#the paper SUCKED so im proud on how they turned out

[deadsh33p]

Some traditional south park fanart (i have so many more but i aint sharing WUAHAHA)

[stevie-petey]

episode one: suzie, do you copy?

Steve sighs. “Those kids are manipulating your power over me to get what they want.” “You call it manipulation, I call it bonding.”  Another sigh escapes Steve. “You’re going to be the death of me.” “And yet you stay.” You tease. “And yet I stay.”

Summary: you help nancy sneak through jonathans window, the party uses you for your "in" with steve, and you sorta become the reason dustin almost blinds lucas. meanwhile, steve tries, and fails, to make you his girlfriend (this will happen all summer), but have no fear ! dustin intercepts a russian code and makes everything even harder for everyone. what a sweet brother <3

Rating: general, swearing

Warnings: allusions to violence, swearing, fem!reader, use of y/n

Words: 9.6k

Before you swing in: shes here !!! season 3 of come home <333 im so excited for yall to read what i have planned, and thank you so much for being so patient as i planned the season out and started the chapters :) season 3 is pure chaos and i hope yall love what ive created, im proud of the changes i made <3333 we get some more insight into bug this season, which i also hope yall love !

-

June 27th, 1985.

A summer breeze gently creeps into Jonathan’s room, bringing the scent of dandelions and your childhood with it. It’s early evening and Jonathan hums to himself quietly, laying in his bed as he lazily skims through a comic he stole from you last week. You’re next to him as you carefully cut pieces of construction paper to glue onto the posterboard. Dustin comes home from camp in a few days and you want his welcome home banner to be perfect.

In the other room you hear the floorboards creak, followed by the sound of Joyce and Will laughing at whatever movie they’ve put on in the living room. Hearing their laughs makes you smile; it’s been so long since you’ve heard them laugh.

The tune that Jonathan hums now becomes a familiar one, and absent mindedly you begin to hum along with him. The cool summer night’s air encases the two of you, as if it senses that you want to freeze this moment forever. You’re in the Byers home, pressed against Jonathan’s side as you hum together an old song from when you were both fourteen and thought you had the world all figured out,

It’s nice, having this moment all to yourself with him. Moments alone with him have become few and far between, and it saddens you to think about.

There’s a new mall in town, Starcourt, and within a few months of it opening, Bookstrordinary has slowly been edging out of business. The entire town of Hawkins quickly fell in love with the mall, but with this love came the abandonment of downtown Hawkins.

Mrs. Waters can barely afford to have you work more than a few hours a day, so you’ve been spending your days visiting Nancy and Jonathan at their internship at the Hawkins Post or hanging at Scoops Ahoy to see Steve and Robin. While your friends have been lovely, you can’t swallow down the fear that you’ll lose your job by the end of summer.

As if somehow reading your thoughts, Jonathan puts down his comic and pokes your cheek. “Hey, I’ve been meaning to ask if you and Nance thought of anything else to try and save Bookstrordinary.”

You glue down a letter and try to distract yourself with the miniscule task. Nancy has been brainstorming a million ideas to try and help Mrs. Water, and while you appreciate her effort, it’s no use. Swallowing down even more dread, you shake your head at Jonathan. “No, nothing. Nancy offered to help organize a book drive to get more customers, but…”

“It wouldn’t be enough.” Jonathan finishes for you.

“Not nearly enough,” you sigh, desperately wanting to change the topic now. “But besides me possibly losing my job soon, how has yours been at the Hawkins Post?”

Now it’s Jonathan’s turn to sigh. “It’s… okay? I guess. I–I mean, definitely not what I expected it to be. The hours suck and the men are awful, but…” he shifts uncomfortably and looks away from you, embarrassed. “A job is a job.”

You rub his arm, understanding what he means. The Byers have always struggled with money, but ever since Will went missing two years ago and Jonathan lost his last job at the Hawk movie theater, it’s only gotten worse. They’ve tried hiding it, but last week you sneakily paid for Will’s ice cream at Scoops Ahoy while no one else was looking.

“I get it, bee.” You reassure him, hating that he even feels embarrassed in the first place.

Jonathan smiles and leans into your touch, appreciative of the fact that you know his family well enough by now to understand all he’s too ashamed to say. The two of you sit quietly for a few moments before he tries to lighten the mood with something else. “You excited for your birthday, bug?”

“Ugh,” you shake your head in disgust, which Jonathan laughs at. He knows you’ve never really liked your birthday. “Don’t remind me.”

“It’s in a few days, so you gotta suck it up.” Jonathan flicks your forehead and you swat your hand at him. “Besides, I bet $5 that Steve has some grand proposal planned for your birthday this year. He’s spent the entire summer drooling over you.”

His words make you blush furiously. “He has not–”

“He definitely has,” Jonathan tries to flick you again but you dodge, giggling. “I’m surprised he hasn’t publicly declared your love for you yet. I think there’s a betting pool going around the party.”

You gasp. “You’re lying!”

“Nope. Lucas and Max both lost last week, they bet mid June. Now it’s only me, Nancy, Will, and Dustin in the running.”

“What about Mike and El?”

“Mike didn’t want to encourage you dating Steve and the party agreed it felt unfair to have El gamble seeing as how she’s, ya know, still getting used to being in society.”

Despite yourself, you laugh. The idea is so bizarre and lovely, knowing how invested everyone is in your alleged love life, and it makes the worry you’ve been feeling fade away. “Can I join the pool? If I actually lose my job, I’ll need the money.”

Jonathan scoffs at you. “That goes against every gambling rule–”

“Please? I could be poor soon!”

“No, it’s not going to happen–”

“But–”

A knock on the window cuts you off. The two of you look up at the sound and find Nancy standing outside, waving and smiling. You hurry over to let her in, happy as always to see her. She’s been spending more and more nights at Jonathan’s, always sneaking in through the window.

It’s disgusting, and you couldn’t be happier for them.

Jonathan helps the girl climb through the window and greets her with a kiss to the forehead. “Hey, Nance.”

She smiles up at him with a shine in her eyes, and you know it’s time to leave. It’s getting late, anyways. You start to gather your banner supplies as you greet Nancy yourself. “Welcome back, Wheeler.”

“Hello to you too, Henderson.”

You wink at the girl and quickly ruffle Jonathan’s hair. “I’m going home, bee. My mom wants me to help prep Dustin’s room and I wanna have his banner done by tomorrow.”

“Bike home safe, please.” He says with a stern finger pointed at you.

Rolling your eyes, you give a mocking salute to Nancy and Jonathan. “Use protection, kids. I’m too young to be an aunt.”

Nancy gasps while Jonathan practically trips over his own two feet at your words, and you laugh. You leave them alone to compose themselves, closing the door to Jonathan shouting, “That wasn’t funny!”

You’re still giggling to yourself when you walk into the living room and see Joyce and Will sprawled on the couch. Their movie has just finished, the credits are rolling as you stand next to the TV and wave goodbye to them.

“You leaving so soon?” Joyce asks, surprised to even see you leave Jonathan’s room in the first place.

“Yeah, gotta finish up Dustin’s welcome home banner,” you hold up your supplies. Then, through the house’s thin walls, you all hear Nancy’s soft giggle. At the sound, you lean in close to Joyce and Will and dramatically whisper, “Plus, between the three of us, company came, so…”

Will’s eyes widen. “Yuck!”

Joyce chuckles, remembering how in love she was at Jonathan’s age back then. “Would I be a bad parent if I told Nancy she could just use the front door?”

“I don’t think so, but it’s fun watching them think they’re getting away with it.” You steal a piece of candy from the bowl Will had been eating out of, and he holds it up higher so that you can grab more. “Thanks, little bee.”

“You think it’s fun teasing Nancy and Jonathan now, Y/N, but when you’re the one sneaking in through a boy’s window one day…” Joyce shrugs, a twinkle in her eye. “You’ll understand.”

Will looks up at you with his own evil glint in his eyes, and before you can stop him, he turns to his mom and says, “I wonder how high Steve Harrington’s window is.”

You pretend to attack Will and he giggles as he flees his seat and runs to the other side of the living room. “Will Byers I will spit in your cookies–”

Joyce covers her mouth and gasps. “Y/N, are you hiding a boyfriend from me?”

Quickly you stop chasing after Will, terrified of the idea of the woman thinking you’d hide anything from her. “What? No! I’m not dating Steve–”

“Yet!” Will exclaims from across the room, but his retaliation is followed by a shriek as you chase after the kid again.

“If you keep this up, I’m telling Steve to stop letting y’all sneak into the movies!” You threaten as you chase the boy around the room.

Joyce watches in amusement, she’s never been able to take her eyes off of you when you’re with her boys. Will dodges a grab and you stumble, giving him just enough time to hide behind his mom’s armchair.

He pokes his head out at your threat, his eyes now uncertain. “You wouldn’t really tell Steve that, right?”

Catching your breath, you collapse onto the couch and shake your head at him. “No, little bee. I wouldn’t.”

You’d never do that to Will. He’s been so keen on spending as much time as possible with the party this summer, spending each and every moment planning DnD campaigns and biking all over Hawkins to spend mere seconds together. Will has spent all summer trying as hard as possible to be a kid again because so much of his childhood was stolen by Upside Down.

Will slowly gets up from behind the armchair and sits next to you, relieved. “Okay, good. We wanna see a movie tomorrow night and I already promised everyone you’d get Steve to let us in. That would’ve sucked.”

You and Joyce laugh at the boy’s response, and it feels so good to have this moment with the two of them. You allow it to wash over you for a second, the Byers home has always had such a comforting effect on you, before getting up and gathering your things once more. “I really should go, though. My mom is waiting.”

Joyce and Will say goodbye and tell you to be safe on your way home, and it warms something within you. As you bike down their driveway home, you inhale the summer night’s air and wonder, days before you turn seventeen, how much longer you have left of just this: being a little kid going home after a long day.

–

When you get home, Tews greets you with an angry meow.

The cat had been a Christmas gift for your mom from you and Dustin, seeing as how you accidentally killed Mews. Your mom had cried seeing the little kitten, and had cried even harder when your brother suggested the stupid name “Tews.”

But it stuck, and now Tews glares at you as you take your time feeding her.

In Dustin’s room you can hear your mom rustling around, frantically cleaning the place as if it currently isn’t the cleanest it’s ever been since the kid has been gone all month. After you feed Tews, you make your way over to your brother’s room to help with cleaning.

A few hours later, you’re laying in bed, exhausted from your long day. Dustin’s banner sits on your desk, right next to the phone that resides in the corner. Yawning, you glance at the clock, but when you see the time, you smile.

The phone rings.

“Right on time, honey.”

“Aren’t I always, angel?” Steve’s voice soothes your aching bones, his words like honey, the very thing you’ve come to associate with him.

Phone calls have become more and more common between you and Steve. You’re not sure when this tradition formed, but when you aren’t at Scoops and he isn’t at your house infiltrating your family, you’re on the phone with one another.

Hearing Steve’s voice puts you at ease, and it wasn’t long before you started calling each other before bed every night.

“How was your day?” You ask him, spinning the phone’s cable around your finger as you lay in bed.

Steve lets out a dramatic groan. “I swear, after you left today, Robin intentionally amped up her taunts. It’s like you’re her buffer or something. The second you leave,” you hear him snap his fingers, “she turns against me!”

“Robin would never do that.” Your voice is monotone as you say this, which only makes Steve groan dramatically once more. Robin would most definitely do that; you both know this.

“You two are the worst together.”

“Yeah, well,” you pull your blankets up to your chin and readjust into a comfier position. Your eyes feel heavy and Steve’s voice settles over your body. “Prepare for more pain tomorrow night. Will and the party have grand plans to sneak into yet another movie.”

Steve sighs. “Those kids are manipulating your power over me to get what they want.”

“You call it manipulation, I call it bonding.”

Another sigh escapes Steve. “You’re going to be the death of me.”

“And yet you stay.” You tease.

“And yet I stay.”

You bite back a smile; you can almost perfectly envision Steve laying in his own bed, phone pressed to his ear with his hair messy and eyes half lidded as he talks to you. You wish, more than anything, that you could be there with him right now; instead, you fall asleep to the sound of Steve’s voice, slightly raspy from his own exhaustion.

–

The next day you wake up to an empty house. Your mom has been spending her summer at Hawkin’s pool, like all the moms in town now do, to admire Billy at his new job.

It grosses you out to no end, and when your mom comes home some days swearing that Billy winked at her, you have to swallow down the phantom pain of his fingers wrapping around your windpipe.

By the time you get to work, Downtown Hawkins, as always, is a ghost town.

It’s been this way ever since Starcourt opened, and as you park your bike and lock it up, you can’t help but be unnerved by how quiet everything is. It was only a few years ago that you had to scream at a crowd of onlookers when Jonathan and Joyce had had that fight when they had found Will’s body in the quarry.

Now, walking slowly towards the front doors of Bookstrordinary, all you hear is silence in the once lively area. There are posters scattered throughout the old town, but they’re worn from the sunlight and torn from the weather. It’s a depressing sight.

Mrs. Waters greets you kindly when you walk in. “Hello, dear.”

“Hi, Mrs. Waters.” You give her a quick peck on the cheek as you quickly swipe your card to clock in. The bookstore is empty. “Any new shipments today?”

The old woman shakes her head forelonly. “Afraid not. We still haven’t sold last month’s shipment.”

You duck your head down and curse. This is the second shipment you weren’t able to sell. “I’m sorry, Mrs. Waters.”

“Oh, don’t be!” She walks over to you, her wrist shakes as she uses her cane. She has aged so much these last few years. “I’ve owned this store for thirty years, dear. I’m just happy that I can give you and Alex a job before you kids go off to college. Besides, it’s given me something to do these last few years without my husband…”

The woman’s eyes glaze over, something that has started to happen more and more now, and you grab her arm gently and give her a little shake. “Hey, Mrs. Waters. You still with me?”

She blinks, looks around in a confused daze, before breaking into her old smile once more. “Of course I am! Now, sort some books while I ward off those debt collectors with this cane.”

Despite the gravity of the situation, you can’t help but laugh at Mrs. Waters as she waves her cane around madly and gives you a wink. She hobbles back to her office and leaves you alone with the books and the ghost of Downtown Hawkins.

Only two customers come in during your four hour shift, and by midday Mrs. Waters releases you so that she can give Alex a few hours of work as well. She’s trying her best to keep you both hired for as long as she can, so she splits your hours. What she doesn’t know is that Alex now has a job at Hawkins’ pool and only comes into work because he just can’t bear to quit, and neither can you.

You bike to the mall, sad and needing a pick me up. Jonathan’s teasing from last night echoes in your head. How could you possibly think about your birthday when your boss is slowly losing both her mind and her business?

At the mall, your feet unconsciously take you to Scoops as they always do. This has become your favorite part of your dreary days: going to Scoops after work. The smell of ice cream greets you as you walk into the shop.

Robin sees you first and waves excitedly from the register. “Y/N!”

“It’s me!” You run up to the counter and lean over it to squeeze the girl into a tight hug.

There’s a loud crash from the backroom and just as you’ve pulled away from Robin, Steve bursts through the doors and leaps over the counter to join in on the hug. “Thank God you’re here, Robin was about to make me clean the tables.”

You giggle while Robin scoffs, pulling away. “It’s your turn, dingus.”

Steve, still hugging you from behind, hums. He begins to rock you back and forth in his arms, which only makes you giggle more, while he pretends to think about what the girl has said. “Nope, don’t remember it being my turn.”

Robin gives you a pleading look to back her up, and you reluctantly slide your arms over Steve’s and release his grip. He groans in complaint at the loss of your touch, and you roll your eyes at him as you turn around to now face him. “C’mon, let’s go wipe the tables so dear Robin can man the register in peace.”

Steve groans even louder now as Robin cheers, and you snatch the rag from his pocket and begin to wipe down the tables. He follows eventually, moaning and groaning as he cleans next to you, and you hit your hip against his. “Hey, at least you’re getting paid for this.”

“I give you free ice cream!” He argues, pieces of his hair falling out of his adorably dorky sailor’s hat that he has to wear for this job. It’s incredibly endearing, and as he hunches over to scrub at a particularly dirty table, his thighs strain against his probably too short shorts and you can’t help but stare at them. As you admire this spectacular show, Steve catches you and flicks your nose. “Quit ogling me and get back to your free labor, angel.”

“I wasn’t ogling, I was simply admiring.”

Robin gags from behind the register. “I can hear you guys, you know!”

You and Steve both stick your tongues out at her before going back to work.

The hours pass by quickly after that. The midday rush of tweens and teens alike infiltrate Scoops, so Steve helps Robin fling ice cream while you get comfortable in your designated booth in the corner. You’ve hidden a supply of comics underneath one of the booth’s cushions and you spend your time catching up on the latest Spider-Man arc.

You’re so engrossed in what you’re reading that you don’t notice a body slide into the booth next to you until the person speaks.

“Spider-Man, huh? Heard he’s a pretty cool guy.”

Startled by the stranger’s voice, you almost drop your comic in alarm. When you see that it’s just Jason Carver sitting next to you, you place a hand to your chest and inhale quickly, trying to settle your rapid heartbeat. “Christ, you scared me.”

“Sorry!” He genuinely looks apologetic, so you wearily set down your comic and straighten up.

You’ve never spoken to Jason before, even though you’ve been in the same classes ever since eighth grade. He’s always ran with the popular crowd, being a jock and all, and you’ve always ran with Jonathan. However, despite being on the basketball team, Jason has never been mean to either of you, so you figure it’s safe to offer him your attention.

“Can I ask why you’re here?” You cock your head at him, feeling your hair fall over your shoulders.

Jason smiles at you, in a sort of cute and charming way. “Stopped by to get my little sister some ice cream,” he points to a little girl next to him, who waves at you, and you wave back. “Then I saw you sitting here all alone reading one of my favorite comics, so I figured it wouldn’t hurt to say hi to such a pretty girl.”

You blush at his bold words. You’ve never received such attention from anyone before, at least not anyone normal thanks to Billy, and you’re not really sure why Jason seems to be paying attention to you now. He’s had years to do this.

Jason sees your sudden shyness and chuckles. He stands up and offers you his hand. “Why don’t I buy you some ice cream, maybe you could help me show my sister around the mall–” Steve’s shoulder collides roughly into the teen’s, causing him to stumble into his sister’s ice cream cone and get chocolate ice cream all over the front of his pants. Jason looks up at Steve and balls his fists in anger. “What the fuck, Harrington?”

You quickly cover the little girl’s ears, though she giggles.

Steve shrugs as he looks at Jason. “Sorry, man. Didn’t see you there.” Then, he turns to you, and offers his own hand. “Anyways, I think it’s time for your daily free ice cream, angel.”

Jason’s eyes narrow as you accept Steve’s hand and spare him an apologetic glance. Before you leave, you dig some cash out of your overalls and hand them to him. “For your sister’s new ice cream cone.”

He sighs and accepts the money. Jason knows that Steve is still holding your hand as he stands behind you, but he has nothing else to lose at this point. He takes a deep breath and shakes his head. “I didn’t stand a chance, did I?”

Steve twirls you with your interlocked hands, causing you to giggle, and guides you to the ice cream counter. As he leaves, shouts behind him, “Not at all, buddy!”

You know you should feel bad, but Steve twirls you again and all you can do is giggle breathlessly as Jason Carver walks out of Scoops with his sister in tow.

–

Later that night the mall is busier than ever, and as you’re gossiping with Robin about Steve ruining Jason’s pants, you’re interrupted by Mike’s grubby little hand repeatedly hitting the bell.

Seems it’s time for their movie.

You flick the kid’s head, which Lucas, Max, and Will snicker at. “Enough!”

“Ow, Y/N!”

“Thanks,” Robin sends you an appreciative smile before she calls towards the backroom, “Dingus, your children are here!”

Within seconds, Steve opens the sliding windows and sighs when he sees Mike and the party. “Again? Seriously?”

“I warned you.” You say, shrugging at his annoyance. “Let the kids have some fun.”

Mike rings the bell again. “Do what Y/N says.”

Steve sighs in defeat and motions for the kids to follow him behind the counter. “Fine, but only because I’m nice, not because Y/N said so.”

“Right.” Everyone says, not at all believing him, which Steve chooses to ignore.

You all follow him through the back entrance of the mall. Checking to make sure the coast is clear, Steve waves the kids inside. “I swear, if anybody hears about this–”

“We’re dead.” The kids all respond, voices monotone with annoyance after hearing this threat a million times.

However, before they all leave, Will gently tugs at your hand to get your attention. “Are you coming with?”

You want to say yes, but then you catch Steve’s eyes and he silently pleads with you to stay, and you know you can’t tell him no. Squeezing Will’s hand, you shake your head. “Sorry, little bee. I promise I will next time, though.”

Mike scoffs in disgust, disappointed in you. Your relationship with Steve has always confused him, and you’ve only gotten closer to the teen since Dustin left for camp. He pities what the boy will think when he comes back to his sister all lovey-dovey with an idiot like Steve Harrington.

Once the kids leave, you go back into Scoops with Steve and settle into your booth once more. Grabbing your comic, you flip to where you left off before looking up at the teen and saying, “you have me for another hour. I can’t be out late tonight, Dustin comes home tomorrow and I promised Mike I’d be up at like seven to let everyone in.”

Steve salutes you and hops back behind his counter to help Robin with some customers. You smile at his antics and go back to reading. A few minutes pass, Spider-Man has just kissed MJ, before the lights above you start to flicker and then go out completely.

Everyone in the mall gasps and murmurs in a slight panic as they’re thrown into darkness. The hair on your arms stands up; you no longer trust lights that flicker. Robin catches your eye and gives you an odd look when she sees the fear on your face.

“Scared of the dark, Y/N?” She teases, not understanding what you really fear: what lies below Hawkins.

“That’s weird,” Steve mumbles to himself as he goes over to the light switch. He starts to flip the switch repeatedly, and you roll your eyes at him. He’s an idiot sometimes.

“That isn’t gonna work, dingus.” Robin says, looking over at you once more as if to silently ask, why are you attracted to him?

You shake your head at her as Steve continues to flip the switch, now only quickening his movements. He stares Robin down as if to challenge her. “Oh, really?”

Nothing happens, because contrary to what Steve may believe, he can’t fix what is likely (and what you hope) is simply a blackout from the summer heat. He flicks the lightswitch a few more times before the generators kick back on and Scoops Ahoy is once again lit up.

Steve raises his eyebrows at Robin and smirks at her, pleased. “See? Let there be light.”

You drop your head to the table, now also questioning why you’re attracted to the guy.

However, when it’s time to head home and Steve walks with you to your bike outside, he kisses your cheek and wishes you a good night; you know that this is the reason you’ve fallen for him: his kindness. With his kiss lingering on your cheek, you bike home.

–

When Steve gets back from saying goodbye to you, he’s met with a nosey Robin.

She stands against the counter with her arms crossed. There aren’t any more customers in the shop, they closed about ten minutes ago, and Steve was really looking forward to driving home and taking off his stupid uniform.

Robin, however, clearly has other plans.

“What did I do now?” He asks her, not daring to take any step closer.

“Why haven’t you asked Y/N out yet?” Steve’s eyes widen at the question and Robin knows she’s got him cornered. “I’ve spent hours with you guys, and it’s driving me insane that you haven’t manned up!”

“‘Manned up’?” Steve sputters out, completely offended.

Robin throws her arms out in front of her. “Yes! I mean, it’s so obvious that you’re in love with her and that she’s in love with you. Just… Just get it over with!”

Blushing, Steve slumps against the wall and closes his eyes. As much as it pains him to admit it, he knows that Robin is right. “It’s… complicated.”

“Well, go on.” The girl now hops on the counter and sits on it. “Explain it to me, then.”

“Y/N used to be in love with…” Steve stops, unsure if you’d want him to be telling Robin this. “Someone.”

She rolls her eyes. “Everyone knows she was in love with that Byers kid.”

“Right.” He clears his throat, uncomfortable with the reminder that at one point, everyone in Hawkins truly believed you were destined for Jonathan. “Well as I’m sure you know… He got with Nancy, who–uh, I had been with.”

“Okay, so what?”

“I–” Steve isn’t sure what Robin doesn’t understand. “I needed… time?”

Robin frowns. “After Nancy dumped you?”

“Technically I dumped her–”

“What does this have to do with Y/N?” Robin presses.

Steve groans and rubs at his eyes. He’s tired and wants to go home to call you and go to bed with your soft voice in his head. “Y/N understood that the breakup with Nancy hurt, and–well. She told me she’d wait for me. I guess. While I figured my shit out.”

Robin thinks this over for a minute. “Okay, I think I can understand that, but–wait, when did this all happen again?”

“... December.” He closes his eyes, bracing himself for the girl’s inevitable anger.

“Harrington!”

There it is.

“I know, okay?” Steve tugs at his hair in frustration. “I’m over Nancy, I’ve been over her since at least April, but… But what–what if Y/N has lost interest in me now? What if–maybe I made her wait too long, or–or what if she thinks she’s just Nancy’s replacement?”

Steve is rambling now, months of his anxious and insecure thoughts now spilling out. “I mean, it’d kill me if–if I ever made her feel second to anyone! She’s… She’s incredible and–God, I don’t even know why she likes me and I’ve spent this entire summer trying to–I don’t know… Figure out how to confess my feelings to her in a way that matters, ya know? Like, a grand proposal to show her that I’m crazy about her.”

Robin is silent for several minutes after Steve’s frantic spiel, he’s panting by the time he’s done. Then, finally, she says, “Dude… You’re way overthinking this.”

Steve winces. “I mean, her birthday is in a few days. I can… I can ask her to be my girlfriend then. That’s romantic, right?”

“You’re hopeless.”

–

“Dusty comes home today!” Your mom’s shrill voice wakes you up as she prances around the house getting ready. You roll over in bed and stretch, tired but excited to see your brother again after a month of being apart.

You get out of bed and press a kiss to your mother’s cheek before telling her to drive safe. Glancing at the clock, you see that you have just enough time to shower before the party arrives. The entire thing had been Mike’s plan and you were more than happy to help arrange everything.

After you’ve gotten ready, you hear three swift knocks on your front door and you answer it. “Right on time, Wheeler.”

Mike salutes you as he and the others walk in. El gives you a hug and Max high fives you as the boys start setting up the robots. The six of you get started on the plan: place all the robots in Dustin’s room, all hidden in various corners, and then use El’s powers to control them and guide him to the living room so that you all can surprise him.

It’s a brilliant plan, one only a Wheeler could think of.

It takes you, Lucas, Mike, and Will to successfully hang up Dustin’s banner that took you all week to make. There’s cursing, yelling, a few trips, and multiple snickers from El and Max while the four of you struggle to hang the thing, but eventually you manage to secure the banner into place in the living room.

Just as you’ve finished hanging it up, you hear your mom’s car pull into the driveway and you quickly shove the kids into a closet. “Quick! That’s my mom’s car, hide!”

Lucas yelps and Max punches his shoulder to shut him up, but thankfully you manage to close the closet door just in time before Dustin walks in. You hide behind the couch, quiet so as not to be seen by him, and carefully listen for his footsteps to retreat down the hall and into his room.

Once he’s gone, you scramble towards the closet and open the door. “Okay, he’s in his room, time for step two.”

“Did we all really have to hide in the closet?” Will asks, rubbing at his shoulder that had been shoved into a hanger.

“Yes, now shush and hide behind the wall so he doesn’t see you.” You order, and the kids all listen. Once you’re all pressed against the wall, you nod at El. “Ready?”

“Ready.” She responds, closing her eyes. Static fills the air and you hear one of the robots turn on in Dustin’s room. Then the other one turns on, then the monkey, and soon all the toys have been activated by El’s powers.

Mike pokes his head around the corner. “Okay, now start leading the robots here.”

Blood slowly begins to drip from El’s nose and you feel bad that she’s doing this, but the kids all look excited, and you’d be lying if you said you weren’t a little giddy yourself. The noise from the robots grows louder as El draws them out from the room and towards you guys.

You hear Dustin’s uncertain voice following behind them. “It’s just a dream… You’re dreaming.”

Then Mike whispers to El, “Now!”

The robots all die in the center of your living room and slowly everyone starts to creep out from behind the wall. Lucas is holding his own poster he made and you hand everyone party noisemakers. Dustin is investigating the robots and doesn’t hear you stalk up behind him. Max silently counts to three, and on her signal, you all blow your party noisemakers and surprise him.

Dustin screams and immediately holds up his Farrah Fawcett spray, blinding Lucas as he continuously sprays it. The poor boy screams as well and the rest of the kids back away, out of the line of fire. However, as soon as your momentary shock wears off, you manage to snatch the hairspray out of your brother’s hand and save Lucas.

“Why is Farrah Fawcett your weapon of choice?” You exclaim, shoving a still screaming Lucas towards your kitchen so that you flush the spray out of his eyes. Max joins, rubbing soothing circles into the boy’s back.

“Why would you scare me like that after the hell we went through this year?” Dustin shouts back at you, clutching at his chest.

Dustin’s words make you stop for a moment and think. Huh. He has a point. “Yeah, we should’ve thought about that, honestly.”

“A little help here?” Lucas brings the attention back to him and you apologize, helping him once more to flush his eyes out. As you and Max tend to him, Dustin tells the others to follow him to his room so he can show them what he built at camp.

Max splashes some more water in Lucas’ eyes. “Better?”

The boy stands up and wipes his face, though he’s careful not to touch his eyes. “Still stings.”

“I feel like I should call someone…” You mumble, Your first aid knowledge doesn’t include Farrah Fawcett in the eyes.

Lucas blinks a few times and looks around. He leans in closer to Max’s face and for a moment you’re scared he’ll kiss her, but instead he chooses to be an idiot. “Is that a new zit?”

You wince and Max’s eyes widen in disbelief. She looks at you and you both seem to come to the same agreement: grabbing the back of Lucas’ neck, the two of you shove his face back into the water. “What is wrong with you?”

Lucas screams again and you leave Max to deal with him, laughing to yourself as you go see whatever creation your brother has brought home. You love Lucas, you do, but you have no idea how Max puts up with his boyish antics.

Inside Dustin’s room, you find him and the others hunched over a collection of wires and metal pieces. You walk in and join them.

“I would like you to meet Cerebro.” Dustin presents his creation, but you honestly have no idea what it’s supposed to be.

You squint at it. “It’s… Pretty?”

“What exactly are we looking at here?” Mike asks, unimpressed.

“An unassembled, one-of-a-kind, battery powered radio tower!” Dustin explains with a proud smile on his face.

A beat of silence passes before Will carefully asks, “So… It’s a ham radio?”

Dustin’s excitement only grows. “The Cadillac of radios.”

“Still not understanding, buddy.” You now voice, usually always lost when it comes to the more AV stuff the party likes.

“This baby carries a crystal-clear connection over vast differences.” Your brother clarifies for you, and you nod along. “I’m talking North Pole to South. I can talk to my girlfriend whenever and wherever I choose.”

You, Mike, El, and Will all look at each other in shock at the word that has just left Dustin’s mouth. “Girlfriend?”

Your brother nods, looking all smug, and you immediately berate him with a million questions. “What’s her name, where is she from, how long have you been dating. Tell me everything, now!”

“Relax, dear sister. Her name is Suzie, and I’ll explain in a second. We can even talk to her if you guys help me set Cerebro up on Weathertop hill.”

You’re the first to start grabbing all the supplies, giddy and eager to hear more about your baby brother’s girlfriend. It’s almost too good to be true. Mike, Will, and El follow along and soon you’re all holding materials for Cerebro as you follow Dustin out of the house.

As you all leave, Mike starts asking questions again. “Wait, so her name is Suzie?”

Dustin nods. “Suzie, with a ‘z’. She’s from Utah.”

“People from Utah actually exist?” You ask, which the others laugh at.

“Girls go to science camp?” Will asks.

You give him a stern look. “Anyone can go to science camp, Will.”

“What Y/N said,” Dustin continues explaining his girlfriend. “And Suzie does, she’s a genius.”

“Is she cute?” Mike can’t believe what he’s hearing.

“Think Phoebe Cates, only better.”

You re-adjust one of the poles for Cerebro in your arms. “Can we focus on her being smart instead? I think she sounds lovely.”

From the kitchen, Max sees the four of you open the front door as she helps Lucas with his eyes. “What’s going on?”

“We’re going to talk to Dustin’s girlfriend.” Will informs them.

Lucas whips his head up from the sink as he and Max exclaim, “Girlfriend?”

“I know, right?” You say, motioning them to follow.

–

“Alrighty, one scoop of chocolate. That’s a buck twenty-five.” Steve hands the ice cream cone to the girl he’s currently serving. She’s pretty enough, and when he notices her Purdue shirt, he can’t help but say something about it. “Ooh, Purdue! Fancy.”

The girl smiles and hands Steve her change. “Yeah, I’m excited.”

“Yeah, you know… I–I considered it. Purdue.” He types the code into the register and places the change inside. “But then I was like, you know what? I really think I need some real life experience, you know, before I hit college. See what it’s like.”

The girl and the friend she’s with exchange weird glances, and Steve knows he’s rambling like an idiot. “Uh, what I mean is… You’re girls, right? How would the two of you like to be asked out by a guy?”

“I’m sorry?” Purdue girl asks, looking at her friend, creeped out.

The cash register begins to beep at him and Steve hits it a few times to shut it up. “Sorry, uh… Anyways, say you’ve seen this guy every day for like, months, and feelings are shared, you know, as they are. Then time passes and the guy never makes the move because he’s, well, he’s an idiot–”

“Yeah, totally.” Purdue girl interrupts him and her friend giggles.

“Exactly, so… This was, like, so fun. This little chat. Anyways, what do you think? How would you want the guy to ask you out?” Steve puts on his most charming smile, hoping that the girls will say that maybe he isn’t crazy for waiting so long to ask you out. As he hands them their change, he drops part of it. “Oh, sorry about that. Uh…”

“Yeah, we wouldn’t wanna be asked out.” Purdue girl says as her friend snorts.

“Sure, but I mean, it’s complicated, you know? And–”

Purdue girl interrupts him once more. “No, I’m sorry, but it sounds like you missed your chance and you’re like, really weird.”

“But the guy isn’t me!” Steve shouts as the two girls leave, only embarrassing himself even more. He sighs, closes his eyes, and wonders how he got here.

“And another one bites the dust.” Robin announces from behind him. He turns around and watches as she marks another tally underneath the you suck column of her whiteboard. Next to it is the column you rule, which currently has zero marks. “You are oh-for-six, Popeye.”

Steve crosses his arms. “Yeah, I can count.”

“You know that means you suck and that Y/N isn’t the problem here, you are, right?”

“Yup, I can read, too.” Steve swallows down his annoyance, he knows he’s only done this to himself.

“Since when?”

“It’s this stupid hat,” Steve complains, as if this is the only appropriate answer. “I’m telling you, it’s making everyone think I’m some pathetic guy who can’t ask a girl out.”

Robin leans against the window. “Yeah, company policy is the reason that you’re an idiot for not asking out Y/N.” She thinks for a moment and tries to offer the teen some advice. “Ya know, it’s a crazy idea, but have you considered telling the truth?”

“What? That I’m hopelessly in love with her? Sure, I’m such a catch who couldn’t even get into Tech and whose douchebag dad is trying to teach a lesson, now making three bucks an hour with no future.” Steve laughs at himself. “A catch who, by the way, could’ve been hers back in December had he not been a complete moron? What a great truth.”

Robin frowns, now feeling bad for making him feel this way. While she doesn’t understand everything, she gets that Steve has had a difficult few months. Taking pity on him, she points out some girls approaching and tries to lighten his mood. “Hey, twelve o’clock! Maybe they’ll see your side of things.”

Steve turns around and sees the girls as well. “Shit, okay. Okay, I can do this! I’m going in.” He quickly snatches the sailor hat from his head and tosses it to Robin. “Screw company policy, I’m getting advice about Y/N one way or another.”

For a second, Robin has hope for him, but then he opens his Scoops Ahoy greeting way too loud and then immediately starts to ramble about you, and she sighs in defeat and marks another tally underneath the you suck column.

–

Hiking up a giant, grassy hill in ninety degree heat while hauling heavy equipment for a giant radio that your brother built to talk to his alleged long distance girlfriend definitely wasn’t what you had in mind today. In fact, you mourn the fact that you aren’t working today.

You’re only here to hear about Dustin’s girlfriend, honestly.

“Aren’t we high enough?” Lucas pants, voicing what everyone else is thinking.

Dustin shakes his head. “Cerebro works best at a hundred meters.”

“You know, I’m pretty sure people in Utah have telephones.” Max quips.

You wipe sweat from your brow and cringe, you feel disgusting. “Max, you’ve always been so wise.”

“Suzie’s Mormon.” Says Dustin, and you almost trip over a rock.

“You’re dating a Mormon?”

Lucas talks over you. “Oh, shit. She doesn’t have electricity?”

“Oh, that’s the Amish.” Max corrects him, and you get flashbacks to when you had to correct Steve about Nazis and Germans.

Will frowns at you. “What are Mormons?”

“Scary people–”

Dustin interrupts you. “Super religious white people. They have electricity and cars and stuff, but… Since I’m not Mormon, her parents would never approve.”

“Please don’t become Mormon,” you beg, dripping even more sweat. “I need someone sane in our family.”

“I won’t,” Dustin reassures you, though he has a far off look in his eyes. “But it’s all a bit Shakespearean, don’t you think?”

“Shakespearean?” Max laughs and you also can’t help but giggle.

Dustin doesn’t let your teasing deter him from reminiscing, though. “Yeah, like Romeo and Juliet.”

“They both die, Dustin.” It’s important to you that he knows this.

“But they were also star crossed lovers.”

“Who killed themselves.”

Below, Mike shouts to the rest of you, “Hey, guys!”

You all turn and you frown when you see just how far he and El are, both of them empty handed and dry as a daisy in the summer heat. When Mike sees that he has all of your attention, he taps at his watch. “This is fun and all, but, uh…”

“I have to go home.” El announces, her arm intertwined through Mike’s.

Dustin points towards the top of the hill no less than a few yards away. “We’re almost there.”

“Sorry, man. Curfew.” Mike shrugs, he isn’t really sorry and you all know it. He then grabs El’s hand and they descend down the hill, giggling and enamored with one another.

With a gleeful laugh, El says goodbye. “Good luck!”

Dustin looks down at his watch. “Curfew at four?”

You’re startled by the time, having assumed it was at least closer to six. Hopper may be an overprotective grump of a man, but not even he is crazy enough to enact a curfew for El at four in the afternoon. “That… Doesn’t sound real.”

“They’re lying.” Lucas explains, frustrated.

“It’s been like this all summer.” Will says bitterly, something that you take note of.

Max nudges you with her shoulder. “I think it’s romantic.”

“It’s gross!” Will voices again.

You bite your lip. “I don’t know, it’s your guys’ last summer before high school and…”

“It’s bullshit.” Dustin finishes for you, hurt in his voice. “I just got home.”

You flick him. “Language! But… I agree.”

Dustin watches with annoyance as Mike and El walk down the hill hand in hand. While he’s incredibly hurt that they’ve ditched him after being gone for a month, he remembers what Steve has taught him. People can suck, but there’s nothing he can do about it. “Well, their loss, right? Onwards and upwards, Suzie awaits!”

Max and Lucas groan at the idea of continuing the hike while you admire your brother’s perseverance. You’re proud of him for not letting Mike and El ruin his plans with the others. He’s excited to be home, and you’re more than happy to go along with whatever schemes he has planned.

You’re about to follow the others up the hill when you realize that Will hasn’t joined. You turn around and see that he has his hand around the back of his neck as he stands there, frozen. Then, he turns and faces Hawkins, stumbling back a bit as he does so, and you watch with a frown on your face.

“Hey, little bee, are you okay?” You gently place a hand on his shoulder, which seems to break him of whatever spell he’d been under.

“I’m fine,” he lies, and you don’t at all believe him. Will looks uneasy, as if he’s just seen a ghost. A part of you begins to worry, but you don’t push him. For all you know, it could be about Mike and his growing distance from the others.

“Well, c’mon, then.” You grab Will’s hand and together you ascend the rest of the hill.

At the top, Dustin drops his bag and sighs. “Made it!”

“Yeah, only took five hours,” Max pants out, stumbling the final few steps up the hill.

You collapse onto the ground and fight to catch your breath. “I run almost every morning. I think I lost a lung back there.”

“Why couldn’t we just play DnD?” Will collapses next to you.

Lucas grabs the flask of water, and as you struggle to get air into your lungs, you watch as he chugs the remaining water without a care in the world. Max watches as well, annoyed, and once again you pity Lucas. He’s such a boy.

Building the radio takes longer than expected. After your short five minute break, Dusin puts you all to work. There’s a million pieces to the thing and your fingers ache from screwing bolts into slots and extending poles. The sun has begun to set when you finally push the giant radio into an upright position. It’s easily fifteen feet high, and it’s an impressive sight that you can’t deny.

“Not bad, Dustin.” You admit, walking around Cerebro in awe.

“Ready to meet my love?” He asks everyone, and you all sit down next to him and eagerly await. Dustin switches the radio on. “Suzie, this is Dustin. Do you copy? Over.”

No one answers. All you hear is radio feedback.

Dustin scratches his nose nervously. “One sec. She’s probably… She’s still there.” Again, no one answers, and he ducks his head down in embarrassment. “Suzie… This is Dustin, do you copy? Over.”

More radio static follows in the absence of Suzie’s response.

You wince, despite trying to appear supportive. You can’t help it, this is embarrassing for your brother. While you don’t doubt that he has a girlfriend, you admit that this doesn’t look good for him. A long distance girlfriend who is hot and smart and magically needs a radio to communicate with? Unlikely.

“I’m sure she’s there,” Dustin tries to explain to you guys, now even more embarrassed. “It’s dinner time, and she’s busy…”

“Yeah, sure.” Lucas tries to be supportive and play along, which you appreciate him immensely for. Max nods as well, but Will just stands there silent.

“Maybe try again?” You encourage, trying to be nice.

Dustin nods and tries once more to contact Suzie, and it goes on like this for a while. He radios, no one answers, and eventually you and everyone else lay down in the grass as you wait for nothing.

Almost an hour passes and the crickets begin to chirp as the sun goes down and the moon comes up. Dustin is still trying to reach Suzie, but Max finally has enough. “Dustin, come on! She’s not there.”

“She’s there, alright? She’ll pick up.”

“Dustin…” You sigh, unsure how to tell him that you also want to leave. You had plans with Steve tonight, he invited you over to watch a movie and you should’ve left ten minutes ago.

Will lifts his head up from the grass. “Maybe Cerebro doesn’t work.”

“Or maybe Suzie doesn’t exist.” Lucas argues.

Dustin gasps. “She exists!”

“She’s a genius and she’s hotter than Phoebe Cates? No girl is that perfect.”

You pinch the bridge of your nose at Lucas’ words and wait for Max’s inevitable offense. He truly, deeply, is such a boy. As predicted, Max sits up and looks down at him with annoyance. “Is that so?”

Lucas shuffles up in panic, now realizing too late what he’s said. “I mean–you’re perfect! I mean, like, perfect–in your own way, in your own, uh, special way!”

“Lucas,” you hit his shoulder. “Stop talking, dude.”

Max laughs, pleased with herself. “Relax, I was teasing. I’m obviously perfect and Dustin is obviously lying.”

“Okay, no,” you now sit up. “He isn’t lying, it’s just a very unfortunate circumstance.”

Max doesn’t listen and instead offers Lucas her hand to help him up so that they can leave. “Come on, Don Juan.”

“Where are you going?” Dustin follows, not understanding yet what’s happening.

“Home,” Max huffs, before remembering that you’re there, too. “Bye, Y/N!”

“Bye,” you wave at them weakly, knowing that this will only upset your brother further as she and Lucas slowly head home.

Dustin stands next to you now. “Well, guess it’s just us and Byers, Y/N,”

Will now stands up and awkwardly avoids your brother’s gaze. “Um… It’s late. Sorry. Maybe tomorrow we can play DnD, or something fun, like we used to?”

Dustin clenches his jaw. You know he’s close to tears, and it breaks your heart to watch. You stand up and rest your arm around him as he responds to Will. “Yeah, sure.”

“Welcome home,” Will says sadly before he starts to walk down the hill as well.

You anxiously watch as he leaves. “Be careful, please!”

“I will!” He reassures you, knowing that you’re still terrified of losing him again.

As you watch Will, Dustin whispers to himself, “Yeah, welcome home.”

His words break your heart even more. Forgetting about your anxiety over Will, you wrap both arms around your brother and hug him. He had been so excited earlier to be home and see all his friends after a month of being away. You understand that the kids are all growing up, but you had always hoped that they’d grow together, not apart.

“You still have all of July and August,” you try to comfort Dustin, desperately hoping that you aren’t lying to both him and yourself. “I’m sure they’ll come around.”

Suddenly the radio attached to Cerebro switches on and Dustin pushes you off of him so that he can get to the radio in time. He stumbles over his feet and trips, and you watch with amusement and curiosity.

He manages to finally untangle himself from the radio and answers. “Suzie, Suzie, is that you?”

You sit down next to Dustin and lean in close to the radio, excited to finally meet your brother’s girlfriend. Instead, you hear what sounds like a foreign language. It’s distinct, slightly muffled, but you know what it is. “Is that…”

“Russian.” Dustin whispers.

Everything changes, then.

–

You force Dustin to go home immediately. He wants to stay, see if he can find any more hidden messages, but you refuse. He’s elated, talking a mile a minute as you bike home, theorizing every possible answer as to why you heard Russian in Hawkins, Indiana.

“Dustin!” You yell at him, terrified that someone could be listening. “Not here, okay?”

He deflates, but pedals home alongside you.

You’re terrified as you bike home, a million thoughts are running through your head. You don’t at all like what any of this could mean; you’ve had enough sketchy government facilities and secret government agencies to last you a fucking lifetime.

When you get home, you order Dustin to go to bed.

“But Y/N, we’ve got to tell someone about this–”

“Tomorrow, okay? Just, please, Dustin.” You’re exhausted and confused and overwhelmed.

Your brother senses that you’re at your limit and reluctantly backs down. “Fine, but can we at least tell Steve tomorrow?”

Hearing Steve’s name puts something at ease within you. Tomorrow, you’ll go to Scoops with Dustin and ask Steve what he thinks about all of this. Comforted by the fact that you now have a plan forming, you begin to calm down. “I promise we’ll tell him tomorrow, okay?”

Dustin nods and heads to his room, wishing you a good night. When you hear his door click shut, you slowly head to your own room. You’re terrified, and there’s only one thing you want to do to lessen the fear that scratches at your throat. After crawling into bed, you call Steve.

He answers immediately. “Y/N? Is everything okay?”

“I’m fine,” you breathe out, his voice like an exhale of a summer’s day. “I… I’m sorry I missed our movie night.”

Steve laughs softly. “Angel, I’m just happy you’re okay. I was getting worried there.”

You close your eyes. “It’s been a weird day.”

“Did something happen?” Steve senses that there’s something you aren’t telling him, which worries him.

“Dustin… He may have found something, but I just–I don’t want to talk about it just yet. I… I don’t want to jinx it,” you squeeze your eyes tight and will away the fear you feel. “I–I’m just, I’m so exhausted, you know?”

“Y/N, are you in danger–”

“No,” you dispel any fear that Steve may feel. “I promise I’m okay, I just really need to hear your voice right now, okay? Can you just talk to me, please?”

“Of course I can.” Steve agrees without any questions asked, and you love how he trusts you enough to do this.

Exhaling the remaining fear, you allow the warmth from Steve to hold you through the night. “Thank you, honey.”

“Anytime, angel. You know that.”

And you do.

Steve begins telling you a story from today, how he dropped an ice cream cone on a toddler and enraged the mom, and you fall asleep that night to the sound of his voice over the phone.

-

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[tarjapearce]

Cast Away

Warning: ANGST, Emotional discomfort, mentions of miscarriage, controlled substance use, not a happy ending. So sorry for this in advance :<

"LYLA? you copy?" Jess spoke through the intercom as she stared at your holographic projection on her watch.

"Anomaly suspect identified, she's... buying tea?" Confusion was evident in the AI's voice as she pinpointed your exact location. "Huh, thought she was dangerous."

"We don't know that yet, she could ambush us at any-"

"She's coming your way!"

Jess' aracnid senses tingled as you approached, revving her motorbike she came straight at you, stopping a few meters away from your civilian looking self.

"We can do this the good way or the bad way" Her brown eyes narrowed but you just sighed and put your packaged drink down and held your hands up to her.

"L-Let's calm down, shall we?" You stepped closer but she just revved the engine again, suspicion rising and it made you stop walking. The hairs of your back stood as your senses tingled weakly, contrary to Jessica's.

"Please, I... just wanna talk, ok? I just wanna go home."

"LYLA" Jess spoke as the AI materialized and ran a scan through you.

"Her vitals are normal, heartbeats a bit wild, but no signs of unusual brain activity that dictates irregular behavior."

You glitched and slumped to the floor in pain. Then, you curled your knees closer and your arms around them to create a little space for you. Eyes seizing the woman in red , but stopped as her round belly came in sight. Your hands held tightly and soon your eyes tore themselves from her.

"Brain activity detected, serotonin levels just dropped." Lyla spoke through the intercomand Jess frowned again as you glitched once more with a whimper.

"She seems in distress, Jessica." Lyla kept speaking as the spider woman just looked at you, unsure on how to proceed. Anomalies were usually feisty, a menace, dangerous. But you, were the odd out. You just curled into a ball and sulked.

She exhaled tiredly and turned the motorbike off. Her tingling had stopped the moment Lyla gave a diagnose on your biometrics, but still kept her distance. She however, tapped some instructions before looking at you.

"I'll be there soon." Miguel spoke through her intercom. Jess' eyes were on you again and she crossed her arms above her belly, waiting.

"How far are you?" You broke the silence first.

"Six months to go."

You nodded giving her a weak smile.

"That's a beautiful baby bump."

"Thanks." she spoke curtly, but that didn't stop you from talking.

"Baby girl or boy?"

Her eyes narrowed in suspicion, but softened at the way your eyes looked at her grown belly. A sight she had seen before in her universe, a sight that only soon to be mothers gave her with awe, but yours were pained.

"I want it to be surprise."

You nodded as tears prickled the corner of your eyes.

"Universe 413 has the best supplements for pregnancy , or so I could... check." You spoke as you grabbed a small paper cup from the forgotten package and sipped it to warm yourself. The weather in universe 413 was cold, despite the blazing sun standing proud in the background.

"Might look into it. How did you end up here?"

"That's what I wanna know. I was about to meet my husband for a celebration... and I was just sucked in here. Fell on a pool, had to steal someone clothes and... Im just trying to warm up and go home." You rubbed your eyes to. prevent more tears to pile up.

"Ever since I got here I've been glitching nonstop and my powers are even more messed up. It's scary and confusing." 

"Wait, how long have you been here?"

"Just a couple of days, but it feels forever."

As you finished your tea a new portal opened up, revealing a tall figure materializing before you. You were immediately locked up in what it seemed a electric-crystal like, custom made jail.

"Wha-"

"Easy there... We're taking you home." Jess spoke as she hopped on her bike once more and disappeared in the portal before giving a last glance your way.

"I'll get it from here." The sudden male and familiar noise sent chills down your spine. Tears flooded your already glossed eyes as the masked figure stared at you. His hand clenched upon the first tear rolling down.

--------

In the blink of an eye you were already in a place that made so many memories to flood in, most of them bittersweet.

"Lyla, access to this area is denied temporarily." Miguel spoke, his back still facing you

"Gotcha." Just as the voice had appeared, it vanished. The glass like prison vanished, just as his mask. You knew that stance more than anyone else, but still, it was the least of places you wanted to be.

"How..." he tried, and cleared his throat, sighing silently. "How you ended up in another universe?"

"A portal sucked me in. It appeared out of nowhere. Let me go home." His back tensed at your words, finally he turned to face you, but his frown deepened upon watching you. Your scent was different. Everything about you was different. Your gentle eyes were gone, and so your usual amiable self.

"What did you do?" Glaring, you held your stare at him as your jaw clenched.

"Inhibitors"

His eyes widened in disbelief for a moment before going to the usual scowl he always carried.

"Inhibitors, of course" He mumbled before throwing a furniture for it to land on Spider byte's station. It was just him and you. You didn't flinch at the explosive outburst, rather, braced yourself with an exasperated sigh.

"Why would you ever do that?! " His voice laced with anger and a soft bit of concern, "You know what they do to us."

"I want a normal life." you seethed

He scoffed and shook his head.

"You well damn know that is not possible for people like us."

"But that never stopped you. Right?"

His jaw tensed as his fist clenched.

"Right, Miguel?" You glared at him though his back faced you.

"There we go... Por dios, eres un hipócrita* You think you can always just do a fucking mess and expect shit just fix itself over time."

"Shut up."

"No. Fuck you, and fuck you very much. What did you expected? A welcome? Mariachis and a whole fucking celebration since you were finally owing up the consequences for what you did?. You left me, Miguel."

Your voice couldn't help but crack on his name.

"You left me when I needed you the most!."

"I was scared!" He roared, his fangs poking out from his mouth but you pushed him away, anger surpassed your fear, truly not thinking a rational approach.

"You think I wasn't?! I had just lost our baby. Our kid..." Miguel's eyes softened in pain and looked at you, "I didn't get to meet them, I didn't get to experience what was to be a mother, I didn't get to hold them for fucks sake!" Your voice finally breaking, both angry and anguished.

"But you didn't care. You just wanted to be a father so bad that..." He tried to reach for your hand, but slapped it away, rejecting him instantly as your eyes settled in the screen behind him, replaying the memories of himself with his daughter from another universe.

"You went to another fucking dimension to play house with someone else's family as I was trying to hold it all together over here! Cleaning up your mess! And guess what? It was never enough for you. I was never enough for you." Your voice had raised, yet it was crumbling as the knot in your throat grew tighter.

"That's not-" He growled but sighed

"I lost her too. And when I came back, everything was gone. Incluyéndote."

"You really though that I would wait for you after you ran away? You can't have or do both things. A person can only do so much, yet you made me feel so worthless."

"Your miscarriage was a cannon event. It was meant to happen. That's why I... ran away. I couldn't..." His voice trailed off, unable to finish the sentence.

"And you never told me?"

"I fucking didn't know, coño. You think I'd sit there and wait for shit to happen!?" He gestured as he spoke, "I could've risked everything to save our kid, but I knew about it too late! But I know that saying sorry won't change anything."

You held your breath and sat on a chair. Rubbing your face in frustration. But the feeling of his hand was almost electric as he took your hand to admire the pretty ring that adorned your finger.

He let your hand go.

" How long you've been married?"

"Five years." His frame slumped slightly

"Is he the reason you're killing your powers with inhibitors?"

"Yes and no. They hide your... tingling presence from others, ."

"That's why I never found you."

"I didn't want to be found. But now that you did-"

"He knows, right? About your-"

"He does. And he doesn't care."

"Why taking them, then?"

"Can't get pregnant if my blood levels show high toxicity thanks to the spider DNA. I... We, uh, we want a family."

He closed his eyes as he processed your words. He could picture you with a round belly, the weirdest cravings at the weirdest hours, just like the first months you had shared together. And now he had to watch all what his heart once desired, through the eyes of someone else.

"Just let me go, Miguel. I need to go back home."

"To him, you'd mean."

"Yes."

"LYLA" His voice echoed through the room as the AI appeared, her face was evidently on distress, as if she had heard everything but not on purpose.

"Yes?"

" Scort her out, tell Jess to take her home."

"Right away."

You stood and exhaled deeply.

"You'll be a great mother" His voice stopped you. It was soft yet, the resentment behind it, wasn't concealed as good as he thought.

"Thanks. You... seemed a wonderful dad."  He looked your way, the frowning face so ever present, but it melted for a second .

"If you ever need-"

"We'll be fine. I've got this." His eyes seized you one final time, before casting them away from your form, and focused on the screens behind him. The AI guiding you through the building, neither of you looking back.

----------

Sorry if this feels odd or weird. I felt the urge to contribute to the bandwagon of our beloved Miguel ❤️✨

___

Por dios, eres un hipócrita*  - My God you are such a hypocrite.

Incluyéndote*- Including you.

coño* - Latin American Spanish slang for "Fuck"

[bettysupremacy]

gahh im excited???!!

could i request a prompt with poly!marauders and reader at the beach? Helping each other put on sunblock (which by the way is adorable AND hot lol) after they settle down on the beach. I feel like one of the boys would try to make it all sexy or flirt or whatever but reader is super adamant about the how important sunscreen is (being sunburnt, cancer, ext.). EVEN if remus is only planning on lazing around under the shade of the umbrella with a book, reader WILL slather him in sunblock as well. Nobody is safe LMFAO

I am such a sunscreen girlie, you can't catch me outside without it on ;)

thank uu!!

-🫀

SORRY THIS TOOK SO LONG

Bringing the boys to your childhood home was exactly what you’d imagined.

You’ve spent your time walking around the town, eating fried clams, and sipping lemonade. You’d find shade from the sun and sit with the boys, sharing the food clumsily. Remus would find a bookshop, Sirius would gravitate towards the music, and sweet James is content wherever you are. Though, he does like football night.

You’d bring sandwiches your mother made and sticky treats to eat on the sand of the beach, running into the sea and letting the waves crash over you. James is more fond of the ocean than the other boys, though they indulge you as well.

It feels nice bringing them a slice of your childhood here. Showing them where you spent your summers away from school with them, where little you scraped her knees and had her first kiss. The ice cream shop you used to sit in and the stretch of beach you’d unconsciously reserved as yours.

You sit on that stretch of beach peacefully with them now. Well, as peacefully as you can with them. You’re fussing, as Sirius puts it, over their physical wellbeing that they’re perfectly capable of protecting themselves. Whatever.

“Fuck,” Sirius gripes behind you. He’s dropped a tomato slice in the sand. You ignore him.

“You need to protect yourselves.” you ‘fuss.’ “Your skin is vulnerable.”

You’re reminiscent of your mother’s words growing up as you kneed in the sunscreen into James’ freckled back. He’s broad shouldered in front of you. Sun kissed, tan, and proud. He sucks juice out of a caprisun pouch loudly.

“If anything,” James puts in cheekily. “We need protection from you.”

"Y/N sunscreen," Remus hums, his eyes focused on his book. He lies on his stomach with his back directly under the blazing sun. You cringe, moving over to him with a warming a glob of sunblock in your hand before applying it messily over his back.

"What does that mean?"

Sirius laughs. “Cause you’re so hot.”

"Oh," you murmur, feeling warm under the sun's heat. That's the only reason.

Sirius sets aside his sandwich, leaning over Remus to kiss you. He tastes like sandwich and coke. Tomato and fresh burrata.

"It's not so much that the sun is hot," you explain as he pulls away. "It's more that your skin can't handle the ultraviolet radiation.”

“I love it when you talk sexy.” Sirius grins. Remus laughs from under you, his chest rumbling sweetly.

“You guys.” You whine.

"Stop," James murmurs lovingly, focused on undoing the parchment paper of his own sandwich. "She's flustered.”

“I’m not flustered.”

The waves crash behind you. They’re so loud and large this time of day, you’re surprised James is still here nursing a sandwich in small bites instead of running against the water with the board he found in your attic. You’d gone up there on the first day looking for things to busy yourselves with when he’d seen it tucked away in the corner. Remus had found scrabble and Sirius had refused to go into the ‘dust bunny room’. It was bad for his hair.

He’s is your next victim now. You crawl over to him, gripping his strong shoulders. “Getting freaky in public?” He asks.

“Protecting you from skin cancer.” You grab the bottle. “In public.”

“I’m turned on.” Sirius cheeks, peeking behind to look at you.

You laugh loud, startled. “Shut up.”

[i-literally-cant-with-this]

thinking about tattoo artist!draken giving me you a tattoo in between and under my your tits im so unwell i want him to suck on my titties so bad HNSKSGDJKHGK okaybye

Hi Mack! Thank you for entrusting me with this awesome ask! I hope you like it! Proofed as much as I could.

WC ::: 2230 (HEY! It was 8 pages and I got it down to 5. So, you're WELCOME!)

C/W ::: MDNI, TattooArtist!Draken x F.reader, unprotected P->V and some other funsies.

You sat in the booth waiting for the artist to come in and start working on you. You'd met him a few times before while going over the finalized print of your design but why hadn't you noticed how sexy he was? He was like some mythological creature.

He walked in backwards and slid the screen all the way to the edge so the small booth was completely shut off from the rest of the shop. "Ok, ready when you are." Draken said as he turned to start getting the ink ready.

"Oh! O-ok, yeah. So, like," you hesitated with your words not wanting to seem like you were too inexperienced. You have tattoos, just not on this part of your body.

"Take your shirt and bra off and lean back and enjoy the ride." He is so fucking cool, you thought.

"Right, enjoy ... enjoy the ride." You began lifting your shirt over your head, watching yourself in the full-length mirror the whole time. Kicking yourself for wearing such a shitty bra (but really what else were you going to do? Wear your best one only for it to get ruined with blood and ink? No. Absolutely not.)

You put your clothes on the extra stool in the corner and wrapped your arms over your chest waiting for his next instructions.

"It's ... heh ... you gonna enjoy the ride or do I have to tat you up while you're standing by the wall? Come on, I'm gentle, I promise.

"Yes! Right right right. Sorry. I'm just a little shy I guess."

I've tattooed much stranger things than tits, trust me. Now sit down."

You moved to sit on the tattoo chair and leaned back. The cool leather made you shiver. Draken placed a paper towel on your chest and told you to relax. He leaned over you to grab the ink and needles. He was so close you could smell him. He smelled like leather, cologne and cigarettes. It made you feel high, breathing him in like that.

He pressed the needle into your skin, making you wince in pain. He pulled away for a second to apply more ink and then went back to work.

After a while, he was about halfway done with the outline. "You doin' ok, y/n? Needa break or anything?" You had zoned out so much that he had to nudge your arm to get your full attention. "Hey! You good?" He laughed.

"Oh shit. Yeah, I guess I just kinda got into a trance. You're very ... rhythmic. It's oddly soothing." You blushed.

"Told you I was good." He beamed. "So you want me to keep going?"

You nodded and put your arms back to your sides where they'd been.

"For this next part, I need you to put your arms above your head. Can you hold them there for a while while I work on the underside of your chest?"

"How long are we talkin' here? 30 minutes? 45?" You couldn't read his face because you didn't know him well enough to. But the look he had was less than comforting.

"Ish? I don't know, honestly. But it's going to be a while. I have a lot of detail to do here. Look, don't ask. Ok? But I can - *aheh* - fuck. I can tie your arms up if this is going to be a problem?" He made a point to look away when he suggested that to you.

And good thing too because the expression that washed over your face would have embarrassed a porn director. You're so proud of yourself for not moaning at the offer.

"YES! Yes. My arms get tired easily. Tie me up, Draken." Your eyes fell to his crotch and the bulge that was presenting itself was nothing short of delicious. You don't know what came over you but you let them roam the length of his chest and met his gaze.

He walked over to a cabinet in the corner and grabbed a few ties. "Which one do you want?" he asked, holding up a few options. You pointed to a soft-looking black one and he tied your arms above the chair. "How's that? Not too tight?"

You shook your head. "No, it's good. Just tight enough." He walked back over to the counter to get the ink and needle ready again. And you know he adjusted his dick. You've seen enough men do that to know what that little dance looks like.

He pressed the needle back into your skin and started on the underside of your tits. He was close enough that you could hear his breath hitch every time he accidentally touched your nipple. And you were certain he was doing it on purpose.

You don't know if it was the drilling of the needle into one of the most sensitive expanses of your body, if it was Draken being so close to you that he could stick his tongue out and flick your nipple with the tip of it. His shallow, labored breathing. His big hands doing such delicate work. But you were getting so fucking wet. And you couldn't help but imagine him sticking his fingers into you. Fucking you with them.

"You're um, doing great. Almost done with this side, are you hot? Do you want some water or something? Want me to crack the window?" he said, breaking the silence.

You nodded, not sure how to respond. "No, I'm uh, I'm doing great, thanks."

He walked over to the window and opened it just a sliver. The air was still warm but it was better than before.

"Thank you." You sighed.

"You're welcome. It's fuckin' hotter than hell in here." He took off his jacket and tossed it over onto your clothes.

You couldn't help but stare at the way his arm muscles flexed as he moved. The tattoos on his right bicep were beautiful and you wanted to trace every inch of them with your tongue.

"SO!" He shouted, startling even himself, he pulled the gun away from you. "Shit. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to say that so loud." His cheeks were burning. You wanted to reach out and smooth your fingers over his face. You wanted to sit on it. But that's just crazy, you thought. Draken continued, much quieter this time, "You got a boyfriend? Or ... or girlfriend. Sorry. I forget about that shit sometimes." He chuckled.

"Nope, no boyfriend. No girlfriend either." You said, looking down at his crotch again. You were so horny you could hardly stand it. "So, just me, my shitty bra, and my soon-to-be tatted tits."

He laughed and leaned over you to start on the other side. He was close enough that his breath was hot on your ear. You closed your eyes and let yourself just enjoy the feeling of his weight pressing against you. You were so close that you could have turned your head and kissed him.

But he beat you to it. He stopped what he was doing, sitting the gun down on the tray next to him and he trailed his fingers up over your belly. Lifting them up long enough to skip over your freshly inked skin and he put them down at your collarbone, skimming them to your chin and tilting your face toward him. You tried to put your arms around his neck but you forgot you were all tied up. Literally.

He smiled at the new light of this situation. "You're tied up." Draken's demeanor changed.

You looked into his eyes, nodding. "Yeah, I guess I am."

"You wanna be free or do you like it?" He said, tracing his fingers up and down your jawline.

"I like it." You blushed. "But I can't touch you. And that's kinda bumming me out." You laughed.

He leaned back, grabbed the scissors from the counter, and cut the ties, but he left them around your wrists. "You wanna touch me, y/n? You wanna play with my hair? My dick?"

You nodded and reached down to his pants. You cupped your hand around his bulge and squeezed it lightly. He moaned and you loved the sound of his voice. "I wanna do so much more than that, Draken. But … am I crazy for wanting this?" You laughed.

"Oh, you're definitely crazy, baby. An' that's just how I like it." He pushed you back against the chair and softly wrapped his lips around your pointed nipple and dragged his tongue over it.

You shifted in the seat and let out a small whimper. "Fuck that feels so good. I don't know if it's because you've been drilling on me all day or if I just really - I really want you, Draken." You pulled on his hair and he moaned again. He moved his hand up your leg and slipped it into your jeans, feeling how wet you were.

"Well, I guess I was right about something today, huh?" He laughed and unbuttoned your pants. He pulled them down just enough so he could get his fingers inside of you. "You wanna fuck me, y/n? Right here in my booth? You gonna let me fill you up - make you cum all over my cock."

You nodded, unable to form words.

He pulled his fingers out of you and unzipped his pants, pulling them down and sitting back on the edge of the table. He stroked himself a few times and looked back at you. "C'mon kitten, need this dick?"

You sat up and straddled him, holding your weight up enough so that he could slide himself into you. You let out a low moan as he filled you up, your pussy clenching around him. "Holy shit, you feel so fucking good," you moaned. Your eyes rolled back in your head and your breath all but stopped it's exchange with the space around you.

He started to move his hips and you rode him, rolling them and bouncing up and down on his cock. You wrapped your arms around his neck and kissed him deeply, feeling him moan into your mouth. His hands were at your waist, guiding you up and down and you felt so fucking good.

"Fuck, y/n, arch your back, stick your tits up, wan' 'em in my mouth." He said, his voice muffled by your chest. You leaned back, he pushed your breasts together and he latched onto them. Massaging them, sucking and biting on your nipples. You felt like you were in a dream, your body humming with pleasure and pain from the abused inches of your skin.

You slowed your movements to feel him better. His cock was hot and dragging against your walls so perfectly that you almost didn't want to cum. You didn't want this to ever stop. You felt his cock twitch inside of you and he moaned, his body tensing up as he came inside of you.

"Fuck, y/n, cum for me, cum all over this dick, baby." He moaned as you ground your hips against his, rubbing your clit against his abdomen. You let yourself go, your body tightening and releasing with the orgasm that washed over you.

You breathed heavily and leaned forward to rest your head on his shoulder. "Wow, Draken. I ... that was..." you trailed off.

He laughed, "It was, huh?"

You nodded, smiling. "Yeah. It was. But I really like your work." 

Your work? You thought. Why did you say that.

"My 'work'? That's what you like? Heh, well, I'm glad?" He chuckled, shaking his head softly. "I'd say the same for you but, I think that'd be weird since I just fucked you and you're still sitting on my dick." He pushed your hair away from your face and kissed you gently on the forehead. "But, you know, I do like your ‘work’, too. It's beautiful. And you're beautiful. And I can't wait to see the finished product." He said, smiling.

You smiled back and leaned in to kiss him again, this time on the lips. "Me too. I'm excited to see it." You blushed and slowly lifted yourself off of him, wincing as he slipped out of you. "God. I hate this part." You pouted.

"Me too, but I think I can make it better. I wanna take you out, y/n. Let me take you out?" He asked, getting up to put his pants back on.

You nodded, smiling. "I'd love that." You grabbed your bra and shirt and held them against your chest as you watched him walk back to the sink and start washing his hands.

"Deal. We should wait a few days after your tattoo has healed up before we go out. Don't wanna get it infected or anything." He laughed, drying his hands on a paper towel.

You laughed too and nodded in agreement. "Sounds good. I guess that gives me time to plan what I'm gonna do next." 

“Do next?” he asked zipping his black jeans and fastening his belt.

“Tattoo ideas … orrr …?” He spun you around by your shoulders and tipped your face up with his fingers.

“Oh, yeah. I’ve got more ideas.” You turned your back to him and he helped you fasten your bra around the wrapping.

“Would you laugh if I said both?” 

“No. I wouldn’t laugh. I’d say ‘when’?”

[lildashofheaven1]

‘Forever’

Joseph Quinn x female actress y/n

The big Dayyyy

“Y/n!! Y/n wake upp!” My bridesmaid yells as she launches herself on my bed.

“Im up im up” i responded.

I looked around the room to see all my bridesmaids stood around with the happiest grins on their faces.

Maya (my maid of honor) sat next to me on the hotel rooms bed.

“You excited?”

“Of course i am! Marrying the man of my dreams” i responded, finally waking up fully.

After having room service delivered we were all getting our hair and make up done, obviously me being the bride i was sat right in front of the large windows having my bridemaids around me bringing me champagne etc.

After we had gotten ready we all got dressed and sat together for a while until.

“Knock knockk” i heard said from the other side of my door.

I opened it to see jamie (my best friend) smiling at me.

“How are you feeling love?” He asked me

“Amazing! I cant wait to be Mrs Y/n Quinn” i grinned at him.

He looked at me, full glam and in a wedding dress

“You look lovely y/n, im so proud of you”

We sat around and chatted for a while until one of my bridesmaids made a dumb joke about him running last minute.

“Fuck off” i brushed it off.

“You have no clue how josephs been acting, omg look” jamie said as he got his phone out.

He started playing the video.

“Shes just so amazing isnt she though, like you can say it mate. She so beautiful, and kind and sweet and i cant believe i convinced her to marry me” joseph said as he stood in front of the mirror fixing his tie.

“Yeah she certainly is something mate” jamie responded sat on the bed in josephs hotel room

“I dont think we have to worry about him running” jamie giggled

“Right i best be off to calm down the groom”jamie added as he stood.

I gave him a hug before he left.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I stood at the entrance of the wedding, brushing down my dress, all my bridesmaids had been down already and all were waiting for me.

The instrumental of ‘Make you feel my love’ by Adele started playing as i stood at the end of the aisle.

I saw at the other end of the aisle, the love of my life stood with his eyes already watering which only got worse as he locked eyes with me.

I began walking down the aisle while linking arms with my father.

I was about four steps away from joseph to see him look into my eyes and whisper “i love you so much”

My eyes started watering, this is so sureal!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“And now joseph your vows to y/n” the preist smiles at him as he gets a piece of paper out of his pocket and take a deep breathe before saying.

“Y/n, i cant believe today is happening, it feels like yesterday jamie introduced us to each other and i knew from the second i met you… that you were the girl for me, i cant see my future in any way that hasnt got you in it, i am forever going to choose to share my happiness with you, every part of you i love, and i will always love. You are my every dream come true and i cant wait to cherish our lives together”

He looks up from his paper to suck in a breathe and look around, i reached to the pockets in my dress and pulled out a tissue and wiped his eyes gently before he continued.

“I am yours, forever and always and i am so honoured that you chose me to share your life with, because of you i am slowly but surely becoming the person i always dreamed of being. I will fight with you and for you, and i will forever be open to any challenges we may face as we will face them together”

He took a pause and giggled slightly before continuing.

“I promise to never watch an episode on netflix without you, no matter how much it tempts me.I promise to unclog the drains even though your the only one of us with long hair. I promise to make you a bacon sandwich whenever your hungover, additionally, i promise to not open the curtains, turn the light on or deliberately clatter when your hungover. I promise that if it ever comes down to choosing between you and the dog, ill let you down gently. I promise to always notice when you get a hair cut. I promise ill always let you try my food even though i told you to order your own. I promise to open jars for you and say that you loosened it for me and most of all i promise to love you, all of you for the rest of time”

Throughout this part i had been giggling along with the guests to how well he knows me and even though my eyes were flooding i still smiled up at him.

I took a deep breathe as i got the piece of paper out of the pocket of my dress.

“Joe, i cannot believe i am standing in front of the most beautiful, kind and understanding man and am about to say i do. Thank you for being there whenever i need you, thank you for being the person i can run to when i feel sad and in need of a shoulder to cry on. But most of all thank you for loving the parts of me that aren’t easy to love. I remember our first date, in a run down little pub in south london, and while i was sat there pretending i liked watching rugby and you brought me a drink over with that cheeky little grin of yours, i knew in that moment that you were the man i was going to spend the rest of my life with”

“Since we’ve been together Ive never felt unloved or unwanted and i never want that to change. I promise to love you and care for you until my dying breath, i vow to always stand beside you through thick and thin, to always hold your hand through every challenge we face and to support you in whatever you choose to do. For us, home isnt a place but a person and i think we’re both finally home”

I paused to wipe my eyes and look up above before carrying on

“I can only thank you for putting up with me because im a mess all the time and im so grateful to have you with me, when you met me i was a broken vase and you took the time to lovingly glue me back together, i love you so much joey, all of you, forever and always. I love you for all the reasons you dont love yourself and i can only hope to raise your self esteem so that you can see yourself the way i see you. My love for you will never falter and i cannot wait to take on the rest of our lives together, i love you joseph”

After our vows, both of us aswell as the majority of the guests were in floods of tears.

“Joseph Anthony Francis Quinn do you take y/n l/n to be your lawful wedded wife?” The priest says

“I do” joseph said while looking into my eyes

“And do you y/n m/n l/n take Joseph Anthony Francis Quinn to be your lawful wedded husband”

“I do” i said with a smile

“Then by the power vested in me i now pronounce you husband and wife, joseph you may now kiss your bride”

With that joseph held me close to him and kissed me, we kissed for around 20 seconds before breaking to look out at the cheering guests.

When we pulled away joseph whispered to my lips

“I cant wait to get you out of that dress later tonight”

I gasped and said

“Joseph we are in a church” we both giggled at his boyish charm.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Alright Alright! Quieten down everyone its speech time!” Jamie stood from the long table we were on ( me and joe obvs, joes mum and dad and my parents, followed by Maya my maid of honore and jamie the best man)

“Now i did ask for a microphone however there wasnt one available so those in the back if the people in front of you arent laughing then that just reassures that your not missing out on much. So obviously i dont need to do a whole speech about how perfect these two are for each other, because just look at them, theyre like a pair of teenagers all over each other. I feel immense pride that i am the one who set these two up, y/n i remember working together on sweeney todd and i just knew we were going to be friends forever, and i am aware that sounds incredibly cheesey. And joe, my brother from another mother, like it or not your stuck with me for life. Your two are the ultimate power couple, and i am so happy for you both because your love is one to be envied” jamie got serious then looked down and laughed before saying

“Right enough from me, im gonna keep this speech like y/n short but funny, thank you everyone. To joseph and y/n!” Jamie toasted before raising his non alcoholic drink meaning everyone did the same.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Joseph held his hand over mine and we slid the knife down to cut our beautiful wedding cake.

We had placed the slice on a plate and joseph grabbed a fork and got a bit of it and raised it to my mouth, i smiled up at him and ate the cake before smiling at him before saying

“Oh love its fucking gorgeous”

“And that is why i love you” he giggled before having some too.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“And now Joseph and y/n will take to the floor for their first dance!” Jamie announced through the microphone at our after party.

Joseph stood up from his chair and held his hand out for me, which i gladly accepted.

We got to the dance floor as our song began playing

Heart beats fast

Colors and promises

How to be brave?

How can I love when I'm afraid to fall?

But watching you stand alone

All of my doubt suddenly goes away somehow

One step closer

I have died every day waiting for you

Darling, don't be afraid

I have loved you for a thousand years

I'll love you for a thousand more

Time stands still

Beauty in all she is

I will be brave

I will not let anything take away

What's standing in front of me

Every breath, every hour has come to this

One step closer

I have died every day waiting for you

Darling, don't be afraid

I have loved you for a thousand years

I'll love you for a thousand more

And all along I believed I would find you

Time has brought your heart to me

I have loved you for a thousand years

I'll love you for a thousand more

One step closer

One step closer

I have died every day waiting for you

Darling, don't be afraid

I have loved you for a thousand years

I'll love you for a thousand more.

And all along I believed I would find you

Time has brought your heart to me.

I have loved you for a thousand years.

I'll love you for a thousand more

After our slow dance had ended everyone cheered and the next song played this one being

“Wonderwall”

To which everyone had joined us on the dance floor and we all jumped,sang and danced to the iconic song

“I love y/n” joseph said to me in my ear

“I love you more joseph” i said back

“Not possible” he responded with a smirk

[cabinet-man-colors]

my first ever animatic- and its gay lawyers. you know how it is.

siblings of mine who will see this! maybe dont watch yet? i know you guys havent seen the full trilogy and i dont wanna spoil it for you- i know i showed aloe the sketch version but thats bc i forgor and it also wasnt super legible so its fine probably.

uhhh spoliers for phoenix wright, ace attorney trilogy (including the last case of the third game. so be warned!!!)

a little bit of info about the process below, i guess?

this project was a bitch to work on, and yet i somehow made it in less than a month. i drew a rough draft on paper (ft: chibi phoenix and edgeworth lmao) before moving it into clip studio, where i dont have the ability to animate for more than a few seconds, so i drew each picture seperately, with 4 frames per layer, then slapped it into an editing software and cropped it so it was just one frame visible, then slowly matched the frames to the lyrics.

and then i decided "actually i wanna refine this more" and went back into clip studio and refined the sketches a lot more. and then i decided to color it. and that took a while. and then i had to replace each frame in my already edited version (that hadnt been exported yet thank goodness) and then i added subtitles.

this sucked to make but im like. okay with how it turned out tbh. im proud of it i think. i did get better at drawing these two nerds so- thats a plus! they change throughout the animatic because i made this over the course of a few days, and i changed how i was drawing them midway through, but i didnt wanna redraw them for some scenes, so the two frames before the last one look a lil wonky and the last frame doesnt match them at all but like its fine! i had fun and thats what matters.

i did it poorly but i did it. and thats what matters.

[rassvetsky]

Hi there!! If you're at all interested (no worries if not!), one of my new favorite songs is called Sleepy by Ashley Kutcher, and it's a really cute song about how she finally feels at peace around someone. I think a Bucky fic where either the reader or Bucky or both have trouble sleeping, and constantly feel anxious, until they are around each other, and their heart just calms, would be really cute 💜

the way i shamelessly added this song to my playlist, thank you SO MUCH for the request and the song because im stealing it. im stealing ur favorite song hehe. i was half-asleep through the writing process so i hope you like this absolute mess, gorgeous!! ♡

Other People

bucky barnes x reader

"Having not slept properly for years unless it was on ice, Bucky found it easier to realize that his nightmares aren't real when his head was by your chest."

[3.2k] | insomnia, slight PTSD from former missions, platonic relationship, pillow-talk, fluff.

reblog and/or like for a kiss, feedback much appreciated! not proofread.

You weren't a stranger to restless nights.

Nights that are spent staring at the ceiling, the alarm clock on your nightstand, or your knees tucked against your body; nights where it would take hours for sleep to finally find you, often leaving you uneasy for the rest of the day.

Some nights, you'd be too frustrated to fight it, deciding to sneak out of your room as quietly as you could to make your way to the shared kitchen; sitting by the island counter with a mug of herbal tea and sprawled open newspaper. You were sure that the paper wasn't up to date, because frankly, nobody ever touched it if it wasn't for Steve and Bucky recitating how languishing it was to get a hold of that thin sheet instead of scrolling away on their smartphones. They were the designated japing material for Tony, if anything.

Some other nights, it would be warm enough for you to walk through the neatly kept yard, a scarf thrown on your shoulders as you walked off your endless trains of thought, a cool breeze acting as a splash of cold water against your face to keep you in the moment.

But more often than not, you found it hard to leave the bed. Dreaded the way hours went through but your mind never left its overdrive state, pushing you from emotion to emotion until the sun came up, and illuminated your surroundings through the blinds.

You never told anyone why you seemed so exhausted each morning, but somebody knew. That somebody went through, if not exact, similar things each night when he put his head on the pillow. Not that he was a psychic- he couldn't read through you, but thanks to the serum he was given, he could hear you through the walls which separated your rooms.

Bucky could hear your otherwise quiet sobs and strings of curses which left your lips from frustration. He could hear the sheets beneath you as you tossed and turned, closing his eyes and fidgeting with the hem of the blanket as he sighed.

It felt somewhat relieving to know that he wasn't the only one feeling that way.

He was battling with his own problems by the other side of the wall, not exactly finding it that hard to sleep but still dreading it. The nightmares plagued him, stuck onto his soul like a blood-sucking leech, pushing him awake with a knot on his stomach and definitely not enough oxygen in his lungs. He wouldn't have slept if he knew that the exhaustion wouldn't get to him during missions, so even though it was painful to relive every single of his darkest memories each night when he closed his eyes, he still went through that torture over and over again as to not put anybody in danger, just because he was tired.

He spoke in his sleep often, mostly quiet, but sometimes his protests were loud enough that you could slightly hear them from your side of the wall. You knew how hard it must be for him, he carried decades worth of trauma on his shoulders on a daily basis and he was way too proud to admit to it, and do something about it.

You were proud too, so you couldn't really blame him for that.

This situation between the two of you stood as a mutual pity -not exactly pity, maybe compassion- for months, until one night, it all got too much to bear.

An extraction mission went terribly downhill the other night, resulting in more casualties than your conscience could afford. The hot steam of your shower washed away the dirt and the debris but not the pangs of remorse, it clung to you, even when Steve specifically told everyone involved that it wasn't anybody's fault. There's nothing they could've done.

You went to bed later that night after contemplating everything Tony said to the team during the debriefing, the rest of the compound already fast asleep when you laid on top of your blanket. With your skimpy sleeping clothes in the nighttime, it was easy to get cold, yet you couldn't find it in yourself to bury yourself beneath the sheets. You couldn't get yourself to lift an arm, even.

A warm tear slid down your cheek, a few others following through the damp trail, all the way down to your neck. You had the urge to wipe it all away but you couldn't, transfixed on the wall instead. Soft sniffling accompanied your tears, and not too long after, quiet sobs. And of course, you had no idea that your current state was obvious to anybody, until the quiet buzz of your phone yanked you out of your trance.

Wiping your tears with the back of your hand, you reached for the nightstand, squinting a little to get used to the light as you held the phone up. A notification from Bucky Barnes.

"Everything is going to be alright."

For some reason, that short sentence forced a sob out of you, as you stared at it for a good minute. You felt heard. You felt like you could believe him.

Bucky was a good man at his core.

"I've been hearing that for years now." you texted back, fingers shaky from both your emotions and the cold. "You can't sleep, too?"

From the other side of the wall, Bucky chuckled to himself. Vibranium and flesh fingers tapped against the screen, and then deleted it all, only to start over. "I haven't slept properly for years unless it was on ice."

"Come join my misery, then."

And that's how Bucky found himself by your door, shutting it behind him as you sat up on the bed to pat the spot next to you. Temptative steps led him to your bed, as he sat by your side, leaning on the bed frame before pulling the blanket up to cover your legs. An awkward sigh left your lips, Bucky nodding in acknowledgement as if he could read your thoughts. Being teammates didn't always mean being close to everybody, and although the two of you knew each other well by now, you weren't that close. Not close enough to have a tearful sleepover anyhow.

"How are you feeling?" thankfully, Bucky broke off the silence, earning a shrug from you as a response to his question.

"Why aren't you sleeping?" you asked back, as a soft grin took over his features, arms crossing on his chest. The action would seem defensive if you didn't know him.

"Nightmares."

"I thought you said you didn't have them anymore."

"Yeah, to my therapist." he chuckled.

Your questioning gaze found his. "Lying to your therapist won't do you any good."

"I don't owe her the truth," letting out a sigh, he readjusted his position on your bed, head falling back against the frame of it.

Your curiosity didn't diminish however, as you slowly pulled yourself towards the bed frame like him, to lean against it. "And you owe it to me?"

"I'll be real with you even if I don't need to." his words were soft as they reached your ears, making you hum a little as your gaze fell to your lap. "You're my friend."

You couldn't help the smile which crawled its way up to your lips at that. "I'm glad you consider me one." you hummed, as quietly as you could. "Didn't think you would. How'd you know I wasn't asleep, though?"

"Thin walls," he joked, earning a perplexed look from you. "I mean- they're not, yeah. But, you know, the serum and all… I can hear you all the time."

"Oh, shit." you chuckled to yourself, making him laugh along with you. "Gosh- I'm really sorry. The nightmares are giving you a hard time and I'm probably not making it easier."

"You're alright. Better than Clint when he's over, at least, he sings a lot."

"He does?!"

"Not very good at it." he spoke, smiling when he noticed how your nose scrunched a little with your laugh. "My judgment might be clouded by 40's music, though."

It was surprising how little it took for Bucky to bring your mood up, filling your soul with a newfound sense of comfort which slowly, but surely, made you sleepier by the second. It wasn't all that different for him- making you laugh wasn't the hardest task because let's be honest, you were the one who'd always start laughing first during serious occasions, but being the cause of such a beautiful sound made him feel like he was accomplishing.

Bucky took notice of the way you didn't seem as tense as you used to when he first came to your room, hours of chatting was bound to get you both relaxed and somehow, by the end of the first hour, his head ended up by your shoulder as you played with his hair, listening to you as you told him about what your first impressions of everybody was.

"What did you think about me, then?" he asked, all quiet. "When I first came here."

"You didn't have a good reputation to start with," you sighed out, fingers brushing through his soft strands. "But Steve told us incredible things about you. How you were a knight in disguise, always willing to help, all those things.."

"But you called bullshit when you first saw me, hm?"

"Not exactly." you chuckled softly. "A good man is always a good man, Bucky. No matter what happened to them, or what they were forced into. At your core, if decency is what you stand by, it follows you through."

He huffed out a breath, smiling to himself before tucking his body closer to yours. "That's probably the kindest thing anyone's ever said about me."

"Now, I call that bullshit," you peeled your body away from his a little, just so he could lift his head and look at you. "You have a virtuous soul."

"You're not so bad yourself." he teased, earning a playful scoff from you as you kept looking at him, rather lovingly. He parted his lips to speak, giving himself a moment to put his words in order. "Wanna go to sleep?"

You shook your head in a nod, slowly pushing yourself away from the frame of the bed this time, letting him slightly hover over you as you laid your head against your pillow, patting your chest for him. "C'mere."

"Are you sure?"

"You seem to like it there," you joked, one hand reaching up to caress his cheek. "Don't worry about it."

And of course, he had nothing to worry about, as he laid his head on your chest, arms wrapped around one another.

It already felt like it'd be the best sleep both of you has ever got in years.

"So," Natasha chirped, walking towards you as you held a mug of freshly brewed coffee between your palms, leaned against a column by the big windows. You smiled up at her, no idea what that grin on her lips was all about. She wasn't always the one to carry such positive, or rather teasing vibes around. "Care to explain why I saw Barnes leaving your room this morning?"

You almost choked on your coffee at that, immediately shaking your head to both sides as your brows knitted together. "Nothing! Nothing like that, God, It's just- neither of us could sleep, so we decided to help each other out."

"That still sounds sexual."

"But it isn't!" you protested, voice getting lower to avoid anyone else hearing. "We just slept together."

"Y/N, I can't believe I have to say this again, but that also sounds-"

"I know what it sounds like, jeez," you cut her off, slightly chuckling along with her as you took another sip of your coffee. "Don't tell anyone or I'll stand by your bed at night and weep."

"That's creepy," she pulled a disgusted face, hand coming forward to squeeze yours for a moment before letting go. "Jokes aside, while I'm glad you guys are- doing whatever that is, Tony is forcing a game night upon us so make sure to drag him along tonight."

"Yeah, yeah sure." you nodded with uncertainty, unsure if Bucky would join in and actually participate- he would probably much rather watch from a safe distance.

Would it be awkward to invite him to the game night yourself? I mean, wouldn't it sound… forced? Just because you slept together -not sexually-? One way to find out.

You managed to find Bucky in the training room after an extensive search through the facility. Sure, you could've just asked FRIDAY- but maybe this was your way of dragging it out. He was resting by the benches, drinking water out of a bottle he held tightly in his palm, a knife twirling in between his metal fingers. You cleared your throat before approaching him, noticing how his demeanor softened a bit instantly. "You know, I always admired the way you use that knife."

He chuckled at that. "Really? You're well-trained, Y/N, I'm pretty sure you've had time to admire things way cooler than some knife tricks."

"Close combat isn't my line of the country." you shrugged, slowly taking the knife from him, just to admire it. "I'm far more experienced in firearms. Not as cool as juggling knives through a fight."

"What makes you think that?"

"I feel like it's cowardice, for starters," you huffed out a smile. "Doesn't really give your opponent a way to fight back. You're not competing through skills- you're competing through how your gun is built."

He took a deep breath, nodding in agreement. "I've seen you in hand-to-hand combat, though. You're not- like, I think you're pretty good. Awesome, at times."

You handed his knife back to him before shrugging, a gentle grin on your lips as you did so. "We never sparred together, right?"

"Because I wouldn't want to hurt you in any way-"

"Bucky," you laughed out, getting up from your seat before extending a hand to him, just so he could hold it and get up after you. "I spar with Natasha. She makes real combat pale in comparison. I think I could handle you. Besides, how else are you gonna teach me all those knife tricks?"

"You make me sound like a clown when you call them knife tricks."

"You're juggling with 'em."

"Just stop."

Much to Bucky's surprise, you did handle him quite well. After almost an hour of sparring and learning those 'knife juggles', you were still going strong, body filled with energy as you pushed against his metal arm to get out of his grasp. With a gentle kick to the back of his knee just so you wouldn't actually hurt him, you brought him down on his knees, using his hair as leverage to bring his gaze up. "Still don't wanna hurt me?" you panted out, earning a tired chuckle from Bucky.

"How do you-" he breathed, taking a moment to regulate his oxygen intake further. "How do you seem to just guess what I'm about to do?"

"I observe. Watched you fight a lot- do you not study your friends' weaknesses?"

"Now, why the hell would anybody do that?"

"Cover them when someone's going for those spots." you slowly collapsed on the ground next to him, one hand on top of your stomach as you took deep breaths. "I didn't come here to spar, actually. I, um- apparently some game night kind of thing is in order, just tonight. Thought you and I could make a great team."

"You know I'm not really big on those," a grunt left his lips as he laid down next to you, eyes closing slightly in discomfort. "It's really not that fun to bounce a ball into a glass of alcohol."

"It's unhygienic to start with, and yeah, kind of pointless." you chuckled to yourself. "Could be fun, though."

"Yeah," he whispered, shifting in his position to get comfortable. "Maybe."

Challenging Clint Barton on darts was an incredibly dumb idea, and that idea could only stem from Tony. As you watched the two annoy the hell out of each other with a smile, your eyes finally wandered all the way to where Bucky was. Despite saying that he wasn't big on game nights, he seemed to have fun, and even though you didn't participate much, the fact that he was out here smiling kept you happy.

You didn't notice him coming towards you with heavy steps when you looked down at the bottle of beer in your hand, trying to scrape off the brand label from the bottle. You suddenly felt his weight on the couch, right next to you, and offered the bottle to him which he took with gratitude, bringing the brim to his lips in order to take a sip.

"You know, I didn't tell you this in the morning, but," he sighed, handing the bottle right back to you before his gaze met yours. "I've been having those nightmares every night and last night, I still had one, but it wasn't… It was like I knew that it wasn't real. Like I knew that I was by your side, and all those things were just, shit my brain made up, you know?"

You nodded slightly, your smile growing a bit as you looked at him, practically urging him to keep speaking.

"It was like being next to you last night gave me some sort of lucidity and I prayed that I'd get that at nights for like, months." you brought the bottle up to take a sip of your own as he chuckled. "Just wanted to thank you for that."

"Maybe if we keep going, it'll all stop altogether." you whispered, shrugging to yourself. "I slept quite well, too. Insomnia is a real bitch but you got me sleepy, real fast."

"Are you calling me boring?"

"Maybe, maybe not," you chuckled, setting your now almost-empty bottle on the coffee table before leaning back on your seat again.

"So," he hummed, hand slowly reaching yours to hold it and give it a firm squeeze. "Wanna go to sleep?"

"Yes please."

You felt like a teenager, changing into your pajamas with a friend only to sit cross-legged on the bed together and exchange stories, sometimes even gossip. Minty taste of your toothpaste still evident on your tongue as you laughed along with him to some silly joke, tracing the outline of the metal parts of his arm when he draped it over you, quieter by the second.

"Your heart beats fast when you're around other people," he spoke softly, his observation causing you to hum and look at him as he laid on his side, flesh arm serving as a pillow beneath his head. "Not around me. At least not anymore."

"It's comforting to have you here." you shrugged, cool metal warming under your palm when you got to tracing his fingers. "It all gets calmer."

"Like bad things can't get you here," he chuckled, making you nod along with him before you squirmed a bit on where you laid, until you could tuck yourself closer to his chest. He got the hint and his grip on you went a bit tighter, the blanket you had over your body feeling useless considering how much heat Bucky was radiating. "Is it only me, who makes it better?"

"It's not like this with other people."

[baeddelicto]

MÆRA

(Older woman/boy(girl), v light gore, somno?, hypno?, idk i dint actually knw how to label writng mech?)

930 words

《Incubation in 3..2..1..》

*krxh* "Dont you fret hun, i know its daunting down there in that chamber but we're up here with sweaty palms too. Now the fluid is breathable and full of that sweet ambrosia so go ahead and take a breath, relax, and drift away" *khp*

She's right its always a crapshoot isnt it tryn sumthn new nd honestly this fluid hasnt even reached my mouth and i already feel better, less tense, floaty like a salt bath if it were the color and viscosity of dirty engine oil...

Smells sweet, ambrosia huh, hear goes... tastes sweet not that hard to move through my lungs actually, i wonder how lon....

■

"Slipped right past hypnogogia... hope that ain't the case on the flipside. Lower the serum dosage 20%."

"Yessir, entering stage 3......stage 4..... cresting, begining reentry, stage 3"

"Drop another 20. Shit boy slow down. He lied to you Doc."

"It would seem so."

"0 drinks a day my ass."

"We've reached hypnopompia sir."

"Atonia?"

"Yessir!"

"Hot Dog!"

■

Fuck, fuck why can't i talk? Shit somethings wrong w the fluid i cant move! What is-

"Hey sugar, im sure youre all worked up by now so im gonna remind you of earlier when i told you dont fret but um now im not gonna say that bc right now thats what you need. That fear got you real focused. And i need you to take that focus and push out. Focus on the edges of your vision and try to see past all that filth in that pit."

Oh its Jacinta...thats nice... i guess i should listen to her and do something other than freaking out. seems simple enough. Fuck i didnt think a dark room could spin this much. Dont hurl. No hurling. Pleass God. Wait how did Jacinta get in my-

Woah im outside.... That ridgeline its the Salspar Escarpment...

"There you go, Youre a natural kiddo! Now walk toward the escarpment keep your eyes on Salvor's Peak."

I can do that... heh mom always said i needed direction gues i got one. East by Southeast. Honestly one of the better directions westerly spring winds and the rings of Sarthis blaze violet in the afternoon sun. Oh fuck almost tripped that would have been embarassing Jacinta would hav- Why do my feet look so weird and my legs i look lik afucking bug! FUCK oh god wheres my dick?! Wheres my SkIN! FUCKFUKfuckFug I cant feel anything why didnt my knees hurt when i fall? My hands are tearing into my thighs but i cant feel it FUck im bleeding fuCk its everywhr fuck i-

■

"heyy kid how ya feeln?"

Jacinta whispers to me as she lightly brushes the hair out of my face. Her weight was flushing the mattress so that the side of my hip was pressed into hers. She clasps her hand to my brow then traces the half moon of my face to my cheek. Her raven hair glows a deep amber in the evening light streaming in from the window. She gave a crooked smile.

"You're burnin up bud. We gotta get some fluids in you..." She turns to a small table behind her, a messy plait spills over her shoulder and swishes over the small of her back. The rattle of paper on board heralds

"Petragua or citralyte?"

I nod to the petragua and she replaces the other and proffers my mouth a straw. She gazes down at me warmly as i suck down the plum-apricot-chem slurry. The infusion perks me up a bit.

"Alright now don't drain it dry. Don't want it coming back up all over my vest." She pulls it from my lips and i eek a short and quiet suckng sound that manages a full 5 seconds of embarrassment even though the sound was .3 seconds long.

"Kid ill be real with ya. You did great..exceptional even! Most of the time we dont even get to a stroll the first time we just... well its a whole lot more work on my end than what happened with you so i just wanted to say... im proud of you."

She squeezes my shoulder and feathers her hand to my cheek again.

"I know all this been hard on you and you've put in a lot of work before you even got in the pit and it payed off." She picks up the petragua again and hangs it in the air for a second.

"To all your work...and all of our work... and to your health." She sips some of it then positions it back towards me again. I slurp with even more energy this time.

"Having such a strong liminal drive link seams to really make a difference. Honestly i think you two should meet but we have to get clearance pfft its bullshit. How are you supposed to pilot together if you dont even know eachother? How are we supposed to figure out what this spark is that makes the liminal drive work if we never get to observe you interacting in a controled manner? I swear im gonna have a word-"

*slurpppppp* she pulls it from my face.

"Oh listen to me blathern on, you got another 18 hours til youre on rotation again. You can head back to your room whenever. Ill see you then ok? I just wanted to check in on you." And with that she rises, throws her vest on, and clacks and jingles out the door with a two finger wave lingering behind her with her plait.

[the-californicationist]

Guardian (excerpt from Chapter 4)

König stood outside of his quarters, shifting his weight from boot to boot, trying to decide when to knock. He shuffled around, walking back down the hall, feeling too close to the door and then too far from it. Maybe he should leave the food and retreat entirely? Would she find it before Horangi did?

“Klopf einfach an,” he muttered to himself, too loudly.

“König?” Her voice was dampened by the door panel, “Is that you? One second.”

He heard her jostling around in there. She turned the handle and pulled the door away from him. Seeing her standing there, dressed in what he had given her - along with a borrowed pair of socks that went all the way up to her knees - he thought he might pass away. The huge top extended past the nylon shorts, making it seem as if the shirt was her only covering. He could smell her. His shampoo. His soap. His scent lingered on her with his stare. The bedsheets were rumpled. She had been snuggled up in them, dressed in his clothes. He couldn’t move.

“Gott im Himmel,” he breathed the lowest, deepest growl of a whisper as he exhaled the breath he was holding.

He tried to recover as quickly as possible, smiling like an idiot as he handed her the sandwich and drinks. Even though he could hold all of the bottles in one hand, she had to awkwardly carry them in her arms as she tried to take them from him. She was saying something, thanking him perhaps? He couldn’t tell. He couldn’t hear anything except his blood rushing in his ears. A bottle fell to the concrete floor, and before he could get his head back on his shoulders to help her, she bent down away from him to retrieve it. 

Her shirt rode up, loose as it was, exposing her bare lower back. The shorts were small, even for her, and they left none of her thigh to the imagination. To his delight, freckles were littered all over them like a spattering of breadcrumbs leading directly up to her thick -

“König? Are you okay? Are you upset? What happened?”

The fear had returned to her voice. He was acutely aware that he still looked like a literal demon, and he tried to dismiss himself as quickly as possible,

“No, no. Everything is alright, Mauschen. Just wanted to fill you - feed you. Feed you food, and I will go…I will do paperwork, now. Right now.” Freud would be proud. 

“I thought you’d be able to stay here. Can you do the paperwork here?”

He was a wolf with its leg in a beautiful claw trap,

“Ja, natürlich.”

“This is so good, mmh,” she dug into the sandwich, getting a little mayonnaise on her cheek.

He sat in his tiny chair and opened his field desk. She licked a knuckle that had been smeared with tomato juice, sticking the finger into her mouth and sucking it clean. He found what was probably a pen and a piece of paper. It didn’t matter, since all he could think about was her. She finished one of the halves, sticking the crust past her lips and using her pink tongue to try and catch falling crumbs. He crushed the pen between his fingers.

“Scheiße,” he cursed under his breath. He found another pen.

She took no notice of him, too interested in her meal. He began his report. How do you begin a report? She moaned mid-bite,

“Oh, my God! I don’t know if it’s just the fact that they only fed me cold rice or what, but this is amazing.”

König was in physical pain. If she moaned like that again… He jotted down the date and time, along with a few bullshit facts about his recent insertion, and signed it at the bottom, sloppily. 

“I need to deliver this to the captain. Do you need anything else, Maus?”

She shook her head, her mouth full of chicken.

“Lock the door when I leave, bitte. Don’t open it unless it is me,” he paused, “or the captain.”

She nodded, visibly swallowing. Her throat - No. Stop it.  

“Where will you sleep? I’m so sorry to put you out,” she lamented genuinely.

He stood to leave, leaving her question unanswered. Towering over her, he peered down at her and saw that she still wore a small hint of mayo. He removed a glove and took her face in one of his hands, slowly rubbing the sauce away from her soft mouth. She gasped,

“Oh, shit. Mayo? I’m a mess, apparently.” She allowed him to clean it off fully, keeping her chin in his huge hand, blushing from embarrassment, “Thanks.” 

“Wenn ich länger hier bleibe, werde ich dich vögeln.” If I stay here any longer, I will fuck you. He smiled down at her, his eyes crinkling under the mask.

“Sorry, I don’t speak - is it German?”

He nodded, releasing her face, “Ja , Boarisch. But, still Deutsch, I guess. Just wishing you good night, Mauschen. I will come wake you for breakfast tomorrow.”  

He fled, closing the door tightly behind him, crushing the report in his ungloved hand. He didn’t leave until he heard the lock click. It wouldn’t keep anyone out, but it would make her feel safer at least. His boots pounded into the floor of the compound as he made his way to Captain Price’s office.

FULL TEXT ON AO3

[downundergarfield]

Could you write medic x fem reader with a praise kink :^0

Sooo, here you go, i tried my best <:D

Medic × fem!Reader [Praise kink]

NSFW!

You were sitting near his office, waiting for the man to get rid of picking at tools. Lately you've been feeling a little tired, it seemed like there was something missing in you, or something like that. That's why you turned to a Doctor.

He came out of his office, saw you and came closer.

"- Guten Morgen, herr Y/N. What's bothering you?" He asked with kindness in his voice

, "This.. It's a little bad, I think I'm tired and I don't feel good enough for you..." You looked down at your palms and rubbed them a little nervously

"-oh, honey, you know it's not like that. I love you fully and completely! Down to the smallest capillaries.."

You smiled, but the annoying feeling was still hovering somewhere inside

"- okay, let's go to me, I know how to help you!"

The door to the infirmary opened, the familiar smell of the treatment room hit your nose. Ludwig moved a bunch of papers from his desk, put his arm around your waist, kissed you on the forehead and sat you on his desk. He was still hugging your waist, looking admiringly into your eyes. You stroked his big hands and smiled back.

"so you're worried zhat you're not good enough? You know zhat's not the case, love"

He pats you on the back, kissing you on the forehead again and again.

"-I will prove to you zhat you are absolutely loved by me"

He kisses you on the lips, quickly and without resistance penetrating you with his tongue. His hands go down to your pants, he gently puts his fingers under the fabric and pulls them off.

"- you don't mind if I..."

"- no, Dr. Ludwig, I trust you completely"

"-gut, I like it when you call me zhat."

He completely pulls off your pants along with underwear, carefully hangs them on the back of his chair.

Ludwig gets down on his knees, running his hands over your thighs as he descends. He gently kisses you on the stomach, and then goes down with kisses lower. You realized what he was going to do, you straighten up a little so that it would be more convenient for him.

Ludwig settles between your legs, kisses your pubis and lowers his tongue into your folds. You instantly get wet, both from his tongue and from your own excitement. Doc continues to eat you, running a hot organ over your entrance and between the folds. You feel how diligently he licks you. The medic clicks his tongue away from your pussy

"-mein gott, you're so delicious" and he sinks back into your hips, greedily devouring your juices

"-good girl, I'm proud of you" he whispers, looking up from the meal. He will say a lot of sweet things that will make your hips shake with pleasure.

"-beautiful" "-affectionate.." "-MY gut girl.."

"-oh mein Gott, I'm ready to do this all day"

You felt like he was literally sucking an orgasm out of your lips. Ludwig sucked your lips, licked your clitoris with circular movements and sometimes bit your vulva, mumbling and slurping. It was really delicious for him. All doubts have disappeared, he adores you, your taste, your body. Your tummy tensed, you were ready to cum right in his mouth.

"-Dr. Ludwig, I'm i-im close...-

"come on, love, do it, don't be shy, I won't leave you wizhout attention"

And you really cum, splashing right into his mouth. Ludwig does not come off for a second, he continues to work with his tongue on your sensitive bump. You dig your fingers into his hair and moan loudly.

When the wave of magical, all-consuming orgasm disappears, you finally catch the rhythm of the breath again. Ludwig gets up, kissing you on the cheeks, he feels wet, but still warm enough.

"-you are such a good girl, Y/N, I love everyzhing about you, from your face to the smallest muscle fibers" you giggle with his words and relax finally believing in yourself again

[yahoodarling]

Baizhu X Inexperienced/sick reader(GN)

I have done it... i have written fluff! It is possible! Im rather proud of myself

Warnings: Smoking

"You are going to hurt yourself." Baizhu sighed as you clumsily held the lighter too close to your face trying to get the paper to light. It wasnt your fault this damn paper was fire resistant. 

Baizhu stood up from his desks chair and sat next to you on the couch behind the Bubu pharmacy. Gently he tipped the rolled paper fulled with his selection of herbs and weeds upwards, took hold of your hand and guided it to lighting the end. "Suck in deeply. The flame needs suction to light the herbs inside, else you are just burning the ends of the paper and not the actual stuff you want burnt."

Baizhu was a good friend, he always entertained your thoughts and requests. You had known him for so long now, you were one of his first patients he had when the Bubu pharmacy began, of course you needed contant supervision at the time to make sure you were alright. Even to this day neither of you knew what exactly made you feel fatigued, light headed and easily susceptible to illness but your symptoms were a lot less sever now then they were in the past. You could live a life, have a job and have friends when before in your youth you were bedridden and scared to explore anything outside your rooms walls. Your teenage years were fulled with books and sleep, missing an important part of life but at least you got to know Baizhu, your reliable ever flamboyant doctor and friend. 

At this moment you wanted to spend time with him, he had gotten so busy in his work you hardly got to see him so you told him you were interested in trying out a known hobby of his: casual smoking. 

Baizhu described the sensation as simply mind numbing not world altering like you first thought. You always imagined getting high ment not being in the right mind, saying stupid stuff and doing stuff youd regret, Baizhu laughed a lot when you explained your concerns, how silly. 

You sucked hard on command, getting a mouth fill of a slightly bitter air, hardly anything as bitter as Baizhus medicine but still having that noteable ting to it. 

You let go and scrunched your face slightly, it wasnt bad or overpowering like you thought, in fact it felt underwhelming.

"Congratulations! Youve just set your first foot into a world of drug abuse and addiction. How do you feel?" Baizhu sang sarcastically, mocking your original concerns.

"Shush" you huffed and tried breathing in another pull to see if it was any different.

The man beside you chuckled and leaned back into his couch, picking up a book and flicking threw it. Hed never admit it but it was thanks to you he didnt overwork himself. He knew what was healthy for him but he often got consumed in his research or daily deeds providing for the sick citizens all over Liyue. It was thanks to you he could remind himself that a break was okay now and then. 

"So, how long does this stuff last?" You ask turned to him in question.

He continued to read his book, answer robotic like he knew youd ask and had planned a response long before. "Depends. Peoples bodies tend to work differently. It could take you a second or hours to feel the effects. The effects could last a jolly moment or a life time, or your body simply won't register it and you wont feel a thing. Its out of my control. All i can do is ulter the type and amount of stuff you take in, how your body recieves it is up to your body."

He looked away from his book and up to the roof, an emotionless look on his face which was very unlike him. "If i could control how the body recieves stimulants and toxins both myself and the world would be a very different."

You knew instantly that he was reffering to his illness. Much like you he was plagued with something uncurable, he never went into detail about it but you knew it was a soft spot for him. He feared death as much as you feared uncertainty.

You hummed in thought, trying to think of an appropriate response when you felt your hand lift unintentionally. Baizhu held your wrist, pulled in closer to it and gave a drag off the roll. Then leant back and huffed a sigh, getting comfy in the couchs blankets and pillows again. 

"Dont worry about it. Life has its treasures. We just have to explore them and cherish the ones that deside to stick with us." He stated before going back to his book. 

'Explore'. Were you too scared? You hadnt left Liyue Harbour your entire life, the furthest out you had gone was the surrounding mountain range one year you were feeling well enough to go see the lantern right. Perhaps you should try explore a little more?

With that thought the new muscle memory of brining the roll to your mouth unlocked as you periodically took huff after huff. Baizhu didnt give you anything 'heavy' as he described it and you trusted him to that. In time the plush couch, familiar environment and good friend to your side erged a dozy feeling to arise as you began to focus on the smaller sounds of late night Liyue. 

"Dont burn yourself." Baizhu suddenly said, lifting your hand away from your leg, the one holding the still liy though short roll. He took it out your hand, gave a quick pull or two and stood up to despose of what was left. 

Baizhu was so good to you. So gentle. His humorous nature that seemed overpowering at times contrasted to the graceful care he showed. In all your years of knowing him his touch had never been harsh, times you were in pain were all because of the sicknesses youd catch and it was thanks to him that youd recover.  

"Baizhu, you are so good to me." You voiced your thoughts. He chuckled in return and sat back next to you, a knowing smile on his face as he ruffled your hair. 

"Im your doctor. Id hope i can treat you well."

You frowned at his response.

"No, i mean as a friend, well… yes as a doctor too but i dont think i would be spending a late night with a usual doctor smoking and dozing off now right? I wanna thank you for this safe space you have created for me. Thanks to you i can over come my fears and slowly push my boundaries a little further everyday."

Baizhu pulled you in, cradled your head into his chest and have you a quick kiss on the crown of your head. The action left you a little flustered but otherwise unbothered.

"Im glad to know that. I hope to have more moments like this in the future."

He didnt pull away, you simply fell into his hold as he went back to reading. It was so warm and safe and yet something you had never done before, you had never been this close to him like you were now.

You truly wanted to get closer, to be fitted againt him entirely and share his touch but in order to do that youd have to initiate it. Baizhu wouldnt lead you into that. What if he didnt want to get any closer? Maybe he was simply comforting you and didnt feel as relaxed and willing to share each others space as you felt. You closed your eyes, deeply thinking about what move to make. You really wanted to get closer but you didnt want to distrub him. None the less you willed yourself. You shuffled in, lay your head deeper onto his chest to the point you slowly began falling into his lap.

Baizhu didnt mind. He hummed and let yourself get comfortable before laying his hand in your hair, gently carresing through each lock of strands and slightly pulling and untangling knots. The gentle pull of your scalp and soft plush of his lap tempted your eyelids to close. You battled greatly to stay awake, not wanting to fall asleep and lose the moment.

"Its alright. You can rest. If i must rest so must you." Baizhu said as he looked down on you through his glasses, the chains connected dangling above like a childs mobile watching the chains and beads sway to his heads movements. 

"Next time you want to spend some time together you dont need to push yourself to involve yourself into my hobby, ill be more aware to spend time with you. I think its important and getting to share this time… its enjoyable."

His hands finally pushed you to closing your eyes and they stayed close. Finally accepting sleep. Baizhu blushed at the sight, enjoyed the view for a moment more then got back to carresing your hair and reading his book until he too retires to bed.

Look at me being all fluffy~ you would hardly believe its the same person~

[l0velace]

MÆRA

《Incubation in 3..2..1..》

*krxh* "Dont you fret hun, i know its daunting down there in that chamber but we're up here with sweaty palms too. Now the fluid is breathable and full of that sweet ambrosia so go ahead and take a breath, relax, and drift away" *khp*

She's right its always a crapshoot isnt it tryn sumthn new nd honestly this fluid hasnt even reached my mouth and i already feel better, less tense, floaty like a salt bath if it were the color and viscosity of dirty engine oil..

Smells sweet, almost like rot but in a medicinal way... ambrosia huh, hear goes... tastes like fruit juice on my knee... not that hard to move through my lungs actually, i wonder how lon....

■

"Slipped right past hypnogogia... hope that ain't the case on the flipside. Lower the serum dosage 20%."

"Yessir, entering stage 3......stage 4..... cresting, begining reentry, stage 3"

"Drop another 20. Shit boy slow down. He lied to you Doc."

"It would seem so."

"No drug use my ass."

"We've reached hypnopompia sir."

"Atonia?"

"Yessir!"

"Hot Dog!"

■

Fuck, fuck why can't i talk? Shit somethings wrong w the fluid i cant move! What is-

"Hey sugar, i imagine you might be feelin' like a corpse in a casket right about now..."

No fucking shit! I fucked up!

"Like there's six feet of soil between you and sunlight..."

FucK! Im so dead...goddamnit!

"I'm gonna need you to start diggin' kid. I need you to take all the hypervigilance u can squeeze outta your adrenals and push out..."

They've been doin a lil overtime sorry!...shit come on! Pleaasssse

"Focus on the edges of your vision and try to see past all that filth in the pit."

Yah focus on the tears welling up. Great.

I wish i could do something other than freaking out. Fuck i didnt think a dark room could spin this much. Dont hurl. No hurling. Pleass God.

Wait how did Jacinta get in my-

Woah im outside.... That ridgeline its the Salspar Escarpment...

"There you go, Youre a natural kiddo! Now walk toward the escarpment keep your eyes on Salvor's Peak."

I can do that... heh mom always said i needed direction guess i got one. East by Southeast. Honestly one of the better directions westerly spring winds and the rings of Cathaş blaze violet in the afternoon sun. Oh fuck almost tripped that would have been embarassing Jacinta would hav- Why do my feet look so weird and my legs i look lik afucking bug! FUCK oh god wheres my dick?! Wheres my SkIN! FUCKFUKfuckFug I cant feel anything why didnt my knees hurt when i fell? My hands are tearing into my thigh but i cant feel it FUck im bleeding fuCk its everywhr fuck i-

■

"heyy kid how ya feeln?", Jacinta whispers.

She lightly brushes the hair out of my face. Her weight is flushing the mattress so that the side of my hip is pressed into hers. She clasps her hand to my forehead then my feels my quickly flushing face. The evening light leaking in through the shuttered windows lights her black hair to amber. She gives me a crooked smile.

"You're burnin up buddy. We gotta get some fluids in you..."

She turns to a small table behind her, her messy plait spills over her shoulder and swishes over the bare small of her back. The rattle of paper on board heralds

"Petragua or citralyte?"

I absently nod to the petragua and she replaces the other and proffers my mouth a straw.

Why am i always so... behind. Its like im in slow motion...always just barely responding...

She gazes down at me warmly as i suck down the plum-apricot-chem slurry. The infusion perks me up a bit.

"Alright now don't drain it dry. Don't want it coming back up all over my vest."

She pulls it from my lips and i eek a short and quiet sucking sound that manages a full 5 seconds of embarrassment even though the sound was .3 seconds long.

"Ill be real with ya. You did great..exceptional even! Most of the time we dont even get to a stroll the first time we just... well its a whole lot more work on my end than what happened with you so i just wanted to say... im proud of you."

She squeezes my shoulder and flashes me a big deep blue smile.

"I know all this been hard on you and you've put in a lot of work before you even got in the pit and it payed off."

She picks up the petragua again and hangs it in the air for a second.

"To your dreams...or better yet your nightmares."

She sips some of it then positions it back towards me again. I slurp with even more energy this time.

"Having such a strong liminal drive link seams to really make a difference. Honestly i think you two should meet but we have to get clearance pfft its bullshit. How are you supposed to pilot together if you don't even know eachother? How are we supposed to figure out what this spark is that makes the liminal drive work if we never get to observe you interactin' in a controlled manner? I swear im gonna have a word-"

*slurpppppp* she pulls it from my face.

"Oh listen to me blatherin' on, you only got 18 hours til you're on duty again. You can head back to your room whenever. Ill see you then ok? I just wanted to check in on you."

She finishes donning her vest and clacks and jingles out the door with her plait fishtailing behind her.

[celiastjamesoscar]

Professors either are your best friends or your ultimate enemy. That dude needs to take a chill pill. He probably gets off on causing his students misery. Jon, on the other hand, seems so cool and like a fun dude! His love for pictures is everything, I adore it. If you can talk to him about gambling then he's really a chill guy. 4 finals, that's manageable! I'm the same study type as you; procrastinating it and only doing it a short time beforehand. But, I'm the prime example for this bad behavior. Don't be like me and fuck up your finals. So listen up, I will boss you around one more time. You will start studying early on and really put your heart and soul into it. The relief you will feel afterwards will be the greatest thing ever! Listen to me, miss ma'am.

Omg yes Sam and Butter are sharing one brain cell! Oh Sam definitely enjoyed his ball, especially since he lost his two... The new tattoos will be smaller, fineline ones. 1 is an ufo sucking in a human with "get in loser" on top. The other one will be a devil lady (naked) waking up from a nap inside of a coffin. The best news about all of this is that THE HOT MILF WILL BE DOING THE TATTOOS!!!!

Well... technically I'm already "fired" so they can't do anything. After my apprentices is over they couldn't offer me a job so I'm being let go. And because that company is really shitty and never treated us well, I don't give a fuck anymore and will call in sick. I already called in today. Hey! Cutting a banana is hard work! I held it in my hand (first mistake) and cut through it. Then I looked away because I got distracted (second mistake) and somehow cut my thumb. The one that held the knife. I genuinely don't even know how I did that...

YES GRACE THANK YOU!! I just grabbed that poor girl while she was stealing the pigs food. She's so soft and warm and fluffy. Hennifer even looked at me and put her head on my shoulder!!

Lol I don't think her poor husband stands a chance against a bunch of obsessed ladies. We will definitely win and kindly surprise adopt Melissa. I'm sure she wouldn't even mind...

That’s honestly so true about professors. My chemistry one, the guy who gave me a zero, is a complete asshole. It’s safe to say that my evaluation of him will be a long and hefty one. Jon is honestly the goat, im sad that I’m only going to have him for one more semester. although I will be glad that I won’t have to worry about an embarrassing picture of me making it into the slides 😭 4 finals isn’t too bad, and I don’t think any of them are on the same day. At least I hope not. I’m honestly the worst when it comes to studying, but I plan to use tomorrow as a study day, so don’t worry! And to make you proud, I finished my article review paper tonight and turned it in, instead of waiting until tomorrow to do it, which is when it’s due! It was supposed to be 4 pages, but it turned out to be 6 😬

Not Sam losing his 2 other balls! I got Butters 6 tennis balls a couple months ago, and now he only has 2 left 😭 Butters has been a handful today; first he came in from playing in the backyard with a small abrasion on his head which I had to clean it, and now he’s gotten welts around his mouth and on his nose. It looks like he had an allergic reaction to something, but I’m making him sleep in my room so I can keep an eye on him. My two boy animals have caused so much trouble 😭

But your tattoo ideas are amazing!! I remember you sending in those pictures of them too, and I can’t wait for you to get them!! AND THE HOT MILF IS DOING THEM?!?! YOU BETTER BE SENDING IN THE FINISHING WORKS!!

Well since you are technically already “fired,” I guess there are no consequences for calling off work, especially if the company can’t treat the workers properly. And you know what, you absolutely deserve that time off for your traumatic experience with cutting the banana. How the hell did you manage to cut your thumb that was holding the knife??? That’s what I want to know, like how is that even possible 😭

you snatching Hennifer while she was being a menace and stealing the pigs food is honestly gold!! And she even rested her head on your shoulder, that’s so cute!! Also, I absolutely lock her name so much!! It reminds me of Yennefer from The Witcher series. We used to have chickens but we had to get rid of them because A.) they were too loud and B.) my brother got attacked by the rooster and I got in trouble for recording it 🙄

Melissa herself said that her husband doesn’t get jealous, so I’m sure we could figure something out to where we all win 🤷🏻‍♀️

[marcholasmoth]

OSRR: 2985

i like that the month of october goes along with how many days it's been past 2980. like today is the 5th, it's 2985. cool.

also my birthday is tomorrow (the 6th). it's technically my birthday here now, but it's not even 1am and i'm not asleep yet from the 5th. but birthday. more on that later.

today i got up early and went in for PT. we didn't even do much but my shoulder was YELLING all day. sore. achy. deep, deep ache. pretty miserable. but i took two advil and made the best of it.

after that i went to work with the kiddos. they are both doing really well and i'm super proud of them. like they've both improved so much since i started working with them in january and i'm so, so happy for them. their mom is happy too. she also asked me to teach her husband about the math so he can help when the kids get stuck and i'm not around. 😂 which is fair.

after that i stopped for a soda and ice cream which i had a feeling i'd want. we had game tonight, but we didn't focus on anything, really, but i was even late to doing things because i was talking to lisa and joel and daniel about the con schedule. i told lisa i wasn't going to fill up the craft room, and she gave me a look like "sure okay *rolls eyes*" all in one look and i said "im not fucking doing it. i can't handle it." and my voice broke, of course, because that kind of stress is not something i can fucking handle. no. i'm not doing it again. i didn't fucking eat last year. i'm not doing it again. and of course i cried, and joel came over to hug me and i weakly tried to protest because all i initially wanted to do was punch a wall. he held me and i just slumped to the floor and cried. i'm not gonna do it again. i'm never fucking doing that again. i don't want that stress, i don't want that chaos, and i don't want to be yelled at again by some entitled asshole who doesn't fucking get to tell me what to do.

anyway.

PT sucked this morning. deep tissue massage made it hurt even though i didn't do almost anything. the therapist gave me a few things to do at home.

work was fine. it was a "lie under the table" kind of day.

other work was satisfying. i drew gabby and myself on a paper and then gave the kids math problems.

in the meantime, my cybersecurity class professor hasn't posted module 3 anything. it's almost the end of week 3 of a six week class and we haven't heard from him since last friday. i sent a few people emails. one kicked back saying "i'll be out of the office." the other said "i'll pass this on and see what i can find out." fuckin professor hagen comin in clutch, as always. the absolute fucking legend.

got ice cream.

changed up the con schedule. had a breakdown.

had game and didn't even really so much. looked at financial aid stuff and assignments due.

watched a bunch of facebook videos while eating my ice cream which i definitely needed.

been reading fics.

in bed now.

want joel hug.

birthday tomorrow.

turning 30.

thirty???

jesus.

[plagueislost]

Hii, for the artist ask game: number 4 and 10 is something I'd love to know :3

i wrote A LOT for this ask, sorry! i wanted to do the questions justice, yknow how it is.

4. piece you wish got more love?

Ive found from experience that original art tends to not do very well on social media, which kind of makes me sad. It's not much of a problem for me (because most of the stuff i post is fanart anyways) but i can't help but think that part of the reason i rarely ever draw original pieces or make OCs is because of the lack of feedback i get on social media. I know tumblr is supposed to be the fandom website, and maybe id have a different experience on another site, but it is disappointing when i post something original that I'm very proud of and it barely manages to get more than 20 notes, whereas something i like less easily surpasses 100 just because of the tags i put on it. i think the most recent example of this is this piece, which admittedly did get quite a few notes for an original piece, but definitely would have gotten more had it been fanart of the same caliber. this is also not to blame anyone or make anyone feel bad about not reblogging original art (god knows im guilty of that too, and art piggybacking off the popularity of other works of art are of course gonna get more notes), its just something ive noticed from my time on social media.

10. how do you deal with artblock?

i dont get art block very often, but when i do, its ANNOYING. it mostly manifests in me having a bunch of motivation for a part of my process that i cant get to without doing the stuff i have no desire to do (does that make any sense?). like, ill have a strong urge to render an artwork, but no ongoing WIPs that are at that stage, meaning i would have to sketch and color and shade a whole new piece before i could satiate that urge, or do the steps out of order which could mess up the flow and end look of a project. when i get like this, i find its best to try and translate those desires into different activities and take a step away from art. for example:

if i want to sketch, but nothing comes out right digitally, ill find a scrap piece of paper and a crappy pen and make thumbnails until i cant think of any other iterations of the ideas in my head. if one of them turns out good, ill take a picture and transfer it into my software, but only go over it a day or so later so i can have fresh eyes.

if i want to color, but i have no sketches currently ready for coloring, ill go into my photo editing program, find some random old photos that i never edited, and post-process them until i get something im happy with.

if i want to shade, but have no colored artworks ready for that, ill usually do a study of a photo ive taken, because most of the time me shading is really me wanting to see how light and shadow interact in certain scenarios. i actually did a whole AP portfolio on that because i liked shading and lighting so much!

if i want to render, but ive got no pieces ready for rendering, i find its easiest just to find a tedious activity where i can be a perfectionist but also feel like im the smartest person in the world. this generally turns into me cooking some big meal because its constantly engaging but also not that difficult. i know its probably weird for it to not have anything to do with art but this is just what works best for me, and i get the bonus of a nice meal at the end of it!

if i get the more classic kind of art block where everything sucks and nothing i make is good, i find its best to go back to the media that inspires me to make art, and not worry too much about having made something by the end of it. generally the media that inspires me ends up, well, inspiring me, and i can remind myself that art is a voluntary practice that i do because its fun, not because i want something out of it. if it doesnt manage to inspire me, thats okay, i can just tell myself im taking a break and live life for a bit.

i hope that was helpful, and i really enjoyed answering these questions! if anyone else wants to ask a question, the artist ask game is here.