#I could just entertain thoughts of this gremlin all day.

[shootmewithasilverbullet]

Like okay here we go are you ready for an OC rant because you're gonna get one! I can't guarantee that this is going to be coherent but I don't really care just be amused by my thoughts okay

Iv been suddenly rediculously obsessed with Zach for like, the entire day today so I need to rant and get it out of my system. You have no idea how much love I have for this dumbass I swear to God.

Originally he came from needing extra characters in a resident evil fic that me and my ex were writing together, and you know what happens with those random shit heads that you make, right? They never fucking leave you alone so now I have Zachary Krowes, himbo of the highest caliber, creature of comfort, living inside my brain rent free like the gremlin he is.

I don't even know how to explain him properly I just have the dumbest facts that I want to blurt out incoherently without context aahh shit is that what you do?

Ginger boy with a fuckton of freckles, literally covered and he hates it but it's whatever at this point. Brown eyes because if they were green it would have been too much and he couldn't have been that blessed at birth. The Ginger genes run strong in this family, let me tell you it's absolutely disgusting and so good at the same time.

He will flirt with absolutely everything that moves, he loves it, it's a game and half the time he just wants to play with words and compliments and he doesn't think about going farther than the word play, and he isn't even good at it, but that's half the fun.

Getting drunk at a bar and just leaning on a table and telling some random girl that she's so pretty in seventeen different ways, and that she has the prettiest friends and he really hopes they're having a good time and that he'll buy them all a drink because they look like they're having so much fun and his own friend suck in comparison, an just being so not threatening and making friends with equally drunk gaggles of ladies that he will one thousand percent make sure get home safe and would fight for. The amount of times he's gotten into bar fights because some asshole has tried to disrespect his new BFFs in some way? All the time.

But at the same time he's literally this military dude, but he's soft as a kitten and while also having the biggest douchebag loud as fuck truck that he calls his baby.

And he's just an asshole on a good day, and he takes some jokes too far more often than he should. He's got so much respect for people but he makes jokes when he's uncomfortable that sometimes are a little mean and even though he knows it he still does it.

He'll drink booze like it's water, but he gets twitchy around drugs because of past addictions, but he isn't the kind of person to stop anyone from doing it just because he's uncomfortable.

He watched his best friend die because of a stupid decision he made, and hasn't been able to talk to the guys wife - also his best friend - for years because of the debilitating guilt he feels for what happened. Also the cause of his insomnia. The insomnia sparks paranoia, and Zach has rigged his entire house so that he has a firearm available no matter where he is.

He riggest his coffee table to have a shotgun holster underneath it just in case. You never know when you'll need that. He's actually very proud of all the shit he's rigged in his house and will at length go on about how he figured it out and how it works and how useful it is.

The insomnia birthed his ability to cook. He learned pretty quickly that he enjoyed it and he prides himself on being good at it. He loves cooking for people and will not hesitate to have people over so he can surprise them with these skills he has perfected. The kind of cooking that requires fresh ingredients that he will buy daily just to satisfy that perfectionist need.

He's so dumb and argues with teenagers on COD for no reason other than he's bored and hwy wouldn't he play war games when this is also his like, job? But teenagers on COD are so fucking annoying but at the same time it's so fun arguing with them like he is also a fucking twelve year old.

When he was assigned his last partner, the blond was pretty and Zach is stupid as shit so he obviously had to embarrass himself, and this dude he hadn't met before so he dropped to one knee and proposed to him in the middle of the briefing room with the rest of their unit present. Zach has never been forgiven for that. He did end up dating that very same partner, but no one would believe it because that whole partnership was just Zach flirting badly and Josh having better taste. Bad flirting won :)

He has mommy issues. A bad step mom who used to hit him when he was younger. She's still the only person that makes him freeze up, the only person that he's actively terrified of.

Zach almost got a police record, from when he was in high school. He got arrested for vandalizing a building with some friends and when the police showed up he let himself get caught so they could get away. He ended up getting let off the hook because the cop was a family friend, but he got smacked around by his step mom and he ended up telling his friends the bruises were from the popo roughing him up.

He'd do just about anything for recognition, especially when he was younger. The need to be the center of attention, to be noticed in any way, good or bad, stemmed from his parents inatentivness (his dad) and disappointment (stepmom). She wanted him to fit in a specific mold, that he couldn't hope to do, and hwne she realized he'd never be the Son she wanted, she got angry with him, and he started acting out to make her mad, to rebel against her.

Okay that's enough I could really go on but I won't. If you made it this far shit, kudos man I love you!

[cerealboxlore]

Kindergarten Hero (idea ramble)

After re-watching Kindergarten Cop, I got to thinking that a similar scenario would fit Captain Marvel. Hear me out. As the beloved and iconic hero to Fawcett City, he'd go out volunteering all the time just to help out his city in any way he can. Rescuing cats from trees, helping the elderly cross the street, working in soup kitchens, volunteering at animal shelters, you name it, he's there with a great big smile, happy to help. He doesn't have to stop a big bad villain in order to be a hero, as he tells the public that it's the everyday heroes that inspire him to be kind in return. Heroes like first responders, volunteers, etc. Especially, teachers.

I can see Captain Marvel being a common sight at schools for special events to help pass down wisdom to the kids and to have some fun with the citizens he protects on a daily basis. Reading to the third graders, playing basketball with the 7th graders, helping the 12th graders figure out what paths they want to pursue in life and how to apply to colleges (thanks to the wisdom of Solomon for the last one). He gets told that he's a marvel with the kids, and that he'd be an excellent educator. He laughs it off, claiming he could never be as good as the present teachers, but it does linger in his mind just a little.

One day, while stopping by to say hi to some kids during recess at a random school (the patrol was quiet so he'd figured he could waste time this way), Captain Marvel overheard from one of the teachers in charge outside that it's a shame he can't stay longer. The teacher says that one of their kindergarten teachers is out sick, and with a substitute shortage, it's been a struggle to wrangle up the kids without hassle. They all have their hands tied with their own classes enough as it is. Without thinking about it, Captain Marvel says he's happy to volunteer for the position temporarily while they seek a more permanent solution.

Captain Marvel (Billy) thinks this will be easy! Teaching kindergarteners? Psh! He's been through kindergarten before (as Billy), and he's used to helping kids. Of course, teaching is going to be easy, I mean, how hard could it be?

Within the first ten minutes, Captain Marvel wants to admit defeat.

It is not easy to teach. It takes a strength stronger than Hercules to be able to get a classroom of little gremlins to sit down and do their classwork. The man is 6'5ft and the sight of tiny kids running around him is quite a funny sight to the other teachers, who can be heard laughing at him in their classes. Already there's a kid crying, another with glue on their head, and too many of them are trying to eat things that should not be eaten! He never thought he'd have to tell someone not to eat a Lego, but he supposes more impossible things happen whenever he's doing a magical mission.

He's determined not to quit though. If regular teachers can do this every day, then so can he. With the wisdom of Solomon and the stamina of Atlas at his side, Captain Marvel manages to find a way to speak to the littles, and manage the class into respectful students. He teaches the littles to respect their peers and parents, and passes down the importance of being good to the world around them.

He entertains them with lessons from history, the stories from around the world, and how the past can shape the future even centuries later. He gets to show his passion for geology (canon, actually!) to the littles and the science behind it. He even gets to bring in Tawky Tawny for class one day, where Tawny reads to them and they can pet his soft fur.

At the end of his temporary substitute era, Captain Marvel is glad to have that experience. He's grown closer to his city, and learned that Billy would love going back to school after seeing the Captain doing such a good job through his eyes (not back to Kindergarten, of course, ha!).

Anyway, that's me rambling on about Captain Marvel. I had more thoughts about this, but this post is long enough. Maybe next time!

[queenimmadolla]

𝐖𝐀𝐘𝐍𝐄'𝐒 𝐖𝐎𝐑𝐋𝐃

(dad!eddie x mom/pregnant!reader)

𝐏𝐀𝐑𝐓 𝟏 ─ 𝐏𝐀𝐑𝐓 𝟐 ─ 𝐏𝐀𝐑𝐓 𝟑 • more of the pennyverse here.

Summary: . . . After your eventful labor and delivery, you and Eddie can only wait to see what fate holds for your newborn son as you two finally decide on a name. warnings: angst, a whole lot of angst, near death experience, difficult pregnancy, early labor, preterm birth, talk of loss of infants, birth defects, happy ending.

a/n: we have finally reached the rainbow at the end of the storm, my friends. wrapping this up feels so bittersweet, i'm going to miss all the interactions! i don't think i've gotten to talk to this many people here before and i hope it doesn't stop after part three. from the bottom of my heart, thank you. and a HUGE thank you to my partner in crime, @kitmon, for beta-ing this (all three parts) bad boy for me. while Wayne's World is finally over, i'm excited to continue writing for this little family. on to the next thing! word count is 4kish. happy reading! and for the people mad about the long post, sorry, had the 'keep reading' tab on but it kept fucking with the format and eating chunks of it. you're gonna have to scroll. let me know what you think? ◡̈

While Eddie was out like a light, your doctor had also dropped in for a visit to inform you you’d be staying at the hospital for at least another day, which you weren’t too excited about. You were prescribed medication to take during your stay and so long as you felt good, you were allowed to roam about, meaning you could visit your son. 

  Wayne had also dropped by, with a bag he’d packed full of Eddie’s clothes and things he thought he would need. He hadn’t wanted to wake Eddie up, either. After making sure you were okay, he ended up taking Penny home with him. You’d debated on letting her stay, but you figured Eddie would be vehement on staying with you and she’d want to play with her toys soon. Wayne had promised to bring her back for visits.

  Then it was just you and your sleeping husband. Eddie slept through the morning, past the afternoon, and into the evening. You were just about to run out of patience—eager to see your baby—when he finally woke up.

  “Wha’ happen?” He rasped out, voice groggy and eyes squinted almost shut as he stretched, letting out an inhuman grunt. 

  “Good morning, Sleeping Beauty,” you glanced at the clock on the wall, “or goodnight, I guess.”

  “Night?” He followed your gaze, eyes shooting wide open when he realized how late he’d slept. “Oh, shit. It’s seven.” 

  “I’m aware,” you were entirely amused, “Your breakfast, lunch, and dinner are on the counter.” You pointed over to the counter and cabinets lining the wall.

  Eddie was starving, he tossed the blanket aside to get up and made quick work of all of his meals, to your surprise. 

  Watching Eddie eat was always so entertaining. He ate so chaotically, messy like a gremlin. And not just when he was starving. 

  “Where’s Pen?” He asked through a mouthful of food. 

  “With Wayne and Maude. He stopped by and dropped off some things for you.” You pointed this time to the duffel bag resting near his makeshift pullout bed. 

  The burger you’d got him for lunch was clenched in his teeth, the wrapper around it preventing its contents from falling out, as he rifled through it, pulling out a clean shirt, a pair of sweats and some boxers.

  “Why didn’t you wake me?” He asked, again with a mouthful of food as he unbuckled his pants, pushing them down his legs. 

  You watched as he struggled to get his feet out of them without using his hands, aggressively shaking them off his right ankle. He cursed under his breath once they were off and you couldn’t help but elate in the fact your husband was still a dork.

  “You were tired, snoring up a storm—’’

  “—I don’t snore.”

  “—And looking like you were in a coma.”

  Eddie snorted as he devoured the rest of his burger before he was able to go put on the clean boxers (you’d made sure to lean forward so you could get your eyeful) and yank on the sweats. Then he pulled his shirt off and you responded by clapping your hands appreciatively.

  “Now, give me a little twirl,” you swirled your finger downward, with a smirk and Eddie laughed as he threw the shirt at you.

  “Knock it off, six week waiting period still applies to you so you’d better not tempt me.”

  You whistled as you pulled his shirt off your head, holding it to your chest, “You might have had the dinner but I definitely got the show.”

  “You’re incorrigible,” but he was still grinning as he yanked the clean shirt over his head. 

  You waited until he was comfortable, with his food, on the pull out before you informed him, “My doctor came by, too. Said I’m stuck here for another freaking day.”

  Eddie pulled the fry he’d been about to eat away from his mouth so he could tease you with a pout. He was actually glad, you’d be surrounded by medical professionals so if for some reason something happened, they’d be able to take care of you. Plus, he’d be by your side every day until then. This was his last day off, but he’d call Norm in the morning and let him know he’d have to take the next couple of days off. He’d saved up more than enough paid time off at the shop, something he’d chosen this particular one to work at for offering. 

  Of course, when he’d gotten the gig as a teenager, he’d only been concerned about using that time to try out a new strain or micro dose. 

  You rolled your eyes and slumped back into your bed, “Jerk. She also said I could move around. After you finish eating, will you take me to go see him?”

  Fuck, Eddie would take you right now. He was about to set his tray aside when you hissed. 

  “Eat.”

  He held his hands up in defeat, but finished off his food a little faster. 

  While he finished eating, you’d gotten out of bed (yes, he almost had a heart attack and you had to threaten him to keep him from hovering) to freshen up. By the time you were done, so was Eddie.

  You’d dug around his bag until you found one of your favorite shirts of his and put it on, under the stupid hospital gown, along with a pair of his sweats.

  And you hadn’t wanted to, like really, really didn’t want to, but you allowed him to push you to the NICU in a wheelchair. It was the only way you were allowed to leave your room. Why didn’t you want to? Because Eddie insisted it was a game, full on running to propel the wheelchair, even spinning you around in it, when he wasn’t pretending to crash into things. It was fun, but you were sure the hospital staff didn’t appreciate it.

  When you finally got to the NICU and the nurse placed your baby in your arms, you knew everything you’d been through was worth it. Every single second you got with him was precious and worth the possible sorrow that may follow. 

  “He does look like Penny,” you agreed, lifting him up to press a kiss to his forehead. He was in better looking condition than you recalled, not pasty or almost blue, and breathing. You remembered the shock of fear that had shot up your spine when he hadn’t been after you’d pushed him out.

  He was small, smaller than Penny had been for obvious reasons, and while it made you sad that you hadn’t been able to keep him in you to develop more, you were still happy to have him.

  “Although, I think their noses are different,” you mused and gently stroked your finger over the small tip of his nose, tubeless since he’d been removed from his incubator to be placed in your arms. He scrunched it up at the contact, and you were delighted with his response, “he’s got your’s, Eddie.”

  “You think so?” Eddie was taken with that nose scrunch, absolutely entranced. He’d seen you do it in the wee hours of that very morning.

  “Oh, yeah. He’s perfect. I wonder whose eyes he has.” Selfishly, you hoped a pair of big, brown baby cow eyes, like his father’s and sister’s, were under the eye cover.

  “You can take it off,” The nurse hovering nearby informed you, he was handling another baby but he’d heard your comment, “he’s done with his phototherapy. The lighting in here isn’t harsh either, so he’ll be just fine.”

  He stopped what he was doing to hand you a couple of wipes, “Just moisten the edges and it will come right off.”

  You did as instructed, Eddie hovering over you in anticipation. Once the edges were saturated with the warm wipe, you carefully peeled the eye mask away, heart squeezing as your baby boy blinked them open. Well, that was a stretch, he blinked them into a squint.

  He glared up at you like that for a few more moments, before his blinking became rapid and then they were finally open, forehead scrunched up in curiosity as he stared, little mouth just barely parted. 

  “Hi,” you giggled out, absolutely ecstatic to see a pair of familiar dark eyes peering up at you. 

  “Guess that answers that.” Eddie’s smile was soft as he watched you press another kiss to his head, your fingertips mingling with the fluff on his head. He couldn’t help but notice how enthralled his son looked with you, little fists curled near his face.

  “You are so perfect,” you cooed down at him, finger stroking his cheek, he blinked at the contact, gave your hand some serious side eye for surprising him then returned his awed stare to your face. “I love you so much, my little grump. You’re gonna be okay, yeah? ‘Cause you’re just like your daddy, aren’t you? Gonna make it out even when you’re dealt the shorthand.” 

  Was Eddie Munson about to cry again? Yes.

  “Perfect, perfect, perfect,” You enunciated each one word with a kiss to his head, “We still have to name him.”

  The morbid image of a potential name for his son, etched into stone came to the forefront of his mind and Eddie felt a stabbing pang in his chest as he forced the image away.

  “You know, I technically chose Penny’s,” you drawled, craning your head to look up at him, “I think it’s only fair you name him. Since you won’t let me name him Eddie Jr.”

  Eddie stared back at you, gaze intense before it shifted down to the little bundle in your arms, at the face peeking out from the blankets.

  He hadn’t wanted to name his baby after him, wanted him to be more than just a namesake. With Penny, well, her name meant something to him. Unconditional love. 

  It didn’t actually translate to that, but it had belonged to the one person in his life—other than you—who showed him affection, emotion. 

  The baby’s eyes moved away from your face, catching Eddie’s stare and something about it prompted a thought, a fact really. 

  Eddie was wrong. He was so, so wrong in his thought process. The weight of the realization almost had his knees buckling as he stared back at that little face.

  For the first time, Eddie thought of his son’s name. Etched in stone or not, it was the only one worthy of him.

  You’d let the nurse know and he retrieved your son's birth certificate for you. You loved the name so much and since Eddie had been the one to decide on it, you insisted he write it on his birth certificate as well. It had to be the neatest thing Eddie had ever written.

  It hadn’t been easy to let the nurse take your baby back, away from you and you had teared up, afraid it would be the last time you’d see him.

  Eddie had been upset too, in the last few moments you were allowed with him, he’d let his little guy hold onto his finger and reminded him of their earlier talk. He had to make it through tonight, so he could go home with them. After a few parting kisses, tears and reaffirming your love to him, he was whisked away to his incubator and you and Eddie made the sullen trip back to your room. 

  He held you in your bed while you both cried. 

  And cried.

  And cried.

  Eventually, the two of you fell asleep, the sheer emotional exhaustion too much for either of you. 

  When you woke up, it was to sunlight streaming through the cracks in the curtains and the nurse taking your vitals. Eddie was still lightly snoring into the side of your head and just as the nurse finished, both Dr. Eisenberg and Dr. Houseman entered your room.

  “Good morning!” Dr. Eisenberg chirped. Dr. Houseman silently made herself comfortable leaning against the counter.

  “Morning,” came your groggy reply as you shook Eddie awake. He peaked an eye open to glare at you but the moment he caught sight of both doctors, he snapped awake.

  “Sorry to disturb you two, we just figured you’d want to hear the news. Mrs. Munson, although I know you must love your hospital bed, today’s looking like your last day here. Which means I want to hear about you doing lots of walking today. I’m gonna check on you again tomorrow, but if all is well, you’ll be discharged then.”

  Halle-freaking-lujah. 

  Dr. Eisenberg stepped back, nudging Dr. Houseman’s shoulder enthusiastically to take her place.

  “I believe this is the first time we’ve met, Mrs. Munson,” she regarded you with kind eyes before acknowledging Eddie, “Mr. Munson. Nice to see you’ve gotten some rest.”

  Eddie tried not to feel personally attacked.

  “I come bearing news of your son. He made it through the night, with no issues. He’s out of phototherapy, responding well to feedings—that’s very important—and while his breathing is fast, it’s also a good sign. It doesn’t leave him breathless, so it may just be his excitement at being in the outside world and getting to use his lungs. He doesn’t tire more than would be normal for a newborn, either. We’re gonna keep him a little longer, let him develop a little more and ensure the hole starts to heal up, but I give it no more than two weeks before he goes home.”

  The amount of weight lifted off both your shoulders and Eddie’s was almost disorientating. Your baby made it. You’d get to take him home! You wanted to cry, jump around, do backflips, but you settled for leaning into Eddie, who was blinking an awful lot.

  “Alright, I think we served our purpose. We’ll let the two of you have some peace.” They both gave you grins as they made their way out of the room, though Dr. Eisenberg stopped, effectively halting Dr. Houseman as well, “By the way, LOVE the name you gave him. Really fits the little guy.”

  Dr. Houseman nodded in agreement before she was ushering Eisenberg out of the room.

  You held each other again as you cried, this time tears of joy and relief.

  Wayne stopped by again, this time with Penny and a bag of necessities meant for you (packed with care by Maude because Wayne was too embarrassed to go through your drawers). She’d begged Eddie, literally wrapped herself around one of his legs until he agreed to take her to see baby brother. He hadn’t wanted to, would much rather have them meet at the trailer when the two of you could finally bring him home and not when he was still in an incubator, patched up to machines, but he relented.

  Wayne kept you company while he took her to see the baby. She hadn’t asked any questions about the babies, only stating the stork must be getting ready to take them to their mommies and daddies because they were in boxes. 

  When he’d pointed out her brother, she couldn’t look away, placing both hands on the glass as well as her forehead to stare at him. 

  “My little baby potatoes.”

  “He’s not—alright, sweet pea.”

  “I getta keep him, huh, daddy?”

  “Yeah, you get to keep him.” Eddie found himself blinking away tears, comforted to know he wasn’t lying to her, didn’t have to be obtuse to avoid telling her the truth anymore. 

  “Okie dokie, les take ‘em home.”

  Eddie chuckled and pulled her a little ways from the glass to press a kiss to her cheek, “He has to stay here for a few more days, but he’s gonna come home.”

  “Pomise?”

  “I promise.”

  She eyed him suspiciously, “You won’t fuwwet ‘em?”

  “Forget,” Eddie corrected but Penny didn’t amend the word like she would normally do when reminded of the proper pronunciation. She still had a little difficulty with her ‘r’s so if a word had the letter in it and she said it right the first time, great, if she didn’t, she wouldn’t be fixing it, “And that was one time, sweet pea, I came back for you like a minute later.”

  Penny maintained an impressive, nonstop commentary about all the things she was going to teach her baby brother to do during the walk back to your hospital room. At some point, she’d asked Eddie to swing her the rest of  the way, which he scoffed at because that would make him look ridiculous to the staff.

  Needless to say, by the time they got back, Eddie was sure the staff would be making fun of him.

  Wayne hadn’t asked to see the baby, he was content knowing the little fella would be coming home with you. He still had that image of him in the truck stuck in his head, and he’d rather replace it with a baby in a car seat instead of an incubator. He and Penny stayed a while. She took your doctor’s walking orders (that Eddie foolishly mentioned in front of her) seriously and demanded you walk back and forth around the room with her. It was no problem until it just got annoying but you entertained her anyways. 

  Then all your friends had shown up, waiting strategic intervals of time to slip into your room as small groups so the nurses wouldn’t notice. They’d brought tons of gifts and Eddie had to sneak them to the NICU entrance, a few at a time, so they could see your baby through the glass.

  After what a c-section was had been explained to the boys, Dustin’s respect for you skyrocketed, which you hadn’t thought would be possible considering his high opinion of you in the first place, and Lucas thought you had to be some kind of superhuman to survive that, he was amazed. Poor Will and Robin looked like they wanted to throw up when Steve’s girlfriend explained how some of your insides had been briefly removed to get to the baby.

  It had been Nancy and Jonathan who got the group out of the hospital, and just in time. Your main nurse had come to check on you with all the suspicious hallway activity. Wayne and Penny left when visiting hours were over and you convinced Eddie to sleep on the bed with you, you always fell asleep fast when you got to cuddle up to him and you needed the night to pass already so you could get discharged. 

  You were impatient the next morning, Eddie watched on in amusement as you got ready, fluttering about the room until you finally slipped into a shirt and some comfortable pants with a high waistline (nothing was pressing into your scar until that bad boy was healed), then put your hospital gown over them and climbed into bed to disguise your getaway outfit. 

  Your plan was of course foiled when Dr. Eisenberg arrived and had you walk across the room a couple of times. She’d been amused with your expectations, but stuck to her promise and a nurse was wheeling you out after you were discharged.

  Wayne, Penny and Maude greeted you when you arrived home, and while you were pleased to be in your own clothes and trailer, you wanted your baby with you. 

  “What happened to the spot?” You’d asked Wayne, at some point while Maude and Penny were showing Eddie a new dress Maude had made for her.

  You were referring to the stain you were sure your water breaking had left—unfortunately, rather bloody as well. 

  “Maude got rid of it. Took ‘er a couple ‘a days but she managed to scrub it out, ‘s why she couldn’t come see you, reckon she figured you wouldn’t wanna see it.”

  The widow from a couple of trailers away—and Wayne’s lady love—was shy as hell, but you were positive you loved her. 

  You and Eddie made sure to visit your son as often as possible. While Eddie worked, you spent most of your mornings and afternoons at the hospital, learning from the nurses about his improving condition and how to care for him. You’d learned he was fed a couple of special formulas, though they still encouraged you to breastfeed. On day seven of his hospital stay, you got to nurse him for the first time. 

  It was difficult, he wouldn’t latch properly no matter how hard you or the lactation consultant tried at first. It took him a while to get the hang of it, and it had been mildly uncomfortable for you, but eventually he did start latching. Day eight was spent encouraging him to latch each time. You knew you’d have to feed him those special formulas, but that was the extent of sharing him with a bottle you were willing to go. It was 50/50, and they’d informed you as soon as he caught up in development, and started gaining weight, the need for the formulas would lessen and you wouldn’t have to share him.

  GOOD.

  On day nine, you and Eddie got to bring him home. It hadn’t been completely planned, Dr. Houseman had suggested it the day prior, hadn’t guaranteed it and hadn’t been expecting you to have a carseat and anything else you might need for the ride home, but when she mentioned that he was good to go—though he’d have to be seen regularly to ensure his heart was in healthy condition and healing—Eddie bolted to retrieve the car seat he’d had waiting for his little dude and came just about running back.

  “Don’t look so sour, baby,” He cooed as he tucked his little baby in and secured the harness around him. His son’s face was scrunched up, glaring at Eddie while he buckled him in. Clearly, he wasn’t a fan of the car seat, but he changed his tune when Eddie gently squished his cheeks between his thumb and index finger, the baby immediately relaxed, eyes wide as he stared up at his daddy. Then Eddie was tucking a blanket around him, and lowering the visor to protect him from the cold air.

  It was wonderfully symbolic how peaceful the drive home from the hospital with your son had been compared to how chaotic the drive to the hospital, with him, had been. 

  Wayne, Penny and Maude were waiting for you again. Penny practically attacked Eddie’s legs as soon as he made it through the door with the car seat. 

  “Whoa, sweet pea! Careful, daddy doesn’t want to step on you.”

  “I wanna see ‘em!”

  “You will,” You promised as you shut the door behind you. Wayne and Maude were perched on the couch as Eddie placed the car seat down and squatted so he could carefully take the baby out of it. Penny’s energy seemed to disappear, she was stock still, watching as Eddie lifted the visor, removed the blanket, unbuckled the baby and finally pulled him out. 

  Maude’s reaction was instant, sounds of adoration slipping past her lips as the baby scrunched his back while Eddie lifted him, tiny arms pulling up near his head. 

  Wayne laughed, relieved to see the baby looked nothing like he had when he’d first seen him. In fact, if he didn’t know better he’d think Eddie brought home the wrong one. 

  “You wanna hold him?”

  “Bring ‘im ‘ere.” Wayne held his hands out and Eddie carefully placed his newborn son in them.

  “Well, ‘yer in better shape, ain’t you?” He commented down at the little guy. As soon as those eyes were on him, he knew there had been no baby mix up. He was Eddie’s kid.

  “‘Shoot, another one with ‘yer eyes?” Wayne chuckled and Eddie’s chest puffed with pride. His next joke was directed towards you, “He’s lookin’ like Penny did when she was a baby, you sure you ain’t a copy machine?”

  “Not anymore,” You scoffed, smiling at the sight as you leaned into Eddie’s side. He slipped an arm around your shoulders, hand moving to the side of your head as he pulled you even closer to kiss.

  “He’s a cute lil’ fella. What’s his name?”

  Eddie smirked against the top of your head before he answered him, “Wayne.”

  “Hmn?” Then, without looking up from that little face, Wayne figured Eddie hadn’t heard him and was asking him to repeat himself. “‘Said what’s his name?”

  “I heard you, his name is Wayne.”

  Wayne looked up at the two of you then, eyes wide and unbelieving.

  “Wha—?”

  “His full name is Wayne Edward Munson,” you had to make sure they knew Eddie compromised and was willing to allow you to use his name as his son’s middle name, the smile on your face was smug. “Wayne.”

  Wayne cleared his throat, tongue darting out to wet his dry lips. 

  “‘S really…” He trailed off, throat thick as he swallowed, head nodding a couple of times. 

  “I didn’t always imagine myself as a family man growing up,” Eddie confessed, “but when I did, I imagined having these crazy, weirdo kids who I’d love and who would love me back. Teach them to play the guitar, how to appreciate good music, play Dungeons and Dragons with. Was already afraid I’d mess up, though. And they’d stop loving me.

  “When we had Penny and she,” Eddie pressed another kiss to your head, “suggested we name her after my mom, I thought it was perfect. Naming the baby I was afraid would one day stop loving me after someone who never did was perfect to me. I was struggling real hard on names for him, didn’t think Edward was worthy of him. Then he looked at me. In that moment, all I could think about was how much I loved him. I couldn't help but wonder if that was how you felt when you saw me.”

  Eddie wasn’t the insecure kid he used to be—well, not as insecure. He’d been unsure of it at the start of his stay with Wayne, the older Munson was never very vocal with his emotions, though he had on occasion told Eddie he loved him. It wasn’t a machismo thing, Eddie was sure Wayne just didn’t know how to express emotions. It was how he’d been raised. Regardless, Eddie knew Wayne loved him. 

  Loved him when he was a baby, born from the woman he loved and not even his own son. Loved him when he saw him sporadically throughout his early life. Loved him enough to try and fight to keep him when his mom died, though the law gave him back to his dad. Loved him when a social worker showed up on his doorstep with him in tow, a broken shell of a boy. Loved him in those few awkward first interactions as they learned how to be around each other again. Loved him when he started getting in trouble, when police officers started escorting him home, when he’d had to pick him up from the police station, when he knew he was selling things and partaking in a business Wayne didn’t particularly approve of, loved him through it all. By blood, he might have been an uncle. By all other means, that man was his father. And his name was the only name worthy of his son. No rock star could compete. 

  “So, we named him after the other person in my life who never stopped loving me.”

  Eddie could see the shine on Wayne’s eyes as his mouth set in a firm line. 

  Finally, Wayne managed to rasp out, “‘Ye’ah, you’re right. Not for one secon’.”

  Not for once second had he stopped loving his boy. 

  Wayne looked down at little Wayne, whose stare was no longer scrutinizing, “You got ‘yerself a good pair ‘a parents. ‘Couldn’ta asked to be born in a better family.”

  “Uhm, ‘scuse me, I fuwwot his name. What’s he called?”

  “Wayne, baby.” Eddie chuckled and Penny leaned against Maude’s legs, craning forward to get a good look at her brother.

  “Waynie. I like it! Can I put ‘em in my stoller now?”

  “No, Penny.”

  After the flood of emotions that your living room became that morning, Wayne and Maude had stuck around for a couple of hours before they said goodbye to Penny and baby Wayne and made their way home. So, about a three minute walk, tops.

  You settled onto the couch, next to Eddie who had Penny curled on his lap, with baby Wayne, ready to nurse him as Eddie searched for something to watch. You’d just gotten Wayne to latch when Eddie made a pleased sound and you glanced up to find out what had amused him.

  On the tv was an episode of Saturday Night Live, specifically the beginnings of one of Mike Myers’ most popular sketches as Eddie’s favorite character from the show. 

  “Just in time,” At the mention of his son’s name on screen, Eddie glanced down at the baby attached to your boob, whose gaze flickered to the side to meet his as if he was aware of gaining his dad’s attention. 

The corners of Eddie’s lips twitched as his big eyes stared at him, “Yeah, yeah. I know. Welcome to Wayne’s World.”

[demonpiratehuntress]

helloooo!!! can i ask strawhats reactions with a nakama reader who just LOVES doing her nails and every time they have a chill day she takes her sweet time doing it?

sure thing! :) sorry for the long wait, I've been busy with work, university and soccer, and it's been difficult for me to be online during Ramadan because of the fast and other things i have to do, but i hope you enjoy this!

taglist - @kabloswrld

manicure

featuring - Zoro x F!Reader, Luffy x F!Reader, Usopp x F!Reader, Sanji x F!Reader

summary - the ask :)

warnings - none

ZORO

It's not often that the crew gets to take a day off and relax, but when you do you take full advantage of it. It's the only time you get to yourself, when you can do anything you want without having the other Straw Hats in your face all the time. Normally you stay in your room and do your nails, but today a certain swordsman was curious to know what you do on days off, so here he was in your room watching you.

"What's the point of that?" He deadpanned, watching the stroke of the paint-tipped brush over your nail.

You looked up at him, beaming, "It looks pretty!"

"It looks-" He sighed. "Okay."

Silence fell between you two again as you continued painting your nails, a (vibrant/dark) shade of (colour). You could tell that Zoro had more questions, probably about the necessity of your hobby, but you pointedly ignored him.

"Are you done yet?" His gruff voice rang out a few minutes later.

"Yes!" You grinned, holding up your hand, "With one hand!"

He groaned, rubbing his face, "This is boring."

"Well nobody said you had to be here, grumpy," you teased.

"i thought you'd do something more exciting. And fun."

"HEY," you protested, "This is fun! For me!"

The swordsman rolled his eyes, and you narrowed yours, "Maybe you should try it and see."

"No thanks."

"Then how about I paint yours too?"

"I can't think of anything I want less than that."

You pouted, but resumed painting your nails. When you were finished with your other hand, you turned to show Zoro proudly, only to find that he was fast asleep. You were disappointed for just a moment before smirking, realising that this was an opportunity for you.

So you painted his nails too, and then hid when he woke up.

LUFFY

Luffy gets bored when there's nothing for the crew to do. Unlike the rest of you, who enjoy the day off and take time to relax, he cannot sit still. He doesn't understand the concept of relaxing, because he's always bouncing off the walls and begging one of you to entertain him. Which is as difficult as it sounds, because he has the attention span of a goldfish.

"(Name), what do you do on days like this?"

You almost jumped out of your skin when the captain appeared at your shoulder suddenly. You dropped the small bottle of (colour) nail polish and watched as some dribbled out and onto your desk.

"Luffy!"

"Sorry," he apologised, but didn't sound like he was really sorry. Or look it, since he was grinning like the gremlin he was.

You sighed and picked the bottle up, cleaning the spilled polish, "I'm just doing my nails. Wanna watch?"

He nodded excitedly, curious about what that actually meant. When he saw you brush the paint on your nail, he oo'ed and ah'ed at the sight. To him it was fascinating how the colour settled on your nail when you finished painting.

But after a few fingers, he started to get bored and fidgety.

"(Name), how long is this going to take?"

"I still have the other hand, Luffy!" You laughed.

He pouted, but continued watching nonetheless. He was fascinated by how the colour stayed on your nails, and when you were done with both hands he jumped up excitedly.

"Now we can go do something more fun!" He grinned.

"No!" You shook your head. "I have to wait for it to dry, and then put another layer, and then wait for that to dry."

He groaned and sat back down, putting his chin in his palms like a little kid. He was going insane with boredom, and you were just happily sitting there painting your nails.

"If you want, Luffy, I can paint yours too."

He seemed thrilled by the idea, until he bounded out of your room to show the others as soon as you were done, and came back whining that it got smudged.

Sigh.

SANJI

This man is possible the only Straw Hat that could watch you do literally anything, no matter how long or how boring, without complaining. He is the only one who will be happy to sit with you for hours doing the most mundane things, because to him the time spent with you is worth it. So the minute you asked him for company, he didn't even let you finish before he was dragging you off to your room.

"Do you want to choose a colour?" You asked him, laughing as you showed him your assortment of nail polish colours.

He was more than happy to do that, and eagerly showed you a (bright/pastel) (colour) bottle. When you smiled and thanked him, he practically melted.

He's also the most patient of all of them. He doesn't mind that it takes forever to get just one hand done, nor does he mind that after you let it dry you have to apply another coat.

"How does it look?" You asked him, holding your hand up with a smile.

His answer is nothing short of what you expect, and he looks at your nails with heart eyes.

"It looks so pretty (Name)! Just like you!"

He might even offer to do it for you, and if you let him you find out that he's surprisingly good at it. Maybe even better than you. He takes longer, but that's because he wants it to be perfect for you. He honestly has no qualms about spending the entire day doing this with you, you will not hear a single complaint from him.

"Thanks, SanjI! Do you want me to do yours now?" You ask him teasingly, then get surprised when he eagerly holds out his hands for you to do whatever you want with. "Okay, which colour?"

And now that he knows you do this on every free day you guys get, he's at your door before you can even ask anyone if they want to choose a colour.

USOPP

Usopp knows what everyone does whenever the crew gets a day off. Everyone but you. You just slink off to your room with a smile and no one sees you for hours. Normally Usopp wouldn't think much of it, but as it happens more and more he gets curious to know what exactly you're doing. It also may be an excuse to get away from an overexcited Luffy who wants to tinker with his explosives.

He doesn't know how to feel about what he discovers.

"Usopp! Great!" You exclaim, pulling him into your room to show him what you were doing. "Would this colour look better, or this one?" You held up two different colours, confusing the poor sharpshooter.

"Look better for what?" He asked nervously, his first thought being that you wanted to paint something on a piece of paper.

"My nails!" You beam, showing him your bare nails. "Which colour matches my skin tone better, do you think?"

He blabbers out some kind of response, then points to the (colour) polish in your right hand. You smile and get to work, and he just stands there awkwardly until he sees you actually applying the paint on your nails.

"You just...paint your nails?" He asked, confused on how that would be fun.

"Yep!"

Deciding it was better than being bugged by Luffy, Usopp sat down and just watched you for a few minutes. That's how long it took for him to get bored, but he was too shy to say it.

"So this is why no one sees you for hours on our days off?" He asked, "The reason is way more boring than I thought it would be."

"Hey!" You protested, painting his nose (colour).

Usopp is in between Sanji and the other two. He's not very impatient, but he's not patient either. He will sit there and watch, and get bored, but he won't say anything about it until he either hears someone pass by or has had enough and pretends to cough and come up with another fake illness.

"You know, I have this rare disease called the-smell-is-killing-me-itis, it's pretty contagious so I should just-"

"Sit down," you interrupted him, "Cause I want to paint yours now."

"W-what?! No! Then I'll look like-I mean I'm allergic-"

"Sit down."

[finalgilmoregirl]

☆ random thoughts about what i think being in a relationship with mike would be like :

a/n : no gender specified, no y/n + no mentions of the actual movie plot

he’s actually pretty quick to open up after the first couple of dates. i think he would want you to know his situation as soon as possible and understand what you might be getting yourself into if the relationship has any chance of becoming long term.

he also does it for abby’s sake, he doesn’t want you to meet her and accidentally say the wrong thing, or be surprised by their situation so much that you get scared off, leaving poor abby confused.

likes watching horror movies, but only over the top, borderline goofy ones (i.e. nightmare on elm street, child’s play, gremlins, signs). he gets fidgety and even anxious during any where the antagonist is human, some might hit a bit too close to home.

cheesy low budget slashers have a pass. the acting is bad enough and the plot is predictable enough to keep him entertained but not lead him to spiral. those and again, goofy ones are when he pulls out the “here, i’ll protect you” move about fifteen minutes in, of course just wanting an excuse to hold you.

he’s the worst at grocery shopping. he always goes when he’s hungry which leads to too many snacks and frozen meals. and as much as you love the convenience, you know he and abby can’t live like this. which leads to you pushing the cart around while he holds the list you made and grumbles things like “when are we even going to eat rice?” and “i don’t need all of these vegetables, they’re just going to go bad.”

in the end, he’s grateful. and abby is too now that you introduced them to the world of easy to make side dishes.

stealing his clothes duh!! he could groan about how he’d been looking for that hoodie or his sweatpants and sometimes even socks (yes even the ones with the holes in them) but at the end of the day he’ll allow it because he loves the way his clothes look on you, and you love smelling like him.

like i mentioned earlier, he lives for touch. it’s something he didn’t know he was missing until he met you. then it’s all he wants when he’s around you. it can be you running a hand through his hair, or him pulling your back into his chest with an arm around your shoulder.

he loves forehead touching. he loves it when you do it as a way to cheer him up, making a silly face, causing him to pull away and giggle into your neck. he loves it on late nights where he’s just woken up from another bad dream and you do it to calm him down, allowing him to match his breath with yours. he loves it after a moment of passion, and as he stares into your eyes all he sees staring back is pure adoration. it’s the intimacy in the close proximity that he never gets tired of.

he has a temper but it’s hard to blame him. it comes from a place of anxiety, where any high stress situation causes a fight or flight response in him. he hates it about himself, and even after you forgive him after an argument for snapping at you or abby or for shutting you out at a time when he shouldn’t, he still kicks himself for it.

abby usually taking your side in debates just to spite her brother. even if its about something she has no knowledge about, you're in the right! which usually leads to mike jokingly mumbling about how much she likes you more than him.

finally, date nights!!! and as much as mike likes the idea of going out for drinks or for dinner and a movie, he and his wallet favor a more intimate night in at his home. these kinds of dates are few and far between, since its hard for mike to find someone he trusts enough to send abby away with. but on the rare chance that she gets invited to a friends slumber party just a block over, he takes it and spends the night drinking and laughing with you over a plate of your guys' favorite take out orders.

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

hope you enjoyed! ☆ requests are open btw

[withacapitalp]

How to Rehabilitate a Jock Pt 17

Part One Link to ao3 Part 16

A speedy update? Couldn't be me lmao

Step Seventeen: Tell a Story

The party really wasn’t like any of the ragers he used to throw, but in Steve’s opinion that made it a thousand times better. 

From his vantage point on the arm of the couch, Steve could see everything, and all looked to be going well. All of the parents had quickly clustered together around the big dining room table, smoking and playing cards as they reminisced about the good old days and enjoyed the wine Steve had broken out of the cellar. Mike and Lucas were sprawled out across the floor, their books in piles around them as they designed new characters and argued about the best way to win against dragons, while Nancy and Jonathan had curled up together on the loveseat by the window, sharing a cup of cocoa and quietly whispering about god knows what. 

It all seemed peaceful. 

So naturally Steve was sitting next to the most chaotic conversation he had ever heard. 

“In terms of controlling the fight and better initiative, it’s the halberd. Hands down,” Frank declared. He was putting emphasis on every single word, as if doing so would somehow sway the three preteens throwing him impressively dry looks. 

“That’s assuming you have the speed and dexterity necessary to gain that advantage,” Dustin sighed, shaking his head and tutting. “The greatsword is not only faster, but it is shorter, which makes the swing that much more versatile.”

Mike and Lucas sagely nodded along from their spot on the floor next to Dustin. the calmness of the action only riling Frank up even more.

“Reach is speed on its own!” He snapped, tossing his hands in the air, turning to the others for help. Steve bit down the laugh that was attempting to escape, doing his best to appear supportive, and Eddie was already reaching over to give his friend the conciliatory pat on the shoulder. 

Steve wasn’t exactly positive how the debate had started, but it had to have been at least fifteen minutes of furious back and forth between the two. It was pretty entertaining to watch, made even better by the quiet comments Eddie would whisper up to Steve when he was sure no one else was listening. 

“Careful there Frank,” Jeff called from the other side of the room, not looking up from Will’s sketchbook as he did, “you sound like you’re losing to a twelve year old.”

“I am not losing,” Frank ground out. 

“I’m not twelve!” Dustin protested.

“Of course you aren’t losing, Frankie,” Eddie interjected, his tone practically dripping with false kindness. He accompanied the words with a brief pat to the top of Frank’s head. 

“Dustin just isn’t opening his mind to the possibilities that your elder brain has already thought through,” Steve added on, his stomach doing a weird flip-flop when Eddie turned to look up at him with a little gremlin smile. Teasing friends was different when it really was just teasing, and Steve couldn’t resist the urge to jump in and knock at Frank a little for getting so into a debate with the kids. 

“Okay just because you play now doesn’t make you an expert, Steve,” Mike added on, never one to miss a chance to try and knock Steve down a peg. Steve, very maturely, rolled his eyes and chose not to reply. 

“How about it, Sweetheart?” Eddie asked, looking up at Steve where he was sitting perched on the arm of the couch, “halberd or Greatsword?”

“Steve, if you don’t choose the sword, I will feel personally betrayed,” Dustin spat out before Steve could even open his mouth. It was accompanied by a murderous looking glower, and Steve knew trouble was starting to brew on the horizon. 

“Eh, I think Baby might have a problem if I start using a different weapon,” He said, staying neutral and dragging the boys into a different conversation before feelings started to actually get hurt. 

“Baby?”

Fuck. 

Steve’s whole body stiffened up, and he glanced quickly at Eddie before turning away, mind racing to come up with an explanation. How the hell was he supposed to casually bring up the bat studded with nails that was sitting in the trunk of his BMW?

“Okay, but we’re talking in game, not real life!” Lucas objected, keeping the conversation flowing and unintentionally bypassing Eddie’s question. 

“Baby would be more effective than a halberd though,” Dustin pointed out, and Mike hummed in disagreement, flipping the pages of the manual in front of him as he looked for a counter argument.

“So who’s Baby?” Eddie asked quietly as they continued the debate, leaning back towards Steve so only he could hear the words. He was looking up at Steve with those big doe eyes, completely at peace with a soft smile and lax shoulders. He was the picture of calmness, and Steve wouldn’t ruin that with the Upside Down, not even in the most roundabout way. 

“I’m gonna get a refill,” Steve whispered to him instead, reaching down to quickly run his fingers through Eddie’s curls impulsively before standing up and stretching. He felt the hem of his maroon sweater ride up over his hips, and the boys groaned as the bottom half of Steve’s stomach came into view. “Do you want anything, Eds?” 

“Um no, ‘m okay,” Eddie said, his voice uncharacteristically small. Steve relaxed from his stretch, giving Eddie a quick once over. He looked the same as before, save for a slight color on his cheeks and averted downward facing eyes. 

Weird. 

Something to check on. 

But later. First Steve had to take a lap. 

“Dustin, don’t make Frank blow a gasket,” Steve ordered as he passed by, pushing the kids hat down over his eyes. Dustin growled at him and waved his arms blindly in an attempt to smack Steve away, but Steve easily dodged it, sliding over to the edge of the living room and down the stairs to the wine cellar. 

“Stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid,” Steve muttered to himself as he picked two bottles at random. How could he have said something like that? He wasn’t even drunk! It had just slipped out, but that didn’t make it okay. Sure, the very existence of Baby wasn’t covered by the NDA’s, but just knowing about her would be enough to make Eddie curious, and curiosity led to more questions, which lead to more answers, which lead to more danger. 

Steve’s stomach flipped over on itself, and he leaned back against the cool stone wall of the cellar, worrying his lip as he tried to take a deep breath. 

There wasn’t any danger. Not anymore. It was just a party, and it was just one little sentence. Eddie would forget about it by the time he walked back up the stairs. He was working himself up over nothing. 

Or everything. 

‘Or’ might just be the scariest word in the world, Steve thought to himself as he climbed up the stairs feeling about ten thousand pounds heavier. He trudged over to the kitchen and quickly opened both bottles, leaving one to air out as he carried the other over to the dining room table, silently listening to the adults as they gossiped. 

“It’s such an insane story,” Sue Sinclair was saying in a quiet breathy voice as Steve walked in, barely even noticing as he started refilling her glass, “it’s hard to believe.” 

“It was harder to live through,” Hopper replied, extremely somber as he gravely shook his head.

Steve bit the inside of his cheek to keep from making a noise and giving up the act. He looked up just a bit to make eye contact with Joyce, who was also clearly hiding a smile behind her hand. 

“Maybe we should pause this conversation?” Karen asked lightly, politely jutting her chin out towards Steve who continued to pour without comment. 

“Steve knows,” Hopper quickly smoothed over. 

“He babysits Jane with the others,” Joyce added on, giving Steve a secretive look as she continued, “such a big help with acclimating her.”

All eyes were on him now, and Steve played his part perfectly. He poured the last of the bottle into Hopper’s glass and stepped back with a sigh. 

“She’s a great kid. Amazing even, after everything she’s been through,” Steve said, his voice pitched to the ultimate tone of caring worry. 

This seemed to seal the deal for the rest of the adults, and they fell one by one. Hook, line, and sinker. The women were twittering on about how sad the whole story was, and the men were shaking their heads and muttering to Hopper about how drugs were going to ruin the nation. 

Everything was going to plan. 

Steve couldn’t help the little burst of pride he felt watching all of the parents gossiping like hens. He was the one to come up with El’s cover story, and it couldn’t have been going better. 

El might not be allowed to go to school until next year, but Steve didn’t see a point in keeping her locked up in the cabin until then like Hopper wanted. The government knew she was alive now, and she had all her paperwork. Besides, having her drop out of the blue sky into one of the most unforgiving social settings on the planet was a complete recipe for disaster. 

This party had been the perfect test run for the story they were going to use to explain her sudden appearance, and it had passed with flying colors. But Steve had known it would work, never had any doubt despite everyone else’s concerns. 

He knew because he knew this town like the back of his hand. If you gave them a good enough story, something juicy and wild but with enough reality that it would stick, then they would buy it. Not only would they buy it, but they would sell it to everyone else on the block too. Now that Sue Sinclair, Claudia Henderson, and Karen Wheeler had the ‘truth’, El would fly into Hawkins High with only minimal odd looks and the occasional jerky kid to deal with. 

And what was the best cover story for a girl like El? 

“I just can’t believe that there was a suicide cult right here in Indiana,” Chuck Sinclair commented, sitting back in his seat. “How did no one know about it?”

“There was no way to leave without being killed. Anyone who would have told someone was killed. Brenner, the one in charge, was convinced he could create dimensions to other worlds and give children superpowers with LSD, if you can believe it,” Joyce replied, laying on the shock and surprise a little thick in Steve’s opinion. Still, whatever got the rest of them on board.  

“Ridiculous,” Ted Wheeler muttered, sounding absolutely disgusted. 

“We’re just lucky we found Will and Jane when we did. We were too late for the others,” Hopper paused to take a long slow sip of his drink, really selling the story. He even lowered his voice, causing them all to lean in, “The feds want to keep it real hush hush, and we were so afraid for the kids that we just went along with that bullshit water contamination story. But I mean, c’mon. Water contamination? Those people disappeared.” 

A round of mutters among the group, and then Karen Wheeler spoke up. 

“But Barbara Holland using drugs? I knew Barb her entire life. She always had such a good head on her shoulders,” She said, grief coating every word. Steve dragged a sharp breath in, holding the bottle close to his chest and forcing himself to stay still and silent as Hopper and Joyce did their best to explain. 

This was the part that sucked. To make the story work, really work, it had to involve everyone. Benny, Barb, Will, even the two hunters. All of them had to be explained, or the story fell apart. It felt dishonest to make Barb a part of it all, but El was still here, and Steve still had a chance to help her. 

For El. It was all for El. 

“That’s how the commies get you,” Ted remarked to Karen the second Hop was done speaking. “We’re just lucky she didn’t bring Nancy into it.” 

Steve bit his tongue to keep from lashing out. This wasn’t about him or his guilt. It was about El. 

“At least you saved that precious little girl,” Claudia breathed, hand still over her heart as her eyes glistened with tears. “It all must have been so scary for her. Does she know… you know… about her mother?”

“She does, but she doesn’t like to talk about it,” Hopper laid both hands out on the table 

“Listen, we really shouldn’t have said anything to you all.”

This was it. This was the moment that would tell them what was going to happen from here on out. Steve held his breath

“Our lips are sealed, Jim,” Chuck said instantly, the rest of the group nodding along. “Last thing any of us would want to do is put your daughter or Joyce’s son in danger. Whether it’s the government or some freaky cult stragglers.” 

There it was. 

In a small town like Hawkins, lips were always sealed. People said they wouldn’t say a word, they promised to keep a secret, but Steve had no doubt that by the end of the week the entire town would be abuzz with the story. The best part was, there was no one that would end up hurt. Hopper looked like a hero, Joyce went from local crazy woman to single mother who did everything to protect her baby, and El was just a poor child who was rescued from an insane terrible man. 

It was the truth, just… shifted ever so slightly. No lies involved. Not really. Just a perspective on it. 

The mood and the topic began to move, and Steve moved with it. He went to escape out the side door back to the living room, but as he went past her Joyce reached out, taking his wrist in her small hand and squeezing it once. It was a tiny display of affection, barely anything, but it stopped Steve in his tracks, making his heart do strange weird things that left his chest aching. 

Damn. 

“Are you alright?” Joyce murmured to him below the sound of the conversation. 

“Yeah?” Steve replied, unspoken question sitting between them as Joyce continued to hold onto his wrist. 

“You looked upset when you came in,” She observed. That was the best and worst part of Joyce, she never let anything drop. It reminded Steve a lot of Nancy actually, both of them so determined to get to the bottom of everything, even when it was best to just leave it alone. 

Of course it had to be Joyce. 

“‘I’m okay,” Steve said, trying for a thin little smile. 

Joyce hummed, rubbing her thumb over Steve’s arm as she forced him to keep eye contact until the fake smile slipped from his face. 

“It’s not a big deal,” Steve said, a dark cloud coming over him as Joyce continued to hold on. It was the same thing as Nancy. Stifling, impossible to be around, a feeling of claustrophobia that would never fully go away. 

It wasn’t any of Joyce’s business. It wasn’t like she was his mother. 

“Well, if you need anything you can always come to me or Hop,” Joyce said after a too long silence, releasing Steve’s arm. “We’re here for you guys too, not just the kids.”

“You’re allowed to not be okay.”

Eddie. 

Since he had said those words, they had been permanently branded in the forefront of Steve’s mind. Every time he tried to forget them, they returned with a vengeance, hitting him directly in the soft spot right above his breastbone. 

It wasn’t like Steve didn’t know that. He knew that he was allowed to not be okay. He did. But it was silly for him not to be okay, because nothing had really happened to him. Will was the one who had ended up in the Upside Down. Nancy’s best friend had died. El had been fucking tortured for her entire life. 

In comparison Steve’s problems were so small it was laughable. 

So why was everyone trying so hard to tell him that they mattered? 

“Steve?” 

Steve had never been so happy to hear one of his kids. 

A hush fell over the adults as El popped her head around the corner, immediately coming over to Steve’s side and pressing close, trying to avoid the obvious stares coming from everyone else. They were looking at her with a mixture of pity and concern, but it was better than fear. 

“Hi Janey,” Steve said, playing with her curls and shooting her a warm grin, “you doin’ okay?”

El shrugged, burrowing impossibly further into Steve’s grip. 

“The others are being loud,” She said softly. Steve sighed, petting her hair again. He and Hop had talked about the possibility of this being too much for her, same as the Snowball. This party was mostly made up of her people, but even her people could be overwhelming. 

Luckily, Steve already had an idea in place. 

“Would you mind helping me with something?” Steve asked, already gently nudging El towards the doorway and into the kitchen. 

Making cookies was the perfect ‘cool down away from people so you don't have a meltdown and psychically destroy Steve's house’ activity. Steve had learned that El really enjoyed cooking, and although she couldn’t use her powers to get the flour down from the high shelf like she usually would if it was just them, she was still having fun. 

“Don’t listen to anyone who tells you oatmeal raisin cookies are bad,” Steve instructed, rolling out another ball of dough and placing it carefully on the cookie sheet. “They’re stupid and childish.”

“Mike hates oatmeal raisin,” El cheerfully replied, licking the spoon that Steve had handed to her when he was done mixing the batter. 

Now that it was just the two of them, she had relaxed. She was sitting on the counter next to where he was working, ever so slightly bobbing her head along to the music filtering in from the living room. Steve had relaxed along with her, all of the previous troubles of the night fading away, replaced by the smell of cinnamon sugar and the warmth of the oven heating up. 

“My point exactly. Mike hates everything great,” Steve countered, dabbing a bit of cookie batter onto the tip of El’s nose. She laughed softly, and stuck her tongue out, trying to reach the offending treat. 

“Mike likes me,” El shot back, continuing to try and touch her tongue to her nose. Steve watched her struggle for a second more before shaking his head and reaching around her to grab a paper towel. 

“Well, even a broken clock is right twice a day,” Steve whispered conspiratorially as he wiped her face clean. This started up another round of giggles, and Steve laughed along with her, his entire body feeling light for the first time all day. 

He loved each of his kids for different reasons- even Mike- but El was just so easy. The rest of them couldn't help the compulsive urge to be difficult little hell beasts. They were always trying to show off how smart they were, which usually meant disparaging Steve’s intelligence to some degree. Even Will couldn’t resist a few snarky comments when he thought Steve was being overprotective.

But El thought Steve was one of the smartest people in the world, and she was always telling him so. It was objectively untrue, but it was fun to get to show her how to do things without being afraid of being told he was doing them wrong. Even something as simple as baking cookies was an opportunity to give her a new happy experience, and getting to be a part of that was kind of magical. 

“How about this- we’ll tell Mike you made these and you’ll see just how quickly oatmeal raisin becomes his favorite cookie,” Steve offered. 

“Sounds like fun,” A familiar voice said from the doorway, making Steve’s heart skip a beat. 

Steve turned around and gave Eddie a pleased grin, waving him in and turning around to finish up with the dough.

“Hey Eds,” Steve said as Eddie leaned into his space and snagged a bite. Eddie hummed appreciatively, going for another taste but Steve smacked his hand with his spoon before he could.

“You’ll get sick eating that,” Steve pointed out. 

“So mean,” Eddie said with a fake pout. He pulled away from Steve, walking around the kitchen aimlessly with swinging arms, “I was just wondering where our liege had run off to. Apparently you went to guide a wayward princess through the fine art of confectionary creation.” 

Said ‘princess’ was staring at Eddie with open distrust. Her spoon had been abandoned beside her, and her arms were wrapped tight around her middle. Steve was immediately reminded of her initial reaction to Max. Although they were thick as thieves now, El had been cold to her too at the start. Steve had figured it was some sort of pre-teen jealousy thing over Mike. 

Apparently it was just an all around jealousy thing. It made sense though. A girl who had nothing would protect whatever she had with ferocious intensity, especially her people. Time to do a little damage control. 

“Eddie’s my friend, and he said he wanted to be friends with you too,” Steve said, pitching his voice soft and low as he reframed things for El. If Eddie was one of her people, then she wouldn’t be quite so possessive over Steve’s time. “He’s a little loud, and a little scary looking, but he’s probably the nicest person I know.” 

Eddie raised his eyebrows in surprise, but Steve just shrugged. He was just being honest, Eddie probably was the nicest person Steve knew. He cared about Nancy and Jonathan, and he loved the kids, but none of them were necessarily very nice. Eddie had taken Steve in without even really thinking about it, which would have been amazing even if Steve had just been another nerd.

The fact that Steve used to be one of the people who would have made fun of people like Eddie only made him even better in Steve’s eyes. 

El’s mouth pursed into a tiny little scowl, and she narrowed her eyes, evaluating Eddie where he stood. 

“Bitchin’,” El said after a moment, punctuating the word with an approving nod. It was probably the closest thing to approval Eddie could earn at this moment. 

“Yeah, Babydoll’s totally bitchin,’” Steve said with a laugh, stretching the word out just because it was funny to see Eddie turn bright red. Steve wasn’t sure if it was from the compliment or the silly nickname, but either way he was enjoying it. 

“It’s good to meet you, Miss Jane,” Eddie said, coughing and trying to will away the blush on his cheeks, “Steve’s told me a lot about you.” 

El turned to look at Steve, adorably confused by Eddie’s statement. Steve stiffened up, avoiding his knee jerk impulse to shake his head. He hadn’t told Eddie anything real about El, just the same story that Hopper and Joyce were selling to the parents. But El wasn’t good with secrets at the best of times, and the elaborate intricate story that they had woven would probably be too much for her. 

“El? EL!” 

“Mike, stop shouting!” Steve said, shouting himself, relieved at being interrupted before things could get hairy. He rolled his eyes and shot Eddie a look, calm now that Eddie seemed less curious about El and more fondly annoyed with Mike and his antics. “We’re in the kitchen.”  

Pandemonium as all four boys trooped in, clustering around El and chattering their heads off like they always did. Steve let out the breath he had unintentionally been holding, leaning back against the counter as he watched the kids mess around. 

“Steve, stop hogging her,” Mike snapped as he pulled away from El, glowering at him with all of the brutality of a two week old puppy. 

“El’s a person, not a toy. She can do something without you and that doesn’t mean she likes you any less,” Steve said, ignoring Mike’s sputtering denials as he helped El down from the counter, “The oven has to preheat anyway. Why don’t you go inside with them, and when the cookies are ready, you can help me dunk them in the icing?” 

El nodded, allowing herself to be pulled away by the boys. But just as she passed Eddie she stopped, grabbing onto the sleeve of his leather jacket and looking up at him from behind her curls. 

“You’ll join us?” She asked. Eddie leaned down so they were the same height and nodded, reaching out to ruffle her curls. 

“I’ll be here, Lady Jane,” Eddie promised. 

“El,” She corrected. 

That was big, even if Eddie didn’t fully realize it. It wasn’t exactly a full acceptance, but only people El actually liked were allowed to use her ‘real’ name. 

“El?” Eddie questioned. 

“A nickname. Not sure where she got it,” Steve stepped in, smoothing out the wrinkle before it could even form. He nudged Lucas, pushing them all towards the door, “Now scram, twerps.”

The kids all immediately began to groan and whisper curses under their breath at the word ‘twerps’, and they dragged El out without another word to Eddie or Steve. Steve turned and began to gather the dishes, dumping them all into the sink and turning on the water. As he started scrubbing, Steve felt more than saw Eddie’s presence approaching him. 

“I think she likes me,” Eddie sang, leaning all of his weight against Steve. He caught Eddie easily, carrying both of their weights as he continued to do the dishes. 

“What’s not to like?” Steve asked. The question was rhetorical, but the shaky little breath inward that Eddie let out wasn’t. Steve paused, sensing the mood shifting, put down the bowl he was holding and faced Eddie. 

He looked wrecked, inexplicably upset and almost guilty as he chewed on his lip and searched for words. All Steve wanted to do was wrap him in a hug and ask what was wrong, but he held back. Whatever Eddie was trying to say, it was important. 

“Steve-”

But whatever Eddie was going to say was interrupted by the sound of an engine outside. The motor was roaring, an obnoxious sound that grated on Steve’s nerves and set his teeth on edge. There was only one person who revved their stupid car that way in town, and he was the last person Steve wanted to see tonight. 

Whatever this was, it wasn’t going to be good. 

Tag List: Taglist: @paopaupaus @zerokrox-blog @surferboyzaza @whatever-is-a-good-name@minjintea @addelyin @5ammi90 @hagbaby420 @shinekocreator @bornonthesavage @starxlark @electrick-marionnett @resident-gay-bitch @ash-a-confused-enby @classicdinosaurdeathpose @valon-whomsttf @rotten-lil-goblin @thereindeerlady @love-ya-kash @kerlypride @sparkle-fiend @thefreakandthehair @flowercrowngods @milf-harrington @sadcanadianwinter @gothbat99 @hotcocoaharrington @henderdads @lightwoodbanethings @colorful565 @h0n3y-dw @craterbbox @sourw0lfs @lesliiieeeee @bidisastersworld @tinynebula @ravnlinn @bonescaro @mexmatch @cottagecoredreams @joruni @hellykelly @maegan1116 @farewell-wanderlvst @desertfern @due-to-the-fact-that-im-a-slut @anythingforourmoonyedits @eerielake @fandemonium-takes-its-toll @sidekick-hero

[giggly-squiggily]

Nap Time's Over (Windbreaker)

Hi hello YES! This fic was created after me and @intheticklecloset were yelling about Windbreaker- we've came to the conclusion that Choji needs to be tickled and this is the result akjreakjrkjej Thank you friend for yelling about these dorks with me and helping me feel inspired to write them! :D I hope y'all like it!

Summary: Choji's being oh so annoying, and while Togame can usually ignore it, today he decides to remind the tiny leader what happens with you bug him during "Nap time"

“Kame! Kame, Kame, Kame!” Choji’s voice found him before his eyes did. The smaller teen was sitting on him, pawing at his chest like an excited puppy. “Kame, wake up! We’re gonna go do stuff!”

“Nah. Way too tired.” Togame let out an exaggerated yawn as he tossed an arm overhead, blocking out the sunshine. “Go on without me. Bring me back something good to eat.”

“Kame!” Choji’s voice was one long whine, piercing to others but normal to the taller boy. He pawed at him more, grabbing his Gi and shaking him a little while he continued pestering the brunette. “It’s your last few days off before the fall festivals begin! You can’t just sleep through all of them! There’s pumpkins to carve, members to scare, candy!” He leaned in real close and grabbed Togame’s cheeks, forcing him into an open eyed fish expression as he leaned in. “The good candy.”

“Sounds good.” Togame managed out, muffled by the intensity of Choji’s squish. “Bring me back something with caramel in it.”

“AH!” Choji let out a toddler scream and flopped forward, face first into Togame’s chest as he batted his fist gently against him. “You lazy goober! Don’t make me do this alone!”

Togame was fighting down his laughter, deeply amused by Choji’s antics. He made it a point to keep his eyes closed, hoping the twitching smile on his lips came off as a more relaxed one. Eventually, the pounding stopped, and he could feel Choji’s mind working on what to do next.

Fingers in his ribs made him nearly shoot up with a gasp. “Choji!”

“Come on! Play with me! Play!” Choji demanded as he danced his fingers into the spots along Togame’s upper ribs. “Get up and play with me, Kame-WHOA!”

Now- normally Togame would let the gremlin have his fun. He didn’t necessarily mind being tickled; and if it made Choji happy, so be it.

Today however was far too perfect of napping conditions to let him do so. If the little booger wanted to play so badly, then they’d play alright.

“Fine, fine- have it your way.” Togame shifted his weight so he had Choji semi pinned, encasing him in his arms like a bear. Within a matter of minutes, he had his fingers flying across the honey blonde’s own ribs. “Let’s play a game, Choji!”

“AH!” Another scream, this one of delight as the smaller boy flailed and kicked in his arms. “Kahahahahahme! Gehahahahhaa, Kahahhahame, you chehehahhhahater! Stahhahahaa! Aheahahhahaha, thihihihis iihihihisn’t whahhahat I meahhahahahant!”

“Aww, what’s wrong? Can’t finish the fight you started?” Togame cooed at him, one arm tightly gripping Choji while his other hand kneaded along his sides, focusing his efforts into the softer bits. “I’m surprised- you’re usually the one who always wants to fight! Where’s that bravo? Come on, show it to me.”

“Ghehahahahahhahhaha! AHEHEHAHA!” The tiny leader let out a shrill scream when his belly was scribbled at, kicking harder than ever within his best friend’s arms. His body became an octopus- all limbs slapping and flailing against Togame without much thought. Despite it all, he didn’t make any real attempts to get away. They both knew Choji could easily escape if desired.

That just made the entire situation even more entertaining.

“What? Does someone like this?” Togame cooed sweetly, relishing in the fact Choji had yet to say stop or tap out. “Do you like it when I tickle you? Huh? Aren’t you a cutie pie- yes you are! Yes you are!”

“Yohohoohohohu sohoohhoohund like a creheheheheppy ohoohohold mahahhahan!” Choji argued, only to let out a blood curdling scream. “I’M SHAHAHAHRRY! I TAHAHAHKE IT BAHAHHACK! I TAHAHHAHAKE IT BAHAHAHHACK!”

“You better! Who are you calling old?” Togame all but wheezed at Choji’s noises, jabbing at his belly button a few more times before bringing his hands back to his hips. Still an explosive reaction, but not nearly as deafening. “I’ve just got an older spirit! I’ve lived many lives before this one!”

“Crihiihihispy ohohohohold mahahhan! Gheha-AHAHHAHA OOHOHOKAY OHOHOHOKAY I’LL STHAHAHHP! KKAHAHHAHAME!” Choji was once again shrieking, his thighs being the newest spot for Togame’s revenge. “NOHOHOHOT MY CHIHIHIHICKEN THIHIHIHGHS!”

“Mm, chicken. We should get some after this. Damn- now you got me thinking about food.” Togame tsked good naturedly, giving Choji one last drill into his ribs before holding him tight. “Are you gonna behave?”

“Nohohoho!” Choji shook his head, nearly breaking the sound barrier once more when Togami pressed into his gut. “Yhehehehs! Yhehehehs!”

“You gonna let me nap in peace today?”

“Suhuuhuhre! Suhuuhuhure haheahhahaha!”

“Promise?”

“I PROOOHOHOMISE!” Finally he was released. Choji rolled out of Togame’s arms and onto his knees, giggling as he held his belly. “Ahheheahha! Hehahhhahha! O-Oohohohow! I thihihink you scraahhatched me!”

“Did I?” Choji gestured for him to look, but the second Togame leaned in, he was immediately thumped in the forehead. “Ow! What?”

“That’s what you get, you cretin!” Choji puffed his chest up, trying to look angry. Togame blinked at him, stunned silent.

Seconds later, neither could hold back their laughter.

“Whahahat the hehehell? Whohoho calls someone a creehehetin?” Togame gasped out, nearly in tears with how hard he was laughing. Choji all but fell off the roof with his giggles, holding his belly and wiping at his flushed cheeks. “Thahahat broke my heahhart!”

“Aheahhaha! Yeah, yeah.” Choji snickered as he reached out, petting Togame’s bangs down and smoothing out the red spot. “Bye bye blackbird! Take the pain away!”

Togame snorted, leaning into the head pats as he sat up properly, rolling out his neck. “You’re lucky you’re cute, sunshine. Anyone else who disturbs my naps would be sleeping with the fish right now.” He stood up, grabbing his jacket and gesturing for the other to do the same. “Let’s go get something to eat. All that talk about chicken earlier made me hungry.”

“Yay!” Choji was leaping off the roof and rolling to the ground with ease, already running ahead. “Come on Kame! Before the fresh stuff runs out!” As soon as Togame was within hand distance, he grabbed it and took off, dragging him behind as he sang out more happy songs.

“Slow down- I’m an old man in a past life!” Togame called out with mock complaints, laughing too as he was taken to the nearest restaurant. If it made his sunshine happy, that’s what mattered to him.

He supposed he could nap later.

Thanks for reading!

[snakegorl212006]

Kadaj, yazoo and loz Headcanons pt 1

--------------Dating them Includes------------------

-Clinginess- I think most of us saw this coming. They will not let you go nor leave you alone for five minutes. There are chances where you can just tell them off but depending on who there is a slim chance they will listen. Loz would most likely be the clingy person and the hardest to get away from

-Over protectiveness- This aspect would mostly come from kadaj as he would rather be caught dead than see you with another person. All are protective in their own rights with some more lenient than others

-Teasing or just overall toying with you- Yazoo would definitely fit in this category as out of the three of them he does it the most. All would profusely toy with you ever so often as a form of entertainment as similarly to sephiroth they do love to see your reactions to the things they do

-A surprisingly dedication to you- You generally interest them and they all seemly have a tight connection to you although for most if not all it’s very hard for them to express as in all technicality it’s new to them and were generally happy when you had feelings for all of them. Most of the things they do was mostly a test of loyalty and you end up passing their test with flying colors which surprises them. Although all of them are hard to handle they do try to make a effort to be more manageable

----How do they get your attention----------

Depending on which of the remnants wants your attention it could go down in many ways. -Kadaj He would put away or destroy the thing or object that is distracting you and tackle you where you sit or stand and will not get off of you and act like a total gremlin -Yazoo He would take the more sexual route and/or make you fluster in anyway he can. Sometimes he would sit you on his lap and whisper in your ear while feeling you under your clothes until you asked him what he wanted. Other times he would just bite your neck and would not get off until he lives a mark. -Loz he would beg for your attention or cuddle you and would not get off until you have your full attention on him, or his other brothers tell hilton stop whining. If they all want your attention you would get a whole mix of torment. Things like this happens frequently

----What happens when there jealous---------------

-why

-do you really hate life so much

- THEY WILL KILL YOU

- honestly you have to warn the person not to flirt or be a creep especially to you because you have three crazy boyfriends who will not hesitate to kill them slowly and hang the body on a pitchfork 

- they are indiscriminate and will make it clear as day

- don’t even look at your directions if you have lustful or romantic intentions 

-the flirt better be thanking god because you can manage to convince them to give them a warning 

--How would they react when there S/o says "I love you"---

-all three of them would’ve been confused -I guarantee you they never heard those words in there life -Loz would shed a tear and tackle you into a hug -probably wouldn’t let you go until kadaj or yazoo pries him off -kadaj would’ve been in deep thought low key -he wouldn’t know how to respond then get frustrated -give him a few minutes and he’ll just hug you from behind and say “love you too” hesitating the whole time -yazoo would just stare at you -definitely would ask you why you love him -if you give him an answer the he would reply “oh then, I love you too”

[huhustuff]

ArthurTV is such a pretty boy! I adore him, would it be possible to get general dating hcs for him?

‎

𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐥 𝐀𝐫𝐭𝐡𝐮𝐫𝐓𝐕 𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐨𝐧𝐬

🌇🧸🍂

Could be read as 8thsidemen!reader or not.

‎

___________________________________________

‎

First briefly meeting Arthur through mutual friends

Actually hanging out for the first time whilst filming Chip’s Pub Golf video. Since Arthur had been taking too many Ls in his teammate's eyes, Chip gave you a task to highlight it. “If he wants to act like a clown then he can look like a clown” The little gremlin laughed and handed you a box of face paint markers. 

“Why me”

“Because your artistic and all that”

As Arthur sat there, hoping that you won’t make him look downright atrocious. You chuckled: “Your face is so pretty I don’t wanna ruin it”. Suddenly Arthur looked like a dear in headlights, cheeks bright red and voice struggling to escape his throat to form a proper sentence. And whilst others laughed at him he mumbled a very delayed “Thank you”.

‘11:28 have i missed a chapter?’

‘11:29 never thought i would wanna be ArthurTV this bad’

‘11:32’ why does Harry look so angry here lmao’

And along with the youtube comments , Twitter decided to have a field day as well.

After the filming itself ended the group continued to drink the night away. During the casual conversations the fact that you had never been to the British National Museum. “Oh Really?”, Arthur asked. “Yeah, I do not wanna go alone, but none of this lot will go with me”, you referred to the others around you. Upon hearing that Chip felt the need to try to play matchmaker. “Don’t worry, Arthur will be glad to take you” he slurred, voice a bit off from being peppered. 

“Um, I mean”

“I wouldn’t mind”

"Really?"

“Mhm, if you want to I’m free this Saturday”

That was an offer Arthur would have never in his life turned down. So after exchanging contacts that night the two of you met up in front of the museum on the Saturday of that week. 

Even though there was no certain label to the outing it felt exciting. Besides his name and some other surface information, you didn’t really know him and vice versa. (he might’ve lied a bit abt that, turns out that frequently watching your videos made him more familiar with you than he actually let on).

In between talking about the exhibitions the pair of you got the chance to chat about individual and mutual interests, life before youtube along with your shared profession, and the pros and cons that came along with it.

Despite you wishing for the opposite, Arthur and you got spotted by fans on that day. And it did not take long for pictures and clips of the two of you walking around the museum to be leaked online. 

And of course, Chip had to jump on it as well on the next Fellas podcast. “All I am saying is that I should get recognition for this one. Mate, I basically set the thing up for Arthur”

Him explaining chess to you and attempting to get you hooked on chess TikTok.

Contemplating getting a hamster together (rip Plato, you didn’t even get a funeral from Calfreezy 😣)

Hope you like nature documentaries cause you are gonna be getting just the commentary without the video material for bedtime stories.

After making it official you gave up trying to hide the relationship since it was already getting documented as well and often as Paul Breach.

Still liking to keep your private life to yourself there wouldn’t be an extra vid like the bf tag or something like that. One day Arthur would just appear on your vlog to the enjoyment of the viewers. 

So entertaining on the vlogs does your job for you.

‎

Hope u enjoyed these headcanons and that you have a good day or night 🌇!!

[reachexceedinggrasp]

One lorewise thing that's important about the Ghoul is that he miraculously hasn't gone feral. He's kept his humanity, despite the fact he has become disillusioned and morally fallen. I really like the way they explore feral vs. nonferal Ghouls in the show because they're leaning really hard into metaphor as opposed to it just being arbitrary worldbuilding.

I don't know if his death would make sense as an ending because I think they would make him feral if they really wanted to give him tragedy. Except there are spoiler reasons why I don't think they would retread this particular idea.

I still don't think they'll end up exploring Lucy/Ghoul but I'm not totally certain where he will end up. It's been surprisingly compassionate. But we know how that goes, don't we...

I never played a lot, but I seem to remember there's ghoul characters still rational just as old and cynical as him? I didn't think that was exceptional, at least in terms of the games, though it could be different in the show.

I worry their thing will be that it's his purpose which keeps him sane and at some point he subconsciously started avoiding the end of his quest because on some level he knows he won't survive getting answers. The positive spin on that concept would be if his daughter is still alive, his purpose could become being there for her or helping make a world fit for her to live in (honestly that could be a motive to keep living even if she's not), which would then allow for an optimistic ending for him. But, you know, how much do I like my odds of a non-'bittersweet' optimistic ending these days?

If they pulled a High Plains Drifter type deal for his arc and he wanders off into the wasteland alone in the end, going feral would be implied as his fate, suggesting that he was essentially dead all along. I wouldn't like that, but it's probably thematically valid.

I mean, it's the same diff imo. If he goes feral on screen he'd definitely also die.

On the one hand I'm like, 'it's full delulu to even entertain the idea they're going to go there' but on the other hand I'm like [insert my character design tag ramble from a few days ago] and I really do think if this show is carefully made and thought out enough that everything is intentional storytelling, the 'but who is he hot for?' question is a compelling argument they want the possibility to exist. Even if they do, that doesn't necessarily mean it'll be more than subtext to add tension to that relationship without ever coming to anything explicit, but it feeds the Hope Gremlin in my brain nevertheless.

[chaifootsteps]

Between all your pets, who would you say is the smartest, dumbest, nicest & most gremlin-energy out of the bunch?

If late pets count, Loki was hauntingly smart and one of the reasons I don't know that I could bring myself to keep a prairie dog again. He understood the inherent unfairness of. Present day, probably Gypsy. She's got that husky thing going where you can see the wheels turning in her head.

Milly, bless her heart, reached 14 years of age without ever forming an apparent coherent thought. Award for present day probably goes to the tarantulas. Because they're tarantulas.

Nicest is also Gypsy, who adores children and likes to give kisses to everyone. Also Valentino. Valentino's a grateful child.

Michael's the most gremlin-energy. If she'd been born and found me dolling out the horror movie names two years later, she absolutely would have been called Art, and not just because of the black and white colors...she entertains herself by causing problems on purposes. Her crimes include stealing a bowl of beef drippings, getting stuck in the drier, and forcing me to babyproof all the cabinets after she figured out how to open them.

[hotxcheeto]

Chloe as a mom hc’s pls 🤟🤟🤞🤞 I think the idea is cute

━ 𝐂𝐇𝐋𝐎𝐄 𝐀𝐒 𝐀 𝐌𝐎𝐌

𝙥𝙖𝙞𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙜(𝙨) - Chloe Price x G/N!Reader

𝙬𝙖𝙧𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙨 - Cursing?, a lot of fluff y'all I just kept adding to it, slight angst in parts but nothing bad at all, alludes to pregnancy ig? i don't really know?

𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙤𝙛𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙙 ? - Yeah/Nope

𝙖𝙪𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙧'𝙨 𝙣𝙤𝙩𝙚 - i love babies sm.. also ty for the request!!

first things first, i don't ever see her actually choosing to mother

but if you have a kid? and she likes you? she also likes your kid

chloe probably meets you later in life, she's matured ( kinda) and explored places she's always wanted and finally she comes across you and that thing.. the little gremlin that's attached to your hip with big eyes and a grand smile

step-father chloe y'all ( nah jk... unless )

she is childish herself and lowkey selfish which is why she for sure questions her parental abilities and never wanted kids young or even at all when she thought about, but you just sprung up and how could she deny herself yours, hers and that little ankle biters happiness

but she's for sure the fun parent, the one that will let your child stay up passed bedtime and eat so much ice cream while watching R rated movies and promising not to tell you

and then you get home, catch them and suddenly everybody getting a time out

including her and probably the cat too

she probably has very loose parenting as well, her main ideas is if there's nothing to rebel against, what's the point in doing the bad stuff?

meaning she is just a very open parent in the sense that she doesn't hide the word from her kids or shelter them, she's honest and let's them choose their own path in life with her soft guidance

and she's just open in general about her opinions on things

you ask? she'll answer, same goes for the little one who has all the questions in the world and she's sure to answer

even if it's 'are unicorns real?'

they sure fucking are kid, and so are leprechauns

speaking of which, her imagination is unreal

remember how she'd play pirates with max? oh yeah, grab your eyepatch, you're in for a long ride with this one

her playtime with baby has lore, bullet point, highlighted text and a few video essays and a whole lot of story telling they have to explain to you

then you have your toddler clapping at you to keep up and chloe trying to throw you into her world of sparkles and sea monsters and you just wanted to know what they wanted for dinner

she's so cool to all of your child's friends as well, she's the cool parent with different colored hair and tats that totally have those prissy moms side eyeing her hard and don't give a single damn

lets them do what they want at your house because they're safe and that's what matters at the end of the day, even if they're getting up to shit in their rooms

if your child wants colored hair she'll get them those fake hair clip ins and temporary die just so they can look more like her and oh my god it's adorable

also the fake tattoos you get at like grocery stores or dollar stores in those machines? your kid will always compare them to mama chloe's or yours if you have tattoos

shows them off and tells people she's matching with her mama

has great bedtime stories

big cuddler too, she's a clinger

when your child is still a baby she just loves to hold them and i mean LOVES too, the baby don't even care about being held chloe just don't wanna put them down

doesn't believe in baby talk

she speaks to her baby like they a grown man and that's it there's not another way

she be talking to it like it understands her while it just stares and drools while giggling because chloe is a very animated and entertaining talker, even you catch yourself listening aimlessly

she loves being and parenting though, even the stresses

sometimes though she feels like she's gonna fail at it but you just have to give her the slight reminder and that she's her fathers and mothers daughter, and they were both was a wonderful people and parents

joyce adores your child, whether you had them before or after chloe, she's in love and spoils them as much as she possibly can

chloe even jokes that joyce loves the kid more than her

which may or may not be true

max also loves them so much, loves taking pictures which actually helps capture a lot of memories free of you freaking out to grab your phone, she never posts them or anything, she actually gives them to most times to keep in the baby book

everybody loves the small human okay

chloe saves so much money up to give you and them the best holdiays ever and birthdays, even if you're struggling with money, she makes it all worth while

handy man of the house as well, will fix toys and put together cribs and bedframes well into the night while you're passed out with your body pillow and noise machine my man

she loves taking care of her family, that's all

but chloe most of all, is both scared and enamored that your little human thinks you and her are the entire world, and she doesn't plan on making that world fall apart like it did for her when her dad passed

yeah, that's not happening

[piece-of-the-pie-if]

How would the ROs react to seeing a hickey on the MC during crushing stage?

- Sincerely, an Angst Gremlin.

my most lovely gremlin of angst, i hope to do my due diligence and serve you justly! 😈

DYLAN──sitting behind you in class (MC has long hair)

Dylan was never usually in class before you─not that either of you were particularly late people─so on the occasion they were they liked to let you know, a little meaningless competition between the two of you that had started after you started speaking to eachother properly.

You had stumbled into class seconds before the bell rang, signally the start of lessons, and you rushed to your seat, being the only one still standing as the ringing stopped. Your seat was the one right in front of Dylan's─same as the year previous─ and you sent them a fleetingly sweet smile before practically collapsing into your chair.

Professor Bharti had started the lesson before Dylan had the chance to even whisper a word to you, so they resigned themselves to striking up a conversation when the lesson lulled a little.

Movement of your arms caught Dylan's attention, directing it from the chalk board to the way you shrugged off your jacket, trying to be as quiet as possible. A small smile curled at their lips at your consideration, their eyes taking your frame and endearing movements a little longer. They were about to focus back to the board when you reached behind your head to untuck you hair──pulling it away from your neck and gathering it all to one side, revealing your neck.

Dylan practically felt the breath escaping their lungs at the sight, your skin marred by two significant bruises, one bigger and darker than the other, tucked into the crook of your neck. They watched as you gently fanned yourself with your hand, huffing slightly reminding Dylan that you had been out of breath as well as late.

Their mind went on overdrive. All rational left them, like the fact that you most likely were out of breath because you had ran to make it of time──that just because the marks on your neck were new to Dylan, it didn't mean they were new to you to make you late for class. No, now all Dylan could do was stare at the hickey's on your neck, feeling dizzy as they had to remind themself to breathe.

Where did you━no, who did you get them from?

Dylan liked to call their overreacting imagination the gift of creation but right now all they could visualise was face after face, body after body, as they tried to think of who would've had the pleasure, the gall, to give you such marks.

They got more agitated the longer they kept at it, no one being quite good enough of a fit for you, not even in the positions in which they couldn't even see their face.

They shook their head, trying to physically shake away the thoughts of their new friend. They shouldn't be thinking like this, the rumours were just rumours afterall──they had never really taken them to heart before, never really entertaining the idea that you could have actual feelings for them.

You evidently did not.

Dylan wasn't entirely sure why their chest tightened at the thought. Perhaps they should though, for when you turned to look back at them from over your shoulder, a playful glint in your eyes as you made a gesture to comment on the lesson they hadn't been listening to, their heart lurched in their chest at the yearning ache──at the final thought that the perfect person they could visualise for you was, in fact, them.

SHAY──during study hall (it's a hot day)

He had to admit, having classrooms with un-openable windows should be considered a sin. Especially on too─warm summer days.

The two of you had been given a spare classroom to use and, because it was empty so you didn't have to stay quiet out of consideration for others, you took it without a second thought. You probably should've had that second thought, to wonder why it was an empty classroom to begin with.

Shayne hadn't been listening to what you were explain for at least five minutes. You had shed your overcoat and loosened your collar away from your neck and when Shay had glanced up to meet your gaze as you started explaining something his eyes couldn't help but wander down the column of your throat, down to the stretch of skin at your colour, mismatched in an assortment of bruises that circled your neck like a necklace.

"Shay? Shay!" You called to him fingers coming to wave Infront of his face, cutting off his view of the torturous sight.

"What, yeah?" He stammered eyes flickering to meet yours and literally anything else, unable to settle on one thing or another.

"What's up with you today?" You asked, innocently enough. Shayne had to force a cough to give his brain more time to formulate an adequate enough excuse. He couldn't very well admit the churning jealousy in his stomach at the mere sight of faded hickeys now could he?

He decided to blame the weather. "It's so damn hot in here," he groaned, sifting in his seat and keeping his gaze literally anywhere but your figure. "My brain isn't listening to anything──it's yellin' at me to go dunk my head in ice water or som'in'."

You slowly nodded, eyes narrowing slightly at his rather... uncharacteristic... behaviour. You eventually shrugged, "Well, you got that right. Can't believe these windows are just for show──who even designs windows that don't open?"

And so the two of you divulge into a pointless conversation about windows, and Shay doesn't look back at you at all until the bell rang out to end your study period, for the mere thought of the marks sucked into your skin made his inside want to fall into themselves.

He didn't want to think about it anymore, not the thought of you being even more unattainable than he had thought.

KINSLEY──across the lunch hall (angry pining from afar)

You were sat at your usual table, Kinsley noticed, the one at the edge of the lunch hall. The one that seemed the furthest away from her own table, taking pride of place one the elevated level, framing the four tables on it like royalty.

Her eyes couldn't seem to keep from falling back to your table, however. Maybe just you──Kinsley had no interest in the nobody that was C West or the other addition to your troupe of losers Theo Wesley.

"Kinney what are you even looking at?" The shrill voice of Tiffany grated on her ears, and Kinsley had to fight the urge to roll her eyes so hard at the annoying nickname her friend wouldn't give up on.

"Nothing." She almost snapped, her reply coming out too quick, too sharp to be nothing at all──but Tiffany hadn't lifted her eyes from her phone's screen and V hadn't shifted their gaze from their textbook in fifteen minutes.

Her eyes fell back upon you. Zeroes in the the purpling bruises on the side of your neck, just under your jaw. Hickeys──you had hickeys.

Kinsley didn't know why she cared, it wasn't as if she was jealous of you─she could get hickeys from anyone she asked─and she couldn't possibly be jealous for you because, well... because she couldn't!

The tendons in her jaw tightened as her teeth began grinding down on each other at the pesky visions of you getting those hickeys. She fought off the urge to physically swat the air as her thoughts shimmered into images of her giving you those bruises.

The pain in her palms forced her to look down at them─making her realise that she had been staring you down─the small cresent moons indented into her skin leaving her to face some more... complicated feelings.

Her eyes flickered back towards your table, watching you too your head back in laughter and playful swat at your bespectacled friend. Kinsley shook her eyes and lifted her hand to move her own head away from the scene.

She couldn't afford to... waste her time on the love life─she scoffed outwardly, shooting filthy looks to those who turned to look at her─of some loser.

But as the bell rang out, signalling the end of lunch, her traitorous gaze found itself trained on your disappearing back, walking away from her──the distance carving an ache in her chest she didn't want to acknowledge anymore.

J──at someone's house party (MC is wearing a halter neck, alluding to MC making J jealous on purpose)

J's eyes had locked on to your figure the second you had entered the house──literally, since they had a clear view of the front door from their place in the living room.

Thank the lord for open plan living, they guess.

It wasn't often the two of you showed up at the same party──J's circle ran more with college students and you, well you weren't invited to many parties in the past. But here they were, loosely gripping the red plastic cup (how stereotypical) in their hand, and there you were beaming brightly at the person who had greater you, shrugging off your jacket and hesitantly handing it over to them.

The grip on J's cup tightened slightly, the flimsy sides caving in on themselves a little. You were certainly dressed for a party... and the revealing nature of your outfit did wonders for your figure.

However, the halter neck of the top of your outfit, while it helped to cover your chest and base of your throat, did you no favours in concealing the smattering of bruises around your collar bones and the junction between them and the sides of your neck.

Not as helpless and innocent as J thought you to be then, not with those bruises, lining each side of your neck like an intricately designed tattoo, loving crafted and painstakingly gifted. J was sure that if they weren't already faded you would've made more of an effort to hide them. Perhaps you wore them with pride, the way your body language showed no attempt of shying away or hiding them with your hands.

J's eyes flickered back up to your face, catching your gaze as you stared towards them intently. Your face was blank, the wide smile from earlier diminished into nothing but a thin line between your lips. J took note of the way your eyes flickered to the people around them, most notably the short girl under their arm, yammering away into their ear about nothing J cared to listen to.

You turned away, attention being grabbed by the person you had come with, their hand snaking around your waist as they pressed a short kiss to the side of your jaw──your eyes coming back to J as the action happened.

The feeling of liquid on their fingers shook J from the scene, snapping their focus to the broken cup in their hand, the drink slipping out from the cracks in the plastic and falling to the floor in a stream of droplets.

When they looked back to where you had been, to no longer see you, they roughly excused themselves to find a more sturdy cup, maybe something bigger, to drown away the thought of you with someone other than them.

THEO──during one of C's sleepovers

"Look at you!" C laughs, pointing a finger in your direction, "trying to become a leopard in your spare time, are we?"

"Shut up!" You exclaim, shooting C a playful glare as you lift a hand to the side of your neck. "It's not that bad, is it? Theo?"

At the call of their name Theo can no longer pretend to be invisible. The reason C had even called out your new marks in the first place was because you were getting changed, your shirt discarded on the floor as you rummaged around a MC designated draw in C's chest of drawers. Theo had forced themself to look away, not wanting you to feel their stare as you changed──seeing as they hadn't ever stared when you had done so before.

Clearing their throat, knowing that not answering you would be even more suspicious, Theo mustered up a small and short lived smile as they glanced your way from less than a second. "It's not that bad," they agreed, before a weakly playful smile wobbled over their lips "if you're not afraid of the leopard look that is. Your backs practically covered!"

"Yeah, Peach! Who's the lucky person?" C winked, shimmying over to you and shaking you back and forth slightly. Theo's stomach churned at the sound of your giggles bubbling out from your lips.

"As of right now they're a one night stand," you teased C, sticking your tongue out before finally pulling the shirt you planned to sleep in over your head. "Though, with the way they were this morning, one night was not enough for either of us." You winked as you untucked the tag from sticking to the back of your neck, "so who knows?"

"Yes!" C exclaimed. "My baby's all grown up now! Getting laid and shit!" The two of you erupted into fits of laughter and even though Theo tried hard to join in, they couldn't help the devastation that flooded them, all the way down to their nerve endings.

They faked a long yawn, trying to make it as realistic as possible, mumbling something about retiring to bed as they turned their back on you, missing the way C's eyes lingered on their back, eyebrows furrowing in too-late-understanding.

Theo just couldn't bare it anymore, knowing that the wide and playful grin on your lips certainly was not because of them anymore──if it had ever been at all.

[a1brix]

A "What If Uzi Died Instead of Nori" Fanfiction

This a first final draft of the opening scene of a new fanfic to post on AO3. I don't expect this to garner much attention in tumblr, but if you see this, please give comments and critiques! I feel like the ending was a little bit weak, and I have no beta readers...

---

"Mom! Check this out!"

Nori slowly turned from her desk to see Uzi hopping around proudly, holding a gun-looking thing in her hands. Nori sighed internally. That thing was the likely culprit to Nori's charge deprivation; That loud welding noise last night was constantly pulling her off sleep mode. And it was probably a new invention of Uzi's that Nori most definitely doesn't approve of...

She shook it off and smiled. If it would make her daughter happy, then she would entertain the idea of what kind of weapon her little girl had come up with this time.

"What have you got there?"

"My latest weapon!" Uzi began to wave the gun around, pretending like it was some sort of sword. 

“This cool-as-heck railgun!”

Nori stifled a yelp as the barrel whizzed past her head several times. She kept her smile though. The last thing she wanted was for her daughter to stop sharing these things with her. 

She loved seeing Uzi be with her…

But she was still quite uneasy about it! It's not every day your child makes something this... dangerous. Her eyes twitched a little when the barrel approached her again. Nori noted to herself to let Khan show Uzi some gun safety sometime soon, or at least how to keep the barrel pointed away from anyone.

Uzi smiled proudly back at her mom. "Pretty awesome, huh?"

"Sure, Uzi..." Nori reached forward, carefully pushing the barrel down so it wasn't pointed at her face. "Just... Please, try not to point that in anyone's direction, okay?"

Uzi stared blankly.

"Oh right... sorry, Mom." She said, tittering. "I forgot, heh heh..." Uzi set the railgun down on her desk carefully.

"Well... what do you think?"

Nori leaned forwards to inspect it a little. She didn't want to encourage the thought, but... "I can really tell how much thought you've put into making it a lightweight. The design itself is very sleek..." Nori did genuinely admire the craftsmanship. Khan really has been rubbing off on her daughter, hasn't he? She chuckled a little. 

"Although I am surprised you made it violet... and with stickers?"

Uzi crossed her arms and huffed. 

"Hey, I think it looks cooler that way! Don't ruin it for me!"

Nori shook her head, cupping a hand over her mouth and chuckling into her palm. "Well, I wasn't implying anything!"

"You're literally laughing at me!"

"No, I'm not."

"Yes, you are!"

"So, what if I am?” Nori gave her daughter a playful smack. Uzi stumbled theatrically as a response, before retaliating with an onslaught of light jabs aimed at her mother. Nori held up her arms in defence, laughing softly.

“As your mom, it's my job to bully you for impractical aesthetics!"

"Bite me!" Uzi exclaimed, now giggling. "As your daughter, it's my job to make fun of you for being lame!”

Nori gasped in mock horror. "How dare you?!" She grabbed her daughter by the shoulders, and Uzi squirmed in response, still laughing. "That's it, you're grounded!"

"What?! No!" Uzi cried out, trying to worm out of her mother's grasp. "This is injustice! I didn't do anything wrong!"

"Really? Did you do your homework?"

There was an awkward silence before Uzi’s eyes hollowed, displaying underlines.

"Ah! There it is!" Nori laughed, pointing a metal finger at the lines. "The proof I need!"

“Mom!! That’s cheating!”

Nori laughed again. Uzi was smart, but could never outwit her mom. Well, not yet, anyway. She awaits the day her little genius finally pulls one over on her… but in the meantime, Nori couldn't help but have a little fun with this.

"Yep, it's true. You are grounded. That's also for making me stay up all night with all those sounds, you little gremlin."

Uzi grunted. "In my defence, I was working on something awesome!"

Nori rolled her eyes, playfully pushing her daughter away. It was times like this Nori wished she had a popcorn bucket. These kinds of shenanigans with Uzi were more entertaining than old human movies… and the "definitely-not-pirated” anime Uzi always wanted her to watch? Speaking of, she should really introduce Uzi to some new stuff.

"Well, I hope it's worth giving your poor mother a sleepless night."

"Sorry... But hey, I promise it's good." Uzi picked up her railgun and smiled. "It's going to blast some murder drones' heads off."

Nori chuckled, but it lacked warmth. She still has to care for the safety of her daughter. Just imagining the thought of her little girl facing a murder drone made her—

"Don’t go, please...”

Those words came so suddenly. Too suddenly.

Nori’s eyes hollowed. Something was crawling up the back of Nori's processor. An awful feeling, weighing down on her entire being as she blanked out for a moment. She couldn’t let the cracks show through though, even if just a little bit. 

Her teeth clenched, and Nori swallowed hard. She forced that feeling down.

Uzi maintained her grin.

“Go where?" Uzi asked. "Oh…! Outside? I mean… Yeah. I'm definitely planning to take this bad boy outside once it is fully done, but—”

Nori flinched.

"I SAID DON'T GO THERE!"

There was a clattering sound that caused Nori to blink. Her eyes glanced down to see her hands grabbing onto Uzi’s wrists tightly, with the railgun now discarded on the floor.

A few moments passed before Nori looked up to see Uzi staring right at her.

For the first time in a while, fear was etched into her little girl’s face.

“...M-mom?”

Stop ruining everything.

Nori let go of her daughter's wrist immediately.

Uzi clutched her wrist, looking down at it while rubbing it gently.

No... She promised would not lose control again. She could not bear to hurt anyone again, especially not her own daughter. Uzi did not do anything wrong. Uzi was only being herself. 

And this was just supposed to be some fun teasing.

"Did you not like what I said…?" Uzi looked up, her eyes void of their usual cheerful light. Her tone of voice seemed too frightened to hide its waver, almost sounding like she was about to cry.

A painful static suddenly blared inside her. 

Nori stumbled back, grabbing her head.

A good mother wouldn't do this to their own child.

"Mom!"

Nori's optics widened as she saw her daughter scramble to take hold of her.

"Are you okay?!" Uzi asked.

Nori is okay. Nori will always be okay when Uzi is around.

"I... I... " Nori stammered, “I’m so sorry, Uzi.”

Nori hugged Uzi. Uzi did not reply, but Nori had her daughter with her. Nori wasn't alone. Everything was okay as long as Uzi was here. Nori wouldn't lose her, right? Uzi was her everything, her reason to live for, her ray of hope when everything turns dark. It would destroy her if she could never see those sweet purple eyes again.

In her presence, Uzi will always be safe.

A smile formed as Nori looked up to her daughter’s face again. 

Her visor was completely shattered on the right.

On the left, her remaining purple eyelight flickered weakly.

Everything will be okay…

"Uzi…" Nori smiled, “We can still fix this..."

She pushed the shattered glass away with her foot.

Nori was still okay…

Her eyelight darted around.

"M-mom… What is happening?"

Uzi was still there…

Nori held her tight. "I... I don't know, but we'll be okay."

Uzi's head fell forward, hitting her shoulder.

Uzi…

“Mom… Why…”

Uzi looked up at Nori, before her light flickered out.

Uzi... it still hurts.

"Why did you kill me, Nori?"

[chaoticdelinqueerwithglitter]

Reborn Again (and again and again)

(Sanzu's bday fic with tones of angst)

(Bonten HaruMai)

It's been a while since I posted my fics here bc no spoons kept my away of tumblr ( I'm gonna try to post all of them and they are always on ao3!)

But.... Sanzu Haruchiyo birthday seems like the perfect occasion for this!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MY LIL PINK GREMLIN, I LOVE YOU DEARLY AND YOU DESERVE THE WORLD! (but I'm gonna give you angst and a lap full of Mikey, oopsie?)

(link to ao3 in case someone wants to read it there)

Summary: Sanzu remembers his last birthday, bittersweet memories that keep his delusions afloat.

And of course, he'll never lose his faith in his king.

(even when Mikey's eyes are completely devoid of all emotion)

Warnings: Manga Spoilers (Bonten timeline, so yeah), Angst, Hurt No Comfort, Implied Suicide, Mental Health Issues (issues is an understatement xD), Toxic Codependent Relationship, Heavily Depressed Mikey, Burn Out Sanzu, Unrequited Delusional Love, and idk, is Bonten they are so totally not fine and it shows, okay?

Yeah, this fic is an emotional roller coaster, it felt like it writing it and is not less of it as a reader (or I've been told that). Oh, Sanzu is sad and horny bc you can't tell me Bonten Mikey has energy to fuck (or live)

There is a part of the fic inspired on this art, bc Mikey sleeping on Haru's lap is for some reason precious to me 💜

Sanzu was bored, his feet kept tapping the ground, his mind drifting far away from here. He should be paying attention to his surroundings, guarding the building where his king was. 

Instead, he was lost in the memories of his last birthday, almost one year ago. Wondering if it would be different this time, if Mikey remembered his promise. He shook his head, immediately feeling guilty for daring to doubt it. Of course he did, Sanzu was only feeling insecure, nothing new. 

(He had to repeat it as many times as necessary, to convince himself that Mikey’s eyes had not been completely devoid of all emotion for more than a month)

To be fair, the fact that Hangaki didn’t represent any type of threat to his king, wasn’t helping him focus on the present or to keep his thoughts from wandering back to the previous year.

Sanzu was having a shitty day. That wasn’t exactly unusual lately, he had become more and more tired during the last years few months. Exhausted would be the right word, but he couldn’t afford to rest, to even entertain the possibility that he should delegate some of his responsibilities to others if he didn’t want to end up completely burned out. But of course, he couldn't trust anyone else to perform his duties, so Sanzu was forced to continue stretching himself thin.

(If he was more honest with himself, he could admit that he had been falling apart for way too long. But he wasn’t, he couldn’t)

Whatever. He was used to it. He’s handled this weariness before — today wasn’t unique. He was a grown ass man, who definitely wouldn’t throw a tantrum just because everyone forgot it was his birthday. And twenty-seven wasn’t a memorable number either, so who cared? 

This was just Sanzu being salty, tonight's job took up more time than he anticipated, so he had to see Takeomi’s ugly face for way too long. Yeah, it was totally unrelated to the pang of jealousy he felt when he overheard the older man explaining to Kakucho how this week was special, since the anniversary of Senju’s death was close. He wasn’t that pathetic, to hold a grudge because, even now, his sister kept hogging all the attention.

(What sister? Sanzu was an only child, his own mind was playing tricks to him again)

He sighed, using his own set of keys to open the door of Mikey’s penthouse and trying to be as silent as possible. He was fully aware his king wouldn’t be sleeping — it was getting harder each day to convince him to even try it.

It was better to be quiet anyway, at least, until he had a clue of which mood he was going to find. Would it be one of those days of empty glares and cold words, where he was only ‘Sanzu’? Or…

“Haruchiyo?”

A weak whisper, but more than enough for him to quickly locate the source. Mikey was sitting on the sofa, completely in the dark except for the dim light that came through the window, proving the outside world was still there, uncaring and merciless. 

“Hey… I’m back.”

His heart sank when he got closer, finally noticing Mikey’s puffy eyes and his tear-streaked cheeks. He wanted nothing more than to comfort him, caress his beautiful face and erase any trace of pain in it. But he knew better. Years of walking on broken glass around his lover taught him better.

(Was ‘lover’ the right word? When he had to repress his own feelings, pretending there was no love in order to stay by Mikey’s side? Probably not)

“What’s wrong?” 

He asked cautiously, sitting on the nearest armchair. Mikey blinked a couple of times, looking at him in awe, almost like he was processing that Sanzu was really here.

“I thought you wouldn’t come tonight.” 

There was no point in reminding him that he could just text or call —that no matter what he was doing, Sanzu would leave it in a heartbeat to run to his king's side. Mikey was fully aware of it, but he refused to show this type of weakness.

“I’ll always come back to you, Mikey.”

He gave him a soft smile, hoping it was somehow reassuring. It seemed to work, considering the next moment he had a lap full of Mikey, wrapping his arms around Haruchiyo’s neck and hiding his face in it. He didn’t have to think twice before hugging him back and gently pulling the thin body closer.

“I’m sorry, the deal took longer than I thought.” 

A noncommittal hum was the only answer he received,  another sign that Mikey cared less every day about his own organization. It was fine, Sanzu could keep the gears turning and perfectly greased, waiting until his king was ready to step back in the game and take what was rightfully his. 

“But I’m here now, I’m right here…” 

His voice dripped with affection, his touch conveying the same feeling as he started to play with the white locks. The soft caresses spoke louder than the words he’ll never say. It was fine — he was good at hiding parts of himself, burying it with all his secrets.

(So many secrets, weighing him more every day, slowly drowning him until he couldn’t recognize his own reflection)

“You are.” Mikey finally lifted his head, looking at him like he was trying to figure out something. “Even if this morning…”

“No idea what you’re talking about.” 

It was a lie, they both knew it. Of course he remembered how detached his king had been, how disgusted he looked by his weak attempt at cuddling. The cold voice, clearly commanding him to disappear from his sight. ‘Don’t you have work to do, Sanzu?’

It was a lie, one of the many he carefully crafted for Mikey’s sake. There was no need to dwell on it when Sanzu wanted to comfort him, not burden him with guilt. Especially when the cause was his own inability to hide his stupid hopes and desires. 

“Apparently about nothing.”

“Yep, nothing at all.” He repeated, softly brushing a strand of hair out of Mikey’s eyes and kissing his forehead, earning a simper in return.

Wait, what? A smile? A coy one, small and probably easy to miss for anyone else. But not for him, Sanzu was able to spot the most subtle change in his king’s expression, and this wasn’t subtle. A genuine smile on Mikey’s face? And thanks to him? 

Sanzu’s inner turmoil disappeared. The fatigue that he constantly carried with him was gone too. Just like that, a simple gesture from his king, made everything better, all the problems more than worth it as long as it meant protecting these rare moments of happiness.

(A necessary reminder of why he kept fighting, always so restless, refusing to let go, reinventing himself over and over)

He leaned in to cross the small distance between their lips, kissing him slowly, wanting to savor the moment. There was no rush for once, and even if he longed for more, even if his body reacted to the closeness and the familiar taste, he knew too damn well Mikey’s libido had been practically nonexistent lately. 

No matter how much he yearned to go further, he’d take whatever his king offered to him without presumptions. For now, Sanzu was content with the way Mikey’s lips parted, allowing his tongue to explore freely. He couldn’t stop himself from moaning inside the kiss, realizing he sounded too desperate. 

Damn it, when was the last time they actually had sex? He couldn’t recall when it was, but he could clearly see the memories – the way Mikey whimpered in his ear, his body pressed against the shower wall… 

Fuck, he had to calm down before his own neediness tarnished this moment doing something stupid — Like pressing Mikey’s warm body down onto his growing erection, bucking his hips slightly, rubbing himself just enough to feel the friction against that tight ass he adored so much… Stop it, brain!

“Sorry…”

Sanzu pulled away from the kiss with a flustered face, looking at Mikey with glossy eyes and pressing their foreheads together, still catching his breath. 

“Why are you apologizing, Haruchiyo?” There was a sad undertone in his voice that didn't go unnoticed. “It’s me, I can’t even give you that, you should…” 

“Don’t go there.” He gently placed a finger in front of the other’s lips. “I don’t need it, okay? I can live perfectly fine without fucking.”

“But you want it.” Mikey deadpanned. 

“Of course I do, because you’re gorgeous and I can’t help feeling attracted to you.” He gave him a soft peck. “And that’s on me, you don’t owe me anything, alright? Having you in my arms like this is already the best birthday gift I could ever wish for.”

“What?!” 

“Nothing.” It was too late — he knew as soon as he saw Mikey’s eyes widening in a mix of surprise and clarity.

“Fuck, it’s July… That’s not nothing!” He groaned in frustration. “Did you get to celebrate it at least?” 

Judging by the way Mikey looked at him, the answer to this was probably written in his face. That was the exact reason why he didn’t tell him, to absolve him of the guilt, to prevent him from falling deeper into self-loathing. 

“It’s okay, we can still celebrate it together if you want-”

“It's not even your birthday anymore.” 

His rage was icy cold, Sanzu was sure the temperature of the whole room dropped a few degrees. Suddenly he was freezing, despite the anger not being directed at him for once. 

“Then we don’t? It’s not a big deal, really, there will be other occasions. It happens every year, right?” His gaze stared at him with disbelief. “What? I’m serious, I don’t need some fancy ass shit, this is already perfect.”

“Haruchiyo…” Whatever his king wanted to say, the way Sanzu hugged him tighter seemed to change his mind. Instead, he sighed, burying his face on the crook of his neck. “Fine. Next year?”

“Next year it is.” 

He started to stroke his hair once again, wanting to leave this conversation behind. It was true, his day got infinitely better the moment Mikey sat on his lap and hugged him. Sanzu couldn’t ask for more, because there was nothing but him.

“I won’t forget it, I promise.” 

Sanzu gasped at the honesty in those words, a lump in his throat that threatened to make him cry, touched by his king making a promise to him. It wasn’t going to happen, he couldn’t put his own burden on Mikey, it was his to bear alone. 

(Alone and isolated inside of his own mind)

“I know you won’t Mikey, I believe in you.” 

He whispered with raw devotion. He will never lose his faith in Mikey, because as long as his king kept breathing… Everything was possible. 

Sanzu smiled softly, melting slightly with the memory of how Mikey ended falling asleep on his lap, of how he made sure to stay still, to not interrupt the other’s dreams. If he closed his eyes, he could see how perfect Mikey looked when he woke up hours later, well rested for once. The way his face lit up when he saw that Sanzu was still there, hugging him for hours and making sure he was comfortable. He could even feel the lingering sensation of his lips on his own… Damn it, how could he miss Mikey so much when they were almost living together?

(It was due to Mikey fading in front of him, disappearing somewhere out of his reach. No, he couldn’t admit that)

He sighed, frustrated with himself. He was doing it again, yearning instead of being grateful for what he was given. 

A sudden change in the white noise from nearby pedestrians forced him to snap out of his inner turmoil. He lifted up his head, scanning the surroundings to find the source of the commotion. 

Sanzu’s eyes widened with panic, the world went silent. Except for the echo of his own delusions shattering into thousand pieces, ringing in his ears for a split second that lasted for ages.

“Mikey?!!”

[dapperdragon-ao3]

“...most adorable little space gremlin,” Spencer finished saying. He was exactly where Carlton had expected to find him: half-sitting on Juliet’s desk, wasting her time.

Well, not entirely. Somehow she’d mastered the skill of managing him while continuing to work. She chuckled now, hand still moving across a report.

Spencer looked up at Carlton with a grin. “And there he is now. Do you miss your people up in the mothership? Do you miss being able to take off that nasty human skin-”

“Spencer,” said Carlton, gesturing to the conference room. “A word.”

Then he set off walking and didn’t look back.

When he reached the conference room, he busied himself with closing the blinds while Spencer finally found his way in, closing the door behind him. Carlton pushed past him to close the blinds on the door as well.

Uneasily, Spencer joked, “What, finally decided to kill me? Odd place to do it, but if anyone can pull it off-”

“Spencer,” Carlton said, looming over him. He focused on the psychic, demanding full attention; he needed to say it, to get it over with. “I know that you...”

He felt... light. Restless. Laughter, careful lightheartedness edging around a deep insecurity. Damn it; alien sensations, echoes of movements, he was ‘reading’ Spencer. He couldn’t think straight.

“...you know I what?” Spencer asked uncomfortably in the silence, with a slight laugh.

Carlton felt an intense awareness, rapidity of thought, moments flashing in crystalline perfection. He felt break-ins, jokes, lies, an inability to keep still--a deep, profound love for Guster--

--and he didn’t feel any psychic powers.

Carlton stared at Spencer, who shuffled his feet. When he tried--although he didn’t know how he tried--Carlton could sense Spencer’s mind, intense and sharp, the way his thoughts flicked to Carlton’s reddish neck, to the shape of an Advil bottle bulging from his jacket pocket, to the way he stood--the way he had walked--favoring one side. Swiftly piecing together a small truth with a whip-sharp intellect that only came once a generation.

Spencer winced and held the side of his torso, the same side Carlton had favored. Then he pretended to look curious, and he said, “I can sense that you’re in a great deal of pain in the... this part... region.” He reached out to indicate Carlton’s bruises only to have his hands swatted away. He continued, in that infuriatingly calm sarcasm of his, “Might I help with some reiki? I know a particular method of soothing the aura by which-”

“You’re a fake,” Carlton said, disbelievingly.

It made sense, that’s the infuriating part. Spencer wasn’t a psychic, he was a brilliant child who had never needed to work hard a day in his life. He was exactly what he looked like he was: someone who had a copy of the cheat sheet and therefore never took anything seriously.

“No, no, these are scientifically proven methods of astral soothing.” LIE.

“I can’t believe this. After everything I- you’re a fake, like I was saying all along. You’re a genius, which means you can do literally anything you want to do, but you’re squandering it all just to mock those of us who have normal brains.”

Spencer sighed, as though Carlton had expressed something incredibly stupid. “I am a psychic, Lassie.” LIE. “I think the sooner you grow to accept-”

“You can’t lie to me anymore,” Carlton growled. “I don’t believe this. I can’t believe-” He stopped himself. Calmed his rage, stood up straight. “No. You know what? This is on me, really. I should have known better.” His laugh was dry and angry, teeth clenched. “I can’t believe I spent a single moment entertaining the faint possibility that you could ever be capable of helping me.”

He pushed Spencer out of the way--felt a sudden flood at the contact, concern, surprise, curiosity, fear--and left the conference room.

He should have realized that the existence of supernatural powers was not itself proof that Spencer had them. He should have known he’d been right to be skeptical. Spencer had eidetic memory, a rapidfire intellect, and a propensity for breaking-and-entering, not psychic powers.

Carlton was on his own.