#ESPECIALLY WITH THE DISCLAIMER GEEZ

[once-upon-an-imagine]

Teenage Dirtbag - Eddie Munson

A/N: well, this keeps on working so far 😂😂😂 here's Eddie's story! and then is full Marauders, James, then Remus, and then Sirius! I hope you guys like it!

Request - lunamadhatter99 asked: I do have a request, my friend! I'm so happy requests are open😍 Anyway: Henderson!Reader x either Steve or Eddie (whoever works better for you), where the reader is very quiet, not necessarily shy, but still. She's targeted by the jocks too because she's the "loser" sister, you know, and maybe one day, one of their pranks went too far and she's very upset about it (maybe is the process a special possession of hers). Every time she gets bullied, Steve/Eddie helps her comfort her, especially because she doesn't want to tell his little brother, who thinks she is friends with them... does it make sense? I don't know, I'm sorry 😂👋

Warnings: mentions of sex; Billy being an asshole (also, this is kinda between s3 and 4 and Billy didn't die so Jason and Andy are his dumb friends I hope this makes sense) reader is kind of mean to Dustin (not really, she's just grumpy and a loner instead of shy, kind of like Kat in 10TIHAY)

Disclaimer: I don’t own Stranger Things :) gif isn’t mine :D  

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

Teenage Dirtbag

'Cause I'm just a teenage dirtbag, baby Yeah, I'm just a teenage dirtbag, baby Listen to Iron Maiden, baby, with me, ooh

“DUSTIN! Hurry up! Steve is gonna be here any second! We’re gonna be late!” you smashed your hand against the bathroom door, yelling for your brother to get ready. You had been feeling anxious all day. Something inside you told you that today might not be a good day and, as much as you tried not to, you took it out on Dustin.

“I’m coming! Geez, calm down!”

You rolled your eyes and walked over to the kitchen to finish your coffee and wash the dishes but you tripped over a bag full of garbage.

“Ugh! Dustin!” you yelled as he walked over to you.

“What? What did I do now?”

“The trash is your chore” you complained, grabbing the bag and handing it to him. “When I say take out the trash, I mean outside of the house. To the trashcan!”

“Maybe you can show me for next time” he laughed.

“Maybe I can give your Nintendo to goodwill” you smirked back, erasing the smirk off his face.

“Fine, sorry” he said, grabbing the bag and going outside.

“Let’s go!” you said as soon as you heard Steve’s car parking on your driveway.

“Wait, where’s lunch?”

“Oh, shit!” you said, grabbing some of the money you left near the door in case Dustin needed to order food. “Here” you said, grabbing $10 for yourself and giving Dustin $5.

“Why do you get $10 and I get $5?” Dustin complained.

“Take out the freaking trash!” you replied, mocking his exact same tone.

“Good morning, Hendersons!” Steve smiled as you got in the front and Dustin got in the back.

“Thanks for the ride, Steve” you said. “Robin still out of town?” you asked, confused to not see her there already.

“Yeah, she’s coming back next week-”

“Why are we even going this early? School doesn’t start for another hour!” Dustin asked on the ride to school. “And why do you always ride shotgun?”

“Because I’m Steve’s favorite Henderson” you smirked. “And Steve has an early shift, so I wasn’t going to make him wait for us” you explained. “Plus, I have to get together with Nancy for something about the school paper” you informed him.

“Well, I could have taken my bike-”

“Just say thank you, Dustin!”

“Thank you” he said, rolling his eyes a little.

“Hey, aren’t those your old friends?” Dustin asked as Steve drove into the parking lot. You looked to where he was pointing to see the basketball players hanging outside the school with some of the cheerleaders.

“No” both you and Steve replied at the same time.

“Are you sure?” Dustin asked, confused. He recognized some of them, although he had noticed you never talked to them anymore.

“I’m sure” you said, rolling your eyes. “Just… stay away from them, okay?”

“Okay” he said, unconvinced. “Um, are we having movie night?” he asked Steve.

“Yeah, my house” he nodded.

“Cool. I think we’re going to Mike’s after school, so I’ll see you there” he told them.

“Okay” you nodded. Dustin started opening his door but you stopped him. “Dusty” you said, making him look confused at you. You rarely called him that anymore. “Nothing… I’ll see you at Steve’s” you told him and he nodded before he got out.

You saw him make his way over to Mike, Will, Lucas, Max, and El and you heard him complain about you and all of them saying how you used to be fun and happy all the time. You let out a sigh of frustration, throwing your head back on the chair.

“You know, you could just… tell him” Steve shrugged.

“I’m good” you told him.

“Dustin’s just worried about you” he insisted. “And to be honest, so am I-”

“Harrington, I know my brother’s your best friend now-”

“That’s not true” he glared at you.

“But you were my friend first and you promised we wouldn’t discuss this with Dustin” you told him.

“I’m just… a little confused, okay? Why did you all of the sudden stop hanging out with them like, what, a year ago?”

“You did too!” you argued.

“Well, yeah, because they’re assholes-”

“Exactly” you told him.

“But, now you’re here alone, because I graduated, I just don’t want you to be alone-”

“I’m fine on my own” you shrugged. “Plus… Eddie’s my friend-”

“Oh, right… Munson. That’s another thing. I know something happened last Halloween, okay? You mysteriously stop hanging out with all of our friends, you started wearing darker clothes, darker makeup and you start hanging around with Eddie, the freak, Munson-”

“I told you to stop calling him that” you glared at him.

“Which you also hide from Dustin-”

“Well, I just don’t want him to think that the only reason he and his friends are in Hellfire is because I asked Eddie to look after them-”

“But you did-”

“Steve, it is too early in the morning to have this discussion” you said, rubbing your temple.

“Fine… I’ll drop it” he said. “For now” he added, making you glare at him a little. “You working today?”

“No, it’s my day off” you informed him.

“Cool, want me to pick you up after work?”

“You sure it’s not too much trouble?”

“Nah, you’re my favorite Henderson after all” he smirked.

“I knew it!” you said, kissing his cheek before you opened the door. “See you later, Stevie” you said.

“Have a good day, kid” he waved at you.

He noticed you walking close to the group of jocks and they yelled something at you but you simply flipped them off and kept walking. Steve felt a bit uneasy about it but decided he would ask you about it when he picked you up. Sooner or later, you had to talk to him.

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

“Hey, princess” you felt a small smile, trying to contain the butterflies you felt in your stomach when you heard that voice. You turned around to see Eddie smiling at you.

“Munson, I thought you were standing me up today” you said as he sat at your usual table in the woods, past the bleachers.

“Wouldn’t dream of it, love” he said, sitting in front of you. “What do you got for me today?”

“I forgot to make lunch, so I had to grab something from the vending machine” you said, putting your cigarette out. “So, pretzels, or Reeses Pieces?”

“You just… happened to pick my two favorite things?” he smirked. “If I didn’t know any better, Henderson, I would think you like me” he mocked you.

“Uh-huh, is that a peanut butter and jelly sandwich? And two cokes?” your sked, looking at his bag.

“Grape jelly. Your favorite” he winked at you.

“Huh, if I didn’t know any better, Munson, I would think you like me” you returned the smirk.

“Wanna split it?” he asked and you nodded as you split the three things between the two of you. “So, what are you working on?” he asked, about to grab your sketchbook.

“Nothing!” you quickly said, putting it away before he could get it.

“Oh, that doesn’t sound suspicious at all” he mocked you. “Come on, show me!”

“It’s just… a work in progress” you told him. “It’s not finished yet” you insisted.

“Fine, be all mysterious” he chuckled. “Hey, did you get new colored pencils?” he asked, grabbing one of them.

“Oh, um… y-yeah” you said nervously. “There was a discount at the store where I work and-”

“Really?” he raised his eyebrow at you. “Or were your old ones… broken?”

“Um… there may have been an… incident-”

“Who?” he asked, his tone turning angry.

“It doesn’t matter, Eddie-”

“Yes, it does! Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Because I don’t want you to get into a fight and not graduate with me this year” you told him, making him laugh just barely. “Look, it’s fine. I really did get a discount and…” you said, looking through your bag. “I got markers too” you smiled brightly at him. “Look!”

You stood from your place and sat down on the table with your feet on the bench next to Eddie. You grabbed his hand and placed it on your knee, which was not an uncommon thing for you to do whenever you drew something on him but he felt his cheeks blushing. You quickly drew a small doodle of the Hellfire symbol using different colors and you smiled when you were done, showing it to him. Eddie rarely get to see that smile on you and he loved it when it happened.

“Holy shit!” he smiled, looking down at his hand. It looked cooler than the one in his shirt.

“Do you like it?” you asked, bashfully.

“I love it, princess! This is amazing!” he said, looking back at you. “You’re amazing” he smiled.

“Um, thanks” you said, looking down at his hand and feeling your cheeks burn. You could not ignore the butterflies in your stomach any longer. You grabbed his hand and stroked your thumb against your new drawing. “Uh, a-actually, what I didn’t want to show you is um… kind of… a surprise…” you admitted, not facing him.

You saw Eddie’s hand untangle from yours and make its way up to your chin, lifting your head gently and making you look into his beautiful, chocolate-brown eyes.

“A surprise?” he asked, smiling brightly. You simply nodded, unable to form any words by the way he was looking at you. “What is it?”

“If I told you, it wouldn’t be a surprise!” you chuckled. “I just want to finish it before I show it to you” you told him.

“Okay, fine” he said, as his hand suddenly found its way back to yours and you started playing with his rings. “But… you promise you’ll show it to me when it’s done?”

“I promise. I mean, it’s kind of… for you” you told him.

“Really?” he asked, and you nodded.

“Yeah, it’s kind of… a thank you” you admitted. “For everything” you added. “Even for my brother and his friends. Thanks for letting them in Hellfire” you told him. “I know they're a bit weird but… I love them and I'm happy they found someone like you” you said.

“My pleasure, princess” he told you. “They’re cool kids” he chuckled. “Especially Dustin” he added. “Although he keeps asking me why I always have different doodles all over me” he chuckled.

“Yeah, he’s pretty smart” you laughed too. “I don’t think it’ll be long before he realizes about us” you said, without really thinking. “I m-mean uh-”

“Us?” Eddie smirked. “And exactly what would he realize?” he asked, getting up and towering a little over you, placing his hands on both your sides. “That we’re friends?” he asked, with the same smirk still plastered on his face.

“Y-yeah, I guess” you said innocently.

“Would he mind?”

“Um- I don’t think so, I just… don’t want him to think that you’re only his friend b-because of me” you explained.

“Oh, he wouldn’t think that” he assured you, as he gently brushed your hair away from your face. “And… what if he thinks there’s something else between us?”

“Is there?” you asked, as you felt him getting closer. And then the bell rang. The stupid bell rang. “Fuck!”

“Ignore that” he pleaded.

“No! We have a Math test” you said, pushing him away and gathering all of your things. “I told you, Eddie, you’re graduating this year, with me. Let’s go!” you threatened him.

“You’re killing me, sweetheart” he said, as you pulled him with you but he was stronger and he pulled you back. “To be continued?” he smirked.

For the first time in what felt like a lifetime, you smiled. It was a different smile, one that you didn’t think you had in you anymore and you could see Eddie noticed it. You leaned in and kissed his cheek.

“To be continued, Munson” you said, before you started pulling him towards the school despite his protests.

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

You were waiting in the parking lot for Steve. As much as you wanted, you were not able to be with Eddie alone the rest of the day. You were hoping to catch him at the end but, as a surprise to no one, he got detention, so here you were.

“Well, if it isn’t my lucky day?”

You cursed under your breath, silently begging for Steve’s car to appear any moment now. But no such luck.

“Hargrove” you sighed. “Oh, if it isn’t Tweedle-dee and Tweedle-dum” you smirked at Jason and Andy, standing with Billy.

“Fancy meeting you here, babe” Billy smirked at you.

“Can’t say the same” you said, trying to walk away but he stepped in front of you. “What do you want, Hargrove?”

“See, I have a question for you” he said. “Andy here, says he saw you coming out of those woods with Eddie fucking Munson” he said, getting closer to you and making you take a step back. “Is that true?”

“I fail to see how that’s any of your business, really” you glared at him.

“Well, for starters, I think Munson can do better” he said, making Andy and Jason laugh.

“Lovely” you rolled your eyes, trying to walk away again but they blocked your way.

“Aw, did I strike a nerve there? Do you have a crush on Munson?” he mocked you.

“Just, leave me alone, Billy-” you said, trying to leave but, you felt your sketchbook being taken from you.

“Oh, what is this?” Jason asked, opening the sketchbook. “Do you write your love letters to that freak here?” he laughed.

“Give that back!” you said, trying to get it back from him.

“Oh, it’s even better than that!” he said, showing your sketches to Billy and Andy who started laughing.

“Give me that!” you said as he tossed it to Billy.

“Looks like you’re a bit obsessed with him, babe” he said, looking at your drawings. “I’m guessing you wouldn’t want anything to happen to this, would you?” he said, tearing a few pages apart.

“Billy, give it back!” you yelled, but he pushed you back, making you fall to the ground, your hands aching when they hit the pavement.

“Whoops, clumsy me” he said, tossing your sketchbook on a nearby water puddle.

“Stop it!” you said, getting up and trying to get to it but Andy pushed you away.

“HEY! WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING!?”

“You want something, freak?” Jason yelled, smirking.

“Oh, speak of the devil” Billy smirked as Eddie approached all of you.

“Get the fuck away from her” he said, making his way over to Billy.

“Why don’t you keep walking and mind your business, freak?”

“You know, I gotta say, even for you, it’s pretty low, three guys against one girl” he smirked, erasing Billy’s.

“You really think it’s worth it? Standing up for that slut-?”

Before Billy could go on, Eddie quickly punched him in the face.

“Eddie!”

“You’re dead, freak!” Jason said, punching Eddie back while Billy got up, laughing.

“Looks, like you got some fire in you, Munson!” he yelled before he punched him too.

“Eddie!” you yelled, trying to get to him but Andy stopped you. “Stop it!”

“You having fun, Munson?” Billy smirked as he landed punches on Eddie before he grabbed him by his jacket. “No one tells me what to do!” he said before he pushed him to the ground again. He then threw himself at Eddie and started landing punch after punch, like a madman. The last time you had seen Billy like this was when he fought Steve and it shook you to your core.

“STOP IT! BILLY, STOP!”

“You really think you traded up, babe?” he smirked, looking at you. “He’s even worse than Harrington!”

“STOP IT, PLEASE!” you said, as tears started welling up in your eyes.

“Aw, you gonna cry, princess?” he said, mocking Eddie’s voice with the last word.

As if your prayers were finally answered, a car reeled in front of you, almost hitting Jason.

“What the fuck, Harrington?” he asked as Steve got out of the car.

“What the fuck is going on here?”

“Come join the party, Harrington” Billy smirked at him, finally letting go of Eddie. “Ready for round two?”

“Yeah, let me just get my friend here” Steve smirked, grabbing his bat out.

“Dude, what the fuck?” Andy said, letting go of you, and slowly walking away with Jason. You quickly ran over to Eddie, pushing Billy aside.

“Ready to go, Hargrove?” Steve said, walking closer to him as he and the other two stepped away.

“You know what? She’s not even fucking worth it” Billy said, throwing one last glare at you. “Let’s just go” he told Jason and Andy as they walked away.

“Eddie! Oh my God, Eddie! Can you hear me?”

“Do I have a concussion or did King Steve Harrington just save my ass?”

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

“Ouch!”

“Sorry, I’m sorry” you apologized, taking the cotton ball away.

You were now in Steve’s kitchen, cleaning Eddie up. You carefully pulled his hair up in a messy bun with your scrunchie so you could see him better. You placed your hand softly on his cheek and your heart broke seeing a big purple bruise printed on his left eye. He looked at you with his huge, deep brown puppy eyes and you had to take a deep breath to not lose it right there because you knew he needed you.

“You okay?” Eddie asked, worriedly.

“M-me? You’re asking if I’m okay? Eddie, Billy and Jason just beat the shit out of you, and you’re asking if I’m okay?”

“First of all, I’d like to think that I handled that with dignity. Secondly, you fell to the ground and that idiot Andy was hurting you” he said, grabbing your hand and tracing his thumb gently on the bruises forming in your arms where Andy grabbed you.

“I’m really sorry, Eddie” you said, coming out in a whisper and tracing your thumb against the now fading drawing you made earlier on his hand. A small tear fell down your cheek and Eddie quickly wiped it away before he cupped your cheek.

“Princess, you have nothing to be sorry for” he assured you.

“Yes, I do! You wouldn’t have gotten hurt if it wasn’t for me” you insisted.

“Hey” he said, pulling you closer to him. “I would do it all over again, love” he smiled at you.

“Hey, man” Steve said, coming into the kitchen and making you and Eddie jump apart. “Uh, sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt. I got some clean clothes for you” he said offering Eddie a shirt and some sweatpants.

“Thanks, man” Eddie smiled, grabbing the clothes from him. “I’m uh- gonna go change and I’ll get out of your way-”

“We’re having movie night” Steve blurted out of the sudden. “We’re ordering pizza and Dustin, Mike, and the rest are coming over. If you’d like to stay” he offered.

“Oh, I wouldn’t want to intrude, man-”

“You’re not intruding. It’s the least I can do after you got hit for me” you told him.

“You keep bruising my ego, Henderson” he smirked at you. “What are we watching?” Eddie asked, interested.

“Gremlins” you told him.

“Seriously?” he asked, raising his eyebrow at Steve.

“Don’t look at me, man. It was her turn to choose the movie!” he said pointing at you.

“Shut up, you two. Gremlins is an awesome movie!”

“Isn’t that what you call your brother and his friends?” Eddie laughed. “I didn’t know that was your favorite movie, princess” he said. “Well, how can I say no to that masterpiece and pizza, I really can’t” he said, leaving the kitchen.

“So…” Steve started.

“So?”

“Are we going to talk about what happened today or are we just going to pretend nothing happened?”

“What do you want me to say?”

“Well, you can choose between telling me why your sketchbook has smudgy drawings of Eddie” he said, opening your wet, torn, destroyed sketchbook. “Or why Hargrove and his friends were beating the shit out of him in the parking lot” he added.

“Steve, I don’t want to talk about it-”

“Well, tough. Look, we’ve been friends for a very long time now. I told you why I stopped talking to Tommy and Carol and all of our friends but you never told me why you did and somehow Munson knows!” he argued. “I get that you don’t tell Dustin everything because you want to protect him but what is so horrible that you couldn’t tell me?”

“You don’t want to know-”

“Yes, I do! You’re my best friend! You can tell me anything!”

“You’re gonna hate me!”

“What? No! I swear, okay? Nothing you say will make me hate you! We’ve been through enough shit that you should know that already-”

“I slept with Billy!” you blurted out.

“W-what?” Steve asked, hoping he hadn’t heard you right.

“What?” another voice asked, from another side of the kitchen. Dustin.

“Oh, you have to be fucking kidding me!” you said, feeling like you were going to throw up. “What are you doing here?”

“We all just got here, I was looking for you” he said, walking closer to you and Steve. “You slept with Billy Hargrove, what the fuck is wrong with you?”

“Dustin!” Steve warned.

“You know what? I don’t want to deal with this right now” you said, grabbing your damped sketchbook and walking out of the house to Steve’s backyard. Dustin was about to follow you but Steve stopped him.

“Look, I get that you’re upset but you’re not going out there if you’re only going to upset your sister more. She had a hard day-”

“Well, how would I know that, Steve? She doesn’t talk to me!”

“What’s with all the yelling?” Eddie said, coming back into the kitchen.

“Eddie? What are you doing here?” Dustin asked confused. “What the fuck happened to you?”

“Uh- I am…” he looked at Steve, unsure as to what to say.

“Okay, what the fuck is going on? And what are you two and my sister hiding from me?”

“We’re not hiding anything from you. You need to calm down and we can go sort this out, okay?”

“Fine” Dustin said, unconvinced.

“You promise you won’t snap at her like you just did” Steve glared at him a little.

“Okay” he sighed, rolling his eyes. The three of them walked outside to find you sitting on one of Steve’s pool chairs. Steve and Eddie sat next to you and Dustin sat on the edge of the one you were sitting in. “Uh, hey” he said, nervously. “Um-” he continued when both Steve and Eddie glared at him. “I’m sorry I snapped at you earlier” he muttered.

“It’s fine, Dusty” you said, sitting up and hugging your legs to you.

“Look, Dustin and I are just worried about you” Steve continued. “We don’t want to push you or anything, we just… want to know what’s going on with you” he added. You looked up at Eddie and he softly nodded at you. He really wanted to hold your hand but he figured Dustin might freak out about it too.

“Um…” you took a deep breath. “Look, I know that… I’ve kind of been pulling away” you started. “And I’m sorry, it’s just…” you sighed. “It was a stupid mistake and I didn’t want either one of you to hate me” you admitted.

“What- uh, when?” Dustin stuttered. “Um, no, y-you go” he said.

“It just happened once” you informed them.

“At… last year’s Halloween party?” Steve guessed and you nodded.

“Look, I was… really drunk and, dad had just left and… mom was kind of a mess and… I don’t know, I guess I was too” you said, sadly.

“Wait, I was there that night, why didn’t you tell me anything?” Steve asked, confused.

“You had your own shit going on” you reminded him. “With Nancy” you added. “So, after you left I got drunker and… then I don’t know, Billy was just there and… it happened” you sighed. “And after I felt so awful” you told them. “When I came down I ran into Eddie and he saw I was upset” you explained. “He drove me home and… he stayed with me and he made sure I was okay” you smiled. “That’s how we became friends-”

“You two are friends?” Dustin asked. “I knew I recognized your doodles” he said, looking at the metalhead.

“Sorry I didn’t tell you” you told Dustin. “I just… didn’t want to get into the whole thing and… it’s not really the conversation you have with your little brother” you admitted.

“I get that but… we used to talk about everything” Dustin said, sadly. “We were always kind of a team and for the past year it just felt like… you hated me” he said.

“Dusty” you said, sitting closer to him and hugging him. “I could never hate you” you assured him. “I am so sorry I pushed you away, I was just… so embarrassed about what happened and, I kind of wanted to forget the whole thing and I guess that in the midst of it all I just… ended up pushing everyone away” you explained.

“So, what happened today?” Dustin asked, confused.

“Well, I was waiting for Steve to pick me up and Billy and his friends just started being idiots” you told him. “Eddie saw and tried to help me” you continued. “And then Steve got there with his bat and they went away” you told him.

“So, that’s why you tell me to stay away from them? I mean, I always knew Billy was a dick but… all of your friends?”

“Well, yeah. I told Billy that if he ever said a word about what happened to anyone, I’d tell everyone he cried like a bitch and he had a small dick” you said, making the three of them laugh a little. “And then, either I just stopped talking to them or they would stop talking to me and… it wasn’t just Billy, you know? You were right” you said, looking at Steve. “They were all just… assholes” you admitted.

“I could have told you that a long time ago” Eddie chuckled.

“You okay?” Dustin asked you.

“Yeah” you smiled. “I’m sorry… about… everything” you told him. “Both of you” you said, looking at Steve.

“Don’t worry” Dustin smiled at you. “I love you dumb-dumb” he said, putting his fist so you would bump it.

“Love you too, dumb-dumb” you smiled back and bumped his fist. “No more lies” you promised and he nodded, smiling.

“It’s fine” Steve said, getting up and kissing your head. “C’mon little Henderson, let’s go set everything up” Steve said, patting Dustin on his back.

“Wait, why do I have to go?” he complained, still getting up.

“Just be nice to your sister, man, she’s been through a lot” Steve complained.

“What about me? I have been through a lot too!” he said, dramatically as they went inside, leaving you and Eddie alone.

“Hey” you smiled back at Eddie.

“Hi, princess” he said, moving over to take Dustin’s place in front of you. “How are you feeling?”

“Not so bad” you sighed. “I still would have preferred not to discuss my sex life with my little brother but… it is what it is” you chuckled.

“Sorry about your sketchbook, love” he said, looking at it on the floor.

“It’s okay” you sighed, going through the damped pages. “It just… might take me a little longer to finish your surprise now” you said, sadly.

“Wait, is that… is that me?” he asked, feeling his heart flutter.

“It… was supposed to be” you told him. “I mean, your D&D character” you muttered. “I… wanted to um… I was trying to get it right and I thought you m-might like it-”

“It’s perfect, princess” he smiled at you.

“It’s ruined, Eddie” you chuckled.

“Well, then I guess I need to get you another sketchbook, love” he said, grabbing it from you.

“You don’t have to get me one, Eddie” you smiled as he scootched closer to you.

“Jesus, Henderson would you just let me do something nice for you” he smiled, cupping your cheek with his hand.

“You do nothing but nice things for me, Munson” you smiled.

“What can I say? You bring out the best in me, sweetheart” he smiled back.

“Well, in that case, maybe you can do one more nice thing for me” you said, pulling him by his shirt, well, Steve’s shirt and he pulled you gently, brushing his thumb against your cheek.

“Gladly, princess” he said, smiling before he finally connected his lips with yours. He felt you smiling against his lips as you started deepening the kiss before you were rudely interrupted.

“Hey guys, pizza’s here- what the fuck?” you jumped apart when you heard Dustin’s voice again, with Lucas, Will, and Max standing next to him, trying not to laugh. “You two are together? I thought there were no more lies!”

“Would you believe me that this literally just happened, Henderson?” 

The End

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

A/N: hope you loves liked it! :D

[virune]

Yeah I could totally see that being on character tbh for Scourge. Especially with the jacket bit.

Also want to follow up on that question, we all know Sonic has the best soundtracks and geez, a wide variety of instrumentals. If he was in the games, what soundtracks would have the most fitting instrumentals / style of music for him? (Rush, Advance, CD, Adventure, SATBK, other ost you can think of? )

Say Sonic Adventure 2 for example, would he simply have his own version of “It Doesn’t Matter” constantly trying to one up Sonic or lean to another lyrical perspective about him entirely, the way it does to Shadow in his own stages?

as a disclaimer, i'm not super knowledgeable on music composition although i do love music, particularly videogame music, and the different themes/emotions they convey.

off the top of my head, i think scourge could have music that sounds similar to sonic's own tracks - as in, they use the same melodies here and there - but all the instruments are a weird blend of classical and (punk?) rock.

and i think this would work because it symbolises scourge's royal background (classical music, associated with wealth and finery he may have grown up with) and his repeated attempts to sever himself from it and become his own person (rock music, which is known for going against the grain and representing rebellion).

the hybridisation of these different genres might be jagged and unharmonious in some parts, as though it's painful, to represent scourge's inner struggles with his own identity. but as the "game" goes on and he gets more comfortable with himself and who he wants to be, which may involve accepting his past rather than trying to amputate it, his music becomes more harmonious and confident as a result.

i don't have any examples to show what i mean, but hopefully it makes sense!!

[catlovergirl676]

Ever since Tetsu has been forced to leave her original timeline and go back to the past (a few years after the Celestial War), she quickly noticed just how different everything is in the Devildom of this past timeline. The past versions of the brothers are especially different from the ones that Tetsu knew, but she has become rather fond of them. Some could even say that she prefers them over their present (future) versions.

After all, in this timeline, none of them know that she is Lilith's descendant. And they love her for who she is instead of loving her because of the fact that she is related to the "demon-turned human". Which makes Tetsu's emotional connection with the (past) 7 brothers that much stronger than the one she had with their other counterparts.

Seeing what Satan, Asmo, Lucifer, Levi, Mammon, Beel, and Belphie went through just after their fall and their arrival in the Devildom has allowed her to gain a better understanding of who these demon rulers really are. And she has the mysterious demon, Nightbringer, to thank for this. He/she was right to say that going back in the past would make the tomboyish human sorcerer, Tetsu, feel happier.

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

For how long exactly has she been in this past timeline? Tetsu doesn't know, nor does she even think about it anymore. It's almost as if she doesn't want to come back to the present....

And maybe staying here for a few more months wouldn't hurt....

---------

"Tetsu...", Belphegor called out to her, yawning. "What are you doing?"

The two of them were in the twins' shared room, where Belphie had put up a third bed for her.

Belphie didn't get up from his bed and only spoke to Tetsu with hushed whispers so as to not wake up Beel, who was sleeping soundly.

He looked at his phone. "Geez, it's 10:30 PM... Why aren't sleeping? You woke me up."

"Sorry.", Tetsu said sheepishly. "I just couldn't sleep."

Belphie gave her a worried look.

"Did you have nightmares again? If so, I can help..."

"There's no need for that.", She interrupted him. "I just had some thoughts about you and your brothers."

The seventh born smiled sweetly.

"I hope that those were positive thoughts."

"Of course.", the young human smiled back at him. "I could never see any of you in a bad light."

"Good.", Belphie teased Tetsu. "Otherwise, I'd have done everything in my power to make you change your mind about me and my siblings.

He then got closer to her ear and whispered: "Especially for Beel and I."

In that moment, Tetsu felt greedy for his affection.

And so she hugged him tightly. And Belphie took that opportunity to lay his head on her shoulder.

"I wish moment could last forever", Tetsu said out of the blue.

This made Belphie blush hard.

"Me too.", he said softly. "So, why don't you cuddle with me tonight?"

"I'd love to.", she responded, walking up to his bed and laying down on it.

The avatar of sloth wrapped his tail around her, beckoning her to move closer to him.

And she cuddled up to him super closely. Which helped her fall asleep peacefully.

"Goodnight, Tetsu.", Belphie kissed her on the forehead. "Sweet dreams."

Not too long after, he fell asleep as well.

Who knew what tomorrow had in store for them? Whatever it would be, they would figure it out together.

Disclaimer: I'm not a writer. This is my first time writing anything creative related to Obey me Nightbringer. And I just wanted to write a short fluffy little fanfic with my mc, Tetsu.

I hope you guys enjoyed this :). It was fun to write.

[jacksmusesdrv3]

Honestly I think people's tendency to do this sort of all or nothing thinking is silly. I've yet to write things down concisely but since finishing the game I like playing around in the sense where I pick one or several flashback lights (or other 'facts' mentioned in the game) to be true and see how that affects the pre and post V3 story. This in turn really gives you more playroom to interpret and understand certain aspects of the story and characters. Sorry, I'm not sure how to word it. Like yeah, what if Makoto really did make a new Academy? What if the world didn't end, but the virus is fact? What if V3 was fictional, but that doesn't mean the 'peaceful outside world' we were presented is real? Not only does that make fandom play more enjoyable, it also makes you really think about things beyond taking things at face value like I've sadly seen many fans do.

To disclaimer a bit that I have no qualm with people taking the 'All-Fiction' reading at its face if they like the pregame concept (I've seen some fun ideas like the meek Kokichi who wanted to become a good liar, that's a favourite I've seen anyway) or like, whatever other reason. It's just- yeah!! It's absolutely not the only possibility for canon nor is it particularly satisfying to those of us who want to play with canon context as opposed to like, imagined character-to-character progression to the canon, even if those can make for great stories on their own

*cue me going off in 3... 2... 1...*

And speaking of affecting pre and post V3, the dire consequences probable for any/all of the pre chapter 5 Flashback Lights being true- the mixed-motive videos involving characters, especially- knowing that dr2 used a distorted past as a motive, is just too juicy to pass up?? Especially if that involves characters who were otherwise trusted acting in untrustworthy ways, and this is gleaned in hindsight? Imagine if there was later content - a novel perhaps - to expand upon the world we dismissed as fiction and little by little we have to reckon with the consequences if we search it out, like how Dr0 told us of how the Tragedy came to be?? And DRV3 will never look the same again?? Especially if all this was gradually steamrollered by an unsuspecting Makoto opening up new hopes peak and that started to go spectacularly awry not least due to the collective tensions against Ultimates and-

-Just. FRICK!! The possibilities enough to drive one crazy

At least the hindsight part is how it's most meaningful for me, imagining the world itself - beyond the dystopian security tech Nanokumas, wwoah geez a lot to unpack - is so much harder to do, and can get extremely messy (probably because I'm at an overload with all the information-misinformation combo buuut also because of conspiracy themes nonsense) so like, a lot of work to do there.

...Oh! This reminds me of how Dr:Togami is apparently layered in this kind of cerebral shit that makes you think outside the box as to what the fresh hell is going on and pick apart false narratives, so all of these potential alternate if-not-x-then-y sorta threads you mentioned here, could be pulled together just like that! (I hope I'm understanding right- I need to actually READ DR:Togami but uh.)

[abcmuushroom]

I like the idea of an ismay-lowe rivalry, but I especially like the idea of a ONE SIDED ismay-lowe rivalry. like lowe's chewing ismay out and ismay's just like "ok, geez, I'll go over there, good luck with this lifeboat though" and he doesn't think anything more of it. but you bet lowe's losing sleep, fuming over ismay's existence

(disclaimer: not really based on real life ofc)

[rubymoon-snape]

Disclaimer: I don't own Beast King GoLion.

Author Note: This is Fem Akira/Fala pairing, but the duo are just realizing their feelings for the other. This has three scenes that could have gone slightly different if Akira had been born female.

"Fem Akira"

~Episode 2~

"Daibazaal plundered all the treasure on Altea, destroying us." Raible paused before he swung his cane at the group. Hiroshi and Tsuyoshi jumped while Akira and Isamu ducked briefly before Isamu and Takashi jumped out of the way. Akira straightened up and blocked with her spear.

"What gives?" Tsuyoshi demanded.

"I knew it. He was just making us let our guard down!" Hiroshi exclaimed.

"What the hell's going on here?" Akira questioned.

Raible was surprised to see that there was a woman in the group.

"I had to test your skills," Raible answered. "Especially since one of you is a woman."

"Just because Chief is a woman doesn't mean she can't fight," Isamu jumped in. "She's as capable as any of us!"

"Moody, that's enough," Akira said.

"Agreed. The princess will welcome you five indeed."

The group looked up the staircase to see a lovely young woman in a pink dress. She smiled and slowly descended the staircase. Raible explained how he and the princess survived the attack as Fala came to a stop at the bottom of the stairs.

Akira had to figuratively pick her jaw off the ground. The princess was breathtakingly gorgeous. She had to gather her wits about her because she barely heard the princess asking for their names.

"Kogane Akira." Akira had no idea how she was able to say her name without stuttering.

"Shirogane Takashi."

"Kurogane Isamu."

"Seidou Tsuyoshi."

"Suzuishi Hiroshi."

As the princess told her sad tale, Akira couldn't help but feel for her. As the tears fell from her blue eyes, Akira wanted to brush those tears away and perhaps even comfort her. Akira mentally shook herself as Raible interjected himself into the conversation, but she still missed the entire conversation until GoLion was mentioned. The leader focused on what was being told to her team. Even thought she was hesitant, there was no way she was going to make the decision for everyone. She looked to her right at Takashi, who said, "If we don't kill Daibazaal, there's no way we'll survive!"

"He's right. Let's fight Daibazaal!" Akira agreed. She was happy to see the tears were no longer coursing down the princess's face. The smile on her face drew Akira's attention even as Isamu, Tsuyoshi, and Hiroshi added their comments.

Fala held her hand out, clearly indicating that the team should kiss the back of it.

Everyone laid down their spears, and Akira approached, knelt down, and grasped her hand. She laid a kiss on it and stood up, nodding to the princess. Before she stood aside for her teammates to do the same, Fala realized that she was female as well. "A woman?"

Fala's eyes sparkled at the idea of a woman in the leadership position. Takashi stepped up to kiss her hand.

%%%

~Episode 7~

Hiroshi, Akira, and Isamu stopped running once they were a few corridors away from the royal governess.

"Geez, now we have some old lady on our hands," Isamu groused.

You said it. I can imagine what's waiting for us," Akira replied. "Especially when she finds out that I'm female."

"No sweat. Just leave this to me," Hiroshi stated.

Just then, the alarms sounded. Of all the reasons for the alarm, the princess trying to fly the Blue Lion wasn't on Akira's list at all. She was impressed with Fala's actions and willingness to put herself in harm's way to protect her planet. Akira found herself wanting to see what the princess could do, and no ranting from the governess could make change her mind.

~Later in Episode 7~

"Just a moment! In a lonely village in the Pierrane Mountains live strong hunters. Maybe one of their men is qualified," Hys stated.

"Men? Women are just as qualified. Kogane is a  woman after all," Fala mentioned.

"Kogane?" Hys questioned.

"The one wearing red and white," Raible clarified.

"The ingrate who told me to shut up is a girl?!" Hys was indignant.

"She is not an ingrate," Fala countered. "She's brave, selfless, intelligent, and beautiful." Fala couldn't help but blush when she thought of the female pilot, and no ranting from either Raible or Hys could prevent her from wanting to get closer to her.

Fin

@80sgaytrashgoblin

[mizumi-kahago-writing]

I know the algebraic expression of L-O-V-E [Kamunami/Hinanami & Yandere!Chiaki] - Chapter 5

Disclaimer: This is an AU in which the Chiaki AI got at least partially infected by the Junko Virus. This is what makes her become a Yandere and a bit out of character. This AU also entails Hajime and Izuru becoming more of a DID-System, instead of fusing into one person. The main difference, compared to the real illness, is that they can switch out consciousness at will. Also, major spoilers and canon divergence ahead. You have been warned.

﹀﹀﹀﹀︶꒦꒷♡꒷꒦︶﹀﹀﹀﹀

Chapter 5

“I can’t believe you kept her hidden for so long, even if it’s only like a week or two.” A certain white-haired individual boasted as they entered the room. “Like geez, Hajime. You could have least told us, that you reconstructed her.” Almost sounding scolding.

Hajime on the other hand didn’t have an answer to that. Also, he avoided visiting the control room since several days now. Too much was going on inside his head: Was it alright to bring someone like Nagito along? Would Chiaki even want to talk to them, after what happened?

“Anyways, now show me the hopeful recreation of our beloved class president. I can’t wait to see her again.” His tone of voice shifted to a soft chuckle. “I’m trying. I told you, she shut herself off last time, and I don’t know if she wants to talk with me now. Especially after I left her waiting for so long…” Adding the last part, almost whispering.

To both their surprise, as Hajime pressed the power button, the machine sprang to life, displaying the Chiaki AI, just the way he had left her previously. “H-hi Chiaki. Sorry for not visiting for a couple of days…” Embarrassed about that.

Nagito on the other hand stormed past Hajime, observing the screen. “Fantastic! That really is her! I can’t believe it. Izuru did an amazing job. She looks so real, almost as if I could reach inside and touch her.” Admiring the AI behind the screen.

“Hello Hajime. And you’re Nagito. Glad to meet you in person for the first time. I could only recollect experiences with you from the memory loaded up into me. We seemed to be good friends when we were in school.”

“Ah, she even remembers me. Hajime, quick tell me, how much does she know?” Shaking his hands in front of him, Hajime nudged Nagito to take a step back for a second, whispering as both turned away: “Don’t mention anything about ‘you-know-what’, ok?” With a firm nod, he gave to understand what Hajime meant.

After Hajime let Nagito chat with Chiaki for a while, Chiaki looked past Nagito to focus on Hajime again. “I assume you didn’t bring him here just for us to talk. Have you changed your mind about giving me an artificial body?” Targeting his doubt, he had harnessed over the past days.

“I’m still not so sure about that. Izuru said it’s a bad idea, so I want to believe him.” Trying to get away from the topic. “If you’d have listened to Izuru prior, I wouldn’t be here in the first place.” Chiaki debated with him.

Fair. She was right.

Nagito was just a bystander at this point, giving his opinion regardless. “Izuru might be right about most things, but he still cannot process any human emotion. If your heart says it’s the right thing, you should do it, Hajime.”

“What if there is no right or wrong?” Muttering to himself. He had learned in the past that the world isn’t so black and white, yet his own indecisiveness came back to haunt him. “Can you repeat that please?” Nagito asked him, as he didn’t listen to his rambling properly.

“It’s nothing. Don’t mind me.” Shoving the topic away, again.

“I’d like to become human again, Kazuichi could build me a body and Hajime could simply upload me. Then I could be with all of you again. I think it’d uplift the whole class and bring some hope to them all.” Now targeting Nagito with her speech, knowing she’d scratch an itch with him, as long as she was using the word ‘hope’.

“It sure sounds easy enough. But I am not sure how the others would react to seeing you again. They might grief or fall into despair again, after all…” Not sure if Nagito should go on with that sentence. “… I’m just a replica, not the real Chiaki.” She finished for him, her voice sounding so bitter like never before.

“Huh? I didn’t wanna say it like that, but that’s exactly it.” Nonchalantly chuckling it off, as blunt as he usually was.

“Enough, both of you. This decision is already hard enough for me to make.” Hajime interrupted their bickering with a stern voice. “I want Chiaki to come back to us as much as everyone else. But Izuru said it’s the wrong thing.”

“Since when did Izuru’s opinion stop you from doing anything your way?” A valid counterpoint, not sure who of them brought it up. Hajime bit his thumbnail, deep in thought.

“Nagito… what do you really think about booting up an AI Chiaki in an artificial body?” His serious deep voice cutting edge through the room. “I think it may not be a bad idea overall, but we need to be careful who we expose her to and who gets to see her.”

Looking at his own hand. “Her existence could bring hope and despair, to everyone at the same time. But ultimately, it’s up to you, how you wanna deal with the situation from here on out.” Heavy silence once more. Hajime was no step closer to any decision.

“T-thanks. I guess.” He just muffled. Nagito getting closer to Hajime, as he placed a hand on his shoulder. “If I were you, I’d ask Kazuichi what he thinks of this whole deal. After all, he’d be the one who’d have to build the body. He knows best what a limitations and opportunities a robotic body comes with.”

“Ah well, that’s all I gotta say. I better get going and leave you two alone now. Thank you for showing her to me. Maybe I’ll come back later for another chat.” And with that cheery attitude he left the room and Chiaki behind with Hajime.

None of them had anything, quietly staring at each other for a couple of seconds. “I guess, I should really ask Kazuichi about that.” Excusing himself to back out of the situation, without even properly saying good-bye, the computer turned off behind him just as silently.

 With quick, directed steps Hajime went his way to look for a certain mechanic. On the path there, he was interrupted by his usual brain-intruder.

“I hope you’re aware of what you are doing.”

“I’m not. That’s why I ask more people than just you.”

“Despite knowing that I always have the only logical conclusion to a situation? You want to rely on other flawed human beings, driven by their emotions rather than their mind?”

“You know, that’s exactly what Nagito said earlier about you. You think you’re the only one who’s right about everything because you don’t have emotions anymore. But humans work a bit differently, we are humans because we have emotions.”

“I don’t need to remind you. My emotions were removed for this exact purpose. To not let them cloud my judgement and give room to unlimited talents.”

 Hajime didn’t need to say that he knew, he just suppressed Izuru’s thoughts within his mind as much as he possibly could, before running into the conversation with Kazuichi.

 “Hey, got a moment?” Seeing the pink haired rascal tinkering with some stuff he found around the island. “Always, what’s up bro?” Flashing his spiky teethy grin, as he looked up from his work.

“This may sound a little weird, but let’s say there were an AI on the same level of sentience as Alter Ego was… how difficult would that be to make a robotic body for said AI and boot the program into that system?”

“Woah- That’s a highly specific question you’re asking there. But I won’t judge.” Stopping his work entirely for a moment.

“Who or what are we talking about here? Like you’re not thinking of bringing ‘her’ back, right?” His smile quickly turned into a frown. “Did that emo in your head ran rampant again?”

“No, that’s not it. Can you stop assuming for a second?” Turning down Kazuichi immediately. “That ‘emo-in-my-head’ is actually against the idea, because it’s an emotionally driven thing.”

“Phew, for a second, I thought I needed to bonk your head with a wrench to get all your loose screws right again.” Waving said wrench around mid-air.

“But for real, whom are you talkin’ about?”

“It… doesn’t really matter. For now. Let’s say, it’s a friend of ours. A very, very dear friend.”

Scratching his pink hair underneath his beanie. “Come on’, man. At this point it’s obvious whom you’re talking about.”

“Is it?!” Hajime gasped in surprise. “Well not entirely, but I only know one other AI on the same level as what the little programmer kid pulled off. Obviously, it’s gotta be your school-girlfriend, Chiaki.”

“We never were-“ …that close. Thinking about it, he understood who he had hurt her a few days prior. She was in love with him for so long and he never noticed.

“Yeah, yeah whatever. So, the deal is, you want me to build a robot body to contain her AI? Man, you’re really missing her that much, huh?” Hajime nodding, albeit a bit reluctantly.

“I can understand why it might be a bad idea and why that guy inside your brain is so against it. Remember, with the program being destroyed, we destroyed her original AI as well as that virus with her. It could be dangerous to release her back into this world. You should know best, mate.”

Warning Hajime again, he bit his lower lip. “Can you all stop scolding me about it? I know it may be a bad idea, but I came here to discuss it with you.”

“Did you? Or did you just come here to hear me say: ‘Sure, Dude. I’d love to build a robot body for her’?”

Hitting the mark once more. “I... I don’t know. Maybe.”

“Lemme be real here. As much as I love the idea, I won’t do anything which neither you or me could stand behind 100%, so think about it for a bit longer and then let me know about your decision, alright?”

Again, advice which didn’t bring him any further in the process. “Yeah, I guess. Thanks, Kazuichi.”

Another smile, paired with Kazuichi’s usual light-heartedness: “No problem. That’s what bros are here for. Knocking on each other’s heads, to get them gears moving again.”

“I-I guess.”

 “Imma get going now.”

“Greet Chiaki from me, when you speak to her the next time.”

“Sure, will do.”

He left the spot, to retreat into his cottage and let everything sink in. It certainly wasn’t an easy decision and weighting the pros and cons on both sides was a difficult task as well.

Ultimately, all that thinking only left him more frustrated. He ruffled his own hair, then hit his mattress with his fist. “This is so aaarg-“ Yelling out in distress.

Izuru held himself back, he didn’t want to have anything to do with this, at all.

Laying in his bed, staring at the ceiling, shifting over, staring at the wall. ‘Think. What would she want? The real her. Not this replica. Would she want to come back?’ With lingering thoughts like this, he drifted into a slumber.

﹀﹀﹀﹀︶꒦꒷♡꒷꒦︶﹀﹀﹀﹀

« Chapter 4 | Chapter 5 | Chapter 6 »

[clairethecutepup]

Title: Puppy Eyes and Doll Eyes (Pg. 1)

[Next Page]

First, disclaimers: we all know Ed Edd n' Eddy doesn't belong to me, and the "Assassin AU" of the series is by "C2ndy2c1d". Secondly, it's recommended you zoom into the image for better quality, however possible. For more about this piece and my thoughts, click the "read more" below.

If you're wondering how some animal hybrid, like Claire, exists in this world, I came up with an idea that could make sense. I'd imagine any organization running a business involving assassins would want to craft something that'd make their jobs easier: hybrids that combine humanistic and animalistic abilities, "werebeasts". At the very least, it certainly helped me come up with one idea for a more original series based on assassins.

Just think about how handy it may be, if you could have a servant/partner that was un-dyingly loyal to the point of dying in your place? Plus, the human body would make for an easier time of protecting you and assisting you in tasks, while the animal senses/parts are pretty easy to guess the usefulness of.

Back to the comic itself, I had some issues here and there, like the upper perspective toward the forest ceiling at times. Also, I'll be honest: this AU version of Sarah and Jimmy freaks me out, so that was a mental obstacle to overcome, via getting myself into the Zen of looking at and drawing them. What? They wear masks, they call themselves a creepy-sounding duo name of "Dollies," their main method of weapon is acupuncture and thus means they prefer controlling your body-- don't even get me started on some fan art portraying them as puppeteers, by as simple as their hidden strings being drawn from their fingertips... If that wasn't enough, I've seen how cunning and manipulative these two could be in the actual EEnE series: "If it Smells like an Ed" and "Run Ed Run," and I'd imagine they'd be 10x more clever and conniving, possibly having honed those skills as assassins.

Even creepier, I just know those two would realistically have a field day with Claire, since her small size and animal features would probably make her look like a living doll/teddy hybrid in the duo's eyes. I doubt they'd actually hurt the poor, terrified thing, but I still do not envy her being a likely target of their fun: the teasing, the ability to push her around, the ability to manipulate her smaller body-- even without the puppet strings and acupuncture... Geez, it's like Claire has her own Kanker Sisters, except there's no "lovey dovey" stuff involved-- but I can't decide which is worse!

I also had a bit of trouble with the drawn motions, and I'm not especially proud of the movement in Claire zipping into Ed's arms up there. But, at the very least, I think we can all agree it looks better to use lines and draw SFX, than to do some sort of "overlapping" effects and what else could hide the expressions/etc.

[sunny6677]

Spooky Month: When The Stars Shine.

(A Higurashi x Spooky Month AU fanfiction)

Summary: Strange events happen in a small suburban town.

Desvanecimiento: Chapter 2.

(DISCLAIMER: IF YOU HAVE NOT SEEN HIGURASHI, YOU CAN STILL READ THIS. BUT PLEASE BE WARNED THAT THIS MAY NOT BE EASY FOR THOSE WHO ARE SENSITIVE TO HORROR TO READ. ESPECIALLY WITH SOME OF THE THEMES THAT WILL BE USED IN LATER CHAPTERS. WHILE THIS STORY CAN BE PRETTY SLICE OF LIFE-ESQUE AT TIMES, IT IS IMPORTANT TO NOTE THAT IT IS VERY MUCH LIKE HIGURASHI. SO TAKE THE TWS SERIOUSLY WHEN THEY START TO POP UP FOR CERTAIN CHAPTERS.)

TWS: NONE FOR THIS CHAPTER.

————

"Ugh.."

It was around the sky slowly beginning to darken into the black pit of night that Kevin had returned back to Strebers place. Due to what had occurred earlier, he had to change into his casual clothes rather quickly than he normally did. Even so, despite it having happened only a few hours ago, he could feel the cold chill of the water on his skin. Such a rush of a feeling that Kevin had grown to dislike. Always, he wondered what it was about the cold that he didn't like. The feeling of dread he always got from it, or the feeling that it would send on his body physically. Whatever it was, he disliked it. And that was what he knew.

Right now, he had been sitting on the couch in the living room. Streber had been sitting on the couch next to him with a somewhat worried expression, and Ethan had been standing near the couch while looking down at Kevin. Ethan wasn't even that tall, but due to Kevin sitting down, he looked as if he were towering over him. Kevin felt a tingling feeling on both of his cheeks. For no good reason, the half-lidded stare Ethan always had made him feel.. no, no. It wasn't the time to think about that.

Streber then spoke up softly, "Geez.. I'm sorry about what happened. I hope those teenagers at least get whats coming to them.." Streber glanced away, and then glanced back at Kevin, "Do you wanna delay the picnic until tomorrow?"

Kevin immediately replied in a hurried manner, not wanting to make Streber feel somewhat dissapointed for the nightly picnic having to be delayed. "Oh—no! No.. its fine. We can still have that picnic if you want. I just.." Kevin sighed. "..I'll probably need a blanket or something."

"Are you sure? I don't wanna make you feel like you have to or anything." Streber softly said.

"Yeah, dude. You don't have to do this picnic with us if you don't want to.. we can always just have it sometime else." Ethan added his own comments, looking down at Kevin with that half-lidded gaze of his. Kevin felt his heart soften. It was at least nice to see that they cared about him. Even so, Kevin felt a sigh escape his soft lips. He then smiled, and said in the softest voice he could muster right at this very moment, "Re—Really. It's fine. I want to do this picnic with you guys.. I hardly ever get to spend time with either of you anymore. So.. I wanna make it up to you two."

Ethan and Streber went quiet for a moment. A smile then slowly formed on Strebers face, "..well, it's great that you think that. But.. just let us know if you wanna call it off, alright? It's gonna be kinda chilly out there after all..". He looked at Kevin, his gaze remaining fixed upon him.

"Yeah. Wouldn't wanna die of hypothermia out there now, would you?" Ethan joked, speaking in his usual calm manner and smirking. Kevin smiled back, and playfully rolled his eyes. "I know, I know.. I'll be okay."

Appreciative was Kevin, for these two were his true friends. Despite the inconvenience that had been brought upon him earlier, the two always somehow managed to bring a smile to his face. How was it that two people could make him so soft for no apparent reason?

It didn't matter. All that mattered to him was his friends right now.

Kevin then smiled again. "..thanks, guys. It's nice to be able to hang out with you both after such a long day.."

Ethan looked at Kevin, and looked off to the side. "Hey, it's nothin'. We're just doing what friends do."

"Yeah! And thats making sure your head doesn't fall off from how hard you work." Streber added playfully. Kevin merely grinned at this, chuckling to himself in an amused manner. Streber then slowly spoke up again, clasping a hand over Kevin's shoulder. "Now, let's go ahead and set up the picnic, hm? It's probably better to do it now than waiting until it gets really cold out there."

Kevin nodded, and as did Ethan. Kevin had to admit, he never pictured he'd have a picnic of all things with his friends. But this was fine. He loved being able to spend time with the two people he appreciated most.

So, of course, Kevin rose to his feet. And began to head toward where all of the things for the picnic were.

————

Outside was where they were now. Stars sparkled up from above in the sky, the light pollution not being able to hide such bright and brilliant little specks of magnificence. It was almost remarkable that they could still be seen, especially with how many things that would normally make it impossible to see them. Yet somehow, it was not. The cold breeze would have pushed itself against Kevin, but this was not the case.

The three of them were bundled up in their own fluffy blankets which Streber had brought from inside. Kevin had been sort of hiding himself beneath his blanket for the past few minutes now, and if he had enough confidence to embrace his discomfort, he would have hidden his whole body beneath the blanket. But somehow, the warmth of his friends was enough to keep him persisting. For whatever reason, Kevin's blanket also happened to be pink, the same as his shirt.

Streber had a green blanket coveted over his legs, while Ethan had a red blanket slunched around his neck and dipping past his shoulders. It hid his arms, and barely, his legs were somewhat exposed to the cold of the night. The three had been sitting on the average picnic blanket. A now empty but large basket had been nearby.

The various foods Streber had managed to make were different types. Sandwiches that somehow remained warm even in the cold, pieces of bread buns, burgers, warm but soft cookies that felt like a comforting mother's touch when you tasted them. There were even slices of leftover pizza that Streber had heated up for all three of them.

Kevin smiled as he looked down at a half-eaten cookie that he held in his masculine hand. Fingers clenching onto the delicacy, he looked over at Streber. A smile of happiness was what graced his face. Such a smile was never to be made by him, yet in this case, he was eager. He was eager because of his friends, and the fact that one of them had been able to make such good food. It always surprised him how good at making food Streber was. And this had been one of those many times. If he were to be able to say it over and over again to emphasize how much this whole thing meant to him, he would have said it til eternity.

"This is really good, Streber!" Kevin exclaimed, "You could take on a cooking job if you really wanted."

"Oh really?" Streber chuckled. "..nah. I'm always to busy with mechanical stuff to care about that. Anyone would probably have to pull me away from any sort of machinery in order to take on some sort of cooking job."

Ethan laughed as well. "Ya know, Kevin, he's right. If I remember correctly, Streber, you nearly stayed up two nights working on one of your inventions—didn't you?"

Streber blushed, as if this were an embarrassing thing to be brought up.

Ethan smirked. "..I mean, me and the others practically had to pull you away from all that, ya know? And I bet if we hadn't, you would have stayed up for an entire month—"

"Shhhh! Shhh!" Streber violently shushed Ethan, pressing a finger against his lips. Kevin let out a chortle in response. Somehow, watching such silly banter between his friends always made him feel amused. This really was better than just sitting at a counter for hours on end until he could finally leave. Ethan held up his hands in a defensive manner, smirking and chuckling softly to himself.

Streber then pulled away his finger from Ethan's lips. "Seriously, you gotta stop bringing up my bad mechanic habits to everyone, ya know?" Streber didn't seem to offended by it, holding a somewhat amused smile himself. "Hey.. I can't help it. You're so passionate that it's hard not to talk about you.." Ethan replied with his smug smirk. Streber blinked in response, "He—Hey, what's that supposed to mean?"

Kevin only rolled his eyes in an amused manner again. He then brought the warm cookies held in his fingers closer to his lips, and he took a small bite out of it once more. The flavors graced the insides of his mouth, tasting sweet, like a mother's love. Kevin couldn't remember the last time he felt so content. Hell, he didn't even remember the last time someone's cooking made him feel this way.

Streber then widened his eyes, and looked over at Kevin. "Uh.. hey, Kev. I was gonna ask you somethin'."

"What is it?" Kevin replied, looking over at Streber.

Streber then smiled, and cocked his head to the side. "Fiesta de las estrellas is coming up again in a few days. Would ya wanna go with us to the festival when it happens?"

That name. It sounded familiar to Kevin. Fiesta de las estrellas.. ah, yes, he knew what it was.

"You mean that festival where everyone stargazes and stuff?" Kevin responded. Streber then said, "Yeah! I was wondering if you'd wanna go with us. I think they said that there's gonna be some kind of dance performed for it this year."

Fiesta de las estrellas was a celebration Kevin never really exactly considered important. It was a celebration that celebrated the stars, or it was mostly centered around stars. He never really understood why. But always everytime around the same day on every year, he'd see things to do with it. He would see buildings decorated to fit it, with things to do with stars decorated on each and every item. He even saw star-shaped lights strung along the walls of some random resturant he went to one year.

He didn't really know much about it, other than that during a certain point during the celebration, all of those who attended it would go to a certain area with freshly picked dandelion flowers in their hands, which would typically be given by those hosting the event. Then, once everyone had arrived—they would make a wish, and then, they'd blow on the dandelion. And once all of the white puff that once remained on the flower vanished into the sky and into the air, they'd all begin to stargaze. It was a bit of a weird tradition, but he figured it might have been some sort of spiritual metaphor or something.

Kevin then looked away. "Hmm.. maybe. I think if I do, I'll have to take the day off for my work so I can prepare to go with you guys. What's all gonna happen there anyway?"

"Well, there will be tons of people selling stuff to do with the celebration first, so there's that." Ethan calmly said, gesturing with his hand a little as he grabbed a nearby sandwich. Streber then added, "Then the whole dance thing will start. And then the stargazing thing comes afterwards. I've gone to some a few times, and they're actually pretty fun!".

Kevin smiled. "..heh. You seem to really like the celebration, huh?"

"You bet I do! I've even been working on a few things to do with the celebration so I could use them! It's gonna be a hit. You'll love it! Everyone's gonna love it!" Streber excitedly exclaimed. As Ethan took a bite of his sandwich, and as Kevin only stared at Streber, the two of them only chuckled at his exhilaration.

"..alright." Kevin replied in a calm tone, sighing. "I'll see if I can take the day off for when it comes up. It'll probably be more fun going with you guys."

"Great." Ethan smiled. Strebers eyes widened from excitement. "Yes! Just wait, you're gonna love it!" Streber threw an arm around Kevin's shoulder, pulling him tightly close. Kevin widened his eyes a little from surprise, though he did nothing to stop Streber. "There's tons of stuff to do there every year, so you won't get bored at all!"

"O—Okay, okay.." Kevin replied with an amused but nervous chuckle. Ethan then said teasingly, "I dunno, man. I mean.. its just a festival about stars. It's not that great—"

"What do you mean it's not that great?" Streber defensively said. Like always, the teasing had begun. Ethan smirked. "I'm just saying, it's just a festival about stars—". "Shhhh! Shhh! No—no it's not! You listen here—" Streber interrupted, gesturing with his hands.

Streber and Ethan began their usual banter. Ethan struggled to reply to Streber, for occasionally, he would let out wheezes of amusement and light-hearted joy. Kevin could do nothing but watch with a smile, and sometimes, he'd even laugh as well.

The moonlight shone upon them from the night sky, it's light brilliantly glowing.

He hoped for things to stay like this forever. He could not live without any of his friends support. That was at least what he believed to be true.

////////////////////

Kinda short but oh well

[thesugarhole]

I felt a bit surprised that Charles had been able to assign our local, semi-concealed System Wizard a gender for longer than thirty seconds

definitely one of his more (dare i say rewrite?) annoying traits for sure

His legs slammed into the ground in relentless syncopated rhythm, creating a hysterical, deafening drumbeat that made old broken windows rattle in their panes.

diversity win! first non human entity to use he/him in this story!

It was hard to keep Charles from getting sucked into the seven-dimensional space reallocation error at the corner of Mill and Union, but I managed. Suffice to say it’s good that he’s quick on his feet. After realizing he was past the danger, he brushed himself off and glanced around. “Oh, come on,” he said to the empty streets. “How come nobody ever sees my most heroic moves?”

himbo (affectionately)

ooo the traffic light with the claws is also a he/him ok

didnt think id be entertained by this but here i am. if its as interesting as the lemonade cult then yea

I steered Charles towards some food, which he stole without paying [sigh].

youve heard it before and youll hear it again: absolute hell world that all this shit is still "secretly" (snippy has no way of knowing) being accounted for when the guy is just trying to not die. doing the best he can with the knowledge he has (captain wizardly does not a human body keep fed after all)

what the hells a dead zone wraith anyway

oh. a dex. whose job is "entertain" (scare) tourists. ok

NO WAY theres a journal entry from a dex thats not pilot though finally my reading wishes are being fulfilled

I honed my audio receivers in on the spot and picked up the telltale puff and huff of a filter mask. Say! I knew that guy! "Hey, Charles!" I called out and waved my hand. "Man, it had been a while! Remember me? Dixon 11-07-02?” I think radiation must have eaten through my speakers because most of my greeting came out as grinding screechy cough. Charles froze and stared at me without answering, chest rising and falling rapidly. He glanced around nervously, tensed to run.

tragedy enjoyers right now: lol

That was classic Charles! Always throwing things first and asking questions second. Well… more like throwing things first, and then running away at top speed. He’d always been an oddball like that. I know he has his… connectivity issues, but that tour guide book ANNET printed just for him explained me and the other wasteland D.Z.T.G. employees. “Well good afternoon to you, too,” I said, wiping the cement dust away from my optical array. When I had cleared my vision, Charles had vanished into the rubble like an agoraphobic rat. “How’ve you been, Charles? Haven’t seen you much lately.” Geez, I only wanted some company! Where’d he gotten off to?

tragedy enjoyers right now: lmao, even

its freaking me out that this guy looks way more like a robot than anything else. are we mixing up terminologies here or is this still a human-turned-android-as-capital-punishment situation and he just happened to get it worse because of his occupation?? CLEARLY not a human face structure, especially if its meant to scare and whatnot

aaah stuffs not making sense again. booooo. edit: missed the dex-WRAITH disclaimer sorry. its a different dex type. its not a satisfying answer but. its an answer i guess.

A notice popped up demanding that I take Charles to the organ harvest and Dex conversion facility. I skimmed over the notice. Psh! That couldn’t be right. The debt the notice described was much too immense for a single person to have accrued. How could someone owe that much to the Directorate? Excessive gambling? This had to be a filing error of some sort. I scrolled further. Well, that was a lot of parking tickets. Still, even all those couldn’t account for an infinite debt.

christ lmao. he doesnt even have a car though, are these from like. that run down car captain drove over the rainbow? i think zee left it at the knock off mcdonalds

The G-Overseer can kiss my rusty, metal derriere.

that futurama reference took waaaay too long to make

this is breaking my heart dixon is actually talking out loud to him and warning him of the debt but his voice filters stuff are mangled beyond hell so all that comes out is banshee esque noises. snippy accumulates 50 Ls for every W he scrapes by

"What's your name?" I asked. "You sound... cute." "I'm Matilda Trafficlight. Now please move away from Charles, before you give him a heart attack," she stated firmly.

can love bloom between a dex dead zone wraith and a traffic light with a name

“And how about I get you a coffee to apologize? I know just the place,” I added, feeling like quite the player. "There's a nice... G-bux coffee shop that's still mostly intact." "Oh, you’re too kind", Matilda said, and I wished that she was here in person again. All her lights always lit up together when she was excited about fixing something. "Very well, I accept!"

it can. yaaaaay!

(is dexes and objects with idiot AI dating something common in this world? like i thought that bomb was just being cheeky when she said 'this pilot is cute but i dont have time for dating' or whatever but maybe it's common place)

biomatrix is so close to becoming a regular im on the edge of my seat

[dzpenumbra]

1/26/23

Today kinda felt like a counterpoint to yesterday. It started off with yoga that was surprisingly difficult. I guess the poses I did today must be on par with the other ones for other people, but these really took some work for me today. A lot of work around where the lower back meets the hips, which is a big problem area for me. Very good getting through it and I always feel like it ends too early... Still have no idea what I'm going to do when this 30 day thing is over, it's like day 24 already. I guess... go to a real in-person class. It's about time to order some comfy pants, I don't think they're going to take kindly to me showing up in boxers like I do at home...

I worked on stream stuff for most of the day. I poked around in the Twitch settings to explore options with the whole channel points thing. I really need people to feel at home there, and the one thing that has been most gratifying and successful in pretty much every stream I've been in... unfortunately... is Channel Point "Predictions". Why unfortunately? It's literally gambling. It's like... literally the act of gambling without using real money. It's just using your time to generate a currency... I mean... "time is money" so... wait, no don't think about this too much... XD It feels really uncomfortable for me because half of my former audience (who will likely return) were still in high school. And I really don't like the idea of like... training these kids to gamble. Getting them enticed and rewarded by the act of gambling. Showing them how fun it can be, and oh geez, imagine how much more of a RUSH you would get if you won real money instead of these valueless points? How cool would that be?

It's... a moral issue, to be frank. The same goes for like... the fact that a lot of the viewerbase for Twitch is younger. But honestly, it's not like YouTube is gonna average older... So it makes me really feel like I should watch my language, or put an 18+ disclaimer... or get rid of people when I find out they're underage... Like... It's just an element that I really don't feel like should be my job. Like... it should 100% be Twitch's job to make sure that the people that they are giving accounts to on their website are of appropriate age to be interacting with my stream. Imagine if I had like 3 or 4 digit viewer counts, I can't be held responsible for checking IDs. I guess what's popping into my head now was the last stream I did where I did modded Minecraft and I was going to build an abbey with a mechanized quarry nearby to source stone. And it was another bullshit silent night where this high school kid was just talking about the mods he wants to play and really didn't give too much of a shit what I was up to in the game. And then silence after he dipped out. Then... a person jumped in and started chatting and told me they were 12. That's 1/3 of my age. And I just... I'm like 90% sure I banned them. Like... let's be honest... they're not going to subscribe. They're going to go into this stream with like a 3 viewer count, treat it like fucking Omegle, and then dip out. A lot of people do that with lower-viewcount streams. They treat it like it's a private chatroom or something, like a low-member discord group or something. And, to be completely honest, I do not really feel like hanging out one-on-one with a 12 year old. Especially if I'm not being paid for that. Like... if I'm giving an art or music lesson and I'm being compensated for my time, sure. But I'm not streaming just "for fun". This is like... I put a lot of fucking work into what I do. I really try to treat it professionally. I don't just buy a webcam and some trendy gear - the Twitch Starter Kit - turn the camera on, fire up Warzone and broadcast the side of my head to chat for 5 hours for no reason. I narrate, I explain what I'm doing, what I'm thinking, why things are happening, I explain concepts, I explore reasons behind things. I'm a presenter, a storyteller, a host. So yeah, if they want to just talk to a random streamer because they are bored, they can hit random again. If they want to --- god, my mood really took a turn there, didn't it?

I haven't been thinking like this... at all today. Like... at all. I sank an entire day into throwing together an intro video which is pretty cool and funny. Then redesigning my brb screen, which is really sick now, it has that blooming mandala animation I did last winter superimposed over a super zoomed in high res picture of the cells in a leaf as a background texture, saturated with light pink. And I found a nice sleek new font I like for my lettering. Then I learned how to add my chat into a Source in OBS so I can make a sorta Splash/Idle screen where I can just chill and chat and have chat on the screen, for Just Chatting type stuff. I had to learn CSS for that one, that was... tough when I'm not 100% engaged with it. And I put one of these endless nature loops in the background. And it inspired me to do some hand-drawn animation stuff as the background, like infinite loop animations in either Krita or Blender, or a combo of both. Maybe I should just do that on stream, honestly.

Like... I've been positive about that all day. All the prep, all the creative excitement and inspiration. And then I think about the reality of streaming. Night after night of playing Overwatch, high as shit with zero viewers. Where I didn't even have friends or viewers to tell me that Xbox doesn't let you broadcast voice chat of other people in your party, so I'm just broadcasting myself and no responses from my team. For like... weeks. I would be embarrassed about that if I weren't so angry that like... it costs like absolutely nothing for someone to troubleshoot that with me. Nothing. Like an hour of literally anyone's time. Like I just need a friend to drop by one stream and they'll immediately go "who are you talking to", then we go figure out why we can't hear my team and voila, figured out. But... well I guess that leads me to the other landmark in my day. My therapy session.

I hit the reverse lottery with friends. And with family. Like... my therapist, this dude is a saint, I mean it. Such a nice dude, and very good at his job. So I really do trust that he is being bluntly honest with me, because he like... specifically asks my permission to be that direct with me. Which is a habit I would like to adopt, honestly. But he was very clear that like... my family is not healthy, and likely never really has been, and it has really fucked up my perception of humanity. And I immediately agreed and elaborated, saying that I still can't figure out if it was coincidence, if I am attracted towards these kinds of people because of familiarity, or if they are attracted to me in some predatory way... but I just rolled nat 1's on most of my friends. And romantic partners. Like honestly, I think the best girlfriend I had was my first girlfriend, and I dumped her because she wasn't moving fast enough or something? Or she was just not into the same kind of shit as me or something? I was like 14, I don't remember, it was some stupid facepalm dumb kid thing. But she was very sweet and romantic, and I was getting into hardcore and metal and skateboarding and Jackass/CKY and shit. It was just... probably for the best for her sake. I doubt she would've followed me down that path. But for real, I just... in hindsight? I've had some pretty horrific friends. Very self-centered. Very few actually wanted to hear any of my insight or have me involved in their life at all, now that I look at it. Like I was a supporting character, a guest star that would come on their show and crack jokes and entertain them, and ogle over their music taste and listen completely when they told stories, who would just gush with compassion and reassurance.

For so long, I have prided myself on my ability to see the best in people. I still do believe it's one of my better traits. I could legit find a way to be compassionate towards a Great White Shark while it's tugging me under the waves. I would be terrified and deeply sad and likely in shock too, but I'd find a way to express compassion. It's like... automatic now. "They've gotta eat too, man. This is just what sharks do." My fascination with study, learning... it's expanded my world view to the point where a lot of Buddhist teachings I used to roll my eyes at as being "melodramatic" or "too dark for me" are actually very core to my beliefs. I'd honestly say, with my limited understanding of Buddhism, that it's probably closest to the beliefs that I've naturally formed. This idea that all of our shitty traits come from our suffering. Which, in turn, is caused by the suffering of others, and so on and so on. And that viewpoint is just like... default... for the most part. I never see someone as like... being a dick for no reason anymore. The dude who honks at me in traffic likely had a bad day at work, or has a bad relationship, or has a ton of repressed stress that's coming out, or was raised in a family where that's just... what you do when things don't go your way... There's always a reason. And that's a point me and my therapist diverge on, causality. I truly believe that everything since the Big Bang is cause and effect; that random - true random - is a myth. I don't know how I feel about fate or destiny, I'm a huge proponent of free will. But I do not believe that the Dalai Lama just wakes up one day and snaps at his... monk-mates? XD I don't know who the Dalai Lama chills with. But I really don't think he just randomly does that, just... because something misfired or something? I mean, even a misfire is a reason!! ANYWAY...

Through the crucible of... I'm struggling to find a kind way to phrase this... going through a LOT of shit. And being raised in an environment that is not "normal" aka not healthy. I have managed to evolve compassion and kindness towards those that are actively hurting me. Maybe as a survival mechanism, like how we use humor to cope with difficult, painful things. Maybe as a way to avoid worse damage? To mitigate damage? We touched on that briefly and I might as well mention it. I think the reason I have 5-6 hour fights regularly... is because I don't leave. I don't walk away. When literally every other living person on Earth would have walked away. I've had this realization a lot. It's weird because my staying is viewed as aggressive, but... historically... I have believed storming out or running away or yelling is the aggressive route. Like, obviously yelling is. Leaving a conflict feels like a mic drop. Like "hey, we're not talking about this anymore, peace." The same with running, in different ways, it's like "we're not talking about this anymore". It's like... controlling, to me. And I really don't like doing it. I feel like it makes me the bad guy, the one cutting off lines of communication, the one hanging up on someone. Like if I trip someone's bullshit and they start flipping out on me... I didn't do anything wrong. I'm not guilty of that, I'm still innocent. And I'm getting to the point where I can clearly believe that in the moment. "I did not do anything wrong, I just triggered someone's poorly wired defense system." But me deliberately hanging up on them? Walking away and ghosting them if they call back? That feels like deliberately being anti-social.

I'm still trying to sort through this and make sense of it practically. I may be going a bit too saintly. And I feel like I need to practice just... communicating that I need to leave for my mental health, and then committing to walking away. And finding compassionate, kind ways to do that. That feels like a good goal. That way I can be kind towards myself by keeping myself safe from people... let's not mince words here... abusing me, but at the same time, I can still fulfill that ethical imperative to be compassionate towards them. "Forgive them, for they know not what they are doing." Right?

So I guess that's the theme here this evening. Conflict resolution. Not just sitting there and taking it. I need to be assertive with people in my chat, even if they're the only ones there. I need to be okay banning people who are being shitheads. I have to be okay kicking out people who are acting like children. That's how you cultivate a healthy community. Not by changing people. But by setting a standard, a boundary, and enforcing it. "In this room, we're here to learn." "In this room, we let the streamer play the game." "This is a radio show, not Omegle." And with friends? And family? And romantic partners? "These are my boundaries that you may not cross. If you cross them, I will have to go." It's hard for me to even type that, even when it's not directed towards anyone in particular.

Wasn't expecting tonight to be so intense. Cat is drugged up, wobbly on her feet. I'm gonna get her carried up to bed, she has her appointment in the afternoon. I'm actually considering just sleeping in the beanbag chair so I don't have to worry about her eating shit down the stairs at some point in the night and maybe I can sleep better not worrying. It's a hard call. I'll figure it out. Fingers crossed her blood levels look a bit better.

[queenangst]

1/? I'd like your thoughts on something whenever you have time. I've read a lot of fics that delve into Bakugou's reaction to Aizawa's words during the press conference. Specifically about the part where the reporter said it was a possibility that Bakugou might be coerced into becoming a villain and Aizawa defended him by saying he was trying harder than anyone to become a top hero and he'd never become a villain. Anyway, basically across the board, all of the fics I've read about this

2/? have a soft Bakugou thanking Aizawa for believing in him and it's always portrayed as such a deep moment between the two. Don't get me wrong, I love this dynamic for sure. But I was thinking about it and why it's such a big deal for Bakugou to have Aizawa believe in him. Bakugou grew up with constant praise. He's been told his whole life that he was going to be an amazing hero. He never experienced otherwise, as far as we know. It shouldn't feel that special for Aizawa to believe in him.

3/3 Of course, I get that it holds a lot more weight coming from a pro hero and someone he respects, especially since it was such a public thing too, but idk. I just don't see it impacting Bakugou as heavily as it would impact say Midoriya or Shinsou or someone who has experienced nothing but opposition. Sorry for the long ask, this was just really bugging me and I'd really like to know what you think about it.

hi, nonnie! 

first of all, this is a great question, and i’m honored you chose me to ask it, haha. second of all, i wrote a fic that deals with this too (Coming Up For Air), and i think the fic reflects my opinion of where Bakugou is heading in canon and the answer i’m about to give for this. 

disclaimer: this post is my opinion and my interpretation of Bakugou’s character, and i’m just one person. this is not a post about Bakugou’s relationship with Midoriya, or what he “deserves,” rather simply a response to the question as best as i can give it in my eyes. some people will agree with me, but just as many people may disagree, and that’s okay. this is what i think.

A lot of this comes from interpretation, because Bakugou isn’t exactly someone who’s throwing around his feelings and saying what he means. Bakugou expresses himself through his actions a lot, so you really have to squint sometimes.

Bakugou, after entering UA early in the series (and even now) has been presented with the idea that while his skill and prowess is as much as he believes it to be, there are for the first time other people who are just as strong if not stronger than him. And he has to be strong. He can’t be weak or helpless, because that’s not how the world works. 

To Bakugou, he has to be strong; he has to be the winner. There’s no other option. And he has to be the best. And... he has to become the number one hero, because All Might exemplifies these values—heroes are strong, and All Might always wins. 

What about Bakugou’s fears, and how he sees himself? Bakugou, in canon, has been on a slow road in breaking down his entire worldview, in changing; he’s meeting people who challenge him in every way, and who make him face a part of himself he... really isn’t ready to acknowledge. He’s changing, and part of that change is the slow realization that he’s flawed (and this, I think is something he’s always aware of but tends to ignore, reinforced by people praising his strength) as well as his past behavior. The problem is he can’t acknowledge the idea that he might not be a good person, in the present tense. Then he’s not like All Might at all. Then he’s not better than anyone, and he might be closer to a villain than a hero (he’s not, but he may think so). 

Kamino shakes Bakugou to the core. You’re right in that Bakugou has been praised his entire life. But let’s look at the difference between what that is and what Aizawa is saying, and the contexts. 

Bakugou’s been praised for his Quirk, his strong conviction, his strength, etc, etc, in an environment and in a mentality where Quirks alone are enough to make a judgement about your worth. 

In the news conference, one of the reporters asks about Bakugou’s possible “mental instability” due to the Sports Festival and his “violent” reaction. What if, the reporter is asking, the villains try to use those qualities to their advantage, and make Bakugou a villain? 

Bakugou wants to be a hero. He needs it. He’s driven extremely to this point.

The reporter is asking a question that strikes at what I believe is one of Bakugou’s biggest fears. That he might be weak enough, that he might not be good enough, that his actions have led to a group of villains thinking Bakugou would join them. That the League thinks Bakugou has the potential to be a villain, that he could be persuaded. This means everything Bakugou thought about himself was wrong.

At the same time, the villains are telling Bakugou that their side is the “right” side. Bakugou loves winning. He has to win. The League pinpoints that, trying to manipulate Bakugou into the idea that becoming a villain is the winning side—they’ve all suffered under hero society, under being bound by rules. They chose to kidnap Bakugou out of all the students because they thought they could convince him to be a villain. “More than anyone.” His fear, though Bakugou knows he would never.

But Aizawa refutes this directly and completely. 

Aizawa, as Bakugou’s teacher. Aizawa, who is unafraid to expel a student if they don’t meet his standards, if he thinks they have no potential. Aizawa, who is the person who at this point knows Bakugou well enough, who is one of the people integral to shaping Bakugou’s future. Aizawa, who is candid; Aizawa, who believes.

Aizawa first takes responsibility for Bakugou’s actions as a failing on his part. He follows this by pointing to the same event that the reporter does and gives reason to it: Bakugou behaved that way because he has “strong convictions and ideals.” And, “more than anyone, he pursues the title of top hero with everything he’s got. If the villains have mistaken that for a weakness, then their thought process is indeed superficial.”

Bakugou isn’t a bad person. He has bad qualities. He is extremely flawed. And he’s done a lot of bad things. Aizawa isn’t saying that he hasn’t, but rather confirming and validating what in a sense Bakugou—who has been kidnapped by villains and just asked to join them—needs to hear: that he is worthy of becoming a hero, that he can become a hero, and that he would never under any terms become a villain. 

On a level, Bakugou’s own conviction would never let him believe otherwise. But it also means a lot to hear this from someone who is “close” to him—Aizawa, one of the few figures that Bakugou truly and genuinely respects, and who knows him. 

You can’t compare the impact on Bakugou to Midoriya or Shinsou, by your example. Each of those characters would be impacted differently, though not lesser; just because Bakugou presents confidence to the villains doesn’t mean that he isn’t scared, or that Kamino isn’t affecting him (more of his reaction is what we see post-Kamino, etc). And what Aizawa said was really, really powerful. 

This is my viewpoint, as a fic writer and a person who likes Bakugou. I’d encourage you to go back to canon and find more to add to your own interpretation and ideas, but thank you for trusting me. I hope I explained myself well!

[rosemary-bells]

thanks for keeping our quarantine days sunny. it's always been a joy to have something to look forward to every day, and seeing it go is... surreal. it's sad, but... it was inevitable, right? and i honestly find a sort of serenity in that. memento mori. unus annus.

[stormkobra-5]

Batons and Unicorns: The Whitest, Brightest Wedding of All

Pairing: Moon Boys x Reader

Fic Type: Drabble (Part of the Batons and Unicorns universe. You can find the rest of the stories here on my Moon Boys masterlist.)

Summary: After three years of being together-- and even having a daughter-- you’re finally marrying the man-- men-- you love.

Involving Steven, Marc, and Jake x reader, adorable Amonet, and one very proud grandpa skeleton-bird.

A/N: I know that the gif isn’t from Moon Knight but tell me this isn’t the perfect gif am I right?! Am I right?! Look at his sparkly eyes! Anyway, coming back to this series is makin’ me feel pretty nostalgic. Oh, the days when I was still wary of writing smut and getting the hang of posting on Tumblr… Yes I made Frenchie as if he’s played by Pedro Pascal I know you all love it–

Disclaimer: I don’t know anything about weddings, period. Have never been to one that I can remember tbh.

Warnings: Fluff. Lots of fluff. This story is rated 14+ for strong language and some mildly suggestive themes.

Ok.

You just need to take a second.

And calm the fuck down.

This happens all the time, right? Every day, even? Surely it can’t be that nerve-racking, I mean especially when you’ve been with somebody for so long, right? Right?

Surely fucking not.

You stand before the floor-length mirror on a pedestal as the finishing touches are being added to your dress by your bridesmaids (Wanda, Shuri, and Natasha). You feel like a Barbie doll. Not in the bad way-- you’re pretty fucking pretty, in fact, you’re sure you’ve never been prettier. You’ve never spent so long at a spa, either. You’re pretty sure you’ve been transformed into a whole other person from before. That scene in Hunger Games where Katniss is given a makeover supreme? She has no fucking idea what you just went through yesterday. You still feel tingly.

Your hair is perfect. Your skin is perfect. Your face is perfect. Your dress is perfect. You’re absolutely perfect right now. Everything, spot on, A+ for presentation, the boys will be tripping over themselves, you're so gorgeous. But your emotions?

Girl they are crazy.

What if you mess up your vows? What if you say something stupid? Oh god, what if you don’t say anything at all? Will you even be able to use ASL with the bouquet in your hands??? Your heart is pounding in your throat and your breathing is rapid. On one side of the room, your mother and your Maid of Honor, Pepper, sit side-by-side with tears in their eyes and prideful smiles on their faces.

“You don’t have to be so nervous,” Natasha squeezed your hand for emphasis, chuckling as you glanced at her so that she could see the whites of your eyes. “You look stunning.”

Wanda meets your eyes with something like sympathy in hers. “Is it because everyone’s here?”

Oh geez, you sign, thanks for that reminder, Wanda.

Yes.

Everyone.

Apparently this was a first. Two superheroes, getting married. It apparently warranted every single Avenger to be present, to assist, and hell, even Fury was here. All superhero eyes would be on you and your husbands. It was the teeniest bit terrifying.

A timid knock at the door made everyone turn around, just as Khonshu entered-- dressed in a crisp white suit, one you swear he stole from Steven-- bending over to lead little tiny Amonet into the room. Apparently this occasion warranted even the presence of visible Khonshu.

"Mommy!" She cried, toddling forward on her tiny legs. She wore the most adorable little dress, frilly and purplish-blue. In her little hands she carries a bouquet of tiny flowers, and you immediately kneel to hug her as best as you can without ruining either of your looks.

“Hi, sweeti– oof–” She whacked you in the face with her bouquet, but thankfully, your makeup survived the accident unscathed. Khonshu chuckled, a deep echo that still, nobody was used to yet. It seemed to reverberate through the air itself.

“Easy, little one,” Khonshu rumbled, chuckling deep in his chest. As Amonet toddled over to your mother, Khonshu addressed you with something like pride in his voice. “You look stunning, Y/N.”

To hear that from a literal god was a good thing, you hoped.

Thanks, Big Bird, you signed, and now since Amonet watched Sesame Street literally every morning, he now understood that reference. If bird skulls could frown, he’d most definitely be frowning.

“Hmf. I would appreciate it if you would not call me that…” Khonshu patted Amonet’s head. “Remain here, child. I must see to your father.”

“Wait!” Amonet slid off your mother’s lap to take Khonshu’s hand. “I wanna come, Grandpa Shu-Shu.”

You couldn’t help but snicker to yourself as Khonshu pretended to be disgruntled. With a nod to you that you returned, Khonshu left your little bridal chamber to find Marc, Steven, and Jake.

~*~*~*~

“Bullocks.” Steven grumbled to himself as he tried to readjust the tie with shaking hands, only succeeding in choking himself.

“Easy, amigo,” Jake tried to calm him, but the cabbie’s voice cracked a bit. Steven knew that he was just as– if not more– nervous.

He wasn’t sure exactly why he was so nervous. You’ve been together for three years, and for two of them, you’ve had a little girl together. You’ve seen each other at your very best and your very worst and you’ve stuck together; he remembers the day he met you. The day he moved into Avengers Tower and the sweet mute young woman that helped him unpack, who researched DID and made friends– later, became lovers with– Marc and Jake. He recalled how many hours he spent learning ASL just to communicate with you.

The moment he– and maybe, all of them– fell in love with you was after he’d seen your powers for the first time was vivid in their mind. After he’d called you “birdie” and the two of you had paraded around the complex as Mr. Knight and a unicorn. You’d been mute for so long, but you trusted him to speak to. You spoke to him– to them. To your daughter. No one else.

He smiled softly to himself when he thought about the day you told him you were pregnant, after Harrow’s men had captured you; he still worried about that, especially with Amonet around, now.

“That’s it, buddy. Just stay calm.” Marc’s voice snapped Steven out of his thoughts; thinking of you and his little girl had calmed him down a bit, but Marc had stopped him from launching into a worried mess about potential threats.

A knock at the door nearly made him panic, especially when it opened immediately after.

Steven’s breath left him with sheer relief when he seen that it was only Khonshu– well, Khonshu, and one of the two things he loved most in the world.

“Daddy!” Amonet let go of Khonshu’s hand and raced for him; Steven knelt down to pull her into his arms.

“Hello, little scarab,” He gave her a kiss on the cheek as he stood. “You look so pretty, love! Just like a princess!” She babbled a bit, showing off the poor flowers she’d fisted and thrusting a rose dangerously close to his eye. “Oh, thank you, darling. I’ll put that right in here, yeah?” He carefully adjusted the rose in his breast pocket, before plucking a daisy from her hand and tucking it behind her ear. “Now you have one too, love.” A beaming grin broke across his face when she giggled.

“You dress up nice, worm,” Khonshu chuckled; Steven frowned at the nickname, glancing down at his sharp white suit.

“Thanks, I guess.”

The god scoffed. “Are Marc and Jake nervous, too, or is that just you?”

“W-what?”

Khonshu put a hand on Steven’s shoulder. “Do you really think it has escaped me how anxious you are, Steven Grant?”

“I-It’s just–”

“Just what? You’ve loved her for so long, and she has loved you in return, and so strongly, at that. Do you truly think you have anything to worry about?”

Steven thought about that for a minute.

“I hate to admit it, buddy, but; the old bird’s right.” He felt Marc take a metaphorical deep breath, trying to remain steady and level-headed throughout all of this.

“Don’t admit that,” Jake scoffed, offended. “Viejo pájaro zombi estúpido– we were already thinking that!”

“Thanks,” Steven breathed anyway, although Khonshu didn’t exactly make any of them feel better, but…

Both perked up at the sound of a knock. “Come in,” Steven called, and the door opened just enough for Sam to poke his head in with a beaming smile.

“It’s time.”

“Oh, bollocks,” Steven shuddered with anticipation, which Amonet most definitely felt. She wrapped her tiny arms around his neck in a hug, which Steven eagerly returned. “Oh bloody…”

“You can do it, Daddy,” Amonet said softly, and the boys melted.

Steven had never heard Jake squeal.

“¡Awww, mi dulce pequeña mariposa, tratando de darnos confianza! ¡¡¡Esa es mi niña, esa es mi niña mariposa!!!”

“Aw, thank you love,” He kissed her cheek again before passing her off to Khonshu and smoothing his suit, taking a deep breath. “How do we look?”

“Like an idiot,” Khonshu scoffed, then added, a bit good-heartedly, perhaps, “But a well-dressed one.”

Steven’s blood rushed in his ears as he made his way out of the room, following Sam with Khonshu and Amonet closely behind.

~*~*~*~

Steven stood nervously at the altar, scanning over the faces of the gathered assembly. Every single Avenger– even the Guardians of the Galaxy, the sorcerers, the Asgardians, hell, even some mutants– had all come to witness Moon Knight and Skinchanger marry.

Beside him, he had Frenchie as his best man– a man he admittedly hardly knew, but Marc knew plenty about the “baby-chicken-faced” Chilean-American. In one of the front pews sat Khonshu, legs crossed, next to your mother.

He took a deep breath, trying to keep calm.

“We can do this,” Marc said, more to himself, “We’ve got this, it’s fine–”

“‘We can do this’?” Jake echoed in disbelief, adding, “Estoy teniendo un puto ataque al corazón, chicos. When she comes in the room in her wedding dress… Solo estoy... solo voy a colapsar aquí mismo, no van a saber nada de mí por un tiempo, ninguno de ustedes podrá despertarme, DIOS HACE CALOR AQUÍ PARA ALGUNO DE USTEDES–”

“Jake, buddy,” Marc tried, and he felt him trying to calm Jake, who, if he was hearing correctly, was trying not to hyperventilate. Steven jumped as the music kicked in. Oh gods. It’s happening. Right now, it’s happening… “Breathe, man. Breathe.”

“¿CÓMO DEMONIOS ESPERAS QUE RESPIRE? ACTUALMENTE FÍSICAMENTE NO PUEDO RESPIRAR, MALDITA–”

The doors opened. In came little Amonet, throwing flowers, and Jake shut up immediately. Steven felt not only his own pride at seeing his daughter, but Marc’s, and of course Jake’s, quite nearly overwhelming him. It took everything he had not to rush down between the pews and scoop her up in his arms.

Amonet tried to run for Steven when she saw him, dropping the flower basket. Khonshu snatched her up and planted her on his lap, making her giggle, and the boys’ hearts swelled with love.

And then, in came the most beautiful woman to ever exist.

You.

Their sun. Their stars. Their air. Their life. The only thing any of them had cared about in a very long time, you suddenly popped into their lives and gave them something to love wholeheartedly. And then, you did it a second time, when you gave them Amonet.

You were absolutely beautiful in your dress, radiant and glowing like a goddess come to life. The boys couldn’t take their eyes off you as you were walked up the aisle, and they felt a sense of great honor and pride when you were given away. To them. Out of anyone in the whole world, when you could have had anyone, you’d chosen them.

They couldn’t believe it.

You were a star fallen from heaven as you made your way forward, dress trailing behind you like silken snow, crystalline and incandescent.

“Dios mio,” Jake whispered in adoration.

“She’s beautiful,” Marc seconded, but Steven was lost for words.

You were so gorgeous you stole his breath away, just like the day he’d first seen you. Just like the day when the mute young woman offered to help him unpack.

“I love you,” He breathed, and he thought you said it too.

You both repeated it for your I do’s, your vows, the exchanging of the rings— that all-important kiss— and then again during the first dance, twice more throughout the after-party, and you must have said it a thousand times during the course of your wedding night. Your first night as husband and wife.

You were now, officially, Y/N Grant-Lockley-Spector.

And you loved your husbands with all of your heart.

————————————————————————

Thanks for reading!

Taglist: @dameronsknight @sylkisdagger @atzlena @gucciboots @pastel-0-princess @poeticsorcery @rosaren2498 @love-on-the-murder-scene @wintergirlsoilder2 @blackcat-midnight-thatsme @multifandomsw @bookloverfilmoholic @khaotic-kris @hb8301 @soggumm @simonsbluee @adamcarlsenslvr @bluestuesday @magnet-girl @rosellacwrites @dweeb-central @ilymorepls @drwhofangirl1963 @loonymagizoologist @auszimbo @tealrivers @laters-gators12 @izbelross @xcatnapsx @child-of-the-moon-gods @djarinsgirl27 @sokoviansorceress @eerievixen @cold-buffet-ham @upbeat-cascade @stark-kirk-rogers-grant-blog @candydancey @rqmanoff @jakelcckley @sharin4readers @lovely-cryptid @marc-spectorr @rmoonstoner @oscarisaacsspit @moonknightyws @hopefulfangirl24

[silky-stories]

If you can or want to of course, could you do pico, ruv and garcello reacting to you having scars? From anything (s$lfh@rm, surgery , fights, etc) thank you!❤️

Sure thing! I ended up having the scars be from fights, hope you like it! :D

———————————————————————

S/O With Scars Headcanons {Pico, Ruv & Garcello}

Genre: Fluff

Words: 1313

Disclaimer/s: Mentions and descriptions of scars, mentions of fighting, swearing, hints at talk about trauma

Notes: This was yet another reminder that I’m not very good at writing for Ruv—

———————————————————————

Pico

Pico’s probably one of the most understanding and relatable people in the world when it comes to having scars

As someone who’s earned quite a few scars of his own, he definitely fits that criteria

(Seriously, with all the things this man has been through he’s practically collecting them like pokemon cards)

However, that didn’t dissuade his immediate concern when he saw your scars for the first time

He saw them for the first time when you were getting changed and he was in the room

(Nothing nasty, he didn’t see anything ya weirdos-)

When you took off your shirt, his usual reaction to say something playfully flirty was stamped out quickly when he noticed the long strips of paled and sunken skin that ran up your arms, crossed over your abdomen

He went so quiet that you actually got worried for a minute

He hastily reassured you when you asked if they were grossing him out

“Nononono! ‘s just, ah... hope that ya didn’t... didn’t go through too much gettin’ those...”

You knew about his past at that point, and the reasoning behind his statement and silence became apparent instantly

Once you told him that you were actually just a badass and used to get in fights a lot (or still do-) he feels much better

Maybe a little irked that someone would do that much damage to you that it would leave permanent marks, but much better nonetheless

After that he’s always jumping at the opportunity to see them

If you two are cuddling he’ll run his fingertips across them and trace them as he rants about how cool he thinks you are

Please tell him the stories of how you got them if you’re comfortable with that, he wants to marvel over how awesome you are

“Damn, he cut ya that bad an’ ya still beat his ass? That’s metal as fuck.”

Later into your relationship he might share as well, but it’ll be a lot less of a badass story-time session and more of a “I haven’t been able to open up this intensely to someone in years but I love and trust you so I want you to know” kind of thing

He’s pleased that he can show his scars around you, both physical and mental, and not feel judged

Ruv

Ruv has got a couple scars from the job he used to have, but they’re all quite minor and he doesn’t really care about them

To him they’re just a byproduct of his past, that’s it

Just a reminder of what he used to do that only he gets to see, all of his scars usually being covered by his clothing

It was odd when he saw your scars for the first time though

His initial reaction was... pretty much nothing actually

Your shirt had gotten dirty while the two of you were hanging out alone and you had pulled it off to change without thinking

He stared at your back and the pale lines that littered it with the same monotone stare he usually carried

That is until you looked back to stare back at him, he quickly looked away after that, muttering a concise apology

You didn’t even realize that he had thought anything of it until he brought it up ten or so minutes later

“What are they from?”

Your tilted head and puzzled expression told him that you didn’t understand, so he took your arm and ran a finger along a visible scar, now out in the open with the t-shirt you were wearing

“Did someone... try to..?”

You were quick to tell him that it was fine and explain what they were actually from when you noticed the dark gaze his eyes held

He was surprised to hear that you had received them by kicking people’s asses in fights, but he found himself actually kind of amused

You were weird, of course you got them from something weird like that

(...the good kind of weird though, the kind of weird-good that would make somebody want to date someone as intimidating as him)

He’d probably want to hear about the stories as well, but there wouldn’t really be any hyping you up, mostly just silent listening as he allows his hands to wander, tracing scars as he goes

Eventually he’d get more used to it though, just like everything in your relationship

“...what about this one..?”

He wouldn’t show you his scars on purpose because he wouldn’t feel any need to, they are what they are, but he wouldn’t try to hide them

He never mentions it but he kind of hopes that you get his help if you’re ever in another fight

He trusts your capability and he (secretly) does think that the scars look cool, but he’d prefer that you don’t have to go through pain to get them

Garcello

He doesn’t really have many scars, just a couple that he’s acquired from the standard *insert dumb thing done during childhood* kind of scars

He honestly thinks that scars are pretty cool as long as they’re not associated with anything traumatic

They’re proof of strength and overcoming hardship, and that’s rad

He saw your scars for the first time when you two decided to go for a swim together in a small lake he knew

It was summer, it was hot, and he knew that the lake was secluded and not too many people knew about it, making it perfect for a little getaway together to beat the heat

When he noticed the ribbons of lighter skin that indented your arms and legs, he wasn’t sure what to think at first

Like Pico, he was immediately kind of concerned, wanting to subtly make sure that they weren’t because of any sort of traumatic or dangerous experience that you had to go through

“Hey, feel free to tell me if it’s none of my business, but...”

He doesn’t want to pry into something that’s none of his business, but if there’s something that he needs to be concerned about mentioning for your sake, he wants to know

Once you tell him about the fights that you would partake in (and usually win) though, he’s definitely interested in hearing all he can

He wants to hear about all the people that had their asses handed to them whenever you decided to walk onto the scene

He wants to hear about your triumphs and losses, tracing around each scar as you go into detail about how you got it and how long it took to heal and what it felt like

“He snuck a knife in? Geez, I’m kinda glad that you roughed him up as much as you did.”

He’s intrigued and, as someone who just loves hearing you talk (especially about things you’re passionate about), he can’t get enough

He always asking if it hurts before he makes contact with one, knowing from research that scars can sometimes hurt even after they’ve healed

Actually, he asks before touching any of them at all times, he never wants to make you feel uncomfortable

He’s perfectly fine with you seeing his scars, he makes it more of a joke whenever you see them though since he doesn’t really have a sick story to tell

“You see this? Seesaw, 1999.”

It’s his mental scars that he opens up to you about

He’s got some baggage, and he’d never dump it all on you if you weren’t open to it, but he really appreciates having someone that’s willing to listen, and will repay that tenfold

That aside though, expect him to flaunt you if you’re comfortable with it

He’ll totally brag to people about having a badass partner that could beat them up if they wanted to

(He’s only half-joking)

In summary, you’re super cool and he makes sure to remind you of it regularly

[thestarrynightslover]

How to Say I Love You

Pairing: Jay Halstead x Reader

Word count: 2,582

Warnings: Smut implied.

Summary:  One day, Jay takes it upon himself to be an extra-cute boyfriend. The reason? It takes (y/n) a while to find out.

Disclaimer: I don’t own any of the One Chicago shows, or its characters, also not associated with it in any way or know anyone involved with it.

A/N: Posting super late because the day was hard. So, just some more Jay fluff to brighten our days. Hope you like it!

(y/n) = (your name) (y/l/n) = (your last name) (y/n/n) = (your nickname)

| masterlist |

As soon as you woke up, you felt light kisses being pressed to all of your very exposed skin, and an inevitable smile came to your lips.

“Good morning, princess.” Jay whispered in your ear with a husky voice.

“Good morning for you too, baby.” You answered him while bringing his face closer to yours. On that movement, before you could kiss him, you caught a glance of your bedside clock. “Oh my God, Jay! Look at the time! I thought we’d agreed to get as much sleep as we could after last night!” You quickly reprehended him. “Or have you forgotten that both of us still have to go to work today?” You asked, trying to sound annoyed at him when the most you managed to do was breathe out was a moan, as he nibbed your earlobe.

“Oh, I know how much you like sleeping, babygirl. But I know that there are a few things you’d give up your sleep for.” He stated in a very sexy tone.

“And what exactly makes you think that you’re one of those things?” You teased your boyfriend, hoping he’d respond to it like you thought he would.

“Ah, just a little something,” he teased back while slowly putting his hand between your legs, not even bothering to lift the hem of the shirt you were wearing, “like this.”

“Oh, Jay…” And, just like that, you were completely fine with waking up early.

                                                          ---

Throughout the day, you just couldn’t keep the smile off your face, as your boyfriend took it upon himself to be the cutest person in the world. Why? You had no idea. All you knew was that he'd gotten the day off but, since you couldn't the same, he'd decided to go to work nonetheless.

His romantics for no apparent reason started with a bouquet of your favorite flowers and a note that read:

“Will you be my lunch date today? *blinking face*

P.S.: 12:00 - 13:00 is all I have. Sorry, doll :(

Meet me at our spot?

⎼ Your bae.”

He used bae. If he wasn’t so cute, and if you didn’t love him so much, you would have cringed at the choice, and he knew it. Ah, that man...

A few hours after that, you went to meet Jay for lunch at your spot ⎼ which was one of the benches along the Riverwalk, where you’d first met ⎼, absolutely decided on calling him out for being so mushy. But, as you walked closer towards him, you could see that your boyfriend was holding a picnic basket in one hand, and a bottle of champagne in the other, and, as corny as that was, you couldn’t help but grin. 

“Drinking on duty now, detective?” You asked, raising your eyebrow at him.

“Nope. This one’s without alcohol. And, trust me, you’ll like it.” He told you, a sweet smile on his lips.

“Hum, maybe... But I wouldn’t really mind if it was bad either.” You half-whispered at Jay.

“Oh no?” He asked you with a smirk this time.

“No. The company makes up for anything else.” You said while moving to kiss him.

“Geez, babe, you're such a dork!" He said, making fun of you after the kiss was over.

"Really? That's what you're going with?" You, the dork? Big joke.

"What else can I say if it's the truth?" Jay asked you through his lashes, an innocent expression in-face.

"Look who's talking!" You said while rolling your eyes.

Not long after that, he put an end to your little banter. Saying that he didn't wanna spend another second of the few moments the two of you had until the evening arguing was an understatement. You agreed, even though you knew that both of you secretly enjoyed the bickerings as well as you did everything else.

Later, on that same day, when you were about to leave work, you decided to call your boyfriend.

"Hey, babe." He answered, on the fourth ring, voice letting on some tiredness.

"Hey there, handsome! I'm already leaving work, think I’mma go swim a little. Unless… There's a chance you're getting off a little earlier yourself?" You tried your luck, thinking about making him relax a little before you two left for dinner.

"Uh… Sorry, babe, I don't think I'll be able to." A deep sigh. Something was wrong.

"Jay. Is everything okay?" Another sigh. Shit.

"It's nothing for you to worry about, baby. Just a pain-in-the-ass case we can't seem to solve. When all I wanted to do was be home with you." He confessed.

"Huh. Now, tell me, who's the dork?" You heard his muffled laugh over the phone.

"I am. You know it. I know it. Everyone who knows us knows it." At that, you were the one who giggled. "And, believe me, I bear the title with pride." More laughing, from both of you this time.

"Okay, then… So, um, is there anything I can do? Maybe we cancel that dinner reservation?"

"No! No, not at all! You just… Go do your swimming and don't worry about me, okay?" Jay sounded a bit weird this time, but you brushed it off, thinking that it was just the stress of the day.

"Okay…" You replied, still unconvinced. 

"Alright, I gotta go now. Love you."

"Okay, bye. Love you too. Be safe!"

"Always, baby." With that, he hung up quickly, which he never did ⎼ always dragging the conversations for as long as he could. But, once again, you decided to do what your boyfriend told you to and not worry about it.

It was already a bit into the evening and you were stretching your body to leave the swimming pool, when you saw him. Jay. So you got out and walked over to him.

"Fancy meeting you here, miss (y/l/n)." He greeted innocently.

"Well, this is a surprise. Yet another one. On the same day." You said, just to let him know that his weird behaviors weren't going by unnoticed.

"Ah, you know what they say… Gotta keep the relationship interesting!" Ha, ha. He was up to something. So you just gave him a suspicious look. To which he answered with a huge smile, saying: "What?"

"Nothing. Nothing besides the fact that you're up to something. What is it?"

"Oh. My. God." Jay said emphatically, faking offense. "I'm offended. You think that poorly of me?"

"What do you mean?" You asked him, a bit confused this time.

"You really think that I can't just try and brighten my princess's day?" He said, walking closer to you this time.

"Well, I guess that I wouldn't object to that, but what I'm saying is tha-" Before you could finish your sentence, he was pulling you towards him, pressing your bodies on a tight embrace and kissing you passionately. 

"Oh no, Jay, you should let me go! I'm all wet!" You squeal out as Jay keeps holding you up in the air against his firm abdomen.

"I don't mind." He told you with a shrug of shoulders. "I'm used to having you like this." He, then, whispers in your ear and you can feel his smirk, as he kisses your neck.

"Jay!" You hissed in fake disapproval. "We're in public! You can't be saying these things to me in public!"

"Sorry, baby. But you know that I just can't help myself around you." He tells you, deliberately taking his time. At that, you just throw back your head in laughter. "Besides, it doesn't seem to me like you're feeling all that bothered with my actions…"

"But I am!" You said assertively. But then you remembered your conversation from earlier and asked him, in a softer tone: "Hey, um, how did the case go? Are you still feeling up for the dinner thing?" As soon as the words left your mouth, you watched Jay shift his entire demeanor.

"Yeah! We're definitely still going! And, as I told you before, the case was just a pain in the ass, nothing more." He sounded nervous. Weird. Like he was hiding something.

"Jay…"

"Let's just go, okay? Cause we still need to get ready for dinner. I already put your stuff in the duffel bag. My car's right outside." Jay told you quickly, like he didn't wanna give you time to make any conclusions.

"Okay, then…"

                                                           ---

“C’mon, (y/n/n)! We’re running late!” You heard your boyfriend shouting for you to come out of your shared bedroom.

“Hey! Don’t you dare to rush me! Not when you’re the reason I’m running late in the first place!” You sharply answered, stepping out into the living room whilst putting your earring on. “Besides, that place we’re going is just too fancy. I need to look perfect.” You added more calmly, only now realizing how Jay was staring at you. “What? Is something wrong?”

“Wha- wrong? No! No!” He quickly assured you and closed the distance between the two of you. “You already look perfect. Every single day.”

“What? Jay, I’m serious!” You pouted, giving him an annoyed glare.

“I am too! You look gorgeous, baby.” He told you with that glorious smile of his. “And, really, there’s just no place on the planet that could make you look any less gorgeous.”

“Okay, now you’re just trying to get me to hurry up!” You accused, hitting him with considerable strength in the chest.

“Ouch! That hurt! And, yes, I am trying to hurry you up! Because we have a reservation!” He yelled at you in response. If it was any other time, you would’ve argued with him, of course. But even you had to admit he was right, you were on the clock.

“Okay, okay! I’m just gonna grab my purse and we’ll go!” You shouted back, already from the bedroom.

After that, the two of you managed to leave your apartment and get to the restaurant on time, due to Jay promising the cab driver a doubled pay if he went faster.

As soon as you arrived, though, you saw it was worth it. You still had no clue of what got in your boyfriend’s head to take you out on this kind of date for no apparent reason like that, especially after everything else he’d already done, but you obviously weren’t about to complain either.

 The maître walked both of you two to a table on the upper floor of the establishment, it had an amazing view of the city and it was a pretty reserved space. So, right after you'd placed your orders and been left alone, you half-squealed at Jay:

"Oh. My. God." Your smile was wide and your eyes were shining. "This place is incredible, babe!" He looked at you with devotion, clearly amused by your reaction.

"I know right? I'm really glad we got to come here." He stated, his whole behavior letting you know that he was just as impressed.

And, like that, the evening flew by and you caught yourself stifling yawn after yawn.

"Baby, you’re not too desperate to go home, are you? Because there's still one thing I wanna show you." Your boyfriend said, pulling you by your hand to get up. Then, he guided you to that part where you'd been able to view most Chicago, earlier in the night.

"Wow," you said, leaning against the balcony to see the details, "this really is great, babe." When you’d walked past this part you wondered about why they hadn't put any tables there, only a small couch, but now you knew. They didn't want to make that space ⎼ that landscape ⎼ prisoner of one couple, or one family, that would most likely stay there the entire night.

"It is." He agreed with you.

"You know, I hadn't brought it up yet, because I thought that you'd eventually tell me on your own, but you've been acting a little weird the whole day. This morning in bed, the flowers, then the picnic lunch, picking me up at swimming, and now this… You didn't sound too good on that call either, and I gotta admit that when you said we were going out for a fancy dinner, I didn't think it'd be here, where it's practically impossible to get a reservation. So, just… Talk to me, Jay."

"(y/n/n)... Would you even believe me if I told you that that's what I've been preparing to do the whole day?" He asked you with a shy smile.

"Will you be mad at me if I say no?" You asked, a bit apprehensively. He just laughed.

"Nah, not really." He told you jokingly. "But I have." He said, more serious this time. “Baby, you’re the best thing that ever happened to me.” He started telling you.

“Jay-” You whispered nervously, sort of anticipating what was about to happen.

“No, just- just please let me finish. I need you to understand how important you are to me, princess. Hell, I know that words aren’t really my strongest suit, but you deserve to know that you’re my light, my lifeline, my happiness… You’re my everything, (y/n/n). My entire world. And, because of you, now I think that it is actually okay to dream, to hope for a better future, for a future. That’s why I wanna ask you, tonight, to be my future, just like you already are my present.” At that moment you couldn’t keep the tears off of your face anymore, and you would’ve jumped him right then if he hadn’t gotten down on one knee. “Will you marry me, (y/n) (y/l/n)?” He asked you with a timid smile and teary eyes of his own. As you took in the man you loved, kneeled before you, holding an open box with the diamond ring you’d recognized as being his mother’s, you just stood there crying, not managing to say anything. “B- baby? Please say something.” Jay spoke again, letting out a nervous choked laugh. So you forced yourself to answer him.

“Oh m- my God, yes!!” You squealed out.

“Yes?!?” He repeated what you said, still on the ground.

“Of course, yes!!!” You confirmed, pulling him up to kiss you. While at it, your boyfriend, now fiancé, almost dropped the small velvet box he was holding.

“Okay,” he started, chuckling, after the two of you parted a little, “let me put this thing on your finger before you back down!”

“Ha, ha. As if I was going to! You’re only in a hurry because you’re scared you’ll drop your mom’s ring.” You bickered a little, letting him know that you recognized the jewelry, to which he responded with a bright smile, saying:

“It’s your ring now, princess. And, trust me, she’d love you almost as much as I do if she were still here.” He told you, shining eyes meeting yours, as he slipped the stunning piece in your finger.

“Jay.” You breathed out as the tears resurfaced in your eyes. “It is so beautiful…” You told him looking down at the ring you had in-hand. “And… You really mean that?”

“100%, princess. If I’m being honest, there are a lot of times when you actually remind me of her…” He said, tearing up a little.

“Awww, babe...” You said throwing your arms around him again.

And that’s how you two stayed. Just holding each other, under a very starry night in Chicago. More than ready to start walking down that new road together.