#somehow it's actually worse now that spring is coming

[kimpossibly]

symptom of life | rain carradine

pairing: rain carradine x fem!reader

warnings: mentions of blood (that’s not actually there)

summary: in the middle of her journey to yvaga, rain discovers r’s cryopod has opened.

author’s note: I LOVE RAIN CARRADINE I LOVE RAIN CARRADINE I LOVE RAIN CARRADINE THAT’S ALL :) send me rain requests if you want! i’ll be writing about her either way lol also this was supposed to be smut but I changed it last minute LMAOO, lmk if that’s something you guys are interested in seeing!

The first breath felt like a splash of ice cold water.

She was bathed in light the moment her eyes opened—white light, the kind that seared your eyes like staring directly into the sun. Sun. Rain.

Her hands stretched out and found the cold, hard, top of the cryopod. All it took was a little push and, with a hiss, the door swung open. Warm air flooded in. Like a creature reborn from its mechanical pod, she slinked out of her chrysalis and left, leaving only the vague imprint of a body behind as proof she was ever there.

As for Rain, she was on edge the moment she heard clanking from somewhere in the ship. At the sound, her heart nearly leapt into her throat, her toothbrush frozen in midair. At once, her mind was flooded with horrible realities—another Xenomorph had made it onto the ship somehow and was now lying it wait to sink its teeth into her. A parasite had crawled into the ship and was waiting for the perfect moment to spring on her and do its dirty work. Either way, she was screwed. Even worse, so was Andy. So was Y/N. Rain’s heart clenched at the idea of the two of them, helpless, locked in cryopods, oblivious to the terror around them. Even worse, she could picture the moment they awoke to find Rain a cold corpse.

No. Quit that.

Abandoning her toothbrush, Rain crept into the hallway, her fingers itching for a gun or a stick or some kind of weapon. Anything, really. But no, she was on her own. She should be used to that by now. Slow step by slow step, she followed the direction of the clanking, every movement a cautious twitch. She willed her heart to slow, but nothing would help. Eventually she entered the wide room where Andy and Y/N’s pods sat. Except now, something had changed—one of them had opened. Her body went cold.

She practically threw herself across the room to the still closed cryopod, and found Andy’s peacefully sleeping face in beneath the glass window. She let out a breath.

“You’re okay, you’re okay,” she whispered in relief, both to herself and to him. She looked to the empty pod, half expecting to see a bloody mess where Y/N was lying. But she saw nothing of the sort. The pod was just…empty. As though she’d gotten up and walked out of her own accord.

At once, Rain’s head was on a violent swivel, searching the room for her. She dashed out of the room and down the opposite hallway, her breath coming hard and fast. She was here. She had to be.

“Y/N!” she shouted, her voice sounding starkly unlike her own. She turned corners and searched rooms quicker than she ever thought herself capable of.

After a few minutes she was worried she was going to run herself in circles. She walked and walked and walked, barely keeping track of where she'd been and where she was heading. She searched like a madman, scanning every corner for her. She’s in here, she kept repeating to herself. I just have to find her.

“Rain?”

She froze. The voice was soft, gentle, like the voice of someone who didn’t believe what they were seeing. It made her arms cold and her face heat up all at once. She turned, and there she was, standing at the end of the corridor, her left arm still wrapped in a thick bandage like it had been when Rain put her in that damn pod. The sight of her caused her chest to seize, her eyes to burn, and her heart to pound in her chest.

Y/N, on the other hand, picked up her bare feet and ran at Rain the moment she saw her.

It was less of a hug and more of a desperate attempt to hold on and never let go, their chests colliding with such force that the air was knocked out of both of them. Rain wrapped her arms around Y/N and squeezed, ignoring the burn in her arms and the tears that cropped up in her eyes. Y/N’s shoulders shook with tears that she didn’t know were coming, but in an instant they were there, tracing warm rivulets down her cheeks.

“Hey…” Rain whispered into her shoulder, her voice choked, “you’re okay, baby. You’re alright.”

“I didn’t know w-where you were,” Y/N sobbed. Her voice was muffled in Rain’s shoulder. “I-I thought—“

“I know, I know.”

Y/N pulled away, cradling Rain’s face in her hands. “Are you okay? Where are we going?”

“I’m okay,” Rain said, smoothing Y/N’s wild hair out of her face. “We’re heading for Yvaga.”

Y/N’s eyes widened at that. She sucked in a breath, almost afraid to ask, afraid to jinx it. “Yvaga?” She breathed. “We made it?”

At that, Rain’s face broke out into a small smile.

“Yeah. We did.”

They were heading towards Yvaga. After everything they went through, all the shit that they survived, they were finally getting what they wanted. They weren’t going back to Jackson’s Star, they didn’t have to worry about being forced to work until the day they both died. For once, they were going to see the sun.

Y/N leaned in, pressing her lips to Rain’s. She wasn’t sure how long she’d been in that pod—hours, days, months—but it’d been too long since she’d been able to feel like this.

Rain kissed her hard, grappling onto her waist like she’d lose her if she let go. She pulled away from the kiss, leaning her forehead against Y/N’s, her breath coming hard and fast.

“I love you,” she breathed, “so fucking much.”

Y/N felt tears sting her eyes—not the ones of fear and loss that she’d been used to lately. Real fucking tears. Happy ones.

“I love you too.”

[loyalhorror]

semi-related to my chronic inability to feel like i'm part of the actual world. i've been going on walks lately, you know, to stave off The Horrors (but also just because it makes me feel better in general), and something that just catches me constantly is just... the feeling that i am Disconnected from everyone around me. that there's no-one within reach i can touch or talk to. that people have communities, families, friends, support networks in the real world that i simply do not have.

i do have friends in my city. a small handful even! but nobody that i can just show up to anymore. no-one with their door always open to me, no strings attached, no feelings of guilt or burdening to carry. i... am realising as i type this that this is part of missing harri, but it's also just a feeling i've been carrying with me ever since i left home, this feeling that, you know, i walk out into the street and it's like i'm a ghost. you know. the most human interaction i get is from my neighbour if i see him. or from shopkeepers that i can barely say two words to. you know.

ghost is a good word for it. hm.

[therealdogsinmymind]

✩ My Rival (All Mine) ✩

18+ MDNI

✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧

AO3 Link | Word Count: 2,394 | Chapters 1/1

✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧

Synopsis: Sung Jinwoo pisses you off but maybe you've you've finally found a way to ruffle his feathers a little bit.

✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧

Pairing: Sung Jinwoo/Reader, Sung Jinwoo/You

✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧

Tags: Reader POV, Gender Neutral Reader, Virgin Sung Jinwoo, Jealous Jinwoo, Rivals to Lovers, Bickering, Kissing, Neck Kissing, Tenderness, Light Angst, Miscommunication, Conflict Resolution, Happy Ending

✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧

Picture from @oo0mika0oo ‘s icon edits

“You piss me off,” you say under your breath, fully intending for him to hear it. He always fucking does. 

You don’t like Jinwoo, you never have. Not before you awakened as an S-Rank hunter and you saw him on TV and certainly not now that you know him personally. He’s got shitty vibes and an even worse personality. He’s closed off, and you can smell his fucking god complex from a mile away. 

“Good to know,” Jinwoo says coolly, taking a sip of his water. You don’t know why he needs it, he hasn’t even broken a sweat, despite the fact that he’s been running circles around everyone in the training arena for hours. Just to show off, you suppose. He’s kicked almost everyone’s ass so far, sans for yours. You really don’t feel like going up against him though, you’d like your ass to remain un-kicked, thank you. There’s also some cards you’d rather keep close to your chest; but god you wish you could rub his face in the dirt just once. 

As Jinwoo lingers against the wall next to you, head turned just barely so you’re in his line of sight, you grow increasingly agitated. Why the fuck did he come over here? Why is he looking at you? What’s his deal? He’s always doing this, he’ll follow you around just to piss you off. You swear he started going to the only coffee shop you like just to torment you with his extremely pretty, extremely punchable face. As your irritation reaches max cap you decide it’d be better to just take a deep breath and walk away, you don’t need to get into a pissing contest with this guy, you’re better than that. You’ll be taking your leave now.

You spring up, intent on heading for the door when Jinwoo calls after you, ”You don’t want a round?” Yeah, no. 

You turn around briefly, still walking backwards towards the door. ”With you? No. I can think of better things to do with my time.” You take a little pleasure in the way Jinwoo looks slightly shocked at your rebuff. You turn around and pick up the pace, hoping to get the hell out of dodge. 

Suddenly Jinwoo’s in front of you, blocking the door, having somehow appeared out of the shadows. ”Fuck!” You startle, you didn’t know he could do that, is there anything he can’t do? 

“The better things, what are they?” Jinwoo asks, staring at you intently as if your face will reveal the answer.

”What?”

”What are the better things?” He repeats.

”I don’t know, dude? Get laid? Not that you would know anything about that.” It doesn’t even occur to you until his face twists, all sorts of emotions that you’ve never seen on him. They mar his usually such impassive features; he’s jealous. You said it as a joke, really more than anything wanting to call him a virgin, but this is too good.  You have to hold in a laugh, it’s almost unthinkable, you have an antagonistic relationship with him at best. It intrigues you though, you wonder if you could push his buttons like this, he’s usually so unconcerned with others.

When Jinwoo doesn’t reply right away you take that as your cue, needling him, “Anyway- I do actually want to get fucked sometime today, so if you’ll excuse me…” You have no such plans but you wave your hand at him dismissively anyway, just to be a bitch. 

His face stays twisted but he doesn’t otherwise react so you push harder. Leaning in close to him and speaking low so as to not be overheard, “Unless you want to see to that.” It’s just to throw him off his game, you just want to see him gape like a fish, or maybe sputter, curse you out, anything. You’ve thought about what Jinwoo might be like in bed before of course, who hasn’t, a simple curiosity if you will. That’s neither here nor there, you’re truly just aiming to rile him up at this point; surely any second now he’ll reel back and run away.

 Instead Jinwoo grabs your wrist and pulls you out of the training arena. All that comes out of your mouth is a grunt, too worried about making a scene. Although maybe you should, where the hell is he taking you and why? He says nothing, simply dragging you down the hallway until he seems to sense an empty room where he promptly tosses you in; and for all your agility and grace you still land right on your ass. Great.

He shuts the door behind him just as you’re springing up, ready for a fight. That’s the only reason you can think he dragged you out here, to kick your ass away from prying eyes, the room is kind of small though, maybe he’s just that overconfident. You decide you won’t let him throw the first punch but it’s too late, Jinwoo’s fast, faster than you. You’ve barely had any real combat training as a new hunter and he’s the real deal. He’s in your space before you can even blink and you’re sure he’s about to beat you to a pulp. However no pain comes, there’s only a horrible sense of too-quick motion and then you’re seated firmly, feeling a bit dizzy. It takes you all but a moment to realize you’re sitting on Jinwoo’s lap, he seems to have scooped you up and sat down on a couch; you must be in someone’s office. 

“I’ll be seeing to that now,” Jinwoo says in a low voice, giving a healthy pause before he moves at all, perhaps to let your brain catch up with his words. 

It sure tries its best, running at a million miles a minute. You think about the fact that you hate Jinwoo, he’s fucking annoying, he’s stupid as shit. Your mind screams at you that he’s too powerful, it's dangerous, you shouldn’t get close. He’s too confident even if he can back it up, it’s kind of hot. You ignore that last part, you don’t who said that. However you also have eyes, he’s really fucking good looking and maybe if Jinwoo wants to fuck you so bad you can make him work for it a little.

You slip out of his arms and off of his lap. You don’t even dream of laughing at the poorly concealed heartbroken look on his face; it’s actually kind of sad to see. You click your tongue before sliding back onto his lap but this time straddling him.

“Come now, don’t make that face, I'm just getting comfortable,” you coo at him, stroking your thumb across Jinwoo’s cheek, it’s oddly tender for what the two of you have. He just looked so sad. He leans into it and it makes you want to be nice to him again, disgustingly enough. You lean in and give Jinwoo a soft kiss on the tip of his nose, deciding to kiss him more when he sigh softly, happily. You’ve never heard him make that noise, it’s entirely new to you, you wonder what kinds of other new sounds you can drag from him. More kisses, one on each of his cheeks, and again on the corners of his lips, missing the true mark purposefully. Jinwoo audibly swallows and his arms wrap loosely and hesitantly around your back. It appears all of his earlier confidence has sapped right out of him. You wonder if you were right on the money when you said he doesn’t know anything about getting laid.

You press a kiss to his jaw and linger there. “Jinwoo,” you whisper softly against his skin and he shudders. That’s cute, but you must stay focused, you have to ask, “Have you done this before?”

Jinwoo stiffens, “Define…’this’...”

“Fuck someone, baby.” He whines a little at the pet name and you make mental note of that. “Have you ever fucked someone before? Been with anyone? Made out? Kissed? What are we working with here?” 

He clears his throat and turns his head away from you as his cheeks go red. You groan and drop your forehead onto his shoulder. You were just going to mess with him a little, kiss him a bit and leave him wanting more; but there’s no shot in hell you’re going to fuck up his first time. He deserves someone better than you for that, someone he actually likes. You have to ignore the way that thought stabs you in the heart so badly you can barely breathe. 

“I’m sorry, baby,” you say, your forehead still resting against his shoulder, “We can’t do this.” 

“Oh,” Jinwoo says, voice flat, devoid of any emotion, truly reminiscent of the closed-off man that you so often see. His hands fall away from your back and you wince at the way he shuts down. 

“Hey,” you pour as much emotion into your voice as possible, “I promise it’s not you.” You tuck your head into Jinwoo’s neck and squeeze him tightly. You wonder if he can still breathe like this, you feel like you can’t despite nothing restricting you. “When you find someone you like you’ll be glad we didn’t do this.” He says nothing so you pull back to take a hesitant look at his face. Jinwoo looks angrier than you’ve ever personally seen him. 

“Already did.”

He grabs you by the face with both hands and before you can figure out if you heard him right, Jinwoo crushes your lips together too hard and too fast. However once your lips are touching he hesitates for a second, unsure of what to do next. Well, apparently you heard him right, and his hasty kiss answers all of your follow up questions about what he said, go figure. 

You can’t just leave him hanging, so you kiss him back like your life depends on it. All in all it’s a crappy kiss. Your teeth clack together painfully, he can’t seem to find a rhythm with you, and you bump noses incessantly too. Despite all this you can’t fucking stop kissing him; you don’t think you could even if the world was ending. Jinwoo pulls back after a bit, gasping, apparently no one ever taught him how to breathe.

You grab Jinwoo by his hair, “Breathe through your nose, dipshit.” Using your hold on his hair you pull him back into another kiss, delighting in his shocked moan. This kiss is slightly better, he seems to be learning quickly. Jinwoo wraps his arms around you again and grasps at the back of your shirt, you worry if he pulls any harder he might tear it. That could be hot though, an idea for later. 

This time you pull back first and Jinwoo emits an uncharacteristically pathetic whine in response. “Shh.”

 You press kisses up his jaw, before sucking a mark directly below his ear. You’ve never known anyone to leave a scratch on Jinwoo, maybe you’ll be the first. The thought fuels something new and feral in you. You begin covering his throat in as many marks as you possibly can, something delightful burning inside of you when you see each new bruise forming. You want him covered, you want everyone to know that this stupid man, this dangerous, closed off man is yours. Nobody else is allowed to see Jinwoo a mess like this, this is for your eyes only. That’s all you’ve ever really wanted, isn’t it?

“Jinwoo…” you whisper, your breath fanning across the spit-slick marks you’ve just made on his throat. 

Jinwoo shudders beneath you, “Yeah?”

“We are not fucking in a stranger’s office.” Just on so many levels that is not happening.

He sags into the couch like a puppet that just had all of its strings cut. “I truly hate you sometimes…” he says with absolutely no malice, in fact it sounds kind of whiny and you have to hold in a giggle. 

“Until about ten minutes ago, I was under the impression that you hated me all the time.”

Jinwoo scoffs and runs his hand up your side gently, “I don’t hate you ever, you’re just really annoying.”

You rub a thumb over one of his blossoming bruises, admiring your hard work. “Awww thanks, you’re also a real fuckin’ peach.”

“I do try.”

You roll your eyes, patting him on the head now that you know he won’t kill you for doing that, “Come on, you can fuck me in my bed later. I’m dying to know if I can fit your dick in my throat.” The last bit is tacked on with a pointed wiggle of your hips, just so you can feel Jinwoo’s cock straining against his pants. God, he’s such a virgin, it’s painfully cute. You absolutely would give him a quick hand job here just to help him out but it’s so much funnier not to. 

Jinwoo’s hips twitch and he groans deeply, the sound reverberating in his chest, “Fuck you-” 

“Happy to help!” Being a hindrance is your favorite activity, especially when it’s Jinwoo you’re hindering. You can’t believe you’ve finally found his weak spot. 

“Yeah, I’m sure you are…”

“Aww, I’m sorry baby,” you say, voice thick with condescension, “I promise I’ll make it up to you later, just be patient.” You press a quick kiss to his lips before you slip off his lap. He sighs, folding over and dropping his head into his hands.

“You’re a nightmare…”

“Yeah but I think you might like that about me… Just a hunch.” You’re not actually sure if that’s true or not. You’re not sure of anything anymore. Really where the two of you stand now is a total mystery, but the soft laugh Jinwoo warms your chest, and that’s something isn’t it?

With a soft tone Jinwoo says, “Get out of here, menace.”

“Yeah, yeah… Hey- see you later?” Your words come out as a question, quiet and hopeful.

He sits up and looks at you, the corners of his lips quirked up. “See you later,” he says, as if it’s the most obvious thing in the world.

Of course, you almost forgot, ever since you came here it’s been that way hasn’t it? Where you go he follows and vice versa, he’s your rival after all, what would you do without him?

[supernovafics]

lowkey, i wanna see steve in the “i’ll be there for u” world taking care of reader after coming back from a bar with some college friends—he’d be so sweet taking off her makeup & trying not to laugh at her messed up sentences

𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐘 𝐖𝐈𝐓𝐇 𝐌𝐄

"i'll be there for you" universe masterlist

pairing: bestfriend!roommate!steve harrington x fem!reader

word count: 1.6k words

warnings: explicit language, drunk!reader, fluff

summary: in which after a night out with some friends, steve takes care of you

author's note: thank you for the request🫶🏾

general note: everything in this universe/series can be read as standalone oneshots but to understand the full “lore” it would prob be best to read the other stuff too<333

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。. .・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

Spring 1986

Your main goal when you entered the apartment was to not wake Steve up. 

However, that was almost impossible to do when you were accidentally shutting the front door much louder than you wanted to, and then you were tripping over the pile of shoes that sat next to the door and were actually neatly stacked for once. 

Somehow, even in your inebriated state, you managed to catch yourself and only stumbled a bit instead of falling straight to the ground. You couldn't help but laugh loudly at yourself and then you abruptly slapped your hand over your mouth when you realized how noisy you were being. 

You flicked on the light and then dropped your bag on the kitchen counter before sitting on the floor so that you could fix the shoes. It should’ve taken barely a minute to do and you tried your hardest to focus on the task at hand, but all you could do was giggle at your confusion. And then since you were on the floor, you decided to work on untying your Converses and taking them off, which also proved to be somewhat of a struggle because of your drunkenness. 

It was then that you finally came to the conclusion that you probably should’ve stopped drinking after your third drink. 

Your initial plan hadn’t been to get drunk, and you honestly didn’t even think that you’d end up going to the bar in the first place because it was a last minute plan set up by a few people in your communications class. But then you were lying on the couch in the living room, already in your pajamas at only nine o’clock on a Friday, and you changed your mind. You got up from the couch and traded in your old t-shirt and sleep shorts for a cute enough outfit, and then called Steve at Family Video. 

You told him that you decided to go to the bar and you were very close to asking him if he could meet you there after his shift, but then you remembered how early he had to wake up for his one tomorrow. 

“You okay?” The abrupt sound of Steve’s voice made you jump and drop the sneaker in your hand. The pile actually looked worse than when you started to fix it what felt like five minutes ago. 

“Woah, you scared me,” You said as you turned to look at him. A pair of gray sweatpants hung low on his hips and he had a white t-shirt on. It was when you noticed that his hair looked like a disheveled mess and he was rubbing the tiredness out of his eyes that you remembered what your goal had been when you entered the apartment. “Oh shit, I woke you up. I’m sorry.” 

“It’s okay,” He told you with a shrug. “Why are you sitting on the floor?” 

“I messed up the shoe pile…” You mumbled and haphazardly gestured to the sneakers next to you. “Also, I think I’m a little drunk because the floor actually feels really comfortable right now.”

Steve smiled at that. “I think you’re more than just a little.”

“Not true,” You said as you shook your head at him, which he only smiled wider at because your head shake was much more dramatic than you intended it to be.

Steve reached his hands out toward you. “Come on. We’ll fix the sneakers in the morning.” 

You grabbed his outstretched hands and he pulled you up, which you couldn’t help but giggle at. You were simply looking at him and smiling widely before your lips were quickly finding his. 

After only a second, he pulled away, chuckling a little at your eagerness. “Hey, no funny business right now. You’re drunk.” 

Instead of responding to his very true statement, your arms wrapped around him and you buried your face in his neck. “It’s okay. I don’t care.”

You could feel him shaking his head at your words, but he still hugged you back. “I care.”

There was something about the way he softly said the two simple words that made you smile and hold him tighter. You were pulling away after a second, taking a reasonable step back away from him and then holding your hands up in a joking surrender. “Okay, fine. I’ll keep things completely PG.”

“Good,” Steve laughed before he reached out, intertwining one of his hands with yours, and then led you to the right toward your bedroom instead of to the left toward his. 

You sat down on your bed and Steve went over to your dresser, rummaging through it to find some pajamas for you to put on so that you could get out of the jeans and black top you were wearing. 

“Here, change into this,” He said as he handed you a random oversized t-shirt and sleep shorts. You nodded and started to unbutton your jeans. “I’m gonna grab you some water for right now and aspirin for the morning.”

“Thank you. You’re the best. I love you,” You said, smiling widely. Your affectionate words right then were actually pretty tame compared to how sentimental you’d usually get whenever you were drunk. You’d done enough emotional drunken rambling to the cab driver you had on the way home. With absolutely no prompting, you told him about you and Steve and how you two had been best friends for years and years and then decided to move in together this past summer and then just recently finally got into a relationship. The driver was actually pretty interested in the story, or maybe it only felt like he was because of your inebriation— you’d wonder which was right in the morning. 

“I love you too,” Steve smiled back at you and then leaned down to press a kiss against your forehead. 

You gave him a teasing look. “We’re supposed to be keeping things PG, remember?”

He laughed a bit. “A forehead kiss is the most PG we’ve been in a while.”

“I’m also completely okay with not being PG,” You told him.

“Not happening tonight,” Steve said, placing a quick kiss against your cheek this time before walking to the door and heading into the kitchen. 

You were fully changed when he came back, and the clothes you’d been wearing were in a heap on the floor next to your bed because you couldn’t feel bothered to put them anywhere else. Steve handed you a glass of water and he noticed that you put your t-shirt on backward, but he decided not to say anything about it and only smiled at you. He knew that you definitely hadn’t sobered up in the slightest because you didn’t question the amused look he was giving you. 

You drank some of the water and then placed the glass down on your nightstand. You got into your bed and pulled your blanket over your legs. “You’re staying in here, right?”

“Of course,” He nodded as he settled in next to you. 

You laid down, head easily finding the pillow, and then turned on your side to face Steve and he did the same. He decidedly kept a bit of space between you two because he wasn’t sure what you, or he, would be tempted to do if your legs became entangled and your warmth was radiating right against him. 

“So, how was tonight?” He asked. “I’m guessing you had fun?” 

“Yeah, it was good,” You answered with a nod and there was a hint of a smile on your face. “Missed you a lot. Probably told way too many stories about you to everyone.” You laughed as you covered your face. “I think I became the kind of girl that only talks about her boyfriend. I’ll probably never get invited out by them again.” 

“I wish I could’ve been there to see that,” Steve said, smiling softly and you had to push away the urge you had to run a hand through his messy hair and kiss him. “Wait, did you tell any embarrassing stories?” 

You shifted a bit closer to him and dropped your voice down to a whisper. “Don’t worry, I promise I didn’t mention the time when we were twelve and you were staying at my house and I jumpscared you so bad that you peed your pants a little.”

“Now I don’t know if I believe you because you thought of that story way too fast.”

“It’s just one of my favorites, but I promise I didn’t say it tonight. Girl Scouts honor.”

He laughed as he shook his head. “You were never a Girl Scout.”

You shrugged and poked his side. “Shh, let’s just pretend for a sec.”

Steve only nodded in response and held back his laughter. 

The quietness that prevailed over the next few moments made a sudden wave of tiredness wash over you; it was as if a flip was switched and you were finally ready to pass out for the night. You shut your eyes and let out a soft sigh. 

You heard Steve’s voice after a second. “You okay?”

“Mhm, jus’ a little tired.” You closed the rest of the distance between you and shifted around so that you were settled back against him. You weren’t even really trying to make things non-“PG” between you two; settling in close next to him was always just the most natural thing to do.

“Okay,” Steve said and wrapped an arm around you, another instinctual thing to do. 

“I’m really sorry I woke you up. I know that you have to get up in like four hours,” You abruptly said as your hand found his and intertwined it with yours. “I really did try to stay quiet when I came in.” 

“I think I would’ve found you asleep next to the shoes in the morning if I didn’t wake up when I did,” Steve told you before pressing a kiss to the side of your head. 

You let out a sleepy laugh. “That’s probably very true.”

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。. .・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

let me know ur thoughts<333

(requests are open for stuff you wanna see in the universe/series!🫶🏾)

[poppadom0912]

Is it too late?

Warnings: Mentions of periods, hospitals, surgery, pain and illness

Summary: When your older brother is a fancy surgeon, being sick is the last thing you want.  

Requested by @1chicago5021

A/N: I'm still alive people. I had a sudden burst of inspiration and thought I'd finally get all these requests done before the next round of exams. I am in a lesson right now so I can’t do the usual aesthetic collage I always do. This was sent quite a while ago but I actually had so much fun writing this so thank you! I hope this lives up to your standards <3

*****

Two weeks ago now, your body randomly started not working the way you wanted it to, but you put all the blame on your period whose cramps hadn't been very forthcoming.

The painkillers were a coming in at a constant stream, hot water bottles never having the chance to go room temperature.

Your never-ending migraines and 24/7 cramps were a constant, so you expected to feel relief once you were back to normal. But that never came because this week started and somehow, you felt even worse.

When you woke up this morning to your throat feeling weird, you knew something was wrong when you drank water and the feeling didn’t go away.  

Despite that, you went to school anyways, bidding your brother goodbye when he dropped you off, completely unaware of your wellbeing. But you couldn’t blame the guy, he was stressed enough over work as it is, you didn’t need to add to his already overflowing workload.  

You only felt worse as the day progressed. It was only spring, nearing summer, but your body temperature wouldn’t stop fluctuating. One minute you were shivering and asking to borrow your friend's hoodie but the next you were sweating like you had just finished a marathon and was trying to get rid of as many layers as possible.  

The cramps were immense. The worst you ever had and to consider you just got off your period, you weren’t a stranger to post period cramps, but this was on another level. You hadn’t been in this much pain ever even while on your reds. None of the pain killers your friends kindly provided for you alleviated the pain. Death would feel ever so sweet right about now.  

You knew you were seriously sick when you were on the verge of collapsing at lunch. Your friends all shouted in alarm when you faltered on your feet in the cafeteria. You ignored their efforts and attempts to get you to the nurse's office. There wasn’t long left of the school day, there wasn’t any point in leaving with barely two hours left.  

As soon as you got home, you fell face first into bed. As soon as your head hit the pillow and you pulled the covers over your body with however much strength remained in your arms that got heavier as the day went on.  

You were in a deep sleep, so deep in fact that your dreams were non-existent. You weren’t too sure what time it was, but you felt someone shaking you, going from gentle to a hand tightly holding your shoulder, a muffled voice inaudible as you came in and out of your slumber.  

Their gestures were painful, but you didn’t have it in you to tell the intruder as you struggled to even muster a groan. Your eyes fluttered, face digging even deeper into the pillow as if to suffocate yourself. That was all the indication the person needed to shake you harder, adamant to wake you up.  

With a blocked nose, breathing out through your mouth proved itself to be a much more difficult task than it should’ve been. And stuffing your face into your pillow might not have been the best idea taking that into consideration.

Their voice sounded way too far away, as though they weren’t in the room with you. One second they were roughly holding you, the next, all pressure ceased but the pain didn’t.

Before you could even register what they were doing now, your eyes heavy with sleep dropped once more as you were enveloped into darkness again.

*****

Over the past two weeks, Connor had noticed your depleting energy but when the mood swings came along with your hot water bottles, he didn’t think any much more of the matter.

But then you showed no signs of improvements and at first, he could hardly notice. You hid it quite well at first but as the week progressed, it was apparent to him you were getting sick, and you were too stubborn to admit that to your surgeon brother.

Nonetheless, things didn’t look too bad that staying home was necessary. You were managing quite well, going to school the entire week without complaints, so he found no reason to intervene into something he knew would end up in an argument that would result in you holding a grudge and not talking to him for a few days.

He dropped you off and drove to work expecting nothing. You smiled at him when you left the car, and nothing seemed physically wrong when you picked up the pace to meet your friends.

His twelve-hour shift seemed to never end. When he had a moment to himself, he messaged you as he waited for his coffee, staring at his message that sat alone with no replies for hours. School has finished, you were sure to be home now, so why weren’t you answering?

He didn’t think much of it till he was meant to go home at twelve. He was all ready standing at his locker but then Maggie called his name and he saw several ambulances piling up outside.

As amazing as he was, his attention couldn’t be in two places at once and unfortunately for you, car crashes had more significance in this situation. But as soon as this was all over, you’d be his number one priority once more.

It was all over six hours later when he came out of the second surgery he had to take lead in.

Stepping out of the surgery theatre, he thanked all his co-workers and was dashing away to collect his things, not wanting to be here any longer. Having time to finally check his phone again, his concern skyrocketed when you still hadn’t replied to his messages.

Waving off the few staff remaining in the emergency department, Connor wasted no time in driving off. His adrenaline had yet to die down from the rush of a packed-out emergency room and doing several successful surgeries. Adding to this was his building concern for you. Maybe you were just sleeping, and your phone was on charge. Maybe it was on silent, and you didn’t hear anything. Maybe it was stolen, and you couldn’t contact him-

Connor sighed as he parked the car. Wasting no time, his body still thrumming from the surgery high, he walked into the building and took the stairs instead, taking large strides as he skipped every two.

The house was drop dead silent when he opened the door which you hadn’t locked from the inside like you usually would. That and the completely pitch-black apartment was the first things that put him on edge.

He locked the door behind him, walking in further and inspecting the living room and kitchen that didn’t look lived in. Everything was in its same place as he left it in this morning. Closing the blinds in the living room, he walked towards your bedroom, your door slightly ajar which had never been the case since you started living with him. You always shouted at him whenever he left the door even a slither open, you always needed complete darkness to sleep. The tiniest bit of light always hindering your sleeping ability.

Pushing the door open, Connor poked his head inside first to survey the room. He finally let himself relax at the sight of you lying in bed, your figure completely drowning in your duvet. The weird lump in your sheets being the only reason he could identify you.

He felt himself relax, his body physically deflating now that he had eyes on you, knowing for sure that nothing was wrong.

For some reason, your curtains were still open which they never were since you were young, always complaining, once again, that you needed complete darkness to be able to sleep. Closing your curtains, he found your phone on your bedside desk, and it was littered with notifications from not only him but all of your friends too. All of them were asking in variations if you were okay, if you felt better, did you get home safe and how you were feeling.

They were all sent at three in the afternoon. It was now two in the morning.

Concerned at the topic of the messages, Connor came over to the side of the bed you were laying on and placed his hand on your forehead, his eyes widening immediately. He felt himself warming up just from how hot you were.

Sitting down on the space by your knees, Connor shook you gently, trying to rouse you from your apparent very deep sleep but the only movement you made was from what he was doing.

“Y/N? Hey, wake up. Can you get up for me really quick?”

The adrenaline that was just dying down was picking up again along with his heart rate, why weren’t you waking up?

He shook you once again but this time, he was more rough, his worry meaning he gripped your shoulder tightly and shook you with a force that he’d never use on you before as his baby sister.

This time he tried calling you name while he tried getting you up. Lifting the duvet off your body, not only were you shivering but you were sweating a very unusual amount.

Swallowing harshly, Connor tried one more time, calling your name and roughly shaking you. “Come one, I need to you wake up Y/N.”

“Y/N. Y/N get up.”

But you just wouldn’t budge.

Deciding that enough was enough, he scooped you into his arms and it must’ve been the sudden movement that caused you to let out a small whimper in what was clearly pain. It was small but it was the most he’d gotten from you since he got home and that was better than nothing.

Foregoing his jacket, Connor made sure to slip your cardigan over your torso, so you weren’t going to die from the cold outside. He quickly slipped into his own shoes and left the building not a moment later.

*****

No one had been expecting Connor to be back at work so soon, not even him. It was a few minutes to three and the ED was relatively calm taking into account the big accident not too long ago, but Connor was grateful.

Getting out the car, Connor looked into the ED and called for the first person he saw.

“April! Get me a gurney!”

Said nurse was caught completely off guard, jumping from where she stood at the nurse's desk with Will not too standing behind her. He too clearly was confused but Connor had no time to dwell on them.

Not checking if she was listening, Connor rounded the car and picked you back into his arms, your head resting on his bicep and your legs on the inside of his elbow. Slamming the door shut, Connor strode into the emergency department and luckily for him, April and Will were more than ready to help.

“All the gurneys are used up from before, but we’ve got a free bed.” April said, leading the surgeon into an empty treatment room where Will was lowering the bedside rails.

“Talk to me Connor.” Will said, understanding there was no time for formalities when he saw it was you Connor was carrying.

“No clue what happened but she’s as hot as anything, she’s shivering and sweating at the same time and will not wake up for anything.” Connor started, gently laying you down and standing back to let Will and April do their jobs. He was itching to help but physically had to move further away from you so that he wouldn’t do anything stupid.

“Pretty sure she’s been sick and in pain for a while now, but she never said anything.” He continued, looking at all the numbers on the machines that were popping up as they were connected to your body. “When I asked last week, she just kept saying it was her period cramps.”

As April hooked you up onto an IV drip, Will started palpating your body in search for any particular place of pain. And when he came to a particular area in your lower abdomen and you cried out, the three of them looked at each other knowingly.

“Kieran should still be on shift.” Connor said, remembering the surgeon he left behind that was in charge and available.

Will nodded in confirmation, “Let’s move.”

*****

Waking up felt different to all the times before. Your levels of disorientation and haziness and confusion were on another level.

As soon as you opened your eyes, the first thing you noticed was the lack of pain. You couldn’t feel not even a pinch in your stomach, maybe it was weird to say but it felt liberating to not be in debilitating pain.

“Oh, thank goodness your awake.” Connor looked dead on his feet in the doorway of the room but the immense relief painting his face was like no other.

You made him feel and look like that- Shit, what happened, what did you do?

Before you could say anything, Connor beat you to it. “How are you feeling? In any pain?”

As he questioned you, a poured you a cup of water, holding it so all you had to do was drink and not need to exert energy that he knew from experience, you didn’t have.

Once again, before you could ask, he answered for you. “It was appendicitis. Your period cramps were in fact your appendix and last night it burst.”

“But it’s all good. We got you into surgery and your appendix is gone as should your pain.”

“Wow.” You said shakily, your voice so quiet from the lack of use.

“Please don’t do that next time.” Connor said, sitting on the empty seat by the bed, taking your hand into his. “Please tell me when you're in pain and when you feel sick. You matter to me; all your small or big problems are mine too. I don’t care how trivial they are.”

Silence followed as he set the glass aside. “You scared the shit out of me kiddo.”

And to say you felt guilty was an understatement.

“Claire’s pissed.” You both winced at the thought of your sister finding out. “She’s going to visit when she’s finished with work. I told her your healthy and out of surgery but she’s still pissed.”

“M’Sorry.” You apologised, voice hoarse and lips chapped. “I didn’t want-“

“Y/N.” Connors face made it look like he was in pain from your admission he cut off. “You’re never a bother to me okay? Me being a doctor is a good thing, use it to your advantage.”

You nodded, confirming to change next time if there was another time. Fingers crossed there isn’t.

“How hard was it to not do the surgery?” You smiled, squeezing his hand and poking his bicep. He was still in his scrubs from his shift last night.

Connor rolled his eyes and groaned. Such a sight made you laugh.

[smeddiemunson]

Gareth notices first and as soon as Gareth has a thought he has to share it.

They’re at Hellfire (now hosted in Mike Wheeler’s armpit of a basement) having just finished a long combat when Eddie declares it time for a break and without any further preamble dashes up the stairs, taking them two at a time, and calling dibs on the main bathroom. 

The others are taking a bit longer to get to their break. They all stand like they’re in some kind of synchronised swimming competition and all reach up in unison to crack the various bones that need to, heaving out groans and mumbles about shitty chairs. 

“So,” Gareth says as he rubs his fingers in his eyes. “Eddie has a crush.” 

Jeff collapses back in his chair to burry his face in folded arms with a groan. “I can’t do this again, Gare-Bear.”

Gareth wrinkles his nose at the nickname, and mentally curses his mom for using it around his friends. They’ve never been able to let it go. 

“Wait, what?” Dustin asks. His head is bouncing between Gareth, Jeff, and Grant, eyes tracking over their faces to see if they’re just trying to fuck with him. As if Eddie’s love life wasn’t already tragic enough without the added fun of trying to bother some kids with it.

Grant nodded sagely. “Unfortunately, it only gets worse from here.” 

Mike, who had been half way towards the stairs, now joins in. “What gets worse? He’s being normal Eddie, or like, as normal as Eddie can get.” 

Gareth shares a long look with his bandmates, all seemingly coming to the same conclusion. These kids were here to stay, that much had become clear after the Spring Break/Eddie in a coma Saga, so they could be let in on a few Eddie secrets, not the big one, never the big one until Eddie told them. These were more secrets about Eddie that Eddie was completely unknowledgeable about. 

“You remember the bartender at The Three Brothers we spoke to to find out about the curse?” Gareth says, somehow becoming the voice for the older members of Hellfire. “Did you notice the way Eddie described him?”

“He talked a lot about his hair?” Will offered quietly. He was new to Hellfire so Gareth didn’t really know him, but just from the way Will played his cleric, he could tell that he was a damn sight more observant than his friends. 

“Exactly!” Gareth pointed. “That is Clue 1 in the ‘Eddie Munson Has a Crush’ textbook. He gets so hung up on that one thing that he likes the most about who he’s crushing on, get ready to hear a lot about the NPC’s hair. Clue 2 is that when he comes thundering down those stairs in a minute and realises we haven’t actually done anything with our break, he won’t be shitty about us taking extra time. He just gets nice outta nowehere.”

“Eddie always hates when he has to wait for us though!” 

Jeff finally pulled his head up from his arms. “Just watch, and it’s the one good thing that’s going to come from this crush, so make the most of it.” 

The four boys all gave each other looks that seemed to be conveying a whole conversation. They seemed to come to the same conclusion just as Eddie, as Jeff predicted, thundered down the stairs, skipping the last one so he could jump to the floor and theatrically clap his hands. 

“Who’s ready to get fucked up by what I have planned next?” He asked, not even noticing the way the rest of the boys hadn’t moved from their places stretching next to the table. 

“Sorry man. I still gotta go to the bathroom,” Lucas quickly said before Dustin could start grilling Eddie about his crush. 

Eddie shrugged with a smile. “No worries, Sinclair. You gotta go when you gotta go, right?” 

This was particularly offensive to Mike, who when he first joined Hellfire had been forced to squirm in his seat for over an hour while Eddie threatened to kill his PC off if Mike left the table to use the bathroom. He turned his gobsmacked expression to Gareth who could only raise his eyebrows in a kind of ‘told you so’ gesture. 

Lucas, to his credit, didn’t let on that he was also gobsmacked and rushed up the stairs. Will and Mike followed him quickly, stumbling out an excuse about getting more drinks. Eddie being amenable was seemingly still too new to let them make the most of it, the Corroded Coffin boys had at least been through this three notable times before.

“Get me a coke while you’re up there, please?” Eddie called out after them. He kicked up his feet to rest on the edge of the table, crossed at the ankles and rocked back onto the back two legs of his chair. He turned to the Corroded Coffin boys. “I’ve been thinking about arranging this song, not our usual style but I think it could sound totally metal if I did it right.” 

“What song?” Jeff asked carefully. 

Grant caught Dustin’s eye and mouthed ‘Clue 3′. Dustin nodded as if he were mentally taking notes, which if Gareth knew anything about the kid, he probably was. He took to the puzzles Eddie laid out for them with more gusto than anyone else. 

Eddie closed his eyes and brought his hands up in front of him as if he were tenderly cradling his warlock. His fingers worked over imaginary frets. “Dancing in the Dark. Springsteen.” 

“That’s Steve’s favourite song,” Dustin blurted out, clamping his hand over his mouth when Eddie’s fingers paused in the air. 

A slow smile spread over his face. “Is it?”

Gareth turned to his best friends to see the expression he wore mirrored two times over. 

Holy shit. 

Eddie was crushing on Steve Harrington. 

(part 2)

[philistiniphagottini]

hi i hope you don’t mind my coming back 😅 as i mentioned before i really enjoyed how you wrote my request before! c:

i had this kinda specific idea of something along the lines of a confession that gets rushed along via the ever famous only one bed trope with cloud strife? soft cloud is rare and underrated <3

thank you if you take this on, as always no pressure! all the best!! :D

Hi, welcome back! :D Oh my god yes, we need more soft Cloud, he's such a sweet bean. Thanks for the request, I had a lot of fun writing this. And sorry, I got a little carried away and it's over 2.5k words :P I hope you like it~

cw. fluff

"Sorry, this is all they had left…"

You blinked slowly, eyes drinking in the current predicament both you and your friend, Cloud, had somehow managed to land in. Your eyebrow twitched in irritation as a loud sigh fell from your parted lips, blowing a few stray strands of hair off of your exhausted features. Just great. Of course, the only room left available in this cheap ass motel just so happened to only have one bed in it. Yep, that would be your luck.

Your tired eyes scanned the dimly lit room, the light flickering occasionally as it struggled to stay on. You could empathize. After a tiring day of running errands and fighting off monsters, your lights were struggling to stay on as well. You noted how small the room was and it only caused you further irritation, seeing as how you and Cloud would have to huddle together like mackerel and live on top of each other for the next few hours. But what did you expect for such a cheap price? And there was no way in hell you were sleeping outside again. You had enough fill of outdoor camping to last you a lifetime. With another small huff you gave Cloud a tired look, noticing how the tension in his shoulders had yet to ease since he broke the news. It was highly inconvenient for both of you but it wasn’t his fault. No, you’d just let the owner have an earful in the morning. Right now, you were too exhausted to complain. You just wanted sleep.

"It’s fine, Cloud" you said, a small smile tilting your lips as you tried to ease his worries. "It’s not your fault."

He nodded along to your words but a pensive frown still tugged at his lips, eyebrows pinched together as he silently chewed on his lips. It was obvious something was bothering him but you decided not to push it further. Instead, you dropped your bag at the foot of the bed and proceeded to kick your shoes off.

"Well, we could complain about this all night but it’s probably better to just get some rest" you stated.

Your eyes flickered back to where Cloud was. He had yet to move from the door. You sat at the edge of the bed, the springs creaking loudly in protest as your heavy boots hit the floor with a dull thud.

"Could you close the door?" you asked.

Cloud finally stirred from his thoughts at the sound of your voice. "Huh? Uh…sure."

He stepped into the room and shut the door behind him. He dropped his bag beside yours as his eyes scanned the room. There really wasn’t a lot of floor space left and he was starting to regret booking a room here for the night. He should have tried to find somewhere else. Though, he doubted you would have been too pleased with that idea. You had claimed that if you had to stay seated on his bike for even one more mile you were going to hurl. His eyes flickered in your direction as you scooted further onto the bed, deciding to settle one side as you rearrange the pillows to your liking. His Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed thickly, heart racing in his ears as his cheeks started to burn. He didn’t know if his poor heart would be able to handle this tonight. Having you sleep so close next to him, barely any room between your bodies. He was pretty sure if that happened the massive crush he had on you was going to inevitably get so much worse after tonight.

Cloud continued to stand at the foot of the bed awkwardly, debating whether he could actually huddle up into a ball on the floor and sleep comfortably. His attention snapped back to you when you cleared your throat.

"What are you doing?" you asked.

Cloud opened his mouth to speak but he decided to close it. He gathered his thoughts, eyes flicking nervously between you and the floor as he finally spoke up.

"I think I should sleep on the floor tonight" he mumbled softly.

You rolled your eyes so hard they almost disappeared into the back of your head. "No, you won’t."

Cloud’s frown only deepened. His lips parted but you cut him off before he could argue with you.

"You are not sleeping on that shitty floor tonight. There’s no room for you down there. Just take your gear off and get into bed."

"But-"

"I don’t want to hear some bullshit about you trying to be considerate, Cloud" you continued. "We’re grown ass adults; we can sleep in the same bed without it being weird."

Cloud’s posture was still tense, like he was anticipating an attack from an unknown source. You offered him a soft smile.

"I promise I won’t bite" you added with a teasing remark.

Cloud scowled softly as he waved his hand at you dismissively. "Alright, alright. I get your point. Man, you’re stubborn."

"Takes one to know one~"

His lips twitched into a ghost of a smile as he turned his back to you, proceeding to take off his clunky gear and settle in for the night. His heart would not stop racing, fingers trembling as he undid the various clasps and buckles of his uniform, both elation and trepidation making his blood boil beneath his skin. And if it wasn’t for his own heartbeat droning so loudly in his ears, he might have been able to pick up on your own rambunctious heartbeat threatening to break free from your chest. You were silently screaming on the inside as you buried yourself under the covers of the blanket, mind swirling with thoughts that kept spinning like a record so fast that it made you dizzy. You started picking at the lint under your fingernails to try and keep your mind occupied but it wasn’t working. You were going to spend the night with the man you liked and it made your head feel giddy. You had been friends with Cloud for a very long time and somewhere along the way, your feelings for him shifted. What started out with mutual respect and pure platonic feelings bloomed into pure affection and ever longing yearning. You didn’t know if your poor heart was going to be able to take it this evening, having Cloud so close to you.

Once the last of Cloud’s gear clattered to the floor he straightened his back with a long sigh. He was tired so tired and sore from such a stressful day, yet the tension in his muscles refused to ease. He doubted he would get any rest tonight sleeping next to you. He stepped towards the door, making sure that it was locked before securing his weapon close to the side of the bed he would be sleeping on.

"I’m going to turn the light out now" he said.

You hummed in response, eyes falling shut when the light switched off, bathing the room in darkness. You tried your best to remain still, hands clasped tightly to your chest as your ears perked up to the sound of Cloud moving to the other side of the bed. Your pulse spiked rapidly as the mattress abruptly dipped, springs creaking as he settled in beside you. He hesitated for a moment but decided to join you under the covers, his back almost touching yours as he subconsciously shuffled closer to the warmth your body provided. You could feel him so close to you and you almost rolled away as your heart threatened to leap out of your throat. But if you did that, you’d just end up on the floor. This bed could just barely fit both of you on it. At least it was decently comfortable. Not the best but you’ve slept on worse. And at this point, anything was better than the cold scent of dirt and the unforgiving earth beneath you.

"Goodnight" you whispered into the darkness.

"Night" Cloud replied softly.

You buried your face further into your pillow, body curling further into yourself as you tried to focus on sleep and not the warm body that was resting right behind you. The soft chirps of crickets filled your ears, accompanied by Cloud’s light breaths tumbling from his slightly ajar lips. The darkness was a small comfort as your eyes felt heavy and you tried to get your wandering mind to sleep for the night.

Five minutes passed.

Then ten.

Then fifteen minutes passed.

Your eyes cracked open as an irritated huff stirred in the back of your throat. You fidgeted, moving your body to try and fall into a more comfortable position. Your eyes slipped close once more as you nudged your cheek against your pillow. Another five minutes eventually passed. A long sigh blew out your lips as you flipped onto your back, eyes peeling open to stare at the ceiling above your head, the old fan spinning above you barely even blowing a gentle breeze in your direction.

"Cloud, you awake?"

He hummed in response.

"I can’t sleep."

"Me neither" he admitted.

You turned your head in his direction, a frown pulling at your lips as you stared at his back. His shoulders were almost pressed against his ears, tension winding tight in his muscles as his body refused to relax next to you.

"Are you okay?" you asked. "You’ve been tense ever since we got here."

Cloud nodded; strands of his wild blond hair ruffled against the pillow supporting his head.

"I’m fine."

You didn’t believe him. You rolled over to face him, your breathing wavering as you slowly reached out to him. His spine went rigid as you placed the warm palm of your hand between his shoulder blades, his skin erupting with goosebumps at your mere touch. You slowly ran your hand along the ridges of his spine, trying to soothe the ache in his muscles.

"Come on, you can tell little ol’ me" you spoke gently. "Something is clearly bothering you."

"No, it isn’t" Cloud denied.

"Yes, it is" you prodded, your fingers poking at his arm. "Tell me."

"No."

You scowled. "Cloud-"

He couldn’t take it anymore. The soft melody of your voice whispering so soothingly next to his ear, the soft dulcet tones of concern lacing your voice. The way your hand felt on his body, accompanied by the trace of your fingertips. His head felt like it was going to explode, heart swelling with so much affection that it all came spilling out.

"I like you" he blurted.

As soon as the words left his lips, he wished he could pluck them out of the air and shove them back down his throat. That was not supposed to come out. This was not at all how he imagined he would confess to you. Any scenario but this one. Perhaps you hadn’t heard him? But that thought was quickly dashed. Your silence spoke volumes.

You fell eerily still behind him, the ministrations of your hand pausing. You stared at the back of his head in disbelief as every single thought in your head came to a screeching halt. Did you hear him right? Surely you didn’t. There was no way Cloud thought of you more than just a friend…right? Your tongue darted over your dry lips as you swallowed the lump in your throat, the gears in your brain working overtime to start moving again.

"I…huh?"

That was the only response that could work its way out of your mouth. You were frozen stiff, eyes wide and ready to pop out of your skull. Cloud shifted, slowly turning over to face you. Even in the darkness, you could see the bright shade of pink that dusted his cheeks and crept up to the tips of his ears. His eyes flickered around nervously, refusing to settle on one part of your face and instead focusing on any minute twitch in your expression. He sighed. You had obviously heard him and there wasn’t any going back now. He had to be brave and take the plunge. His hands slowly reached out and grabbed yours, fingers curling around your wrists and pressing against the sensitive pulse of your wrists. Your skin was boiling as he looked down at you with lidded eyes, lips so close you could almost taste him on the tip of your tongue. You did not pull away and he saw it as a sign to press forward.

"I said I like you" Cloud repeated, his voice much softer and intimate than before. "I have liked you for a long time now."

The tension in the air was so thick now you could cut it with a knife. The longer you continued to stare into Cloud’s bright eyes, the more you realised how sincere his words were. He wasn’t joking. He was serious. If you were dreaming right now, then you didn’t want to wake up. His warm breath tickled your skin as you took a deep breath, his familiar scent curling in your lungs and making your chest feel light. His fingers rubbed against the sensitive skin of your wrists; the pads of his fingertips lightly calloused from years of fighting. You were silent for a long time as Cloud patiently waited for you to pick the right words out of your head to respond. Much like his confession, the next words you spoke were rushed out on impulse.

"Kiss me."

Cloud blinked rapidly in response, the flush of his skin getting hotter as he stared down at you.

"Huh?"

Now it was his turn to act dumbfounded.

"Kiss me" you repeated, softly; slowly.

Your eyes lingered on his lightly chapped lips, the soft curve so enticingly inviting. The emotions inside of you were ready to boil over and you weren’t sure if you were going to start laughing or crying from the intense swell you felt inside your chest. You sucked down a sharp breath as Cloud suddenly leaned in and closed the distance between your lips. His lips were a lot softer than you imagined and before you knew it, you were kissing him back. The contact between you was much too brief for your liking. When Cloud pulled away to allow you to catch your breath, you were eager for more.

"Again?"

He obliged and placed another chaste kiss on your lips. Your eyes were lidded when he pulled back.

"Again."

You barely got the words out before your lips were smothered by his again. A contented noise stirred in your throat as you threw your arms around his neck, body pressing and tangling closer to one another in the passionate embrace. You were so happy that words couldn’t describe. It felt like a weight had been lifted off you, months and months of one-sided pining finally being reciprocated in a way you didn’t think possible. You didn’t know if you could pull away once you got a taste. The tension in Cloud’s body finally eased as his arms coiled around your waist and squeezed you tight, his excitement and relief of your acceptance expressed in the way he pressed his lisp to yours, his awkwardness slowly fading with each small brush.

"I like you too" you suddenly said; realising that you actually hadn’t verbally confirmed your feelings.

Cloud smiled softly as he pecked your lips once more. He didn’t need to hear you say it. All your affection for him had already been poured into your breath-taking kisses.

"I’m glad" he replied, lips tasting the shape of your mouth.

He squeezed your waist tightly, grip nearly bruising as the air was slowly squeezed from your lungs. You couldn’t contain your breathless giggles. You nuzzled your face against his, the tip of your nose brushing along the bridge of his as you smiled softly.

"I think we have a lot of lost time to catch up on" you said.

[gravehags]

what the water gave me

Pairing: Rain x f!Reader (Ghoul Bicycle Reader)

Rating: EXPLICIT, MDNI

Words: 1,900-ish

Tags: tentacle dick, water sex, brief mention of breeding kink, rain being a sneaky little shit, brief mention of murder ghouls

Summary: Rain better have a good excuse for waking you up in the middle of the night.

a/n: Well. You know how it is. A sweet little ficlet idea turns into a horny monster etc etc.

~~~

You're dreaming of wind and water, your hair whipping around your face as you struggle to see when you feel your body being gently jostled.

Chalking it up to your bedmates - who was in your bed tonight? ah, Dewdrop and Aurora, that's right - you shrug and nestle further into your pillow. The jostling happens again, a little more aggressive this time, and you hear your name being whispered. Blearily, you open one eye and lift your head and nearly shriek aloud. Rain is crouched next to you, eyes glowing in the darkness, holding his finger up to his mouth trying to pacify you. You glance over your shoulder and see the two ghouls curled into one another, unaware of their near rude awakening.

"Rain," you hiss, "what are you doing?"

He says nothing, but instead stands up and gestures for you to follow him. When you frown deeply, shaking your head he gives you such a look that even in the darkness of your room you can feel his stubbornness. With a deep sigh you quietly slide from the comfort of your bed and follow him out. He has you tail him down the hallway, past everyone's doors, before turning around and smiling.

"There's something I want to show you."

You tilt your head and furrow your brow.

"At...whatever time this is? That's not ominous or anything."

He scoffs and rolls his eyes before reaching down and taking you by the hand.

"C'mon," he says, tugging you towards the door. You sigh, yet again. Even if you did tell him to fuck off, you know he'd be hurt and you also know you wouldn't be able to fall back asleep.

"Should I get my robe or something? My shoes?"

"Won't need them," he grins, urging you to follow.

"Again, ominous," you mutter and allow him to take you down the corridor. It's a warm night - right at the cusp of spring and summer - and you marvel at the smell of jasmine in the air in the courtyard. He's leading you in a confusing series of turns until the two of you are standing outside looking out on the Ministry grounds. It surprises you how much you can actually see until you glance upwards and note a heavy full moon hanging in the sky. You can only enjoy it for a moment before your late night kidnapper pulls you down the grassy hill and towards the shore of the lake.

"Rain, are we hiding a body or something?" you ask, still suspicious. You're not stupid, you know what your ghouls get up to when they go on hunts. Ministry has to get rid of its interlopers and rejects somehow. Your lips twitch as you remember Sister Tamsin. Rain doesn't respond, doesn't make a sound until the two of you are at the water's edge, your feet sinking into the small pebbles.

"Here we are," he announces, before grabbing the hem of his shirt and pulling it over his head. He continues to disrobe, shucking his pajama pants and underwear and you're left...confused. Confused and very, very intrigued. You get your answer when he steps forward and enters the dark water. He doesn't turn back around until he's shoulder deep and then he gives you a wide, sharp grin.

"Skinny dipping? Now?" you say, hands on your hips. He nods enthusiastically.

"Come on baby, take it off!" he catcalls. You roll your eyes and scoff loudly. It's a ridiculous notion but...you've done worse things on the Ministry grounds and in broad daylight at that. Something about the way the water ghoul looks at you as he bobs in the distance makes you soften. When your hands reach for the hem of your nightgown he whistles.

"Shhh!" you hiss, grinning as you pull it over your head. Your underwear comes next and you toss it in the pile of his clothes before tentatively dipping your toes in the water. It's...warmer than you anticipated. You've been in toastier waters, certainly, but the chill feels nice in combination with the warm night air. Slowly and gracelessly you slosh out, a shiver running through you when your nipples hit the surface. You don't miss the way his eyes dart to the hardened buds, his tongue snaking out to lick his lips.

"Come out further," he says, crooking his finger at you.

"What are you, some kind of mermaid luring men to their doom?"

He laughs before tilting his head back and soaking his hair.

"Not men, you. And I don't think you'll complain once you get here so hush and hurry up."

You're at the point where the bottom of the lake can only be skimmed by the tips of your toes.

"Rain, I'm not that strong of a swimmer and I can't see my feet," you say, anxious, "Meet me in the middle?"

He nods and glides over to you, slipping his hands around your biceps.

"Trust me?" he asks, as he slowly pulls you deeper in.

"Yeah," you say, a little apprehensive. He tuts and pulls you in close, your body flush with his.

"Wrap your legs around me, dove," he says, lips brushing the shell of your ear. You do as he asks and immediately feel more secure in this position.

"Thanks," you breathe, pushing damp strands of hair out of his face. Suddenly you're aware of how intimate the situation is - the two of you, all alone with the moon hanging high, his breath mingling with yours. Your eyes dance over his face, down to the gills in his neck that flutter in the water with each inhale and exhale.

"Unholy fuck you're beautiful."

You've told him this before - how could you not when he looks like that - but every time his eyes light up and he smiles.

"You're not half-bad yourself."

You snort, wrapping your arms around his neck.

"A ringing endorsement."

He brings a hand up to your face and presses his thumb into your bottom lip.

"I'd rather show you than tell you," he breathes, moving his thumb and replacing it with the tip of his tongue. Sneaky Rain, you think to yourself as your slide your lips against his. Always knows the right thing to say. When he cants his hips against you and pulls you in even tighter, all other thoughts are banished from your mind. He's smiling against your lips as you gasp into his mouth.

"Feel that?" he murmurs, snaking a hand into your wet hair. How could you not feel it, the gentle and slick prodding at your folds?

"Is that...?"

"Uh huh," he grins, rutting against you so you feel that insistent slide right along your clit.

"Is it--" you're cut off by your sharp inhale when it continues to rub against you, "--like this because we're in the water?"

"Mmhmm," the tip of him nudges your entrance and you instinctively spread your legs wider.

"Remind me to--ah--remind me to take a bath with you. I--"

You forget what you were about to say as he enters you, making your jaw hang open.

"Fuck, Rain," you whimper as the length of him just keeps going, "I-I don't know if I can take it all."

He laughs in your ear, almost a little sinister. The timbre of his voice makes your cunt clench around him and he hisses.

"Of course you can, dove. You're made for us. So perfect and--ah--tight."

When he finally, finally bottoms out you're left panting, stars blooming across your vision because fuck you've never had anyone that deep, not even Mountain. When he begins to pull out you whine, already feeling the loss but before you can say anything, he slams back into you. He repeats the motion over and over as you mouth at his shoulder, your hips bucking into his. He grunts as he fucks into you with such force the water undulates around you. When he lets go of you with one hand he brings it to your nipple, rolling the bud between his fingers before pinching down with a growl. The buck of his hips against yours is hypnotic and you feel somehow lulled and electrified as he uses you.

"Always wanted you like this," Rain pants, leaning into suck your earlobe between his lips, "Always knew how--fuck--how good you'd feel. From the first time I had you I--"

His voice cuts off, as the movement of his hips becomes frantic. He's angled himself just so and you can feel the underside of him--were those suckers?--as he grinds it against your swollen clit.

"Rain, fuck, please," you pant, your arms tightening around his neck, "Please I need it, need you to fill me up, fuck a kit into me--"

Your last statement makes him moan loudly, hips now fucking into you at an impossible speed. You can't catch your breath at the way he uses your body, too fucked dumb to form another sentence. All you can do is wait as you feel the familiar tightening in your spine and the fire in your belly, your back arching into him and your head thrown back. Something about the whole situation - the water, him, the monster currently inside you - makes you lose your mind and you cum with a scream. Somewhere in your mind you know that someone had to have heard that but can't bring yourself to care as his cock continues to use you.

"So good, so sweet," he grunts, grabbing you by the back of the head and forcing you to look at him. His eyes as black as onyx and when he cums inside you, it's with a broken moan. He's filling you up - even in the dark water you know he's spilling out of you. Even as he collapses against you, making you dip deeper, his hips still stutter against you, desperate to milk every drop out of him. The two of you pant into the warm night air, your bodies entwined. When he shifts his hips and pulls out of you, your jaw falls open as you feel the length of him slip away.

"Can't believe I took that," you breathe, making him grin.

"Hey, you took Mountain and Aether. That was nothing."

You laugh, leaning in to brush his nose with yours.

"You're too modest," you say, peppering his cheek with kisses. Gently you unwrap your legs from around him and sigh.

"Let's get you back to bed, huh?"

You don't know if you have it in you to swim to shore, but Rain's got you. When your feet finally meet the pebbled lakebed, the jolt of gravity makes you stumble.

"Easy," Rain murmurs, guiding you to a standing position and holding your hand as the two of you slosh out of the water. When you approach your clothes you swear loudly.

"Didn't bring any towels," you grumble, looking sideways at the water ghoul. He smiles at you.

"We could...stay a while. You know, air dry."

"Uh huh," you nod, already knowing where this is going. You damply stumble to the edge of the grass and plop down inelegantly. Rain follows suit, squeezing his wet hair out.

"Rain, that was..."

"Yeah?"

You whistle low.

"Ah, I see. Don't know if you'll ever be able to have me on land again?"

"Oh, I don't know," you say, falling backwards and propping yourself up on your elbows, "I've forgotten what that's like. Care to refresh my memory?"

When Aether, always up early, sees the two of you stumble into the den giggling as the sun rises, he shakes his head with a smile.

[jellysxtarr]

Hi! May I request the neighbors having a sleepover with y/n who’s scared of thunderstorms and they comfort y/n?

This turned out longer than expected, do forgive for the long reading you have to do!

Thunderstorm, Thunderstorm, go away! | Neighbor who's afraid of thunder

Warnings: //

ʚ — It was a nice day in the neighborhood, spring was around the corner, the sun was shining and nothing was disturbing anybody! So, the best thing to do today was to hang out with your lovely neighbors for today and even have a picnic!

ʚ — It wasnt until you struck up the idea on having a sleepover with them all! Seeing that the day was doing perfectly fine so far, a sleepover was the cherry on top!

ʚ — Now, you must have a really big house to fit all of them in, considering on how tall Poppy and Barnaby are. But hey! You made it work! It wouldn't be very neighborly of you to exclude either of them since they would take up most of the space.

ʚ — The evening went by quick, having played board games with them, acting out a random script Sally came up with, painting with Wally (thats if you know how to paint!), cracking silly jokes with none other than Barnaby and even baking something sweet and delicious with Poppy!

ʚ — Now that it was finally time to get some sweet sleep with your neighbors (which, ended up being silly stories told instead of actually getting rest), it didn't really got noticed by you, or anybody, that the weather was getting rather worse each hour.

ʚ — What started with light slowly turned into heavy rain, thunder emerging from the dark clouds that coverved the dark blue sky, it made you feel more anxious and uneasy rather than comforted by the weather.

ʚ — That, of course, didn't go unnoticed from your fellow neighbors, hearing it right outside in the comforts of your house.

ʚ — Poppy Partridge was the first person to ask if you're alright and commenting something about the bad weather, putting her wing gently on your shoulder with a face of care. Of course, even she was being a bit jumpy herself, but you were the first priority to see if you're doing fine.

ʚ — Julie Joyful joined in next, sitting next to you while seeming concerned for you, too. Soon enough, the other neighbors were coming over to help you out with the awful feeling of fear the weather has given you.

ʚ — Barnaby was making silly jokes, making sure it made you feel better rather than worse (even Howdy who remembered a few jokes), Poppy tried to ease you with simple words of comfort, Eddie...he did forget at first that you had a fear of thunderstorms, who also was trying to comfort you in the same way Poppy has.

ʚ — Frank might not have been the best in comforting people, only telling you that "the weather will soon go away", or "that it'll calm down in a few hours or so". Sally tried, she really did! But not being entirely sure on how to handle the situation was making it rather hard than simple.

ʚ — Julie on the other hand was telling you stories to keep your mind away from the thunder, having a lot of them in store! Even if it happened days ago, or even months!

ʚ — Wally was taking it on a more calmer approach, listening to his neighbors trying their best to comfort you while staring at you. He would try to say something to ease you, comforting you in the best way he could and even hearing you out if you had something to say.

ʚ — Eventually, you all had to go to sleep, nobody wants to walk around feeling cranky all day with the lack of sleep! But, also seeing that the weather wasn't going to get better any time soon, Julie decided it was the best to sleep close to each other! Just in case the weather (somehow) gets worse and with you getting more uneasy.

ʚ — Now with your neighbors sleeping close to you (and Wally's repetitive of "I'm sleeping, I'm sleeping"), you felt better! They tried their best, which was enough for you. Somehow (managing) to ignore the thunderstorm outside, you went to sleep, enjoying the peace and not so quiet sleepover with your neighbors.

ʚ — The day didn't go upside down, even with the horrendous weather that happened. The sleepover was truly the cherry on top!

ᜊ. TAGS: @robotoast03

[cottonlemonade]

Confessions After Hours

word count: 1124 || avg. reading time: 5 mins.

pairing: Akiteru x chubby!Reader

genre: fluff, friends to lovers

warnings: like one time swearing

synopsis: Akiteru accidentally confesses to you

You looked outside the café windows for the fourth time in the last 5 minutes, it was past closing time, all the cleaning was done and your fellow part-timers had already left. So you just tried to find some busy work to have a somewhat legitimate reason to stall. The rain was getting worse and by now you were pretty sure Akiteru wouldn’t come.

It’s not like it was an actual plan, you reminded yourself, it was just kind of implied that he wanted to walk you home but no one could expect him to go out in this weather.

And so you hummed to yourself while carefully brushing down mint leaves and edible flowers with egg whites and sugar.

Your mood dropped a little when you checked the clock again. You had been looking forward to spending time alone with Akiteru.

Of course, you had little hope that he was interested in you romantically but that didn’t stop you from dreamily staring at him during study sessions or making a fool of yourself whenever possible - like running into a glass door when he smiled at you like last week.

When you laid the sugar coated decoration out on a baking sheet, a familiar figure caught your eye.

He stood on the other side of the road, waiting for a safe crossing. Quickly you walked over to the front door to unlock it and let him in.

“Ugh, wet.”, he commented, waddling in.

“Why didn’t you bring an umbrella?”, you asked incredulously when he pulled back his drenched hood and shook his soaked hair like a dog.

“We only have one and one of the others got it tonight.”, he explained as if that was normal.

You swallowed the start of what would probably be a rather long discussion about why it wasn’t smart that 4 roommates shared a singular umbrella and so instead opted for “You should get out of those wet clothes before you catch your death.”

He gave you an overly dramatic look of shock, clutching his soaked collar like a Victorian lady.

“Oh, grow up!”

Together you peeled him out of his hoodie (his t-shirt underneath was dry for the most part) and you considered the dripping bulk of fabric for a second, before making a decision.

Wringing out as much of the excess water as possible over the kitchen sink, you then opened the still warm oven from the banana bread you made earlier and placed the black hoodie on a baking sheet inside.

Akiteru watched you with crossed arms and then asked in complete earnest, “How long do you think it needs?”

“I don’t know, Akiteru. I have never baked hoodie before. I’d give it like 5 minutes and then I’ll turn it over. We’ll see.”

To warm him up you brewed him a big mug of coffee in the already cleaned machine. A gesture that didn’t fail to impress. “I have never felt this special in my life.” He wrapped his large hands around the steaming cup and breathed in the cozy coffee scent.

“Don’t get used to it.”, you said, smiling, taking a sandwich and a bowl of fruit you had prepared for him earlier out of the fridge.

“This café has such excellent service. Thank you.”

You pulled a folder of various papers from a shelf, turning pages as if to check things - he didn’t need to know that you were just pretending. “So, how is the Kei situation - still hating the club?”

“Not so much hating, I’d say indifferent, which somehow is almost worse.”

“How come?”

“At least hate would indicate a strong emotion.”, he said wisely, plopping a grape in his mouth and feeding you one, too, while you were “busy” tapping something on your phone’s calculator and writing gibberish numbers on a slip of paper. When his fingertips accidentally brushed your lips in the process your brain came to a full stop.

“But the spring tournament is right around the corner and I am almost sure he is actually starting to enjoy himself - a little.”

Another grape.

He took a sip of coffee and sighed.

“Your coffee tastes like a hug.”

Your eyes lit up. “I… that is the sweetest thing anyone has ever said to me. You mean, like a good hug though, right? Not one of those half-assed one armed thingies.”

He spluttered into his mug and coughed to clear his throat.

“Yes, a good hug. Both arms, full body contact. I am talking full-on cocoon.”

With a bragging smile, brain still fried, you said “I’ve been told I give pretty amazing hugs like that.” proudly pushing your chin up.

“Oh yeah? Well then let’s see what you got.”

You thought for a second, then dropped your highly important paperwork back on the counter. “Let’s have a look at your hoodie first, don’t want it to get too dark.”

A moment later you stood across from each other stretching as if getting ready for a fight. “Alright, little one. Give it your all.”, he said and opened his arms.

He had been ready for a lot of things. He had held your hand before, when navigating through a crowd (only as friends of course), so he was no stranger to the tingles your touch sent through his body.

What he hadn’t been ready for was your head to be leaning against his chest and your hands gently stroking over his back. He returned the hug immediately, placing one hand on your back and one gently cradling your head, resting his cheek against your temple. A perfect fit. It was better than he had ever imagined. Where did they even make people as soft and heavenly squishy as you? For many hasty heartbeats he held you like this. Then you gave the smallest sigh and actually snuggled even closer to him. He couldn’t take it. It was too much. And so without thinking in one quiet breath he let out, “Shit, I’m so in love with you.”

He felt you stiffen in his arms and prepared for the worst. You lifted your head to look at him, your eyes sleepy like you had been about to doze off.

Akiteru loosened his arms so you could pull away like you undoubtedly were going to. But you didn't.

"I'm... I'm sorry that was really stupid.", he said quickly.

"Don't worry, I accidentally tried freezing a cucumber last week. You're good.", you said in a drowsy sort of way.

"What?"

"What?"

He didn't know what to do. You hadn't pulled away. You weren't screaming or running away or hitting him. Instead, you got on your tip-toes, a hand on his chest and smiled, before you set the softest kiss against his surprised lips.

[missholland]

Farewell, a place once called home!

I was homebound this week for an illness recovery, and thought it was the perfect time to rewatch one of my ultimate comfort shows: The Untamed.

Some people watch stuff once. Some people religiously rewatch their favs because they discover something new each time. I'm certainly part of the latter clan, and I cannot believe I never wrote about Wei Wuxian (WWX)'s post-resurrection return to Lotus Pier before.

The second half of episode 45 throughout episode 46 is quite a journey on its own right: the setting, the aesthetics, the dialogue, the emotional weight as one of the biggest secrets finally came to surface.

A very long rambling analysis ahead so bear with me!

Considering the latter half of episode 45 was mostly consumed with Si Si and Bi Cao exposing Jin Guangyao (JGY)'s dark past, there were only a couple of Lotus Pier moments that worth mentioning.

As WWX and Lan Wangji (LWJ) walked through the entrance of Lotus Pier, I was immediately taken back to what WWX said to LWJ in episode 6 when they were healing their injuries in the Cold Spring. WWX asked LWJ to come visit him in Lotus Pier one day, and I bet the circumstance they eventually found themselves in episode 45 was far from what WWX thought the visit would have been like.

Let's also take another step back to episode 34, where Jiang Cheng (JC) interrogated WWX. WWX admitted that he wanted to go back to Lotus Pier even in his dream, but at the time, he had probably given up all hopes of ever making that come true.

What else is there? His master and madam died, his disciple elder sister Yanli died, he got expelled from his own clan. It was virtually impossible to prepare WWX for the event of episode 45 where he actually got to walk into Lotus Pier again.

Let's now cruise into the main event - episode 46! Fed up with how the big clan meeting went following the revelation of JGY's wrongdoings, WWX and LWJ stepped away from the front room and made their way around Lotus Pier. They were likely just wandering around at the time, as their concentration was totally occupied with finding out who might be the mastermind trying to expose JGY. Then again, it might as well be WWX's muscle memory as they somehow ended up right in front of the ancestral hall.

Despite initial hesitation, WWX eventually decided to come in and paid respect to his Master, Madam and Yanli along with LWJ. It's not the first time we saw this incredibly tranquil and beautiful room. It really was WWX's most frequently visited room, whether it was being punished by Madam Yu (story apparently travelled all the way to Gusu) or having heartfelt conversation with Yanli. WWX telling LWJ his childhood stories inside the ancestral hall was probably the most mundane sequence during this whole ordeal, and a small moment of normality for WWX before our resident killjoy JC walked in.

Yes JC, we know it's your house but surely yelling in the middle of the ancestral hall whether your family was resting in peace isn't a very good idea? Our WWX certainly didn't expect any less from all the unpleasantness coming out of JC's mouth, as since forever he only let his anger do the speaking and not the common sense. LWJ was ready to have a showdown, but WWX calmly told him to stand down and let it go.

But did JC let it go too? Of course not. He was irritated by WWX's calmness and tried to spill some more frustration to get the other to react. He clearly picked the right route to go down on by picking on LWJ and Wen Ning (WN). Worse, he proceeded to single out LWJ and insulted his commitment to WWX.

That prompted WWX to yell out JC's courtesy name Jiang Wanyin, a name we didn't hear very often throughout the show but in this instance it was most memorable, especially coming from WWX. That itself drew a clear boundary in their relationship at that moment, from brothers to mere acquaintances in the cultivation world.

WWX wasn't afraid to ask a proud JC to apologise, but all JC was gonna do is pushing the button even more. He took a very personal swipe at their confidant/soulmate-ship that led WWX to, quite uncharacteristically, violently held JC's collar.

Our dearest is giving JC what he wants! Although to be perfect honest, I thought it was quite hilarious that JC for whatever reason was confident he could take on both of them. WWX possibly since he wasn't at his finest during that moment, but prime LWJ though...?

Thankfully, WWX looked up and saw Yanli's name. He knew very well it would break Yanli's heart seeing the two of them like this. He's gotta be the bigger person (and fair enough, he's already knackered from being the lure flag for the puppets). As our beloved couple once again tried to leave in peace, JC decided to make it as hard as possible for them. Here he is, triggering LWJ's angry lover protector mode.

I love the swift but determined arm push LWJ did to JC a second after this to get him off WWX, then right away his expression transitioned back into anxious lover worrier mode. LWJ didn't even give JC a second look. He promptly escorted WWX away but was still super alerted to give JC a good old Piss Off for STILL ONCE AGAIN not letting it go.

Let's take a moment to admire this bittersweet yet romantically charged frame before getting the tearfest started.

Now, our sweet baby WN just flew in with WWX's Suibian sword, got a couple of hits from JC's Zidian but was still determined to stand tall and asked JC to unseathe Suibian. JC was angry and confused, LWJ was probably also angry and confused, WWX has fainted, so now WN is the only sane one and the voice of reason. His cold lack of reaction (because he wasn't surprised at all) placing next to a shocked pikachu LWJ and confusingly mortified JC was the perfect comparison.

LWJ's face tells me that as soon as he saw JC taking out Suibian, he was already somewhat fearing the reason behind it. He hasn't quite reached the destination yet, but he was on the way. After all, he's one of the most intelligent and knowledgeable characters in the story thanks to his sect's education. His eyes made it look like he was holding on a tiny glimpse of hope that maybe it's not true, maybe it's not the worst case scenario, but it was certainly mixed with fear that it might be.

It's very different from JC who's just completely out of the loop, no hint of any possibility that he might be able to work out what happened. If WN wasn't there to SPELL IT OUT, JC would just remain angry and confused for the rest of the episode.

As JC is still in deep denial, and WN precisely recounted the event on the mountain in great details where JC was tricked to go find Baoshan Wanderer who could fix his core, LWJ only had eyes on WWX. His ears were listening to everything WN said too, but his focus was on WWX while he did his own reflection on how he reacted to WWX abandoning swordsmanship in the past (the same way JC did).

All the burning questions LWJ had inside his head - why WWX no longer carried Suibian, why he made all these excuses to not get back into practicing swords, why he took on crafty tricks, why he had a change in personality and demeanour, why he behaved so strangely after getting Suibian back - they are finally answered. But in the most unimaginably painful and heartbreaking way. LWJ's trembling face and tears scream PAIN, the pain you feel when you know someone you love is in pain, but you are also aware that whatever you feel is only 1/10000 of their actual suffering.

Pain and anger come together time to time, and LWJ has heard enough. He just wanted to get WWX out of here, out of this hell of a truth. He made his feeling known by stamping Bichen loudly on the ground and took WWX away, once and all.

Our baby WN really shined here. He wrapped up this dreadful revelation by daring JC to find anyone who can unsheathe Suibian, but not before hitting him with possibly the last thing any human being as competitive and eager to win like JC wanted to hear - did you know you were supposed to beneath your disciple older brother forever?

WN kept his head down and let out a sigh. He knew he shouldn't have done it since he promised WWX, but that was as much as he knew he had to do so. His guilt toward WWX was starting to hit him, but it was also obvious that a huge burden has been lifted off his shoulders.

We're now getting to the end of WWX's unexpectedly eventful return to Lotus Pier. Without JC's unreasonable pot-stirring screaming, we're finally given a lovely shot of Lotus lake at night with LWJ ensuring WWX's body not leaving his caring touch. I don't think we've had a proper conversation between LWJ and WN up to this point, and what makes it so special is that it's a genuine exchange between the only 2 people left who deeply care about WWX - a lonely anti-hero who's been walking alone on his deeply misunderstood journey for so long that it lasted through 2 lives.

Sweet WN also thanked LWJ for taking care of A Yuan and we got to learn about how LWJ managed to save A Yuan back then. It was sad but heartwarming knowing that WN was content with not disclosing A Yuan's past to him, as he's had a happy childhood and blessed life thanks to LWJ. Although, he acknowledges that eventually A Yuan would find out, just like JC did about his golden core.

Now as the conversation circled back to the golden core swap, LWJ asked WN a question that truly, you only ask when it's about someone you love. 'Is it painful?'. Not 'How did Wen Qing do it', but was it painful for WWX. What was the feeling he had, what was the pain he suffered, what was it like. It's not a sympathy question. It's something you want to know and empathise when your loved one goes through hard time. It's such a deeply specific and personal question, because when the person you love is in pain, you are too. You even want to feel it too, and LWJ is no stranger to that if we recall him leaving the same burn mark on his left chest as WWX had. Shame that this detail was never explained in the show.

As WN described:

'He should be sober enough to see the golden score which connects to the spiritual vein be separated from his body and feel the spiritual power die down little by little, until it is motionless and nothing can be felt'.

You can feel LWJ's pain peak as he was told WWX remained awake for 2 nights and 1 day with only 50% chance of success. As someone who deep down admires his soulmate's talent from a young age, what could be worse than having to hear that his other half had accepted to be mediocre for the rest of his life and never ascend to the top as he could have easily done?

Poor WWX regained conscious and realised where he was. Unsurprisingly, all of his Lotus Pier memories were tied with Yanli and he's overwhelmed by the image of her and flashback of their time together. What is home to WWX, the one who was trying his hardest to grow lotus somewhere as deadly as Burial Mounds? JC was his family, but not anymore. Yanli is no longer around, but till her death, she remained his family. She might have had married into Jin clan, but she embodied everything about Lotus Pier. Yanli is home. Yanli is Lotus Pier.

Seeing Yanli die at Nightless City was saying goodbye to the last person on earth who cared about WWX (or so he forgot about LWJ), which pushed him to giving up on his own life. So is Lotus Pier still home without Yanli? Is there even home without Yanli? WWX was barely treated like a proper guest at Lotus Pier. He was just someone who knew the way around, as home no longer hold the same meaning as it once did.

Lovely WWX was finally jolly again at the possibility of snacking on some tasty lotus seeds he must have missed dearly. Yet his little happiness was seemingly switched off by the rigid rule follower LWJ. If anything I was surprised that WWX agreed to give up the lotus seeds that quickly, of course not without sulking in disappointment.

But all of this only make the following moment even more glorious and poignant: the high and mighty LWJ who grew up obeying 3000 rules at Gusu Lan Sect literally picked a lotus with his own hand and give it to his soulmate, much to his shock and confusion.

At first I thought Well that's the least LWJ could do, has WWX not suffered enough, would a few (hundreds) lotus seeds matter that much. He's been in pain, he needs to be coddled and spoiled till the end of the world! So LWJ willing to break one tiny rule (tiny, comparing to all the others he broke because of WWX already) is a well deserved comfort that WWX needs.

But then it also hit me - it is an example of making compromise in a healthy relationship. WWX used to hold on to his wine and was willing to put up a fight for it, most of the time against LWJ himself. So why was it so easy to him to just have an awkward chuckle and drop the lotus seeds as LWJ didn't want to break a rule?

WWX compromised, as you would in a partnership. You don't have it your way all the time, you work together toward the same goal and there are times you're willing to put your partner's values above your own benefit. WWX, despite not fully happy about the decision, still agreed to give us the lotus as LWJ was uncomfortable. And in return, LWJ was okay with putting WWX's needs above his ingrained principle about 'stealing'. At the end of the day, it's not about winning or losing in a relationship. You win together and you lose together.

We really are spoiled with lotus romance in this episode!

But maybe... just maybe... LWJ doesn't know whether WWX would ever get a chance to return to Lotus Pier. Should this be the last ever opportunity, he would probably rather WWX's final memory of the visit not being JC's anger and resentment. In return, it is a rare carefree moment on Lotus lake, one his WWX's favourite places, eating lotus seeds with the only 2 people who still care so much about him and willing to go to the end of the world for him.

If this is meant to be a farewell to a place WWX once called home, while LWJ couldn't change the unfortunate circumstance that led to this challenging visit, he at least has done his best to give it a drama-free peaceful ending for the person he loves dearly.

[ganondoodle]

more totk rewritten thoughts

since the mastersword still breaks at the start even in my rewrite, its gotta get restored somehow, so i think i wanna be a little 'classic' about it;

you can find the broken mastersword in a cave system near hyrule castle, its very obvious so you are more likely to come across it and pick it up, it doesnt use up an inventory slot but gets its own just like it did in botw

once you find it zelda inspects it and decides you need to talk to probably purah or impa to determine if its savable, since while it got damaged before its way worse this time; you get told you should ask the deku tree about it (so theres an actual incentive to go to the forest of the krogs/koroks) and discover that its been corrupted

in the corrupted forest you can walk around in freely here, without the mist teleporting you around since the spell of the krogs/koroks isnt working anymore, the center is mostly the same as in canon

zelda detects bigger concentrations of miasma all around the forest, at each point she directs you to is a miniboss, in total there are 3, but while the trees in the forest start to grow leaves again after you defeat each of them (there are mostly to all barren in botw too so i thought that would be a cool thing to siginify the ground has been cleansed more now) the center and the dekutree are still corrupted, however the deku trees insides are now accessible, once you go down there there is a boss (main big one thats unique and not just phantom ganon, tho that WAS a cool moment in canon, im using phantom ganons as the guys you gotta fight for the memory tree thingies so it would be too much reuse u think) once you are done with the first phase it flees into the underground via burrowing down, you follow through the hole and theres phase two in an underground boss arena themed around roots .. since its in the roots of the dekutree still

afterwards the forest goes back to normal (just with the other trees more alive again) and the deku tree tells you to put the sword back into its good ol pedestal, while its not gonna be fortified against miasma it can restore the blade form, and due to you cleansing the forest and making it more healthier it will not take ages to do so

then you are left to your own devices again, but once you reach the middle point of the game, after fighting ganondorf for the first time (which also triggers the miasma memory tree thingies i made a concept of a while back) you can go back to the forest and get the mastersword back, its blade restored physically but it being still vunerable to miasma and has only little attack power

zelda has the idea of going to the springs to ask for a blessing for the sword, however the deku tree suggests to ask the three dragons for it instead (so if you havent tried it yet you are hinted to go and try an land on them, since you couldnt do that in botw, also reference to skyward sword and how the mastersword got to be) after each blessing it gets higher damage and durability; once you obtain all three it still does not seem to be where it should be

now here i am a little unsure about if i want zelda to bless it also (similar to how skysw zelda needed to bless it) or if you should bring it to the giant hylia statue in the forgotten temple

(for zelda it would be neat bc its both a reference and something more character connected, but also you where already hunting down the deku tree and the dragons for it so making you go yet somewhere else again seems a little much; i like the giant statue as a way to guide you there but then again i dont think you an incentive for literally every place)

(on a side note about link shiekah arm, it has a battery that recharges and you can upgrade, but i also thought about making it so you CAN push it past its battery but then it takes from your health instead - like the destroyer in the botw DLC, but slower- which eliminates the need for an equivalent of the lil zonau charges)

[lingeringmirth]

Written horribly late for @steddie-week day 4. body swap. I'm so peeved that work swamped me and I couldn't finish the week when it was on-going, but better late than never?

Rated: M | Words: 600 | tags: body swap, pre-steddie, banter, post- S4

Also on AO3!

”Fucking hell!” Eddie stared into the mirror, Steve Harrington’s dumb-struck reflection looking back at him.

He’d fallen asleep in his own bed, but it wasn’t where he woke up. No. He woke up in Steve Harrington’s horrible plaid bedroom in the Harrington house, confused and a little bit scared… and apparently having swapped minds with Steve.

If he hadn’t lived through the horror of the spring break from hell he would have been panicking a hell of a lot more, which didn’t mean he wasn’t panicking quite a bit right now. But… when taken in the context of horrible and great things actually existing, a little bit of body swap wasn’t the worst thing. Maybe?

Still, what the actual fuck?

Despite his shock, or maybe emboldened by it, he really wanted to take a peek under the boxers Steve had worn to bed. Sue him, he was but a man and Steve Harrington was a specimen. His eyes caught on the scars over Steve’s sides, which he had seen before, and travelled up to focus on his glorious hairy chest, where some scars also shone through the thicket.

Of course.

Some of the scars matched Eddie’s own, althoughhe’d been injured worse and had been in the hospital for a month and in PT for six times that long. Point was, the bites must have connected the them somehow, strange as it was. He had been having an X-rated dream about Steve last night, too.

The shrill ringing of the phone interrupted him just as he was sliding his fingers under the waistband of Steve’s plaid boxers, as if the walls weren’t enough.

”Eddie?”

Having his own name frantically said to him in his own voice was a bit dizzying, more surreal than seeing someone else’s face looking back at him from a mirror.

A choked noise came from the other end of the line, like someone had swallowed a lemon.

”Hell! What is this?”

”What’s what?” Eddie had to be a little bit teasing, maybe even petty, as he regretfully drew his hand away, lamenting that he wouldn’t, at least for the moment, get to see, or feel, what Steve Harrington had in his boxers.

”Munson! You know what! I woke up in your bed, in your body, and not like I’d ---”

Oh-ho. Interesting. The grin felt a bit different on Steve’s face, but Eddie knew he was grinning wide enough to split his face. Had Steve been dreaming about him, too?

”Not like…” he wheedled, voice sing-songy.

There was a groan. ”Fuck it. Not like I’d imaged being inside your body.”

Eddie short-circuited despite having been pretty sure what Steve would say. But imagining it wasn’t quite the same as hearing it.

”You’re gay?!”

That could have come out a bit better.

”Bisexual.” He could just see the smirk he heard in his own voice, which was weird as fuck.

”I’m gay,” he blurted, brain still scrambling to catch up with the situation, all his inhibitions, scarce as they were, fleeing the scene.

A huff. ”I know. You’re not subtle.”

”Wanna try seeing if fucking will fix this?”

What was his mouth even saying at this point? Bad brain, bad!

”Fuck yes.” Was that a whimper? Eddie hadn’t known he sounded like that. ”I’ll be right over.”

Eddie was left with the dial tone and a raging hard-on in the horrible plaid boxers, letting himself have permission to peek. Steve was coming over with the intention to fuck him, just couldn’t get too carried away with it.  

Maybe a body swap wasn’t that bad, after all?

[natureboy96]

Tamlin faces his father and brothers

I believe that this is one of the least criticizable things Tamlin has done and explain why below. I'm not much of an artist, but I've had this picture in my mind for a long time, particularly because it's one of the most vague moments which is brought up to criticize Tamlin, both in the books and by the fandom. Now Tamlin is clearly not a perfect character, and he's done some things that warrant criticism, but it's the story of Tamlin telling his father where Rhys' family might be that comes up more often than not... and it's also one of the events in his backstory that we know the least specific details about. Based on what little we do know, I believe that this is one of the least criticizable things Tamlin has done, even if Rhysand (the character, not his fans) can understandably hold a grudge over it. What we know:

Rhysand had befriended Tamlin when they met during intercourt events, with Rhysand sneaking away from training at war camps to hang out with him.

Tamlin and Rhysand's fathers were terrible people, with Tamlin's father being called worse than Beron, who we know is genuine horrible, both of them jealous/afraid of the kids' growing power.

At one point, Rhysand told Tamlin that he and his family would be at a specific place in the woods, and Tamlin's father somehow got the information and went to kill Rhysand, only to kill his mother and sister.

Rhysand and his father retaliated by entering the Spring Court and killing Tamlin's father, brothers and his mother (though Rhysand had believed he wouldn't). Tamlin then kills Rhys' father and the two become high lords.

What we don't know:

Tamlin and Rhysand's age: neither telling of the story, from Rhys or Tamlin in book one, mention how old they were. At best we can figure out a rough minimum age. We know it happened after Tamlin was brought to war camps to train. Rhysand was sent to train at age 10, and unless the Spring Court is different, it seems a safe bet to say he was at least that old. Rhysand mentions that they became friends over the years at court functions, and that he 'taught Tamlin how to bed females', which would also imply that Tamlin was at least a teenager before the incident. edit: I had initially been thinking older teenager, like 16, but considering fae in this universe follow human development to a point, it's also possible he was younger, 12 at youngest. Considering they had training at a very young age and they would develop along human lines, it feels safe to put this as an earliest age)

How Tamlin's father found out: because Tamlin knew the information, and felt guilty enough to be physically sick when he saw the wings in his father's office, its heavily implied he got it from Tamlin himself (but not confirmed). It's possible he heard it from a different source, but unlikely. Some people criticize Tamlin by saying he simply 'gave them up', or worse, 'knowingly aided his father to kill his friend. Considering what we know about how abusive Tamlin's father and brothers were to him, it feels like a very big stretch to assume he would willingly tell his father where his best friend was in order to kill him.

What actually happened: what we know is that Tamlin was there with his father and brothers when they killed Rhys' mother and sister, and that their wings and heads were removed. Other than that, we have no details whatsoever. We don't know if Tamlin took an active part, if he was dragged kicking and screaming, if he sat on his hands and closed his eyes, if he tried to physically stop his father and brothers and was knocked out for it. Unless SJM specifies what happened, we can only assume based on what we know. Knowing that Tamlin's father was abusive, that Tamlin and Rhys were friends, and that Tamlin felt visceral guilt afterwards, it feels highly unlikely that Tamlin was a willing participant in any sense.

What's wrong with this criticism

based on every bit of evidence that the books have told us, it's safe to assume that Tamlin was an unwilling participant in the murder of Rhysand's mother and sister. To get angry and hate Tamlin for being unwilling to harm these two characters feels disingenuous at best.

Tamlin still told his father about Rhys' location, betraying him: Tamlin's father, an abusive man who is worse than Beron, who we know murdered Lucien's love because she was 'beneath' him, does not seem to be the sort to abuse his children to get a leg up on his enemies. Based on all evidence, it genuinely makes no sense for Tamlin to give this information willingly. Whether through trickery or straight up physical abuse, It seems far more likely that he forced the information out of him.

Tamlin did not stand up for his friend: We already know how powerful a high lord can be. Does it seem logical, or plausible, for a young man at best, and a literal teenager/child at the youngest, to stand up to his abusive, high lord father, and his equally abusive brothers? Is it fair to criticize a child for not standing up to their abusive parents, even when they know they're doing something terrible to someone else? And we also don't know if he didn't try to stop them! There is no evidence that he actively participated in this murder, there's also no evidence that he did nothing, or that he didn't try to stop them!

Rhysand hates and blames Tamlin, so we should blame Tamlin as well: Rhysand is a character, and like all characters and people, he is a character operating on imperfect information, and one who has suffered a personal loss. The only person left who is tied to what happened is Tamlin, and somehow, the information Tamlin gave was what got his mother and sister killed. Despite this having happened hundreds of years ago, this is clearly something Rhys still hurts over, and that's understandable. We, as the readers, however, have information that Rhys does not, or that he willingly chooses to ignore to continue nursing his grudge. From all the evidence, it only makes sense logically that Tamlin was, at best, naive and tricked into giving information, or at worst, abused physically or mentally into giving the information. Tamlin feeling guilt over what happened is not the same thing as being responsible. People feel guilt over things that, from an outside view, were not their fault. It's not a child's fault that their abusive father got information out of them which lead to their friend's family being hurt, and it's also understandable that Tamlin would feel guilt over what happened.

Tamlin never returned the wings and burned them, never apologized: Based on what we know, Tamlin and Rhysand stopped being friends and did not talk for years, presumably centuries, after Tamlin's family was killed. After that night, Rhysand became High Lord of the Night Court, which had a reputation of cruelty and torture, which Rhysand continues to pretend to support to the rest of Prythian, in order to protect Velaris. Tamlin knows that he cannot keep the wings, if only for the reason that the guilt of seeing them makes him ill. He also doesn't know if returning the wings would have a positive, or negative outcome. Considering he believes his former friend hates him (he does) and has become a monster (doesn't know about the mask) It feels safe to assume any contact with Rhysand would end negatively, and reminding him of the most traumatic moment of both their lives thus far would make things far, far worse. We know that Tamlin doesn't burn the wings to be spiteful, and he doesn't burn the wings because he hates Rhysand. We know (because the book tells us) that Tamlin burned the wings because it seemed the most respectful thing to do, given his options.

Why didn't he apologize? I would posit most of the reasoning from above would support why he didn't apologize before the events of the books. The only time after the books end that the two have any conversation about what happened is in ACOFAS, when Rhysand visits Tamlin in his home alone. At this point in the story, it is beyond clear that Tamlin is incredibly depressed and suicidal. Common symptoms depression is negative self thoughts, fixating on blame and feeling worthless, all of which are things Rhysand actively encouraged Tamlin to feel on his first visit in this book. Helping push someone who is already depressed into a deeper, darker form of depression, and then expecting an apology for what they did wrong, seems incredibly unlikely. And it's here that we see Tamlin still blames himself for everything that happened. How can we expect an apology from someone who has been told, and fully believes, that he doesn't deserve forgiveness, that he deserves to be alone and to die alone? People who apologize are looking for forgiveness. Tamlin isn't looking for forgiveness, because he doesn't believe he deserves it. This was a very long post, but I hope how I segmented and organized my thoughts made it a bit easier to read and understand. I have a few other thoughts regarding criticism of Tamlin that I feel are unfair or vastly overcriticized by parts of the fandom community, and I am thinking of making similar posts in the future - don't expect art to go with each one though, again I was struck by inspiration because of @copypastus wonderful art, in which Feyre (much like large parts of the fandom) jumps to immediate conclusions regarding what happened between Rhys and Tamlin... Or perhaps it was the other way around, with the fandom accepting Feyre's jump to conclusions. Either way I'll link it here. https://www.tumblr.com/copypastus/734619568163749888/feyres-selective-hearing-is-the-origin-of-my?source=share

[andiwriteordie]

hello! ✨sending you good vibes in this stressful month✨ (why is february Like This?)

if you feel so inspired for the valentine’s day fic prompts: byler where someone asks one of them out and the other cuts in like “he has plans” and (one the person is gone ofc) they share a cute lil moment? 💕🫂

lark i LOVED THIS PROMPT!!!! this was so fun!

here you go, have some post s5 byler set in the winter of 1989 in a not-destroyed hawkins!

—

1: take my hand, wreck my plans.

Mike hates high school.

Yeah, that much was a given, and honestly, Mike fucking hates high school. Middle school was bad enough, but then high school came around and turned out to be a million times worse—a tall order, considering the fact that middle school was full of things like the demogorgon and the Mind Flayer and then the Mind Flayer’s fleshy form.

…

Okay, technically, high school did have One and the near interdimensional war that could’ve ended the entire world. That sucked too. So maybe, high school was always destined to suck just as bad as middle school.

Or maybe Mike just has rotten luck.

That has to be it, because there’s no other reason that Mike would find himself here, waiting by his best friend’s locker and watching stupid fucking Jennifer Hayes flirt with Will.

Will, who most definitely seems uncomfortable right now, and Will, who most definitely does not like girls in a romantic way, and Will, who Mike is almost positive actually likes Mike.

Like… like-likes Mike. You know. In a romantic, more-than-friends kind of way. In the “Hey, I want to make out with you underneath the bleachers” kind of way and in the “I know we can’t because this is Hawkins, but will you be my date to prom this spring?” kind of way and in the “I don’t ever want to lose you again, so please don’t go” kind of way.

…

Okay, fine. Maybe Mike is projecting a little bit. But he likes to think that after knowing Will for over ten years, surviving all the horrors of the Upside Down with him, and coming out on the other side of all of this with a stronger friendship than ever, he knows his best friend pretty damn well.

Mike’s like… ninety-five percent certain Will has feelings for him too, which is exactly why he’s been trying to work up the courage to ask Will out for Valentine’s Day. He had planned to do it today, since the rest of the Party is busy today, and Will is planning on coming over to do homework with Mike. 

But then stupid fucking Jennifer Hayes had to come and mess all of Mike’s plans up.

Look.

Sometime around sophomore year, something weird started to happen. Girls really started to notice Will—or maybe Mike just started to notice how they noticed Will. Either way, it was like everywhere, left and right, girls were coming up to talk to girls. Will’s reputation as “Zombie Boy” had somehow disappeared in his year spent away from Hawkins, and suddenly, all the girls seemed to view him as the cool and sweet and lovable California boy. 

Suddenly, all the girls at Hawkins High wanted to date Will.

Right around the same time, Mike suddenly wanted to kill all the girls at Hawkins High.

Looking back on it, that really should’ve been Mike’s first clue (or his second… or tenth… or twentieth) that he had feelings for his best friend. Honestly, Mike knows that he’s a decently smart person (not as smart as Dustin, but smart enough), but sometimes, he can just be downright stupid.

Oh well. At least Mike knows now, and he can finally do something about it.

“Yeah,” stupid fucking Jennifer Hayes says, and she does that stupid girl thing where she twirls her hair and smiles really big at Will. “Mrs. Elliott canceled practice for the musical on Tuesday, since it’s Valentine’s Day and everything!” 

To his credit, Will smiles back at her, and to anyone else, it seems like a genuine smile. But Mike can tell that Will seems incredibly uncomfortable right now and is just looking for a way out of this awkward conversation. “Oh, that’s fun!” Will says with a bit of an awkward laugh. “I’m sure everyone was, um… excited!”

Stupid fucking Jennifer Hayes smiles widely again, and God, Mike wants to punch her in the face. “We were!” she says brightly, taking another step towards Will and leaning up against the lockers. “And um… anyways, I was just thinking about it, and well… I know this is so awkward, but I was wondering if you were maybe free on Tuesday? To… you know… go on a date?”

Mike’s going to punch her in the face.

Mike is actually going to punch her in the face, and hey, it’ll actually do some damage, because unlike little fifteen year-old Mike with noodle arms, absolutely no hand-eye coordination, and a complete inability to hold his own in a fight, Mike… can sort of do some damage now. He still has noodle arms, mind you, but the hand-eye coordination has improved (who would’ve known that he’s needed glasses this entire time) and can hold his own in a fight, thanks to many long days spent training with Steve and Jonathan and Hopper and literally everybody else in their Upside Down group.

So, yeah. There’s no way stupid fucking Jennifer Hayes is winning in a fight against him.

“Oh!” Will squeaks—like actually squeaks. He sounds like how he used to before his voice dropped near the end of middle school, and his face is bright red right now. He looks completely panicked, which is actually sort of adorable if you ask Mike. “I, um. I-I mean, I—”

“He has plans,” Mike blurts out, before he can stop himself.

Both Will and stupid fucking Jennifer Hayes turn to look at Mike, with varying looks of surprise on their face. Stupid fucking Jennifer Hayes also obviously looks a little disappointed (which makes Mike feel incredibly smug), while Will looks caught off guard but also a little pleased (which makes Mike feel even more smug). 

Will recovers first, and he smiles again at stupid fucking Jennifer Hayes. “I’m sorry,” he says, even though he’s definitely not. “I… I’ve already got plans.”

“Oh… okay,” stupid fucking Jennifer Hayes says, and she shifts awkwardly, glancing at Will then back at Mike. “That’s alright.”

Judging by the look on her face, it definitely isn’t alright. Mike fights the urge to grin at that.

Then, with another forced smile, stupid fucking Jennifer Hayes picks up her wounded pride, and she waves at Will. “I should get going,” she says awkwardly. “Bye, Will!”

“Bye, Jennifer,” Will calls faintly, though stupid fucking Jennifer Hayes is already gone, her ponytail bouncing stupidly behind her as she walks down the hall. Mike can’t help but roll his eyes.

Goodbye, and good riddance.

Beside him, Will clears his throat, and Mike flinches slightly, glancing at his best friend. There’s an amused look on Will’s face, and once Mike catches his eye, Will raises a brow. “I have plans, huh?” he says with a bit of a teasing smile.

Mike feels his face go warm, and he clears his throat, leaning his hand against the lockers. “Something like that,” he says, trying his best to ignore the way his heart is pounding inside his chest. “I figured anything’s better than having to go on a date with her.”

A soft laugh escapes Will’s lips. “Jennifer’s not that bad,” he says, rolling his eyes. “But you’re right. I definitely don’t want to spend my Valentine’s Day on a date with her.”

Once again, there’s a playful smile on Will’s face, and when he meets Mike’s eyes, Mike becomes like… ninety-eight percent certain Will has feelings for him too. 

Oh, to hell with it. Ninety-nine percent.

So, Mike just decides to take a leap of faith.

“Well… is there anyone else you’d want to spend your Valentine’s Day with?” Mike asks softly.

Another little smile tugs at Will’s lips, and he shrugs, leaning against the lockers slightly. “Maybe,” he says, just as soft. “That depends though.”

He’s teasing Mike—again, which… fuck, is driving Mike absolutely crazy. Will’s always been a little bit mischievous, but now, over the past few months of settling into their friendship and finding peace after the mess of the Upside Down, it’s like he’s become more and more comfortable to do little things like flirt with Mike more openly.

Mike absolutely loves it.

So, all he can do is grin back at his best friend. “Depends on what?” Mike asks, and Will’s eyes crinkle as he smiles again.

“On what these plans are that you were talking about,” Will hums, a playful glint in his eyes. “Because last I checked, Lucas had plans to take Max and El to the movies, and Dustin plans on calling Suzie that evening, so…”

Will’s voice trails off, and he looks Mike expectantly, a hesitant but shy look on his face. There’s a rosy little blush on his cheeks and a dozen different emotions in his eyes, and God, Mike just wants to kiss him.

“So… it sounds like it’s just you and me for Valentine’s Day,” Mike says, soft and shy. 

“Sounds like it,” Will agrees.

“And I don’t know… I was thinking that since it’s just the two of us… maybe we could make it a date?” Mike asks softly. 

A huge smile stretches across Will’s face, and Mike’s heart does a stupid little somersault because of it. That ninety-nine percent certainty increases to a solid one hundred percent, and  inside of Mike’s mind, it sounds like one of those game shows after someone has finally won something—like DING DING DING, WE HAVE A WINNER! YOU’RE THE WINNER! YOU DID IT!

“I’d love that, Mike,” Will whispers back, just as shy. “I’d really, really love that.”

Mike can’t help but grin like a complete idiot, and he nods, probably just a little too excited. “Cool,” he says breathlessly. “It, um… it’s a date then.”

Somehow, Will’s face turns even redder, and he beams. Luckily for Mike, he nods just as enthusiastically, so that’s definitely a good sign. “Yeah,” he agrees softly. “It’s a date.”

[weebsinstash]

Not to be chugging Valentino juice again (😏) but I was thinking of like, sometimes when you're working long hours and sleeping weird, sometimes you can enter a 'zone' where you're basically running on autopilot and youre not tired or even hungry anymore? Sometimes I've been awake over 24 hours depending on... environmental factors

So imagine at one point Reader is like "well, I can already basically smoke weed and fast and somehow stay up for 2 days straight, and if you overdose down here you kind of just spring back up, so what if I just start taking uppers to stay awake so I can work as long as I can so I can move out of this shitty rented room at Val's studio as fast as possible"

It starts off small. You're young and only give yourself maybe 4 hours of sleep before your evening shift and just sleep again when you get off. Maybe you take a two hour nap, wake up, go to work, take another 2 hour nap, go to the secret second job you're not supposed to have. Eventually you're going entire days without sleeping with maybe 2 solid meals a day. Most of the time people see you drinking protein/meal replacement drinks

You're on the clock and removing drinks from your tray for the Overlord and his girls as they all sit around and mingle. your hands are visibly shaking and he grabs you to make you face him and all but laughs in your face. You think someone like him wouldn't know a pill popper when he sees one, with your fucking jitters and pin-prick pupils and the jerky way you won't keep eye contact with him? He'd mock you and act like you're pathetic before getting more mad because you're doing this shit on the clock and this isn't what he's paying you for (like gee when are you going to realize he tips you more when you stroke his ego and suck up to him, maybe he doesn't even care about your other tables)

"Well I barely make any money, how else am I supposed to move out if I don't work more hours?"

Pause. When did you decide you were moving away? He doesn't remember having this conversation with you, giving you permission. What, were you just going to suddenly quit your job without warning too? Yeah you were actually, and tell him pretty nonchalantly, "well, I figured you wouldn't even care. I mean, you count my tips after my shifts. Literally the only one bothering to give me much of anything is... you. Just hire someone else? You're probably actually losing money by having me work here anyw--"

"Oh, so you make decisions for me now, is that it?"

And you don't expect him to be so angry, but he is. In your mind, you had been debating if it was worse to tell him ahead of time, like a two weeks notice or to just disappear, but now you're realizing you were doomed either way. In his eyes he was being nice by giving you a job and a place to live, even if it's a low paying job and your room has hellish rent for what it actually was. And now you're just going to, DISRESPECT HIM like this? Without any warning, without talking to him, without any apology?

He's just growling "You UNGRATEFUL little bitch--" before he's snapping his fingers to have some of his goons pop out of nowhere and grab you. "Take em to my office. I'll deal with this one after all the shows" and you're just locked in his office with nothing but your thoughts to panic and cry and wonder what he wants. And then. He just. Has you fetched and put in the limo like usually you do at the end of every night anyways, at least the nights when your boss was there and drove everyone back to the studio. And you're thinking, what makes this different than every other night? Where is the punishment or whatever? And the time comes where everyone is getting out of the limo at the studio and he just points, "not you. You stay"

All but ready to piss yourself as the driver starts the car again and it's just the two of you and besides him seemingly suspicious preoccupied with texting on his phone, he's glaring at you constantly, obviously upset, but not saying shit. And eventually it becomes increasingly obvious that he's just. Taking you home. You get pulled out of the limo and it's just his straight up fucking house. And this is the point where your, you know, human trafficking boss who regularly dehumanizes and commodifies other people is essentially just very up front, "if you're going to be a brat about living at the studio, fine, there's space for you here" but what, that obviously doesn't make any sense? This is his house? What? You haven't so much as sucked this man's dick and--

Oh. That's what he wants for rent this time around, actually: your body. And since he can't exactly force you to work your shitty waiter job and force you to provide good service with a smile, then really, isn't this a PRIVILEGE for you? To just have to put out and you get a free place to live? People would kill to be in your position. But. It's not just sleeping with just anyone. It's HIM. And you're terrified the second you give him an inch he'll take a mile. Sure, today it's "sleep with me at least once a month for rent" but what's going to keep that from becoming "sleep with me once every other week, sleep with me every week, actually you're not allowed to sleep PERIOD unless you fuck or suck me first, actually you know what since you're so loose now I have some friends--"

And it's just terrifyingly obvious to you that he's been planning this and sees basically nothing wrong with it since, I mean, he's been living like a king down here for decades, doing what he wants, getting what he wants. Sure, he may have some, unhinged obsessions with you, but it's also like you're his cute little toy right? He's allowed to make decisions for you, especially now that he's paying for your lodgings and, hey wait suddenly he's insisting on buying you all new clothes and different washing products and taking you to salons and dermatologists and spas and by the time you know it, you're his little, pet slash partner slash arm candy, being dragged around in your designer matching outfits and maybe just maybe the occasional collar or necklace or ring so that people know you're TAKEN and I swear I am healthy and normal 😩❤️