#OKAY. I KNOW THE SNAILS LOOK HORRIBLE.

[eydilily]

🐌🐌🐌 BAM!

close up shot :3c

and a lil progression comparison

[minimomoe]

Hi just wanted to let you know I LOVEDDD Not Just Neighbors but I have a question does reader know about Logan and variant reader in his past universe and if she doesn’t then who would tell her and how would she react?would she be understanding?or would she feel like Logan’s only with her to fill in variant readers place? (I don’t know if your requests are open so you can ignore this if not or if you don’t feel comfortable answering :D)

For the sake of keeping it a short (I tried my hardest but ik it's long lol) oneshot reader understands that she might have meant something to Logan in his universe but doesn't press on it since he seldom talks about his past. I kinda wrote that whole story on a whim so I didn't think too hard about it. Since you asked so nicely, here's an alternate excerpt of how that realization could've went: wrd ct: 1.9k tags: a little angsty but that's all

Not a Replacement

"Wade you gotta tell me. We're on better terms now, but why did Logan hate me so much? I hardly ever talked to him but when he sees me his face scrunches up like he smells shit. Do I smell like shit? Be honest."

Wade's nose went straight to the crook of your neck and you rolled your eyes before shoving him away. "What?! You said to be honest. You smell great though," he shrugged.

"Okay, so what was it?"

"What is what?"

You pinched the bridge of your nose. Your patience was running thin and you didn't have time for Wade's games. "What was the reason? He's your roommate, you gotta know something."

You were sitting at Wade's dining table and you saw the food in his mouth slow to snail speed. His eyes darted to you for only a second but it was all you needed.

"Wade," you said in a warning tone. "Do you know something?"

"I know a lot of things. For instance, I know that you are the best damn cook in this whole apartment building, you're insanely gorgeous, you hate when people keep secrets, and did I mention how really fucking pretty you are?"

"You better tell me or so help me god every plate I bring you will be under seasoned and burnt to a crisp."

"Okay fine!" He dropped his sandwich onto his plate and crossed his arms over his chest. You scooched your chair in closer, finally ready to hear an explanation. "You better not tell anyone you found out from me or steak knives is gonna cut my dick off again."

"Again?" You gave him a concerned look.

"Don't try to change the subject, missy. The truth of the matter is that our resident honey badger might like you a lot more than he lets on. I am risking so much by telling you this."

"From my understanding you can't die, so how much are you really risking?"

"You don't live with him, smartass," he grumbled. Wade scratched the back of his neck, suddenly a lot more serious than you usually see him and he looked almost... apologetic. You straightened up when he hesitantly opened his mouth again. "I explained the different timelines, right? Logan isn't from our time line, I plucked from a different one and tricked him into helping me. The thing is, these timelines can be very similar to each other."

You understood it well, or as much as you could, from the first time Wade explained it to you. Time traveling, anchor beings, Paradox and Cassandra Nova all seemed too ridiculous to be true, but you knew Wade wouldn't lie about such a thing. Plus you know about mutants and Wade's regenerative powers. Of course crazier things existed.

"I'm picking up what you're putting down. What does this have to do with Logan's apprehension towards me?"

Wade sighed, running his hand over his face. "It's not apprehension, okay? Look, I noticed it too. The way that he acted like he might explode if you come too close. He knew you, and I mean knew you, personally— intimately, before and now you don't even recognize his face. I know that feels fucking horrible."

Wade stared down at his sandwich somberly like he was speaking from experience. You fell silent, ruminating on his words.

Intimately. You have never met anyone like Logan before, but he already knew you. There was nothing you could even compare this to. You slowly got up from your seat and patted Wade on the shoulder. Your mood was dampening at the new information.

"Uh, thanks man."

"This is why I didn't want to tell you. I don't blame you but you're all weird now," he groaned. "You're not a replacement. She could've been entirely different. She could've be Catholic."

He was expecting a smirk from you at the very least but got nothing. "That doesn't really help."

Wade watched you slump out of his apartment to head back to yours without another word. He could literally see the cloud of gloom forming over your head and he groaned dramatically.

"Canadians are supposed to be nice people. I should know! Leave it to the Australian to ruin that for us."

---*---

Logan could smell the difference in your mood around him. You were on edge, giving him sneaking side eyes when you thought he wasn't looking and nervously biting on your thumbnail. Something was bothering you, something pertaining to him, and you didn't know how to bring it up.

It would be hypocritical of him to drag out the issue with you, but he never played fair before.

"If you stare at me any harder bub, you're gonna put a hole in my head."

He offered to take you out to get dinner instead of staying in. It was nothing fancy, just a small Indian restaurant that he found on a whim, but he remembered you saying that it was one of your favorite ethnic foods to eat. The short walk back to home was just to kill more time to spend with you, but you were hardly saying anything.

You pinched your bottom lip between your two fingers, rolling it over slowly. "It's nothing. I'm just tired, that's all."

The dismissive answer did nothing for Logan. He gave you a hard stare that you didn't return. Instead you walked a few paces ahead of him, leaving him behind.

"Hey!" Logan called out to you, grabbing your arm. You reeled back, shaking him off and pursed your lips together. The sudden coldness wafting off of you made him panic internally. Did he say something he shouldn't have? Did you suddenly get tired of keeping things friendly. Was he reading you all wrong? All those questions burned the back of his throat but he rather ask the obvious one.

"I've seen you tired and this ain't it. What's the problem?"

Finally you returned his gaze with an cautionary look. "What really happened between us Logan? In the past, or a different timeline, or whatever the fuck. How much history is between us?"

The question knocked Logan over like a mack truck. This was not the type of conversation he wanted to have with you in the middle of the street with cars honking and passersby brushing past, but you were standing your ground. Logan ran a weary hand through his hair then rested it on his hip. If he wanted to make this work with you, he'd have to be honest with himself.

“Did Wilson run his mouth—“

“Forget about him. I’m asking you.”

He stared at you dead on, looking into your eyes that were uncertain of him. "You left me.”

You stiffened up, the statement making you falter.

"And I'm not saying that to make you feel bad. You gave me chance after chance to get my shit together and I didn't. I was breaking your heart and you didn't want to stick around to watch me crash."

Logan sat down on the nearest street bench. The headlights of oncoming traffic blinded his visage with a pure bright white before turning. He could hear your pleas from time's past, your dissapointed tone. He could hear the screams of his x-men, his family that he left behind.

"You visited me after they... after the humans killed the x-men. You saw the damage that was done and you hated me for it."

Logan felt the thud of you sitting on the other side of the bench. He didn't look at you, now taken with his memories, but you were no longer on the run. You wanted to hear his side that he never got to tell anyone.

"They were like family to you too. Ororo, Charles, Jean, Scott. You loved them, so when you found out that they were gone and I was still alive..." Logan's voice trailed off and his head hung low. "I was never a hero. Or a good guy. I was a selfish asshole who left when things got tough. I couldn't save my relationship with you, or save the people I owe my life to because the only thing I'm good at is destroying things. Then I come to this world and you givin' me this bright eyed, hopeful look and I couldn't handle it."

New York City has never been known as a quiet city but there was an eerie silence that ensued. It was like everybody was holding their breath, silently listening to Logan’s darkest confessions.

"I wasn't trying to hide anything from you. What I did before keeps me up at night, eats me from inside. But being around you again... shit, it reminds me that I didn't lose everything.”

A long beat of silence stretched after Logan's words. You stared into on coming traffic too, unable to form words. You held your arms together, the cool breeze of the night chilling your bones.

“Fuck,” you sighed, a wave a guilt washing over you. “I shouldn’t have pushed you.”

He shook his head. “You have the right to know.”

“I just made you spill your guts out on this public bench because I was worried that I was some freaky look a like for somebody that you used to know.” You put your head in your hands and groaned. “I can’t speak for past me because she isn’t me… but I am glad to have you here in this timeline, Logan. If it’s any consolation, it seems like we were always supposed to find each other.”

Logan couldn’t be more grateful for that fact. He never sought out to use you to fix some broken piece in him. It just happened that if given the chance, he would choose to love you every single time. Given all his mistakes, loving you was never a wrong choice.

You scooted closer to Logan’s still body, closing the distance until your thigh was pressed against his. You leaned over until your head was resting on his shoulder, soaking up his body heat. Neither of you said anything for a while. You didn’t need to.

Logan’s voice travelled through your body when he spoke again. It was gruff, making him clear his throat before starting over. “They had a nickname for me according to the TVA. They called me 'the Worst Logan'.”

“Do you believe that?” You peered up at him. It was that same look that made him want to run for the hills. You were disarming without even trying. He felt naked, unable to hide his beating heart that you held in your hands. After a thick swallow he was able to answer.

“Not as much. I’m better than before.”

You nodded, content with his response. “And you’ll keep on getting better. The TVA doesn’t know what they’re talking about anyway.”

You slipped your hand under Logan’s that rested on his thigh and he quickly squeezed it like a lifeline.

“I’m not subbing you in for anyone, bub. Plus, past you was never this sappy,” he joked.

“Oh fuck off,” you chuckled. “But thank you. For telling me everything.”

“You’re easy to talk to,” he shrugged.

You and Logan remained on the bench for a little while longer. The sleepless city continued to hum along, cars honking and people talking, and you sat there absorbing it all, hands still entwined together.

thank you so much for the request! sorry it took so long, I was trying to balance angst and good ending. Check out Not Just Neighbors ("the worst" Logan x Reader) for more context! I'd love to hear y'all thoughts xx!!

M.list || Ao3 || Twitter

[froody]

TLDR: do not read a loved one’s diary.

During Hurricane Helene while the power was out, I was rummaging around in the garage looking for rechargeable battery packs. They happened to be housed in a plastic tote with a number of small notebooks. I decided to take the notebooks and look through them while I sat in my car waiting for my phone (and power bank) to charge. They were mostly blank. Some were mine.

One was my mother’s therapy notes from 2016. I should have closed it and put it back when I noticed what it was. I wish I had. I didn’t. I read it. I’m fucking evil. I invaded her privacy and I read it. Most of it was things I knew she had thought and felt at the time but something hurt me. She called me selfish and self-centered several times. This wouldn’t bother me if she was calling 2024 me selfish/self-centered but I was a SUICIDAL FIFTEEN YEAR OLD at the time.

I spent the ages 12 to 18 essentially locked in my room. My parents had an extremely toxic relationship and whenever I left my room, I ended up in the middle of their arguments trying to mediate and trying to get my mom to leave my father. When I was 13, I remember her busting down my door to take my phone to call her boyfriend because my father had taken her keys and her phone and she had no way to escape the house because we lived in the middle of nowhere with no neighbors. She left that night and LEFT ME WITH HIM.

I didn’t leave my room because my parents would both get drunk and scream at each other and my dad would PUT HIS HANDS ON HER IN FRONT OF ME.

I begged her to leave him for years. I begged. She kept going back. She finally left him when I was 14 but by then I was already traumatized, actively suicidal and failing school due to the stress at home and my worsening mental health. She was not good with my suicidal ideations and spiraling mental health. She didn’t neglect me medically, I saw several different physiatrists and therapists and was on so many psychiatric medications that I cannot remember what I’ve tried and what worked and what didn’t. But whenever I reached out for help, looked to her for support, told her I was suicidal or too anxious to leave the house, she treated it like it was a manipulation tactic on my part. She treated me not like I was faking for attention but like I was faking to hurt HER. One time, when I was 14, I told her I was contemplating suicide and she DROVE AWAY AND LEFT ME ALONE IN OUR NEW HOUSE.

So I locked myself in my room and essentially greyrocked her. I didn’t listen to her problems anymore. I didn’t tell her my problems anymore. I told my problems to 20 and 30 somethings online on Skype and KIK. And she called me selfish and self-centered because I pulled away.

I understand she was an extremely emotionally injured, traumatized and abused woman but I was an extremely emotionally injured and traumatized child. A 15 year old child. A little boy who couldn’t trust and confide in either of his parents. But to her I was selfish and self-centered. Because I did not want to play psychiatrist anymore.

Our relationship only really improved in senior year/into my adulthood. My mental health improved and I learned to cope a little better. I still keep an element of emotional shallowness between us but we don’t fight anymore. I love my mom. I have no doubt my mom loves me. I just cannot trust her with my mental health. That’s okay.

But reading her therapy notes, which I only saw because my ass was snooping and violated her privacy, reopened some horribly healed wound within me and I’ve felt myself disconnect from her again? I don’t know how to explain it. I felt it but I don’t think I really realized what it was until she broke her foot on my birthday while I was home alone an hour and a half away. It’s like this emptiness. I’m struggling to respond to her texts and show appropriate concern and love and pour from that glass within me. I’ve withdrawn back into that snail shell, back into the safety of my own little sphere. And it shouldn’t be something I take out on her. All because I’m hurt by something she felt/wrote 8 years ago, something deeply personal that she expressed privately to a therapist and in her journal. Something I shouldn’t have read. This is so fucked up. I’m so beyond fucked up. I hate myself.

[purrrrplecats]

oh no i found it

the in correct quote generato-

(there a lot so if you don't want to read lots don't click keep reading)(theres loads i think 50-)

Scar: Grian and I are so close we even share a toothbrush. Grian: We what?

(he appoligised abt the joke later on.)

Mumbo: I’d like to live through a week that’s not a whole new verse of “We Didn’t Start the Fire.”

Grian: Hey, are you alright with swearing? Asking for a friend. Scar: Yeah? Grian: Bitch.

Mumbo: Is… Is that meant to be on fire? Grian: No… not really. Mumbo: Are you going to do something about it? Grian: Hm… nah.

Grian: Your future self is talking shit about you right now. Scar: Jokes on them. I'll ruin their fucking life.

Pearl: If looking good was a crime, you’d be a law abiding citizen.

Pearl: I’m proud to say I’ve come over my fear of ghosts! Grian: Eyy, that’s the spirit! Pearl: gasps whErE???!!!??

Impulse: So I have made the decision to trust you. Grian: A horrible decision, really.

Grian: Gem, is that my mug you’re drinking out of? Gem: No, it’s mine. Grian: It… looks just like the one I have… Gem: You don’t have one like this anymore.

(its and mug with pink and blue snails on it.)

Gem: This should be illegal! Pearl: It is.

Pearl: Okay, let's split 'em up and make 'em sing. Impulse: Two of you take Gem, the other two take Grian. Scar: Right. Bad cop, good cop. Mumbo: You know, it's interesting that they say "bad cop, good cop," because policing in this country is so broken it's really just "bad cop, bad cop". Impulse: Scar, you're with them. Scar: Got it.

Grian: Norwegia. Is. Not. A. COUNTRY! Scar: Then where are Norwegian people from!? Impulse: NORWAY!!

Impulse: Would you slap Pearl- Grian: Yes. Impulse: I didn't even finish! Grian: Sorry, continue. Impulse: Would you slap Pearl for 10 dollars? Grian: I would do it for free. Pearl: Rude…

(you could also swap Grian and Pearl around because I mean, SKYLINGS)

Grian: If you want my advice- Pearl: No offense but you’re the last person I want relationship advice from. You tried to kill your significant other. Multiple times. Grian: First off, that was before we started dating. Secondly, they’ve also tried to kill me. Scar: It’s true. It was mutually attempted murder.

Scar, to the Squad: The real secret to immortality? Not dying. You want to be immortal? Okay, that’s easy. Just don’t die. That’s it. Refuse to die. There you go. Impulse: But how- Scar, ignoring them: “But how”, you may ask. Well, easy. Just don’t do it. Refuse to. Say “no thanks”.

Gem: I am strong! I beat Grian at arm wrestling! Impulse: Anyone can beat Grian at arm wrestling! Grian: Hey-

(sure Impulse sure-)

Gem: Grian, I am nothing if not a Woman of principle. Gem: Now let’s break into this apartment.

Pearl: Would anyone know any good vendors for professional-quality brass knuckles? Gem: I know you’re serious, but you say the scariest shit sometimes.

(again you could swap them around)

Pearl: Hey, you want a tarot reading? Mumbo: Those are Pokemon cards. Pearl: You got a magikarp. Mumbo: … Pearl: It means 'fuck you'.

Grian: Pulls a glass a water from out of nowhere Gem: Where did you get that? Grian: My pocket. Gem: How do you keep a glass of water in your pocket? Grian: Skills.

Scar: I’ve been described as a ‘heartless villain’ and a 'little shit’, but I prefer… 'has alternative ways of having fun’.

Scar: Don't joke about murder. I was murdered once and it offends me.

Impulse: COMPANY IS COMING! I WANT THIS PLACE LOOKING LIKE DISNEY ON ICE IN ONE MINUTE! Impulse: SCAR IF YOU HAVEN'T MADE YOUR BED THROW IT AWAY IT'S TOO LATE TO MAKE IT NOW! Impulse: GET RID OF THE COUCHES, WE CAN'T LET PEOPLE KNOW WE S I T !

Gem: Hey Pearl, check out this funny .GIF I found! Pearl: It’s pronounced “jif”. Gem: Huh? Pearl: “Dot jif”, like the peanut butter. The creator said so. Gem: That’s dumb, it’s Graphics Interchange Format. Pearl: The P in .JPEG stands for “photographic”, but I bet you don’t say “J-pheg”. Gem: “P” on its own isn’t pronounced like “F”, that’s totally different! Pearl: It’s exactly the same! Gem: Name one word that starts with “G” pronounced like “J”. Pearl: Gentrification. Gem: Shoot, should have thought of that. I was just in San Francisco. Pearl: For your logic to be consistent, you’d have to say “skuh-bah” (scuba) or “lah-seer” (laser)! Gem: Yeah? Well, you’d have to say “J-pej”! Gem: …Wait, “laser” is an acronym? Pearl: Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation. Gem: Huh. Didn’t know that. Gem: You’re still wrong, though. Pearl: You just hate me because I’m right. Gem: I just hate you in general. Pearl: You mean in “geh-neral”? Gem: Ugh, I’m “joing” to kill you!

Scar: What's worse than a heartbreak? Grian: Waking up in the morning and your phone wasn't charging. Mumbo: Waking up in the morning. Gem: Waking up.

Scar: I love you. Grian: Me too.

Grian: Fight me! Scar: gets on one knee and pulls out a ring Scar: Fight me for the rest of our lives.

Pearl: What’s your favorite color? Gem: Stop asking stupid questions. Ask me something logical and mature. Pearl: How many moles of sodium bicarbonate are needed to neutralize 0.8ml of sulfuric acid at STP? Gem: My favorite color is pink.

Grian: Do you love me? Mumbo: We’re literally married. Grian: Yeah, but as friends or—

(logic is that Waffle duo got married as a bit like Clingy duo (Tubbo and Tommy) but G is like Tommy and doesn't want to get a divorce because he wants to commit it the bit.)

Grian: I'm not mean. Name one mean thing I’ve ever done. Pearl: When we were younger, you convinced me eggs weren't real. Grian: They're not. Pearl: Haha, very funny. Grian: I'm serious. Didn't you hear? Pearl: No… what happened? Grian: …Why would you fall for this again-

Scar: Welcome to Fucking Applebees, do you want apples or bees? Gem: Bees? Scar: THEY HAVE SELECTED THE BEES! Gem: Wait- Impulse approaches, shaking a jar of bees menacingly

Scar: Mx. Grian, I accidentally dropped my seed into my mouth and then I accidentally ate it. Am I going to have a lemon tree grow inside my belly? Grian: Well, let's think about it. Did you also swallow a wet paper towel? Scar: Yes. Grian: Grian: Alright, let's go to the nurse.

Grian: Some people are like slinkies. Pearl: What? Grian: Not really good for much but bring a smile to your face when you push them down the stairs. Pearl: Pearl: Please don't push Scar down the stairs. Grian, pushing Scar down the stairs: Too late.

Pearl: You’re just being paranoid. Again. Scar: When have I been paranoid? Pearl: Um, when you first met Gem you thought they were an undercover cop…? Scar: No one has a wart that big, I thought it was a surveillance camera! Pearl: And last year you were sure Impulse was a mermaid! Scar: They hate wearing shirts! COINCIDENCE?! Later, when Scar’s theory is proven wrong Pearl: Do you have anything to say for yourself? Scar: I still think Impulse is a mermaid.

Grian: Scar, Pearl keeps bullying me at school. Scar: Ask your teacher for help. The next day… Grian, to their teacher: Will you help me beat up Pearl?

Pearl: Being gay isn't a choice. It's a game and I'm winning.

Scar: Being gay isn't a choice. It's a game and I'm winning.

(same quote 2 times in a row!?!?!)

Impulse, near tears: Please, Grian, I don’t speak meme! I don't know what a 'yeet' is!

Gem: I need to dye my hair. Impulse: … Gem: Or get another tattoo. Impulse: … Gem: Or a new piercing. Impulse: Why? Gem: To, you know, appease the mental breakdown gods.

Grian: aggressively throws pencil at Scar Grian, deadpan: Oh no. I’ve been stabbed. I’ve been impaled.

(Double Life = soulmates)

Scar : So you like cats? Grian: Yeah. Scar : tries to impress them by slowly pushing a glass off the table

Impulse: What have you done with Scar ?

Grian: Nothing. Why, do you think I should?

Pearl: Scar , let’s go! Grian : Oh, yeah, about telling Mom and Dad, I was thinking about writing maybe a letter. Pearl: Okay, you know what? That’s it, you had your chance. Grian : What-? Pearl: Mom, Dad, Scar smoked pot in college. Grian : You are such a tattletale! Grian : Mom, Dad, you remember that time you walked into my room and smelled marijuana? Well, I told you it was Jimmy who was smoking the pot but… It was me. I’m sorry. Pearl: And Dad, you know that mailman that you got fired? He didn’t steal your Playboy’s, Grian did. Grian : Yeah, well, hurricane Gloria didn’t break the porch swing Pearl did. Pearl: Grian hasn’t worked for a year! Grian : Pearl and Gem are living together! Pearl: Grian married Scar in Vegas and got divorced AGAIN! Jimmy: I love Jacques Cousteau! Etho: I wasn’t supposed to put beef in the trifle! Doc: I wanna gooo!!

(I changed some names, aka added Doc, Etho and Jimmy, also Etho is the mum Docs the dad, and Tim is ofc the younger brother.) (the family situation is defo not from TTSBC)

Mumbo: I will send my army to attack! Mumbo: releases a dumpster of raccoons

Gem, throwing their head into Pearl's lap: Tell me I'm pretty! Pearl, lovingly stroking their hair: You're pretty fucking annoying, that's what you are.

(awwwwww)

Squad is playing Among Us Grian: I believe Pearl is innocent, I was with them the whole time. Mumbo, what were you doing? Mumbo: Oh, I was just murdering… I mean, nothing!

(I was gonna change Pearl to Scar and change Mumbo to Impulse because Impulsetor)

Pearl, in the hospital: Will you visit me when I get out? Grian: Lol nah, I hate graveyards.

[archieimagines]

Imagine ranting to Din while he repairs the Razor Crest.

finally, it’s written! this request has been sat on my list for a while, so to those who requested it, thank you for your patience! requested by: @ackermanbitch​ and an anon! written by: archie support me on ko-fi!

this is inspired by @yournewwriter‘s gentle prompts: moving you by the waist.

If there was one thing you could do, it was talk.

At first, Din hated it. He hated how you’d walked into the Crest like it was your home when he was only offering you a lift to a nearby system, he’d hated how you’d talked the whole time… and he hated how he’d accidentally grown fond of you.

He became glad to offer you a temporary place by his side when your situation shifted and you needed a residence, but there was no way he was expecting you to stick around for this long and still have so many stories to tell.

Somehow, tuning into your rambles both passed the time and helped him focus. He could fly easily with your words taking up a different space in his brain, and all the hours felt so much shorter, like he’d been travelling the universe beside you. You somehow kept him cheerful and engaged, even in the tough times. You had a natural knack for knowing what kind of story to tell, how to echo and fix his moods with your own experiences, which gave him an outlet for his own emotions. 

And that’s how it was right now, his mood utterly foul as he worked on repairing the Crest after a sticky run-in, but his scowl was placed on hold. Or at least, directed to Mr Narvo, your old, snail-esque colleague in that restaurant on Corellia.

“I swear, I hadn’t done a thing wrong. The order was correct, I did everything to match what the stupid customer had asked for, but he really just-- You know what?” You wandered by him as you talked, frustrated and pacing as all the irritation from working at that restaurant came right back. “I think he’d decided that it would be a bad day for me already. He slithered in and just knew he was gonna try and get me fired.”

You paused your pacing, facing the beskar-clad warrior as he retracted an arm from inside the ship’s panel.

“-And he just kinda blinked at me. You know that eye thing?” Your hands, which had been flapping around animatedly, lifted to hold invisible spheres above your head. “Like the antennae lean forward and just look at you and squint and- honestly it’s so annoying because I can feel how he’s judging me but like? At least my eyeballs aren’t half a metre above from my head, right?”

“Right,” came Din’s voice as he dipped into a toolbox, proceeding to reach back into the side of his ship and twist some valves. His voice was a dry monotone, but he hadn’t once told you to shut up yet, so that was all you needed to continue your spiel.

“Right! So I just- I don’t mean to be rude, but I kinda do- I couldn’t keep it in, okay?” Din halted your pacing and handed you the metal tool, reaching into the Crest again. “… I told him to go stick his eyeballs in the dishwasher.”

Din paused. He turned to look at you. You were almost sure he’d tell you that it was a low blow, or that it wasn’t worth such a threat, but his modulated voice rose with a question. “And did he?”

“Wh- No, Din. Why would he-“

He shrugged one shoulder, stepping away to rummage in the toolkit once more. “That guy was purposely villainizing you, day after day. The least he could do would be-“

“If the universe was a decent place he’d be blinking bubbles, I know,” you chattered on, wandering once again. “But unfortunately, the universe is horrible, Narvo is still out there terrorising colleagues and-“ You stopped dead, peering down at the helmeted man, busy with his tools. “He got me fired.”

Din stopped his hands, visor raised up at you. Of course you couldn’t see his expression, but you didn’t need to as his disbelief met your ears. “It worked?”

“I know!?” You toyed with the tool, the weight falling from hand to hand, gripping it with each as if to decide which hand would better suit hitting Narvo in the eyeball with it, mouth running a mile a minute all the while. “He went straight to the manager, clearly he’d been building up some bullshit case of all the things I’d apparently done wrong— which I always had a particular reason for, by the way, and they were never even against the rules—”

The irritation still buzzed in your veins, even if it was months ago. What started as your attempt to take Din’s mind off the frustration from a damaged ship had turned into a surprise therapy session that seemed to uproot some sort of inferiority complex, and now you were just airing out your issues without even being aware of Din bustling around you.

“Like, I’m a good worker, you know? I take pride in that because I actually care about what I put into the universe, I strive to make this shitty place better for the people, unlike Narvo. He was just there to feed his own-”

Gentle hands on your waist had you startled, and your gaze shot up to the visor, eyes wide and an unmistakable heat to your cheeks. He’d never touched you like this before.

You couldn’t help leaning into his hold, heart beating like crazy-

A gentle pressure from one hand had you stepping aside, and then it was gone.

He leant past you, reaching into the metal hood of the ship. You’d parked right in front of it without even noticing, far too wrapped up in the fury of your tale.

“Keep going,” he spoke, and you fumbled to find your words again, fiddling with the tool in your hands.

“Wh- What was I saying again?”

A gloved hand reached back to take the tool from your hands. “He was just feeding his ego by preying on you. It’s better to keep away from characters like that.”

Your stride finally came back to you and the story continued in your mind, but the sure flutter in your chest was going at full force. “Right, I learned that by now.”

“You want me to put a hit on him?”

You scoffed. “Din, please. …But if we stop off at Corellia, he’ll shit himself when he sees me with a Mandalorian.”

A soft breath of laughter, so quiet you almost missed it. “Then that’s our next stop.”

[secretobsessionstuff]

it’s so good to have you back! i have an idea for a potential future blair fic. what if blair comes down with a nasty stomach virus compounded with a migraine while on a road trip to somewhere important with dakota? maybe she thinks it’s just a migraine and then well.. shit gets real *no pun intended* haha. it doesn’t have to be a road trip, if that doesn’t inspire anything for you, but maybe somewhere where she can’t get away that easily? no worries if you aren’t interested and if you are, take your time! 😊

Thanks for the no pressure! It helped a lot as I try to get back into this. I wasn't sure if the "pun" meant no scat lol, so there's just emeto. I hope it's okay...don't know how I feel about it. Maybe typos maybe not...but probably typos.

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

Blair thought her headache would fade once they left her parents’ house. Seeing her extended family for Easter was always a joy, but she could do without the noise from the little ones. At first, the squealing and giggling upon finding an Easter egg was cute. Inevitably, the happy laughs turned into fits of crying and tantrums when the celebration was over. Though the children weren’t happy to be leaving, Blair had to admit she was looking forward to a silent car ride home with Dakota. 

Two hours into the four-hour drive, and her headache had morphed into a migraine. She succumbed to the pain a while ago by leaning the passenger seat back as far as it would go. Her sweater lay over her eyes to block out the daylight. She wrapped her arms together in an attempt to sooth herself, but it was Dakota’s soft voice that did most of the work. 

“Is it just as bad?” he asked, brushing a hand over her knee. In times of crisis like this, Blair liked to kick off her shoes and sit cross legged. Maybe if she made herself smaller, the pain would shrink as well. 

But no, the pain pushed against the walls of her body. Hey eyes threatened to explode from the pressure; her belly whined to the beat of the blood pumping in her ears. Misery loved company, so her head seemed to have invited her stomach to join the party. 

“It’s getting worse,” she mumbled and shifted uncomfortably in the small space. The bumpy ride did nothing to ease her aches. Every bounce and turn jostled her like Jello. She imagined her brain jiggling against her skull in time with her roiling tummy. “Can you go slower?” 

“Gosh, babe, if I drive any slower, we might make it home by Christmas.” Dakota’s eyes squinted in the sunlight. Keeping his eyes on the road hardly mattered when they were going 40 in an 80, and there were no other cars along the country road. He set the cruise control to the snail-like pace so that he could give his fiancée more of his attention. “If I hold out my arm like this, you can lean against me.” 

Blair just groaned and sat up straight in the seat. The sweater fell from her face, making her wince at the harsh light. At the same time, the car rolled in and out of a pothole. Her stomach rose in her throat. “Really? You couldn’t have gone around that?” Her tone was as acidic as the liquid that burned her esophagus. 

“I’m doing my best, Bee.” Dakota took his hand off her leg. “I know you don’t feel well, but don’t get mad at me just ‘cause I’m the only one here.”

That hurt. Not as much as the sword through her head, but it stung nonetheless. “I’m sorry,” she said, miserably wrapping her arms around her midriff. “I just feel sick to my stomach, and this bumpy ass road is not helping.” 

Dakota opened his mouth to provide comfort, but Blair was not finished. 

“And the sun is so fucking bright, and what is that horrible smell? It’s like burning rubber.” Blair pouted. “Why does everything in the universe hate me?” 

Dakota gave her a lopsided smile. “Well, I’m in the universe and I don’t hate you.” 

Blair scoffed and cracked a small grin. “Stop being adorable. I’m dying here.” She had to admit, his joke allowed some tension to ease off her shoulders. She wasn’t alone and everything wasn’t terrible. There were many things that were terrible, but her partner was not one of them. “…Thank you.” 

“Aw, you know I just want you to feel better.” Dakota reached his hand out to rub her belly. “I’m sorry this migraine came at such a bad time. It’s making you feel sick?” 

She nodded. “The nausea is bad this time. Usually I can ignore it.” 

Dakota must have let the Easter bunny take the wheel while he scanned her face. “You do look very pale. Are you going to throw up, you think?” 

She shook her head, then immediately regretted the decision. “I hope not. I’ll try to fall back to sleep so that doesn’t happen.” 

Ironically, it was the nausea that kept her from sleeping. The pain in her head swelled with her bloated belly. All that chocolate coated her insides in a thick layer of gooey slime. When she began to burp, the taste of Terry’s chocolate orange made her gag. 

Blair was alert now. With wide eyes, she clamped a hand over mouth. She forced down two more burps or else she knew Dakota’s car would be ruined in seconds. “Babe—” she began, feeling a tightness in her throat that pinched her words “—Pull over. I need to be sick.” 

Without hesitation or issue, Dakota brought the car to a stop. "Wow sleep did not happen, eh?"

What a stupid time to ask a question.

Blair threw the door open with just enough time to lean over and burp wetly over the ground. She gagged, bringing up a small wave of vomit. It was mostly coffee from the afternoon. The bitter flavour clung to her tongue, but it would not stick around for long because there was much in her stomach to get up.

"I'm right here," Dakota said with a hand on her back. "You're okay." Blair leaned further out of the car with the next heave, nearly falling onto the grass. He caught her arm. "Oh, maybe you're not. Hold on, I'm coming around."

He turned off the car and jogged to the other side. Luckily there were no cars with them on the road. If Blair wanted privacy, she picked the right place to lose her lunch.

Her lunch was fertilizing the grass. Hopefully the open field would thrive on half digested chocolate, coffee, and cubes of cheese that were no longer in the shape of cubes.

She coughed and burped in between waves. "Ugh, Kota, help..." She reached out for him and allowed him to help her out of the car. They staggered like drunken lovers until their knees met the earth.

"I got you." Dakota held onto her shoulder and pulled her hair away from her face. "You're doing good."

"...my head..."

"I know." Dakota kissed her forehead. His lips met unexpectedly warm skin

"...my tummy..."

"I know." Dakota did not lean down to kiss her tummy because the organ chose that moment to convulse again. He heard a gurgling sound in Blair's throat before she pitched forward and heaved a mostly-liquid bout of sick onto the ground. Dakota rubbed her back. "Oh my Bee."

Blair fed the flowers one more time, shedding tears from the force of each retch. The vomiting released pressure from her head but did nothing to ease her belly; it only reinforced the ache that dwelled in her gut.

Dakota's lips still tingled from the heat of the kiss. He knew then that he had to get her home fast. They would need to go much faster than they had been, but at least a bed would be waiting. Blair couldn't suffer like this while on the road.

The universe agreed that Blair should not be in the car.

When Dakota went to start the car again, the engine gave a mighty good try, but failed. Dakota swore under his breath and spared a glance at Blair who still sat in front of a puddle of sick in the grass.

"No, please, no." He took the key out and tried again. "Come, on come on."

The engine tried, and tried, and...nothing. It was just as fatigued and sick as his girl. He called the doctor for only one of the patients.

Defeated, Dakota returned to Blair's side. By the looks of it, she hadn't thrown up again. He sat down next to her with a dejected sigh. "I have bad news."

"I heard."

They both sighed and sat unmoving on the grass. Blair's gaze was lost in her thoughts or maybe her pain. Dakota's gaze never left her. Her red cheeks, grey lips, and dark eyes worried him. He reached out silently with the back of his hand to touch her forehead.

Blair looked up at him with glassy eyes. "More bad news?"

"Yeah." He scooted closer to her and kissed the side of her head. "Remember when I got an infection while camping and got a really bad fever?" Her expression told him that she remembered, though not fondly. "This might be something like that, at least until the tow truck arrives."

"I knew the migraine was different this time. I just don't understand where this bug came from."

"You were around children all weekend. What do you expect?"

• • •

Blair slept in the backseat of the car while Dakota kept watch. She put her head in his lap and tried to ignore the gurgling in her tummy. Again, Dakota came to the rescue and gently rubbed the warm skin of her belly.

He wasn't sure how long he traced circles and lines over her stomach, but it was long enough for the sun to begin setting. He made a game out of spelling different words with his fingertips. In invisible ink, he wrote words like 'love' and 'Blair' and 'dildo'.

Occasional gurgles emanated from her belly. Dakota worried that Blair would bolt upright and tell him to pull over as if the day would repeat itself. But she stayed asleep. Her expression softened in her slumber.

Amazingly, she only woke up when Dakota moved to greet the tow truck driver. With the plan settled, he returned to the car.

"Honey." Dakota shook her awake. "We're going home now."

By the time Blair came to her senses, the car was ready to be hitched to the truck.

This was bad. Blair paced along the road, bitting her nails. She watched the car be lifted partially off its wheels. This was very bad. The driver spoke to Dakota and then went into the truck. Very very bad.

Sleep was good, but her belly did not like being awake. Suddenly the nausea came rushing back. The headache was gone, but the virus had nowhere near run its course.

"Babe, you ready?" Dakota called. She did not move. He came closer. "Honey, are you alright?"

With tears in her eyes, she shook her head. "I'm going to throw up in the car. I can't. I feel really sick again."

"Okay, okay, no worries." Dakota tried to calm her down. "I'll explain the situation to the driver and he'll understand."

Something wet and horrid squirmed in Blair's stomach; it was the dread of driving in a gross truck while feeling like this. But it was also the very real bug that filled her throat with nausea.

"Please don't make me do this, Kota." She covered her mouth to hide a wet burp, but she could not keep the moan from escaping. "I don't feel good."

She was losing colour by the second. Dakota felt like he was approaching a timid animal. "Okay, we can wait. It's fine."

"I don't like this. I don't wanna--urp--throw up again." She paced with her hand glued tightly to her mouth. Her legs shook and her back spasmed with the need to lurch forward. She felt the gag rising from the pit of her belly.

Dakota touched her arm. "Baby, just let yourself be sick. The man can wait. And if you need to throw up in the truck, just do it. I'll tip him well."

She shook her head.

"I'm right here. Nothing bad is going to happen." He started to gather her hair in his hand. "That's it. Lean over. I've got you." She moved her hand away and retched emptily. It was like her belly was shy as well. "Let it happen, Bee."

Maybe it was Dakota's hand on her back or the fact that she wanted this day to be over, but Blair gave in to her need. She relaxed her muscles just long enough for them to squeeze tight once more when the sick came rushing out of her mouth.

"Good job," Dakota said. "Five stars. Encore."

Blair gave an encore, not that she could help it. She would not have given it five stars.

In the end, Dakota's encouragements are what saved the day. She felt secure enough in her tummy to get in the tow truck. Dakota did indeed explain the situation just in case, but it was not needed. Nor was the bag needed. Thank God. The truck had three seats in the front. Blair hid herself behind Dakota who took the middle. It was a long drive, but a clean one.

"I'm sorry this happened, Blair," Dakota said softly when they were five minutes from their house. "How are you feeling, now?"

"Better maybe." She squeezed his arm. "Thanks for being the one thing in the universe that is right."

[da-birb-writes-sometimes]

Let's Beat the Heat; Deuce Spade

Content; Fluff, gender-neutral reader, romance

Word Count; 650+

AN; This is for the lovely @ithseem! Thanks for the request, and I hope you enjoy this Deuce drabble! As a reminder, do not put my work — or others for that matter — into AI as it steals. Link to Masterlist

You were still stuck in Twisted Wonderland, and spending your summer in Ramshackle. It wouldn’t have been horrible; your friends came and visited, brought you out on little day trips, heck, even Crowley was leaving you alone for once. But there was one itty-bitty thing which made it unbearable. There. Was. No. Air. Conditioning. And today was the grossest, most humid, most insufferably hot day of the year. Apparently it hasn’t been this bad in over a decade. So, you were sprawled out on the hardwood floors in a feable attempt to cool down, but you were just sticky and laying on the floor. Absolutely miserable.

There was knocking at the front door. Did I invite anyone over? Ughhhhh it’s too hot for thinking! “Come in,” you groaned, turning your head over to see who decided to come over.

“Hi, love,” Deuce greeted before stopping upon seeing you trying to meld yourself to the floor. He furrowed his brow and then his eyes widened, having come up with a plan. He placed a kiss to your forehead, “I’ll be right back, okay?” And off he went, putting his plan into action.

“Hi, love, bye love,” you sighed. And you just layed on the floor, staring up to the ceiling. Note to self; wring Crowley’s neck the next time I see him for making me stay in this damn place. INSTALL AN AIR CONDITIONER FOR THE LOVE OF SEVEN! 

Were you staring at the ceiling for a minute? An hour? You had no clue, but you heard the front door open and shut. Deuce was back, and he was carrying a box of ice pops. “So, it isn’t much, but it should help a bit. But it’s outside.” He reached out his hand, helping you get up. “Up we get… now, close your eyes.”

You gave him a tired look, but followed your boyfriend’s request and closed your eyes. It was too hot to really question what he was up to. At least with Deuce, you knew it would be something sweet, a bit awkward but very endearing. Very slowly, since Deuce was going at a snail’s pace, the both of you got outside. “Can I open them now?” You asked, waiting for the go ahead.

“Yes,” he chuckled nervously, waiting to see your reaction.

And upon opening your eyes you saw a kiddy pool, no deeper than mid calf, filled with water and ice. A smile broke on to your face seeing the bright blue plastic covered in cartoon sea creatures and mermaids. “This was your idea, sweetie?”

He rubbed the back of his neck, “It isn’t much, but I thought it could help. Do… do you like it?”

“Of course I like it,” you laugh, cautiously testing the water with a finger. It was bitterly cold. “It’s perfect! Thanks, love!”

Deuce smiled upon seeing your cheery face and happy laughter, happy to see that your energy was back. “Not as perfect as you.”

Taking an ice pop, you booped him on the nose with it. “You’re also perfect, you know,” you hum.

His cheeks flushed pink at the realization that he said that outloud. Yes, the two of you have been dating for a few months now, but he still found himself blushing. He brought out an ice pop and booped you back on the nose, a soft look in his eyes. “I love you.”

Today might have started off as the hottest day in recent Twisted Wonderland history, but thanks to Deuce, the day had shifted. Yes, it was still hot as Sevens, but due to the sweet actions of your sweet boyfriend, it wasn’t so bad. Maybe getting stuck here wasn’t all that bad. You had the right people… you had your person. And that was enough.

All you needed was Deuce… and some ice pops, and a kiddy pool filled with ice water so you didn’t get heat stroke. But telling Crowley off could wait for another day, for now, beating the heat with your person was far more enjoyable and important.

[cheolsfae]

Hello can u do energy check for all the enhypen members regarding their career and lovelife? Thanksssss

Sure!

*For fun!*

Note(s):

since this is a larger request both categories are getting 1 or 2 card pulls:) but oracle cards are being used!

☾ Jungwon:

June 8, 2024

→Career: King of cups, doe

Okay, so he is currently content with how things are going in his career. He's happy that things are playing out in the way that he had hoped. It's like he's in the energy of receiving. He's getting everything he put in back. He's seeing the fruits of his labor pay off.

→Love Life: 2 of swords, goose

However, in the romance department, he's not as fruitful. He's kind of stuck between wanting to date and not. Like yeah, he wants that someone to go through life with but at the same time he's kind of like nah, that's not important at all. But it kind of feels like this is a warning. Like be careful, someone might be waiting to take advantage of him. He needs to be careful of who he dates if he does decide to.

☾ Jay:

June 8, 2024

→Career: Temperance (reversed), 5 of pentacles (reversed), the spider

It's like he's being impatient with the way things are going. Kind of disappointed with how everything is progressing. But I get the vibe, he chose the harder route than taking the easy way out. He took the more difficult road instead of the easier path. He made it hard on himself for the same rewards. Does that make sense? There was an easier way to do something and he chose to make it hard.

→Love Life: 10 of pentacles (reversed), crab

So, I don't think he's focused on romance right now. Kind of feels like romance has screwed him over recently. He might of had a situation-ship and it may have ended horribly (as it always does) and he's just like no, that's not for me right now. He's being very horde-ish with his energy. He doesn't want to open up to anyone emotionally at this time.

☾ Jake:

June 8, 2024

→Career: The high priestess, friend

So, this one to me is really a bit vague to me. Something is coming in for him but it's like a surprise. He's going to want to tell someone about it but I don't think he's going to be able to. He's going to have to keep his mouth shut. It's something really exciting though.

→Love Life: Judgement, snail

As far love, slow and steady wins the race. He might be seeing someone at the moment and he wants to go in full force but he's being told to hold back and let things unfold naturally. If it's meant to be it will be. He doesn't need to force anything. Take it day by day, you don't need to know the outcome of everything right away.

☾ Sunghoon:

June 8, 2024

→Career: King of swords (reversed), rooster

Career wise, it feels like he's playing a game. He's trying to stay at least one step ahead of someone. Someone could be trying to sabotage him or vice versa. It just kind of feels manipulative. Someone could be trying to control him or the other way around. This person he's dealing with could be very domineering. They like to be in control. When they aren't they flip their shit and I think that's the kind of situation he's in right now.

→Love Life: Ace of pentacles, the devil (reversed), rabbit

For his love life, it looks like he's making an offer to someone but nothing serious. Just a hook up kind of thing. He doesn't want anything serious at the moment. He wants to still have fun and all that. He does not want to be tied down to anyone. He's busy having fun. This person could be a friend. They could be someone he's kind of close with. I don't think this person is going to take this offer though. They might be looking for something else.

☾ Heesung:

June 8, 2024

→Career: 10 of swords (reversed), wolf

He's ending a cycle in his work. Something he could have been repeatedly going back to just because that's what felt natural to him. But he's breaking it and trying to branch out into other things and just kind of following wherever the wind takes him. He's listening to his gut instincts and just going with it. Love that for him!

→Love Life: 9 of cups, turtle

He isn't really too focused on it either. He's working more on self love than anything else. He could have had self-esteem issues and that could be what he's working on fixing. He's doing it little by little. One day at a time like he should. Very happy for him!

☾ Sunwoo:

June 8, 2024

→Career: The magician (reversed), camel

Okay, so he's feeling like his manifestations aren't coming to show. He's disappointed in what he was working on. But it's also giving main character energy, like yeah no this isn't working for me but maybe if I keep pushing through, It'll all be fine. But I don't think that's the case here, I think he needs to walk away, it feels like a waring sign, like please don't keep pursuing it, it's going to bite you in the ass.

→Love Life: 6 of cups (reversed), hippo

Alrighty, he's not doing too good romantically. He's missing an ex partner. He's remembering mostly the good and none of the bad. He's choosing to look past all the issues he had with them and debating reaching out to them again. At the time, this person could have felt like they were a perfect match for him and that's what he's focusing on. He isn't remembering all of the shit they put him through.

☾ Riki:

June 8, 2024

→Career: King of pentacles, crab

So, he's feeling secure in where he stands financially. He's content with what he's made of himself. He could be being kind of cheap with how he's choosing to spend his money lately. Nothing wrong with being cheap but this feels more like it's due to being insecure, like emotionally. Like I don't want people thinking I spend it uselessly. that kind of vibe. He's kind of watching how everyone is reacting to what he buys.

→Love Life: 8 of swords, hen

He's in his head about a specific connection from the past. He's feeling stuck, he isn't but he feels like it. He might have been too submissive in the past to his ex-partner. Like he may not have stood up for himself. This person could have bossed him around and it was too much, he needs to heal these wounds before he can move onto something new.

[saltygilmores]

Thoughts While Watching Gilmore Girls-3x8: Let The Games Begin, aka Let The ShitCircus Begin (Part 3)

Luke Danes! Lorelai Gilmore! They are: The Abstinence (For Other People But Not Themselves) Brigade! They can detect bubbling teenage hormones from a mile away and will do anything in their power to stop them! Jess Mariano, with his awe inspiring ability to telepathically impregnate naive virgins in 1 nanosecond without removing any clothes, doesn't stand a chance! Thank god we have you, Luke Danes and Lorelai Gilmore! The Cockblocking Crusaders! The Dry Hump Destroyers! Scene: Our Handjob-Halting Hero, Luke Danes, has just interrupted an extremely chaste attempt at a kiss in progress. After witnessing his nephew openly groping Shane Campbell and likely several other girls in public and in his diner and his home over Horny Summer 2002, interrupting a kiss with Rory Gilmore with no tongue is just ONE STEP OVER THE DAMN LINE for Blowjob-Blocking-Batman!

I dare say, that was a stupid metaphor from our Intercrouse-Interrupting-Ironman.

There are frequent Sock on the Door references in this show. The thing is you hang a sock on the door to let other people know you're having sex and they won't barge in. Too bad Sex-Stifling-Superman here wouldn't abide by The Sock anyhow. Netflix borked the captions big time here, but there is a loud argument between Luke and Jess about the sock joke, with Luke yelling at Jess that there will be "no socks on the door in my house" and I'm just thinking how weird this conversation would sound if you didn't know wtf they were talking about. Luke, less than 5 minutes earlier (and I quote): Wow! WOW! This is great! Wow! Rory and Jess! Jess and Rory! This is great! Don’t you think this is great! They're only great if they reproduce asexually like snails, I suppose. When he thought Jess was doing much worse things with Shane in his own home, his response was certainly not a pleased one, but it was... different. So it's okay if he hooks up with a skanky blond girl he barely knows, because who cares if he takes a ride on the town bicycle, right? But when it comes to Rory, her purity must be protected at all costs by other adults. Ha, funny how that worked out. I know Luke doesn't think JESS is still a virgin.

He looks so defeated, and he WASNT EVEN DOING ANYTHING. Please don't make me turn on Luke, Tumblr. I already have so little left to live for watching this show.

But that's where they were the first time, Uncle Luke.

THANK. YOU. JESSTOPHER. You're so smart. *pinches cheeks*

The more I'm thinking about this notion that Luke is trying to protect Rory's virginity from Jess, where Rory is a newly minted adult and not even his relative, she's just the daughter of some annoying lady who comes into his diner and doesn't pay for her food, but "Jess doesn't need a guardian" if he'd like to fuck around with random girls of questionable purity, becaue he's a boy I guess, the weirder it sounds. This is just another fiber woven into the rich tapestry of "the young women of gilmore girls who lose their virginity will pay the price with a horrible experience or mental anguish" (Young Lorelai, Rory, Paris, Lane, possibly even Lindsay, god help her).

(girls only). Jess: What do you think is gonna happen? Luke: You KNOW what I think is gonna happen.

You know what, how about he doesn't and we say he did. Awkward.

If she’s not too distracted porking Dean to notice, as soon she found out Dean was a free agent she was all over that like a fat kid on cake.

I saw what Jess got away with at the summer bash. I wouldn't exactly count on Taylor Doose for his Makeout Meddling abilities.

Luke looking all smug like "yeah that was great parenting right there. Damn, I’m such a good Dunkel (DadUncle). He’ll never think about humping again.” Good luck.

[molarbeardoc]

HI I’M SORRY FOR THE SPIVE ANGST SORRY CHAT PLEASE LOVE ME I’M SORRY PLEASE LOOK I’M DOING FLUFF TO MAKE YOU HAPPY PLEASE DON’T PLACE MY HEAD ON STICK PWETTY PWEASEEEEE I’M JUST A BABY A BABY WRITER DON’T HURT MWEEEEEEE

Fanfic based off THIS LOVELY PERSON’S ART PLEASE SHOW THEM SOME LOVE NOWWWWW 💛🖤💛🖤💛🖤💛🖤💛🖤

Anyway fanfic starts now :3

Mornings…

Who would want to leave the soft and warm comfort of their bed? The embrace of one’s sheets wrapped around them as if they were but a small infant once more.

There was not a single person in the world who actually enjoyed getting up.

Absolutely no one..

Not a single person…

Nope!

Okay that might have been just a teeny tiny lie…

Well… Not really a lie? How am I supposed to know, I’m just a narrator get off my back!

Moving on…

There really was one person who enjoyed mornings. For her, that meant she had lived to see another day. That she had evaded capture once more. No one could catch a genius, a reborn, intuitive Einstein as she would say. That’s right! Bive was the smartest cookie there was!

Mornings were a sign of hope, that she still had a chance to spread the truth! A chance to save everyone. Of course some were too far gone to be saved and would have to suffer the consequences for when the clowns came and snow soldiers took over but they picked their poison. They made their bed. They dug their graves. Now they had to lay in them when the time came.

Besides! Even if she couldn’t save everyone, she could save some of them! She could use her cleverness to think of plans to save those who listened. Her brains to find solutions to their biggest problems. She could accomplish anything as long as she was wide awake, as long as the gears in her head were constantly turning!

…

So why weren’t they spinning now?

She stared at her corkboard, her expression dull as she leaned against the brick wall of the maze. She felt horrible. Her head was killing her and her special brew wasn’t helping her in the slightest. If anything it made it worse! She felt top heavy and ill, her arms and legs acted as if they were a fruity gelatine. Maybe even a sweet lime flavour gelatine…

If that didn’t sound awful already. She was groggy and irritated. Her cat-like reflexes were more like a snail’s and her vision would occasionally blur.

What in the name of Clown Militia was going on with her?!

She let out an annoyed groan as she used the wall to keep herself upright before eventually succumbing and falling over. It was as if her own body were betraying her!

Useless vessel. Didn’t know she was the reason it was even alive! Talk about ungrateful…

There had to be someone she could trust to assist her. DrRETRO? No. That furball thought she was insane. Poob? No. They’d make it worse with their constant partying. Mark? He’d try and fix her with some sort of wood trick. Wallter? He trusts the flowers… Absolutely not…

Wait… God it was worse than she thought. She couldn’t even CONTACT any of them! None of them had her signal! Oh the fool she was! A complete and total fool!

Who had her radio signal..? Her memory was a bit fogged at the moment but she knew she gave it to someone..

Aha! Split! At least she thinks so? She couldn’t remember very well. She reached for her radio, twisting and turning the knobs as she attempted to reach the fruit-taur, letting out a cry of pain from the feedback and hissing through her teeth.

She let out a quiet sigh, trying to ignore the splitting pain that shot through her head, with every knob turn a new static frequency filling the air. Her voice croaking as she spoke into the radio.

"Split?"

"Split are you there?!"

The fruit-taur was sleeping peacefully in her own bed, a small banana-themed night light shining on her nightstand beside her alarm clock. It was still frankly early, only about 4am.

All was quiet…

"SPLIT!"

… Until it wasn’t…

Split immediately shot up, breathing heavily as she was suddenly awoken from her restful slumber. Her heart racing as she glanced around frantically.

"WHO’S THERE?! SHOW YOURSELF! I KNOW KUNG FU! I’VE SEEN ENOUGH MOVIES TO KNOW WHAT I’M DOING!"

Despite being unable to see, she immediately went on the defensive, tensing up as she tried to look as threatening as possible.

"Split…? Split are you there? Split..? Split!"

She turned towards her nightstand, the adrenaline dying down as it slowly became replaced with tired realization. She grabbed her glasses, putting them on before reaching for the radio.

"SPLIT?! Oh no. DID THE CLOWNS GET YOU?! OH GOD THIS IS AWFUL THEY KIDNAPPED HER?! WHAT AM I GONNA DO?! If they got her… THEN THEY’RE ATTACKING NOW! OH MY GOD OH MY GOD! THAT MEANS THEY’RE COMING FOR ME NEXT! I GOTTA GET OUT OF HERE BEFORE THEY CATCH ME AND-"

"Bivey, you’re spiralling again…"

Bive’s side of the radio went quiet, as if she were processing the moment before answering.

"SPLIT YOU’RE OKAY- AcK- Ow ow radio feedback ow."

Split couldn’t help but smile, finding her worry endearing before speaking up.

"Yes, I’m fine. What’s going on with you? It’s uh…"

She glanced at the clock.

"Four in the morning. I don’t even think the early bird gets up this early!"

"IT’S AN EMERGENCY! THERE’S SOMETHING WRONG WITH ME!"

"What-?"

Well that was concerning news.

"What do you mean something is wrong with you?"

"MY BODY IS ACTING WEIRD. I THINK I MAY HAVE BEEN POISONED! SOMEONE POISONED ME!"

She listened as the detective rambled on and on, blinking as she tried to slowly put everything together.

"Poisoned-? Bive what-? No one poisoned you. You probably just have a cold."

"THAT’S IMPOSSIBLE! I CAN’T GET SICK! I-"

"Okay okay fine! You’re not sick! Just calm down."

"HOW CAN I CALM DOWN WHEN I’VE BEEN POISONED?!"

"Oh my… Bive? Just… Stay calm for now? I’ll be over soon."

Guess she wasn’t sleeping in like she originally planned. She sighed as Bive rambled some incoherent words before the radio went dead, having no clue what she said before she got up. She was just in a comfortable T-shirt, that’s decent enough to go out.

It’s not like anyone would see her, it was too early for someone to be out and about on the elevator… Apart from her of course…

Bive was leaning against the wall, her head still throbbing and body still weak. She felt awful. There was no way she WASN’T poisoned. How was this even possible?! Even if they DID make it through the maze, how did they catch her off guard?! She was awake the whole time!

This was worse than she thought. Her enemies were getting smarter. They had found her location, slipped through the maze, and caught her off guard while she was on guard! Oh this was horrible. Truly terrible! How could she save anyone in her weakened state?!

The next hours were spent in agony. Well at least it felt like hours, it had really been only thirty minutes as she sat there patiently. Waiting for the Split’s arrival.

Speaking of Split, she was already stepping off the elevator, standing outside of the maze as she yawned. The sun hadn’t even risen yet, it wasn’t even dawn. She entered the maze, knowing her way decently enough to where she couldn’t get lost and only worrying about Scary Mike and an overly excited Fleshy, more so Mike, as she navigated herself through it.

Turning one of corners, she noticed the soft glow of a yellow light. Bingo. She quickened her pace down the hall, the strong scent of coffee wafting over her as the glow became stronger. Soon enough, she was met with the living quarters of the paranoid detective.

It was just as unorganized as she remembered, red string and empty styrofoam cups littered the floor. At least she listened to her the last time Split was over and picked up the thumbtacks, those were just accidents waiting to happen. Her floppy ears lifted as she heard a quiet and pained groan, looking down to see that Bive was on the floor, against the wall, with her head in her hands.

"Bive?"

She let out a startled yelp, trying to jump back only to met with a brick wall as she hissed through gritted teeth. That didn’t help with her headache and weak body at all… She looked up at the fruit-taur, a wave of relief and realization washing over her.

"SPLIT-! HI! HELLO…"

"Are you okay?"

"No! I’ve been POISONED! I’m going to DIE!"

"You’re not going to die."

"YES I AM!"

"Why do you think that?"

"BECAUSE THERE’S SOMETHING WRONG WITH ME!"

She winced in pain as she felt another debilitating stroke of pain shoot through her head, gritting her teeth and using the wall to stand as she leaned against it. Seeing her state, Split grew concerned. Her being poisoned was a stretch but there was very well a chance she may have done or eaten something that could cause her this much harm.

"Can you tell me exactly what you’re feeling right now..?"

"Er-! A stupid headache… I feel a bit nauseous… lightweight… Annoyed with everything.."

"Have you eaten?"

"Yes…"

"Have you had some water?"

"..Yes…"

"Have you slept..?"

"…"

"Have. You. Slept?"

"Uh… No…"

"When’s the last time you have?"

"…"

"Bive… When was the last time you slept?"

"Hold on. I’m trying to remember…"

"You shouldn’t have to remember! It should’ve been recently!"

"BUT THAT LEAVES ME VULNERABLE TO THE CLOWNS AND SO-"

"You’re also vulnerable to them if you DON’T sleep!"

Touché…

"Oh please, I’m not even tired!"

"Doesn’t mean anything!"

"I think it means a lot!"

"Do you want to feel better or not?"

"I do."

"Then go to sleep!"

"But-!"

"No no! I don’t wanna hear it. No buts! If you’re that worried about being attacked by someone, I can just stay with you! Problem solved!"

Bive stared at Split for a moment. She’s never had her stay over. But seeing how much the fruit-taur wanted her to sleep, she knew she didn’t have much of a choice.

"Fine."

"Thank you…"

Split watched as the detective huffed and left to go get ready for bed, smiling as she grumbled underneath her breath. Even if she wasn’t happy with the idea, it was certainly necessary.

She continued to wait patiently before Bive reappeared, no longer in her classic coat and pants but in her own sleepwear.

"I don’t like this."

"Too bad. You need it."

"Do I though?"

"Go to bed."

Seeing as she wasn’t going to be able to wriggle herself away from this situation, she groaned before heading off back to her room, falling onto the bed and just laying there while waiting for fall asleep. She wasn’t very good at this thing…

Split stood outside the door, still feeling sluggish but forcing herself to stay awake. She had no idea what time it was since Bive owned no clocks; something about time being stopped and how every other clock was a fake, but it felt as if it were still early. She felt herself dozing off, but tried to fight against it. Right as she was about to drift off to sleep, she felt someone tap her shoulder.

"Split…? I can’t sleep."

She jerked awake, staring down at Bive before sighing.

"Are you okay?"

"I’m fine! Just tired.."

"Oh…"

"…"

"Do you wanna sleep in my bed?"

"What?"

"I MEAN YOU DON’T HAVE TO! I just thought.. Ya know!"

She stared tiredly down at the stammering and jittery detective, a small grin appearing on her face.

"I’ll take you up on that offer…"

Bive paused, looking at Split before forcing out a nervous laugh.

"AHAH! Uh OKAY!"

She led the fruit-taur into her room, watching as she dragged her paws towards the bed. She paused midway before looking towards Bive.

"Wait. Where are you gonna sleep?"

"Uhh… I just… won’t? Since I’m not tired..?"

She gave her a nervous smile, flashing her yellow tinted teeth at Split. Unfortunately for her, the other’s gaze hardened.

"Alright, I’ll just fix it this way."

Before she could get a reply out, she was dragged into the bed with her, the fruit-taur was holding her close as she sighed.

"This… This isn’t necessary you know?"

"Yes it is."

"But-"

"Bivey?"

"… Yes?"

"Goodnight."

"… Goodnight, Split.."

Bive fell quiet, listening quietly as Split’s breathing eventually slowed into quiet snores. She laid there a moment, before clinging onto the other, snuggling against her before sighing. A sudden wave of exhaustion washed over her as she began drifting off.

"Goodnight…"

RAHHHHHHH FANFIC FINISHED. Sorry if it isn’t as good as my angst fic, I hope you enjoyed it though!!!!!

Omw to work on the Cheshire Cat doomed yuri fanfic someone double dog dared me to write now bye sillies <3

[blushweddinggowns]

Part two to this from this fic!

It wasn’t a good call to be driving, he was well aware, but he didn’t exactly have a choice. When he’s far enough from the house, he had the wherewithal to pull over in an attempt to collect himself a little. He looked at his reflection through the rearview mirror, cringing at what he saw. He looked like shit. He’d really done a number on him, worse than any time before. At least when he was younger he’d had the self control to hit or cut him in places that people couldn’t see. 

Oh god, Eddie was going to see him looking like this.

The thought was almost enough to make him cry. He didn’t want Eddie to know about this. He never wanted him to know. There’s only so much shit you can put onto another person before they get sick of you right? And Steve was already a lot to deal with. He knew that. 

He was clingy as all hell, always monopolizing his time and inviting himself whenever he went out. He had random, horrible screaming night terrors about the fucking Upside Down, nightmares that Eddie would have to comfort him from. He was stubborn, he was bitchy, and now what? Eddie had to play as his personal nursemaid on top of all of that?

A large part of him didn’t want to go back. He wanted to hide away, fix himself up and maybe find him the next day, like about a car accident or something. Anything but forcing him to take care of him. He was so fucking scared that Eddie was going to leave him. He’d always been scared of it, always waiting for the day he realized he could do better than being with his dumb, damaged ass. What if this was the straw that broke the camel’s back? What if this made him finally realize that Steve wasn’t worth all the trouble?

The adrenaline was wearing off, and the pain was really starting to set in. He was hurt worse than he thought, and he was getting dizzier by the second. He started driving again, at a snail’s pace, terrified that he’d crash and hurt someone if he wasn’t careful. 

He went back to the apartment, despite his fears. It’s not like he had anywhere else to go. Besides, he was losing the thread of coherent thought concerningly fast. He needed some kind of help, as loath as he was to admit it. He…he needed Eddie.

By the time he pulled up the building he was barely hanging on to being conscious. He felt horrible, horrible enough that he couldn’t even get out of the car right. He stumbled to the ground the second he tried to stand, because why not add a little bit more humiliation to the pile? 

He didn’t even have time to try again before Eddie was scooping him up in his arms. Steve didn’t even know where he’d come from, but his touch was enough to have him relaxing in his arms. They’d only been separated for a few hours, but to Steve it might as well have been weeks. Eddie carried him back inside, gently setting him on the couch while he looked him up and down, clearly panicked.

Steve’s pretty sure he asked him a question, but he couldn’t quite catch it. But it was an opening for him to at least apologize, “I’m sorry I’m late. It didn’t go so good.”

Eddie was taking the jacket off for him, gasping when he saw the glass in his arms. Steve had forgotten about that part. Most of his focus was on the blinding pain he had in his head. But he had enough wherewithal to realize he was about to ruin their couch.

He tried to sit up, muttering, “I’ll get blood on the couch.”

But Eddie was already pushing him back down, hissing, “I don’t give a shit about the couch Steve.” 

He ran a hand over his face, obviously annoyed and Steve couldn’t blame him. He wouldn’t want to deal with him either. 

Eddie stood,“Wait here sweetheart, and keep your eyes open, okay? I’ll be right back. Just let me take care of you.”

Steve nodded, but the second Eddie was out of sight he was back on his feet, spreading a blanket down beneath him. He had already ruined their night, he didn’t need to ruin their furniture either. Eddie was back in less than a minute, and the look he gave Steve at the sight of him standing was enough to have him sitting right back down, guilty as hell. 

His head was still killing him, bad enough that he could barely pay attention as Eddie tended to him. 

“What hurts the most, baby?” Eddie asked, hands shaking as he tweezed the glass from his arms, “I need you to tell me.”

“Head,” Steve mumbled. He could barely even focus on the pain in his arms, and Steve couldn’t help but wonder how many more hits to the head he could take and come out okay, “Feels like it’s burning.”

“Steve, I think we need to take you to a hospital-”

“No.” Steve may have felt like his head was splitting open but he wasn’t going anywhere. This whole thing was embarrassing enough, and he just…wanted Eddie. That’s it. He couldn’t deal with anyone else seeing him like this. 

Eddie stared at him, mouth hanging open like he couldn’t believe his audacity,“Why the hell not?”

"I don’t…I don't want everyone to know, okay?” He admitted, squeezing his eyes shut. He was so sick of this shit. He was so sick of being hurt, forcing other people to take care of him. He was sick of people knowing how useless he really was, “Not yet. I just want you."

"But-"

“Eddie, please?” He wasn’t above begging at this point. He wasn’t sure what he needed, and yeah, maybe he was risking his health, but what else was new? He just wanted to go to bed already and pretend like none of this shit ever happened.

Eddie pinched the bridge of his nose, conceding, “Okay, okay. Just stay right here, and keep your eyes open, got it? I’ll be right back.”

Eddie kissed his forehead before leaving the room, ignoring his soft comments about being sweaty and gross. Steve watched him go, beyond thankful that he was letting him get away with it. He kept his eyes open like he was told, staring up at the ceiling while he waited for him to come back. He still couldn’t really think straight, nothing was really sticking beyond his own self-loathing but he at least managed to stay conscious.

Eddie came back a few minutes later, taking a seat on the floor next to him before giving his hand a squeeze,“Wayne and Mindy are coming over in a bit, okay? Someone has to check on you.”

Great. Now he ruined Eddie's night and Wayne’s. And now he was dragging his poor girlfriend into it? Steve started to protest, but one look at Eddie’s unamused face shut him up. He looked away, muttering,  “I forgot she was a nurse.”

“If she says you need to go to the hospital, you’re going.”

Steve sighed, “Okay.”

There was no point in arguing. Eddie would literally drag him there if he had to. Besides, Steve didn’t want to fight anymore, not with anyone. Steve let his eyes close, playing with the rings on Eddie’s hand every so often to prove that he was awake. He knew he was waiting for some kind of explanation, but he didn’t even know where to start. He didn’t want to start. He just wanted to go back to a few hours ago, back to when they were cuddling on the couch and nothing was wrong. 

Eddie broke the silence first, voice leaving no room for argument,“You’re not going back there. Ever. I'm never letting you out of my sight again.”

Steve laughed despite himself, wincing when it made his lip bleed a bit more. But still…it made him feel a bit better, knowing that Eddie was scared for him, as sick as that was. 

“I, um, can’t go back there, actually.” Steve admitted, eyes still shut, “They said it was you or them. I chose you and,” he chuckled, humorless, “And they did not take it well.”

“They know?”

Steve nodded, “They told me on the phone, said they knew what I was up to, that I owed them an explanation.”

“How?”

Steve shrugged, regretting it instantly. Jesus even that hurt, like he couldn’t feel more pathetic, “Tommy, I guess. He called them, sat down with them or something. Worried about my life choices or some shit.”

Steve startled a bit when cold hands were suddenly cradling his face. He opened his eyes, resigned when Eddie carefully forced him to meet his eyes. He looked so…sad. It made Steve’s heart clench in his chest. He hated that he was the reason for that expression,"Stevie…baby, why did you go?”

Steve could feel tears start to well in his eyes. He hated this. He hated this so damn much. He hated that he had to explain that his dad was a fucking psycho. That he had been terrified of Eddie getting hurt. That he never told him the truth, and risked his safety just because he was a coward.

He went to bite his lip, a nervous reflex before flinching, quickly realizing what a mistake that was,“If I didn’t go he would have shown up here. A-and I didn’t want you to get hurt. I thought I could talk them down or something, or just lie my way through it but…I couldn’t.” 

“How many times have they done this before?”

Steve went for the lie on instinct,“They haven’t-”

“Sweetheart, please don’t lie to me,” Eddie wiped away some of the tears from his good eye, lovingly patient as he waited for Steve to speak.

There was no point in lying about it anymore. There was nothing to protect, not his parents or his own dignity. He took a deep breath before closing his eyes, admitting the truth out loud for the first time in his life, “I’ve lost count.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

"I didn't want to scare you away," Steve said, painfully honest. But he was done with the lies, no matter how much the truth scared him. Eddie deserved that at least. 

He could hear the confusion in his voice, “What does that mean?”

The tears were really starting to fall now, and they fucking hurt, the salt stinging the cuts on his face. But he powered through. He needed to say this,“I-I know I’m already a lot okay? I’m clingy and annoying a-and I fucking scream and shit in the middle of the night and I just didn’t want to add another thing for you to have to deal with.”

Steve opened his eyes, heart breaking at Eddie’s devastated expression. Eddie swallowed, tears welling up in his own eyes, "There is nothing that would ever make me not want you, I'll always love you, don't you know that?"

The fucked up part that was he did know that and Eddie proved it to him every damn day.. His favorite catchphrase was sweetly calling Steve his first and last love for god’s sake. He knew he wanted a life with them together, he knew that he adored him, flaws and all. But it only took one shitty meeting with his parents to make him doubt every good thing in his life. 

"I-I do, really,” Steve admitted, ashamed at his own doubt. He could barely see Eddie anymore over the cloudiness from his tears, but he was pretty sure he wasn’t the only one crying, “I just...I don't know. I should have told you." 

He could hear the sound of Wayne’s truck pulling into the driveway, footsteps not too far behind. Eddie kissed the side of his mouth as lightly as he could before standing to let them inside, while Steve tried to wipe the tears away. Mindy made quick work of tending to him, shushing him everytime Steve tried to apologize for wasting her time. She really was a good person, perfect for someone as kind as Wayne. 

"You can stay home tonight," she finally declared to Steve, gesturing Eddie over, "You just need lots and lots of rest. Give those ribs a chance to heal a good while before you do anything strenuous. Now let's help get you to bed.”

"Thank you," Steve mumbled as Eddie scooped him up. Now that he had gotten the go-ahead to sleep, Steve’s eyes kept slipping closed on their own accord. He hadn’t realized how exhausted he really was. He was too tired to even fight the embarrassment of Eddie carrying him to bed like a kid in front of people, too grateful to try and seriously protest. 

Eddie set him down on the bed carefully, and then helped him change into clean clothes, ignoring the weak protests that he could do it himself. He already felt better, just being back in their bed. But there was still one more worry in the back of his mind. 

“Please don’t go after him,” Steve mumbled when Eddie got him under the covers, "Promise me?"

Eddie hesitated, "But-"

"It's not about them," Steve rushed out, shaking his head. If Eddie could get away with mainiming his dad then he’d let him, but Daniel Harrington was a rich, litigious piece of shit. The risk of something bad happening to Eddie would never be worth any kind of petty revenge,  "Getting arrested isn't worth it. Losing you isn't worth it. Swear?”

“I swear.”

"Thank you," Steve whispered, finally letting himself fall asleep, "I love you."

He could feel the wet press of Eddie’s lips to his forehead, and then he was out, nearly instantly asleep after his final fear had been expunged. He only managed to be down for an hour or less before he was blinking his eyes back open. 

His head felt a bit better. But his body was still hurting like a bitch. He could officially feel the broken ribs, which was not a good feeling. But what was worse was that Eddie wasn’t lying next to him. He pulled himself out of bed, ignoring his body's screaming protests to stay put. Slowly, he wandered out into the living room, frowning when Eddie wasn’t there either.  

Wayne was on the couch, watching tv with a beer in hand. He raised a brow at the sight of Steve standing there, “Why on earth are you out of bed?”

Steve shrugged, sitting down next to him, ignoring the question,“Where’s Eddie?”

“Out,” Wayne said vaguely, “But he’ll be back soon.”

Steve could feel his stomach drop,“He’s not doing anything stupid is he?”

“I didn’t say that. But he’s not going after your parents if that’s what you’re thinking.”

That…almost helped. Steve wanted to believe him. He did, but Eddie was nearly suicidally protective of him if the shit that happened with the Upside Down last year was anything to go by, “I’ll believe it when I see him.”

Wayne shrugged, pretending to turn back to the television. But Steve could feel him watching him from the corner of his eye. They sat in awkward silence and Steve hated that he was the cause of it. Usually, nothing between him and Wayne was awkward. It was kind of their thing, the fact that they got along so bizarrely well. Maybe it was the shared love of sports, or maybe it was their shared love of Eddie, but they just clicked.

But now he could barely look at him. 

“I’m sorry,” Steve said eventually, anything to fill the suffocating silence. It was a reflex, to just apologize. Even when Steve didn’t 100 percent know what it was for. 

Wayne stared at him, brow furrowed, “What on earth do you have to be sorry for?”

“For ruining your night?” He tried, cringing when it came out as more of a question. 

"Jesus christ, no wonder Eddie gets so pissed when it comes to you."

“I’m sorry-”

“For the love of God don’t apologize again,” Wayne groaned. He was pinching the bridge of his nose, annoyed to a level that Steve had never seen before, “What did you do to me huh? You got the shit beat out of you and you think that warrants saying sorry to me?”

“...yes?”

“God, maybe I should have let him go after your dad. Steve, listen to me. You didn’t do anything wrong. And us wanting to take care of you isn’t something you need to be sorry for. We want to do it. You’re a good kid. No, you’re a great kid. And Eddie loves you to hell and back for good damn reason. But he’s not the only one, understand? You’re family now and that’s all there is to it. And family looks out for each other. So don’t you dare apologize to me again.”

Steve stared at him, eyes going wide. He knew Wayne cared about him, of course he did. Why else would he let him live under his roof rent free? But he just…underestimated how much. That seemed to be a constant issue with him, not understanding the extent that people cared for him. But his little speech felt like a proverbial slap to the face. In a loving, fatherly kind of way. 

For a second, Steve couldn't help but wonder how his life would have turned out if Wayne had been his dad. He probably would have been nicer, happier, and been able to skip that whole dick phase in highschool if he had had a single good role model. And if it wasn't for the fact that that would have made Eddie his cousin, he would give anything to have that childhood instead of the one he got. Though the idea of growing up with Eddie was definitely appealing. There was so much lost time they could have spent together, if only Steve had been able to get his head out of his ass and see the amazing person in front of him. It would have been great, fantastic even if his alternate universe could find a loophole for the whole incest side of things. 

But Steve was getting off track. He nodded at Wayne, throat closing up a little as he spoke, “Thank you. I…I love you too. You and Eddie are the best family I could have ever asked for.”

“Damn straight we are,” Wayne chuckled, taking a sip of his beer, “Took me nearly twenty years to get a son that knows what a quarterback is. You’re gonna be stuck with me for life.”

They talked for a bit longer before Wayne headed off to his room, stopping to hug Steve on the way out, as gently as humanly possible. He tried to convince him to go back to bed, but he just couldn’t. He wasn’t going to be able to go back to sleep until he saw Eddie. Or at least got a call from Hopper that he was in custody for being an overprotective idiot. 

But he didn’t have to wait too much longer. Less than an hour later, the front door was opening, the sound of a thump and a grumbling Eddie felt like music to his ears. But as happy as Steve was to know he was safe, he was still pissed he had left in the first place. Eddie stopped in his tracks at the sight of Steve waiting for him on the couch.

He shrunk a little at his glare, meek when he asked, “What are you doing out of bed?””

He ignored the question,“What did you do?” 

“Nothing, I promise!” Eddie said quickly, hands up in a placating gesture, “You won’t be seeing my name plastered on any headlines. I just got your stuff.”

Steve stared at him, looking for any tells. Eddie didn’t know it, but he did this thing when he lied to him. He’d be a little bit more fidgety, either tapping his foot unconsciously or letting his brow twitch. But he passed inspection enough for Steve to finally relax. There were a lot worse things he could have done than break into his house to get his shit back. 

“Come here then,” Steve made grabby hands at him, impatient to just be near him already. 

Eddie went to him, hugging him to his side with careful hands, “How are you feeling baby?”

“Horrible,” Steve admitted. Literally everything hurt, but at least nothing hurt worse than before, “But not worse.” 

He cuddled up to his side, frowning at how tense Eddie felt. He was just about to ask what the problem was when Eddie spoke first, “I uh, kinda ran into your mom, while I was there.”

Steve went rigid in his arms, staring up at him with wide-eyes. 

"But nothing happened!" Eddie rushed out, flinching at the sight of Steve’s panicked face, "We just talked."

“Why would she want to talk to you?”

Eddie sighed, digging into his back pocket. He pulled out a folded envelope before hesitantly handing it over, “She wanted me to give this to you.”

Steve stared at it, taking it in shaky hands, “She gave it to you?”

"Wrote it out in front of me. She said, uh, that you deserved to know everything you were giving up.”

His mom-Steve stopped the thought in his tracks, shaking his head. She wasn’t his mom. A mother would never let happen what she let happen. She was just…someone who was going to stay in his past. But still, the paper in his hands was bizarre. Helen wasn’t the type to reach out. He thought she would act like she always did when things went bad, like nothing had ever happened. But this was new.

And Steve wanted no part in it. He frowned at the paper in his hand, an idea popping up in his head, "Help me up." 

“You’re not supposed to be moving-”

“Just to the kitchen,” Steve insisted, “I’ll lay down right after,”

Eddie gave in, helping Steve to his feet, He hovered as Steve steadied himself, following closely when Steve weakly walked towards the kitchen. He dug around in the drawers until he found a book of matches, then made his way over to the sink. Eddie watched, wide eyed as he lit a match, promptly setting the stupid thing on fire. 

"Steve-"

“It doesn't matter what it says," Steve cut in, letting it drop into the sink, "I made my choice."

And he made the right one. Whatever they had to say to him he didn’t care. He was done. He had a new family, a better family to worry about now. He turned away from the sink, stepping back into Eddie’s arms, “All I want is you.”

Eddie held him, trying his best to be gentle. Steve looked up at him, heart squeezing when he saw the tears in his eyes.

 "You won't regret it.” Eddie promised, voice hoarse, “I'll spend the rest of my life making sure you don't."

In all honesty, Eddie could dump him tomorrow and Steve still wouldn’t regret it. Every single happy moment he had with him was worth more than his entire childhood. But the idea of spending the rest of their lives together…now that was something he could get behind.

"It sounds like you're proposing," Steve said with a wet laugh. He giggled as Eddie started kissing his face, peppering all of the non bruised zones with light pecks. He felt light, he felt good, despite all the crap that had happened in the past twenty-four hours.

He felt loved.

"Maybe I am,” Eddie managed to gasp out in between kisses, “But only if you'd say yes." 

Steve stopped him when he circled back to his mouth, cupping his cheeks to press a light kiss to his lips, mindful of his own cut. He whispered into the small space between, like a secret just for them. Like everyone he knew didn’t know how quick Steve would agree to spending the rest of his life with him,  "I would."

[a-gay-little-cat]

(This drawing got way out of hand but. I'm attaching it to the OC interview anyways!!!! Thank you for tagging me @mail-me-a-snail!!!!) OC interview thingy under the read more :]

Name?

“Vito.” Nothing special or out of the ordinary here really. Though he doesn’t like giving people his surname. Scan him for it if you are so nosy.

Nickname?

“The Red Scorpion.” "...." “That’s a joke, it’s V.” His name is short enough to not warrant a nickname really but V is what he likes to use for business related stuff, keep it formal, keep it anonymous. Though I do think Red Scorpion is the name for his bike. And also the symbol he wears on his vest. He just really likes scorpions and any other desert critter.

Gender?

“Male.”

Vito is trans, has been for a good chunk of his life and he couldn’t be happier with it.

Star sign?

“Scorpio, much to my delight. No idea what it means though. Don’t really care for that kind of stuff.” Fun fact I was so close to making the joke of having Vito be born on the day the Arasaka Towers got blown up but then his age wouldn’t have aligned quite right. He’d have to be 53 during the main story but… still a joke in the back of my mind, might adjust it JUST to be funny, maybe not.

Height?

“Last I checked it was 5’8.”

It’s a pretty good height all things considered. He might appear a bit taller though thanks to the bit of heel on his boots as well as his hat he wears most of the time. He has no complaints about his height though.

Orientation?

“Whoever strikes my fancy.”

Vito is bi and doesn’t really have a preference. Just kinda lets himself be taken wherever his heart desires. (Sometimes that can be horrible ex-corpo men who have something really wrong with them. Shoutout to Lucian. What is wrong with him.) Though he usually doesn’t look for more than a fling. Not actively looking to date or find anything long term. (Lucian was kind of an unexpected case.)

Nationality/ethnicity?

“Born and raised in Mexico. Lived there a good while too.”

His parents likely still live there, he wouldn’t really know. Cut ties a long time ago and has kinda moved from city to city looking to follow his ambitions.

Favorite fruit?

“Hm… don’t have fruit a lot these days but peaches have always been my favorite.”

I can only imagine fruit is just kind of rare to come by, if not expensive. Vito’s never had a lot of money to his name all things considered.

Favorite season?

“Fall. It’s just right.”

Listen he may be used to hot climates but all that leather is probably a nightmare during the summer. And no he will not sacrifice his looks.

Favorite flower?

“Flowers? In this year and age?” He doesn’t know shit about flowers. He might like ones that bloom on cacti but… it’s not really his scene.

Coffee, tea, or hot chocolate?

“You can’t go wrong with a nice tea.” He’ll always pick tea over anything else. Coffee is… okay. But he doesn’t get the appeal. Vito especially likes any sort of red/fruity tea but he’ll give anything a try at least once.

Average hours of sleep?

“4…. 5… depends.”

And that’s on a good day. Especially in the height of everything with the relic he is lucky to get one or two hours of sleep. Pain is one hell of a bitch keeping him up. Very hard to get comfortable at all. But once that’s all over and he’s settled down it’ll probably end up closer to an average of 8 hours, at least.

Dog or cat person?

“Reptiles.” “...” “But if I have to pick? Cats.”

Vito isn’t one to really care for pets. He doesn’t hate them and will pet a dog or a cat if someone he knows owns one but that's about it. Doesn’t really need a pet of his own.

Dream trip?

“Not really looking to travel.”

As a guy who has moved from place to place, Vito doesn’t really… plan for trips. Most of his traveling was out of necessity and not because he was looking for a vacation spot. Somewhere outside of NC could be nice but he just doesn’t really think about it. Busy with other stuff. Also he would want to travel with Lucian and well……. who knows how that would go down.

Favorite fictional character?

“Pardon?”

Vito reads a lot but he’s not like… crazy about the characters or even really involved, it's just to pass time and relax.

Number of blankets you sleep with?

“.....2.”

He gets cold in his sleep and it's a nice weight. One hell of a fight to get out of bed in the morning though.

Random fact?

Vito loves putting together little models of things if possible. Doesn’t always have the time for it but… it’s fun and relaxing :)

Don't really know who to tag but hey whoever wants to do this with their guys feel free to go ahead!

[for-quill-with-love]

It was a slow morning.

I once again spent at least an hour messing with my comm; sending messages that were never received; opening every folder i could find, trying to find a way off world; my hands strayed to buttons that weren't there and messages that never existed. I was trying to see if there were any clues that I had missed the last time I'd combed through this thing.

Or that I'd missed the time before last.

Or the time before that.

I had stooped to looking through the recipe book on my comm. Who knows, there might be something hidden in there. And while I'd found the recipes for a lot of strange things I had no idea to use yet--

Much like all the weird stuff I'd found in that village a few days ago. It was all sitting in a backpack gathering dust. I hadn't had the curiosity to play with it just yet. I'd wanted to finish my barn.

My garden was growing well. Even the new plants from the village. I harvested what was ready, using part of it to feed the animals in the barn.

And the snails. who knew they like beetroot so much?

I still had no idea how to get more rope. It was bothering me that my tomatoes didn't have more to climb. It was saving me a lot of soil space. And it looked pretty.

To be honest with myself for once, I enjoyed making things look nice. It was satisfying in a way that only a well cultivated garden could be.

I might want to try and automate the harvest at some point, but with all these new plants? It might get tricky. I didn't want to wash them out every time I wanted more wheat.

Besides, I was enjoying the new plants. Even if I didn't quite know what to do with them yet.

That seemed to be a running theme here.

I had all of this stuff and nothing to do with it beyond fill the extra big chests and maybe try and build something not horrible with it.

I was never the builder, out of the two of us. She had always been the one with the eye for--

I found a chicken with a different colored waddle in my pen today. It lays orange eggs, instead of the new white ones.

It didn't want to breed with the other chickens either.

What in the world would different colored eggs be useful for?

After tending to my chores, I still had so much time left in the day. Normally I would have spent it chatting with my--

Could I really call them friends? I'd only known them for a few days. I hoped they were doing okay. I--

It was lonely, here. I was realizing that now.

I shook myself, leaving my comm on a chest and gathering up a handful of blocks. I'd dug out a new space to put my bed, but it was little more than a hole and I wanted to make it more cozy.

I spent the rest of the day building.

It took forever to make it look passable. I was better at exteriors. If you could even call what I did building.

There was a reason I always tended to build into things, rather than trying to raise a house from scratch. But! I got there in the end.

It looked rather nice if I do say so myself.

I would have to keep chipping away at making myself a little home. It was too bad I still couldn't go to the nether. I wished I had some crimson hyphae to build with. Shroomlights gave off such a nice warm glow, and magma would be amazing for keeping rooms warm without fire.

I didn't want to have to build chimneys in every room. It would make it so much less defensible.

She always called me dumb for liking the sprawling caves and burrows and halls I had built when---

What had I been doing?

Oh yeah. I was going to go to bed. I set my backpack on the table I'd shoved against the wall, and curled in the nest of blankets I'd made now that I had wool.

Maybe tomorrow I would start making myself some better clothes.

[nuka-rockit]

Another Glass Onion take because this movie is consuming my brain like a hungry snail: The group - Lionel, Claire, Birdie - doesn’t turn on Miles because they’ve suddenly grown a conscience. They don’t turn on him because they want to make up for what they’ve done, or because they support Helen now.

They turn on him because all of them are fucked.

What Helen said - that Klear is doomed after blowing up Miles’ residence and burning up the Mona Lisa - makes them realize that they’re no longer dependent on him. After all, if his reputation is ruined and his business tanks, he has nothing to offer them, nothing to hold over them. At this point they all hate his guts, and at first I thought they decided to testify against him purely as revenge, and thats part of it. But what I’ve realized since is that all of them are doomed regardless of whether they get Miles prosecuted or not.

The statement that Miles wanted Birdie to give - taking the blame for employing sweatshop labour to produce the sweatpants for her brand - is redunant, because of the message that turned up in which Birdie replied to someone warning her that the location where she wants to produce (probably suggested by Miles) is notorious for being a sweatshop and her reply is “Sounds perfect!!”. There is evidence out there that she knew about the sweatshops, and no one will believe that it was a misunderstanding. Her brand is fucked. Lionel already signed off a proposal to power a manned space mission with Klear, despite being fully aware that it isn’t tested enough and knowing the danger it poses -  leaking (incredibly flammable) hydrogen gas. With the disaster that destroyed the Mona Lisa now tied to Klear, Lionel has basically outed himself as either incompetent or corrupt. His professional reputation is fucked. Claire already agreed to build a power plant reliant on Klear, in the middle of an election campaign during which her opponents will be looking for even the slightest misstep to damage her reputation. As with Lionel, once word gets out that Klear was involved in the destruction of the Mona Lisa, her opposition is going to tear her to shreds. Her political career is fucked.

All of them sided with Miles when he stole Alpha from its rightful owner, Andi. They all acted horribly to her, they all knowingly did the wrong thing, and all of them were okay with selling their integrity to Miles and his bank account.  And all of them inadvertently screwed themselves over by tying themselves to the moron that is Miles Bron. So when, in the end, they raise their hands and tell Miles that they won’t cover for him anymore, they’ve not grown a conscience. They’ve realized they’re all fucked, and because he can no longer control them, they decide to take him down with them.  In the end all the people who wronged Andi are colossally fucked, and I think that’s beautiful.

[polyhexian]

Btw I do feel extremely bad for eventually!Darius. I love Darius! He's a very cool character with interesting motivations and flaws! And they're all coming to a head in this one, lol.

Darius is replaying the last time he ever saw Jasper on loop, and he's reevaluating every interaction he has ever had with Hunter, and he has realized he's fucked up. Darius has realized he's been consistantly fucking up for 16 years.

Maybe he tries to defend himself to himself. Brains tend to do that. I was grieving! Okay yeah valid but no excuse for bullying a child, actually. How was I supposed to know he was Jasper's kid? Oh come on you can't say you didn't KIND OF suspect with those eyes and that face and the hair, also it shouldn't matter WHOSE kid he was you still hurt a kid. I was subconsciously upset Jasper apparently had a kid and didn't tell me. Right but this all keeps coming back to you bullying a kid. It's not like he explicitly told me to look out for the next Golden Guard! It costs 0 snails to not be mean to the child soldier.

Darius is just…facedown on his bed, groaning. He hasn't kept up with his hair or skincare routine in two days. Eberwolf is getting worried; they've dragged MULTIPLE animal carcasses into Darius's bedroom and he hasn't complained ONCE.

Raine: We're not getting Eda involved, I refuse to put her in danger.

Darius: Sure! Of course! Perfectly understandable! I'm so glad you have the opportunity to look out for your loved one! Of course if it turns out you wildly misunderstand what she wants she may never forgive you, but hey, whatever you think is best! AHAHAHAHA.

Raine: Darius are you okay.

At some point when he's on speaking terms with Alador again, it comes up.

Darius: I've horrifically betrayed the man I love. He trusted me, and I let him down, badly. Now he hates me and he's never going to forgive me and I have to see him scowl at me from across the room and call me all sorts of horrible things and the sad truth is I deserve every single one of them.

Alador, nodding: I can tell you from experience that it's an awful thing to go through, but it is possible to eventually move on.

Darius: Are you MOCKING me??

Alador: No? I'm being genuinely sympathetic and supportive.

Idk if this is a universe where Jasper and Darius would be able to work things out between themselves - the hurt runs deep, Jasper honestly thought he could at least count on the one man who befriended HIM to look out for a kid who looked like him and was stuck in the same position, and instead Darius failed at just not being MEAN to said kid. Jasper didn't even realize the bar was so low. And Darius doesn't really have much time to fix his behavior and turn things around, and Hunter's real dad is here so there's no need for Darius to become an adopted father figure, and…yeah.

Jasper's relationship with Darius is so hostile, and once Darius realizes what's up he's just miserable and resigned and apologetic even though he knows it'll fix nothing, like a dog rolling over to show its belly. It's sad and hard to watch.

But if their relationship ever DOES progress to something less than hostile, it's entirely because Hunter's willing to forgive Darius, and Jasper can't deny Hunter anything. They can maybe work their way towards cordial neutral. Romance…romance may not work out here.

…Of course, Hunter has to tackle Luz when she catches wind of the situation. She starts rambling about the Parent Trap and Friends to Enemies to Lovers and orchestrating an Only One Bed situation and he is like NOPE, BAD IDEA, THAT IS HOW PEOPLE (mostly Darius lbr) DIE.

YEAH NO IT SUCKS TO BE DARIUS IN ALL TIMELINES HDDGJIKKIFDRH

I don't think it's.... TOTALLY unsalvageable if he plays his cards right. Like on the beach he realizes that's jasper and he's ALIVE. And jasper hisses at him like. If you ever threaten my son again I will rip you limb from limb. And he poofs and I'm sure Darius is left like SON??????? SON??????

And like back at the castle he has an existential crisis in the middle of the night before like. Oh my god. I've been bullying his son. What the fuck. Son??? He had a son???? Wh. When did he do that. And suddenly he has that same interest in hunter canon Darius has but... perhaps with a little more guilt and desperation. My dude is ALREADY planning to kidnap hunter and get out of there because holy shit??? Jasper???? Alive??????? Out of my way gayboy I have amends to make

Like... Jasper loses him after hollow mind. Hunter bolted and jasper couldn't catch him. So Hunter spends nine days homeless while jasper is having a fucking panic attack. Hunter is in so much fucking immediate danger rn. There is no more fucking around in the shadows it is GO time. Maybe he hates Darius, but Darius is strong, he knows the emperor's coven and hunter, and most importantly he fucking owes him.

Jasper has MAGIC now. He has Hunter's staff! He shows up at Darius' door like GET UP SCRUBLORD YOURE GOING TO HELP ME FIND MY FUCKING SON RIGHT NOW

Ohhhh my god the drama. The two of them working together. Darius is overwhelmed with guilt and confusion. Jasper is angry and hates him. Darius keeps asking questions like "how are you alive" "why didn't you tell me you were alive" "how do you have a son" "do you like legit hate me" and jasper is just fucking ignoring him. But then!! Labyrinth runners! Darius hears over, the like-- like the fucking coven group chat or whatever, that Adrian graye has found the fucking golden guard and jasper's like AHHHHHHHHH and so they both rush over but... it all happened so fast! They're too late! But now they get the full details of the draining spell because hunter told the kids and oh my god.... oh my goodddd. Jasper is like. I have to get hunter as far away from here as humanly possible. And Darius is like you literally don't even know if that would work. And also what about everyone else??? But obviously a worked up jasper is like fuck everybody else!! Gasp. Shock. You're mad at me for bullying you're kid when you're willing to let every kids parents die?? And he's like. Gasp. How dare you

But Hunter is already gone... and jasper is ready to go look for him, but... oh no! Did you think you could beat up a coven head and not face retribution?! There is like a whole outfit of coven soldiers on the way. Like the ones with Adrian were not like combat guys. They were just here to hassle some school kids. Now the school kids have committed fucking treason. And if Darius fights then his cover will be blown! And maybe even Belos will realize he needs to look for moles higher up! If nothing jasper does works then that is the only backup plan to stop the spell and save Hunter along with everyone else!

There's only one choice. Jasper has to stay and fight off a whole army so the kids have time to escape, and Darius has to go and find hunter. And jasper is like you fucker. You go and remember how much you fucking owe me. You remember that. And then wham! Bam! Sick moves!

And we know that hunter really wants Darius's approval... he likes him a lot. At this point we kind of lose track of them for a second because Luz and king go do the Titan trapper stuff, and then they go to the knee to hide out, then they get captured and Darius and co saves them and then the next we see hunter he shows up to say Darius told him to protect Luz so... I guess he's been staying with him? It's a little unclear. But ALSO.... where were Gus and Willow and hunter hiding??? How did they run into Darius and the CATTs?

Maybe they ALSO needed a rescue mission... maybe while fleeing from the school they got captured by a unit too, and Darius swung in and rescued them and brought them to the safehouse BUT also he got a really serious injury like stabbed or something, he's not like dying yet but OWWWWW... and no one in their crew knows healing magic!!!! He gets patched up but.... and you know. He's fretting over hunter. He's been homeless for nine days. He's hungry. He's malnourished. He's upset. Time for Darius to go dad mode for the first time but ALSO hes injured and he gets to finally have a big "I am so sorry Hunter that I let myself drown in my grief and turn into a person I never wanted to be and I'm sorry you were on the receiving end of that, and you might never forgive me but I'm going to do everything in my power to keep you safe now" and it's all very FEELINGS!!!!!!

But where is jasperrrrr???? Poor motherfucker has lost his kid AGAIN... and the thing is that from the time eda and Luz get rescued, it's only 24 hours until the draining spell!! Jasper does not fucking have a lot of time! He searches and searches but THEN.... THE SPELL... AND HUNTER IS UP THERE.... oh maybe he rescues Alador after the kids leave and he tells him they went up to the coven heads and he gets there and Darius says they went to go save Luz... and that's when he finally pops in just in time to protect the kids from a big dramatic Belos attack. And then of course he loses an arm and nearly dies and spends a week in a fever coma lol

[avatarmerida]

Third First Kiss

Of course for the fluffiest prompt I had to write some grade A fluff. For @huntlowweek prompt: First Kiss. Y’all already know what’s up.

---

“Okay so no pressure, but if you kiss her tonight Amity owes me 20 snails,” said Gus, laying on Hunter’s bed rereading his favorite issue of Cosmic Frontier as Hunter paced across the floor, debating if he should change his outfit for the fifth time.

“It’s not that simple, Gus!” he exclaimed, wringing his hand nervously.

“Nothing is ever simple with you two, is it?”

“It needs to be special but it can’t be too obvious but  I-I don’t wanna surprise her either because it could be seen as rude and I think it has a higher chance of injury cause we might bump noses or teeth or-.”

“Hunter don’t you think you’re maybe, I dunno, overthinking things?” 

“Well I don’t want to underthink it!” he said, trying to hide the panic in his voice. “The moment has to be just right, it can’t just be totally random!”

“There's no possible way you can think about anything this much and call it random,” said Gus, flipping the page in his book.

“But I can’t let her know that!” Hunter exclaimed “What if... if she doesn’t think about it as much? She’ll think I’m weird!”

“She already thinks you’re weird; she likes that you’re weird.”

“Yeah but this is different weird,” he said. “This is weird about her!”

“I’m sure she feels… weird about you too,” Gus assured him. “Why don’t you just ask her if it’s the right moment?”

“It’s just that…” he sighed in defeat as he flopped onto the bed beside Gus, covering his face with his hands. “ I haven't told anyone this because it’s embarrassing but I think… I missed my chance.”

Gus set down his book and gave Hunter a pressing, inquisitive look. “Tell me everything.”

“Well,” Hunter hesitated before he began speaking rapidly. “We were in the human realm walking home from the store and it started to rain like super hard. So I put my jacket over us to keep us dry but I had to pull her closer to me so we’d both be covered and it all happened so fast and we were so close and it felt like time was frozen. And then she got even closer like her face was right by my face and then she closed her eyes and I thought she was blinking really slowly but then she... and then I was moving closer like I didn’t even know until we were so close we were almost... but I chickened out! I panicked. I was so sure but then all of a sudden I thought about it too much and err!” Hunter covered his face with a pillow and groaned loudly.

“Well at least you told her that you like her, right?” offered Gus. “That’s progress!” 

“Yeah, that is progress.” Hunter agreed with a small smile. After everything, he had managed to work up the nerve to tell Willow that he “liked her romantically”, as he had so awkwardly phrased it. It only took facing the end of the word for him to have the courage. He had blurted it out after flyer derby practice one day, which Willow said she loved but it was not the elaborate grand gesture Hunter believed she deserved and still wanted to give her. So there was more pressure on this next step.

“And she likes you...” Gus reminded him.

“Yeah, she likes me,” said Hunter with a smile, still finding the fact hard to believe.

“And she’s liked you for a long time,” confirmed Gus. “Probably ever since you kidnapped us.”

“Why do you always have to bring that up?”Hunter asked, sitting up and glaring at him.

“You make it too easy.” Gus shrugged, but his teasing eased Hunter for only a brief moment.

“But... just because she likes me doesn’t mean she wants to kiss me,” he sighed.

“I’ve been told I’m not allowed to comment on that.”

“What? Why? What has she told you?”

“She told me if I speak for her about this she’ll fill my socks with poison ivy,” said Gus. “But I’m sure she’ll still like you even if you’re a horrible kisser.”

“Why would you say that?”

---

Hunter changed only two more times before he finally left to meet Willow at the art gallery.

He was still getting used to the new flow the outings had when it was just them. There had been plenty before, of course, but Hunter would spend so much time worrying about staring or standing too close. But now there was a different type of pressure. Ever since he told her how he really felt about her… well, he still worried about these things. But at least now it was easier to explain if she noticed. Well, not really. He was still a mess around Willow. 

But the one important thing that changed was now they held hands alot more, and Hunter thought that was pretty cool.

“Oh, look at this one!” he said excitedly, grabbing her hand to bring her over to a large painting of a garden. Willow followed happily behind, lacing her fingers through his when they reached the display.

“It’s so beautiful,” admitted Willow with a content sigh.

“Yeah, it is.” agreed Hunter, his eyes drifting to the side. Willow knew he was talking about her and not the painting and she thought about letting him know that she knew to see his reaction. She decided against it so he could stare at her longer. He did that more now. Willow thought it was pretty cool.

Hunter got totally lost in the way the light found her. The way it bounced off her glasses and settled in her hair like a halo as she slowly moved her lips, listing every species of flower in the painting under her breath. Hunter was suddenly hyper aware of exactly how much attention he was paying to her lips. They had a light on them too, was she wearing lip gloss? Did she always wear lip gloss? He noticed the way they naturally curved into a smile, the way she pursed them when she forgot what flowers she had already listed and had to start over, the way… wait, was this a sign? 

Was this the moment? He looked around and saw they were the only ones in this section of the gallery. He knew Willow had been looking forward to this exhibit, it was special, it was just them, it checked all the boxes. He took a deep breath and leaned down.

“So which is your favorite flower?” she asked, giving him the perfect opportunity for him to say you, of course or some version of that. His version of flirting had a certain learning curve, but Willow found it extremely endearing. He was silent for a moment, Willow assumed because he was still putting the words together but then the silence became overwhelmingly long. 

She turned to see why he wasn’t answering her and saw his face beside hers; his eyes were tightly shut, his fists clenched at his sides, and his lips puckered as though he had eaten a piece of sour candy. He looked fairly unwell.

“Hunter, are you okay?” Willow asked, genuinely concerned.

“Um, yes yes of course I’m great,” he stuttered, standing up straight. “W-w-why wouldn’t I be? Do I not look okay?”

“Your face just looks kind of red,” said Willow. “And you’re sweaty, do you need to lay down? We don’t have to stay if you’re not feeling okay.”

“I’m fine, really I guess I’m just… nervous,” he sighed. 

“Nervous? About what?”

“The truth is I was... going to kiss you,” Hunter confessed as though he had been caught doing something he should be ashamed about.

“Oh.”

“I know, I know,” said Hunter, replying to the worst case scenario fashioned by his own mind rather than the girl in front of him. “It’s probably too soon, right? I just don’t know how long you’re supposed to wait before a first kiss and I thought it was a really nice night and I felt comfortable so I thought-.”

“Hunter, Hunter,” said Willow, putting her hand gently on the side of his face. “It’s okay, breathe.” She gave a gentle laugh as he did, counting his breaths and he gathered his thoughts. “You don’t have to feel so much pressure.”

“I know it’s just... there’s so many variables and options and moments and it’s a really important moment and I just don’t wanna mess it up.”

“That’s so sweet but what I meant is there's no pressure because it... wouldn’t really be a first kiss.”

“Oh,” said Hunter, surprised. “Oh, well yeah I don’t know why that’s surprising, I mean if yo- you’ve probably kissed people before, of course people would wanna kiss you! I don’t know why I-.”

“I haven’t kissed anyone else,” Willow said calmly, biting her lip as he once again unknowingly showered her with compliments.

“Oh.” Hunter said again. “Okay wait, sorry I’m confused.”

“Well,” Willow sighed, taking Hunter's hands in hers. “I mean it wouldn’t technically be our first kiss because you have kissed me before.”

“What?!” Hunter exclaimed, rightfully baffled. “Wait, do dreams count?”

“No,” Willow said with a soft giggle as she shook her head.

“Oh, wait then what do you mean?” Hunter asked. “Does kissing have different definitions?”

“No, I’m pretty sure it’s just the one,” she said sweetly, running her thumb over the back of his hand. “But um well...  It was before a lot of stuff with The Collector happened when we got back to the demon realm. When you went off with the coven heads to get King while I helped Luz and Amity with Eda. It was all happening so fast but when you left, you stopped suddenly and turned around. You ran back pulled me into a hug and told me to be careful and that you cared about me and then before you ran back ... you kissed me.`` As she recounted the tale, a few small flowers sprouted atop her head. 

“Like... really kissed you?”

She nodded

“Like... on the lips?” he asked somewhat bashfully.

“Big time.” Willow confirmed, trying hard to stop herself from getting totally lost in the memory. It had all happened so quickly yet it played back in her mind in slow motion: the way he gently placed his hands on her cheek and the soft way he looked into her eyes and the way his voice got low and serious and quivered slightly before he leaned down to pull her closer and the way her heart felt like it was going to fly out of her chest when he-

“And I don’t even remember it?!” Hunter practically shouted, his voice echoing in the empty gallery room. “Why don’t I remember it???”

Willow snapped out her daze and turned to the distressed Hunter in front of her. “Oh, well you got hit pretty hard on the head from what Darius told me and there’s a few gaps from that day. Like you said you didn’t remember how you got back to the Owl House, right?”

“Well yeah but I think I would remember something as important as our first kiss!” He exclaimed, worried his forgetfulness could offend her. 

“You don’t even remember saving the world, so I think it’s safe to say the importance of the memory isn’t a factor on whether you remember it or not.”

“I mean was it... okay?” he asked, taking his hand back so he could nervously rub them together, averting his eyes to the ground. 

“It was,” she said, rocking on her heels. “It was very okay.”

“Are you sure?”

“You want me to show you?”

Hunter froze. He didn’t expect to walk into this already falling behind. Any confidence he had before had completely vanished now. At least he didn’t have to worry that Willow didn’t want to kiss him, now he could worry about whether Willow regretted kissing him or not. He found himself in the odd position of being jealous of himself, how had that Hunter pulled it off and how was he supposed to compete with him?

“Ha ha, I uh...” Hunter tried to find the words. “I’m sorry, I just can’t believe I don’t remember it.”

“Well then, I guess you also don’t remember that I was mad at you.”

“What? Why?”

“Well after you kissed me I said ‘that better not be because you don’t plan on coming back’ and then your face turned red and you teleported away and I didn’t know if it was because you were overwhelmed or if I had gotten it right.”

“Yeah, that sounds like me,” he said. “I’m guessing I didn’t apologize, did I?”

“Well, kind of?” she said with a sigh. “When everything was finally over I was looking everywhere for you. I didn’t know if you were okay or if you had... anyway, I was calling your name and I couldn’t see very well because my glasses had gotten broken at some point. I was trying not to freak out but everything was so crazy and no one knew where you were but then... I heard you call my name back. Then I turned around and I saw you and you ran over to me and scooped me into your arms and squeezed me and spun me around. I was so happy to see you that I started crying and I said I was so glad you came back and then you wiped the tears from my eyes and said ‘me too’ and then... you kissed me again.” Willow recalled the sorry with a vibrant blush, her voice faded as though lost in a grand dream as more tiny flowers appeared in her hair.

Hunter was speechless. He was flabbergasted. But most of all he was upset. His eyes and jaw were open wide with surprise.

“I did that?” He said slowly, still feeling as though he had been listening to a retelling  of an iconic tale and not an account of his own actions. Willow merely sighed and nodded as Hunter’s fury grew. “But the last thing I remember is waking up in the Owl House and everyone said... I thought I knew...  but how can…we’ve kissed twice??? Why didn’t you tell me?!”

“Well it’s a delicate thing to bring up,”  said Willow. “A lot was going on and things were moving quickly and I didn’t know if maybe your feelings had changed. I didn’t want you to feel pressured in case you were embarrassed or something.”

“Embarrassed? You thought I’d be embarrassed? Oh Titan, was I that bad of a kisser?” Hunter panicked, as he grabbed his hair with his hands.

“No no, I mean embarrassed about kissing me.” Willow explained as she brought his arms down, trying to reel him back.

“Why would I be embarrassed about kissing you? It's literally all I’ve been able to think about!”

“Well, yeah I know that now,” she said, thinking how silly everything was.”But when everything was over and you didn’t mention it I thought maybe you had done it out of nerves and weren’t really ready. I didn’t realize you had forgotten it until you told me that you liked me and I was like ‘well yeah, I sure hope so.’”

“You’ve gotta be kidding,” Hunter said in disbelief “This is a joke, right? One of those prank things that Gus likes?”

Willow shook her head.

“Well did you... like that I kissed you?” asked Hunter sheepishly. “Like, are sure the only reason you didn’t bring it up was because-.”

“Hunter,” said Willow simply. “I promise, it was wonderful. It was perfect and super romantic.”

“Well now I’ve done it,” he groaned. “That is super romantic! How in Titan’s name am I supposed to top that??”

“You don’t have to top anything! If you want-.”

“What if I’ve forgotten how to do it? No, I didn’t forget; I never knew how. Well, apparently I did for like a minute but I’m sure you’ll be able to tell the difference and then what if it’s worse because we’re not risking our lives? I mean, I’ve always worked best under pressure but this just doesn’t seem fair-.”

“Hunter, are you sure you don’t need to lay down?” Willow asked as she led him to a bench in front of a wildflower mural, but as they sat he continued to spiral.

“I had it all planned out and then Gus got into my head about ‘what if the plan didn’t go smoothly’ and so I thought of a back up and then he said I would just know the right moment and a lot of moments seemed right but then I thought what if an even more right moment came and I should’ve waited and it would’ve been-.”

“What moments?”

“Like the time we were all watching the stars and you held my hand the whole time and you put your head on my shoulder and I wanted to then but everyone was around and i didn’t know if you’d be okay with that and I hadn’t even told you I liked you yet and if you said no I didn’t want to make you uncomfortable and then you’d leave and you looked so pretty in the moonlight-.”

“Aw,” said Willow, resting her head on his shoulder as another flower appeared in her hair. “When else did you wanna kiss me?”

“Um, last week after I had dinner at your house and you walked me home and you were telling me about your Cosmic Frontier theories and you started quoting the scene from when Ivy and O’Bailey are looking for the power source and you said the line she says before they kiss and you paused and I thought that was you waiting for me- “

“I was.”

“-and it seemed perfect but then I remembered I had garlic on my dish and I didn’t have a mint or anything so I was worried my breath smelled bad and you wouldn’t tell me and you would have an awful time and would never wanna kiss me again. And then we were still pretty close to your house and I was paranoid your dads would see and I don’t know why but I’m weirdly scared of them.

“Well they adore you,” said WIllow, brushing a lose hair behind his ear as she allowed Hunter to burn himself out.

“So then I thought: ‘I should stop waiting for the moment and make my own moment, that way nothing can go wrong.’”

“You had something planned?”

“I was gonna fill some jars with fireflies and bring them to the gazebo you liked that had the vines around the sides. And we would sit on the steps and you’d say you were cold and I’d bring out the jacket I made for you and I dunno I'd say something cool when I helped you put it on and you’d be so impressed and and you’d wanna kiss me which I know sounds of-.”

“How can you plan on me being cold?”

“Well, because you’re always cold,” he said simply. “That’s why you were always asking to hold my hand, right? Cause you said yours were cold.”

“Well, that’s maaaaybe a little bit of a lie I’d say because I just wanted to hold your hand.” she laughed, taking his hand to prove her point. “So why haven’t we been to the gazebo?”

“Well, it turns out that while gazebos are fairly romantic tiny buildings, they’re also city property, so I’d need to make a reservation if I wanted to alter it in any way. So, I went down to city hall to fill out a form and actually in about two months-.”

He cut himself off, noticing the amount of flowers now occupying Willow’s hair. This had happened before, and he knew her powers were linked to her emotions but he just didn’t know exactly what she was feeling. He held his breath in case he was making her uncomfortable.

“Go on.” Willow prompted, rested her cheek on his shoulder, her eyes locked on him.

“I feel like I’m talking too much.”

“No no, keep going,” she said, wrapping her arms tighter around his arm. “Tell me about other times you wanted to kiss me.”

“Well, uh,” Hunter gulped. “Then there was about five minutes ago.”

“I remember that,” said Willow with a smile as she inched closer. “But I think that ones on me.”

“And then, that time when it was raining,” Hunter started, but found himself also drifting closer and his eyes felt heavy. He noticed at some point she had reapplied her lip gloss.

“I remember that time,” said Willow softly. “What about right-.”

But Willow never got her answer, as she was cut off by Hunter lips on hers. Unlike the two only she remembered, it was brief. He darted forward (it was easy since her face was already so close) and pressed his lips against her in a shaky fast kiss. It was more of a peck, technically, but just like the other two it left Willow speechless for a moment. She couldn’t think of a better interruption as flowers started violently sprouting all over her head.

Hunter pulled back and saw her looking at him with wide eyes and suddenly his galderstone heart was in his throat and he just knew his face was red again as he leaned back and covered his mouth with his hand, shocked by his boldness. 

“Oh my Titan! I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have interrupted you! That was rude. That’s exactly what I was worried about, oh I-I can't believe I would just think to-.”

Willow pulled him back down by the collar of his shirt and cut him off by returning the favor, giving him a taste of his own medicine in a longer, slightly deeper kiss. He closed his eyes and instinctively brought up his hand to the side of her face to caress her cheek lost in a wonderful sense of deja vu as he kissed her back. 

“There,” she declared, trying to catch her breath as she released him, relishing in the same smitten expression slapped across his face as before. “Now we’re even.”

Hunter’s face was an absolute tomato. Willow giggled as he mouth spread into a big dopey grin. “Hehe, okay,” he giggled in a low, breathless voice before clearing his throat. “Um, well not technically. I’m pretty sure you’re still two ahead of me.”

“Well then, it looks like you have some catching up to do,” she said, leaning up to gently kiss the top of his nose. She hopped onto her feet and offered her hand to him to bring him off the bench. She laced their fingers together and Hunter felt as though he was floating rather than walking as she lead him to the next room.

“Oh, is it a competition now?” He asked playfully, raising his eyebrow.

Willow nodded and used their linked hands to bring him down to her and kiss his cheek and safely secured the lead. But she could tell that despite his competitive nature, Hunter wouldn’t mind coming in second for this. Willow smiled, sharing the thought.

“Good thing you rented that gazebo, huh?”