioned. 

“I’m a bit jealous. You all already know each other,” you said. Wow, you said exactly what he was thinking. They knew you, but he didn’t.

“Well the only person you don’t know is Peter and I only met him because of the decathlon. He’s really not all that interesting,” MJ said, smirking in his direction. 

“Are you serious? Peter’s the coolest,” Ned said, hyping him up like a true best friend. “Peter knows Sp—”

“Dude!” Peter exclaimed, hinting at him to shut up with his deadly glare. 

Ned chuckled nervously. “I mean… you’ll get to know him, [Y/N]. And he’ll get to know you.”

*Ding!*

Saved by the bell.

From that day on, the four of you grew closer. Group work was always in teams of four in that class which worked out perfectly. Peter quickly learned you hated presentations because you would freeze up and trip on your words, so he volunteered to present instead just to hear you thank him and flash that sweet smile.

At lunch, Ned always invited you and MJ to join him and that’s when Peter learned how passionate you were about food. Specifically the school’s chicken alfredo. 

“It’s delicious!” you said, doing a little happy dance after eating a forkful of pasta. 

“It’s gross, processed food. Do we even know if it’s chicken?” MJ asked, eyeing the meat on her fork suspiciously. 

“I don’t care, I’m still eating it,” you said, enjoying the noms. 

“Aren’t you lactose intolerant?” Ned asked.

“That’s not stopping me.”

“I’m lactose intolerant,” Peter said without thinking. Everyone stared at him with a variety of expressions. MJ was skeptical, Ned was confused, and you were surprised. 

“I literally saw you eating ice cream yesterday,” MJ pointed out. 

“And his bowels paid for it,” Ned lied. Peter let out a nervous laugh.

“Hah, yeah, I was on the toilet… for hours.” You placed a hand over your mouth, trying your best not to laugh. “But I’m fine now!”

“Are you sure you should be eating lunch today then?” you asked. “Wouldn’t want your bowels to hurt again. I’ll do the honors of reducing food waste and eat it for you.”

MJ and Ned stared at Peter. Well, MJ was daring him to eat it with her piercing eyes while Ned gave him a knowing look.

“You can have it,” Peter said warmly, sliding his tray of food over to you.

“Yay!” you cheered. “Are you sure?”

“I’m sure.”

Because honestly seeing you eat and doing that happy dance again filled him up more than any food could. You were too cute.

Peter was sure of it. He definitely had a crush on you. It took him until almost the end of first semester to realize it, but he knew now. 

He liked how smart you were. The way you answered any question the teacher threw at you so flawlessly was a mystery to him because history bored him. 

He liked how funny you were. The way you were passionately defending why mayo was the superior condiment against MJ and her love for ketchup made him die of laughter. 

He liked how kind you were. The way you helped another girl plan a dance for her quinceanera despite having so much homework. 

He liked how cute you were. The way you fell asleep in class after being the first to finish your test. 

He even liked how clueless you were. The way you knew absolutely nothing about Star Wars but still allowed him to ramble on and on about it in class and listen to him with a caring heart. 

Yup. He definitely liked you. 

A lot.

But he didn’t know how to tell you. You two didn’t hang out outside of school at all and he was so darn shy. It wasn’t until he and MJ hung out at Ned’s place one day when an opportunity arose. You were invited to his house as well, but you declined because of some projects you left till the last minute. 

The trio were building Legos and at one point Ned had to go downstairs and help his lola cook dinner while MJ and Peter remained upstairs. She was sitting on Ned’s bed while Peter was on the floor continuing to build the Lego Death Star. 

“I’m going to give you some advice, Pete,” MJ started to say. Peter looked up at her in confusion.

“About what?”

“About [Y/N].”

His eyes started to wander around the room. “W-What about [Y/N]?”

“What do you think about her?”

“What do I think a-about her? What’s not to think, she’s sweet. She’s nice. She’s kind.”

“Those are synonyms.”

“She’s smart. God, she is so smart, and she gets my jokes and actually laughs at them and—”

“Yup. You like her.”

His face fell. “No… No… No~.”

“So should I call her for you?” She whipped out her phone and Peter panicked.

“Don’t!”

“Why not? You have got to talk to her.”

“I do talk to her.”

“Outside of school,” MJ specified. “I have her number if you want it.”

“No, she’ll find it weird if I text her out of nowhere.”

“So you’re going to continue staring at her when she’s not looking like a total creep?”

“I don’t… I don’t stare,” Peter mumbled. MJ rolled her eyes at his denial.

“You do,” she teased. “Look, I’m going to the restroom. Here’s my phone. Do whatever you’d like with it.”

If Peter was a creep, then MJ was a psychopath because who would let anyone use their phone so freely? He still took the device from her hands and waited until he was alone to tap your name in MJ’s messages. His heart was racing at the thought of having your number, but he didn’t feel ready for it. 

So… he did something else.

5:44 PM | MJ🖤: Hey 🙂

Yikes. He really was a creep.

5:45 PM | You 😇: Hi MJ! What’s up? Did y’all finish building the Legos?

Peter smiled to himself at your enthusiastic greeting. 

5:45 PM | MJ🖤: No, not yet. Ned left us to help with dinner. How are you?

Your next reply didn’t come as fast this time. Peter panicked, wondering if he said something weird. Then again, this whole situation was borderline crazy.

5:49 PM | You 😇: I’m doing my homework. It’s so boring. Wish I was with you all. 🥺

5:50 PM | MJ🖤: We wish you were here too. 💖

Peter saw the thought bubble with three dots pop up, eagerly waiting for your reply. 

5:50 PM | You 😇: Hey MJ… I have a question.

5:50 PM | MJ🖤: Go for it.

5:50 PM | You 😇: Who are you? Lol.

Shit. Shit. Shit. You knew. Oh my god, Peter’s life was over. He got up off the floor and started pacing around the room in panic. 

5:51 PM | You 😇: I know you’re not MJ… so either you stole her phone and I’m going to have to report you for identity theft or she let you use her phone. 

5:53 PM | MJ🖤 : Okay, it’s Peter. Don’t report me. 🥺

He held his breath for your next response, facepalming himself for getting caught so fast.

5:53 PM | You 😇: Peter, why are you pretending to be MJ? If you wanted to text me, I could’ve just given you my number. Haha.

5:53 PM | MJ🖤 : Wait, really? I’m sorry. Idk why I did that.😅

5:53 PM | You 😇: Yeah. Here’s my number XXX-XXX-XXXX. Please text me as yourself. Lolol. 

Peter had the biggest grin spread across his face as he fell onto Ned’s bed in relief. He couldn’t help but laugh at the situation. By some miracle he did it. He got your number… he actually got your number. 

“Why are you staring at my phone like a creepy serial killer?” He looked up to see MJ leaning against Ned’s door frame. 

“Uh… I got her number?”

“How?”

“... You’re going to kill me.”

[luffyvace]

HEYYYY!! how are you?? i hope you’re doing well ❤️❤️

i was wondering if you could do a headcanon/story where reader is like the daughter of Dracule Mihawk but like she(or gender neutral) never met her mom, so when she was growing up Boa Hancock was like their cool auntie that she learned how to be a woman (doing makeup,painting nails, finding her style ect.)

ONLY IF YOU ARE COMFORTABLE THO, BTW I LOVEE YOUR WRITING 💕💕

HIII IM DOING GOOD ANON!! You dear? :)

i do female reader dw!! I’ll be using she/her as well, for reference

Awhh dadhawk <33

AUNTBOAAUNTBOAAUNTBOAAA!! She’d be the BEST most SPOILING wine aunt EVER🍷💄

Of course it’s alright honey! Alsooo TYSM!! I’m so glad you enjoy 😭💓💓

Being mihawk’s daughter has a lot of perks and literally no down slides. actually I half way take that back. The only down slide is that there’s a target on your head for those who are crazy enough to come for you. But that’s like a mere 00.1% and even then just because they come for you doesn’t mean they’ll get to you 🤡

especially since your the NUMBER ONE swordsman’s daughter.

Also this is really random but you probably meet zoro eventually, perona as well, they obviously stay with you for some time so perona and you likely get close. I imagine you would introduce her to boa and the three of you become a trio. You and Perona are her adorable nieces and boa is your doting, beautiful and totally awesome auntie :3

don’t get me wrong mihawk is a awesome father. He seems like a very responsible man and that he would not leave you out in the cold at the cost of his own life. He spoils you just as equally as boa does and although he’s not the most trusting man on earth, he wouldn’t dare break the bond you two have when he can’t replace it with your actual mother. At this point not that you wanted to.

Never meeting your mom may have taken a toll on your mental health at first, but not to worry! Awesome aunt boa to the rescue!!

The chances of you meeting boa we’re actually very slim, whether you know it or not. As I said Mihawk doesn’t easily trust plus you probably met at a warlord meeting where he has to take you along for one reason or another.

You saw boa and naturally, thought she was very pretty. Mihawk is rather reserved too so you probably don’t see people often in general (til you get older). Therefore, seeing such a ethereal woman made you instantly admire her. You immediately wanted to get to know her—and, luckily for you, she took an interest in the girl who’s mihawk’s daughter!

now idk what you did but she started the conversation, and whatever you replied made her think you weren’t so bad! You two chatted some more and after figuring out you had no mother figure she took it upon herself to raise a cute girl such as yourself to be a good woman. She didn’t exactly want to be viewed as your mother..that would relate her too closely to mihawk, a man, for her liking. So! She’ll be the cool and classy wine aunt instead! 🍷💋

you love your dad, he does his best to raise you as a single father and pirate/warlord/worlds best swordsman. And you truly do appreciate him! But when Boa bashes him for being a man her insults are low key so funny you can’t help but laugh 🗿 (hc that Boa would be good at roasting people on the spot :3)

boa being the coolest aunt she is, she takes you to lavish places (that she rented so she wouldn’t have to bear being in the presence of those indisputable critters society calls men), gets you the most high quality makeup (that her tribe handcrafts—yes they make they’re own it’s a hc of mine), does monthly over the phone (in person when you can) mental check ins (because you love your dad but again, he’s a man, and there’s some things about women men won’t get—vice versa too of course <3)

womanly hour!~ well more like hours, you spend the whole day with boa whenever you can, she’s makes a magnificent aunt and literally never says no to you. She’s like to you how she is to luffy but less delusional platonic <3 you two go shopping and pick out clothes together, her tribe of course also gifts you all the cute clothes you could ever want (again, handcrafted) because boa adores you and they adore boa!—which means they adore you! 💕 You and the Kuja 100% get along and see eye to eye on how spectacular Hancock-Sama is~ 🥰

when your older you probably go over to visit her more often and maybe even on your own! Mihawk trusts that by then he’s trained you enough, plus i think he would have his certain set of rules but not be too strict of a dad.

teaching you how to be a proper woman with Boa 101 ;} only if you want to tho! She’ll ensure your not out here acting like some monkey—surely your not! (unless you are 🤷‍♀️) Still, she teaches you basic lady manners. :) More than anything she knows women is NOT the problem, so instead of going “keep your legs closed ☝️🤓” she says “If a man looks at you lower than your stomach, kick him in that area 😉😘” - Boa Hancock (the woman we trust💪)

AND you already know she’s gonna teach you how to kick as hard a she can 😤😮‍💨👌 which ngl by the time your older your sure to be a master in many Haki’s. You may even have conquer’s 🤷‍♀️ I wouldn’t doubt it you got Mihawk blood in you :P

Growing up Boa has constantly been warning you of men and they’re vile ways. When you become of age she’ll tell you what happened to her (that’s how much she trusts you 💗💗) and you’ll know what she means right away. She will always look out for you but gives you tips on things just in case, and if you ever feel unsafe, don’t hesitate to call her or take a trip to the island of women! The entirety of the Kuja tribe will lay down they’re lives in an instant for Hancock-sama’s lovable little niece <33

I’ve been mentioning this throughout but her taking you to the island of women definitely happens. You love it there and everyone loves you. You have so many Aunts and sisters there it’s not even funny. 😃 You adore each and everyone of them though, just as they do you. You get only the finest of treatment from them and you might as well be one of the Boa sisters. You get all you can eat premium food, the most elegant clothes tailored to your exact size and tastes, you even have your very OWN room in the Palace! Sandersonia and Marigold dote on you just as much as Hancock does the four of you very much do spend a lot of time together. 😊

The Boa sisters/the Kuja tribe teaches you the kuja tribe/survival skills personally. They start with bow and arrow and eventually moving on to haki and hand to hand combat. Now, Mihawk might have already covered this but they’re going over it again 😄 why? He might’ve missed something! He’s a man! (Btw the Kuja girls 100% ask you questions about men no holding back) Anywho, I’m sure you’d do it again even if you know it already because 1) practice 😋 and 2) who wouldn’t want to spend more time with the Kuja pirates?!

💖💖

These girls are seriously awesome 💓 (this low key became a Mihawk diss track written by Hancock but he’ll live- LOL 😂😂🗿)

[badass-queer-couples-battle]

⚔️⚔️ Sword gays showdown, grand finale ⚔️

*Camilla fanart by @friendamedes, used with permission

Propaganda:

For Camilla:

she prefers dual-wielding two short blades but can fight with pretty much anything. she's ambidextrous she's autistic she's even sex-repulsed ace. she sighs longingly when reunited with her weapons. she's from planet academia and dresses like an off-duty librarian. literally one of the most iconic moments of the entire series is when she gets challenged to a duel and absolutely wipes the floor with her opponent even though she doesn't even like rapiers that much. 'swords don't lie.' 

OK I’m sure you’re getting just about every character from The Locked Tomb but Cam is my favorite. She's a nerd AND a jock. She is in this deeply intense and loving and unhealthily codependent soulbond partnership with her best friend second cousin and prince. She is smart and deadpan snarky and fights like a grease fire and I have never been able to get that line out of my head.

For Gideon:

she's incredibly good w/ her two hander and less good with her rapier but she's still pretty good!! she is a horny lesbian who's taste in women seems to exclusively be "girls who have tried or are going to try to kill her". she's a redhead. i love her

Gideon’s a HUGE Butch lesbian and literally always wanted to use a broad sword. Specifically a broad sword. She said fuck rapiers. Uhhh literally dies to save the girl she cares for and the sword she uses then becomes like an altar for said girl. Gideon Nav Supremacy <3

oh she is the most badass swordswoman lesbian in media. she’s her gf’s cavalier, defends her in battle, she’s incredibly butch and buff

C'mon shes THE sword lesbian like... canonically 

Loves her broadsword more than anything on her home planet and practices whenever she can. Spoiler it’s possessed by her mom. Gave everything so her best enemy could eat her soul and become the new saint. The character of all time child of two separate threesomes, child of the god emperor, she’s dead, she’s butch, she’s a dork, she’s doomed by the narrative. She’s my favorite.

girlie is literally the swordswoman supreme. she’s the cavalier primary to her necromancer. she has a fuckoff huge longsword. she gets absorbed into another person SPECIFICALLY to swordfight for them. in a gay way too.

While everyone else was developing common sense, she studied the blade. This dyke's main weapon and true love is the long sword, but she's also passable with a rapier. The sword is, in her own estimation, pretty much all she's good for. That and her smoking hot bod and terribly charming sense of humor. 

"While we were developing common sense, she studied the blade." (Direct quote from the book). She's the most useless lesbian to ever exist, and she's obsessed with an absolute wet cat of a woman. Learned longsword mostly on her own and is such a genius with the sword she learned rapier in a few months (by personal experience, it's really really hard)

Most badass broadsword wielding lesbian easily slaying bone monsters and evil space wasps

The cavalier to her necromancer. very gay. in a complicated codependant lovehate relationship with the only other person her age she knew growing up.

For Xena:

It is HER! The OG woman with a blade! 

Her show was so iconic that any lesbian over the age of 30 knows her IMMEDIATELY because this show probably helped her have her awakening. Fandom foremothers and fathers rise up and get your gal a title.

An all around badass, bisexual woman, comfortable with many different bladed weapons. Her show was so much better than Hercules people forget his exists.

Xena is one of the OGs: once a baddie who turned good, she's a warrior who uses swords, daggers, and her trusty chakram to defeat evil and defend the innocent, while traveling with her kickass girlfriend Gabrielle. 

She has many skills

[srjlvr]

enha hyung line! — as parents <3

hyung-line!enha x fem!reader ! | genre: fluff ! | wc: 1.8k+ ! | warnings: enha as fathers, kids, mentions of food, not proofread ! | note: i thought about it while having some of our family members over and watching them taking care of their (vv annoying) kids !

— ✧ heeseung ♡

“IM GONNA BE A FATHER” would literally scream this out every time he’s outside.

took him a while to really realize the fact that he’s going to be responsible for a living soul and suddenly he freaks out.

did everything to be prepared and finally after 9 months he held his daughter in his hands.

would probably use his angelic voice to sing lullabies to the baby.

tells you he hopes her first words would be ‘mama’ but secretly whispers “say dada” to her whenever you’re not listening.

would send you off to work so he could stay together with the baby and even would take her to his work as well.

he would be tired as hell at nights when the baby wakes up crying, but he’d always get up before you and would force you to lay down and fall back asleep while he takes care of the situation.

he’d be the coolest dad ever! would teach his daughter basketball even at such a young age, and would support everything that she wants to do.

would be so overprotective and will go like “dont talk to my daughter like that!” whenever someone speaks badly about her.

he’d be so openly with her and would talk about whatever! when it comes to question about ‘how to make kids’, he’d just say that it’s not the time to explain.

as she grows older, he’d get too emotional all the time and would take pictures of everything his child does.

each morning would help her get ready and send her off to school with kisses and “i love you”s

so so so supportive and comforting person, as a father he’d do everything to make his daughter happy.

would be a little worried and overprotective about parties as his daughter grows older, but he trusts her enough to let her do what she wants. as long as she’s being safe.

“hey dad, can we go play some basketball?” your daughter asked. “but i prepared dinner already” you frowned a bit, expecting to eat with your family already.

“eat some snack in the meantime baby, we’ll be back in an hour” heeseung pecked your lips and hugged you. he then grabbed the ball and tossed it to your daughter.

“bye mom!” “bye love!” they both said. “wait!” you stopped them. they both froze and looked at you, you quickly got closer and put on your sports shoes, “the loser washes the dishes for a week” you smirked.

heeseung ended up loosing, watching his daughter and the love of his life getting so excited over playing together had always been his weakness.

— rest of the members under the cut !

— ✧ jay ♡

*insert shocked af emoji* — that would be his reaction after realizing he’s going to be a dad.

“i’ll cook you everyday and style you each morning, we’re going to have so much fun!” literally speaks to your tummy all day.

gets super excited and thrilled to the due date, prepared everything from A to Z and even asked his parents for some tips.

“i know nothing about babies but i can cook and i have good style…?” like 😭✋🏻✋🏻

almost fainted holding his son after 9 months of talking to him through your tummy, but held on a big smiled finally realizing his biggest dream came true.

before you’re coming back home he made sure the house is fully secured and safe for babies.

he’s just worried for the new family member that’s all :(

the softest dad ever! won’t stop snapping pictures and talking about his son with whoever he can.

would wake up early everyday to prepare breakfast for the little one, and would slowly and surely wake up him and help him eat.

wouldn’t give you a chance to overwork yourself, he’d tell you to rest and he’d take care of everything.

ngl i think he’d spoil his son so much and he would buy him anything he wants just bc he wants to see his son happy☹️

MATCHING OUTFITS is a must!! being the best stylist that he is, he LOVES to dress up his son and would match with him as well.

would teach him how to treat people (esp women!) right since basic manners is hella important.

tbh i also think he’d be like so chill about his child going to parties and all when growing up and he’d even drop him off and pick him up whenever he needs.

“how’s the food?” jay asked after setting his plate next to your plate, in front of his son. “good as always” your son smiled warmly at you.

“also, can you drop me off at (friends name)’s? we’re just gonna go out later, i’d be back before 1AM” he added. “sure, me and your mom are going on a date today so we’ll drop you off on our way” jay said, looking at you lovingly and pecking your nose.

“disgusting” your son rolled his eyes and you giggled. “you’re just jealous aren’t you?” “let’s show him some love”

both of you and jay got up and dragged your son to the sofa, tickling him and laughing about his cute reaction, but ending up the fight with a tight family hug.

— ✧ jake ♡

his reaction would be so precious when he’d found out about the pregnancy. literally called his mom and the rest of his family a second after you decided it’s time to officially tell everyone.

“do whatever you feel like doing as long as you’re not overworking yourself and putting yourself in danger” type of person.

would be so hyped up and would prepare himself mentally every day that in a few months he’d have a new family member.

after nine months he let out some happy tears, watching his son sleeping peacefully in his arms.

“you took care of him nine months now let me take care of him” — would use it as an excuse to be alone with the baby.

bought so many baby clothes beforehand and doesn’t know what to do when the baby is growing so fast and the clothes are already tiny on him.

cries every time something emotional happens, as if his hormones are higher than yours😮‍💨.

really wants his son to have an australian accent so he’s showing him australian baby-friendly videos.

he’d be the funniest dad ever! the one that even his son’s friends would like because he’s so easygoing and funny.

oh and let’s talk about the gaming station he’d build for him and his son to play together, they’d spend all day in the room without getting out, leaving you all alone.

as funny and easygoing he is, i think he might be a little overprotective as well. as his son became a teenager and started going to parties, he became a bit scared, so he texts every once in a while to check if his son is still alive.

i think he’d also be super thrilled when his son would get a significant other and would make sure to have a conversation with him about “how to treat your significant other right”.

he would also take his son to late night walks, just to talk about his concerns and everything he needs, he always makes sure his son knows he’d do pretty much everything to see his smile.

“nice one! go to your left!” jake yelled as his fingers moved fast on the keyboard and his eyes roamed around the computer screen. “they’re attacking from everywhere!” your son groaned.

as another game ended with a fail, jake looked over his son and pat his shoulder, “it’s okay, it doesn’t mean we suck at this game” he hugged his disappointed son.

“boys! i prepared some snacks! get out and let’s hang out!” you called them out for the hundredth time today. “your mother is looking for attention” jake giggled.

“let’s play one more game and then go” his son plead and jake smiled, “how can i say no to you?”

— ✧ sunghoon ♡

“so you’re telling me,” he froze, “that there’s a human being growing in your tummy right now?” *insert dumbfounded emoji*

oh this boy would be so scared for his life, i think he’d mostly be scared of the thought that he wont be able to take care of you right.

that’s why he prepared himself in any kind of way. he read books, went to get some tips from his mother and even his grandma, he wants to be so perfect and he wants to make everything more comfortable and easy for you.

so when he finally held his daughter’s tiny fingers, he cried happy tears. he cried because now his job is to raise his beautiful daughter and protect her from any costs.

since he’s so well prepared, he wasn’t even worried a bit once she started crying and waking up so late at nights nonstop.

would tell her stories and talk to her all day, entertaining her as much as he can, it’s also not his fault, his daughter is just so cute and adorable.

“i can’t believe i’m a father” he goes around the house giggling and playing with his daughter.

would tease you so much when her first words are ‘dada’ and not ‘mama’ — would be like “what can i say? she loves me more” with such a huge smirk on his face.

just like him, he hopes his daughter would take interest in ice skating, so as she grew old, he took her to one of the nearest ice rinks, and singed her up for classes when he saw she was actually enjoying it.

he’d be so supportive and so understanding, would always take her to practices and you two would always show up for her shows and would even skate with her if you’d feel like it.

likes to do different hairstyles and would just go with the flow, one day it can be ponytails and the other day it could be a simple braid.

he’d actually also go around and be like “do you see her? she’s my daughter, she’s so cute isnt she?”.

in general he’d be the softest dad ever! as his daughter grows old, he’d plant some morning kisses on her cheeks and would tell her that he loves her dearly and would send her off to school.

“dad! i have practice in about half an hour!” your daughter noted and sunghoon immediately gasped, “right right! let’s go!” he said and grabbed your hand as well.

“huh? aren’t you just dropping her off? why do i need to come too?” you asked, “because,” he smiled, “she’s our daughter and we need to watch her practice”

“i also wanted us to have a dinner date today, all of us together, it’s been a while since we went to hang out all three of us” he said, “because you always take her to grab some ice cream after practice” you teased and he shrugged.

“we got the best daughter ever” he smiled. “i know” you replied and he then pecked your lips, “thank you, for making me become a father”

[ckret2]

Chapter 32 of human Bill is convinced he's the best prisoner ever and does not deserve this abuse from the Pines:

Bill gets his fingernails painted! 💅🌈✨ Look at his fingernails, I drew this week's picture just to show them off. They're fun.

Bill also gets bound to a magic poppet that can control his every move.

It's hilarious for Dipper and Mabel, but not for Bill.

The early morning still was broken by Stan's wails of despair.

At some point during the night, the egg-and-toilet-papering kids had come back to Stan's car.

And they'd brought rocks.

####

Bill woke up with a sheet tossed over him and a cupcake sitting on the window seat. The cupcake was pink with green frosting and decorated like a happy jack-o'-melon. It was sitting on top of a note:

"Sorry I didn't mention I had plans tonight! Robbie's mom made cupcakes for everyone so I grabbed you one. The music video's gonna be AMAZING! I'll show you when Robbie posts it!" Mabel had signed with a shooting star.

Bill decided he hadn't been mad at Mabel last night at all.

He battled gravity to heave himself vertical, trudged downstairs to the bathroom, stuck his face under the faucet until his mouth tasted less like sour sandpaper, agonizingly dragged himself back upstairs to his makeshift bed, and collapsed under the sheet to wait until his head stopped hammering.

####

Sprawled on the living room floor, Mabel said, "What should I draw?"

"Draw me." Bill was sitting cross-legged on the sofa, watching the news and nursing a glass of Mabel juice. In an effort to counteract the lingering queasiness from overdosing on sugar and chocolate, he'd spiked the juice with two ground-up Elderly 60+ Vitaman™ brand Man Vitamins (khaki flavor) stolen from a bottle that Ford had bought for Stan and that Stan forgot to take.

"Okay!" Mabel turned around and squinted up at Bill. "Strike a pose!"

"Not like this!" Bill shoved a hand in Mabel's face to force her to stop looking. "Draw me how I really look."

"Bill, that's illegal. Remember?" Mabel pointed at the TV. Bodacious T was reporting on a child who'd dressed up for Summerween as "that weird out-of-towner who bothered us last year, you know the one," and who, under the Never Mind All That Act, had been fined fifty pieces of candy. The child's mugshot showed his crying face, but blurred out his yellow costume.

"He'd be the coolest kid in town," Bill said, "if he wasn't such a crybaby in front of the cops. Draw me anyway."

"I don't wanna get arrested!"

"Do you see any cops?" Bill grinned. "Just don't sign your name, nobody will know it was you."

Mabel considered that. "I can sign it someone else's name." She pulled out a few crayons.

"That's what I'm talking about! Do anything you want forever and frame the innocent!"

"What do you want me to draw you doing?"

"The coolest thing you can think of."

Mabel considered that, and got to work.

The news was boring now. They were talking about the weather, and it wasn't even interesting weather. "So hey, you were gonna tell me about filming last night?"

"Oh yeah!" Mabel said. "Did I mention the part where the dead rose from their graves?"

Bill muted the TV. "And I missed it?"

Robbie had decided the cemetery at his place would be more atmospheric than the trick-or-treater-filled streets (and less likely to have their shots ruined by passersby that didn't appreciate the depth of Robbie's lyrics). It went great, until the vibrations of angsty rock-and-roll stirred the slumbering corpses and they clawed their way from their graves. It turned out Gravity Falls had been having off-and-on invasions of the undead for the past year, ever since somebody decided to reanimate every corpse in town for fun, Bill.

"You can't prove it was me, I'm not the only one who knows how to raise the dead!" Bill laughed. "Hey—you're not drawing this body, are you? You said you wouldn't."

"I'm not, I promise!"

"Then why do you keep staring at me?"

"Um."

"Let me see!"

"No! Don't ruin the surprise!" Mabel picked up a glitter pen with feathers glued to the end and waved them in Bill's face. "And no cheating with your eye-bleeding psychic magic!"

Bill smacked the pen away. "Fine! So what did you do with the zombies? Feed one of the teens to them?"

"No! I chewed like four packs of gum me and Dipper got from the weird homeless dentist and made a fake baby brain. We used it as bait to lead them into an open grave," Mabel said. "And then we realized we could use the brain to train them to do tricks! So now we have dancing zombies in the music video. They actually learned the choreography pretty easily."

"Makes sense," Bill said. "I did fill the space where their souls should be with an insatiable hunger to party."

Mabel grinned. "I thought you said they weren't your fault."

"If they're good at dancing, I'm taking credit!"

"They were pretty good—especially considering how many limbs they were missing," Mabel said. "I'll show you when Robbie's finished editing the video."

"And I'll get to see you playing a creepy ghost kid, right?"

"Yeah! We were the greatest ghosts ever! Check it out, we were like—" Mabel fixed Bill with a dead-eyed slack-jawed stare and whisper-sang, "'We're the things that you have lost. Childhood joy, dead as a ghost.'"

"Chills."

"Dipper tried so hard to get in character as a ghost that he completely zoned out for a minute! When we shook him out of it, he said he felt like he had an out-of-body experience!"

####

At his computer, Robbie clicked play on a clip of the twins standing side-by-side in front of the cemetery gate. As they sang the chorus, Dipper's face went still; and then a spectral gray form rose out of his head, still singing in sync with Mabel.

"Whoa," Robbie said. "Sick. I'm keeping that in."

####

"So, it turns out my bro is an expert method actor," Mabel boasted.

Bill thought back to Dipper drifting up and down the stairs in the middle of the night. "Yep. Sounds like he's got quite a talent."

Mabel set down her crayons and held out a paper. "Okay—what do you think?"

Bill accepted the drawing. "Am I riding on the back of a rocket ship?"

"Like a bucking bronco! See the rocket flames doing a loop?"

"Sure do. Why am I holding a fish bowl?"

"It's like a cowboy waving his hat, but, you're in space. So that's your astronaut helmet."

"It's beautiful," Bill said intensely. "It's the best thing I've ever seen."

"Aw, really? Thanks!"

"When I take over the universe, I'm rearranging the constellations to look like this."

"Don't do that, though."

"Fine, but I'm hanging it up in my throne room." Bill set down his empty glass so he could hold the picture with both hands, beaming at it as proudly as though he'd made it himself. Big change from his lukewarm reception of her house drawing yesterday. She should draw Bill more often. Being a good artist meant understanding what your audience wanted.

Unfortunately, now that she'd finished her drawing, she didn't have anything to distract her from staring at Bill. And she'd taken about as much of seeing him as she could stand. "Bill. I say this with non-judgmental love. But you look sooo terrible."

"Yeah, I know. I think I'm shaped about as nicely as a human could ask for," he pantomimed drawing a triangle in front of his torso, "but let's be real, there's only so much you can do when you're working with a human bone structure. And there's way too much neck—"

"No! Bill, your body is beautiful just the way it is, and don't let anyone tell you otherwise. I meant your hair looks awful."

Bill had taken a shower yesterday morning, emerged with his hair all wet and tangled, and done absolutely nothing to detangle it. And then, with it still half damp and totally disheveled, he'd shoved it under a cheap acrylic wig for the rest of the night. And then he'd fallen asleep on the floor still wearing the wig.

And now, with the wig removed, his hair looked like a bird had plucked out half a scarecrow's straw brains and made a nest out of it.

"It sure does," Bill said, with the slightly forlorn air of someone complaining about a war in a far-off country over which one had no power.

"So brush it!"

"No. Never. You can't make me."

"Why not? I thought you wanted to keep your hair all triangly!"

"Not enough to touch it. Either it'll figure out how to straighten out on its own or it won't, I'm not messing with it. I've got enough going on in my life today." By which he meant he had the last lingering traces of a hangover, which was a valid excuse to get out of all social, moral, and aesthetic obligations.

Mabel groaned in frustration. "I can't take looking at it anymore! If you won't brush it, can I?"

Bill gave her a skeptical look; but then he flung his hands out dismissively. "Sure, why not? If it bothers you so much. Have at it."

"I'll be right back!"

She got her brush from upstairs and a spray bottle from the kitchen, and directed Bill to sit on the floor so she could get on the couch behind him. After making such a fuss about brushing his hair, Bill was surprisingly well-behaved with somebody else brushing it for him. He didn't even complain when Mabel accidentally yanked on some nasty snarls a little harder than she meant to.

"I feel like a corpse getting prettied up for my funeral," Bill said. "Grooming each other is how humans bond, isn't it? This is one of your little social rituals? If all you wanted was to make sure we're still friends after you ditched me last night, you could have just asked."

Mabel shoved her foot between Bill's shoulder blades. Wise guy. She joked, "Yeah! We're bonding now! After this we're gonna paint each other's fingernails and talk about what kind of boys we like."

"I want rainbow spiral fingernails."

Mabel really should be used to this—but she still kept getting surprised that Bill was interested in the stuff she liked. And not even in a patronizing sure-I'll-play-along way. He'd turned to look at her. There was a gleam in his eyes. He really wanted rainbow spiral fingernails.

And now she wanted rainbow spiral fingernails, too. "Fine! But look forward until I finish your hair." One way or another, Mabel vowed, she would reform Bill into a proper good guy—even if she had to drag him there kicking and screaming. Fun dress-up partners were hard to find, and she couldn't afford to lose Bill.

####

Soos wandered to the living room to find somewhere to hang up his and Melody's "Best Couple Cosplay" award, but stopped in the doorway.

Bill, Mabel, and Waddles were sitting on the floor, watching some kind of cartoon psychedelic fairy princess lecture a spider on the importance of colors, with a bowl of popcorn between them. Bill and Mabel both had bright multicolor fingernails and were eating the popcorn with chopsticks to avoid touching their nails. There was more popcorn on the floor than in the bowl. Waddles had taken no such cares to avoid dragging his freshly painted hooves through the carpet. 

"Truth or dare," Bill said.

"Dare!"

"Dare you to assassinate the..." Bill trailed off. "I can't have the mayor assassinated, he runs Rainbow Club. And the sheriff and deputy invited me... There aren't a lot of public officials in this dumb town, are there?"

"I'm not killing anybody, Bill. Truth."

"Fine, coward. What's your favorite toxic fume fragrance?"

"That's easy! Gasoline!"

"Hey, mine too! At least on this planet. It smells like—you know that smell that heralds the coming of rain? Gasoline is the smell that heralds a really fun time."

"Yeah! Like going on a road trip!"

Bill paused. "Right! I was... I was definitely thinking about road trips. That's exactly what I meant."

Mabel added, "And it looks so cool when there's a little bit spilled in a parking spot—"

"The rainbow puddles! Yes! Big fan of the rainbow puddles—"

"I love parking lot rainbow puddles! It's like surprise happiness in the most boring place on the planet!"

Soos mumbled, "Girl talk," decided to hang his award up later, and left.

####

Dipper heard the bedroom door open and Mabel call, "Hey Dipper!"

"Hey." He didn't look up from his journal, where he was documenting last night's zombie adventures. "Oh, hey, bad news—Wendy said she got a text from Robbie, it sounds like all the footage from the cemetery last night is ruined?"

"Aww! What? But we worked so hard to train those zombies!"

"Yeah, it's just static. But everything we shot outside the gates is fine. I wonder if it's something supernatural that interferes with electronics?"

"Something supernatural? In the cemetery? Full of zombies? What are the odds of that!" Mabel laughed. "But heyyy, I've got some good news!"

"What?"

Mabel stuck a hairbrush full of gold hair between Dipper's face and his journal. "I got a replacement for the Bill hair sample we gave Pacifica!" She grinned and whispered, "Wanna make a poppet?"

####

It would have been really cool if the first full moon of summer vacation had come on Summerween. But the calendar gods were unkind that year, and instead, it came the next day, on June 23.

Which worked out, in the end, since it meant they didn't have any scheduling conflicts on the one night they could make a poppet.

They had the ritual space set up in their bedroom—a chalk star drawn on the floor with a black candle at each point—and the doll representing Bill—which Mabel had upgraded with button eyes and a miniature version of his favorite knit hoodie. They collected all the shed blonde strands off Mabel's hairbrush, wrapped them around the doll's neck, and tied them on. They set the doll in the center of the star; Bartholomew talked them through the ritual; the flames on the candles leaped a foot in the air, turned a pale blue, and then went out; and the binding ritual was complete. The doll was now connected to Bill Cipher.

"Weird," Bartholomew said. "Usually the flames turn black. I've never seen them turn blue before."

Dipper said, "That's not a problem, is it?"

"No, no. I've just never used the binding ritual on an alien before! I guess it works a little different!"

Dipper picked up the doll and eyed it skeptically. "Mabel, I know we said we're saving this for emergencies only, but—maybe we should test it out just to make sure it actually works?"

"I guess we should," Mabel said, grimacing. "Just—don't do anything that'd hurt him. Okay?"

Yeah, Dipper should've expected that. Whether he liked it or not, Mabel didn't just see Bill as her weird experiment in criminal rehabilitation—she saw him as her friend. He sighed. "Okay. But is it fine if we do something that would embarrass him?"

Mabel shrugged. "I don't see why not!"

####

As they crept from their room, Mabel whispered, "What if we stick him in a box and shake it up? And then tell him there was an earthquake!"

"I thought you were the one who didn't want to hurt him."

"Oh right."

Bill wasn't on his cushions under the window, so they crept downstairs. Halfway down, Dipper stopped, putting a hand on Mabel's arm. Bill was sitting at the kitchen table, chin in his hand, staring out the window.

"This is perfect," he whispered. "He's completely vulnerable. He's got his back to us, he's looking at the moonlight—even if he turns around, he won't see us because his eyes will have to readjust to the dark."

"I don't know if his eyes need to adjust," Mabel said. "Have you ever noticed he never turns the lights on when he goes into a room?"

Dipper considered that. He hadn't noticed—but now that Mabel mentioned it, Bill did have a tendency to lurk in the dark. "Well—okay, but he's still not looking at us. Let's see how this works..." He studied the doll; then turned it around and gently brushed a finger through its yarn hair.

For a moment, nothing happened; and then Bill swatted at the back of his head and looked around, as if he was trying to find what had touched him.

"I think it's working," Dipper hissed.

"Are you sure? What if there's actually a fly in the kitchen?"

Could be. "Let me see if it can control him."

"Careful—"

Dipper grabbed one of the doll's arms and tentatively lifted it.

Bill's arm shot up. He stared at it in bafflement. "Wh...?"

Mabel bit her lip. Dipper waved the doll's arm.

Bill's arm waved. After a pause, he tentatively asked, "Hello?" As if he thought maybe his arm was waving at someone and he should play along with it.

Mabel and Dipper clapped their hands over their mouths, fighting to keep their giggles quiet. Mabel elbowed Dipper, "Hey Dipper Dipper Dipper, get him to stand up, let me control his legs, I have the best idea—"

Bill knocked over his chair and had to flail his arms for balance as he abruptly jerked to his feet. He looked around, eyes wide and wild, an edge of panic to his voice as he hollered, "WHAT'S GOING ON!"

Dipper held the doll out to Mabel. "Okay hurry!" Mabel took it by the legs—

—and Bill started doing the cancan. He shrieked. "WHAT?!"

Dipper shoved his shirt over his mouth to muffle his hysterics. Mabel was letting little wheezy squeaks out through her nose. Bill's voice was almost an octave higher as he screamed, "WHEN I FIND OUT WHO'S BEHIND THIS, I'M GONNA SHRED YOU—" and they both got so close to bursting laughing out loud that they had to pause to punch each other's shoulders for self control.

Still holding one of the doll's legs up, Mabel hissed, "Dipper do you remember the bottle dance. Where they crouch down with bottles on their heads. Can we—can we get a tiny bottle for the doll—"

Bill was failing both arms to avoid falling with one foot held in the air. He grabbed the counter for balance. And then, with a grunt of effort, he wrenched his foot down and stomped it to the ground.

The doll's leg yanked out of Mabel's hand.

Dipper and Mabel fell silent, staring at the doll. They looked at each other. Mabel whispered, "It shouldn't be able to do that, right?"

They looked at Bill.

Bill's face was burning red, and he was so far past fury that his expression was perfectly blank. His eyes were huge, and round, and pointed straight at them.

They bolted up the stairs.

Bill charged after them.

They screamed in terror. They weren't loud enough to drown out Bill: "WHEN I GET MY HANDS ON YOU BRATS—"

Mabel grabbed Dipper's arm. "Dipper, do something!"

"Uhh—!" He tossed the doll in the air and caught it.

They heard an alarmed yelp as Bill was launched in the air and then a crash as he landed on the stairs again.

They scrambled into their room and slammed the door. "Safe!" Mabel said.

"Yeah," Dipper said, panting for breath. "Can't get us here."

The doll's head twisted 180 degrees to stare up at them.

They yelped. Dipper tossed the doll to Mabel. Mabel held it out at arm's length, threw it in her nightstand's drawer, and slammed it. It tried to open again and she leaned against it with her full body weight. "Dipper, the duct tape! In my craft supplies!"

"Which craft supplies?!"

The tiny knocking inside the drawer was echoed by the pounding at the door, accompanied by a string of creative death threats: "—and when I'm finished the coroner won't know which corpse was which! I'll make a belt out of your spinal columns—!"

"We didn't do anything," Mabel shouted, "it wasn't our fault!" She took the duct tape from Dipper and frantically wrapped it around the night stand. Dipper added, "It was someone else! And we'll never do it again—"

Sleepy and muffled, Soos's voice drifted through the door, "Dudes? What's all the hubbub?"

Dipper and Mabel gasped, "Soos!" "Save us!"

His voice the perfect tone of righteous indignation, Bill declared, "I'm being assaulted, that's what!"

Stan's voice joined in from downstairs: "BILL! If you don't leave those kids alone I'll cave your nose in!"

"THEY'RE THE AGGRESSORS," Bill screamed, half hysterical. "They are! I'm the victim here! I'm being victimized!"

Stan shouted, "Kids, good work! Bill, you can go to—" He grumbled as he self-censored, "—sleep! Shut up and go to sleep!"

"You can go jump in the bottomless pit, Stanley Pines! I'll tear you all apart with my teeth if I have to! NOBODY in this stupid junk heap of a shack is getting any sleep until I get my—"

From just outside the attic door, Stan roared, "BILL!"

There was a dull thud as Bill leaned against their door; a lot less shouty, he quickly said, "I'm going to bed, I'm going to bed, I'm going to bed."

"That's what I thought," Stan snapped. The kids heard his footsteps retreating downstairs. Soos said, "Um... night," and his door shut. After a moment, there was the creak of footsteps retreating from the attic door.

Dipper and Mabel slowly, softly snuck across the room to the door, and pressed their ears to the crack. No sound.

They stayed there for several minutes, barely breathing, listening to the silence.

Finally, Mabel pulled away and looked at Dipper. They both nodded, and Dipper opened the door a crack to check if the coast was clear.

Bill's eye stared in. "Hey, kids!"

They yelled. Dipper tried to slam the door; but Bill had already shoved his hand through. Fingernails painted with neon colors and black spirals clawed at the doorframe. He shouldered through the gap in the door, and then he was in the room, smiling much too wide and eyes fixed on them like helicopter spotlights on two wanted criminals. There was blood on his teeth. "Wow! Playing with poppets?"

Dipper upturned his suitcase and held it up like a shield. Mabel pointed a can of spray paint at Bill's face. Bill took a step closer and they took a step back.

"Pretty advanced trick for a couple of children your age," Bill said conversationally. "Not bad, not bad at all. Heck, I'm impressed you pulled it off! Although you didn't make a very smart choice of test subject." He stomped a foot twice.

Something in the nightstand thudded twice. The twins jumped. Bill laughed at them.

Mentally cursing himself for having flinched, Dipper straightened his back and glared at Bill. "You're just mad you got jerked around like a puppet! What's the matter, Bill—you can dish it but you can't take it?" Mabel looked at Dipper like he was crazy.

Bill's indulgent smile cracked, dropping into a snarl of rage. He shifted his weight toward them. Mabel dropped into a judo stance and Dipper sucked in a breath to shout for Stan.

Before anyone could launch a full attack, Mabel took a shaky breath in, forced a nervous smile, and said, "Bill, hey..." (His eyes snapped to her face like a predator that just heard a twig snap.) "This was—just a funny prank, and we're all cool? Right?"

"Mabel," Dipper muttered. "Shhh!"

But Mabel kept looking at Bill. "Right? Buddies?" She held up her arm, showing Bill her friendship bracelet.

Bill stopped and rocked back on his heels. He gave Mabel a long, hard look—like he was seriously considering whether to accept the reality she was inventing. "Yeah. Real funny." Smiling through grit teeth, he said, "You know—it's been a while since I've had my energy strung between two vessels. I didn't even know what that experience felt like for a human! Very interesting. Educational. And it was nice to feel weightless again for a second. Even if the landing was a little rough." He licked the blood off his teeth. One of the teeth shifted. "So—thanks so much for spicing up a boring night. It's been a real blast. Hasn't it." He stared at them like he expected an answer—and possibly like he planned to strangle whoever answered first.

Dipper and Mabel exchanged a look. Dipper shook his head slightly. Mabel looked Bill in the eyes again. "Yeah! Big blast. So, you're not... mad. Right? Nobody's mad!"

Bill stared her down for a moment longer; and then said, "Sure, kid! It's all fun and games!" He forced a laugh—and then another, longer one, hahhh, like he was exhaling all his rage. And just like that, he was back to normal. "I'll admit it—for a second there, you almost got me good! Not bad at all." He held out his hand insistently. "And now the game's over, so you're gonna give me that toy so I can neutralize it. Aren't you?"

Dipper bit his lip, looking past Bill toward the stairs. He could yell for Stan; there was no way Bill could kill them before reinforcements got here—

Mabel elbowed Dipper's side and whispered, "We can't keep it."

And she was right. Now that Bill knew about the doll, he'd be spending all his time plotting how to get past them to take it, and they wouldn't have a second's peace. Either he got it now, or he got it later. Bill wouldn't rest until the doll was out of their hands.

Because he was terrified of it. Why wouldn't he be?

"Yeah," Dipper sighed. "Game over."

"I'll get it." Mabel peeled just enough duct tape off the night stand to wiggle it open a crack and try to squeeze her fingers in. Bill stretched his hand toward Mabel, and the doll stretched an arm out of the drawer. Mabel flinched in surprise, but grabbed the arm and yanked the doll free.

"Ow." Bill grabbed his shoulder and rolled it gingerly. "Careful, kid, are you trying to dislocate my arm? I don't mind popping it back in, but eventually that socket's gonna wear out."

"Sorry! It was a tight squeeze." She held the doll over Dipper's suitcase shield. "Here."

Bill snatched it from her hand. "Thanks a million, star girl." He favored them both with his most nearly-charming, far-too-wide smile. "Good night, kiddos. Have sweet dreams."

"You too," Mabel said weakly.

Bill left. Dipper shut the door. He and Mabel both heaved a sigh of relief.

From the loft over the attic, Bartholomew called, "Is he gone?"

"What are you doing up there?" Mabel asked. "Barty-mew-mew the scaredy-cat."

"I'm not fighting that guy, I'm porcelain and he's crazy."

Dipper flopped on his bed and stared at the ceiling. "Welp. I'm gonna have nightmares about Bill chasing me up the stairs."

Mabel sat on her own bed. "He just wanted to terrify us. And to keep us from seeing we'd terrified him." She fingered the star beads on her friendship bracelet. "He wouldn't have hurt us, I'm sure of it."

"Wh—seriously? You don't think Bill—"

"I know! But he's changed a tiny bit! He'd hurt anyone else, but he won't hurt us," Mabel said. "Or—well, me, at least. But I think he'll leave you alone too if I'm with you!"

Dipper pushed himself up on his elbows to look at her. "If he'd caught us on the stairs, do you really think he wouldn't have tried to tear us apart?"

Mabel considered that; and then reluctantly admitted, "He wouldn't hurt me as long as he remembers he doesn't want to hurt me." 

"Yeah, well. I wouldn't count on him remembering when he's mad." Dipper slid under his covers and rolled over. "Barty, can you get the lights?"

"Sure, one second." All the lights and lamps in the room flickered ominously; and then, with a sinister pop, snapped off without being touched.

"Thanks, man."

Mabel didn't climb into bed. She was staring at her fingernails. She'd painted them the same colors as Bill's; but she'd used a black marker to draw spirals on his, and he'd drawn stars and sloppy tiger stripes on hers.  In the dark, the colors were all faded.

This time, just once, maybe she and Dipper were the bad guys. He might disagree—he'd actually been puppeted, maybe he saw this differently from Mabel—but that probably didn't make it okay to do it back to Bill just for fun. They should've saved the poppet for an emergency. And the cancan, she decided, was definitely too much.

She smoothed out her covers; then she pulled up her knees to her chest, hugged them, and stared thoughtfully down at Bill's face in the middle of her zodiac blanket.

####

In the dark and quiet of the downstairs bathroom, Bill sat cross-legged on the toilet lid. He held the doll in his cupped hands. Soon, he'd disassemble it—but not yet. Tonight, it was his tool. He shut his eyes and focused on it.

There was the thinnest thread of energy, channeled through his shed hair, connecting this doll to him. He studied the thread, feeling it in his mind, exploring it, strengthening it—until he could almost feel it tugging on him.

And then he started psychically groping for similar connections.

He set the doll on the floor, on top of the drawing Mabel had given him.

His other eyes—the billions of depictions of his face scattered across this planet—weren't meant to be used in this dimension. They were designed like windows he could peer through from the Nightmare Realm; here on Earth, he was on the wrong side of the windows to see through them. And he wouldn't be surprised if the Axolotl had somehow found a way to blindfold them on top of that—after all, he seemed to have done the same to most of Bill's other abilities.

But Bill was resourceful, he was stubborn, and he didn't have anything better to do.

He focused all his energy on trying to feel the drawing the same way he felt the doll, searching for a connection between this body and that face—and he searched, and searched, and searched.

He wasn't sure how long he tried. At least a couple of hours. Straining, straining—for nothing. His head hurt.

What was the difference? The doll was shaped like him, the drawing was shaped like him. What did the doll have that the drawing didn't?

The hair. A bit of his flesh.

Bill knelt over the picture, studying it in the dark. He opened an eye wide, wiped a fingertip across the surface of his eyeball to collect his tears, and pressed it to the drawing's eye.

He could feel a thread of energy stringing from his eye to the paper.

He climbed back on the toilet lid, shut his eyes, and focused on that thread. With an effort that threatened to split his head in two, he pried open his inner eye. And then he was staring up at his own human form from the drawing on the floor.

His body was shaking. His head was throbbing. He wobbled dizzily on the toilet; and as he saw himself topple off, his trance broke, the vision disappeared, and he blacked out. White spots burst behind his eyes.

When he next opened an eye, the room was spinning. He shut his eye. It was several minutes before he could sit up without being sick. He leaned against the wall and let the sweat on his forehead and cheek soak the old wallpaper.

The white spots he'd seen as he passed out were his distant all-seeing eyes. 

He'd done something tonight. That was good. But there was no way he was seeing through any other pictures like that. He needed something he could focus his power through, like an antenna.

He needed gold.

####

(Last chapter of the year!! If you enjoyed, I'd love to hear y'all's thoughts & comments! Thanks!)

[thecountesstribe]

HOTD Ep 2x7 Spoilers and review.

So this was one of my favorite episodes this season and also one of the coolest imo.

Seasmoke being protective of Addam and looking proud he terrorized Addam into being his rider was too funny. I love that dragon 😂. Come through Addam the Loyal, all Rhaenyra had to say was she's queen and he immediately acknowledged her and bent the knee, I loved that. He's really about to become my other favorite boy.

Corlys being shook and acting like he doesn't know Addam, like sir if you don't tell the truth already. He's never gonna beat the deadbeat allegations. Although when he told him “Well done” I did whoop a little. I would've kicked his ass had I been Addam though.

Oscar Tully! That's it. That's the fuckin post. He gagged Daemon and stood on business. I love to see young kids bullying arrogant adults, he reminded me of the OG lil boss Lyanna Mormont. That's my lil nephew now.

Daemon didn't take the crown. We saw him hallucinating again, this time with the sick version of Viserys and Viserys holding the crown which he didn't take. I mean anybody with a brain could summarize that he never wanted the crown, we didn't need to spend so much time in his delusions in Harrenhal to tell us that. We certainly didn't need a scene of him feasting on his mom to tell us that, yuck. For all his faults he really was about his family. He went about it the wrong way but that's Daemon for you. His stupid self destructive ass.

We had an unnecessary scene of Alicent running about the woods after leaving King's Landing. Chile anyways. Larys is totally protecting Aegon now and he's essentially crippled atp. I fear for Baela's storyline.

Rhaena is looking for Sheepstealer. Her and Jeyne are still tussling but they waited until the final 2 episodes to give her something, Baela had no lines besides looking pretty and staring at Jace. I fuckin hate it here. Could we bully HBO AND THE WRITERS SOME MORE. WTF!!

Vermithor and SilverWing looked so cool. What did that old bum feed Vermithor though? He's big asf. SilverWing just might be the coolest looking dragon. I can't rank them anymore cause I like them all 😭. Literally my favorite thing about the episode. Like the directors cooked. The dragons are funny asf 😂😭😭😭. There were a lot of parentage reveals, I don't believe for a second Saera sired that ugly man but anyways. RhaeRhae led those people to their deaths. Rhaenyra deadass gave this big ass pep talk, she reminded me of Erwin before he led the scouts out on what would be their suicide mission except she didn't stay to see the outcome or participate in it. Vermithor saw an opportunity for a buffet and took it, Hugh claimed him. Fuckin cinema. Still gonna hate his bitchass but I can't lie that was badass. SilverWing was bullying Ulf. Why do people I hate always win sometimes?! Ulf literally failed upwards. Can't be mad at it. I mean if I was a dragon I would've done the same shit. How dare mediocre specimens come before me who is essentially the next best thing after the Gods!

We got Rhaenyra speaking High Valyrian. She had her dragon squad quit on her though and gave her a warning (foreshadowing). Her also being able to calm Vermithor, that's the Dragon Queen of her era y'all. We saw a little movement with her and her protective spoiled cat Syrax too 😍.

Not people hating on Jace now. Listen that argument has been brewing since season 1. He just finally let it out of his brooding body. I don't think many people understand the implications that argument meant. He sounded classist and maybe he was, highly doubt he is but he's being realistic and in the future he was proven right (unless they scrap the book canon). Rhaenyra paralleled Viserys in that entire scene. She really is her father's child in some ways. She did to Jace what Viserys essentially did to her. The one thing that could've upheld his ascension to the throne was him having a dragon and she essentially gave a free pass to anybody to do the same, the same thing was done to Rhaenyra when Viserys decided to marry Alicent and sire more children when he knew damn well that if he had a son, her claim to the throne would've been compromised. Jace knows he's a “bastard”, a legitimate one but a “bastard” ntl (I'm not calling him a bastard in a derogatory sense either, he isn't. Laenor claimed them as his sons and that's the end of it to me) , it shouldn't matter considering the throne is not passing from his father's side but his mother's. Sure his last name would've changed the minute he was named heir and ascended as stated by Viserys but what weight does that hold now? They briefly touched on it when he spoke to Baela about his fathers but he had always been insecure about his parentage. No he didn't call his mother a whore, he's been fighting that battle all his life, she just made it worse. In the dire situation they're in, the sacrifice had to be made but I could understand why he's angry and hurt over it again. She literally just made him illegitimate in the eyes of the realm. His anger is valid. Was his tone harsh yes, try dealing with the whispers and the jeers and everything else for the past 16 years of your entire life and seeing the same proof of what everybody else sees everyday and tell me that you wouldn't hold some kind of resentment towards it. I liked how Rhaenyra was patient with him though, just wished it wasn't as rushed as the scene felt.

The last shot of the episode was fuckin brilliant. Aemond turning his bitchass around knowing he can't handle that kinda pressure. Also Vhagar and Aemond's bond may not be as strong as it should be. She clearly does not listen to him sometimes. He's still responsible for Lucerys death IDC what y'all got to say. The episode got a 4/5 stars from me just for the dragons. I'm here for Jace, Baela, Addam and the Dragons!

Until next week guys for the finale. We're going to see Tessarion and Sheepstealer next week. I'm so excited.

[autisticempathydaemon]

Hello! Are you hyperfixated on RedactedAudio?

Do you want (need) to know who to follow to cultivate your dashboard and feed your gremlin brain good, good boyfriend roleplay content?

Cool, I’ve got you, and I’ve got hyperlinks. Buckle up.

(Note: This is by no means a comprehensive, objective, or complete list. I've only been in the fandom for six months or so. I have biases and favorites and limited time. I hope to update this list periodically, and if you feel I've missed someone, please feel free to reblog with your additions! I just would have loved a guide like this when I got into the fandom back in August and wanted to spread some positivity~!)

Fanfiction:

@angelnoodlesoup: she/her

Sophie is just one of the sweetest David stans that's ever existed who writes, like, the sweetest things about him. Her posts are just going to make you feel warm, fluffy, soft things in your heart area; give into the sweetness. Highlights: Sophie writes this adorable timestamp series of vignettes exploring Davey and Angel's day, but I'm particularly attacked to their David/Angel neighbors to lovers AU~

@arrowfleur

I was actually going to put Max in the visual content portion of this post, because they post delightful Redacted edits on Tiktok (under the same username, highly recommend~), but then they made a uquiz that gave me an existential crisis, so here we are. Highlights: This quiz sent my whole server for a loop and has made me reconsider my relationship with Lovely as a character and kin; it's a great time.

@batch-of-pengwings: robin/bird, she/her

Robin, an absolute sweetheart who makes all the fun ask games that keep the community interconnected and thinking and talking which is just really sweet and fun in the best way. Highlights: The Winter Wonderland game is the one who went around most recently, and it’s so fun to engage with the fandom and discuss who we think is stupid enough to get their tongues stuck on a telephone poll~

@bicyclepainting: they/them

Clover, the fandom's resident Smartass, doing the lord's work and reminding us all how fucking smoochable Aaron is on a regular basis on top of being the coolest astrology nerd don't give them your birth chart you will be perceived /lh Highlights: No one is doing Aaron/Smartass like they are; like, read and absorb the delicious, domestic delight that is them. I also recommend their deep dives into the Redacted bois signs, if you're into that; they're very thorough and fun to read!

@cashandprizes: she/they

My Lexi, my queerplatonic soulmate… She is on a quest to dissect and critique fandom brick by philosophical brick, and I both love her and fear her in equal measure. (That’s a lie, I love her infinitely, more than anything, but she is in fact incredibly intelligent and intimidating.) Highlights: Come for the scathing insights into gray-morality and DD:DNE’s place in fiction, stay for the stripper!Gavin fic they’re working on and their sequel to Lasko’s SexTember audio because she really wanted to make him cry

@ejunkiet: she/her

EJ, the very first of my Redacted loves~ Not only is EJ an endless well of kindness and positivity, but she also writes fucking bomb ass everything. You get angst, you get smut, you get fluff- We stan a multitalented, ace queen. (She also writes really cute CastleAudios fanfiction and original stuff as a cherry on top.) Highlights: EJ writes just some of my favorite David/Angel smut; she captures Angel's little shit nature perfectly. She's also written the sweetest thing of Damien meeting Huxley's moms that I can't get enough of~

@dominimoonbeam: she/her

Domini, truly one of the pillars of the fandom. I don't know what'd we'd be without her fantastic fics or her original novellas or her fantastic, beautiful, rarepair-creating brain. Highlights: God, there's too many to choose from! There's the Sam/Darlin fake dating AU that has us all gripped by the proverbial balls. There's the David/Darlin tattoo shop AU that has me frothing at the mouth because tattoo artists are stinkin hot. That's not even getting into their Cam/William fic, because god, that is such a good rarepair. We love two immortals finding love with one another, we really do. My personal favorite has got to be their Huxley/Darlin piece though, because Darlin gets to be cute and awkward and so, so loved in it.

@frenchiefitzhere: she/her

Frenchie, the fandom's unofficial (but basically official) Marie Greer, not only a gorgeous writer but also the creator of the most fantastical and unique fansongs (who makes original audio content to boot~) Highlights: We would be nowhere as a fandom without the Marie/Colm greer backstory and saga or her audios as the Greer Matriarch herself, but personally? Her Imperium!Lasko/Adam fic kind of changed my life, I'm kind of obsessed with it.

@friendlyfaded: he/him

Miles, the king and professor of the rarepairs! Beware, you will leave his blog wishing for fics for a ship that doesn’t actually exist yet. It’s unavoidable when you read the careful, creative, thoughtful way he considers seemingly silly pairings and makes them gorgeous. Highlights: I recommend his whole rarepairs with prof tag for a snack and his Sweetheart/Lasko/Milo fic for a whole meal~

@gingerbreadmonsters: she/her

Ginger, literally one of the sweetest, friendliest people in the entire Internet. I cannot adequately describe the absolute magnificent poetry of Ginger's prose, so you just have to read it for yourself. You will not be disappointed. Highlights: Ginger's Milo/Sweetheart series is for if you're feeling sweet, and her Vincent/Lovely/Gavin/Freelancer foursome fic is if you're feeling spicy~ Or if you're like me and are longing for an character we'll never see again, you can read her gorgeous, Doctor Who-inspired look in Marcus's mind.

@glassbearclock: she/her

Beans, also known as the best Milo/Sweetheart writer in the game. Their banter is taken from the mouth of god and first name Erik last name Redacted himself, and you could not convince me otherwise. Highlights: I’m a big fan of her sweet, wholesome, Jewish!Milo sick fic, but aYO her Milo/Sweetheart first date fic is so good y’all like goddamn Sweetheart phases through their door and makes Milo faceplant it on accident man that shit is so good

@horrorscoupes: they/he

My beautiful, darling Lotus, my gloriously deranged brother in arms (affectionate). The way they write each and every d(a)emons is just so -chef kiss-. Highlights: I think about their Regulus/Doll fic, like, literally every day, it's just yummy and depraved. Though, for a true taste of genius, for a galaxy brain treat, you've got to read his Shark!Vega/Pet masterpiece.

@k9rage: he/xi

My beloved Calico, our helpful Image Description fairy. He is just so cool and writes the most glorious smut like the world has ever seen. As of publishing, he's writing a Vega/Lasko street racing AU that's gonna be just smoke ash cinder fire hot. Highlights: You need to read his Damien/Gavin waxplay fic; like, this changed my life, I think about it daily. Ooh, AND his Aaron/SmartAss/Gavin threesome fic, because he didn't do all that thinking and imagining for us to not appreciate it. I'm also reccing @calicostorms, his other blog and spotify, so you can get at his stellar Redacted character playlists!

@lovelylonerliterature: 

Lovely, absolute stand-out writer in the fandom! Would you believe they have a whole (as of posting) 95 works for the RedactedASMR fandom on AO3? There’s <2000 fics, which makes Lovely a whole five percent of the fanfiction on their own. That’s wild and so hella cool. Highlights: Literally everything they write. Explore their extremely well done masterlist, it’s beautifully put together, and you’ll find something you love. (I’m particularly fond of the Darlin/Vega fic they wrote based off of one of FriendlyFaded’s posts~)

@romirola: she/her

Dr. Romi, the one and the only and one of the legitimate sweetest goddamn people that has ever existed. You've never met a more polite, darling person in all your days. How did she write all these thousands of words of art while getting a doctorate? God, I wish I knew... if only we could also be so beautiful and wonderful and accomplished. Highlights: You haven't existed until you've read her Milo/Sweetheart Tangled AU; like, what are you doing here? GO. (I also deeply recommend her found family Shaw Pack + Sam fic, if you're looking for something that's still ongoing!)

@sealriously-sealrious: they/them

Chrys who writes- no contest I think we can all agree- the best Huxley that this fandom has ever seen. He is just so well-explored and so multifaceted, just the top-tier himbo content we all need and deserve. Highlights: Huxley and Freelancer at the aquarium, Huxley and Freelancer going camping, sfw, nsfw, whatever you want, we've GOT. (There's even some imperium!Huxley, if you're so inclined >:))

@starlitangels: she/her

Starlit, another absolute powerhouse of the fandom. Just look at this masterlist, I think there’s something here for literally every character. That’s what babes call RANGE. Highlights: The way they explore the Shaw pack is so fun; I’d highly recommend her fic exploring Gabe and his backstory or her fic exploring the Shaw’s future pups~!

@taelonsamada: she/her

A pillar- or should I say fence post?- of the fandom and just an utter peach. Always has a nice word to say and says the best nice words about Sam and Darlin- Highlights: Her nsfw Geordi/Cutie fic holds a special place in my heart (the blindfold? the gag? Be still my beating heart), but you haven’t lived until you’ve read her Shaw-centric Ranch AU~!

@teasandcardigans: she/her

Mads, another lovely creator that could be in either section of this post- that's how talented she is! Not only is she a lovely writer but she also designs the most fun Redacted stickers! Also, she's got the only Redacted fan tiktok that Erik has confirmed seen and liked, can't not mention that it's so cool Highlights: Honestly, there's too many to mention! A really popular of hers is a "What If" echo-esque reimagining of everyone's stories which is so fun, and my personal, biased favorite is her Alexis & Gavin fic hear me OUT-

@the-sugar-crash

Cait, out here doing the most and the best. They’ve run the Redacted Winter Gift Exchange for the past two years, connecting blogs who might have never spoken to each other, inspiring creativity, and spreading holiday cheer~ Highlights: I recommend taking a look-see through the “Redacted 2022 Winter Gift Exchange” tag- much thanks to Cait for making it possible- to consider if you’d like to join next year! Until then, there’s a compilation of their cute headcanon posts to inspire you!

@zozo-01: she/her

Zo, one of the sweetest people in the fandom~ Not only is she a fantastic writer, but she is also one of the friendliest people in the space! Constantly excited and supportive and positive and a joy to follow and befriend. Highlights: Her Sam/Darlin Deity AU is going to change the world and break some hearts, I just know it. (Just like her Alexis and Darlin meeting fic broke mine-) If you're not up to getting your heart broken and just want a friend, I recommend asking her about her Powerpoint of Bollywood scenes that could be Sam/Darlin moments~!

Fanart:

@andr0leda: she/they

Androleda’s art is so gorgeous in that most of them are uncolored or working with a smaller palette, and it just makes those colors stand out and the line work all the more elegant. Highlights: Their wolf!Darlin piece got so popular, and you can see why! It looks like the cover of a really cool YA fantasy novel. Also, her Sam/Darlin art just melts the heart- the gentle hand, the key around the neck-!

@artbykays

Kays, a fantastic artist who plays around with the prettiest, brightest colors and has the prettiest (hottest) fem listeners. They also have super fun Redacted playlists! Highlights: Their Sweetheart, Valentina, is kind of smokin hot, I mean look at her, but also good lord, have you seen their Warden like lock me up anytime hello-

@belovedbow

Bow’s art just makes me so soft and gooey inside I dunno. Their art is so pretty, and they always have the most expressive faces. Not to mention the colors- like, Bow uses the simplest but most emotionally evocative shades of pinks and blues that make me inexplicably feel things, and I love it. Highlights: Literally all their Davey/Angel is the sweetest, but I also have this deep fondness for their imp!FL and Vindemiator pieces, because look at these deep, mournful blues, they’re beautiful!

@cascadiiing: they/them

Atlas creates the most beautiful, squishable, smoochable characters on top of being the most beautiful, squishable, smoochable (platonic) sweetie in existence~ they’re so sweet and friendly on top of being so talented at such a young age, and I would protect them with my life. Highlights: Their Sam kind of makes me so lovesick, I could barf- he’s just that pretty. Their Alexis/Christian art is fanart of my own fic, I’ll grant you, but it’s also so fucking pretty look at the dreamy colors and it MOVES-

@claracatlady

Where would we be without Clara, like honestly- What really stands out about their art is- other than the overwhelming talent- the obvious thought and joy that went into designing the outfits. Only the best from our resident fashion design student! Highlights: literally everything. If I must be specific, the David design pinned to their blog is utterly ahdhkakshdjsk, and I am particularly partial to their Alexis design, because I love my beautiful, possibly complex lady okay-

@fregget-frou : he/they

Mal has the prettiest Listeners; I’m lowkey in love with all of them~ I love the way he does such fluffy, voluminous hair, and I dunno, all their listener OC’s have this fashion model-esque glamour and posture about them that’s really attractive. Highlights: Of their listeners, Mal’s Angel has got to be my favorite. Look at this fluffy-haired cutie! Look at this menace! I would also propose to them, they’re gorgeous!

@gwenifred: she/her

Gwen draws the most gorgeous, swoon-worthy Huxleys and is just a big sweetpea to boot. Her and Pali sharing OC’s and art trades here and on Twitter is a testament to how friendly and sweet the fandom can be! Highlights: Everything she draws is gorgeous, but you haven’t lived until you’ve seen her animation work!

@ice-palace-art: They/It/He/Dae

Darby has some of the most beautiful designs, I can hardly stand it. He creates the most gorgeous, realistically proportioned characters and listeners, and they’re just really smoochable okay let me live- Highlights: It has this one piece of Gavin and Lasko having a sleepover that fills me with the warm fuzzies every time I see it, and their Aaron design fills me with longing I am hopelessly in love with their dad-bodded Aaron.

@itsdaifuku: she/her

Y’all don’t even know the little happy stim storm Fuku’s art sets me on; like, all her art is so cute and joyful and somehow colorful even when it’s in black and white? It just gives the vibe of life and vibrancy constantly? How does she do that? Highlights: Literally, everything she draws is gorgeous and sweet, though her designs for the Shaws and their mates are so S-tier and so cute. (I’m also particularly fond of her designs for Love and Alexis, my favorite characters, I’m biased, sue me)

@mr-laveau: he/they

Laveau, my favorite Milo kinnie~ (Yeah, I said it out loud; I’m callin you out.) Charming, thoughtful, friendly, much more talented than they have any right to be when they’re also so funny and sweet, AND also writing at their other blog @bratty-telepath. You’ve never seen such a double threat. Highlights: Literally, everything he makes. All his designs are colorful and gorgeous and filled to the brim with deliberate, intentional details (though I am incredibly partial to their Alexis and Darlin designs and the parallels he included between them.)

@nais-doodles

Nai is a fucking blessing unto this fandom, and we are not worthy. You haven’t really lived, haven’t experienced all the pure, positive silliness that this hellsite has to offer until you experience Nai’s Redacted Actor AU. It’s pure serotonin, and we’re all here listening to Boyfriend ASMR, I know we could use it. Highlights: Other than said AU posts (which really are so fuckin good), have you seen their drawing of Vincent and Sam’s Monarchal ball? Ooh, and if you go to their tiktok under the same username, you can see some of the really cool dating sim they’re working on!

@nanowatzophina: any pronouns

Na’no is not only a must follow on tumblr, but I also highly recommend their tiktok if you wish to wade through the horrid cesspool of that app (I say with tiktok as one of my top social media sites- we have a codependent relationship) Their art is super cute and expressive, and I get massive gender envy from the way he draws hair and teeth. Highlights: Her aspec Freelancer is just so close to my heart; I adore Avery so deeply. Also, the way they draw imperium!Vega and Pet makes my heart fucking melt and want to jump out my chest- the size difference, my god

@obsessivedino: they/them

Mint’s contribution to the fandom cannot possibly be overstated. Their art style is just so clean and neat and with the cutest expressions, and I love their designs so much, especially for the d(a)emon bois I just ahhhhh Highlights: If you’ve joined the official unofficial Redacted Discord server, you’ve seen their adorable stickers reminding you to kick that ass or hydrate unless you want to die-drate, and you haven’t truly embraced life unless you’ve seen their two-year anniversary masterpiece. Ooh, or pocket caelum!

@palilious: she/her

There is no Redacted fandom or fandom list without Pali, and we’ve all accepted that. Her style is so uniquely and instantaneously recognizable as hers, and everyone adores it, including but not limited to GBA, Nomad, and Cardlin! Highlights: Literally everyone she draws is so pretty, though I have a soft spot for her Vincent or her Nomad drawings if you’re looking for more VAs to listen to!

@pearl-kite: she/they

Kirehn has the most huggable humans and the most awe-inspiring d(a)emons. The way she draws the d(a)emons with constellations worked into the designs and color palettes is just so gorgeous and purposeful and thoughtful. Highlights: Their Vega is so frightening but beautiful, you just can’t look away from him. I’m also particularly in love with their Darlin!

@queendread

Do y’all ever do this thing when you see an ethereally beautiful person and you have no words, all you can do is giggle like a vapid schoolgirl(gn)? That’s me with all of Anna’s paintings: no words, just awe. Highlights: I don’t even really like Gavin, okay, he’s not my type, but lord above, Anna’s Gavin is something else. Their Sam also has those Captain America, boy next door good looks I imagined, it’s like they took him right out of my daydreams.

@ryokoaoi : they/them

Ryo has the absolute cutest, most adorable art style, one can barely handle it! Everything they draw is just so pretty and so colorful and detailed and sweet. (Except the sad things, those are less sweet but gosh they’re still so pretty.) They also have this Magic Swap AU that they design that is so fun to read about! Highlights: Their swapped! Gavin and Avior designs are so fun, I adore them deeply, and if you need something to cheer you up, you can always depend on their DAMN pieces that always include a little invisible Caelum to bring you joy~!

@slushrottweiler: she-they

There is nothing like seeing Slush’s signature blue linework on your dashboard, it’s such a sweet treat- or spicy. There are also very good, very spicy treats. Her blog is a magnificent roulette wheel of blue surprises. Highlights: I love their Sam/Darlin stuff, especially this one because wowee them shoulderblades, but their HuxDami BA piece takes the cake.

@spookybeandoodle

Spooky has my whole heart and wallet and my other heart if I had one I fell in love with their rich color palettes and shading and Alexis right away and had to commission them. Could not recommend enough, they were a treasure to work with~ Highlights: I’m not biased- okay yes I am but not now their Alexis is fuckin smoking hot but also their Cam might be my favorite Cam look at that smile-!

@sri-rachaa: she/her

Rae is such a treasure to this fandom, we hardly deserve her. Her art is so ethereally pretty and delicate? The way she draws hair and noses and silhouettes- her line work is just phenomenal. Everything she creates is just a delight to look at. Highlights: The Southern Siblings AU is a gift, a treasure, a boon that cannot be ignored. I’m also a big fan of her Lovely OC who is ridiculously pretty~

@tankwolf : she/her

June has been posting fanart for only two months, but I’m already absolutely obsessed. I just find her monochrome character portraits so visually engaging and interesting. I would love so badly to be friends with her listener OC’s… Highlights: …or more than friends, because her Sweetheart is something else good lord. I would just love it if June could stop putting the hot people in crop tops please (but also don’t cause whoa)

@terrazaurio

All the fanart Terra creates is so bright and vivid and colorful and expressive, they’re really such a treat to see and experience. I’m a sucker for the colors they use, cause it makes my lizard brain all happy and go “shiny pretty happy.” Highlights: Everything they draw with the Shaw Pack is pure dopamine, like this one of the bois and their mates hanging by the pool. I am particularly attached to this piece from Milo’s HBS, because they’re so fucking in love, your honor, I love them.

@thefablefoxart : she/her

Angelina’s Redacted couple series is one of the truest delights of the fandom; like, they’re so colorful and cute and just adorably designed. I’m also deeply in love with the way she does hair. Everyone just has really fucking good looking hair, and I can’t get over it-Highlights: On top of the aforementioned couple series, I just want to bring attention to this adorable chibi Sam that she drew- it brings me so much serotonin- and their Darlin, Kai who I wish would just give me a shot okay I have a Southern accent too-

If you’re reading all the way here, I hope you found the post helpful and smiled while making your way through it! Or both! The RedactedAudio fandom is truly one of my favorite spaces on the internet; it’s so intimate and creative, and I’ve found some amazing, perfect friends here, so I hope you will too 💖

again playing around with the formatting please stop hurting me tumblr I’m trying to be nice

If you can see this, I love you, and you’re watching me try to format this post so tumblr doesn’t cut off the bottom of it please ignore the Android behind the emerald curtain go about your day

[taytrashmouth]

The summer I’ve waited for

Jeremiah fisher x female reader

TW: drinking, swearing.

Description: you’ve been friends with Jeremiah forever, back in Boston you are inseparable, what happens when he invites you to cousins this summer

———————————————————————

You met Jeremiah at school when you were 12, he’s always been funny and kind, he was nice to you when no one else was.

You were best friends since the first moment you met, the only thing that sucked was that he was never around for summer.

But this year, at 16 he invited you with, Susannah was so happy you were coming with, Belly would have a girlfriend and she loved you like her own.

The drive down to cousins was long, Conrad drove, Susannah scrolled through her phone in the passengers seat while you sat in the back with Jeremiah.

Your leg was bouncing up and down rapidly, what if it was awkward, what if belly didn’t like you, what if you ruined the perfect summers Jeremiah spoke of so often-

Your thoughts were broken when jere put his hand on your bouncing leg.

“Hey what’s wrong?” He frowned.

“Just nervous.” You shook your head.

“It’ll be so fun having you around, and I already know belly will love you, besides you’ll have me by your side, you’re stuck with me for three whole months.”

You couldn’t help but smile, he had no idea how much you liked him, he was the only boy you’d liked for 5 years. Spending 3 months with him sounded like heaven.

When you arrived Jeremiah showed you your room, right across from his. The house was gorgeous and the sound of the waves was magical.

You sat outside by the pool looking out at the ocean once you’d unpacked. Absolutely mesmerized.

It wasn’t until you saw Conrad, Jeremiah and Steven (you’d seen him in photos) throwing belly into the pool while she kicked and screamed.

“You guys that wasn’t funny.” Belly spoke.

“Yeah guys not cool.” You walked behind both Conrad and Jeremiah, hands around their waists. As they both turned to look at you, you pushed as hard as you could pushing them both in too.

They both yelled and you and belly laughed.

“I love her!” Belly laughed and smiled at Jeremiah, gesturing to you.

“Yeah me too.” He smiled subtly and looked down at the water, making you blush.

It was a few days later that you sat at the kitchen island waiting to watch a movie with belly and the moms that belly said something that surprised you.

“You know I’m so happy i finally got to meet you cause you’re like really cool, and because jere talks about you non-stop, he thinks you’re so smart and he tells us all these stories about you being like the coolest person.” Belly rambled.

“All good things I hope.” You chuckled, blushing slightly. “ I’m sure he doesn’t talk about me that much.”

“No there was a point I wanted to be you, and I hadn’t even seen your photo- I was like 12 but still”

You both giggled.

Summer went on, you went to parties with jere and he taught you how to play beer pong, you both sang karaoke at this tiki bar on Saturdays, he showed you all of his favorite spots in cousins. Late night drives and long walks on the beach.

Everything was perfect except you couldn’t help but feel that he loved belly…..and it hurt.

But there were moments where you allowed yourself to dream, to feel as though he liked you back.

The night by the pool when lover came on the speaker and you smiled at the sound of your favorite song.

“Let’s dance.” Jeremiah spoke. You looked up at him as he stood up and held out his hand. “You need to practice anyway.” Referring to the deb ball, belly begged you to do it with her.

You didn’t know how the hell to find a date, you only liked, and wanted one guy.

You smiled and gave him your hand. He pulled you up and held your waist. You wrapped your arms around his neck and you began to sway. He spun you around slowly once or twice but soon it was just the two of you in this moment, looking into each others eyes.

“You’re a good dancer.” You whispered.

“I have a good partner.” He smiled, both of your cheeks burning.

Then there was the day you tried on your debutante dress, you looked in your bedroom mirror, only seeing the parts of yourself you hated.

That’s when Jere barged in with a smile, rambling about something Steven just did, but when you turned around he stopped dead.

“Holy shit…” he let out.

“I know-“ your voice was laced with insecurities but he didn’t let you fished before moving closer and making you spin around.

“You’re perfect.” He smiled and held your cheeks, you leaned into his touch wishing this moment would last.

Tears filled your eyes, he was healing all your wounds, damage he didn’t even cause.

“Thank you.” You smiled back.

When Taylor came out for belly’s birthday she bought belly a purple swimsuit, she had a pink one and she had bought you a dark blue one, because she knew belly liked you, and wanted you to be included.

You were insecure, people at school had bullied you your whole life, your weight fluctuated a lot and you weren’t exactly comfortable in a bikini.

When you didn’t go down to the pool after about 20mins jere came to look for you…

He found you in your bathroom, looking at yourself in the mirror in your new bikini with tears running down your cheeks

“Hey hey hey, what’s wrong?” He asked with a frown, immediately pulled you into his chest.

You hugged him tightly and he stroked your hair.

“I hate it.” You chocked.

“What? What do you hate?” He held your shoulders looking at your face now.

“Me, they way I look, fuck, I look like a whale compared to them.”

Jeremiah almost laughed.

“Them? Belly and taylor?”

“Yeah and like every other girl at this stupid beach.” You cried more, but he wiped away the tears that fell.

“Turn around.” He smiled, you grumpily spun.

“Exactly what I thought, no sign of a whale…and y/n….you’re hot, don’t tell belly or Taylor I said this but you’re like way hotter than them.” He exclaimed.

You chocked a laugh.

“Really?” You frowned again.

“Definitely.” He hugged you again, and made jokes as you washed your face before following him back to the pool.

“I found her!!! She was trying to make sure she was still hotter than all of us.” He joked as you walked out the doors to the pool.

Taylor smiled, “I knew that bikini was your color, it’s literally so hot.” Belly nodded in agreement.

Steven gawked at you as you climbed into the pool and belly hit him on the head.

It wasn’t until you were walking along the beach as the sun set, a week till the deb ball and still you had no date.

“Hey!” Jeremiah called as he ran down the beach to catch up.

“Hey.” You smiled back.

You talked about a lot of things as the sun began to set.

“Still no date?” He asked.

You shook your head,

“Seriously? I don’t believe no one’s asked you.” He spoke as if you were the most precious thing that any guy would want.

You shook your head again, a few guys had asked, but you didn’t really want to go with them. So you told them no.

You continued to talk about the ball.

“Mom told Conrad to ask Belly, but I think she’ll be pissed if she finds out he didn’t actually want to ask her you know?” He spoke.

“Yeah, I’d be pissed if that happened to me.”

“That’s why I swore off these things, drama creating nonsense, I’d only make an exception for this one girl-“ he spoke slowly but you cut him off.

“Yeah, it sucks that Conrad’s taking her-“

“What?” He stopped walking.

“You like belly….don’t you?” You frowned.

He scoffed and looked off to the side.

“You’re really really dumb for someone with straight A’s, you know that?” He asked.

You frowned even more.

“I’d make an exception for you n/n….”

Your whole world stopped for a minute, looking into his ocean eyes.

“I’m just waiting for you to ask me……” he looked at his feet.

“I didn’t ask because I needed to know you wanted this, I couldn’t do it because i could never forgive myself if I screwed this up, us…” he looked back up at you.

Your heart was pounding, your head was exploding and your stomach erupted with butterflies.

“Will you go to the ball with me Jere?” You smiled.

He sighed with relief and smiled the biggest you e ever seen.

“Fuck yes!!!!” He wrapped his arms around you and spun you in the air before putting you down.

You laughed, feeling on top of the world.

“You sure about this?” He asked looking down at you.

“It’s been five years of crushing, I’m sure.” You joked.

“Good because I really want to kiss you.” He smiled.

He leaned in and your lips met, it was like two pieces of a puzzle. So passionate yet soft. This was the summer you’d always wanted, the summer you waited for.

As you broke apart for air you both smiled and entangled your hands, and you walked home in the dark, waves crashing against your ankles.

“I liked you before we were even friends you know.” Jeremiah spoke up.

“What?”

“Yeah, I saw you in the hallway one day and I knew, that the pretty girl by locker 34 was going to be my wife one day.”

You smiled, and laughed with him, as you swing your hands back and forth.

“Really? I still had braces….why me?” You asked with a frown.

“Because I love you, you idiot!” He yelled, he turned and kissed you for the second time that night. You smiled into the kiss, and the waves crashed into your calves.

“I love you too…I always have.” You told him. “And I’m not sure about ‘wife’ just yet, but I’m just waiting for you to ask me..” you quoted his words from earlier.

He smiled and got down on one knee, his shorts were wet and your dress was blowing in the wind. You threw your head back in a smile.

“Y/n l/n, will you make me the happiest golden retriever and be my girlfriend,”

“Fuck yes!!!!”

He got up and you held onto each other like it was the last time you’d hug.

When you arrived back at the house, he dragged you up to his room, rummaging in his drawer to find something.

“I uh- I got this for your birthday last year, but I chickened out of giving it to you because I though it might overstep a boundary or something.” He explained as he sat next to you on his bed and handed you a box.

You carefully took off the lid and revealed a sliver locket, the letter J engraved on the front, you opened it up and on the left was a picture on Jeremiah giving you a piggy back ride, both of you smiling so widely. And on the right the lyrics ‘at every table I’ll save you a seat’ were engraved in cursive.

You closed the locket and stared at the J, then at him, tears in your eyes.

“Because I really know you.” He pointed at his initial.

You smiled, tears falling.

“I love you, you’re perfect.” You smiled, looking at his beautiful eyes, and smile, thinking of how thoughtful he was, how kind, how funny, he was yours, and you were his.

He helped you out the necklace on, and you never took it off

[sadprose-auroras]

hiiii i was wondering if i could make a request for a hazel x reader where reader is beaten up by someone not from fight club and hazel gets really protective and rounds up the rest of the club to retaliate

Hey, thank you for your request! Sorry it took a hot min, this one took on a life of its own. Not sure how I feel about it tbh, but please let me know what you think! xx

Content warning: targeted violence, themes of bullying, cursing

Word count: 3.7k

You were well aware that Jeff, star quarterback, most popular guy in school, widely celebrated asshole, completely had it in him to take his bullying way too far. You couldn’t ever forget the first time you saw him beat somebody to a pulp.

It was eighth grade, and you were an awkward, shy thing, just trying to navigate schoolwork and friendships. To put it simply, you were figuring out who you were and your place in the world. There were so many questions swirling around in your head. Why did you feel an immense swirling sensation in your tummy when your classmate, Hazel Callahan, would sit next to you in class when nobody else would? Was it normal to be so deeply enamoured by the clothes she wore, her hairstyle, her school supplies, so much so that you would try and emulate an outfit she’d worn, to beg your mom for a haircut like hers, to buy the same pencil case she had, just because she was the coolest person you knew? Reflecting back, of course, you had a crush on her, and didn’t know how to express it. But at the time, you thought you just really wanted to be her best friend and not leave her side for a moment.

At this awkward pre-pubescent stage, Jeff and all his football buddies seemed to be way older, more mature, and you were terrified of them. Jeff, especially. He had always been a bully, shoving kids out of his way in the school halls and calling people derogatory names. But he only seemed to be getting worse. And every time you passed him in the hallway, your heart was in your throat as you kept your head down and walked faster. Was this the time he was going to target you?

One day, you were in the schoolyard, sitting on a bench with Hazel chatting about a book that Hazel had lent to you. One that, to your surprise and deep excitement, included two of the girl characters sharing a kiss on the lips. Vampires, at that. You thought that was the coolest thing ever. You’d read that same passage over and over, enthralled at that even being a possibility. It had crossed your mind that you really wanted to kiss Hazel like that.

“So… did you like it?” she asked with an expectant smile. You nodded incessantly.

“Oh my god, it was AMAZING! The vampires were SO cool, Kali and Anna were my favourite characters by far! I wanna be a vampire,” you gushed, flushing a deep shade of red when Hazel giggled.

“Dude, I knew you’d say that!” she said. “You so don’t wish you were a vampire, you love the sun!” You laughed and shrugged. She was completely right.

“You know me well, Haze,” you laughed.

“Hey?” Hazel asked, chewing on the end of the straw on her juice box. She looked nervous.

“Hm?”

“I have to tell you something.” Your heart started going a million miles an hour.

“What is it?”

“Well-“ before she could finish, a commotion out of the corner of your eye caught both of your attentions. You whipped your head around to see a large group gathered around two people on the floor. It was Jeff, holding down a kid and punching him. Over. And over. And over. You quickly realised it was a boy in your English class, Thomas, who you’d never really talked to but was a shy nerd like you. He seemed nice; he had lent you a pencil once. To your horror, he didn’t even seem to be moving. And Jeff was cackling. Maniacally.

“Oh god, what do we do?” you asked frantically. “We should get a teacher, right?” Although there were a bunch of kids cheering him on, it didn’t feel right.

“Yeah, come on!” Hazel said, grabbing your hand and dragging you behind her as you rushed off together to find a teacher. You couldn’t tell if it was the handholding, or the life and death situation, that was giving you more adrenaline.

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

Now that you were all seniors, you were only more terrified of Jeff. He had never targeted you, luckily, but you had witnessed his increasing violent nature towards many of your other classmates. As for Hazel, the vampire book situation all those years ago had been somewhat of an awakening for you; you were totally, completely in love with your best friend. You never, ever told her though, your fear of rejection outweighing anything else. The closest you got was telling her you liked girls when you were having a sleepover for your sixteenth birthday. There was something about sleepovers that made you feel like you could talk about things you usually weren’t brave enough to. To your delight, she told you the exact same thing moments later.

Shockingly, you and Hazel had finally branched out and spoke to people besides each other. Your other friends, PJ and Josie, made you a perfect little foursome. You had bonded over your respective codependent friendships. You first heard about the fight club when PJ and Josie told you and Hazel over lunch that they had created a self-defence club to sleep with cheerleaders.

“We’re teaching them how to defend themselves, next thing we know, Isabel and Brittany are kissing us on the mouths!” PJ addressed Josie, flailing her arms around.

“Can we join?” you asked, then realised how that sounded, laughing. “I mean-“

Hazel squinted at you from the sun, furrowing her brows in confusion. Your heart skipped a beat; her eyes particularly sparkled in the sunshine.  

“You want both of us” – she pointed back and forth between herself and you – “to join those two” – she gestured at PJ and Josie – “in kissing Brittany and Isabel!?”

“No, no,” you say quickly. “The club. Can we join the club?”

“Yeah, sure!” Josie said.

“I mean, I guess, except we don’t want the losers to outweigh everyone else. No offense,” PJ says, and you shrug, entirely not offended.

“You’re not wrong,” you chuckle. “We are decidedly losers.”

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

Despite the murky intentions PJ and Josie had for starting the club, it began to take on a life of its own. The mismatched groups of girls really began to bond, and you found yourself emotionally fulfilled in a new way that you hadn’t really experienced before. Being able to talk about deep things with a group of girls you knew had your back, and vice versa, was life changing. You noticed a significant difference in how you felt at school. Before, you were on edge most of the time and relatively lonely in a lot of your classes. Now, you had people to sit with, to say ‘hi’ to in the hallways. It was like a weight had been lifted off your shoulders that you didn’t know existed.

One evening after a particularly long club meeting, you were the last one to leave, packing up after everybody else had left. You were humming to yourself as you worked, the warm feeling you had inside from hanging out with your friends still lingering. It was ironic how beating each other up brought you so close. Once you finished, you left the gym, backpack slung over your shoulder and keys in hand as you walked into the carpark. You noticed a figure moving in your general direction out of the corner of your eye but didn’t think much of it; there were lots of people still around school, coming out of their extracurriculars. Just as you had unlocked your car, the footsteps neared, and you whipped around to be met with Jeff standing over you threateningly. You gulped.

“May I help you?” you asked, trying to keep your voice even as not to show how terrified you were of him.

“Yeah, actually,” he said, crossing his arms. “I’ve had enough of your little girls group taking attention away from football. You’re all over the school, and it’s done. You’re all done.”

“I don’t know what you expect us to do,” you said, voice barely above a whisper. “Now if you’ll excuse me.” You shoved him away, going to get into your car. Before you could, he reached out and pushed the door closed.

“You shouldn’t have done that,” he said, and your heart sank.

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

The first place you thought to go after Jeff beating you up was Hazel’s house. You practically sped to get there, unable to stop the sobs wracking your body. As you pulled into her driveway, you let out a sigh of relief noticing that her mum’s car wasn’t in the driveway. Barely stopping to take off your seatbelt before rushing out of the car, you ran up to the door and rang the doorbell twice in a row. It didn’t take long for you to hear footsteps, and the door swung open to Hazel dressed in sweatpants and a cozy jumper. She murmured your name, eyes scanning your face with concern.

“What happened?”

Without speaking, you practically fell into her arms in a hug, only crying harder. She engulfed you with her arms, stroking your hair comfortingly.

“I’ve got you, I’ve got you,” she whispered, rubbing a hand up and down your back. You hiccupped, pulled away from the hug and wiped some tears from your eyes with your sleeve.

“Come on, let’s get you cleaned up.” You wordlessly took Hazel’s outstretched hand, following her to the bathroom. You hoisted yourself up onto the sink, swinging your legs. Hazel started collecting supplies: damp cloths, antiseptic, band aids, bruise ointment. As you watched her, face deep in concentration as she murmured to herself about what she needed, you felt a surge of love for her.

“Thank you,” you whispered, voice dripping with sincerity. She looked at you funnily as if to say, you don’t need to thank me, don’t be ridiculous.

“Okay, I’m just going to-“ she said gently, stepping between your legs and beginning to gently dab the blood off your face. As she worked, you watched her, suppressing tears at the realisation that you couldn’t feel any safer and protected with her by your side. God, you loved her. As she applied antiseptic, she shook her head in disbelief.

“Who did this to you?” she asked, visibly seething.

“Jeff,” you said quietly, lip quivering. Steam practically blew out of Hazel’s ears. Her movements ceased for a moment, and she pressed her lips tightly together.

“He deserves to die,” she said matter of factly.

“I don’t disagree,” you murmur.

“Hey?” you ask, making eye contact with her. You realise how truly close your faces are, and your heart rate increases rapidly. You let out a shuddering breath, trying to keep your composure.

“Can I stay here tonight, please?” you ask, desperately trying to suppress the urge to be embarrassed. You just really didn’t want to be alone.

“Of course. You don’t even have to ask, you know that.” Her voice was so gentle, you practically melted.

“Thanks, Haze,” you said, as she finished cleaning you up.

“All done,” she said, beginning to pack away everything. You hop off the bench, taking the painkillers and water she hands you gratefully.

“Thank you,” you say as you pop the tablets into your mouth and swallow them with a big gulp of water.

“Stop thanking me,” Hazel chuckled lightly. “Come on, let’s go to bed.” You followed her to her bedroom, suddenly feeling unusually nervous. It wasn’t as if you hadn’t slept in each other’s beds before. Sleepovers were a major part of your friendship when you were younger, and more recently were particularly convenient when you got a little too drunk to get home. Perhaps there was something about the added layer of vulnerability to your state that was making you feel shyer with your best friend. As you contemplated this, shuffling back and forth on your feet, Hazel retrieved a soft t-shirt and shorts for you to wear to bed. She threw them at you, and you caught them with a soft smile.

“Thanks, dude.” You moved into an alcove in the corner of her room, turning to face the wall as you heard Hazel shuffling around, presumably getting changed as well. You desperately fought the urge to turn around, unsure if the tension in the room you could feel just at the thought of you both getting changed at the same time was in your head. But you swore, you could feel it. You pulled Hazel’s shorts up, tying them at the waist and trying to ignore the fact that the t-shirt she had lent you smelt like her. Although it was difficult not to. You folded your clothes, placing them on a chair, then turned around to find Hazel in a pair of plaid pyjama bottoms and a white tank top, sitting on her bed scrolling on her phone.

“You look cute,” she remarked in an indecipherable tone, and you couldn’t entirely tell if she was joking or not. Since eighth grade, you’d definitely developed your own style apart from Hazel’s, and her clothes on you were not your style at all. You poked you tongue out at her, as you walked over and got under the covers, snuggling down. It was easier to fall back into your friendship as it had always been in those moments, where you were unsure if she was feeling the same way. Otherwise, you might have to actually confess your own feelings, which was completely terrifying.

Hazel followed your lead, placing her phone down on the nightstand and pushing the covers back so she could get in, pulling them up to her chin and turning over to face you. Your heart skipped a beat.

“Thank you for everything, Haze,” you said, shutting your eyes. If you looked into hers for a second longer you might actually explode.

“I’d do anything for you,” she whispered, so softly you could barely hear it. Before you knew it, you were drifting off.

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The next morning you awoke to sun pouring in the curtains, and you slowly opened your eyes, stretching your back and yawning. Despite the events of last night, you actually slept better than you had in weeks. The pain in your face had subsided a lot already. You rolled over to face Hazel’s side of the bed, heart sinking when you found it empty. Confused, you rolled back over and reached for your phone, touching the screen. Realisation flooded in. It was 9:00am on a Thursday. A text from Hazel was waiting for you, which she had sent half an hour earlier.

morning! i let you sleep, hope that’s okay. wasn’t sure if u were gonna go to school today. text me if you need anything <3

You smiled softly to yourself, eyes focused on the heart she sent a little longer than necessary. You quickly replied.

Thank youuuu, needed that sleep in. I think I will come to school, I’ll see you for second period probs xx

After hitting send, you got out of bed, making sure to make it neatly before deciding to go and quickly take a shower. After you stripped out of your clothes and waited for the water to warm up, you took a moment to examine your face in the mirror. It felt significantly better than last night, as if Hazel’s touch was magic. The bruising around your eyes was starting to come out, you had a small cut on your cheekbone, and the eye that you could barely open last night was much less swollen. You stepped into the shower, allowing the warm water to relax your muscles with a sigh.

Little did you know, as you were sleeping that morning, Hazel had called an emergency meeting of the fight club. She was on a mission, and absolutely nothing was going to stop her. All she kept seeing in her mind’s eye was your face when you showed up on her doorstep, beaten and bloody, sniffling, eyes brimming with tears. To see you like that, the person she loved more than anyone in the world, shattered her heart. She had to get revenge, and she needed some help.

“Are we all clear on the plan?” Hazel asked, looking around at the group. It felt strange for the whole club to be there with you missing; she certainly noticed your absent presence. Normally, you’d be next to her, sitting cross-legged, and tapping your fingers on your leg like you do, exchanging glances with Hazel when something funny happened. She basically ached at the thought.

“Let’s fucking do it!” PJ yelled, banging the handle of a broom on the ground. Everyone else cheered and clapped in agreement.

“Let’s kill him,” Isabel said, narrowing her eyes with determination. She had her own reasons to want to do this.

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

By the time you pulled into the carpark at school, the bell was just ringing, indicating the end of the first period. You weren’t going to lie, you were nervous about running into Jeff, but you prayed that there were enough people around during the actual school day that he couldn’t get you again. Just as you stepped out of your car, you heard a commotion coming from behind you. You frowned, swinging your backpack over your shoulder to follow the noise of people shouting.  Rounding the corner to the other side of the carpark, your hand flew to your mouth. You couldn’t believe your eyes.

Hazel, along with all your friends from fight club, were stood over a football-uniform clad guy on the ground, who you couldn’t see from your angle. As other students had gathered around to watch, whooping and cheering, your friends were taking turns to punch, kick, stomp on, and slap the guy on the ground.

“THAT’S FOR CHEATING ON ME WITH MY SISTER!” Isabel cried out, kicking hard. That’s when it dawned on you; the guy on the ground, who was barely moving, unable to get out of the girls’ grips, was Jeff.

“THAT’S FOR Y/N!” Hazel yelled, in a voice you had never heard her use before, swinging both of her fists down hard on Jeff’s face multiple times. You approached the group, pushing past the onlooking crowd. You couldn’t believe how many people were supporting this. The way Jeff was thoroughly worshipped in school was obscene. Perhaps everybody was just waiting for someone to get back at him first. You approached your friends, taking a deep breath to yourself. They all turned to look at you as Josie was kicking Jeff in the head blood dripping from his mouth. Isabel was watching on proudly. You placed your hand on Hazel’s shoulder, and she spun around.

“Hey,” you murmured, smiling softly.

“I-uh-“ she began, as if she was about to explain herself, then you shook your head.

“Can I get in on this?” you asked, and she visibly relaxed, grinning.

“You’re not mad?”

“Fuck, no! You’re so brave for doing this, to be the first to give him what he deserves.” With that, you turned your attention to the guy lying on the ground, smiling at the sight of him groaning, bleeding, looking like absolute death.

“Hey, remember me?” you asked, before bringing your fist down on his face. Hard. And then again. And then again. And once more. Your friends, as well as the crowd watching on, cheered you on. The last punch you threw caused Jeff’s head to fall to the side as he passed out. You stood up proudly, looking around at your friends.

“I love you guys,” you grinned, and you all engulfed each other in a big group hug, all congratulating each other and saying how much you all loved each other. Amidst the chaos, you could feel Hazel’s hand resting on the small of your back. You all pulled away, and as everybody fell into chatter you grabbed Hazel’s hand and pulled her with you away from the crowd.

“Where are we going?” she asked with a laugh, awkwardly trailing behind you in a half jog, half walk.

“Here,” you said breathlessly, stopping when you rounded a corner to a quiet spot.

“Thank you for protecting me.” Your voice was still breathless, your head spinning with anticipation. It was now or never. Before Hazel could respond, you leant against the brick wall of the building behind you, pulling her toward you by her waist. She cupped your face, and your lips met. Desire pooled in your stomach as your lips slotted together perfectly, moving together in sync. Her lips were way softer than they looked, and you had spent a lot of time looking at them.

Hazel pulled away slightly, and you instinctively chased her lips. She smirked, eyes scanning your face. You flushed deeply.

“Oh my god,” she said in that voice that made you want to melt into the floor, and you laughed in disbelief.

“I know,” you whispered before kissing the corner of her mouth. She smiled at this, pushing a strand of your hair out of your eyes. If it was anybody else, you would feel insecure about your swollen eye and bruised face, you would worry that you weren’t attractive, but it didn’t cross your mind once with Hazel. She made you feel like the most beautiful person in the world.

“I didn’t know-“ you both started to say at the same time, then giggled. You were literally giddy.

“You go,” you said.

“I didn’t know you liked me.”

“I didn’t know you liked me,” you replied, laughing.

“Do you remember-“ Hazel started, then cleared her throat. “Do you remember that book I lent you in eighth grade about those gay vampires?”

“That was literally my gay awakening,” you said with a laugh, unable to believe that she remembered that. “Wait, what does that-“

“I’ve been in love with you since then,” Hazel suddenly said, and your heart caught in your throat. You pulled Hazel even closer to you by her belt loops, and she gasped. You kissed her more passionately this time, your head spinning.

“I’m in love with you too,” you murmured when you pulled away, foreheads resting together.

[elcpsstuff]

The Summer I Remembered You (C.F)

Summary: Y/N couldn’t wait until the days she could return to cousins, but this summer was different. After boundaries were broken and mistakes were made from the summer before, all she wants to do is forget. But when you live with the mistakes you made, how can you not remember?

Warnings: mentions of underage drinking, sexual content, swearing, angst and fluff, cancer mentions and treatment.

A/N: First story! Had the inspiration due to tsitp season 2 coming out. Also intense love square warnings and slow burn so be prepared, please enjoy!

—

(THIS STORY UNDER REVISION)

Note to readers: Hi guys! first of all, thank you so much for the love on this story. This was my first ever time writing a full story like this and the fact that you guys love it so much makes me happy inside you have no idea :0 However, after months i’m not very happy with how this story ended up. I had a very different plan when beginning it and the story kind of went off the rails. So, while I appreciate the love on the story it will be re written in some aspects! Some things will stay the same but I feel like this is for the best to fix the plot lines. Thank you! <3

—

I felt the sun burn my face through the window, and I was immediately awoken. I looked around to see Belly and Steven jamming out in the front. I looked to the left of me to see an angry Laurel shaking her head at their screams.

“Ah! Y/N! You’re awake?” Steven says, and I roll my eyes at him. Peering back out the window, I saw the cousins beach sign pop up, and a smile appeared across my face.

“You all know what I said earlier, right?” Laurel looks at all of us, “You need to be better this summer. Last summer was.. it was..” she trailed off and I felt the heat of the car pool into me and suddenly I was rolling the window down.

Summer. It was my favorite thing in the whole world, but, things were different now. I was different.

I’ve been coming to cousins since I was a baby, but it wasn’t always with the Conklin’s. My mom and Susannah grew up together, and often not she would come to cousins with her a lot. Then in college, they met Laurel who eventually married my mom’s brother, John.

I lived right down the street from my cousins during the school year, and then with them in the summer. Steven always used to joke claiming we were the “coolest cousins in cousins.”

Weird right?

Everything was normal until it wasn’t. Until my parents were driving home through a bad storm and there car swerved right into a drunk drivers.

sweetie, it’s your parents.

they got in a car crash, and are in critical condition.

they didn’t make it—

They died this September, and that’s when I moved right next door in with my cousins. Nothing really changed, we were always inseparable but now we just lived together.

Anyways, i told myself now was the time to move on. I grieved all this year and did the bare minimum to pass sophomore year with Belly, but I survived.

“I’m gonna be sick if I sit in this car with Steven driving any longer.” Belly looked back at me with a wink. Our favorite hobby was annoying Steven.

“Better then you, you’ll be dead within a week once you get your license—” He paused, “Actually, make that a day—”

Laurel smacked the back of Stevens seat, “Don’t make jokes about that.” Steven rolled his eyes until he realized what Laurel meant and his face went red.

I smirked, “Yeah Steven, are you wishing death on me?”

“i think death is afraid you, Y/N.”

—

As Steven honked his horn, I felt the cousins breeze pass my face. There was nothing more beautiful than this. Susannah came running out, with Jeremiah not too far behind.

Belly took Jeremiah by surprise, due to her huge glow up. I stood there watching them hug, with a knowing look on my face. Belly’s crush on Jeremiah wasn’t as oblivious as she intended it to be.

Jeremiah put Belly down and looked my way, a smile spreading across his face. “Look at.. you.” My face felt flushed and he ran up to me, wrapping his arms around my waist and spinning me around.

“Jeremiah! Put me down!” I pleaded, but he kept spinning me until I I felt like throwing up. Asshole.

“You look nice.” He says, once again. I smirk and ruffle his hair a little bit.

Jeremiah puts me down and rushes over to Steven, when a bruiting cloud appears over the house. I look at their silhouette and feel my body tense up.

Conrad. Conrad. Conrad.

My feelings for the eldest fisher brother were obvious, at least to Belly and Susannah. But after everything that happened with my parents, I was different. And besides, I really didn’t want to think about everything that happened last summer. Me and him.

“Y/N, you look beautiful.” Susannah says, pulling me into a hug. I feel her warmth radiate onto me and I embrace it. Susannah was the sun that shined over the house, and the clouds never worried her at all. In fact, she could probably find positive things about the clouds. “How have you been?”

“Fine. I missed you, Susannah.” She smiles and leads us all into the house. The boys grabbed Belly and did their whole Belly flop thing. I just watched from inside the house with Laurel and Susannah.

Being back in cousins was amazing, but something just felt different this year. I mean - things were different. A lot had changed. I felt a hand behind me and turned around to the beautiful blonde women.

“Have you spoken to Conrad yet?” She almost whispers. Damn it. Fuck.

“Umm, maybe?” I basically spat while saying it.

“He misses you, Y/N.” Susannah has a way of saying things that almost made me believe it. Believe anything. Anything but this.

“Please, say hi at least?” She pleads. How could I say no to her? But how could I say hello to him..?

I smiled at her, not wanting to ruin the mood. She walked towards the family room beside Laurel and Belly comes dripping inside.

“Belly! Don’t get me wet!” I yell at her, but with a playful tone.

“Blame the boys, not me.” I looked towards the patio and saw Conrad sitting outside. He looked back at me. Fuck, fuck again. I should make Susannah happy, I have to.

Before I can go outside he turns the corner, and he’s gone.

I sigh and walk out the door and near the pool, maybe If i just wait he’ll come back. Then again, I’ll look totally desperate. Maybe i’ll just go inside again—

“Hi.” I freeze. I turned around to see him standing in front of me with a half smile.

“Hey.” I say. Dry.

“How are you?” He says, and there’s a million things I could say.

“You know, i’m decent. I’m here.” I use my hands to express what I’m trying to say but it just comes out weird.

“Right, that’s good. I’m glad you’re doing better.”

There was an awkward tension wafting in the air and I nodded before rushing back into the house, not daring to look back at him.

—

I really didn’t want to talk about Conrad. Or anything. I was moody because apart of me loved cousins but after being here for a couple of hours I just wanted my parents back.

“He feels different this summer, you know?” She says, flopping onto my bed.

Believe me, I had noticed. I caught him smoking a joint after I abruptly ran away from him. I pretended to know nothing, though.

“I hadn’t noticed.”

“Really? I thought you would notice, you’re like all crushy about him.”

I laughed, “Crushy is not a word.”

“You get what I mean. Like, did you even say hello to him? Like a normal person?”

I grabbed her by the sides and started tickling her, “Isabel Conklin, since when did you get so mean?” I finally let go after a good minute and we were both breathless on the bed.

“I’ve changed. We both have.” She sat up, bringing me along with her. “I mean, we’re hot now. This is our summer.”

I looked into the nearby mirror and couldn’t help but frown. This was supposed to be our summer, but what was summer without my mom? Without things ever being normal again?

—

“I’m so happy we’re all here.” Susannah said, raising a glass at the dinner table.

We all just nodded and let Susannah talk about all the things she wanted to do this summer, which led her to pull out two cards from her pocket.

“What are those?” Belly says before I can ask.

“I wrangled Belly and Yn an invitation to be a debutante!”

Oh gosh. Susannah handed me and Belly the invites and a harsh breeze passed through the air as I recognized these all too well.

“My mom wanted me to do this. She talked about it earlier this year before—” I stopped myself, but it was too late. Everybody knew.

I could feel Conrad’s eyes on mine. All the memories seeping in. We’re my lungs closing in? That’s what it felt like. Belly smiles.

“That sounds like so much fun!” Steven let out a laugh, but Laurel was not amused.

“Those balls are ridiculous. Yn and Belly are not fit for that at all.”

Belly frowned, “Why?” She was obviously more eager to participate in this than I was.

Susannah offered me a small smile, “At least think about it? It will give you two a chance to meet some new people.”

I looked down at the paper, and even though I didn’t want to, I just couldn’t say no, and maybe it was my mother but I couldn’t.

“I’ll think about it.”

—

A/N: What do you guys think? Sorry this chapter is kinda short and slow, it’s an introduction lol. The next one will be coming out very soon!

[sylusjinwoon]

{ 111 }

i don't wanna know.

mike schmidt x fem.reader

warnings: unedited; i just really wanted to get this story off my chest. 10 stages of love

{ first comes heavy breathing | staring at the ceiling | what will happen next; i don't wanna know. }

prologue

in a house just like any other lived a young girl and her two parents. the girl adored her mom and dad so much, often calling them her best friends. they were truly the coolest parents a kid could ask for, and the fact that she had an equally cool aunt made it all the better.

she was in the midst of doing her homework when the sudden smell of smoke fills her with concern. with a gasp, she shoves her textbooks and binders aside, coming out of her room while calling out to her mother. "mom!? is everything okay?!" the little girl enters the kitchen, coughing as the smell of something burning and sweet fills her nostrils. tiny coughs escapes from her parted lips as she waves away at the wisps of smoke, seeing her mother standing there looking flustered.

"i'm sorry honey, did i worry you? everything's alright! i just...forgot to put the timer on for the brownies, that's all."

as her mother explains how she wanted to bake some treats for her father, she allows her eyes to trail towards the pan filled with burnt brownies, the scent of burning chocolate seeming to fill at the air. thanks to her dad, she knew that her mother didn't have the greatest track record of being the best cook, or the best baker. it was a trait that her father found endearing, and admittedly, she did, too. "mom, if you need help, i can help you." the girl was all too ready to help her mother, sliding up the sleeves of her sweater when the older woman stops her. "no, sweetheart, there's no need!" she is suddenly pushed out of the kitchen by her mother. "you just focus on finishing up your homework. and besides, your dad will be home in a few minutes, and he can help me."

with the matriarch of the family shooing the girl out of the kitchen, she was given little choice than to follow her order with a groan. "okay then, but if you burn down the house then you have to take all the blame!" letting out a giggle at her mother's upset expression, she runs up the stairs, ready to continue her homework when she notices something amiss. settled at the end of the hallway, she saw that her parent's bedroom door was open and there seemed to be something scattered around the carpeted floors. with her curiosity getting the best of her, she enters the room to catch a glimpse of what was on the floor. upon entering, she sees that there was a photo album that lay open with some pictures scattered around it. recognizing one of them, the girl settles down on her knees and picks up one of the photographs, seeing a much younger version of her parents staring back at her. captivated by these memories captured on film, the girl settles back down with her legs folded beneath her, going through each and every snapshot of what she assumes to be the time they were simply dating. she must have lost track of time, because as she was flipping through the photographs, she hears someone knocking against the doorframe, making her gasp as she drops the pictures. "i see that your mom's not the only one feeling sentimental." he chuckles, smiling at his daughter as the familiar curls fell across his face. as she looks up at her dad, she realizes that he wasn't much different from when he was younger. "dad!" jumping up to her full height, she falls into his embrace, inhaling his comforting scent all while giggling. "i'm gonna assume mom kicked you out of the kitchen, too." he winks at her, "as always." they both bask in their laughter as her father sits back on the ground, admiring the photos, too. "man, seeing all of these again takes me way back."

with a sigh, the girl rests her head against her father's chest, "hey dad...?"

"yeah sweetie?" "can you tell me how you and mom met?" the girl feels the way her father stiffens, but then relaxes just a mere few seconds later. she basks in the sound of his rich laughter, but ultimately caves in to her gentle demands. "alright, i suppose i see no harm in telling you how me and your mom got together..."

1. first sight

your feet were felt pounding against the linoleum flooring of the grocery store as you ran after a pickpocket that currently held your purse in his slimy hands. life just wasn't turning out so well for you, now was it? for starters, you had the worst day at work, being scolded by your supervisors for making even the tiniest mistakes on your reports. and not only were you scolded, but you had to take a walk in the rain when you went to grab lunch in between your shifts without an umbrella, leaving your outfit feeling damp for the rest of the day.

when your shift was finally over, you decided to treat yourself to something nice at the store. maybe buy a quick and easy frozen pizza to bake once you got home along with a box of chocolates (because everyone who personally knew you knew about what an atrocious cook you were).

so the moment you entered the grocery store with every intention of grabbing your quick and easy dinner was when some asshole in a hoodie decided to grab your purse and make a run for it.

you were so caught off guard- so wrapped up in the horrific day you were having that you were left flabbergasted for a mere few seconds the moment your purse got snatched. when the feeling of surprise finally subsided was when you felt red hot anger surging through you.

"YOU FUCKER, GET BACK HERE!" now, you were not one to shout explicit words in public, but you suppose that this instance warranted an exception because of how livid you were.

just what shitty luck was this, with you chasing this asshole in the rain, no less?! and when you thought that karma was close to failing you was when the unthinkable happened. you saw someone swerve violently into the parking lot, parking his car before coming out of the driver's seat. all you could see was a blur of black and brown as the man got out of his car and began wailing at the man who held your purse.

you heard the thief grunt, dropping the purse as he fell onto the wet pavement. sounds of fists hitting upon skin made you wince briefly, yet you were too scared to get your purse back.

your savior must have did a number on that bastard thief, because after a few hits, he was passed out against the wet pavement. you listen as he breathes heavily, taking a hold of your purse while standing at his full height. "are you alright, miss?"

you shiver upon hearing his voice, gazing up at him as your eyes met with his own doe eyes. his chest moves in tune with his rapid breaths, and you could see the way his wet curls fell across his face along with the faint outline of facial hair that decorated his jawline-

and dear gods almighty, was this man fine as hell.

he was a man of average height, yet he was well built, with muscles seen outlining the biceps of his shirt. you couldn't look away from him-

and lucky for you, this perfect stranger couldn't seem to look away from you, either.

2. introduction

as if breaking out of a trance, you shake your head and take your purse away from him. "i-i am alright! thank you for that...mister...?" you trail off on purpose, hoping that he would disclose his name to you. "it's michael- mike, mike schmidt." "mike." you taste his name against your lips, decided that you liked it and that it truly fits him before extending a hand out and telling him your own name. he takes your hand and does the same, repeating the syllables that make up your name. "so did you want to press charges or anything?" "h-huh?"

momentarily forgetting about the asshole that stole your purse, you look down to see that he was still knocked out cold and on the ground. a smile paints your features when you shake your head, "no, i think you were plenty enough karma for him." he smiles upon hearing your words, looking back down at the thief while shaking his head, "he'll be out for a while, i'm sure."

when the adrenaline subsided did you finally feel the effects of the rain on your form, you felt your body let out a series of violent shivers, making your teeth chatter in response. you look away from mike, ready to admit to him just how cold you felt when he did something that shocked you even further. with his eyebrows furrowed in response, he unzips his jacket and drapes it over your figure, allowing the warmth to envelope you in a loose embrace. feeling speechless, all you could do was look up at him in awe, touched by his unexpected kindness. he locks gazes with you, then suddenly steps back, "fuck, i forgot all about dinner. sorry, i gotta go, abby's waiting for me!"

abby? who's she? is she his girlfriend? the thought of him saying another girl's name made a strange sense of hurt fill you, but mike didn't seem to notice as he got in his car. "are you okay? do you need a ride?"

you quickly shake your head in response. "n-no, i have my own car, b-but what about your jacket?!"

you watch as he gives you a lopsided grin. "you can keep it; it looks good on you."

okay, so maybe he doesn't have a girlfriend after all. you were about to thank him for his kindness when a low groan was heard, alerting you to the thief regaining his consciousness. mike was ready to step out of the car again when you decided to act on your anger and kick the thief right between his legs, earning a high-pitched squeal from the man. "alright alright, i get it! i'm sorry!" "you better be!" with one final huff, you give mike one final glance before striding back towards your car with his jacket safely tucked around you, with a single thought running through your mind.

maybe i can see him again if i keep it.

3. interaction

this all felt so stupid.

here you are, weeks later, still thinking about him.

you lay alone in bed, staring at the ceiling as you replayed your first interaction with him, when he had retrieved your purse from that thief. a proud smile graces your features, thinking back on how mike had given you his jacket when you were cold and shivering in the rain. it was like you were a teenager all over again, thinking about your crush while basking in the lingering scent that still stained his clothes. the scent of masculine cologne and a hint of coffee...a strange mixture that complimented mike well.

a sigh escapes from your lips, and you felt a little disappointed, completely uncertain if you would ever see him again. despite knowing his name, you weren't sure how you could find him or contact him. "i should have asked for his number." you groan to yourself, hiding your face within your pillow as you gently screamed into it. despite how you had high hopes of seeing him again, you felt that your desires were all but a mere fantasy now. "maybe if i think hard enough...i'll dream about him instead." letting out one last defeated sigh, you turn over to your back and close your eyes, hoping to catch a glimpse of him when you fell asleep tonight.

4. attraction

when you came back to your local grocery store, the weather was much more pleasant than it had been since that fateful day in the rain. due to how busy your work was keeping you, you ended up eating out a lot, which in turn made you put on some pounds that you figured you needed to try and shed (well, at least make an attempt to.) as you were perusing the shelves for something light and easy to cook, you felt a sudden presence coming from behind you.

the steps were heavy, and you immediately knew that it had to be a man. hoping- practically praying that he would simply walk by you and to another area. but when you could feel him stop directly behind you, lingering, you didn't have the courage to turn around and face him-

that is, until you smelled a familiar scent, one that was much stronger than the scent that lingers on the jacket that you were currently wearing. "hey, i recognize that jacket."

you drop the box of instant mashed potatoes, seeing the man with familiar curls and kind, brown eyes. "mike!"

without even thinking about it, you face him while throwing your arms around his neck, catching him off guard as mike takes a step backwards. you weren't thinking straight, all you knew was that you wanted so desperately to see him again for so long,

and now, he was finally in front of you, with the scent of his cologne invading your senses.

realizing what you were doing, you gasp before letting him go, feeling the blood rushing towards your cheeks in embarrassment. "s-sorry mike, it's just, i guess i was just happy to see you again."

you watch as mike's eyes become wide, letting out a cough as he looks away from you briefly. "sorry, i've been busy with work lately, since i work nights and all." "t-that's okay! i've also been a little busy with work, too." an awkward silence was felt forming between the two of you when you suddenly blurt out, "would you like to go on a date with me this weekend? maybe see a movie and get some dinner or s-something?" mike meets your gaze once more all while laughing, hiding his mouth beneath the palm of his hand. "ah, w-what's so funny? listen, if you don't want to go on a date with me, just say-" "no, you've got it all wrong." mike gives you a rueful smile while saying your name, "it's just, i feel disappointed that you beat me to it."

5. first date

to say you were excited for your date with mike would be the greatest understatement of the century. you had never felt this way before.

your heart was racing with anticipation.

your palms were sweating the tiniest bit, further accentuating your excitement as you got ready for your date.

you put on some makeup and thought about what you could wear in order to impress mike, rearranging the clothes and matching them with different pairs of shoes, but ultimately settled on what you knew would fit you best:

wearing your favorite outfit and something comfortable for your shoes, something that expressed your usual fashion outside of work. doing one last look-over with your outfit and makeup, you decided that it was perfect.

you were ready. you simply gazed at the numbers on your digital clock, seeing that it read 6:45pm. after you traded numbers at the store, you made plans for your date, with mike agreeing to pick you up around 7 so you could enjoy some dinner before heading to the theaters to watch a movie around 9:30.

you were mentally going through your plans for the evening with mike when a knock was heard on your door along with a text. getting your phone out of your purse, you look down to see a text from mike that read:

[ hey, i'm here. are you ready? :) ]

your heart was fluttering with excitement, beating a bit too fast as you placed your phone back inside the confines of your purse.

all too eager for your date with mike, you open the door to see a wonderful sight standing before you.

mike was dressed comfortably in a dark sweater with matching pants and some dress shoes. not only was he achingly handsome, but in his hands he held a bouquet of flowers that held a plethora of colorful petals.

you take the bouquet and felt the tears nearly dot your vision, "oh mike, this is wonderful. t-thank you so much...!"

and as you met with his kind eyes once more, you knew that he had captured your heart at this very moment.

6. holding hands

"you've been staring at the bouquet for an awfully long time now." mike teases you, glancing back at you every so often as he drove to the restaurant.

"i can't help it! no one has ever given me flowers before..." you trail off, simply basking in the beauty and amazing scent of the bouquet. you never wanted to look away from it, wishing to burn the image of the bouquet into your memories so that you'll never forget about it-

so that you'll never forget about this date.

mike simply hums in response, eyes focused on the road once more as you see him smile from your periphery. you figured he would simply let you bask in the beauty of his gift, but was caught off guard when you felt something warm envelope your fingertips.

you look down to see that mike had intertwined his hand with yours, letting out an awkward cough as he asks, "s-sorry, is this okay?" his actions were enough to finally avert your attention away from the bouquet, with you setting the precious blooms on your laps as you squeezed his hand in response. "this is more than okay, mike."

you watch as mike meets your gaze once more, giving you a boyish smile that told you everything you needed to know about how he was feeling.

his expression was lighter, and his smile was so genuine-

you knew that his emotions mirrored your own in that very moment-

you were both happy.

7. first kiss

your date with mike had to be the best first date you have had in a while. in fact, you don't recall ever having this much fun during a first date.

perhaps it was due to the fact that you could be yourself around him, never having to hide who you truly were to impress him.

during dinner, you spoke about your past and opened up to him about some things, yet oddly enough, mike remained tight lipped about a lot of things.

you asked him about it, but he simply gave you a melancholic smile and told you not to worry about it.

you let it slide for now, but deep down, you knew that you wanted him to trust you.

aside from that, the rest of the date went by smoothly, with mike paying for dinner as you went out to watch the latest horror movie. of course, it was cheesy and was filled with predictable jumpscares, but you liked pretending to be afraid as you hid your face within the curve of mike's neck, feeling him wrapping his arms around you to keep you even closer to him. overall, your night was filled with bliss. it was around midnight when he dropped you back off at your apartment, with you standing outside while holding the bouquet against your chest. you place a strand of hair behind your ear with your back against the door. "thank you so much for tonight, mike. i had a really good time." "yeah, i had a good time, too."

mike became silent then, with his eyebrows furrowed, as if he were deep in thought. you were about to ask him if anything was wrong, but ended up choking back your words when he suddenly leans down and presses his lips against yours.

the kiss was brief, but enough to send your heart into overdrive. you could feel the blood pooling against your cheeks when mike looks away from you, clearly embarrassed as he coughs. "s-sorry-"

not wanting to hear his apologies, you step closer to him and place your lips on his, kissing him again as you made sure to deepen it this time, wishing to feel his lips and the way they were perfectly slotted against yours, never once wanting this night to end.

8. relationship

you were nervous at the thought of meeting abby for the first time.

with you being labeled as mike's girlfriend of four months now, he figured it was time to finally introduce you to his little sister. after sharing a few dates together, mike finally opened up to you about his past and how he was once achingly obsessed with finding the man who kidnapped his brother.

when you asked him if he ever found the man, mike gave you a grave expression that terrified you a little. "he got what he deserved," was the only thing he said to you, and you let the subject drop afterwards. now, you had a bit more context about abby and how she was mike's youngest sister, and also the most important person in his life.

everything mike has done has been to better protect and take care of abby, and you felt your heart melt each time he showed you all of the pictures she had drawn of him and her together. when you saw a picture of abby with five children holding various animal plushies in their arms, you asked if they were her friends, which further prompted mike to take back that specific picture.

"y-yeah, these are her friends. let's just say they're all very far away right now."

he sounded sad when he said that, and you figured it was best to let it go for now and ask him about it at a later date.

now, you were completely worried about what abby might think of you. you truly didn't wish for her to hate you and think that you were taking her brother away.

all you wanted was for her to accept you, too. "are you sure she'll like me?" you asked mike for the millionth time today, feeling antsy as he drove towards his house.

he lets out a chuckle, "no, she won't like you."

you swore you could feel your heart drop into your stomach, filling you with dread when he quickly reassures you, "abby will love you."

the rest of the drive to his home was spent in silence, with mike holding your hand to help with calming your nerves. you trail your eyes downward to see the gift you bought for abby settled on the ground next to your shoes, an adorable teddy bear, in hopes of getting her to like you.

when he arrives at his home, mike parks the car and opens the door for you, steadying your shaky form as he leads you out of the car and towards the house.

your mind was racing, filled with anxiety inducing thoughts as the phrase she hates me, she's going to hate me repeats over and over again like a mantra in your head. "abby, i'm home. and i brought someone over."

you were given little time to further dwell on your thoughts, for standing before you was a girl of slender build with curly brunette locks of hair. her expression was solemn for a moment before she breaks out into a smile, racing toward you as she flings her arms around your back.

completely taken aback by her reaction, you return her embrace while giving mike a bewildered expression.

"i told you she would love you." mike simply smiles in response, feeling happy that abby seemed to adore you just as much as he did.

9. love

after a year of dating, mike asked if you would move in with him and abby, and of course, like the lovesick woman that you were, you accepted it wholeheartedly. you moved out of your apartment and found that you mike and abby had a special place in your heart.

you prayed that you would be a part of their lives forever, and hoped that nothing would change anytime soon.

you were half asleep when mike came back home, entering your shared bedroom as the sounds of shifting fabric rouses you from your slumber. "mmm, mike?"

"hey babe, sorry, did i wake you up?"

"no, you didn't...i was waiting for you."

wiping the sleep away from your eyes, you sit up in bed, ready to greet him when mike gently ushers you back in bed, "ssh, there's no need to get up. i'll join you in just a few minutes, okay?"

"mm'kay." you lay back down with mike tucking you in, hearing mike shuffle around the room for a few more seconds before joining you in bed.

you smile when you felt his arms wrapping around your front, bringing your back closer to his chest as he presses a kiss behind your shoulder blade.

he spends a few seconds with his lips pressed against your skin, pressing lingering kisses against it when he murmurs, "can i admit something to you?"

"hm? what is it...?"

mike sits up against the bed, and you turn your head to face him. he gives you a boyish grin while caressing your cheek with the back of his hand. "you remember the first day we met?"

you felt your own grin painting at your features. "but of course, how could i ever forget?"

mike chuckles while giving you a nod, "yeah, after i gave that bastard a good beating and returned your purse...i think that was the moment i fell for you."

you could feel your eyes widen in response to his admission. "y-you're kidding!"

mike continues to laugh softly, shaking his head while allowing the pad of his thumb to trace against your cheek, "no, i'm not kidding at all. you were by far the most beautiful, and most feisty woman i have ever met."

unable to help himself, he leans down to press a kiss against your lips, and you bask in his affections. delving your fingertips into his hair, you pull him even closer to you, sighing when he pulls away while muttering your name.

"i may not say it often...but i truly do love you."

"oh mike...!" the tears fill your vision when you fully turn around and face him, hiding your face within his chest as you cling to him, feeling as though every single one of your dreams had come true. "i love you, too, so much so, that i don't think you'll ever realize the depths of my love for you."

"i have some clues about your feelings for me." you could hear the laughter in his voice when he traps you in his embrace, making your prior exhaustion all but melt away the moment you spent the whole night kissing while basking in each other's laughter.

10. commitment

"...marry me?"

you had come home from work unexpectedly early, frowning when you thought you heard mike's voice coming from the bedroom.

that's strange, did he not have work tonight?

and who was he asking to marry him?

your throat was clenched up now, and you were afraid to hope- to dare dream that this man was about to make all of your fantasies come true.

with eager steps, you follow his voice towards the bedroom and open the door-

hearing him saying your name with the repeated phrase: "will you marry me?"

your gasp is what captures mike's attention, and he sees you standing in the doorway while letting out a string of curses-

"y-you're home early?!"

but you didn't answer him, instead, you stared at the velvet box settled at the palm of his hand. you swallow thickly, feeling your heart beating within the confines of your throat as you step closer to him.

"i'm sorry, i didn't think you'd be home already."

your eyes were glued to the velvet box.

"i had this planned. i took some time off work to make this perfect, and abby was going to help, too."

you could feel the tears threatening to fall.

"i was going to cook your favorite dinner, and shared some dessert with you, maybe a little bit of wine for some liquid courage- a-and then i was gonna propose and-"

you finally meet his gaze and frame his face with your two hands, leaning in close to plant the biggest and sweetest kiss upon his lips. this man held your entire heart and soul-

and you would be a fool not to accept his proposal and promises of forever.

when the need for air proved to be too much, you pulled away from mike, looking at him with absolute love and adoration in your gaze as you tell him,

"you idiot, of course i'll marry you."

and the rest was history.

epilogue

the girl stares in wonder up at her dad, not believing that her parents were actually so much cooler than she thought they already were.

"so... you really protected mom from that thief and beat him up when he stole her purse?"

"yup." a proud smile decorates mike's face as he looks down at his daughter.

"and you've loved mom this whole time?" mike lets out another laugh while saying his daughter's name out loud "i love your mother dearly, and nothing will ever change that, sweetheart."

before she could ask another question, they both hear footsteps coming closer to the room with a faint scent of something else burning from within the kitchen, earning another smile from mike.

they both turn towards the doorway to see her mother, hair disheveled with a tired but happy expression on her face. and as the girl looks between her mother and father, she could understand why their love remained so strong after so many years. "hey babe, did the casserole turn out okay?" mike asks her all while trying to bite back his laughter. cue her mother letting out an almost melodious laughter, "oh mike, it turned out awful, as usual. how about we order in tonight and get some chinese food, instead?"

"you know what?" the girl begins to giggle profusely when mike picks her up and stands back to his full height, joining his wife as he places a kiss on her forehead while holding his daughter close, "that sounds perfect, and i can't think of a better way to spend the night than with my girls."

a.n. - as i mentioned before, this was a story i needed to get off my chest, because it kept invading my mind and was practically begging to be written. as always, i'll fix any mistakes / errors once this is posted, but i hope you readers enjoy it 🥹 this is my last treat for you readers until i bury myself in schoolwork ❤️

all stories are written by rei; reposts, translations, and plagiarism are not allowed.