#the books are gonna be so full of themselves when you two get together

[zimmbzon]

You working at the bookstore just trying to have a quiet one, do your job, get paid and get out. But these two fuckers are having the realest fake date you’ve ever seen. All over your goddam books.

[itsfairly]

10:22pm // Nanami Kento x gn!reader

word count: 1.4k

cw: gn!reader, fluff, slight angst if you squint, established-sh relationship, basically yall are dating but not publically, alcohol mentions, death mentions (no one dies).

summary: you're out drinking with other staff at jujutsu high when you decided to step out. when nanami comes and joins you, small talk gets you two thinking.

a/n: i half in a bathroom stall when drunk, what was i even doing? i was supposed to meet no people not pin over my fictional husband. anyways, yeah, took an impromptu break but hey, if i wasn't feeling like writing, i wasn't gonna push it. but here i am again, wanting to write, so here is this!

“What are you doing here?”

You turned around, looking at Nanami standing a few feet before you. You sigh, your breath creating a small fog against the cold of the night as you lean against the bar’s entrance by the window.

“It was too loud.”

“And it’s too cold.” He responds, taking off his blazer and wrapping it around your shoulders.

You chuckled, clinging to the warmth of the fabric. “They are gonna know if they see us like this. They are all right there and we are right on sight, you know?”

Nanami walks beside you, looking at the street before you two. You were right. Considering that the two of you seemed like just coworkers to everyone else but something else between you two behind the privacy of whatever space you could find, seeing you two together like this with his blazer around you was going to raise some flags. And yet, he couldn’t help but search for you when he noticed you were gone for a longer time than his liking.

“Gojo is keeping them busy, trying to get them to play his game of saying why they like him for them to even notice we left.” He looked through the window, where, sure enough, a sober Gojo was determined to get those reasons out of the either drunk or tired rest of the table. It didn’t seem like it was successful despite Gojo’s huge energetic grin.

“Is that the real reason why you stepped out?” You smirked, teasing at his rather push-and-pull dynamic with the white-haired sorcerer. “Because you didn’t want to play that?”

“I can have multiple reasons why I stepped out. Maybe that’s one of them, but seeing you in the cold was another one.” He looked down at you, his voice softening as he saw how you were gripping his blazer closer to you. “A big one at that.”

You chuckled, looking with a warm smile that made the cold become much more bearable even when standing outside the bar well past sunset. “Aw, what a gentleman.”

“You deserve one. I want to be one for you.” He said, his eyes on the street before the two of you.

If you didn’t know better, you would say he’s quite flustered. Despite his composed demeanor, he was not looking into your eyes when he said such genuine and affectionate words, but rather towards the street in front of you two. It was almost like a confession despite how many times the two of you have gone on dinners together, or grazed each other’s hands when others weren’t looking, or the soft “be safe” whispers whenever either of you went on a mission. Yeah, those acts were confessions within themselves and you were fine with them, knowing that he wasn’t the most vocal about his feelings upfront. But hearing such feelings come from his lips into a soft and gentle tone meant a lot. Those nine words meant that he was opening up to you more and more.

You furrow your brows, however. It didn’t matter how direct his or your words were or their frequency, being a sorcerer wasn’t the best job to fall for your coworkers. Death lurked in every mission, reminding you of how dangerous it was and how painful it would be if either of you would just be gone. Never again to tease him about how buying books was his hobby rather than reading them, never again for him to feel your hands on his shoulders as you insists on helping him relax as you massaged them, never again to see each other’s eyes full of life and the possibility—the yearning of being more. The longing to not be restricted of being together because you didn’t know how much you had left.

It may be the alcohol that got you thinking about this, but it was always a thought you wanted to push away whenever you saw him, wanting to feel the happiness of what you were experiencing rather than feeling the pain of what-ifs. You wanted more, to be closer to him. Sometimes, you could see how he ached for the same despite his wish to not burden you—or anyone for that matter—with the uncertainty of his safety.

But one thing was certain, not only tonight as he accompanied you outside with your breath puffing into the air while the rest of the group drank the night away for some escape of the jujutsu world, but every day since the distance between you shortened by the day.

He never burdened you with the uncertainty of his love for you—because it was certain and it was visible in the most beautiful way. His longing for you, his worry for you, his inability to completely adhere to his idea of staying single while a sorcerer, his goddamn devotion towards you that it made you wonder how no one has even caught on that you two are a thing. He loved you, loves you in the smallest ways that, when put together, are the biggest act one has ever done for you.

“You are.” You whisper, not even realizing the words escaped from your mind and were spoken into existence until he turned to look at you. Now that you had his attention, you stood a little straighter and said with much more conviction, “you already are.”

Nanami takes a second. His eyes looking deep into yours, unable to look away as if he is trying to read them. His brows mirror yours, knitting together ever so slightly. He was taken back by how much softer you looked in this moment despite the cold tensing your body. The warm light from the bar spilled outside and kissed your skin with a yellow, gentle glow. It was hard staying away from you, which is why it was a no brainer to follow you when you stepped out. It wasn’t just because he wanted to check on you, but because you always managed to pull him closer to you without even trying. You felt so close, but he wanted you closer.

It felt natural the moment he grabbed your hand, entwining his fingers with yours without giving it much thought of his own. He was tired of thinking anyway. He didn’t want to gather more reasons to stay away from you when the feeling on his heart weighed too much for them to hold water against it. He didn’t want to love you from afar, to have you in an arm’s reach but never hold you for the world to see. He didn’t want you to be like the books that sat on his shelves, gathering dust that taunted him with the fact he bought them and had yet to read them. He didn’t want that with you. He wanted to read you like a book. To go as far as to highlight his favorite parts of you, to read you over and over until he could recite you from memory to the world. He wanted you to be his favorite book in that sense.

“Then I’ll make sure to be more than just a gentleman to you.” He adds, his thumb moving against the back of your hand to warm it up.

Without skipping a beat, you take a deep breath before repeating your words, “you already are, Kento. More than that even.”

As your hand squeezes him and your eyes shine as if they were reflecting the moon themselves, things become certain for him as well. You loved him. Through the teasing and the burden of what could happen to either of you, you loved him with such a confidence and fulfillment that the feeling would stay the same for a long time and your actions would follow. You wanted to close that distance and hold him in your hands with such care and warmth that would shelter him from the stress of his everyday life. To cherish his skin, his hair, and every crook and cranny that he allowed you to see and touch until your fingertips burned with his feel as if you were to draw a map of him from memory. He was your favorite sensation in the world. You wanted to protect and nurture that sensation called Nanami Kento.

“I guess we want the same thing then.” Nanami softly spoke, taking a deep breath and squeezed your hand back.

“You guess right.” You answered back, nodding slightly with a smile.

Nanami nods back, holding your hand and guiding you back to inside the bar and back to your coworkers. This time, when you get near the group, he doesn't let go of your hand and you don’t let go of his.

[certifiedlovergirlsstuff]

summer blush

pairing: steve harrington x gn!reader

wc: 1.9K

warnings: nothing, can't remember if there's cursing.

summary: pool days and future dates

A/N: WE DESERVED LIFEGUARD STEVE WHY DID BILLY GET THAT ROLE!!!!!!! but I know we got scoops steve, but still!!!!

masterlist / steve harrington

everyone was at hawkins community pool if they didn’t have one sitting in their backyard. the weather was in the high nineties with a slight breeze to cool you off if you were laying out tanning. the dozens of kids were splashing and squealing in glee, screaming as they played marco polo or sharks and minnows. many parents trusted the lifeguards to do their job so they indulged in their books or gossiping with friends.

the lounger reclined at an angle, one leg bent and the other straight. loose shirt and swim shorts as your attire accessorized with sunglasses and a baseball cap to shade your face from the harsh sunlight as you read your book.

a high-pitched yell of your name drew your attention. tilting the book towards your chest you saw your neighbor lucas rushing your way. his running was put to a stop when a lifeguard blew their whistle and yelled no running. you saw a few other kids a little behind, three boys and two girls. 

“going for a swim, sinclair?” eyes squinting behind your glasses.

he rolled his eyes and pointed towards his swim trunks, “duh. gonna spend the next few hours getting pruney. oh, also my mom wanted me to ask if you were free on the twelfth.”

one of the boys called his name and lucas told him he was coming before turning back to you. “uh, as of right now i’m an open book. does she need a babysitter?”

“yeah. my parents have a date planned so they need someone to watch us.”

you nodded your head, “well i’ll be happy to babysit. just have her call me when you get home. now go have some summer fun, your friends are getting antsy.” the tweens being all dramatic from their spots close by.

lucas waved goodbye before talking with his friends and then they all threw themselves into the chlorine-heavy pool. the two girls were a step behind with shrieks that carried until they were submerged.

you watched their playful fighting for a bit with a gentle smile on your lips. how lucas would dunk his friend with sopping curly hair underwater or the redhead would slap water at the byers kid. the other girl with shoulder-length hair was just walking around the shallow end with an enormous smile.

deciding to turn back to your book, your eyes took a sweep of the crowded pool and they managed to catch a lifeguard chair change. a girl in the uniform-issued red one-piece was climbing down from the high chair as a boy leaned a hand against the legs. the two chatted for a moment before the girl waved goodbye and the boy climbed the steps and settled into the seat.

and when he was in perfect view you were able to make out the person you were ogling. steve harrington. steve harrington, who was dressed in only red swim trunks as he watched over the community pool. now your book doesn't seem so interesting.

you held the book at a normal height and used the book and sunglasses as your undercover ruse as you observed (stared) at steve. how he seemed comfortable in the uncomfortable high chair, one hand fiddling with the whistle that was sitting on his chest as his head moved around to get a full view. his hair looked naturally fluffy and curled, oh man.

you and steve were in the same graduating class but only had a handful of classes together in the four years of high school, and in only two was there conversation. he was more outgoing and friendly with most of the school population, while you had one friend, robin buckley, who stuck to the shadows and books. and even though you hid in the shadows, that harrington charm always shined brightly no matter what. so yeah, you weren’t unaffected by him, you just made sure not to act like an idiot when he was around.

wishing you had the balls to walk up confidently and start an effortless conversation, you just groaned as you leaned your head back and laid the book on your sunscreen thighs. you don’t even know what he likes, not like you could chat about the weather for twenty minutes before it dies out. “so… this weather….” “yeah, pretty warm. brings everyone out of their houses.” that’s so stupid!

you know what, forget about it. push steve from your mind. push lovely steve harrington from your mind and focus back on your fantasy novel. you did set a goal of reading through the stacks of books you’ve bought over the months. you look through your bag and grab your wallet before pushing off the flimsy lounge chair and heading to the vending machine for a snack.

you look at the different selections of chips and press in c7, your second favorite chips dropping down. you pushed the flap open and managed to grab the goods without twisting your wrist. you looked to the concessions booth and debated if you wanted to pay three fifty for a slushy.

“hey.” you heard someone call but you didn’t think they were calling for you since it didn’t sound like any of the younger kids. head tilting side to side in a silent debate before it came again this time followed by your last name.

you felt like an idiot when you looked over your shoulders to find the source but couldn’t so you turned forward again, which caused the mystery person to say your name once again followed by, “it’s steve, dummy.”

that made you turn around real quick with your brows raised and hands sat on your hips, chip bag crinkling. “what’s with the nickname, mr. lifeguard? i’m a customer minding their business.” sarcasm hiding the curiosity of why steve was suddenly calling for you.

he was twisted in the high chair, one knee up and poking through the hole for the armrest with his arms folded on the top and his chin digging into his golden forearms. his sunglasses pushed to his hair showing his face off without obstruction, though his eyes were squinting against the beating sun. he had a smirk to his mouth and, oh your insides melted.

“i am so sorry to be disturbing,” the sarcasm twisted in his words, “but i was wondering if you’d be willing to buy me a cherry slushy. for a fellow mrs. fray senior english class student.”

lips parting in slight shock, “you…you remember me?” body language changing from defense to sheepish. you meant to say those words in your head only, not aloud where he could make fun of you.

his eyes unsquinted just a bit and you were able to see the smirk fall away and genuine confusion settle in. “why wouldn’t i? i sat next to you all year. and what a lovely view to get me through that boring class.” a flirtatious tone singing through the words. 

now you are standing frozen. was he…flirting? was steve flirting with you? when you felt sweaty and didn’t look put together, baggy shirt and hair pushed under a baseball cap. there was no way, right?

“well…i do remember you staring a lot. just thought i was blocking the window view.” trying to flirt, swing and a miss in your head.

steve chuckled. deep and boyish over the volume of the occupants. “nah, view outside wasn’t worth my time.” a cheeky smirk and, oh yeah. he was flirting.

“anyway. would you still be willing to buy that cherry slushy for me? kinda dying of thirst and heat over here.” his body that wasn’t shaded by the umbrella was highlighted bright with the sun. mind traversing to the knowledge he might develop more freckles over his skin and how you wished to chart them like constellations in the night sky.

you looked to the booth and back to steve, working yourself up to try a hand at flirting again. you took four steps closer to the white chair, head tilted up while steve stared down. “would i get anything back in exchange? since, you know, i’m paying with my own money.” hoping he doesn’t say something that billy hargrove wolf whistles at.

steve smiled with his teeth biting into his bottom lip. his head moved just a bit to the side and his eyes squinting a bit harder, you were glad to see his whole face, but you wished to just slide his black sunglasses over his honey-brown eyes. he looked to be debating something for a moment and then he shifted around to climb to the hot cement floor. he stopped just in front of you, right side of his body leaning into the chip painted wood. he was messing around with his red whistle and your skin produced goosebumps from the way his eyes roamed over your face and trailed down your body then back up.

“well, a slushy is only three fifty, so what i’m gonna suggest is overpriced. but if you're willing to spare some change, i would be happy to take you…” he stopped for a moment, almost seeming nervous before he got his confidence back. “…to take you on a date. movie and dinner, all on me.”

you almost dropped your chips and wallet due to the words that left his mouth. “you’re…this is a joke right? some prank?” self-conscious defense going up.

steve pushed himself into an upright position, hands shaking in front of him with urgency on his face and in his words. “what? no, no! i- i genuinely want to- i’ve wanted to ask you for a while!” words rushed and grumbled.

you were shocked for the third time today. steve harrington wanted to take you on a date. and for a while. “really?” the voice is almost meek.

steve rubbed the back of his neck and you weren’t sure if that was sunburn or blush on his cheeks. “yeah…i know i seem…good at getting dates. but when it comes to someone i like…i can get tongue-tied.” fingers messing around with the back of his hair.

you couldn’t help the teasing smile, “oh…steve harrington gets flustered by his crushes? didn’t realize we reverted to middle school.”

he rolled his eyes, but he smiled anyway. “yeah, yeah. now for the third time, can you buy me a slushy? and would you like to go on a date with me? saturday at seven?”

there was a whistle and the call for steve to get back in his chair. he didn’t turn around or anything, he stayed trained on you with pleading eyes and a nervous smile. you didn’t bother keeping the boy waiting any longer, butterflies fluttering in your belly.

“i’ll get you that slushy. and then i’ll tell you my decision. so, best you get back to your job before you get fired.” taking steps backward then turning on the balls of your feet.

you felt his eye on your back the whole time as you ordered and waited for the drinks. with the two in hand along with your chips, you walked to steve already having your mind made up. you held his cherry slushy up high and he grabbed it with a “thank you.” his fingers brushing your knuckles.

“so, yes or no? hurts to keep a guy waiting.” a fake pout to his lips. you took a sip of your icy beverage and then counted to five. “what movie?”

“the goonies. heard from a birdie you’ve been waiting to see that one.” that just solidified your answer. “food before or after? and where?”

steve took his sip and then answered, “whichever and wherever you prefer.” 

you tapped your flip-flop foot and took a few more sips. “seven works. benny’s before and then goonies. maybe milkshakes after. sounds good?”

he smiled down at you, teeth shining in the light and lips turning a bit red. “sounds perfect. can i have your address?”

you began to walk back to your lounge chair, calling over your shoulder, “use the phone book, harrington! very useful information.”

-

[still-a-morosexual-help]

Do you think Mammon would ever be ready/willing to move out of the HoL with MC? Even if it's a house that's like just across the street from the HoL?

Idk I just really want Mammon and MC to be able to have a place that's completely theirs, and privacy doesn't seem to be much of a thing in the HoL (though I have noticed the boys are at least knocking before coming into MC's room more often than they were lol).

Honestly? No.

The brothers have been through a lot together and even when they complain about each other and wish for time alone with MC or even just time alone for themselves I don't think they'd ever want it permanently

• For one, after living with the chaos of each other for millions of years, suddenly going and living alone with just one other person is going to drive them insane. The quiet of that? It'd be terrible to adjust

• The brothers have been through two wars together and ended up in the Devildom together where their bodies and magic changed and basically they underwent a lot of trauma together. Trauma they got through by sticking together and supporting each other. I definitely don't think they'd want to be seperated after that

• In the "Too Many Insults" Devilgram we see how quiet and just depressed the others get when Mammon leaves for just 3 days. In (I think) "The Rulebook" Devilgram we see how Mammon looks after his younger brothers and Lucifer. He's needed to keep his brothers functioning (relevant post)

• There are multiple chats that show how much Lucifer relies on Mammon, not just for work but also to take breaks and eat. If Mammon leaves Lucifer's gonna end up an overworked, starved corpse rip (relevant post)

• After they lost Lilith in such a traumatic way I really don't think they'd want to be seperated from each other

• In Nightbringer, Mammon says he left the Celestial Realm purely because he wanted to stay with Lucifer, that he would have done anything as long as he got to stay with Lucifer. There's no way he's going to move out (relevant post)

• Also rent! There's a chat where Mammon gets so annoyed with his brothers he wants to move out and get a place with MC. And then he finds out that rent is a thing and instantly nopes out

Would MC want to leave in the first place?

• In Nightbringer, it shows that their default setting is choosing the brothers as a whole even over humanity (relevant post 1 : relevant post 2)

• In Nightbringer, they also talk about how special MC's room is and there are lots of hints that they just really want their room back. I can't see them willingly giving it up (relevant post)

Even if it's just across the street;

1.) MC, Mammon & the rest of the brothers are all too co-dependent to be able to go through with it

2.) Either the rest of the brothers will spend so much time in the new house it'd be like they all live there anyway or Mammon & MC will spend so much time in the HoL that it'd be like they didn't move out at all

Concerning privacy though;

• S4 confirmed that MC & Mammon have been frequently sharing a room since S1 (so for years) and none of the others give a shit about it

• Asmo probably has bi-monthly orgies in his room

• In S2, MC and Mammon made out in the middle of their class during an exam and Mammon full out panted and moaned loudly.... I don't think either of them care much about how much privacy they get (relevant post)

• When they do want significant alone time, it's been established in two or three devilgrams that they book a place to stay for a night or go for a long drive

[ticklishthoughts1]

Hyperfocus:Ribs

NGL, this was long overdue but I have been busy as of late ^w^

I'm just sitting down, reading, a relatively often occurence. I look up as they come in, and a smile lights up my face. I wave them over, setting the book down and hugging them, then moving over on the bed so they can lay next to me, they themselves getting a novel. Life can be so chaotic, fun but wild at times. It makes these times with them, just quietly being together, enjoying each others presence, all the more precious. Of course, them being them, the silence wouldn't be forever. I feel a poke in my side, and look up, only to see them reading. Hmm. I slowly look down, and 3 minutes later, another poke. I whip my head up, and see them looking at the book, a barely contained silly smile on their face. Aha. I roll my eyes playfully, then pretend to look back down. As soon as they slowly reach out to poke my sides again, I grab their wrist, turning, straddling their wasit, and using my forearm to hold both arms above their head, on the pillows. I smirk as they struggle to pull free, but don't, and touch foreheads with them softly, whispering "New Story. This one is about the Little Lee who liked to poke the bear...The Lee with Ticklish Ribs~". My insinuation is noticed, I can tell by the small look of lee panic in their eyes. I smirk, and simply rest one hand on the left side of their ribcage, before drawling out "Now...let's see how many toys we have to play with, hmm?~". I roll their shirt up, before resting two fingers on an individual rib, "counting" it, by vibrating both fingers on the rib and moving on to the next rib as they squirm around under me. "1......2......3...4.....5....6....Dang it! You're so Squirmy! I lost count of which one I was on...guess we gotta start allllll Over!~ Try to be still this time, Darling. 1.....2....3.....4...5...6...7...8..........Ah heck, I got lost in your eyes about that. Dang. What number was I on? An 'EEHEHEHEHEIHIGHT' ? What is that? Guess we'll just restart again~". I "lose count" 3 more times, and get it right on the 6th try, then I stop, locking eyes with you, and growl out happily, my voice deepening. "I'm gonna do it again. Not because I lost count. Because I can tell you're loving this, and that's just so cute I wanna keep going forever, Sweetheart~". The Flustered Expression on their face tells me I hit the money on my Analysis of their feelings about this whole event. Good. I count the ribs one more time, Painstakingly Slowly, and then finally, I stop counting, and get up.

Oh but I'm not done.

Not by a long shot.

Instead, I tell you to wait, leaving the room for just a second before coming back with a couple of paintbrushes, and paint that's safe for their skin. I giggle evilly, then climb back on the bed, drawling out "Here's the deal, cutie. You have to keep your hands above your head, whether gripping each other, or on the bedframe, while I paint. If you can't, I'll pin you again~". I tilt my head, smiling as they lock their arms over their head, then go over, and straddle them once more, beginning to paint. I'm thorough, using a smaller brush to get in between each rib. My concentration is pure, but not enough to not notice how hard they're trying to keep still for me, which I note on: "Awwwww, you're doing such a good job Baby!~ Being nice and still for me...guess you still like this, huh?~". I wink at them, both of us knowing full well that you loving it was the entire reason I do this. After about 3-5 minutes I finish painting, then raise a washrag, giggling as I begin to scrub the paint off, wiggling my fingers through the rag, and watching them stop holding their arms above their head, cooing "Calm down baby we've gotta get you clean!~". When done, I grin at them then say slowly, softly "There we go...clean enough to eat~". I chuckle when I see their eyes widen, and before they can stop me, I start nomming their ribs gently. I do this for 2 minutes, then, scrub them off AGAIN, and finally, pull you into a hug, stroking their back gently. After a while, we get back to reading, and it's like nothing happened.

Except for the blush on their face.

And the warm smile on mine.

[acrystalwitch]

(***NO N*zis or TERFs allowed to interact with this post or my blog*** This is a post for Norse pagans or polytheists looking to work with Odin. This is all based on my own experiences working with the all father and nothing here is to be taken as a hard fact. If your practice differs from my own that is totally fine. There will be a lot of UPG and SPG)

An incomplete summary of Odin in Norse mythology.

Odin, god of war and wisdom is a key figure in the Norse myths and is involved in a lot of the stories. He is the head of the Norse gods and is called the All father, because it’s by him that all of humans were created. He is married to Frigg and together they had Baldur and Hodr. Odin also has other sons, Thor, Vali, and Vidar.

He has two ravens Huginn and Muninn, and two wolves Geri and Freki.

He only has one eye, he sacrificed his other eye by throwing it into Mimir’s well in exchange for knowledge that could better help him prevent Ragnarok.

Another famous story of his is when he hung upside down from the tree of life for nine days and nine nights to get knowledge of other worlds and to be able to know everything about the runes.

The type of magic he practices (Seiðr) was a feminine type of magic that wasn’t always looked highly on when men would participate in it. Yet our Allfather was very practiced in it.

My experience working with him: One thing to know about working with Odin going in, he will be very honest and blunt. My other deities have a habit of being softer on my feelings than I’ve heard other devotees say they’ve been with them, I’m assuming because I’m very sensitive. But Odin..? He does not care. He will stop giving advice if I tell him I don’t want to hear it. But, if I ask for advice…oh boy, am I gonna get his full opinion. He is very much a father in the way he goes about things, he cares but he wants his followers to push themselves as much as they can, learning as much as you can and always growing, never staying sedentary for too long.

I have a notebook dedicated to him that I’ve been using to work on learning the runes and that seems to be the best offering to give him in my practice right now. He never misses a chance to remind me I need to get back to learning the runes too.

I always wondered why it mattered so much to him that I learn them. Eventually he told me that it was because they really would be useful in spells, and wards and making bind runes out of them is something I’m learning to do now.

He is not the easiest deity to work with, he may even push your buttons on purpose to get you to think harder on things. I’ve noticed he’s even been rude before just to see if I’d stand up for myself and set boundaries and then he’ll explain himself after. Lots of tests trials and teachings. But man, is it worth it for the immense amount of knowledge and mentorship that he can bring. All in all, I’m glad he came to me later in my practice as I might’ve been scared off from deity work if he was the first. But, I love him to pieces and hope to work with him for a long time.

Offerings and associations of Odin

(Odin does not eat food so I’ve seen many people say not to give him food offerings, I disagree! Give him things that he can feed to Geri and Freki. He is known to still fill his plate and just give them bits over meals. So don’t hesitate to gift him any food offerings you would to any other Norse god)

-colors: gray, dark blue, black

- tree Imagery, Yggdrasil in particular

- raven Imagery, black feathers

- wolf Imagery

- clear quartz

- onyx

- blue goldstone

- amethyst

- carnelian

- the hermit tarot card

- the hanged man tarot card

- the four of cups tarot card

- the king of swords tarot card

- mead, wine, alcohol

- poetry (he writes poems!)

- mugwort scent/incense

- Ansuz rune ᚨ

- learn about the runes

- learn his myths

- learn useful and practical knowledge

- read books

- ask him for advice

There are many more ways to learn about him and get close to him. A great one is reading the Hávamál. If you meditate or do tarot or rune casting those are also great ways to contact him and get closer to him.

Signs he might be reaching out; seeing ravens more than usual or in non native areas, very windy days, rain, seeing his name often, feeling drawn to his mythology, seeing his tarot cards pop up often, you already work with one of his sons (I think he sent Thor to me first to soften my idea of the Norse gods and be a warm intro into their pantheon.)

He is a great god to work with, lots of work though. Odin is not for the weak minded, but he’s been so worth getting to know.

[captainremmington-13]

𝖙𝖍𝖊 𝖉𝖆𝖚𝖌𝖍𝖙𝖊𝖗 𝖔𝖋 𝖉𝖊𝖆𝖙𝖍

𝖈𝖍𝖆𝖕𝖙𝖊𝖗 𝖊𝖑𝖊𝖛𝖊𝖓

show!Luke Castellan x daughter of thanatos!reader

DISCLAIMER: I don’t own the image above or any of Rick Riordan’s characters/world-building.

⚠️Warnings⚠️: swearing, lots of kissing and making out, mentions of insecurities, violence, scars, arguments, petty revenge

A/N: the part that’s all-italics is a flashback. I’m SO SORRY i forgot to post this last night, i fell asleep 😭

“You’re fucking dead to me, Connor.”

Travis Stoll stifled a laugh, but his grin disappeared when you shot him a harrowing look. “You too, Travis. Don’t think you’re gonna get away with the bullshit you’ve pulled today.”

You were in the Hermes Cabin, pointing your weapon at the Stoll brothers. They were truly on your last nerve, and as a result, you were extremely tempted to turn Cabin 11 into a slaughterhouse. 

They had been purposefully pushing your buttons all day. Stealing your eyeliner, taking things off your lunch plate while you weren’t looking, and teasing you whenever you and Luke were together (which was almost constantly). 

The final straw had occurred mere moments ago, when they had decided to take your stuffed animal bat hostage. You’d been able to retrieve it quickly, prying it out of Travis’s hands and giving him a shove for good measure. His brother barely had time to catch him before he hit the ground. 

Now, the two Stolls were practically frozen in place, afraid of what you’d do to get even with them. 

Before you could open your mouth to chew them out further, the door of the cabin swung open. 

“Woah, what’s going on?” 

You suppressed a grin. You didn’t even need to turn around to know who had spoken.

Luke walked over to where you stood, a concerned look on his face. He could read you like a book, always noticing when you were upset or distressed. 

He leaned in to press a greeting kiss to your forehead, eliciting scoffs from both of the Stolls. He turned to look at his brothers, the annoyed glint in his eyes making them look slightly less sure of themselves.

“Explain yourselves,” he said curtly. 

Travis cleared his throat. “We were just…having fun.”

“Maybe you two were,” you muttered, instinctively curling a hand around Luke’s forearm.

Luke glared at the Stolls. “Stop messing with her. It’s clear that she doesn’t like it, and she has important shit to do. She doesn’t have time for you two brats.”

Connor shot Travis a look. The Stolls weren’t stupid, they knew that continuing to defy Luke would probably land them a chore that nobody ever volunteered for.

The two sons of Hermes slunk towards the cabin door, defeated. You assumed they’d decided to go bug someone else. 

Luke’s body relaxed, turning to you and promptly resting his forehead on your shoulder. You ran a hand through his curls soothingly, enjoying the feeling of his arms wrapped around your waist. 

“You alright?” you asked quietly.

“Mhm,” he murmured, his voice muffled by the cloth of your shirt. “Just tired. Don’t want to be around anyone else right now.”

You hummed understandingly. You knew how short Luke’s temper could get, and that he often felt like the other demigods at camp were wasting his time. You felt the same way quite often.

“Did something specific happen that frustrated you?”

Luke sighed. “Little kids wouldn’t stop asking about my scar.”

You held him closer, guiding him to his bed. It was essentially both of yours at this point, however. You rarely slept in your bunk, only using it to hold your prized stuffed animal, pillows and some blankets. 

He sat down, pulling you into his lap so you were facing him. 

“I’m sorry,” you said after a moment. “I hate when they do that to me. They always demand to hear the full story, as if it’s some fairytale instead of the most terrifying experience of my life.”

Luke nodded. “Even worse, it reminds me that my scar is…there, you know? I’m usually able to forget about it during the day, but when someone points it out or mentions the quest, I can almost feel the poison returning to it. Gods, I wish I could back in time to before I got scratched by that fucking dragon.”

You frowned, a small pit forming in your stomach. “Luke, be honest: do you think that your scar makes you less appealing somehow?”

Luke’s eyes bore into yours, his pupils filled with sorrow and frustration. He nodded ever-so slightly, and you felt like your heart was shattering into about a million pieces. 

“Let me ask you this,” you said slowly, reaching up to cup his face. When your fingertips brushed against his scar, he flinched instinctively but didn’t pull away. You were the only person who could touch it without getting their limbs snapped. “Do you think my scar makes me ugly?”

“No, of course not, angel.”

“Then that means yours doesn’t make you any less handsome.” Luke opened his mouth to protest, but you placed a finger over his lips. “You know I’m right, Castellan.”

“But-“

“I completely understand why you’re insecure about it, believe me. Fuck, it took me weeks to get comfortable with looking at my reflection again. But then I realized that it didn’t really change me at all. It’s not pretty to look at, but the rest of me sure is.”

Luke blushed slightly, and you could tell that your confidence had caused it. You smirked, bringing your face closer to his.

“So trust me, Luke,” you said lowly, caressing the back of his neck gently. “You’re still fucking gorgeous. Personally, I think it makes you look even hotter.”

Luke didn’t respond. He just stared at you, unblinking.

Before you could ask what was wrong, Luke’s lips were pressed to yours. 

Your noise of surprise was muffled by the heated kiss he’d pulled you into. All of the anger and bitterness he had been feeling seemed to have morphed into intense romantic passion. Luke’s hold on you tightened possessively, digging his nails into your waist. It was a rough gesture, and you knew it would leave marks on your skin. 

But it only made you feel more euphoric. 

You groaned as Luke’s teeth bit down on your bottom lip slightly, instinctively tightening your hold on his hair.

“Sorry,” Luke murmured. “Didn’t mean to.”

“It’s fine,” you replied, giving him a cheeky grin. “It’s nothing compared to how rough you get while we train together.”

Luke rolled his eyes, but when he quickly pulled aside the neckline of your camp shirt to start kissing your collarbone, you knew he wasn’t annoyed in the slightest. 

You were just about to reach down to start tugging his shirt off when you heard a series of loud curses just outside of the cabin.

Luke huffed. “This always fucking happens. Just when things are about to get fun.”

You laughed, pecking him once more on the lips. “Let’s go see what’s happening. Then we can try to sneak away to an empty arena.”

Luke gave you a slight smirk, which you matched immediately. He gathered you in his arms to carry you bridal-style towards the door.

“That sounds lovely.” 

________________________________________________

You let out a long sigh, your eyes half-closed as you reached blindly for the bottle of soda you’d been drinking from. The campfire sing-along’s were never your favorite, as most of the campers were horribly off-key. You preferred to watch from afar, waiting for Luke to finish helping the younger demigods make their s’mores. 

Besides, the cheery vibes really got on your nerves. You knew it was “mood-killing” to not participate, but you didn’t see what there was to be so happy about.

You rested your chin on your fist, watching Luke as he sat by the fire. The flames, which were a golden hue and at least five feet high, gave his skin a beautiful glow. He looked more divine than any immortal you’d ever seen. 

Finally, after two more annoyingly cheesy songs, Luke’s eyes met yours. He picked up a paper plate with a s’more on it and headed your way. Sitting down next to you, he placed the plate in your lap and wrapped his right arm around your waist. 

“Tired?” he asked, taking a sip of your soda.

“Yeah,” you muttered. “After being here for more than ten years, I’m really sick and tired of campfire sing-alongs. I’ve asked Chiron to let me skip them, but he always says no.” Your expression morphed into one of disdain.  “‘They’re good for morale,’ he said. As if they actually really do much to boost our spirits.” 

Luke let out a noise of irritation. “Well, you know that his judgement isn’t always as sound as everyone thinks.”

You nodded, closing your eyes and leaning against his shoulder. 

You knew exactly what moment Luke was thinking about.

.

.

.

“I am glad you have both recovered,” Chiron said, closing his office door behind you and Luke. “However, now that you are up and about, we need to have a serious conversation.”

He gestured for you to sit down, which you did. You took Luke’s hand, giving him a reassuring smile. 

Chiron stood behind his desk, his hooves tapping against the wooden floor. “Because your quest was not given to you by the Oracle, you did not have a third companion. This put the odds against you both, even more so than they were initially. Though you fought bravely, you failed to complete the task given to you by Lord Hermes.”

Luke’s face flushed, and he let go of your hand. “Thanks for the reminder.” 

Chiron sighed, avoiding both of your gazes. “Your lives are more important than achieving glory.” 

“Sure, but being constantly reminded of our defeat ever since we returned a week ago isn’t exactly pleasant,” you said bitterly. 

Chiron elected to ignore your comment, which only put your more on-edge. “The brush with death you both experienced rattled the entire camp. If things had gone just a bit differently, we would have lost you. There are already so few demigods here because so many who are guided by satyrs have been attacked and killed recently. Mr. D and I agree that we cannot have campers going on such dangerous journeys and losing their lives. Therefore, we have concluded that we will not permit anyone to go on a quest, unless it is absolutely necessary or the will of the Olympian Council.” 

Your jaw fell open. “Are you fucking serious?”

Chiron nodded gravely. “I’m afraid so.”

“That’s fucking ridiculous,” Luke spat. “You’re going to rob everyone of their chances to collect glory just because you think it’s too dangerous? Our lives are filled with danger, we’re constantly being hunted! What’s the point in training so hard if we don’t get to actually use our skills?”

“My mind is made up,” Chiron said firmly. “I am sorry that it upsets you, I understand how important glory is to young demigods-“

“No, you don’t understand,” you shouted, standing up. “For millennia, going on quests have been he only way to become a true hero. And now you’re telling us we have to just…stop?” 

Chiron opened his mouth to respond, but three sharp knocks on the door interrupted him.

“It’s me,” Mr. D’s voice declared. “What’s all the loud yelling for? You’re disrupting my peace and quiet!” 

“I am discussing our decision to ban quests until further notice.”

“Ah,” Mr. D said, clearly uninterested. “Tell whoever you’re talking to that we’re not changing our minds.”

And that was that.

When the other campers found out about the new rule, they were furious. The Ares cabin was especially bitter, threatening to hold you hostage until it was revoked. Fortunately, Mr. D (who had an odd soft spot for you) discouraged them from doing so by threatening to turn them into grapevines. 

Still, this didn’t prevent other demigods from giving you and Luke a hard time. They blamed you for ruining their shot to become renown heroes, and made sure you knew how upset they were. Some of them marched right up to you both to shout at you, which usually ended with them getting shoved to the ground by your boyfriend while you told them to fuck off. Others preferred to use slightly more subtle methods of revenge. After a two-hour archery session, you had decided to take a shower to cool off. Had you not been paying close enough attention, you would have rubbed a handful of shampoo that was dyed neon orange into your hair. 

You were utterly shocked someone could do something so immature and petty. But that didn’t stop you from finding out who did it it was Reylynne from the Aphrodite Cabin and getting even during the next Capture the Flag game. When you encountered her on the battlefield, you sliced half of her light brown hair off, giving her an awful, unflattering haircut.

Eventually, the ruckus died down. People stopped harassing you, and you were able to get back to your “normal” camp routine. 

However, the damage had already been done. You had crawled back into your shell.

At least you had Annabeth, who you saw as a little sister. She never judged you, or blamed you for what happened on the quest.

You also stayed close to Chris Rodriguez. After sharing a cabin with him for years, you’d developed a close platonic bond that you knew wouldn’t waver any time soon.  

And of course, you still spent every waking moment with Luke. 

________________________________________________

“You know what I just realized?”

Luke raised an eyebrow, turning his face so that he was looking directly at you. You were laying on Luke’s bed, your limbs intertwined and your bodies pressed together. It had to be close to midnight, as it was pitch black outside.

“What?”

“Turning eighteen tomorrow really isn’t that big of a deal.“

Luke brushed a lock of hair out of your face. “Why do you think that?”

“We’re not normal mortal teens. It’s not like being eighteen gives us any special privileges. In the eyes of the gods and Chiron, we’re still just average campers.”

“Yeah,” he said slowly. “But isn’t being able to say you’re officially an adult a little exciting?”

“I guess,” you said reluctantly. “I suppose I’ll see how I feel tomorrow morning.” 

Luke hummed in agreement. “Close your eyes, angel. You need the rest.”

You rolled your eyes. “You always say that.” 

Luke didn’t reply, but gave you a smug grin when you yawned. You just glared back.

“Don’t give me that look, Lukey. You don’t have to tell me ‘I told you so’, I’ll go to sleep, alright?”

He snorted quietly, burying his face in the crook of your neck and practically climbing on top of you. “Lukey? That’s a new one. Don’t tell me you’re going soft on me, angel.” 

You barely held back a groan as he placed a tender kiss on your jawline. “You know I’m only like this for you.”

Luke gave you a smile, his eyes sparkling despite the darkness that enveloped the cabin.  “I love when you’re like this. Your vulnerability is priceless to me, and I love seeing a side of you that you rarely show others. Besides, you’re so fucking adorable when you’re sweet to me, and only me.”

You shot him a fake glare. “You’re making it really hard to want to sleep.”

Luke sighed. “Fine, fine, I’ll stop. Sorry for keeping you up.”

You shook your head. “It’s alright, I really don’t mind.” You brought your stuffed animal to your chest, and wrapped an arm around your boyfriend’s torso. “Goodnight, Lukey.”

He leaned towards you, and gave you one last kiss. “Sweet dreams, angel.”

You fell asleep looking forward to your birthday for the first time in your entire life. 

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[moonchildreads]

small town

Chapter 20 - Self Control

IN THIS CHAPTER: The last high school party, apple flavored Kool-Aid, and Andy gets what he deserves [10.3k]

WARNINGS: underaged drinking, mentions of drug use (weed), slut shaming, a little misunderstanding (gets resolved really quickly), suggestive themes? (very mild, eddie's just a little bit wired, okay?)

A/N: i know i'm a day late, i'm sorry T.T someone got fired at my job and i'm supposed to handle their shit now because my boss is kinda cheap. it is what it is. BUT. hopefully this chapter makes up for my tardiness because as you can probably tell from the banner, the slow burn is officially boiling, you guys! enjoy <3

masterlist - prev - next | playlist

In the night, no control Through the wall something's breaking

Saturday, May 31st - 1986

Dottie was pacing like a nervous dog in a cage, feet hitting the soft rug in front of her closet with each step she took. It was the first Saturday in a long time that she hadn't spent in a blissful domestic bubble with Eddie and she was feeling downright antsy. The night before, once Hellfire had officially said goodbye to its Class of '86, the two teens had sat themselves in a booth at the back of The Hideaway with burgers, fries, and milkshakes, and something had finally clicked into place for her. There was no longer a specific need for them to spend so much time together anymore - no more exams to study for, no more books to read or worksheets to fill, and yet there they were still, on a Friday night, getting food together like usual. Sitting opposite of Eddie in that booth, watching him try to lick ketchup from the corner of his mouth and not reaching the smudge with the tip of his tongue, it dawned on Dottie that she had never loved anyone the way she loved him.

It wasn't that Dottie hadn't loved throughout her life, because truthfully she had. She had loved her Dad first, tiny fingers wrapping around a big thumb when she was just a few hours old. She'd loved her Grandparents, all four of them equally, but maybe no one should tell them that Grandma Jo leaving after a visit would always cause the biggest sobs to escape her tiny toddler body. She'd loved her Uncle Johnny, always cuddling up to him while they lived together, not really understanding that he wasn't actually her Uncle until it was too late to start calling him anything else. She'd loved her friends back in New York, even though she knew now that they hadn't loved her back in return. Hell, she'd loved Tyler, or else it wouldn't have hurt as much as it did when he broke her heart. Dottie wasn't someone that didn't know what loving meant or felt like, but the way she loved Eddie was unlike any other kind of love she had ever experienced before, and she knew she had to tell him sometime soon or she'd regret it for the rest of her life.

But first, there was prom, and graduation, and most pressingly, a party for which she had absolutely no idea of what she was going to wear, hence the continuous pacing. James, tired of hearing the back and forth on the wooden floors for the last fifteen minutes, came into his daughter's bedroom resigned to play stylist for the night like he'd done so many times before. Keeping up with the latest trends for the sake of his little girl was a full time job he had long ago learned to love.

"Do you know what Nancy is gonna wear?" he asked, sitting down at the end of Dottie’s bed.

"No, I didn't think to ask. But she always looks so pretty, Dad, I can't look like a bum."

"How about you tell me what you don't want to wear and we can start from there, okay?"

Thirty minutes later, Dottie had an outfit laid out where James had been sitting and she was doing her makeup in a hurry before Nancy picked her up. The plan was simple: go to the party, say hi to Chrissy and thank her for the invite, hang out with Nancy for a bit, meet up with the boys, and if the party sucked, head over to Jeff's for a movie night. He'd rented Ghoulies and Weird Science for the weekend and he still hadn't seen either, so it seemed as good a backup plan as any. Besides, movie nights had always meant sharing a blanket with Eddie and cozying up to him when she got sleepy. No matter what ended up happening, she knew her night wouldn't be completely terrible.

"Honey? Are you done yet? Nancy is here!" James yelled from the bottom of the stairs.

"I'll be down in a second!" she hurried to put on her clothes and ran down the stairs to meet her friend, crossbody bag bouncing behind her and hitting her backside.

She found Nancy politely making small talk with her Dad on the foyer; James had gone to school with her mom Karen and had fond memories of sharing a desk with her throughout their many years at Hawkins’ various academic buildings. They hadn't exactly been friends, but they always were on good terms and had even worked on a few projects together, namely one about growing sprouts from beans in mason jars when they were in middle school.

"Hey! Sorry for making you wait," Dottie said, stopping to hug Nancy who was better prepared to receive it than she had been in the school’s bathroom a day before.

"You're fine, don't worry about the time," Nancy reassured her. "There aren't any schedules to keep at these parties, everyone just comes and goes when they want to."

"Oh, good to know that we can just leave whenever if it sucks."

"Speaking of that," James said, getting his daughter's attention. "Call me if you're staying at Jeff's, okay? I'll come pick you up tomorrow."

"Donny can drop me off, you don’t gotta come," she waved her hand nonchalantly.

"Okay, but call me anyway so I know where you are. Take care you two, don't get too wild."

"Dad, seriously," Dottie rolled her eyes, exasperated but not without fondness. She knew he worried too much, but after all they’d been through, she couldn't blame him.

"Have a good night, Mr. Burke, it was nice to meet you," Nancy said, heading out with Dottie at her heels.

"You too, Nancy. Say hi to your parents for me, will you?"

The girls got into Nancy's car and drove away towards Loch Nora, the radio playing The Rolling Stones’ Harlem Shuffle softly in the background. They talked about random things, filling the empty space with the kind of anxious but lighthearted conversations one would have with someone they don’t know very well yet. So far their budding friendship had proved satisfactory for both girls, and they were willing to put in the effort to get to know one another better, even when that meant having to venture outside the comfort zone The Weekly Streak’s newsroom provided. During the ride Nancy complimented Dottie's outfit, and in turn, she had loudly admired hers, prompting the blue-eyed girl to admit she'd borrowed the shiny jacket with padded shoulders from her Mom’s wardrobe. After a good-natured laugh, Dottie admitted she had stolen her dress from her Mom’s closet too and Nancy told her her Mom had good taste. When they parked across the street from Jason Carver's house however, the friendly chatter ceased and both girls stared at the two-storey rising in front of them with apprehension.

"I'm so nervous," Dottie admitted, watching the colors spilling from the fairy lights inside the living room paint the veranda red, then green, then blue, and finally back to red.

"Me too," Nancy said, taking a shaky breath. "But we got this. How bad can it be?"

"Yeah. You’re right. It’ll be fun," Dottie nodded, and arm in arm they ventured inside the packed house in search of good old teenage normalcy.

Neither Nancy nor Dottie were having the slightest bit of fun. After a few shouted-over-loud-music hellos to some familiar faces, they had found themselves in Jason’s kitchen, nursing cups of a strange brown concoction that didn’t smell good and tasted even worse. Dottie wasn’t much of a drinker, and apparently Nancy wasn’t either, citing that the last time she’d gotten drunk, she’d embarrassed herself so badly she’d rather not have a repeat. The jocks and popular kids disagreed heavily with that assessment, and were having a lot of fun with two kegs in the backyard next to the pool. Dottie had suggested they venture out, sit by the water where it wasn’t as stuffy, but Nancy had quickly directed her into the kitchen where they ran into Marcie Hurley, an acquaintance from the newspaper club. Marcie was a lovely tall girl with a bold pixie cut; she was currently slightly intoxicated but full of ideas for stories to run in the last edition of The Weekly Streak before summer holidays started. Nancy pretended to listen to her with her utmost attention, but Dottie could tell by the way her eyes were glazed over that she was definitely calculating how much more she’d have to hear before she could get away without coming across as rude. Two girls Dottie didn’t know walked into the kitchen searching for something fruity to drink when they said something that caught her attention.

“What do you mean Munson said no?” one of the girls was saying.

“He said he wasn’t selling tonight! Which is honestly such bullshit, he was smoking with some other guys, he definitely had something on him,” the second girl said, pouring vodka into a cup.

“Show him your tits, maybe he’ll share with you.”

“Ew, I’m not that desperate!” the first one laughed loudly.

Dottie scowled immediately. She’d once gotten curious about him dealing and asked him a couple of questions, like how did he get into selling and if he was allowed to smoke his own product. Eddie hadn’t been particularly proud of his answers, but she told him she didn’t mind: the money helped pay for some bills around the trailer and put food onto their table. It wasn’t like he was dealing hard stuff or was some kind of mafia lord moving tons of product, for fuck’s sake. People talked about him like he had his thumb on the illegal underground in Hawkins when in reality, he was just a teen selling weed and a couple of pills here and there to a few fellow students at parties. Dottie hoped he’d never done something as gross as asking a girl to show him her body in exchange for a couple of hits of a shitty joint. She liked to believe she knew Eddie, and in her opinion he’d never do something like that, but teenagers had never been particularly known for making good choices. Nancy was already looking at her when she turned around, a knowing smile on her face. She nodded towards the door once, and after a whispered “thank you” off Dottie went in search of her friends.

The boys were enjoying the fresh air and sharing a smoke on the veranda at the front of the house, not really ready to go inside and face the music just yet. Donny had picked up Gareth and Jeff on his way to the party, but Eddie had arrived solo just a few minutes after them. They were talking about music, as they often did, when Dottie opened the front door and jumped on Jeff’s back, who flinched in surprise.

“Fucking hell, Dot, you’re gonna kill me someday if you keep doing that,” he said, rubbing his chest.

“I was worried you guys weren’t gonna show up,” she admitted, hanging onto his shoulders. He leaned his weight into her, hands wrapping around her loose wrists like they were backpack straps to keep her in place as they swayed side to side.

“Party sucks that much?” Donny asked, passing along the joint to Gareth.

“I mean, it’s not like I know a lot of people here. I’ve been hearing Nancy talk to other girls all night, and I think she’s as fed up as me.”

“Wanna ditch?” Jeff asked.

“We’re not leaving until I drink my fuckin’ weight in rich people’s beer,” Gareth declared, giving the cig to Eddie who took a long drag and put the roach out on the underside of the railing he was leaning against.

“If you want beer, there are a bunch of cans in the kitchen but you gotta fish them out of the cooler and someone spilled something green in there. It’s kinda gross,” Dottie grimaced.

“What? No keg?”

“Actually, there’s two in the backyard but the basketball team took ownership of one and I think the football team was doing handstands on top of the other one.”

“That’s so fucking lame,” Donny scoffed.

“Well then, who’s down for fishing?” Jeff looked at the guys, and Gareth shrugged, putting his hands in his jean pockets and following him inside.

“You coming?” Donny asked Eddie who didn’t move from his spot.

“Nah, gonna smoke a cig first. You go ahead,” he said, getting his Camels out of his front pocket.

Donny headed back inside and then it was just Dottie and Eddie under the moonlight, the tiny lamp above the front door doing nothing to shield them from the darkness. Eddie smiled, putting the cigarettes back in his pocket and opening his arms so Dottie could sheepishly tuck herself into him. She felt like she could finally breathe easy when feeling his chest rising up and down under her cheek, his warmth seeping into her bones.

“Too many people?” he asked knowingly, cupping the back of her head with one of his hands. Her fingers drew patterns on the soft cotton of his shirt.

“Mhm,” she nodded. “This is nice.”

“Yeah? You like my shirt?”

“Smells good,” she laughed. He smelled like Old Spice aftershave and laundry detergent.

“Why, thank you for noticing I showered, princess,” he said, grinning. “You look pretty. This your Mom’s dress?”

“Yeah,” she beamed, looking down at her shift baby blue dress. “I didn’t know what to wear so I just played it safe. The socks are new though,” she lifted her leg to show her white ankle socks with frills under her black kitten heels.

“So cute,” Eddie pouted theatrically, making her slap his chest in return. “No, really. You look nice.”

“Thanks,” she settled back against him, cheeks burning.

They enjoyed each other’s presence for a few seconds when the front door opened with a bang, an overexcited and red-eyed Chrissy Cunningham spilling out from the inside, her giggles following her as she skipped towards them in tune with the music coming from the speakers in the living room.

“Am I interrupting something?” she asked, a mischievous grin gracing her fairy-like features.

“Hey, Chris,” Eddie smiled, still holding onto Dottie as she turned in his arms to take a look at the newcomer. “How was your latest purchase?

“It was so good. Valerie, Julie and I just smoked a joint each in the bathroom,” she whispered conspiratorially, making Dottie laugh.

“Oh my. What would Jason say if he knew you were hotboxing his shower?” Eddie matched her tone.

“What Jason doesn’t know won’t hurt him. D’you want to smoke with us later, Dot? Only girls allowed.”

“Sorry, I’m not really a smoker,” Dottie said, feeling a little bit dumb. “But I’ll take you up on that Queen song you promised me yesterday if you wanna dance.”

“Oh my God, yes!” Chrissy grabbed her arm and pulled her out of Eddie’s grasp. “She’s mine now, Ed!”

“I can see that. I’m gonna go get a beer,” Eddie said, following them inside. “Have fun, ladies!”

“We will!”

Weed affects different people in different ways. That was a fact Dottie knew after spending so much time with the members of Corroded Coffin, better known as her best friends. Donny was always virtually the same after a good session, just got very thirsty. Eddie would get deep and thoughtful, and once the effects were gone, he’d get so hungry he’d eat drywall if it was the only thing around. Gareth, like Chrissy, would get giggly once he hit that sweet spot. It was like drinking, Donny had told her once. Everyone had a different tolerance, and most of the time taking a few hits of a shared joint wouldn’t be enough to change anyone’s personality significantly. There were other people like Jeff, for example, who had a very low tolerance and had decided to stop smoking altogether after realizing he’d get panicky and his clothes would always start itching each time he indulged in the vice with his friends. None of them had ever questioned him or pressured him to smoke after that, the same way that they didn’t pressure Dottie to smoke or drink when they were doing it around her. They’d always smoke outside, and Dottie and Jeff were free to lounge around on the couch and talk about anything and everything until they all regrouped inside again. Watching Chrissy be so carefree and joyful made Dottie think that maybe she’d enjoy being invited to one of their movie nights some day.

Chrissy, on the other hand, was a girl on a mission. There were no movie nights being planned in her head; she was instead focused on getting information out of Dottie to relay to Eddie at his earliest convenience. Chrissy liked Dottie, she really did. She liked how kind and attentive she was despite always walking around with an anxiety cloud above her head. She liked how she dressed, with her vintage clothing and big earrings Chrissy couldn’t wear because it’d be dangerous for a cheerleader to be tossed around with hoops or fun acrylic shapes dangling from her ears. She liked how she made Eddie feel, and Chrissy liked Eddie very much, so that just cemented Dottie in her mind as a good person to have around. And so, the blonde lulled her into a sense of comradery with heartfelt compliments and wild dances, trying to get to the bottom of the question she’d had swirling around in her brain for two months now: do you like my friend or is he wasting his time to end with his heart broken? To her credit, what came out of her mouth was much more subtle than that.

“Eddie’s awesome, isn’t he?” Chrissy asked, casting her line into the sea and waiting for Dottie to bite.

“Yeah, he’s great!”

“He was so right about us being friends! I’m so happy you came!”

“Well, thank you for inviting me!” Dottie smiled at her, and Chrissy squeezed her hand in response.

The party was in full swing now. Nancy had found a couple of classmates she got along with and finally managed to escape Marcie’s insistent newspaper talk; she looked much more happy talking to them near the door to the backyard than she’d looked like back in the kitchen. Donny, Gareth and Jeff were fishing out beer cans from the cooler and passing them along to people that normally ignored them in the hallways, their bravery for sticking their hands into the horrid green liquid making them the heroes of underaged teens trying to get unbearably drunk before inevitably throwing up all over Mrs. Carver’s bushes. Eddie stood to a side, near the archway that led to the stairs where bubblegum pink eyeshadow Marianne from his Sociology class had just disappeared up to with his lovesick boyfriend trailing behind her, much to his friends’ jeers and claps. The metalhead had a barely sipped on beer in his hand and hearts in his eyes as he watched Dottie and Chrissy spin around in the middle of the living room, singing along to Top 40 hits and dodging couples making out.

Eddie had never felt happy at a house party before. He’d usually drop by, deal a little bit from the back of his van, and speed away either to Jeff’s house to hang out with his friends or back towards his trailer where he’d smoke and fuck around with his guitar until he’d fall asleep on his tummy with his jeans still on. But standing there, seeing his friends being treated like normal people instead of the dirt beneath a shoe, he felt happy at a party for once in his life. He felt like a normal teenager, like everyone else in the Hawkins High Class of ‘86 saying goodbye to a long school year and hello to the unforgettable summer ahead. Chrissy made a suggestive face at him while dancing around with Dottie and Eddie laughed.

“Hey, Munson!” a familiar voice said, coming to clap his shoulder and snapping him out of his trance.

“Hey, Foster. How are you doing?”

“Weird seeing you here,” Kyle Foster of the Yearbook Club said, looking friendly but fidgety. “You never sell inside at these things.”

“Not selling tonight, man. Just enjoying the beer,” he lifted his can above waist level to demonstrate.

“Ah, dude, that sucks. I had a twenty with your name on it,” he clicked his tongue. “But if our deal still stands, I guess in a couple of weeks you’ll have a bag with my name on it.”

“I’m a man of my word, Foster,” Eddie smirked, shoving his hand into his pocket. “But here, for your troubles.”

He produced a tightly rolled joint from inside his packet of Camels and extended it to Kyle, who looked at him like he’d grown two heads. Never in his entire time being Eddie’s customer had he sold him a pre-roll, much less one that he had intended to smoke himself at some point. He eyed him curiously, not making any moves to pluck it out of the dealer’s hand.

“You sure about that, Munson?” he asked, giving him the chance to recant his offer.

“Yeah, you can have it. I’m not gonna smoke it and I’m feeling generous tonight. Just don’t send anyone else my way, okay? It’s the only one I had.”

“Y-yeah, man, sure! Thanks,” Kyle smiled, grabbing his prize for holding a polite conversation with the town’s freak who felt like less and less of a monster as the school year came to a close. “Here, take the twenty anyways,” he pulled a single bill from his back pocket. “Sorry about, y’know, that whole thing. See you when the yearbooks come out!”

And with that, he shoved the note into Eddie’s hand and left towards the backyard, probably in search of a borrowed lighter to spark up in a corner of Jason Carver’s lush garden. Eddie looked down at his hand, snorted, and put the twenty bucks away to spend another day. Maybe he’d get Dottie a strawberry milkshake like he’d done the day before, only to watch her eyes light up at the first taste and indulge in her pleas because it’s so good, Ed, you gotta try this! They make them with real strawberries! Chrissy found his eyes again over Dottie’s shoulder and stuck her tongue out at him. He clutched his chest like he had been hurt by her, overdramatic as always, and Dottie twirled Chrissy around breaking their eye contact. The songs changed but the girls stayed dancing and he kept on watching them with a satisfied smile on his face. It was a shame, really, that Eddie often became blind whenever he saw the girl he was in love with being truly, completely happy, because if he didn’t, he would have noticed one Andy fucking Humphrey staring at him like he could make the dumb metalhead drop dead in a heartbeat just by looking at him.

Jason Carver wasn’t the typical high school bully you’d see in films. Truthfully, he wasn’t even a bully; he just kept quiet while his friends did all the fucked up things the basketball team was infamous for. He was known as someone who would fly off the handle quickly, but not without reason. He took freshmen and sophomores under his wing, taught them what being a good teammate looked like, gave them a family within the walls of Hawkins High as part of his team. Jason was, if anything else failed, extremely protective and fiercely loyal to his own, and expected the same considerations to be returned to him. So when Andy, one of his best friends since elementary, came running to tell him that The Freak of Hawkins High was trying to flirt with his girlfriend in front of everyone, Jason had no reason to doubt him. Why would he, when Andy had been nothing but reliable all this time?

“What do you think you’re doing, creep?” Jason told Eddie, his tone low, trying not to call too much attention to themselves. Chrissy didn’t need to see this, she didn’t have to know she was being ogled by a pervert under his own roof.

“Drinking your beer, Carver, what does it look like I’m doing?” Eddie said with a sour tone, and instantly knew that had been the wrong answer.

“Yeah? What makes you think you’re welcome in my house?”

“Chill, man, I got invited, same as everyone else.”

“Who would want you here?” Chance Peterson said, appearing at Jason’s shoulder. This was bad.

“Uh, his girlfriend? Just like everyone else?” Eddie deadpanned, putting his can of beer on a ledge and lifting his palms. “Look, I’m really not looking to cause any trouble tonight-”

“Why would Chrissy invite you? You aren’t friends,” Patrick asked, and Eddie held back a scoff. He was willing to bet he knew Chrissy, the real Chrissy, more than any of these meatheads did.

“She invited all the seniors, that’s all there is to it. I’m a senior too-”

“Yeah, a senior citizen, you freak,” Chance said. “Why don’t you go home early and leave us actual seniors alone, huh? What is this, your tenth time trying to graduate?”

“See Peterson, I always knew you didn’t know how to count, but didn’t think you would be so bad at it. Should have known though, it’s not like anyone expects you to do anything that isn’t playing around with your balls. Now why don’t you back off and let your captain here and I have a civil conversation, alright?” Eddie looked down at Chance who narrowed his eyes at him, but Jason threw his arm out to stop him from moving forward.

“We’re not having a conversation, Munson. Back off my girlfriend or leave.”

“I’m not interested in your fuckin’ girlfriend, Carver,” Eddie said, bewildered.

“You say that, but you sure were looking at her before we walked in,” Andy said, stepping around his friends to stand next to Jason. “Wanna explain that?”

“Is looking at someone a goddamn crime now? Can’t exactly leave my eyes at home, you dumbass,” Eddie said, getting loud.

“So you were looking at Chrissy!” Jason yelled.

“No, I wasn’t! Believe it or not, not everyone is fuckin’ in love with your girlfriend, man!”

“Hey, what’s going on here?” Donny flanked Eddie, his voice booming over the sound of the music.

“Back off, dude, what’s your deal?” Gareth threatened Chance when he shoulder-checked him.

People were starting to catch on now, curious eyes looking around for the latest gossip. Jason and Eddie yelling at each other wasn’t exactly new, but both groups of friends having a screaming match at a house party? Now, that was juicy. As everyone started insulting and trying to intimidate each other, Eddie looked around trying to find Dottie in the crowd. She was still dancing with Chrissy, oblivious to the conflict, and now another cheerleader had joined them; he was pretty sure she was a junior and her name was Valerie.

“Hey! Stop looking at her, asshole!” Andy said, grabbing Eddie’s hair and turning his head back towards the imminent fight.

Andy’s voice was loud enough to startle the girls and make them look their way. Chrissy and Valerie paled instantly, hurrying forward to try to contain the scene before it turned truly ugly, leaving a path open behind them for Dottie to follow. Chrissy grabbed Jason’s arm and tried pulling him away when Eddie turned to Dottie and shook his head, his curls still in Andy’s grasp.

“It’s okay, Dot, stay over there!” he told her, not wanting to get her involved and hurt.

But it was too late, because Andy, as stupid as he was, caught on pretty quickly. He hadn’t recognized her before, all dolled up and giggly while she danced with Chrissy and Valerie. He’d simply assumed she was one of their friends, maybe even a junior he hadn’t really paid too much attention to while in school. Insistent on Eddie perving on Chrissy, he’d missed a crucial detail: that the unknown girl she was dancing with was the same girl that had threatened him in the AP Spanish classroom just a week ago. The same one that had told him to stay away from the Hellfire Club. That girl wasn’t Chrissy’s friend, she was a freak, merely blending in with the rest of the school population because she didn’t wear dark colors and leather. Andy turned on her so quickly she didn’t have time to heed Eddie’s warning before he was spewing venom towards her.

“I see now, freak,” Andy said, letting go of Eddie’s hair with a shove and stepping towards Dottie. “You weren’t looking at Chrissy, you were looking at your bitch.”

“What the fuck did you just call me?” Dottie said, angrily.

“That’s what you are, isn’t it? The freak’s little bitch. That’s why you came after me last week, huh?” Andy was seething. “Did he tell you to do that?”

“You brought that on your own by being a smug idiot,” she told him, not backing down from the fight even though she was terrified of him.

“Wait, what are you talking about?” Patrick asked.

“This slut tried to tell Mr. Lorenzo that I cheated on a test if I didn’t leave her friends alone,” Andy explained, once again looking smug. Everyone was watching them now. “Said I was gonna lose my ride to college, acted all flirty and shit. What is it, honey? The freak not giving it to you good enough? Do they all share you, like the big whore you a-”

“Fuck!”

Dottie hadn’t hesitated. Instead, she’d just simply punched him right in the face with her right fist, thumb on the outside like her Grandpa Ken had taught her when they were boxing in his backyard one summer, hitting pillows and humming along to the Rocky theme song while Grandma Caroline made fresh lemonade. The crack that followed the punch was deafening. All chatter ceased and the music was turned off - if a needle were to hit the floor, it would have been so easily heard in the silence that followed her expletive. It had hurt for him, yes, something was definitely broken, but the impact on her knuckles had split the delicate skin covering them, not used to being treated so roughly by colliding against a jock’s bones. Andy pinched his nose with pain, blood starting to pour down his cupid’s bow.

“Wait, no!” Chrissy gasped, as Andy reached over to take someone’s beer can out of their hand and emptied it on Dottie’s head, throwing it away once it was empty. The metal clang on the floor until it hit someone’s shoe.

“What the fuck?” Gareth managed to say, before Eddie launched himself and pushed Andy away from Dottie who just stood there clutching at her hand and looking at the floor in shock.

Her Mom’s dress was ruined, sticky liquid dripping from her hair onto the soft fabric, staining everything as it went down, down, down onto her thighs and legs until it reached her socks. She smelled like an alcoholic and her fingers hurt. She felt empty, adrenaline leaving her body as she shivered while everything around her dissolved into utter chaos. The Hellfire Club and the basketball team were yelling and pushing each other once again, people rushing to get out of their way so they wouldn’t get hit. With the reflexes of someone used to being on alert, Nancy grabbed Dottie’s arm and yanked her aside just in time for Andy to push Eddie off himself and into a side table. Eddie hit the floor with a sickening crunch, but what made everyone stop the brawl was the sound of the lamp on top cracking into a million little pieces right next to the couch.

“Jason, stop this!” Chrissy pleaded, hanging onto his arm.

Andy, not one to be deterred, snapped his head towards Dottie, not caring that Nancy threw an arm out to cover her with her own body. He raised his hand, fully on board with hurting either of them to make a point, when Jason finally snapped into action and grabbed him by the collar, pulling him into Patrick’s arms who instantly held him in place, Chance coming over to help.

“Are you crazy?” Jason yelled at his friend. “We don’t hit women!”

He turned just in time to see Chrissy helping Eddie up, the two of them muttering to each other softly, looking a lot more friendly than he liked. His eye twitched once and he looked at Hellfire as they huddled closer to each other and started inching towards the exit, Nancy and Chrissy herding them out.

“Get out of my fucking house!” Jason told them, like they weren’t already trying to leave.

“Gladly,” Donny said, closing the door behind them and shielding them from further aggressions.

“You guys, I am so sorry,” Chrissy was saying, not knowing who to direct it to first.

“It’s okay, Chris. Not your fault your boyfriend has shithead friends,” Eddie said, patting her shoulder in comfort.

“Still, I should have-,” she cut herself off because there was nothing she could have done; the basketball team and the Hellfire Club were destined to hate each other until the end of time. She turned to Dottie instead. “Are you okay?”

“Y-yeah, I think so. My hand hurts,” she sniffed. “I’m sorry we ruined your party.”

“Oh, please, that party sucked,” Chrissy snorted. “The most fun I had all night was when we were dancing with Val.”

“Come on, let’s get you home,” Donny said, guiding Dottie towards his car.

“I can drive her, I brought her here,” Nancy offered, giving him half a smile. She wasn’t friends with the guys, but she knew enough about them through Mike to have at the very least positive feelings towards them. Besides, it wasn’t like Jonathan hadn’t also been an outcast back when he was still in Hawkins. She knew what that was like.

“No, no,” Dottie hurried to say. “You should both go back to the party. Eddie can drive me, Don, I don’t want to ruin your car.”

“Are you sure?” Chrissy said, not wanting to leave her in such a vulnerable state.

“Yes, I’m sure. Go back inside, it’s your party,” she squeezed the blonde’s hand. “I had fun dancing with you, thank you for inviting me.”

“Maybe we can do it again some day? Just us girls?” Chrissy said, eyes full of hope.

“I’d love that,” Dottie said, and she really meant it.

“Okay, then… let’s go back inside, Nancy. Bye guys, drive safe,” Chrissy waved at them, pulling her cardigan closed and both girls disappeared back into the house.

“Is this a bad time to say that I stole a case of beers?” Gareth said, lifting a 12-pack and bringing some much needed humor to the situation.

“Let’s go back to mine then, we can sneak in through the basement door,” Jeff proposed, and Donny nodded.

“I’m… I’m gonna pass, guys,” Eddie said. “I’ll take her home and head back to the trailer. My ass kinda hurts.”

“Have fun without us, okay? I’m sorry I ruined it,” Dottie said, tears swimming in her eyes. Whether it was because of the shame or the pain in her hand, no one knew but no one asked her either.

“Hey now, you didn’t ruin anything. We’ve got an awesome story to tell the kids someday,” Donny laughed.

“Yeah! We’ll be like: Auntie Dot broke a jock’s nose back in high school because he called her names,” Jeff said, putting on an old man voice and Dottie chuckled wetly.

“Come on, let’s go,” Eddie said, guiding her towards his van with a hand on her lower back.

“I should sit in the back, I’m gonna get your seats dirty,” Dottie said.

“Don’t even think about it, there’s no seatbelts in the back,” he said, climbing in and rummaging around for the tarp they covered Gareth’s drumset with when they moved it for gigs.

The music from inside the house was booming again when Donny’s car pulled into the street and the boys left, saying goodbye by honking twice. Eddie covered the front seat with the tarp and helped her get in, clicking the seatbelt for her in place and jogging to get to the driver’s side. Dottie stared out the window as Eddie turned the van on and backed up into the street, waving at a defeated Chrissy who was looking out from the living room’s window. When Eddie stopped at the first intersection, Dottie turned to look at him.

“Ed?” she asked in a shaky voice. “Can you take me to yours instead?”

The trailer was empty with all the lights turned off when they arrived, which was unusual for a Saturday night. Wayne had always had weekends off, after all, he had a kid at home to take care of and nobody was an asshole enough to ask an old man to come in during his time away with his family. Still, as Eddie kneeled down next to the entrance to help Dottie undo her heel buckles, she looked around while holding onto his shoulders and found herself missing her Mr. Wayne. Eddie had asked her in the van why she didn’t want to go home, and she had simply replied she didn’t want to tell her Dad she’d gotten into a fight just yet. She’d failed to mention that she was expecting Wayne to give her the parental comfort she needed, but without the grounding she was sure she was gonna get from her own father.

“He’s at the plant,” Eddie said, guessing her silent inquiry. “He’s doing extra time this weekend so he can take a couple of days off for graduation.”

“That’s really sweet,” she smiled, stepping out of her shoes now that he’d gotten them unbuckled. The beer that had dripped down her legs had stained the tops of her socks.

“Wait here, okay? I’ll get the shower running for you, the knobs are… well, they’re stupid,” he shrugged with resignation. “You can call your Dad if you want, tell him where you are.”

He started the shower for her while she dialed home, James picking up after a few long rings. He listened to her talk quietly while getting her a towel and clean clothes; she hadn’t exactly asked, but Eddie got confirmation that she wanted to spend the night when he heard her lie to her Dad about being at Jeff’s and having a movie night. Eddie wasn’t about to complain about her not mentioning she was with him if it meant he could sleep next to her for a full night. He went back into the bathroom, lowered the toilet’s lid and put the things he’d gathered for her on top before opening the mirror cabinet and pulling out a new toothbrush along with a packet of makeup wipes. She hung up and walked into the small bathroom after him, looking at the items in his hands with a quirked eyebrow.

“I wear eyeliner for our gigs sometimes,” he admitted. “It always looks like shit, but if it’s good enough for Ozzy, it’s good enough for me.”

“Maybe I can teach you how to do it right sometime,” she said, the corner of her mouth lifting into half a smile.

“Maybe you should just do my makeup so I don’t poke my eye out.”

“Okay,” she agreed. “I’ll do your makeup next time.”

“Kick your clothes out the door when you take them off, I’ll throw them in the washing machine for you,” he said, and left her to her devices.

He went back into his bedroom to give her privacy and get changed into his own PJs, which consisted of an old ratty t-shirt with a couple of holes around the neck and plaid pants he was sure had belonged to Wayne at some point in their lives. While he busied himself changing his sheets into fresh ones, putting her clothes in the washer and making his bedroom look somewhat presentable, Dottie tried to hurry up in the shower, not wanting to use up all the water. Still, she couldn’t help but take her time appreciating the fact that Eddie actually owned conditioner and that the green apple smell that surrounded him in the mornings belonged to the big bottle of shampoo in the corner of the tub. She washed all the beer off her skin and hair and, feeling a lot more like herself, wrapped her body into the soft off-white towel he’d gotten for her, standing at the mirror to rid herself of her make up as best as she could. She brushed her hair quickly, scrunching her curls into the towel to remove the excessive moisture, and brushed her teeth making a note to buy him a new toothbrush to replace the one she’d used. Timidly, she also reached for his deodorant, reasoning that it was better to use it than to stink up his clothes and bed with her sweat.

She was studying herself in the small mirror, not entirely believing that she was wearing Eddie’s clothes, when she realized the light scabbing on her knuckles had probably loosened up with the water and they were all bloody again like she’d never cleaned them up in the first place. Poking her head out of the bathroom, she directed her voice towards his bedroom where she could hear him pottering about.

“Eddie?” she called.

“Yeah?”

“D’you have any bandages? My hand’s bleeding again.”

“Uh, lemme see,” he pushed the door open and rummaged around in the sink cabinet, grabbing a little bag that contained their first aid supplies. “Come, sit on the bed,” he instructed, and she did as he asked without a word.

He kneeled in front of her and inspected her right hand, closing each finger carefully and pressing on parts of her palm to see if anything hurt. Nothing seemed to be permanently broken, so reached over to his bedside table where a cup of water sat and gave her an ibuprofen to help with the swelling before moving on with his next task. She watched him as he worked diligently to clean the scrapes, long thick fingers fluttering softly on her skin.

“What’s the diagnosis, doc?” Dottie asked.

“I’m getting a weird déjà vu here, princess,” he chuckled. “You need to stop getting into trouble before I get into pre-med.”

“Can’t help it. Trouble’s my middle name.”

“I thought it was Ann?” Eddie said, laughing.

Truthfully, he was joking around to hide the fact that he had been losing his mind since she’d opened the bathroom door and came out all rosy-cheeked, smelling like him and wearing his clothes. He’d given her one of his old shirts, a white one he hardly ever used anymore with a Garfield print at the front and his blue checkered boxers, not expecting them to look as big on her as they did. The hem of the shirt almost covered the shorts, and the short sleeves went past her elbows. The less was said about his gray socks that bunched up at her heel, the better, and he tried not to think about the fact that he knew she wasn’t wearing a bra because he’d had the most mortifying pleasure of throwing the cute cotton garment into his washing machine fifteen minutes earlier. Eddie was wrapping up her knuckles with a long piece of gauze when he noticed she’d gone strangely quiet. He looked up at her face to find her teary-eyed and chewing on a wobbly lip.

“Hey, what’s wrong?” he asked, holding onto her hand. “Is it too tight?”

“Is that… what everyone thinks about me?” she whispered, like she was afraid of asking out loud.

“I- I’m not sure I know what you’re talking about, darling.”

“Wh-what Andy said. About me being… does everyone think I’m a slut?”

“What? No! Of course not!” he stuck the gauze in place with a piece of medical tape and lifted himself onto his knees between her legs to hug her. “Dot, he didn’t even know who you were until tonight, he was just talking out of his ass.”

“I’m not a whore,” she muttered into his shoulder. “I promise I’m not.”

“Darling, what are you on about, huh?” he grabbed her face with two hands and brought her eyes to his. “I know you’re not. You could sleep with half this town and I still wouldn’t think you’re a whore. You- you can do whatever you want with whoever you want! I know you, you’re… Dot, you’re so fucking nice to me, to all of us, and the only reason Andy said that bullshit about you is because you’re friends with the freaks.”

“I’m not,” she said, and he looked at her in question. “I’m not friends with the freaks. I am a freak.”

“Hell yeah you are,” Eddie smiled. “You are a freak, and you shouldn’t let what that piece of shit said get to you, okay? You broke his fucking nose because he talked shit about you, Dot. You’re so fucking amazing.”

It was probably the way Eddie was looking at her like she’d hung the moon and all the stars, or maybe it was the way he was holding onto her face with a gentleness no one associated with the rugged metalhead, fingers extending under her ears and into her damp hair, thumbs on her cheeks. It was most definitely the way he always took care of her, how he cleaned her wounds like she was the most fragile thing on Earth and how he never hesitated to pull her into his arms whenever she needed a hug without questioning her reasons. But honestly, it was most likely the fact that he was so close to her, his warm breath mingling with her minty one, that had her leaning forward and pecking his lips with hers in the most chaste kiss she’d ever given to anyone in her entire life.

She tried pulling away as fast as she had leaned in, she really tried to, but Eddie felt like he had been struck by a live wire and instinctively chased her mouth with his own, still cupping her face but moving one of his hands to tangle into her hair, finally taking a hold of the proverbial carrot dangling in front of him. He was kissing her - Eddie Munson was kissing Dottie Burke and he couldn’t get enough of it - he needed more, he needed to consume her and she to him until there was nothing left for anyone to see. He grabbed onto her bare thigh to pull himself up and she whimpered, the walls of the illusion suddenly crashing around him. She’d just tearfully asked him if the town thought she was a whore, and his way of reassuring her, had been to deny it and then make a move on her. Eddie jumped back so quickly he fell onto his bruised ass and hissed in pain.

“Fuck, Dot, I’m- I’m so sorry!” he pleaded, leaving her dumbfounded and glazy-eyed.

He’d fucked up. He’d ruined everything. With his eagerness, he’d jumped the gun and now his plan was ruined, and she probably, maybe, definitely thought he was a fucking pervert trying to get into her pants, and yes, he very much would like to do that but not like this. Not before she knew he would quite literally die for her, not before he’d confessed to her the profound love he felt and had finally become the kind of man she deserved to have. Dottie looked at him not understanding what had just happened, but when she moved to get off the bed and closer to him, he jumped off the floor and put even more distance between them.

“I’m so sorry, we shouldn’t- fuck, I didn’t-”

“Eddie, it’s fine-

“No, it’s not fine!” his hands tangled in his own hair while he tried to find the words to explain himself. “This is all wrong, goddamnit-”

“Eddie, calm down-”

“Fuck, Chrissy is gonna kill me, I’m such a fucking idiot-”

“Ch-Chrissy?” Dottie whispered, but he didn’t hear her in the middle of his freakout.

Oh. Oh. She was so stupid. She couldn’t even blame him, she’d been influenced by her aunts and by Gareth - and of course, who wouldn’t be in love with Chrissy Cunningham, Head Cheerleader and Queen of Hawkins High? She was so kind, and friendly, with her gorgeous eyes and warm smiles. And by his own admission, if she was going to kill him, well, that certainly meant she returned Eddie’s affections, did it not? She’d be an idiot not to love Eddie back because Eddie was so loveable. Sweet, silly, wonderful Eddie who had just kissed his best friend and regretted it deeply. She had to get out of there if there was any hope of saving their friendship.

“I’m so sorry,” Dottie said, rushing out of the bedroom and into the kitchen.

“Dot, wait!” Eddie followed her. He had to fix this, he had to tell her, he was gonna tell her- “What are you doing?”

“I’m really so sorry, Eddie, I didn’t know,” she got her damp clothes out of the washing machine; the cycle had probably ended in the middle of his upset rant and neither of them had heard it.

“Where are you going? It’s midnight!” he watched her shove her feet into her heels, not bothering with fastening the buckles before she opened his front door. He had to act fast or he was going to lose her forever.

“Eddie, please,” she asked, tears pooling in her eyes again, voice broken. “I just want to go home. Everything’s fine, I’ll see you on Monday-”

“No!” he threw himself onto the door, closing it again effectively locking her in. “Y-you can’t leave like this! What are you gonna do, walk home in your heels? Are you insane?”

“Please, I’m sorry,” she sobbed, breaking his heart into a million tiny pieces. “We can forget this all happened, please, just let me go!”

“No!”

“Eddie!”

“No! We need to talk about this!”

“There’s nothing to talk about! I didn’t know you were dating her, just let me-”

“Wait, what?” It was Eddie’s turn to be confused. “I’m not dating anyone, what are you talking about?”

“I’m not fucking deaf, Ed! You just said Chrissy was gonna kill you!”

“Yes, but that’s not- Fuck! That’s not what I meant! She’s dating Jason Carver, for fuck’s sake!”

“It’s okay if you like her, she’s fucking perfect-” she babbled, fat tears leaving tracks on her cheeks.

“You’re fucking perfect! God, fuck, this is not what I-” Eddie took the clothes out of her arms and threw them into the living room, pulling her into his arms again.

“Eddie, what the fuck?!” she shrieked, trying to get away from him but he held on tight, throwing her onto his shoulder and sitting her down onto the kitchen counter.

“I made Kool-Aid!”

“What? I don’t want fucking Kool-Aid-”

“Just stop arguing!” he yelled, effectively shutting her up. “I made apple Kool-Aid.”

“...I love apple Kool-Aid,” she said, for lack of a better response.

“I know,” he said, leaning back and looking at her sitting between his arms, palms on the cold surface of his kitchen countertop. “That’s why I keep buying it. For you.”

An ugly sob bubbled up out of her throat and she hid her face in her hands. She wasn’t strong enough to keep fighting with him, and when he hugged her again, fingers tangling back under her ears, she simply bowed her head and cried harder. Eddie kissed her hair and held her, letting her release all the pent up emotions that were swirling in her mind. When she breathed a little bit easier, he looked at her, drying her tears with his thumbs.

“Can I trust you to stay here while I get the Kool-Aid?” he asked, softly.

Dottie nodded, so he moved away from her to get the pitcher out of the fridge. He filled a mug first, watching her legs swinging lightly back and forth while she sniffled and picked at her nails, and stopped before filling the next one. She saw him frown and look around the kitchen before finding what he was looking for: a yellow ceramic mug with a gnome playing the accordion on the front. A couple of weeks ago, the teens had been studying in the trailer on the small table in the kitchen, and Dottie had mentioned to Wayne she was gonna get him a hat with her college logo when she was in Michigan so he could add it to his collection. He’d glowed at that, joking that he was gonna tell everyone his niece was a genius and that he’d leave her her favorite mug in his will in return. The two of them had spent around 30 minutes going through every mug until she decided on one, all while Eddie worked on his homework with a dumb smile on his face. She’d picked a yellow mug with gnome playing the accordion on the front, the very same mug Eddie was now gently putting into her hands filled with apple Kool-Aid he allegedly kept buying because he knew it was her fave flavor.

They sipped their juice in silence until Dottie calmed down, holding onto the mug with both hands for comfort. Eddie stood there, waiting for her to say anything and when it became clear she was not gonna be the first one to talk, he put his mug down and turned to her, pulling on the hem of her borrowed boxers.

“Hey,” he said, ducking his head down to look her into the eyes. She made a small sound of acknowledgment but kept staring at the liquid between her hands. “I’m not dating anyone.”

“Okay.”

“I don’t like Chrissy,” he kept going.

“You don’t have to explain anything to me.”

“Yes, I do. I really fucking do,” he took her mug out of her hands and ducked a bit more. “Dot, look at me. Please.”

“Eddie, it’s fine-”

“I’m kind of insanely in love with you.”

“What?” Dottie breathed out, eyes widening.

“Darling, I haven’t been able to even look at anyone else since the day I met you. I’m so fucking obsessed with you it’s actually embarrassing,” he smiled at her, finally hitting her with the full force of his confession.

“You… you like me?”

“Mhm,” he nodded, lifting her hand and kissing her gauze covered knuckles. “Chrissy has been helping me plan how to ask you out. We’re not secretly dating, she knows I’m crazy about you.”

“Oh. Sorry, I didn’t know,” Dottie murmured, ashamed that she’d jumped the gun with her conclusions.

“You couldn’t know, that was the whole point,” he chuckled. “I was gonna ask you out after graduation, I wanted to have our diplomas and everything but then you kissed me and… you’re awfully impatient, has anyone ever told you that?”

“God, I’m an idiot,” she laughed, hitting her forehead with her palm. “How long had you been planning that?”

“Since around your birthday,” he admitted, and she groaned. “I would have asked you earlier but I wanted to set things straight before, y’know? I wanted to graduate first, maybe get a job, I dunno… Give you what you deserve. Instead you get… this,” he waved his hand around. “Sorry.”

“Eddie, I’m so in love with you, it’s not even funny. What are you talking about?”

“What?”

“Oh my god, we’re both idiots!” Dottie groaned again, and he laughed in disbelief.

“You’re in love with me?”

“Yes! Why did you think I kissed you?!”

“I mean, I kinda figured out you liked me, but love, darling, that’s… That’s a lot.”

“You just said you are “kinda insanely in love” with me, what do you mean it’s a lot?” she looked at him like he had just told her the sky was green.

“Well, yeah, but- that’s different! I’m me!”

“Okay, what the hell does that mean?”

“I don’t know, I just- fuck, I love you and I really, really want to kiss you right now. Would that be okay, darling? Can I kiss you?”

She shook her head at him like he had just said the stupidest thing on Earth and wrapped her arms around him, bringing him forward and pressing their lips together again. Eddie laughed against her mouth, hands coming up to cup the sides of her jaw, thumbs rubbing circles into her skin. They kissed with no hurry and no other motives than to just kiss, savoring the moment like a cold sip of water after a long race. There were no more places to hide, no more shadows lurking in the background. It was just them under the mismatched light bulbs in the Munson kitchen, two mugs and a pitcher filled with Kool-Aid, and limbs tangling with one another, scratching an itch that had once seemed impossible to relieve.

Eddie moved his lips from hers to her cheek, up her nose and eyelids until he reached her forehead and stayed there, just breathing in and basking in the knowledge that they’d jumped off a cliff together and had landed on the other side unscathed. There were so many conversations to be had, so many things to be said, but this was more than okay for him now. This was enough, and for the first time in his whole life, he was enough. Dottie’s hands moved under his shirt, lightly running her short nails over his skin, the motion calming and grounding him. He was hers, and she was his, and there was nothing else that mattered anymore. The waters were calm. The locked padlocks remained in place, but the keys weren’t forgotten or hidden anymore. She felt at peace in a way she had never once felt before, knowing that no matter what came next, they would face it together. She yawned once, burrowing further into his skin, and he chuckled.

“Wanna go to bed now?” he asked, softly.

“Yes, please,” she replied.

Eddie helped her off the counter and let her get comfy in his room while he finished getting ready for bed, turning all the lights off and brushing his teeth with a dazed expression on his face. He found her tucked in on the left side of his bed, the one closest to the wall and realized that he could get used to this so easily. He was sure that once she went home the next day, he’d have trouble falling asleep until she was back next to him, nuzzling into his chest and wearing his clothes. They cuddled in silence, soft touches in the darkness, just exploring skin and calming rapid heartbeats with innocent caresses that revealed just how much they’d longed for this. There would be time for bolder actions, but tonight they just wanted to hold each other tight and never let go. Eddie, however, had one more question to ask before sleep could whisk them away to Dreamland.

“Darling?”

“Mhm?”

“I don’t want to, like, ruin the moment, but… what happens now?”

“Dunno. What do you want to happen?” she asked, moving her leg on top of his so he could shuffle closer to her.

“Can we maybe not tell people this happened so I can ask you out like I planned?” he said, shyly. “I just… I want to do things right with you. I don’t want to fuck this up.”

“You’re not fucking anything up, Ed. But sure, we can pretend this didn’t happen and I’ll act surprised when you ask me out,” she rolled her eyes playfully.

“No, no, that’s not what I meant,” he squeezed her closer. “I meant it more like… not telling the guys? You can tell your Dad if you want, though.”

“How about this?” she said, reaching up and kissing his jaw sweetly. “We don’t tell anyone anything, and my Dad doesn’t get an aneurysm every time he sees you. Sound good?”

“You want to lie to your Dad?”

“Not forever. We can tell him before I leave for college. You’re gonna come see me, right?” Dottie asked, hopeful.

“Baby, Michigan is only three hours away. They’re gonna think I’m your roommate with how often I’m gonna be there,” he pecked her hairline.

“Baby?”

“Just trying it on. D’you like it?”

“I love it. And I love you.”

“Fuck, I’ll never get tired of that. I love you,” he chuckled, leaning in to kiss her. “Okay, we won’t tell anyone so your Dad doesn’t murder me.”

“I have one condition though.”

“Okay?”

“I still get to kiss you when we’re alone.”

“You just want me to be your dirty little secret, don’t you?” Eddie joked, poking her side.

“I’ll be yours too if that helps,” she said, cheekily.

“Oh, don’t tempt me with a good time, princess,” he said with a mischievous tone. “Who knows? Might be fun to sneak around all summer.”

Half an hour later, when they were finally falling asleep between soft kisses and whispered sweet nothings, they both agreed that a little bit of teenage disobedience might just be the missing piece they didn’t know they were looking for to complete their perfect summer before officially being adults. After all, it always looked so much fun in movies, right?

taglist (comment below or send me an ask if you want to be added!): @munsonology @kurdtbean @every1lovesanunderdog @eg-dr3amer3

[urrockstar-xe]

looking at lights - marauders x gn!reader

posted december 24th, 2022 4:52 pm

this is very muggle like lmfao. hints of wolfstar <3 I also couldn't find a gif for this one - xo

masterlist

word count: 0.5k

“Bloody hell, that Santa inflatable is fucking massive!” you heard from the backseat. Laughing, James turned up the car radio to listen to the holiday music as he drove. 

“I fuckin’ love rich people,” You said, watching all the glittering lights hanging from the big houses. “This is the only time of year you can get away with saying that, darl” Sirius responded in a joking tone, the lights illuminating his face as he spoke. 

“I wonder if this whole neighborhood is in contact with each other, that’s like the seventh time I’ve seen that snowman,” Peter said, leaning closer to you to see out the window better. “Probably just a really expensive rich people decoration,” “probably.”

“When Prongs and I are known as the greatest quidditch players of all time, I’m gonna buy an entire street so that way we can all live no more than a sidewalk away from each other” Sirius smiled. “We can go half and half, pads” James added before the two boys in front high-fived. 

“Only if you guys agree to do super huge and outrageous decorations every year” You joked, “I’ll make waivers for everyone to sign” Remus replied, “wanna be roommates, Y/n?” 

“Absolutely not, moony is my roommate,” Sirius said pointing a finger at you. “You sound like a history book, Padfoot” Peter smiled when the car full of people laughed at his joke.

“Whoa, look at the house out my window!” James Exclaimed catching everyone’s attention as they all turned to look at the colorful display outside. “Merlin, that must be at least, what? 50 thousand lights?” Sirius said, pulling the sunglasses (that he insisted went with his outfit) over his eyes. 

“No, I’d say more than that,” James responded, “its bloody perfect,”

“Do you think they made those cutouts themselves?” You asked, “if not, I want the information on who did,” Remus said 

“Hey! Look at that, they have a little archway to take pictures in! Let’s go” James pointed out, wasting no time in pulling over and unbuckling his seatbelt. 

The 5 of you stumbled out of the car, making your way to the little archway before Remus cast a quick spell to take a picture of all of you together.

Sirius stuck his tongue out while making a rock-on sign and kneeling on the ground in front of his four friends, James put up bunny ears behind you and Remus while smiling, Peter stood with one hand in his pocket and the other flipping off the camera as he laughed at Sirius, Remus put up a peace sign but couldn’t keep himself from looking at Sirius’ pose with a smile. You opted for finger guns and an exaggerated pout, earning more laughs from Peter and James.

“Okay. we took the picture, get the fuck back in the car I’m freezing my tits off!” Sirius all but screamed as he rushed back to the passenger seat. 

“I told you to wear more layers” Remus responded, calmly making his way to the back seat. James threw his arms around you and Peter as you followed wolfstar, laughing as Sirius defended himself with “the sake of fashion”

[spotsupstuff]

Now, I have trying to organize your iterators from the oldest to the youngest and it looks like this:

Zephyr, Boreas, Fish, Euros

Now, who is the youngest? Notos or Haboob?

Because I was looking at older post and for a moment I thought it was Haboob, but then you said that Haboob was isolated so I couldn't take that first meeting between Notos and Haboob as the introduction of Notos to the local group because in the ask I made about her colony you mentioned that Notos welcomed her as a pier and not a stranger.

Also, how is the relation between Euros and Haboob?

Haboob is the baby of the Anemoi! Notos is an incredibly early Gen 3- like in the first five Gen 3s of the Eo group. Haboob is a mid Gen 3

Notos welcomed her as a peer into their lil boss group cuz Notos does not differentiate or give a shit bout much things. if you are good to Notos, Notos will be civil and kind. if you won't be, it will either just stare for a sec before leaving without a word or will be passively aggressive if forced into interaction. what it saw when Haboob was added out of nowhere was a young iterator, confusion and fear straight up pouring out of her and it was just getting worse n worse as the other three elder ones were conversing about how wrong this is. essentially calling Haboob herself wrong. Haboob was like a kicked puppy in that moment and well Notos May be a logical thing, but it is also kind and wants the right and fair things to happen to people around it. so it barked a lil at the other three and then did what it wanted which was to offer Some kind of safety for the newbie by approaching her like that

sure worked out, considering Haboob latched onto it as her big sister and best friend. something goes wrong? Haboob is booking it to Notos before anyone else

THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THOSE TWO WAS A. MESS AT FIRST. cuz Euros was jealous of SO many things Haboob has going on. the free puppet? the nice colony? the interactions Boob has with all of them? becomes even worse the moment he realizes how similar young Sparrows n Boob are. but also he didn't exactly wanna just shit on this poor unknowing kid so for a good while he tried to minimalize their interactions. until one day... hmm.......

gonna go with Boob havin a breakdown in a group call about smth unrelated over how pushed away from everyone she is even though they are supposed to be a team and apologizing for not knowing they are Meant to Suffer. "i'm sorry for being happy with my life- i didn't know i wasn't meant to be." and she's so painfully genuine cuz she doesn't know what else to do to make this better anymore

Notos didn't say anything to that cuz it knew this needed to play out between the other four, Zephyr- you can imagine- IMMEDIATELY snapped into full attention and started doin her best to gently and kindly correct that train of thought while the boys were kind of stunned in the background. B n Caper then talked about it by themselves and promised each other they were gonna try and be better. that's how they eventually manage to get here

they share memes together so she Knew :')

Boob even called up Euros (along with Fish) to help her name that big crab of hers later on!

what's this? a sister without an endless supply of spice (only reasonable amount of pissery)? here we thought that was impossible.

[starzy-drawz]

I just stumbled onto your blog, I love it!

I'm also writing my own au(ish) type thing involving Godzilla

Can you infodump about yours? :D

OF COURSE! It’s gonna get long so be prepared hah! (Most of this is actually spoilers for my own books so yeehaw)

Okay so, I’ve restarted my AU multiple times but after watching the ending credits of Godzilla: KOTM and piecing the story together that was hidden beneath the white markings— I decided to change up my AU and that is the version that I’ve kept up with.

So basically, there’s gods & goddesses thrown into it all. There’s a creation goddess named Gatix and she’s been around since earth was created, and a few elders were there as well (Methuselah, Scylla, Behemoth, and Shimo for example.)

When other kaiju species began arriving Gatix decided to split her powers between two members of the divine moth species, Akari and Daku (two fanmade moths). These two are the goddess and god of Life and Death.

Soon after these two are created, a war sparks between the MUTOS and the rest of Kaiju civilization, practically making life almost impossible on one side of the world.

On the divine moth side of things, there are two new sub-species types that are named after their respective gods. Akari moths control life and healing and Daku-moths control death and pain. Upon this, most Daku-moths are killed during their first winter.

However, as the war is in its highest point— Akari and Daku ask Gatix if they may split their powers further. Of course, they don’t know who to give their abilities too but you know— Gatix always has an idea. She decides that their granddaughter, Mothra, should take on one of their powers. Though, at the time of her birth she was born as a Daku-moth but she does not have the full power to become a goddess.

The reasoning for this is because Mothra’s faction (that’s what the moth groups are called) has become so detached from reality that they actually told her mother (Setsuko, another fanmade titan) that Mothra had died when in reality they were about to use her daughter for their own greed.

Around this same point in time, our favorite Gojiran is learning how he fits into this world with his mom, Evelyn, and his cousin, Zilla. He had lost his father, Dai, to the war and so he has to watch his mom fight all the battles by herself.

But of course, when he hits the age is 120 years old, his mother is slaughtered in front of him- which forces Zilla and him to leave the only homeland they’ve ever known.

Rodan’s also in here too! His childhood is pretty chill and I haven’t fleshed out his story entirely so that’ll be saved for later! Though I will say, he is bisexual and he does have a partner named Yoko (I decided to make a fanmade character because I couldn’t figure out which actual character to put him with.)

That’s all I say lore wise because I’d rather let you and everyone else reading this figure it out for themselves when I get back to posting Godzilla stuff lmao. And hey, if you still around long enough, you’ll see the MVT chapters get posted (maybe after a month or so because I don’t want people to get spoiled for GvK).

Thank you so much for the ask! I’ve never got to infodump before!! :))

[oohbuggypie]

it's both my God given right and duty to never shut up so i am going 2 not be quiet about BullDon 🫡 putting all text ("analysis", fanfic reccs, general rambling) under a read more so those who don't gaf can scroll easy 🩷 HERE WE GO !!

(all fanfics and their respective author are linked within their titles 🩷)

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

K WHERE DO I START . their dynamic, past the obvious matador and bull trope, is so interesting to me. i think that their backgrounds have so many similarities; Don is a matador and is shown to have hundreds of people gathered in a stadium to watch his match, and Bull is watched relentlessly by the paparazzi. but they both have very different reactions to the fame and attention they receive. Don soaks it up and Bull can't stand it, and i think it contributes to their odd, almost mirror dynamic a lot

past that is their personalities and ethics,, both of them are SO full of themselves i actually almost forget, with Bull only being slightly more humble (cuz he can't exactly brag about his looks 😭) . Don is more prideful than he is cocky imo; but he's VERY expressive of his anger and distaste for losing, which makes him kind of paralell to my idea of Bull. though this follows more of a headcanon of mine and not whats in the game, i think Bull is really calm outside his persona in the ring (i.e his intermissions,,, he's being friendly if anything with Doc and he speaks so calm and low in Title Defense). unlike Don, he's shown actually building endurance and managing his emotions compared to his Contender cutscnene, essentially the OPPOSITE of Don, who only gets more sour and negative after he loses. i think in that aspect they're complete opposites but that switch makes their dynamic and relationship so much more complex to me

in the ring i think they share the factor of channeling their anger to help them succeed; Don is stronger when he's pissed at his missing toupee and Bull is .. Bull ? the Bull charge and his gut punch in Title Defense are very telling if his entire character isn't about how genuinely angered that man can be and i think that gives them a more complex element to how they'd work together; they're both sour and ugly about being perceived/looked at (more literally) in a way they don't want to, so that's just another thing that i find so interesting .. they have a BUNCH in common yet they're drastically different when you look at their characters generally

K NOW FANFIC RAMBLE TIME 🩷

Suficiente:

if anybody knows the author DetectiveCapan from AO3 personally im so dead srs when i say u should message them and praise them. i could not stfu about their BullDon writing and im not going to in a paragraph or two here but OH MY GODD. i have always avoided both actual books and fics alike that are written choppy and simplistic, and especially ones that lack atmosphere simply cuz they're just unappealing and hard to make me feel what's actually going on. but their BullDon trilogy ?? somehow their style of writing, which doesn't use complex words or long sentences packed with detail, is genuinely some of my favorite that i have EVERR read . they make the emotions the characters are feeling SO easy to understand and feel even without exaggerated expressions and dramatic descriptions it's actually kind of incredible ? and the bit of humor isn't overbearing, it's just silly and it sets up the atmosphere, which never ends up terribly serious. they write relationships with a familiarity in the atmosphere and actions that have been unachievable in any other piece of fiction ive read and the gestures omg .. IM GONNA BE SPECIFIC IN MY RECCS SO YOU'LL HEAR MORE ABOUT IT BUT OMGG. DETECTIVECAPAN IF U SEE THIS BLESS UR HEART SERIOUSLY UR AN AMAZING AUTHOR 🩷🩷 PLEASE KEEP DOING WHAT U DO UR WONDERFUL AND I'D LOVE 2 SEE MORE OF UR WORK ABT BULLDON / PUNCH OUT!! WII IN GENERAL 🥹 now the recc list!!

possibly my favorite out of all three and it's literally the first one 😭 ough i could gush about this one FOR SO LOOONG ,,, i love how they immediately establish Don's mindset and attitude with how he both admires and pities the World Circuit for what they get and what they go through. when Don's out of the shower and he sees Bull half dressed there's no implication of sexual tension despite them being mostly undressed in front of each other and thats actually SO special to me because i had a morethanfriendship just like this and they captured the reality of it in a perfect way, like feeling for feeling . same in the way that Bull watches Don get dressed; they mention he stares but he doesn't have a corny, shocked "omg i hope he didn't notice me" reaction to catching himself. instead they mutually understand that they're admiring each other and they just smile about it . LIKE UGH THATS SO SPECIAL TO ME OMGG. and also Don putting on his - what'd id assume - rosary and then dabbing cologne behind his ears .. literally clutched my own cross necklace like omg that detail makes me crazyy i love the religion mention sm 😭

also UGH Bull's mannerisms .. a little annoyed at Don but there's such an endearing thing about it; he's annoyed at his demands but he complies anyway cuz even though he knows Don is purposely trying to make him a little pissed, he likes him enough to and he knows it'll make him happy .. THERE'S A DEEPER SENSE TO IT AND I KNOW EXACTLY WHAT IT IS BUT IT'S HARD TO WORDD 😭 also Bull being quick tempered about small things like the radio playing static and the music not being his taste .. and just the mutual like attachment they have with each other.. Bull never says anything about taking Don "home" (his hotel room) but Don knows exactly to get in his car and go with him anyway ,, and i cannot stress hard enough that it's just the little things seriously. i will never ever be regular about Bull liking to tie Don's boot laces, or promising to get his favorite beer when he offers it, or purposely (and patiently) waiting for him to get out of the shower so they can talk 🥹 like all those little gestures of love that show that he really does care . also possibly my favorite thing about this whole trilogy is that they have a very unestablished relationship ! it's never explicitly stated that they're dating or in love or anything even romantic but there areee quick mentions that imply (if im reading them correctly) that they're def a bit more than friends i.e Don mentioning how he thought his skin would burn from being in Bull's shower water temps ,, but the fact that it's not an established relationship and they don't outright express romantic interest in one another makes it SO much more special. it sets a completely different tone that creates warmth, familiarity, and comfort between them 😭

that's about that for Suficiente .. I LOVE IT SO MUCHH 😭 PLS READ IT, LEAVE KUDOS, AND IF U CAN COMMENT UR PRAISES !! 🩷 it is so well deserved genuinely. now on2 the next:

La Cosa Sobre El Pelo:

ugh i love this one equally as much. im gonna be repeating a lot of the same praises and ideas from "Suficiente" bcuz the whole trilogy creates the same kind of atmosphere but i still wanna gush about and explain it 🥹 omgg the paragraph about Don having a bald ass head and it scaring away the ladies made me giggle SO BAD . also UGH okay .. the sentiment of Don being vulnerable enough to confess his biggest insecurity to Bull, and for Bull to actually reflect and think about it so long after he's been told and reciprocate the vulnerability by showing Don a photograph of him before he lost his hair .. OUFFFGGHH actually the cutest and sweetest thing ever . also i am a nitpicker and a sucker for small details and i just absolutely LOVE how naturalistic the author makes the characters move. like Don doesn't get up and stand to grab the photo off the nightstand, he leans over and props himself up with his elbow and continues sipping on his beer when he's observing it like any other person would .. ugh i LOVE that detail , i get a little bothered when people write characters to be unnaturally animated in a setting where it doesn't exactly make sense to be, so that's another aspect of their writing that i appreciate soo much 😭 also it's the gestures omg .. when Bull grabs Don's thigh and shakes it and Don doesn't jerk away or question the closeness , he just leans back onto the bed and continues/ends their conversation about how he'll look bad with no hair and Bull looks good without it ,, I LOVE THAT SO BAADDD again it's the familiarity the meaning of Bull's gestures ,, the care that they quietly express instead of directly saying it .. GAWDD that's like my fav thing 😭 there's something so special about the silent concern and care that Bull has for Don in their writing; the small actions and the thought behind them do so much more than what words could say and i think it's super in character for him as well .. literally stellar i think i need to reread and add onto this one once i look at it again but I LOVE THIS ONE SO SO MUCHH 🩷

[kingdoms-and-empires]

I chose the OP option (because I can't decide which stats I wanna focus on 😭) and I developed a little head canon to explain why my character is good at everything. In his former life he was less than OP. He was one of those people who have potential, but never applied himself, out of a mixture of laziness, procrastination, and a crippling fear of failure! When he died he was extremely disappointed in himself. He always figured that he'd pull himself together in the future, but now he's dead and he never achieved anything he wanted, other than gathering some useless facts (like maybe ancient technology such as the treadwheel crane perhaps 👀). When he got his second chance he decided he was gonna make full use of it. The instant he was able to comprehend the language of the world and was able to read, he'd sneak books and accelerate his education through reading things someone as young as him shouldn't understand. He also would go through physical training, again in secret, and watch the guards train in swordsmanship in hopes of picking something up. Since for years he had little to no responsibilities, and the mind of an adult, he has been able to devote almost all his time to developing his mind and body

TL;DR: my MC went from a procrastinator to a try hard and it payed off

Nice headcanon!

i think alot of people would be similar if they had their old memories and would give themselves a strong head start

Its really interesting to think about how you'd really act in a similar situation to the MC as you yourself.

The MC is canon to be "good" from the start, and its up to the player to choose how the MC progresses over time...honestly the best reincarnation works ive seen out there arent the traditional Isekai protag animes, its actually works that deal with a woman being reincarnated or isekai'd. Either a reincarnated villainess trope, or general isekai trope work, the ones with female leads are generally better in my opinion since it usually aint a power fantasy

Eh idk where i went with all this but it was fun to think about haha, so thanks!

Oh, some of my favorite anime that deal in reincarnation and isekai with female leads or kingdom simulators in general that do it well with male or female leads are these:

Fuuuuuck youre making me break out my old bookmarks and im seeing my mangas are now updated with new chapters...dozens of new chapters!!!! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH I WANNA STOP WRITING AND READ INSTEAD

This one has adorable art that I feel in love with as the MC starts as a baby lol, and the MC is competent, which is really nice

The MC is alright, she tries doing stuff to get out of shitty circumstances but the real highlight of the story are the titular Monster Duchess and her husband. Nooo idea how it is now but theres literally double the chapters now from where i left of and im so tempted to read lolololol

OMFGGGGG I FORGOT ABOUT THIS!! This is a fav of mine since it deals with the cinderella story! The MC is a reincarnated chick who plays as the evil stepmother in cinderella's story, but omfg its such a good twist on the trope and it really does alot of things well, and THERES SO MANY NEW CHAPTERSSSSSS

YOOOOOOOOOO I forgot this one too lmaoooo ima bad fan haha

Anyways, this is another great subversion of the reincarnating trope since the MC is on her THIRD reincarnated life, and she actually conquered EVERYTHING in her second life. But she got betrayed and killed by people and she said mannnnnn fuck this, ima get hitched with the dude who was nice to me in my old life and never asked for shit! And so begins a funny as romance story lol, GOD DAMN AND THEYRE ON THE SECOND SEASON NOOOOOOW

Someone either here or on Discord recommended this to me, and whoever did so, I love you! This is a weirdly realistic take on the historical figures of the Sengoku period having to deal with this weird girl who appears to have come out of nowhere but knows a bit of practical modern knowledge that helps Oda Nobunaga win some victories. Honestly, i really appreciate how grounded it is for a manga! The truth of the matter is, we really wouldnt be able to do that much if we were in her shoes either lol!

Bruhhhh when i tell you i squealed when i saw how many chapters this has now! Without a doubt, this is my favorite! The MC is hyper competent, she uses her femineity to her advantage and doesnt fight against it like other works do when they wanna show their female lead "isnt like other girls", and shes honestly such a joy to watch running circles around other people that screwed her over in her past life. Read this one for sure!!!!

Another competent female lead how got reincarnated and has to survive death flags by marrying one of the romance options, but the world system keeps screwing her over and its funny to see how she has to navigate trying to romance obviously shitty romance options who sound really hot (like the enemies to lovers trope would NOT be easy in real life lmao) or (the crazy mfer who makes you scared but horni)

Read this and then decide if you'd survive lol

AHGHGHGHHHH This is so good!!! Basically a girl has to become the stepmother to children how are close in age to her. She tries to do things her own way at first, but she dies. So she gets reincarnated and tries to do better the second time around. If you wanna read a good female lead doing introspection and learning from her past mistakes, read this. Its really good!

Alrighty. This is honestly a guilty pleasure, and should really be read after reading alot of villainess or female lead reincarnation manga to basically cleanse your palate with this funny ass story lol. Instead of playing by the rules of society like the previous stories, the main character does "not like other girls" very well and its enjoyable to watch lol! Use it once you get tired of the previously mentioned ones!

Annnnnnd that's it! Thank you for making me out myself lmaooooo

[paradisepoisoned]

always so ready to scream about meronia... 5 random headcanons for them, i beg of you

OMG YES ok it was hard what five to pick and this is gonna be long winded but fuck it I'm excited lol also I apologize in advance if this is senseless rambling I am not a very articulate person 😅

1-so I have this headcanon that Near and Mello both each have like their own little spice of PTSD or something, and they are the only ones who can kinda talk each other down in a way. I always Imagined Mello being born in Croatia during the Yugoslav wars and just living through horrendous trauma (this could be a post in itself so I'm gonna refrain because I have so many thoughts on Mello pre-wammys house but ANYWAY) and I don't really think he ever had time to process it, like he was living in a war torn country, everything he once knew, his family, everything blown apart and all of sudden he's at a prestigious secret orphanage for geniuses in England. So he kinda just buried it and didnt look back and dedicated everything to making L proud hoping that would be enough to make it go away but obviously it's not and so sometimes when he hears firecrackers or a siren or even one of Matt's videogames it fucking SENDS him and one day Near catches Mello hyperventilating in the hallway and Near shows him a breathing technique and breathes with him till he stops and Mello fucking hates him cause it works and it's something he uses the rest of his life and he thinks of Near.  Near only knows the breathing technique cause he also gets panic attacks but what gets Near the most is the nightmares. The nightmares send him into thrashing fits but the worst is the sleep paralysis. It would happen one of the first few nights when they slept together and Mello would stroke his cheek or hold his hand and talk him through it or recite a passage from a book, anything to distract him. Near never says what the nightmares are about or what he sees during sleep paralysis and Mello never pushes it.They don't know what the other went through but there is a mutual unspoken understanding and I feel like that is the closest they ever get to affection 

2-I feel like this is a really unpopular headcanon and not really accurate but idc I think Near secretly resents L. Idk why but I just like this headcanon. I picture Near to be a bit of a bitter person and I think he blames Mello's hatred for him on L though he'd never admit it  and tbh I don't think Near had any desire to become L at all I think he was apathetic towards everything at first it wasn't until Mello came along that he started feeling alive. Near never cared about being L. He cared about the game he and Mello played. I also think mellos admiration of L would just solidify Near's disdain and I would imagine they've gotten into a fight or two about the integrity of L's character. 

3-I think both would deny it but they can make each other laugh. Like genuinely laugh. I think they would fight it but every once in a while like on a full moon or some shit Near would make a snarky comment at someone or Mello would make a face behind rogers back and before they could stop themselves it would come out. They are mortified at how the others laughter makes there heart skip a beat and neither would admit to this under torture.

4-I think Mello is one of the only people who knows Near is secretly a disturbed basket case and hear me out lol. Mello is probably the closest Near has ever gotten to someone and this is already turning into a thesis so I'm not gonna get into my headcanons for Near pre wammys but ya boy has ISSUES. Like one day Mello would catch Near doing something wild like trashing A's old room (idk I have a headcanon that A and B's room stayed like mausoleums at the orphanage and it was like a ghost story) and Mello would get the blame for it cause who would fucking believe him if he said Near did it. So he gets grounded for a week and Near slips him chocolate under the door as a silent apology. 

5-Linda and Roger put together a funeral for Mello and Matt. Near did not attend. 

 I'm sorry this turned into a Ted Talk without almost any punctuation, but it feels good to scream about these two thank you loll

[strawberry-seed28]

Guess what? It’s Hero x Villain time :D

Quick thank you to my beta Soldier Blade, your advice & editing was very much appreciated :] Tw: Cursing ================================

Book Club

A book club. A fucking book club. Supervillain glared at Villain, who was adverting their eyes away from their gaze. They sighed, trying to not blow up over the fact that not only was the Villain HQ being shown off to civilians, but that it was advertised as a book club. Not even something cool like a fight club, but a book club.

    “Villain, I’m gonna give you five seconds to tell me why I shouldn’t fire you right here & right now.” Supervillain growled, staring at the younger member. Villain flinched, a hand going to the back of their neck as they looked up at the supervillain. “Well?”

    “I- You see boss, I saw you reading Pan's Labyrinth yesterday & I was coincidentally reading it too, so I thought we could maybe get more people to read together. Plus the fact that you don’t really have any friends outside of work-” Villain cut themselves off as they realized what they said. Supervillain narrowed their eyes, arms crossing against their chest. It was true, being a supervillain often led to not getting much time outside of work, much less time to make friends who weren’t always planning evil schemes with them. Though, they didn’t want to admit it. Supervillain sighed, a hand going to rub their temples a futile attempt at calming themselves.

    “Listen, kid, I appreciate you wanting me to get out more, but you need to mind your own  damn business sometimes, okay?” They said, trying to keep their irritation at bay. Villain nodded, looking back down at their feet. “Now, go out & take down those posters before someone actually comes, alright?” Villain laughed nervously, once again raising a hand to the back of their neck. Supervillain raised an eyebrow at them.

    “Uh, heh, bout that..” Villain said, trailing off slightly. The supervillain groaned, unmasked irritation & anger in their voice. They gestured Villain to the door, a silent command to bring them to the idiots who decided to join the ‘Book Club’. Villain flinched, speeding to open the door for their boss before scurrying ahead to lead the way. 

After an incredibly awkward elevator ride, they made it to the lobby. The cheery elevator music did nothing to quell the tension between the two of them. The elevator opened with a resounding ping, & Villain hurried to ahead of Supervillain. They peered out to notice the single civilian, who was happily chatting to the receptionist about lord-knows what. The echoing of Supervillain's steps alerted Civilian to their presence, making them turn, a blinding smile wide on their face.

“Howdy! Are you the leader of the book club? I’m Civilian & I’m glad that there's still book clubs here in the city. These days it's all about social media & superheroes or whatever. So when does it start? I noticed that nobody else was here so maybe I’m just early? Oh well-” Civilian chattered, completely unaware of the confused & downright irritated supervillain in front of them. They were rambling far too fast for Supervillain to hear properly. They raised their hand in a silencing gesture, trying to get a moment so they could speak. 

“I'm very disappointed to tell you this, but ‘Book Club’ will not be happening today. My colleague here,” They jerked a thumb at Villain, who waved at them nervously, ”made a mistake on the posters. So you’re going to have to leave.” Supervillain finished. Civilian deflated at that, disappointment clear on their face. As much as they disliked it, Supervillain did feel a pang of sadness as they sollumley nodded.

“Alright then,” They said, not even trying to hide their disappointment. They began to grab their things when they paused, a small smirk creeping onto their face. “What about these then?” Civilian held up a basket full of pastries, fresh ones if the steam emanating from them was anything to go off of. Supervillain stilled, jaw dropping slightly at the move they just played. It was dirty, they had to admit, but then again, Supervillain liked the wit behind it.

“So you play dirty then.” They said, a small smile growing on their face. Civilian returned the gesture with their own shit-eating grin. “Both of you meet me in room 72, 12:00pm. Sharp.” They said, turning back to the elevator. 

And that's how Wednesdays at 12:00pm became known as book club days at HQ, & every meeting always had pastries baked by Civilian themselves.

================================

That’s all for now, have a good day/night :D

[onlyjaeyun]

tbh I mayhaps started writing again. Currently I have 30k of a Sunghoon fic(idk how long it's gonna be but lets just say it just hit the climax), 12k of a Heeseung fic, 6k of a Sunoo fic, and finished a 7k Yuma fic and 11k Jo fic. Like I can't just focus on one thing at one time, I get writers block and start a whole new fic. I also have a bunch of other ideas, I have at least one plot for each and every member of &Team and Enhypen, some have multiple, to give a little taste of some I have ideas for but I haven't started yet kitsune Taki, guardian angel which turns into fallen angel Euijoo, enemies to lovers Jay, and a the Little Mermaid fic with Jake(since tell me Jake is not Prince Eric coded). And it's so sexy to see you using some of the ideas I've sent you for Strictly Business, before long we'll all be sending you Strictly Business thoughts and headcannons.

Of course Sunoo and Niki may have been in it sparsely, but they are still family, and ohana means family, and family means no one gets left behind or forgotten. Allow me to leave you with a few last, last for now I'll probably think of more later, Poison future thoughts:

Everyone always takes vacation together once a year, all 14 of them and their 15 kids, they all rent a private jet, thanks to sugar daddy Jay and his extremely extremely well paying job. They all enjoy an amazing two week vacation together each summer, all the kids and adults alike. It's a tradition that started back when only Hee and y/n had a child and the only married ones were Hee and Hoon, the rest were just dating. It however, has turned into a long standing tradition; they all set aside two weeks each year and just enjoy being together, no responsibilities or anything, except for their children until they get old enough to handle themselves. It is on these vacations that their children grow closer, the ones that aren't in the same grade.

Each birthday within the group is celebrated with everyone, a minimum of at least 30 people, since Jay's sister will come when he asks her too, will come to each party; even if none of the kids friends come, they have a full party regardless. Sunghoon plans each and every party, wanting nothing but the best for all their kids, he even offers to help Sunoo and Niki plan their kids birthdays. He's also prepared for everything, like once his daughter wanted a Princess Elsa birthday party, but the princess he booked got the flu the day before and had to cancel, so instead of that Elsa, they had a 6 foot tall Elsa that looked oddly like Hoon singing Let It Go off-key, but his daughter had the time of her life at least.

Hoon's daughter is an absolutely princess and he's dreaded the day she comes home telling him she has a crush, like he knows how he reacted to his little sister having a crush, his daughter having a crush would be even worse. And worst it is, she comes home saying she's in love with one of the Sim boys and Hoon's heart just about stops, he loves Jake and all, they are besties, but she had to fall for his son. Hoon however encourages it, and little does he know that crush a 15 year old girl had on the 14 year old son of Jake, will turn into him walking her down the aisle with tears in his eyes to marry that son only ten years in the future.

Jungwon's daughters are all princesses as well, but not as bad Hoon's, he however dreads the love talks even more, I mean how can he not when he has to deal with 3 times compared to Hoon's 1. When his middle daughter comes home with hearts in her eyes, he'd terrified of what to say and of course their mom isn't around, so he has to deal with it. He's even more terrified when the name out of the girl's mouth is the name of Jay Park's son. What starts as a simple crush turns into Jay's son attending family dinner, taking Jungwon's daughter to prom, and before long asking Jungwon for his daughter's hand in marriage with tears in eyes. Jungwon might be a protective father, but deep within his heart, he knows there is no one that would love his daughter as much as Jay's son does, and he happily gives her away, crying tears of happiness at the wedding, that quickly turn to tears of sadness as it hits him he has to do this two more times.

All their children remain friends even once meeting adulthood, their friendship reminiscent of the friendship between their parents. Jake, Jay, Heeseung, and Sunghoon's sons are carbon copies of them, forming their own little group, the six of them being just as bad as their dads were. Meanwhile Sunghoon, Jungwon, and Heeseung's 5 daughters form a somewhat similar group, all the cousins being best friends.

bestie you're a MACHINEEEEE and im afraid very much needed for this fandom so pls do reconsider coming back on here and blessing people with your talent 😭😭😭💞 and pls its so sexy of YOU for the ideas to strictky business you've sent me like its an honor for me to use those and i hope you know how much i appreciate your input 🥺💞

and please every time i think im over poison you send me headcanons like these and i get all emotional bc i lit teared up thinking about the boys creating mini mes and having them gang uo as well like i just 🥺 i'd marry your brain if i could and since i cant pls accept my kisses 💔🩷💞💗