#I could write second chance romance forever actually

[shoopsthereitis]

I know im biased bc ive written it multiple times but there is just something so !!!! about second chance romance jegulus. I have so many feelings about it

[happy74827]

Contagiously Human.

[Brian Moser x Female!Reader]

Synopsis: Killing was always the easiest part for him, but this… you… well, as fate would have it, that created a new problem for him. {GIF Creds: brothermoser}

WC: 1881

Category: Plot-Driven, Maybe Some Fluff/Angst…?

Someone asked me if I’d ever thought about writing Biney… and well, I decided to put my thought into actual words 🤷‍♀️

Just for some minor clarification, this is pretty much a “what if” fic in which Dexter does not end his life. This being said, I picture this taking place around season 5-6 ish.

『••✎••』

Hesitation.

The thing that makes or breaks a killer. The line that separates predator from prey. It's the pause between life and death, the time a man takes to make the decision, and whether he'll live to regret it or not.

He’s never had hesitation. Not once. In fact, he relishes in it; he finds peace in knowing that he can decide one way or another and be content with either outcome. It makes him a dangerous man, unpredictable, a ticking time bomb.

His baby brother, his blood, had the disease. The disease of being too much of a good person, feeling guilt, having morals, a sense of what's right and wrong. He was weak, he hesitated, and he wasn’t even aware of how much the disease was eating him alive until that Trinity Killer came around.

He was supposed to protect his brother, save him from himself, and show him the proper way of things. The way of survival. Of the hunt. But no, Brian wasn’t there to catch him. To stop him.

So, as all good brothers do, he’s here to fix him. To set him straight and rid him of the disease. Forever.

It's an easy task, really. His little brother is so trusting and caring that he'd do anything for the ones he loved. Why not start by showing him why he shouldn't?

Because clearly, the loss of his apparent wife wasn’t enough. He needed to understand, truly and absolutely, that the world would only disappoint him. It's a harsh lesson but a necessary one.

So, that led him to you. His brother’s friend from school. The woman, aside from Dexter’s poor excuse for a sister, that his brother actually cared about.

Just like him, you were naive. Trusting, too. Friendly to everyone, completely unaware of the monsters that hid in the shadows. His brother included.

You might’ve never killed someone, but with everything else, it was clear why his brother was so interested in you. He always loved the innocent ones.

So, the question was, how would he go about it? He could take you somewhere, but the element of surprise was an important factor. You had to believe you were safe and comfortable before he could make his move.

A Debra repeat? Or a more... Unique approach. He'd think about it, plan it out, and strike at the perfect moment.

He wouldn’t hesitate, after all.

When the day presented itself, the stars had aligned, and everything was just right; he made his move. It was noon, a warm Sunday.

You were in your little bookshop, reading one of the books in your free time. Business had been slow today, as most people were enjoying the weather.

You never saw him coming. He was the type to blend into the crowd, the type that you'd see once and forget about. The type you'd pass on the street without a second thought.

He had his ways, of course, and his way was simple. A simple, kind greeting. One that had your eyes lighting up as if you'd never seen another person before.

He was charming, handsome, the perfect man to lure you in. You didn’t stand a chance.

That's what led him here, picking up your fallen book and handing it to you, watching the smile that graced your lips.

A romance novel, of course. How ironic.

"Oh, uh, thank you. That’s very kind."

You smiled, a hint of blush dusting your cheeks. Far more tame than that Debra woman, thankfully. He didn’t have to fight back the urge to roll his eyes.

"Tea and romance? Can’t say I blame you." He pulled a gentle grin, one that had you blushing further, more so of embarrassment this time.

"It's the first of a series. A favorite, actually, I’ve been rereading it." You explained, holding the book to your chest. He didn’t miss the way your thumb rubbed over the spine, fond and gentle.

Just from that, he knew. He was going to have fun with you. “Believe it or not, I read the first one too. A few months ago, actually. It was quite the page-turner. The ending had me on the edge of my seat, I swear."

You laughed, soft and airy, and for a moment, he found himself smiling genuinely. His lie was working, and he couldn’t believe it was that easy.

"I've only heard mixed reviews on it.” You spoke, moving to place the book back on the shelf. "I'm glad to hear you liked it. Marienne’s death was hard, wasn't it?"

"Very." He agreed though it was a lie. He had to pretend he cared. "It was a shame; I really enjoyed the character."

"You did?" You raised a brow, surprised. “Most people didn’t. Given that she doesn’t even exist.”

Shit.

He cleared his throat, a slight pause. He was so blinded by the idea of finally getting to his brother that he'd forgotten.

You were a reader, an author; of course, you would know the ins and outs of the story. The characters, the plot, and every little detail. Why would you not?

First rule of hunting. Don’t get cocky.

"Alright, I admit. I've been caught." He gave a small shrug, his voice holding a hint of sheepishness. Maybe you’d fall for it. “I couldn’t help myself; I figured you wouldn’t appreciate my love for fantasy books."

"Fantasy?" You tilted your head, and he knew. You bought it. You were a sucker for fantasy; you didn't like it when others looked down on them.

"I'm a bit of a nerd. Guilty pleasure."

"I didn’t peg you for the fantasy type…” You raised your eyebrow, though a smile still rested on your lips—a look of amusement.

"Really? Most people can't seem to look past the collared shirt.

"No, it's not that. It's your aura." You shook your head, and now, it was his turn to raise his brow. What the hell did that mean?

"My aura?"

"Those books in your hands..” You nodded towards his bag, a small smirk pulling at the corner of your lips. "You're definitely not a casual reader. My guess is everything in there is a throwaway.”

"And that means...?"

"You're bullshit through and through. You don't like romance or fantasy. In fact, I think you absolutely hate it."

Oh. Oh, you clever thing. Now, he truly understood why his brother connected with you so much. You'd figured him out, and yet, you had no clue. You were clever, smarter than you let on.

"Alright,” He held his hands up in mock surrender. He was enjoying this; for once, someone could see through his façade. See his true self. It was a rush.

“If you’re so smart, what do I like then?"

"Hmm, let's see...” And just like that, you were off with him in tow. You were taking him along on a trip through the shelves, looking through the genres, searching and searching.

He was intrigued, his eyes locked on you, his ears drinking in the sound of your hums and contemplation. Your mind was running, spinning, thinking. You were truly in your element.

"Well, let's start with what I know. You like horror." You said, turning towards the horror section and picking up a book. "You seem like the type who enjoys the dark side of humanity and likes to see the bad guy win."

Damn.

He was almost impressed. Almost.

"How could you possibly know that?"

"Eyes. They tell the most about a person. You’ve seen a lot, and it shows. I could tell just by looking at you. Your eyes are... Cold. Empty." You said, and it was then that he realized you were more observant than you appeared. Naivety might’ve not been a part of your personality, but trust was. You trusted a lot. Too much. “Are you a cop, by chance? You've got the whole detective thing going on."

"Prosthetist, actually." He answered, his hand reaching out and picking up a book at random. He wasn't a fan of fiction, not really. He preferred nonfiction; it was more realistic—less pointless details.

"Oh, wow, I was completely off. I didn’t expect that." You mused, looking up at him with those eyes. You had such an expressive face; it was amazing how easy you were to read. He could practically see the gears turning. How could he use this?

"Expected an axe murderer, did you?" He joked, a smile tugging at his lips.

"Maybe. Wouldn’t that be a twist?" You grinned a glint of amusement in your eye. “Speaking of, that’s probably what you like. Thrillers. Those kinds of stories are full of twists and turns. No one is who they appear to be. Kinda like you, hm?"

"Ouch."

"Sorry, am I being too honest?"

"No, I like it. Keep going." He was having fun. With Debra, it was exhausting. She was so stubborn, so headstrong, she never listened. It took him about three coffees just to have enough patience to deal with her sob story.

But with you, you were a breath of fresh air. He didn’t have to force himself awake or hide his boredom. He could just enjoy it, relish in the moment, and the fact that you were so easy to play with.

You pulled out three books: two thrillers and one horror. A classic and a new one. "These are what I recommend. Start with Primal Fear; that’s the one I believe you'll like the most. The first one might take you a while, but if you stick with it, the sequel will be worth it.

He reached forward, his hand brushing over yours, his touch lingering as he took the book. He purposely brushed his thumb against the back of your hand, just enough for a spark to go through your veins.

He saw the way your breath hitched, and he smirked. This was too easy.

"Thank you, you've been a great help."

"One more thing before you go." You spoke, stopping him. His eyes moved up from the book to your own, and there he saw something that made him falter.

Something that made him freeze longer than he should have.

You had a fire behind those eyes. A flame that burned with a passion, a curiosity that threatened to eat him alive. A want, a need, to get into his head. To peel him open and look inside.

Your eyes weren't cold or empty like his. They were alive. Full of life.

"Books don’t impress women,” Your voice was low, a secret, something meant only for him to hear. “It’s the passion that opens their hearts. You have nothing if you can't show it."

"I think I've misjudged you." He spoke, his hand resting on the shelf above your head. He had no choice but to lean closer, and he felt the way your breath fanned across his skin.

"Oh?"

"Yes. You're a lot more than you appear, aren’t you?"

"Is that a good thing or a bad thing?"

The question was left unanswered. He didn't give a response because, in truth, he didn't know.

He left that day not with his brother’s cure or even the thought of him. He left with three books.

Three books and the disease he believed to be immune to…

Hesitation.

[@numetalnerd2007] Since you asked, I figured this would automatically mean you were interested. At least I hope you were 💀

That being said, please be nice to me for this one since it’s my first time writing for Biney here (and I haven’t rewatched season 1 in forever), so his character probably isn’t 100% solid. It’s a work in progress 🙏✨

Also, for all my Joe Goldberg fans out there, did you catch the reference I made? I see a slight resemblance between Brian and Joe, so I wanted to sneak it in a little something. I think it’s the hair, honestly.

[gallaghersgal]

Maggie, my lovey I come with another request for you!

The second chance romance trope, x my husband, Carmy.

Ok so walk with me here 🚶🏻‍♀️,

Carmy had one time forgotten about his anniversary with r, & she of course got very upset & sad about it. So he made sure the next day (without letting her find out) to go to the florist and place a standing order for flowers on their anniversary every year so she would never be able to tell if he forgot again.

Alright so flash forward years later, they break up. They both are pining for eachother / miss eachother a lot but Carmy was the one who called things off so R doesn’t try to contact him and Carmy is Carmy.

Their anniversary comes around and Carmy forgets of course because since they broke up he’s been even more of an animal in the kitchen but the flowers get delivered to R and of course it has the same note she got every year ‘Happy Anniversary baby, I love you always, xx- Bear’ at first she’s confused but then she is hopeful it was him reaching out to try and reconcile so she bites the bullet and calls him and is like “you still love me?” And mentally he’s like

*fffffuuuuuuuuuuck*

& has to explain that he placed a standing order so she could never be mad at him for forgetting again but he really does miss her

I’ll leave it up to you if r gets back together with him or if you want it to be pure angst!

(🤞fingers crossed it sends this time)

my dear capri, i love the exposition you've dropped in my inbox!!! here's the aftermath of receiving the flowers :(( warnings; angst, no happy ending, and swearing. also, here's the playlist i listened to while writing

from this trope list. part of my 1,500 follower celebration. masterlist -> here!

there are flowers at your door.

you've been fighting back tears the whole day. work was hell, your irritability heightened by the fact you'd barely eaten breakfast, not even bothering with lunch. it was harder now without carmen around. you've been angry all day, heels clicking in obnoxious stomps, your stomach burning and head pounding, and there are flowers at your door.

you kneel down to read the card, your heart clenching at the words. 'happy anniversary beautiful girl, i love you always. love, your carmen' a shaking hand comes to your mouth, you fumble with your keys to make it inside before you lose it entirely. he still loves you?

you dial carmen's number, hearing it ring twice before he picks up. "you sent me flowers?"

"o-oh, uh. t-that's a funny story, actually-"

your stomach twists in a knot. "i'd love to hear exactly how this is funny, carmen."

"well, forever ago, when i forgot our anniversary? i placed a standing order. so- so that way you'd always have flowers."

your heart sinks. he couldn't even bother to remember the date himself. worse, he didn't remember to cancel them. "you're fucking joking," you spit out.

"i-i'm not. baby-"

"don't call me that," you snap at him, your living room suddenly feeling claustrophobic. you push your window open to take a deep breath of the fresh air, turning your back to the wall and sinking down next to the plant he'd gifted you, moved inside to avoid the recent cold snap. a hand over your mouth muffles your sobs, your heart breaking all over again at this new information. "i can't believe you."

"i'm.. i'm s-sorry-"

"no! you don't get to apologize, that doesn't fix shit." you're practically yelling at him now, and you can hear the tears in his voice. but you don't care. it's about time you gave him a piece of your mind, hurting him the way he'd hurt you. "i thought for one goddamn second that maybe you still loved me. but- but you're just self-fucking-centered. so lost in your head you couldn't even remember to cancel flowers for the girl who's heart you snapped in two."

the silence on the other end tells you everything you need to know. you don't let him even try to continue, snapping at him, "lose my number, carmen."

there's a muffled noise on the other end, but you hang up without the chance to process it. your phone falls to the tile floor with a loud thud that echoes through your empty apartment. you flinch, then let out a noise somewhere between a scream and a sob.

the sound finds its way through your window, falling down to the street below, to the ears of the man repeating your name into his phone. "b-baby," he pleads, his voice breaking. but you've hung up now. he can't believe he forgot those stupid fucking flowers.

at least it showed him how you truly felt. that it would've been stupid to go through with it. stupid to walk up to your door with nothing but a barely planned apology to mend your broken heart.

carmen looks up to see your open window, balcony distinctly missing the potted plant he'd gifted you a year ago. a shaky hand lights a cigarette and he takes a hit but the smoke does nothing to soothe him as he draws his eyes away, turning away from your building for the final time.

[lurkingshan]

Last Twilight Episode 12

A month ago, I never could have predicted that I’d be sitting here trying to assemble some thoughts to explain how on earth this show went so badly off the rails. I am truly taken aback by where this story landed, and I advise anyone who wants to think of it fondly to just pretend it ended at episode 9, and even skip the finale if you haven’t watched yet. Before I get into it, let me just start with a word of praise for the cast, who did a great job with their performances and kept this show afloat when the writing fell apart. And boy, did it fall apart.

In my view, this narrative had three main threads it was addressing: 1) Day’s journey to accepting his disability; 2) unresolved family trauma; and 3) Mhok and Day’s romance. And in the end, it failed on all three of them. I am going to dig into this and I am not feeling particularly nice, so if this is going to hurt your feelings I suggest you stop reading now. 

Day’s Journey

Just…wow. We have been afraid of this turn the entire time and trying to hold out hope that the show would not go there, but here we are. I started laughing out loud when we got to the end of part 3 and Mhon’s phone went off with an alert for a new eye donor, and then just stared incredulously at my screen as we time skipped AGAIN to a Day whose vision had been restored for years (last week I joked to @bengiyo and @waitmyturtles that once a drama starts using time skips it becomes addictive and they never stop, and—welp!). What was this entire show for? Why did we spend twelve episodes with Day grieving his vision loss, learning how to cope, and finally accepting his blindness only to completely undercut it at the end? The first part of the finale was so much about how he was thriving—finding a new career for himself and becoming self-sufficient and growing so much on his own—only to give us an ending that implied he could not actually have his happily ever after without his vision restored. 

And this is in fact the message they sent by coupling the return of his vision with the return of he and Mhok’s relationship, and giving us a happy ending rooted in his contentment at having his sight back. They even went back to the Last Twilight mountain to completely tarnish the thematic resonance of the original scene. Calling back to the beautiful memory of Day “seeing” the sunset and experiencing “a moment so good that you feel like you can live there forever” as he accepted his disability with this scene of him seeing the real sunset with his restored vision was so hurtful to me that I actually got angry. Day didn’t need his vision back to get a happy ending, and I absolutely hate what this communicates about disabled people’s capacity to live happy and fulfilling lives. This show has created many writing sins but this is the most unforgivable to me.

Family Trauma

The show began dropping the ball on this one a few weeks ago, but this finale put the nail in the coffin. We spent most of this episode at Porjai and Night’s wedding, an event that might have felt meaningful if the show had let us see any of their romance. I’m grateful to Mark Pakin and Namtan Tipnaree for their beauty and charisma because it’s the only thing that made me care about those scenes at all. Rather than actually being about them, however, this wedding was used primarily as a clunky vehicle to deliver heavy-handed messages about “second chances” to encourage Day to get back together with Mhok (more on that in the next section). 

I did enjoy the brief nods in this episode to the brothers continuing to have newfound harmony in their relationship, but where the show really lost me was in their attempt to bring Night and Day’s dad back into the mix and imply some sort of resolution between him and Mhon. Mhon, a woman whose perspective on their split we never actually saw, whose motivation for her choices and behavior toward her sons were completely elided by the narrative, who was forgiven and made peace with offscreen during a time skip. I was never given the chance to understand her or what this relationship meant to her in the first place, so why would I care about these scenes with her making her peace with this man? I continue to be so confused about where this show chose to spend its time, and why someone with Aof’s track record on developing strong and narratively important familial relationships dropped the ball so much with her. 

The Romance

Okay, let’s get into it, and remember what I said about not reading if this is going to hurt your feelings! My criteria for considering a romance successful is I have to believe the relationship is mutual, beneficial to both of the pair, and that the couple is prepared to weather future challenges. Last Twilight’s romance fails on all three fronts, and it all comes down to the total imbalance in the relationship that persisted right through the final scenes.

This entire narrative has been Mhok bending to Day’s will, giving Day what he needs, forgiving him for everything, and letting him make all the decisions about the relationship, and the finale was regrettably more of the same. In episode 11, Mhok made a mistake when he lied to Day about turning down the job in Hawaii. But he made that mistake out of grief and fear, and Day didn’t care—he unfeelingly rejected him and his pain and ended their relationship without a second thought. That was potentially forgivable as a momentary lapse borne out of instinctual hurt, and could have been repairable had Day reconsidered soon after and extended Mhok some grace. But in this episode, we find out Day blocked Mhok and refused to communicate with him again after that night, and has left Mhok completely in the cold for three years after he failed to be perfect one (1) time.

And this episode? Was on Day’s side in this conflict. Mhok is the one to return and start pursuing Day again. Mhok is the one to broach the topic of their breakup. Mhok is the one to thank Day for breaking his heart and tell him he did nothing wrong (y’all, I almost threw something at the screen). Mhok’s grief and trauma go completely unaddressed in this finale until they try to play the Rung card for one last moment of sentiment. Day cries to his mother about how he just doesn’t know if he can forgive Mhok. And in the end, Mhok makes the grand gesture, missing his flight to go to Day and stay in Thailand with him despite the successful life he has built in Hawaii.

The cognitive dissonance I felt watching this play out was extreme. I rarely see a writer misunderstand their own characters and relationship conflict so thoroughly. In order to believe in this romance we needed to see Day finally show some empathy for Mhok, take responsibility for his own mistakes, and be the one to make an effort this time. We needed to believe that Day has the capacity to be a supportive partner to Mhok even when he’s struggling. But Day didn’t demonstrate any of that, and so I simply don’t believe in this relationship. I don’t believe Mhok can trust Day not to abandon him again when some other major life event intervenes and Mhok is less than perfect. And that’s a shame, because the show really almost had something here with these two. 

And that’s all I got. What a disappointment this show turned out to be. If you need me, I will just be over here in my little corner imagining the Night and Porjai romcom that we never got and pretending the rest of this show ended several weeks ago.

[mayabruhbruh]

What do you think of the possibility of Will and Chance happening? I feel like it would be really poor writing tbh but I feel like they will give Will a different love interest because they’ll try to make all of the audience „happy“ But that would just truly not align with the writing so far I feel like.

Love your analyses btw<3

THANK YOUU! That's so kind :) And great ask! This is definitely a topic that the ST fandom needs to discuss.

The default question when people have little to no hope in Byler is, well, who the hell is Will going to end up with? Because it’s become increasingly evident that they’re trying to set him up for a romance. The “im not gonna fall in love”, the “it’s not my fault you don’t like girls”, even the gif shown above. It all can be interpreted to mean that Will is going to find his person soon.

So... to be completely honest, I had no idea who Chance was until this ask popped up and I had to look him up💀. It’s been a while since I’ve been on here, so I’m a little rusty on the deep lore lmao. So, in the off chance that others might also be confused, here’s a (rare) gif of him I found.

I think that’s him with the Hawkins cap on the right. Correct me if I’m wrong.

I’m not sure where the rumors that this guy was going to become a bigger part of the show came from, but that seems highly unlikely to me. I feel like they would have either hinted at it in the fourth season (like how they’re giving Patrick here quite a sizeable role so that he’ll be memorable to us later when he gets vecnafied) or they would have announced him as a more prominent character already like how they did for s5 with Holly, that one new kid character, and also how they did Amybeth for s4. Idk, maybe it’s unreasonable to think they would have to do that, but it feels quite too out-of-the-blue. Especially for a character that would take on the role of becoming our central character’s love interest, which is a BIG DEAL. Especially if it’s queer lol.

Secondly, I firmly believe that it would be a disservice to Will’s own desires to meet someone new.

Will said this explicitly in the van scene, and as of now, we’re still under the impression that Mike is his person. Forget about Mike’s issues and feelings for a second, and think about what Will is saying here. He feels like a mistake for being different, but Mike makes him feel like he’s not a mistake at all, that he’s better for being different. Mike gives him courage to fight on. Fuck. Tbh, it makes me wonder how long he’d felt this way. As a byler, you might be inclined to think his feelings have been on for forever, but narratively, he could have easily just realized his own feelings very recently, most likely sometime between season 3 and 4. It doesn’t mean the feelings weren’t there before, but realistically neither Will nor the general audience were aware of it before now.

Moving on.

Has anyone heard of the rule of Chekhov’s gun? It’s an incredibly clever and widely-used tool in screenwriting and storytelling in general that helps to clue the watchers in for what’s to come next.

Think of Lucas’ wrist rocket in season 1. When they introduced it as a flimsy-looking, no-good weapon that he’d put too much pride in at first, it gives us a good laugh and we move on. But really, it very meticulously set us up to subconsciously anticipate to see it again later. That’s what Chekhov’s gun is all about. Set-ups, foreshadowing, hidden treasures.

Another great example would be the painting reveal of s4. Obviously, after finding out that Will was painting something, bylers immediately figured it was for Mike and BEGGED and HOPED and PLEADED that we’d be able to finally see it, but to the general audience it was just another something that they’d have to pick apart and realize was actually of importance as the season progressed. (It’s also a good way of showing that the writers are fully capable of engrossing the entire fan base and general audience in his and Mike’s story. Just knowing Will had painted something and that it was for Mike created this sense of PLEASE TELL ME WHAT IT IS AND WJATS GOING ON and whatnot that watchers are simply so susceptible to it’s insane.)

Okay, back to the van scene. Will’s confession.

Now, I’m not saying that the writers intentionally used this foreshadowing tool for us to find and understand immediately. There are plenty, plenty of instances where writers use Chekhov’s gun principle and it flies over peoples heads purposefully. What I’m trying to say is that, thematically and narratively, they would never have introduced Wills feelings for Mike if not for it to have importance to the story, or for nothing to happen with it at all. It’s a set up. And a maddeningly good one, at that. Because queer stories already do tend to fly over people’s heads, and also because there’s the added drama between Mike and Eleven that makes it seem quite impossible for any of these feelings to be addressed in the midst of such emotional chaos. But whatever. I think I’m rambling.

Basically, whether they end up together or not, whether Mike reciprocates these feelings, Will is forever established to be in love with Mike. The confession was simply too grand and emotional and earnest for him to just switch up abruptly next season when he meets someone new that he might have a better chance with. Even if there were to be a whole new arc for him where he learns to let go of Mike or something crappy like that, it would be terrible writing on their end and poor use of a well-set-up Chekhov’s gun reference. It would be like introducing the gun in the display case in scene one, then two scenes later just tucking it away into a storage closet for the remainder of the story. Like… what?

And plus, it’s HIGHLY unlikely that Will would end up with that sort of storyline next season when he’s literally WITH Mike for presumably a majority of the time (based on the set pics so far).

So that’s my debunking of the Chance rumors :) and I didn’t even get to mention how incompatible they’d be just naturally as characters. Chance, a Jason-following jock that hates Dungeons and Dragons, fantasy and nerdy things, and willingly assisted in beating up the Hellfire Club when they were trying to find Eddie. What about that at all screams Will’s type? And if you’re thinking “unconventional couple enemies to lovers”, just don’t. This isn’t a rom-com, especially for a queer plot line lol. I think it’s safe to say there’s no “chance”😉 that they will ever happen. And either way, it’d be a bummer if they did. Cus it would just be Will defeatedly settling for someone that isn’t Mike.

UGH! It makes me sad that the one thing that is firmly being teased by the writers (Will’s love playing a major role in the plot to come) is constantly being questioned and framed as different questions. “Will Mike reciprocate?” “Does this mean Mike and Eleven break up?” “Who will end up with who?” SHHH Frankly, to me this is already a win. It’s become obvious that Will having feelings for him will come up again soon, and the rest of the evidence that accounts for Mike’s end already speaks for itself, so I prefer to just sit back and watch it all unfold.

Again, thanks so much for the ask!! This was so fun to dissect and feel free to keep sending questions into my inbox. It might take me a second to post my response but I’m determined to get through all of them. Love you guys!! <3

[divinecrimson]

-Thinking about reader trying to leave Gojo because they know that they are gojo’s weakness

Warnings: angst, anger, sadness, arguing, mentions of death, romance, love, reader gender not implied.

A/n: I wrote this at 6:37 am lmaoo. I don’t like writing in first or second person but I decided to try it out today and push my comfort zone.

You loved Satoru you truly did, but you knew you’d never be able to date him. There were a number of reasons actually. One being that he was the strongest so people will target him until the day he dies and if you enter the picture you could get him killed accidentally. They’d distract him by endangering you and take the chance they get so no, you couldn’t do that to him. You couldn’t be his downfall.

Yesterday Satoru took you on a date, he made sure to grab flowers, pretty shoes for you and bought you makeup though you told him not to for almost three hours. You felt his love, that was his way of showing it. Though you loved him and he loved you..,.you couldn’t give in. Not when you’d be the reason he gets killed.

“Toru….I’m sorry but this isn’t going to work out…” he smiled as you spoke thinking you were joking until he noticed your unwavering expression. “What do you mean pretty?” You almost cried at his hurt tone and the way his face twisted up in confusion. “We can’t be together..,Satoru.”

At that his anger shot up. Never once had you called him by his full name since he was courting you. It had been a year and now you guys were back to strictly name bases? “What?!? Why not y/n?! Did I do something wrong!!?” His panic rose. To be honest this was the first time you’d seen him angry. Usually when he was mad his breath would hitch and he’d remain in composure but he was breaking.

“I can’t be with you if I can be the reason your taken from me!…your the strongest right? What happens if someone uses me against you?! the only way to prevent that is to not be with you!!?” He stood up holding your face with his bare hands, the way he felt gentle to the touch even though he was upset almost made you fall harder for him.

A true gentleman. “Listen….if that’s how the strongest ends..I’d accept that. You should too love.” He watched you snap into tears. He just wasn’t accepting what you were saying and he thought of you being his downfall hurt. The pressure was too much. “Nothings going to stop me from being a happy man with you. Strongest or not you are my weakness and I don’t care if that leads to anything else because I love you in the past, now and forever.”

[kaigarax]

Threads of Affection Masterlist

A series of films featuring Hollywood's leading lady, you, and all your handsome co-stars. Rumors run rampant, especially when your chemistry on screen is undeniable. Nothing is confirmed but at least everyone gets to watch some (cheesy) cute movies. Enjoy you, (Y/n) (L/n), in these 10 different chick flicks featuring classic romance writing tropes in classic romantic writing settings~

The Summer I Met You (coming January 23, 2024) First Love x Flower Shop AU Komori Motoya finds his summer plans ruined when his parents drag him over to his grandparents' home for the summer where absolutely nothing happens and practically no one lives. This summer feels like just any other for (L/n) (Y/n). Helping around the garden; taking care of her younger siblings; and getting ready for the next school year ahead. When fate brings the two of them together one can't help but wonder if something more could blossom.

Bonus Behind the Scenes Content

Rewriting Our Story (coming soon) Second Chance x Wedding AU After building a successful life in the city for herself, (Y/n) (L/n) makes her way back home to celebrate the wedding of her best friend where she runs into the boy that broke her heart. Porco Galliard didn't want to leave but what other choice did he have but to join the military when his family was in desperate need of some extra income? Can the two of them overcome their differences or risk ruining the happy wedding?

Bonus Behind the Scenes Content (coming soon)

It Was Always You (coming soon) Friends-to-Lovers x School (Rooftop) AU People had always told Sabito that life moves faster the older you get. He just didn't realize how much faster until it's the final week before you go off to university and he has yet to confess his feelings. (Y/n) has spent the entirety if her high school life preparing for univeristy. Everything has gone perfectly. The only thing left now is to figure out why her best friend, Sabito, keeps on avoiding her. Can Sabito muster up the courage to confess his love or will it forever remain unrequited?

Bonus Behind the Scenes Content (coming soon)

The Distance Between Us (coming soon) Aloof Couple x Bar AU Everyone has always known that Sero Hanta and (L/n) (Y/n) were madly in love with one another... expect for the two of them. Their friends embark on a seemingly impossible task as they attempt to get the unknowing couple to finally admit their feelings for one another. It's only a matter of time before they finally get the hint, right?

Bonus Behind the Scenes Content (coming soon)

Fake It 'Til You Feel It (coming soon) Fake Dating x Traveling AU Asagiri Gen, playboy extraordinaire, finds himself in need of a fake girlfriend after accidently getting into a scandal. So he finds himself enlisting the help of you, (L/n) (Y/n). (Y/n) wasn't exactly sure what to think of when she was approached by Gen but the idea of a free trip around the world was enough to get her to agree. Besides, what's the worst that could go wrong? No kissing; no intimacy; and most certainly no feelings involved. Which isn't a problem until Gen finds himself wanting to break all of those stupid rules that he himself made up.

Bonus Behind the Scenes Content (coming soon)

Make Me Fall For You (coming soon) Betting x Coffee Shop AU Everyone on campus knows that Geto Suguru could have whoever he wants. It's so well known that his friends decide to make a bet to see how long it takes for him to woo the girl that walks through those doors next. (L/n) (Y/n), a quiet and respectful student, unknowingly makes a decision that will change her life forever when she chooses to take a detour for a cup of coffee and ends up walking through those doors next. Everything seems to be going according to plan for Geto expect that maybe he's actually catching feelings for you too.

Bonus Behind the Scenes Content (coming soon)

When Worlds Collide (coming soon) Different Worlds x School (Beneath the Tree) AU Denji has never been the best student at school. Heck, he's never even really been the best at anything. But when the threat of expulsion starts to float over his head he's willing to try anything to stay in classes. Which is how he ends up meeting (Y/n) (L/n). Denji's new tutor and the school's star student. The two of them are polar opposites that can't seem to agree on anything. Luckily, (Y/n) agrees to stick it out as long as Denji willingly helps her with that dreaded extra credit assignment.

Bonus Behind the Scenes Content (coming soon)

Our Defining Moments (coming soon) Forbidden Love x Office AU Kaku spent the enterity of his life knowing that it belonged to someone else. That everything he did was for the betterment of his nation. So, he can't help but start to think that something has gone wrong with him when all of his thoughts find themselves centering around a single woman. Is his heart supposed to beat as erratically as this? Is it normal to stutter this much? (Y/n) (L/n) just wants to do her best. She loves her family and she loves her job. Plus, it helps that her new partner at work is easy on the eyes.

Bonus Behind the Scenes Content (coming soon)

Beat You To Getting Better (coming soon) Rivals x Business AU (L/n) (Y/n) lived her entire life knowing that she would one day inherit her family's business and take over. This of course leads to her fostering a hatred against whoever happened to be on the other side. Gojo Satoru just so happens to be on the other side and can't stand (Y/n). Especially when she happens to be fighting for everything that he's trying to get away from. The two of them end up stuck together after a mix up for an extended period of time and find they might just have more in common then they initially thought.

Bonus Behind the Scenes Content (coming soon)

Memories of You and I (coming soon) Childhood Friends x Going Back Home AU Julian Loki and (Y/n) (L/n) were inseparable as children. One never found without the other. Of course, like all good things, the friendship eventually comes to an end when Loki has to move away. Years later (Y/n) and Loki run into one another again but it seems like many things have changed. Can the two of them overcome their differences and rekindle their friendship or will the time apart prove to be too vast a distance to overcome?

Bonus Behind the Scenes Content (coming soon)

[chimchiri]

Poll Adventure: Rarijack Dinner

Index | [prev] - Part 02 - [next] Special thanks to @babydarkstar for major support with the writing

Previous Poll:

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Minutes pass and Applejack still has no idea what to say. She’s drafted a few starters, but none of them feel right, or even like something a normal person would say to initiate conversation.

[You. Me. Saturday. Dinner?-] Delete, delete, delete…  [Hey Rarity, do you have any pla-] Delete, delete, delete…  [So Big Mac’s plannin to smoke some BBQ this weeken-] Delete, delete, DELETE.

Frustration builds—right in her chest all the way up to her ears. She can’t find the right words, and she’s usually so good at that—in her own way. 

This should be easy! It’s not a profession of undying love. 

Yet progress is a stick in the mud when it comes to her feelings for Rarity.

The legs of the chair squeak across the worn hardwood as AJ gets up and starts pacing around the kitchen, talking to herself. She takes her hat off, ruffs her fingers through her bangs, puts her hat back, runs a hand down her face. A huge, frustrated sigh escapes her when she throws her hands up.

“It’s Rarity. How goddamn hard can it be to ask her for somethin’?!”

That’s it. 

Tired of her own inaction, she slams her thumb on the call button.

Ring…

…ring…

With each ring the reality of her actions washes over her, and by the third ring she is fully aware of what she’s about to do. Her frustration morphs into panic and doubt, soaking her in dread. 

Is she actually doing this? Like…following through instead of letting her ideas fizzle out? 

This is happening, the phone is ringing, it’s sending the signal to Rarity’s device and she’s gonna grab it and answer and—

No, it’s too soon, they’ve only known each other for forever—

Before she can cancel the call, she hears a click—

“Applejack, darling!”

AJ��s gut leaps at the sound of that silky voice, clear elation in its tone and excitement at the chance to answer her call.

“To what do I owe the pleasure?”

AJ can feel her heart pounding up to her throat. Why is her mouth so dry all of a sudden? 

“Uhhh…howdy.”

Not her brightest greeting, but this isn’t the first time she’s acted without thinking it through. She doesn’t even know where to start.

The weight of reality makes her feel awkward, like a bull in a china shop. Too big for her britches indeed.

Silence rings in her ears.

Why is she freezing up at a time like this?

“Applejack…? Are you still there?” chimes Rarity on the other line, but she might as well be talking to a brick wall. 

It takes a few seconds of blank thought before AJ realizes it’s her turn to speak. 

“Agh! Sorry, I just—I thought I’d give you a call. See how you’re doing…make sure you—and the business o’course—make sure it’s goin’ ok and whatnot.”

She wants to smack herself upside the head. 

The business?

If she could go dig a hole outside and lay in it while the seasons change, she would; but she’s got a family to take care of and a farm to run. Surely this isn’t the worst moment of her life. Surely. But she doesn’t need to see Rarity’s face to feel the effect of her clunky greeting.

This is not like her. This is getting worse by the second, she doesn’t have a clue what to say, and she’s kicking herself for even calling. 

Why can’t she have even an ounce of the romantic charm that her parents had? Why is she so bad at flirting, especially when it comes to Rarity? When she tries to be intentional, it’s like she doesn’t know up from down; she stutters and fumbles like a bumbling buffoon. All this romance stuff seems so easy when she doesn’t care.

After a moment she hears Rarity give a little laugh, a sound like a sparkling stream running through fields of green. It makes AJ’s knees weak, a one-two punch to her joints. Elegance, grace, poise. When Rarity laughs, it’s flower petals dancing in the breeze; it’s birds chirping after a summer rain; it’s the shimmer of quartz shining in a dusty path.

“Oh, I’m spectacular, darling. Just putting the final touches on some designs for next month. I’m confident about my next line, but as always—I have too many ideas. You know me.”

AJ grins at that. “Yeah, I do. Knowin’ you, you’ve got at least a dozen too many.”

The chaotic, unrelenting artist inside Rarity used to annoy the hell outta AJ when they first met. Now she can’t help but find it endearing.

“Quiet, you,” Rarity says coyly, and AJ can hear the smile in her voice before she switches the topic, “How’ve you been, darling? You sound positively stressed.”

There it is again. The feeling of her nerves tying themselves to knots.

“I…uh…I’m doin’ fine. I just-”

“Is everything alright, dear? Anything I can do? I’m glad to offer my assistance—though nothing that could ruin my manicure; I just got a fresh coat. It’s a new formula…supposed to be hard as diamonds. Of course, I don’t believe such ridiculous claims until I try it myself…though I’d hate to push them too hard after I just had them done—Oh, but darling, please. Do tell me if everything is okay with you…?” Despite her rambling, Rarity sounds concerned. Great. And normally AJ would roll her eyes at the manicure excuse, but her nerves are shot, and that’s NOT what this is about.

“No! I mean—yes…I’m alright. Just—you know how it is. Farm and all. Exhausted,” AJ tries to give a lame excuse, though she can hear her voice break in between, and prays Rarity won’t notice. She clears her throat.

With the way it’s pounding between her own ears, AJ’s sure everyone and their mother can hear her heart beating in her chest, running like a wild horse. But that’s just what Rarity does to her.

“Oh, I do know, darling. Work can be a chore, especially for you. Ooh, we should go to the spa—it has been far too long since you spent a day pampering yourself! They have a new treatment that I just know you’ll love...”

“Yeah…yeah, that sounds nice,” AJ says distractedly, chewing on her thumb as Rarity raves about the newest spa services.

She’s blowing it.

She’s. Blowing. It.

Partly because now, she’s thinking about all that beautiful, smooth, creamy skin put on display next to her at the spa, all while she tries not to stare too much or say something stupid. It’s hard for AJ to admit to herself that part of the reason she finally took Rarity’s initial offer of a spa day was because of the promise of seeing her in way less clothing than usual. She got used to it eventually, but—did she really? Is it ever boring to see Rarity, in all her grace and glory, wrapped in nothing more than a towel? She’s all soft curves, and smooth skin, and pretty hair piled up on her head and held together with a big clip. With her hair up like that, it’s easier to see the cute little mole on the curve of her neck, one she probably forgets she even has. If AJ could, she’d lean over and press a kiss right there, feel her tremble under her lips—

“…but Applejack, really—are you alright? You don’t sound a bit like your usual sunny self.”

Fuck. Okay. Moment of truth. C’mon AJ. Stop stalling. Stop fantasizing when you could have it for real.

“Rarity, I’m callin’ ‘cause I—…well, I—“

AJ could ask her for a date, plain and simple. Which would almost surely be a confession. Something about dressing nice and holding doors (which she does anyways). It’s the most unambiguous choice for sure, but…is that what she wants? She’s never been in this situation before, wanting to change the dynamic between her and a close friend to something closer to the heart. She values her dynamic with Rarity, whether it’s romantic or not.

AJ could also just ask if Rarity wants to have dinner, no mention of a date in sight. There’s no obligation there, no real pressure to “get it right.” She knows she’s playing it safe this way, but maybe she should test the waters and make sure she doesn’t completely ruin her friendship with Rarity by confessing right away.

Either way, this means too much for her to blow it off again. She has to decide now.

Tag List: @mrrrpmeow @babydarkstar

[whoistartaglia]

hai haiii this is a req for your event!

al haitham + second chance romance

also, congrats on 1.5k followers! you v much deserve it!

here it is!! i hope you like it. i’ve been facing such like, writer’s block, recently, but i’ve enjoyed writing this.

trope: second chance romance

including: al haitham

as soon as you and al haitham could, you got married. it was a courtroom wedding. rings were exchanged, but it was the signing of the marriage document that really mattered. you were both young and foolish, and thought your love would last forever.

you were soon to learn that “forever” was only about three years and a couple weeks. you don’t even know if you could count those last few weeks, since all you and al haitham did during them was argue.

that was about a year ago. you haven’t seen him since, even though you’re technically still married. you thought the next time you would see al haitham would be in court—sooner or later you would have to get divorced—but no, it wasn’t a courtroom.

“what were you thinking?” you demand, opening the door to al haitham’s house. your old house. you still have the keys.

“i didn’t think—“

“you didn’t think doing something like that would land you in the hospital?” you lead al haitham inside and set him down on the couch. the doctor said it was only a minor concussion, but still called you in to drive him home, uncomfortable with him driving a car.

“it’s fine, really,” al haitham insists. he watches as you march into the kitchen and open his refrigerator. he hears a grunt of disapproval.

“what are you doing?” he asks.

“making you dinner,” you respond curtly. you’ve found at least some ingredients to work with.

“why?”

“are you really going to ask the person who’s feeding you ‘why?’”

al haitham promptly shuts up. he listens as you start cooking: the cutting of onions, your immediate cursing at those onions, a towel grabbed to wipe your eyes.

you… were never the best cook. that was always al haitham. but al haitham appreciates your efforts all the same, especially when you set down a steaming plate of dinner infront of him—and this time, it actually smells pretty good.

“thank you,” he says. then, somewhat bravely, “i’ve missed your cooking, [name].”

you scoff and begin digging into your own plate. “don’t lie to me.”

“i’m not lying,” he insists. “i’ve missed your cooking.”

you don’t quite believe al haitham. towards the end, you both took your own meals. actually, you stopped eating together long before you actually separated.

“i’ve missed you too, actually,” al haitham says. you slowly set your fork and knife down and stare at him.

“you’re lying to me,” you decide. “first about the food, now about… that.”

“but i’m not.”

“but you are.” you get up, take your dish—al haitham’s too, though he isn’t done with it yet—and march back into the kitchen.

“[name], please—“

“i don’t want to hear it,” you tell him. you drop the dishes into the sink with an unceremonious clang.

“but i’m not lying,” al haitham says. he’s entered the kitchen and stands behind you now.

“i don’t know that.”

“you don’t believe me?”

“should i?” you ask. you shake your head then. “it’s not the time for this. i don’t want to argue with you while you’re injured.”

“then don’t argue, listen,” al haitham tells you. “i’m not lying to you, [name]. i know you don’t believe or trust me right now, but it’s true.

“you don’t have to give me an answer now. but please—i think you should give us another chance.”

you cross your arms, conflicted. on one hand, you’ve missed al haitham. although it was an impulsive wedding and more-than-messy breakup, you miss him. on the other hand, you don’t know if you could trust him again—if you even should get back together.

“i’ll think about it,” you tell him finally. he smiles faintly, but then winces. you quickly continue, “but right now, you need to rest.”

al haitham doesn’t protest when you help him to his bedroom. you’re about to leave before al haitham catches your arms and says, “please stay, [name]. it doesn’t have to be in here, but please—stay for tonight.”

you feel like you did all those years ago when you got married—young and foolish. you know you should go. that would be the more mature and much smarter decision. you haven’t even told al haitham if you actually want to get try getting back together or not. you know you should go, but you don’t.

“okay,” you say. “i’ll stay.” al haitham gives you a tired smile, and you feel yourself blush despite yourself.

you might always be young and foolish when it comes to al haitham.

[wyn-n-tonic]

Books by Black Authors for Black History Month!

I wanted to share a list of books I love and books that I'm looking forward to reading that are by Black authors in acknowledgement of Black History Month. I feel like a lot of my fellow readers (especially my fellow white readers) always go into a, kind of, reading slump in February and I don't know if that's because the month of January is just ten years long that February feels like a hangover or if it's because they feel the desire to read books by Black authors but then the majority of what is marketed is usually books that are steeped in trauma or nonfiction books. And, like, yeah, nonfiction books are so important but when they're the only kind of book marketed it can make finding the other kinds of books that much harder but I believe that if you read the fun books and the happy books and the fantasy books it will make you want to seek out the nonfiction resources. I'm blabbering so long story short, I thought I would make a little list to do some of the legwork for my fellow readers to find stories that they can check out.

I used GoodReads links (and one StoryGraph) link, you can choose who to purchase from yourself (although I will suggest BookShop.org as your purchase does go towards indie bookstores, I also really like the Libby App which is just your library and it works with your Kindle/Nook/Kobo/iPad). All authors that I have included in this are American or have strong ties to the USA which is why I did not include authors such as Bolu Babalola, Talia Hibbert, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie but I do highly recommend checking them out if you haven't because they do write gorgeously.

Kennedy Ryan has an extensive backlog and beautiful writing, beautiful prose. She had a book called Before I Let Go (Skyland #1) come out in November 2022, it is a second chance romance between a married couple. It has been on my shelf forever, the cover is beautiful and I've heard nothing but truthfully incredible things. I have listened to snippets of the audiobook but keep putting off getting the actual audiobook because Kennedy is the kind of author I want to read the grammar, syntax, wording of everything from. This book actually got optioned to be adapted into a television show and there's a second Skyland book coming out in March called This Could Be Us that has the ARC readers going wild.

Jasmine Guillory is one of my favorite authors. She is a Bay Area native and has a law degree from Stanford. Not only do I think that she writes beautifully but I cannot even describe to you the way that I kick my little feet and twirl my hair. I feel like my favorite of hers changes. Up until a few weeks ago, I would've told you that Olivia Monroe in Party of Two was my favorite Jasmine girly but I listened to Royal Holiday to kick off my reading for January and Vivian Forest is such a beautiful character. She's a 56 year old Black woman who is a veteran social worker who thinks it's too late for her on several fronts and then she gets swept off her feet while on a vacation with her daughter AND THE ROYAL FAMILY. What?! I also think that Jasmine writes, like.... character appropriate sex scenes if that makes sense. Like, Vivian's scenes are more reserved than Olivia's were, Vivian's more closed door than Olivia's were. She also has a Beauty and the Beast inspired book called By The Book and I kept texting my friend the entire way through and then made her buy a copy so she could text me right back with all her thoughts. Amazing. I love her.

You want cozy fantasy romance with monsters and happy Black women being loved by their hot monster lovers? Kimberly Lemming has GOT YOU COVERED.

Plugging my new author friend P.J. Leigh and her book Olawu. She actually responded to my request for some indie author recs on Threads and sent me a copy of Olawu that will be here on Friday and I'm so excited. She describes it as: "Set in precolonial East Africa with romance, action, sisterhood, found family, and a feisty but flawed female lead." I cannot wait to dig into this one.

Another author who messaged me is indie author Quiana Glide. Her bio is that she is an unabashed fangirl and her books feature pregnancy trope, cosplay, professional wrestlers and cafe owners solving murders. Her books sound fucking great and they are available on Kindle Unlimited for my KU girlies (gender neutral).

Celestine Martin messaged me as well and she writes paranormal romance with Black witches, emo mermen and fae princes. I tripped over myself running to my Libby app to place a hold on the audiobook.

25 to Love! by Joye Johnson is another one available on Kindle Unlimited for my KU girlies (gender neutral). The synopsis is: "TV's hottest dating show is '25 to Love!'. To nab a guy from her past, Lola signs on as the token girl of color. All's fair in love and ratings--can a week on TV get Lola closer to the one that got away?" You know what I love? Second chance romances, besties, that's right.

Splinter by Jasper Hyde was another I was recommended. Jasper writes paranormal, LGBTQ+ books. Jasper Hyde is a pen name for Georgina Kiersten who also goes by Rian Fox. The pen name denotes the subgenre that they write. Georgina does go by they/them pronouns and writes plus sized rep and neurodivergent rep too.

Kelly Cain. That's it. That's the tweet. THE EVERHEART BROTHERS SERIES????? If you know anything about me, you know that I have a hearing issue and so I've used audiobooks before but I never really clicked with them or got the hype. Turns out I had boring ass narrators (look I did the audio version of a lot of nonfiction books I had to read about old dead white guys in college so of course I had that feeling). THE EVERHEART BROTHERS AUDIOBOOKS ARE WHAT CHANGED ME. Deanna Anthony, the narrator, is so engaging and I didn't feel like I was listening to an audiobook, I felt like I was sitting across the table at brunch having a gossip session with my bestie. If you read it and you didn't like it, that's fine, but I didn't lie to you and enjoyment of art is subjective but also you're wrong and argue with a wall.

I've been seeing a lot of talk lately about Pride & Protest by Nikki Payne. This is a Pride & Prejudice and one of the reviews says, "If you ever wanted P&P to feel more like watching a swoony, steamy episode of Insecure, this is the book for you."

Currently, I am reading You Made a Fool of Death With Your Beauty by Akwaeke Emezi. It deals with themes of grief and romance and also bisexual representation. Absolutely beautiful prose. Akwaeke is Nigerian and has been in the USA since college. They are non-binary and go by they/them pronouns.

I also cannot end this list without mentioning Memphis by Tara M. Stringfellow. This follows three generations of a southern Black family in the neighborhood of Douglass in Memphis, TN (I was born a couple miles away in Raleigh) . Now, this book does have quite a few trigger warnings that I won't put here but I do encourage you to READ THE TRIGGER WARNINGS before you purchase this book as it does deal with some pretty heavy subject matter.

I'm also going to end this by saying to keep an eye out for anything done by my best friend, the person who I have shared so many amazing, beautiful, life changing experiences with ALL OVER THE WORLD for the last fourteen years: Isana Skeete (Isana does not use pronouns). If you look at the GoodReads account for Isana that I linked, you'll see lists made with recommendations of books with queer POC rep and asexuality representation.

[klbwriting]

Broken Prism

Chapter 6

Fandom: Red Hood

Pairing: Jason Toddxfemale!Reader

Warnings: talk of violence and sex trafficking

Summary: YN goes in search of information on Robin

Notes: how many chapters/words do I need for something to be considered 'slow burn'? They haven't even spoken yet and I'm 12k words into this. I never write real slow burn so I'm sure when I hit that mark, any opinions? Thank you to those who have liked this! Comments/critiques are loved and appreciated!

You needed to get some work done before you went hunting for rich billionaires again. Your roommates had returned from their trip to find you listening to your loud ‘Dead Boyfriend’ playlist as they called it and searching everything from reddit to the dark web for information on several leads around the city. The GCPD was trying to hunt down Black Mask and finally get some information they could use to arrest him and keep him in Blackgate for a long time. You were doing your part by finding accountants, money lenders, hedge fund managers, pretty much anything that might lead to tax evasion because if there is anything you know about America, the IRS will lock you up forever if you forget to declare a penny. As ‘Afraid’ by The Neighborhood blared out your speakers your friend, Jocelyn peeked in the room.

“Are you busy?” she asked though she knew you were. You threw her an annoyed look and paused the music, locking your screen. She rolled her eyes. “Guess you finished actually working. What is it this time? Did you find a rumor about a zombie in Metropolis or something?”

“Fuck off, I’m working on a new lead,” you said. She grunted. Your friends were a little tired of you and your assumption that Robin was somehow alive. They thought you had just gotten lucky, one of the rare ‘double soulmate’ people. It happened to one in every billion people or so and they were sure that was why you were seeing color again, not some crazy idea that Robin had come back from the dead.

“I have someone you could meet, they’d be really good for you, and you know that you don’t have to be with your soulmate,” she said. You growled, the sound low and bitter. “Stop it, give her a chance…”

“I’ve given them all chances…” you started, the same argument coming back. You did this every few weeks with both of your roommates, they had someone who would be perfect for you, you tried for a while, then you found any and all reasons to leave them, listing them out until the other person was angry enough to leave you. You hated leaving people but seemed to relish in making them abandon you, that was a cycle you understood. You walking away wasn’t in the cards.

“You’ve ruined them,” Jocelyn shot back, and you just rolled your eyes. “But fine, keep searching for a ghost, a person who didn’t even want you to begin with.” That was a low blow, and she knew it the moment it was out of her mouth. The color drained from her face; she was sputtering as you packed up your laptop. You needed to get out. You would drop off what you had on Black Mask’s latest addition to his team, an assistant with ties to the Triad, and then go to Wayne manor. You had to admit she had a point. Robin had found her, probably got a better look at her than she at him, and then nothing. Either he was scared that knowing him would get her hurt or he didn’t like what he had seen, and considering her track record of foster homes, pointless romances that went nowhere, and friends that left her behind, she figured it was the second option. She knew she was a lot to deal with, too much anger and sarcasm, not enough sweet and gentle. Maybe Robin would have liked that if he’d given her a chance. She shook the thoughts from her mind as she walked down the street towards Old Gotham and the GCPD.

The deputy was pleased to see you, sending you straight up to Gordon. You glanced back to thank the deputy and noticed him on his phone. You chuckled; someone was going to get in trouble for that. Jim Gordon was notorious for taking phones off of deputies when they weren’t on patrol. You didn’t need your phone in the precinct, there were other phones, and if there was something so secret you couldn’t say it out loud then wait until you were off duty. It was supposed to build trust between the officers or something, you weren’t sure. All you knew was you weren’t surprised when a higher-ranking officer came and snatched the phone from the deputy. You knocked on Jim’s door and he told you to enter.

“YN!” he said with a smile. You smiled back. If anyone in this city could feel like a father to you it was Jim Gordon. He’d taken a chance on you back when you were on the streets pickpocketing. You had been able to steal a cop car right from the precinct’s garage and when confronted about it in interrogation later you had also stolen the handcuff keys right off the arresting patrolman. Instead of throwing you into a hole Jim had been impressed, said you reminded him of someone, and hired you. After the snipe from your roommate, hearing him so happy to see you made the burn feel better.

“Hey Jim, I have some information you might be interested in,” you said, handing over the USB with what you had just gathered. He put it onto his computer, looking over the data, nodding slowly.

“This is great, we can use this. This assistant has an interesting record, might be able to turn them into an informant if we play our cards right,” he said. You smiled, always glad to help him. The rest of the precinct could burn but Jim was a good guy, hell even the Batman knew he was trustworthy. That gave you an idea.

“Jim, can I ask you something?” you said, voice quiet. He looked up at you and you swallowed hard. “I know you work with the Batman sometimes, but did you ever know any of the Robins?” He stood, eyeing you. If you hadn’t been working with him for literally years, he might have kicked you out, told you that your services were no longer needed, but considering you had never asked anything about Batman before he hoped you weren’t just fishing for information. If he only knew how much you already found out about the vigilante.

“Sure, I’ve worked with all of them a few times, why do you ask?” he said, motioning for you to sit in the chair by his desk. You sat and he joined you.

“The second Robin, he saved me once, before I left school, I was taken hostage by to goons of somebody and he was the one who saved me, got me to the ambulance. I was just wondering if you knew what he was like? It’s been on my mind lately,” you said, trying to sound casual. Jim thought back, a stormy look on his face. You wondered what kind of memories this man had of young boys, pretty much children, taking on the lowest scum in the city. Wondered if he ever thought that Batman was unnecessarily cruel by pushing them into that life.

“I remember he was very different from the first, the first Robin was a chatterbox, always there with a joke or charming remark, very good with civilians,” he started. “The second was quieter, didn’t talk to me much, let Batman do it. The few times I met with him alone he would say what he needed to and then leave. But honestly, he was probably more caring than the first. The first one was great, did care about the people of the city, but the second one seemed to care about the lifeblood of the city, how it was going to get better. While Batman and the other Robins seemed to think that anyone could be saved, that the city could be saved with kindness and maybe a naïve love of what it used to be before Joker and Bane and all the rest, the second one would get his hands dirty. I never told Batman, but I found a Batarang in the neck of a sex trafficker who was selling underage girls to the highest bidder. That was the kind of person the second Robin was.” He sounded conflicted, like he didn’t know if that was a good or bad thing to kill that man. You didn’t see how taking a man who touched children off the streets was bad but kept your mouth shut, offering a tight smile.

“Thank you for that, I was just curious,” you said. “I need to get going, have another appointment, but as always Jim it was great to see you.” You stood, grabbing your bag.

“You should come by my place sometime, meet my daughter, she’s your age and I think you two would be good friends. Maybe meet her boyfriend too, you look like you could use more good people in your life,” he said suddenly. This was new. He’d never pushed his daughter or boyfriend before. You vaguely knew of them, had seen the picture on his desk of a pretty red head in a wheelchair and her equally pretty boyfriend in her lap, laughing, but he’d never talked about them. You felt a smile creep to your face. He must have been worried about you after asking about such a weird subject.

“Ya, that actually sounds nice,” you said, thinking about the argument with your roommate. Maybe trying to make new friends wasn’t a bad idea. You could try and if they decided to ghost you it wouldn’t matter. If anything, you were used to being left.

Your next appointment was at Wayne manor where you walked right up to the gate and rang the bell, waving at the camera. You figured this would be easiest, the tour was too expensive to do again, and you didn’t really want to come up with an elaborate plan to break into the place, but you could if they didn’t let you in now. Luckily the gate swung open, and you walked up the long driveway, Alfred waiting for you by the front door. He looked you over, seeming to listen to someone in his ear before letting you in.

“Did you scan me for weapons?” you asked dryly. He simply led you into a parlor and asked if you would like some tea or coffee. “O, tea would be great, thank you.” It had been a while since you’d had good tea and you assumed Bruce Wayne probably imported leaves straight from China. Alfred left and soon Bruce Wayne walked in, sitting down across from you on a high-backed chair. It struck you as funny that he looked like a king in a throne and you laughed, making him narrow his eyes. “Good afternoon your highness,” you said before you could think. You thought you saw an uptick on his mouth, but it disappeared. “O lord smile sometimes Bruce, your face muscles need a workout too.” That actually made him smile, but just a little. “Better.”

“What do you want?” he asked as Alfred set the tea tray in front of you, pouring you a cup. You sipped it plain, enjoying the hints of vanilla.

“I want to ask you about the second Robin,” you said. He sighed, seemingly expecting that answer. “Look, I’ve been searching for you for years just to get to know what he was like. I don’t want to spend the rest of my life wondering about him. Please, just, why did you take him in? Was he your actual son?”

“No, he was adopted, and I took him in because, well, he made me smile. Crime alley, he was around ten at the time, little skinny thing clearly living either on the streets or in one of the crappy apartments in the area. He tried to steal my car,” he said. Your eyes widened.

“Wait, a car like the one I stole, or, the other one?” you asked, not sure if you should say ‘Batmobile’ out loud.

“The other one,” Bruce confirmed. “He was brave, reckless, but brave. I smiled for the first time since my first Robin left to be his own man. So I took in J…” he stopped and looked at you. You shook your head, still not ready for his real name. “So I took in Robin, found out his parents were dead, well assumed dead. Penguin took his father in for some gambling debts, he wasn’t ever found. His mother died of an overdose, leaving Robin alone. I raised him, trained him, made sure he was capable as well as brave and smart.” You felt your heart ache. Bruce Wayne looked haunted talking about this, and you felt the hatred you normally held for him ebb a little. You motioned for him to keep going. He took a deep breath. “Robin was many things; he was angry and aggressive as much as he was kind and passionate. He hated when criminals would hurt children, hated it in a way that I was scared of.” You thought to Jim’s story of the batarang, the memory making you a little proud. “He was reckless and quiet, but funny and could devour an entire library of books in just a few days. Alfred gave him cooking lessons and I gave him driving lessons. He was my son.” You swallowed hard, trying to fight the tears the welled as Bruce spoke of him. He sounded wonderful.

“What happened to him?” you asked. Bruce looked at you, really studying you. “Please…” you hated that it sounded like begging, but you had to know what actually happened. There were so many rumors about the death of the second Robin. You had to know the truth.

“Joker. We were doing work in another country, tracking Joker to a drug smuggling operation. I was an idiot, too high on my own importance. I didn’t stop to question why Joker had gone himself just to pick up pills and weapons. We arrived and Robin, he went to scout the warehouse where the trade off was supposed to take place while I went to a town in the south where the theft was taking place. I didn’t realize that this was the Joker’s plan, get us separated. He didn’t know who would be going to warehouse but it didn’t matter, he wanted blood.” Bruce looked at his hands and you noticed how tired he looked, exhausted of his own legend. Being the Batman must weigh heavy on him. “Robin got there, and the Joker was ready. I’m not sure what happened entirely, there was a bomb and when I found his body.” He couldn’t finish. You heard a sniffle in the doorway and turned to see Alfred openly weeping. This seemed to give you permission and the tears you had been holding in poured down your own cheeks. You wiped them quickly, hating being vulnerable in front of anyone let alone people you had only just met.

“Thank you, for um, telling me all this,” you said. “You know I never got to talk to him, but I think about him, did he ever want to meet me?” You really hoped the answer wasn’t going to break your heart. Bruce looked at you and if he could he looked more guilty.

“That was my fault too,” he said. “I thought he was too young to balance his life as Robin and having a soulmate. He didn’t only want to meet you, he wanted to watch over you. He did watch over you. I used to catch him sneaking out in the early morning so he could make sure you got to school alright, he would come back late for patrol carrying empty wrappers of Big Belly Burger because he couldn’t imagine letting his car get cluttered. He may not have met you but you were always on his mind.” You closed your eyes, but it was impossible to stop the flew of tears. You stood.

“Thank you again Bruce, I’ll show myself out,” you said, leaving before either man could do anything. You left the manor gates and stood for a moment trying to collect yourself. You saw the squad car pulling up and frowned as the deputy from the station climbed out.

“Can I ask what you’re doing here m’am?” he asked. You frowned, something felt very off right now. You stepped back, going for the switchblade in your pocket, but he was faster, the shocks from the taser going through you. You dropped the knife and collapsed onto all fours. You had been tasered before but that didn’t make it fun. The officer used this time to yank you up by your hair with one hand, the other pulling off your backpack and tossing it over the fence into the Wayne compound. He must have figured no one would notice with all that land, at least not until the landscaping was done. He cuffed you and shoved you in the car, making you hit your head on the roof. With cloudy vision from the hit you watched him start driving towards the Narrows. This was bad, very bad.

[bluedalahorse]

I actually don't think I know what your specific YR/Tana French crossover idea is? Besides us generally talking about how they could be in the same universe. So you should talk about that one!

Okay, this one never had any paragraphs of it materialize, but it lives in my brain and I cherish it. It’s mostly more vibes than plot points. So I’ll explain it!

First of all though, people need to stop crossing over Young Royals with Red White and Royal Blue and start crossing it over with the Dublin Murder Squad books. Tana French would write amazing YR fanfiction if she were ever so inclined.

Anyway, back to fic. Essentially when August sells Årnäs, he sells it to people who want to found a boarding school for neurodivergent kids. This would be a place away from the towns they grew up in, that’s specifically geared toward their particular learning and socio-emotional needs and so on.

15-20 years into the future, Sara takes a job at this school, not realizing it’s her ex-boyfriend’s old estate. She’s able to roll with it when she finds out, even though it’s a little strange and all. Sara works as the school counselor, and helps kids out with therapy animals and such.

Then a dead body of an Irish diplomat is found on the estate-turned-school. Like, a dead body from a long time ago, or at least from when our main YR characters were very little kids. The Irish diplomat was kind of a famous disappearance cold case, so suddenly the Swedish and Irish police are on the scene, as are private investigators Felice Ehrencrona and Holly Mackey. Both Felice and Holly are determined to crack the case before the cops do.

For the purposes of this fanfic, please assume Felice and Holly are around the same age, and also that they will end up boning one another after a late night of tacking photos, strings, and maps to a corkboard. Sapphic Felice forever and ever amen.

Meanwhile, Sara’s job is trying to keep the students at her school calm when there’s a literal murder investigation going on at their campus. Talk about disruptions to routine! It’s a difficult time.

And then… well, witnesses would help. August is decidedly not king in this universe because whatever I don’t have time for that, but he was six years old and present when this absolute Gatsby Rager happened at Årnäs, and then the diplomat went missing the next day. So he’s brought in as a witness and is getting questioned about his childhood a lot. Maybe Louise and Carl Johan’s marriage got bad because they had to cover up a murder together. I mean who knows!

Sara and August of course fall into a Second Chance Romance while they both take care of the school animals and try to keep calm. Of course they lean into other ways of releasing tension as well. Sara definitely gets fingered in a school supply closet I SAID WHAT I SAID.

Other thoughts:

Wilhelm and Simon are presumably having a nice vacation somewhere when all this goes down. As are their cats.

Maddie probably texts Felice to say the deceased Irish diplomat contacted her in a dream.

Sweden is a Republic now because I say so.

Anyway those are my Tana French thoughts. I hope you enjoyed them.

[petrichor-idyllic]

Hi I’m honestly in love with your writing and the fact that you write for male readers is just *chefs kiss 🤌* could I please request a Newt x male reader, kinda like your other newt fic except Thomas takes a liking to the reader and it’s Newt that gets jealous, while reader is just oblivious because he hasn’t really talked to the greenie and is too busy doing medjack things.

Please don’t stress to get this finished I’ll wait forever if I have to.

All the love ❤️ - Static

Ooo I'm loving the Newt attention right now, I'm obviously a Minho fan (*cough* the over 25 fics I've written for him *cough*) but Newt is easily one of my favourite characters and I'm honoured to get the opportunity to write him.

JEALOUS BOY

MASTERLIST | NEWT MASTERLIST

SUMMARY: See above. Timeline doesn't line up (or exist) but kinda movie based fic. Teresa ceases to exist because I couldn't work out how to make that work- there's enough going on.

WARNINGS: Inappropriate language, miscommunication trope, kind of oblivious reader, Thomas being a dumbass.

Greenie Day is always fun. It's definitely your favourite day of the month. Apart from having a fresh face to watch the other Gladers tease, you also get to celebrate with the Bonfire night.

And today is no different. You have been blessed with Thomas. He seems slightly unstable and unsure of himself, but he is definitely handling things a lot better than most of he boys do.

He's cute, for sure, but a lot of boys here are. That doesn't really matter though, because you've set your heart on Newt.

You don't really know how it happened, but the second in command caught your attention almost immediately. He's one of the more grounded people in the Glade, and he's probably the most reliably.

And Minho drunkenly told you that Newt's gay. So, you might actually have a chance.

Though, you're one of the three Medjacks, so you're normally busy with work. The Glades really isn't a place for romance, and Newt is one of the few people that is actually busier than you.

And Newt probably doesn't even like you.

Honestly, Newt hadn't even really thought about it- until Thomas beats him to it.

"Who's that?" Thomas asks as him and Newt share a glass of Gally's special brew™, sitting in front of a log, using it as a backrest.

"Who's who?" Newt asks after taking a swig of his drink.

"Him," Thomas points at you from across the Glade as you talk to Jeff and Clint, laughing as you recall some of the dumbest injuries the Gladers have had. "Who's he?"

Newt's smile falters slightly. "(Y/N)." He simply answers. "Why you asking?"

Thomas shrugs. "He's kinda attractive."

For some reason, a sharp feeling crosses through Newt's chests. He shuffles uncomfortably before getting up. "C'mon, I'll show you around."

Thomas scrambles to his feet, struggling to keep up with Newt as he effortlessly traverses through the crowd.

Newt pretty much introduces Thomas to everyone except you. And then he ends up in a fight with Gally.

Which is always a fun watch.

You remain oblivious as you continue on with your job in the day following. Normally, after Bonfire, your clientele consists of boys suffering from hangovers and embarrassment.

"Gally, if you're gonna throw up, go outside, there's only so many egg and garlic cures I can make in such a small space of time, yanno." You mumble, stirring the strong smelling solution.

"I'm not gonna throw up." The Builder grumbles as he hunches over the side of the bed.

"You'd think since you make this klunk you'd be able to handle it. Or were you just nursing your pride after being floored by a Greenie?" He glares at you as you pass him the drink.

"This klunk's gross."

"You do this to yourself."

"Hey," you look up as Thomas awkwardly knocks on the doorframe.

"Hey, Greenie, you need somethin'?" You say nonchalantly. Thomas is just another patient to you.

"Uh, just thought I'd come see what this job is about."

"You fancy being a Medjack?"

"Haven't you heard?" Gally scoffs. "Greenie here has his heart set on being a Runner." You raise your eyebrow at Gally. "Newt told me."

That's weird. It's not like Newt is the type to go around talking about everyone's business- to Gally nonetheless.

You scoff. "Well, good luck with that- you'll have to get Minho's approval. He's one hard nut to crack. Maybe aim lower for now."

"Or give up all together." Gally snickers to himself.

"Gally," you snap, "get out- you're just a whiney baby who overendulged- scram, shank."

Gally grumbles under him breath, but he does get up, even though he does nearly topple over in the process.

"You're uh, (Y/N), right?" Thomas asks once Gally is gone.

"Uh, yeah, who told you that?"

"Oh, I asked Newt. He didn't seem too pleased about it, though."

You brush off the comment, turning back to making more headache cures for the undeniable number of boys that'll be flooding into your tent soon.

"Well, you should be checking out some of the other jobs- people don't normally trail to be a Medjack very often. There's only three of us and it's harder to get in this kluck-hole than it is out in the Maze. You could be a Track-hoe or a Builder, or even a Slicer if you don't mind the blood."

"Yeah, but I want to be a Runner," you scoff, shaking your head to try and hide your smirk. Gally might be right about this one.

Thats a first.

"Oi, Greenie," Newt appears in the doorway, "the shuck are you doin'? Get your ass to the Bloodhouse, you're tryin' out as a Slicer today."

Thomas pushes his lips into a thin line, nodding at you. "See you around." You give him an awkward wave and he leaves.

"The Greenie's shuckin' weird." You laugh, but when Newt doesn't respond, you look over at him. He face looks like thunder. "You good, mate?"

'Mate' is something you only say to Newt, mainly because you secretly adore his accent but also to lightly tease him.

"Yeah," he clears his throat, "yeah, so, you think Tommy's a freak?"

"I wouldn't go that far- but I don't think we've ever had a Greenie with such a shuckin' death wish before." Newt remains silent. "You don't like him?"

"No," he sighs, "I do. The shank's got a spark- we need more of that. I just..." He trails off, making eye contact with you. "Doesn't matter. I'll catch you later."

Newt leaves as fast as his arrived, leaving you very confused and slightly lost. That's until Clint stumbles into the Med Hut with Jeff carrying him, clearly still intoxicated.

You'd been wondering where they'd been.

The next couple of days are... strange, to say to say the least. Thomas came in almost every morning to speak to you, which started causing some exchanging of glances between your colleagues.

You, however, paid no mind to it.

Newt, however, did.

"Who does the Greenie think he is?" Newt grumbles to Minho, who is mouthfuls deep in a portion of of Frypan's stew.

"This about your little crush again?" The Runner says after swallowing.

"What? I don't have a crush."

"Dude, you've been complaining about Thomas all week."

"So? I don't have a crush on the shuckin' Greenie."

"Wha- no," Minho snorts, rubbing his face in his hands at his friends own cock-blocking. "You're jealous."

"What?"

"Of Thomas."

"What?"

"You have a thing for (Y/N), and the Greenie likes him too- so you're jealous."

Newt blinks. "What? No, I don't have a shuckin' crush, okay? He's just distracting him from work, a'ight? And Thomas needs to get his ass to work figuring what job he's gonna do. This isn't about (Y/N) at all."

"You're full of klunk," Minho says after sarcastically nodding, waving his fork around.

"Mate-"

"No, you're full of klunk," Minho sighs. "You've been talking to and about this boy since he got here, and suddenly a new guy shows up, who clearly likes your 'bestfriend'," he puts that in air quotes, "and suddenly you're moping around like a shuckin' baby. You're thick as pig klunk if you ain't figured out what's going on by now."

There's a short period of silence as Newt processes everything. Shit, maybe he is jealous. He'd always liked you a little bit more than the other Gladers, but he kind of thought it was just admiration.

But he was jealous when Thomas pointed you out.

It made his skin crawl and his body burn.

"Shit," he mumbles, his elbows resting on the table and his hands in his hair. "I think I do like him."

"There ya go- shuckin' finally." Minho barks a laugh.

"So, what do I do?"

Minho hesitates, before just shrugging. "You don't see me having many romantic prospects around here, do ya? Box hasn't sent my type up yet," he attempts to joke, which just earns a glare from the second in command. He clears his throat. "Look, if your jealousy is getting to you that bad, just claims what's yours."

"Minho," Newt groans, "don't talk about people like that."

"You know what I mean- just ask him out. Tell him how you feel and get you a boy."

"I don't know if-"

"Suck it up, shank- I don't risk my life everyday to come back here and deal with this klunk." Minho stands up. "Alby has you running this joint for a reason- figure your shit out."

And with that, Minho walks away, probably to talk to someone who isn't causing him a headache with romantic issues.

Newt decides to see what happens, play it by ear and stick to his job. After all, he's a busy dude and- oh my God, is Thomas talking to you again?

Newt spots you sitting with Thomas. You look almost bored, probably thinking about some kind of medical solutions instead of listening to whatever nonsense Thomas is spewing.

But for some reason, this sparks a new wave of jealousy in him. Maybe Minho's right- about needing to talk to you, not claiming you.

You're a person, after all.

Standing up, he storms over to you.

"Hey," he taps your shoulder, pulling you out of your trance, "I need to talk to you." He jolts his head in a general direction away from the small group you're in.

"Oh, sure," you scramble up, following Newt as he walks away. You can practically see the steam coming off his head.

You walk a fair few metres away, ending up at the edge of the Deadheads.

"Newt, is everything okay-?"

"I like you!" He snaps, turning around and starting you.

"I like you, okay? I like you and all your dumb medical facts and the way you help Chuck when he's freaking out. I like you, like I have a crush on you and it's freaking me the shuck out! A-and watching you flirt with the Greenie is driving me nuts!"

"I wasn't flirting with-"

"I just- Minho told me to tell you and that's what I'm going. Make of it what you will but-"

There's something about the normally calm Newt losing his cool over you that is weirdly attractive. Not only is your long-time crush confessing to you, but he's actually possessive over it. Should that be attractive? Probably not, but it still is to you.

Newt is mid-speech when you step forward, grabbing his face with both your hands and pulling him towards you. Your lips connect and Newt completely freezes.

You pull away from the blond as he doesn't react. He looks at you for a second, panic taking over you. You go to speak but no sounds come out as he starts to grin.

Pulling you back in, he kisses you again, this time actually responding properly.

The kiss lasts a couple of seconds before you separate.

"Will you please be my boyfriend, (Y/N)?" He asks you.

You smile. "'Course I shuckin' will."

Another Newt request: done. I'm slowly getting there, and I have a couple of Gally requests to get through, but dw we'll be back to our regularly scheduled Minho content first.

I hope you enjoyed :))

[amndmirk]

bestie drop the Kris & Ralsei relationship rant and why there's less fandom reception for them because of archetypes. the ppl want to know.

its. ugh

im not tidying it up, ill be putting it off forever (haha krals quest reference. VIBE CHECK)

so, deltarune community, i introduce to you, a half-assed 3AM rant about kris and ralsei.

transcription below, sidebar screenshots, tldr and everything. uh, i recommend reading the post

while i still cannot pass out i figured out what bothers me about the way theyre presented and why platonic kralsei is such a craving that has no material in the fandom to work with whatsoever

we know the susie relationships. everyone cherishes kris and susies friendship. id say it comes first if anything. people vaguely appreciate her and ralsei as well - we had plenty of hangout opportunities for the two, there are even two or three comics about ralsei and his beef with her. friendship content. dynamic exploring

kris and ralsei presentation however includes but is not limited to: dry interaction (choose your flavour: kris/kris as player projection aka the thing everyone did with ch1 ralsei cutesy content), dry interaction 2.0 aka The Sillies/ralsei as sole background commenter in goofyass situations/the normal dude (may or may not include in-game shit), kris' resentment of ralsei (at least theyre getting creative), and finally mushy romantic couple shit and sugarcoating tropes

vc: and you could excuse that with a "oh, well but we dont know anything about ralseis backstory" yet we hardly know anything about susies either. we only theorise of her past related to adoption, being homeless, insert other determinators based material. we factually know very little of her, yet susie has established friendships with both kris and ralsei, even well-written fan content with noelle that is not limited by surface romance but rather the exploration of their dynamic, friends first, partners - second.

as in for either of them being morally gray? susie has no problems with that and i love her, we love her, the_newest_girl sweepstakes log hasnt changed anything. i do have a theory on how that could affect ralsei, though. might contemplate on that.

so susie has all that. kris, their nature still unknown to most, but overall sympathetic with a shade of gray morality (HEEEELLL YEAAA) has the similar spectrum. kris has all that.

with them and ralsei though? its like. not a single plate of them as a dynamic. as actual friends

and honestly its no wonder kralsei is getting rejected from lightner ship/old darkner ship communities

we present no base. no fundamental understanding or interpretation of them

...though i wish id browse through deltarune tag more legitimately and take samples every time i see kris and ralsei on-screen to have a list of categories for each interaction to sort them like legos by shapes and colours.

there was one.ONE comic of them that kept the hopes up. this is why kralsei is stayin alive. that, and tunas scarf thingy. our icon (shhhh hes seepy)

i, uh, dont have a conclusion. i remember writing it because i wish we actually came up with who they are. wish that even they had conflicts and resolutions, similarities and differences, like any other dynamic in the fanon, having multiple headcanons and interpretations.

i just wish we gave them a chance to be friends.

[steddie-island]

Forever Yours (Faithfully)

Part 3 of Fuck His Dad WC: 3,020 | Rating: E | CW: Mention of minor character illness (Wayne was sick but he got better I promise!) Tags: Steve is Dustin's Dad, Age Gap, Modern AU, No upside-down AU, Top Steve Harrington, Bottom Eddie Munson (tagged that way for the fic but they're verse in everything I write them in tbh), Fluff, Sex that was supposed to be filthy but just gets so soft (and then a little filthy) Shoutout to @rozzieroos for helping me through my men's engagement ring frustrations (why do they all look like just wedding bands???) and for planting the idea for what I wanted to do for Eddie instead.

Teaser below the cut, but read the full thing on ao3.

Truthfully, Eddie hadn’t expected that they would make it to a year. He loved Steve, but with past relationships… they just hadn’t had staying power. His longest relationship before Steve had only lasted for four and a half months. It had been nice, but it hadn’t been love for either of them. 

This was different. Steve was different. Eddie spent most of his nights here now that Dustin had officially moved out and was living on campus. He had a two drawers, a side of the bed, and room in Steve’s closet for some of his clothes. 

It was just so easy , and he was happy. 

And Steve wasn’t getting tired of him. Steve still wanted him around. Not just for sex, either– though that was still very much happening, every chance they got. But now they had nursed each other through colds, they’d had their first fight and gotten through it in one piece. When Wayne fell sick and it had been touch and go for two weeks, Steve wasn’t just there for Eddie. Steve was there for Wayne, holding his hand and talking to him, reading to him when Wayne insisted Eddie go back to class so he could have something else to focus his mind on for a little while. And when, at the end of the two weeks, Wayne was cleared to go home, Steve had Dustin help him add a ramp to Wayne’s porch, so he could get into the house with his new chair. 

So it hadn’t been expected, making it this far, but Eddie was beyond grateful that they had. 

By the time the big day rolled around, he was ready. It had taken weeks of planning, had taken help from both Robin and from Dustin, for it to all come down to this: Eddie was in his best ( i.e. only ) suit–complete with an actual tie. Dinner was finished (thanks to Robin) and just waiting to be plated up. A bottle of fancy wine (also picked up by Robin) sat chilling next to the bouquet of deep red roses that Eddie himself had picked out. He wasn’t a rose guy, but roses were romantic, and Steve liked romance. And Eddie? Eddie loved Steve. 

He’d thought about a big, intricate dinner at a restaurant, but that wasn’t who they were. Sure, they could do fancy dinners on the town, those were fun. But Eddie liked it best when they were here, when it was just their family, when he was wearing Steve’s old yellow sweater and Steve was wearing a Hellfire shirt – which he had totally earned by staying away from their games, just like Dustin had made them promise. And anyway they were his rules, it didn’t matter whether Dustin thought it was cheating or not, damn!

Outside, the sound of a car door slamming cut through the air. Eddie hurried to set the plates on the table, to get the wine poured, to make sure not a single candle had gone out in the thirty seconds since he’d last checked. He could hear Steve’s feet on the stoop, heard the key in the lock. 

He picked up the bouquet of roses, tucked a loose curl behind his ear, and he waited. 

Steve’s hands had never trembled like this before– it took three tries to get the key into the lock before he could actually go inside. Dustin and Robin both assured him he didn’t need to be so nervous, but it was easy for them to say that. They weren’t the ones taking a step off of the edge, putting it all out there only to maybe ruin one of the best things that had ever happened to him. 

Once he was inside it took even more time than usual to get his bag from around his shoulders, to get his blazer hung up. He turned– and stopped. The lights were off, and the dining room glowed instead with candlelight. They were all around the space, on every available surface. And Eddie stood in the middle of it all, lit up and looking more beautiful than Steve had ever seen him before. “Happy anniversary.” Eddie’s smile was nervous. Steve didn’t gamble often, but he would bet almost anything that Eddie’s hair was pulled back so he couldn’t use it to hide that beautiful face. “I’m sorry it’s not more, I wasn’t sure if you would want to go out– or if you would even want to do anything, I know you’ve had a long day at school and–” “Eddie.” Steve shook his head and rested a finger over those pink lips. “Breathe for me, sweetheart.” Eddie’s smile softened, and he took an exaggerated breath, let his chest fill with air before releasing it slowly. “Sorry.” “This is… perfect. You did this for me?” “Robin and Dustin helped,” he admitted. “I wanted everything to look nice for you. These are for you, too.” He held the bouquet out and Steve felt his heart thump in his chest. Maybe he would’ve been less nervous, too, if he’d had any insight at all about what Eddie was planning. He smiled and went in for a kiss that was soft and sweet. 

“C’mon. Dinner’s getting cold.” Eddie stepped back so he could pull Steve’s chair out for him. 

[patrocles]

Jon/Sam, Jon/Satin, and Robb/Jeyne for the ship ask thing

Jon/Sam -- A few things about this ship is true. If Sam wasn't fat, it would be one of the biggest ships of the series by far. And that GRRM had to introduce Gilly when he realized just how fruity he wrote them in AGOT. I genuinely think they're sooo sweet and I like them SO much. No one can ever make me hate cute best friends that take care of each other and are each others first crush WHICH I KNOW THEY WERE GEORGE.

Jon/Satin - I will become permanently insane when we get First Disciple First Witness To The Ressurection Satin, watch this space. I would have given anything to be in that writers room when they decided to replace Satin with fucking OLLY because having Jon go out of his way to protect a slightly effeminate former sex worker in the most hostile-masculine setting whilst repeatedly thinking about how pretty he is conflicted with the Ultra Bro Hero they wanted for the fans. It's gonna be so funny in the next book once Jon is not dead and has more than 5 seconds to think about something other than the inventory, bank loans, and how sad he is, it's gonna hit him like a ton of bricks that he actually really likes Satin. (and will be SO tortured over it because it's Jon). Mind you this is after Satin risks his life protecting Jon's body while he's dead, has remained the most dedicated to him, and has always been Right There. And Satin has been resigned to being there for Jon in whatever capacity he can be. And both don't know how to TALK about what ANY OF IT MEANS. GRRM isn't the best at writing romance but he IS great at writing characters tortured by their feelings and that's close enough for me

Robb/Jeyne - Now these two break my heart. They really were just SO young and they tried so hard to do everything correctly given the circumstances. I think if they had the chance, they could have really fallen deeply in love, the kind that comes with time and companionship. That's not to say that they didn't love each other then, but the war strained them before they really had a chance to settle, and constant outside forces interfering. But even still we see how much they genuinely care for each other, want each other, and want to build a future together. I could go on at LENGTH about how much I hate Robb/Talisa, but I think chiefly what they removed with Jeyne and why he married her to begin with, was because they were basically kids still. They tried to make a grown-up decision in a fucked up world and suffered for it. And so you can't even be mad about what should have been done differently because he's just a boy still in grief and tried to honor his father's moral code, and that's the tragedy of it all. And Jeyne is still just a girl who loved him and what's to honor him forever despite what the fuck anyone else has to say and I love that for her. She could have easily played victim, that she was forcibly wed, especially in the face of the Lannisters, but she didn't.