#that course was basically clown school but anyway

[fingertipsmp3]

Why does nothing ever go normally for me. Why is nothing ever straightforward. Just once, when someone tells me they’re going to email me something important, can they actually ✨do it✨

[themyscirah]

Vanessa didn't even die and yet her story is still sadder and more fucked up than jtodd's. He wishes he was on her level

[loveinhawkins]

Robin’s always had a soft spot for Eddie Munson, but up until recently it had been in a distant kind of way; she appreciated his class clown act, the way it had a domino effect of keeping the heat off the band kids, how he hogged the spotlight for any passing douchebag’s attention.

But then they both literally dive into The Upside Down, and her appreciation reaches a whole new level.

They’re in the Wheeler’s garage, thanking their lucky stars that four bikes exist in 1983 (and yeah, Robin’s sure that if she thinks about the whole time thing for half a second more her brain will promptly melt, so she doesn’t).

Each of them are pushing their chosen bike down the driveway, in a dazed sort of silence—the high of the Lite-Brite worn off in the face of another grim journey through The Upside Down.

Steve is flagging, Robin can hear it: his breathing’s growing laboured as he walks, an occasional unsteadiness to him that’s setting her anxiety off all over again, because what if they were wrong, what if it’s really rabies, and it’s too late, it’s coursing through his veins, and he’s—they’re gonna lose him—

“Hey, Harrington,” Eddie says, swinging a leg over his saddle, “wanna race?”

“… Hmm? Sorry, what?” Steve says.

There’s not even that long of a delay in him speaking, but the pause still has Robin’s heart in her throat.

Eddie’s got one foot on a pedal now, ready to set off. He looks back at them with a shaky grin—like he’s terrified, but he’s still gonna have some fun anyway.

“I’m throwing down the gauntlet, King Steve. Bet I’ll be faster than you.”

Steve scoffs, stands up a little straighter before he mirrors Eddie, balancing on the bike with one foot on the pedal.

“How much are we betting?”

Eddie huffs. “Oh, no money involved,” he says nonchalantly. He raises an eyebrow in challenge. “This is just for the glory.”

And God, there’s that spark back in Steve’s eyes; it’s like Robin can physically see his competitive streak giving him strength.

Eddie Munson, you beautiful soul, she thinks, I could kiss you.

“Faster than me? Yeah, maybe in your dreams, Munson,” Steve says.

But Eddie’s already speeding off with a comical whoop; Steve curses as he hurriedly tries to catch up, yelling, “You dick, that’s cheating!”

“Not in my rulebook!” Eddie says with a cackle.

And for a little while, that’s enough to put Robin’s mind at ease: watching the pair of them taunt each other like kids—hearing Nancy laugh at the spectacle as she bikes alongside her.

But then she falls through the Gate, Eddie close behind her, and they freeze when Steve screams Nancy’s name with such fear.

Robin’s plunged back into a mind-numbing panic; she’s sure that her heart doesn’t even begin to slow until they’ve left the trailer park, until Steve’s control of the RV switches from ‘holy shit, we’re on the run, what have our lives become?’ to something more normal—the reliable, measured driving she’s familiar with, taking her to and from school or work.

Finally, she has time to, um… take stock. Of… things.

She wobbles her way over to Eddie, grabbing onto his elbow as Steve takes a turning.

Eddie instantly holds her up, a steadying hand around her waist. “Oh, hi. I’ve gotcha—” “Your music isn’t actually shit,” Robin says in one breath. “I know, um, on balance, it’s probably not the worst thing I could’ve said, but the delivery was—but, you know, considering I thought Nance was literally about to die, I’d say it was, like, kinda calm all things considered, but—”

Eddie’s chuckling. “Yeah, on balance,” he echoes teasingly, “you were pretty damn funny, actually. Uh, sorry for. Um. Screaming at you? Basically?”

“Basically,” Robin agrees. “Yeah, you were like impressively loud. Not quite eardrum-rupturing level, but y’know, I don’t actually know anyone who’s really had that happen to them; Amanda Wallis said she ruptured hers at the pep rally ‘cause she was standing too close to us—the band, I mean, but—”

Eddie rolls his eyes. “Oh, that’s bull, there’s no way that’d be loud enough to—”

“—I think she just had a grudge ‘cause David C on mellophone got literally the tiniest bit of spit on her, and he was only—”

“Yeah, well, everyone knows you sit in the splash zone at your own risk.”

“Exactly! She’s had plenty of time to learn marching band protocol.”

“Uh-huh, protocol,” Eddie echoes again, with a giggle.

He’s got a nice kind of laugh, Robin thinks: one where she’s never in doubt that he’s laughing with her rather than at her.

“That stuff you do’s pretty cool,” he says; with his free hand, he actually imitates her mime of playing a trumpet. “You must have good, uh…” She can see the exact moment that he’s having second thoughts about saying it, but he forges ahead anyway, with a hilariously uncertain, “Good… lungs?”

“Fascinating attempt at a compliment,” Robin says. “Luckily for you, I accept insults as, like, equal tokens of friendship.”

Eddie does a double take. He doesn’t go so far as letting out a questioning, “We’re friends?”, but he might as well have said it anyway: his eyes widen for a moment, like someone who’s just been unexpectedly asked out to prom.

Steve takes another turning; he does it smoothly enough, but even he can’t stop the RV from moving with it, and Robin stumbles again, very nearly ends up repeating how she toppled right onto Eddie in The Upside Down.

“Woah there, you’re good,” Eddie says, “just gotta find your, uh, what’s it called? Your equilibrium.”

“I don’t have any,” Robin says, all theatrical devastation, and Eddie snorts.

“Sure you do, Buckley. Look, just take my—yeah, that’s it, then just kinda straighten up… yeah, you’ve got it.”

And yes, after a minute or so, Robin’s footing does feel more certain, but she still keeps a stubborn grip on Eddie’s elbow, just in case.

“God, d’you know what I’m gonna do when all this is over?” Eddie says.

“Pray tell.”

“I’m gonna make a list. What was it you said, Madonna, Blondie…? Whatever, I’m getting all of them, m’never getting caught out like that again.”

“I’m hoping that needing music to evade the clutches of a serial killer from an alternate dimension is, um, strictly a one-time thing.”

“Don’t care,” Eddie says. “Still buying those tapes. Just in case.”

And yeah, it’s said partly in jest, but Robin can hear that he means it. Still, it’s the most optimistic that she’s heard him be so far: making plans for after, like he can really see a way through this. Like maybe he finally knows that they’ll help him get there.

“Need a list of tapes from you too, Buckley. You and Harrington.”

Robin smiles. Her first thought is of singing Total Eclipse of the Heart from the dirt-ridden floor of a mall bathroom, but then she thinks of every car ride with Steve, every time they’ve turned up the radio to belt along, and she knows that there are way too many songs to count.

“Forget a list,” Robin says, “I could fill a book. Same for big boy over there.”

Eddie blinks, like he’s suddenly taking stock, too. “Oh yeah,” he says, laughing lightly, “I did say that, huh?”

“Sure did. I was doubting my ears, too.”

Robin had been hoping they’d long since reached the point of being able to joke around with one another. But while Eddie does laugh again, he also starts biting at his thumbnail, glancing over at Steve in the driver’s seat.

“Um, hey.” Robin manages to keep her balance, briefly pressing her knee against his leg. “I didn’t mean anything by it, Eddie.”

“No, I know.” Eddie huffs self-effacingly. “I’ve kinda got permanent foot-in-mouth disease, my report cards would tell you that.”

Well, if he wants to pass it off as sometimes I just say the darnedest things, Robin would be a hypocrite to deny him.

It fascinates her in a sad sort of way though, how he veers between joking and nervousness—like he’s worried he’s intruding on their group, of overstepping somehow.

She wants to tell him: Look, we all got dragged into this, but we chose to stick around, and you’re no different.

But she no longer has the aftermath of Russian drugs to help bypass her own nerves, to kickstart her sincerity.

“Hey, you’re awfully quiet back there,” Steve calls, and Eddie startles.

Robin shakes her head. “Not us, that’s his—”

“Hello? Henderson, I’m talking to you.”

“We’re not even doing anything!” Dustin shouts back in exaggerated affront.

He’s sat on the backseat of the RV, peering out the window along with Lucas, Erica and Max. Robin stifles a chuckle at the sight; they look like they’re on a field trip—the cool kids at the back of the bus.

“Yeah, well, just checking,” Steve says, amused. “For all I know, you coulda been building a gigantic radio again on, like, the roof of this thing.”

“Cerebro,” Dustin says, just as Eddie lets out a baffled, “Uh, again?”

But then they’re pulling into The War Zone’s parking lot, and any chatter abruptly dies.

Afterwards, Steve gets off the road to park in a reassuringly deserted field. They don’t head outside right away (Robin’s not exactly looking forward to prepping Molotov cocktails), instead staying in the RV to eat junk food they’d grabbed beforehand.

Robin discovers that Dustin’s somehow bought five more cans of Pringles and snorts, declaring, “You’ve got a problem.”

At some point, Steve tries to sneak off to the bathroom so he can change his dressings—“And use actual proper bandages!” Robin calls to him; no offence to Nancy’s resourcefulness, but the torn shirt strips only do so much good.

It becomes a more comical than horrifying event, although she’s sure that’s down to Steve deliberately making it so, like a sleight of hand trick: playing it down as he keeps talking to the kids throughout, never wincing even once.

He ends up having to keep the bathroom door open to continue an argument with Erica over which Scoops Ahoy sundae was the best of all time—then figures that he might as well just step out into the open anyway.

At least the wounds have stopped bleeding—although the sight of Steve cleaning around them with bottled water is one that Robin could personally do without.

The kids are entirely unfazed. They flock to Steve, peering at the glimpses he lets them see like he’s just got a cool tattoo. Robin supposes that after El and whatever nightmare wormy thing was in her leg, they’ve seen everything.

Eddie, however, is another matter. He keeps quiet about it, not obvious at all, but Robin watches his face grow paler and paler before Steve wraps the new bandages around his stomach.

Dustin, bless his precocious little heart, must also notice, because he quickly starts up a seemingly impromptu game of charades, meaning that Eddie is soon distracted by his ridiculously over the top gestures.

“No, Steve, how are you not getting this?”

“I thought the whole appeal of this game was that you’re not meant to talk, Henderson. Dude, watch it, you nearly took Max’s eye out with… whatever the hell that was.”

“Oh my god, it’s Back to the Future, obviously! Ow, Max, I didn’t mean to—uh, yeah, the mime needs to be that big, how else am I gonna project what—”

“Dustin, I swear to god, I’m about to project you out the window,” Steve drawls.

Eddie laughs, hides it behind his hand.

But Steve must catch it, because he glances over at Eddie and winks before he’s dragged back into guessing another movie title.

And Robin’s obviously seen Steve wink before—he does it all the time, so much so that she’s become quite adept at reading when it’s a friendly one for her, or if he’s sharing some kind of in-joke with one of the kids.

She’s also seen his attempts at a ‘smooth’ wink towards some girls at work—and look, he’s Steve Harrington, it’s not like he’s going to be bad at it.

But if you ask Robin, it’s never looked quite right, like he’s always performing to an audience he’s unsure of.

But this wink doesn’t look like it belongs to either of those categories. Well, it’s got something in common with the first: that it looks entirely natural, as if he’s doing it almost without thinking. Like it just feels right.

They go through some more rounds of charades—Dustin’s gestures, if possible, getting even more dramatic—and Eddie gradually goes from contributing a few guesses to none at all, curling up on the backseat. He looks utterly wiped out.

Robin tries to catch Nancy’s eye, and after a few attempts, she gets the message, stands up with a nod.

“Okay, let’s take this outside, guys.”

“Spoken like a true camp counsellor,” Max says.

Nancy acts like she’s offended, but her lips keep twitching into a smile. “Max, never say that to me again.”

“There’s more space outside,” Erica says, “so we can duck out the way of Dustin’s windmilling arms.”

“Hey!”

“I’m bored of charades,” Lucas says. “We could do another competition? Like, I dunno, cartwheels or handstands or something?”

“Oh sure, so I can show you up?” Max returns, grinning.

Steve scoffs. “Uh, if you’re doing a cartwheel competition, I would win.”

“Since when?” Dustin says, an obvious taunt that Steve predictably rises to, flipping him off.

“Save your athletics for Vecna, please,” Nancy cuts in dryly.

“It wouldn’t be a fair fight.” Lucas gestures to Steve’s stomach, a little uncertainly. “You know, considering…”

Steve rolls his eyes. “Whatever. Under normal circumstances, I would kick all your asses.”

“Sure,” Robin says brightly, “but Steve, if you do literally anything more strenuous than sitting down right now, I’m gonna—”

“Uh, Steve would kick your asses, actually,” Eddie says slowly. His voice is muffled from the way his hand’s holding up his chin, partly covering his mouth. “He did gymnastics.”

Robin, surprised, looks to Steve; he’s doing that thing where he scratches at his cheek unconsciously, seems to be a mixture of embarrassed and pleased.

“How’d you know that?” he asks.

Eddie shrugs. “We didn’t have a cover for gym one time, remember? There was a whole group of us slacking off but you just kept doing, y’know,” he twirls his fingers, “tricks on that box thingy.”

“Vaulting box,” Steve corrects like he can’t stop himself. He’s sporting an almost abashed little smile that Robin’s never seen before.

Eddie shrugs again. “S’all Greek to me,” he says, interrupts himself halfway through with a deep yawn.

Steve’s eyes soften. And then he’s ushering the kids outside, “C’mon, you can do whatever competition you want for thirty minutes before we get to work.”

“Got it, coach.”

“Shut up, Mayfield.”

“I’ll be your stopwatch if you’re doing handstands,” Nancy chips in, bringing up the rear—she catches Robin’s eye again, subtly tilts her head in Eddie’s direction and mouths Stay?

Robin nods.

“Uh, that won’t be accurate at all,” comes Dustin’s rebuttal—he’s outside now, but his voice still carries. “Unless you can like accurately keep time in your head down to the second—”

“Oh my god, Dustin, you’re such a shithead.”

“Nancy Wheeler, I’m heartbroken.”

Steve’s chuckle floats through the open door. “She said it, dude, not me.”

“You say it all the goddamn time!”

And then the voices fade away until all Robin can hear is distant laughs and joyful screams. It’s relaxing, in its own way.

“No gymnastics for you, Buckley?” Eddie says.

“Nope, not since 7th grade. Managed two cartwheels before I broke my wrist.”

Eddie winces in sympathy. He’s slumping a bit more; Robin makes herself comfy in the opposite corner of the backseat, gives him the most space.

She feels a weird lump at her back, behind one of the cushions. A quick investigation reveals an issue of TV Guide Magazine.

“Ooh, we can find out what we missed while on the run,” she says, waggling it in front of Eddie.

He smiles with a small huff. “Doubt it. Says 1981 on the front.”

“What’s a little more time travel?”

Robin flicks through to the crossword. She’s all too aware that Eddie’s still sat more stiffly than anything else. With Steve, it would be so easy; she could prod him in the thigh with her toe, light touches until he took the hint and relaxed.

But even before they’d really become friends, they were tactile: a tap on the shoulder to grab attention, bumping hips to move each other out of the way whenever they were scooping ice-cream at the same time. It’d been done so unconsciously, like they were already learning to read each other’s minds.

With Eddie, it’s clear that a different approach is needed.

Robin had caught onto that after her misstep at the boathouse, a pit in her stomach at the sight of Eddie’s hands shaking.

But her instinct to reach out, to soothe, made her unthinkingly try again; as they walked in the woods, she’d heard his breathing quicken, and her hand lightly brushed his back. She drew back as he instantly flinched at her touch.

“Sorry, sorry,” she said hurriedly. “Just—just checking you were okay. Sorry.”

Eddie just stared at her before nodding hesitantly.

And Robin wanted to tell him that it wasn’t by chance, that he had people who cared about him; that she did, and it wasn’t a fluke or an accident—she was choosing it.

She keeps her eyes on the magazine, jots down a few crossword answers. It reminds her of summer days spent reading on her grandparents’ porch, not wanting to startle a cat her grandpa had rescued as it approached her. It was always so spooked.

“You’ve just gotta let him come to you, sweet pea,” her grandma would say.

After a couple minutes, she hears Eddie breathe out, the creak of the seat as he lies down. He rests his head right next to her thigh.

“S’good?” he asks, pointing at the magazine.

“It’s pretty easy.” One of the crossword clues is ‘The Lion, the Witch, and the?’ which isn’t exactly taxing. “I’m used to doing the cryptic ones.”

Eddie laughs. He kinda sounds fond. “Of course you are.”

“They’re not that hard, once you know how to read ‘em.”

“Hmm, I doubt that. Lay one on me, Buckley.”

She purses her lips in thought. “Oh, I got this one last week. Condition of Wyoming, five letters.”

Eddie lifts his head ever so slightly to give her a blank look. “Not a fucking clue.”

“State. Get it? ‘Cause ‘condition’ is the definition, and Wyoming is literally—”

“God, I’m surrounded by geniuses.”

“Well, I’ve got the advantage of a summer of code-breaking.”

Robin slowly raises her hand as she speaks—makes sure to do it in Eddie’s line of vision, spots that he doesn’t pull back, that he even gives the tiniest half-nod. She pats his head twice.

Eddie scrunches up his nose. “Sorry, my hair’s gross.”

“It’s not that bad,” Robin says honestly. “Y’know for being on the run, it’s holding up pretty well. I’m getting whatever shampoo you use.”

Eddie smiles. “Sure.”

“Yours is looking way better than mine did after, like, one day getting wrapped up in all this.” Again, without really thinking, Robin adds, “I had all this sweat and blood and puke in it.”

Eddie’s eyes are closed now. He makes an unhappy sound, prods gently at her knee. “You’ve all gotta work on telling me horrific shit. That should not be casual for you, Buckley.”

He sounds emphatic—protective, even. Robin feels unexpectedly emotional.

“Yeah, sorry. Bad habit.”

Silence falls, and by the time Steve enters the RV, Robin has filled in the whole crossword, Eddie dozing by her side.

Steve’s getting another bottle of water—actually drinking it this time. He’s got grass stains on his knees, and he’s sweating slightly, like the ‘stay still’ advice hasn’t once been taken.

His eyes soften again when he sees Eddie sleeping—he doesn’t need to linger, but he does.

Robin watches.

We need more time, Steve, she thinks suddenly. For you to keep looking at him like that—for him to be awake to see it.

Steve tears his eyes away. Lands on her.

She smiles, mouthing What?

Steve rolls his eyes. He imitates her ‘what?’ mockingly, but then he smiles back and taps at his wrist, mimes winding a watch on. It’s what they do whenever they’re slammed at work, wanting to talk, but only able to briefly catch each other’s eyes in the rush. Later.

She taps her wrist. Later, she promises.

He gives her a double thumbs up—what a dork—before heading back outside.

Robin quietly puts the magazine away. Ever so carefully, she lightly strokes Eddie’s hair, feels her heart swell and break at the same time when he sighs contentedly in his sleep.

You’d better look after yourself, Eddie Munson, she thinks. You’ve got people here. People who really want you to stick around.

[eds6ngel]

Please friend, I need Eddie and his equally feral grungy little girlfriend. Think like Allison Reynolds from the Breakfast Club before they gave her the hideous pink makeover. I want these two clowns to match each other’s energy, both of them nuts about D&D and metal, and I want her to be the one member of Hellfire who is in charge of drawing these insanely intricate drawings of everyone’s player characters.

being eddie's grungy gf would include ...

a/n: i think this calls for some headcanons! and i suppose this is my reminder to watch 'the breakfast club' as i still haven't gotten round to it ! :')

warnings: SLIGHT SMUT!! (one mention of sex, two allusions.) fem!reader. artsy!reader. grungy!reader. kissing. one mention of people calling eddie a 'freak.' tons of fluff and comfort !!

𝜗𝜚 you guys met in your sophomore year.

𝜗𝜚 eddie had been looking to set up a d&d club at the end of the year, knowing his middle school friends (jeff & gareth) were now going to be in high school with him.

𝜗𝜚 eddie didn’t know that you played d&d at the time, but he had sneaked a glance at your notebook during art class and was very intrigued into your drawings, many which consisted of your own monsters, fairies, dragons, anything magical and mystical.

𝜗𝜚 he knew the opportunity was even greater when you were pinning ‘battle of the bands’ posters in the school hallways. he couldn’t believe it was you making those incredible designs.

𝜗𝜚 asked you right there and then if you could help him design a poster for his new club.

𝜗𝜚 you were unsure at first, wondering what the hell this random dude who was in your art class wanted a poster for.

𝜗𝜚 however, you were immediately on board when he mentioned it was for d&d.

𝜗𝜚 you were technically the first member to join his club. it was you and him against the world at that point.

𝜗𝜚 you asked some of your artsy friends who were also in the drama club if you could rent their space on friday nights for weekly campaigns.

𝜗𝜚 they reluctantly said yes just because it was you. eddie was happy as it was one of the few groups of people outside of his own friend group that weren’t calling him a ‘freak’ upon arrival.

𝜗𝜚 over the summer, you and eddie met up to discuss how the whole ordeal would work. his trailer had basically become your second home by that point.

𝜗𝜚 you had started cooking meals together, you would go out to benny’s for a quick evening bite, you even started sleeping over at his.

𝜗𝜚 you began with bringing over a sleeping bag to camp out on his floor, but it soon turned into the two of you just sharing his bed. platonically, of course.

𝜗𝜚 it wasn’t until jeff and gareth came to visit the two of you so you could start drawing their characters for eddie’s visual reference that they encouraged eddie to grow some balls and ask you out.

𝜗𝜚 it took him a couple more weeks, but he finally got there.

𝜗𝜚 luckily you felt the same and you shared your first kiss that day.

𝜗𝜚 and by the time your junior year rolled around, everything was settled in place.

𝜗𝜚 eddie let you sit on his lap during campaigns, to which the boys always complained about.

𝜗𝜚 and after the boys had left, you got up to some… not exactly PG activities on his throne.

𝜗𝜚 or your throne, should you say. eddie said that the throne was all yours, since you decorated the entire thing.

𝜗𝜚 it was actually a 50/50 split effort.

𝜗𝜚 you were the couple who annoyingly blasted metal music out of his van on late night drives at 2am.

𝜗𝜚 hopper stopped you once as you had been getting noise complaints from locals.

𝜗𝜚 you and eddie both agreed it was only because it was metal music and continued anyway.

𝜗𝜚 eddie didn’t realise how feral you were until you got together. you were pretty excitable when you were simply platonic friends, but this was a whole different level.

𝜗𝜚 he didn’t care though as he loved it (and it also transferred to the bedroom.)

𝜗𝜚 sickly PDA couple alert ! eddie’s kissing you all the time ! the boy cannot keep his hands to himself ! he’s infatuated by you !

𝜗𝜚 always sharing cassettes. the both of you never buy new albums individually anymore. you either listen to them together and nerd out, or you share them back and forth.

𝜗𝜚 friday night dates after d&d ! i repeat, friday night dates after d&d !

𝜗𝜚 followed by some truly amazing sex. thank god wayne took the late night shift on fridays. and you hoped it never changed. because it was always the best ending to your week, and you didn’t want to change it for as long as you lived.

taglist: @cosmorant @ye0nvibezzn @tlclick73 @agxxb

[were-wolverine]

au where when tim finds dick and asks him to be robin again, dick is like “no but also are you okay?? where are your parents?” and proceeds to adopt/kidnap him

dick sends clark and diana to babysit bruce and tries to dissuade tim from being robin, but he’s a stubborn little shit so blüdhaven gains a new vigilante alongside nightwing (dick won’t let tim be bruce’s robin, not robin in general)

dick isn’t a cop because fuck you dc he would never idgaf what you think it’s wrong and goes against so much of his character!!! i hate cop!dick so much, he isn’t real to me

dick is a part-time college student majoring in human biology and minoring in psychology while training to be a paramedic. tim moves in with him (a small studio apartment) and they forge some records and IDs so tim can go to school in blüdhaven (not that the schools really care)

tim likes to read dick’s college textbooks & notes (if eligible) and spends most of his free time in the library or taking photos across the city. dick is 19 and tim is 14. jack and janet don’t even notice tim is gone

they both have enough to live comfortably but dick only uses his own money (from his parents) and tries to teach tim about like. class differences and how much normal stuff costs (i love timmy but he is a lil rich boy)

dick can cook and clean (which is CANON thank you very much), but his room is basically an organized mess (adhd-ass), while tim is used to needing his room to look perfect and deep cleans like once a week (trauma & he has a touch of the ‘tism)

when dick kills the joker, thinking tim is dead, tim gets to him in time but dick doesn’t let bruce resuscitate him and joker stays dead. this leads to post-pit jason going to blüdhaven instead of gotham.

part of him feels vindicated that his big brother the golden boy killed the clown, but part of him feels like he was replaced by tim. either way it drives him to blüdhaven. he observes nightwing and the new robin for a while, realizing that shit, this robin is just a kid. he can’t hate the new robin for something that’s not even the kid’s fault

he has a mess of complicated emotions about dick, though. again, he’s glad dick avenged him, but is mad he replaced him, and is a better brother to this robin than he was to jason. jason wanted that fun older brother. he got it for a little bit but it wasn’t nearly enough time, and then he fucking died

anyway, this of course leads to a confrontation between red hood & nightwing and robin. jason considers messing with them but decides to just get it over with (so he can yell at dick) and takes off the helmet. dick recognizes him immediately, and tim figures out who he is by dick’s reaction.

queue jason failing to be mad at dick when he starts sobbing and hugging him, and tim jumping in and making it a group hug. they bring him back to their apartment and give jason the guest room (they often have titans friends over), while jason is still like “…what just happened”

him and dick do talk later that night, and dick pretty much tells him everything. jason does the same “so they’re even”

jason goes back to gotham to protect crime alley, he has a couple safe houses set up around the city, but he visits blüdhaven whenever he can. similarly, when dick and tim are free they visit jason in gotham, at his main safe house that only they know about

going back a while, tim is kidnapped by joker while helping bruce with a case in gotham. he goes missing and bruce calls dick to see if he went back to blüdhaven, which he obviously didn’t, and dick speeds to gotham and finds joker, who tells him tim is dead and taunts him about jason. dick beats the joker to death, and doesn’t let bruce revive him, even if he has to live with what he did

after that bruce cuts contact with dick, but tries to stay in contact with tim. tim, however, is pissed at bruce for how he is treating dick and similarly cuts contact with bruce. both boys stay in contact with alfred, though, and sometimes he will update bruce on how they are doing

after jason settles into gotham, he joins dick and tim on one of their visits to alfred (while bruce is away/at work) and gets to reunite with him. alfred agrees to keep red hood’s identity a secret from bruce until jason is ready to tell him, but encourages him to do it soon because bruce misses him terribly

after blüdhaven is destroyed, dick is a wreck, so they move in with jason at his apartment near crime alley. nightwing is out of commission for a while (mentally AND physically) so robin patrols with red hood, who agrees to be as non-lethal as possible around him

dick is in a depressive episode for a while, so jason plays the role of Big Brother to tim (and dick if he’s being honest) until he feels a bit better. he’s actually the best at helping dick when he’s upset (aside from alfred ofc) and forces his ass into therapy with dinah

therapy and spending time with his brothers helps dick a lot, and he manages to force both of them to see therapists as well (not dinah cuz like. bias and legal stuff. but they find some good ones)

jason actually talks to harley sometimes (she’s calmed down a lot since the joker died and she started dating ivy), and she’s stable enough to give him solid advice occasionally. regardless, she’s a great listener and will always let him rant to her

okay flashback time again: when dick was living in titans tower in nyc, he attended college at hudson university. after about a year there, he moved to blüdhaven and transferred to blüdhaven university

tim moves in with him after dick’s been in blüdhaven for a few months. he finishes sophomore year at BU and starts paramedic training, deciding not to return to college. he’s 20 as of March and tim is almost 15

it’s around this time that jason (18) shows up- after dick’s finished sophomore year at BU but before he finishes paramedic training. after blüdhaven is destroyed, dick stops his paramedic training but eventually picks it back up again in gotham

ANYWAY so yeah the three of them share an apartment in park row

dick finishes paramedic training and starts working with gotham emergency services / thomas wayne memorial hospital (leslie’s clinic), and often helps anyone he comes across for free (he always has first aid supplies on hand & their apartment is hella stocked up)

dick and jason also often make meals for nearby homeless shelters (tim would help but he is a terrible cook, instead he manages to trick rich assholes into donating to and funding shelters, food pantries, schools, etc. in park row)

idek where i’m going with this anymore, just the three of them being brothers and visiting alfred. bruce focuses more on damian and cass, but occasionally they will all work together on a case (bruce has given up trying to get any of them- mostly jason- to move back to the manor)

damian and cass will drop by their apartment from time to time, as will alfred. jason, after watching over robin while nightwing was down, has stopped killing (for the most part) and focuses more on community support than beating up criminals

nightwing has become a sort of medic vigilante of sorts, he bounces across the city helping anyone who is injured (mostly abusive victims / those who can’t afford healthcare and are too far from leslie’s clinic to go there / homeless kids who can’t go there without having CPS called / etc)

he mainly patrols park row, but if he has time he will venture further out into the rest of gotham. tim is still robin atp, but he eventually changes his vigilante identity from robin

tim and steph still meet and become friends, but instead of working with batman as spoiler, she works with nightwing, red hood and robin. also, she is never robin, but she is batgirl for a bit

babs is oracle (okay timeline wise idk if she gets shot by joker before or after dick kills him soo i’m just gonna say before) and she helps out both the bats (bruce, dami, cass) and the birds (dick, jay, tim, steph)

steph ends up moving in with babs (who is very excited to have a little sister). this is when babs gives her batgirl, which she eventually (with permission) gives to cass.

sidenote: babs & dick are Best Friends like ride or die and that’s part of the reason dick killed joker- tho he doesn’t tell her that. they see each other all the time (the boys’ apartment building has an elevator) and stay in contact throughout all of this

robin and spoiler meet when the boys move back to gotham, and the two become fast friends. spoiler runs into red hood and robin one time and tim is like “hi S, this is my big brother!” and she’s like “your what.”

once dick is back as nightwing, he meets spoiler as well (who has told them her name is steph atp) and she’s like “i’ve heard all about you from your brothers :)” and dick is like “🥹 really?”

after that the boys tell steph their identities- “didn’t you die?!” “yeah, long story”- and she does the same- “wait is your dad that knockoff riddler guy?” “unfortunately, yeah”- and she crashes at their apartment sometimes after long nights of patrolling

it’s MY au so i say that cass found damian, understood what talia was trying to say when she saw her, and steals lil dami to arrive on bruce wayne’s doorstep. alfred opens the door and she basically shoves damian at him and then runs into the manor and launches herself at a very confused bruce with a hug. bruce is just like ‘okay i guess this is my daughter now’ and then alfred walks in with damian and he’s like ‘…i guess i have another son now too’

this all happens while tim and dick are in blüdhaven and jason is in gotham avoiding bruce like the plague. babs doesn’t tell them because she can be evil sometimes and wants to see their live reactions. imagine their surprise when the boys go to visit alfred and find two assassin children (cass is 19 but shush)

when bruce is lost in time, jace fox takes over as batman while tim, dick and cass go look for him. jason and steph stay and guard gotham and tim gives robin to damian so he can help them (and not go stir crazy without his dad). huntress and the sirens also help out in place of the three vigilantes looking for bruce

they find him faster since there’s three people looking, and everything pretty much goes back to normal after that, aside from jason being damian’s favorite older brother (instead of dick, bc he was never the batman to damian’s robin)

another sidenote: i am totally just ignoring jack and janet drake’s existence bc i don’t wanna deal with them yk? also crystal brown is alive and a decent mom, steph just moved out cuz she wanted more independence

rough age timeline rq

dick is 19 when he kidnaps adopts tim who is 14

jason (18) confronts dick (20) and tim (15)

cass (17) & dami (7) - jay (19), dick (21), tim (16)

blüd destroyed - dick (22), jason (20), tim (17)

tim (17) and steph (17) meet as vigilantes

cass (18) becomes orphan

dick (23) returns to nightwing - jason (21), tim (18)

tim becomes sparrow- robin is put in storage

the boys meet cass (19) & damian (9)

steph (18) moves in w babs (26)

steph becomes batgirl

future timeline

steph (19) gives batgirl to cass (20)

cass (21) becomes black bat

bruce gets lost in time

dick (25) jay (23) & tim (20) give damian (11) robin

[rosemallowss]

some thoughts

Obviously, people have probably analyzed the hell out of this poem already, or it's incredibly obvious, but I just cannot get over the parallels between Bill Cipher and Stanley here so here are my ramblings for myself when I originally read the poem.

As we learn more of Bill's backstory, the hatred he has for Stan goes deeper, not just because Bill is upset that a "lower life form" has defeated him, but because he's deeply envious that the both of them "always dragged his family down", "couldn't outrun life's regrets", and yet only one of them got a happy ending: reunited with a family who loves him despite his mistakes, able to reverse one of his own deepest regrets, ie. pushing Ford through the portal after just getting him back. Bill likely always dragged his family down with his ability to see the third dimension, as the book and website implies that no one in Euclydia were exactly fond of his abilities, nor did they take him seriously, and they tried to quell his power. (He's basically like Viktor from The Umbrella Academy, but I digress I have not seen the new season). "One mistake, disowned, denied", their paths differ here, but Stan's mistake- ruining Ford's school project accidentally, and Bill's- massacring an entire dimension in the process of attempting to get them all to see what he sees.

We know Stanley's whole life of hiding and changing his identity. Bill goes to "reinvent, retry, reload" throughout dimensions.

"A girdle, eyepatch, fathers fez, / 'I'm a new man!' so he says,": With new info from the website, we can also guess that Bill's top hat, where he keeps the molecules of Euclydia in, once belonged to his father. They both "couldn't outrun life's regrets," and both are con mans in their own right of course, Bill is sketchy and makes deals to manipulate people. He’s a new man once he takes his dad’s top hat!

"When you've lost track of your lies / When the poison starts to rise / When the walls are closing in / When its clear you cannot win / When your actions make it worse / When they see you as a curse," sheesh, Bill is really projecting here. Even his lies are lies. It's funny how Bill really sees himself in both of the Stan twins. With Stanley he seems to project what he hates most about himself onto him in terms of mistakes, failures, and permanently altering his and his loved ones' lives forever, again showing why he despises Stan the most. Despite all of that, Stan got the life that Bill couldn't get back. With Ford, they both have a genetic abnormality, and level of genius and personality that no one else could relate to, making them both outcasts.

"You think you left the past behind / But trust me / I'm still on your mind." By the way, if Bill was still in his mind while his memories were getting erased, and Stan is getting those memories back, that implies that Bill can reform whole again, right? But anyway, these last few lines don't seem to apply to Stan as much as it does to Bill. His dead universe is always on his mind no matter what. Bill's story is so fascinating to me. He's been my favorite villain since I was eleven, so to expand upon him feels awesome. Book of Bill coming out has made me feel like a giddy little kid again who was screaming when she found out that there was a secret flashing of an image once the GF intro ended.

Stanley Pines, the conman clown,

Always dragged his family down.

One mistake, disowned, denied,

Only thing to do was hide.

One way out: the open road.

Reinvent, retry, reload.

A girdle, eyepatch, fathers fez,

"I'm a new man!" so he says

Couldn't outrun life's regrets,

Just kept placing bigger bets.

Changed his haircut, switched hotels-

Truth is just whatever sells.

When you've lost track of your lies,

When the poison starts to rise,

When the walls are closing in,

When its clear you cannot win,

When your actions make it worse,

When they see you as a curse,

Give the wheel one last spin,

Take your chips and go all in,

And Lucky Stan- the roll's on black,

He got his life and family back.

His big break, it finally came,

Redemption from a life of shame.

You really think you won the day.

You packed your bags and sailed away.

You think you left the past behind.

But trust me

I'm still on your mind.

[harry-styles-obsessed]

Story does include smut. Minors do not interact with this post, thank you.

Trigger warnings: description of near assault/ bullying, age gap, dominant, dark Harry (kinda?), praise, dad! Harry, younger reader (early 20s), body image issues, self esteem issues… reader is just incredibly insecure… everything that goes hand in hand with that basically— and lots of smutty stuff! This will be kind of slow burn!! Long story so get comfortable! Also please read with discretion lovelies. You all matter.

This story was requested but the requester asked to remain anonymous so I will not be mentioning anything about their request but please to anyone out there struggling with any type of body imagine problems please PLEASE know you’re absolutely beautiful and I hope one day you will see that.

©️ please do not copy or translate my work.

Harry x plus size Inexperienced fem! Reader (Harry is not famous in this story)

Make you mine

"You cannot be serious Anna"

Your voice was annoyed and frustrated "oh I'm deadly serious”

You throw a glare directly at Anna who's grinning at you mischievously "you’re unbelievable. I’ve got work to focus on anyways so… no.” You murmur a flush of red appearing upon your already reddened cheeks. You didn’t do parties. You didn’t like parties. Full stop. Parties were where bad things happen and you were not planning on getting involved with that type of shit.

"Don't change the subject! Y/n please... PLEASE. You know it'll be fun!! Plus Jamie is fine as hell... his tattoos and shit like-" you felt annoyance spread throughout you your hand coming up to pinch the bridge of your nose "alright alright! Fine.. whatever. I'll come with you to your friends stupid party." You mutter rolling you eyes watching out of your peripheral as Anna does a little happy dance, before tightly wrapping her arms around your neck

"Thank god! Now we've got to choose your outfit. That red dress looks real good on you." She spoke suddenly sporadically searching through your wardrobe making you roll your eyes. She cannot be serious. Going to a party is one thing but dressing up with zero body confidence is another thing.

“Anna.” You spoke in a warning tone, fear and worry spreading across your features “I am not skinny. Im not even pretty. I don’t have your body confidence!” You didn’t feel beautiful whatsoever. You felt like an absolute failure and mess most of the time. You just felt ugly. Sure Anna would beg to differ but she was your best friend, of course she would boost you up. You hated the way you looked it made you feel sick... you hated your body. You hated yourself. You hated everything to do with yourself. “Y/n! Enough. You’re beautiful. Keep talking shit and I might just have to get a handsome guy to show you how perfect you really a-“ “NO. Anna. Oh my god gross— no.”

You say exasperated as you plop down onto the bed, laying down- your arms dangling just above your head as you breathe quietly hearing hangers clattering together as your best friend continued viciously searching through your wardrobe.

Jamie Goodman was.... Something else. He was annoying. The class clown basically. He used to be in your tutor group in school and he just had to fucking follow your path to college classes and annoy you further. Anna thought the world of him and you were almost 100% certain that they had slept together once or twice.

"Found it!!" Anna cheered spinning around with the red dress held in her hands grinning widely "c'mon put it on! I want to get there early!" She spoke and you squeezed your eyes shut, exhaling. You loved Anna. She was your best friend, you adored her, but god could she get so fucking annoying sometimes. She made you want to rip your hair out but... she wouldn't be your best friend if she didn't do that occasionally.

"I cannot believe you made me agree with you" you mutter before standing up yanking the dress from her hands, stripping off your clothes as she too began getting changed into an outfit far too revealing- a tank top that was more like a bra top. And short shorts, her entire stomach and rib cage exposed along with her long legs. Gods to have her confidence and carelessness…

"Might want to pack condoms." You speak to her, hearing the shifting of material pause as she glances at you brows raising before a slight laugh leaves her lips "I'm on the pill, babes. Chill." She smiled assuringly and you sigh shaking your head. You and her were complete opposites- her full of confidence however you were a mess. No confidence. No body confidence... no dates... no boys... you’ve never had a first kiss or even had a man touch you before... you’ve never been intimate with anyone before— ever. And quite honestly you were afraid to even experience it.

—

“Come on!!”

Anna shouted from downstairs and you stood up after contemplating your life decisions— spraying your perfume all over yourself leaving your face bare from any makeup. You didn’t want any advances being made upon you just because you looked a bit different with makeup on... although you highly doubted that would ever happen. No man wanted to touch you. If for a dare they would but not for any other reason. Or so you thought.

You jog downstairs to where Anna is keys in hand before she smiles grabbing onto your hand and dragging you out of the home intertwining her fingers with yours "it'll be fun girl. Loosen up."

The drive there was fairly fast and you had almost twenty minutes to spare. "We're here too early." You spoke but Anna only shook her head grabbing a present from the back and you raised your brows "it's Jamie's birthday. That's why we were both invited...." your lips parted eyes widening Anna laughing, “you shouldn’t told—“

"Shh y/n. Don't worry. Here." She then shoved a smaller wrapped present into your hands winking at you as relief wrapped around your body. Thank fuck.

You then got out of the car with her, walking with her towards the front door, the door being opened by the familiar dirty blonde who quickly pulled Anna into his embrace hugging her for a little too long to be “just friends” before his eyes turned to you and he smiled. genuinely.

"Didn't think you'd come, y/n. But glad to see you here." He spoke and without even hesitating he pulled you in for a hug your eyes widening at the sudden hug shared between the two of you. You hugged him tenderly, awkwardly almost— not entirely knowing how to act.

"Anna persuaded me. But c'mon.. how could I not come see the birthday boy." You smile awkwardly after pulling back, soon holding the present out for him to take his baby blues smiling as he smiled taking the present from you "well nonetheless- glad you could make it. And thank you… I appreciate it.” You only nod not saying anything else, a slight nervous smile remaining on your lips— Anna purposely elbowing you in the ribs to attempt to loosen you up more her eyes saying it all.

Jamie was way different without all his friends around... he was kind. Real. Genuine. How strange... "c'mon let's go into the living room. We can watch a movie before the others arrive. Would you girls like a drink?"

—

A while passed before eventually more people were filing in, you remained sat on the sofa drink of Pepsi in your hand as you took occasional nervous sips. Anna had been whisked away by Jamie and you were certain they were creating the slight banging noises coming from upstairs... and well... that said something didn't it?

You grimaced just at the thought before shaking your head clearing your throat before you decided to stand up, the living room becoming a major crowded area and so you feeling your anxiousness grow quickly left the area, walking around for a bit before finally stopping stood just in the doorway to the kitchen your fingers grasping onto your Pepsi tighter as you took more sips from it. You exhaled softly leaning into the doorway slightly your brows creasing as you stared at a mixture of young adults and what looked to be literal 16 year olds dancing together... what the fuck? That's not creepy at all… however that became the least of your worries as you suddenly felt a rather warm presence behind you, your stomach fluttering anxiously,

"Excuse me"

You quickly turn around expecting a teenager only to come face to face with dad-like material. Old enough to be a dad... he wasn't a teenager. Your mouth was working faster than your brain as you only managed to stammer over a word before finally backing up "I'm so sorry..."

You smile nervously allowing your eyes to scavenge the man— he had piercing green eyes. Beautiful chestnut brown hair that had slight curls to it on the top and a beautiful smile that showed two pretty dimples. Tattoos were layered up and down his skin, a butterfly one seeming to be on his chest from what you could see. He wore a loose fitting shirt that was unbuttoned at the top revealing some of his toned chest. He was... god like.

"No need to apologise, love." He assured with a smile as he went to walk past you, shoulders brushing momentarily before he stopped glancing over his shoulder looking back at you “you look a bit young to be here..."

He spoke some sort of amusement in his eyes not revealing whether he was toying with you or being genuine. Shyness wrapped around you momentarily before you soon answered in an attempt to stick up for yourself— "I'm twenty two, sir." You speak politely the man fully turning so his body was facing you "you look a bit old to be here." You soon retort as he doesn't respond, instead only raising a brow as if pushing the idea of you telling little white lies to him. "Call me Harry."

"You look a bit old to be here, Harry." You rephrase

His eyes glinted with amusement before he cleared his throat "got off work... decided to come have some fun."

You narrow your eyes at him as if showing you didn’t believe him but really you were poking fun at him… exactly what he was doing with you. “What do you do for work?" You ask noticing the palpable tension that was between you and him. It only seemed to be growing more intense as the seconds went by.

"Surgeon"

He spoke simply and you raised your brows "like plastic surgery? Butt lifts and-"

"No." His words were light and airy as he laughed shaking his head "reconstruction surgery."

"Reconstruction?”

“There seems to be an echo in here.” his tone was playful but still nonetheless he nods to confirm your question but he still saw the curiosity on your face "say someone gets into an accident or— a kid falls off their bike let's say he wasn't wearing any protective gear apart from a helmet. No sleeves. No knee pads... no nothing... if he hits the road and skids down it, his skin is either going to be red and sore or his skin is going to be torn off. There's no exact way we can put that dirty infected and broken skin back onto him so we have to reconstruct the skin somehow..."

Your brows raise in interest "so like take it from somewhere less obvious? The leg.. or something?" You speak and he nods taking a sip of the beverage in his ring covered hand,

"Yeah. I mean my job is to simply make the skin look top condition... in the end it doesn't matter where the skin comes from. If it can stretch far enough to cover the wound then you know... it's good enough."

You hum in response clearly rather interested before you smile "that's interesting..." you study him carefully trying to figure him out. You weren’t sure what was wrong with you but Harry seemed to beckon a different side out of you…

"I didn't think a surgeons "thing" was parties..." you soon murmur

"There's a lot of things you don't think, love. If I remind you quickly we've only just met..." his emerald eyes twinkled with amusement brows raised as he smirked.

Your cheeks immediately flush red and you stare at him slightly dumbfounded a nervous smile forming on your face "sorry" you giggle out Harry only shaking his head as he smiled "I'm just kidding. But you're right... parties aren't places surgeons often involve themselves with.. me particularly" he admitted and just as you were about to say something, a different voice cut mine off— “Hey dad can we order pizza?" Your eyes immediately move to the voice. Jamie. His hair slightly dishevelled some red marks left on his neck. Wonderful. But that barely mattered anymore as you looked at who he was talking to… harry. Your heart immediately stops in your chest. Jamie's dad was Harry. The man you were flirting with. That wasn’t flirting though was it? Your stomach flutters nervously. This absolutely was not happening no way…. Your cheeks were a crimson red colour, your eyes slightly wide and your lips slightly parted and god were you glad Harry’s attention wasn’t on you anymore.

"Jamie there's pizza in the fridge. As your mother said, we cannot afford takeaway right now. Remember?" His voice snapped me back out of your thoughts as you focused back on the handsome man, eyes flicking to look at Jamie.

"But dad there's like 80 people here!" He exclaimed Harry's face remaining calm and unfazed "who invited them?" He spoke Jamie's brows arching "you cannot be serious! Oh my god!" The boy yelled before storming off not saying anything else. Childish much? At this old age? Talking to his father like that? Wow the disrespect.

You look back at Harry only when he speaks— "sorry for his behaviour." He spoke as you remained shocked "it's okay... but... I didn't realise you were his dad..." you admit and he smiles slightly "he took his mothers last name. His mother and I are divorced, you see… he doesn’t exactly like that his mother has gone out for a pamper evening and has left me to look after him.” He explained— so Jamie really did have daddy issues? Huh. Your lips part slightly as you realise what he was saying "oh... that makes sense... i- uhm... wow."

Harry nods "Jamie still holds a grudge against me. It's diff-" harry cuts himself off realising what he was saying to his sons friend before he sighed pinching the bridge of his nose "I apologise... uh..." your eyes snap back up to his eyes from roaming across each of his tattoos “Y/n…” you speak with a small smile "I'm sorry y/n... you've come here to party and-" the way your name rolled off of his tongue so perfectly drove you insane and you weren’t sure why. "No sir..." "Harry." He cuts you off making your cheeks flush red "sorry, no Harry. I came here not on my own accord..." you let out a nervous laugh. "My friend begged me to come. I didn't really want to be here anyway so... it's okay. You're far more interesting than this party anyways." You speak soon realising how weird that sounded your eyes widening, Harry quickly catching on as he let out a small chuckle that sounded like honey to your ears— waving one hand at you to signal you not to worry. Dismissing your concerns. "Don't worry. I know what you mean."

You smile feeling the conversation become dry and although you didn't want to leave you knew you should best go find Anna. "I'll see you around, Harry." You speak with a small smile and he nods his head at you "yes you will. I'll see you around, y/n." He tilted his head at you and you smiled before quickly leaving to go and find Anna. As you made your way through all the dancing bodies your eyes finally locked on Anna who seemed to be totally black out drunk. Already. Great! Another time where you had to look after her for her stupid decisions. Her eyes immediately found yours and she practically jumped up and stumbled towards you, lips smushing against your cheek leaving a nice red lipstick mark “Anna you’re so drunk… you really don’t know when you stop.” You murmur to her, watching Jamie drunk too but sensible enough to remain vigilant assuring you that he could deal with her. You were unsure but eventually accepted it walking back to the kitchen and grabbing another drink, sticking to yourself yet throughout the entire night you felt eyes on you… which was an extremely rare occurrence. But this night— someone couldn’t keep their eyes off of you. He couldn’t.

The night continued on, you didn’t touch a drop of alcohol but eventually nearly everyone was filing out and just as you were about to go and find Anna again a cold hand grabbed a hold of your wrist yanking you harshly back into the kitchen where you were roughly slammed against the kitchen counter a pair of dark brown eyes meeting yours— your breath hitched your eyes wide, drink that was once in your hand now on the floor the liquid spilling out of it,

“You’re so pretty…”

The boys wandering hands began groping at your body “p-please get off of me.”

“P-p-p-p… scaredy cat. Never been touched by someone before hmm?”

Hi words were vile and cruel making your stomach churn. “I—“ you tried to gather your thoughts “I don’t even know you! Get off of me!” “Well my names Evan and your name is Y/n. Correct? You know me just fine babe..” a low chuckle left his lips your eyes widening further as you felt his hand suddenly trailing further down your body,

“Somebody hel—“

“Shut up!” His hand clamped over your mouth as he glared into your eyes “don’t you want to not be a virgin anymore? Isn’t that embarrassing? But it makes sense doesn’t it. Have you taken a look at yourself in the mirror lately?” His words are cruel amusement flickering in his dark eyes your breathing growing laboured as tears formed in your eyes “what? Babe I’m telling you the truth don’t you get that? I just want to help—“

“What the fuck is going on here?” The sudden voice made both yours and Evan’s head snap towards the door the once horrible guy now stumbling back, eyes wide as his eyes remain upon Harry. Your breathing trembled, hands shaking “nothing” “nothing? It didn’t look like nothing.” Harry spat out taking intimidating steps towards Evan “I have half the mind to break your jaw…” “you’d be arrested” Evan spat back, Harry raising his brows “on what terms? Self defence? I saw you touching her. I saw her cry. I heard her scream for help whilst you covered her mouth. Now that isn’t very consensual now is it?” You watched with horrified eyes as Harry was now eye to eye with Evan not touching him whatsoever but the clear domination he had, had Evan pressed into the wall looking scared out of his mind “but you’d be arrested. Assault. bodily harm. Sexual assault… I doubt you’d want to find out anymore of the charges you could face… isn’t that correct Evan?”

But before Evan even said anything the once confident asshole had ran straight past Harry, practically shitting himself.

Harry’s jaw was clenched, tempted to go after him but decided not to knowing he had better things to worry about. You. He attempted to calm himself down before he eventually looked towards you noticing how you remained against the counter— still trembling “y/n…” he took a slow advance towards you and your breath hitched “hey… it’s me. It’s all alright.” His tone was softer than before, extending his hand out towards you his concern clear, and before either of you could’ve prepared yourselves you had practically slammed yourself into him arms wrapped securely around his waist, your fingers curled into the material of his shirt as you trembled his tall figure towering over you as he peered down at you, shaking in his embrace, scarred… he secured both arms around you and pulled you closer to the point your face was smushed completely into his chest the smell of his strong expensive cologne drifting into your senses… he smelt like heaven.

His hand slowly traced up and down your back in a soothing manner. “You’re okay, y/n.” His voice was assuring as he kept a tight grip on you attempting to console you as best as possible yet you refused to let him see your face, remaining practically glued to him. “Is there someone you’d like me to call? Someone to take you home?” He questioned but he didn’t get a response out of you, you were shutting down completely as a flight or fight response. He however didn’t push you, instead wrapping his arm around you again as he began leading your half aware self upstairs walking you into the guest bedroom of the large house— closing the door behind the both of you before he sat you down, your shaking hands rushing to grab onto him again scared he was going to leave…

“I’m here y/n. Right here.” He exhaled softly sitting beside you on the bed, his large hand resting upon your shoulder gently— thumb caressing lightly against the material of your dress his eyes watching the top of your head, you refused to look at him and that saddened him. “Hey…” he reached his free hand out towards you finger pressing underneath your chin as he guided you to look at him your eyes filled to the brim with tears “h-harry..” you whimpered his eyes softening and he without even thinking pulled you in close “I’m here. I’m right here…” “please don’t leave.” He silently shook his head and exhaled softly before he kicked his shoes off, the thump of each one landing on the ground making you realise your friends friend dad was sharing a bed with you… to comfort you of course.

Harry leaned back, tattooed arm being quick to pull you close giving you no choice as he simply pulled you on top of him “i— too heavy—“ you breathed out shakily but that didn’t stop the man from pulling you onto his chest, arms tightly wrapped around you “nonsense. Relax.”

Those two words were the only words he spoke to you, forcing you to relax against him, his hand trailing up and down your back soothingly making sure to give you all the comfort possible. He held you tight not daring to let go of you, his eyes constantly checking on you until he believed you were asleep your breathing much more calmer and quiet, but despite the fact that he knew he could leave… he didn’t want to.

9PM slowly rolled to 11PM until it was 4AM— Harry was still wide awake, eyes however slightly hooded his breathing slow and quiet along with yours. You hadn’t stirred at all you remained silent, Harry stayed convincing himself it was because he was worried you would have a nightmare but he knew it was much more than that. Much more. His eyes tiredly focused on the red digital clock 4:15AM… he never called in sick for work— ever. But if he had to, to look after you then he would. He had spent the time you were asleep trying to figure out his feelings, telling himself how wrong it was… but you ignited something within him. Something he couldn’t quite figure out.

“Harry”

Your morning voice was cute somethings harry noticed immediately. “Y/n.” He responded, voice deep but soft his voice confirming he had stayed there for you. He had protected you… something no other guy had done for you… “what time is it?” You ask him groggily as you slowly force yourself to sit up, Harry’s arms unwrapping from around you “4:19” he spoke simply and you rubbed your eyes letting out a quiet groan your head pounding from the events of last night. You were now sat on top of him, slightly straddling him— innocently so Harry’s eyes searching your face tiredly his hands lazily grasping onto your hips mindlessly. “Can I ask you something personal?” You soon question him, his brows arching flawlessly as he tries to figure out what exactly you meant but nonetheless he nodded his head. “Do guys really not like fat girls?”

The question clearly alarmed him, his eyes readjusting on you before he furrowed his brows “what makes you say that?” He murmured quietly “what he said last night… or what he was hinting at. The reason I haven’t lost my virginity yet is because I’m too fat.” Harry stares blankly for a moment or two before he blinks his eyes a bit of surprise lingering on his face not expecting you to be so honest with him seeing as you had only met last night…

“Y/n that was a boy. A boy looks for magazine cover girls… skinny… big boobs big butts— fake. Edited. A man looks for what’s on the inside. A pretty smile. A pretty personality. What’s on the inside… sure people will have their own preferences…. But that doesn’t mean you aren’t beautiful. Because you are.” His eyes remain glued to yours, searching your face for any look of doubt which he could shut down immediately but there was none detected… only surprise. “I’m beautiful?” He nods silently to confirm your shocked question, a smirk forming on his lips making his dimples appear and your breath hitches as you search his face and in those moments you finally realise the position you were in— legs straddling him, hands touching lightly against his chest your eyes widening slightly “I’m so sorry I-“ “stay.” His voice was stern green eyes staring into yours “what?” Your voice is shocked yet again and he smiles

“Be a good girl and stay.”

You felt your heart pounding wildly in your chest your eyes searching his face “you’re beautiful, y/n… you want to know something?” His hands remain resting upon your hips and you nod hesitantly “yesterday when I met you… I was certain you weren’t as innocent as they say you are… but maybe you are… have you ever touched yourself before?” His words leave you shocked, your cheeks furiously heating up as you stare at him shocked “w-what?” “Have you ever touched yourself?” Your breath hitched feeling him rub soothing circles into your hips your eyes searching his face certain he was toying with you…. To make you feel some sort of hope… or maybe he just felt bad for you and at that thought your heart dropped “Harry I— I don’t need your sympathy please… I—“

“Who said anything about sympathy y/n? Have you touched yourself before? A simple question.” His words made a hot fever like wave flush into your stomach a shaky breath leaving your lips “yes… but…” your mouth got as dry as a bone as you attempted to wrack your brain to not say something stupid. “But…?” He coaxed delicately your eyes snapping to meet his again “but I can’t get what I want.” He quirks a brow and you knew that he knew what you meant. He wasn’t stupid. “It’s embarrassing—“ “oh no it’s not.” His large hand caresses against your cheek, finger tips soon curling around the nape of your neck as he began pulling you closer to him until you were practically inches away from one another…

“It’s okay y/n.”

You search his eyes nervously and he smiles a slight twinkle in his eyes making your stomach flutter with butterflies “life is a learning curve…”

You stare at him expectantly, confused, watching as he smiled “you just haven’t had the right teacher.” His words made your stomach leap as your breath caught in your throat… what did that mean? He was going to teach you? But before you could’ve even asked he had sat himself up, back against the headboard— lips finding yours in a deep sensual kiss his fingers pressed against the nape of your neck keeping you still the kiss getting deeper, more passionate, leaving you breathless— you weren’t even sure you were doing it correctly, Harry pulling back momentarily to look at you “Harry I don’t know how to do this.”

“Don’t worry, love.” His tone was reassuring as he smiled calmly at you. “Just follow my lead.”

His lips attached to yours again his kiss making you dizzy. It was addicting. His hands trailed up and down your sides delicately, before his hands carefully began prying at the hem of your dress guiding it further and further upwards before finally removing it from your body his eyes studying you. He looked at you as if you were a supermodel…

“Lay down.”

His tone was demanding but you still did so. Getting off of him and laying down, left only in your bra and underwear which was highly vulnerable for you but you tried not to stress too much.

He got onto his knees, the bed creaking slightly as he adjusted himself over you, his lips pressing against yours gently as he began kissing down your neck— sucking slightly every so often hearing the sweet sounds that left your mouth “that feel good hm?” You nodded your head gently the simplicity of him kissing your neck drove you absolutely wild your stomach in knots but it felt good. He began trailing kisses down your body, lips pressing softly against your tummy insecurity immediately getting the best of you as you whined attempting to cover up “hey..” he strict voice grabbed your attention “you’re beautiful.” He spoke making you remove your hands which were nervously remaining close to your body. He eventually continued to leave kisses all over until eventually he had reached your thighs his eyes flicking up to meet yours “get comfortable.” He spoke simply watching you grab a few pillows before you laid down comfortably “good girl.”

He peered down just between your thighs— closing his mouth as he sucked in a sharp breath as the sight of you before him… all for him. To devour. To ruin. To make sure you knew your worth… all. For. Him. “If you want me to stop at any point. We can. Understood?” He spoke watching you nod “use your words, Angel.” “Yes Harry.” You spoke shakily and he smiled. Boundaries were always good to have in place. He wanted you to know that you were allowed to have boundaries. You felt the sensation of your panties being slid down your legs, exposing your heat to him— using one single finger to trace up and down your slit a shiver running directly down your spine a low whimper leaving your lips “feels good hm” your breath only hitched no words leaving your mouth as the odd but wonderful sensation soon becomes your favourite thing. His finger didn’t linger too long in any specific place— sliding up and down before mercilessly toying with your clit. Pointer finger delicately tracing around the bud whines and moans leaving your lips as he watched your every reaction as if he was taking an image of the moment in his mind. Not wanting to forget it. “That’s it relax… relax for me y/n.” He praised delicately watching how your body relaxed further into the bed his tongue soon adding to the pleasure, flicking over your clit and all over your body shaking with the new feelings erupting throughout you “feel good angel?”

“Yes sir” a cry of pleasure leaves your lips and for the first time Harry didn’t correct you— instead he smirked, tongue lashing more fervently against your heat.

As your body began to squirm his large hands grasped onto your thighs, holding your still keeping you down for him as he continued flicking his tongue all over your core. “A-ah harry..” you cried out your back arching up off of the bed as an unfamiliar feeling surrounded you— tingles running up and down your body “that’s it… that’s it… oh such a good girl…” incoherent whimpers of his name left your lips until eventually your first orgasm ripped throughout you— Harry moaning, the sound of his moan enticing something within you a look of pride within his eyes “good girl.” He smiled genuinely as you panted, attempting to calm yourself down. He repositioned himself on his knees his hand beginning to trace up and down your arm slowly and carefully soothing you, allowing you to catch your breath your hands working before your brain as you reached out towards his jeans— his ring covered hands immediately stopping your hands,

“Ah ah impatient our we?”

A smirk tugged at his lips “please.” You spoke and he studied you carefully “tell me.” He spoke tenderly “tell me what you want to do?” One hand traced up to your cheek which he caressed gently, thumb brushing over your lower lip delicately “make you feel good…” you murmured softly Harry quirking a brow at your innocence but he decided not to pry. Instead he nodded “are you sure?”

He watched you nod your eyes meeting his again “you’re my teacher right?”

He smirked slightly and let out a low chuckle before he only nodded. Allowing you to undo his jeans as he leaned back. His length was hard— his hand immediately beginning to rub up and down your eyes watching him carefully “see what I’m doing?” He spoke, you nodding. “You do that.” You slowly took over your hand beginning to pump up and down, his head leaning backwards eyes rolling into the back of his head slightly and the more comfortable you got the more quick your pace grew “you’re doing it darling… you’re doing great.” He praised breathy moans continuing to leave his lips— he continued guiding you until his hand was in your hair, helping you as your mouth began hollowing out around him, tongue swirling around the tip— doing everything almost naturally Harry’s groans and moans growing louder

“Fuck y/n your mouth feels so good… fuck!”

His grip tightened on your hair helping move your head up and down until eventually his cock twitched and his orgasm wrapped around him his moans gravelly and beautiful driving you insane making you want more… desperate for more… greedy for more… and as he pulled you up and off of him by the hair his eyes were glazed over with hunger “fuck… you felt so fucking good.” He spoke clearly feeling the same. Just as hungry for more his hand coming to caress against your cheek lightly your eyes showing your hunger into which his thumb stroked against your lower lip “next time.” Next time? His eyes searched your face and he smirked slightly “next time when we’re alone in the house I’ll teach you some more.. but for now… we don’t want to get caught do we?” He smirked slightly before shaking his head chuckling slightly “you did so good.” He pulled you in for a light kiss a little confident grin tugging at your lips…

“Learnt from the best.” You whispered his green eyes glowering into yours as he grinned keeping a hold on you… it was very clear neither of you were forgetting each other anytime soon.

I hope this was okay and you enjoyed it! I kinda just went with the flow rather than with an actual idea in my head so I hope it isn’t awful… I haven’t written smut in a while so excuse it if it’s bad… anyways more stories coming hopefully soon! Thanks for reading loves!!

[kiriwiwii]

pov: they're your deskmate ☆ KNIGHTS

♡ a/n: hey guys im not dead😭 i didn't have time to write, sorry. i hope yall enjoy this <33 and thanks for 50+ followers💕💕

♡ art by Shi_iK4 on twitter

tsukasa suou

sitting with tsukasa means you're gonna get a lot of free help with your lessons-

he wasn't really friendly when you first sat near him but you both started to get close as time passed.

you can constantly ask him for notes and even if he gets mad he still gives them lol

he has those colorful pens and he takes perfect notes HE'S SO NEAT it's unreal.

cheating on exams? no way. he would kill you.

he just studies all. the. time. you try to talk to him and hes just like "quiet, [name]!" and then he starts his speeches of course "you should study too, you know? there are upcoming exams-" blah blah and the exams are in like what- 2 months?

tsukasa is a very typical good student basically. and if you're like that too, you would get along well! but if you are not... you guys might get into lots of arguments lol.

leo tsukinaga

ok i mean,, where do i even start

he's. the craziest deskmate you could've ever had.

he's the class clown (did i even need to say this) i mean if you are also a class clown then good for you got yourself a friend

if you're not then i'm sorry. he will make you go insane.

but this goes only for the times when he ACTUALLY comes to school.

like on monday he's there doing his thing and all of a sudden he disappears. you won't see him for a week-

man just vanishes. if i did that i would be expelled

he doesn't usually give attention to the teachers, and of course he studies the night right before the exam...

i feel like he has very creative ideas on how to cheat but i dunno if he would put them into action. he says its a wrong thing but then he would help you cheat lol

there are music notes EVERYWHERE on the desk. like you're taking notes and you turn your head to look at your dear deskmate to see what he's up to but you see that guy composing. where tf did he get his inspirations from? math?

and there is also something called paper but no leo chooses the desk.

you both joke a lot tho. i said he makes you go insane but he's hella funny too. teachers get angry at you all the time since yall laugh every second-

izumi sena

he's just a. normal guy. but he is also not. i mean you know how he is

the first thing you noticed was how handsome he was when you first got to your desk to meet him- (or at least that's what i would notice idk)

i feel like he's between tsukasa and leo. like,, he is not weird and loud but he's also not a nerd. just somewhere in between.

whenever you get to your desk you see izumi just annoyed at something. nothing might've happened but he will still find something to be grumpy about-

he might get mad at you if you distract him in class or he might just not care at all. depends on his mood tbh...

he asks you for notes sometimes and helps you in return too. sure if you ask for too much he says "go study yourself, jeez-" but keep begging and he'll definitely help.

ritsu sakuma

hmm it's ritsu i wonder what can i say about him.. something very different,, something you never heard before...

can you guess it? nope never you CAN'T.

im gonna say it... are you ready????

he's SLEEPING.

bet you didn't see that coming huh

ok im sorry but that's just what he does

anyways, say hi to your sleepy little vampire friend. you are going to sit with him from now on.

he's a very cute deskmate actually.

you're paying attention to the class and all of a sudden you feel ritsu's head on your shoulder aaa he fell asleep!

not only on your shoulder but he sleeps on your lap as well. you wake him up when the teacher starts talking about something important tho.

you try to teach him everything after the class since he misses lessons most of the time :(( he's very grateful that you're helping him<3

it's really fun to study with him as well. yall joke around, but also take your exams seriously.

he would try to cheat sometimes i just know it. you guys call yourselves "partners in crime" but the only thing yall do is write some answers on the desk (and they're never useful lol)

arashi narukami

she's the sweeetest deskmate. the most normal person among the others above i swear.

she buys you coffee or some snacks before the lesson starts.

sometimes you get caught up in talking with her and just forget that you're in class lol. if the teacher complains then you both instantly stop and pay attention.

she is always willing to help if you couldn't take notes or didn't understand the lesson.

whenever there is an exam and arashi sees you're worried, she tries her best to calm you down and you study together.

i feel like she would also be organized and she has a very lovely feeling overall so it's really comfortable sitting with her.

[separatist-apologist]

Of course you can assign meaning to any of Taylor's songs however you like. However, I keep seeing people put The Alchemy in the Tayvis timeline because of the sports references and I'd just like to offer a different analysis of the lyrics.

The Alchemy is about calling up that one person you know is always waiting on you. The one who got away, the ex you never quite got over. The Alchemy is Taylors Version of Break Up With Your Girlfriend, I'm Bored.

For your consideration (in this essay, I will-):

This happens once every few lifetimes-

Like the phrase, "that was a lifetime ago,"- if you subscribe to the theory that Taylor and MH were together back in 2014, you could consider that a lifetime ago.

I circled you on a map/ I haven't come around in so long/ but I'm coming back so strong

She's calling him up, he's back on her mind and she's ready to give this a shot again. She's saying, I'm single (finally) and you're the first person I thought of, the first phone call/text I'm making now that it's over. I'm in it, now.

So when I touch down call the amateurs and cut them from the team. Ditch the clowns/get the crown/ baby I'm the one to beat

I get why people think this is about Travis but consider touch down in terms of an airplane landing on a runway. She's coming to him and telling him, break up with your girlfriend if you have one or cut your roster. Ditch the clowns LMAO because baby its ME. The one you've wanted for YEARS.

Cause the sign on your heart says it's still reserved for me

This implies they've been together before. It's STILL reserved for me- we didn't work out before but you've been holding the same candle I have. You can be done with all those others (they're never gonna work out anyway) because we both know you and I belong together.

Honestly, who are we to fight the alchemy?

I love this line because alchemy is a pseudoscience. In medieval times, alchemy is basically proto-chemistry. It's looking at taking metals and turning them into elixirs, most famously turning lead into gold. Taylor isn't saying, who are we to fight fate? She's saying who are we to fight the ALCHEMY- it's not real, but she wants it to be. And I love this song because its a doomed love song. Lets turn these feelings we have into true love- but its alchemy. She can't, even if she wants to.

I'm taking this interpretation from Taylor's insistence that while Travis knows ball, she knows Aristotle. She'd be familiar with Neoplatonism and its relation to alchemy. Only she knows for sure, of course- I'm not stating any of this as fact.

Anyway back to the lyrics:

Hey you, what if I told you we're cool? That child's play back in school/Is forgiven under my rule

What happened in the past doesn't matter anymore. The things we messed up back then don't matter to me now. It's a fresh start for us

I haven't come around in so long/But I'm making a comeback to where I belong...

I haven't seen you in a long time- for whatever reason (her long term relationship imo), but I'm coming back to you now. I belong WITH you and I've always known it.

These blokes warm the benches/We been on a winning streak

All these other guys were just place holders for you, but they can't touch you. They'll never be US, they were never as important to me as you were.

He jokes that its heroin but this time with an "E"

I think this is the biggest indicator this song is not about Travis. I'm not a 1975 scholar, I don't know their music well, but I did listen to Halsey's Colors, she mentions similar themes with the drugs. A quick google search confirms that MH did have an addiction to heroin and honestly, this seems like the kind of joke he might make. He feels high again but this time it's her, the Heroine. She's his new drug.

Cheers chanted 'cause they said/There was no chance trying to be the greatest in the league/Where's the trophy?/He just comes running over to me

I struggle to make meaning of the bridge, but to me, I interpret this as HER saying he's the prize, where's her trophy, well he's running over to her right now. He's on his way to her. Everyone is telling her this isn't going to work, this isn't the kind of love she was writing about in Enchanted but she's not listening. It SHOULD be that kind of love, she wants it to be, and he's on his way to her. This time they're gonna get it right and this time it's going to work the way they both want it to.

[shzmluvrs]

very very specific request but 2019 freddy x clown collector reader? like reader collects clown dolls and all that kinda jazz and just how freddy would feel about that

(😭)

For some reason, as I go through dark times, this triggered such motivation and inspiration within me, so I thank you deeply🥲🫵🏽🫶🏽.

Also, I'm gonna name you bc I can pretty much guess you have a thing for specifically 2019 Freddy and that's pretty unique about you, so your name is 2019 (unless you have something more creative in mind lmao-).

~ Star✨️

Circus Baby

Prompt: The weird and overly fan-obsessed didn't particularly have a place at Fawcett Central. But, there they were, anyway, to be gawked and mocked at by the relatively common and "normal" student body. And while yes, Freddy was a prime suspect in the 'overly obsessive' category, he had to admit you definitely took the cake for the 'weird' department. In a good way to him, of course. Besides, who else is he gonna jokingly refer to as a wanna-be Gotham villain?

Timeline: Post Shazam! Pre S!:FOTG

TW/Content: Clowns (if they scare you, you not gonna like this at all, I'm sorry😭)⚡️Cursing⚡️Mentions of insecurity/anxiety and whatever relating⚡️Me being a little unhinged about this subject (for some reason-)⚡️Cringe? A little. But get over it tbh...

Reader: Fem! She/Her/Hers Pronouns! Clowncore Aesthetic/Style!

Requested By: Anon (2019?)

Back to Master List

I know you said clown collector, but because I'm literally insane, I wanna take this a step further...

Reader who is just full steam ahead into the clown-lifestyle😻🤡!!

Surely, it all started at a young age with your odd habit of collecting any bit of clown-related memorabilia you could get your grubby little hands on. But it soon escalated (and I'm betting startling your parents💀) into you basically being a clown.

Well, not literally.

I mean, you entertained the idea that you were decently humorous, and the occasional animal balloon tricks were attempted, but besides that, you managed to take something known for its silly (sometimes scary) wackadoo nature, and made it ✨️girlboss✨️.

And it helped that you didn't exactly shy easy, so you were proudly showing up places in your colorful, rainbow, clown-esque outfits...

Unless, of course, you happen to have a specific and favorable color, to which then it was your clown-esque wear themed specially in that color.

And your creative makeup that managed to be both cute and clown. Clute, if you will. Or maybe Cu-own...? Uh...😬...

And you could never forget about your hair. Unless you're a huge fan of styling and coloring your actual hair in cool, funky colors and ways, wigs were your best friend...

"Places" included school, for the most part, and you had thankfully become desensitized to the rude and teasing stares and the unprompted comments and whatnot... And at some point, so did the rest of the student body and staff, because it was clear no matter what they said, you weren't gonna tone down yourself for them.

Plus, it was fun! You felt as though the positive outweighed the negatives, thoroughly enjoying the bright-eyed and excited looks on younger grade's faces when they saw you occasionally pass through their section of the building, or when you'd actually receive compliments on your makeup from some of your peers. Plus, you were routinely asked to do other people's theater makeup, so-...

You got to try out new looks, new styles, new whatever every day without a care in the world!

──────────── •⚡️• ────────────

It was something Freddy found himself admiring about you from afar. It's not like you were exactly hard to miss, but it didn't change the fact that every seventh period, he'd wake himself up from an exhausting school day in complete, full anticipation for your arrival. He adored your outfits, your makeup, your hair, and once the day came when he'd finally gain the courage to speak to you, he'd hopefully adore you as whole, too.

That day came when you two were assigned to be partners for an upcoming project. A bittersweet emotion ran through his chest. Wasn't this what he wanted? The perfect excuse, chance, opportunity to get to know you? He was so nervous, he broke out into a cold sweat. Hands growing shaky and clammy, watching as you approached through the gaggle of other students shuffling around to get to their partners. And once finally sat, he stared, completely tuning out the teacher's next set of instructions.

At first, he couldn't bring himself to speak. For what seemed like the first time in a long while, Freddy Freeman was speechless. In complete awe by your presence (and ecstatic you hadn't grimaced or groaned when he was announced to be your partner), he admired every single detail of your purposefully paled face, the random little specs of glitter, elongated eye and mouth features thanks to eyeliner, and the outfit was definitely another one for the books.

At first, this boy's intense stare up and down your figure made you hope he wasn't actually the weirdo he was coming off as. Granted, you...did look like a clown, but once the stare surpassed the entire rant the teacher had gone on and then some minutes afterwards, you felt it necessary to speak up.

"Um... So, do you know how you wanna go about the project? Or...?"

"Sorry for- Oh my god, I-...Sorry for staring, that was probably really creepy for you and that's, like, the opposite of what I wanna do here-. I just think that this, whatever this is, this whole..." He used a big hand gesture to reference your ensemble. "...Is the coolest ever and I'm literally blown away."

"?!?😃 Oh my god, thank you 😃?!?"

And that was all it took before the two of you were hyperactively conversing back and forth on, not even just style choices, but on any and everything else that came to mind. It was like a force had been sparked between you two, the fire unable to be put out, let alone dimmed. It led to the start of an immediate and solidified friendship. Which, of course blossomed into something more. But I wanna focus on more of the "firsts" for now.

──────────── •⚡️• ────────────

Aka, The first time you had entered his home and met his family, which was the same day y'all met. He hadn't prepped you or anything, simply guaranteeing that they were bound to love your company and to pay no mind to any comments they might make. And while sure, you were pretty much used to having that mindset already, for some reason, this time made you nervous. Nervous like the very first time you had truly discovered you even liked this style and wanted to go out in public dressed as such, nervous. It had you adjusting your pins, clothing, and other accessories the entire walk there, and you swore that you had probably stress-sweat all of your hard-work makeup away.

To keep this short and sweet, every interaction was... unique, to say the least. First, there was a tall brunette sporting prep-wear, waltzing around the house with her phone pressed against her ear and determination in her voice to ace this interview for a nearby community college. But upon seeing you, stopped dead in her tracks and (much like Freddy) s t a r e d.

"That's Mary." "Your sister?" "Yes, out of two." "She's pretty."

"Freddy, why is there a clown in our home? Darla's birthday isn't for another four months."

Ngl, that stung you a little, but nothing you haven't heard (or expected to hear) before...

"Wh- No, shut up, that's not- She's a friend from school, we have a project together. This is just what she looks like, this is how she looks." "...Oh :). Well, you're gonna have to teach me how you have such a smooth base, because my products could never. Anyways, talk later, interview..." And with a shy point to her phone, she left you with a grin that you returned, growing flattered at the compliment on your makeup.

Then there was a boy, about shoulder height with glasses, who barely gave half of a glance in your direction. It's not that he didn't see you at all. He just... didn't care. Clearly, too focused on the TV screen that he stood basically directly in front of. "Optimal gaming stance, he claims..." Freddy informed, swiftly pulling you along before you could become engrossed in the Mortal Kombat fight yourself.

You were lead to the kitchen, Freddy rummaging through the pantry and fridge on the hunt for proper sustenance while you worked together. It was there, you were met with his mother, who gave a very "mom-happy" yet clearly confused smile. "Hi...!" She greeted suddenly, which urged you to awkwardly strike out your hand for her to shake. If you knew you were gonna be literally seeing his entire family same day, you would've toned down a little bit, at least. Just to let them get used to it all... but alas...

"Hi, I'm (Y/N). I'm just here to work on a project with Freddy." "Oh, I see! A theater project."

"Nah, science." Freddy corrected with a tone of casualty, kicking the fride door closed with the stub of his crutch, his other hand/arm supporting the weight of all of his gathered snacks and drinks.

"Oh." Rosa smiled again, still innocently confused. And before you could try to explain, Freddy was already insistent on the hurry to his room. It's okay, though, because once Rosa realized what you wore was just a creative, style choice a while later, she found it just that. Creative. And totally supported and compared it to alternative styles she'd seen back in her high school days, bless her heart🥰😭.

On the way towards/up the stairs was where you encountered what you had to assume was Freddy's father and older brother, who breezed past the two of you at first, but then did quick double-takes. "Ohooh, you look sick! What is this, like a statement, or...?" You received an immediate compliment from Victor, a chuckle leaving your throat along with a shrug of your shoulders.

"Something like that, I guess." And then Pedro, who did a scan up and down your figure much like Freddy had in class, before giving a satisfactory nod.

"Cool." "Thank you :')."

Walking down the hallway en route to Freddy's room, there was one more escapade that involved your purse accidentally falling open and your makeup going everywhere. It was the glittery stuff, too, so not only was it an expensive loss, but it was now going to be permanently marked onto the hardwood floor (yes, you felt beyond terrible, but it doesn't really matter bc a. There's already stains and glitter and whatnot everywhere in that house that are permanent, Rosa and Victor have given up on them, you can't convince me otherwise. And b. They ended up renovating by the second movie anyway, so it's fine😭).

It didn't stop you from desperately trying to scoop it all up, anyways, though (cuz I would, too, ngl-). Freddy informed that he'd go to his room to set the food down and would be back to help you, which was fine, but it left you in his hallway desperately scrambling at loose makeup like a weirdo. But clearly, that isn't what Darla saw when she poked her itty bitty head out of her room at the commotion. In her eyes, you were a mystical, magical being that harbored one of her favorite things in the whole world (glitter, duh), and she squealed so l o u d-

It scared you at first, especially when she came barreling towards you and almost managed to tackle you in an unexpected but returned hug. Rambling on and on about what a honor it was to meet you, "...whatever you are...!" She added, which pulled a giggle from your lips, and how excited she was and how she had so much to show you and-

"Oh my god, D, why..." Freddy sighed, having left for what was barely even a minute or so and had come back to find his youngest sister perched in your lap and talking your ear off. He should be doing that! Well, I guess minus the sitting in your lap part.

Unless you're into that🥴.

Idk. Anyways-

"DID YOU KNOW ABOUT THIS, DID YOU KNOW SHE WAS HERE?!" "😐Yes, I did. I brought her here. She's my friend and we're BUSY, so you need to go back to your ROOM, and mind your BUISNESS, please."

It took a lot more convincing, but after promising you'd converse with Darla another time (without Freddy💀-), she did as told and you two had finally entered his room. You found yourself quiet impressed with his superhero memorabilia, something about it reminding you of your own "little" collection back home. Maybe the obsessiveness of it all, or simply just how much of it there was. But you didn't have the pleasure of questioning, because-

"What the hell...?" "Dude, don't start-" "-I wasn't gonna say anything." "You literally were, I can tell by that dumb look on your face." "Freddy, I guarantee you, I'm not the dumb looking one in this room. And don't get me wrong, it isn't her either..." "Harhar, you're so funny. Why don't you leave and go do stand up comedy? I think you in particular would make an excellent CLOWN, don't you think, (Y/N)?"

"I... uhm...uh... ;-;." You weren't expecting a fifth sibling, that's for sure. His family was clearly very diverse. And at first, you couldn't quite tell if he was getting ready to bully you or not, seeing as Freddy was very quick with his wit in order to defend you. You wouldn't doubt it. Billy seemed to suffer from a bad case of RBFS.

Resting Bitch Face Syndrome.

"Ignore him." Freddy advised, whipping open his laptop while Billy scoffed.

"I'm right here, y'know. This is my room, too, you guys can't just-" "Okay, fine, then ignore him harder."

You giggled. It was grounds for Billy to address you separately/on his own.

"I like your outfit. It just...caught me off guard." You smiled, giving a nod of understanding. "Thanks, I get that a lot."

──────────── •⚡️• ────────────

The first time Freddy visited your house was months after the initial meeting. Not for any particular reason, there just hadn't been any real excuse until now...

"My parent(s) have been dying to meet you, like, I swear, if they keep pestering me about it, I was going to actually go insane. On some Joker type shit."

Freddy laughed at your last remark, but as we all know, the boy is quick-witted and smart-mouthed, so it was always easy for him to launch off of literally anything you say with a teasing remark that... sometimes you swore was him actually flirting. But, you couldn't be too sure. You didn't wanna ruin a good thing.

(You say as you literally bring him home to your parent/guardian(s) as if that's not the literal thing you do when-...nvm).

"Oh, so you've been gassing me up, huh~? Cute, cute... D'you tell them how much I adore you? Wouldn't want them thinking I'm neglecting you or anything." "Stop it." You giggled, nudging at his shoulder before pulling out your house key.

Freddy didn't exactly know what he expected upon entering your household. He supposed it'd reflect yourself. Colorful and creative, lots of little knick-knacks and trinkets, endless amounts of stuff to fill any empty space... At the very, very, fantasy like most, your house would be some foreign cottage in the woods that resembled a lot like the witche's candy house from the Hansel & Gretel tale (before it rotted, ofc).

So naturally, he was a little thrown off to find it was his very least thoughts that had come to play, the house almost gray compared to you. White walls, furniture organized hyper-symmetrically, every last item in its very clear-cut place. Not a spec of dust or dirt, not a thing out of place... and quiet. Almost eerily so. Well, maybe not. It could just be the fact that he wasn't used to seeing and hearing a house as such, given his living situation (loud family, messy-homey-actually looks lived in house...). But regardless-

"...I'm home!!" The call out to your parent(s) startled him for a moment, and though you did receive an answer back that sounded like it came from a room close by, it was almost like it echoed against the silence. Freddy shook it off. You didn't judge anyone or anything when you had first come over to his place, so he wouldn't do the same. If anything, they were just loose observations he couldn't help but make/notice.

But anyways- You lead him into your kitchen and there, he met your parent(s), who was quick to make a comment on how surprisingly "normal" he appeared to be. And usually, something like that might sting a little (for you, because like, uh, rude?? But dw, they meant it in a teasing/jokey way). But to Freddy? Normal? That meant the world, seeing as usually, most people couldn't see past his crutch, should they choose to see him at all. But he supposed the apple didn't fall far from the tree in the "non-judgemental" department. You must've got it from them.

That went relatively well, but here came the part you were always nervous about when inviting guests into your room...

"Woah..." The same way he was captivated by you was the same way he felt about your room. It was the splash of color amongst your house. Figures, all of what he'd expected of the whole/entire house would be crammed off into your one room, I mean, duh, where else would it be? It was littered with posters and trinkets and stuffed animals, clothes lying around that you scrambled to pick up and shove into your closet out of sheer embrassment. Even the walls were painted the color(s) of your choosing/liking, and my god, did you have so many different shelves full of things he wanted to mess with. He wouldn't, for now, waiting for the right time to ask permission before touching anything.

And then...he saw it. The corner of your room dedicated to that one specific, niche little thing you loved so much and based your entire personal being around...

The clown corner🤡.

"Oh...my god..."

You quickly spoke up before he could say anything more, the initial shock of your odd clown figurines, dolls, books, whatever the fuck else could possibly be clown-themed/related collection being enough for you to just assume the worst of thoughts he may have. "I know, it's weird. I mean, weirder than normal weird. But-" "I love you." He had whipped his head towards you just as fast as the confession left his person, a lazy smile etched into his features while you grinned almost manically because like, huh??

"...Excuse me😃?"

He shook the expression away, shaping himself back to normal as fast as possible at your reaction.

"No-! I don't. I mean, I do! Like, I meant it like, I love how you're like me, with the whole, "corner of the room being dedicated to this thing," thing. Superheroes are my thing, clowns are yours... obviously, and I love that. I love that you're me and I'm you and we're basically one."

"Freddy-..." You sighed, only able to laugh to yourself and at his rambling before gently pulling him closer to one of the shelves by the hand. "Look at this..." You encouraged, watching him lean closer to inspect some of the figurines and newspapers and other lose things in one specific place on the shelf.

"Oh my shit, that's Harley Quinn...!!" He gushed while you nodded proudly.

"My idol." You added, Freddy turning to you as you explained. "I know people consider her a villain, or whatever. Or that's she's crazy. But, I don't understand how that could be possible when the woman literally has a PhD and was an entire psychiatrist before she met Joker. Not to mention, the only reason she did half of the crazy shit she did was 'cause of that cunt-wad, so when I heard she finally emancipated herself from him, you have to understand... I literally love her."

Freddy didn't know how else to respond. Here he was, in your room, being one of your closest best friends, you talking to him (willingly, might I add, because even after all this time, he still can't even fathom how and why you genuinely love spending time with him and being his friend even though you remind the poor boy 24/7😭), and rambling to him about his favorite subject no less! And how it relates to your favorite subject! A combination of niche interests!! He-!

"I'm going to kiss you on the lips, (Y/N)." "Pfft-!" You snorted, the second confession catching you off guard in a flurry of amusement and surprise once again. But this time, he didn't have any excuses to back the claim up. Like, surely, he could easily pass that off as a joke or an intense way to say something along the lines of, "You don't know how much this topic interests me, especially coming from you, and it's making me so excited and happy and I want to talk/hear more."

But at the same time...

"What, like, actually?"

So now, you've presented Freddy with the option to mean it. For real. Which, like...

"I- Uh, like, only if you'd let me or you did it first or something." He laughed boisterously. "I wouldn't just do it without asking, that'd be craz-"

's m o o c h !'

You giggled. You had left some of that white and red behind on his lips.

──────────── •⚡️• ────────────

Okay, beyond this point is just some random other stuff I thought of...

DOING THE MAKEUP!!! Omg the way this boy BEGS you do his face the way you do yours, and girl, lemme tell you, you pop off...! You turned him into the clown-boy of your dreams, call that a Laughing Jack makeover/cosplay.

...*coughs*...ignore that, I had a phase, don't judge me.

Anyways, seriously, I think Freddy would rock the clowncore look so well, especially if you take advantage of his freckles and make them all individually a different color against white/pale foundation.

I also think he teases/flatters you by randomly gifting you trinkets he finds to add to your collection. So dolls he finds in thrift stores, or figurines he saw at a random strip mall shop, things like that.

Hella Harley Quinn discussions ensue, y'all love her.

Kissing him or him kissing you anywhere on the face is always funny because the white/pale foundation will transfer and it's the cutest thing. Or when you hug him and he's wearing super dark or super light clothing so your makeup is just smeared across his shirt and he's looking at you like, "😐" and you're looking at him like, "😕my fault bro🙂."

He also likes to steal some of the dolls/stuffies you might have, so if a clown is missing, you know that he probably has it. Y'all be treating them like your lil' babies, naming them and all😭. He sends you blurry, chaotic, cutsey type pictures of them and it'll have a corny ass caption like, "Jester won't lay down for his nap, I think you might need to come over and cuddle for a bit or something" yk💀.

Him stealing your wigs, too. And just literally any loose/baggy clothes of yours that will fit him. But it's okay bc you do the same with his when you're dressed down for once. He actually is so used to you all clowned up that when you're bare face and in one of his sweaters and shorts, you look like this cute little random girl to him.

"Who are you and what have you done with (Y/N)😧🫵🏻🙊?!" "Dawg😐..."

Ngl he hates sleeping in your room at night. He loves you and all of your quirks, of course. And don't get me wrong, he loves y'all children (the clown dolls n stuff)...but look man, they a lil' scary at night, just staring down at him from the shelves and shit and it freaks him out more than he wants to admit. You have a night light just for him when he stays over, though (it's a jumbo ladybug pillow pet you've had since you were like, eight, but the shit is so bright, it'd be a waste to just throw it out. Plus, it now helps Freddy sleep at night so win-win).

On that topic, bro has been jumpscared so many times bc you play too much and like to place your life-sized dolls around the house. He'll be thinking someone broke in and will be on the b r i n k of saying "Shazam!!" out of total fear before he realizes it's you just fucking with him. And is mad he can't do it back bc you're too used to seeing them💀.

Nicknames!!! Lord, this boy has some many! Just to name a few, "Circus Baby" "Harley" "Funny" As in he'll use it the same way one uses "Pretty". "Hey, Funny, you feelin' okay? Yeah? Okay, good." Also, "The fourth Flying Grayson" which you find pretty distasteful🥴.

If you post on social media, he spam likes and comments on all your post, especially if you make TikToks. He doesn't care what content it is, either. It could be you just talking about your stuff, it could be you posting little scenarios, it could be you showing your makeup routine, you could be making cringey ass thirst-traps for all he cares. You're posting and showing off your style? He's giving you all of his support and love shamelessly. He always does and will💙.

This was long but that's okay, that's just what I do lol😆.

Sorry again for my long hiatus, y'all. I do be struggling in this economy😔✊🏽. I hope anyone who sees this is doing well, Moon and I love y'all's support so much, it makes our day🫶🏽!

~ Star✨️

Back to Master List

[liauditore]

LIAU MY BELOVED

ask game question

Jimmy x Martyn

:D

romeo asking for mirror birds in MY ask box?!!?!??!?!?! (i know u pref mirror birds but solidwood is too funny im so sorry)

ah yeah. these losers.

see, a lot of my thoughts surrounding these two would kind of spoil my own AU that i never make stuff for so im usually somewhat hesitant to talk about them but basically., (toxic!fh mention)

post-evo divorced property police is so real. ive always imagined it as a childhood friends situation, with martyn being a bit older than jimmy.

they probably caught feelings for eachother fairly late and already well into teenhood but neither of them were really sure what it was (this is maybe going a little bit into sexuality hc territory but ive always imagined jimmy as whatever the male equivalent of a useless lesbian is and martyns biphobic towards himself lmao).

i touched on this briefly in that one fic i wrote but i've always headcanoned martyn as being somewhat parentified and thus ties his worthiness to be loved into his ability to perform acts of service for someone rather than just.. existing and letting himself be loved.

so as jimmy became more independent, martyn becomes a bit more insecure about their friendship. this becomes a bit of a self-fulfilling prophecy as he distances himself from jimmy, feeling like jimmy wouldn't love him if he didn't Need him, and jimmy in return feels confused and hurt as he helplessly watches someone he knew all his life drift away.

that + jimmy has this not-so-subtle crush on scott that martyn's always suspected. he's a jealous bitch.

The storm formed after a final sip, my fingertips frozen solid, I pretend that again I can see, you past the rails, ready to meet And I wonder is it too much to ask, to once more, hold you warm in my hands? To accept I can’t forget, and embrace what still fails to fade?

Milk Tea (Oktavia's translyrics) (because I wasn't kidding when I said these two were cheesy yuri to me lmao)

we had a clown to clown communication moment i think cus I also love the idea of them splitting up and meeting in Third Life years and years later (altho i like to imagine it as more of a voluntary separation).

some stuff copy+pasted from that cursed shipping doc i mentioned awhile back: ((scott + jimmy became a thing while martyn was gone pre-3L))

Now reuniting in 3L as fully grown adults after years apart, all those suppressed emotions come bubbling back up to the surface. An adult Martyn is much less unsure about what he's feeling and Jimmy still has those fantasies of what could have been playing on loop in his head. Of course, Jimmy is still attached to Scott and can't abandon his Bethrothed. He loves and knows what's best for him, he would sooner die than forsake his loyalty. But it does hurt when he hits him. Martyn still cares for Jimmy deeply, whether he wants to or not. He takes the time to keep an eye out for him, even though they had no real reason to interact anymore. He becomes one of the only people to realise what Scott was like with him, how devoid of love it all was. He throws out a line, offers to help him run away. Jimmy refuses. Betrayal. A second time. For the same man. Who cares about Jimmy anyway? (he always did take me for granted)

(a little note here before anyone sets me on fire - time works a bit differently in my writing and the players don't have exact ages but jimmy and martyn's age gap is probably not as dramatic as their cc counterparts)

(it's still there but neither of them even recognise their feelings as remotely romantic until they reunite as adults, as kids it's all just them being silly and having grade school drama with each other)

So uh yeah lots of mutual pining and suppressed feelings and puppy love turned angst👍 tis all i shall say cus i wanna make art of the rest lol

Just a second to lessen the ache, or minute to kiss it away I’d give all I have for the chance to go back to youth and you

[hxney-lemcn]

A Speed Demon and His Demon Partner — Peter Maximoff x gn! mutant! reader

Summary: Having their life changed by their DNA, reader ends up a to be a mutant. Luckily, Peter Maximoff is by their side and they end up on a wild ride.

tw: cursing, injury, anxiety, claustrophobia (if i missed any, let me know)

a/n: So this is basically a bunch of my daydreams meshed into one story, so don't mind that the transitions between scenes are kinda messy.

wc: 10.5k

(Read it on ao3 here)

You don’t realize what you take for granted until it’s gone. Don’t realize how cruel the world can be until it hurts you. I never understood the hatred towards mutants. I still don’t. They’re people, just like anyone else. People feared what they didn’t understand. It’s a concept as old as time.

What I understand now is how lucky non mutants are. Hell, even mutants with only mental differences even had it better. Of course this isn’t a competition and all mutants have it rough. 

Though my situation was pretty ironic. Growing up in a religious household and all, only to look like the child of satan. Yeah, that’s right. My mutation didn’t happen until I was about 16. I woke up and noticed the fact that my skin was a deep red and my nails were sharp. I looked into the mirror with horror. Two horns protruded through my skull and the roots of my hair were black. 

At that moment, it felt like my entire world ended. I was a mutant, and one that couldn’t hide. I had no idea what my family would think, let alone my grandma. I knew my mom was more open to mutants, but I was still worried she would have some stigma about the way my mutation looked. 

So I hid myself in my room for as long as possible. I didn’t go to school, I didn’t go out unless everyone was asleep in the house. I know my mom was worried…but I didn’t care. I mean I looked like a literal demon. I knew it would come out sooner or later, but my mom found out. She caught me in the middle of the night while I went to make food. She looked scared at first, I probably looked mortified. Yet she sat me down and told me she would never hate me, mutant or not, and I felt like maybe not everything was terrible for once. 

She understood my decision to not see my grandma anymore, but she said something that shattered the happiness. And that was that I would still have to go to school. I felt like a weight was dropped right on top of me. Mutants weren’t illegal, but they were highly hated on, and honestly I was scared for my safety. 

So the first day back I wore a hoodie, jeans, boots, hat, sunglasses, anything and everything that could somehow hide my appearance. What I totally forgot that homeroom was my first class and that I was the tutor of someone that tended to be annoying.

The one and only Peter Maximoff. He was seen as a problem child and the class clown, though tutoring him gave me more insight to who he was. He had trouble focusing, and with the way he would fidget made me believe that whole heartedly. Which tended to make our ‘tutoring sessions’ more into time for us to joke around. 

Anyways, back to the previous point. When I entered the class I was relieved to see that Peter was nowhere in sight. Only to feel my stomach drop as he plopped into the seat next to me.  I kept my face down, staring at the wood patterned plastic.  

“Fancy seeing you here,” I could hear the smile in his voice which quickly turned to concern. “You alright? You haven’t been here for a while.”

“Yeah, I’m fine,” I mumbled, tugging on my hood. I saw Peter lean in from the corner of my eye, he was trying to make eye contact. 

“You sure?” He asked, his voice sounding endearingly soft. 

“What are your thoughts on mutants?” I blurted out.

He seemed slightly taken aback, but continued the new topic, “Nothing much.”

“Why? What are yours?” He asked back. 

“I think they're fine, don’t get why people hate them so much,” I replied.

Peter was silent for a bit, “Why don’t we talk about this more at my house, we could skip or wait till after school…”

Skipping school seemed tempting. I mean even with as much as I tried hiding myself I could see the stares and hear the whispers as I walked past. For the first time that day, I looked at Peter and his eyes widened in shock. I looked back down.

“Could…could we skip today?” I asked timidly. I mean I’ve skipped before, but it was in between lunch periods so it was pretty easy.

“Of course,” He breathed out. “Wait for the bell to ring and we’ll be out of here before you know it.”

I nodded, not sure what he had in mind, but I trusted him. I felt his hand pat my back awkwardly, but I couldn’t help but smile at the sentiment nonetheless. 

Once the bell rang Peter and I headed out to the halls. Kids were bustling, pushing and shoving, before I could glance at Peter, I felt his hand rest on the back of my neck. Then all of a sudden, we were in his basement. I blinked once, then twice. My eyes drifted over to Peter, who was casually laying on the couch eating a hostess cupcake. 

At that moment, I was happy to know another mutant, someone who I could vent to without worry. I couldn’t hide the smile that made its way onto my face as I looked to the side. 

“You can take all that stuff off now,” Peter mumbled through his food. “This is a safe space.”

I felt my heart warm at the proposition and joked, “Even if I look like the spawn of Satan?”

“I think that just makes you hotter,” Peter shrugged. I felt myself freeze, looking to the side I pulled my hood down and discarded my hat and sunglasses on Peter’s table. I felt his gaze piercing the side of my head but I pretended to ignore it. 

I decided to take this chance to glance around and snoop a bit. This was my first time seeing Peter outside of school, and my friends don’t really invite me out too much…not like they go out much either. I glanced over the junk food stash, not even wanting to know what that’s about, and I also conveniently decided to ignore the random items that seemed out of place. Finally, my gaze fell onto the arcade machines. How the hell did he get those…

“So what’s your power?” I asked, breaking the silence. “Teleportation?”

“Super speed,” Peter said nonchalantly, suddenly playing Pong. “Lame, I know.”

“Hey, better than being red,” I said, trying to lighten his mood. But it seemed to do the opposite. 

He looked back at me with a frown, “I think you look cool.”

“I think your power is cool too.”

That was the start of our friendship growing deeper. We hung outside of school more, I felt more confident about my mutation because of him. Of course my other friends were surprisingly accepting as well. Overall life was going smoother than I thought it would. Yeah people made comments about my appearance, many older people tried to get me to ‘find God’, and the stares were irritating to say the least, but having people be there to support me was enough for me. 

Everything was peachy until one fateful day. It was like any other day, I was hanging out with Peter in his basement when suddenly his mom calls out that the cops are here. 

I didn’t even see Peter move when he appeared next to me and whispered, “They’re not cops, rental car, possibly FBI.”

My heart dropped at the last thing he said, “Sh-should I hide?”

“Nah, I think you’re good, don’t seem dangerous,” He smiled, running over and started to play ping pong with himself. 

Three men came trekking down the stairs, the first one a medium height compared to the rest, his sideburns were out of control. The second was the tallest, he was scrawny with glasses. Had a nerdy vibe overall. The last was the shortest and wore sunglasses and looked messy overall.

“What do you guys want?” Peter asked, running over and sitting under my legs that still rested on the couch. I shifted slightly, trying to put less weight on him. “I’ve been here all day, right?”

“Uh, yeah,” I nodded, not liking how all their attention was now on me.

“Relax, Peter, we’re not cops,” The sideburns guy said. I frowned, how did he know Peter? Why did Peter not seem to recognize him? Were they actually FBI?

“Of course you’re not cops,” Peter shrugged, hands behind his head. “If you were cops you wouldn’t be driving a rental car.”

“How’d you know we’ve got a rental car?” The short guy asked. British accent?

“Checked your registration while you were walking through the door,” Peter replied like it was nothing. “I also had some time to kill so I also went through your rental agreements and you’re from out of town. Are you FBI?” I rolled my eyes, such a show off.

Peter zoomed off and grabbed the short guy's wallet, looking through his stuff, “No, you’re not cops. Hey, what's with this gifted youngsters place?”

“That’s an…old…card,” The short guy said, trying to defend himself.

“Well he’s fascinating,” Nerdy dude said with a smile.

“He’s a pain in the ass,” British guy said, making me scowl at him.

“What, a teleporter?” Nerdy guy asked.

“Super speed,” I spoke up, and they glanced at me again before turning back into their little huddle. 

“When I knew him he wasn’t so…young,” Sideburns muttered.

“Young?” Peter asked, back on the couch under my legs handing me a popsicle. “You’re just old.”

“You’re not afraid to show your powers,” Nerdy guy said, sounding amazed. 

“Powers? What powers?” Peter asked all innocently looking towards me. “What’s he talking about? You see something strange here?” A smile creeped onto my lips, exposing my canine teeth that seemed to have grown bigger after my mutation appeared. 

“Nothing anyone would believe,” I replied with a shrug. His smugness is getting to me now. He smiled back at me, already done with his popsicle. 

Zipping over to his pong arcade game he continued, “So who are you? What do you want?”

“We need your help,” Sideburns proposed. 

“To what?”

“To break into a highly secured facility and to get someone out,” Sideburns continued. I couldn’t help but stare at them with wide eyes. Who just asks that? 

“Prison break?” Peter asked. “That’s illegal, you know.”

I watched as they looked around his room at all his stolen goods and I sighed, I really hope Peter doesn’t agree. 

“Only if you get caught,” Sideburns replied. 

I felt myself frown as Peter asked, “So what’s in it for me?” 

I was about to speak up, ask Peter if he was out of his mind, but British guy beat me to it, “You, you kleptomaniac, get to break into the Pentagon.”

Peter turned around slowly, and I felt my heart drop at the fact that he was actually considering this, “How do I know I can trust you?”

“Cus we’re just like you,” Sideburns said, glancing at me and I shrunk slightly under his gaze. 

“Show him,” British guy said. 

Sideburns glanced at British guy and held up his fist, three bone claws came out and I winced at the sound.

“That’s cool, but disgusting,” Peter commented. 

“Peter,” I called out, shrinking once more as all their gazes fell on me. “Could we like…talk privately for a moment.”

“Uh yeah,” Peter nodded, then zoomed us to a spare bedroom. “What’s up?”

“What’s up?” I asked, raising an  eyebrow. “You’re totally gonna do that prison break aren’t you?”

“We’re doing the prison break,” Peter said like he was clarifying. 

“I’m sorry?” I asked incredulously. “Nuh-uh. No way.”

“Oh come on, where’s your spirit?” Peter asked, clapping me on the shoulder. “You need to have some spice in your life once in a while.”

“I-” I stammered, unsure where he thought I’d agree to this. “Okay, let's ignore that part. They probably don’t even want me coming. I’ll totally ruin their plan if they even have one. Have you seen me? A literal red flag!”

“Simple, I don't go if you don’t,” Peter shrugged. 

“What about my mom?” I asked next, trying to get him to see an ounce of reason.

“What about her?” He shrugged. 

Wha- are you hearing yourself right now?” 

“Come on, you won’t even have to do anything,” Peter insisted. “Be the getaway driver?”

I felt myself slipping as he gave me puppy dog eyes. I looked off to the side, not believing what came out of my mouth next, “Fine.”

“Yes!” He celebrated, pumping his fist in the air. “You’re amazing!” Peter held the sides of my face and brought mine close to his. I felt my breath hitch and tense up. 

I failed to mention that the moment I met Peter, the first thing I thought was how he looked cute. Yeah, I know, sue me. Even though I was attracted to him, it didn't mean anything. I didn’t know him so why would I expect anything to go anywhere? And then we started to become really good friends and my feelings slowly grew, creeping through me like vines. 

So in this moment, all I could feel was the fact that the room seemed to grow warmer, and I never noticed those pale freckles that ran across his nose. I think he noticed what he was doing and diverted to kissing my forehead. While I wasn’t complaining, I’ve never had a forehead kiss before. It made me feel all warm and fuzzy and…God I’m never gonna stop coming up with scenarios after this. 

Then suddenly we’re back in his basement and he’s got his arm around my shoulder as he leans against me casually, “I’m in, as long as she can tag along.”

The strange men looked at each other, almost like having a silent conversation. Then sideburns whispered, “I think we’ll want her there to keep him under wraps.”

Yet I was distracted from them as I felt Peter tap my shoulder to a tune no one could hear. Then I realized the situation I was in, or more like the position. I was tucked into Peter’s side and I could tell he was trying to stay as still as possible. 

I was brought out of my little reverie as British dude spoke up, “She can come, but she’ll have to stay in the car.”

“Fine by me,” I shrugged.

With that, we were off driving. I learned their names as Charles, Hank, and Logan. Peter took the middle seat between Charles and I, he could clearly see my anxiety of being in a car of total strangers. 

I never realized how annoying it could be to be in a long car ride with Peter. I mean we never had to go on one before so why would I? I just tried to zone out by staring out the window, but it was hard to ignore Peter’s jitters, nonstop questions, and him trying to constantly get my attention. 

“What?” I muttered exhaustedly as he poked me for the 100th time. 

“I’m just curious if your mutation is more than just your physical appearance,” Peter speed talked. “It’s hard to imagine a mutant who can’t control something.”

This seemed to have grabbed the others attention as Hank spoke up, this clearly being his expertise, “Typically mutants have at least one power, physical appearance is secondary.”

I felt myself grow anxious at not only their stares, but what I could possibly do, “What do you think I can do? How can I find out?”

“Well, sometimes mutations come out when the person is stressed, it’s really hard to tell what someone can do unless they already found out,” Hank explained.

I let out a humorless chuckle, “Well I’m constantly stressed, maybe we’ll find out at any moment.”

After that, it was pretty straightforward. My mind was busy trying to think of powers I could possibly have while they broke whoever they needed out of the Pentagon. I really wish they gave us more information.

I sat in the drivers seat, car key half way in the ignition. I kept glancing around, making sure my appearance was hidden as well as I could. I probably looked sketchy as fuck, but no one bothered me. 

I saw the group hustling and quickly turned the car on. They all piled in, Peter being forced to sit on the ground due to lack of seats. Quickly and as inconspicuously as I could, I pulled out and drove off. I felt a rush of adrenaline as guards ran out the door, but they didn’t seem to notice us specifically. 

“Drive faster!” Logan whisper shouted. “They’re going to sniff us out with how slow you’re going.”

“If I drive faster their attention will be drawn to us and then we’ll really be caught!” I countered, too nervous about being a literal getaway driver to be scared to talk back. 

“She’s right,” The man we broke out nodded. “Besides, they can’t catch us now that I’m out.” 

I glanced at the rear view mirror and shifted my eyes back onto the road immediately. Something about him exuded an intimidating aura. Hank directed me to where I needed to go and we ended up at an airstrip with what looked to be a private jet.

You know if they got money to spare I wouldn’t mind them paying me for my time.

Everyone got out of the car, Logan and Erik, as I learned, boarded the jet right away. Charles and Hank stood by it as Peter and I leaned against the car.

“Do a favor and return it for me will you?” Charles asked, nodding in my direction. “And Peter? Take it slow.” Charles smiled slightly at Peter before boarding the jet. Hank nodded at us before following. The jet door closed and Peter turned to me, a mischievous grin plastered on his face. 

Suddenly I was in the passenger seat and he was turning the car on. 

“No!” I exclaimed with wide eyes, trying to exit the car. “I do not trust you out of all people to drive, full offense.”

Peter looked at me and gasped in fake offense, “That truely hurts me (n/n).”

“Good,” I huffed with a fake glare. “Now let me drive.”

Peter pouted at me, trying to give me those puppy dog eyes that make me crumble every time. It may have broke me to participate in a damn prison break, but not getting in a crash.

“I’ll drive safe I promise!”

“No you won’t,” I sighed.

“I won’t you’re right,” Peter grinned. “You know me too well.” 

He gave up and let me take over the drivers station. I pulled into the road and went 50 mph, just 5 over like always. Everyone told me I drive like a grandma, but I’d rather drive like a grandma and be alive than drive reckless and die. 

I hummed softly with the radio, slightly weirded out at how quiet the car was. I took a quick glance at Peter and he seemed to be lost in thought. I tapped the steering wheel before speaking up, “Something wrong? I’m sorry if I made you feel bad about the whole driving thing…”

“Hm?” Peter perked up. “Oh, no you’re good. I was just thinking about how hungry I am. Why don’t we stop at that diner up ahead.”

“Okay,” I agreed, unsure if that was really the truth. I pulled into the diner parking lot that Peter pointed out. I was a bit nervous going out with how I looked and all, but with Peter by my side I felt more comfortable.

I fidgeted with the car keys in my pocket as I looked around. It was a smallish diner, steady amount of people. With a checkered print that lined the walls, and the pink and blue neon lighting, it gave a real youthful feel. My gaze landed on Peter who now sat in front of me, his eyes scanning the menu so fast I couldn’t even tell he was reading. 

I let myself look at the menu, it was mainly burgers, but they also had some chicken options. I found my go to order and decided I’ll stick with it. 

“Excuse me,” we both looked up to see a waitress, a frown promanant on her face as she glared down at us, me specifically. “We don’t serve your kind here, you’re making the other guests uncomfortable.”

I felt myself flush in embarrassment as I quickly looked around, seeing people stare and whisper at the encounter that was currently happening. I could quickly feel my eyes water but tried to hold it down. I hate crying, and I don’t want them to see me in such a vulnerable position. 

“She hasn’t done anything wrong,” Peter quickly comes to stand up for me. “We just want to eat some food like everyone else, but if this is the way you treat your customers than we’ll just take our money elsewhere.” 

Peter stood up, and I stood up too, just wanting to leave this place as fast as possible. Peter took my hand and led me out to the car. I found comfort in the fact that he was holding me, even if it was just our hands. I clenched my free hand and scowled at the ground. I didn’t even notice that I was now in the passenger seat and we were driving off.

“What a bitch,” I spat, all the things I could’ve said to her just now entering my head. “Who gives her the right? No one, that’s who.”

I felt my anger continue to bubble, as all I could think about was what happened previously.

“I can’t believe she had the balls,” Peter scoffed. “I was seriously considering punching her-“

“HOLY SHIT!”

“What?” I asked back in panic, his shout startling me.

He started laughing breathily and pointed out, “Look at your hands!”

I looked down and I felt fear rush through me. My hands were on fire, literally burning. I gasped and lifted my hands up, not wanting to burn my clothes. The fire quickly went out and I stared in a mix of horror and wonder. 

“Guess we figured out what your power is,” Peter grinned cheekily. 

“That’s…cool but scary,” I replied, anxiety already filling me. “I mean, there’s so much that can go wrong.”

“Hey,” Peter said, nudging me slightly. “I know you’ll be fine.”

I nodded, his words helped me calm down a bit. We ended up getting fast food, not wanting another situation to happen. Then he dropped me off home and that day came to an end. 

The closest we ever got to, possibly becoming more, was this day. We ended up actually doing something besides sitting in his basement. I got a sudden taste for a slushie so we ended up at a gas station. And I actually paid for the slushies since I refused to let Peter snatch a few. Since I chose (red/blue) he got the opposite. We sat outside on a bench at a park nearby and I enjoyed the sun warming my skin. Of course Peter had to break the silence.

“Y’know, I kinda want a purple slushie right now,” He said nonchalantly.

I looked at him with furrowed eyebrows while taking a sip from my cup, “There’s a purple slushie-”

“Oh,” I whispered in realization. How did I not get his meaning right away? He grinned mischievously while leaning in close to my face. I felt my heart rate quicken and suddenly it felt hot. 

I wanted to pull away, look somewhere else, be somewhere else. But my body knew that I really didn’t mind if he did kiss me. I couldn’t take my eyes off of him. His warm brown eyes staring into mine so softly. I was waiting for his next move, waiting for him to just close the gap. Hell knows that I wasn’t going too, I felt frozen in place. Yet suddenly he pulled away and wiggled his eyebrows, finishing off his drink. I felt my heart drop, and looked away quickly. How embarrassing, why was I actually expecting him to kiss me? Am I crazy?

I leaned back on the bench and watched the kids run around and play in the playground without a care in the world. Parents would briefly glance at me from time to time but I ignored it. The disappointing feeling that consumed me was my prominent problem. When did my feelings get this out of hand? Did he know what he was doing to me? Or am I really that good at hiding my feelings? 

“You okay?” He asked in a hush tone.

“Hm?” I looked back over to him, but seeing his face made the feeling of embarrassment wash over me again, but I tried to put it in the back of my mind. “I’m good, why?”

It wasn’t too long after when we graduated, (Peter just sliding by). And after that a letter arrived. From Xaviar’s School for Gifted children. Charles Xaviar, the man who we helped with a prison break. It was a job offer, and I felt so grateful for the opportunity. So I wrote a letter back, accepting the job. Now to break it to Peter. I didn’t want to leave him, I really didn’t. But to find a job like this? With the way I look? Impossible. As simple as that.

I waited for Charles’ response letter, since he’s agreed to pay for my travels to New York. The letter held all the important flight information and at that moment the situation really sunk in. I kept reading the letter over and over again. Then suddenly the paper was out of my hands and in the speedsters who laid on my bed like it was his own house. 

I rubbed my arm awkwardly as he read the letter over. I couldn’t meet his eyes once they left the paper and fell onto me.

“You’re leaving?” He questioned. 

“Yeah,” I nodded, shuffling my feet awkwardly. “I wanted to tell you earlier, but I wasn’t 100% sure and I was waiting for this letter and-”

“I get it,” He nodded. “I’m happy for you.”

“I could ask if you could work there too,” I offered, I could tell this was hurting him, maybe even more than it hurt me.

“I still have to look after my family,” Peter shrugged. I could tell he was hiding his emotions, or at least trying to, and at that moment I felt like the worst person on Earth. I know things will smooth over once feelings settle, but it still hurts at this moment. I nodded, understanding he may need his space for a bit. 

I didn’t see him much after that. Now that we didn’t have school, it’s not like I could just run into him. It hurt. The fact that I was leaving tomorrow and he hadn’t said a peep to me since he found out. I rechecked my suitcases for the umpteenth time. I had as much clothing as I could pack, I had everything I thought was too important to leave. My mom said she’ll hold on to the things I had to leave behind and send anything I may want. 

As if my wishes were granted, Peter appeared in my room. Any snarky remark I could come up with left my brain as he stared at my suitcases. 

“Hey,” I whispered, happy that I’ll get to say goodbye at least. 

“So tomorrow’s the big day huh,” He replied with a cracking smile. I frowned as he tried to hold himself together. I didn’t say a word, instead I opted to just hug him. I felt like crying, but instead I just held him tight. Who knows if I’ll see him again after this. 

“I’m sorry,” I muttered, squeezing him tighter.

“You have nothing to apologize for,” He muttered back, holding me just as tight. “I’m glad you found somewhere where you’ll be accepted. Just don’t forget little old me back in DC.”

“I could never forget you,” I chuckled lightly. “Keep in touch, yeah?”

“Of course,” Peter agreed, a genuine grin finally appearing. For the rest of the day we hung out, trying to savor what was left of our time in DC together. I felt like a weight was lifted off me that day. 

When I boarded the plane, I was first astonished at the fact that I was flying first class. Second, when I looked out the window I noticed that a certain silver haired man was waving at me. My jaw went slack for a second, trying to hide my laughter as one of the luggage loaders was trying to go after him. I waved back, already missing him. 

Hank greeted me once I got off the flight. He helped with my bags and drove us to the school. I couldn’t help but gape in awe at the size. Hank gave me a brief tour. We ran into Charles and he welcomed me to the school. I was surprised to find him in a wheelchair but didn’t comment on it. Why would I? Hank then showed me my new room and helped me with my suitcases. He then went on to describe my job, since I couldn’t be a teacher, I would be a staff member, kind of like a hall monitor in a way. 

Hey, I'm not complaining. I never really was good at talking to people. Hank left me alone as I started to unpack. The room was medium sized, so it wasn’t hard to find a spot for everything. I fell onto my new bed, deciding to rest my eyes after a long trip.

I didn’t see Peter for a long time after that. And our reunion was under unfortunate circumstances. One minute I’m scolding a kid for running down the hall and accidentally hurting another student, then I’m standing outside, Peter standing right next to me. 

“Wow,” He breathed out while putting his goggles on top of his head. 

“Where did you…” Hank stuttered, out of breath. 

“I was looking for the professor,” Peter explained. “I thought he lived here.” 

“They took him,” Hank said with wide eyes. I looked over at him with worry. 

First the school explodes and now Charles is gone? Taken apparently. And all of a sudden Peter freaking Maximoff is standing right next to me. It was a lot to take in. Our attention was brought to Raven, who was in her natural form. I didn’t know how to feel, on one hand I was happy that the kids could finally meet their role model, on the other, I knew how uncomfortable Raven must feel at the moment. If I could change the way I look in a moment's notice, I’d do it as well. 

“They look up to you,” Hank spoke up. “Right now, they need you.”

“That’s not what they need,” Raven replied, changing back into her go to human form. 

Suddenly one of Charles’ cars pulls up and a group of teens pile out. I recognized them to be Scott, Jean, Kurt, and Jubilee. 

“What happened?” Scott panicked. “Where’s Alex? Where’s my brother?”

“Pretty sure I got everybody,” Peter shrugged, looking around. 

“Alex was closest to the blast,” Hank spoke to Peter, and I could feel my heart sink. 

Scott booked it towards the rubble, Jean and Kurt not too far behind. I rubbed my arm awkwardly as Hank looked away. 

Peter turned towards me, “I…”

I walked over to Peter and pulled him into a giant hug, “It’s been so long!”

Peter hugged me back even tighter, “So, you didn’t forget little ol me?”

“How could I?” I asked, pulling back to reveal my teasing grin. “How could I forget the dumbest person I’ve ever known.”

“Ouch.”

Suddenly helicopters flew in, an announcement going off on repeat, “Please remain calm, medical assistance is on the way.”

My gut was telling me something was off about this. I mean cops never show up this quickly…

When the helicopter landed, army men filed out holding strange looking guns. 

“Hey!” Charles’ friend called out, waving her arm. “Moira McTaggert! CIA! Thank god you’re here.”

Peter, Hank, and I walked closer to the men. I couldn’t help the growing anxiety that filled me. If they were here to assist us medically…then why did they look ready to be violent?

“Wait!” Raven shouted from behind us and we turned around. And then everything went black. 

A scream startled me awake, and I bolted upright, looking around. I groggily watched as Peter scrambled backwards towards me, helping me up and holding me close to him. 

“What?” Raven asked.

“What’s wrong with you?” Peter asked, freaked out. “Is that going to happen to all of us?”

I swatted Peter’s arm with a light scowl on my face. I’ve only seen Hank in his beast form once before, and I could tell he was freaking out, so I just continued on like nothing happened. I could tell that he was insecure about his mutation, I mean, I am as well. So I understand the feeling.

“No I just,” Hank swatted his hand in the air. “Left my meds in the house.”

“What happened?” Moira asked. “Where are we?”

I also noticed that we were in a cell-like room with green lights surrounding us. The green lights would be cool if we weren’t here against our will. I finally noticed a window near the ceiling with a man, the same man from the helicopter watching us.

“Hey!” Raven shouted out, walking closer to the window.

“Hello, Mystique,” The man spoke. 

“Major Stryker,” Raven greeted.

“Colonel Stryker,” He corrected. “I wouldn’t get too close to the wall if I were you. It may create some discomfort.”

“I’m Moira Mctaggert,” Moira spoke, walking forward next to Raven. “I’m a senior officer at the CIA.”

“I know who you are, Agent Mctaggert,” Stryker said condescendingly. 

“You cannot keep me here, in this…” Moira trailed off. 

“Actually I can,” Stryker replied. “A psychic event just destroyed every nuke from here to Moscow. That event emanated from exactly where we found you. At the home of the world’s most powerful psychic. So you are going to tell me, where is Charles Xaviar?”

“It’s not him you should be worried about,” Moira said, and I looked over at her in concern. “There’s someone else. Someone more powerful.”

I’ve only heard the stories of Charles’ powers. He was humble about it, but when you work with kids, rumors spread. So hearing that someone could be more powerful than him was terrifying.

“If you let us out of here, we can help you,” Raven tried to bargain. 

“Do you really expect me to believe that?” Stryker asked. “You can put on any face you want, but I know who you are. What you are.” The man walked off after his rude little rant. 

I turned to look back at the others and Hank broke the silence, “Hey, Moira, um…what did you mean when you said someone more powerful than Charles?”

Moira looked off to the side and I noticed how Peter walked over to Raven. I joined him, not wanting to be on my own.

“You know him?” Peter asked her. “Magneto?”

“I used to,” Raven said. “Not so sure anymore.” 

“What was he like?” Peter continued. I shifted slightly, knowing that Erik was a sensitive topic with Charles and Hank. Knowing that Charles would mention Raven, I figured he may be a sensitive topic for her too. “Was he uh…like they say he was? Was he…the bad guy?”

“No,” Raven said without hesitation. “I mean, yeah. He was…”

“Why do you care so much?” She asked in a defensive tone. “You see his speech on t.v. or something?”

“Yeah, but, uh…” Peter trailed off, clearing his throat awkwardly. “He’s my father.”

“What?” Raven asked in great surprise. I looked at Peter in surprise as well. I know he tended to hide his feelings and thoughts when they ended up being meaningful, but I’m surprised that he kept something that big from me! Normally we tell each other everything over time.

“He and my mom,” Peter started, and I quickly grabbed his wrist when he lifted it, knowing what he was going to do. He glanced at me before finishing, “They did it.” 

“No, I know…” Raven sighed. “Are you sure?”

“Yeah,” He confirmed. “He left my mom before I was born. I met him 10 years back with (n/n), but we didn’t know it was him. By the time I figured it out, it was too late. Then, this week I saw him on T.V. again, and I came to that house, looking for him…but by the time I got there…late again. For a guy who moves as fast as me, I always seem to be too late.”

Peter said it like a joke, but I could hear the hurt in the bottom of his tone. I noticed that I was still holding onto his wrist, and deciding to ignore the flustering emotions I felt swoosh through me, I decided to try something I haven’t done before with really anyone. I lowered my hand and held onto his, squeezing it lightly, brushing my thumb over the back of his hand. 

“Let’s hope not this time,” Raven replied. 

Peter looked towards me for a few seconds, “Yeah.” 

Charles’ voice suddenly rang out into my head, “Hear me inhabitants of this world. This is a message. A message to every man, woman, and mutant in the world. You have lost your way. But I have returned. The day of reckoning is here. All your buildings…all of your towers and temples…will fall. And the dawn of the new age will rise, for there is nothing you can do…to stop what is coming. This message is for one reason alone. To tell the strongest among you…those with the greatest power…protect those without.”

“How was Charles doing that without Cerebro?” Hank asked, looking super confused.

“I know that voice,” Stryker suddenly spoke to us once more. “It’s Xaviar, isn’t it? What’s going on?”

“We don’t know!” Raven shouted in frustration.

“We don’t know bro!” Peter backed up. I simply shrugged my shoulders. Stryker walked away, clearly frustrated. 

Peter sighed and looked towards me. I could tell he was starting to get antsy just standing around. Especially when he started swinging our still intertwined hands. I raised an eyebrow at him and he just wiggled his eyebrows back. I rolled my eyes, but I couldn’t stop the smile that found its way onto my face. It was quickly wiped off my face when alarms started blaring, startling me into covering my ears with my hands, Peter never letting go so it was kinda awkward. 

Peter let go of my hand and wrapped his arm around in me instead, which allowed me to cover my ears properly. We all stared up at the men scrambling around. 

“What are they doing?” Moira asked worriedly. 

“What’s going on?” Hank questioned. 

Our gazes turned even more concerned as the men started to back up with their arms in the air. The sound of gunshots rang even through the, what I’m assuming is soundproof, room. We all ran towards the wall that held the window so we would be hidden, Peter tugging me gently closer to him. On any other day that would cause my heart to beat faster, but my heart was beating faster for a whole different reason. 

Once everything went silent again, we backed up, trying to see as much as we could. Only to find Kurt running into view. He kept trying to speak to us, but we couldn’t hear him. I pointed at my ear and shook my head, trying to communicate that we couldn’t hear him. Kurt looked down and pressed something. 

“Stay away from the…” Kurt cut out. 

“What?” We asked. 

“The do-” Kurt cut out again. “Stay away from the…”

“Get away from the door!” She shouted as we all scrambled away. I tugged Peter harshly as I ran to the wall. 

“On three!” Kurt shouted. “One…two…”

The door exploded and Peter shielded my body, holding me close to his chest. I knew that once this was over, I’d look back on this moment, but I was currently too occupied to deal with any romantic feelings. Although I did enjoy the feeling of being close to him. We rushed to the door to see Jean and Scott.

Jean spoke quickly, “We know where the professor is.”

“I think we might have a way out of here,” Scott chipped in.

“Well you’ve been busy,” Raven commented.

“We had a little help,” Scott replied. “Let’s go!”

They started running and we followed. It was brought to my attention once again that Peter was still holding my hand due to how sweaty my hand felt. I felt embarrassed because I could feel myself sweat due to the running I was currently participating in. Kurt joined us, which scared Scott, but my train of thought was cut off shortly when we entered a hangar. It was filled with huge jets. Raven found flight suits and told us to put them on. Peter gave me a wink as he put his on and I just rolled my eyes. We all entered the jet and took our seats. It was quiet at first, the only sound was Peter chewing and popping his gum. I kept my gaze down at my lap as I thought about what we were heading into.

That was it, we had no idea. And who likes the unknown? No one, it’s something everyone fears whether they’ll admit it or not. I fidgeted with my hands, many scenarios running through my head. I didn’t know much of the situation, everything has been hitting me nonstop, giving me no time to think. Peter knew about just as much as me. I can guess what’s happening, but nothing is definite. Charles was taken, which is common knowledge. Now we’re heading to Cairo, Egypt. So I’m assuming that’s where he is. Everyone also seems prepared to fight, we’ll probably be attacking whoever took Charles. But who were they? What can they do? Will my powers even be useful? 

Not too long ago Charles, Hank and I found out I could do more than just summon and manipulate fire. I could also summon a beast. It seemed to be a hellhound. It was a bit bigger than a wolf, its fur as black as charcoal, its eyes a beady red. It huffed out fire when it snarled. And it was honestly the cutest goddamn thing in the world, to me at least. I named it Ammit, after the Egyptian God. Very fitting in this situation, I know. Although my powers furthered my image of a demon, I couldn’t help but embrace it. I mean Ammit was always so sweet to me, how could I say no to a companion?

“Were you scared?” Jean asked, looking towards Raven. “That day in D.C., were you scared?”

“No,” Raven spoke without hesitation once again. She then noticed how anxious we all looked and continued, “But I was scared on my first mission. I was on a plane like this with my friends. About your age.” 

She looked at us all before continuing, “We called ourselves the X-Men. Your brother was there. We used to call him Havok. He was a real handful…but when it came down to it, he was very brave.”

“What happened to the rest of the kids?” Kurt asked, and I had a feeling it wasn’t gonna be a happy ending. “Who went with you? The X-Men?”

“Hank and I are the only ones left,” Raven said solemnly. “I couldn’t save the rest of them. I told you, I’m not a hero.”

“Well, you’re a hero to us,” Jean said sternly. “Seeing you that day on t.v. changed my life.”

Kurt chimed in, “Mine too.”

“Mine too,” Peter joined. “I still live in my mom's basement but, you know…everything else is uh…oh it’s pretty much the same.” Peter chuckled, “I’m a total loser.” 

Everyone laughed with him, but I swatted his arm gently and gave him a glare while whispering, “What did I say about you making yourself the butt of the joke.”

He looked me in the eye and I noticed him clench his hands from the corner of my eye. I inched my hand closer to him, the nerves I had before suddenly vanishing. He seemed to notice the motion and shifted his fist closer to me. I sucked in a breath and put my hand over his fist, which made him relax. I couldn’t help but stare at how the red pigment of my skin clashed with his pale skin, but I think we fit perfectly together. But that may be my old crush on him coming back full force. 

“7th wonder, 12 o’clock,” Hank said, breaking the little world I was stuck in with Peter. 

Raven stood up and looked out the front windshield, and when I looked out there from my seat I felt my jaw drop. Metal was flying through the air and buildings were on fire and crumbling. In the middle was a giant pyramid, made out of newer looking materials. 

“He has the professor in the center of the pyramid,” Jean spoke, breathing heavily. “He’s going to transfer his consciousness into the professor. If he does that…he’ll have the power to control every mind in the world.” 

I felt my breath quicken at the sudden information. I looked around at everyone in slight panic, now being fully brought into the situation. I knew it was bad, but not the end of the world bad. Peter also seemed to be a bit panicked and held my hand fully, intertwining our fingers. 

“What the hell is that?” Moira asked as we passed by a giant sphere made of flowing scrap metal.

“It’s Erik,” Raven specified. Peter sped to stand behind Hank and I couldn’t help but let out a gasp as I felt him woosh past me. Raven looked at all of us before coming up with a plan, “You guys help Nightcrawler get into the pyramid. Get Charles. I’ll take care of Erik.”

“How are we gonna get through that?” Hank asked.

“I can get you in there,” Peter spoke up, looking towards Raven. “I came here for him. Let me help you.” 

Raven nodded before continuing, “The rest of you, get Charles on this plane and get him out of here.”

“We’re not leaving without you!” Kurt exclaimed. 

“Don’t worry, we’ll catch up,” Peter said, winking at me. I looked away, trying not to show him how his stupid joke amused me even in the slightest. 

“Hold on,” Hank said, landing the jet. Once he landed, we all exited.

“Hank, you go with the kids,” Raven ordered. “Moira will stay with the plane.”

“Wait,” Scott spoke up before I could say anything.

“What?” Raven asked.

“Not all of us can fully control our powers,” Scott pointed out.

“Then don’t,” She replied. “You need to embrace them, we all do.” With that said, she turned into her true form. 

Everyone smiled, but I looked to the side, wishing I didn’t have to ruin the moment, “Excuse me, but should someone stay behind with Moira? I mean…I don’t want to just sit on the side and do nothing, but when it comes to mutants she doesn’t really have a way to defend herself…”

Raven nodded in understanding, “Then you can stay behind with Moira and keep the plane safe.” 

I nodded and Peter took off with Raven, the others ran off not much later. I made my way back to the jet, but decided to stay outside. I had a better view around me. I kept a vigilant eye on the surroundings, pacing around the jet slowly. Though no one seemed to be targeting the jet, which I can understand. Their priority was to keep Charles in the pyramid. 

Though the more time passed, the more I fell into thought. My mind couldn’t help but wander, and of course it ended up with Peter and I’s relationship. It’s always been…unique, to say the least. 

It started off innocent enough. I was put as his tutor, my homeroom teacher really cared about Peter, and didn’t want to see him failing. I agreed reluctantly, for the sole reason of not wanting to disappoint the teacher. Which turned into a friendship full of teasing. It was fun, happy. Then it grew, and we opened up to each other more. Our trust in each other was stronger than anything you could even think of comparing. This led to romantic feelings growing in me. Mere attraction turned into something stronger. But then came the crash of the job opportunity that I didn’t hesitate taking. And everything we built seemed to fall apart, burning too fast to even count as unraveling. Now, everything we had seemed to slowly rebuild itself, better and brighter than before. Bolder. It made me nervous. But not exactly the bad kind. It made me hopeful for what we may have in the future. 

“(Y/n)!” I heard my name be called from inside the jet. I scrambled into the jet and jumped back as Kurt and Hank were sprawled across the floor in front of me due to Kurt’s teleportation. 

“Let’s go!” Hank exclaimed as the door behind me shut. Moira and Hank quickly work the jet off the ground. I noticed that Scott was already on the jet as was Jean and Charles. I took a seat, not wanting to get thrown around. Only hoping that Raven and Peter were going to be alright on their own. 

That worry was gone as soon as the sound of thuds on the top of the jet sounded. Then a purple laser sword (?) stuck through the top, cutting the top of the jet.

“Kurt,” Jean said. “Everyone, grab hold of Nightcrawler!”

“I’ve never done it with this many people,” Kurt said, expressing his worry. 

“Get us out of here,” Jean commanded. 

Everyone took a hold of him, and I reached for his shoulder, not wanting to get left behind. A guy with metal wings jumped into the jet and I felt myself slightly panic, but I knew better than to let that get to me. Jean made the jet fly straight down, giving Kurt more time. He struggled to teleport, but ended up doing it just in the nick of time. 

I grunted in pain as I rolled away from the group, breathing heavily. 

“Is he okay?” Scott asked as Kurt was passed out.

“It’s his energy,” Jean explained. “He’s drained.” 

“Get out,” Charles spoke out. 

Jean was at his side in a moment's notice, “Professor it’s okay. You’re with us.” Opening his eyes, he looked around. Jean helped him lean against a wall as Hank tended to Kurt. I made my way to a window, peeking over the edge to keep a lookout.

“Show yourself!” A creepy voice shouted out. “Charles! Show yourself!” 

Then I saw a man with bluish gray skin that donned armor. So that must be the man causing all this chaos. It was almost like I could feel his power radiate off him. But my attention was quickly grabbed as I saw a silver blur move back and forth, the armored man flying through the air like a ragdoll. I felt a mix of proudness and fear flow through me, the thought of Peter getting hurt flashing through my mind.

This fear seemed to come to fruition as our enemy used the dirt to hold Peter in place, speaking in a condescending tone, “Foolish child.” 

Then he grabbed Peter’s arm, twisting it, only to break his free leg. I let out a choked gasp, tears quickly springing to my eyes as Peter let out the most guttural scream I’ve ever heard. It was like that hurt went straight through my heart. He kept crying out in pain and I was about to run out at that very moment. But one of the guys’ teammates came out, and I knew better than to run out and kill us both. I’ll wait for my moment to get that fucker.

He grabbed Peter by his hair and lifted his head up, making me clench my fists in anger. I would’ve pierced my skin with my sharp nails had it not been for my thicker skin. Though I failed to notice the flames that started to engulf them. 

“End him,” The bastard said. 

The woman flipped her sword and I closed my eyes, not being able to watch a person I love die in such a dastardly way. Suddenly, I heard the woman gasping and I opened an eye, expecting the worst, only to see the armored guy's neck cut, and the woman being choked by him. His wound quickly healed, and the woman revealed to be Raven as he lifted her up. 

“The great hero,” The bastard spoke, like he had any right. He dropped Raven as she passed out.

That was it, I ran outside without a second thought, hiding behind some rubble. I drew a symbol in the sand, pricking a finger with my nail and watching as the sigil lit up, and Ammit rose from fire. He was an immortal beast straight from hell, so I didn’t hesitate to send him out to battle. I knew Ammit had my back, so I ran out to Peter, trying to find a way to get him out and to safety. 

The fear in Peter’s eyes hurt, “What are you doing here? Get out while you can!”

“And leave you behind?” I asked, my voice cracking. “Now why in the hell would I do that?”

The look in Peter’s eyes was something I’ve never witnessed before, an emotion I couldn’t put my finger on, but I was distracted when I heard a whimper from behind me. Turning around, I used my body as a barrier as I stared at the damage this monster did to my babies. First Peter, and now Ammit? I snarled, bearing my fangs as I saw Ammit a bloody mess, disappearing in a cloud of black smoke. I threw my hands up, fire bursting out, trying to keep him away from Peter at the very least. He just stood in it, not hurting him a bit. He walked towards me, and I tried to throw a flaming punch, but he caught my fist. 

I’ve never felt as feeble as I did at that moment. Not even when my mutation showed. He stared me in the eyes and snarled, punching me so hard I thought I astral projected. I was knocked to the ground and the Earth enclosed me. 

“(Y/n)!” Peter shouted in desperation. I felt my breath quicken, panicking since I couldn’t move my arms, or head even. All I could see was the sky, as my face was the only thing not encased. Tears quickly sprung from my eyes as I tried to move, wiggle, just get some movement in.

“You are feeble,” The monster spat. “Just like the others. Charles! Come! Rescue your weaklings! Give your life for theirs!”

I was trying to pay attention, but my claustrophobia was getting the better of me, so I just tried to focus on my breathing. Something, anything to take my mind away from the current situation. Especially since it wasn’t looking so good. I closed my eyes, trying to imagine I was somewhere, anywhere but here. 

The feeling of Earth crumbling around me made me open my eyes only to come eye to eye with Hank carrying Raven on his back and Peter on his side. He pulled me out of my mini grave and I took Peter from him so he didn’t have as much weight to carry. Hank and I rested them on some rubble, making sure they were safe, before we both nodded at each other and ran back to battle. 

I watched in awe as Erik kept pushing metal into the monster's force field. Scott shoots his beams at him as well. Hank tried to jump at him, but was tossed aside. I focused on all my anger, hatred, and any other negative emotion that was eating at me, and shot out flames, the most powerful I have ever created. I snarled as he threw Scott back in his moment of weakness. Next he went after Erik, but Jean came out of nowhere, walking on air. Suddenly a burst of flames burst out behind her, resembling wings. The monster was quickly brought out of his forcefield and seemed to be falling apart. Hope began to fill me, and I pushed harder, trying to make my flames even hotter. Erik pinned him down with metal, allowing me to get closer. Scott was back in the scene, providing even more support. 

His forcefield appeared once more, and I heard Hank mutter something about getting away. Suddenly a woman came in, helping us out by shooting lightning down and ridding him of his forcefield once more. Suddenly he started to disintegrate, mumbling some mumbo jumbo, but I didn’t care. Too focused on keeping my attack going, as I could feel myself get dizzy from how long I was doing my attack. And just like that, it was like he didn’t even exist.

I felt close to collapsing, but I wouldn’t let myself, not until I checked up on Peter. I stumbled back to him, finally falling once he was in front of me. I let out a huff, putting a hand on my head, closing my eyes to try and make the world stop spinning. 

“I always said you were hot,” Peter’s voice pierced the air. “But you still manage to blow me away.”

I let out a dry laugh, “I can’t tell if you’re hitting on me, or making an observation of my powers.”

“Kinda the point,” Peter chuckled out breathily. “Maybe it’s a mix of both.”

I felt my heart flutter and I opened my eyes to look at him, his gaze once again filled with an emotion I couldn’t seem to figure out. 

“You’re hurt,” I muttered, not being able to actually look at his injury. 

“So are you.”

“Not like you are.”

On the way to the wreckage of the mansion, Peter got a cast put on at a hospital, then let us leave as long as we promised to come in for check ups. Then when we got back, Erik and Jean put the mansion back together. Everyone stood around amazed at the power they held. I stood next to Peter. Ororo, as I learned, stood on his other side.

“Mystique told me he is your father,” She said. “Are you going to tell him?”

“I might…” Peter trailed off. “One day. I think for now, I’m just gonna stick around here for a while.” Peter put on his dorky sunglasses and turned to look at me with a giant smile. I smiled back at him, happy that our duo was back together. 

“Me too,” Ororo agreed, and I couldn’t be more happy to make a new friend.

That was the start of the X-Men once more. 

“Forget everything you think you know,” Raven said sternly. “Whatever lessons you learned in school…whatever lessons your parents taught you. None of that matters! You’re not kids anymore. You’re not students. You’re X-Men.” 

With that, our training started. But not everything was business. 

“What’s with the sweater?” Peter asked, raising an eyebrow while eating a twinkie. Some things never change. 

“What’s with the silver…everything?” I retorted. “Are you jealous of how good my fashion is?”

“No,” He said, glancing down once more at my oversized knit green sweater. Suddenly a glorious idea popped into my head.

I took off the sweater, revealing the white button up I was wearing under it. I tossed it to Peter, getting up and finding the green cardigan I owned that matched the sweater.

“Go change,” I ordered Peter. “I’d offer you the button up but I don’t think it’d fit you.”

“Wha-” Peter mumbled, clearly surprised. 

“Go on, I need to change too,” I said, shooing him out of my room. 

“Okay, okay,” Peter surrendered, putting his hands up and walking out of my room backwards. 

I put on a beige shirt and threw the cardigan over it. I looked in the mirror and messed with my hair a bit before nodding in satisfaction. Opening my room door, Peter was already changed into the sweater and even changed his pants so it would match the look. I smiled proudly, putting my hands on my hips. 

“Now we match,” I grinned brightly. 

Who knew that the great, flirty Peter Maximoff could be made speechless. It seems that I’ve done the impossible as his face turned a dark red. I couldn’t help but admire the tint that found its way onto him, but hid my admiration when Peter flipped his hair back.

“O-of course you’d want to show me off to everyone,” Peter stumbled over his words slightly. “But why don’t you take me out to dinner first?”

For some reason, seeing Peter in my clothes made me feel more confident, “Okay, 7pm tomorrow night?” I gave him a wink, probably looked really forced but I’ll just have to work on it. This seemed to have made him even more flustered and I patted myself on the back for a job well done. 

“Seriously?” He whispered out. And suddenly, my confidence left me. I felt myself fluster at the situation I got me in, but I nodded my head in agreement.

“Yeah,” I agreed. “If you’re serious, that is.”

Suddenly I was pulled into a hug. A smile tugged at my lips as I hugged him back. I felt him set a kiss to the top of my head before pulling away. He kept an arm around my shoulders and walked the two of us out into one of the living areas. Which so happened to have Jean, Scott, Kurt, and Jubilee. 

Jean and Jubilee looked at each other with knowing glances while Scott just raised an eyebrow in confusion. 

“What’s going on here?” Scott asked cheekily.

“Someone’s got himself a date,” Peter replied smugly. 

“Matching outfits already?” Jean spoke up. “And I thought Scott and I were bad.”

“Hey!”

“I-” I stumbled. “Those two things weren’t planned.” 

“Not what she meant,” Jubilee murmured, and I shrunk into Peter’s side. 

“I’m so happy for you!” Kurt exclaimed happily. 

I may look different. I may have the powers of a demon. People may fear me. But that’s not what matters. I have people who care for me. I have people who will take care of me. And most importantly, I have Peter, the love of  my life. Who could ask for anything more?

[stickeykeys]

SHIFTING TO MARAUDERS ERA: FACE CLAIMS

schooling | profile | face claims | lifa app | relationships | places of residence

to the lovely anon that requested this chapter, thank you!!! ily &lt;3

but okay, so my face claims list is very very long for this dr, but i'll paste screenshots of it here!

if you're wondering who aadarshini, aanya, benjamin, lavinia and inez are - they're all oc's of mine! i wanted to include more indian wizarding families, so i decided to take matters into my own hands.

↳ The Patil Family

the patil's are the family that the patil twins are born to (and because the patil's are pakistani in my dr, the twins are pakistani/tamil). benjamin is in the same year as the marauders at hogwarts and is close friends with james and i. this is mostly because the indian wizarding community in britain is small so most of us all know each other anyways. lavinia is the oldest, basically the school's golden girl. she's so smart and educated. inez is the youngest of the patil's and is the school's cinnamon roll. it's impossible to hate her! ben's the class clown that is submitting his assignments at 11:59:59. they're all members of gryffindor house, it basically runs in their blood.

↳ The Viswanathan Family

the viswanathan's are an entirely oc based family that i made up. they're a tamil wizarding family (much like us potters in my dr). they have two kids, aadarshini and adya who are three years apart. aadarshini who often goes by darsh or addy, is in the same year as the marauders and i. consequently, adya is three years younger than us. aadarshini is a ravenclaw and adya is a proud hufflepuff.

The three families often meet up for various events throughout the year and are incredibly close knit. We all celebrate Diwali together. James and Ben are often stuck in the middle of five teenage girls, which is a nightmare for them because together we can be very devious >:)

Eventually, Aadarishini and Benjamin get married at some point in the future and have the Patil twins (Padma and Parvati).

---

i also had some headcanons written about peter, because he's so underrated!! yes i know, canonically he did horrible horrible things. but in my dr voldemort doesn't exist, and peter is a CINNAMON roll, i love him. we're besties <3 so here you go! some pettigrew family backstory from my dr (copied and pasted directly from my script 😭):

↳ The Pettigrew Family

Peter Pettigrew grew up in the quiet suburbs of England with his mother and sister. His father walked out of their life when the siblings were still young, Peter’s memory of his Father is rather suppressed, and his younger sister Amelia barely remembers him at all. Peter was always a mother’s boy, and often refrains himself from getting into too much mischief, but of course with highschool comes peer pressure but the guilt of his first ever detention haunts him, and he’s refused to ever get into something that bad since. He’d rather sit it out with Mary or Remus than be involved in anything that could hurt someone else. Amelia Pettigrew is two years younger than Peter, the siblings are very very close - and Peter takes much care in making his sister happy. Amelia is a shy Hufflepuff, but character development is good to her and eventually she learns to stand her ground.

[showtoonzfan]

Looks like they revealed the “redesigns” of Vox, Velvet, and Val. The only one who changed is clearly Velvet, Vox and Val are exactly the same except they’re simplified. It is disappointing, I never liked Vox’s design, (he looks too much like Alastor and his design is very boring honestly) and Val isn’t bad but…he never looked much like a moth either, he could have looked better but these are just personal nitpicks of mine. The only positive thing I have to say is that I am glad they changed Velvet’s outfit. Before I didn’t like her design because she looked nothing like a “social media” character, more like a clown Melina Martinez (I know I spelled that wrong) rip off lol. This is certainly better than before in my opinion, but ugh, the stripes, Vivzie what is it with you and the stocking stripes?? Anyway, for those who have seen the Hazbin leaks, this is VERY similar to how Velvet looked in her picture, except she had her hair in a bun and now it’s different here. She’s still wearing the same blue scarf thing and skull, so this kinda leaves me to believe that those leaks are real, however don’t quote me on that, we’re not 100% sure of course. However, I will definitely review the leaks, later lol.

With that out of the way, again…would have been easier if they drew the characters STANDING UP, so we can see their full bodies. Like how hard is that??? But anyway, on the subject of the three V’s, I should say that I’m DEFINITELY worried for the villains of the show. I feel like I’m going to have trouble taking some of Vivzie’s villain characters seriously, because I have the feeling most of them will just be edgy swearing “middle school bully”- style villains, ESPECIALLY Vox, who I 100% believe his rivalry with Alastor will just be similar to Blitz and Fizz’s rivalry, where they’re just throwing petty childish insults at each-other lmao. When it comes to Val, I honestly have no interest in him because we all know what his character is ganna be, the abusive jackass controlling Pimp who says lines like “I own you” “you’re nothing without me”- basically every abusive pimp or boyfriend character that you’ve seen ever. He’s kinda just a tool so the writers can have something bad happen to Angel dust to make him look like a helpless baby, so yeah I’m not excited to see Val nor do I care about him. Don’t really care for Vox either, and as for Velvet, we don’t know anything about her, she’ll be lucky if Viv gives her focus and development since she’s a female amongst two popular male characters lol. I expect her to kinda just be a Harley Quinn/Nifty knockoff, but I dunno we’ll have to wait and see. That’s all I have to say for these designs, I will say that I wonder if Vox even appears in season 1, because Viv had mentioned in a livestream once that he doesn’t appear until “way later” in the show. I certainly hope that Viv doesn’t try to cram in a shitload of enemies and problems in the first season (since she DEFINITELY did that with Helluva and look how THAT turned out) but again, we’ll have to wait and see. I certainly wonder who’s next.

[the-obnoxious-sibling]

birthday countdown 2024, day 3: timer au snippet

the birthday countdown continues with another snippet that has nothing to do with clown pirates! (this one is anime-adjacent, though.) i’ve vagueposted about this fic enough times, i might as well see if anyone would be interested in actually reading it. mob psycho friends, for you today i have a bit of serizawa pov on a serirei soulmate timer au (based more heavily on the worldbuilding in the TiMER movie than most aus of this type) that i’ve been poking at for a year or two; this section features a lot of classmate OCs and absolutely no reigen, but i hope you like it anyway:

“Inoue, Ishii—you young people should have the opportunity to live as you please.”  The housewives joined in, and soon enough cash had been pooled to pay for both young people to get a TiMER.  In the face of such encouragement they had to agree, and soon Ishii was looking up the closest TiMER store open this late into the evening, while Inoue begged others to join them. “If it’s just the two of us, they’ll think we’re dating and hoping for one of those thirty-second matches,” he said with wide-eyed horror.  “I couldn’t bear the pressure!  Please,” he turned on Nakamura, “don’t you want the satisfaction of knowing your shitty ex never deserved you?”  Glancing between Serizawa and two of the ex-cons who’d agreed with his priorities, Inoue said, “Even if you don’t want to seek them out just yet, don’t you think your soulmate has the right to know that you exist?” Serizawa swallowed around a lump in his throat.  He thought, suddenly, of Reigen, who didn’t date, who didn’t talk about exes… who was, in an understated way, quite lonely.  Serizawa had never looked close enough at his wrist on the rare occasion it was bare to notice whether his TiMER was blank or counting down, but he suddenly felt certain that Reigen was one of those blank-faced masses, waiting for someone, somewhere, to think, I want to meet you.  I want to love you someday.

(1.5k below the cut)

Thinking back, it all only happened because Serizawa’s civics teacher left her dinner at home one night.

The teacher was a few minutes into the night's lecture on the impact of foreign nations on the economy when her son knocked at the door with a furoshiki-wrapped bento in hand.  She was embarrassed, some of Serizawa’s classmates were teasing her, her son was really eating it up… it was a sweet moment.  The sort of thing that made Serizawa glad he’d decided to go for his high school equivalency through courses rather than cram school.

Then the teacher’s son bowed, gave them all his best wishes, and cast his eyes across the room as he made his way to leave.

BI-BI-BEEP.  BI-BI-BEEP.  BI-BI-BEEP.

A handful of students gasped, but most of the room went silent as the teacher’s son and a student in her twenties seated near the back of the room startled and checked their wrists.  Even Serizawa found himself craning his neck, trying to get a closer look.  An excited energy filled the room as the pair gave each other a curious second look.

“Really now,” Serizawa’s teacher tsked, glancing over her son’s shoulder.  “I’m never going to get the class to stay on task after that.” She waved a hand dismissively at the lot of them. “Oh, go on, there’s no point in me trying to restore order.  We can afford to lose one class to a bit of celebrating.

“Besides,” she added as people started to cheer, get up, and start gossiping in earnest, “it’s not every day my son meets the love of his life.” Pinching her son’s blushing cheek, she pushed him towards the girl in question and sat down to crack open her bento.

The class broadly split into three groups, after the initial uproar: those who had met their match, those who hadn’t yet, and those who didn’t have a TiMER.  The ones who had were comparing meet-cutes—though to Serizawa’s inexpert ear, they all sounded basically the same: I was in a place, so were they, our eyes met, BI-BI-BEEP.  The ones who hadn’t yet sat with their wrists shown off, comparing countdown times or bemoaning their foolish soulmate who, for whatever reason, had yet to get a TiMER installed.  The last group, the smallest by far, primarily consisted of people who had already been married when TiMERs came on the market, fifteen years or so ago.  Serizawa didn’t meet that criteria exactly, but he’d certainly been… unavailable at the time.  A couple other classmates—divorcées, ex-cons, the boy everyone assumed had been raised in a doomsday cult—were in the same boat, and the mood of the room had them talking about why.

“At this point in my life it would show a lack of faith in my husband,” said one housewife, to nods and murmurs from several others.  “I made a promise to him, and getting a TiMER would tell him I value the possibility of love over that commitment.”

“Besides,” said another, “what if you both got one and immediately matched with each other?  What a waste of time!”

“And money!  Even with the government subsidizing the cost, and offering that big tax credit if you marry and have a child with your match, a TiMER is pretty pricey.”

“That’s why I haven’t gotten one,” one of the younger students in their class—Ishii, who’d been orphaned at a young age and left school to fend for herself at fifteen—confessed. “I just can’t afford it, especially not if I have to wait years to find my match and get that tax credit.”  The doomsday cult boy, Inoue, nodded knowingly.  The housewives made a lot of consoling sounds.

“It’s not that I don’t appreciate what TiMERs mean for the young people,” said Hayashi, a man in his mid-fifties, as he contemplated his bare wrist. “Thanks to the government’s eagerness to encourage the population to be fruitful, and the discrimination lawsuits from people who’d gotten a TiMER in good faith but turned out to have a same-sex match and thus wouldn’t get any of the benefits they’d been promised, we have same-sex marriage in this country, however limited.” He fidgeted with a gleaming gold ring. “But I was already in my Kenji’s koseki by then, and we didn’t want children.  So there's no benefit to us… and if I got a TiMER and it tried to tell me anyone but Kenji was the love of my life, I wouldn’t believe it.  So there’s no point in me getting one.”

“I’m… nearly the opposite, I suppose,” whispered Nakamura, a divorced woman in her late thirties, who was probably the classmate Serizawa admired most.  She’d left her husband under difficult circumstances with virtually no means of supporting herself, as she’d married quite young in lieu of completing her compulsory education.  Now she had plans for a business of her own, once she completed the necessary school equivalencies and got the appropriate licenses.  “I’m afraid a TiMER will tell me I should still be with my ex-husband.”  This earned her cries of disbelief from the housewives.  “I know it’s foolish, surely a person’s soulmate wouldn’t treat them the way that man treated me, but… the way he made me feel when I was young… I still worry.”

Serizawa made a sympathetic sound, flushing a little when he realized he’d drawn the attention of the group to himself.  “Ah… I suppose I haven’t given it much thought,” he said, feeling a bit foolish.  Would it be pathetic to admit he didn’t see the point?  That he’d never even had so much as a crush before, and probably wouldn't know what love felt like without someone telling him? “With everything else I needed to do to reintegrate into society, love just… hasn’t been a priority.”  A few of the ex-cons nodded, understanding.

“If you don’t make love a priority, it won’t be one,” Hayashi said knowingly.

“There are other things worth prioritizing,” Nakamura said, though her smile was a little sad at the edges.

“Yeah, but…” Ishii sighed, resting her chin in her hand and staring off into the distance.  “It would be kinda nice, wouldn’t it?  To know there’s someone out there, waiting for you?”

“Or think of it from their point of view,” Inoue added, looking fretful.  “If your soulmate went the normal route, and got a TiMER when they turned 20, it’s been blank all this time.  They’ve been waiting for you.  Isn’t it cruel to keep them waiting any longer?”

That got the lot of them thinking, Serizawa included.  It was one thing to say well, I don’t know if this is important to me.  It was another to say to whoever it was out there, who had cared enough to spend real money on the possibility of love, you aren’t important to me.  That did seem a bit cruel.

“Mm,” Hayashi nodded to himself.  “That’s how they get you.  The poor, lonesome, blank-faced masses, waiting for you to fork over your hard-earned cash so you can save one of them from their cruel fate.” Inoue crumpled up a piece of paper and threw it at him, and he cackled.  “Far be it from me to tell you how to live your life, boy!  In fact, here,” and at this, Hayashi dug out his wallet and pulled out a couple large bills.  “Inoue, Ishii—you young people should have the opportunity to live as you please.”  The housewives joined in, and soon enough cash had been pooled to pay for both young people to get a TiMER.  In the face of such encouragement they had to agree, and soon Ishii was looking up the closest TiMER store open this late into the evening, while Inoue begged others to join them.

“If it’s just the two of us, they’ll think we’re dating and hoping for one of those thirty-second matches,” he said with wide-eyed horror.  “I couldn’t bear the pressure!  Please,” he turned on Nakamura, “don’t you want the satisfaction of knowing your shitty ex never deserved you?”  Glancing between Serizawa and two of the ex-cons who’d agreed with his priorities, Inoue said, “Even if you don’t want to seek them out just yet, don’t you think your soulmate has the right to know that you exist?”

Serizawa swallowed around a lump in his throat.  He thought, suddenly, of Reigen, who didn’t date, who didn’t talk about exes… who was, in an understated way, quite lonely.  Serizawa had never looked close enough at his wrist on the rare occasion it was bare to notice whether his TiMER was blank or counting down, but he suddenly felt certain that Reigen was one of those blank-faced masses, waiting for someone, somewhere, to think, I want to meet you.  I want to love you someday.

“Alright,” Ishii said, “I’ve found one that’s ten minutes from here and is open until nine.  How many shall I say are coming?”  Inoue, Nakamura, and the two ex-cons raised their hands.  After a moment, so did Serizawa.

Why not?  It was like Inoue had said—it wouldn’t happen right away.  He would have time to get used to the idea.

[steel--fairy]

Hmmmmm, how about Barry? For the verse character thing.

barry! my very first rival! though i went with one of his other generic names and picked like. tyson for whatever reason. idk. 9 year old me was an enigma.

anyways that's to say, he has a special place in my heart the silly little kiddo

under a cut bc this, again, got super long

so to start with barry, we need to start with palmer. he and chryssas dad (henceforth referred to as cd since he doesn't have an actual name yet...) were both from twinleaf and dreamed of becoming great trainers.

and they did! palmer made it to the champion level, though being champion bored him so he quit after a bit. when plans to build a battle frontier in sinnoh popped up, he jumped at the chance to join.

cd eventually became a ranger which he was good at, but killed him in a freak accident. a lot of turbulent emotions for palmer--his best friend died the same week his son was born.

that's all relevant because it led to barry being childhood friends with chryssa and lucas whenever his dad was around... and then chased off by johanna whenever he was at the battle frontier.

cd's death shattered johanna and she partly blamed palmer. she'd never say that to his face, but she did kinda take it out on barry as a proxy.

as a result, barry had a weird time with his best friend (lucas). they could only spend time together at school or when johanna wasn't looking.

barry, despite his extroversion, was a very lonely kid. he couldn't see lucas that often and both of his parents worked busy schedules. palmer spent 5 days of the week at the battle frontier while his mom (who I should really also name) was a teacher who was constantly busy.

he had a lot of trouble making friends at school. he was a bit too extroverted yknow? tolerated at best as a class clown. lucas was basically the only person who actually liked him. (even chryssa basically tolerated him at best lol)

that left barry with a lot of time on his own. to most people's surprise, he actually spent a lot of that time studying! battling of course, not schoolwork. he studied video of his father or cynthia or whoever, went to the library to learn strategy, went by the high school to watch the older kids casually battle.

so, obviously, he couldnt wait to go on his journey! he just needed to wait for palmer to get him the perfect starter : )

...yea. he uh didnt. palmer knew barry wanted a pokemon but was also away from barry a lot. being home reminded him, but a lack of object permeance is mayhaps a family trait. barry ended up getting his starter from professor rowan.

which barry isn't bitter about at all! he's lying

barry really does love his daddy. he looks up to him as the coolest, greatest, awesomest person on the planet. the fact that palmer doesnt seem to be aware of how deep barry's admiration goes stings juuuust a tiny bit.

but he was on his journey now! and he had a rival in chryssa! (lucas was a boring nerd who worked under professor rowan)

....except chryssa avoided him. and turned down all of his offers to battle when he did find her. and the very few timea they did battle, she absolutely crushed him.

barry's journey was maybe a bit lonelier than expected.

but then he got a chance to study under crasher wake! ignore that wake didnt seem to want him around like everyone else! he was going to be as strong as his dad and this was going to help!

....if team galactic doesnt blow up sinnoh first. barry, despite a desire to help, doesn't get much done. he couldn't stop team galactic from blowing up the great marsh. he couldn't stop jupiter from taking uxie. he couldnt even make it to the peak of mt coronet in time to help there.

barry felt a bit useless and superfluous. he's strong, yea, but what's the point? he hasnt gotten his dads attention, he cant keep his friends, he cant make new ones, he cant help out.....

and uh. this is about where i am for barry. one of the things on my to do list for potential sinnoh fic is wrap up barry's plot line. have him talk to his dad, deal with his growing inferiority complex, all that. its one of those things i feel will be easier after actually writing it, alas, so I don't have much more to say.

but some other barry stuff!

adhd king as we all know

starts dating lucas as an adult. when they tell chryssa, she just kind of stares at them and says she thought theyd been dating for the past 5 years.

does make up with his dad and have a good conversation about everything. palmer never meant to make barry feel bad (and feels quite bad hinself for doing so on accident) and tries to make it up to him

eventually becomes a frontier brain? i have him as taking over from argenta but I'm not 100% married to that specific concept. i kinda want to see what others have for barry before definitively picking something

and that's barry! yay!