#(I mentioned it to my manager like ’is there anyway we can play the original instead?’ and he was like ’oh yeah. I hate this version too’)

[jettison-my-gift]

So the Jonas Brothers’ version of Year 3000 is on the playlist where I work. And this was the first time I’ve ever heard that version of Year 3000 and may I just say:

Ew.

They Kidz Bop-ified it???

[letorip]

kiss with a fist [iii]

"your slaps don't stick, your kicks don't hit, so we remain the same"

===+++===

pairing: tara carpenter x reader

summary: you can't help but feel like maybe you and tara are more than frenemies, and it culminates in a night where you finally share some truths with each other.

warnings: a somewhat traumatic dream sequence lmao, mentions of sex, kissing (almost), curse words, blood

word count: 5.8k

A/N: hope y'all like this one because i definitely liked writing it. definitely a whole lot more kissing than fisting.... wait a minute....

it's 5 am, my ass is grass. anyways, part 4 relatively soon because woo wee theres still so much to explore in this story i legitimately cant believe my idiot self said it'd be done in 2 parts originally

===+++===

===+++===

"(Y/n)," a voice calls to you, sing-song and sweet as your eyes fade to darkness. It's a gentle woman's whisper, but it manages to hit you like a truck, pulling you down from wherever you came from, and plopping you wherever you've arrived. Or, rather, wherever you've always been. "(Y/n), look, darlin'."

A gust of wind gently strokes over the plane of your cheek, and when you open your eyes, all you can see is rye. On one end, it reaches out towards a sharp cliff, overlooking a lake, with nothing but rocks and the water below. On the other, it runs far up the plains of land in front of you, stopping in front of the white house you know all too well, with its rickety porch and broken tire swing.

You take a few steps forward, as if ready to run right inside, and then before you know it, you're running. Like the world is about to end, like the house is burning down, like you'll never see the place ever again. Foot after foot, you dash towards it, hearing Alisha's piano flit through the front window for the first time in years, and the smell of a pie right along with it. "(Y/n)!" the voice calls again. "Dinner time, kid!"—

But your foot catches on a root, just like it did in your memory, and in an instant, you've fallen down into the rye, with a painful thud, right on your face. You let out a grunt, feeling the dirt on your new, white shirt. The one your mother never let you wear when you were playing outside.

And when you right yourself again, sitting up out of the field, the house isn't any closer than it was before. It sits, perfectly far away, only all that stuff is gone now, and the house looks about as dark as it did the day of Mitchie's funeral.

"(Y/n)!" an excited voice calls from behind you. "Wanna play tag?"

"(Y/n)'s too old for that, Mitchie," another voice chides, and you whip around like Calvin would actually be there to chide him like that. Like he used to. But he isn't. All you can see is the rye. It stands in thick stalks, reaching up to your knees in lush groupings, tall and abundant, strong and growing.

Another voice. "Read me a story?" It's soft and it's a little girl's and it's far away, and you get to your feet and spin in a circle, waiting for her to appear. It seemed to reverberate through your ears, washing through the pathways of your brain before seeping into your heart. It fills it up, and before you know it, you can feel yourself hastily searching for her.

"'Randa?" you called into the open field. "Miranda? You there?" but she continues on like she didn't hear you.

"Would you read me a story? Please?"

"I will Miranda, but where are you?" you called back, raising a hand to shield your eyes from the barrel of the hot sun.

"I'm gone, (Y/n). You're supposed to be gone too," she says back, with a sweet giggle. "Why aren't you gone with us?"

"I—" you stammer, whipping your head around the field in search of your siblings. "I don't—"

"Do you really think that's fair, (Y/n)?" Calvin asks.

"Why aren't you here, (Y/n)?" Miranda asks again, this time her voice wavering like she was about to cry. "Why aren't you in the rye with us?" Your hands came up to your head, trying to squeeze your eyes shut and block out the noises, but they seemed to reverberate into your skull.

"Mitchie was your fault, you know," Peter chides. "We would've never let that—"

"—Why did you get to stay, (Y/n)?" Came Tomas' voice. "We're supposed to be cursed, and you're supposed to be cursed too." He was always the quiet one, but now his voice had a sharp edge to it. One of jealousy. One of anger.

"Why didn't you catch me?" Mitchie asked. "If you just would've caught me..."

"Come play piano with me, I'll teach you," said Alisha, in her light, airy laugh.

"Why did it get to be you?" snarled Calvin. "And why are you getting closer to Tara? You want to curse her, too?"

"Stop—" you stammered, squeezing your eyes shut tighter.

"Wanna play hopscotch?" said Mitchie.

"Do you miss us, (Y/n)?" Alisha said, in between tears.

"Yes, of course— I—" you tried, but now the voices were filling up your head, threatening to spill over and knocking you to the ground. You curled up into a ball as your brain filled up. Words piling up on top of words, piling up on top of words, about to split you open. "STOP!" you yelled.

And everything went silent. When you opened your eyes, you found yourself still in the field, but your siblings' voices had gone entirely. Now it was just you, in the field, alone with the rustling of the wind and the rye, as it grazed gently against your legs. You hadn't remembered standing up, but you were now.

In a flash, you could see a shape, running through the rye in a line that was very visible from where you were. You recognised the dark hair, and the yellow jacket he always wore. With the realisation came the looming dread, and you realised with very little time left what this exactly was a memory of.

You took off running, faster than you had to the house, faster than you had ever run, and faster than you had run then, chasing after him as he took off towards the cliff-end of your rye field. "Mitchie!" you yelled, trying to be louder than the buzzing cicadas, but it seemed the moment you yelled, the cicadas got even louder. He was too short to see over the stalks, but you could see him go, running in odd shapes as he got nearer and nearer to the cliffs edge.

"Catch me if you can, (Y/n)!" he called back with a gleeful laugh.

"(Y/n), grab your brother," called your mother. She didn't seem too worried, and she hadn't been, then. No one had been, until it was too late.

"Mitchie! Stop!" you cried out, feeling tears already beginning to fall down your cheeks. "Mitchie!" you tried again.

"Come on, you've gotta be faster than that if you're gonna be it!” Mitchie called back. "Catch me! Get me! C'mon! I'm gonna make it hard for you to win, Duck."

"MITCHIE! PLEASE!" you screamed, but all he did was giggle. “STOP! DON’T GO!” But the moment you reached the end of the rye, he was gone over the edge, just he had been when you were 13, and there was an arm shaking you awake.

===+++===

"Oh my god, you're about the least peaceful sleeper I've literally ever seen," Tara laughed, grinning at you from over her textbook. She had it pulled into her lap from her side of the table and titled against the table edge, and spread out in front of you were her papers galore, with notes scribbled all over them in preparation for her upcoming exam.

Mindy sat next to her, playing a stupid game on her phone, while Ethan was also studying in his own textbook. He had stopped trying to avoid you as much, as had Chad. You and Tara "dating" seemed to offend them less and less the longer it went on.

"Uh," you mumbled, still feeling a little bit disoriented from the dream. It was like a dose of adrenaline had been shot directly into your heart, and you struggled to adjust to the calm, peaceful library that actually was around you. "Shut up," you grumbled, but not like you were actually upset by her teasing.

Tara watched you with her eyebrows raised. "You look tired."

You sat up in your chair, running a hand through your hair. There was a small layer of sweat on your forehead. "Aren't you never supposed to say that to someone? Pretty sure that's how you get someone at the bar to throw their drink in your face."

"It is," Ethan nodded. "I made that mistake once. I was trying to be sweet."

"Good thing I'm not seducing you, then," Tara shrugged. "You've seen me puke everywhere. Pretty sure that ruined my chances right-out, and yet you love me anyways."

You grinned, leaning back to stretch out your arms. It was meant to be a gentle teasing from Tara, but you had only gotten better and better at deflecting the longer you were around her. "You'd be surprised, actually. That was super pretty. That was the prettiest you've ever been." Mindy snorted next to Tara.

Tara glared at you, unappreciatively. "And you're pretty when you do not speak."

"I'm pretty all the time, Tara," you mockingly shook your head. "And you think I'm joking. Find yourself a girl who looks nice covered in sweat, with her hair going everywhere, and puking in the toilet. That's my girlfriend."

"You're such a dick," Tara scoffed, but you could tell part of her was stifling a laugh. It was funny to her too, and you both had laughed at it together for days, afterwards.

If anything, it had gotten easier and easier, to act like the both of you were actually dating. You weren't too sure why, maybe Tara had become less annoying, or you had become less annoyed by her, but you had definitely at least become a better actor. That's what it was, after all. "Oh, also," she continued.

"Yeah?"

"Someone tried to call your phone, while you were sleeping. I think it was your dad."

You frowned. "You didn't pick up, right?"

"No," Tara said, shaking her head. Then she paused. She dropped her voice to speak just to you, guarding the conversation from Mindy and Ethan. "Do you and him not get along?"

You shrugged. "Eh. He was probably just checking in. We have a fine relationship." It wasn't true but it was an easy lie, that rolled off the tongue like nothing. He had already called twice, that day, and you knew why.

"Seriously, though," she said with a frown, looking up from her book. "You look fucking horrifying—"

"—Thanks," you said, flatly.

"—I mean, even more than normal, it's crazy—"

"—Thanks," you repeated.

"—Have you not been sleeping, or something?"

You shrugged. "I mean, I'm an architecture major, and it's midterms... so not really."

"Hm."

"What?" you asked, propping your head up on your arm. "What's the 'hm' for?"

She shrugged, trying to turn back to her textbook. "Hm, nothing."

You furrowed your eyebrows down at her. "Well, obviously the 'hm' was something, Tara." Mindy shot you a look again.

"Or it was just a hm."

“Would you two shush,” she said to you, rolling her eyes. “You bicker like an old married couple.” But you both ignored her.

"It's never just a 'hm.'"

"I say hm all the time. It's literally just a hm."

"No, it means you've got something to say but don't want to say it."

She frowned at the accusation but was obviously even more displeased that you were correct. "I was gonna suggest we go to the OBK party tonight, but maybe you should just go home and sleep. I was trying to be nice.”

You shrugged. "I won't be doing either, actually." Tonight was not the night for parties. You were somewhat grateful, that you had a legitimate excuse to busy your time, or else you would've spent even longer thinking about the dream. "I have to do homework. My final is due tomorrow."

Tara furrowed her eyebrows at you. "Wait, but I thought classes ended today."

You shook your head. "Nope. I've still got some stuff do."

"Oh," Tara frowned.

"Not all of us can have easy majors," you teased, trying to lighten the mood away from what was clearly concern.

"Hey! You chose the stupid thing," Tara shot back. "Not my fault I chose something fun." She stood up, gathering her things into a neat stack. The time was nearing for her midterm exam, and you stood up with her, grabbing her textbook to be helpful.

"Thanks," she said, then she wandered over and held out her hand. You grabbed it in yours, lacing your fingers together, just like you had practiced together.

The library was a tall building on the far side of campus from where you lived. It was a trek and a half to get there, which is partially why you had been a little annoyed, when Tara said she needed to go there. It ended up being the perfect place to fall asleep in, with the quiet signs and only a few murmurs now and again, and though it had been a less than peaceful dream, it was more than you had been getting for the past few days.

"I don't see why you can't just go without me," you shrugged, adjusting her book in your hands. "Just tell Sam I'll meet you there. Besides, Chad and Mindy are going to the same party, right?"

"Yeah, but I what if they realise you're not actually there and mention it to Sam, or something? And, I'd have to go there alone, since Chad and Mindy are going early."

"They are?"

"Yeah. Helping with set up. Mindy literally just mentioned that. Shows how much you listen to her.” She shook her head in a mocking disappointment in you.

“I was asleep, jerk.”

“I know,” she said, grinning.

You looked down to her, where she walked next to you, gently swinging your joint hands back and forth. "It's not a far walk to OBK. You could probably make it there in five minutes. It's well-lit, and—"

Tara frowned, shaking her head adamantly. "Not alone. Not without you, no way. Sam would want to see you at the door to pick me up. She'd probably hate the idea of it."

"Fair enough," you shrugged. "Find a movie at home tonight, then. Relax, or something. I'd kill to be done with this stupid project."

"What are you even making?" Tara groaned, breaking your hands to shove hers into her pockets. Actually, it was your jacket, and therefore technically your pockets too, but she had taken a liking to it, after your date. You had been less than pleased, when she asked to borrow it, considering how much the jacket meant to you, but she insisted it was assisting her to keep up the act. You figured you could part with it, at least for a little while.

"Architecture," you said with a thick layer of sarcasm. Tara rolled her eyes at you. She nudged you, and you couldn't help but laugh as her elbow pointed into your side.

"Oh, you think you're funny, huh?"

"I'm hilarious."

"You wish..." she scoffed, shaking her head.

It was a beautiful day in autumn, and the weather was soon to leave the sigh of brown leaves and rainy days and move into whispery winds and icy pavement. You didn't mind winter, but you didn't like the chills, even though it was undoubtedly what gave summer's warmth a certain sweetness. Still, nothing burned like the cold.

You walked her all the way to the door of the exam hall, stopping out front to hand her the textbook you had been carrying. You went to speak, but the moment you tried to open your mouth, your phone started ringing. You grabbed it from your pocket, sighing and declining the call, while Tara stared at you.

"Is that your dad, again?"

"No," you said. "Telemarketer."

"Right..." she said, frowning. "You're a terrible liar."

"Am I?" you challenged. You were, it was true.

"Why don't you want to talk to him?"

“I just don’t.”

“Yeah, I know. I’m asking why, (Y/n).”

"Why don't you leave it alone?" you shot, in frustration. You could see Tara's eyes narrow at your tone, and you felt a bit bad. There was the occasional reflex still, to bite each other's heads off. You weren't sure what it was about her, but something about Tara Carpenter always seemed to rile you up inside, and do the same for her with you.

"Sorry," you said, looking down at your shoes. "I just don't want to talk about it."

"That doesn't mean you have to be an asshole," Tara glared.

"Right... I'm... sorry."

Tara sighed. "I guess I'll see you next week?" She asked.

You nodded. "There'll be plenty of time after this, I just need to get this thing done."

"Okay," she nodded, failing to hide her excitement. Tara seemed to really love parties, the more and more she went to, and you were somewhat glad you could help her find something she enjoyed. It was nice to see, not that you'd ever say that to her. Doing that would absolutely result in her teasing you again, or something even more annoying.

"Good luck on your test," you said.

"Good luck on your project, babe," she said, drawing the name out.

“Now who’s hilarious,” you said with an eye roll. Tara winked at you, pressing a kiss to your cheek.

“Me.”

===+++===

It seemed you were having no good luck on it whatsoever, actually. Laid out in front of you was all of your materials, in a messy pile of cut-out pieces and foam boards that were there, sure, but not likely to just jump together and put itself together on its own.

The clock had already ticked away to 12:33 in the morning, and your design was barely finalised to where you could get to work and finish quickly. All of the other students had left at a much more reasonable hour, and it left you standing at your table alone, quietly working to classical music in the empty modelling lab.

At this rate, you could be here for another two or three hours, and the project was due at eight. You were sluggish, slowly working through the plans you had set out days ago and working through the kinks.

Every few minutes, when you stopped for even a second, the dream seemed to rush back to the forefront of your brain. Your mother had been the one to call, that evening while you were eating a poor excuse of a dinner, and you had declined that call just like you had declined all the rest.

You were hunched over your work, probably unhealthily so, with your face buried in your iPad, hastily throwing out sketches of the various shapes. You were settling on a design that would have to do, heading for the woodcutter, when you heard a noise.

It resembled a door shutting, and you froze right where you were. "Greg?" you called out. There was no one else in the building except for you and Greg, at his usual security post, and you waited with bated breath for him to return your call.

But there was no response, and all you could hear was the sounds of classical music gently floating in the background. Usually, it set you at ease while you worked through whatever you were doing in the lab, but now all it did was raise your heart rate to match the increasing tempo. It was completely dark, except for the overhead light above you, which illuminated the table you were working at and a few of the stainless steel cabinets that held tools and supplies.

Then, off to the side, you heard a rolling. An odd, wooden rolling, slowly drifting towards you. On the ground was a pencil, gently pushed towards you, playfully rolling as if perfectly in front of your toes. You hopped to your feet. "Hello?" you called, squinting in the dim light, in case anyone else was there. "Is anyone there?" you called out again. "Greg?"

Now you could really feel the thumping of your heart. The modelling lab had always been creepy late at night, but this was a new level of unease. It was as if someone was watching you, playing with their food, and you swallowed down the lump in your throat. "Is someone there?" you said to the rest of the room.

"Hey!" said a voice, and you jumped what felt like five feet into the air.

"Fuck!" you shouted, spinning around and seeing Tara behind you. She jumped at your reaction, raising her hands up. In one of them was a tray with two coffees on it. “You scared me!”

"Woah, woah, are you okay?" she asked, face etched with concern. She walked towards you slowly, and you put your hands on the edge of the table, trying to calm yourself.

"Don't just sneak up on me like that, dude," you glared at her.

"I literally didn't, I fucking announced myself, loud as can be," Tara said, rolling her eyes at you. Then, it melded into concern. "How long have you been here?" she asked, looking around the place and its emptiness.

"Since I left you at your test," you shrugged. "How'd it go by the way?" Tara's eyebrows furrowed, ignoring your question instead for one of her own.

"Did you at least eat dinner, or something?"

"Yeah," you nodded.

"Good."

“Yeah…,” you trailed off, turning back to your work. “How did you know where I was?"

“I asked Chad. He’s still a little snippy with me about, well, thinking we're together. Tried to tell me that if anyone would know, it would be me, and I said, yeah, that’s true, but it’s only been three months, now.”

“Well,” you said, gesturing around to the lab. “This is the modelling lab.” You were a bit of a nerd about the whole place, showing it off like it was your cool superhero lair.

“I know,” Tara mocked. “I saw it on the giant sign above the front door.”

“Ha ha. Does Sam know that you’re here?” You asked, grabbing your pen and resuming your work while you continued to talk to Tara. She plopped herself down on the edge of the table, letting her feet swing.

She looked a bit sheepish at the question. “Uh… no.”

“You know she’ll kill me like she did that one time, if you’re not home when she wakes up,” you frowned, wandering over to the supplies and grabbing out a box cutter to help trim the pieces you needed.

Tara nodded. “I know. But I snuck out, so I’ll sneak back in.”

You turned back around to reply, maybe say something stupid, but you had to stop yourself from laughing, when you saw her legs hanging off the counter and not reaching the ground.

“What?” Tara asked, furrowing her eyebrows. “What’s so funny?”

“Nothing,” you said, shaking your head and returning to the table. “…Dwarf.”

“Hey!” she said, smacking you on the arm. “I brought you coffee, don’t make me take it back.”

“That’s true,” you frowned, weighing your options. “Guess I can’t make fun of you; you brought me caffeine.”

“That’s more like it."

You worked in silence for a few minutes, feeling Tara watch your every movement. It was harder to work, under her scrutiny, but you were grateful that she was there. It wasn’t lonely in there, any more. A few months ago, you would’ve hated her guts for sitting around while you attempted to work. But not with Tara anymore. Not on that day.

“This might be an all-nighter,” you warned, sending her a small smile as you sliced a piece of foam in half and went to work to attach it to your board.

“Fine with me,” Tara shrugged. She just continued to watch you, in a calm silence. “Actually, I have beef with you,” she hummed.

You laughed, looking up while you secured the base with glue. “Why’s that, Tara?”

“You got that song, stuck in my head.”

“Which one?” You asked.

“The one you sang for me. I found it online.”

“Which one?” you teased, smiling again. Your face was tired and the smile certainly didn’t help, but you couldn’t help the newfound peace washing over you again. You had completely forgotten the weird happening from earlier.

“You know, don’t play dumb.”

“No,” you shook your head. “I really don’t know.”

“You literally do,” Tara scoffed.

“Sing a little bit. Refresh my memory.”

“Nuh uh,” she said, crossing her arms. “This is a trap.”

“It isn’t,” you insisted, sticking your pinky out to her. “Swear.”

She wrapped it in her own, rolling her eyes. She definitely knew it was, but she obliged anyway. “If you need a friend, don’t look to a strangerrr. You know in the end,” her voice broke on the low note like yours did, and you laughed while heat rose to her cheeks. “I’ll always be thereeee.”

“And when you’re in doubt,” you sang back to her, in between laughs. “And when you’re in dangerrr.” You both were tone deaf and the rendition was awful, but the mood in the lab was getting lighter and lighter the longer you were together.

“Take a look all around,” Tara sang, coming back in. “And I’ll be there.”

It was impossible not to laugh at how bad it was on both sides, and you grinned at her toothily, before turning back to your work. “Thank you for reminding me.”

“You’re welcome, idiot,” she teased, nudging you in the side again.

===+++===

You went back to working on your model, finishing the first floor in about an hour. You and Tara occasionally talked now and again, but mostly she just watched you while you worked. “Why are you doing this all tonight?” she asked.

“Uh…” you stuttered. “I didn’t have time the past couple weeks…cause of… well, you.”

She shot up to her feet, mouth dropping open. “Why the hell didn’t you say no to me?! I didn’t know you had all this to do.”

You shrugged. “I never mentioned it. Plus, you were having fun. I’m glad someone was enjoying themselves.”

“Oh…” she said, and it sounded small.

“What?” you asked, raising an eyebrow at her.

“…Nothing."

“It’s fine, Tar. Seriously.” She blinked at you.

“Tar?” she asked, looking amused.

You looked up from your work, feeling the change in the atmosphere. “What?”

“I don’t know, you’ve just never used the nickname for me, before.”

“Yeah, I guess not. Is it weird?”

“Well… no. I kind of like it.”

“Okay.”

“Okay,” she agreed, nodding a little. “My mom was the one who gave me the nickname Tar. Haven’t spoken to her in a little while, though.”

“Do you still miss her?” you asked, glueing your second story onto the base successfully.

“Sometimes…” she trailed off, staring out at the pitch black night through the window that hung over your workspace. "She calls me once in a while."

"Do you answer?" you asked.

"No," she admitted. "It's usually about Woodsboro. I gave up on her a few months ago, but she still calls sometimes about the town."

"You never talk about it..." you comment, trailing off with a hand on the back of your neck. "You don't have to, if you don't want to." You leaned back against the table with a curiosity, watching her face move as she struggled to answer.

"Well... it's cause I don't want to that I don't talk about it. You know how people say that shit about manifesting happiness?" you nodded, knowing what she was talking about. "Well, I keep saying I'm fine, and I'm moving on, but it just keeps following me everywhere. It's like this chronic cough I can't shake. This constant thing. No matter how much I run, it's always there. People don't see me as anything but one of the survivors."

You swallowed, feeling her words hit you. "I know what you mean." Tara's eyes snapped down to yours, but when you didn't volunteer more information, she sighed.

You frowned, turning yourself back to your work and hunching over, so she wouldn’t see the heat rising to your cheeks. “I, uh… I listened to that song you said you liked, too.”

“You did?” she asked, lighting up at the mention of it.

“Yeah… added it to my playlist… so…”

“So…” Tara laughed, amused by your awkwardness. It was somehow less awkward when you hated each other. The fact you could tolerate each other now was unusual but not unpleasant, and you still found yourself grappling with how pretty Tara’s eyes looked in lamplight. "If I get a nickname, you absolutely have to have one too."

You scoffed. "That's not at all what that means."

"You had to have had one at some point."

"No, I haven't had one," you said.

"Liar!" Tara said with a giggle, pointing at you with her finger. "You're so bad at lying it's remarkable. Now spill. What is it?"

"I'm not lying!" you insisted, but now you were laughing and it was even less convincing.

"C'mon, promise I won't say it in public— unless it's really bad."

You stared at her for a moment, when she clasped her hands together in a begging plea.

"Please?"

"No," you shook your head.

"Please?"

"Nope."

"Pleaseeee?"

"Fine," you sighed. "My family, they used to call me Duck."

"Duck?" She asked, leaning back to look at you as if the nickname would re-contextualise your entire appearance. "Where'd that come from?"

"It's dumb. I used to wear this yellow raincoat when it was storming outside and these orange booties, so my little brother Mitchie saw me, when he was like five or six, and said I was a Duck. And so I was Duck."

She smiled at you, genuinely pleased with the explanation. "That's adorable. Where is Mitchie, tonight?"

You opened your mouth but shut it. Then, you opened it again. "Probably watching cartoons, or something. Back in Nebraska." (A/N: my ass genuinely did not know that was a U.S. state until right now)

You couldn't tell her that today was the day he had died, several years ago. That a year or two before that had happened, Calvin had gone, and a few months before that, Tomas and Alisha had passed too. That Peter had gotten sick, or that Miranda had gone missing before any of that mess had happened. That you were the only one left.

It was a bad lie, and probably one you would regret later, but it was one you ushered past, and Tara didn't seem to pick up on. From one cursed person to another, you figured it was probably best that you keep your own curse to yourself. It's part of what had made you hate Tara so much at first. She walked around knowing her days were likely numbered, so carefree and careless. And then there was you, you who was so careful in order to keep living.

But you couldn't resent her for that. It had melted away with seeing the Tara underneath. The real, beautiful Tara underneath.

"Duck is good, though. I'll bring it out when I want to embarrass you," Tara smiled, inching closer on the table.

"Yeah?" you grinned back at her, standing up to gently tap against the glue. It was set, and your model was finally finished at 4:42 in the morning. Tara leaned close, watching the glue with her own eyes, cheek almost up against yours in curiosity.

You finished the thing, looking over at her and her large, warm brown eyes, staring at the model you had made with so much curiosity and genuine interest. Tara hadn't lifted a finger to help, but you couldn't help but feel like it was partially hers.

You went to pull back but found your face turning towards hers, looking at each other for a long moment. Your eyes lingered on the slope of her nose, down to the curvature of her soft lips, turned up in the corners like Tara always did when she smiled. They looked so soft, and before you knew what was happening, you could feel Tara's hands coming up to the sides of your face, thumbs gently stroking against the skin there.

You couldn't breathe, feeling the warmth of the pads of her fingers on your face and the faint brush of her breath upon your nose. "Tara," you whispered. The pull was magnetic, and just as you were about to say to hell with it all, her phone began to vibrate in her pocket, and you both leapt apart from each other.

You wandered a few feet away, trying to seem busy while she answered it. You could feel Tara watching you while she spoke on the phone, so you did your best to hide the blush that was certainly spread wide across your cheeks.

This was the very girl you had spent the past several months hating. You suddenly felt dizzy, like the world would slip out from under your feet. Tara, the very same annoying girl who had pestered with you and bickered with you. The one who had so much more to her that what you had ever thought possible. The one who drew you in. The one in search of a hook up, for which you were only the decoy. You cleared your throat, whipping around when you heard Tara say "What?!"

"What's wrong?" you asked. "What's going on?"

She crossed her arms over her chest, looking up at you like she was about to cry. "They're questioning Sam again. They think Ghostface is back."

===+++===

DUN DUN DUNNNNNN anyways my ass is going to bed now. also i do not recommend anyone lie to someone they're interested in about who they are, ESPECIALLY an attempted murder victim

[hsunrry]

winter house // one shot

harry styles x fem!reader

summary: you and your enemy end up together in winter house, with your few other friends.

|| masterlist ||

words: ~4,6k

tropes: enemies to lovers

warnings: smut18+, alcohol, mention of drugs, mention of being hit, angst (slight, i guess), handjob, fingering, oral (m receiving), protected sex, praise

a/n: request from @madstyles3204, angst with happy ending (i guess, i don’t feel it really, i’ll do better next time). i originally planned to do series from it, but i didn’t have that much idea for it, so it just end up being long one shot, enjoy!

. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁ . ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁ . ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁

“can you stop touching me?” you snapped into his direction.

“i’m not!” he crossed his arms on his chest. you pointed at his thigh. “oh come on, my legs are long i have to sit somehow!” he said. sitting in the backseat for a long trip with two other people wasn’t really your dream, especially when your enemy is sitting right next to you.

“can you guys just stop?” Niall, who was sitting on your left rolled his eyes.

“why am i sitting in the middle anyway?” you asked. “come on, switch with me.” you made puppy eyes to Niall.

“nuh-uh, you know the rules, you’re short so you’re sitting in the middle.” he smiled. you shook your head, trying to get as far from Harry as you possibly could. you plastered to Niall’s side. he scoffed. “comfortable?”

“can i just go to sleep on your shoulder? we still have like 4 hours of driving.” you asked, ignoring his question. he shook his head amused, but he quickly nodded after that. you laid comfortably on his shoulder, ready to drift off to sleep. after couple of minutes, you managed to actually do that. Harry frowned.

“did she actually fell asleep that quickly?” Niall only nodded at his question. “finally, peace. i can’t stand her yapping and complaining about everything.” Louis, who was driving only chuckled at his words.

“she’s only complaining about your presence, i can’t really understand why you two don’t like each other that much.” Emma, Louis’s girlfriend said from passenger seat.

“it’s not important.” he muttered, looking at the snow slowly falling from sky. it was getting more snowy with every hour you were closer to the final destination. after 4 hours of sleeping on Niall’s shoulder, you finally arrived to the winter house that you all were renting for almost whole winter season. you woke up when the car stopped, rubbing your eyes.

“looks like sleeping princess decided to join us.” Niall grinned.

“shut up blondie.” your voice sleepy. when you finally walked out of the car, you felt cold winter air hitting you everywhere. you shivered, quickly going to the trunk for your suitcases. Louis unpacked the trunk from everyone’s stuff and you all started taking everything inside. the house was pretty big, for sure for more than 5 people, but it was still looking warm and cozy. wooden walls and furniture, big fireplace in the living area with open-concept kitchen. it was really spacious. one big bathroom on the bottom floor and one a little smaller on the first floor. all four rooms were upstairs, so obviously Louis and Emma were sleeping together in one of them.

“rock, paper, scissors who’s gonna sleep in the room next to Lou and Em.” Niall stated. you raised your eyebrow. “what? i don’t want to hear them fucking, so i think it’s fair.”

“oh fuck off mate.” Louis rolled his eyes, going into the room with his girlfriend and all their stuff. you played with Niall and Harry. they both went with rock and you went with paper.

“looks like i’m the first lucky one.” you chuckled and you could see Harry rolling his eyes. they both played and he won. Niall groaned.

“for fucks sake!” he grabbed his suitcases, going to the room next to theirs. you looked at the two rooms next to each other at the opposite side of the other two ones. you grabbed your two big suitcases and you went to the one of them. they were all identical inside, so it wasn’t really important who’s gonna take which. you walked inside the room. it was perfect size, really cozy, with king sized bed, tv, big dresser under it and two nightstands on each side of the bed. you placed one of your suitcases on the bed, unpacking your stuff to the big dresser and some more important things to the nightstand. after emptying both of them you laid down on the bed, stretching yourself with quiet groan. few minutes later Niall bursted into your room, without knocking of course.

“what?” you mumbled half-asleep since you wanted to take a quick nap and you were almost sleeping already.

“me, Louis and Emma are going shopping for some important stuff and food, you’re almost sleeping so i assume you don’t wanna go?” you nodded sleepily at his question. “do you need something?”

“tampons, Em knows which ones.” you mumbled, covering yourself with blanket. he only nodded and left your room. you took a nap finally, waking up after 2 hours. when you walked out of the room you discovered that they didn’t came back yet, so you went to the living area. you sat on the couch in front of fireplace, taking blanket from the basket to cover yourself. you leaned on the armrest, looking at the fire.

“you seriously have to be there?” you heard Harry’s voice behind you. you rolled your eyes, not even looking at him.

“so what?” you mumbled, closing your eyes. “sorry we have to tolerate each other for whole winter, because you decided that you want to come with us.”

“they never told me you’ll be here.” he snapped. you could heard him going to the open-concept kitchen. he opened the fridge. “it’s empty, it’s been two hours, they seriously didn’t came back yet?” you didn’t responded him. he went closer to the couch, looking down at you. he narrowed his brows when he saw you pretending to be asleep. “are you pretending to be asleep? seriously?”

“i don’t know what are you talking about.” you mumbled.

“you’re such a bitch.” he muttered, walking away to the stairs. you only showed him your middle finger, opening your eyes again to look and relax near fireplace. after some time they eventually came back from shop. they putted like 15 nets with groceries on the kitchen counter.

“we did groceries, you and Harry are unpacking them.” Niall ruffled your hair.

“i’d rather do this alone.” you stood up from the couch, leaving blanket on it. he shook his head.

“there is so much, i’m gonna get him.” without waiting for your response, he stormed upstairs to get him. you sigh, starting unpacking first bag. after few seconds you heard footsteps going downstairs. when he entered the kitchen you looked at him for brief second. “i got this, you don’t have to.”

“oh shut up, i’m here already.” he grabbed one of the nets to unpack it. you bite your tongue to not argue anymore, because there was literally no point in doing it now. you smiled when you saw cinnamon rolls in the bag you were unpacking. you grabbed it, looking at it like you were in love. he looked at you. “ew.”

“what ‘ew’?” you raised your eyebrow while looking at him. he pointed at the cinnamon rolls with his head. “you’ve got to be kidding me.”

“no, i don’t know how can you like that.” he shrugged, going back to unpacking his net. you scoffed.

“did you ever even tried this?” you asked, looking between him and rolls. he frowned.

“i don’t have to try something to know that i don’t like it.” he mumbled, not looking at you. “also, they look like someone cum on them, they must be so good.” he said ironically. you shook your head, taking one from the package and biting it. he scrunched his nose. you slid the package into his direction. “what are you doing?”

“just try it.” you said after swallowing. he looked at the cinnamon rolls and then at you.

“you’re so annoying.” he mumbled, taking one from the package and taking a bite. he chewed few times, looking at the roll. he swallowed and licked his lips from frosting. you smiled tiny bit to yourself when he took another bite. “shut up.” he said with mouth full of cinnamon roll.

~~~~~ next day, evening ~~~~~~~~

“are we finally drinking something or what?” Louis grabbed 6-pack of cold beer from the fridge and putted it on coffee table in front of us. everyone grabbed one, except for you. Harry looked at you.

“you’re not drinking?” he raised his eyebrow. you shook your head. “you’re not fun at all, y/n.”

“i’m not fun because i don’t want to drink like the rest?” he nodded, opening his beer. “i never had alcohol in my mouth, for your information.”

“you never tried alcohol?” he asked in disbelief. you nodded. “so you’re gonna try it now. just like you made me try this stupid rolls.” he approached you with open beer can. you could already smell it and your stomach twisted from this.

“i said that i’m not-“ you started, but he grabbed your chin, causing you to open your mouth and he poured a little to it. it was happening all so fast, you didn’t even had a time to react. you spat everything on your hoodie, looking at him with wide eyes. stupid grin plastered to his face. you stood up and quickly went upstairs to your room.

“dude.” Niall sigh and Emma pinched the bridge of her nose. Harry looked confused.

“come on, it was just a joke, she’s overdramatic, like always.” he shrugged, sitting down on the couch. Niall frowned.

“you know her dad is dead, right?” Harry nodded at his question.

“yeah, so what?” he looked at him. Niall shook his head.

“he died from overdose of alcohol and drugs.” he stated. Harry froze for a second and he could feel sick in his stomach. he quickly composed himself, acting like he doesn’t really care about that.

“it’s just a beer.” he mumbled, taking long sip. Louis opened his can.

“you’re an asshole sometimes mate.” he mumbled, taking a sip as well. Harry clenched his jaw and didn’t said anything.

in meantime you went to your room and immediately took off stinky with beer hoodie. you could smell on your body this scent and feel the taste on your tongue. you quickly went to the shared bathroom and took off everything you had on yourself to the washing machine. first you brushed your teeth to get rid of the taste and soon after you stepped into the shower cabin. you washed yourself and your hair quickly. you walked out of the bathroom wrapped only in towel, your hair still damp. you saw Harry going up the stairs. he looked like he was about to say something, but you just went to your room. you went to the dresser to pick up new clothes. you heard a knock on your door. “yeah?”

“can i come in?” you heard his voice.

“if you have to.” you said, grabbing panties and bra from one of the drawers. you heard him coming inside. you looked at him. “what?”

“i didn’t know about your dad, i just wanted to get under your skin as always. i got it too far this time.” he said, biting inside of his cheek. you raised your eyebrow. “seriously, sorry.”

“you didn’t know, just don’t do something like that next time.” you said, not really looking at him and grabbing cotton shorts from your dresser. he nodded. you could feel him staring at you, since you were still only in the towel. “anything else you want or what?” he snapped back to reality after your question.

“uh… no, i just wanted to say that.” he said before he walked out of your room. you quickly changed into the hoodie and cotton shorts, looking through the window at dark winter night. he was acting weird. why would he EVER say ‘sorry’ to you? you shook your head and decided to go back downstairs. Louis and Niall were sitting on the couch together, talking and laughing. you saw Emma in the kitchen, so you decided to approach her instead of the boys.

“how are you feeling?” she smiled softly, referring to what Harry did earlier. you just shrugged.

“i’m okay now, he’s just annoying as always.” you mumbled, grabbing cinnamon roll from the package that was laying on the counter.

“but he care.” she said, looking at you taking a bite. you chuckled and swallowed.

“he don’t care.” you stated, taking another bite.

“he felt guilty, even if he didn’t wanted to show it to us after you went upstairs. you know i’m good at reading even the smallest expressions.” she said while grabbing bagel.

“i mean, he came to me and he said sorry tho.” you looked at her. she smiled.

“can i ask you why you two don’t like each other that much? you never told me.” she took a bite of her food, looking at you in anticipation.

“honestly?” she nodded, so you continued. “i don’t know.”

“wait, what do you mean ‘i don’t know’? you’re telling me that you two ‘hate’ each other and you don’t know why?” she raised her eyebrows.

“not exactly.” you bite inside of your cheek. “i know he have a reason, but i don’t know what’s that reason. he joined for the last year of high school, remember? yeah, so it was a party in my now ex-best friend house and i just wanted to say ‘hi’ and maybe know him a little better, he seemed interesting. that was my plan, but when i approached him, he just snapped at me for no reason and i guess from that day i’m just matching his energy towards me.” you shrugged. “i mean, why would i should be nice and sweet when he’s a dick to me?”

“so you’re telling me, that you two are like that and you didn’t even asked him WHY he don’t like you?” she asked confused. you nodded. “this is stupid.”

“maybe it is, but i’m not gonna ask him.” you said, not looking at her. “it’d be weird now.”

“well, okay, but you’d know at least.” Emma crossed her arms on her chest. you looked at her. you were about to say something, but Harry walked into the kitchen. he looked at you and Em concerned.

“all quiet all of a sudden.” he mumbled, grabbing orange juice from the fridge. you just stood there with her, looking at each other. he raised his hand to grab a cup from the cabinet, but you flinched slightly at his movements, immediately cursing yourself for doing that. ha narrowed his brows. “why did you flinched?”

“no reason, just thought something was falling on me from cabinet.” you said, obviously lying. he was looking at you for few seconds and before he could say something else, you spoke again. “sorry, have to go to the bathroom.” and with that you disappeared upstairs. he looked confused at Emma. she just shrugged. he looked into the direction where you went and he sigh quietly. he putted orange juice back to the fridge, going after you upstairs. he knew you didn’t went to the bathroom, so he knocked on the doors of your room. you opened and looked up at him. “what?”

“you thought i was gonna hit you?” he walked into the room, closing doors behind him. you shook your head. “stop lying!” he raised his voice, causing your flinch again. you looked at him with wide eyes. his gaze softened. “i’m sorry, i didn’t mean to raise my voi-“

“why do you hate me?” you interrupted him. he looked at you, clearly taken aback. he cleared his throat.

“you kidding, right?” he asked, but when you shook your head he narrowed his brows. “you seriously don’t know?”

“well, i asked so i really don’t know.” you crossed your arms on your chest. he scoffed.

“Lily told me everything at this party, you know that?” you raised your eyebrow at your ex-best friend name.

“what do you mean she ‘told you everything’? what did she told you?” you asked confused, untangling your arms from your chest.

“maybe you don’t know that, but i’m not really a man who like to be played with his feelings by some bitch.” he leaned on the wall.

“i’m confused Harry, what are you talking about?”

“you’re stupid or you just acting like that?” he looked down at you.

“no. i really don’t know what are you talking about.” he sigh at your words, shaking his head in disbelief.

“she told me that you will approach me.” you were just standing, looking at him confused. “she told me that you’ll act all sweet and cute, that you’ll say you want to know me, because i was new in the school.”

“well, yes, but you snapped at me for some reas-“

“i didn’t finished.” he said coldly, stopping you mid sentence. “after that, she told me you’ll do that just for fun, so i will fell in love with you and you’ll have another stupid’s boy heart to break.” he clenched his jaw. you looked dumbfounded at him.

“she said what?” you asked after few seconds.

“i’m really not that tough as i seem. i didn’t want to repeat the story from the school i was going before i moved. you were perfect description of my ex. she played with me as well.” he stated. “and i got just stronger with my opinion, after Luke told us that you played with him, and that’s why you guys broke up.”

“he told you i played with him? are you fucking serious right now?” you snapped, your voice stern. he looked at you and nodded. you bite inside of your cheek. “he used to hit me. that’s why i broke up with him.” he tensed at your words.

“wait, what?” he asked. his voice soft all of the sudden. “that’s why you thought i wanted to… god, i’d never hit you.” he said quietly, looking at you.

“i know, it’s just… reflex.” you started pinching your hand with your nails. “besides, i don’t know why she told you that. i was never like that. i wanted to approach, that’s true, but you just seemed interesting and you were new, i really wanted to know you, that’s it.” you looked down at the floor. he walked closer to you, tilting your chin up.

“i’m sorry you went through this. and for that i believed that asshole.” you shrugged. “no, don’t just shrug it off. i’m really sorry, if i knew this all was just… can we just start again? please.” you looked into his eyes. you could see he really regretted believing everyone and not talking to you back then.

“you really think we’d get along, after all that time playing like assholes to each other?” you chuckled softly. your eyes widened when he hugged you. you froze for a second, hesitantly hugging him back.

“i’m Harry.” his chin rested on the top of your head. you shook your head amused. for some reason you found comfort in his arms.

“i’m y/n.” you smiled, pressing your cheek to his chest.

“i like your name, suits you.” he smiled, tracing small circle on your back with his thumb.

“this is weird.” you chuckled. he chuckled along with you. “you can be real sweetheart if you’re not calling me a bitch all the time.”

“i don’t know what are you talking about, we just met.” he grinned, looking down at you. you rolled your eyes playfully with small smile on your lips.

~~~~~~ three weeks later ~~~~~~~

for the last three weeks, surprisingly, you and Harry get along well. everyone else was confused about your new behavior towards each other, but obviously it was a relief that you don’t want to kill each other anymore. Niall, Louis and Emma went for some small winter festival. you were currently in the kitchen, preparing things to bake cookies.

“what are you doing?” Harry asked, walking into the kitchen.

“cookies.” you said, grabbing flour from cabinet.

“cool, can i join?” he smiled, placing his hand on your lower back. you’d probably never admit it to yourself, but you started to like him more than you should. now, that you two started everything from the beginning, you were falling for him. hard and fast. when he wasn’t a complete dick, he was really sweet, and as you though- unfortunately, exactly your type. you always thought he was attractive, of course, but it wasn’t everything. when you were getting to know him better now, it’s was something you knew you were missing in your life.

“sure, if you want.” you smiled, grabbing few more necessary things. “we’re doing this pinterest cookies with jam. the ones with heart in the middle.”

“i saw them, yeah i know what you’re talking about.” he said, grabbing jam from counter. “cherry. nice, i like cherry jam.” he opened it, taking a spoon and dipping it in it. he ate whole table spoon of it, without anything. you scrunched your nose. “what?” he chuckled after he swallowed.

“you just ate a whole spoon of jam.” you said, disgusted. “it has to be too sweet.”

“it’s good.” he grinned, looking down at you. he licked his lips. “wanna try?” you shook your head playfully.

“okay, i can try. but not that much tho.” you smiled.

“it won’t be much, i promise. just a little taste.” he said, immediately leaning slightly down, pressing his lips against yours. when you realized what was happening, you kissed him back. his hand went on the nape of your neck, when the other one grabbed your hip. when you felt his tongue on yours, sweet cherry flavor hit your taste buds. your hand went into the back of his hair, pulling them softly. you were just kissing with a guy, who you were arguing with for the smallest things for almost two years. the worst part was that you wanted more. so much more. your other hand grabbed the hem of his shirt. he quickly read the signal, lifting you up. his hands under your thighs and your legs wrapped around his hips. without braking a kiss, he started going up the stairs to his room. when you two made it, he placed you on his bed, going on top of you. he broke the kiss, looking down at your swollen from kissing lips. his lips started leaving open-mouthed kisses on your neck, sucking in few places. your breath was already getting heavier. “i’m falling for you, darling.” he whispered against your neck. you gripped his chin, pulling him to face you. he licked his lips nervously.

“i’m afraid i’m falling for you too.” he smiled at your words, kissing your lips softly. his hands went on the hem of your hoodie. he pulled back from the kiss, looking at you and silently asking for your permission. when you nodded he took it off, revealing your covered in bra chest. he touched your sides, going up to your chest.

“you’re gorgeous.” he placed soft kiss in the middle of your breast. he looked at you. “are you sure?”

“yes.” you smiled, placing your hand on his cheek. he nodded, reaching to the clasp of your bra under your back. you lifted your chest up slightly to help him. he finally managed to get rid of your bra, so your naked breast was on display for him. he started peppering your chest with slow kisses. you tangled your hand into his hair, hearing him gasping into your skin. you already felt that he was hard, since his body was pressed between your legs. your hands went to the hem of his shirt, pulling it up. he quickly helped you, tossing it somewhere in the room. his hands grabbed your cotton shorts, taking them off. quickly after he took off his sweatpants along with his boxers, revealing his hard cock to you. when he went back on top of you, you immediately wrapped your hand around him, stroking his dick slowly. he groaned, looking down at you.

“i’m really not gonna last long if you keep doing this.” he chuckled softly, gripping hem of your panties, to take them off you. his thumb went on your clit as soon as he took them off, causing your moan. “so sensitive.” he grinned, pushing two fingers inside you. your back arched slightly when he started moving them in and out. “babe, i need to come before we start or i’m gonna finish as soon as i enter you.” he gasped, feeling your hand still stroking him.

“then lay on your back.” you smiled, feeling him pulling out his fingers. he laid down, waiting for you. you quickly went between his legs, bending down and taking him inside your mouth. he groaned, looking at you. his hand gripped the sheets next to him, when you started moving fast on his dick.

“fuck, so good, i’m already close.” he panted, trying so hard to look at you and not close his eyes from pleasure. “can i come inside your mouth?” you nodded around him. your hand stroking the part where you didn’t reach with your mouth. your cheeks hollowed inside, to bring him even more pleasure. with last fast strokes you could feel his release going down your throat, along with his broken moan. you sucked him slowly through his orgasm, letting go of him eventually and swallowing everything. “i need 30 seconds to recover.” you chuckled softly, taking place next to him. he laid you down on your back, propping himself on his side. he started kissing your neck, going down back with his hand to your core and pushing two fingers inside. you gasped, feeling him curling them in perfect angle. he was already hard again. when you were getting closer, he pulled out, going fully on top of you. he grabbed condom from his nightstand, quickly opening it and rolling onto his length. he positioned himself at your entrance. with kiss placed on your lips he slowly slid inside. you moaned into the kiss, wrapping your legs around his hips immediately. he broke the kiss, looking at you when he went fully.

“you can move, it’s okay.” you smiled softly.

“just making sure, don’t wanna hurt you.” he pecked your lips, rolling his hips slowly. you moaned softly at first moves. “you feel so good, sweetheart.” he whispered against your lips. his arms wrapping around your body to be as close to you as possible. he nuzzled his face into the crook of your neck. your hands went on his back, scratching it delicately when he started moving faster.

“oh my god, yes, feels so good.” you gasped, feeling him smile into your skin. he went even faster and your back arched slightly at the sensation. he adjusted slightly, hitting your sweet spot now with every thrust. you moaned louder.

“found it.” he pecked your neck few times, pulling out from it to look at your face. he groaned, feeling his climax approaching. “you look perfect, you’re so good for me honey.”

“i’m close.” you gasped, looking at him.

“i can tell, i can’t wait to feel you coming around my dick baby, squeezing me so perfectly.” he kissed your lips. you moaned into the kiss when you finished, clenching around him and arching your whole body. your legs shaking slightly around his hips. he fucked you through your orgasm, slowing down with a moan when he finished himself. his arms tightened around you and his cock twitching inside your pussy. his breath hot against your lips. “i think i’ve waited for you my whole life.” he whispered.

[shanastoryteller]

tony gets kidnapped on his way to a business meeting or something and he goes with it because they’re in a pretty crowded area and he doesn’t want some innocent bystanders getting hurt in the scuffle. the team will notice eventually and his overprotective boyfriend captain american is going to 1. notice very quickly and 2. freak the fuck out, so he’s not really risking much here

also these kidnappers are sort of stupid and he’s not really worried about escaping later. except even though they’re stupid they mention things about the avengers and shield that they really shouldn’t know so tony decides to stick around to see if he can figure out if they lucked into hacking past his security (not likely) or if there’s some sort of mole

except the leader and the underlings get in an argument right in front of him because apparently they were supposed to capture captain america, not iron man, and the guy who grabbed him is like no, no, this is better! we have his boyfriend so we can lure him here instead!

meanwhile tony is just stating in disbelief that these idiots manage to string two thoughts together. there has to be mole. or someone else really in charge. or something.

and the leader is like fine whatever. he takes tony’s phone and opens the contacts and snorts, “this is what you have him saved us? pathetic”

tony looks at the contact labeled <3 <3 love of my life light in the dark wind beneath my wings <3 <3 and is sort of glad he’s gagged so he can’t say anything

he still doesn’t really know what’s going on and jarvis is still trying to hack their system an there’s no harm in sticking around a little longer since these people are. you know. idiots

except approximately fifteen minues later rhodey is busting down the wall and taking out all these guys in thirty seconds flat and tony slips out of the ropes that he’d undone about five minutes after being put into them (thanks nat) and pulls down the gag and says, “i thought you were on radio silence on a mission in ghana”

“i thought you could be trusted on your own, so it looks like we’re both wrong,” rhodey says. “what were you playing at?”

“i would have told you not to come if i’d known you’d get the message,” he protests. “i was working an angle here, okay, jarvis are you into their systems yet?”

“yes,” his trusty ai says from his phone from one of the kidnapper’s pockets. “tracing the origin of their financial backer now.”

“you really didn’t have to stay kidnapped for jarvis to do that,” rhodey points out, brushing him off and checking him for injuries.

tony shrugs. “i didn’t want to risk one of them getting away and tipping them off. take care of them i could. do it before they got a signal out without the suit? maybe not.”

this very reasonable discussion is interrupted by the rest of the avengers coming in swinging and then left blinking except for steve who feels the need to fuss over him while tony whines and complains and pretends he doesn’t love it

he says they were after steve anyway, he was just bait and steve frowns and is like well, why didn’t they try and contact me then? we knew something was wrong because of the stark industries security footage

and natasha, the sneak, has picked tony’s phone from the kidnapper’s pocket. he lunges for it but she skips back from him and says, “well it looks like they tried. they just messaged the wrong person”

steve takes the phone and sees the contact name and that the kidnappers sent the message we have your boyfriend and if you don’t do exactly what we say you’ll never see him again and is like. this is what rhodey is saved as in your phone?? what am i??

“look, the things is, it’s not like i actually use anyone’s contact, or look at it, i just tell jarvis who to call, so you really shouldn’t take this personally,” tony says.

steve types in his own number and stares in disbelief. “captain? i’m saved in your phone as CAPTAIN?”

“okay well when you gave me your number we weren’t dating and also you were being very mean to me at the time, so,” he says, resisting the urge to hide behind rhodey because he doesn’t think that will help

steve turns his gaze to rhodey. “what is tony saved as in your phone?”

“i really don’t think that’s relevant,” he answers, looking back at the hole in the wall like he’s considering flying out of it.

“jarvis, what’s tony saved as in rhodey’s contacts?” steve asks.

tony says, “j, don’t-“

“sir is saved in colonel rhodes’s contacts as baby,” jarvis answers.

clint is laughing so hard he’s going to break a rib. natasha raises an eyebrow, which is about the same thing

steve’s face is pure betrayal

“it’s because he’s an infant,” rhodey says, “and very needy and he throws up on me a lot.”

“hey!” tony scowls. “i haven’t done that in years!”

“and when you were texted about your boyfriend being kidnapped, you just knew it was tony?” steve asks.

rhodey shrugs. “well, who else would it be?”

even steve doesn’t have an answer to that

“it’s purely platonic,” tony says reassuringly, “carol would scratch my eyes out.”

steve scowls and sulks until tony changes his contact name

except now he’s in tony’s phone as captain handsome. he tells himself it’s an upgrade

[verdantlights]

Thoughts/Analysis Part 2 (but its coherent)

OKay so i slept (finally) after staying up since wednesday morning and only getting roughly 5 hours of sleep in total?? until I finally managed to get decent hours of sleep last night. anyways. i am still not normal in the slightest over round 7 but i have many more thoughts, am a lot more coherent, and have had it swimming in my head for a while.

TW for mentions of drug use. I'm gonna start with Luka. I've stated in the edit I made of the original post as well as in a few reblogs, but Luka is a victim. A lot of people are Luka haters, and that's valid! I am also, to an extent, a Luka hater.... even if I have a thing for blonde twinks with issues. But his character is also incredibly interesting. If you are familiar with Honkai: Star Rail, then you might understand what I'm saying when I think Luka is a combination of both Sunday AND Robin. He has the trapped bird in a cage mentality from Robin with the need for order and control mentality from Sunday. Order and control referring to winning being the only thing keeping his sanity in check.

Luka, as a human pet, is aware that he is playing a losing game. He needs to win, but he knows that winning Season 50 is not the end. He may have won against Till, but now the segyein are going to put him against Hyuna, considering Hyuna and Mizi were referred to as special guests. The way he looked at Hyuna in that last scene was part of him realizing this. It's the face you pull when you realize something horrible, but you need to keep face/keep your composure.

Their ear pieces are similar to their collars in that they show the emotions of the wearer. We can clearly see Till's earpiece glowing red the entire time (up until Mizi appears), and Luka's is constantly glowing green. Luka was seen in hysterics pretty much the entire time like the one frame where he's holding in his laughter.

Luka was drugged on something that makes him euphoric and lose his sense of control, like weed or cocaine. He found fucking with Till to be the funniest thing ever, but it's not normal for Luka to be so outwardly expressive of his elation. We know he enjoyed fucking with Mizi, even if it let to getting his ass beat, but even then, he wasn't as expressive then as he was with Till. That leads me to believe that he has something in his system to heighten his emotional output as well as some sort of adrenaline drug like what Till was most likely given.

What bugs me is that they don't show us what color his earpiece is as he looks at Hyuna. We see Till's earpiece turn green at Mizi, but does Luka's stay green as he looks at Hyuna? I feel it was orange, but that's just me.

Luka now knows what's about to happen, which is also why Hyuna tries to stop Mizi. Hyuna knew the whole time that if they were to save Till, they'd be walking straight into the trap. Mizi's heart is too kind and she's desperate to save Till.

Thankfully, what Hyuna had gone there for originally seems to be completed. Whatever files she was downloading was complete before she went after Mizi, and I think that's where were gonna see Issac and Dewey again. I think she might've been uploading those files to them so that they can take the lead from there. This leads me to my prediction for the next episode. (ill get to till last, hes my little meow meow and im not normal about him)

I don't think Blink Gone is done. I believe there is a part two to the Finals, and that round 7 wasn't even the final round. I've already stated that the most likely thing to happen next is Luka v Hyuna, but then I also talked about Issac and Dewey.

Hyuna could have gotten her hands on high profile data regarding Alien Stage. She sends the data to Dewssac, and they shut down the stage from the inside, allowing the resistance to come in and do a massive sweep, hopefully before either Hyuna, Luka, or Mizi dies.

Now, as for Mizi. We know Mizi is the main character, and there are people who are saying Till's death boosts her hero arc. Now there are two ways I see this happening, either:

Vivinos keeps up their streak of tragedy and kills off everyone, leaving Mizi isolated entirely.

Or someone (dewssac, hyuna, mizi, maybe even luka) pull through and live to save more people.

If it's the first one, Till is dead dead. If the second, Till has a chance at being alive.

There are many reasons why Till is most likely alive, and as a hopeful feeler... I also am clinging onto the more hopeful ending (the second option). Not just because "Haha guys I need Till to be alive, he's my bias" but also because seeing Mizi completely isolated and forced to fake a smile and perform would absolutely fucking destroy me and I don't think I'd ever be the same after that, honestly. Like that genuinely scares me.

There's the narrative of ALNST and vivimeng's beautiful storytelling. That is my number one hopeful reasoning for Till being alive. If Till dies here, it would be utterly nonsensical and it would ruin the narrative. It would completely void all of Ivan's character, for starters. I was just talking about this with @rockwgooglyeyes and Vant (idt they wanna be tagged here), but Ivan's character is static. He is not dynamic or fluid, but he is extraordinarily complex which makes up for it. He never really had an arc of his own unless you count what happened in his past during/before being bought by Unsha. His death is meant to haunt the narrative, meant to haunt Till. So why would he die, only for Till to die a few hours later? It would completely ruin what he was meant for and it would be so unsatisfying and bitter.

However, there's also the thematics of ALNST. Rock called out @pwippy for this already, but I'm gonna call them out too because fuck you plip (/j i love you plipster). Rock put it really well in these two excerpts I took from his post:

"Alien Stage is a universe full of suffering and pain for humans, forced to perform until they literally die on stage, all for the entertainment of the audience. It's not even meant as a way of exerting control or oppressing them, though it serves that purpose, because why would the seygein bother to oppress something that can't even fight back? Why go to the trouble of controlling something that is just a pet, whose cries are the fuel for a new age?"

Once again mentioning the Hunger Games because I genuinely can't help myself I love THG way too much, but that's the key difference between ALNST and THG: the human pets aren't being forced to do this because of a past rebellion and are being punished by the oppressing government... They're being thrown into this for fun. Full credit to @alien-til-i-stage who said this as a joke, but it is really fucking real, but the segyein bringing their human pets to watch ALNST in the audience are like people bringing dogs to a dog fight in real life. And that, I fear, puts into perspective as to just how much of a pet the humans are to the segyein. They are only there for entertainment. The resistance is mostly a thorn in their side as of right now (dewey and issac better change that next episode or istg) and killing these humans is simply just fun for them. They know humans can be hostile, just like dogs, but they tame them and make them docile and obedient, only to make them kill each other in the end, even if it's through a singing competition rather than an all out teeth and claws brawl. (except for round 5, that doesnt count)

"In this world of pain and suffering, perhaps death is a mercy. If Till is truly dead, then he no longer a tool for his oppressors, he is free of their control. For Ivan and Sua both of their deaths were mercies to them- Ivan was able to die for the one he loved, as was Sua, and neither of them were forced to live in a world without their beloved."

(thank you rock i love you pookie snookie)

He also mentions that it's not in character for Till to die, which I completely agree with. Till's persona is that of someone who wants to win, but not in the same way Luka needs to win. Till wants to win to live and survive with those he loves, he wants to win to beat the system, but considering how dystopian of a world this is, as much as he wants to win and save Mizi, he craves death as a freedom.

That out of the way, another thing that @junebluues actually got me to think about was this:

The bomb has Till's eyes and is crying as it knows it's going to die (assuming it's a sentient alien like Freddie). And the comparison here honestly opened my eyes a little bit and got me thinking.

Was Till a catalyst? Because that was a smoke bomb. I ended up thinking about it for a minute and came up with three possibilities where Till is a bomb/smoke bomb:

Mizi is using Till to hide her feelings

Till is the bomb that sets off a chain of events

Till is used to hide/cover up the real plan for either the segyein or for the resistance

I don't think it's the first one, I feel like it'd be closer to the other two, but any three of those could work. Because Mizi's feelings of despair over her situation can be hidden behind the hope as she reached out for Till. But as the smoke clears (Till dies) she remembers that it was, in fact, a bomb.

EDIT: Also, the lyric that plays during the smoke bomb scene is "No, don't look back now" which also kinda leads me to believe that Till is the start of a chain/domino effect. Once you knock the first domino, you can't go back.

I think someone somewhere had also talked about Till being forced to be used as a catalyst/bait again considering how well it worked here. There's a good chance Urak might have supplied the drugs to Till and also paid out or WAS paid out by another person to use Till as bait. Urak wouldn't want his pet that he is grossly possessive over to die that easily without every ounce of use being wrung out of him,,, something something Till being a Trojan Horse of sorts (thanks rock for that one, too).

EDIT: I also remembered that during the sequence in the song where the audience is singing the chorus and we see Ivan on the screens, is when Till looks like he's about to pass out. What gets me here is the fact that it is quite literally a chorus of vultures. The audience singing the chorus with images of Ivan surrounding him and seeing Luka mimic Ivan made Till realize that he was surrounded and that's when he started losing hope. It's why his reaction to Mizi is so prominent, because it's like she was there to save him from the vultures. The audience singing is my favorite and also least favorite part of the video/song because the feeling of being surrounded and cornered with everyone against you and their voices echoing in your head... really does it for me. I really want to animate this sequence from up close in Till's POV.

Anyways the 4th reason i had for the bomb theory was that Till is smoking hot (sorry). okay im done now i think,,,,,, i might actually come back with more because i think i forgot something... but i cant remember..... i forgor.....

other tags: @shakingparadigm @aakaneeee @ivanttakethis @k9punkout @crustyfloor @apriciticreveries @bluemoonscape @tsukacchako @nottoonedin @paperstarry

side note that i genuinely put more effort into my analyses than i have ever put into any school essay ever

edit: FUCK I WAS SUPPOSED TO ANALYZE THE LYRICS AGAIN GOD DAMNIT i dont feel like doing that anymore ill just do it later maybe

[sweatervest-obsessed]

Can You Come Around

Steve Harrington x Fem!Reader

pairing: modern!steve harrington x modern!fem!reader

wc: 2629

cw: mad flirting, swearing, alcohol, drinking, weed, smoking, mentions of cheating, men being weird, smut, 18+ mdni, fingering, teasing

a/n: set in modern times with the reader as the front woman of a new band in NYC. hope you guys like it!!

steve masterlist

“Goddamn”  Eddie whispered as they all stared up at the stage. 

It was Robin’s twenty-first birthday, causing everyone to meet up in New York City. Since Robin was the last of the eldest teens to turn of legal drinking age, the group decided to go on a small trip in honor of the momentous occasion. 

A four day trip with four of Steve’s closest friends—what could possibly go wrong. 

Originally? Nothing.

Wednesday and Thursday went off without a hitch. Seeing as her birthday was Wednesday, they spent the night bar hopping, snagging free drinks from those who were feeling generous enough to donate to their celebration, and snagging as many free desserts from as many restaurants as possible.

Then Friday night hit. Abandoning their original plan to try this bar near NYU that Nancy had been raving about, they found themselves in some other part of Greenwich, at this random bar that Eddie just had to go to. 

You see, the group had run into one of Eddie’s old friends on Thursday, and he wouldn’t stop raving about this random band that only Eddie seemed to have heard about. And that’s when Eddie turned to look at the group. 

“No.”

“Nancy—”

“I said no Eddie, this was the plan–”

At one point he even got on his knees and pleaded with Nancy. 

She eventually caved when Eddie offered to sponsor her drinks for the rest of her trip.

Which is how they found themselves packed in the back corner of this surprising large space. It had to have spanned across two buildings since it was just this giant, underground hall that was covered in drawings, in stickers, in posters, in murals, in graffiti—dark, but not dingy, which Nancy and Robin greatly appreciated. Once the group had managed to snag a table in the back, and gotten their drinks, they all started talking to one another. 

It was loud, but since there was no music playing, they could still hear one another pretty well. 

That was until your band walked on stage the crowd of college kids roared. 

To say that Steve was completely and utterly entranced by you was an understatement. The roaming lights around the audience would catch his eyes every now and again, but it didn’t matter if he was being blinded since he could only see you anyways. 

As you greeted the audience, Eddie elbowed Steve slightly in an ‘I told you so’ manner. “You’re going to fucking love them man.” 

Steve only nodded in response, watching your smile broaden with each roar of applause from the crowd. 

The night went on like this, Steve being completely despondent from all conversations happening at the table, and the group making fun of his infatuation. He barely even finished the beer in his hand, only able to focus on the sound of your voice filling up every available inch of room. It was hard to not breathe you in with every single inhale he took. 

As the night was winding down, the crowd only grew. But as all good things, your performance had to come to an end. Your voice rang out. 

“New York!” 

They roared in response to you. 

“I just want to thank you all for coming out tonight to support me and my friends. At the end of the day we’re just a bunch of idiot twenty-two years old that fucking love music, and we’re so grateful you guys decided to come out and support us tonight.”

Steve heard Eddie scream over his shoulder with the rest of the crowd.

“Now, we only have one song left in our set–I know I know it’s devastating but some of us wanna get fucked up too.”

The opening chords of the song rang out and Steve swore he was going to go deaf. He had never actually felt sound before, but there was a first time for everything. 

Nancy whacked Eddie’s shoulder. “I fucking love this song, why didn’t you lead with that?” 

Eddie’s eyes grew wide as your voice floated over. 

Can you come around? Fuck me nice. 

“You know—you LIKE–this song?”

Pull my hair. Sing me lullabies. 

“Eddie, we listened to it in the van on the way here..”

And we can pretend that we're in love. 

Steve blocked out the rest of their conversations and zeroed in on the thrumming of his pulse as you continued to sing. 

“When you come around, I’ll wear red. And I’ll forget all the awful things you’ve ever said. And we can pretend that we're in love.” 

Singing has been a passion of yours from a very young age. You were in vocal lessons the second you turned four, and dance lessons by five. Your parents were certain you were going to be the next broadway triple threat. You had even picked up the guitar and piano by age seven. But by the time you hit middle school, you had become more interested in writing, in poetry. You dropped the dance lessons and picked up drum lessons instead, much to the chagrin of your father. Writing poetry turned into writing music, and suddenly you were sneaking off to go to concerts every night, finding ways to get into bars to see local singers and bands. It was exhilarating watching people pursue their passion.

You found your bandmates in your first semester at Columbia. You had been in the wrong place at the right time, finding out that one of your lab partners could also play the guitar and the bass. And then you found out she knew someone who played the drums who was looking for a few people to hangout with. Then you found out that the drummer's sister was a keyboardist who was over at NYU. And NYU’s roommate? Well she just so happened to be one of the greatest guitar players you had ever heard.

That’s when you guys started playing and writing music together. 

“Until I throw a punch and you call me a cunt and that tips me over the edge. Ah, you throw my phone out the window. The next thing the neighbor says she’s calling’ the feds, and I wish you were dead. For a sec. I wish you dead. “

You couldn’t help but feel as though someone had shot electricity through your veins. Any time you stepped out on that stage, it was as if the world shifted under your feet and suddenly you could feel every single pulse of every single person in the audience. 

Tonight was no exception. You had officially released two EPs with collections of songs on them over the past few years, but a few weeks ago, your band had signed with an agent, who was able to get you more gigs, better gigs. She was incredible. 

Exactly a week ago, you had released your first ever single with a label. Your EPs were listened to, and you were an up-and-coming group to look out for, for sure, but you had never had a single before. 

It blew up.

“But you come around. At ten pm. We watch tv. We break the bed.” 

Tonight was the first time you were singing the single live, and hearing the entire audience screaming the words back to you took your breath away. You almost forgot the next words since you were so baffled at just how many people knew your songs, how many people knew the words. 

 And we can pretend that we're in love. We can pretend that we’re in love.” 

You couldn’t help as your eyes roamed the entire audience the whole night, but during this final song, you locked eyes with someone in the back. 

He had these gorgeous eyes that only showed for a brief second as the light that had roamed over him, before it moved on and he was gone again. 

Your heart almost jumped into your throat and your stomach flipped. Who the fuck was this man, and how did you find him once you finished singing this song? 

“Until I throw a punch and you call me a cunt and that tips me over the edge. Ah, you throw my phone out the window. The next thing the neighbor says she’s calling’ the feds, and I wish you were dead.”

This song was written over the course of twenty-seven minutes. 

About four months ago, your relationship of three years had decided that you weren’t enough. And instead of ending it all proper-like, he decided to go and fuck some random girl in his ethics class. 

The irony was not lost on you. 

For a sec. I wish you dead. I wish you were dead.

After you had finished performing, you went backstage, congratulating your bandmates, but your mind was somewhere else. It was in the back of the venue with one of the most gorgeous men you had ever seen in your life. 

At the same time, Steve Harrington was running through all of the ways he would be able to find you in this crowd. He wasn’t about to tell his friends he was running off to find you, since it was Robin’s birthday night after all, but he wasn’t about to not take the chance. 

“They’re fucking amazing…” Robin slurred out a little bit, having had six shots in the past ten minutes. Wearing a “It’s my birthday” sash in a bar is all fun and games until you receive your tenth tequila shot and eighth free margarita from kind strangers. 

“Alright…maybe we should…”

Steve and Eddie chuckled at the sound that emanated from Robin’s mouth. He was sure if he put in the effort, he could translate it to a negative response to Nancy’s suggestion. 

“I’ll be right back Eds, while Nance and Johnny take Robin back. I know you wanted to stay out a little longer.” He muttered to Eddie before heading off, towards the hallway near the side of the venue. 

Steve found a bouncer near the end of the hallway who was smoking a cigarette and nodded outside. “Do you mind if I…?” 

The guy shook his head. “Knock twice to be let back in, yeah?” 

Steve nodded and headed outside, reaching into his pocket to pull out a joint from the small container in his pocket. 

Just as he did so, he heard a cough from beside him. “You don’t happen to have a…”

As Steve looked up, your voice trailed off. The rest of your sentence didn’t matter since you were face to face with the mystery man from the back of the room. 

“Hey you’re–” Steve pointed at you before realzing how fucking dumb he must sound. But you just shrugged and nodded. 

“Yeah. How’d you like the show?” 

Steve held the lighter up and lit the joint that was in your hand. “Loved it.”

“Yeah?” 

All you could notice was how gorgeous his eyes were again, stunned into a moment of hesitation with words since you were absolutely too mesmerized by him. 

“Great fucking show.” 

That and his hands. You would let those fucking hands do anything to you. 

“Think so?”

Steve nodded, and bit his lip as he looked you up and down shamelessly.

You come around. Fuck me nice. Pull my hair. Sing me lullabies.

You shoved Steve up against a wall, lips against his. He tasted like weed and whatever beer he had been drinking earlier. 

His hands cupped your ass as the two of you began to make out in the dimly lit alley behind the venue. 

No other words needed. 

Your body rolled reflexively against his, causing him to moan softly into your mouth. 

“Just gonna kiss me pretty boy or…” You muttered as you kissed across his jaw, sucking and leaving marks all across his neck. 

Steve took the opportunity to roll the both of you against the wall so now his body pressed yours up against it. 

His hands had moved from your back to your hips, squeezing them ever so slightly as to get more of a rise out of you. 

It was working. 

He slipped one of his hands down the curve of your hip and to the front of your jeans, unzipping them as you moaned into his mouth. The fingers that had previously been on his neck were now twisted in his hair. 

Steve’s pointer finger slid up your panties, causing your whole body to jolt at the touch of him between your thighs. 

“Please…fuck…P-Please.” 

His lips trailed down your cheek and towards your neck. 

The feeling of his hand so close to your pussy and the fanning of his breath over your neck was enough to almost send you over the edge right then and there. 

Steve knew better than to keep you waiting. Brushing aside your underwear with his thumb, he pressed a finger up into your core. 

Steve’s eye’s grew darker at the feeling of how completely soaked you were, just for him. 

Your hips rocked back and forth slightly, trying to get him to move, trying to get the friction. 

Steve took the hint and dug his finger in further, getting up to his knuckle in pussy. 

Once Steve had thouroughly fucked you with just one finger, he decided to add another. And then another, causing you to tug even more on his hair. 

Steve decided right then and there, he loved the feeling of your squirming on his hand while you yanked the shit out of his hair. 

“F-fuck–shit I’m…I’m so..” 

Steve started rapidly curling his fingers inside of you, over and over and over again, brushing against your g-spot over and over and over again. 

His other hand came up to your mouth and he slowly pushed his two middle fingers inside, causing you to slightly choke on them, and then moan. 

It was muffled by the digits in your mouth, but it was the final straw that caused your orgasm to snap your body in half. Choking slightly on one hand, and your pussy convulsing on his other, you had ascended to heaven. 

A man had never made you cum just by fingering you before. 

In the midst of your orgasm, body spasming at Steve’s fingers contined to fuck your insides, that Steve was probably just a god—a sex god really. No man could be this handsome and fuckable, while also being phenomenal at sex. 

Eventually as your body calmed down, and Steve removed his hand from your mouth, you felt his lips on yours. Your hand instantly shoved him hard against your lips, feeling the need to feel something of his skin on yours. 

He slowly circled his fingers causing your body to let out another moan, sending a shiver up your spine. 

After a few moments Steve pulled away, and you opened your eyes to take another look at the man standing with you. As you did so, he very gently pulled his hand out, looking you in the eyes the whole time. 

You might as well had cum a second time right then and there as he slowly slipped his fingers, covered in your orgasm, into his mouth. If you thought about it too much, you were sure you basically drooled right then and there for this man. 

“You…”

Steve raised his eyebrows at the fact that the woman he had just heard singing her heart out was now speechless at him. 

“Me?” 

“You’re coming back to my apartment.” 

“Oh?” 

You nodded and slid one of your hands down to zip up your jeans and fix your shirt.  Not that it mattered since you looked like you had just been fucked to heaven and back in an alley. 

Not even a moment later, just as Eddie was leaving the club he received a text from Steve: 

Dont wait up

[lesterwillington]

We Need a Lovecraft Musical (or play, I would not mind a play)

I love eldritch horror and weird fiction and I love musicals so I might sound biased, but I need this to happen. Technically, there are a few that exist, but I can find very little detail about them. So, what I'm asking the universe for is some sort of Lovecraft stage musical adaptation (preferably something from the Cthulhu Mythos) that recieves a major professional production somewhere in the world (like off-west end or off-broadway or chicago or something, I would love regular west end and regular broadway but I am trying to manage expectations here, kinda). Also, we just need more mainstream horror theater stuff in general. There isn't much of it, and what does exist mostly have been financial and critical failures. Now, you may be asking, "aren't Lovecraft's works famously unadaptable? why not just leave them as short stories and novels? also he was a pretty bad dude should we even be adapting his work at all?", and to that I say: 1. HA, if you really think that, you are a COWARD, a FOOL, and a SCOUNDREL! People thought Dune was unadaptable and now it is a critically acclaimed franchise with at least 2 movies as well as an upcoming tv show and a third movie in development. So, people that say things like that are dumb. Plus, that's mostly in reference to film adaptations anyway, which I can understand for Lovecraft's works. He mostly relies on the audience's imagination for the horror, he tries to get them to fear something they can barely begin to understand. It's hard to translate that into film because film is inherently a visual medium (mostly). However, theater almost always relies on the audience visualizing more than what is really on stage, so I think it fits Lovecraft's works perfectly, especially because of how short most of them are. You can really take your time to flesh out the world and characters if you wanted to. Or just do like, a one-act thing. That woks too. 2. I understand leaving them as their original works, but I think the theatrical experience can elevate the experience of the written works or at least get the audience to see them in a new light. I think an ideal theatrical adaptation would leave the audience extremely unsettled, but wanting more. And they can get more by reading Lovecraft. So, I don't think it's too much of a problem. 3. I'm terribly sorry but like 95% of old, white guy authors were bad people and I think it's reasonable to be able enjoy and appreciate what they made while also condemning who they were. Plus, it's not like Lovecraft or his estate is making any money off this because his works are public domain babyyyy. But yes I need this to happen desperately and I'm afraid it won't. I'm heavily considering trying to make something myself (because the works are public domain and I am a writer), but I have a lot on my plate right now (including an In Trousers screenplay that I have mentioned in a post or two) so I have no idea when I'd be able to really work on it and try to fully realize it. Plus, I have zero connections in the theater world so getting a major production for it would be extremely hard. I still think it's cool, though. Let me know what you guys think. Is it possible? Or are his works better left as they are?

[brokenmachinemusings]

so. what’s up with diving?

a lot of people tend to think that diving is some paradoxical thing which has happened but also hasn’t at the same time.

i’m here to say; no it isn’t. all dives did not happen originally, and alter the course of time later.

there are plenty of other posts who go into more detail than mine will, and they mostly focus on season two.

i’m here to focus a bit more on s1. not in detail, just pointing some things out before i go completely batshit. and some thoughts. actually, mostly thoughts.

well, in short, diving never actually happened before the aforementioned dive, which in turn — not always, but usually alters the timeline. sometimes the changes are so minimal it’s barely consequential — sometimes they’re so important they kill someone, get someone stabbed, or save them. obviously, the butterfly effect.

i really do wish i could go in depth in this post outside of my simple disorganized thought processes but i don’t have the time or energy for that. alas, physical as well as mental illness and busy schedules strike again.

studio lan also likes to play around with these concepts. maybe to throw us off, maybe to hint towards the bigger picture, who knows.

well. that’s not what this post is about. i just wanted to point out some examples. which are, here, as goes;

while rewatching, i’m still on ep1, but the most obvious thing is emma upsetting the cup. hers is more of an accident, obviously just spilling over the table.

cheng xiaoshi WHACKS that cup. while it might be for comedic effect, i see quite literally no one pointing this out — and it spins around and hits mr. zhu’s head. and then falls on his pants, which is the timeline reorienting itself.

the next example is have, which is on top of my head, is one that really baffles my mind how i don’t see anyone speaking about xu shanshan more. while lu guang watches the photo, she’s giggly about the message she receives and we all know it cuts off right before liu min enters her apartment — well, that’s not important, but i did want to point out how she’s giddy.

cheng xiaoshi simply solemnly stares into her phone as he reads dong yi’s message. which might be a whole can of worms to unpack later, but either way, it always struck me as kind of odd.

we don’t have concrete evidence that xu shanshan was murdered — but in my personal theory, she was in the original show’s timeline (not the og tl itself), before cheng xiaoshi managed to overwrite it. from her being depicted as a victim once, to cheng xiaoshi’s plan — i doubt li tianchen or liu min cared enough about her to actually have to go through with it.

anyway, i do think cheng xiaoshi’s plan practically worked, especially since li tianchen managed to go “oh shit, there’s people with my type of power, i must see this,” and actually left her alone.

i do think some kind of “alternative timeline” was mentioned, but that’s kind of evading my memory right now. i’ll get back in on you in the next 100 business days. maybe more or less.

well, i completely forgot to mention xss being mentioned in the newspaper after cheng xiaoshi’s whole meddling which ended up with her turning into a victim — again, kinda steering the timeline. and again, another butterfly effect, considering that turns into xu shanshan dying having to make a plan to avoid her death, catching liu min, lu guang getting stabbed, the li twins, all of s2. which is to say, this is heavily hinted at for not happening in the timelines prior which lu guang had experienced.

ah, speaking of lu guang. sweet boy lu guang. who’s from the future, and considering the timeline being rewritten, he cannot return to the future. this is also implied, or could be a plot hole. considering every time li tianchen touches cheng xiaoshi while the latter is possessing someone, he gets forced out of said body, to the present — as for lu guang, he fully stays there, in the past which isn’t the past, more like a new present or future. with all of his plans intact. sucks that the future he’s aiming for isn’t changing, though.

there’s also the mess which is s2ep8-9. you know, the speedboat episodes. it isn’t quite obvious at first, but lu guang is lu guang the first time. and well, he wasn’t expecting anyone to know his password either. he likely just stashed the phone away for safekeeping, for his own dive, but then the cops found it and cheng xiaoshi decided to dive in — it’s a bit of a mystery on how cheng xiaoshi knew exactly what to do as well. since he was likely very disoriented the first time he was brung out of his possession by li tianchen. well, i’m not one to really delve into this, again there’s other people who have in far more detail than i.

i mean, yes, time nodes are a thing and the timeline reorients itself however it needs to be. no matter how much of change might take place, how out of hand it can get. but it has this margin of error as well. it’s quite odd, really, i can’t quite describe it either.

there’s some kind of mindfuck theory about time not actually being time but i won’t get into that. i don’t remember what it said. but shoutout to you, other theorists.

in short, i don’t think i made this clear due to my incessant rambling; diving always alters the timeline. even if only little deviations happen, it always alters what it was originally supposed to be. and it only happens once, unless you count lu guang diving into himself multiple times… but that isn’t as clear, considering like i said, the future changes — which is stated in the donghua itself, but it changes and he theoretically dives into a different version of himself. theoretically.

well, whatever the case, thanks for reading. hope this makes sense — kind of at least, if you’re interested on my thoughts on anything let me know. or if i forgot to cover some part in more detail.

happy 0913, hope everyone survived well today. i, and cheng xiaoshi, sure didn’t!

[theotherseapancakes]

Psssst. You mentioned no one cares about Philemon, but now I'm curious if you have any thoughts about his role in the games after he disappeared. And for sillies sake, does he have anything to do with the Dance games?

I have been waiting my entire life for this. Anon do you realize how verbose I'm going to get. DO YOU REALIZE? I hope you like read mores. Let me preface this with I am aware and have seen some popular theories, so I'm going to sidestep a lot of them and present one I've built since... well, I became a Persona fan as a teenager. MAJOR PERSONA SERIES SPOILERS LIKE THE ENTIRE THING OK? OK. yes even royal.

The P2 PSP additional scenario is so incredibly important and I think everyone missed the point of it. THE PERSONA 2 PSP ADDITIONAL TATSUYA SCENARIO!!!! It's beyond important, because it reveals to us Philemon can have more than one Avatar we know about, just like Nyarly. (Casual reminder he's like half the shopkeeps in P2. Time Count, anyone? Why was the Time Count so hot. Anyway.) Disclaimer: I'm just a casual fan who has played a LOT of Persona and SMT. I haven't gotten around to all of them, but I've played/finished both paths of 1, 2, 3 (and p3p) as well as 4 and 5. Didn't manage to get my hands on Golden but I've seen enough of it. (It's funny you ask about the dance games, they're the only ones I don't have right now! But my roommate does, and will be gone for a few months soon, perhaps I will take the time to start with p4DAN. I'm atrocious at rhythm games though so more than likely I'll find a video. Anyway.) WHAT is Philemon? If we can't define that, we can't talk about The Positivity Guy Ever.

So let's talk about Phil. He's a fascinating character. His Persona is just a form of Himself, But Cooler. And he seems to HAVE no set shape, not unlike Nyarlathotep. People have various theories about Shadows and their origins etc., but Phil is more like that vote of confidence in people. I think, personally, that after the end of Innocent Sin, Phil's been pretty weak. We see in Eternal Punishment he's fading pretty roughly, and has a hard time talking to the party. Presumably ending Nyarly might to some degree fix things when Deja-vu Boy goes home, but... the problem is, we don't know how fixed they truly ended up being, or the full depth of how much he could/did expend!

In fact, the first time we even see Phil without the dumb mask is when Tatsuya decks him. Pay close attention to that fact. To the mask motifs here. I want you to really soak in Phil's everything. He's a leader. A kind soul. He's the good of people. He wants to believe the best.

Anyway, most of these things overlook what I find really interesting as we've gotten more games worth of lore: he and Nyarly aren't the only eldritch entities walking around like that. Yes, Nyx is one too. Yes, it's probable she may even be their 'mom'. It's possible they all came from Nyx initially, but it's also possible (and should be considered) they too may have been outsiders at one point. We need to ask ourselves how far the human collective unsconsciousness can go. Is that sea infinite? Could it affect other worlds? Think about Aion in Devil Summoner Soul Hackers 2. Yes, I am asking you to think about Soul Hackers 2. Deal with it, I don't care. They're sister series. They share many things. SO! Did the shape of the human mind change a bunch of eldritch creatures and make them interact with us even more after Nyx smacked the moon a gazillion years ago? Is there multiple worlds? Weird bullshit? Just the two? Hmm. Well... I, personally, think so. I think he was touched by humanity just like Nyarlathotep, but in the other way. The reason I bring this up is two-fold. The first is Nodens. Now, we don't know much about the actual Nodens, unfortunately, just some speculation. Which is a shame. (If anyone has more info I'd love to have it, ngl. As a pagan this shit fascinates me.) But what we do get on him in Lovecraftian lore can provide us some intriguing possibilities about Phil's everything, which the games love to keep really rather vague. (And this is putting aside that his human Persona is based off the obviously bogus Jungian Spirit Guide, but we love an old guy in a mask anyway. He probably felt that was more 'friendly' for humans, hah.) I believe that Nodens, and Phil by extension, are just as responsible for nurturing and keeping the collective unconsciousness alive and positive. We see the butterfly symbol everywhere. We see it with Lavenza, too. "This is truly an unjust game." So was the bet Phil made with Nyarly, a game he rigged. Phil made the mistake of thinking the Crawling Chaos wouldn't cheat, a mistake he is never making again, I assume, if he can help it. Shit, you could view his boss fight in P2EP as him trying to train the EP crew to beat the snot out of Nyarly, even. But off topic. If Nyarly is basically the father of all Shadows, and they and Personas are the same coin, it makes me wonder a lot of things. The two have always been portrayed as simultaneously diametrically opposed, but also not? They have identical halls in P2. They have similar powers and talents... I think after Persona 3, Phil's remnants sank into the Collective Unconsciousness, to attempt to rehabilitate humanity from what it lost, from what he himself lost. I think Igor took over the room, because he took a backseat to recover. It would go a long, long way towards explaining why only SOME characters have the tier of the Wild Card, which is similar to the 'original' Persona power. (Having multiple.) He was took weak to remain in his Spirit Guide (Philemon) form, and had to abandon it to return to the depths as Nodens... So. Let me go back to Nodens and make some notes about design.

Nodens, as seen here, sort of resembles an iron maiden. It really brings to mind the idea of maybe Tatsuya or someone's humanoid form sleeping within it, doesn't it? Fitting for an aspect of Philemon! ... You probably can see where I'm going with this, but let me pull up some screens to finish the point:

That's right! It's Azathoth, Baby! I believe that unlike mythology, he's yet another aspect of Philemon. Eldritch positivity, in too much force, could be used for accidental bad, too. (Reasons Maruki is my favorite Law Hero, haha.) Let me explain. I think Philemon always existed in... let's call it parts. Azathoth is said to be a dreaming god in whom's universe we all just happen to be alive inside, right? "Dream of butterfly" (Philemon) "Or is life a dream? Don't wanna wake up. Cuz I'm happy here." That sure is thematic to what Maki goes through in Persona 1, and what Maruki's beloved suffers, isn't it? ISN'T IT. The "true reality" he creates... would help Maruki create in the additional Semester--would be something most humans would never pass the muster to even try to control. But we have seen Phil test a few people and find them worth passing before! However, that seems like ages ago. Why has he been so quiet? I think because he was spending time conserving his energy. He believed in humanity enough to give Makoto a push when it was needed in p3 (or femc, if you play her), but otherwise trusted Igor while he restored what needed it. But in Persona 5 Royal, he hand-picked Maruki, didn't he? At first, when I played Persona 5 Royal, I really thought it was some part of Nyarly, but I no longer believe this to be the case. The coloration and symbolism in the background (the golds, the whole garden of eden themes, the way his Palace was laid out), the whole sea of soul motifs in P3Re later... mmm. I have a lot of thoughts about this, but this post is already way too long for one simple ask. So let's wrap up by going one step further and looking finally at Nodens' dialogue to the party in the Extra Scenario in Persona 2: Eternal Punishment (PSP). The following is a transcript, you can find a video here:

Nodens: This is the memory of the lost child whom you all seek. Nodens: Memory occasionally brings about much distress and suffering, but it is absolutely vital to distinguish oneself from others and manufacture one's own psyche. Nodens: Ever since it began, life's memory has accumulated unbroken, passing through individual experiences and spanning several generations. Nodens: And so it has given shape to Kadath and the Collective Unconsciousness, thereby becoming a foundation for the next generation. Nodens: Even if the roots of the world are directed by fear and anxiety, never forget that the true essence of life is brimming with joy. Nodens: You must not stop seeking the answer for why life was born in a cosmos progressing towards absurdity and chaos. Nodens: Life brims with joy, bringing about balance in a universe predestined to heat death, and that allows the world to live a long time.

So to answer your question, I think he's taken a much subtler role. I think he's influencing people by pretending to be a Persona for Maruki, because he believes it will help them grow. I don't think he was intending a forever-control vice grip, but rather to prove a point. No matter what, the primordial chaos of humanity will rise up for chaotic good, lawful good, whatever "good" is needed. Azathoth is... interesting. Adam Kadmon is also interesting. But mostly I HIGHLY suspect we may see him again in Persona 6, or at least I'm hoping so. It's my personal pet theory by then he'll be less faded and come back to us in a new form of some kind. He's never had a set one, after all. Now for funsies about the dancing game, well, he's a positive guy, he wanted to just make sure everyone had their fitness regimen checked off. Obviously. (This is a joke.) Did the devs intend this? I'm honestly not sure? Like there's a lot of nods to older Personas in 5 and now 3RE especially, but it's definitely worth chewing on. I could go on and on about things I think he's connected to, but ultimately they have the final say lol. I'm just a crackpot conspiracy theorist on tumblr who really likes Philemon. He and the Room are my favorites. :) Ask me about attendants for additional dumb, sometime, I guess lol.

[xxswagcorexx]

the swagcore fic archives will become real in 5:

anyways, hi, i write too much fanfic, but a lot of it is on anon. i know a lot of people go to me for fic recs (you can see a post with More fic recs here) and i'm happy enough with my fics to recommend them to people :) also for funsies i'm gonna put small author's notes after each entry!

the stuff with my name on it:

Swap by cherubium and swagcore

[CLICK] [Jaron]: Statement of Ash…Swag, regarding events surrounding his husband, Red Doons. Statement recorded live from subject on April 4th, 2023, recording by Jaron Yeager from the LIFE Insitute, London,...Ohio. Statement begins. [Ash]: Are you seriously gonna be recording on that? or: a fic written for day 2 of roses and smoke week, swap/horror.

A/N: a collab fic I did with the lovely cherny! all i'll say is that we might have lied a little bit in the beginning notes. heh.

the sleep buoyancy investigation by swagcore

While Fundy walks around his street, he notices an odd poster about researching dreams. Having weird dreams all of his life and with nothing else to do, Fundy grabs the contact information and heads to the address. What possibly could go wrong? - "the sleep buoyancy investigation" is an experimental fic made with Twine. This fic is based on the Stargate Project, a now-defunct project by the CIA to study psychics. Word Count: ~3k

A/N: this fic was so so fun to do. my god. it really gave me my first taste of really experimental fics and that is something i've been playing around with! i do have an idea in mind for another fic like this (which is one of the first fic ideas i had when going into the lifesteal fandom) so! i'm excited for when i actually put my head down and write it!!!

from a windowsill by swagcore

It’s a cold night tonight. As Pearl stares out to the moon, feeling the wind through the tower’s rafters and the howls of the hound army roar from below her, she squints her eyes. There’s supposed to be a blood moon tonight. or: it's late at night, and pearl has some thoughts about the blood moon (and herself)

A/N: i'm going to be real, i'm a dl!pearl sleeper agent. i love her so much and her character is sooooo....*dies*.......she makes me ill!

late night break-ins and henna by swagcore

Ash visits Soc Inc. at the very normal hour of 3 AM on Christmas to give Red a Christmas present.

A/N: fun fact, i wrote most of this on an ipad at one of those friend reunions my dad had with his friends 💀 we were like 8 hours away from our house so i couldn't exactly leave so while on vc with my good friend toast we worked on fics together LOL she's actually the one who came up with the water bottle thing. it was awesome

misc collabs i did:

insufferable hand in insufferable hand by Anonymous

ashswag and reddoons get married in a very thought out, entirely sound plan.

A/N: this was a collab wiith np13, who you might know from "all of the roads led to you". it was actually working on this fic at first, i mentioned wanting to write a swagdoons divorce fic, and it brought me on the team to work on this one. this fic was so silly to work on and i had a great time writing it!!!

the various anon fics i have written:

one and a half cups of stout by Anonymous

Bdubs and Etho leave a party and are now burdened with the task of grocery shopping for cake ingredients. - (or: etho drags bdubs to his apartment so they can bake together)

A/N: god this fic was so fun and fluffy to write. i love baking in general, and the amount of detail i managed to put into this fic and how cozy-feeling it is is something i'm really proud of. fun fact, it's my most viewed and kudosed fic of all time, as well as the first fic i felt really, really proud of!

pommes voyage by Anonymous

headcanon that ren started making potatoes like crazy, like to the amount doc started to check up on him - originally a post meant for tumblr

A/N: this fic was really fun to write as well. it was supposed to be a tumblr post, but i got really carried away (and when i sent a screenshot of it into a gc my friend replied with "that is terrifying", and i decided to leave it as a standalone fic instead of a post) and it's a fun fic to read, methinks

and maybe, you'll find peace in the sun by Anonymous

During the time [x] escapes prison for the dozenth time, [s]he takes a quick detour to pick up some supplies. or: [x] finds an unguarded house in the woods, stealing ingredients so [s]he can make some stew

A/N: alright so, as a disclaimer, this was a fic written before ivorycello transitioned, but for archival purposes, i haven't changed it. for this post, i've made it clear what part i've changed. i'm still proud of this fic, in general, and ivory has since said that her past persona doesn't bother her anymore, so that's why i've included it here. once again though, read with those warnings in mind

the sun vanished by Anonymous

The stars revolve around Planet. It's their little secret, and most don't know enough about the stars to be able to notice. That's why, when they got banned, no one noticed that the sun vanished.

A/N: my first lifesteal fic! i really, really like the ideas in this fic and how i've conveyed them. fun fact i wrote most of this while in the car from homecoming--but i'm really proud with what i managed to beat out considering ost of it was written in a car backseat

dust by Anonymous

After winning Double Life, Pearl has some thoughts about the end of the world while looking at the death menu.

A/N: this fic is AWESOME i love minecraft death screens and like i said before, i'm a dl!pearl enjoyer to the MAX. it's also the first fic i ever had translated, and it was such a nice surprise to see it was translated in my email inbox that morning <3

jackalope by Anonymous

have you heard the myth of the jackalope? (of course you have. who am i kidding.) --- or: a character study on rekrap, as told by the myth of the jackalope

A/N: this was originally for a comic that was, looking back, wayyy too ambitious for my art skill level LOL. i've been brewing it in my brain for a while (hell, even my english teacher at the time looked over at it), and i still find it fun to read. once again, experimental fics ftw!

take your time, we've got all night by Anonymous

It’s rare to find quiet moments like this–moments safe enough for Ash and Red to get some sleep without either of them going on looking shifts. It’s a luxury in the apocalypse. And yet Red still couldn’t get his mind to shut up and let him sleep. Great. or: red can't sleep during the apocalypse. he wakes ash up and both of them spend the night talking about their pasts.

A/N: i'm already a huge sap in the notes, but this is, arguably, one of the most important fics i've ever written. for context, i wrote this while i was really down due to my entire family but me getting covid right before my finals and our winter vacation, so that left me alone in my room for 2 weeks. i was really down, especially since i couldn't spend christmas with my family as a result. however, writing this gave me something to pass the time, and the reception on it when i posted during a dark time in my life really helped. it's also the first swagdoons fic i've ever posted, so there's that too :) also, one of the comments of someone going back to read it a few months later also came while i was in a rough patch, so that really helped <3

four of a kind by Anonymous

Ash, Branzy, Clown, and Red close up the casino for the week.

A/N: first of, CASINOQUARTETCASINOQUARTETCASINOQUARTET- and fun fact, this is one of the first fics written after casino quartet first became a Concept (which. considering i first came up w/ the concept in the swagdoons server is. Yeah <- ill) so that's rlly fun to see how big casino quartet has become considering i see it in random places now LOL

l'appel du vide by Anonymous

If there’s anyone that knows Death, it’s him. or: sven escapes death, and still feels the void linger around him. and he has some thoughts about it.

A/N: i loveeeee minecraft death mechanics holy moly....anyways yeah this fic was so fun to write and the concepts are *chefs kiss*. it's also the first fic in the kenadian fandom tag so there's that too!

5 years, eleven months, and seventeen days by Anonymous

It's been 5 years, 11 months, and 17 days since they went missing. or: laurance is still investigating his friends' disappearances. even after all of this time. (he can't seem to move on, can he?)

A/N: this fic was a gift for my bestest friend ever :3 i'm going to be real it's been like, 6+ years since i watched mystreet but my friend reminded me of how fucked it was and i felt really included to write this. i loveeee fucked up implications in fiction!!!

jenga tower by Anonymous

"Dude-" Ash says through a wheezed breath, "Do you think this a little much?" Clown hums, "Mmm, no. I think you're just fineee." "Exactly," Red chimes in, definitely not helping the 'hey wouldn't it be funny if we all laid on Ash?' cause. or: casino quartet turn into a human jenga tower. for roses and smoke week, free day

A/N: once again. casino quartet brainworms strike again. i think this is the only fic i finished in time for the first roses and smoke week LOL. it's very fluffy and i still think it holds up. yeah they'd be Like That

what's the point of living if you can't die with someone else, huh? by Anonymous

"you mentioned about me going back home, right?" ash nods, eyebrow raised with suspicion. "well," red starts, "i think i said this last season: 'what's the point of living if you can't die with someone else?'" red gets up from the floor, "and you haven't used your god powers much," he says as he offers ash a hand to get off the floor. "dude." ash can exactly see what red's asking. or: alternatively titled: who knew killing your bestie with god powers could be so affectionate?

A/N: i love love love sappy swagdoons so much. this fic was so fun to write all of their memories and stuff. i love them so much i want to pinch both of their cheeks so bad!!! <333

a late night conversation about a stolen horse (and a few other things) by Anonymous

Red's going out for a supply run, and runs into Ash. They have a conversation about a stolen horse (and a few other things).

A/N: once again, sappy swagdoons. i love them so much. i'm going to be real a lot of this was inspired by this one survival guide book that i've had for literal years. i've kept it with me for fic purposes but when i was little i did read through it out of boredom so i do have a little bit of knowledge, which inspired this fic LOL

the thing about ash: by Anonymous

A glitch (as defined by Wikipedia) is a short-lived fault in a system, such as a transient fault that corrects itself, making it difficult to troubleshoot. In an article by Alex Pieschel, Pieschel writes that a "'glitch' suggests something more mysterious and unknowable inflicted by surprise inputs or stuff outside the realm of code." (or: ash, as told in the very nature of himself and what makes him, him.

A/N: okay i'm going to be real this is one of those fics that i'm 90% sure i was struck down by god to have a vision for this fic. i'm really proud with how deep i made the metaphor and it's one of the fics i'm most proud of :) it's awesome

mors mihi lucrum by Anonymous

"death to me is reward" is it really? (or: zolister has some thoughts about the trophy room)

A/N: this fic was so so fun to write. if you haven't noticed already, death in minecraft is one of my favorite things to explore and that showtime smp video activated a nueron in my brain when i watched it. i love death in mc so so much <3

Ashswag's 3-step, very simple plan, to survive the Genesis SMP by Anonymous

Exactly what it says on the tin.

A/N: this is another one of my "hcs into a fic" fics, and it's really fun! i'm going to be real, i still don't know much about ultrakill but i fuck with the aesthetic hard. that clair de lune level is so pretty....

in another universe: by Anonymous

things would have ended differently. (an experimental webweave done on ao3)

A/N: this fic was SOOOOO fun to do. i've always wished for webweaving to be more of a thing outside of tumblr, so this is an experiment into other options! it's so awesome i love experimenting with fanfiction...

the best of the best, you'll die like the rest by Anonymous

Agent Rek Rap II, an ex-agent trying to enjoy his life in early retirement. Or well, he was trying too. He gets invited to a concert by a familiar name. (He already knows how this is going to end.)

A/N: this fic turned out so well. i had a general vibe and i RAN with it. it was so fun to write, and hopefully, it's a fun read if you also like spy stuff!!!

homemade comforts by Anonymous

If Red was being honest, he reveled in moments like this. Moments when Ash and he were far away from all of the violence, all of the responsibilities, and away from any prying eyes around them. Just Ash and Red, cooking together in their shitty little kitchenette that only fits two people.

A/N: this fic was so so fun to write. i'm going to be real, it was supposed to be part of another fic where it showed swagdoons across servers but i decided to make it a standalone. i love cooking together with people so much, and hopefully this fic conveys that :)

it’s no big deal (that i love you) by Anonymous

Sometimes Ash understands people when they call him and Red a couple. They are partners, in a sense, but not in that way. After all, when you’ve spent so long as enemies, survivalists, comrades, even, you notice a lot about the other person. From tracking down Red’s movements to stealing that stupid bell from Capital City, to pressing down on wounds and praying it didn’t get infected, they’ve been through everything. Been through the happy, sad, and angry tears together, and everything else in-between. But of course, everything they did had to be a business deal—a private agreement between just both of them. or: ashswag has some thoughts about red while they fall asleep together (ft. swagdoons qpr)

A/N: once again. sappy swagdoons. because i am predictable. this fic is so fluffy, and i'm so proud with how deep the metaphor is and how soft and fluffy everything is. qpr swagdoons ftw!!!

fallin' in love by Anonymous

Ash and Red go to a pumpkin patch on their day off.

A/N: more fluff. i love them so much. i love fall vibes and pumpkin patches so this fic was me putting all of the fall vibes i could into this fic. so glad it's going to get cooler where i live now LOL

...and, scene by Anonymous

kenadian, the train escape, and the fourth wall. ...and all of the horrific implications that come alongside it.

A/N: this was written as a spirtual successor to my prev. fic about sven. it was so fun, and fun fact, it's the first fic in the kenadian character tag! yippee!!!

world is mine! by Anonymous

In a sleep-deprived move, Minecraft player Ashswag decided that making a Hatsune Miku cosplay would compliment his entire God shtick perfectly. or: ash becomes swagsune ashu

A/N: this fic was mostly written for shits and giggles, but although i haven't have much time for it, cosplay is something that's so dear to me <3 i love the craftsmanship that does into it!!! and the community is so kind <3

go to the end with me, my lover by Anonymous

“Hey Ash? I…want you to come here and take a look.” Red says warily. Ash quietly follows Red ahead. He climbs over the rubble Red is looking out on and— Oh. It was their wedding venue.

A/N: fun fact: i first heard of this song in class when someone showed me the mv after school and um. well let's say i shed a few tears. god if you haven't watched the love wins all mv, please do. it's so well done <3 also in general SWAGDOONS WEDDING LETS FUCKING GOOOOOO (ignore the angst)

it takes two to tango, but somebody has to lead by Anonymous

The tango is a dance that requires someone to lead, and a partner willing to follow them. (or, swagdoons through the ages)

A/N: this was so fun. i love writing in different formats!!! also it being experimental is AWESOME i love playing around w/ language :3 also i love acherswan so so much so that was also a bonus!!!

developments by Anonymous

A group photo of the Hemlock family and staff. Absolutely nothing goes wrong.

A/N: i love photography so much, esp as someone with terrible memory. i've been having fun exploring it in fics recently so yeah!!! also the first fic in the whitepine tag #awesome

memento by Anonymous

“You have a pretty face,” Red says out loud without thinking. Ash stops in his tracks, whipping his head back to stare back at Red. “I—What?” “Ah. Um. You look nice when you’re talking,” Red clarifies, “Wait.” Red steps closer and grabs Ash’s jaw. “The fuck—” or: Red is a photography student and takes a picture of Ash.

A/N: listen me and my friend dusty were talking and my brain came up with the most gay scene ever and i HAD to write it. once again, i've only used dslr's in my life, but hopefully the magic of photographing someone was captured in this fic. old people yaoi.../silly

and OH BOY that was a lot of fics. these are the fics i'm really proud of, so i hope y'all enjoy (and please say nice things to me if you have enjoyed them). thank you for making it through this LONG post!!!

[yorutsuki]

「 ✦ Isekaied Reversed Pt. 4 ✦ 」

↳ Its been a few days since the Yaksha, Xiao, came home. During his stay, you've been busy trying to teach him modern etiquette, technology and as well, fashion. Surprisingly he learns quite quickly although, at points his stubbornness can be an obstacle.

Tags:

──────⋆⋅☆⋅⋆──────

<; Day 1 >

The day after your fantasies became a reality, you decided it was time to teach him about the modern era. For the first day, you decided that it was important to inform him how bland this world actually was. For instance, visions, monsters and rulers. At first the usually all-knowing adeptus was quite confused and lost.

How could their be no Archons? Why didn't people own visions even though there was a God? If there weren't any monsters, why did they need excessive police?

So as a helpful world-guide, you informed him of all the answers to his questions and doubts.

"So in summary..you're world is overruled by a God instead of Celestia. Instead of seven nations, you have 195 nations..which then have uh..countries—Cities? And their ruled by different leaders who aren't Gods..?"

You nodded, scratching your neck tiredly, "Yep, but thats not even half of it all. Theres more politic factors that play into this world and it's system.." You sighed, already knowing that explaining all of it would be a pain. "—and not to mention, some of their systems suck a-" You cut your mumbling off, clearing your throat.

"Anyways, we can get into the deeper stuff later, today is just about the basics—like currency and some basic laws."

Xiao shook his head as he crossed his arms. "Tell me how all of this would help in returning me back?"

You eternally groaned as you had briefly forgotten about that problem. "Well, finding a way to send you back isn't an overnight project—it will probably take time. In the meanwhile, you need to know how this world works in order to er-fit in? And trust me, you'd want to cause right now, you stick out like a polar bear in the summer."

The adeptus gave you a questioning look but shook his head once more, deciding it would be best to keep his mouth shut.

< Day 2 >

When the second day arrived, you began to teach him about modern technology. You showed many examples such as cars, Tv's, microwaves, temperature remotes as well as showing how to use different devices. Seeing him struggle turned to be much more amusing than you originally thought to be.

"A computer...? So you're saying someone can just do...anything on it?" Xiao quizzed, inspecting the bright screen of the device. You nodded proudly, "basically, it's like the terminal akasha." You compared, thinking of the best possible way that would make sense.

"Anyways, yes, you can do anything on it that's virtual. Unless you use the device itself as a weapon then well uh.."

Xiao nodded, "I see."

...

You quite regretted showing Xiao the physics of a computer as you could hear it playing videos and random sounds all night. You would've scolded him if it weren't for the fact you remembered that adeptus' didn't need sleep much like humans.

Eternally groaning, you rolled over and stuff your face into the comfort of your pillow.

...

The next morning, you had a small mental crises on how horrendous you looked—puffy eyes, dark eye bags, frizzy hair..

Dear God..

< Day 4 >

Yay! You skipped a day! If you're wondering why then heres the summary;

For the whole of the third day you couldn't get the yaksha to divert from the computer or TV. When you eventually managed to persuade him away from it, he'd ignore your whole existence with a pout. So thus, you took the day off from teachings and let him do his thing.

However on day 4, when Xiao finally regained his sense of duty and why he was even here, you started teaching up about fashion which ultimately led to...Mall trip!

'Hah...my bank account's decreasing every day...'

"Alright err...Xiao?" Was it informal to address him by his name? Ehhh you'll figure that out later.

"Alright, we're at the mall. In summary, a mall is a big plaza with many stalls but more modern."

"Oh! And don't worry about spendings, it's on me." You smiled as the guardian nodded.

You sighed as your head looked to the ground. "-but you'll need to repay me with a fixed door." You muttered grudgingly.

Xiao merely nodded once more before starting to walk around the area, ignoring the minor judgemental and simpful stares that stray his way.

It wasn't long until a group of teenage girls with an array of cropped and baggy clothing came rushing towards the two of you—well, more towards Xiao.

You couldn't help but feel anxious—one could even say jealous, as you watched the adeptus get swarmed by the needy high school fangirls who were gawking over him.

"Can we get a picture with you? Your cosplay is slaying so hard-" One of them asked, smiling like as if she won the lottery.

Xiao furrowed his brows in discomfort. "No, sorry. I'm busy as at the moment." He retorted sternly, not wanting to be center of attention. "Oh my God! You even sound and act like him!" The same girl replied, ignoring his clear discomfort.

Not wanting to socialize but seeing that he'd have barely any way out of it as, concerningly, people are much more narcissistic and persistant these days.

Thus you went over towards the group, interrupting their one sided conversation as you cleared your throat. "I see the shop over there, we probably should get going." You pointed towards the modern silver font sign with the metal letters of, 'H&M'. The adeptus, seeming to get the que, nodded as he walked towards you, not sparing the girls one glance.

As you walked one of them just had to say something.

"Jeez, she didn't have to be so bitchy, kinda a pick me honestly..." one of the girls muttered to her friends who you faintly heard chuckle.

You just rolled your eyes, not wanting to continue the conflict. "Such cowards, can't even say it to my face." You huffed following beside Xiao.

The adeptus glanced at your irritated state though only shook his head. "You mortals are weird. Why should you care about their opinions, especially if it's one coming from a little shit?" He questioned, his gaze staying in front of him.

You paused, looking at him wide eyed.

The adeptus, noticing your absent presence beside him turned a slight and saw your shocked expression. "What?"

"You just sweared?" You stared dumbfounded.

Xiao looked confusingly before understanding, shaking his head. "well in Teyvat, we have will to swear and say profanities but many refrain from doing so, and i'm guessing the 'gum-play' and code? From this world may also be a benefiting factor."

You made a 'ah' sound before shrugging. "probably."

The two of you entered the store as your journey for clothing has finally begun.

'i'm officially going broke...'

...

After a few painful yet inquisite long hours in the mall, the both of you were heading back to your car, ready to leave.

Unfortunately, your hands were struggling halfway out of the mall as the bags' weight was started to wear down your strength.

Your hands felt quite sore and you swore you saw a finger turn a dark hue of magenta..

"Give one to me."

You looked over to your side as Xiao held out his hand.

You rolled your eyes, "nuh uh, you already have a bag. Plus, I offered to get this stuff so in courtesy. i'm carrying it." You informed, a grin etching your face but soon was replace with struggle.

While shopping, you may have gotten a bit side-tracked and bought more than what you needed—overall, ending up with the both of you having to carry 3 bags in total.

Xiao huffed, "it's not a offer, you look like you're struggling and it will only make you slow." He informed, his brows furrowing.

'thanks for the confidence.' You mentally rolled your eyes once more before reluctantly handing over one of the bags.

...

Finally arriving home, you settled your new buys down and offered to clean the yaksha's clothes. More or less because you didn't want him stinking up the apartment/house and dragging dirt throughout it.

He hesitantly agreed before trying to change into the new clothes. Keyword, trying.

Somehow he managed to tangle himself with the shirt and you having to help him, but of coarse, you averted your eyes away from the scene and gave him verbal instructions.

...

Setting down the plates, you then unfroze the left over foods in the microwave.

Once the food was hot and steamy, you set it down on the table as the adeptus stared at it, puzzled. "What is this?"

"It's called pizza." You informed him, taking a slice for yourself.

"Pi-tza?" He questioned, staring at the slice of cheese and tomato covered crust.

"mhm-" Your head shot up, "wait, can you even eat flour—tomatos or cheese? You questioned. In game the only food he could have, lore wise, was almond tofu.

(HELP- I haven't played genshin in so long, I forgot exactly if he couldn't eat other things or if he just was doing it by his own preference...Oh well for plot purpose)

The adeptus nodded a yes, before hesitantly picking the slice up—taking a bite.

It was nothing like he ever tasted—almost on par with almond tofu. Actually, it's been so long since he had something other than the same dish which was most likely why the food's taste was enhanced. Either way, he loved it, the sauce gave off a perfect acidity while the cheese creamed it down. The crust was cooked just right and the toppings just brought the whole thing together.

You felt quite happy as his eyes lit up, practically munching the whole thing down.

"Jeez, slow down, theres more slices, plus you can choke" You chuckled.

...

As the day came to an end, you couldn't help but realized how happy you felt. It's been a while since you had company over so the change was nice.

Looking over towards Xiao who was peacefully sitting outside, a small smile graced upon your lips. How you wished this feeling could last forever...

.

.

.

.

A/N: Jeez, I need to post more often :(..Sorry for not posting, i've been busy lately with being sick and then having missing assignments and then having a busy weekend after. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this chapter!! It was quite long :')

Please, if you have any, leave any feedback as it could really help me improve. And, especially if the stories going to fast or the relationship between the two is too quick, please let me know so I can try amking alterations.

With that being said, thank you so much for reading and have a good day/night! ^^

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{ <- Previous Part }

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[ Masterlist ]

[idontplaytrack]

Lifetimes with you

Janis ‘Imi’ike x fem! reader

Warnings: fluff, coarse language, some smut, mentions of hospitals and procedures.

Read other parts, here!

“I have loved you for a thousand years.”

“Will you stop pacing the fucking room? It’s making my head spin.” Regina snarked.

“Sorry.” Janis huffed, puffing out her cheeks as she rubbed her palms on the fabric of her pants. Janis knew the blonde always has a bit of an attitude but lately, it was horrendous if Janis was being honest. She’d made you cry for the first time since high school, well, in two years. Janis sat down, looking at her from the side, “So…I’m to ask her to marry me.”

“Yeah, no shit. You already said that like a minute ago when I asked you.”

You got an answer out of your sister yesterday about this attitude, it turns out that she was pregnant after three IVF attempts between her and Cady. Janis was there too when you asked, and as much as you both were thrilled about their hopes and dreams coming true, you were beginning to feel a little terrified of how mean your sister could get these days.

“Will you be okay if I go to New York with y/n for like a week or something? I wanna ask her there.”

“Why do you need to ask for my permission?” Regina squints.

“Because you’re pregnant?” Janis looked at her similarly.

“So? The symptoms haven’t been too bad. Me and Cady can manage.” Regina bit her lip to stop her voice from getting too loud.

“Alright.” Janis shrugged, “I’m still planning everything but I’ll let you and Cady know when we’re leaving.”

Regina shrugs, not saying anything.

“Why do you look so pissed?”

Regina chuckles dryly, “Because I am. I’m sick and tired of being sick and tired.”

“I’m sorry.” Janis inhales sharply, picking at the skin of her thumb.

Regina nearly snorted, “Not your fault.”

“I know that.” Janis bites back a laugh, her frame relaxing, “Just…I know it must be so exhausting with the morning sickness and all.”

“Yeah, and this is probably where you and my sister are headed in a few years. So…” Regina answered.

“Good point.” Janis gulped. Janis loved kids, but was going through a process where your bodies, your minds, your careers and lives changed something either of you would want?

“I’m scaring you.” Regina mentioned.

“We already know what it entails.” Janis sighs anyway, “Granted health class was shit, but we know still. Just…seeing someone in our lives going through it in real time just kind of freaks me out a little.”

“Well, take this time to learn, I guess. But no matter what, we’ll be there for you and y/n.” Regina exhales.

Janis took a deep breath, “Alright, I gotta go pick y/n up from therapy. I promised her lunch at the Mexican restaurant.”

Regina smiled, “Aw, you guys still go there?”

“Sure do.” Janis confirmed, “That’s where we had our first date. Kinda attached to that place already.”

“Have fun.” Regina smiled a little.

Janis smiled back, grabbing her phone, wallet and keys. As Janis opened the front door, Regina yelled, “Wait!”

Janis snapped her head back so quick, “What? What’s wrong?”

Regina laughs, “I’m fine.”

Janis rolled her eyes. ”What do you want?” The Hawaiian chuckled.

“Can you bring me back Cinnabon?” Regina asked hopefully.

“Which one?” Janis asked back, playing with the keys in her hand.

“Nutella. If they don’t have that one, original’s fine.”

“Alright.” Janis quirked a brow, “Anything else you need? We’re passing by a grocery store.”

“Nope, I’m good.” Regina decided, “Thanks, Jan.”

“Sure.” Janis said back, shaking her head slightly as a laugh fell from her lips, “See you guys in a few hours.”

Getting into the car, Janis firstly put on her favourite playlist once she started the engine. Driving towards your therapists’ office, she was met with smooth traffic so she was happy about that. But she was way happier to be getting to see you very soon. Look, it’s barely been an hour but she missed you nonetheless.

Janis parked in the lot, grabbing her phone from the stand and texting you so that you’d know she was here already.

A few minutes later, you walked out of the building and right up to her car. She unlocked the doors and you got into the front seat with her. “Hi honey.” She leaned over and kissed you on the lips. You kiss her back, smiling into it, “Hey.”

“Let’s go to lunch.” Janis grins, “Remind me to stop at Cinnabon because Regina asked me to bring her one back.”

“Okay.” You replied, chuckling. “Maybe we’ll get more because I feel like having Cinnabon too.”

“Sure honey.” She says, hand finding its way to your thigh as usual and giving it a squeeze.

————

“Coming back here always makes me a little emotional.” Janis admitted. “It’s been, what, um eight years? So much has changed around here but not this place.”

“I know, ipo.” You agreed, sitting down opposite of her, “We’re seated pretty close to the table we had on our first date.”

“Oh, we are.” Janis smiled, reaching forward for your hand to hold as you both skimmed the menu. “Should we get the usual?”

“Mm, maybe we could try something different. Usual desserts, though.” You suggested.

Janis’ lips tug into a smile, then she shuts the menu, “Okay, baby. Take your pick.”

You gasped softly, “Uh- no— you gotta pick too.”

She chuckles over her words. “We share anyway. But alright, I’ll pick one dish and you pick another.”

You smiled in return, “Okay.”

After both your orders were decided, Janis called a waiter over. “Ah, good to see you two again!” It was a guy that they’d see here most of the time.

“Hi, Todd.” You waved. He’s worked here since they opened, and is the husband of the owner of this restaurant. “What will you ladies be having today?”

Todd took the orders and sent it to the kitchen. Then Max, the owner, came by to say hi to you and Janis. “Hola, hola. Happy Friday.”

“Hey, Max.” You and Janis greeted him in unison.

“Dessert is on the house later, okay? The usual?”

“Anything new on the menu?” Janis joked.

“We do have a couple limited time items.” Max laughed, “You’re welcome to try them.”

“Well, we’re paying for those.” Janis quirked a brow.

“Fine, Janis.” Max bites back a laugh, “There’s no stopping you, isn’t there? So we’ll serve your usual chocoflan and one spiced chocolate brownie for you two to split.”

“Sounds amazing.” You agreed.

“Can we get some concha bread to go, as well?”

“For sure.”

Max got back to work, leaving you and Janis alone as someone brought by a couple of drinks for you and her. “Max! This is not on the house.” Janis huffed, “Please.”

“You’re our most loyal customers.” He laughed, amused. “Por favour, that’s nothing.”

Lunch was phenomenal, as usual. Then you two went ahead with some shopping before driving home. Or rather, window shopping. Not forgetting Regina’s request for a Cinnabon, of course.

“Hey, we’re back~ We have your Cinnabon.” You announced.

“Hi, baby.” Regina’s face lit up, “How was therapy?”

“Good.” You answered simply.

“Thanks for bringing me back the Cinnabon.” She walked over to the kitchen island to take a look, “Ooh, you guys got more than one?”

“Yeah, well— I felt like having it too.”

“Cady will be working late, so it’s just gonna be us for dinner.” Regina added on.

“Okay, so what are you craving?” Janis asked, trying not to laugh.

“Well, since you asked…” Regina answered seriously. “Spam fried rice.”

“Ask and you shall receive.” Janis said back comically.

You laughed and so did Regina. “Do we have seaweed sheets?”

“Yes we do, honey.” Janis nodded.

You hummed, nodding, “I’m gonna go take a shower real quick. Feeling a little sweaty.”

“Alright.” She pecks your cheek, “Be careful.”

“Mhm.”

Regina went around vacuuming the apartment once you turned the tap on. You then hear Janis reprimanding her for it. Chuckling to yourself, you carried on with your shower. This was typical Regina— always feeling like she had to do something even though she didn’t need to. But you knew a bit of household chores was fine for her.

You walked out of your shower, and the aroma of the Spam sizzling in the pan wafted through your nose. “Oh, that smells so good.”

“I know, right?!” Regina agreed enthusiastically, much to your shock. She wasn’t usually this…animated. Geez, you had to get used to this.

After dinner, came dessert— as requested by Regina. You wanted to skip it, but she convinced you. After all, who could say no to some ice cream after a long day? Anyway, after that, you retreated to your bedroom first. Regina followed suit soon after. Janis was in the kitchen washing up some dishes and wiping down surfaces.

Hearing the creak of the bedroom door, you looked up from your phone. Janis walks in with two mugs of teas. “Hey.” She smiled softly, “Made you your sleepytime tea.”

You put the device down, taking your mug from her, “Thank you.”

“Of course.” She smiled brighter, causing you to do the same.

“You’re such a softie.”

“The whole world doesn’t need to know.” She snickered.

“Well…” You teased playfully, “Our friends know.”

“Exactly!” She giggles. “Only some people know. But, mostly you.”

You took some sips and set the mug down on your nightstand then you were just staring into space for a few moments before Janis tapped your thigh to get your attention. You looked at her, “Yeah?”

“You good?”

You shrug, a dry chuckle falling from your lips as you picked at the corner of your eye, “Just been a long day, that’s all.”

“Aw.” Janis scooted closer to you, “Want a hug?”

You laughed, just like she hoped you would. A hug, to the both of you meant, you clinging onto her like a koala bear as always. It’s just become your thing after so many years. And given the insane comfort it brought you, it came naturally to Janis to do that for you. Sometimes when you needed it, other times just because. Janis puts her mug down too. Gesturing for you to climb onto her, she says, “Come on. Get on.” A cheeky grin on her face as she urged. You gave in, doing as she told you to. “Thank you.” You muttered as you sat in her lap, arms wrapped around her and chin on her shoulder. “Why do you keep doing this?”

“Because I love you.” She answered readily.

You scoffed, “I know I’m heavier than you are so this cannot be comfortable.”

“Shush.” She said seriously, “I’m strong.”

You smiled to yourself, letting that thought float away. “I’m very comfortable.” She rubs your back, “Hm?”

You nodded, inhaling the familiar scent of her shampoo, the laundry detergent on her clothes, the lingering musk of her perfume. All of those felt like extra hugs around you, allowing you to relax even further.

“For real, though. We’ll be doing this until we’re too old to move.”

“Wouldn’t say no to that.” You replied with a small laugh.

“You’ve never said no to this.” She smiled, unbeknownst to you. Then, she plants a kiss on your shoulder. “You have work tomorrow?”

“I didn’t. Got called in for seven hours tomorrow while I was waiting for you to pick me up from therapy.”

“It’ll be okay.” She says, palm still going up and down on your back. “I’ll make you Spam Musubi for your lunch? Do you want that for lunch?”

“You don’t have to. Sleep in.” You shook your head.

“Baby, I only asked if you wanted that for your lunch at work tomorrow.”

You bite back a laugh, “Yeah, I do.”

“M’kay.”

————

Behind you, you hear the front door opening while you tidied the apartment. Regina and Cady were home and someone was not happy. You hear a bag get tossed to the floor, then you saw it was Regina’s. You powered off the vacuum cleaner and turned around, looking at them, concerned. “Is everything okay?”

“That depends. The appointment went really great, but lunch with mom made me want to puke up blood.” Regina snapped.

“Okay. I’m sorry.” You licked your lips, chewing on the lower one and walking over to her.

“We just wanted to wait until everything was stable before telling her. She got mad, and I’m oddly very upset by that.”

Cady rubs her back, “G, breathe. Let that go okay? It’s just your hormones making it a little bit different for you.”

“I’m trying.” Regina sighs, “I just…god, why do I feel so shitty? It’s not our fault.”

“It’s not your fault, Reg.” You gave her shoulder a squeeze, she hugs you from the side.

“I know, baby.” She exhales deeply, giving you a crooked smile, “I’ll be okay. Just gotta tough this one out.”

You nodded, “So…did you guys manage to find out if it’s a boy or a girl?”

“It was a little early, but yeah actually.” Cady nodded.

“Oh, no way.” You gasped. Regina laughs, arm still across your shoulder. “So you guys know?”

They nodded, “Mhm.”

“Do you wanna know?” Regina asked, the smile on her face becoming wider.

You nodded in response, just as eager as your sister was.

“It’s a boy.”

Your eyes went wide, “It’s a boy?! Oh, my god— you were right.”

Cady laughs, “Yeah, she is right. In true Regina fashion.”

“Are you home alone?” Regina noticed.

“Yeah, Janis gets off work at 4:30.”

“Wait…didn’t you have a shift too?”

“Cads, I called in sick. Got someone to replace me.” You admitted. “I just…can’t today.”

“I get it, don’t worry. Take it easy today. Okay?” Cady flashed you a smile, “Should we do takeout for dinner?”

“Ooh.” Regina says, “Can we get Indian food from that place we like? I’m really craving some paneer tikka masala.”

“That sounds so good.” You chimed in.

“Okay!” Cady nodded, “Indian food it is. And y/n, go relax. I can finish vacuuming.”

You threw your hands up in mock defeat, “Alright, alright.”

“I’m gonna go take a shower. I smell like the clinic.” Regina scoffs, pressing a kiss to Cady’s cheek. The redhead laughs a little, “Okay, sweetheart. Be careful in there.”

You went to lay down while waiting for Janis to come home. Cady finished the rest of the chores in the meantime. You also texted Janis to let her know the dinner plan. But you were quick to doze off, Janis was the one who woke you up by walking into the room and changing her clothes. “Hi, honey.” She realises that you’d awoken.

“Hi.” You blocked a yawn with the back of your hand. “How was work?”

“It was…pretty chill. Not busy at all.” Janis shrugged, “You? Feeling any better?”

“No.” You huffed, rolling over onto your side to face her. As she pulled her t-shirt down, she was looking at you.

“Did you take a painkiller at least?” She sat down by you, eyes worried.

“Fuck sciatica.” You groaned, “How the fuck did I even get this?”

She doesn’t say anything, but her hand rests on your side, her thumb smoothing over the fabric of your shirt. “I’ll go grab the ibuprofen, okay? Sit up for me.”

You gave in, but was unhappy about. More so when you couldn’t go to work the next day too. When day three rolled around, you had enough of it and forced yourself to go to work. Let’s just say this— you wanted to cry. So much.

————

As Regina’s second trimester coming to a close, she and Cady were beginning to come up with a birth plan. While you obviously couldn’t be much help, you were still around and paying attention— whether intentionally or otherwise.

Coming home from your shift, the couple was still in discussion. “Hey!” Cady greets, “You’re home.”

“Hi, baby.” Regina’s ears perked up.

“Hey, guys.” You replied, kicking off your shoes and placing them on the shoerack. “Bought dinner. Pizza and cheesy bread.”

“Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you.” Regina grins, “I love you.”

“Woah, what’s going on?” Janis came home right behind you. “Let the girl breathe, Regina.”

“Love you too, Reg.” You laugh, “But I would really like to go take a shower now.”

“Oh, right. Of course.” She lets go of you, “Hi, Jay.”

“What’s up? I mean, other than you nearly squeezing the oxygen out of your sister.” Janis’ smile became like a smirk as usual.

“Coming up with a birth plan is hardddd.” Regina grumbled.

“Not sure if I’d be much help, but what do you two have in mind so far?” Janis walks over to the couch, Regina followed on her tail and sat down.

“I would rather have her be in a hospital for but she doesn’t want to be in a hospital so that option’s out.” Cady began.

“It’s so serious and sterile.” Regina reasoned.

“Yeah. Well, I get it. I just want to play it safe, you know? I don’t want anything that isn’t supposed to happen, happening.”

“I get that too, but I just can’t see myself being comfortable in an environment like that— at all.” Regina continued.

“Since the both of you have been discussing this for the last week— nonstop, might I suggest a birth centre? Because usually, it’d be in the hospital’s compound. At least the one I saw.”

“You saw—”

“You guys left her laptop open that day!” Janis chuckles, “Seriously, I think it’d be a good fit for you. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m gonna…go.”

Regina laughs, rolling her eyes. “Don’t fall in the shower.”

“We won’t.” Janis went along with it.

Cady leans her head on Regina’s shoulder, “Regina.”

“What? It’s slippery in there.” Regina smirked.

You hear the bathroom door open, then someone walks in. “Janis?”

“Yup.” She answered, pulling the shower curtain open. “Hi, baby~”

You shut the water off, then turned around to face her, “Hi.”

“Oh, no you don’t have to stop your shower.” She says, turning the water back on for you.

“Why are you in here with me, then?” You asked knowingly.

She smirked, a small laugh falls from her lips, “You know me. I love making you feel good.”

“I also know you’re very straightforward. But yet I blush like an idiot every time you do this.” You bite back a laugh.

“And I love that. You’re always gonna be a little intimidated by me? Good.” She teased.

“Intimidated? No way. Flustered, sure.” You retorted.

She laughs lowly, eyeing you up and down. Her hands almost too naturally finding their way to your breasts and squeezing them. Her finger circles your areola skilfully, eventually tugging onto the teat between two fingers. Her gaze was focused on you, she quirked a brow as her fingers moved…awaiting your reaction. Janis knew you, she knew that you were so, so sensitive there at the moment. During this time of the month. And that it was way too easy to rile you up. Now Janis was flush against you, her front pressing against yours. Her hand, sneaks its way down to your cunt, expertly gliding up and down your folds.

“Just as we expected, ipo.”

“Fuck...” You laughed breathily.

————

“Wait— Cady. Where are we going?!” You froze in your seat as you glared at the girl in the driver’s seat.

“We’re at the airport.” Janis laughed, absolutely amused.

“I know that but why the heck—”

“Because,” Janis took out both your passport and hers, “We are going to New York City.”

“No.” Your mouth hung agape.

“Surprise.” Janis shot back, “Come on, let’s go.”

“But Regina—”

“Regina is fine.” Cady quickly assured, “You’ll be back before you know it. She’s my wife.”

“Well, she’s my sister. And six months pregnant.” You sassed.

“Ooh.” Janis cackled. Cady had a similar reaction, “I promise you we’ll be calling and texting whenever.”

You ended up laughing because you could no longer keep a straight face, “Okay. I’m gonna hold you to that.”

“Bye, have fun!” Cady hugs both you and Janis, then checks that you’ve taken everything you needed.

The flight was only about two hours so it went by quickly. You watched a movie, Janis napped for about an hour. Then, she was snacking and shared it with you. You and Janis took the Airtrain into Manhattan from Jersey. It didn’t take long either, and wasn’t too bad since she packed light for the two of you. After leaving the luggages in the townhouse— thanks, Gretchen. It was time for lunch.

“So…after lunch, I have someplace cool I wanna take you.” Janis mentioned, excited.

“Okay.” You nodded, your smile matching her excitement.

“Are you cold?” Janis noticed.

“I already have my flannel —”

“Wear your coat.” She insisted. You complied, “Okay.”

Satisfied, she doesn’t say anything else and continued eating her lunch. You do the same, of course…all while looking out the window and taking in the hustle and bustle of this beloved city.

With a matcha latte in hand, you and Janis walked through street after street eventually getting on the subway. “We’re going to an art gallery.” She revealed, “They’re showing my art.”

“You told me that was next month. Back home.”

Janis explained, “There’s been a change of plans. Decided to do that here instead.”

Apparently, you two got there right as the exhibition opened. There were a handful of staff around, a few people streamed in after you guys arrived. “Oh. Oh my gosh, this is so beautiful.” You stopped at the first painting, holding onto Janis’ hand. She gives your hand a squeeze, “Already impressed?”

“I’m always impressed with your art.” You brushed your thumb over hers. It was a painting of a beach, you immediately recognised it. It was her favourite beach back in Hawai’i. The next one was a sketch of a couple of ice creams. Your favourite flavour and Janis’. You really liked this detail. Artwork three— embroidered leis. “You can touch it.” Janis bites back a laugh.

“The sign—”

“Doesn’t apply to you.” She swung your hand as she pressed a kiss to the back of it.

“I really, really love all of this already.”

“Good news is, after this, we’re getting most of them back.”

“Oh— my god. Jan, this…this is the carnival we went to. Our first date.”

Every single painting was…about you. Hawai’i— that trip you guys took with Cady and Regina. The carnival— first date. Why? Janis had artwork more than these that were just about you.

Even those plums she gave you when you were so sick with that stomach bug were drawn. That god awful two days was captured in that art. The pure chaos, and the calm after that storm. You could not look away. Now, another embroidered piece— your frog squishmallow and Janis’ one and only stuffed animal: an orange tabby cat she’d gotten as a kid.

A photo: the North Shore gymnasium. Confetti, Deck of cards and dice on the floor. You gasped, “Oh.” Sniffling, you squeezed her hand.

Papier-mâché of Fruit Loop. That made you chuckle. It was adorable. “Are those paper wrappers from the taco place?”

“Yep.” She confirms, “Because he ate our taco that time we had dinner with Regina and Cady.”

You felt her turn into a different direction so you followed her lead. A dimmer section. The first photo melted your heart from the get-go. She must’ve gotten this one from your Mom. It was a photo of Regina and Janis’ first play date. And already, you were stuck to Janis’ side, holding her hand.

Then it was a photo from the first birthday they celebrated together. Again, you were there. Barely, but there. By Janis.

Their first day of elementary school photo.

First day of middle school.

Night of the sleepover that changed everything.

The next few photos were a little heavy, a couple of them you’ve not seen before. But it showed you even more vulnerability from Janis. Even then, they were gorgeous photos that really spoke a thousand words she wasn’t able to at the time.

Then…a framed newspaper from the day you started high school. Following that, a screenshot of your chat with Janis that night before the carnival.

That wasn’t the end, nope. She had you in tears, full on. A photo of you that she took while you were in that Ferris wheel with her. You’ve seen some shots from here but never this one. The little description block says, ‘So peaceful despite the noise of the carnival. You never would’ve guessed she was terrified of heights. Here’s where I fell in love, because at that moment, all I could see was her.’ You leaned onto Janis as you stood rooted to the ground, looking at this particular photograph for a little longer.

A photo of you, asleep, hugging that squishmallow she got you. ‘You crush on the version of them you first lay your eyes on, but how things go depends on whether you’re tripping over each other’s stuff or unpacking them together. I know that little girl in her is safe with me.’

A framed letter from you. ‘Janis, happy birthday. I love you more than anything. I know, it’s easy to say that. But I mean that, and I hope you know that. When I’m with you, everything feels so different. You make me feel loved, and seen and heard, all the things I never was before I met you. It feels like I’ve known you for a lifetime. I have so much to say to you, but I can never really articulate it. I’ve never really been good at that. So I hope you feel that through my hugs and my kisses. Maybe we have known each other for a lifetime, and more. Maybe our current lives are our future selves’ past lives. So, thank you for showing me that there’s so much good in the world in the simple things…coming on this journey together with me, living a life that we’re proud of. That we never waste a single moment of. That is filled with precious moments and meaningful lessons. With you, I would go through it all over again. And again. And again. Because you, Aleka Janis ‘Imi’ike, are my girl. I love you so very much, ipo.’

“I look ridiculous right now.” You muttered, wiping away your tears.

She sniffled, rubbing your shoulder, “No, you don’t. Okay, let’s walk.”

A painting of a hospital wristband. It seemingly had your details on it but scribbled away. A band aid stuck on a part of it, and a couple of stickers. Little things from that hospital visit were on there. That was from your first hospital stay ever. You were absolutely terrified and was way too anxious. Janis was with you throughout the whole three days— she didn’t leave your side once. You had to get your appendix removed, and that hospitalisation was nothing short of chaotic. You remember being scared and confused but everything was okay because Janis was there. She kept you company, chatted with you, watched Friends with you, made sure you ate, held your hair back every single time you had to throw up from the side effect of the anaesthetic. Janis made sure you knew you weren’t alone.

A photo collage of photos from the past valentine’s days. Photos of you and Janis on a date every year you’ve been together— In Chicago, Hawai’i, New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Brisbane, Gold Coast, Queenstown.

“I literally— okay, I can’t stop crying.” You hid your face in her shoulder. “Can we stop just—”

Janis kisses the crown of your head, calmly leading you to the next artwork. Painting of a flower arch— yellow hibiscus and sweet pea. You squint, trying to rid your eyes of the tears. “Uh—”

Janis lets go off you, you turned to face her but she was gone. The space next to you was pitch black. But it didn’t take more than a second of two for that space to be illuminated by warm, cozy lights. Fairy lights.

Someone held onto your hand, forcing you to look down. It was Janis, knelt down on one knee. “y/n, I cannot imagine a life without you. I truly feel like I’ve known you for lifetimes…and I wouldn’t have it any other way. I wouldn’t wish to go through all of this with anyone else. It’s always been you, my love. It’s always been you.”

The wall behind Janis got relit— it was a projection of all the artworks you just saw lined up, some having one focal point. A letter. Letters that spelled out ‘Marry me?’

“Will you, y/n y/l/n, do me the honour of becoming my partner for life?”

You were sobbing at this point, overcome with emotions — mainly disbelief and joy.

“Yes. Yes!” You cried, letting out a shaky exhale. Janis slides the ring into your ring finger then quickly got up to hug you. You hugged her so tightly, “Oh, my God. I love you. I love you so much.”

She rubs your back, pulled away from the embrace and pulls you back in for a long kiss. “I love you more than you know.”

“Oh, my god.” You mumbled, “I can’t— I can’t believe this.” Janis holds your face in her hands, brushing the tears away.

“Surprise.”

You laughed tearfully, nodding your head. Letting out a heavy breath, you hugged her again. “I’m so in love with you.”

🏷️Tag list:

@ashecampos @auliisflower @cheesysoup-arlo @frogs00 @ludoesartandstuff @pda128

💭A/N:

The series is back!:’)

[glitteringcrab]

Maybe I can use that someday

Okay. I think... I have an inkling... of what Evil Morty had in mind when he said "you are a little different though Rick" and "maybe I can use that some day".

And it might provide some insight on why he's still on the Curve.

I-I think there... could be... some basis/buildup for the following theory (I can't really say there is buildup, because it's all a matter of interpretation right now), but I gotta admit there are A LOT of "ifs" in this equation, soo... It's all just a hypothesis.

Anyway, here goes. ('tis a long post)

So when S7E5 aired out, I remember thinking: What on earth is so dangerous that Evil Morty, who single-handedly took down the Citadel of Ricks, needs help to deal with???

There are a few contestants for this pedestal:

1. A civilization outside the Curve (What the f*** is that?!?)

2. One of Rick Prime's creations. I mean, we know he didn't like to manage people any more, so it's unlikely he ruled an empire that suddenly became headless after his untimely departure, but given that he liked building, as Rick C-137 put it, "elaborate shit", and that he had "free time" it's still possible we haven't seen the last of his creations. No way he was just sitting ducks in the Omega Device v2 waiting for someone to visit. Maybe he made something that hoarded resources that Evil Morty discovered and would like to loot?

3. The weird Morty cult (eh, weak)

4. Maybe Evil Morty doesn't need help to protect himself from someone, maybe he needs help to build something. E.g. another dimensional drive, that separates him from everyone else?

5. Maybe Evil Morty didn't have anything specific in mind when he said that to Rick C-137. Maybe he just recognized the potential there. (although I cannot help feeling this is NOT what it is; that CHIN TAP. What are you thinking, Evil Morty???)

6. Oooooor....

Well... I know we all think that whoever Rick is responsible for the cables in Evil Morty's head is long dead (I mean... I've read the fanfics and seen the fanart, although "Evil Rick" typically stars in those :P)...

...But I can't shake off the feeling that he is alive and well somewhere.

Which, on first thought, doesn't make any sense:

Exhibit A: That Rick (Imma gonna call him Puppetmaster Rick) is obviously not around Evil Morty any more!

Exhibit B: Evil Morty never seemed scared while in the Citadel, just fed up, tired and miserable.

He was okay with making himself a public figure by running for president; it seems to me he wasn't particularly worried a specific Rick would recognize and go after him (and it should be relatively easy to tell apart Evil Morty if you actually know what you're looking for: you only have to scan Mortys' heads for cables).

Exhibit C: Supposing that guy really is still alive and Evil Morty really is scared of him/hates him, but for some reason was unable to kill him originally, wouldn't it be hilariously easy to kill him once he got the whole Citadel's arsenal and manpower at his disposal?

So why did I think Puppetmaster Rick is alive in the first place?

The answer is this:

The mention of this... "super weird" Rick.

When this scene played out, my first thought was that "Super weird" Rick had an unhealthy obsession with tulips or something. Or that he filled all his creations with polka dolts. Something so crazy and silly that would make any other Rick go "ugh" and decide to give him a wide breadth, no matter how clever and valuable Super Weird Rick's brain was.

After the reveal that Evil Morty was the one really talking in this scene and that he had been going after Rick C-137 specifically, I reached the conclusion that this was all made up. That the "spectrum of all Ricks" was not real, it was something that Evil Morty came up with so as to provide a non-suspicious explanation on why he's targeting Rick C-137 in case Rick C-137 escaped. (Even though, you know, Evil Morty must have filtered through which Ricks to attack somehow... a Doofus Rick who specializes in baking wouldn't be particularly useful to Evil Morty. So... it makes sense that the Spectrum of All Ricks is real...?)

And I know that in Pocket Mortys Rick Prime was the one called "weird Rick"; but is Rick Prime really weird by Evil Morty's standards? He thinks all Ricks are trash, and Rick Prime seems a huge piece of trash as well, why would he be "weird" to Evil Morty?

In fact, what kind of Rick would seem "weird" to Evil Morty?

Why, we already know the answer to that! Rick C-137 seems weird.

Of course he does. He seems overly attached to his Morty. Tells him to stay out of the Prime Fight, to keep him safe. Is motivated over avenging his wife.

Other Ricks also call Rick C-137 similar stuff.

So... Rick C-137 is a... rogue, passionate, irrational Rick... Irrational for having attachments, that is.

Wouldn't Evil Morty --if he's a clone Morty who's been passed around several uncaring Ricks, if he's been discarded countless times-- also find Rick C-137 and his... unusual attachment to one specific Morty "weird"?

And if my theory is right... Evil Morty himself has also passed through the hands of another Rick who was... let's say, overly attached to him. Like, extremely so.

Wouldn't such a Rick seem... super weird to Evil Morty?

Although, why on earth would he appear on the Spectrum of All Ricks? Do dead Ricks also appear in the spectrum? It's already a spectrum of infinite Ricks, why make it even more bloated by including dead Ricks?? Because if Puppetmaster Rick did to Evil Morty something as horrible to as the implications I describe in the above link, why on earth would Evil Morty let him live?!

WELL.

Imagine you're Evil Morty. You're the sort of person who:

puppeteered Evil Rick

did not let Evil Rick commit suicide when he couldn't take it any more (although you made him pass out, which is slightly nice?)

could not tear your eyes away from Evil Rick when he got brutally murdered.

It is implied (I think) that the reason Evil Morty did all that to Evil Rick is that (a) Evil Rick was beating him up and (b) Evil Rick "adopted" him, drunkedly promising that this relationship, however problematic, would last forever, they could be grandpa and grandson-- oh, wait, no. If you don't shut up it's back to the agency with you.

Now, supposing Puppetmaster Rick did... something... to Evil Morty... which, whatever it was, reduced his resting face from this:

to this:

and abused him so much he ended up thinking this was Not A Big Deal:

...Now, if you were Evil Morty, and the option to doom Puppetmaster Rick in a Fate Worse Than Death was available, would you kill him, or would you trap him in an eternal torture of some sort?

(this comes to mind, which is played as a joke, but you get the idea. This sort of thing is possible in the Rick and Morty universe. It could be a time loop. It could be a clone vat buried deep underground in absolute darkness. It could be a modification in Puppetmaster Rick's brain implants.)

I guess it all depends on how scared vs angry Evil Morty was of this guy. It depends on whether he grasped the first chance available to finally kill him or whether he took some extra time to make sure he got to spend the rest of his life appropriately tortured. In any case, because Evil Morty is very pragmatic and patient, I cannot see him doing such a thing unless he was absolutely sure it would last forever.

Or, maybe, if Puppetmaster Rick was an Operation Phoenix expert, killing him in a finite way was a lot more difficult than simply trapping him alive somewhere.

Or, alternatively, maybe Evil Morty had no choice on the matter. It occurred to me the other day that the first Rick we have seen Evil Morty kill with his own two hands was "Nice" Rick. Every other Rick whose death he is responsible for, he has killed indirectly; whether through the puppeteered Evil Rick, a mob of furious Mortys, his Citadel guards, hacked portal fluid that he manipulated Ricks to use (by telling them "nobody leave, everybody stay" lol) or by re-routing their Phoenix Protocol to a different vat... one that simply happened to have razor blades at the bottom. So I'm wondering if whatever implant Evil Morty has in his head "forbid" him from killing Puppetmaster Rick (or any Rick) and he was able to hack through that restriction only relatively recently. Anyway, I'm aware this particular theory is a stretch (is puppeteering Evil Rick really that different from lifting a gun yourself? I don't think so) and I don't think it needs to be true for Puppetmaster Rick still being around.

So, let's hypothesize that Evil Morty did, in fact, trap Puppermaster Rick somewhere from where he was reasonably certain Puppetmaster Rick would never be able to escape. Evil Morty went on to live in the Citadel, get further abused and neglected, abandon the hope of ever having a family, puppeteer Evil Rick, become president, ESCAPE THE CURVE. HOORAY!!!

Oops.

I know we fans have been joking about whether that reset Evil Morty as well or not, but the truth is, it would only be a minor inconvenience to him (although extremely annoying). He has his own untainted portal fluid and the rift is still open, he could easily portal either right back to where he was before or to a random spaceship, then back through the rift.

But... wouldn't that free any Ricks who happened to be trapped in various places? Including the above described (hypothetical) Puppetmaster Rick?

Of course, portal travel was still broken (and apparently Evil Morty broke it so effectively that it also trapped Rick Prime, who makes his own batches) so it's not like Puppetmaster Rick would be able to go far...

...Unless he promptly Operation Phoenixed himself to escape that way.

Or unless Evil Morty never knew what his dimension number was, so there was no need for Puppermaster Rick to run anywhere because Evil Morty would have no idea where he'd be sent to.

Anyway. If we follow that hypothetical scenario, the Puppetmaster Rick who Evil Morty went into a lot of trouble to imprison (and torture) just escaped. Evil Morty could receive some notification in his eyepatch about this change, or he could reach that conclusion by the neon green wave pulsing by.

He could have immediately portaled back to Puppetmaster Rick's prison to find him gone. Or he could have been all "NOPE! I just escaped, I refuse to deal with this anymore! I've got my revenge, and I'm free now!" and went on with his life outside the Curve.

But, uh... that wouldn't negate Puppetmaster Rick still being out there.

And Evil Morty might think it unlikely any random Citadel Rick (who just happened not to be on the Citadel at the time of its destruction) would be motivated enough investigate the Citadel's ruins, reach the conclusion that the President was responsible, and decide to go after him... (it is unlikely; why would any Rick bother to do that?)

...But wouldn't you say hypothetical Puppetmaster Rick would be motivated enough to go after his previous sidekick?

SO.

In that scenario, Evil Morty is definitely hiding.

Maybe he's taking advantage of the un-rifted Curve's "wall" properties to create a shield for his minecraft base. Maybe he's taking advantage of some other, specific property of this particular universe to strengthen his shield. Maybe he's hiding his brainwaves, blending them with the brainwaves of the Morty (or Mortys) living in this one universe. Maybe he's closely monitoring the Curve for anyone going out.

But in any case, he knows that --sooner or later-- he will probably have to deal with Puppetmaster Rick. And sure, Evil Morty has already moved mountains, and defeated this guy once, so he knows he can do it again... So I wouldn't say that Evil Morty is scared of him, per se...

...but he might be. This would be the Rick who scarred him so horribly he thought hundreds of naked tortured Mortys were small potatoes (Rick C-137, Rick Prime, and any other Rick would only try to kill him; Puppetmaster Rick would probably try to pick up from where he left off). And even if he's not scared, I'd haphazard a guess that Evil Morty is repulsed by him. He wouldn't want to meet this guy again. Unlike Rick C-137, who lived to see Rick Prime slain, Evil Morty is no longer motivated by revenge, he seeks peace. Wouldn't fighting Puppetmaster Rick again be extremely emotionally taxing, probably more so than puppeteering Evil Rick and running the Citadel were?

...and wouldn't Puppetmaster Rick be particularly dangerous for Evil Morty, because he'd know all his brain-related tricks, since he is the one who came up with them in the first place...!

...Wouldn't it be better, when that time came, to not face Puppetmaster Rick alone?

Wouldn't it better to have Rick C-137 at his side; one of the most powerful Ricks? One of the most dangerous Ricks in terms of arsenal, intelligence and capabilities, but also a Rick unmotivated to turn against Evil Morty and also a Rick enslaved to him?

(and wouldn't Evil Morty appear completely cruel and heartless and evil if he demands that Rick C-137 shoot at Puppetmaster Rick through a poor Morty who is begging them not to harm his beloved grandfather... who Evil Morty would know is not saying that out of his own free will, but of course he does not trust Rick C-137 enough to divulge this detail...? Or if he handed the recently freed Morty a gun, allowing him to kill Puppetmaster Rick and therefore also gain some sort of closure and restore his autonomy, but appearing to Rick C-137 like he is forcing the poor Morty to kill his own beloved grandpa and therefore coming off as completely unhinged?)

And I gotta say, Evil Morty DID give me the impression of being huddled in his space minecraft snowglobe. Returning to live ON (but not IN) the Curve. We weren't shown him exploring the great unknown, although he MUST have done that as well, given that he discovered that weird place with the crystal monsters. He returned home as soon as possible from that weird crystal place, and didn't even bother to remove his spacesuit when he arrived home. It seemed to me that he wanted to do as little as possible with the outside world.

Compare this with how relieved and happy he looked the first moment he escaped the Curve.

Is he just too tired? Did the novelty of freedom simply wear off, the infinite loneliness wear him down? Is his shelved-away trauma catching up to him, replacing the relief, happiness and peace he seeks with emptiness...? (all probably true)

...or did something else change as well, something that prevents him from actually feeling safe?

...So.

Like I said, a lot of "ifs".

But, if the "maybe I can use that someday" is not Evil Morty simply recognizing the potential, generally speaking, of having Rick C-137 being enslaved to him; if Evil Morty did have something specific in mind, then I'd guess that --from a story-telling perspective-- it would be something for which the foundations have already been lain in the story.

I like this theory a lot, and I like to believe that the "ifs" are close to the truth, but obviously I don't actually know that :P I'm sure that whatever the reason Evil Morty is still on the Curve, the story is going to be incredible! :D

Edit: I just stopped believing and got repulsed by my own theory lol

I really hate the idea that, after everything he's been through, Evil Morty is not Free outside the Curve. I don't mind him being huddled against the horrors of the infinite, but I hate the idea that he's still scared of Ricks, and that this fear drove him to camouflage his existence by living next to the Curve. I want to believe that the reason we were not shown him frolicking in the infinite is that he already did it and has had his fill, not that it would be dangerous for him to wander around.

I hate even more the idea that Evil Morty had chosen to resort to torturing Puppetmaster Rick all this time. I want to believe that (regardless of the atrocities he has stooped to after he decided to leave the Curve) at the moment he freed himself from Puppermaster Rick in the long past, Evil Morty was not "evil" yet. That his integrity and morals and need for freedom were originally stronger than his cruelty and hate and that he prioritized feeling safe (aka quickly killing Puppetmaster Rick to be safe once and for all) over enacting revenge (aka trapping Puppetmaster Rick in a hellish fate). That he had not sunk so low yet. Otherwise it kinda... it's like it negates the message of his story. It feels like a defeat. Like another moral battle he lost instead of one where he won his freedom back. Like another thing Puppetmaster Rick took from him.

He did not seem nervous when his shield temporarily collapsed by Rick C-137 consolidating dimensions. If he thought a specific Rick was after him, specifically, and one as particularly dangerous as Puppetmaster Rick as well, wouldn't the happenings send a million alarm bells ringing in his head? And wouldn't he be a lot more careful about leaving behind tech that could be traced back to him during the Prime fight?

Adios, theory. You were fun for a while.

Maybe it's simply like Morty said: "Nobody quits twitter". Maybe Evil Morty simply wants to use the shield properties of the Curve for his own benefit. Maybe there's some plot point or lore we weren't shown yet, which will be revealed in the future seasons. Or maybe we've all been misjudging him, and his humanity and loneliness are catching up to him, and he occasionally wants to check on how other people are doing.

Edit 2: I have... restarted believing my theory...?

First of all, Evil Morty seemed to know immediately who would be responsible for the "Curve Stability Compromised" alarm: the one Rick who knew how the Curve works, because he's the one Rick who actually made it! Plus some other Ricks appeared unable to create their own portal fluid (remember that old-man Rick who hung out with the Mortytown Locos, who was creating bootleg portal fluid, but whose "math was off"?) And since Evil Morty destroyed the Citadel, they'd be unable to go get more of it... So if Puppetmaster Rick was one of those Ricks who had to buy his own portal fluid, then ever since the destruction of the Citadel he'd be trapped, able to travel to different universes only by... rerouting himself during Operation Phoenix (an accommodation for Ricks Evil Morty obviously doesn't have in his home base). So in this scenario, Evil Morty is staying close to the Curve not so much out of fear, but more as a precaution. If Puppetmaster Rick can make his own portal fluid, of course, all bets are off.

Evil Morty should be adequately confident that his trail has vanished, gone cold by now. The last Puppetmaster Rick would have seen of him would be during season one, at best. Puppetmaster would have known him as "Morty 79⊢⊇V" (or something like that); but Evil Morty has destroyed this record and assumed a new identity. It would be very difficult to connect who he was before to the Morty President, to the Morty who escaped the Curve (and I bet only Rick C-137 and Morty Prime know some Morty escaped the Curve; unless they told other surviving Mortys). The best Puppetmaster Rick can do is search for his brainwaves or dimensional signature (which must probably be very effective), but he's not looking for "Evil Morty". He has no reason to think there is any Morty outside the Curve. He might not even be able to tell whether his old sidekick is dead or alive by now (if Evil Morty is efficient enough in hiding his presence).

So in all these scenarios, Evil Morty staying close to the Curve is a strategic decision based on caution, not one borne of panic (which I like, because I don't want Evil Morty to be scared any more).

And it just occurred to me that, if Puppetmaster Rick is still alive, he would have prepared himself for the eventuality of their encounter (same as I'm sure Evil Morty has done). He knows how Evil Morty's implant works, and its remains are still in his head. I'd bet anything he has fabricated a device or instrument or weapon to shoot at his head (much like Evil Morty's finger guns) to instantly override the implant and regain control. And Evil Morty would know that, he'd be able to tell immediately what said weapon is for. Man, their encounter would be terrifying.

[it-happened-one-fic]

Ink and Magic-The Watchman of the Underworld

Author Notes: Part 6 of this sort of halfway non canon compliant what if with the overblots and their aftermath! A lot of what I said for part 1 counts for this section too. This isn't exactly romantic. in fact, I would say it counts as more platonic, but it certainly can be taken as shippy. This will also be a series, though the Diasomnia section won't come out until that entire matter is resolved in game. As per usual, reader is gender-neutral. I hope you enjoy!

Spoilers for Book 6: The Watchman of the Underworld!

[Heartslabyul] [Savanaclaw] [Octavinelle] [Scarabia] [Pomefiore] [Ignihyde: You're Here] [Diasomnia: To be released]

Type: Gender-neutral reader/ fic series/ Can be platonic or romantic/ fluff/ angst/ comfort/ Spoilers for Ignihyde overblot.

TW: Character death mentioned.

Word count: 1504

Vil was barely able to haul Idia and Grim up and to safety with me, Rook, and Epel, all surging forward at once to help the now-aged model as soon as we could.

 Rook managed to catch Vil as the Pomefiore housewarden stumbled, all but crumpling to his knees before Rook grasped him. Grim fell from Vil’s arms, with Epel catching him desperately. 

I reached out, wrapping my arms around Idia’s prone body, which all but fell onto me and pushed me down and toward the ground under the weight of his limp body. His armor was already fading away, though, and turning back into the dark Styx robes.

Idia himself was still out cold, but he curled almost instinctively around me, with his hands knotting themselves in the long sleeves of my robes. Smearing the dark ink that still clung to his hands in a gruesome reminder of his overblot all over the once pristine Pomefiore robes.

I strained to look around his lanky form and at Vil and Grim, but I felt myself going oddly numb as the others looked over at me. Epel’s eyes widened with alarm as the world started to blur, and I felt myself buckling under the weight of both Idia and the exhaustion that swept over me. 

“Oh no! Rook, look! They’re-!” Epel’s panicked cry was one of the last things I heard before I succumbed to the darkness without hardly any fight. All other sounds faded away until there was only silence.

But the silence was almost welcome after everything that had just occurred. I found myself glancing around the empty space nonetheless, though. Waiting for the film of Idia’s life to start, just like I knew it would.

But before there was any brilliant flash of light, I heard Idia’s solemn, quiet voice from right next to me.

By now, I knew better than to search for him; I wouldn’t be able to see him anyway. I never could find those who shared this dark world with me.

So instead, I just listened to his morose narration that came from somewhere within the darkness, “My life has been set in stone even before I was born. ‘The Island of Woe’s Gatekeeper.’ That was the path laid out for me.”

A scene flickered to life, briefly blinding me as people from Idia’s past began to talk excitedly. Slowly unraveling the mystery of what exactly had led up to Idia overblotting.

“Young Idia is truly exceptional. He excels in both magic and his studies. He’s even impressed experts with his technomatic engineering work. That boy’s a bona-fide genius.”

“It’s true. Styx’s future is in good hands.”

A bona-fide genius… Yet another weight description for someone as young as Idia seemed to be in this scene from his past.

I found myself frowning already, but it was beyond clear even without Idia’s somber, apathetic words that no one even bothered to wonder what this young genius might want to do for himself.

No one… except for maybe one.

I found myself smiling at the sight of a young Idia and another boy, the original Ortho, playing games alongside each other. It was obvious the two had been beyond close, even from just this tiny tidbit of their lives together.

The perfect image of two little boys who were each other’s favorite playmates.

It was also obvious that, even at this young age, Idia already thought highly of himself. A side effect of being a so-called ‘bona-fide genius’ I suspected.

It was jarring, though, to realize that I'd never really seen Idia smile with such genuine, innocent joy. 

I frowned slightly though as, snickering mischievously, the two boys began to sneak out as Idia’s narrated ominously. His words putting me on edge as I listened to him, “It was just childish curiosity. We wanted to go on an adventure. I didn’t think of the consequences. I didn’t know what would happen.”

My hands were soon flying to my mouth in helpless horror as everything played out in front of me. The security went down and monsters broke loose, immediately finding the two young boys. And then….

Idia didn’t have to say anything. Ortho’s panicked little voice, followed by the inhuman growl of the monster and then jarring darkness as the scene went out like a candle in a gust of wind said everything.

But he spoke anyway. His voice hollow with numbness as I slowly pulled my hands from my mouth, “I didn’t remember much after that. Ortho was already gone when I woke up.”

At first, I watched in silent, almost stunned horror as the researchers discussed what happened.

“Unbelievable… A 10-year old managed to hack into the world's most reinforced security system…”

“He was too smart for his own good. His intellect brought such tragedy about…”

“The escaped Phantom was apparently sent to the Underworld.”

“Sadly, the inevitability of the event can’t erase the tragic truth…”

 The scene shifted back to young Idia, and I felt tears start to well up in my eyes as he begged for someone to give him back his little brother. All but screaming in a raw voice that was perfectly at odds with the numb, quiet tone the Idia I knew usually spoke in.

“Give him back…. Give Ortho back to me… I want him all back… His body, his personality, his memories…. GIVE HIM BACK!!”

I felt myself going still, my eyes widening as the thoughts of the young boy played out before me, though. Almost like they were predicting the future that I’d already known would come.

…I know. If they won’t give him back, I can just make a new one….

The next thing I saw was an adolescent version of Idia introducing his creation. The new Ortho. 

This one was more stilted than the one I got to know, as it spoke in an undeniably robotic, monotone voice and recommended rest as the adolescent Idia broke down in tears.

A part of me wanted to reassure him. Tell him how much further he’d come and how the Ortho I knew couldn’t just be written of a robot. Not when he was so real.

But I knew it wouldn’t help. Not only could I not speak to him, it was obvious that he already knew perfectly well that no matter how groundbreaking this Ortho was, it couldn’t change the past.

His brother had died.

Slowly but surely, everything began to fade back into a darkness that, now, after having seen all of that, felt comforting. 

Soon the only thing present in this abyss was Idia’s voice. Lamenting his past choices with an apathy that practically had me wincing. 

Had he been this unenthused about everything… about his very life, ever since the tragedy of his youth? The only sign of emotion, of the pain that I now knew rested deep beneath it all in his memories and guilt, was the way his voice faltered and he corrected himself.

“How did things end up this way? I just … We just… We just wanted to be like everyone else.”

Even now, he was bearing far more than what he himself wanted. He also bore Ortho’s wishes with him, never forgetting his brother’s dreams, just as he never ceased in blaming himself for his brother’s untimely death.

I still couldn’t agree with his choices, but I did understand them now. I had no doubts that everything me and everyone else had just gone through was rooted in the wish to give his brother another chance to realize his own dream.

I opened my eyes slowly, finding that I was still lying on my back from where I’d fallen. Idia was stretched out with his head resting on my stomach. His arms curled around my waist, tight enough that I doubted I could pull myself free.

He was still past out, murmuring Ortho’s name in a pained tone that had me swallowing thickly. After everything I’d seen, I understood why Idia was the way he was.

He’d gone through a tragedy, and apparently those around him had failed him. They’d let him lock himself up as he poured all his efforts and genius into recreating Ortho, even though deep down he knew he could never correct his past mistake.

I looked over to see the Pomefiore trio resting, my eyes slowly meeting Vil’s. And even despite his appearance, those amethyst of his were the same as ever.

And my heart broke a little as he smiled at my wearily before speaking in a voice that was raspy with old age that should not be, “I see you’re back.”

Rook and Epel both looked up wide-eyed as soon as he spoke. Both of them smiling in relief and standing as soon as they saw me looking at them.

I smiled slightly as I did my best not to cry simply for Vil’s sake.

But at odds with my emotions, Vil merely looked down at Idia with characteristic distaste, “Now to wake this one….”

[bite-sized-devil]

Piggy Back Rides

You've had a particularly long hard day at RAD. Exhausted and dreading the walk home, you ask your favourite demon brother for a little favour.

Was going to do these in groups, but they just kept getting longer and longer. Apologies my fellow simps, please enjoy them one at a time starting with the eldest and finishing with the youngest.

TW: none it’s pure fluff. GN! MC

Leviathan

Whenever Levi decided to grace RAD with his presence you always made sure you were by his side the entire day. You knew how nervous he was to be amongst his peers, so why not make it easier for him by being his buffer? The only downside was that you were often mentally and physically drained by the end of the day. Luckily for you however, Levi always seemed to know when you reached your limit.

You had just intercepted another lower level demon from encroaching on his personal space and he saw how your shoulders sagged slightly and your voice lost some of it's normal sweetness.

You tried to hide it as you turned back to him, plastering a smile back on your face and giving him a thumbs up. But he knew you to well, he'd made it his own personal mission to uncover everything about you.

It made his chest ache, you clearly cared about him, he could still see your eyes light up when he returned your thumbs up. You were always trying to make him feel better, and do things for him.

He didn't understand why you constantly chose him over his brothers, why it was his face you looked for first whenever you entered a room. How you'd make a beeline straight for him whenever you saw him, smiling like you just won a boss level on one of his games.

His brothers might think he was clueless about others emotions and feelings but he wasn't when it came to you. His sweet, caring, funny, and beautiful player 2. He knew everything about you, including your little crush on him.

Naturally, he was in love with you but you were so perfect! It made him nervous, what if you suddenly realised what a loser he was? And decided you wanted someone who wasn't holed up in their room 24/7. He will admit you had managed to take him to a few cool places when you mentioned you needed some fresh air.

You had been so happy when he'd said he was coming with you, he thought it was cute how adamant you were that he didn't have to if he didn't want to. Blushing like a tomato when he'd taken your hand and dragged you out of his room saying you'd better hurry before he changed his mind.

He hears you quietly sigh when you sit down beside him at your desk. Maybe you need a shoulder to lean your head on, he can help you with that. Reaching out he grabs the side of your chair and drags it towards him.

"Levi!" You squeal making him chuckle softly.

"Lol sorry MC, I just wanted you closer." He says as he wraps his arm around your shoulders. You're so cute the way you try to cover up the blush that is blossoming on your cheeks by putting your hand over your face.

"Do you want to skip out on our last class?" He says to you as he pulls your hands away from your face by grabbing them and holding them in his own bigger one. He's not letting you hide that beautiful blush that is just for him.

You're playing with his fingers, clearly enjoying how his feel interlocked with yours. You look up at him with a smile that makes his head feel dizzy, your pretty eyes so wide staring up at him. He can hear your heart rate increase, it always did when he touched you. He originally thought you had a heart defect, but then came to realise it only increased around him.

"If you want to we can, I'm kind of tired anyway. Do you think, maybe....." You say before trailing off and looking down at your hands intertwined with his.

He removes his hand that's holding yours, taking note of the sudden pout of your lips as he does. He'll remember that late at night, wondering what it would feel like to have them against his own. He grasps your chin tilting your head, making you look up at him again.

"Maybe what MC?" He says, silently hoping you'd ask him to kiss you, even though that's a long shot. He knows how shy you are, one can dream though!

You start to squirm in his grasp, making him grip your chin tighter. You furrow your eyebrows in obvious frustration, you look like an angry kitten. Sometimes he wonders how you haven't been eaten yet? He might have to keep a even closer eye on you from now on. Or maybe he'll just never leave your side.

"I just... Wanted... T'know... You could... G'me.... Piggy back ride?" Your eyes meet his when the words 'piggy back' leave your lips. You look so nervous, like a deer in headlights. He's never said no to you before, but you had never asked for anything like this before either. How could he possibly refuse! You would be pressed against his back... Your arms wrapped around his neck... His hands grasping the backs of your thighs...

He stands up suddenly before he can stop himself. Startling you so much that an adorable little squeak is forced out of you. He needs those things to happen right now, not wanting to wonder anymore about how you would feel clinging to him the whole way home.

"Yes!" He says way to loudly, not that it matters he's already caused a scene in class. Your answering giggle has him reaching to pull you from your seat. This is happening now, no more waiting. He's going to be your knight in shining armour, maybe you would reward your hero with a sweet kiss at the end of his quest. If not, he might take a play from one of those cool anime guys and just steal one.

Likes, comments, and reblogs are so appreciated! 🌻 Please don’t repost, that shit won’t fly here. I’ll annoy the absolute shit out of you. If you would like to join the taglist please fill in my dumb little form.

Tag list: @delphi-dreamin @ariamichel @the-ghost-of-panda

[maochira]

Getting hit on by Blue Lock boys - but you're a lesbian

Okay, with this I will officially open lesbian!reader requests because it's so self-indulgent and silly. Hehe. (the only gendered reader requests I'm doing!! Everything else will stay gn!reader for now!) Also, credit to @wasfuerpainman for coming up with a bit of Zantetsu's part in this after I showed him my original draft!!

Characters: Isagi, Otoya, Zantetsu, Oliver, Barou

You only recently became friends with Isagi, and you haven't found the right moment to come out to him yet. You actually planned to mention it in a random moment to not make a big deal out of it, but when Isagi starts showing signs of being interested in more than a friendship, you start getting a little nervous because you don't want him to have any false hope. As soon as he only starts saying a pick-up line, you interrupt him with "YOICHI I'M SORRY I'M A LESBIAN" and then he panics "WAIT WHAT I DIDN'T KNOW I'M SO SORRY" and you're just both apologizing to each other over and over. Isagi feels bad because he thinks he made you uncomfortable and you feel bad because you feel like you've been leading him on the wrong path.

You noticed your classmate Otoya was eyeing you every so often ever since the school year began. You always ignored it because you've heard stories of him cheating often enough and you're not into guys anyways. Even if he was a girl he'd probably never have a chance with you. It really was only a matter of time until Otoya would actually flirt with you. But jokes on him, you're prepared. The moment he gets closer and opens his mouth you say "No interest." - "Are you sure? Maybe-" Otoya starts, but you go on to tell him "I'm a lesbian." But this doesn't stop him yet. "Pretty sure I could change your mind." As soon as he says this, you break out in laughter. "Pretty sure you couldn't!" By now, some of your friends who know you're a lesbian have noticed Otoya is trying to flirt with you. They laugh at him as well and he gets so embarrassed, he just leaves without saying anything else.

Zantetsu's attempt to flirt with you is a bit silly because he messes up the pick-up line he's practised for days. It makes you smile, but you immediately tell him "You're sweet, but I guess I haven't told you yet. I'm a lesbian, I'm only into girls." He feels a little embarrassed, so he tries to play cool. "Well, if lesbians like girls I think I'm a bit of a lesbian myself," he says with a serious face as he pushes his glasses back up. His answer confuses you, but it also makes you laugh a bit. "What?" You ask just to find out what he means. "I like girls." Zantetsu responds and you can't help but laugh more. "That doesn't make you a lesbian, Zantetsu." - "It doesn't?" - "No?"

When Oliver starts flirting with you, you decide to have some fun by playing along and pretending to flirt back. Out of curiosity, you want to know how far this could go. And far it goes indeed. He ends up giving you his number and even asking you on a date. For a moment, you think about agreeing to it because hey, who doesn't like free food? But by now, you can't hold your laughter in anymore, so you have no other choice than to tell him "I'm not actually interested. I'm only into women." For a moment, Oliver is absolutely speechless. But he's also impressed by how long you kept your act. "We can still go out to eat together, right? I'd like to keep you as a friend," a smirk forms on his lips before he continues, "And maybe you could teach me a thing or two about women."

The last person on this earth you would have ever expected to hit on you is Barou, so you're more than speechless when he actually does it. He thinks he's got a chance with you and goes on when you don't respond, his confidence only growing each second. As soon as your voice returns, you only manage to say "But I'm a lesbian?" So now Barou is the speechless one. It takes him a bit to come up with a response, and then he ends up saying "Uhh good for you I guess?" After that, an uncomfortable silence follows and everything is a little awkward. "Let's just forget about this," you suggest, which Barou immediately agrees to."Let's act like this never happened", he says before walking away. Although, his ego is hurt a little bit. Not because you're not interested in him, but because he feels stupid for trying to flirt with a lesbian.