#I'm like wow this is so cool I wonder what that interaction would be like where he attempts to discuss his concerns with Norway. oh wait

[islandiis]

honest to God icelandic history is sooo so cool and interesting and I'm always learning something new but it's also so fucking funny kind of covering it through Leifur bc. okay. this little lad basically had no idea what was going on Ever and if he did he had the emotional maturity of a bag of oats

When Norway first came to Iceland they basically forced Christianity upon Iceland by throwing missionary after missionary at the island. There was some success but they also murdered several people and then when it wasn't that successful Norway just took several Icelanders hostage (including prominent chieftains who they threatened to kill), and they were Iceland's only real trading partner so. oop.

But all this going on and Leifur was still pretty much feral at that time tbh. I think maybe he was staaaarting to be domesticated ever so slightly? In the sense that he probably understood that this was happening and he wasn't happy with his people being taken hostage by the Norwegian Crown, but probably still wild enough that his response was to like. bite a local goði and give him rabies or something

[jo-harrington]

Longevity (Eddie Munson x Store Manager!Reader)

Pairing: Eddie Munson x Fem!Reader

Summary: Longevity (noun) - continuance; durability; permanence

Previous Part: Standard Operating Procedures 1.06

Warnings/Themes: AU where the Upside Down doesn't terrorize Hawkins. Reader works at the Claire's at StarCourt. Eddie works at TapeWorld. (For now.) Fluff, a little angst, discussions of the future, vignettes/time jumps, smut, HEA.

Note: Alright here it is, and it is a HONKING CHAPTER. But how could I break it up into pieces when it's The End? I'm tucking my little babies into the dollhouse and closing it up so they can live on the rest of their lives. To Eddie and Store Manager, I love you both dearly and you were the thing that brought me back to writing and into a wonderful community of writers and readers. To everyone reading, thank you so much for your endless support. You will never know how much it's appreciated.

You can find my masterlist here for more featuring our resident Store Manager and all of my other writing. Seriously, go read it.

Please do not interact if you are not 18+.

Enjoy!

---

April 1986

"Ope, if it isn't the man of the hour, Mr. Edward G. Robinson himself. We were just talking about you."

That was the greeting that found Eddie as he walked into Claire's after school on a lovely Thursday afternoon, ready to share some good news before his closing shift.

Great news, actually, if he was being honest. Life-changing news that he was sure would earn him a ton of kisses that he'd been craving after a long week of assignments and standardized tests.

Imagine his surprise then, that instead of finding you and Mindy behind the counter, chatting after a supposed "big visit" you'd told him that you had today, you still had company.

He skidded to a halt at the sight. Your guest smiled up at him with her hands on her hips.

Short in stature, blonde hair in pristine victory rolls, bold makeup that consisted of layers of glittery eyeshadow, and wrists adorned with stacks of multicolored scrunchies.

"It's nice to see you again Jen," he greeted your old Store Manager.

He'd only met her in person once, but had heard countless fond and semi-unbelievable stories about her from you--and apparently she'd heard the same about him, having greeted him with a bone-crushing hug the first time they met—so there was a familiarity and fondness there that they both indulged.

"What are you doing here?" he asked casually and crossed the distance to throw an arm over your shoulder and press a kiss to your temple. "I thought you said that you wouldn't be caught dead in Indiana."

You, Mindy, and Jen all broke out in a fit of giggles and Eddie felt a sudden sense of instinctual dread.

"Well then get ready to start planning my funeral kid," Jen announced. "Because you're about to start seeing a lot more of me."

"Jen just got promoted," you interjected finally.

"Oh yeah?"

"To District Manager. So she's gonna be my boss. Again."

"Oh, shi--shoot," Eddie felt like he'd been doused with cold water at the revelation. He peeled his arm from around your shoulder and took a wide step to put distance between the two of you. "That's...wow. Congratulations."

He'd been through a handful of DM visits at TapeWorld, never on his own, always under Kyle's cool guidance; however, he'd come to realize that the stiff authority figure of his District Manager Jeff was something to be feared.

So even though he was excited for Jen--your friend--on her promotion, the sudden realization that Jen--your boss--was standing here watching him make an idiot out of himself and possibly put your job at risk...

"Oh my god," Jen broke down in a fit of laughter. "Look at him, he's about to shit himself. Take a chill pill Ed, Jesus. I’m not gonna be a hardass until next week. If that.”

Once everyone had their fill of laughter, and Jen promised that she wasn't going to hold your relationship over your head--

"So long as you're not in here interfering with the business or making out on the sales floor or something."

--Eddie pulled you to the side and finally revealed his big news.

"So," he began excitedly. "It, uh, looks like I'm on the road to graduation. Like really graduating. Not just 'if I don't fuck it up in the home stretch' this time. I'm actually gonna graduate."

"Oh my god," you grabbed him by his jacket and shook him as joy bubbled in his chest from your reaction. "Eddie that's amazing!"

You asked him a few questions and your eyes sparkled proudly as he recounted his talk with his guidance counselor, and he couldn't help the smile that stayed on his face the entire time. Especially when you let out a shriek of joy and jumped around.

"We need to go and celebrate!" you insisted.

"I mean," he suddenly got bashful. "I haven't graduated yet."

"Still, it's big. You worked so hard." You looked back over at Jen and Mindy who were talking at the cash wrap. "I know you're closing tonight but I'm taking Jen out for drinks a little later. When you get out of work, meet us at the Hideaway. I'll get you the Wayne and a beer. And then afterwards, uh...if you wanna come back to my place? Like...actually celebrate?”

He grinned and nodded eagerly; you'd taken the words right out of his mouth.

---

His shift had gone by quickly and he’d joined you and Jen at the Hideaway with Kyle in tow. Kyle who was not only proud of Eddie and wanted to treat him to a beer for his efforts, but also intrigued at the possibility of schmoozing a pretty new face in town.

“Sometimes,” he announced with a flourish when he returned to StarCourt right before store close, dressed in the nicest clothes Eddie had ever seen him wear. “You need to take a chance. How many times did I tell you that kid? You miss all the chances you don’t take. That’s why it took you so long to get a girlfriend.”

Jen, unfortunately, laughed right in Kyle’s face when he kissed her hand upon introduction.

“I’m engaged, Romeo,” she informed him. “Sorry.”

“I don’t see a ring. You can let me down Jenny. Tell me the truth, I won’t be hurt.”

“You’re sweet. But it’s the truth. I just don’t wear the ring to work.”

“Alright, alright,” He sighed, then got a sly look. “Any chance you have a sister? Or a brother? I’m an equal opportunity man looking for true love.”

The night was filled with hearty food, rounds of beer, fantastical stories of retail hell and 4th Quarters past, and accomplishments on everyone’s part.

Kyle bragged about a new car he had just put a down payment on.

Your store had hit some Diamond Earring milestone that only you and Jen seemed to understand but the excitement was contagious.

Eddie got a round of applause from the table when you urged him to announce his big news to everyone.

Honestly he couldn’t care about Kyle or Jen’s reaction, it was seeing you look at him with all the pride and affection in the world that he basked in. He couldn’t wait for the actual graduation ceremony, for you to be front and center with Wayne and Rick and all of his friends. There to witness his hard work come to fruition…and for him to flip Principal Higgins off.

And then Jen stood up and announced her own accomplishment right before last call.

“So,” she cleared her throat and held up her glass and pulled something out of her coat. “I know I already celebrated back home and I don’t really know either of you, Kyle and Ed, but I know my little protégée here would be happy for me.

”Alongside my wonderful and well-earned promotion to DM, I also received my Longevity pin.”

She opened a little velvet jewelry box and showed off a tiny glittering purple pin with a tiny little diamond chip in place of the dot of the “I” in Claire’s.

“Ten long years,” Jen announced after a swig of her beer, “with the Purple Glitter Factory. And all I have to show for it is a pin, a little more money, and a lot more responsibility. God. Growing up sucks. But I’m very proud. And you’re next kid.”

She laid a hand on your head and you waved her off with visible embarrassment then disappeared to go and close out your tabs.

Later that night as you and Eddie settled into bed to sleep after some celebratory activities, Eddie laid awake and stared at the ceiling. Thinking.

“What are your plans for the future?” He asked after a beat.

“Uh,” you shifted your head on his shoulder so you could look at him. “Is this because of all of Jen’s talk of careers and stuff?”

“Yeah. And graduation. And all of that stuff. So? What do you wanna do…where do you wanna be…when you’re older?”

“God, I dunno. I got my associates in business because I was hoping it would help me get my own store. And I did. It also was so boring, I don’t want to go back to school. I guess the next thing is…actually take a vacation day now that I’m earning them. What about you?”

“Music legend,” he answered immediately.

“Uh huh.”

“Guess that’s gonna take some work though, huh?”

“No shit.” You rolled your eyes and then sighed as you settled against him once again. “There’s a reason you asked, Ed. What’s going on in that big head of yours?”

He ran his tongue along the seam of his lips repeatedly as he considered…everything that was laid out in front of him.

Corroded Coffin.

Tape World.

What about Hellfire? Damn, he knew Dustin and Will were the future of the club but…a few years down the line. What about next year? He was gonna have to pass the torch to Gare or Dave after he left. They weren’t ready yet.

And what was he gonna do after school was over? Could he see himself taking a class at TCCC? Maybe. Jeff had been showing him the Catalog at lunch the other day. There was a Creative Writing course that looked cool.

10 years.

That was half his life away. Impossible to imagine. Would there be flying cars by then? Space travel? He could enlist in Starfleet, meet Captain Kirk. Ok maybe that last one was stupid.

"10 years,” Eddie whispered into the top of your head as he rid himself of the fantastical thoughts. “That’s an awful long time.”

“Well it’s a good thing we have all that time to figure it out.”

We…

“Yeah. Yeah we do.”

He could only hope you’d still be there with him. One way or another.

---

July 1987

The spot lights were blinding and the air thick with humidity; his throat was dry and his fingers ached from how hard he was on the fretboard.

But the crowd was cheering and that’s all that mattered right?

No, what really mattered was the music.

And the band.

That's why he was up here with his friends, demolishing the bridge of The Sentinel, laughing and jumping and barely giving a shit when he missed a note or Jeff’s fingers fumbled or Gareth lost the beat for a second. He didn't even mind that the County Clerk had them censor out the "cuss words" of the songs they'd chosen.

It was exhilarating just to be able to play on an actual stage.

It had taken 2 years but they were finally playing at the Roane County 4th of July Festival. An actual gig. And not the first one they'd played, but certainly the biggest so far. Big enough and successful enough that Eddie expected it to be a standing gig for the foreseeable future.

The Polka Band from Kenosha hadn't gotten nearly half as many people and they were, by far, the most successful act of the night before Corroded Coffin.

There was a sea of friends, neighbors, families, and out-of-towners just below the stage, snacks and drinks in-hand, as they danced and jumped and headbanged to song after song. Rick and Wayne were out at Benny's getting all set up for the next stop on Corroded Coffin's "Independence Day Tour" but you were out there in the crowd with Mindy and her family, singing along and cheering louder than everyone whenever a song ended.

Which was why Eddie didn't hesitate to dedicate the final song of the set to you.

"This next one isn't our usual sound," he spoke into the microphone, words a little muffled as his lips brushed against it. "It's a little slow. Something you can dance to, so gentlemen please grab your ladies, tell them how much you love them. But before we begin...did you all know...it's almost Back to School time."

There was a series of boo's from the crowd.

"Now now, maybe yet not for you all, but definitely for a special someone out there," he shushed them and traded Sweetheart for his mom's old acoustic guitar. He plucked a few notes and then continued. "A special someone...who leaves me all alone every once in a while. Late nights. Lonely nights while I wait by the phone, as she and her team make magic happen and she forgets all about me. See I'm saying all of this because she's about to leave me high and dry this coming Sunday night, so I have to guilt her a little otherwise she won't let me surprise her with hash browns and coffee when she gets out of work.

"Queen of Glitter Kingdom," Eddie squinted and looked around the crowd until he found you standing there holding your hand over Mindy's mouth as she looked like she was about to cry. He pointed right at you. "My life, my world, my cheeseburger. This one's for you."

He and Jeff then began to harmonize their guitars for the opening of Beth.

---

"You're a shithead, you know that."

"Mmm...but I'm your shithead, sweetheart."

It was late. Wayne, Rick, and the guys had all left. You and Eddie were sitting across from each other in a booth at Benny's, as the last few fair-goers trickled in for a late night snack. Your own dinner sat half-eaten on the table between you--patty melts and an apple pie shake to share--as you talked and laughed and played footsie.

He and the boys needed to rush across town after their set was over so they made it in time for Ben's advertised happy hour, so he hadn't gotten the chance to get an earful or a kiss from you after his little spectacle.

Fortunately, you were giving him hell for it now, and although he was wiped, he gladly accepted your teasing wrath.

"Is Wayne still around?" You turned in your seat and looked at the sparse group of customers. "I'd like to make a return."

"Mmm...well I moved out in January so I think it's after the 90-day return policy," he said matter-of-factly.

"God damn it," you laughed and snapped your fingers. "And I think I lost the receipt too."

"Stuck with me forever," he teased in a sing-song. There was a beat and he straightened up in his seat and drummed a rhythm on the table with his knuckles. "So...I think it went well."

"I think so too," you agreed brightly.

"You know, Jeff found some...Septemberfest thing out in Jasper..."

Your eyes sparkled at Eddie's words, and he felt the flutter of butterflies deep inside of him that always kicked up when you gave him your excitement and encouragement.

“It’s not a competition or anything but there’s a prize for most popular act of the weekend. Audience ballot and everything. I think it would be cool.”

"That's great!" you grinned. "You should go for it."

"But it's Labor Day weekend."

"So?"

"Paulie's going for a promotion," he shrugged. "Kyle's gonna want us all there in case Jeff comes for a visit."

"And? I didn't know Paulie was planning on opening for Corroded Coffin. What's he playing? The kazoo?" you joked.

"Well no," Eddie shook his head. "But if he leaves...I mean, I'm the best bet for FTASM. I don't want to lose out on that for the future. That'd be...the money would be nice. Can do some repairs on the van. Maybe I'd get my own store someday too."

Your face crumpled--brows furrowed and lips pursed--and you didn't hesitate to shuffle out from your side of the booth and kneel beside him on his. You placed a hand on his forehead for a moment and then tilted his head back and forth.

"Uh, sweetheart," he placed a hand on your waist to steady you as you shuffled closer to pull the back the neck of his t-shirt to look for something. "What are you doing?"

"Trying to see if my Rockstar Eddie Munson action figure is broken," you explained.

"Uhhh."

"Or at least if I accidentally left him at the fair and picked up a Corporate Shill Eddie action figure instead?"

"What?" he laughed.

"How about Suburban Dad Eddie?" you asked. You straightened your posture, pulled on non-existent suspenders, and lowered your voice comedically. "Gotta prepare for tax season. Cut the grass. Do some repairs on the van."

"Stop," he pulled you down to sit beside him in the booth. "I just...don't wanna take the chance on that when I know the full time position is a sure thing."

"Ed," you shook your head at him. "I know you like Tape World but...promotions always come around, music is your dream."

"I know."

"Why did you tell me about this Septemberfest thing if you were not gonna go through with it anyway?"

"I dunno," he turned away from you and went to grab the shake. "I guess I just wanted to pick the thing...that you'd be most proud of."

"Listen here mister," you grabbed him by the chin and made him look at you, Apple Pie Shake be damned. "I'm always gonna be proud of you and support you in whatever path you want."

He nodded for a second and then stole a kiss from you with a soft "I know, thank you." You let yourself get lost in the feeling for a second, but Eddie knew that you weren't gonna let him distract you from the discussion at hand.

You put a hand on his chest and pushed him away, then stared him directly in the eye.

"So?" you asked. "What kind of future do you want?"

His eyes darted between yours--your gaze hard and challenging but nonetheless filled with hope and affection--and he had his answer.

---

May 1989

You could feel Eddie fidget in the seat beside you.

"Calm down," you muttered to him.

"Can't help it," he whispered back; you could tell he straightened out his posture, but his knee still bounced. "Too excited."

A name was called over the loudspeaker, then another, then another.

"Eddie seriously," Gareth was the one to give it a shot this time, leaning across you to put a hand on Eddie's knee and get him to stop fidgeting. "You're gonna shit yourself if you don't stop."

"Shit, sorry, this is only like..." he shook his head. "The most important thing I've ever done in my life."

You, Gareth, Jeff, and Dave all shot him skeptical and unamused looks.

"I don't have time to argue right now," he scoffed at the rest of you. "Shut up, here it comes."

"Peter Halliwell...Dustin Henderson..."

All five of you jumped to your feet and cheered and clapped, along with another group a few rows up that consisted of Dustin's mom, Steve Harrington, Robin Buckley, and their respective partners.

It was a repeat occurrence several times over that afternoon, as you witnessed the Hawkins High Class of '89 cross the stage and receive their diplomas.

"That's my kid," Eddie wiped a fake tear as each of his former Freshman Sheepies were called on stage, but he was especially emotional with Dustin. And when the newest DM of Hellfire flipped Higgins off before running off stage? Eddie stood on his chair and whooped and whistled. “That’s my boy!”

“Sit down Munson,” Higgins spoke into the microphone, over an audience that had become uproarious with laughter.

“It’s tradition now, Higgy,” Eddie shouted, words amplified by the hands he’d cupped around his mouth; still, he jumped down and took his seat so the rest of the ceremony could continue.

“You’re unbelievable,” you giggled at his antics. “You do know that right?”

“I’m unbelievably loveable,” he replied, quickly accompanied by the scoffs and mocking fart noises of his friends. He leaned closer and whispered in your ear. “Unbelievably in love with you.”

“Uh huh.” His tongue snaked out and he licked into your ear obnoxiously. “Fuck off!” You pushed him away from you with a shrieking laugh.

It wasn’t long before that the real reason you were in attendance at the graduation walked across the stage. Because yes, the kids were your friends but you wouldn’t miss this for the world.

“Jane Hopper,” came the announcement and you, once again, got to your feet with a cheer, along with her family and friends in the next aisle of seats. Chief Hopper had his camcorder out and his shoulders visibly shook as he sobbed for his daughter, and you couldn’t help but feel your heartstrings pull.

If Dustin and the boys were Eddie’s little sheepies, you supposed Janey was one of yours. From a shy girl whose ears you’d pierced for the first time in your early days at StarCourt, to one of your die hard regulars who looked up to you over the years trying to emulate your style, to one of your associates when she came in for her first summer job at 16; you’d watched Jane grow and gain confidence and really come into her own.

That was the high point of your career as a Store Manager, and something you happily shared with Eddie: seeing the kids you took under your wing flourish.

“All the birds have flown the coop Mom,” Eddie teased as you sat down and actually wiped a tear from your cheek.

“I think you guys can cut the Mom and Dad bit now,” Jeff said matter-of-factly. “Until you guys have your own kids someday.”

That was something you and Eddie happily shared too.

The two of you looked at each other for a moment…before making the most exaggerated vomiting and gagging noises, unfortunately getting looks from the people around you.

“Pass,” you and Eddie announced in tandem.

---

After the ceremony was over, Chief Hopper invited everyone to the shared Hopper-Byers abode for a barbecue. And by everyone, it seemed like he literally invited the entire town to the lakeside cabin the family called home.

All of the kids and their friends and families, Benny was somehow there—had he closed the diner for the day? Good, he deserved a day off—a handful of Hop’s coworkers and friends, including Wayne and Rick.

There were hamburgers and beers, conversation and music overlapping one another.

Eddie was in his element though, and it warmed your heart to see him talk and spiel and be accepted by such a big group when, not so long ago, it seemed like he’d been shunned by them. Even now, you could see some hesitation as he stiffly talked with douchebag Callahan and Mike’s asshole dad, but he wasn’t sweating bullets or falling back on the pricklier parts of his personality. He even cracked a smile once or twice.

What would his life had been like if he’d had this all along?

It was silly to think about after you’d been dating for years but…would he have asked you out sooner? Would you even still be together now? You thought about the ways that the kids had grown into their own…but it wasn’t hard to also appreciate how much the two of you had grown side by side as well.

Especially when you considered the next step you were about to embark on together...

“You’re thinking too loud,” Eddie startled you as he snuck up behind you and dangled a fresh beer in your face. You shot him a scathing look but he easily recovered, back into your good graces, as he swooped an arm around your shoulder and pecked a kiss to your temple. “What’s got you all sour?”

“Not sour,” you shrugged and picked at the label on the beer bottle. “Just…I don’t know. Thinking."

"Always a bad idea."

"Reflecting.”

“Well you look like you’re about to tell someone to get fucked so…”

"Maybe I am," you grinned at him cheekily.

"As long as it isn't me." He leaned in closer and lowered his voice. "But you know it gets me going either way."

You slapped the back of your hand against his chest just as a gaggle of voices called your names.

Jane was the first one to run your way from across the yard, with Dustin and Lucas hot on her heels. They were all talking over one another, and Jane especially looked like she was about to burst into tears.

Eddie was the one to try to make sense of them, and he yelled a bellowing "shut up" that got them to stop their barrage.

"You're leaving?" Jane asked, looking directly at you. "Leaving Hawkins?"

"Uh," you paused and looked at Eddie, who held his hands up innocently.

"Gareth's got a big mouth," he reasoned.

"Of course he does," you rolled your eyes and then turned back to the kids. "Uh...yeah we are. At the end of the summer. I’m opening a new store. Again."

"What about you?" Dustin demanded, pointing an accusatory finger at Eddie.

"Where my lady goes, I must follow," he stood tall and held a hand over his heart for a second, chivalrous as ever, before he took a sip of his beer and slumped back into his usual posture. "Besides, Corroded Coffin has a better chance in a bigger city. We're big fish in a small tank in Hawkins. Gonna pack up the van; give Chicago a chance to chew us up and spit us out."

Eddie and the boys bickered back and forth--gathering a small crowd of onlookers the longer it went--about the trip and the plans about where you'd all live and work while you stood there with Jane.

"How could you just leave?" she asked.

"Oh, honey, that's just...how it is," you reassured her. "I get a new assignment, Mindy takes over. And I'll be back to visit. Maybe you and Max will take a drive up for a weekend in the city."

"That'd be fun."

"It isn't goodbye."

"I know," she nodded somberly.

"Besides, you're going off to school in the fall," you reminded her. "You weren't meant to stay at StarCourt Mall forever, and I wouldn't want you too. You have a bright future ahead of you. I know it's scary, but it's all gonna work out. One way or another."

They were the same words that Jen had said to you before you embarked on your big adventure to Hawkins, and you were happy to pass the sentiment along to Jane.

"What about you?" she asked after a minute. "Your future? Are you afraid?"

That was the question, wasn't it? A new adventure, maybe in a more familiar setting but...a new challenge nonetheless. But you looked over at Eddie, who had both Dustin and Gareth in headlocks; his head was thrown back in obnoxious laughter and he gave you a shrug that said "how could I help myself" when he noticed you looking at him.

He was an idiot. But he was your idiot. And he'd be by your side for this next adventure, just like he promised he would be.

"No," you told her honestly. "I'm not afraid at all."

---

September 1990

"Alright, here's a question?"

"Shoot."

"When…is our anniversary?"

"Uhh...Ed..." You let the question hang awkwardly in the air, unasked, but Eddie could read your mind.

The two of you were symbiotic at this point; still, he was happy that you had no idea what he had in mind for the day.

"No hear me out," he took a few steps ahead and turned to walk backwards so he could look at you. "Because I really put some thought into it. If we're going by first dates, it's in January—”

“Like it has been for the past 4 years.”

“—but, if we're going by first kiss..."

"If we're going by first kiss, that was last week," you laughed and rolled your eyes. "So you’re late."

“Yeah,” he agreed wickedly wistfully. “I guess I am.”

Of course you remembered.

The two of you were walking. Exploring, actually, around the cemetery where your Papa enjoyed his eternal rest.

5 years and it was a lot easier now.

You still cried sometimes but the initial guilt was gone and you found enjoyment in spending the day traversing about the sprawling cemetery grounds, visiting this great uncle and that distant cousin, just like you did with Papa when he was still alive.

“Did he make sure he bought flowers for everyone he ever met?” Eddie had asked as you piled bunches and bunches of flowers into his arms at the florist that first visit after Papa passed, when you told Eddie of the tradition. “Aren’t they just gonna die?”

“This is why I don’t like flowers,” you explained. “They die. At least when they die here, the dead can still enjoy them.”

“Well shit, that’s a pretty metal thought baby,” he cooed softly and shuffled the bunches to hold them with some more care. “Can I put that in a song? I’ll dedicate it to you.”

He had and you’d cried when he first sang you the haunting ballad in the privacy of your living room.

Today, though…well you’d already made the rounds today. Only one stop left; the most important stop. Eddie had suggested taking the long way through the mausoleum—down hallways lined with plush red carpet and dated sofas and marble walls filled with the dead—partially for his own curiosity, and partially so he could build up the courage.

You were doing quite a good job distracting him from his nerves as you conversed easily—whatever thoughts popped up in either of your heads—and explained the differences between this Saint and that one as you passed their statues and depictions in stained glass. They all looked at him with serene eyes and he thought that meant this journey would be a successful one.

There would be no crying, if he could help it.

Maybe tears of joy? He could settle for that.

“So what has you thinking of anniversaries?” you finally asked as you sat on the tufted velvet ottoman in front of your grandparents' epitaph.

Eddie shrugged and looked around, absorbing the names and dates inscribed on the marble walls that surrounded him.

“Been a lot of milestones lately. It’s been a couple years since graduation, 5 years since your grandpa passed…” He trailed off for a moment. “Been a year since we moved…since we’ve both been at new stores.”

You gasped and he felt his heart stop in his chest.

“Is…are you thinking of quitting?” You asked with big eyes.

“What?”

“That new Hot Topical store they’re opening? Or whatever it's called? I saw you chatting with that District Manager in the food court the other day. Are you leaving TapeWorld? Eddie, that’s so exciting. You should…”

“No I’m not quitting,” he announced with finality, shoving his hands in his pockets.

“…nevermind then. Then what’s going on? You thinking of breaking up with me or something?”

“No.”

“Well I know you’re not proposing; you literally just wrote a song called Marriage is a Death Sentence.”

Your laughter echoed through the mausoleum but you stopped abruptly when Eddie didn’t join you.

He watched your expression change as you processed the thought. And when you looked back at him again he smiled nervously.

“Eddie…” you said hoarsely and then cleared your throat. “Eddie, you just wrote a song called Marriage is a Death Sentence.”

“About my parents,” he explained. “And how they did everything wrong.”

“Yeah,” you nodded frantically. “A lot of people get it wrong. Marriage is a Death Sentence. Those are literally the lyrics. You’ve been singing it when you wash the dishes.”

“Yeah.”

“It’s catchy.”

“It is, isn’t it? But...while I was working on it...it got me thinking that…I mean…just because they got it wrong, and a lot of other people do, doesn’t mean we will.”

You said his name almost desperately now.

"A-and," he continued. "W-we don't have to get married but...I don't know. Spending the rest of my life with you sounds pretty great."

He pulled one hand out of his pocket casually and with it came a small ring box. He shook it a few times and held it out to you.

There were a bevy of emotions cycling your face, all of them undecipherable, until you settled on shock.

Good shock...hopefully.

“You’re supposed to get down on one knee I think,” you whispered again.

Yeah...good shock.

He let out a sigh of relief.

“Yeah but what if it isn’t a ring? What if this is all just a red herring? What if I had to get one of my teeth pulled and it's in here?”

You let out a shocked laugh and your brows hitched together in question.

"Did you put a tooth in there?"

"I don't know...seems as likely as any other potential surprise."

“Is it another cootie catcher?” you guessed.

“Only one way to find out.”

He shook the box again.

You slowly took it from him, fingers deliberately brushing against his which caused his heart to race.

He felt lightheaded when you opened the lid.

You smiled so brightly, he swore you rivaled the sun.

“Oh…Eddie…”

---

December 1992

"So what'd you do?"

"What makes you think I did something?"

"I love you son," Wayne sighed and leant against the counter. "But you always do something."

It was Christmas. The worst time of year for both you and Eddie. Long shifts, angry customers, restless coworkers...but a standing promise to make it back to Hawkins for the holiday had been the light at the end of the tunnel. Especially since Wayne and Rick had come out to see you for the past few years.

It was tough but you and Eddie made it work; hit the road right after your Christmas Eve shifts had ended, fallen into bed as soon as you'd arrived at Rick's close to midnight.

And you didn't need to be back to work until the 27th.

It was a perfect little getaway.

Except it hadn't been perfect.

Because you hadn't been talking to each other past the standard "good mornings" and "see you tonights" all week. The drive had been made in silence. And you chose to sit as far as you could from him during Christmas dinner, opting to sit beside Wayne and chat all night, instead of right next to him like you always did.

And unfortunately, yeah...it'd been Eddie's fault.

Eddie knew that, and usually he could admit it easily. Fights between the two of you were few and far between, and you had a good track record for recovering from them. For some reason though, this time was different, and it was hard for him to admit how badly he'd fucked up.

Wayne could see right through the two of you, though. Especially through his nephew. No matter how good you thought you were at hiding it.

"There was this...big opportunity we could have had," Eddie began his explanation calmly. "But it wasn't a sure thing."

"Oh yeah?" Wayne hummed. "How big?"

"Big. Like...a once-in-a-lifetime thing. An underground show a buddy of mine heard about it through the grapevine. Said they were looking for an opening act. Wanted to throw me a bone." He hit the counter with his fist gently. "But...he got his wires crossed. Told me it was tonight. So it meant we'd need to miss Christmas. But it's really next week."

"Hmmm..." Wayne nodded sagely and kept listening.

Eddie suddenly felt uncomfortable at the tone though, and became desperate for his uncle to understand.

Understand that he hadn't meant to hurt you.

"Work's been hard this season Wayne," Eddie continued with an edge to his voice. "Made me realize that I don't wanna do this forever. I wanna make music. You know that. It's been my dream forever."

"I know it has."

"Me and the guys. Our dream."

"What'd you say to her?" Wayne asked suddenly, as he lifted the mug of eggnog to his lips.

His knowing gaze made Eddie fidget and harsh words echo through his memory.

"Why can't you understand? This is huge for us. How can we say no?"

"I didn't say you had to pass it up, I just said it was a shame that we'll miss Christmas."

"You don't have to miss Christmas, you can just go to your aunt's if you don't want to go to the show."

"You know what I mean. You know Wayne and Rick look forward to seeing--"

"Wayne and Rick would understand how big this is. Why can't you? Why the fuck do you care anyways? It's not like they're your family!"

Wayne swallowed a mouthful of eggnog and then his lips pressed together tightly with a long exhale. Eddie turned to watch you and Rick chatter while you organized the gifts into neat little piles; even though you were avoiding each other, seeing your smile made him feel a lot better than his uncle's intense stare.

"I fucked up," he croaked. "I know."

"How're you gonna fix it?" Wayne asked.

"That I don't know."

Wayne sighed and clapped a hand on Eddie's shoulder.

"I would suggest," he leant in close and his voice rumbled, the same way it always did when Eddie would get in trouble growing up. The few times Wayne needed to intervene at all. "I would suggest you start with I'm sorry."

---

Eddie stared up at the glow in the dark stars that were stuck to the ceiling of the old guest bedroom that used to be his designated room at Rick's once upon a time.

It was quiet. Too quiet.

He couldn't sleep.

He might have spent most of his life in Hawkins but a few years in and around Chicago and he'd gotten used to the sounds of traffic and trains and people walking around late at night.

And it might've been easier if you were closer to him than you were, if the sounds of your sleep-deepened breathing and the soft snores you always denied were in his ear. Instead you were lying on your side at the edge of the full bed, as far from him as you could get, equally as awake as he was if your near-silent breaths were any indicator.

He turned his head and watched you for a moment before he took a breath of courage.

"Sweetheart," he whispered. When there was no response, he said your name, a little louder this time. "You awake?"

There was silence...heavy silence...and then you responded.

"Mmmhmm." You shifted to look halfway over your shoulder at him. "It's too quiet."

"I was just thinking that."

"Hmmm."

"I've got...a lot on my mind too."

"Yeah?" you turned fully now, lying on your back just like him; your shoulders touched but you refused to look at him. "What about?"

"I was thinking..."

What was he thinking? A lot of things. How to start an apology, how to fix this. How to make tomorrow better so your Christmas wasn't ruined.

"...that at least when we fight fight, we still talk to each other afterwards."

You scoffed and he closed his eyes, cursing himself and his big mouth.

"That...wasn't the right thing to say."

"No it wasn't," you sassed him immediately.

"It wasn't what I wanted to say either," he quickly added. "I wanted to say...that I'm sorry."

"I know."

"You do?"

"Aside from the fact that I know you too well," you began. "Rick was trying to get me to forgive you all night."

"Why did he think I did something?" Eddie asked incredulously.

"Because you always do something."

"God damn it, did Rick say that? Wayne said the same thing."

The two of you laughed together for the first time in days, and as you settled down, Eddie reached over and took your hand in his. He threaded your fingers together and rubbed his thumb back and forth to soothe you.

"I'm sorry that I...that I was a thick-headed, stubborn, big-mouthed idiot who hurt your feelings," he apologized. "I know that we've both been under pressure but there's no excuse. I could've been more level-headed, but I wasn't and I hurt you."

"Yeah well," you squeezed his hand tightly as you responded, "I guess I'm not innocent here either. I could have...been more excited for you, supportive. Instead of trying to make it about Christmas. I was thinking about how desperate I was to get away from work, excited to be back here. And it's no excuse. I'm sorry too."

"Yeah but I told you Wayne and Rick weren't your family."

"Well I told you--"

"Are we gonna fight again?" Eddie stopped you before you could get ahead of yourself. You huffed a soft "no" and melted into the bed, all tension in your body gone. "Did you like your Christmas gift?"

"Jesus." He could hear you rolling your eyes.

"Well did you?"

"Duh," you deadpanned. "Did you like yours?"

"Uh, duh," he parroted, a little more exaggeratedly. "You didn't give me a kiss though."

"Well you didn't give me a kiss either," you retorted, but you were already rolling over so you could close the distance and seal your lips against his.

The two of you showered one another with more whispered apologies and words of devotion before you got ahead of yourselves.

Clothes were shed, soft caresses shared, and lips lavished over the most sensitive parts of you.

You still liked it when you dragged your teeth along the shaft of his cock a little and got him to beg, and then Eddie returned the favor when he sucked a bruising hickey to your nipple that made you squeal and call him a god.

The two of you had lived on your own for so long that it was good fun trying to keep your voices down, or make sure the bed didn't slide across the hardwood floors with your passionate fucking.

And all slights were soothed when you reached the height of pleasure together, and whispered sweet words of affection and forgiveness as you descended back to earth.

Come morning, Wayne obnoxiously asked when the two of you were planning to hit the road back to Chicago.

"It's been a good while since I lost sleep thanks to your spirited activities," he noted, embarrassing the two of you in front of Rick. "No more fighting when you come back to visit in the future alright? I miss you dearly, but I can't say I miss that at all.”

---

April 1993

"It took you guys long enough," Dustin announced as he threw open the door.

“You know what, you try sitting in a rusty old shitbox with a bunch of musicians that still act like they're teenagers for 10 hours," you deadpanned and then pushed past the guys as they protested to pull Dustin into a hug. "Happy housewarming, congratulations."

It was Spring Break.

Well for the kids it was--although, they weren't really kids anymore were they--but for you and the guys, it was more like a long weekend. You'd scheduled yourself off for a few days, Eddie'd requested the whole week off, Jeff and Dave had traded shifts with coworkers, and Gareth simply quit his job.

"I'll find a new one," he reassured everyone, including his girlfriend, on St. Patrick's Day when he announced his departure before he and the guys had gotten on stage to play for a crowded pub in the suburbs.

It had been a headache and a half to get everything in order and everyone in the right place at the right time, but you were all here for one thing and one thing only.

Dustin's first apartment.

A Hellfire Club Reunion.

And a special one-shot that Dustin and Eddie had spent hours on the phone planning for the past few months.

Months.

You didn't think you'd been invited at first, but when Dustin told Eddie the full guest list, Eddie volunteered your attendance immediately.

Your forays into Dungeons and Dragons were few and far between; never a big campaign, only the one-shots that Eddie had put together here and there for the guys or a few coworkers who were interested. And this would be the first time that you played with such a big group. Or such an experienced group.

You were nervous.

"You'll do great," Eddie reassured you as he plucked snack cakes and sodas off the gas station shelves for snacks on the road. "I know the roleplaying is not your strongest suit, but it's just Henderson and the gang."

Now you were here and your nerves melted as you slipped further into mother hen mode the longer you looked around at what was obviously the apartment of college students. It was a familiar sight; you, Eddie, and the guys had all crammed into a duplex when you'd moved to Chicago and you'd had your fair share of pizza boxes stacked in the corners before garbage day and underwear of questionable origin and cleanliness tucked into the cracks of the sofa.

But that was a time long since passed and seeing it now made your fingers itch.

And your ears ring.

"...be here soon and I figured that you'd be here first to help me set u--Mom you ok?" Dustin stopped his chattering when he noticed you were frozen in the door of the living room. He glanced around the space that would soon host all of his friends. "Oh...yeah I should probably clean up a little more. To be fair, most of this isn't my mess."

You felt your eye twitch at his dismissive laugh.

"Jesus Henderson, didn't you just move in January?" Jeff asked when he saw the sorry state.

The boys all started giving Dustin shit, and Eddie had the foresight to put a hand on your shoulder and steer you back towards the door.

"We're gonna go take a quick smoke break; why don't you four nerds try to get this place looking a little more Hellfire appropriate in the mean time, m'kay?" he ordered them with faux sincerity. "We brought those props you asked for Dustin."

You heard the faint, sorry Mom, come from the boys as Eddie got you outside.

---

Eddie was extremely attentive and was quick to take charge of the ragtag group, running back and forth between the little stoop where you'd essentially set up camp right outside of the building, and back up to Dustin's apartment to make sure the cleaning and setup were underway.

"Hey listen, you boss enough people around at work," he reassured you when you insisted that you'd be alright to go back in. "You don't need to do it on your day off too."

You proved to be useful enough as the other started to arrive, little by little.

Max and Lucas had flown in from California and arrived via cab.

"It kind of sucks when the place you live is the place everyone else goes on vacation," Lucas laughed good-naturedly.

His younger sister Erica, who you remember from her days of buying scrunchies and glitter makeup, was now grown up and toted an entire kit filled with binders and notebooks and dice.

"It's my first ever Spring Break," she sniffed. "I could have been in Miami with my friends. But...I wouldn't miss this for the world, so it better be worth it."

Mike and Will drove up in the Wheeler's old station wagon, their siblings in tow in the backseat; Nancy and Jonathan had apparently been broken up for some time now.

It apparently had been an awkward drive for all of them.

Jane unexpectedly arrived with a new love interest friend and was beyond ecstatic to see you, barely letting you get a question in as she told you about everything she'd been up to.

Robin was unfortunately absent, but sent her regards along with the last person to arrive. Someone who you honestly didn't expect to see at all, but who had pulled up in a shiny new car, sporting a wedding band and a mustache: Steve Harrington.

"Look what the cat dragged in," you greeted with a smile. You pointed at the wedding band. "Seems like you don't need my relationship advice anymore."

"Same relationship," he chuckled and shrugged, suddenly bashful.

"No shit," you laughed. "Congratulations."

"Congrats to you too," he pointed to the ring on your own finger but you waved him off dismissively.

"Marriage is a Death Sentence. This is just...symbolic more than anything. We both know we're not going anywhere."

"Get more of a deduction on your tax return if you guys do tie the knot."

"Alright Ned Flanders," you rolled your eyes. "Taxes are a death sentence too. I'll ask Ed to write that song and dedicate it to you."

"By all means, I'm actually an accountant now. Maybe it'll get me some more clients."

You cackled.

You and Steve made some casual chit chat as you walked up to join the others now that everyone had arrived.

The apartment looked worlds different, especially with the abundance of candles that surrounded the table you all crowded around.

Dustin was taking the lead with this one, his DM screens in ominous abundance as he sat at the head of the table and filed through stacks of papers.

You looked around at all of your friends...really all of Eddie's friends who had become your friends, your family. It was nice to see them all in one place again.

Then you looked at Eddie himself, who looked right at home surrounded by them all. Laughing and spieling and picking on them with bright, glowing fondness that radiated off of him. You didn't think you could feel any more love for him, but suddenly in that moment, your cup overflowed.

He deserved this; deserved all of this...all of the love you all had to give and share with him because he loved you all so hard in return.

You took your seat beside him and grinned and patted your knee encouragingly.

"Perfect timing, sweetheart," he announced. "Hope you're ready to get absolutely obliterated."

Dustin hit a button on the stereo he'd set up beside him and everyone started to cheer as music and sounds created the ambiance of the adventure you were about to embark on.

"Welcome friends as we revisit a grand adventure of old tonight," Dustin began. "As we venture deep into Greyhawk and come face to face a great evil once defeated. Timelines have shifted, and what you might remember from the past is no longer what it seems; it will take great courage and strength to overcome challenges that you'd previously faced with ease. Are you up for the challenge?"

Everyone cheered again."

"Good," he said with a guttural groan, eyes rolling back in his head dramatically. "Then let us begin on our quest to face...The Cult of Vecna."

---

May 1995

It was like deja vu.

Maybe because he'd done this a thousand times, just not recently. It'd been years since he'd worked at the Mall, after all, and the muscle memory might have been a little out of practice, but it was still there.

He ran up the stalled escalator, long legs skipping every other step, until he reached the top, out of breath.

"Fuck," he bent over with his hands on his knees, panting. "Fuck. This is why I gotta quit smoking."

He'd taken the day off to surprise you; he and the guys were supposed to be recording today--their first album; it'd taken long enough--but this was bigger and he wanted to be there for you.

Needed to be there.

It wasn't every day that his best friend and beloved--the love of his life--his dear Store Manager...wasn't going to be a Store Manager anymore.

You'd both broken the news to each other on the same day. For weeks you'd only mentioned small developments in passing, never letting your hopes get too high just in case of a let down.

"We're getting signed," he announced as you'd collided into one another outside of your apartment building. "It's happening we're getting signed and we're gonna make a whole fucking album sweetheart!"

"Oh my god!" you shrieked. "Holy shit Ed!"

"No more weird touring schedules for fests, no more begging to get a song on the radio during the 3am broadcast, it's happening!" He cupped your cheeks and peppered kisses around your face.

"It's happening for me too," you laughed and tried to shake him away. "I got the job."

"What?!" he squished your cheeks harder until you jabbed him lightly in the stomach to get him to let you go.

"I got the job," you laughed, head tilted back as you announced it to the world. "Eddie, baby...you're looking at the new associate manager of Visual Development."

You'd spent the night indulging on a deep dish pizza, fucking making love, and talking about the future.

Maybe you could buy a house...maybe you could get a puppy...take an actual vacation someplace and not just a weekend trip to the Dells or wherever Corroded could find a gig...the possibilities were endless...

But from that moment on, it was a whirlwind.

The band had gotten started right away, signing contracts and working with the small label that had seen their potential and believed in them.

And now, a few weeks later, it was here. Your big day. Your last day as a Store Manager at Claire's, before you went off to their home offices to tell people what color scrunchie was gonna be big for the season.

There were a bunch of purple and pink balloons tied to the sandwich board outside of your store, and as Eddie got closer, he could hear snippets of conversation as your associates asked you about your new position.

"Have you seen your office yet?"

"Yeah, I have," you laughed.

"Is the desk pink?"

"No but the walls are."

"Do you get your own cell phone?"

"Probably not. I'm not the CEO guys. I'm just a manager."

"Are you gonna have to wear business suits?"

"No," Eddie answered for you as he quickly snuck up behind you. You jumped as his arms wrapped around your waist, but you quickly melted into the embrace. "But she's not gonna have to wear clothes from Seventeen Magazine anymore either."

"Yeah," you sighed. "It really sucks to wear clothes from the juniors department once you're past 30. They're just not made the same way."

"Gotta take your word for it sweetheart, I'm not 30 for another few months," he blew a raspberry against the side of your neck and squeezed you tightly in his embrace.

Your associates all sighed dreamily at the sight of the two of you canoodling—power couple who?—and Eddie was thankful for this once-in-a-lifetime chance that you wouldn't just swat him away for PDA while you were on the salesfloor.

"I'm sorry this is coming from the man who still dresses the same as he did when he was 17," you laughed and reached back to pluck at his battle vest that had only accumulated more pins and patches over the years.

"I'm very sorry that I'm not trendy, sweetheart." He kissed your cheek. "But I'm what you would call timeless."

"I'd like a divorce." You pulled his left hand away from your torso so you could attempt to pull the band off his ring finger. "Effective immediately."

"We're not married," he murmured teasingly in your ear. "Or did you forget?"

"You finally gonna seal the deal Munson?" you whispered back. "It's only been 10 years."

"Just so you can file for divorce? I don't think so."

"What if I trade you my longevity pin? I think it would look nice on your vest."

"How about...I take you to lunch first?" he asked, voice back to its normal volume. "And we negotiate the terms and conditions? She's got her big corporate lady pants on, trying to get me to sign a contract."

"I guess I could pencil you in," you feigned annoyance and then looked to your assistant manager. "Let me ask my secretary."

Both you and Eddie stared at them expectantly.

"Get out of here," they laughed at your antics. "Before I kick you out; so sweet, you guys make me gag sometimes."

---

The rest of your final shift was eventful, and Eddie sat in the chair of the Ear Piercing station while you chatted with your regular customers and received one visitor after another.

Old employees and coworkers, your mom who made you take a picture with the whole team, and then a very cheesy one with Eddie who dipped you for a kiss at the very last second.

Jen had come around close to 5 to bring even more balloons and a cake, and had made jokes that she was gonna have to haunt the corporate offices even more now.

"So we can talk shit, obviously," she joked.

Eddie had called Kyle up, who was now managing a store in Milwaukee, to tell him both bits of good news and Kyle had made the drive down to bring a sentimental gift to both of you on your last day.

A picture frame with a collage of polaroids from your years at StarCourt. There was a filmstrip from one of the photo-booths that depicted a younger you and Eddie, making funny faces and staring longingly at one another.

"You left this in the stock room once upon a time," he told Eddie as he pointed it out specifically. "That was before you were dating too. I squirreled it away and forgot about it but was gonna keep it in case you never got the courage to ask her out. And look at the two of you now."

"Yeah, Eddie watched you as you caressed the glass. "Look at us now."

"I still think I should have won the bet," Kyle sniffed bitterly.

You had scheduled yourself to close, and you were expertly restocking the scrunchie wall as the last few customers shopped.

Eddie kept snaking his arms around you and switching this scrunchie here for that one there, and you'd whine and complain about him messing up the color flow. Still, you never made any effort to stop him, and each time you stomped your foot petulantly, he would drop a smooch right on your cheek to "earn" your forgiveness.

"You know, this is what I was doing when we first met," you recalled after a few kisses. "Officially met."

"What?" Eddie asked.

"Restocking scrunchies."

"You sure?" he frowned and tried to think back. He vaguely recalled...bracelets of some sort...or had he just been looking at the jewelry. He'd been so nervous to ask you out back then...it was all a blur.

And he hadn't really even asked you out at that time either. Jesus Christ, what a loser he'd been.

Where would the two of you be now if only he hadn't fumbled on that first not-date? Right where you were now? Maybe broken up? A lot of the growing the two of you had done had been done with the soft buffer of friendship first...it almost caused his heart to ache to think that they might have caused an end to a relationship if things had been different.

Because now he couldn't imagine what his life would be like without you.

"You still haven't let me pierce your ears," you leaned in close to him, nose brushing against his, and teased him.

Eddie froze and then backed away.

"Well," he licked over his bottom lip pensively. "It is your last day...the last hour of your shift too...I think I could be persuaded."

You squealed and ran to get the forms ready. You didn't even let him fill them out, you just pushed him back into the seat he'd been occupying all day as you got it all ready.

"No more being afraid of needles babe," you cackled, the kind of cackle he'd only ever heard when you were being especially devious or evil.

"I have tattoos," he argued, trying to stand from the chair in protest, but you pressed your hand to his chest to get him to sit back down. "I have a ton of tattoos; if I was afraid of needles I wouldn't. Your logic is flawed."

"Yeah ok Spock," you dismissed his reasoning. "This one takes a chunk out of you though, so it's different."

"What argument are you trying to win here baby? Are you trying to get me to get my ears pierced or are you trying to get me to admit I'm afraid."

"Dealers Choice."

"You're lucky I love you," he grumbled.

You were silent for a while as you marked his ears, as you snapped on your gloves, and readied the piercing gun.

Was he afraid? No. He trusted you. But damn if the anticipation wasn't making him sweat a little.

Eddie closed his eyes as he prepared himself for the next step, but you paused and made one quick run across the store before returning.

"Alright I have one last important question to ask you," you began, and he peeped an eye open to see you standing there with your hands behind your back. "It's the age old question and I don't think we ever got a solid answer."

You revealed your plunder and then stared at him expectantly.

"Take your pick: broken hearts or gummy bears."

Eddie went soft as he stared at the two sets of studs backed by purple carding: little black broken hearts and the neon green gummy bears.

It was the age old question wasn't it? The first question he asked you before he even asked you out.

"See, if it was still 1985," he tilted his head back and forth, "I think this would be a hard one to figure out."

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah. But uh," he reached out and pointed to his choice. "Now it's a no brainer."

"Seriously?" you laughed.

"Seriously."

"And why are you, Eddie Munson, lead singer of Corroded Coffin, the most metal band on Earth, picking the Gummy Bears?"

"Sweetheart," he singsonged, pausing for dramatic effect. "I think you know."

"I don't think I do," you parroted.

"Ugh," he scoffed and turned his head. "I guess I am the more romantic of the two of us."

"Answer the question, Cassanova."

"Sweetheart," he turned back to you, hand over his heart. "It has to be the gummy bears."

"Has to be?"

"Must be."

"Because..."

"Because I can confidently say that my heart is never gonna be broken if I have you around."

Your challenging gaze softened and Eddie swore that he saw tears at the corners of your eyes. For a moment he didn't know if you were gonna kiss him or start crying.

"Shut the fuck up," your associate shouted from across the store, ruining the sweet moment. "That was so adorable. Oh my god."

"Language Chels!" you scolded her good-naturedly.

And then, in those last few minutes of your career as a store manager, you kissed Eddie softly on his forehead...on his lips...and then punched holes right through both of his earlobes in rapid succession.

"Fuck!" He screamed. "Fuck!"

"I love you," you chuckled at him.

"Yeah. Love you too..." he grimaced. "Fuck! I love you."

---

Thank you for reading The Store Manager Verse.

[twsted-kinks]

Biology Nerd (Malleus X Yuu/Reader)

>minors and ageless dni<

MC/Reader goes by Yuu and gender neutral and fat (I don't really mention that but this is self indulgent and I'm fat so reader is fat)

Something kinda fluffy for once with a bit of spice and a dash of angst

Content Warning: cultural and biological differences, Yuu not knowing about cultural differences and doing romantic and sexual things with others, Malleus letting Yuu touch him inappropriately but Yuu doesn't understand that touching him like that is very intimate and/or sexual for fae/dragons, Malleus being absolutely smitten, some slight Malleus angst about him being lonely, Grim being scared, dragon cuddles

(I'm probably gonna write more spec biology stuff with twst but idk)

Yuu will be the first to say that suddenly being ripped from your home and put into a completely different world where everything you know no longer exists or applies to reality fucking sucks. But, Yuu will also admit that they love having a whole new world to learn about. Learning the basics of a whole knew evolutionary and sociological history with multiple sapient species that are both human and non human while having access to a full college library? Sign them the FUCK up! Crowley was thankful for Yuu's enthusiasm. Simply allowing full access to the library appeased them. Grim did not have fun at first, but having a human look at him in awe helped. Yuu was so curious about his ability to speak and his connection to fire magic. They would not stop asking him so many questions!

Yuu went around learning with wide eyes like a toddler. They at least knew not to just randomly touch people and that it's inappropriate to ask in the first place, but still, they would not stop staring. Leona, Ruggie, and Jack can constantly feel Yuu's eyes on their ears and tails. Leona gets annoyed and snaps at Yuu usually while Ruggie will let Yuu touch then in exchange for either money or food. Jack doesn't comment on it while Yuu does nothing to try to touch him, and Jack is happy to keep it that way.

Floyd and Jade find Yuu's reactions to them to be greatly entertaining. During their first interaction, all of Yuu's friends immediately ran, but Yuu stayed, just staring up at the twins.

"I like y'all's teeth." And with a few simple words, the tweels were glued to Yuu. Yuu is always excited to see their mer form, but will gladly settle on hanging out with the tweels when they got legs. Yuu also enjoys being on teeth cleaning duty. They get to look at cool sharp teeth and a second jaw. They also get free food from the twins, and all they got to do is clean some teeth? Hell yeah! Azul could inform Yuu about what Floyd and Jade opening their mouths means for eel mer culture, but this little arrangement keeps the two out of trouble. Plus, Azul is afraid Yuu will go on a question asking tangent and will ask about Azul's mer form, and he does not want to deal with that.

The species and cultures Yuu knows the least about is the fae. Yuu honestly didn't even notice that fae were a thing until Ace pointed out the ppinty ears, and Yuu just went :o "Holy shit" :D "That's so cool!" Then there was Yuu's first time meeting Malleus. Should Yuu be more concerned about a stranger just wandering around outside their dorm? Yes, but he has HORNS! The first words spoken between the dragon fae and little magicless human were:

"Wow, your horns are pretty."

Malleus was taken aback by this human, just talking to him casually, complimenting his horns, and smiling at him with so much wonder. Even though Malleus never gave his name, his friendship with the human grew fast. Yuu came up with a multitude of names for Malleus, having a new one each time they met. Horton, Sir Hornington, Goth Babe, Briar Boy, Fae Bae, and more, but a few reoccurring ones Malleus adores. Malmal is the most recent iteration of his name that has stuck around the longest. But,, whenever Malleus visits Yuu upset, Yuu always calls him sweetie and tries to comfort him. It's gotten to a point that the Yuu always keeps a tub of ice cream in their freezer specifically for when Malleus is upset.

Malleus always knew Yuu had an interest in the different cultures and species of the Twisted Wonderland, but he didn't understand just how fascinated you were until the time for Halloween came and Yuu saw Malleus's tail for the first time. Malleus remembers it clearly. Yuu stopped a couple feet away from him, gasped, and then screamed "CHONKY TAIL!!!" The human immediately went behind Malleus, started admiring his tail, and asked so many questions. One of them being if they can touch it, and he let you, much to the dismay of Sebek who was trying to get Yuu to be more respectful. Lilia was the only one to pick up on the blush on Malleus's ears. Yuu did mistake Malleus's tail as a part of the costume, not realising it was actually a part of him at first, and apologized, but Malleus assured you it was alright and that the can keep touching his tail. He didn't mind at all.

Now, Malleus almost abuses the admiration Yuu has for his tail. Lilia, Sebek, and Silver absolutely notice his tendency to approach them and, if they were focusing on something that isn't him, Malleus will fwip out his tail and Yuu would become entranced. Yuu just adores Malleus's tail and, whenever given the chance, will touch it, pet it, even just hold it. Malleus finds it endearing and adorable.

And well, Yuu already has permission to touch his tail, why not ask Malleus if they can learn more about his anatomy? Yuu asks to touch Malleus's horns one day. Yuu’s already stepped over the line with touching his tail, so why not let Yuu touch his horns? Malleus has now turned into Yuu's personal lapcat much to Grim’s dismay. Malleus has gifted the human with a kit for horn cleaning and visits Ramshackle regularly so he can rest his head in Yuu’s lap and have them clean his horns. Yuu is pretty sure Malleus dirties his horns on purpose just so they wil clean them, but they don't mind.

One day though, during the weekend, Yuu invites Malleus over for a full-blown sleepover. Malleus is ecstatic and quickly informs his entourage. Sebek is fully against it while Lilia and Silver think this wil be good for Malleus, though Silver wants the three of them to tag along as well. It takes some convincing, but Lilia convinces the other to let Malleus have his alone time with the child of man. Malleus packs his essentials and teleports to Ramshackle to find the prefect and Grim gathering pillows and blankets, getting materials ready to build a pillow fort.

Malleus has an absolute blast. Such simple games and activities he’s never experienced before, Malleus enjoys it all. Everything is going smoothly, Malleus is relaxing, face cuddled into Yuu’s chest. A moving picture plays on the human’s little screen device while Grim snores as he sleeps on a pillow twice his size. Yuu is petting Malleus's hair, running their fingers through it when they pause at his bangs. They shift the hair covering his forehead and gasps.

“You got scales there?” Yuu says in astonishment as they study the black scales on Malleus's forehead.

“Hm? Have you not seen them before now?” Malleus asks.

“I guess I haven't.” Yuu runs their fingers across the scales. “They're pretty. I'm surprised you don't have more scattered around.”

“Oh, I do, but I find others are less intimidated when they're hidden. My clothing preferences hide a majority, but I also utilize magic to hide some of the more obvious ones.”

“But they're so pretty!” Yuu whines but then backpedals. “I mean- If you feel more comfortable hiding them then go ahead, but I bet they're very pretty.”

“Glamor is common among the fae. Changing my skin takes little effort and is of little consequence.”

“You mean your makeup?”

“It is similar to that, yes.”

“Huh, well it's your face.” Yuu shrugs. “You can do want you want, but I bet you look cute with your scales out.”

And with that, the fae leans up and parts of his face shift, revealing small scales around his outer eyes, below and behind his ears, and along the back and sides of his neck. Yuu stares at Malleus, making the fae worry for a moment, until, suddenly, the human’s hands are on Malleus's cheeks.

“Holy shit!” Yuu squees as they look over Malleus's face. “How the fuck did you make yourself prettier!”

The dragon fae’s eyes are wide for a moment, the tips of his ears a light pink, and then he chuckles. “You are truly unique, child of man.”

“Me?” Yuu laughs. “You're the one with scales here! Just- look at how the light refracts off of them! They look black, but then the light bounces off and parts of them look purple!”

“Oh?” Malleus has never noticed that before.

“You even got little ones here too!” One of Yuu’s hands moves to Malleus's ear, fingers tracing the shell.

Malleus freezes then gulps. Yuu’s fingers run up the edge of his ear, pauses at the top, then runs back down to his lobe. Malleus buries his face back into Yuu’s chest. The tips of Malleus's ears burn red, he hopes Yuu doesn't notice.

“Ah, shit.” Yuu pulls their hand away. “Do you have sensitive ears? I should've asked.”

“It’s alright.” Malleus pulls away slightly and murmurs. “It felt nice. I do not mind you touching my ears.”

“You sure?”

“I would like for you to continue.” Malleus says with a thump coming after when his tail hits the floor.

“What? Want me to massage your ears and tail?” Yuu asks with a chuckle. “Need me to get your back too?”

“Yes, that should be adequate.”

Yuu laughs, brings both of their hands to Malleus's ears, and begins to rub them. Malleus lets out a deep sigh as he practically melts under the human’s touch. Yuu continues rubbing the dragon falls ears and and coos "If you want me to get your back, you're gonna need to move."

"No." Malleus hums into Yuu's chest. "Ears now. Focus on my ears."

"Alright, alright." Yuu chuckles. What Yuu doesn't know is just how intimate this is for fae. Touching a fae's ears is considered a very intimate activity done between mates because their ears are a major erogenous zone. At this point, Malleus isn't sure about his relationship with Yuu, but Yuu touching his ears feels right to him. The fae's eyes dilate as his breathing becomes heavier the more Yuu touches his ears. The end of Malleus's tails lightly thumps onto the floor again and again.

"I don't get it." Yuu moves one of their hands into Malleus's hair and runs their fingers down to feel the scales on his neck. "I don't get how people can be so scared of you when you're basically an oversized puppy but reptilian."

A deep vibration grumbles from Malleus's chest and he lifts himself up, facing Yuu. The whites of his eyes have turned a glowing green and more scales have appeared encasing most of his neck and shoulders. The thin tips of a forked tongue poke out from and slip back into his mouth.

Yuu cups both of Malleus's cheeks in their hands and smiles. "Just a big adorable boy."

The sound of ripping fabric startles Yuu for a moment as black wings begin to tear their way from the back of Malleus's night shirt and spread open. Yuu looks at them, eyes wide, as they reach out and touch the leathery skin.

"You are truly extraordinary, child of man."

"Says the man who just sprouted wings in front of me."

"But you do not look at me with fear. You do not look at me with an otherworldly reverence. When you look at me you..." Malleus rests his hand over the one against his cheek.

"Malmal." Yuu's face shifts to a look of worry. "You okay? You can talk to me if you want."

Malleus gazes at Yuu. There' so much he wants to say, but he hesitates.

"But-" Yuu adds. "If you don't feel like talking now, we can just keep cuddling, or do you want me to massage your tail? Or maybe your wings?"

Malleus smiles. "I would enjoy that."

~~Meanwhile~~

"Hornton is gonna kill my henchman!" Grim runs on all four into the Diasomnia dorm, screaming at the top of his lungs. He quickly gains the attention of some dorm members including Sebek and Lilia (who drags a sleeping Silver behind him).

"How dare you use such a name for the Young Master!" Sebek is screaming back. Silver finally wakes up from all of the screaming, so him and Lilia get Grim and Sebek to stop screaming and have Grim finally explain why he's there.

"I heard a ripping sound and woke up to see big wings and a pair of glowing eyes on top of my henchman. That prince of yours is going to eat them!"

"Oh?" Lilia coos with a smirk. "I don't think that will be happening, at least not the type you're thinking. Still, I have not had the talk yet with that boy, so maybe we should drop by before we're stuck with a political crisis."

With a quick teleportation spell, all four are just outside the Ramshackle Dorm. The door is slammed open to reveal a dragon (that is way too big to be in the common area) curled up, sleeping like a cat, with a little human laying across his snout and forehead, passed out with a smile on their face.

[apompkwrites]

the ashengrotto's friend || azul ashengrotto

masterlist characters: azul (platonic), ocs :D genre: fluff (just a regular lore part) contains: very quick chapter to establish something, azul's dad (mentioned once), oc introduction (can't wait to talk about them more :D) summary: a single spell can lead to a new adventure. notes: oh wow hi again I'm not dead :). um just fell out of writing for a good while but guess who's starting their second college term in like 3 weeks :D wooo. anyway, just a quick chapter so I can introduce someone :)) parts: [og post] | [previous] | [next]

the voice was soft and airy, akin to your brother's when he was first waking up in the morning or your mother's when she wasn't in her work mode (which was very rare at this point). when you looked up, you were greeted with another cecaelia.

their skin was dark, almost pitch black. their tentacles had bright blue tips that seemed to glow in the water. however, as opposed to your tentacles, theirs were connected with thin webbing. their hair was a rusty red color, their curls bobbing in the water and covering their right eye. the one eye you could see was crystal blue, wide and full of curiosity just like your brother. two fins stuck out from their curls, drooping a bit to their sea floor.

"how'd you do that?" they repeated, pointing at the water that swirled in towards the paper.

you couldn't say anything at first. be it because you were afraid of interaction or because you genuinely had no idea what you just did, you weren't sure. but, no matter the cause, your silence seemed to only stoke the flames of the cecaelia's curiosity.

"i've never seen magic like that..." they muttered, drifting down to the seafloor in front of you. they settled down, their tentacles resting on the sand. "what was it?"

"um..." you managed to utter, your hand shakily reaching out to grab your pen. "i-i don't... um..."

"can you do it again?" they asked, seemingly unphased by your stammering. they stared at you, their single blue eye that you could see wide with amazement. "please?"

you could only nod and grab another spare piece of paper. you flipped it over, brushing it off as a simple contract draft your mother had written in her spare time, and began scribbling on the paper again. you made the same sigil, an s surrounded by arrows and a single, large circle.

immediately, the same reaction occurred. a vortex formed, swirling about and dragging the water and seaweed closer to the paper. the cecaelia beamed from fin to fin, clapping their hands excitedly like a child.

"your magic is so cool!" they cheered, their eye seemingly sparkling as they stared at you.

"th...thank you..." you mutter under your breath. the cecaelia smiled softly at you, finally noticing your nervousness.

"i'm hemming." they introduced, holding out their hand. "it's nice to meet you!"

"...(name)." you whispered, slowly and shakily taking their hand in yours. "nice to... meet you, too..."

hemming was nice. and curious. you liked that about them. with your brother slowly drifting away from you in favor of his magical studies and the tweels, hemming somehow filled his place in your heart. they reminded you of azul with their wide-eyed fascination for all things in the world.

hemming's visits motivated you to work harder, as well. it seems both you and azul got your hard-working diligence from your mother. each time hemming swam their way over to you, you would have a new sigil to show them. and, no matter how small and mundane the spell was, hemming rewarded you with amazed cheers and genuine cries of awe.

however, you did wonder where exactly hemming came from. you had seen plenty of merpeople come and go, but you never knew where they went when the time for two to part came.

"hemming." you called to them one day. "where do you live? is it far?"

"mm, a bit..." hemming hummed, their voice trailing off near the end. "...promise you won't freak out?"

"i promise."

hemming paused once more. they were nervous, maybe just as nervous as you were when you first met them. they took a quick glance around as if making sure no one was listening.

they looked back at you.

then took one more glance around.

"...the abyss." hemming whispers. the moment that name leaves their lips, a chill runs down through your tentacles.

your mother had only mentioned the abyss once. it was where your father would move to once the divorce was finalized.

hemming fidgeted under your gaze. and the longer you stared, the more they trembled.

"i'm sorry... i... i'll go--"

"no!" you don't know what compelled you to cry out or to grab their wrist. but you did. and hemming stared back at you with wide eyes. and the next words that fell from your lips shocked you more than they did hemming.

"can i visit?"

hemming swam home that night pleasantly surprised. they had tried to make friends before, but never once did they find one that was willing to go to the abyss. they were certain that the moment the question of where they lived came up, they were bound to lose a friend again.

but not this time.

and so, as they swam home, their thoughts had a single cecaelia floating about. a single, magical cecaelia.

"hemming?" ah, they hadn't realized they were home already.

their brother stood above them, towering over them as he always did. his thin and frail-looking tentacles floated beneath him, dragging across the endless floor of black. their hair fell in front of their face in long strands, framing their frail face.

"what's got your head in the seas today?" his brother asked quietly.

"oh, nothing." hemming grinned. "i just... made a really good friend."

taglist: @brokenncrown @help-meplz @destinationdesignation @rainys-personal-garden @kalims @sxftiebee @luxaryllis @auld-a @the-dumber-scaramouche @ayra2452008 @tinywho-man @spadecentral @justeclem44 @bajifairyy @mulandi @sadimon @stormyovent0aster @sn00zl4x @f1fty-f1fty @bloomed-night-flower @madusas-girlfriend @b0nkers-papaya @arandomeroacher @randonamedcl @potabletable @meerpea @luvcalico @chlousp @prettyinblack231 @dindarasuum @elizaboba @ravenlking @reveristmain @lasignoramybeloved @poto-de-michi @sherryuki-callmeyuki @cadit-in-aestus-sidereum @valeriele3 @munchkinkazooie @venusdandy

[justmeinadaze]

Good Neighbors Part 12 (Steddie X Reader)

A/N: I have one more chapter of this guys *cries*. I'm going to miss them when the time comes!

Warnings: Steddie smut and all that that implies (I regret nothing), Cameo from Wayne being a cute grandpa and the elder Harringtons being assholes. Lots of fluff. Like ALL the fluff lol

Word count: 3012

“Wow. This place is beautiful.” You fling yourself excitedly from the dining room of the home you four were looking at into the kitchen. 

“Mom! The rooms upstairs are big!”, Dylan’s feet stomp as he runs down the stairs. 

“Kid! Chill out. We don’t live here yet.”, Eddie giggles as he follows after him. 

“It’s right within your budget and down the street from this guy’s school.”, the realtor smiles at your son. 

“What do you guys think?”

“I like it. It’s closer to Robin to so I can sleep in longer before picking her ass up.”, Steve grins at the notion. 

“Oh, you know me, babe. I come from a trailer so this is like a palace to me.”

“Wonderful.” The realtor slams his briefcase on the desk and pulls out some paperwork. “Go ahead and fill these out. I can get that process started immediately. He points to sections on the documents, explaining things as you. “Now you and your husband will put your banking info and work information here—”, he gestures to you and Eddie. 

“Oh, um, I’m not her husband technically. Is that a problem?”

“No! Not at all.” He glances at Steve who shakes his head. “Ok, so then you’ll just put single for everyone and I’m going to need some more information for the three of you. I’m sorry for assuming. You said ‘babe’ and I just—”

“It’s ok. I’d like to marry her one day.”, Eddie leans over kisses your cheek. 

“Ew!” Dylan pretends to gag.

“Hey! You calm down over there.” The metalhead kicks his foot in his direction making Dylan laugh. 

################

“Hey Eddie.”, Wayne greets you guys from his place on the steps outside of his trailer. “And friends.”

“You smoke like Eddie!”, Dylan points at the man in front of him. 

“Oh my god. He used to have manners.” You look at him apologetically as Wayne chuckles. 

“Oh, don’t even worry about it, Y/N. That’s nothing compared to how this one was. Well, come on in. Where’s Steven?”

“He had to work but we were in the neighborhood looking at a house and I thought we could come by so you can finally meet this weird kid.” Eddie gestures at Dylan who responds by sticking out his tongue. 

“That’s thrilling. It will be nice to have a bigger place, I bet.”

The four of you spent the rest of the afternoon together. Wayne was wonderful with Dylan. You could see when they interacted that he was happy to be around a kid again. After lunch, he took your son outside to show him the land and the car he was trying to tune up. You grinned as you watched Eddie’s uncle point to things under the hood and explain to Dylan what they were.

After coming back inside to use the restroom, you found yourself distracted by Eddie’s room. You had been in here once before but because you were taking care of him you didn’t really get to look around. You ran your fingers over the posters on the wall, beaming at the doodles scrawled in random places. There were notebooks on the dresser and you grabbed one before lying down on his bed. God, it still smelled like him. 

“Get lost, Princess?”

“In your past, yeah.”

Eddie grins as he crawls into the bed, lying on his back beside you. You pointed at the writing in his journal. 

“Was this for you Dungeons and Dragons thing?”

“Yes, ma’am. One of the campaigns we did.” He watches your face as your eyes scan over the material. 

“This is really cool. I don’t understand why people would make fun of you for it. The fact that most of this came from your mind? Wow.”

When you turned your head to meet his gaze, you were met with his lips. “I wish we had known you in high school.”

You grin at him as you close the distance again, kissing him slow at first before it steadily grew more heated. Eddie quickly lifted his head, glancing out the window to make sure Dylan and Wayne were still preoccupied. 

“We’ll have to be quiet.”, he whispers as he presses his mouth to yours. Reaching down, you fumble with his belt buckle before unbuttoning his pants, pulling them down just enough to free his cock from his boxers. 

Eddie spits in his hand as your hips rise off the bed so you can push down your shorts. He pumps his length a few times before position himself outside your entrance. Your head lifts up slightly as you watch him guide his dick inside of you. You both groan as his head falls between your shoulder and neck. 

He’s quick and precise with his movements, knowing you both only have a short window of time. 

“Fuck, Eddie, baby. Just like that.” You murmur into the fluff of his hair as your hands tug at his shirt. His mouth attaches to your throat as he tries to muffle the grunts that escape. One particularly hard thrust hit your g-spot just right making you cry out causing Eddie’s hand to fly up and cover your mouth. 

“Quiet, Princess.” He chuckles as he bites his bottom lip. “You feel so fucking good, Y/N. Can you cum for me?”

With his palm still blocking your lips, you reached up pushing two of your fingers into his mouth that he eagerly sucks on, coating with his saliva. Bringing those digits between your legs, you rapidly began rubbing fast circles into your clit as Eddie thrusts into you faster to match your pace. 

As soon as he felt your pussy fluttering around him, he removed his hand replacing it with his lips as he swallowed and stifled every one of your whimpers as you came around him. He didn’t stop kissing you till his rhythm become sloppier and you felt him cum inside of you. 

Eddie gently pulls out before rolling on to his back and gasping for air. He takes your hand in his and bring it to his lips placing a tender kiss on the back of it. 

“I love you, Sweetheart.”

“Mom! Mom! Come check this out!”, Dylan calls for you outside. 

While you’re pulling up your shorts you lean over and kiss Eddie’s soft, beautiful lips. “I love you to.”

You smile at Wayne as you pass him, heading towards the hood of the car your son is leaning over while Eddie sits on the front steps with his uncle who offers him a cigarette. 

“I like them.” Wayne lights the cigarette before passing his lighter to his nephew. “Kid has picked up a lot from you it seems.”

“Oof. Hopefully not too much.”

His uncle glances over at him for a moment before focusing on the sight in front of him. “Eddie, you aren’t your dad and no matter what you think or feel you will never be him. You would never hurt that kid and that woman there would never allow it. She’s not your mother.”

Eddie’s eyes remained on you two but Wayne knew he was listening. 

“He called himself my son a couple of weeks ago.”

“And how did that make you feel?”

The metalhead smiled before taking another drag of his cigarette. “Proud.” When Eddie finally turned his head, he saw his uncle grinning. “Wayne, I never thanked you. For taking me in.”

Wayne’s grin grew as he tossed the butt of his cigarette into the yard. 

“You never needed to, kid,”

###################

Steve knocked on the door to his parent’s house before slowly opening it and guiding you two inside. 

“Steve, honey, are you sure you want to do this?”, you whisper to him as you wrap your arm around his waist. 

“Yeah. It’ll be fine, I’m sure. My mom wanted to meet ‘the kid I’ve been seen with’ and my dad is at work so it shouldn’t be too chaotic.”

“Steven!” A beautiful brunette woman meets him halfway in the living room and quickly envelopes him in her arms. 

“Hey mom.”, he grins down at her. “This is Y/N and this little man here is Dylan.”

Unlike with Eddie’s uncle something about Steve’s mom made your son nervous as he remained hidden behind your leg. The man beside you immediately notices and bends down to take the boy in his strong, protective arms. “It’s ok, dude. This is my mom. She’s nice.”

“Oh, that’s ok. I can come on a bit strong! Hi there.”

Dylan politely smiles as he gives her a small hello. His mother reaches out to shake your hand and you grin politely as well. She leads you all to a dining room table where lunch has been premade and set out. Your son jumps on one of the chairs and reaches for a sandwich. 

The atmosphere remained awkward as small talk was made. Steve had never really told you anything bad about his mom but you knew enough about her to be hesitant. If you had been her you never would have allowed Steve to grow up in the environment he had feeling unloved and underappreciated. 

“So Y/N, you were married previously?”

Her question shoved you out of your thoughts. “Yes ma’am I was.”

“May I ask what happened?” 

“Hey Dylan. My old room is down the hall there. Why don’t you take my phone and go watch something.”, Steve hands him his device before watching him disappear down the hallway. 

“Mom, that was rude.”

“What? I’m just curious!”

“It’s ok, Steve.” You reach under the table to take his hand in yours. “He was having an affair.”

“Pfft, I know how that goes.” You and Steve stare at her as she takes a sip of wine from her glass. “My husband tries to hide it but as you figured out they aren’t really good at it.”

“Can we not do this right now?”, Steve begs. As if on cue, the front door opens loudly causing his eyes to squeeze shut. “Shit.”

“Well, this is a nice surprise.”, Mr. Harrington throws his suitcase on the couch before entering the dining room. 

“Speak of the devil.”, his mom raises her glass in his direction. “How was work, honey?”

“Good. Good. Exhausting.”

“I bet.”, she spits.

“Should I go get Dylan?”, you whisper to Steve and he gently nods before reassuringly squeezing your fingers. 

You politely smile as you pass his father and powerwalk to find your son. 

“So, Steven… still playing the family man I see.”

“I’m not ‘playing’, Dad.” Steve rises from his chair to face his father. “Y/N and I have been together for almost a year. I love her and I love that kid.”

“Yeah, well, you can’t pay the bills with love. I heard you’re looking into getting a new house. That’s exciting. Can Family Video cover a mortgage? What about things children need to survive, Steven? Do you even know what a kid needs?”

“Do you!?”, Steve snaps. “I may not know everything but at least I know not to abandon him to fend for himself while I go off to work conventions and parties fucking anything with legs.”

His father straightened up, challenging his son with his frame. “You better watch who you’re talking to, Steven. There may a come a time, and knowing you there will be one, when you need some financial support and I won’t be there to bail you out.”

“Dylan, wait!” Your son flew into the room and pushed himself between the two men. He looked up at Mr. Harrington with angry eyes. 

“Don’t talk to him that way! Steve is my dad and you should be nice!”

His father looked down at Dylan in complete bewilderment. Steve collected him in his arms and the boy promptly wrapped his arms around his neck. 

“Do whatever you want, Dad but no matter what this is my family.” He reaches for your hand which you eagerly take and head out the front door. 

##############

“Hey, you good, little man?”, Steve asks Dylan as they enter your apartment. 

“I’m ok. Are you? When my daddy was mean to me it always made me feel bad.”

“I’m ok. Thank you for sticking up for me.” You son smiles up him before running to turn on the tv. 

“Hey, weirdo. I’m going to take Steve in my room so we can talk for a bit. Try not to burn the place down.” 

He scrunches his tiny face at you and you do the same back. Grabbing Steve’s hand, you lead him into your room. As soon as you turn to face him, his lips are on yours. He walks you back towards your bathroom, quickly shutting the door and pushing you against it. 

His mouth sucks and bites at your neck as his fingers pull at your jeans, roughly tugging them down. As soon as you step out of them, he lifts you by your thighs on to the counter. Steve holds your legs open as he sinks to the floor, pressing his face into your cunt.

You moan as his tongue invades your entrance. “Steve, please.”

He licks up your folds, pausing to wrap his mouth around your clit making your squirm. You watch him multitask as his hands reach down to pull off belt and push down his pants. 

“Steve, please.”, you beg again. “I want to feel you inside of me.”

He rises back up to his feet, pumping his cock with the precum that was leaking out before pushing himself inside of your needy pussy. Your arms wrapped around his neck as you whimpered. 

“Are you ok?”, he panted as he carefully pushed himself further into you. “You’re… really fucking tight.” His head falls on to yours as he leans in to place a kiss on your lips. 

“Yeah, I’m ok. Just go slow at first.”

“Anything for you, baby. I’m sorry.”

“Steve,” you giggle. “It’s fine. You two are just wearing this old lady out.”

A mix between a chuckle and moan escape his mouth. “You’re not old and I meant about today with my parents.”

He stood still when he bottomed out, just relishing in the feel of you around him. “Honey, you have no reason to be sorry.” You tenderly push his hair away from his forehead. “I’m sorry you have to put up with that.”

Steve begins steadily thrusting into you, sucking his bottom lip between his teeth. “Jesus…”

“You…you can go a little faster now.”

His arms loop under your knees, lifting them up and sliding you closer to the edge of the sink. With his cock pumping into you more rapidly at this new angle, you felt like you were coming undone. You clasped your hand over your mouth to control the urge to scream out his name. 

Steve feels your pussy tightening around him as he drops one of your legs to rub his thumb over your clit. Your body shakes as you cum, your hand lunging for his own. 

Gripping both your legs again, he thrusts harder into you chasing his own high. His waist sputters as he releases deep within your body. 

After he pulls out of your now sore and sensitive hole, he reaches for the washrag in the cabinet and cleans you up. 

“Steve?” He answers you with a hm as he focuses on his task. “You’re not like him, you know. Your dad.”

He throws the rag in the sink behind you and lifts you up to place you back down on your feet. 

“I know.”

“Steve.” You playfully raise an eyebrow in his direction as he slides your panties up your hips. 

“I just… you’ll never have to worry, ok? I would never make you feel like I don’t appreciate you or that I don’t care about Dylan.”

“He called you dad.” You smile as he blushes, pulling up his pants. “How did it feel?”

“Good. The fact that he feels that way about us… it’s an honor. Scary but…”, he laughs.

“Welcome to being a parent! It’s always scary but worth it. When he was born, I remember being terrified that I was going to fuck up but when I held him and he looked up at me I knew. I knew I would do anything I could to protect this kid and make him happy.”

Steve tugs on your shirt, pulling you to him for a hug. 

##################

“So… they are going to Rivendell to destroy the ring?”, Steve’s eyebrows furrow as he glances at Eddie before focusing his attention back to the tv. 

“Noooo… they are going to Mordor to destroy the ring. They just left Rivendell.” You giggle at Eddie’s tone as he tries to not come off as annoyed.

“Mordor is the only place that can destroy it.”, Dylan’s eyes remain glued to the screen in front of him. 

Your phone on the counter rings and you smile as you get up to answer it, listening to them continue to banter. 

“See? He’s seven and he’s paying more attention.”

“I’m paying attention! There are just too many weird names to remember.”

“Hello?”, you laugh out. There’s silence as you listen to the person on the other end speak. “Oh my god. Thank you! Thank you so much!”

Steve pauses the movie as you hang up jumping towards your three boys with giddy excitement. “We got it. We got the house!”

“Are you serious?!” he gets up quickly, wrapping you in his arms.

“Wow, that’s fucking amazing. I don’t think I’ve lived in an actual house before.”, Eddie grins as you smack his chest before placing a kiss on his lips. 

“When are we moving?”, Dylan asks from his place by your side. 

You reach down to tussle his hair. “Um, next month. Jesus, there’s a lot we need to do beforehand.”

“Ay, Princess. Breathe. We have plenty of time. Tomorrow we can sort all that out. Today, we make fun of Harrington for not understanding Lord of the Rings.”

“It’s not my fault this stuff is confusing!”

#############

@adequate-superstar @kalinaselennespeaks

@luna-munson83 @decadentwombatmiracle

@katie-tibo @marsupiooo @local-stoner-bitch

@steamystrangerfics @lunatictardis

@actuallyspencerreid @moviefreak1205

@waylandmorgernsternherondal-blog

@kik51199 @strngrlytn @idkidknemore

@damon-loves-pie @k-k0129 @micheledawn1975

@eddie86baby @justmeandmymeanderingthoughts

@3rriberri @sashaphantomhive @chelebelletx @big-ope-vibes

[robotlesbianjavert]

WE'RE WINNING SO FAR........ I'M SCARED FOR THE NEXT SUMMARY PARAGRAPH THOUGH......

okay okay. leaks done. my rough thoughts ahead of sleeping on it/receiving full translations. i should update these when we do get something more proper though.

the bad

deku didn't kill himself out of respect for spinner's grief

deku getting to be cool and composed. he doesn't deserve it, he should be killing himself.

spinner blaming himself for not saving shigaraki sooner while he was possessed with afo like babe that is NOT your fault. i already saw one take being like wow it's so great that a character is finally taking accountability which is insane to me because WHY of all possible characters is it spinner and not a single person in power. what could spinner possibly do at the juncture he was in. go to the heroes? who killed twice and actively wanted shigaraki dead? take shigaraki and flee with his non-existent resources and inability to get shigaraki un-possessed? like fuck off. point that demand from accountability from characters it actually matters from.

the shoji mention. why is spinner calling him octopus. is it to continue to paint him in a villainous manner. why is he wishing him luck. why is spinner throwing a microaggression at shoji, is this to remind us readers that ooooohhhh spinner is suuuuch a hypocritical baddie or is it him being like, bitterly ironic. recognizing that shoji is trying Something but not really believing that Something will work. it's tone-deaf but so is everything about shoji. i just don't want spinner dragged through the mud on that.

like the balance of plotlines with "heteromorph discrimination" and "devotion to shigaraki" was always going to be dubious since MVA, i remember wondering where horikoshi would lean ahead of the hospital raid mini-arc, and obviously that Sucked Like Hell when it came to capitalizing on any meaningful commentary about discrimination but was awesome for the devotion bits. so seeing that shoji reference here reminds me of that imbalance. putting the emphasis on the devotion, which is ultimately the catalyst of spinner's development, but neglecting and worsening the discrimination bits, which formed the background of why spinner ends up so devoted to shigaraki in the first place. fuck it, it sucks.

deku doesn't deserve to remember shigaraki forever, because he should be killing himself, on page in front of a live studio audience. when he says he'll never forget shigaraki for the rest of his life it's because the end of his life will be five minutes from now.

why are support items enough to wake pops from a coma NOW. why are we skirting around the fact that deku was holding an old man's fate hostage in order to force a victim into being interacted with by her abuser because he's being emotionally blackmailed into it.

why are we ending on a gag. spinner is in widow mode but bakugou and todoroki are now forced to contend with fangirls. whatever.

deku should kill himself. because he hasn't deserved a single damn thing in this chapter so far besides admitting he's a murderer.

seriously there is no reality where spinner should be holding himself accountable for failing shigaraki. what the fuck was he supposed to do. refuse afo and get MURDERED? get packed with MORE quirks so that brain death was inevitable? approach a hero and get MURDERED? fuck off either the story needs to provide a tangible path for spinner to have taken that he denied or admit that he was powerless.

THE GOOD which i know. is shocking from me at this point.

so far i feel like spinner's outbursts and emotions are more or less validated and humanized by the narrative - throughout the leaks, i felt like he was held up as the positive counterpart that the readers are supposed to emphasize with over the citizens - who i'm sure we're supposed to see as Valid, but ultimately unknowing of the full story, inconsiderate and unchanged.

i can legally call deku a murderer! he admitted it! no one can stop me now!

while i can imagine a better manga where spinner as a creative is properly sprinkled in beyond the meaning behind his name, me and @codenamesazanka have tossed around the idea of spinner as a storyteller enough that i feel validated that spinner wants to tell shigaraki's story, and is the figure that ultimately humanizes shigaraki the most. i have some concern about attempts to go in on an agle where spinner is someone who only recognizes the "destructive" parts of shigaraki, but in the wider context like yeah. it should be spinner who tells shigaraki's story, and if nothing else is best positioned to portray him as a full person.

it's nice that pops isn't ditching chisaki after everything. i would very much like to know more about like, if pops is just not allowed to retake custody of eri or if he's choosing not to pursue it, if he has any deeper thoughts there. but it's nice that he's not giving up on the kid he raised into a life of crime.

spinner is gay. sure the chapter didn't say this outright but like he's gay and we know this. we can intuit.

sooooo funny after people complaining that shigaraki didn't leave last words for any other league members that this chapter goes out of it's way to specify that Yeah His Final Words Were For Spinner And For Spinner Alone. i've been bitter about shigaraki not getting to properly interact with the entire league since 2019 but this is funny why did the manga wait so long to confirm that shigaraki also cared about spinner instead of it being entirely one-sided.

[willalove75]

Hii, can I request Rebecca X reader. Something similar to the plot where she met the Dutch man and had an amazing day . She met reader is Paris (the most beautiful woman line is so 🥺). they met in a bar or coffee shop and spent a wonderful weekend together ? Rebecca is surprised that reader still wants to see her considering she's younger . She actually felt free and happy ,no stress and not judged . Flirting, fluff , anything. You write her character so well and accurately 😁

I LOVE THIS🥺🥺 And thank you so much!! I'm glad I'm able to do her justice!😄💕

Thank you so much for the request!!💕💕

Walking through the streets of Paris, you're trying your best to not get lost. You left your hostel almost an hour ago trying to find the café you went to the day before but since you know virtually no French, your search hasn't been going well.

You stumble across a different café, it wasn't the one you were looking for but you're in desperate need of food and caffeine so you cut your losses and walk in.

You walk up to the counter and butcher your order of a tea and croissant, the barista manages to understand you, but you still receive a ton of dirty looks from the staff and other patrons of the café.

You're handed your order and turn to find a place to sit down. In the corner of the shop you see a beautiful blond woman gazing out the window, sipping on her drink. The café isn't super crowded, but you decide to shoot your shot and ask her if you can join her. She's absolutely stunning so it takes you a few seconds to gain up the courage to put one foot in front of the other.

As you're walking over she looks away from the window and your eyes meet, her gorgeous green eyes take your breath away for a moment. It's in that second you realize that there's a good chance she's French and doesn't speak any English and you start to panic, but you can't back out now. You take the last few steps up to her table and she smiles at you.

"Hi, um, is this seat taken?" You shyly ask.

The woman smiles, her eyes sparkling, it would be a miracle if she understands you right now.

"No, not at all."

You exhale a sigh of relief and sit down.

"Oh thank god you speak English. It didn't dawn on me that there was a really good chance you only spoke French until it was too late for me to abandon ship." You say with a laugh as you sit.

The woman softly laughs. "Well today must be your lucky day."

"It certainly seems that way. I'm y/n, sorry for interrupting your breakfast, this might sound super cheesy but I saw you and I was like 'wow she's absolutely beautiful' and I had to at least try and talk to you." You look away as you feel your cheeks getting red.

"You're so sweet, thank you so much. I'm Rebecca." She reaches out her hand and you shake it. "So what brings you to Paris y/n?"

"My friend and I were supposed to come here together but she got covid before we left so she couldn't come."

"Oh no, so you're here all by yourself?" She asks.

"Yup, it's even more unfortunate because she was the one who spoke French and I don't speak an ounce of it, so it's safe to say that most of the people I interact with are not my biggest fans." You say as you look over at the barista who catches your eye and gives you a dirty look. You turn back to Rebecca and you both laugh. "So why are you in Paris?"

"I had some time off from work so I decided to go on a little trip by myself."

"Oh that's cool, I'm guessing you speak French?"

"Oui, je parle couramment le français."

(Yes, I am fluent in French)

"I have no idea what any of that meant but I'm going to take a wild guess and say that's a yes?"

"Yes," she says with a laugh. "It means 'yes, I'm fluent in French.'"

"Oh that's really cool! Where did you learn French?"

"I learned it in school, we started learning young and I picked it up really easily. Do you know any languages?"

"Not really, I took Spanish in middle school and high school but I didn't like it and forgot just about all of it by the time I graduated. I do know sign language though. Well, American sign language that is."

"That's really interesting, how much sign language do you know?"

"I'm pretty much fluent." You begin to sign as you speak. "I can practically have this whole conversation in asl. I took a few classes in high school because my friend convinced me to sign up for it and I fell in love with it. They offered asl classes at my college so I just kept with it. I don't get to use it often, but it's a fun party trick." You say with a laugh.

You watch Rebecca follow your hands as you sign, she looks mesmerized by it, like she's watching a ballet dancer.

"That's really, really fascinating." She says with a smile.

"Yeah, but I do have to be careful when I'm not in the US because signs in asl could mean something completely different in another languages sign language. With my luck I'll sign a song I'm listening to or something and end up accidentally cursing out an old man." You say with a laugh.

Rebecca laughs and you take a sip of your tea as you giggle.

"Where are you from in America?" Rebecca asks.

"I'm from New York." You say with a smile.

"Oh you're from New York City?"

You laugh "No, although it's always really funny to me that everyone assumes you're from NYC when you tell someone who's not from New York that you're from New York. I'm from the suburbs, but the city is only like an hour or so away. Where are you from?"

"I can understand that, I'm from London."

"Oh cool! I'm actually going there on Monday! Where in London? Like near Buckingham Palace?"

Rebecca laughs "No, New York and London are similar in that it seems that people assume when you say you're from there, they automatically think of the city. I live in Richmond, about 45 minutes from Buckingham Palace."

"Ah, I guess New York and London are much more similar than I would have expected."

"Will you be travelling to London by yourself as well?" She asks.

"Yup, we were going to spend five days in Paris and five in London and then head home, although I may extend my stay if I'm really enjoying myself in London, but we'll see."

"Ten days is a long time to be alone." She says.

"Oh it sure is, I was starting to go a little stir crazy which is also one of the reasons I decided to come talk to you. But mostly because you're really beautiful and I knew I was going to kick myself if I didn't at least try to strike up a conversation with you."

You swear you see Rebecca blush a little as she brings her cup to her lips. She looks out the window and back at you.

"This may ridiculous, and please don't feel obligated to say yes, but I was going to take a walk along the Seine, would you like to join me?"

You begin to feel butterflies in your stomach and you immediately try and squash them.

"Yes, absolutely. I would love to."

You finish your drink and your croissant and you both leave the café and head towards the Seine. You make small talk as you walk, Rebecca points out different buildings and structures, talking about their history. You watch her as she talks about what you two walk past, the passion she has in her eyes and the excitement that radiates off of her is precious, even though you barely know each other, you feel a bond already.

"So what have you done so far since you've been here?" She asks.

"Well, I got in really early Wednesday morning so I checked in and just wandered around for most of the day, truthfully I got lost for about three hours and managed to find my way back by some miracle." You both laugh. "And Thursday I went to Versailles and spent the day there and yesterday I walked around the Louvre for the entire day on accident, that place is massive. But I've just been doing touristy things for the most part."

"You haven't been to the Eiffel Tower yet?" She asks.

"Not yet, I mean I've seen it, but I was planning on doing that sometime today, I want to see it sparkle at night. I heard it was beautiful."

"It is very pretty, although I did tell a friend of mine once that the Eiffel Tower was just a lamppost with a publicist."

You laugh out loud "Stop, that's really fucking funny."

The two of you walk around some more, making small talk, laughing, just genuinely enjoying each others company.

After a few hours of walking around you both decide you need a rest. Rebecca says she knows of a good restaurant that's more of a "locals" place where you can get lunch and you two head there.

Rebecca asks for a table for two in what sounds like perfect French, although you genuinely would have no idea if it was perfect or completely butchered, but whatever she said, it sounded great. The waiter brings you to your table and hands you menu's. You both look over the menu's and she translates everything for you. You both decide on what you want to order and the waiter comes back to take your orders. Rebecca orders in perfect French, once again, and you completely butcher the name of the dish you want. The waiter gives you a dirty look and takes the menu's and walks away.

As soon as he's out of ear shot you and Rebecca bust out laughing.

"Holy shit that guy hates me."

"I can't believe he gave you that look!"

"Oh I can, I've been getting that look from everyone since I got here." You say as you laugh.

"Oh no!" Rebecca says as she laughs.

The waiter comes back over with your drinks and you both try your hardest to hold back your laughter, the waiter gives you both that look this time and as soon as he turns his back you both burst out laughing again.

You food comes out and you enjoy your lunch, Rebecca leaves to go to the bathroom when she's finished eating and when she gets back she grabs her bag.

"Ready to go?" She asks you.

"Wait, what about the check?"

"I took care of it."

"Oh my god no you did not!"

The waiter hands Rebecca the receipt and she thanks him in French.

"Dude! You did not have to-"

"I know, but I wanted to treat my new friend to lunch for her first time here in Paris."

"Thank you, but then I'm buying dinner!" You pause for a second and try to save yourself, you don't want her to think she has to be stuck with you all day because you're alone, or make her think you assume she'll go out to dinner with you. "Or something." You quickly add.

Rebecca puts her hand to her chin and thinks for a second.

"Um, nope. I'm buying you dinner also." She says with a smile. "If you would like to have dinner with me as well, that is." She says a little shyly.

"I would love to, but I don't want you to feel like you have to pay for me!" You say as the two of you leave the restaurant.

"I don't, I want to."

"Are you sure? Dinners here can get expensive and I would hate to-"

"Don't worry about that, trust me, it's not a problem." She says with a smile. "So what else were you planning on doing today?"

"I wanted to see the Notre Dame, the Sainte-Chapelle, I'd like to see the arch, your usual first-time in Paris touristy things."

"Well then allow me to be your tour guide."

"Are you sure? I mean don't get me wrong I'd love to keep hanging out with you, but I'd feel so bad if you wasted your whole day chaperoning me around and not get to do whatever you planned on doing today."

"Well actually my plan was to find a pretty girl that was in Paris all alone and give her a tour of the city." She says with a wink and you laugh. "No but truthfully, my plan was to walk around and shop, that's it. I'd much rather do this with you."

"Okay, if you insist. Where to next my lovely tour guide?"

Rebecca spends the rest of the afternoon showing you the city, you see the Norte Dame, the Sainte-Chapelle, and make your way across the city to the arch. You feel like you're spending the day with one of your best friends, not a stranger you just met that morning at a random café you decided to wander in to.

"Do you want to come get a drink with me before dinner?" Rebecca asks.

"Yeah, absolutely." You say with a smile.

"Okay, the bar in the hotel I'm staying at is gorgeous, and I can make reservations at one of my favorite restaurants."

"That sounds perfect. Is there a dress code for the restaurant?"

"Oh good point,"

"I have fancy restaurant clothes in my hostel I can change into."

"You're staying in a hostel?" She asks, surprised.

"Hell yeah, it's actually pretty nice, and it was like dirt cheap."

"Where is it?"

"Close by the Notre Dame!"

"The Notre Dame?! How the hell did you end up all the way by the café this morning?"

"I was looking for a café I went to yesterday but I couldn't find it and got lost, so I just walked into the the first café I found, and it was that one. It's quite serendipitous if you ask me."

Rebecca shakes her head at you and hails a cab and you both get dropped off at your hostel.

"This is it?" She asks.

"Yeah!"

"Okay, it's actually nicer than I thought it was going to be."

"See? I told you!" You tease her. She rolls her eyes at you and you walk inside.

You bring her to your room and she looks horrified when she sees that you're sharing the room with two other people.

"It's not bad, they're a nice German couple."

"You can't stay here."

"What are you talking about?"

"Grab your stuff, stay with me in my hotel, I have a suite with an extra bedroom you're more than welcome to stay in."

"Oh god Rebecca I can't do that I don't want to impose-"

"You aren't and you can, I can't let you stay in this hostel, alone, with two random German people. Come on." She says with a smile as she grabs your bag.

"Are you sure?" You ask as she walks out.

"Yes!" She says, walking down the hall with your luggage.

You check out of the hostel and take a cab to Rebecca's hotel. Your jaw hits the floor when you realize she's staying at the Hôtel Plaza Athénée.

"Rebecca, are you fucking joking?"

"What?"

"The fucking Hôtel Plaza Athénée? This is your hotel? Where you have a suite with two rooms?!"

"Yeah, I stay here in the presidential every time I come to Paris."

You look at her like she's insane. "What the fuck do you do for a living?" You ask as she pulls you into the hotel.

"I run a football club."

"Football? I didn't even think football was popular over here."

"Soccer."

"Oh, right." You laugh. "Ah, gotta love the American ignorance." You joke and the two of you laugh.

You get into her suite and your jaw is on the floor, it's absolutely stunning, it has a full living room, fireplace, two big, gorgeous bedrooms, each with their own master bathroom. Rebecca pulls the curtains open and you see the Eiffel Tower perfectly from the view.

"Holy shit." You say quietly, completely captivated by the view. "This is amazing." You turn and look at her and see her with a smile on her face.

"Isn't it?" She says, gazing out the window.

You both admire the view for a moment and eventually you bring your stuff into your room and get changed. You walk out in a cute cocktail dress, your most comfortable pair of heels, your hair pulled back on one side and a little bit of makeup. You see Rebecca sitting at the little desk on the phone, you assume she's making dinner reservations. She hangs up and looks at you.

"Wow, you look beautiful y/n." She says with a smile.

"Thank you," you say. She stands up and your jaw practically hits the floor. "Jesus Christ," you quietly say. Rebecca is wearing a dark blue dress that hugs every curve on her body perfectly. You figured she had a good shape when you were with her all day, but the jeans, t-shirt and jacket she was wearing hid a lot of it. You never expected her to look like a fucking model.

"What?" She asks a little worried, looking down. "Does this not look good?"

"No, holy shit no, you just look amazing. Like I new you were beautiful, but I didn't know you literally had a perfect hour glass figure, wow." You shake your head to try and snap out of it. "I'm sorry, I'm no better than a man sometimes." You laugh as your cheeks turn pink.

You're worried you offended her, but you look at her and it actually looks like she found it endearing.

"Well thank you, I appreciate the compliment. Ready to go?"

"Yes! Absolutely."

You two head down to the bar and grab a few drinks before dinner. You chat and laugh as you enjoy your drinks. Once you finish, Rebecca pays the bill, against your wishes, and you head to the restaurant.

The restaurant is absolutely stunning, you can tell just by looking at it that it's a 5-star restaurant. You're brought to your seats and given menu's. Just like she did at lunch, Rebecca translates the menu for you and this time you let her order for the both of you in French, you've had enough nasty looks from waiters for one day. Your drinks arrive and you both cheers to new friends.

You're talking about your lives, where you grew up, what your friends are like, just generally getting to know each other.

"How old are you anyway?" She asks.

"I'm 28-"

"Oh my god. I could be your mother." She puts her face in her hands.

"Oh stop it no you can not! How old are you?"

"48." She says quietly.

"Oh shut up there's no way, I don't believe that for a second!"

"I am!"

"You look damn good for your age then, I thought you were like 40, 45 at the very oldest, and like in a 'wow she looks young for 45' way."

"Well thank you." She says as she laughs.

Your food arrives and smells delicious, you both dig in and laugh and chat over dinner. You order more drinks and dessert and when you're finished Rebecca pays the bill and you two head out.

"Okay, now for our last stop of the night." She says, looking at you. "The Eiffel Tower."

She grabs your hand and leads you to it. She buys two tickets and you take the elevator up to the very top. The sun is just setting and you stand by the railing, stunned by the beauty in front of you.

"Woah." You say with wonder in your eyes.

Rebecca stands next to you, both of you taking in the gorgeous view. You both stand there for a few minutes in silence, just enjoying each others company and the gorgeous sunset.

Once the sun sets Rebecca turns to you.

"Come down to one of the lower decks with me."

She grabs your hand and you follow her down a few flights of stairs to a lower level. You stand by the railing and look across the city, a cold breeze passes through causing you to shiver.

"Here," Rebecca says, taking off her scarf and wrapping it around you. "Better?"

"Yes, thank you." Her scarf smells like her, you close your eyes as you inhale the scent, you never though a scent would match a view so well, but for some reason, it just pulls the entire experience all together.

The lights on the tower shut off and you quickly turn around, unsure of what's happening.

"Woah, why did the lights go out?" You ask, looking around to see if anyone else is reacting.

After a few moments they come back on and you realize they're flickering. You look up to the top of the tower where you were earlier and you realize that the tower is sparkling.

Your eyes light up like a child on Christmas day, you stand there in awe as you watch the tower sparkle above you. You look over at Rebecca and see that she's looking at you, looking at the lights. The lights flashing across her face make her eyes glitter, you don't think you've ever seen someone look so beautiful as she does right now. You both look into each others eyes for a moment.

You're not sure how it happened or who made the first move, but in an instant your lips are together. You bring your hands to her face and she holds onto your waist. Her lips are the softest lips you've ever felt in your life, her tongue slides into your mouth and dances around yours. This moment is absolutely perfect and you don't ever want it to end.

What felt like hours later, but in reality was probably only a minute or two, your lips finally part. She gently brushes her lips against yours, you can feel her heart beating quickly as she holds you against her; she can probably feel that yours is racing too.

"Do you want to go back-" she asks quietly.

"Mhm." You mutter as you shake your head yes. Your lips meet once more and after they part you make your way back to the hotel.

You were worried that the moment would pass by the time you got back to the hotel, but the closer you got, the more eager the two of you became.

You get into her suite and you put your bags down, take your jackets off, you remove Rebecca's scarf and she pulls you into her again for another kiss. She kisses you passionately for a minute before leading you into her bedroom.

You both kick off your shoes and Rebecca comes up behind you and places her hands on your hips and kisses your neck. You sigh and lean back into her, tilting your head so she has more access to your neck. Her hands travel up your sides and you feel her move your hair aside and pull down the zipper of your dress. You let it fall to the ground and turn to face her and gesture for her to turn around. You grab the zipper and slide it down, you kiss down her back as the zipper exposes her skin. Her dress falls to the ground and you unclip her bra and you reach behind your back and unclip yours.

She leads you to the bed and pulls you into her, your bodies pressing against each other, your lips interlocked, your fingers tangled in her hair and her hands exploring your body. This might be the most passion you've ever felt in your life.

The night goes by in a blur. You have flashes of memories of you kissing her down her body, the way her skin felt on your lips, you remember the sounds you both made as you panted, the moans that escaped from her lips when you went down on her. How sweet she tasted, what her fingers felt like in your hair as she grabbed hold of you, the way her back arched when you hit that sweet spot deep inside her, how warm and wet she was, the way her skin felt under your fingers as you held onto her hips. The cries she made were the most beautiful sounds you had ever heard as you brought her to her climax and took her over the edge. You remember how her legs gently shook as she came down from her high, that she took a minute just to be able to catch her breath.

You remember the dominance she showed when she flipped you onto your back, how she definitely left marks as her lips traveled down your body. The ticklish sensations when she kissed and nibbled the inside of your thighs, what her tongue felt like when she finally made contact with your dripping center, the way her hair felt between your fingers as you grabbed hold of her. The sounds that you made when her fingers curled deep inside you, the way she felt inside of you, how your hips bucked wildly when she brought you to the edge. You remember seeing stars when you felt her lips wrap around your clit when she pushed you over the edge, the way you cried out her name when she had you ride out your orgasm as long as possible.

You remember her wrapping you in her arms when you were done, how she slowly and passionately kissed you, how your legs felt tangled with hers under the sheets. You remember looking into her gorgeous green eyes, how they reflected the sparkles from the glittering Eiffel Tower out the window. You realized in that moment you've never felt so connected, so bonded, so in love with anyone else in your life. Sure you had just met that morning, but over the course of the day you became closer to her faster than you have with anyone else. You let out a relaxed sigh and closed your eyes when she nuzzled her nose against yours, you felt her chest rise and fall against yours as she drifted off to sleep, you drifting off to sleep with her.

You wake up the next morning convinced that yesterday was just a beautiful dream. As your senses wake up you recognize her scent, you realize that you're still wrapped in each others arms, you try and savor the moment before you open your eyes, anxious that once you do, everything that you both had last night would be gone. You feel her shift in your arms and you open you eyes to meet hers, she has a worry in her eyes that makes your heart hurt a little. You can tell that she's worried about the same thing that you are, you smile and tuck a piece of her golden locks behind her ear, your hand coming to a rest on her cheek, caressing it with your thumb. A smile crosses her face and she brings her lips to yours, you hold onto her as you kiss her with a soft passion. Your lips part and you look into each others eyes for a moment.

"I was so worried I was going to wake up and this was all going to be a dream." You quietly say as you study the details of her face.

"So was I, or that I would wake up to an empty bed, or that I would wake up and you would tell me it was a mistake." She quietly responds as she strokes your hair.

"It certainly was not." You say with a smile as you gently kiss her.

You see a sadness in her eyes when your lips part.

"What's wrong?" You ask, concerned.

"When are you going to London?"

"My flight leaves tomorrow afternoon. Why? When do you go back?"

"Tonight." She says with a sadness in her voice that makes your heart hurt.

"Well, then I'll see you when I get in tomorrow."

"You don't have-"

"No, I want to. I don't want to not ever see you again after you leave tonight."

She looks a little surprised. "Really?"

"Really. I know it's crazy because we've known each other for literally 24 hours, but, I really like you. I haven't felt this close to someone in a long time, I don't want to lose this."

"Even though I'm 20 years your senior?"

"I don't care about that, not even a little bit. It wasn't even something that crossed my mind once."

She pulls you into her and kisses you, a smile left on both of your faces when you part.

"Where were you planning on staying in London?"

"Another hostel." You say with a smile.

"Well, that's not happening. Stay with me." She says as she looks deep into your eyes.

"I would love to."

"I'll have my driver pick you up from the airport and bring you to my house."

"You driver? How much fucking money do you have?!" You say as you laugh.

"A lot." She says with a laugh as she kisses you again.

"Hm, lucky me." You joke between kisses.

Rebecca laughs into the kiss.

You spend the rest of your last day together in Paris in her suite, most of it was spent in bed. You had breakfast and lunch delivered to the room and you both sat in the living room in fluffy robes laughing and cuddling while you ate. You laid in bed together for as long as possible, trying to stretch out every minute before she had to leave to catch her flight. Rebecca extended the room reservation for another night so you could stay. When it finally came time, you helped her pack her things and you got dressed and walked her down to the lobby.

You felt ridiculous for having a lump in your throat as you make your way downstairs, not only will you see her literally tomorrow, you've known her for less than two days. But in those two days you fell completely head over heels in love with her, even though neither of you have said it out loud, you're pretty sure she did too.

The driver puts her bags in the car and she stands in front of you and wraps her arms around you, you wrap your arms around her and you two hold each other for a minute. You look up at her and she meets your gaze, you look into her gorgeous eyes and she leans down and kisses you. When you part you realize her eyes are glassy, yours are too.

"I'll see you tomorrow, yeah?" She asks.

"Yes, absolutely."

"Good." She says as she lets go of you. "I l- I'll see you tomorrow." She catches herself from blurting out the three words you can't wait to be able to say to her.

"I'll see you tomorrow." She turns to get into the car. "Oh shit wait!" You say and she turns back to you.

"What?"

You start laughing and pull out your phone. "I need your number."

Rebecca starts laughing, a few of her tears escape and trickle down her cheeks. "Oh my god." She says grabbing your phone. "I can't believe we didn't do this yet."

She puts her number in your phone and hands it back to you. She kisses you once more and heads to the car.

"I'll see you tomorrow y/n."

"I'll see you tomorrow Rebecca."

She waves as the car pulls away and you watch it until it's out of sight. You look down at your phone and see her phone number and the contact name she put in for herself.

"Rebecca Welton💕"

You send her a text

I can't wait for tomorrow❤

You immediately get a response

Me either💕

You smile down at your phone and hold it close to your chest. You head back into the hotel and your phone starts ringing as you get into the suite. You look down and see that your friend is calling you.

"Hey!"

"YOU'RE ALIVE THANK GOD!"

"Yea, very much alive." You say with a laugh.

"Well I didn't hear from you for over 24 hours and I got worried that you died!"

You open your texts and realize you have 5 missed calls and 20+ text messages from her and a few other people.

"Where the hell were you?!" She asks.

"In heaven."

"Okay, you're gonna have to elaborate."

You tell her about your adventures with Rebecca and give her most of the details, there are definitely some you keep to yourself. You tell her that you're meeting Rebecca in London tomorrow and how excited you were.

"So honestly, it's a good thing you weren't able to come, because if you did, I probably would have never met her." You said.

"Is this the plot of some French rom-com you watched or did you actually just live in a Paris fairytale for the last two days?"

"Fairytale, for sure."

You talk to her for a while and your friend looks her up and freaks out when she reads about who she is.

"No, don't tell me anything, I want her to tell me when she's ready, I don't want to google her to learn about her."

"You're such a sap, but fine. But I will tell you, she's hot, and rich as fuck."

"Oh, I know, she spoiled the shit out of me. Honestly, even if she didn't have all of that money, I'd still be going to see her in London tomorrow."

"Are you in love with her already?"

"I know how fucking crazy this is going to sound, but yeah, I think I am."

You two continue to talk and catch up for the next hour, after you get off of the phone with her you text Rebecca your flight info and you go out to a little restaurant for dinner and walk around for a bit. You get back to the hotel and get ready for bed, impatiently waiting for tomorrow to come.

You phone dings and you roll over in bed and see that you have a text from Rebecca.

12 hours left, I miss you.

You smile and your heart does summersaults, you reply to her.

12 hours too long, I miss you too. I can't wait to see you. Goodnight Rebecca.

You put your phone down and try to fall asleep, excited for tomorrow to come so you can hold Rebecca in your arms again.

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

Good evening, I got another idea for your new event

Aces' older brother and grim interaction like "oh, Ace, how you got so tall— agh! It's not Ace" "oh? Oh. Oooh, hello. Isn't it that 'stupid raccoon' my lil' bro was talking about? " "HEY! Don't call THE great Grim raccoon! "

[Referencing this interaction!]

… I like how we’ve come to a silent consensus that Big Bro Trappola is just a taller version of Ace 😂

Fun fact: In the JP fandom, a lot of fans call Ace’s brother “Jack”, a reference to the character “Jack Hearts” from the Villain Recruiters group (part of Tokyo Disney Sea’s Halloween events).

Family means Nobody is Left Behind or Forgotten.

You heard Grim's familiar shrill cries echo up from the bottom of a twisting stairwell. Peering down over the banister, you found an auburn-haired boy detaining Grim by the scruff, the poor little beast flailing for freedom. You called out to them as you jogged down the stairs, speaking a name you knew so well: Ace.

As you approached, a realization started to set in—that Ace was far taller than usual. But surely it was the same cheery troublemaker you'd always known. He had the same cheeky smile and bright eyes.

A growth spurt? Or had he defied Riddle's warnings to not eat the dubious mushrooms that grew in the Heartslabyul gardens?

Ace casually raised his free hand to wave as you descended. “Yo.”

“Hey!! Wow Ace, when did you get this tall?” you said teasingly.

The corner of his mouth lifted, amused. You noticed that he had parted his bangs today, and had drawn on his heart much smaller, more of an accessory than a statement piece.

“Well, you know how it is. A growing boy like me’s always got something up his sleeve.”

“M-Minion, there you are!!” Grim sputtered, aggressively kicking his furry feet midair. “Quick, after this imposter!”

“Imposter?”

“Don’t mind him. Little dude’s got his tail in a twist cuz I called him a raccoon.” A wicked grin crept onto Ace’s lips. It was easy and devil-may-care—and Ace was that devil. “Isn’t that right, ta-nu-ki-chan?”

He prodded Grim’s cheek with each singsong syllable. One, two, three, four… and Grim lost it.

“MYAAAH!!” He thrashed about wildly, swiping his paws at his just-out-of-reach captor. “I’m so MAD, I could spit!! When I get my paws on you, I’ll…!”

“Watch it, or you’ll set the whole dorm on fire,” you warned, “and then we’ll have an upset Riddle to deal with.”

“Who, the teapot tyrant? Isn’t he off sipping tea somewhere? I wouldn’t worry about him.”

“Ace!!” You gaped at him, eyes wide. “You talking about him is just going to make Riddle magically manifest to collar you again! It’s like the universe is out to get you at this point.”

“I’m cool with that. I doubt he’ll behead me anyway.”

“What makes you think he won’t?!”

Ace simply shrugged and wiggled his brows—as if daring you to guess. “Let’s just say I don’t think I’m the guy he’d be after,” he said mysteriously with a wink.

“AHHHHHHHH!!”

You startled at the scream that tore through the air. Your head whipped in the direction of it, expecting an enraged Riddle, face red and nostrils flaring, charging at you. Instead, the person scrambling over was…

“Ace?!”

You looked back at the young man holding onto Grim, then again at the one fast approaching. Side by side, the little differences between them came to light.

The taller Ace was sharper in every way—eyes, lips, face. His attire was far more casual than Riddle would allow for: an open vest, dress shirt undone a few buttons, a loose tie thrown over his shoulder. He had a relaxed maturity about him, as though Ace had been aged into some semblance of adulthood, but had maintained all of his wonder.

The imposter assumed a sheepish smirk. “‘Sup, lil’ bro?”

“Don’t ‘sup, lil’ bro me!!” Ace groaned, marching over to land a swift punch to his brother’s arm arm. “Dude, you can’t just ditch me to go screw with my friends! Only I'm allowed to do that!"

“My bad, my bad. I was just curious about what kinda people you hang around with.” His brother laughed, setting Grim back on the ground. You were quick to grab him before he circled around to attack the older Trappola’s pant leg.

“So,” Ace’s brother continued, his gaze trained on you and Grim, “you must be the ones that had Ace running to Sage’s Island over winter break. He was really worried when you got your SOS text. Basically broke his piggy bank to make sure he had enough allowance to take public transportation back to NRC.���

“Oh? Really? I had no idea he was so desperate to be my hero.”

“H-Hey, don’t listen to him! He’s blowing it out of proportion! I totally wasn’t that worried,” Ace protested. “Besides, if dummies like you and Deuce weren’t around… then school life would be so much more boring. A wellness check here or there’s fine, so lay off!”

His brother chuckled. Leaning into your ear, he murmured, “That’s how Ace shows that he cares.”

“Oi, what are you whispering about?!” Ace cried, elbowing his brother out of the way. “Stop gettin’ all chummy with MY friends and butt out. You’re supposed to be spending time with your family today anyway, so let’s get going!”

“What, I was just about to embarrass you by sharing stupid stories with them~”

“Like I’d like that happen!!” With a pout, Ace yanked on his brother’s arm. “Come on, you have adult stuff to do!!”

"Like you don’t have kid stuff to do?”

“I’m NOT a little kid anymore!”

“And I’m still young at heart.”

Stuck between the duo, you and Grim exchanged knowing glances.

“Those two… they really are alike, huh?”

“You know it, minion.”

[oklotea]

Tintin Character Requests! Pt. 1

The series where I draw Tintin characters in funky little outfits cuz they truly are funky little characters

In the first picture, we've got toxic yaoi, well, no, the first request was these two on their own but because I love them so much and their interactions in the 2011 movie I drew them together, and wow I am actually quite proud of how it ended up looking like!!!!! (Probably one of my favorite out of this batch of sketches)

Ty @mis3rabl3m3lody and @libraryidealist for the request!!!

Aaand behind curtain number 2, we've got certified best boy, Chang!!!! Where is he running off to? Idk. I would be embarrassed to admit how much time I spent figuring out how running looks like cuz I just suddenly forgot wtf running looks like

Ty @myfunnyvalentine !!! For the request!! You seemed quite enthusiastic

Next up, we've got AHHHHH MY SILLY MY GOOFY MY FAVORITE MANIC PIXIE DREAM GIRL!!!! PROFESSOR CALCULUS!!!! I drew him in polite little vest and turtleneck combo and some patterned pants, politely waving at you! I was watching a few episodes recently and AGEHHDHDHH I FORGOT JUST HOW ENTERTAINING AND AMAZING AND ICONIC THIS MAN IS he's so silly he's a genius he has no idea what's going on most of the time <3333 we need him in the hypothetical 2011 sequel (it's coming guys trust me)

Ty @unlikelyintelligent and @akasanata for the request!!

TADAAA!!!! IT'S GENERAL ALCAZAR!!! ok. As you know I've only recently started coming back to Tintin, and I'm ngl I forgot who general alcazar was. Then I watched Tintin and the picaros and pretty quickly I remembered. THIS GUY WAS SO COOL. my dumb kid brain didn't entirely grasp what was going on in that episode, BUT NOW I DO KNOW. AND WOW THIS EPISODE WAS WILD. every Tintin episode is on a spectrum of insane but this one tips closer to the more unhinged end. GENERAL ALCAZAR IS SO BADASS, HES LEADING A REVOLUTION, HE'S A MALE WIFE, HE IS A PRESIDENT NOW??? I miss the guy. ALSO I LOVE HIS DESIGN.

(Also if your wondering if every Tintin post I make I'll include a tangent of just gushing about how much I love some aspect of Tintin you better get used to it cuz I love rambling about how much I love Tintin)

Ty @tintinology for the request!!! AARRRGHRHRHHH GENERAL ALCAZAR!!!!!!

here's a couple characters ik little about, ik they were the original antagonists of the secret of the unicorn but that's about it! It's the bird brothers!!!! They're in some fancy suits, judging everyone they pass, their probably grumbling about something. From their appearance they look like their never happy sjhfjdjf

Ty @jimmyandthegiraffes for the request! :D

And last but definitely not least, IT'S JOLYON WAGG!!!!! if only the editing was better so you could bask in his graceful and obnoxious glory. I really like his voice! I really like his wardrobe! And he is some sort of anomaly to me, hes just popping up in the most random times, and most of the time it's to be an annoying little bitch (endearing), he has a medal of honor btw! If I ever met him, I would at first be very charmed, but then realize this is an entirely one sided conversation that'll go on for hours and hours that I won't be leaving anytime soon, and when I eventually get home I'll be completely exhausted by how much social energy I was using up just trying to keep up and look like I was really really invested in whatever this man was rambling about

But anyway he's silly and whimsical so I still really like him

Aaannnddd that's it folks! I'll eventually work on the other requests I have!!!! Have a good evening!!!!!

[icypantherwrites]

hi hello I normally do asks anonymously but I wanted you to personally know

I found you a couple days ago i believe and oh my god. Are you like, an angel?? Dude. You’ve written over 200 works, nearly 90% of them being in the vld fandom. I feel like no one gives you enough credit for your contributions to fanfic, especially in the vld fandom. I can’t even begin to think of 20 ideas for a fanfic. You’ve had probably over thousands. You are genuinely one of the most talented writers I’ve ever come across. I love how you write angst and pain. It’s done so in a way that can hurt you so deeply yet leave you wanting for more. Just perfectly encapsulated what it is like to read angst because you did it. in a way that clearly shows you understood the assignment. I love how you write yearning and internal turmoil. I love how you write rising tension and build up anticipation. It leaves me on the edge of my seat every time and I get so excited every time something super important happens. I love how you write each of the characters’ relationships with one another. It can literally feel so personal to see them interact. my favs of yours are probably keith and shiro <and> lance and hunk. You are such a great writer and I don’t think you get enough recognition or appreciation because oh my god. Every time I read your works it is just masterpiece after masterpiece. And the way you end them?? You know just how to make an ending to a story so satisfactory. Because you write the beginning to be satisfactory. You write the middle to be satisfactory. You write every single chapter, paragraph, sentence, and word to make sure that the story concludes in a way that leaves you feeling content. I am genuinely always baffled at how godly your writing is. How you never get any credit where it is clearly due is completely insane. You have done wonders in this world, even if it just seems like a little corner of it. You were here. And you did good for so many. You are so amazing and I don’t know how many ways I could possibly tell that to you. If you ever were to write an original work I would make sure to personally buy ten thousand copies all on my own. Because I know damn well that if you wrote it, it is going to be one of the best pieces of literature ever written. You are so. So. So so so so so so so so soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo amazing. And awesome. And cool. And great.

So much love.

You are incredible.

🩷🩷

So I would like to preface this response by noting that I've had regular asks closed for the last few months due to just a lot of negative feelings with the entitlement behind the asks, and anonymous asks closed for the last year due to various reasons but the most common one being trolls and hate mail. Following a recent livestream on my Patreon I kind of said screw it, let's just see how it goes again and opened them and so the fact that this absolute sweetheart gem of an ask is the first thing I get not even two days later is just... wow, thank you. I've only read this like ten times now.

I just wanted to say this comment makes me feel very seen and appreciated and all of the kind words are backed up by the fact I do indeed recognize your name (so I am glad you didn't submit this as anon!) as having popped into a number of my stories over the past week or so and leaving such sweet comments. It truly means a lot. And as an aside, I am very excited to see you (hopefully) back for the final chapters of Missing as (ironically) a lot of the audience went missing the last few ;p So I do hope you enjoy it and would love to hear your thoughts there! As you observed, it's definitely a bit of a rough go to put all this time and effort into writing and sharing my works and not really seeing a lot of folks engaging with the stories any more, but I'm still trying my best to post for as long as I can. And readers like yourself are the reason I do try to continue to do so 🧡

I also just wanted to highlight of this entire highlight of a comment the little bit you mentioned about how I end stories. Thank you. I strive really hard to not just 'finish' a story but to wrap up every tangent and every little loose thread into a pretty bow so nothing ever feels unfinished and it's not always an easy thing to do. But I've read plenty of stories where it just ends and it's like, but wait, it was so abrupt, it feels incomplete, and I don't ever want anyone to feel that way reading my stories.

I have unfortunately given up my dream of writing my own original novel as I've lost a lot of faith in my abilities due to the continual decrease of engagement and just feeling like nothing I ever write will be good enough, but thank you so much for the encouragement and the kind words. I don't think it'll ever happen, but if it does I'll for sure post a link to purchase my novel on Tumblr ;p

I could gush about all the little, beautiful details you wrote in this for hours but I will cut myself off here. But thank you, truly, for such a sweet message and kind words and I do hope to continue to see you in the comment sections of my stories for the little bits of sunshine you bring into my life🧡

[random-writer-23]

The Mechanic (Poe Dameron x reader)

Summary: Reader is a rebellion mechanic for ships and droids, and on repeated occasions is sought out by Poe.

Word count: 7,239

Warnings: Poe being a desperate loser but in an affectionate way, Mentions of injuries, probably canonical inaccuracies, star wars cursing, X-wing crash.

Edit: wow this fic has gotten over 100 interactions y’all are amazing ily!!!

A/N: I hope you like this one shot, this is my first time writing for Poe so hopefully I get better at writing for him. Also fun fact this is my 70th post so thats cool. Also I am looking for beta readers to read my works before I publish them to the rest of y'all so if that's something that you are interested in see the pinned post on my profile for more information. Anyway enjoy my lovelies, and as usual, any and all comments, likes, Follows, and reblogs are welcome and appreciated. Happy reading!

My workshop, my own personal safe haven, and the place where I'm currently making some small changes to a device prototype that would hopefully allow better cloaking for our rebellion ships. All I needed was a few more tweaks and then I'd be able to run some diagnostic tests to see if it works. I hum a random tune to myself while I unscrew the cover so I can tweak it. The door to my workshop slides open with a loud woosh, and I'm ambushed by the electronic beeping of one of my favorite droids.

"bee po woooip" BB-8 screams entering my shop and rolling to a stop at my feet.

"Hey BB" I respond putting my cloaking device aside so I could focus on BB-8. "what's up buddy" he responds with a couple of beeps and my eyebrows furrowed giving him a once-over look. "Kriffing hell, BB I just did your matinence upkeep last week what happened?!" I groaned guiding the droid over to a ramp he could roll up to get to my eye level. I put the screwdriver I was holding in my tool belt and walked over to my tool chest to get the tools I'd need to fix BB-8's problem. "Alright BB let's see what the problem is," I said and he chirped happily in response. I pulled my magnifying goggles over my eyes so I could see him closely.

"ooh BB okay, I think I see the problem, some of the wires over here got crossed, and then your gyroscopic regulators are all out of sync, no wonder you're not moving as smoothly as usual. and OH BB! This whole plate over here is broken, and these circuits over here are completely fried! How'd this happen!" I exclaimed continuing to examine the damage done to my favourite droid.

"weoop" He said dejectedly, and I chuckled buckling myself in for a long story.

--Time skip--

It turns out that BB-8 got all his so-called injuries, on a classified mission transporting valuable and delicate information to another rebellion base. However, he and his companions ran into some trouble with the empire. After his long-winded explanation about everything that went wrong, I cut him some slack and forgave him for ruining all the things I fixed last time.

I worked on BB-8 for more than an hour before finally fixing all his problems and getting him back to perfect working condition, then even after I fixed his issue, I sat and spoke to him about some of the upgrades I was developing for him, and for some of the other droids on the base.

"ooh, you know what I can do for you BB?" I asked flitting around my workshop quickly rummaging around to find the newest prototype I was working on for the droids on base. I brought it excitedly back to BB-8, and began explaining some of the upgrades I was giving him. 

"Now BB this signal booster I made will allow you to transmit signals to the next planet over, depending on how far away it is. I'll work on distancing issues soon"

"Waaaaaaaooopp" BB-8 chittered excitedly and I blushed.

"Oh BB you flatter me, but anyone could've done it, it wasn't that difficult," I replied with a smile as I installed the amplifier to his antennae. But was interrupted by the door of my workshop once again opening with a loud woosh. But instead of a droid or one of my fellow mechanics coming in for a chat, it was a voice I was unfamiliar with.

"Hey BB you in here?" The voice of a man called and I turned around to face him. I looked at him blinking in surprise as I forgot my magnifying goggles were still on my face, I took them off my eyes and put them on my head.

"who's asking," I asked taking my glasses off and laying them on the table next to me, so I could get a good look at the man who'd invaded my safe haven. 

"uh, Poe... Poe Dameron?" He replied as if it was a question, looking around my workshop in wonder. I turned in my chair to look at BB-8 who beeped happily and gave a little spin. The man, Poe, walked further into my workshop, glancing at all the gadgets and tools scattered around.

"yeah, uh sure come on in" I mumbled disgruntled by this man coming into my workshop uninvited, but I turned back to BB-8 with a smile on my face. "Almost done, BB" I mumbled putting my goggles back on and finishing installing the amplifier. "Alright BB, my new signal amplifier is still a prototype so you come back to me right away if you detect any problems okay?" I told him guiding him down the ramp, and over to Poe, who stood at attention when I turned to face him. "Now Poe, it's Poe right?"

"uh, y-yeah, ahem, yeah it's Poe" He stumbled over his words before clearing his throat, I threw him a small smile before giving him care instructions for BB. In the low light of my workshop, I saw his face flush.

"Well, then Poe" I put extra emphasis on his name, "I fixed all of the problems BB came in with, so he's as good as new, however, I did install a prototype signal amplifier that if it works as it should, will allow him to transmit across planets." I watched his eyebrows raise.

"impressive" He murmured

"I know" I responded with a smile. "But I just need you to watch over BB and ensure he takes things easy so he won't have to come back in for repairs too soon. And also bring him in immediately if you notice him malfunctioning" I instructed grabbing a towel and wiping the grease off my hands. BB rolled down the ramp from my table and rolled next to us. I looked back up at Poe, who had a dopey half-smile on his face, and even though the light in my workshop was dim, I could tell he was handsome. I'd heard about Poe Dameron, I'd just never run into him or introduced myself. Surprising considering he was the commander of an x-wing squadron and I was a mechanic, who fixed x-wings. But it was neither here nor there, I'd simply never had any reason to talk to him. I ushered BB and Poe towards the doors in an effort to get them out of my workshop. 

"So what you're saying is I'm invited to come see you again?" He asked leaning against my doorframe and swatting at BB-8 who was trying to usher him out of the room.

"Only If BB is with you... and if you don't track mud into my workshop again" I said looking at the trail of mud he brought inside, before kneeling down and placing a kiss on BB's head and ushering them out, quickly closing the door behind them before Poe could speak again. I heard BB-8's accusatory chittering through the door.

"No BB I'm not into her, I just met her, I just..." BB-8 interrupted him with more beeps and I chuckled. "no you know what, shut up, I've been looking for you for hours and you were there the whole time? Told me you were going to get repaired but didn't tell me you were going to get repaired by a cute girl. Conveniently left that part out" He replied their voices fading away. 

I laughed walking back to my desk picking scraps up as I walked, trying to clean up and put stuff away. 

--Time skip--

I was still trying to perfect my cloaking prototype when I got a buzz on my radio and simultaneously heard the woosh of my door open, and BB-8's electronic shrieking entered the room.

"Huh, Slow BB I can't understand you." I spun in my chair taking my goggles off my head to look at the droid. BB shrieked and beeped a little slower this time and I finally understood what he was trying to tell me. "They need me at the landing dock?" I clarified and he spun in a circle beeping his agreement. "For emergency repairs!?!" Why didn't you say so!" I explained jumping out of my seat. BB shrieked exasperated, as I hurried around my workshop grabbing tools I'd possibly need for the repairs. Once I grabbed everything I could possibly need I rushed out of my workshop and BB-8 rolled along behind me as fast as he could. Once we got to the landing bay I was completely out of breath from my sprinting, I mean running was hard enough on its own but running while towing a bunch of tools forget about it. I stopped in front of General Leia trying to calm my racing heart and catch my breath.

"Ah (y/n)! You're here! Perfect" General Leia said calmly and by her tone of voice if I wasn't previously made aware of the Emergency I wouldn't even know we had one.

"Reporting for duty General" I smiled having finally caught my breath "where do I start?" I adjusted my grip on my toolbox while she filled me in on what happened. I nodded along as she explained trying to contain my excitement at the number of repairs that were needed considering this was a somber occasion. As she came to the end of her explanation, I saw Poe walking by out of the corner of my eye, and I silently prayed that he would simply walk by. However the force was not on my side at the moment and he noticed the general and I. His face lit up when he made eye contact with me, and he turned around so he was walking towards us.

"Now I've divided up the repair tasks with you and the other mechanics but you're the only one I trust to make all the major repairs, you are my best mechanic you know this" General Leia explained and I beamed with pride.

"Thank you General, I'll get to work right away!" I replied trying to escape the conversation before Poe made it to us.

"I told you, you can call me Leia" She insisted at my formal manner, and I nodded with a smile.

"Ooh hoo on a first-name basis with the general?" Poe asked stopping next to us, as Leia and I Rolled our eyes in sync.

"I am... aren't you?"  I shot back and I saw the corner of Leia's mouth twitch upward. "Actually don't answer that, I have work to do" I nodded goodbye at Leia and spun around whipping my hair in Poe's face walking towards my first ship.

"Doing repairs are you?" Poe asked trailing behind me and I didn't answer him hopefully he'll get the hint and leave me alone. Thankfully I didn't have to answer him cause Leia did it for me. 

"Yes she is, so leave her alone! That's an order, Dameron!" Leia yelled after us and Poe spun around to face her walking backwards so he was still following me.

"Nice try general but we both know I don't listen to orders!" He shot back and I scoffed, "Besides she's got so much work to do she's gonna need an assistant" He saluted the general and ran to catch up with me. Which wasn't very hard considering I was weighed down by a giant toolbox. I tried to speed up as I heard his footsteps closing in but it was no use. He caught up and slowed his pace to walk next to me, and I felt the weight of my toolbox lighten as he lifted it and took it from my hand. I didn't argue with him carrying my toolbox considering it was quite heavy and he carried it all the way to the ship I was supposed to repair first. I pointed to an area on the ground where Poe could set my toolbox down.

"You can put my toolbox down over there" I mumbled walking to the side of the ship that has the most damage.

"So she speaks!" He grinned setting my toolbox down where I instructed, walking over to where I stood. I huffed my displeasure at his presence and ran my fingers over the damaged hull and cringed. Muttering to myself and making a mental note of things I need to fix. "Soo how long have you been working for the rebellion?" Poe asked leaning against the ship.

"Don't lean on that" I instructed and he stood up putting his hands in the air. "And pretty much as long as I can remember" I replied to his question pulling a wrench out of my belt and unscrewing one of the damaged plates on the ship's hull. Pulling it off with a huff I tossed it to the side causing Poe to have to jump out of the way to avoid it. I wiped some sweat off my face effectively smearing dirt and grease on my face.

"Woah watch it" he chuckled "you uh got some dirt on your face" he commented and I scoffed.

"Yeah it kind of comes with the job description" I shot back pulling another damaged plate off the hull. Smiling at the satisfying clank of metal on metal when I threw it with the other plate.

"She jokes too! By the way, you never gave me your name" He said trailing his sentence off purposely.

"Maybe I don't want to" I replied putting my magnifying goggles over my eyes so I could take a look at the engine.

"And why not?" He asked incredulously.

"Because you'll take that as an invitation to keep bothering me" I sighed, what the hell did the pilot do to this engine?

"Yeah you're right, but even without your name I'll just bother you more until I get it" he smirked.

"Listen Dameron-"

"Poe" he corrected.

"Listen Poe, I've got a lot of repairs to get done, and I like to work in peace and quiet so If you're going to sit here and bug me, you can at least make yourself useful and help" I huffed turning towards him with a frown.

"Fine fine, I know when I'm not wanted" He muttered surrendering and backing away from the ship.

"Obviously you don't" 

"I'll just catch you when you're not so busy next time" he grinned and I shook my head.

"Please don't," I said hurriedly but he turned a blind ear as he walked away.

"See you soon gorgeous!" He shouted picking his pace into a slow jog as he walked away. My face flushed at the compliment. 

I turned back to the ship in desperate need of repairs and cracked my knuckles anxious to get started on repairs and make actual progress. However even while I started getting into the ship repairs Poe stayed on my mind. I had to admit he was funny, funny and very handsome. But he was annoying, and he's a squadron commander, and I'm just a mechanic. So he's way out of my league not that I was thinking about Poe like that he was annoying, and kept bothering me, but he was very sweet. But I had to stop thinking about him, it was interferring with my work, and I had a ton more repairs to do by the end of the day. 

--Time skip--

I had finally managed to carve out a section of time for me to just sit in my workshop play some music and work on my cloaking prototype I had fixed all the visible bugs and was ready to run diagnostics on it. I stood up from my chair and scurried over to my computer trying not to giggle in excitement. Hooking up my prototype to my computer I loaded up my diagnostics program and attached the prototype to a piece of scrap metal so I could test it. I input the dimensions of the scrap metal and hovered my finger over the run diagnostic button when the door of my workshop opened with a loud whoosh. I audibly groaned and hoped for whoever was there that they had an excellent reason for interrupting me. Cause if they didn't I'd skin them alive and use them as a doormat. I heard BB-8s panicked beeps as he searched my workshop for me.

"Over here BB" I signaled him over to where I was and he started over to me. I was always happy to see BB-8, so I didn't mind him interrupting my diagnostic test.  "What's u-" I was interrupted by another person entering my shop.

"Kriff, BB you were going so fast I couldn't keep up" the now all too familiar voice of Poe Dameron accosted my ears as he entered my workshop. I audibly groaned looking at BB-8 my eyes full of betrayal. "Alright don't be too excited to see me now" he joked coming over to where I was with BB-8, I schooled my features into one of mock annoyance. 

"Don't worry I'm not" I mumbled, throwing a meaningful glance at my computer, I shut down my diagnostic program turning it off. It would have to wait till later. "So what can I do for you boys" I spoke mostly to BB-8 but it was Poe who spoke.

"So I wouldn't bother you unless I really needed to"

"That's a lie"

"Yeah that's a lie, but my ship got damaged on its last flight" Poe explained rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. My face lit up at the prospect of being able to fix something.

"And you want me to fix it" I clarified

"Of course! The general said it herself you're the best mechanic the rebellion has at its disposal" I blushed at his words. "Besides none of the other mechanics are half as cute as you are" he flirted and I was rendered speechless for a moment, my face starting to heat up.

"And here I was thinking that old Bolban was your type" I shot back turning away from him under the disguise of gathering my tools in my toolbox so he didn't see my face flushing. Maker, Poe has a way of weaseling his way into your heart, just the way you don't want him to. 

"Oh please Bolban is way out of my league" he replied and I laughed, covering my face with my hand in a lame attempt at hiding it. "Aha she laughs" he pointed out victoriously as I picked up my toolbox so I could go fix his ship. He pushed my hand away picking it up for me and walking out of my workshop without another word. My eyes followed him out of the workshop and I gave BB-8 a sideways glance. BB beeped a response and rolled after Poe. 

"He is not growing on me!" I whispered loudly at BB-8 as I ran to catch up with the two. I caught up to them and started asking Poe about his ship. "So what exactly is wrong with your ship?" I asked as he continued leading me towards where he landed it.

"Well it just wasn't running as smoothly as normal, the controls were jerky and I couldn't stabilize properly" he replied offhandedly "My turn for a question so what's your name?" He asked hurriedly. I squinted my eyes at him.

"This isn't a ask questions back and forth game Poe I'm trying to fix your ship" I insisted furrowing my eyebrows, in mock annoyance.

"But it could be a question game, think about it" He winked and put my toolbox on the ground next to his ship. 

"But it's not, so I'll take a look at it and let you know what I find" I informed him double checking my tool belt to make sure I had most of my main tools in there. Waving him off. 

"Uh no, it's my ship, I'm staying" he insisted crossing his arms stubbornly. I almost started protesting but there really was nothing I could do about it. It was his fighter jet after all.

"Fine, you can stay, but you better make yourself useful" I mumble dreading spending time with Poe significantly less than normal. 

"Yes ma'am" He saluted sarcastically giving me a wink, and I turned my face away from him, to hide my flush. Maker what's wrong with me? I'm supposed to find him annoying, he's done nothing but bother me for the past couple weeks. 

—time skip—

I spent over an hour checking on Poe's x-wing trying to find any evidence that something was wrong with it. But no matter where I looked his ship was in perfect condition as far as I could tell. I climbed down from the hull of his jet and turned to Poe once I got to the ground. "I just don't know what to tell you, Poe, your ship seems to be in perfect condition" I informed him and he furrowed his eyebrows. He opened his mouth about to respond when Finn walked by.

"(Y/N), Poe! hey guys!" He shouted happily, giving me and Poe a hug. I looked at Poe to see if he had caught Finn's use of my name and it took him a minute but it finally sunk into his thick skull that Finn had used my name.

"(Y/N)" he pointed accusingly at me "your name is (y/n)" he insisted.

"Yes fine my name is (y/n) don't wear it out" I huffed crossing my arms and sending a frown toward Finn, who looked between the two of us confused. "Thanks a lot Finn" I mumbled. 

"what what'd I do?" he asked, confused, and Poe answered him

"I've been trying to get her name for the past 3 weeks, and she hasn't been giving it to me, but now thanks to you Finn, I have it" He beamed proudly, and my heart fluttered a little at the sight. How could he get so happy over just learning my name. 

"Yeah that was for a reason, but as I was saying Poe, I can't seem to find anything wrong with your ship" I changed the topic quickly, and Finn looked at me confused. 

"Of course, there's nothing wrong with his fighter" He looked between the two of us, and I watched Poe's eyes widen, and he cleared his throat repeatedly. "Shut up Poe, but yeah I saw him getting his ship diagnostic when he came in earlier" He looked at me with a shrug. 

"Pft Finn doesn't know what he's talking about that wasn't my fighter diagnostic" Poe tried to explain, but Finn interupted him. 

"Uh yes it was, I heard his diagnostic guy say yeah everything's good as usual Poe, and then you said perfect flying as usual, and then you-" Finn faltered off in his sentence as Poe elbowed him in the stomach. 

"Alright, Finn she gets it" He hissed pushing Finn away who hunched over cluching his stomach. I looked at Poe, an unemused expression on my face, my hand on my hip and my wrench clutched tightly in my other. Poe laughed nervously. "Haha well you uh see, um so I y'know," he trailed off as I narrowed my eyes at him. "Alright fine! My x-wing is in perfect condition, I lied so you'd be forced to talk to me" he admitted.

"Are you Kidding me, Dameron? I could have been in my workshop the whole time testing my prototype!" I fumed poking him in the chest. "But noooo you just had to come bother me and make up a story so I'd waste hours trying to fix a ship that DIDN'T NEED FIXING!" I screamed and Finn backed away slowly.

"Yeah I'm just- I'm gonna" He pointed off in another direction and ran that way leaving Poe to be the sole bearer of my fury.

"Hey hey hey (y/n)" he held his hands out in front of him. "The day wasn't a total waste..." he trailed off seeing my foot tap on the floor quickly. " I mean come on... I know your name now." He finished speaking a goofy half smile on I his face as I screamed my frustrations. I took a deep breath and calmed myself down pointing an accusatory finger at Poe.

"If you ever, and I mean EVER step foot into my workshop, or approach me to talk to me without having either an actual proper emergency. Or strict orders from a superior to come to get me, I will murder you in your sleep. Do you understand me, Dameron?" I threatened him my voice lowered to a deadly calm, and for once he had no snarky remark. He simply nodded and I watched his shoulders deflate as I smiled satisfied with his agreement. "Good" I announced turning sharply on my heel and walking back to my workshop.

"She's even hotter when she's angry BB" I heard Poe sigh wistfully behind me and BB-8 beeped sarcastically in response. I resisted the urge to turn back to look at him, and continued to stomp away leaving him behind me. What was it that made him keep seeking me out, not that I was complaining, a hot, funny guy persistently trying to get my attention? It's not the worst thing that could happen to me. As I entered my workshop I caught myself smiling over thoughts of Poe, in all his annoyingness, the pilot was kind of growing on me. But I'd rather be shot dead by a stormtrooper than let him know that.  

--Time skip-- 

It worked! My cloaking prototype worked! After having to postpone my diagnostic tests for weeks, I was finally able to block out all distractions and test it and it worked! I laughed pumping my fist in the air and doing a little happy dance around my workshop. The best feeling in the world was knowing something I created and worked hard on worked to perfection. Of course, I'd still have to test my prototype on a bigger subject before presenting it to Leia. I sat down in my chair and started writing down things I could test my device on before presenting it to the general. I knew she'd be ecstatic to see what I've come up with. I was in the middle of making my list of things I could test it on when the door to my workshop wooshed open. And the beeps of my favorite droid were heard.

"Oh BB! You're just in time!" I swiveled in my chair turning to face him a grin spread wide on my face. "My prototype is done and it works BB! Can you believe it! It actually works! A few more tests and we might be seeing this bad boy on every ship in our fleet!" I sighed wistfully talking over the little droids' beeps. It was only when he ran himself repeatedly into my leg that I snapped out of my own head and listened to what he was saying.

"What? What about Poe?" I asked in too good of a mood because of my prototype to be annoyed or even pretend to be annoyed at the mention of his name. "HE CRASHED HIS X-WING?!?" I shot up from my chair panicked. Poe is the best pilot in our whole operation if he crashed his fighter something must have gone very wrong. I grabbed as many tools as my belt could hold and ran out to the landing bay as fast as I could. I arrived in record time and searched the area for Poe's X-wing and found it quickly. Everyone was gathered around it and Finn was helping Poe climb out of the pilot's seat. Poe leaned on him heavily until his gaze caught mine and then he swatted his friend away insisting he was fine. I approached him and he smiled wincing and clutching his ribs in pain.

"Wow (y/n) if I didn't know you better I'd say you look concerned for me" he grinned masking how painful it was to simply stand there in front of me, once again swatting Finn away when he went to support Poe.

"You may annoy me Dame- Poe but believe it or not I care" I huffed watching him try to suppress a smile on his face.

"Awe you hear that Finn she cares!" He looked at Finn who gave him a grimace. "I can die a happy man" He put his hand to his forehead miming a faint, and I rushed to support him.

"Don't even joke about that you idiot" I stood him up straight. "Now what happened?" I asked trying to move out of Poe's hold, but even being injured, he sure kept a tight grip on me.

"Oh you know the usual x-wing crashes, caught in a blaster battle with some empire tie fighters and, my engine went down during hyperspace travel, luckily I managed to touch down at the launch bay, relatively safely." He retold his story animatedly, as I unknowingly held my breath.

"Dank Farrik, Poe, alright well you get to the med bay while I get started on repairing your ship," I told him trying to pass him off to Finn, who reached out to loop Poe's arm around his shoulder.

"Uh-uh, you're with me (Y/n), you're not working on my ship without me." he protested clinging onto me like a koala. Finn and I gave each other a look.

"But Poe, you have to get to the med bay, and your fighter should start undergoing repairs as soon as possible" My reasoning fell on deaf ears as Poe turned his head away. 

"my ship my rules" he insisted stubbornly. 

"Oh you- I- Kriffing hell Dameron you're stubborn! Let's get you to the med bay. Your ship will have to wait" I rolled my eyes at Poe's smug expression as he threw his arm over my shoulder keeping his other hand pressed against his ribs. 

-Time skip because I'm not a doctor- 

I sat in the waiting room of the med bay fiddling with the tools on my belt pacing back and forth. Finn watched me from where he sat. 

"You really do, care for him don't you," He remarked after a long silence, and it stunned me enough to stop my pacing. 

"I mean I barely know him..." I insisted knawing on my bottom lip. Finn raised his eyebrow. "I only met him a couple of weeks ago, but he's got a way of weaseling into your head," I mumbled laughing lightly. 

"Yeah he does... he really likes you y'know?" Finn remarked, and I turned towards him. "for real, he tells a lot of jokes and brushes a lot of things off with a laugh, but he hasn't stopped talking about the cute mechanic who made him his droid's second favorite person" Finn laughed, and my face softened. 

"I didn't know he liked me" I messed with the tools in my belt nervously. "I just thought- Kriff, I don't know what I thought" I mumbled sitting down next to Finn. 

"Just, give him a chance, or at the very least hear him out. You don't even know the crazy ideas he came to me with to try and get your attention." Finn nudged me making me look at him and laugh. I went to respond but was interrupted by the med bay nurse, she looked at us her gaze not telling.  

"We've diagnosed him and have done everything we can, now he just needs to rest and heal" she instructed, and I let out a breath I hadn't realized I'd been holding in. "you guys can go in and see him now" She turned and walked back through the door. Finn and I stood up at the same time and he gestured for me to go ahead. We walked through the door and found Poe's room. My breath caught in my throat at the sight of him in the bed. He was going to be the death of me, His wounds wrapped up with gauze and a lazy smile on his face. 

"you stayed" he murmured and I almost didn't hear him.

"of course I did, I was" I glanced at Finn for a brief second and took a deep breath. "I was worried about you Poe" I walked closer to him and sat on the edge of his bed. 

"you were worried about me" he reached for my hand then, and I didn't pull it away. 

"Yeah but don't let it go to your head" I chuckled sniffling. Finn stepped forward. 

"How are you feeling," He asked. 

"like shit" Poe laughed, wincing and bringing his hand up to his ribs. 

"Careful man" Finn replied, and Poe waved him off. 

"I'm fine" He hissed in pain trying to sit up. 

"you're obviously not" I cut in, trying to coax Poe back to a lying down position, he refused and sat up. 

"I'm gonna go check in with the nurse and see what's wrong with him," Finn announced, giving me a meaningful glance. He walked out of the room and I listened to his footsteps fade. Poe and I sat in silence before I snuck a look at him, he was already looking at me. I took a deep breath and spoke. 

"So... Finn told me you came up with all sorts of crazy plans to get my attention" I watched his eyes widen a little before he schooled his features. 

"Yeah, well y'know" He replied nonchalantly but I heard the waver in his voice. 

"I don't actually" I giggled, and he smiled a bit as I moved closer to him. 

"I didn't have to use any of them anyway, turns out all I needed to do to get your attention was end up in med bay" He smiled. "hurts like hell but I think it's worth it to get you to care" My face flushed as I tried to hide the smile blooming on my face. "So, when I get out of this prison will you let me take you for dinner." He asked, I contemplated my answer for a moment, I nodded slightly, and he grinned widely. "Wooooo" He cheered enthusiastically, and I laughed, we fell into silence, and I fiddled with my hands. I looked back up at him, but he was already looking at me with a smile on his face. I flushed and tucked my hair behind my ear. "Can I kiss you?" He asked and I looked at him my eyes widened slightly. "Please?" He added quieter than I've ever heard him before. He sounded almost nervous. He quickly regained his composure. "I mean I'm just so wounded, and it would make me feel better." He pleaded jokingly. I chewed on my bottom lip fighting a smile, he was so handsome, I leaned forward my mouth next to his ear.

"you're so pretty, Dameron" I whispered, leaning back slightly, smiling at the awestruck look on his face, I committed it to memory and closed my eyes leaning in and pressing my lips against his. It lasted no more than a couple of seconds before I pulled away, and when I did I watched him take a deep breath. "speechless for once?" I asked teasingly, and he smiled bashfully.

"I've been wanting to do that for a while" He admitted bringing his hand up to brush some hair out of my face. I leaned into his touch, and he moved his hand to the back of my neck and pulled me in for another kiss. I leaned into it, letting him lead, moving my lips in sync with his. He pushed against me eagerly deepening the kiss. I ran my hand through his hair tugging gently, he groaned and I smiled. His hand made its way to my thigh rubbing circles with his thumb. We only broke apart from each other at the sound of a throat clearing from the doorway. 

"got a little excited there Poe?" Finn chuckled motioning to the heart monitor by his bed which was beeping quickly. Finn and I laughed,  "the doctor said they're gonna keep you here a couple more days, just to keep an eye on you." Finn announced, and Poe groaned at the thought of spending more time in the med bay bed. 

"Hey I'll come visit you" I smiled tucking my hand under his chin and giving him a kiss on his forehead, I moved back so I could leave the room with Finn. Poe didn't let me back away before giving me another kiss. He finally let me go, and I moved away from his bed. "Get some rest Poe" I smiled. 

"Come back soon!" He told me, "I'll be sure to get better fast so I can take you on that date." He smiled slyly and I rolled my eyes. 

"Alright, bye Poe" I walked out the door. Finn followed behind me. I smiled, as Finn and I walked alongside each other leaving the med bay. 

"soo... took my advice I see" He teased elbowing me, gently. 

"Oh, shut up Finn" I rolled my eyes. We walked down across the grass to get back to my workshop. We walked in silence, for half the way there, when Finn cleared his throat and spoke up again. 

"He did it on purpose, y'know" Finn said hesitantly, and I looked at him confused. 

"did what," I asked. 

"uh, crashed his x-wing... he did it on purpose..." Finn mumbled, and I looked at him my mouth falling open. "it was one of the crazy plans he came up with to get your attention after you told him not to bug you anymore when he lied about having problems with his ship. So he figured if he had an actual emergency..." Finn trailed off and I clenched my fists at my side. I. was. fuming. 

"Kriffing hell, you mean to tell me he purposefully put himself in danger just so I would give him the time of day?!?!" I shouted. "Maker, of all the stupid, recklessly idiotic, ways he could have gotten my attention he had to go and get himself hurt, and put in the med bay" I fumed, ooh when I got my hands on Dameron. I looked at Finn really quick, and he gave me a questioning look. Before I bolted running back the way we came to the med bay. 

"(Y/N)" Finn shouted after me and I heard him running to catch up with me, I sprinted into the med bay building and arrived at Poe's door right as I saw Finn turn the corner barrelling towards me. I kicked open Poe's door. 

"DAMERON" I yelled and he turned towards me a smile on his face, the smile quickly vanishing when he saw the anger displayed on my face. His expression morphed quickly into one of fear, Finn stepped into the door frame, reaching forward to grab me and hold me back. "You're an idiot Dameron, of all the ways you could've gotten my attention you had to go and injure yourself! Do you know how worried I was? What if you had died huh? What if you got so hurt you could never fly again huh?" I tried to peel Finn's hands off of me, as I yelled at Poe. "when you get out of here ooh you're gonna be in so much trouble" I yelled Finn finally being able to drag me out of the room kicking and yelling at Poe the whole time. 

"I'll see you when I'm out!" Poe yelled.

--Time skip-- 

I didn't go visit him in the med bay, I was still fuming at him for purposefully crashing his x-wing just to get my attention. It was stupid and irresponsible, but I suppose it was kind of sweet that he was so desperate to get my attention. I sighed, I should go apologize for yelling at him. It wasn't fair for me to yell at him after he'd gotten in an accident, especially since it was on my account. I sat at my desk fiddling with a bit of scrap metal, and wiring. I had to find him and apologize. I was about to get my jacket and head out to find him and apologize to him when I heard a knock at my door. I guess his apology would have to wait.

"(Y/n)" A voice called out from the other side of the door. I tried to make it out. " I know you're in there" It was Poe, he must have been released from the med bay. I walked to my workshop door and unlocked it using the keypad I had installed, the door immediately wooshed open, revealing him on the other side of the door.  "(y/n) Hey," he said earnestly when he saw me standing there.

"hey, Dameron" I mumbled, not making eye contact with him.

"back to Dameron am I?" He joked halfheartedly, "listen um" I finally looked at him and he looked back at me with these big puppy dog eyes. My throat dried up, wow he was handsome, handsome but oh so stupid. "I um, I just wanted to apologize for making you worry like that, I was just so desperate for your attention, and you just wouldn't give me the time of day, but it was no reason for me to go and risk my life like that, it was reckless and irresponsible, I'm sorry" He rambled, and I smiled, here he was after spending days in the med bay cause he purposefully crashed his x-wing to get my attention, and he was apologizing for making me worry. I looked at him with a smile and pulled him in towards me for a kiss, I pulled away from him. And he looked at me with a dumbstruck look on his face. 

"Poe, Poe, Poe, it's okay" I interrupted him, sparing him from rambling any longer. "it's okay, I overreacted" I gripped his shirt tightly. "I was just so upset 'cause it really was irresponsible and dumb of you to crash an x-wing just for my attention, I didn't like seeing you hurt, especially when there were other ways for you to get my attention" I mumbled smiling slightly. 

"I know, I know, I'm sorry" He replied pulling me in for another kiss. I smiled into the kiss, feeling his hands drift to my waist. He pulled away not going very far. "Can you ever forgive me?" He asked teasingly. 

"I guess I can" I wrapped my arms around his neck. "As long as you promise never to do it again." He nodded excitedly, "good" I gave him another soft kiss on the lips. 

"Alright, cool cool" he smiled, "So if you're not busy, Finn, Rey and I are going down for dinner at the canteen, if you want to join us." He asked and I chuckled, "yeah I know not exactly the dinner date you probably had in mind but I'll take you out, for real this week." I nodded. 

"yeah, I've got some time" I answered. I walked back into my workshop to grab my jacket slipping it on. Walking back to the door I gestured for Poe to move out of the way, and I stepped to the other side turning to lock the door with the control panel. "alright I'm ready to go" I smiled, and we made our way to the canteen his hand slipping into mine.

--Fin--

QOTD: Who's your favorite star wars character?

Join my discord: https://discord.gg/9bwRmtXCuB

[effervescentdragon]

WIP WEDNESDAY! On a Friday because time is meaningless, taking the tag from @ayceeofspades bcs I can, and sharing the part of my Jurassic Park AU bcs I'm super proud of this part 🥰 the intended audience for this is Me and I'm using it to get over some shit and my writers' block bcs I need to. Gonna tag @river-ocean just because this is part of what I was telling you about, and leaving the tag open for whoever wants it 🥰

“What the fuck did you do?” he asked in a voice that sounded like a knife cut. “Are you trying to tell me - you actually - what do you mean, you got creative?” Rosberg almost stuttered, his words coming out fast, mixing with each other.

“Please tell me you didn’t,” Hamilton added softly. “Please, tell me you didn’t.”

George looked both baffled and embarrassed.

“What, uh, what do you mean?” George said, straightening himself up. “I assure you -”

“He means, please tell us you didn’t try to play God,” Sebastian said. When Arthur turned to look at him, the man looked furious and scared in the same measure. “Please tell us you did not engineer a new species of dinosaur.”

George cleared his throat. “Well. The corporate thought, and from what I understand, the numbers confirmed it, that Jurassic World was losing its relevance as an attraction. So they -”

“- let their greed influence them,” Sebastian interrupted. Arthur caught some movement through the glass. They were lowering a cow, a live one, into the paddock, probably as bait for this new dinosaur.

Arthur thought Indominus rex was a very cool name. He wasn’t about to share it with anyone, not now, when Vettel and Rosberg both looked outraged and Hamilton looked like he’d seen a ghost. Max and Ricciardo, who were both standing behind them, both had frowns on their faces.

He glanced at Charles, who was looking at the cow, and grimaced. Charles really liked cows. Arthur stepped closer to his brother on instinct.

“I - I would not put it quite like that,” George tried to argue, but Rosberg was having none of it.

“Did none of you learn anything from Jurassic Park?” He scoffed. “Let me guess, you took Marko’s research and completely ignored the consequences of it, consequences we-” he gestured around, “barely fucking lived through and testified against, since you managed to straighten out the genetic code for regular dinosaurs.” His eyes flashed. “Are regular dinosaurs not enough anymore?”

“Corporate thought a new species may up the ‘wow’ factor of the establishment and make us more relevant,” George answered.

“They are fucking dinosaurs,” Sebastian spat. “They are already ‘wow’ enough.”

“They thought it would make more money, more like,” Hamilton scowled. “Cash is king, isn’t it. Just like in Jurassic Park.”

“It took years to iron the knacks in regular dinosaurs’ DNA,” said Rosberg. “How long have you had to mix up this creative solution?”

“And even with regular ones, they are animals born and bred in captivity,” Hamilton continued. “The patterns of their actions are barely quantifiable.”

“What did you even put in the cocktail?” Vettel asked. “Which species have you added, and have you considered all the variations of their instincts and how they may interact with already fragmented dinosaur DNA?”

“Did you consider anything aside from corporate greed and trying to make as much money possible from playing with things that shouldn’t be played with, since you can’t even begin to predict the consequences?” Hamilton’s eyes flashed as he spoke.

“It’s no wonder we weren’t notified of this,” Rosberg snorted. “The ethical considerations alone are a fucking nightmare, but neither the corporate assholes nor you scientists think of ethics much, do you?”

“You only thought of whether or not you could,” Vettel finished in a low voice. “It never occurred to you to think if you should.”

Arthur admired George in that moment, because the man bore the triple attack with only slight rufflement. They are like raptors, Arthur thought, Vettel, Rosberg, and Hamilton. Attacking the prey from all sides, playing off each other, not allowing the prey to catch a moment’s respite. And they aren’t even in a good relationship right now. I would have loved to see them when their attacks were coordinated.

[sorcerous-caress]

Ok ok ok I'm very new to the human kink thing but I'm wondering if there's some kind of planar effect associated with it??? Like I can just imagine the idea of star elves and other eldarin who come from the feywild and spent their whole lives being so immersed in magic that if they ever encounter a non-spellcaster human for the first time it's just like wow. this mf has zero magic about them. I wonder if it's a strange sensation, like noise cancelling headphones, and that lack of magical energy might feel relieving or sexual for them. Idk if it's exactly dnd canon but I've always imagined magic aligned entities to be able to sense magic like a buzzing in the air, so a lack of that buzzing would be entirely wild for them. Either way, magical radio silence = sexual exploration for eldarin and I fully support it

(also I love love loveeeee your work and your dnd theories and fun inquiries have led me to learn so much more cool lore and it's shaped some of my interspecies interactions in-game as a DM so tysm for everything you do 💜💜)

Wait really? I inspired some of your moments as a dm? Omfg please tell me I'd love to listen if you're willing to share <33. Thank you so much for the praise!

Also I love your theory! I hold similar ideas, that concept is too cool to pass on.

I've seen one similar to its concept in a game called "Echos of the Fey"

So elves in this game, average elves not just eladrin, are all born with magic. Because all magic comes from the fey and all elves share a connection to it.

Humans can learn magic too by using the hammer method and seeing what sticks on the wall, but they can never connect to the fey.

And the fey is exactly like you described. It allows to elves to effortlessly connect to each other, feel and sense each other's presence before seeing each other. It allows parents to feel when their children die and allows lovers to sense when their elf partner is in danger.

Elves can share their emotions through the fey too, they don't need to use words or explain things. They can let the other person feel exactly what they're feeling.

It was described as a constant song, a different melody from each elf in the sanctuary they all lived in. Going on at all times. And sure one elf can supress their own song but they can't stop hearing others'.

You can also speak words into the other person's mind using the fey. If they give you permission to dive deeper into their soul, you can even tell if they're lying about something or being honest.

But again, all of this only applies if the two people are elves. Even sorcerer humans wouldn't be able to feel it or connect to the fey.

It's also why elves seem cold or detached to humans, they are so used to the fey and the immediate connection and trust it gives them in other elves, that they don't bother to learn how to properly express their emotions with words or facial expressions. As a society, their inner personal relationships are always reliant on the fey.

In that game, one elf does move to a human settlement and he describes it as radio silence. That sometimes when he's around so many elves, he wonders if his ideas are truly his own or simply from other elves through the fey.

That being near humans gives him more individuality, forces him to work hard to establish trust with someone rather then immediately earn it. To learn to express his emotions rather than assume the other person can feel them.

It is radio silence. There is no music except for the ones humans deliberately play with their instruments. Even then, anyone can misinterpret its meaning with no definitive answer.

In that game, there are no other races besides humans and elves. And no sub-races for elves, they're all high elves.

But that theory still holds up if we integrate it to dnd! With some adjustments. It explains why elves are so reclusive, why they prefer the company of other elves over other races, and why two elf strangers seem to almost click immediately.

The fey is a constant overstimulatation, like getting constant ads in a video. Some elves learn to tone it out while others are so fed up with it that they'd rather lose their own magic than stay connected to it.

Which is why those ones would move to human cities, would prefer the company of humans and find joy at how expressive they are, at the long trials each friendship has in order to earn their trust.

For once their mind is clear, no meddling fey making them feel other's emotions or hear their thoughts. Only their own thoughts in their brain, everything they feel is truly their own.

Except when another elf is nearby.

But again, each elf can choose to suppress their own presence in they fey, just not others'. So, I like to think that elves in human cities came to a collective agreement to supress their own presence in the fey to not bother each other, also to not make the humans feel left out.

Anyway, exposition over, time to talk about the actual kink.

So remember that dog drawing contest meme? This one?

Where, yes, the second drawing was so beautiful and amazing, but the first place one held an undeniable charm to it.

I think that's how eladrins and star elves view humans.

Ofwjofwjofjwks now hear me out!

They're so used to everyone around them brimming with magic, for other fey creatures' appearance to change drastically through the season, wearing the ocean waves aa a dress or growing a cherry blossom tree as hair.

Imagine a human in comparison, how simple and plain we would be, how utterly new and adorable in their views.

Simplicity has its merits, if done right then it can be as beautiful as complexity if not more.

A human, devoid of any magic and only wearing their own body and clothes as decoration, would be beyond this world for elves and eladrins, literally.

There is another game i played that had human wizards talking about the fey world and the dangers of it, i don't remember its name.

But the main reason why humans were told to avoid the fey world and never go there, is because their souls shine bright like a beacon amidst it.

Every person and creature in the fey world knows magic beyond our comprehension, and all of them know how to hide their souls and lock it. Like installing anitmalware and a firewall on a computer with proxy to prevent tracking.

Humans are the boomers who uninstall system 32.

Our souls are just up for grabs, literally on a silver plate for any fey who comes waltzing in and tricks us into some verbal contract. We have no magic to detect them or to prevent them.

Humans don't last in the fey realm, everyone wants them. Even the most talented wizards who live there, never stay for long or always take a break every now and then.

You are literally the lighthouse, siren and mist amidst the fey sea.

To an elf who is tried of the magical noise, you're like a comfort blanket. Warm and makes them ignore the world outside.

They're beyond infatuated with how much you steal all of their brain's attention, focus all of their scattered thoughts on you or the simplest of things.

How you express your joy with laughter, how you spent time cooking a meal, how tears collect down your face when you cry, how you tap your feet or click your tongue.

Primal life in its purest forms, the most bare form a soul could ever take.

You're the most simple shape, and for that, you are loved, adored for how much you hold. How easily you adapt, a white light containing a rainbow inside.

Humans fit anywhere and everywhere, even in places they're not supposed to. They still tried and will keep trying forever, that's why they keep stepping to the fey realm and keep attempting on befriending the elves or building houses there.

It's hard not to be blinded by their light, let it outshine everything else around them.

In a sexual context, I think elves and eladrins would be so used to magical sex or soul connections that with a human they get to experience having their soul grounded into earth.

The simplest touch of fingertips trailing up their skin, the silence except for the occasional gasps and groans of the human. For the first time their own moans are so clear to their pointy ears, they're forced to drown into their own emotions and melt into the bed.

And the humans seduction and pleasure somehow clicks with every single race, somehow surpasses so many cultural barriers. Experiencing pure pleasure with all the small awkwardness and discomforts, being acutely aware of the pillow under their head or the drumming of their heartbeat.

It's how humans don't need magic to thrive, have fun or give pleasure. How these things are second nature to them, you could strip them of all of their fancy science and magic and even then they'll still find a new way to climb up.

That's the human condition That's the human spirit, to care in the face of uncaring world. To love despite your own limitations, to be kind to something you can never understand.

Every wizard who has ever lived in the fey realm speaks of it fondly, like an old friend. Despite the countless attempts on their life, despite the times they almost lost their mind. Humans see beauty in everything, dangerous or soft.

And they infect others with their softness, make the elves and eladrins addicted to their comfortable silence. So much that they wonder how did they ever live before in the constant noise and buzzing.

Humans are like a vacation you go to when the polluted cities start to drain your soul, they're the fresh water running rivers through the dandelions filled fields.

And so many long to live there, to abandon their apartments and start over there. But they're afraid to steal the humans' light from them, to infect them with their magic and poison the waters.

So only a few go down there at a time, for a vacation length to an eladrin is akin to a lifetime to a human.

[inkblackorchid]

So... about season 3 Aki.

Ok harsh contrast to my previous, excited post, but I did say I had more to yell about episode 75 and I need to get this off my chest anyway. Plus, I remember mentioning in a post that I need to talk about season 3 onward Aki anyhow, so might as well do that now! I am thinking Big Thoughts and I need to Scream.

Long, incoherent, unhinged rant incoming because I have 100 things to say and 100000 screenshots to post, but I am also tired and my brain is mush.

Can we please talk about all the jarringly unfulfilled setup the start of season 3 did for Aki? Because I'm starting to feel an urge to claw at the walls. I'm gonna go through this, piece by piece of damning evidence, because I need to vent my utter confusion and frustration somehow, I guess. Okay. So.

After giving us a bit of time to settle in after the timeskip into the pre-WRGP stretch of things, the itty-bitty portion of the story Aki occupies at this point starts off arguably strong. Yusei gets kidnapped, everyone's in a frenzy about it, but Aki's especially worried.

Then this. Funky new signer powers! Nobody's been able to do this before! I wonder if they're going to do something with that! (Spoiler: They're not.)

Then Aki "no sense of self-preservation" Izayoi gets herself in a bunch of danger trying to rescue Yusei and we get this:

Oh! Wow! Aki can control her powers now! (Which: how. Why did they never show us this. That alone could have made for a whole mini-arc. Why waste that????) That would give the writers so many cool opportunities to let her use them! I wonder if they're going to do something with that! (Spoiler: They're not.)

(Side note: I love this scene. I love it to death. They're both ride-or-die "who cares for my safety when yours is on the line" for each other and I love them.)

Of course, shenanigans then ensue, leading up to Sherry's marvellous introduction.

(Mwah. I blow her a little kiss.)

And it is at this point that Aki Has An Epiphany.

And to top it off, she gets some interesting interactions with Sherry, too!

So Aki resolves that she wants to become a turbo-duellist, too. And the thing is, this isn't a little one-off thing or something they never deliver on. They end up building this up for several episodes, bit by bit. First we get another mention of it at the pre-WRGP press thingy they all attend:

Then it's brought up again when Yusei accepts the first duel against Bruno/Antinomy:

(Also, side note again, but can I just mention that Aki also gets this moment the episode before:)

(Where she literally puts herself directly in harm's way in a public setting to protect people with her powers??? Like, I'm sorry, pinch me or something, but how does that not scream "badass good girl setup"???? HOW?)

So we get at least three episodes worth of buildup where Aki agonizes over becoming a turbo duellist to understand what her friends (but especially Yusei) are feeling when they duel like that, and then they finally deliver on it and episode 75 has her getting her license. And it's fantastic. Seriously. That episode is golden. Not just because it delivers on this promise, not just because it has a really cute moment between Aki and Yusei in it (regardless of how you read their relationship dynamic), and not just because it (as per my last post) showcases how much the rest of Team 5Ds cares about Aki (by literally building a runner for her and accompanying her to her exam and don't even get me started on Jack beating up those jerks trying to make her crash unprompted) but because it gives us just that smidgen more detail about Aki's character, too. Because the thing is, at first, she majorly sucks at driving.

And not only is this realistic to a degree (learning to drive is hard, regardless of what you're learning to drive), it's also great, because you know what Aki's response to it is?

She keeps going. She doesn't let it get her down, she gets back up and tries again. (And from a writing standpoint, this is lovely because that stubbornness is great in situations like this, but you could easily turn it into a weakness in a different scenario if you wanted to.)

And not only does Aki learn driving the hard way here, she also finds herself confronted with jerks who don't want her to succeed,

(Ruka, sweetie, I love you.)

and she makes an absolute rookie mistake during her exam by trying to play a speed spell when she doesn't have the necessary speed counters.

And feel free to disagree, but I think this is also great. Because honestly? While driving a really damned fast motorcycle that I'm not super used to yet, and being expected to make solid tactical judgements in an overcomplicated card game—the rules of which are slightly different when you're playing it on a motorcycle—at the same time, I would likely also mess up like that and accidentally try to make an illegal play. But the thing is, the episode rewards her for sticking it out anyway by letting her pull off a really complicated driving manoeuvre to save herself from her envious turbo-duelling-license colleagues' cheap tricks, and by letting her score a really nice win from a tight spot, much like any of the boys would have in her position.

(Take that, you jerks. Dumbasses only get blurry screenshots.)

So Aki gets her license and is welcomed by the team as a fresh turbo duellist. Hooray!

(I love them all so, so much, help me.)

And we also get this:

Wouldn't you know it! Sherry's been watching Aki get her license with interest! And she seems to be mighty pleased with the result!

So. After all that, I don't think you could blame anyone (it's me, I'm anyone) for getting really excited about what Aki's gonna get up to from this point outward. Aki can control her powers now! And she got her turbo duelling license! And we've got a new, enigmatic side character who seems like she could have super interesting interactions with and play off Aki! I wonder what they're gonna do with all that.

*deep breath*

Sigh.

Seeing as I already know this show like the palm of my hand, I kind of dreaded getting past this episode because I know exactly what happens to Aki from this point out: Nothing. A whole lot of nothing. Okay, well, no. See, I went back and checked all the episodes I have left, just to make sure, just in case I forgot something (very likely when you've already watched the show three times, I know).

From here on out, during the entire pre-WRGP, WRGP, and Ark Cradle arc, Aki gets exactly three things to do:

She uses her shiny new turbo duelling license to fill in for Crow at the Team Unicorn match because he got injured. Which, on paper, is a perfect way to let her have the spotlight for a moment. Except, the only thing she gets that spotlight for is to last a hot four turns in the duel before losing spectacularly to Andre and literally never turbo duelling again for the rest of the show. (Like, yes. The moment where she summons Stardust Dragon is chefs kiss and legendary. But in light of the surrounding circumstances, it feels like a consolation prize to make up for the ensuing character trainwreck.)

Since Crow is technically still injured when they're meant to go up against Team Catastrophe, Aki trains to fill in for him there again. Except! They intentionally make her crash right before the duel, putting her in a short-term coma! And as the icing on the cake, when she wakes up, it also turns out she lost the powers she was only just able to control for absolutely. no. reason. None. They never bother explaining it, they don't even try to hint at why they might have vanished. (I have my own theories for why they had to let her powers vanish and they all start and end with the words "we couldn't be bothered to figure out how to write this character".)

At the very end of the show, the very end, after temporarily fridging Sherry, too, they dig both girls back up in order to let them participate in a three-way final boss duel with Crow. (Which is a fantastic duel, I love it to pieces. Genuinely.) You could argue that they tried to cash in on all the intrigue they set up between Aki and Sherry here, but—come on. At the end of the show? Seriously? Oh, and did I mention that for some reason, Aki's powers mysteriously reappear after this duel? For no reason? Again?

I just. It does not compute. They went as far as doing all this setup, letting Aki get the hang of her powers, letting her get her license, making her part of Team 5Ds, even giving us a new character that seemed like the perfect fit to let her bounce off of—and then, like some sort of kafkaesque reverse-miracle, they somehow managed to take a sharp left into "whoops, don't care about this character" and nearly wasted the entirety of that setup in one fell swoop. If it weren't for that finale saving at least a smidgen of it, I'd be holding a torch and a pitchfork over here. (Hell, I might, even knowing that Aki's final duel in the show is kickass.)

Please tell me if this is just me (15 years after the show released, I know, leave me alone), but this feels like they were literally loading Chekov's gun directly within view of the audience, only to later procede to toss the damned thing into the sea instead of firing it.

Okay. Okay, I think I'm done. For anyone who actually bothered with the whole post, first of all, thank you for your attention, secondly, sorry, but this does, indeed, still bother me ten years after I first found this show, so I had to get it out or it would have eaten at me forever. God damn it.

Anyway, if you'll excuse me, I'm going back to writing fics where Aki actually gets something to do right this second. If anyone's interested in giving a fic series where Aki gets a separate character arc that tries to stay mostly canon-compliant after the defeat of the dark signers a go, you can find my stuff here.

[bess3714]

I had so much fun with the first Birds of Prey issue. Like seriously, I like all my pulls but I got to the end of this one and was mad that it wasn't longer because I wanted more, and I don't often feel that way about a comic.

Spoilers ahead!

The Art

The art kind of reminded me of old school comics which was really cool, but at the same time it had a more modern feel, which I think was due to the colors. I really like the art in this comic, the previews looked cool and the actual comic didn't disappoint.

I swear this panel feels like it could have come from a Batman comic in the eighties, which I like, since that's what I read a lot of, but also it's a little different and fresh, which I also like because it's fun and new to me.

I love the way the characters are shaped. They are all drawn like solid, sturdy people. Out of the five, Harley and Dinah have the most revealing costumes (Dinah wears fishnets, and Harley has a crop top), but none of their costumes have that sexualized feel to them. I'm very used to reading pre-Flashpoint comics and wow the women's costumes are revealing. Which is not a bad thing, I suppose, but it does feel very distinct to me then when costumes aren't.

The panels are fun. I have a tendency to focus more on dialogue than on art (which I've been working on not doing), especially when pages have a lot going on, but I didn't have that trouble here. The panels were very clean and easy for me to follow, but they weren't boring either. I loved the spread of Cass and Dinah fighting the assassins, and the page of Cass and Barda fighting the vampire guys (I have more to say later about Barda and Cass!)

Finally, the colors! Which I love! They're very crisp and bold and so pretty! I really really really liked them. In case you couldn't tell.

(Also, if there are any trans Cass truthers out there, they're going to love this panel. I'm not one but I'm sure somewhere out there, there's someone who's going to go, 'trans flag colors on a Cassandra Cain panel?!?!' and have a really great day.)

Characters and Story

First we have Dinah Lance (Black Canary), who is assembling a team to rescue her sister, Sin.

Then we have Cassandra Cain (Batgirl), who immediately agrees to join Dinah's team to help Sin.

Next is Big Barda, who also agrees to join Dinah's team to help Sin.

Dinah calls in a favor from Lady Zannah (Zealot) to get her to join the team.

And finally, Cass suggests Harley Quinn for their fifth member, and when she finds out it's to help save a teenager, she agrees.

Story

So! What I liked, and what I didn't.

I loved Cass and Big Barda's interactions. Big Barda immediately respects Cass's abilities as a fighter. When she tells Cass she isn't good at telling stories, she follows it up with reassurance of her other strengths. And Big Barda calls her 'small bat' and 'little bat' which is so sweet and adorable and I want them to be friends.

When I saw the announcement that Harley was going to in this comic, I wasn't surprised, and I was uncertain how well that would work. Harley is a big moneymaker right now, which is why she seems to be popping up in everything. I'm hesitant, but I think she could be written well and we'll just have to wait and see. I liked that Cass suggested her because of her unpredictable nature and I'm curious to see where that goes. I'd like to see more Cass and Harley interactions because I think they could be a really fun and interesting duo.

I didn't like that they didn't tell us why Dinah can't bring in Barbara on this. I have a sneaking suspicion that they're going to build up to the 'why' and it's going to be for a stupid reason and then I'll be disappointed. I'm crossing my fingers my hunch is wrong.

Finally, I'm uncertain how I feel about the whole Dinah-Harley dynamic. Dinah wrote off Harley pretty quick, but she let Harley on the team anyway. I wonder how that dynamic is going to play out in the future.

Conclusion

I'm excited! I think this is going to be a fun comic, I'm excited to see what happens next, and I think people should read it

Now to wait for the next issue... *sigh*

[alitgblog]

was gonna do a march madness bracket for litg characters but I feel like we know which fan favorites are gonna win so instead, with my extra time, I did a hunger games simulator (logical next step lol).

Tried to pick a guy and girl from every season (plus an extra duo from seasons 2,4, and 6 just because I like those seasons lol). With a few exceptions and wild cards, but you'll see.

ANyway the highlights (didn't include every death so if you're wondering what's happening to some characters, you can ask me lol).

I guess first off, Vicki does die very quickly (killed by her someone in own district, Estelle). (FYI I only picked those two because I was like well they're the prettiest ones from S7 lol). Also Theo and Claudia being in character and helping each other out is cool and in character (spoilers: won't stay that way). Jakub is also having a comedy of errors going on, which I fully expect from him. And there's some Gramish interactions in there which is fun. I forgot to screenshot it but they do form a short lived alliance.

Ozzy and Marshall are both messes most of the time: absolutely what I expect out of the two of them. They kind of took over S6 (with Amelia but I didn't put her in this) and fittingly, I am invested in their storyline for this simulator even though at first I just wanted to see who was gonna be the stronger twin lmao. (That's also why S7 has two girls to balance out these two being on the same team.)

Pretty early on, Bruno also kills his own teammate, Angie, and I immediately regret putting in my favorites in the simulator. S4 does get their moment in the spotlight though, because Kelly somehow ends up hunting Suresh. Like I just know if she got more time in litg she'd have my back 😤😤 (even though Suresh is in a different season). This does not go well a few days later, however, when Kelly drinks the poison she meant to give Suresh. And then he steals the idea and then poisons Dana from his own district, wowwww.

Moving on, if you want some insight on my S3 picks, I thought they were all too nice to have to deal with this and after some careful deliberation (I sat around for two minutes trying to think of what would be the funniest option). Anyway so here's an update on how Kerry's doing. She's kind of made an alliance with Lottie, which makes sense Lottie not wanting to work with her fellow district tribute, Jakub.

Anyway next group of killings: goodbye more of my faves (also wtf Theo). Speaking of Theo, he does make an alliance with my district 12 wild card picks which are of course, fan favorites Gareth and Lola. (For the record, Theo does kill Lola later on and Gareth dies of hypothermia. I don't have any other screenshots of the birds I just felt like keeping y'all updated.)

Anyway, it's been a few days, you may be wondering how Ozzy and Marshall are doing: (this happens twice fyi, wow the twins are BONDING)

This might hurt some people: the funny short kings are fighting. This isn't how Bobby dies though, unfortunately the S2 fan favorite humans are killed off by the other two

It seems after this, Lottie's really going through something, now kind of forcing murder on her ally, Kerry. However, she kills Suresh who has like three kills at this point? So, ehh. It goes badly very soon after though, as Lottie BETRAYS Kerry?? Plot twist, damn.

Eventually, Marshall, Estelle, and Theo all team up to hunt others (keep in mind at this point, I believe Estelle and Theo have the most kills). This does not bode well for Marshall and Ozzy finally bonding though. Again, Lottie is going through some mental turmoil probably after all those kills, and asks Ozzy to kill her but he already is trying not to kill anyone.

Anyway that alliance does not last. Estelle walks over a landmine, and Marshall betrays Theo. This is high drama as far as I'm concerned, and of course main character Marshall.

Jakub is still going through a comedy of errors.

Meanwhile, Allegra has just been vibing most of the time. She talked to Tim like once. And she's been getting stuff from sponsors. But somehow has allied with Lottie and I assume that helps Lottie regain her confidence. Because together they kill Ozzy. And Marshall doesn't even know.

We eventually do land on final two Lottie and Marshall. Lottie, who's losing her mind, and Marshall, also not in the best headspace but doubly so now seeking revenge for his brother. It's very much going back and forth who's hunting who.

Anticlimactic, but do we have a winner shortly after because Lottie dies of starvation, and I think Marshall finds the body and it's a weird bittersweet ending because he made it and didn't have to kill her but also didn't get vengeance and has to live with all that.

So so fun.

Anyway feel free to make your own lol