#I guess that's an issue I never really had with Once Upon a Time

[thetabites]

I was yapping on some Discord server and my brain spit out the phrase "Edged by the Narrative". Now, I'm not positive nobody's used that before but I think it's a great description for things that have been drawn out far too long.

[fandomsandfairytales]

Mmmm. Okay, revising my thought from my tags (#and the classism thing was definitely a thing) on this. Because yes, you're reminding me that David did grow up a shepherd boy and was a peasant for most of his life. And I agree with you, Killian/Hook could be a beggar and he wouldn't care a lick about that. He cares for a lot of people who are lower class than he is. I do still hold to basically everything else I said in my tags though.

"When he sees Hook, he doesn't see someone who is lower class, he sees someone who doesn't care about others, who is willing to hurt people for power and riches." I think that's true. Hook acts in self-interest 100% of the time when we (the audience) first meet him. And I do think Charming/David is more willing to look down on Hook because of this. He keeps that view of Killian as a lowlife, scummy guy for longer than some other characters—or, at least, he clearly treats Killian from that perspective—but it makes sense and it's consistent with his character. I think it's sort of a combination of "he dislikes those who are selfish and hurt innocents" and "he doesn't see himself as that kind of person and tends to look down on/think less of others who are". He wouldn't personally lower himself to do the things Killian has done, because he sees that as not just acting in ways that hurt others, but as something actively detrimental to himself and a slippery slope to becoming a worse version of himself. Charming has a pretty black and white worldview (I mean, he and Snow did the thing where they basically tried to have all of Emma's darkness removed from her), and that certainly influences how Charming sees Hook.

I genuinely get so angry when someone says that David hates Hook because of his attraction to Emma LIKE NO. HE HATES HOOK BECAUSE HE HAS INTERNALISED CLASSISM AND HAS SPENT HIS LIFE BELIEVING THAT THIEVES AND PIRATES ARE NOTHING MORE THAN SCUM WHO CHOSE TO BE THAT WAY. WHICH IS THE EXACT SAME REASON HE HATES SNOW AT FIRST. HE IS ALSO A MONARCH AND A SHERIFF. OF COURSE HE’S GOING TO HATE THE ANARCHIST CHARACTER.

PLUS, HOOK FLIRTING WITH EMMA WASN’T THE FIRST INSTANCE OF THEM HATING EACH OTHER. IT WAS HIM FLIRTING WITH MARY MARGARET. WHICH WOULD BE SEEN AS A HUGE INSULT TO DAVID IN ENCHANTED FOREST SOCIETY. NOT ONLY DOES DAVID LOVE HIS WIFE HE PROBABLY ALSO RECOGNISES HOOK IS DOING IT AS A THREAT TO HIS MASCULINITY.

EMMA ISN’T EVEN THERE WHEN THEY PROPERLY MEET. FFS.

[hannieehaee]

BITE (teaser)

18+ / mdi

summary: keeping appearances as an idol was already hard enough, but it becomes even worse upon finding a forlorn jeonghan with need of assistance with the company's faulty security system, instantly becoming endeared with the idol who refused to take no for an answer — not that you'd ever want him to.

content: idol!jeonghan x hybeidol!reader, f2l, meet-cute, very unrealistic schedules for idols lol, jeonghan is a menace, a lot of will they wont they, reader plays hard to get, small age gap implied, afab reader, one mention of the word oppa as a honorific (sorry</3), reader is implied to be international (no specific race, just not born in korea), smut, dry humping, fingering, penetrative sex, etc.

(^ no actual content warnings in the teaser)

wc: 1.9k (teaser); 11.7k (full fic)

RELEASE DATE: september 6th

or you can check it out on my patreon today by subscribing!

a/n: wrote this super quickly so it might be a little messy but i really love idol aus so yeah hope u enjoy<3

masterlist

support me through a one time tip<3

"Hey, is that Yoon Jeonghan from Seventeen?", asked Minji as she patted your shoulder, finger pointing towards your right.

"Who?", you wondered, attempting to make sense of the distressed man standing in front of the main artist elevators in the building, "Oh, yeah, I think that's him," you said once you spotted his face, deeming it impossible to not recognize a face such as his.

"Why is he just standing there?", she wondered, holding onto your arm in the affectionate manner she usually did, "Do you think it's that elevator thing again?" she faced you to ask.

"What elevator thing?"

"Apparently he went on a variety show and complained about the company's security system. It was a whole controversy, but I guess the facial recognition doesn't work for him for some reason," she informed you before chuckling at the sight of Jeonghan sighing in defeat at yet another failed attempt at utilizing the aforementioned system, "I thought it was a bit, but I guess he was for real."

"Huh," you hummed, having been unaware of the issue. The system worked just fine for you and all your members, so you never had any motive to question it. Your senior, however, had clear issues with the system. Within the two minutes you had noticed his presence, he had already attempted the facial recognition three times, getting rejected every single one of them.

"You should help him," your groupmate suggested, "I would, but my manager will be here soon for my shoot. You only have rehearsals today, right? You're heading that way anyway."

"What? No!" you declined, "I always get anxious around our seniors. I've never even met him," you added, far too shy to even face the pretty boy during his predicament.

Disconnecting from you, she grabbed onto your shoulders, scolding you, "Dude, just go help him! This is how you make connections. You give him a hand and then he gives you one back," she said, physically turning you around so you could face his direction, hands still on your shoulders, "Go! My ride's probably already here anyways. Good luck," she encouraged as she pushed you forward, making you absentmindedly begin walking towards the boy.

Taking a breath, you began to walk towards the boy who seemed to grow more and more frustrated at the faulty security system. The closer you got, the more you could hear his whines in complaint. It appeared that he had taken up a phone call during the time you'd been talking to your friend, frustratedly arguing with whoever was on the other line.

"Seokminnie, c'mon! Just come down! I'll buy you soju after practice," he whined, groaning at whatever response his groupmate had given him in return, "My manager already left ... Yeah .... No! Stop! Just come down! I'm your senior and- Wait! Don't hang up!", he groaned at last upon hearing the classic sound of a disconnected line invade his ears.

It was only then that he seemed to notice your presence, widening his eyes momentarily before offering you a brief bow to acknowledge your presence. Moving aside, he gave you enough space to stand in front of the elevator, quietly awaiting for you to utilize the security system, likely assuming you had not heard his prior predicament. He gestured for you to move forward, acting as if he were being a gentleman in allowing you to go first.

You approached the small facial recognition screen, about to scan your face before turning to him, finding the boy staring at you expectantly, "You need me in order to use the elevator, don't you?", you asked him, amused.

"Huh?", he gaped at you, tsk'ing afterward and making an odd 'Eyyy' sound, "I'm just being a gentleman. Go ahead," he gave you a tight yet amused smile.

You chuckled in return, "Liar," you were surprised at how easy it was to be informal with him, but he was immediately likable, "Ask me to help you and maybe I might," you added, giving him a satisfied smile.

"You know, I'm pretty sure I'm your senior — Whatever happened to respect?", he joked, tsk'ing at you once more. He proceeded to walk towards you, pushing his face onto the scanner and ignoring your presence altogether, "I'll do it, see," he practically challenged, attempting the scanner once more.

Unsurprisingly, he was met with a red X and a beeping sound that indicated yet another failure to be recognized by the system. This caused him to stand there in silence for a few seconds before whining 'Yah!' and cursing out the security system.

Clearing his throat, he straightened up again, facing you once more, "Sorry about that. Your turn," he gestured to you to move forward again, stepping out of your way.

Both amused and surprised, you decided to finally utilize the scanner on yourself, smiling at him with a satisfied look when it immediately allowed you in. Turning to him, you nodded at him to get in before you, only for him to gesture for you to go first. Something about 'ladies first.'

"You owe me one," you said once you were both in the elevator again, standing side by side as you faced the closing door.

"Nuh-uh. This was just a coincidence. You needed to head upstairs anyways," he rebutted petulantly.

"Yeah? So you don't need me to help you get to your floor, then, right?", you questioned mockingly, knowing he would also have to work the scanner in order to get the door to open to Seventeen's designated floor. There were far too many steps to get to the artists' floors, but it made sense to you by now.

Upon the realization, he groaned, letting himself throw his head back against the wall behind him as he earned a giggle from you. He frowned in your direction at your laugh, though he joined you with a chuckle just mere seconds later.

"Okay, fine. I owe you," he gave up, still leaning against the wall behind but turning his head to look at you, "What can Yoon Jeonghan do for you?"

You pretended to mull over it for a few seconds, finger on your chin as you thought it over, "I have no idea. I'll let you know," you finally responded, "Okay, so, what floor?", you asked as your finger moved to the buttons on the elevator door.

"13th," he responded, now casually leaning back against the wall.

"Oh? The second highest floor. You're an important man, aren't you?", you teased, pressing his button before moving onto your group's number 9.

"Nine?," he gaped, "Seems I'm higher on the company hierarchy than you, yet you show me no respect," he joked back.

"Shut up. I'm going out of my way for you. Senior or not, you owe me. Those are the rules of all civilized society," you argued back.

"Okay, how about," he began, pressing his hands together as if making a proposition, "I see you downstairs every morning bright and early with a fresh cup of coffee in exchange for your face — y'know, for the scanner. How's that sound?", he proposed, a pleased smile on his face at your agape mouth.

"Every morning? Do you not have any friends?", you asked as the elevator continued to move up.

"Do you see anyone here? They all get here before me. You seem pretty friendless. C'mon. Free coffee, good company. I'll even play one of your group's songs in my next Welive. See? Can't get any better than that," he continued to sell his idea as the elevator came to a stop, now at his floor but demanding yet another facial scan to even exit the elevator.

"God, the security's too much," he groaned upon noticing the prompt on the small screen inside the elevator, "C'mon!", he turned to you, "Try to tell me that's not unnecessary."

You gave up, nodding as you chuckled, though not making a move to scan your face.

"Say yes. Please," he dragged the e for an annoyingly long amount of time, grinning when you rolled your eyes but laughed, "I'll keep going. Just agree. What better way to spend your time than with Yoon Jeonghan?"

"What makes you think I even knew that name before today?", you challenged.

"You do. Don't lie to me, it won't work," he smirked back before going back to being annoying again, "Come on-"

"Fine! I'll meet you downstairs every morning expecting a fresh matcha in hand — I don't drink coffee. But you still owe me," you agreed, extending your hand to him to solidify the agreement.

"No coffee? Ew. But okay, deal," he returned your handshake, holding onto your hand for an annoying amount of time, pretending as if he were unaware of when to let go and waiting for you to pull his hand off yours with another eye roll. He chuckled any time he managed to get a reaction out of you, leading you to realize he must be an absolute menace to every person he comes across. Sadly, he was charmingly entertaining, leaving you with no complaints.

Finally, you scanned your face on the screen, letting him walk in front of you to head out. Before the elevator doors could close and separate again, he held his arm out to stop them, nodding towards you.

"What's your name? I like you," he said plainly, head tilted in curiosity.

"Y/N," you said, "Please don't introduce yourself again-"

"Yoon Jeonghan," he interrupted anyways, "Remember that. We'll be having fun in the near future," were his last words before removing his hand and allowing the elevator doors to separate you, likely heading over to his groupmates upon leaving your line of sight.

Silver doors closed in front of you, now leaving you to your own company. Dumbfounded yet amused by the interaction, you stood there as you waited for the elevator to arrive to your floor, robotically scanning your face on the door once you made it there and exiting the square-shaped room upon arrival. There, you stood with the remnant of a shocked smile on your face, surprised at how easy it had been to put any concept of age or seniority aside when interacting with Yoon Jeonghan. While you always had the tendency of being overly formal with your seniors, you had spoken to Jeonghan like you would any guy your age, disregarding formalities as soon as he'd spoken to you.

You didn't truly need any convincing to agree to see him again. On the contrary, had he not suggested as such, you would've remained with an itch to find a reason for a re-encounter. Like any other junior idol at a company with big names such as BTS and Seventeen, developing a slight crush on your seniors was the normalcy — your groupmates Minji and Lila had crushes on BTS' V and Seventeen's Vernon, respectively — and it appeared that you were now joining them in the list of girls with unrequited crushes.

Jeonghan was, what, maybe five or so years older than you? The age difference alone was enough for you to chalk this up to a mindless crush. That, and the kindergarten teacher voice he had put on while speaking to you — clearly he made a very obvious distinction about your age difference right off the bat.

As of now, all you could do was hope to see him again (which, thankfully, you would) and retain the fun back and forth he'd welcomed you in on. Friendzone was one thing, but junior-zone? At least you now had a story to let your members in on next dance practice.

...

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[stellarsagittarius]

⏳️🪐 12th House and How Your Mental Anguish Affects You 🪐⏳️

Exchange readings: Open: You (Tarot) x Me (Astrology)

12H ruler in 1H

Imma give you a hug first, okay. What you have gone through, like the experiences that you have had with the world at large, all that you have seen in your life, you internalized it all. You have sort of taken it upon you to be the witness of the suffering around you. Because you feel it all so personally. The person you have become, the thoughts and beliefs you carry are the way they are because of the absurdity of life that you have felt so deeply. It has shaped you, a lot. Next time, try to detach. It is not about you, it was never about you, it about them. You are observing, not absorbing.

12H ruler in 2H

When you are at that lowest point, second guessing everything, it really does affect your ability to manage your resources. And more often than not it can make you feel like you are not worth-it, or that you simply do not deserve to be happy. Especially if you have Chiron in the 2H too, it can feel suffocating because you keep on doing thing, trying to make it work, but you never feel like you did enough. Affirm to yourself about your successes, keep a gratitude journal and remind yourself that your need/wants are all valid.

12H ruler in 3H

You can completely obsess over finding out the reasoning behind why certain things happen the way it did. It's like you want to understand, you want to make actual sense out of it, why your problems are causing you the things that are happening. This can lead to a detachment from actually allowing yourself to feel things out and like emotionally get in a better shape first. You can get stressed out about the facts, a lot of the times. Perhpas communication is something you truly struggle with. Talk it out with someone, understand your feelings first and then a lot of the facts will start to make sense too.

12H ruler in 4H

A lot of your turbulent thoughts and experiences affect you very deeply, like the depth which can make you question your entire existence. Now, I gotta be honest with this one, you are clearing up a lot of karma from your family lineage. You are going to the very root of the issues. Because these mental anguishes aren't surface level for you, they are seated very deeply within your psyche. You have to face these deep seated demons, otherwise you can keep them shoving them down, till it becomes completely unbearable to face yourself. On the positive note, learn to be vulnerable with yourself, learn to be more accepting of what you are going through.

12H ruler in 5H

When you are at the low point in your life, you start to put a great distance between enjoying yourself and becoming completely oblivious to your childlike nature. You need to embrace your inner child. Do what you want, but do not do it because you feel like you can't do anything else with your life. There needs to be like a balance here, between enjoying yourself and knowing when it can get destructive. Too much of anything never did good. You can struggle with finding that simplistic joy in life. So try and spend time alone for a while, maybe get a coloring book or just try and bake cookies. You don't have to be good at something to enjoy it. Even if it's loving yourself.

12H ruler in 6H

You can neglect your health like nobody's business. These thoughts, stress and anguish can manifest directly in your body. That's what it is. When you are not in a good energy, you know you need to reconnect with your body. This may come initially as a bit challenging to truly get yourself to do, but, once you build that habit over time, you will realise how much you have mastered yourself. Focus on your physical well-being. This placement is very simple. You don't need to spend time spaced out and in another world. Get down and strengthen your body, you will notice that you will start to feel much more better in your mind.

12H ruler in 7H

When you get to a low point in life, the point where you are confronted with your old habits, fears and challenging emotions, it highly reflects in your relationships (more so the romantic kind). You can easily slip into unhealthy patterns with your partners, like seeing them with rose colored glasses or not having a proper sense of boundary with them. And you may even fear that true vulnerability with them. So when that happens, seek to be honest by being polite. You are not for everyone, and the ones that are for you will always understand this. Relationship can either make you or break you, choose the people wisely.

12H ruler in 8H

At the lowest points in your life, the people who aren't by your side intentionally, remember them because they are not supposed to be a part of your life. A healthy bond is where both people are there for each other, and that's exactly what life keeps teaching you over and over again. Your biggest anguishes are be caused because of the way certain people treat you and use you for their own benefit. When that happens, remember your biggest enemy is what you do not choose to see within those who take advantage of your kind nature. Yes, we can witness everybody's suffering, but at the end of the day everybody is responsible for themselves.

12H ruler in 9H

When you are at that low point in your life, you can question your faith a lot. There is a feeling where trusting your morals can become really hard. It's like when you know you truly love something, but the mere beliefs that everybody has instilled within you from birth hold you back. And you may even be the type who rebels often because of this thing. Create your own beliefs. That will require you to question what you have always been taught, don't be afraid to question it. You need let yourself see thing. At your lowest you can really see in black and white. Take a step back and observe. Read and learn.

12H ruler in 10H

Many of your mental anguishes come from you struggling with what kind of image you want to uphold between other people. You may struggle a lot with showing up between people or excessively thinking of what other people may think of you when you are at the low points in your life. You can often feel like other people look so deep within you, within the things you want to hide from everybody. When that happens, remember that what others think of you is absolutely none of your business. As long as you know that you are on the right track, you don't need anyone to tell you otherwise.

12H ruler in 11H

You are learning to trust in your dream and not hold yourself back from achievement. You know when you are at those low points in your life, there could be a deep seated fear of missing out on opportunities. You can start to second guess your own hopes, uncertain if you even deserve to have what you want or not. There could also be this sense of feeling like there is no hope left for you, like there is nothing anymore you want to have. When that happens, try to remain grateful, look at all the cool things you have achieved till now, appriciate yourself, open yourself up to something new.

12H ruler in 12H

When you hit rock bottom, it's like plunging into the deepest recesses of your mind, where you confront your fears and doubts about existence. It's a heavy burden, carrying the weight of your own struggles and the suffering of the world within you. At times, it feels suffocating, like you're lost in a maze of your own thoughts, trying to make sense of it all. But amidst the darkness, there is also potential for a lot of spiritual growth. Your journey through the depths of your psyche can lead to a greater understanding of yourself and the universe. Meditate often, and write your thoughts, talk to someone like-minded. Do not isolate yourself either.

______♡______

That's all! Thanks for reading!

[pbnbucks]

Nika x fem x Paige where the fem just transferred to UConn from another country or smth so her English is not good and she’s a new freshman so Paige and Nika show her around and flirt with her.

The two older girls come to agreement that they both want fem and always flirt her. They end up confessing one night and it leads to smut where they show her how much they care for her

word count : 1.2k

warnings : smut, cussing, overstim, teasing

summary : they showed you things you never thought you would see, living up to their promise.

the plane ride to uconn consisted of nerves and excitement, you’re from São Paulo, Brazil. when you first got the call from Ellen Herman to come play volleyball for her and the huskies you weren���t never going to think about it but your mother begged and begged for you to take it, and you did so your mother wouldnt worry, the hard part was you had to leave the day before mothers day leaving her and your 2 sisters alone. when you landed there was a bilingual chauffeur to pick you up from the airport and drop you off at the university, everyone greeted you including the athletic teams except the basketball team, they where on the end of the season trip to places like Croatia and Slovenia. which brings you to your next obstacle

its early October, your classes consisted of family consumer science and you picked up extra english classes. you english gotten better over the months as you spent more time with the team and you where able to spend time around more american’s and the team. its wasn’t until the 7th game you became a starter on the volleyball court, but what surprised you even more was the women’s basketball team wearing head to toe basketball issued gear. but thats not what surprised you it was the fact that 2 of the starters for the basketball team came up to you after the game. your first thought was that they were going to walk to somebody else but it gave it away when the rest of the team behind them kept smiling at you and then laughing to each other, as they basically backed you into a corner leaving you no room to escape from the tall muscular girls. they started off by introducing themselves and you introduced yourself, you hoped the conversation would end there but it didn’t, it went way farther then things could imagine. the brunette was the first to speak up after the quiet and awkward encounter. “we wanted to know if you wanted to come to this ice cream place with us so you can see how Connecticut really is” you thank the girls and agree to their idea.

“so where are you from?” the sweet blonde asks as she has been making small talk with you all night. “im from São Paulo Brazil, im guessing your from America but shes not?” you point at the brunette who clearly had a thick accent from a foreign country. “yea im from Zágreb Croatia.” she responds flashing a smile that catches your eye “you have a pretty smile” nika just smirks and give paige a look that makes paige jealous “you have pretty thighs, princess” nika blurts before she even thinks about what shes saying trying to play it off “thanks i guess?” you laugh getting a bit embarrassed from her comment.

you and the two girl have been hanging out for about 3 months now as you recieve a text from nika that said “we want you to come to our dorm princess. we want to show you things you’ve never seen before” at first you thought the girls where talking about Connecticut but they have such different plans on what to do with you. the girls wouldn’t let you say no to them as paige takes it upon herself to open the door for you as you get fully in nika tells you to sit on the couch with them, it only takes two minutes for nika to break the silence “i dont know why you sitting so far away from us ms brazil” you’re startled from her comment considering you weren’t that far and there was no other place to sit “what do you mean theres no other place to sit?” once you say that paige and nika exchange looks as she grabs you by the waist placing you onto her lap “what about right here princess? you like this spot” hoping you could shrug off her comment but she wouldn’t let it go “i asked you a question pretty, when someone asks you something you have to answer them” you try to hide your face as its only been 5 minutes in to her dorm and she already has you blushing and legs shaking “yes i like my spot” you whisper into her ear so you wouldn’t feel even more embarrassed “your spot? so possessive baby” you roll your eyes looking to the blonde with pleading eyes hoping she would save you from your own embarrassment, which doesn’t slide past nika making her smirk not even trying to hide her emotions full of lust “go on baby go sit with paige, shes the nicer one” she helps you get off her lap placing you right on top of paige as paige pushes you on to her lap as she places her large hands on your inner thigh. nika saw this and decided she had enough waiting. she pushes the hair out of your face getting closer to you at face level “you want us to fuck you?” you look to the blonde behind you as she only smiles back at you massaging your inner thigh you nod your head to the girl but she refuses to take it as a answer “i need you to use your words mama. if you dont nobodys going to touch you.” you can feel your arousal already forming a pool as just her accent gets you weak “yes please, i want to”

thats all she needed to pick you up like a toddler and placing you in the edge of the bed stripping you from your clothes revealing all the spots she wanted to see. she rubs her hands all over your stomach as the blonde enters the room but except this time in sweats and a sports bra “your so pretty baby” the brunette says placing a teasing kiss on your lips. she runs her finger through your slick folds leaving you needy wanting more but she declines and makes you wait “cmon baby i wanna hear the reason you got that sexy ass accent” she speaks placing a finger right before your entrance “por favor faça-me sentir bem, eu te imploro” and with that she finally enters her finger into you finally letting go of the breath you didn’t even know you were holding as the long fingers sinks all the way in you slip out a pornographic moan that has nika feeling weak in her stomach as paige comes up next to her rubbing circles on your clit, making your legs begin to shake as nika adds another finger and paige continues the assult on your pussy licking a long stripe up your core making your hand fall to her head pushing her closer. “awww does that feel good baby?” the croatian teases you for how needy your body language is getting, you grind onto her fingers and paiges face, when you feel a knot forming in your stomach. “fuck- im gonna cum” once you say that paige runs her fingers up and down your shaky thighs trying to ease you into your release “oh really? i think you can hold it a little longer” the brunette says proving her point when she said paige was the nice once. nika knows exactly what shes doing as she pushes paiges head closer to your core as your wetness is practically dripping from paiges chin while nika continues to pound her fingers in to you not loosing speed what so ever. “pleasee, i cant hold it any more” you beg for the girl to let you release “what do you think paige should we let her cum?” the blonde nods her head out of sympathy for you as they both put you through a endless amount of teasing all night “go on baby, cum all over paiges face and my fingers.” this time it feels different, you weren’t just cuming, you’re squirting. nika sits there in shock as paige continues to try and get every bit of cum she can moaning onto your clit sending vibrations through your body. “yeaa thats it, such a good pussy” the girl praises as she takes her fingers out of you pulling her body up to kiss you. “if i knew you where going to react like that, i would’ve been the one to eat that pretty pussy princess.”

[euphorix-moon]

Love Maze

Vi x Fem!Reader

Synopsis: Helping Vi realize that she can break out of this loop that's she's in

Warning: Slightly Angsty and slightly out of character

A/n: Arcane season 2 just came out and i'm still reeling from everything, just had to make this cause i was inspired by episode 3 it broke my CaitVi heart

It was just one of those days,

There weren't many days where you would get the house all to yourself to enjoy so you didn't waste the chance to relax when your roommate said she was going out to run some errands.

You were currently enjoying your day re-reading through your favorite book series until you were disturbed by a sudden knock at the door.

You skeptical and slightly annoyed you went to go answer the door. Opening the door is when you came face to face with the pink-haired woman you came to know as Vi. She almost looked slightly surprised to see you at the door but kept her composure

"Is she here ? " Vi asked worriedly

"Hi nice to see you too, but unfortunately your girlfriend isn't here, she went out to do some stuff" you replied

She lightly sighs before saying, "Well if that's the case then I guess I'll wait for her till she gets back. That's fine with you, right ?" She says walking through the door before you can get a response out. You sigh closing the door behind you knowing she would stay and wait either way.

There was an awkward silence between the two of you guys so you took it upon yourself to try and get a conversation going.

"So....what brings you here ?..Is it the same issue again ?"

Vi glares at you but after some time does lightly nods her head to confirm your suspicions. You kept quiet lightly sighing to yourself.

The cycle had become almost predictable at this point: a fight would ignite, Caitlyn would storm off ghosting Vi, and then, a few days later, Vi would return, offering half-hearted apologies that seemed to smooth things over just enough to delay the inevitable crash. Caitlyn never seemed to learn, and neither did Vi. But the truth was, they both were just playing the same tired game, and you wanted all this nonsense to come to an end once and for all.

Here,” you said, slipping behind the counter to make a couple of drinks. “Let’s take the edge off. I’m sure you could use something stronger than water right now.”

Vi didn't argue. She sank down onto the couch, taking a deep breath, clearly exhausted from everything. As you handed her the glass, you kept your tone light, almost casual. "So, how's work? How’s your family? Anything to distract you from… well, everything?"

She gave a weak laugh, taking a sip of her drink. "Work’s fine. Same as usual. Nothing exciting," she muttered, looking down at her hands, clearly distracted. "Family’s... okay. You know how it is, always got something goin on"

You nodded, pretending to listen, but your mind was already working. "Yeah, I get that. But seriously, when’s the last time you actually did something for you, Vi? Like, something that made you feel alive? Not just for Cait, or for your job, but for yourself?"

That was a hook. Vi wasn’t even aware of it. She leaned forward, a little too eager to talk about herself, to talk about anything that didn’t involve the draining mess she was in. She starts going into detail about the many things she's been interested in but never got the chance to due to feeling like she's alway has to balance a thousand things in her life.

"Well if I'm gonna be real honest with you Violet, it sounds like this relationship is just another thing holding you back" you say with sincerity.

"It’s just... it’s not that simple, okay? Violet shot back.

me and her have history. We’ve been through a lot together. And—" she paused, trying to gather her thoughts. "Yeah, things have been tough lately. But we love each other. I know she has her issues, but I really think we can fix this. I don’t want to just... give up on everything we’ve built."

You almost rolled your eyes at the word history—as if that was supposed to make everything else okay.

"Vi," ."You’ve been ‘fixing’ things for months now. You keep telling yourself it’s just a phase, that Cait’s going to change, that things will get better. But they never do. You are stuck in a loop and you can’t keep pretending like nothing’s wrong."

"So, what? You want me to just leave her? After everything? You’re not even trying to help me,You’re supposed to be my friend. You should be supporting me in making this work, not... pushing me away from her!"Vi’s jaw clenched, her chest rising and falling with each breath as if she was holding back.

Her words stung just a little bit but you knew how to respond back. "I am doing this because i care enough to tell you the truth Vi, you deserve so much better than this. Don't let Caitlyn stress you out so much, especially when there's already a lot on your plate".

"You just don't get it. You don’t know what she's like when we’re together,” she says, still feeling obligated to defend her relationship.

"Maybe i don't and i might be wrong about all of this, but all I'm saying is that if you were my girlfriend id be the one coming to apologize and id try to find every possible way to make it up to you." You say leaning closer towards Vi

She sputters trying to find the words to defend herself, every single word unfortunately dying in her throat.

"I’d be the one begging you for another chance after acting like a dumbass. I'd spoil you and not let you do anything till you forgave me" You continued.

The silence that fell between you and Vi after your last words was thick with unspoken things. Vi feels as if her heart is beating out her chest as you continue to close the distance between the two of you guys.

"You do deserve better, Vi," you said, your voice soft but certain. "And when you’re ready, I’ll be here for you. Not just as your friend, but... more than that, if you want. You don’t need Cait to feel loved. I’m not going anywhere."

Vi looked at you, her eyes wide, and in that moment, it was like everything clicked for her

You wanted to kiss her. You wanted to show her that everything she needed wasn’t in Cait. That there was more for her. That she didn’t have to settle.

Just as you leaned forward, your lips barely inches from hers, the door to the room creaked open, and the sudden sound of keys jingling at the front door broke the fragile bubble that had formed between the two of you.

You two quickly back away from each other, moving to the opposite sides of the couch, averting eyes as Caitlyn walks into the room

A/n: Sorry for the cliffhanger and sorry to all the caitvi shippers, i love them too...i just can't pretend that i wouldn't want vi if they broke up fr.

[sirfrogsworth]

We moved into this house back in the early 90s. We bought it from an old man named Fred Salmo. As we began living in the home every once in a while we'd discover some weird new thing wrong with it. Never anything catastrophic, but small frustrations that my dad had to deal with all the same.

Fred thought himself quite the handyman.

He was not.

He was a union sheet metal worker and I guess he thought that translated to home repair. But in actuality he would usually try to fix things with sheet metal even when that was not an appropriate solution.

And so whenever we'd find one of these issues we'd joke that we got "Salmo'd" again.

Almost all of the electrical outlets were wired backwards. "Looks like we got Salmo'd again."

A heating duct would have some terrible patchwork (with sheet metal). "He really Salmo'd this."

There was a bedroom ceiling fan that was not securely attached to said ceiling. "He's going to Salmo us to death in our sleep."

We kept finding these inept fixes for many years. One by one, my dad (who was an actual handyman) would properly fix them.

Eventually, we were pretty certain all of the Salmo'd shit had been addressed.

Until last night.

I noticed something looked off about the big light on our garage workshop on the back of the property.

It was... lower... somehow.

I walked back to figure out what was wrong and discovered this.

The wind was blowing pretty hard and the light fell off of its mount and was dangling by the electrical wiring.

Upon closer inspection I noticed something.

It was mounted to a piece of thin metal decorative trim. I could see nothing structural it could have been attached to. No stud or beam. Just that trim.

That light was here before we moved in. Which means it has lasted over 30 years without falling down. And knowing how it was mounted, that is kind of incredible.

But it definitely feels strange getting Salmo'd again after all this time.

I'm not entirely sure what to do about this yet. My brother took our only ladder a long time ago and never returned it. I'm not even sure how to power off the light without turning off all the power to that building. But I guess I should make that a priority today and go from there.

Replacing that light is one of the first things I wanted to do if I got some money to fix up the house. It has a horrible green tint and for as big as it is, it only lights up a small area. Hopefully that won't be a super costly repair.

Fucking Fred Salmo.

[0rgan1c]

Bradley Uppercrust III

We need more Bradley Uppercrust fanfics😞 ･ﾟﾟ･｡☆

Art by @scr4mbl3deggz on TikTok

“ CHUG!”

“ CHUG!”

“ CHUG!”

“ CHUG!”

There he was. Bradley Uppercrust, the most egotistical, self-centered incel that has ever met the face of the Earth. He was the fly in your soup- the eyelash in your eye and there he was; making sure all the attention was on him as usual as he gulped down the last ounce of beer that was remaining in the funnel. The roaring commotion around you merged with the booming sound of the song Everybody by the Backstreet Boys was deafening. The fact that you had to stand there in the mass of intoxicated college kids and watch people hype up your degenerate of a classmate wasn’t making the situation any better.

This totally wasn’t the type of place you would be in- I mean- you didn’t even know why you let Bradley convince you to come. Maybe it was the persuasiveness of his voice or how insistent he was on having you at his party; but you couldn’t say no. Now sure, you could’ve just not went, but where’s the fun in that?

Snapping back into the scene in front of you, you realized the aggravating man that once stood in the middle of the crowd of people had vanished; and for some reason all of a sudden you felt lonelier than ever. It felt kind of silly to come to that realization, especially considering the fact that you two had hated each other ever since you had laid eyes on one another. You maneuvered your way through the crowd and to the kitchen of the Gamma Mu Mu frat house when-

“ Didn’t expect to see you here.”

You whipped your head around and saw the same person you had despised your entire freshman year.

“ You invited me?” You remarked

“ I know.”

“ So what’s the issue?”

“ Welll I kinda got the feeling you didn’t like me.” He flashed a small grin at you.

Well I mean he wasn’t wrong, you never thought he’d payed much attention to you though. He’d just seemed like one of those boys who peaked in Highschool and used his “rich-boy” status to get whatever he wanted. He was everything you hated.

“ You’d be right about that.”

“ Then why’d you show?”

You hesitated for a moment.

“ Just bored I guess.”

That was half true. Sure, you didn’t have much to do, but you could’ve just stayed home and watched movie or something. There was something in you that wanted to see him.

An awkward silence fell between the both of you.

“ You wanna get outta here?”

“ What about your party?”

“ Tank and the rest of them will take care of it.”

“ And where do u plan on going?”

He fell into silence for a moment.

“ D’you skate by any chance?”

The chilling night air fell upon your skin as he lead you out the door, and you almost didn’t catch how his hand ghosted your lower back.

“ I’ve never skated before.”

“ That’s why I’m teaching you”

You honestly weren’t completely sure if you trusted him, but the way he looked at you made you feel safe. The way he took your hand into his and guided you onto the skateboard, and how he nerded out about all the tricks he knew how to do. He was so gentle and patient with you that you almost forgot how much you hated him, although I guess you can’t really call it hate now. I mean, what type of person hates someone and then learns how to skate with them. Besides, you came to realize you may have been too quick to judge. Maybe you were projecting, who knows🤷‍♀️

“ Hey I think I finally got it!-“

You turned around and smiled at him when u hadn’t even realized how softy he was staring at you, and there was something in his eyes you couldn’t pinpoint; something you’ve never seen before. It felt like time had stopped for a moment, and his eyes never left yours. Before you could react, his lips were on yours and he’d pulled you in and off his skateboard. All you could focus on was the way his hands grasped your waist, the way he treated you so gently, the way-

Wait.

“ Bradley- you’re drunk.” You detached your lips from him in an instant when you realized the truth of the situation. The beer chugging, the weird amount of kindness he was showing you, it all made sense. He was drunk.

“ Let’s go home. It’s pretty late out” Stupid. that’s was the best way to define you right now. It’s stupid that you would consider that he liked you, and you weren’t even sure why you cared.

“ No ‘m not” His crimson tinted cheeks and slurred speech told you otherwise.

“ y/n” he took hold of your hand before you could walk away from him

“ I need you.” He mumbled, and he weakly moved your hair out of your face before kissing your neck and slowly going lower

Unsurprisingly, you both ended up back at the Gamma Mu Mu frat, hickeys littering each other’s necks. His hands grasped any part of you he could as he hungrily kissed you.

“ you’re so cute…” he managed to mumble out mid hickey. Even in his drunken daze, you could still see some truth in what he said.

“ Bradley…”

“ Hm?”

“ You really mean that?”

“ I known it ever since I’ve seen you.”

Before you could advance any further with Bradley

“ WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING IN THERE WITH Y/N”

Holy shit it’s Max. How the fuck did he get in here anyway??

“ what the fuck”

“ sorry he’s my brother…” you whispered to Bradley.

“ No way”

“ YES WAY. Dude I gotta hide”

In that very second you were stuffed into the back of Bradley’s closet, and for a moment, it kinda made you reflect. This whole entire time you’ve been going on and on about how much you hated him, yet here you are in the back of his closet trying to hide after making out with him.

“ I SAW YOU GUYS SKATING TOGETHER”

“ What?”

“ I SAW YOU SKATING WITH Y/N AND YOU KISSED THEM”

“ Listen- it’s pretty late so if you’re hallucinating I understand-“

“ I’m not dumb where the fuck are they” Max shoved his way past Bradley, checking around his room to find you.

“ Check my room if you want, but I can assure you that you won’t find anything”

“ I could’ve sworn I saw them come here with you…”

“ I don’t know where your sibling is and I don’t care. Go check someone else’s place or something just get out of here.”

You watch as your brother begrudgingly walks out of the bedroom, you let out a sigh of relief.

BYE I COULDNR THUNK OF AN ENDING💀💀

SMB OUT HERE NEEDS TO MAKE A GOOD BRADLEY FANFIC CUZ I AM NOT THE ONE

[55sturn]

✮ BACK TO YOU

pairings: chris sturniolo x fem!oc, reader x unnamed male!oc, chris sturniolo x fem!reader

summary: in which no matter where they are in life, chris and y/n find their way back to one another, despite knowing that it never really works, until day he gives in and stops fighting what he knows is meant to be.

warnings: swearing, angst (a whole lot of it), verbal arguments, chris and y/n are toxic, implications of chris cheating, fluff if you squint, suggestive implications.

THIRD PERSON POV

in every culture and every religion, there is some sort of evidence of soulmates existing. the person your soul is forever tied to, setting you up for heartbreak along the journey looking for that one person. love is at the root of the structure of every belief system. the person that has been so perfectly tailored to your heart and soul, meant to love you in the ways you spend your life searching for.

look up: invisible string by taylor swift, for a beautiful depiction of a soulmate inspired love song.

the only issue with having a soulmate, is that nine out of ten times, you don't know who your soulmate is. which often leads to you spend hours upon hours and years upon years searching for them, inevitably experiencing various stages and forms of heartbreak in hopes that once you do find your soulmate, your forever person, they are able to heal and fix you.

but in chris and y/n's love story, them healing each other wasn't always the case. they were the fairytale from hell, they were a wrongful depiction of soulmates, two souls tethered together by an invisible red string that who, instead of loving each other, had a tendency to tears each other's hearts into millions of pieces each time they tried to love one another.

they were two souls so delicately similar that it caused them nothing but pain and frustration. they loved one another in the wrong ways, but they were determined to make it work, albeit at the wrong times.

PRESENT TIME

chris sighed as he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket, with a quick roll of his eyes, he fished the thin device out of his pocket, knowing full well who was texting him as he made his rounds through the crowd of friends and acquaintances at the party he attended.

groaning, her named flashed again in his notifications, he hovered his thumb over the text before pressing down, begrudgingly opening the conversation he had wished hadn't started, despite deep down wanting her to reach out to him.

IMESSAGE TEXTS BETWEEN CHRIS AND Y/N

Y/N: guess u forgot to tell me that u and ur new bitch of the week would be here🤣

CHRIS: don't start tonight y/n

Y/N: i'm just shocked is all, didn’t think she’d fuck with these ppl just by looking at her

CHRIS: "she" has a name, y/n

CHRIS: it’s gianna

Y/N: you act like i give a fuck

Y/N: it’s nice to see you tho

CHRIS: please y/n, aren’t you tired of this shit?

CHRIS: you and i don't work, we literally never fucking do

CHRIS: and i really like this girl

Y/N: if you genuinely mean that, why are you spending so much time explaining it to me? sounds like you’re just tryna convince yourself that you feel that way.

Y/N: but if it’s real, then i'm happy for you, it's just weird that you and i aren't here together.

chris rolled his eyes at her second to last text, the way she could see right through like he was made of glass, even through a text, was something he’d never be able to understand. or run away from. there was never any sense in him even trying to lie to her, she could read him like a book. and chris was her favourite book, she would read that book ten times over in one sitting if she could.

but chris willed up all the self control he had in his entire being to not seek out the girl he's loved since he was a tiny boy in middle school. he told himself that it was done for good. that's the thing with playground love, it doesn't always last for ever and ever and chris was finally starting to accept that.

he pocketed his phone and forced himself to look for gianna, his eyes briefly meeting y/n's as she spoke to some random influencer, the smile on her face not reaching her eyes as she focused on the boy in front of her. he soon spotted the girl he arrived with, her hand flirtatiously resting on vinnie's bicep as he spoke to her. with a less than enthusiastic scoff, he downed the rest of the drink in his cup and turned around, walking in the opposite direction toward the girl he called home.

once he was in earshot, he smirked to himself as she pawned her cup off onto the poor boy fighting for a chance with her in front of him. once she waved him off with a bittersweet smile, she turned back to chris. she tutted playfully as he rolled his eyes, her hand reaching up toward the back of his neck, pulling him flush against the front of her body.

"what happened to "i really like her"?" she chuckled, her arms wrapping around his neck as his hands fell to her waist, pulling her into a hug, his lips meeting her jaw as he sighed.

"vinnie got to her and she was all over him." he spoke against her skin as her nails gently scraped against his scalp, bringing him down from his emotional high as his shoulders slumped in her arms.

"wanna get out of here? go for a walk?"

"nah, m'tired and just wanna go to bed, you crashing at mine?"

"of course." she spoke, her hand slipping into his as they walked toward the door, nick and matt meeting them there soon after chris texted them, neither of them surprised to find chris leaving with y/n instead of his girlfriend.

"i'm so happy you're here y/n, chris is a different man when you're not around." nick snorted, climbing into the seat behind matt as y/n sat behind chris, his hand slipping between the two front seats as her fingers threaded through his again.

"i'm glad to be back for however long chris needs me to be." she whispered, her words cutting deep into chris' heart, knowing that she wouldn't be around permanently, their dynamic and ways of communicating only allowing them to be together for a short period of time. they’d spend most their days tangled in chris’ sheets, professing their undying love for one another, knowing very well their time would be ending once again, and that it’d end soon.

they found that while they loved each other so deeply, they showed it in all the wrong ways. instead of gentle and soft spoken words, their love for one another was reminded in the clashing of teeth and tongues during heavy make-outs, and wandering hands with their nails digging into the soft flesh they roamed.

their rekindled romance was once again called off when chris' girlfriend, gianna, had come back into his life a week later, apologizing for her behaviour and explaining that she had been a fan of vinnie's for a long time and the fan girl in her caused her to make questionable decisions.

with a meek smile and a backhanded comment about chris’ infidelity, y/n packed her bags and moved out of chris' room sadly bidding matt and nick a brief "see you later", which left them sighing as they were no stranger to watching y/n move in and out of the house a couple times every few months.

it wasn't long before chris had found himself missing the girl that knew him inside and out, that knew his heart like the back of her hand. a month after gianna came back, spewing excuses upon excuses, chris had broken up with her, claiming that his heart would forever belong to someone else and he couldn't bear to put her through the pain of not loving her the way she deserved to be.

chris knew that he should take this grace period and be alone instead of running back to the girl he always did, but he knew she was it for him, no matter what. he didn't understand why they couldn't love each other properly. he always looked at it in a way where they had too much love for one another and they just didn't know what to do with it.

he tossed and turned in his bed, his thoughts unrelenting and holding his ability to sleep hostage as his phone read 3:32 in the morning. groaning he unlocked his phone, his thumbs maneuvering their way to her conversation from muscle memory at this point before typing out a quick couple messages.

IMESSAGE TEXTS BETWEEN CHRIS AND Y/N

CHRIS: y/n come home

CHRIS: please

CHRIS: i cant sleep without you

CHRIS: i love you in a way that makes it hard to love anybody else

CHRIS: you are like a drug that i cant go without, you're deadass my soulmate bruh and i'm done denying that. you are the only person i want. the only that actually knows who i am, inside and out. the only person that can make me feel good the way you do. i want you. no more fighting it. we’re meant to be.

Y/N: i'll be there in 10.

every time y/n fell back into chris’ arms, it felt devastating and bittersweet. this time, it felt right. it felt like they had finally found solid ground and that the had found the way they were meant to be together. there was definitely some uncertainty about the longevity of their relationship overall, but they learned over time that they need to communicate. whether they stayed together or not for the final time, there was no doubt that they would always be intertwined in each other’s hearts.

taglist: @dylsdunbar @soursturniolo @4sturns @sturnsclutter @spencerstits @meanttomeet @bluesturniolo333 @graciereid @abbie13sworld @ghostofbrock @l9vesick @mylifeisevenstranger @bethsturn @ifilwtmfc @verosivy @themattgirl @lovingmattysposts @lacysturniolo @freshsturns @forevergirlposts @sturniolo-fav-matt @cupidsword @strawberrysturniolo @lustfulslxt

© 55STURN 2024 [ you do not have permission to copy or save or share my work to other platforms and devices! ]

[jazzyoranges]

Birthdays and Stress

Tara Carpenter x fem!reader

Summary: Tara meets some of your family during your father’s birthday

Words: 3.4k

A/n: i haven’t written fanfiction since 2020 so please proceed with a little caution 🌚

Warnings(?): fluff, mentions of sex, very tiny hurt/comfort

You had a big family

Like a really big family

Tara didn’t have the pleasure of having a family like yours. You were close with your cousins, aunts, uncles, grandparents, and everyone else in between. While Tara on the other hand can barely remember her dad’s face, she tries to forget her mom’s, and her sister left due to personal issues. Granted, her sister did come back

Shaking her head, she had to push these thoughts to the back of her mind. Instead Tara had to focus on her rapidly beating heart and the internal screaming at the fact your entire family was only about 5 minutes away

Tara wanted to make a good impression. An amazing impression, that is. But what if your family knew she was related to the Woodsboro killings? What if they knew her sister was related to the very cause of the Ghostface killings? Would they kick her out? Deem her not good enough for you? What if they called her a liability and then kicked her out? This really was a bad idea, why did she agree to doing this?

“Tara, I love you with all my heart. I promise my family won’t throw you out of the house.” You rested a hand on her thigh, rubbing soothing circles with your thumb just how she liked it

Perhaps her internal screaming hadn’t been so internal

“Oh, but what if they do, babe? What then? They’re gonna hate me.” the shorter girl groaned, throwing her head back and covering her face in annoyance

“Tara I’m literally so madly in love with you. They’re going to love you, baby. There’s not a universe out there where they don’t absolutely adore you like I do.” you say seriously, taking her left hand in yours and bringing it up to your face to give her knuckles a feather-light kiss

Tara pouts. A very childish pout, that is

“When you realize I’m right, I will happily say I told you so tomorrow.”

“…You promise they’ll like me?”

“I pinky promise, baby.”

Tara loved that about you. Only do you swear by your pinky during very serious times, almost as if you were swearing upon the river Styx. Never once have you broken one of your pinky promises, and Tara found it utterly adorable. You turned something kids would do under the playground slide into a life-bound oath that you’d never imagine breaking. The thought was endearing enough to help relax Tara just the tiniest bit. She was still scared as fuck, though

“If you get overwhelmed at any time, we can always go back home or to my room, baby. How about we come up with a safe word?”

“I can last all night, babe. This mama doesn’t need any safe word” she says proudly. Your girlfriend was an absolute dork under all those layers of trauma

“Tara.” you playfully cock an eyebrow at her

“Sorry…” she mumbled “how about black licorice? I hate black licorice.”

“Black licorice, it is!” you beam, starting to pull into the driveway of your childhood house

It was your fathers 55th birthday. You’d been with Tara for about 2 years now, which you heavily insisted was enough to consider her a part of your family. Tara ignored how her heartbeat quickened at the implications of being in your family

Tara had still been in her thoughts when you parked the car and rounded the front to the passenger side. Opening the door, you made sure to make a big display, as if you were ushering the queen of England herself

“My liege.” you say in a faux British accent while holding out your hand as you bow, awaiting her response

“And society dares say chivalry is dead.” she laughs at your antics, intertwining your hands as you help her out of your car. There was cars upon cars parked on the road. Tara would’ve guessed this was a frat party and not a birthday party with how many cars were present. Birthday gift in hand, Tara was now worrying if it was enough

When you rang the doorbell, Tara’s heart quickened again. A week prior, you two went shopping, looking for the perfect casual dress Tara was going to wear. You were persistent that it didn’t matter what she wore. Tara ultimately won that argument when she pulled up an entire slideshow on her laptop and presented it to you sitting 5 inches away from your face. You tell yourself you let her win that time

Before she could say this was a bad idea for the umpteenth time, the door opened with your father behind it

“Well, I’ll be dammed! If it isn’t my favorite child!” he pulls you into a bone-crushing hug, a wide grin on his face

“Dad!” you smile “You don’t look a day over 80”

“Oh hush, you.” he laughs, turning to Tara

“And you must be Tara!” he reaches out to shake her hand, Tara reciprocating the action.

“We’re all excited to meet you. Our Y/N likes to brag about you quite a lot! Welcome to the family, Tara. It’s a pleasure to have you here” the older man pats her shoulder, his grin bright enough to be seen by astronauts on the Moon

“Thank you, Mr. (L/N). Please, the pleasure is all mine” Tara smiles, and you interlace your hands once again

“Oh, hush with all that formal crap. You’re making me feel old! Frank or Frankie is perfectly fine, darlin’. Come on in!”

You give Tara’s hand a supportive squeeze, offering a smile. You’re proud she didn’t pass out while talking to your dad. He could definitely be overbearing at times, but the older man only had good intentions

Setting down you and Tara’s gift on a nearby table, she was hit with an immediate sense of home when she entered the living room. Tara felt nostalgia that didn’t exist. Perhaps it was a sense of longing. Tara could definitely imagine a small you running around and tracking mud all over the floors. Maybe she’d be lucky enough to see your baby pictures. The shorter girl felt something brush up against her legs, snapping her out of her thoughts

“Ares!” you say excitedly, reaching down to pick up the orange cat. Part of his left ear was missing, but it added to his charm

“He always takes a while to warm up to people. I wonder why he came up to you?” now you were holding the cat in such a way that invited Tara to pet him — which she happily did. Ares quickly started to purr

“Maybe it’s ‘cause I smell like you?”

“I like to think it’s ‘cause you’re the chosen one” you shrug, noticing how Tara’s cheeks redden the tiniest bit

“Why’s his name Ares? That’s a greek god, isn’t it?” Tara didn’t know much about greek mythology when she first met you, but after long rants (in which she happily listened to), she now knew some surface-level facts

“Mom let me name him when I was 13, and I might’ve been going through a really bad Percy Jackson phase at the time. Ares was a real ass when he was younger. Always messing shit up, and I guess it just fit at the time.” you smiled at him. Tara noticed the look in your eyes. You were recalling all your past memories of Ares, getting ready to talk about the orange cat if she asked. Tara liked observing you

“C’mon, how about we say hi to my Mom? Are you ready for another parent?” You asked, setting down Ares on his cat post as he stretched and let out a big yawn.

“Yeah, definitely ready.”

“You sound uncertain. I know you’ll fuck shit up out there, babe” you press a kiss to the bridge of her nose, making her subconsciously scrunch it up in the way you found sickeningly adorable

“Y’know, you should really be a professional motivational speaker, baby. I feel better already” she says in a sarcastic tone, but she fully means her words

Making your way to the backyard doors, Tara is starting to feel a little better about meeting your family. Your Mom was seated on the patio deck with a few of her sisters — your aunts. Before you could say hello, the three of them were already up

“Mom, Auntie Rosie, Aunt Amelia, meet my girlfriend. This is Tara” you smile at her, and she returns your smile

“Tara! You’re even prettier in real life!” you’re lovingly shoved out of the way as all the attention is now drawn to your girlfriend

A slew of praise bombard her, compliment after compliment meeting her ears. You come up behind her and place your hand on the brunette’s shoulder, offering a little comfort. Instead of being met with her eyes of discomfort, all you can see is happiness behind her smile. She happily engages in conversation. Answering questions about your relationship, her education, and plans for the future. Tears prick at your eyes, but you didn’t let them fall. You loved seeing Tara happy.

“Well, it was wonderful meeting you, Tara. Don’t be a stranger, sweetheart. How about you two enjoy the party, now?” your mom smiled

“Likewise. It was wonderful meeting you too, Mrs. (L/N)”

Before you can turn around, there’s a sudden weight on your back that makes you topple onto the grass. You can hear the faint giggling of Tara as you’re causally making out with the floor

“Lilith (M/N) (L/N). I swear to god if you don’t get off of me, I’ll make sure to-“ you never finished your sentence as more weight was put on your back. Not as heavy as your sister, but the weight was still there. By the sound of high-pitched giggles, you could only assume your nieces — your older brother’s daughters — were now on top of you as well

“Auntie Y/N! Auntie Y/N! Who’s that over there?” Your nieces say in union. Lily gets off your back, but the other two decide to stay and bombard you with questions

Tara can’t help but laugh at your state

“You’re Tara, right?” your sister was now at your girlfriend’s side as you struggled to bribe your nieces with candy (they were surprisingly resilient)

“Mhm, you’re her sister, aren’t you? Lilith is what Y/N said?”

“Lilith is my real name, but family and friends call me Lily” she winks at Tara with a smirk on her face

“Did you know Y/N had a crush on you in high school? She said she’d kill me if I told anyone, but every single day she’d tell me about her fat crush on you” Lily playfully bumped her and Tara’s shoulders together. “Even more than Elizabeth Olsen is what she’d say to me”

“Oh? Please continue, I insist.” Tara can’t contain her smile as she learns about your crush on her. Now fueled by not getting embarrassed more than you already have, you practically wrestle your nieces to get back up on your feet

“Lily I swear to everything holy, if you don’t shut up, I will make sure you never see another sunrise.” you’d probably be scarier if there weren’t two little girls hanging off your arms with some dirt and grass smudged on you face when you got up. Tara and Lily doubled down laughing, and you could feel your cheeks redden in embarrassment

“C’mon you two troublemakers, don’t give Auntie Y/N back problems just yet” your brother calls out from behind Tara. You two were the absolute splitting images of each other. You’ve already shown pictures and videos of him, but now she’s actually seeing him. Face shape, hair texture, you and him may as well be conjoined twins

“Tara, is it? Y/N hasn’t stopped talking about you since you two have met. I’m Joshua” he gracefully picks up his daughters, finally giving you breathing room to mutter something about “working out” and “bodied by toddlers”

“You don’t know how many times i’ve heard that today” Tara’s teasing grin was so wide, her name may as well be the Cheshire Cat. She looks over Joshua’s shoulder, meeting your flushed cheeks and embarrassed look

“I don’t appreciate this slander, thank you. I’d like to take my girlfriend away, now!” you say in a sing-song tone. Your siblings and nieces wave you two a goodbye before starting a conversation of their own

“Embarrassed, much?”

“Hush, you get embarrassed when Mindy tells me about your ‘longing looks’ as she’d call it”

“All the more reason for me to hear about how much you liked me~” Tara pokes the side of your ribs, and you pinch her cheek in retaliation

Before you know it, you’re inside your house again. This time, way more family and family friends occupy the main area. Tara could handle smaller interactions with your immediate family, but this stressed her out. She never liked admitting it, but crowded places freaked her the fuck out. More chances of Ghostfa-

“Black licorice?”

“Black licorice.” she nods, looking at you. Tara liked how well you knew her.

“How about my room? I have a record player in there” You guided her up the stairs, your hand not leaving Tara’s for a second

Entering your room, she noticed how you it was. Band and movie posters were all across the walls, and she could clearly picture a middle school Y/N in their Hot-Topic phase. Vinyl records and a multitude of books sat on shelves all over your room. Above your bed, under your bed, you name it, there wasn’t a shelf that was empty

“Lana, Arctic Monkeys, Taylor, Slipknot for some reason…” You listed off artists you had records for, and they were all so you. She could practically feel your entire soul in this room, just wafting around

“Lana. Definitely, Lana” Tara makes her way to your bed, feeling the soft sheets on her thighs

“What’s on your mind, baby?” You sit next to her, letting Tara rest her head on your shoulder

“Do you think i’ll ever stop being scared? I don’t like feeling scared around your family. I don’t like how they’re all still affecting me”

“It’ll take time, Tara. Months, Years, you name it. But however long it takes, I promise I’ll be there with you.” Tara fidgets with your hands, and you press a kiss to the side of her head

Before you can fully move away, Tara pulls you into another kiss. She feels soft against your lips, and smells like absolute heaven. She kisses you like you’re her last meal, and you’d happily be devoured. She straddles your waist as your back hits the headboard. You kiss until air is required, and pull away with a small smile on your face. It’s not long until you do it again. And again. And again. Until your lips are cherry red from Tara’s biting, and her dress a little crinkled from your urge to always be close

“We can stay up here if you want? I’ll tell my parents you aren’t feeling well.”

“No, that’d be bad manners. Can we just… stay like this a little longer?”

“Whatever you want, baby.” You shimmy out of her straddle, and opt to lay on your bed

“Lay down with me?”

“Y/N, i don’t want my hair to get all messy”

“So what? You’d look pretty either way”

“Your family is gonna think we had sex, baby”

“I hate to break it to you, babe, but they probably already think we’re on our third position right now”

Tara sighs.

“Moments like these are when I question why I said yes to dating you” She groans, laying down on her back next to you

“I’m irresistible” you say with a smug grin on your face

“If it helps you sleep at night, baby”

—

“Where did Tara and Y/N go?” your mother questioned

“Y/N whispered something in Tara’s ear, and they went upstairs. Ten dollars they’re gonna fuck”

“Lily! Language!” your sister laughed as your mom lightly slapped her shoulder

“You should probably wait 10 minutes before calling them down here”

“I’m grounding you.”

—

Ten minutes of laying on your bed and a few kisses later, a knock is heard at your door

“Are you two decent over there?”

“We aren’t fucking, Lily” this time, it’s your turn to groan

“Just make sure to air out your room before our nieces and nephews get up here”

“I hate being related to you” Tara laughs behind you, trying to suppress a smile. “I’d wrestle you if I wasn’t so strong” you open your door

“We both know you’re all talk. I’m the real winner, aren’t I, Tara?”

“As long as it’s not Y/N” Tara shrugs while walking down the stairs, and she can practically feel the betrayed look on your face

“I’m the real winner, aren’t I, Tara?” You say in a higher pitch, mocking Lily. “C’mon, we both know I have more experience.”

“Sex isn’t the same as wrestling, Y/N”

“You’d be agreeing with me if you actually got some, Lily”

“Alright, I think that’s enough about sex. I’m gonna have this on my conscience while we sing happy birthday to your father” Tara just couldn’t stop thinking about how you two bantering was so similar to her family bantering with Mindy and Chad. The shorter girl’s family was maybe definitely more complicated than yours, but you never made her feel bad about it. Tara liked that about you

“Your girlfriend is cool” Lily whispers, but Tara can hear her

“You’re saying that like I don’t already know” You smile, swinging an arm around Tara’s shoulders. Finally making it to the bottom floor, your family is around your father, getting ready to sing happy birthday. He requested two simple five and five candles, but it seems he lost that battle as 55 regular candles sat on his sheet cake

A few of your nieces and nephews of different ages swarm to your side like bees following their queen. Tara has to push away her baby thoughts when she sees you take one of your nieces into your arms and smile all the way up to your eyes. This barbie is having baby fever

Someone dims the lights, and a happy birthday is sung to your father. She joins in the makeshift choir, meeting his eyes and smiling. The man looked a little awkward, but honestly who didn’t while being sung happy birthday. When the crowd was finished singing, the older man closed his eyes in thought of a wish. As quickly as they closed, his wish was made

A spew of cheers and congratulations erupted as he was handed a knife to cut his cake. Kids rushed to grab a slice, and Tara had to actively try and not get her toes stepped on. The shorter girl felt someone lean onto her from behind, and she could tell it was you from how your chin rested on her head

“How’re you feeling?” A slice of cake was now in her hands as of your delivery. “Let’s sit outside and you can talk me through it”

“This is all so new to me, but i’m enjoying it. I’m still scared and nervous, but you’re making it easier” she bumps your shoulders together. “Your siblings are also pretty fun to be around”

“Thanks for coming today, baby” you kiss the side of her head. “I’m really proud of you for agreeing to come with me.”

Tara lays her head on your shoulder, and you two stay like that for a little while, appreciating each others presence to take a small breather.

“Thank you for being patient with me” The shorter girl says softly after a while

“As long as Atlas is holding up the sky, I promise I’ll wait for you”

“Baby, you’re so lucky I love you. I would’ve cringed if you were anyone else, but somehow you make it endearing”

“I always told my siblings I’d get a girlfriend that appreciates my Greek Mythology references”

“You’re a dork.” Tara smiles before leaning in to kiss you. She was looking forward for another day like this.

—

Bonus:

You and Tara are cuddling on her bed when the clock turns to 12am

“Hey, Tar?”

“Mmm?”

“I told you so.”

[intimidatingpuffinstudios]

Thanks for all the things you've written and done for us Puffin! ❤️

TSSW and BTM has been one of the interactive stories that has brought me comfort and happiness during my lowest point. I really appreciate the effort and creativity you have to write these stories and wonderful characters.

I'm not sure if this has been asked on the sin stones or BTM NSFW asks yet and sorry if I sound weird but...

In this hypothetical scenario, let's say the MC and RO haven't had sex for a while because... well– things had gotten hectic and haywire so they couldn't have the proper time to settle down, maybe to a point where everyone is too preoccupied.

But one night, just when the RO is preoccupied by their thoughts, they overhear and catch the MC getting off and moaning their name. And when MC realizes they caught them, they quietly admit that they haven't initiated sex with RO because they were worried that they would be burdensome.

Like– even if the MC wanted to have sex so bad, they couldn't bring themselves to bring it up at all because of that lingering feeling of being too much.

As an easily anxious and self-conscious individual myself, it's really hard for me to ask people for things I want to do without feeling like I'm being an embarrassment or a burden even if I badly desire it.

So how would the ROs deal with an MC like this? Thanks Puffin! I apologize that my ask is too long 😭

Thank you, anon 🥹 I needed to hear that today...

As for your question!

Morkai would immediately get into the mood if he caught the MC doing that. He wouldn't be able to hold back a rumbly groan before advancing toward the MC, making eye contact and saying, "Let me help you with that." Once he finds out about MC's reasons, he frowns and clutches them closer. His response is like, "I guess I'll have to make sure to give it to you even more so that you never miss it." If he's always around, then the MC will never have to feel alone and like they have only themselves to depend on.

Straasa immediately stops moving, and his eyes zero in on the pleasured wxpression on the MC's face. After a heated second, he clears his throat so that the MC notices him, and then he breathlessly asks if he can stay to watch. Or to help. Once the real issue comes to light, he gathers the MC in his arms and cradles their face, his gaze and voice so serious and concerned as he asks, "What can I do to help you see that being with you and giving you anything and everything you need is my privilege, my joy, my greatest honor. Never a burden."

Daelynn would freeze for a single millisecond before moaning loudly and prowling her way to the MC lightning fast. She falls upon them with greedy hands and hungry mouth before they get the chance to say anything. Once she's had her fill and the MC admits the real issue, Daelynn frowns for a second before suggesting in all seriousness that she and the MC just drop everything that keeps them busy and elope somewhere far away. "Nothing matters except you. Always."

Eledwen would become a pillar of salt tbh LMAO! She is rooted to the spot, both aroused and confused. She doesn't know what to do, should she keep watching (she wants to) or is that inappropriate? But if she moves away, she could disturb the MC... Maybe she should just close her eyes or...? Long story short, she doesn't join in unless directly acknowledged and asked to. She has the exact same problem with the MC, so when she finds out about the issue, her eyes widen with shock and realization. She leans in until her forehead rests on the MC's shoulder and murmurs, "I will believe that you always, happily, want to meet my needs if you believe the same of me..."

Manerkol would materialize right next to the MC in a breath's span, sliding down next to them and dragging them onto his lap, their back to his front. Then, he'd growl in the MC's ear, his voice husky and deep as he orders them. "Show me." He uses his teeth, lips, tongue, and hands to caress and coax until the MC loses control. Then, afterwards, once the real issue is revealed, Manerkol frowns and then says, "I would give my very soul to you if you only asked. I want you, everything about you, to the point of insanity. Do not ever ask me for anything. Simply claim it."

Zach would silently make their way to the MC, draw no attention to themselves, and watch them quietly until they climax. Then, once the MC is done, they clear their throat and make eye contact before licking their lips, pushing away from the wall they were leaning against and rumble, "My turn to make you scream now." Once everything is said and done, they hold the MC close and apologize for not tending to them sooner. "The day will come when I've proven it enough to you that I am always here, here for you and anything you need, that you won't even give it a second thought before asking for what you want. I look forward to that day."

Cy would never have that happen tbh. They are a HIGHLY sexual person, and the MC just breathing is enough to set them off. No matter how hectic things get, Cy will MAKE time for it. The MC is not getting away without at least a couple of orgasms per day. Plus, they are always ready to give the MC anything they want, so they'd be SUPER confused if the MC tried to hold back about telling them what they need. If something like that comes to light, Cy would frown disapprovingly, grab their chin, and tell the MC, "Songbird, everything that makes you you is mine. You belong to me. Your fear, your joy, your needs, your doubts. I want all of it. Do not deny me a single thing about you. I will always have it in the end."

[fluentmoviequoter]

All You Want and More

Requested by @allipopgeir28-blog

Pairing: Dominique Luca x fem!reader

Summary: When Luca finds out that you have never celebrated your birthday, he sets out to make your day perfect.

Warnings: very brief angst, lots of fluff

Word Count: 3.1k+ words

Masterlist Directory | Luca Masterlist | Request Info\Fandom List

There’s a moment in a relationship where everything stops being sparkly and new. When the normality of spending your life with someone else sets in, when the honeymoon phase ends, and everything becomes slow and easy. For you, that moment is nowhere to be seen. You’re not sure that things will change with Dominique Luca. He’s the most caring, loving, sincere, and loyal man you’ve ever met. The relationship is new; you’ve been dating for a few months, though the days with him pass too quickly. His roommate Jim is out with a girl, so you’ve made yourself comfortable with Luca in his living room. As he asks you about your day, hobbies, and anything else he can think of, you wonder if being with Luca will bring a sense of normalcy or if every day will be a surprise.

“What about you?” you ask with a smile. “How was your day?”

“It was pretty good. We only had two calls, so it was slow. I think we should talk about you, now,” Luca replies.

You groan and lean back, but Luca takes the opportunity to wrap his arm around your upper back and pull you closer. Settled against his side, you feel comfortable, safe, and loved.

“We’ve been talking about me for too long. C’mon, Luca, tell me something about you for once.” Luca shakes his head, so you turn toward him and pout as you add, “Please?”

“Fine. Um, for my birthday last year, my brother-“

“Terry?”

“Yeah. He took me to a Dodgers game, but afterward we went to a classic car show, and we talked about our dream cars. It wasn’t a huge birthday celebration or anything but spending that time with him was great. Especially after everything we’ve been through, you know?”

You nod and lean your head against his shoulder. Luca is your favorite topic, and you are convinced you could listen to him talk about anything, mundane or unbelievable, and never grow tired of him.

“What about you?” Luca asks with a bounce of his shoulder. “What’s your favorite birthday memory?”

“Oh, I don’t have one. Never celebrated birthdays before. Growing up, it never really happened, I guess. As I got older, I started doing things with friends for their birthdays, but… It’s just a day on the calendar for me.”

Luca falls silent upon learning that you’ve never been celebrated. He immediately decides to surprise you, but he has to get more answers without making you suspicious.

“You never wanted a celebration, or just didn’t have someone worth celebrating with?” he inquires.

You take a deep breath as you think. “I don’t know.”

“Well, you can’t possibly be the issue,” Luca adds. “So, I’ll assume it was a poor decision on everyone else’s part not to celebrate you every moment of your life.”

“Is that something you have to say as my new boyfriend?” you whisper against his shoulder.

“No. It’s something that is true, and as your boyfriend, I get the privilege of telling you.”

“You’re my favorite person.”

“And you’re mine.”

A few hours later, you wash the dishes from dinner – despite Luca’s insistence that he could clean up. He takes the opportunity to do some well-meaning intruding. Your bag is at the table, and Luca waits to take your wallet out until your back is turned. As you focus on the task before you, Luca quickly finds your ID, and takes note of your birthday. He holds it in his mind as he puts your wallet back in its rightful place and then types it into his phone, so he doesn’t risk forgetting. Luca isn't always one for big gestures, giving or receiving, but you deserve a celebration worthy of all the birthdays you’ve missed. You are loved and appreciated, so Luca will show you when your birthday comes. After you leave, Luca looks at the date and realizes that your birthday is less than a week away and that you weren’t going to tell him.

✯✯✯✯✯

Someone is whispering as they touch your face. You roll over to escape the unwelcome attention, but it follows you. When you force yourself to blink your eyes open, Luca smiles above you. 

“Happy Birthday,” he says happily. “Breakfast is cooking, and we’re going to be late. I know I should’ve let you sleep in, but I needed to see my birthday girl.”

“How do you know?” you ask, more alert than you should be for someone who was just woken before you wanted to be. “I didn’t tell you it was my birthday.”

Luca shrugs before he walks away from you and into the kitchen. You sit up and rub your eyes, confused yet intrigued. There isn’t a clear explanation about how he knows your birthday, but he seems so excited that you aren’t inclined to ask more questions.

When you enter the kitchen after getting ready, Luca is plating your favorite breakfast meal. He smiles and sets the pan and spatula down to hug you. You laugh as he spins you because you know that one birthday with Luca will spoil you. Birthdays have never been important to you, perhaps because no one gave you a reason to look forward to one. Luca’s excitement alone is the best gift you could receive.

“Okay, breakfast,” Luca says as he steps back. “And there’s a gift on the table. Happy Birthday.”

“This is too much,” you argue quietly. “You didn’t need-“

“I did. I do need to do this for you because I love you. Okay?”

You nod as Luca kisses your forehead. He taps your hip and reminds you that the food is getting cold. It’s not, and you both know it, but your first "real" birthday can quickly turn awkward if you let it. You sit at Luca’s table, and your eyes widen at the gift beside your plate.

“Is that…” you begin, unsure what to expect or ask.

“A gift,” Luca finishes. “You don’t have to open it now if you don’t want to.”

You nod and lift your fork but stop before you can take a bite of the delicious food before you.

“I can leave you alone while you open it,” Luca offers when he notices your eyes drift to the box.

After you shake your head, you set the fork aside again and pull the box toward you. When the lid is raised, you see a tin case inside. You glance at Luca, and his smile widens. The tin case has your name, Luca’s name, and the year printed on the top. You raise the top slowly and see it is filled with papers, photographs, and ticket stubs. Your relationship is new, yet the box is filled like you’ve been together for years. Each photo has a number and a short note on the back about what has been captured in the image, and the tickets have dates and love letters written around the edges. What truly catches your attention, though, is the short note taped to the inside of the lid.

“I’ve known more love in the short months leading up to your birthday than I thought existed. To every birthday with you and all the love we share.”

You want to thank him, hug him, and kiss him, all at the same time. There’s a knot in your throat, so you can’t do the first. When you lurch out of your seat, Luca reacts quickly. Your arms wrap over his shoulders, and Luca pulls you closer by your waist. As you cling to him, you know two things: you are madly in love with Dominique Luca, and you want to spend every day, birthdays included, with him by your side.

“Thank you,” you whisper. You punctuate your gratitude with a kiss to the corner of his mouth.

“Of course. I love you, and I want to show you, especially today,” Luca replies. “Now, seriously, eat.”

You smile as you return to your seat, and your eyes wander to the open tin as you eat the best meal you’ve had in your life. Luca watches you with a smile because he is glad that he is the one who gets to show you what birthdays should be like and love you every step of the way.

After breakfast, Luca tells you to get dressed. The idea of a surprise party never crosses your mind, and Luca hopes it stays that way. He doesn’t want to go overboard today, so he allows your reaction to his quality time-based birthday with Terry to guide his actions.

“Where are we going?” you ask as Luca helps you into his truck.

“Do you really need to know, or can you give me another chance to surprise you for your birthday?” Luca replies. He taps your thigh before shifting into gear.

“Luca,” you begin. “Why is my birthday such a big deal?”

“Because you are a big deal. I love you, and you are important. My life would be… I don’t know what it would be without you, so this is the most important day of the year to me. And the fact that we started dating so close to your birthday isn’t lost on me.”

“I appreciate it. More than you know.”

“Of course. You’re worth all of it, and you deserve every gift you’ve ever wanted. You deserve all you want and more.”

You bite your lip but can’t hide your smile. Luca chuckles as he continues driving, and you watch his profile as he takes you to the next surprise. Each moment with him makes you think his surprises will be endless, no matter how long you’re together. And you hope that is a very, very long time.

When Luca pulls into a parking lot, you gasp. Your favorite bookstore sits before you, and you expect this is another visit to browse for books. Since you told Luca about your love for reading, he brings you here occasionally to look at new releases and spend time with you. As you reach for the door handle, Luca stops you.

“I have to make a call really quick; I’ll meet you inside?” he explains.

“Sure,” you answer.

While you wait, you meander down the aisle of current bestsellers. You pick up one you haven’t heard of and read the blurb on the back. An arm wraps around your waist while you return it to its rightful place, and you quickly identify it as Luca. You lean against him and continue scanning the shelves for other interesting titles.

“Do you want that one?” Luca asks. “The one you were just looking at?”

“No. I hadn’t heard of it, but it doesn’t sound like something I’d like. And you don’t have to buy me a book just because it’s my birthday.”

Luca chuckles and lets you lead the way through the bookstore. You have to turn down several more offers from him to buy a book you touch, and when you’ve been through every aisle, you return to the truck hand-in-hand with Luca. He opens the passenger door and reveals a large bookstore bag in your seat.

“What is that?” you ask.

“I guess someone broke into the truck and left you a birthday present,” Luca answers.

You turn to face him, and Luca starts to panic at the teary look in your eyes. When you hug him, he sighs and pulls you closer. 

“I told you-“

“And I told you,” Luca interjects, “That you are worth being celebrated. I hope you like it.”

You open the bag and inhale sharply at the sight. There’s not one, or even two, books. It is an entire series, a series that you told Luca about during one of your first visits to the bookstore. You’ve been wanting it for a while but couldn’t find it or couldn’t afford it when you did find a bundle. After talking about it – probably too much – you’re not surprised that Luca remembered, but touched that he cared enough to find the exact box set you showed him and buy it. 

You can’t thank him again, so you give him another hug instead. After you murmur that it is the best gift you’ve ever received and the best birthday you’ve ever had, you let Luca help you into the cab and hold the bag tight to your chest.

“One more stop and then we can go back home,” Luca says as he starts the engine.

“I don’t think I can take another surprise,” you say.

Luca simply smiles, and you decide that maybe his surprises are worth it. After driving through Los Angeles traffic, he stops outside a jewelry store but makes no move to exit the truck. A gift bag is hidden under his seat, and Luca pulls it out and hands it to you with a smile.

“Luca,” you say softly. You remove the tissue paper and reach a jewelry box. “I can’t accept this.”

“You didn’t even open it,” Luca argues.

“It’s too expensive.”

“Humor me,” Luca requests as he slides across the bench seat to be closer to you. “And open it. If you still feel that way, I’ll look into returning it.”

The chain inside the box is minimalistic but beautiful. However, you tilt the box, and another slightly thicker chain slides out. You look up at Luca, then at the jewelry store.

“Are these what I think they are?” you ask as you raise the smaller chain. The links look a bit like the letter L, and you hope you’re right about what it’s meant to symbolize.

“They’re forever bracelets. And if you want to say no, I get it.”

“I want it,” you interrupt.

“Good,” Luca replies with a wide smile. “I thought it might be a bit too soon for a ring, but I want you to have something to remember that I am here, that I will love you and be with you today, next year, for every birthday and day between until I die.”

You follow Luca into the jewelry store and hold his hand as you have the chain secured to your wrist. Luca guarantees that he checked, and it won’t be an issue with his position on S.W.A.T., and you fall a bit deeper in love with him.

✯✯✯✯✯

Luca is a liar and makes one more surprise stop at your favorite clothing store. He tells you to find an outfit you love and happily pays for it despite your best efforts to beat him to it. When you return to his house, he asks you to model it, and you reluctantly agree.

“Beautiful,” Luca announces when you exit.

“Thank you. Again,” you reply.

“Oh, the outfit’s nice, too.”

You laugh as Luca pulls you into his arms. He tells you that you deserve better than his cooking for your birthday, and although you disagree, you’d do just about anything he asked right now. So, you get back in his truck and watch him as he drives to an outdoor café.

When you step onto the well-lit patio, you expect a romantic dinner with Luca to end your perfect birthday. However, Luca has been taking advantage of your lack of suspicion since you’re not used to being celebrated and receiving attention and gifts. When 20-David and several of your friends jump out and yell “Surprise,” you immediately turn toward Luca. You are separated as people approach you with gifts and birthday wishes, but you stay aware of where Luca is in the small crowd. It is the first time you are being celebrated by the people you love, and you know that Luca is responsible for all of it. You'll never be able to thank him enough, but you love him, which is what matters.

The surprise party is fun, but the moment it ends, you happily leave with Luca and collapse at his house. Once you are sitting on his couch, in the same position as when the surprise idea came to Luca, you thank him again.

“Stop thanking me,” he says softly. “You are important to me, so your birthday is special. Celebrating you isn’t something I need to be thanked for, I do it because I love you, and I love doing it.”

“You’re being extra romantic today,” you muse.

Luca smiles as you turn against his chest. “It’s the most important day of the year.”

“You can’t go this big every year, I won’t be able to take it. Maybe your gift next year can be a day off or something.”

Luca hums, and you know he’s planning to go even bigger.

“Is there anything you’ve really wanted?” Luca asks. “In the past, was there something you wanted but have never gotten?”

You lean back and hold Luca’s shoulders as you look into his eyes. “Honestly?” Luca nods, so you continue, “I got tired of asking for things that I knew no one cared enough to give. Or there was just no one around to ask. I mean, I never asked for anything big, but eventually even the little stuff is disappointing. One year, I just asked my friends to come over and hang out and they didn’t even do that. So, I guess I’d say having someone spend time with me just because. But you gave me that today.”

Luca frowns as you answer and vows to himself to make every birthday special. He decides to lighten the mood for now, though, and points out, “Your birthday isn’t even over yet. We have, like, two hours to spend together.”

You roll your eyes, completely in love with Luca and excited at the prospect of being with him for the rest of your life. When he pulls you into a sudden kiss, you don’t fight it, but continue enjoying the best gift you’ve ever received: time with Luca, and his affection certainly doesn’t hurt.

“I promise,” Luca whispers between kisses, “to make your birthday wishes come true for many years.”

“I love you,” you reply. It’s short, but the sentiment perfectly conveys to Luca just how much today meant to you. “And if you really want to spend the next two hours with me, you should get comfortable, because I’ve got new books to start.”

Luca holds you against his chest and asks, “What if I told you my birthday wish is more kisses?”

You ponder the question for less than ten seconds before leaning in again. Though your relationship with Luca is still new, there is no chance that things will ever grow boring. As you ring in another year of you with Luca, you begin brainstorming how to make his birthday as special as he made yours.

[manicpixiedreamedwins]

Alright. I've been talking about writing a meta about Charles and jealousy for a while, so here it is. It's a mess. I tried to make it more concise than it was, if you can believe that.

Be forewarned, below the cut we'll be diving into some canon compliant content like Charles' home life. Please, please, please note that now is the time to leave if you are not in a good space to read about those.

Okay. First I want to establish a few things before I get to analyzing the scenes, because I think it is important that we have empathy for Charles here. This might be a bit of a long preamble, but if you could stay with me I'd appreciate it. I promise I am going somewhere with all of this.

I think a lot of us have been told, perhaps by a parent or a friend, that jealousy is unbecoming or bad. Think about it. I know growing up that is a message I heard frequently even though I saw adults exhibit it. This was actually pretty confusing to try and work out. Anyway, now with this almost puritanical obsession with good pure and healthy relationships in media, it's gotten worse. We're told any human flaw we have is something we have to fix or we are not deserving of love. Yes, including jealousy.

Only if that's the case, Charles is fighting uphill here. Here's why:

For reference 41:30 -42:00 in episode 4 is the flashback that The Night Nurse shows Charles of his home. If we unpack this we can learn a lot of things, but there are two that I would like two draw your attention to today:

Charles' dad clearly isn't someone Charles could form a secure attachment to. He seems to only be acknowledging Charles when he's angry, and only acknowledging him in a very violent manner. He's also not really communicating with him, and expecting Charles to know what he's upset about I guess? Truly, this man is terrifying. He knows his family is afraid of him, and he knows they'll scramble to try and fix whatever his issue is.

Charles' mom doesn't intervene. Now, I do not want to hear any vile junk in my notes. She's a battered woman and has probably been in the same position that Charles has, considering Charles himself is worried about her once he is dead. He's worried enough that he checks in on her every week. It makes it all the more heartbreaking that Charles is the one who has taken it upon himself to try and "make it better" (although this is not uncommon among kids who grow up in abusive households, alarmingly).

It definitely drives home that there is a clear hierarchy in the home (everyone tries to please the most volatile person), and you're at the bottom of the pyramid. Even if it's just because you and everyone else in the household is too terrified to do anything about the most abusive person's behavior, you still feel the weight of never being put first. You will never be put first, because how could you be? "You never made it better than you died" (via The Night Nurse) holds a crushing amount of meaning here.

Alright. Now we have established that Charles had some messed up stuff happen at home. Let's take that a step further. Adverse childhood experiences can lead to a variety of attachment styles that are not secure and... you guessed it, jealousy can get thrown in the mix. (This link leads to an abstract of a very interesting research article. If you request the full test directly from the researcher they will provide it for free, but it takes time. The basic idea here is that if kids aren’t able to form secure attachments to their parents, then they will struggle to feel secure in their relationships as they grow up. Sometimes that can manifest as jealousy).

Still with me after all of that? You are god's strongest soldier, lmao. Now let's get into the good stuff.

Charles dies, but there in the attic he meets Edwin. Charles chooses Edwin over the blue light without a second thought. He comforted him when he was dying, and that tenderness is foreign for Charles. The choice is an easy one.

He enjoyed it, and he enjoys Edwin. Edwin, in turn, turns out to be is someone who unequivocally, continuously, puts Charles first. He also does something really important- Charles seeks reassurance, and Edwin gives it ("You ever think, what if Death did catch us? She'd force us to go to the afterlife and split up" Charles asks. "I will make sure that never happens" Edwin answers, all while they're hanging on the side of their office). This is one of the first things we learn about them in the pilot. Charles knows he can count on Edwin. This wasn't something he had from anyone in life.

So things go fine for Charles for a long while. Edwin hasn't given him any reason to feel insecure in all that time it seems. He’s done a great job making Charles feel safe. Charles even feels secure enough that it is his idea to try and integrate Crystal into the agency, although Edwin clearly hates it. Crystal isn’t a threat to his friendship with Edwin, so it would appear Charles still feels reasonably secure in their relationship at this point.

Charles even explains or excuses a lot of Edwin's reactions to try and smooth things over. He tries to mediate between them during their first plan to rescue Becky from Esther's house the best he can. He allows Edwin to have a leg of the case with just the two of them, but he tries to frame it as protecting Crystal.

But then it's Edwin's turn to shake up the foundation that their relationship is built on.

Edwin had a lot of issues to attend to this season, and he tried to deal with most of them alone. Most of the problems Edwin had to handle put definite distance between him and Charles- how couldn't they? He was being hit on, which was a very new experience for him. He probably didn't even know how to talk about that at first, as evidenced by his description of the CK speaking closely to his ear (oh sweet summer child). He also learned about his feelings for the first time, which Monty had to finish spelling out for him.

This all, however, is where we see a shift in the dynamic. It's significant.

Edwin uses magic on a cat and has to go and meet with the Cat King. Whoops. 🙃 Charles slides easily into his role as a protector, but… Edwin stops him.

Honestly, Edwin had a good reason to do this. He pointed out that cat scratches can cause serious harm to ghosts, and they were surrounded. As endearing as this was, this wouldn’t have been an easy fight. They can just talk this out, right? He gets whisked away for a few minutes to do that (and then winds up opening a bigger can of worms).

From Charles’ perspective though, Edwin doesn’t allow him to help him, and then vanishes for a long period of time. Then he absolutely won’t tell him anything about it when he does come back. Charles knew Edwin was a little mad at him in the pilot, but they were still communicating for the most part. The secrecy is a shift, and it’s not one he’s coping well with. He tries a few different ways to reconnect.

First he tries gentle. He just asks what happened from a place of concern. This might have worked actually, only I’m not even sure Edwin knows how to fully describe what happened during their encounter. He rushes through a description, and Charles still feels like something is missing. He doesn’t like that someone else has a secret with Edwin— for thirty years they’ve been connected. This feels frightening to him, and Edwin doesn’t seem particularly worried that they’re not on the same page.

He tries to pick the conversation back up later when they’re searching for the dandelion shrine, but Edwin doesn’t give any additional information. So he slides back into his role of being a protector again and defends him against the ambient skeletons, because at least he can protect him from that easily. For a moment, things almost seem normal again, but this resurfaces in a later case.

Edwin meets with CK again in episode 4. Charles is still raw after the events of the Devlin House, and now he’s just pissed. He’s hurting, and Edwin is still keeping this weird secret. They end up bickering back and forth. The bickering tells us something interesting about Charles’ concerns.

Charles: What did he want? He didn't whisk you away again? Got that bracelet off?

Edwin: I'd be back at the office right now if the bracelet was off. He wanted to know if I counted the cats, and my guess was unsatisfactory.

Charles: Thinks he can come and go... He can't show up in the middle of cases. Did you tell him that?

Edwin: Matter of fact, I did.

Charles: Can't believe you didn't tell us. I've had enough of secrets about that wankеr.

Edwin: Why are you getting so angry?

What stands out to me here is Charles is upset about a few things: he hates that Edwin is getting taken away from him by a being they can’t control (a logical fear, considering they’re running from death together). He hates that this is happening in the middle of case time that is supposed to be for him and Edwin (and their friends, who Charles trusts). He is still really upset that Edwin has a secret with someone else (I really don’t think he’d be bothered if the secret was with him).

That’s why he’s upset. Charles isn’t feeling secure. He doesn’t feel like their relationship is on good footing right now. Whether or not he knows how to phrase that or ask for support is a different question.

Onto Monty (sorry these are a bit out of order— I put them by character for this part).

Charles wasn’t aware of Monty. This probably already bothered him a little, considering the mystery surrounding the cat king, but he tried to be a good sport. Monty wasn’t outwardly threatening. He came with gifts. He seemed friendly. Charles tried to match that… only to get snubbed. Ouch.

Charles likes to claim he’s aces with other people, but he ultimately died because his friends turned on him and killed him the second he stood up for what was important to him. I think peer relationships are a particularly sticky situation for him. I think he knew how to fit in the same way he knew how not to rock the boat in a volatile home. With Edwin it was different though— Edwin just liked him. Edwin was special.

But of course yet another boy their age doesn’t like him (probably a little upsetting, considering how he died). The only thing that’s confusing to him here is he didn’t really do anything wrong— he was polite. He followed along with all the little niceties people do, even when they don’t want to. Maybe this wouldn’t have bothered him so much in another situation, but now Edwin is wrapped up with him instead of Charles. He's picked him instead (in Charles' mind).

He can’t even shake this when Monty isn’t there.

Charles tries to get Edwin's attention... and fails. so he begins to have a conversation with himself. Perhaps he was trying to make Edwin laugh. Perhaps he was trying something over the top. Still, he fails. Ultimately, he goes the broken record route and asks him the same question a couple of times.

This moment probably really hurt- there's actually no reason for Edwin to be ignoring him, in Charles' mind anyway. They're alone together. Usually they'd be talking or bantering or at least Charles would be able to get Edwin's attention. It's just that he can't, because now Edwin is stuck on that fucking book from that fucking bloke who blew him off earlier.

This was probably a little activating for Charles. Even if he didn't completely put together why it upset him, Edwin putting someone who just treated him poorly right in front of his face first is a dim reflection of what he went through in his home. Now, I am not saying Monty is anywhere near that level of bad- he's a literal cream puff. He could not kill them when his life depended on it.

What I am saying, though, that Charles perceives a subtle threat here. He's also not sure what to do with it, because he never overcame that hurtle in life. No one else ever put him first, and he never figured out how to fix that. Edwin kind of just centered Charles automatically when they met. Now he's not doing that anymore and it’s jarring and uncomfortable for him. He’s feeling this loss of stability, on top of the fact that Edwin still won’t tell him what’s going on with the CK.

"...try not to forget that we're trying to leave" is what Charles comes up with after that exchange. Edwin makes an attempt to console him finally and offers to talk, but Charles shuts it down and tells him it's that he wants to leave town. They start on a case after that.

(Note that I did this a little out of order for organization’s sake— some of their CK arguing happened during the case they went on next).

Charles does finally catch a break here. In spite of all of this, he’s missing something very important: Edwin has feelings for him. That’s probably the most pressing issue that’s gone unspoken between them.

So Edwin dresses nicely, catches Charles attention, and finally tries to initiate a conversation. Charles seems relieved.

He does assume Edwin is just trying to come out by telling him about his time with Monty, before the teethface incident. Charles isn’t bothered, since Monty isn’t really in the picture anymore as far as he’s concerned. Things are fine, it’s just the two of them again and Edwin likes boys. Wait…

... Fuck. Forgot about the Cat King.

He resorts to threatening the CK. I know lots of people have lots of different theories on this, but consider this perspective also: Monty is no longer a threat. He’s abstract. He’s a memory. The Cat King is still very real and is a thing that can come between them, has done so, and has successfully taken Edwin from him. And as accepting as Charles was trying to be in that moment, he just can't handle that (from the perspective of this meta).

Anyway, this is all interrupted by their foray into hell. Charles does rescue Edwin, Edwin confesses, and honestly I feel like that just needs to be a different thing entirely but I did type a little bit about how I think Charles interpreted all of that here.

They return. Charles is processing Edwin's confession on the roof. This whole scene mystifies me a little because yes, he didn't seem to know exactly what to say to Edwin's confession in hell (I think he did not want to ruin it by saying the wrong thing). The more rewatches I go through the more... satisfied he looks to me? He might be processing, but also he might be a little giddy that Edwin has feelings for him specifically. I'm still trying to figure out how to read this one because the lines seemed rushed but the microexpressions say so much.

Then he starts blatantly flirting with Edwin. Honestly Charles, what the fuck?(afffectionate) Truly I’m still trying to work out if he’s just testing out how Edwin reacts or if he is working through his own feelings here, but I really want more of this in S2.

That’s about all the thoughts I think I can organize on this for now without it getting obscenely long (it already is pretty long for a half baked idea that turned into a meta). Thank you for reading 🖤

[alltheboysandgirlsiloved]

hi❤️! Could u pls give me ur thoughts on this? :

I was thinking abt the whole Yasmina coming out scene with Ben, and I can't stop seeing a subtext on this. Like, why choosing Ben between all the campers👀? And Is it "over reading" the context to say it looks like Ben knows more about coming out than he confess to Yasmina? 😅

I'm asking bc I'm afraid they'll make him straight, ngl. So I'm questioning, do u think we're really over reading on the context? bc no way fandom is the only one seeing queer subtext on this character 😭

I will answer this question in two ways so that everyone can choose their own adventure.

First of all, plot-wise Yaz coming out to Ben first just made sense! Their friendship has been steadily growing and once they overcame their initial hesitation, I think they just clicked as friends. They were different enough to be forced to learn how to understand each other from day one. Whether people agree or not, Ben is simultaneously very strong-minded and awkwardly delicate, very similar to Yaz. He will always speak his mind and at the same time, he is very accepting. I think that this is exactly the type of person Yaz needed back then - someone who would speak their opinion no matter what, would offer support and comfort But at the same time would not try to baby her. Does it make sense? I think that at that moment there was no one other than Ben who could have offered this kind of non-judgemental and honest support (also because most of the other characters were engaged in other drama!!).

It also makes sense considering their conversation in season 4 when Ben thought that Yaz had a crush on him. I mean, it couldn't get any more awkward than this, right? As silly as it sounds, in the end, it probably helped them solidify their friendship on an emotional level. At least, that's how I've always seen that.

Plus! Let's remember that Ben was the last to find out about Brooklynn and Kenji getting together! So, I guess it was fair for him to learn about Yaz's feelings for Sammy first, haha!

Okay, so that was canon, now it's time for my off-screen rambling.

I said it before and I'll say it again: jwcc Ben is absolutely queer-coded. Has been since season 1 and it has nothing to do with his looks but everything to do with the way he interacts with the world and people around him. Sometimes he is cautious, sometimes he is bold; he bites and curls in himself, he is hesitant but hot-headed; the world is a hostile place that requires taming. He likes the safety of his own shell, but once he peeks out of it - he makes the way for himself on his own terms.

I also believe that Ben was initially written as queer-coded, even if he was never meant to end up in a queer relationship (again - speaking about jwcc only). It would also kind of explain Darius and Sammy's reaction in jwct - their surprise when they learned that Ben has a girlfriend. jwcc Ben was queer-coded, his queerness was never commented upon, but it existed nonetheless. You don't have to come out to be queer, and you don't have to come out for others to be vaguely aware of your queerness. If you're any familiar with older tv shows, in which openly queer characters were a rarity, you would notice that a lot of the characters that are currently referred to as "queer-coded" were presented to the audience in a similar way as Ben was presented throughout jwcc. So yes, considering that I really choose to believe that jwcc Ben was queer-coded, I think it also explains why Yaz reached out to him. She knew that he would understand.

Additional notes:

When I say "Ben's gay-ass speech" at least two things come to mind:

1) Ben's iconic quote from season 1 - "And so what if she is asymmetrical? There's nothing wrong with being different, or bumpy," – don't argue with me "but he was talking about Bumpy" yeah, so? He was talking about "others being different", it's obvious that it's meant to resonate with more issues than just Bumpy's, well, bump

2) His conversation with Yaz when he openly said that he was "just now starting to find himself", self-discovery, figuring yourself out, sounds familiar? yeah.

I also have a whole theory (while I don't believe that the writers intended to write it as such I sometimes think about it) about Ben's entire character arc in jwcc being a metaphor for what it's like to grow up as a queer kid:

Stage one (season 1) - being in a closet, being really cautious about things you show interest in (pre-monorail Ben)

Stage two (seasons 1/2) - experiencing an event/trauma that makes you come out of a closet; as a result, your perception of the world changes and you completely redesign yourself (the "wild child" Ben era)

Stage three (season 3) - gaining courage, making statements, being bold about your choices (Ben intending to stay on the Isla Nublar)

Stage four (season 4) - understanding that just because a part of you is out, doesn't mean that you have to abandon your past self (Ben "figuring himself out", changing the habits he gained during stage two)

Stage five (season 5) - accepting yourself for who you are - queerness and everything that comes with the entire concept of you (Ben becomes a mixture of a jungle boy and that boy from season 1, these personalities merge seamlessly)

This particular interpretation is definitely me over-reading but this metaphor always worked for me, I really like it, mostly because it also reflects a bit of my own experience as a queer kid.

Hope that I answered your question anon :D

[stevie-petey]

Hi m! I had a short blurb idea for you. Could we see Jonathan's pov after his fight with Nancy, and what drove him to go to bugs house? Also his POV throughout their car ride together? Thank you! ❤️

finally had time to get to this one and YES i can <333

enjoy !

"well then i guess we just dont understand each other anymore."

the pain in nancys voice hasnt left jonathans mind since he dropped her off at home hours ago.

he lays in his bed, sheets cold as the night creeps upon him. do they really not understand each other anymore? jonathan knows he understands nancys frustration, how painful it is to be overlooked, but how can he explain to her that hes unable to understand the feeling of security?

hes never had that before in his life. ever since he was a boy, his life has been defined by instability and insecurity.

it was meeting you that brought some sense of security into jonathans life. youre the only thing jonathan considers a constant in his life; he trusts that youll always be a part of him.

he isnt like nancy. he doesnt have a mom who attends to his needs. a house in a cul de sac with freshly painted shutters. jonathan doesnt have the privilege of being a kid, not when hes been helping to pay for his familys rent ever since he was fourteen and legally able to work. he isnt able to lose a job that can pay for his college like nancy can.

security is a foreign concept to jonathan that he cant understand, yet he understands that the burn within him is his love for nancy. and he understands that he cant lose her.

sighing, jonathan gets out of bed and towards the phone in the kitchen. he has to hear your voice, soothe his nerves, maybe even cry. right now, jonathan needs his best friend.

youll know what to do. you always do.

when he calls you and you sound just as exhausted as he feels, he knows that tonight will be one of your driving nights. a few years ago, when your only worries were exams and parental issues, you and jonathan would drive around hawkins late at night and pretend you were the only two people to exist.

as you got older, the need to drive became few and far between, but tonight jonathans chest is heavy and your voice sounds frail.

hes at your house in ten minutes, and within fifteen he has you in his passenger seat with an old mix tape playing as julys cool night seeps through the car. and, within thrity minutes, youve unwoven all of the intricate strings of fear and uncertainty within jonathan.

he loves you for how easily you put him at ease.

you simultaneously support jonathans side while also vehemently defend nancys. you console him, yet you also gently pry his head out of his ass.

"it frustrates me how you always manage to say the right thing." i love how you love me.

"youve known me for years now, its your fault for not getting used to it." ive grown up learning how to love you.

its easy. its as easy as breathing when it comes to you, and jonathan inhales as much of you as he can. for as long as he can, for as much as hes able to.

and then you break jonathans heart with six words.

"im terrified he'll be another 'almost'."

its as easy as breathing, and jonathan wishes that he could exhale for you. he hasnt forgotten the lines that were once almost his to cross. how he had you, all of you, and now youre steves and hes nancys.

in the end it was all for the best, but jonathan hates the scars he left behind. he hadnt meant to, they will always mar your body, and he will never forgive himself for it.

"im sorry, bug." he shouldve apologized earlier. he knows this.

he wishes that there was more he could do, more he could say. but hes never been good with words and hes scared he'll overstep somehow. say the wrong thing, hurt you even more. so instead jonathan holds your hands, kisses away your tears, and silently prays that steve doesnt make the same mistake that he did.

youre steves now, anyone can see that. you love him so deeply and freely that jonathan cant help but admire how beautiful it is. he can see it in steve, too. how much he loves you.

that boy adores you.

jonathan understands the feeling. he always will.

[ashes-writing-corner]

So I try to make each chapter longer than the last but...sadly I failed with this one. It's a relatively short one but I hope you guys like it ^^

Taglist: @exactlyelegantwizard , @xenoanamorph , @hoeia-strigoi , @arwenkenobi48 , @xanth420 , @serpent ,@landlockedmermaid77, @uncensored-aj

If you'd like to be added to the taglist, please let me know!

Exile: A Nosferatu Fanfic

Chapter 4

You were my town, now I'm in exile seeing you out…

For the first time ever in either of his lifetimes, Count Orlok was out in the snow, rolling a middle snowball to make the body of the snowman. He looked, and honestly felt just as, ridiculous. The wolfhounds helped when they could, but spent the time either watching the pair or chasing each other around the courtyard. Ellen looked over at him and chuckled.

“Not a word, Ellen…” he growled a little.

She couldn’t stifle a laugh. “Oh for goodness sake, you act like I’m doing something tortuous to you…It’s supposed to be fun and you look so…annoyed”.

“This is ridiculous…” the count rolled his eyes, “Is this big enough?”

Ellen came over and examined the ball he was rolling. “I think so. We could probably mold-Oh goodness you can’t be serious”.

He had already used magic to mold the middle ball on to the first, fitting it quite easily. Orlok raised a brow at her disapproval. “What? I literally just-”.

“Magic isn’t the solution to everything” Ellen argued.

Orlok scoffed. “It is in my world…”.

“Yes, and look how well that worked out for you”.

The count narrowed his eyes at her at that. “Watch yourself, micul suflet”.

Ellen shook her head. “You just wanted an easy way out of this, didn’t you?”

“Maybe. Your words not mine”.

“Are you really that miserable doing this? It’s just a snowman” she looked at him, feeling a bit disappointed.

“Why is this so upsetting to you?” he cocked his head, genuinely confused as to why she wasn’t happy with him using magic.

“It just…defeats the purpose I guess. I just wanted to…spend an afternoon making a snowman or two” Ellen sighed.

Her explanation did little to ease the count’s confusion. She had never been against him using magic for simple little things before. This seemed like such a trivial thing to be upset over. He rolled his eyes and scoffed.

“You’re being ridiculous, little one. You’ve taken issue with me using it before”.

“That was for…other reasons” she shuddered as a few memories came to mind…

“Less ridiculous than snow people”.

Ellen sighed. “I just wanted one, ONE peaceful afternoon…Everything just has to be a fight with you and I don’t understand why. And it’s not just now. You’ve always been so…confrontational. About everything. Even if you didn’t have a right to be-”.

A growl cut her off. His of course. “You forget, little one. You have always been mine. Always! That was our agreement! I had every right to be furious knowing you went off and married that useless, childish-”.

“Because you abandoned me! You left me first! You stopped coming when I’d call for you!” Ellen’s voice was more emotional than she intended it to be.

She never wanted to admit it, even to herself, that she had missed him. That something in her felt genuinely broken when he stopped coming to her. Ellen despised that she felt that way, that it was the Demon that made her feel that way. She felt her eyes water, from both anger and sadness. How could he still be so cruel, after what they went through together? After what she did for him? After all they were to each other…

Orlok didn’t respond, just glared down at her. His dark eyes were alight with an all too familiar fury. He didn’t know why he felt so angry once more. It was always anger that got the better of him. Like his shadow haunted those he preyed upon, his rage haunted him. It always had…

“I had my reasons…” he turned away from her.

“And what reasons were those? What did I do that was so wrong-”.

“IT WASN’T YOU!” Orlok roared and shot his long clawed hand out, melting the half done snowman.

Ellen sobbed and looked down. Just one peaceful afternoon was all she wanted. Nothing else. He didn’t need to join her. He could’ve just left her and Furie alone.

“Must you destroy everything you touch?” Ellen sniffed.

He didn’t answer right away. “It is my nature to do so. In the end…I even destroyed you”.

Ellen shook her head. “I chose…I chose you”.

“And perhaps you chose wrong” He shook his head and looked over at the wolfhounds, “Întristare, Durere, Furie! Vino!”

The first two obeyed their master's command but Furie, sweet loveable Furie, padded over to Ellen and stayed at her side. He growled deeply at Orlok, who raised a brow.

“Furie! Acum!” He commanded but the wolfhound growled and barked.

He would not move. He would not leave her out here alone. Ellen's eyes watered a little more as she looked at the sweet, protective hound. He was indeed very poorly named. She hugged him around his neck tightly.

“Thank you, sweet one. Thank you-” she started.

“Treacherous dog!” Orlok snarled but Ellen glared.

“Leave him alone! It's me you're angry with, not him! Do as you must but I will not let you harm these dogs!”

The count turned away and stormed back inside in a fury. He knew he let his anger again get the better of him. There wasn't an excuse for it but pride would not allow him to admit he was the one in the wrong.

Ellen hugged Furie around his soft, warm, fluffy neck, crying softly. What in the world did she ever do to deserve this? Any of this? In the beginning all she had wanted was a friend, a companion. But now she was in, what she thought anyway, was a literal frozen hell with a monster she abhorred and who, seemingly, abhorred her. They were stuck together, all because of a covenant that shouldn’t have meant anything anymore. Ellen pulled away from Furie to pet his head.

“Good boy…you’re such a good boy. Thank you” she told him, managing a soft smile despite what just happened.

Furie wagged his tail, whined and licked her hand softly. Ellen sniffed and looked over at the spot where the destroyed snowman was.

“We may have to make another at some point…It’ll be okay. Let’s just…stay out here a little while. I don’t want to go back in while he’s angry like that. It scares me and I don’t want you getting hurt either” Ellen stood, brushing the snow off her dress, “Perhaps you can show me around. There’s still so much to see here”.

Furie barked and wagged his tail once more, eager to show her around. There was still much she needed to see, to know. This was her home too. It was always meant to be her home…

Orlok lost count of how many times he burned that damn bouquet at this point, but it was far from enough to satiate his fury. Why was it always anger? Why was it always this deep maw of anger that consumed what was left of his heart, what little was left? His clawed hands trembled when he looked at them, anger slowly giving away to a sad numbness. He had no more tears to shed, no more hurt to feel.

So why did his anger persist? Of all things, of all emotions…

Death was supposed to be peaceful. It was supposed to be eternal rest. But why was it only giving him more anger, more sadness, more…grief than anything else? This wasn’t at all what he had hoped for. He didn’t want to be this anymore. He didn’t need blood anymore. The sun no longer harmed him. But yet a loathsome beast he still remained…

Durere came back to the master’s chamber holding something in his jaws, softly so as not to damage it. It was a little soft stuffed bear, handmade a very, very long time ago. Age had seen its fur taken off, leaving behind just a dusty skin. But even so, the wolfhound knew it meant something to his master. He whined, placing the small thing at his master’s feet.

The count peered down at the small, seemingly insignificant thing. A little toy, nothing more. And yet…

He picked it up in his clawed hand and looked at it for a moment, his mind daring to go back to a once happier time. He could hear her voice again, instructing him on how to make it. Orlok remembered having needle pricks for weeks after making so many…And he had done it without magic at her insistence.

But it was the reason they had made such small things that made that small piece of his heart ache in a way that was all too familiar. Orlok clenched his fist around the tiny bear and pressed it to his chest, sorrow threatening to drown him like the very waters of Chaos he sought to avoid...

No.

No!

He was not entitled to mourn, entitled to grief. He didn’t deserve to. Didn’t deserve to heal. Didn’t deserve to move on. He hadn’t earned the right to let go…and from the looks of things he never would…

Still though, he couldn’t hold back the slightest little sob, though no tears fell from his moonlit eyes. He was a monster and monsters didn’t cry.

Monsters did not love.

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