#Stuff in this fic is probably going to be proven wrong once the movie comes out

[riahlynn101]

Whumptober: "It Should Have Been Me."

Set in the FNAF movie (2023) universe.

Trigger warnings: implied/referenced kidnapping and murder, children in distress, and grief.

Extra -

((Line I discarded, because it didn’t fit the vibe: It towers over Mike, but that's not a surprise, given that everyone tends to tower over him (except Abby, but she’ll get there eventually). ))

(Word count: 1,126)

((Day 6, only 25 more to go!))

--

Mike remembers the day his little brother disappeared.

He remembers riding in their mom’s car, side-by-side. Garrett still had to use a booster seat, which meant his range of motion was limited. This upset him greatly, as he always wanted to be as close as humanly possible to his big brother. 

It was as endearing, as it was annoying to Mike’s twelve-year-old self. 

He remembers arriving at the park. 

It had been a nice day. Sunny with a little bit of wind. 

He remembers racing Garrett to the playground. Mike chased him in circles around the large structure, the smell of mulch in the air. They played until their mom called them over for lunch. 

He remembers not feeling very well after lunch. The wind had died down and the heat was slowly getting to him, so he decided to lay down on one of the benches. 

He remembers telling his little brother to go play, and perhaps Mike’s tone hadn’t been the most kind, as his head had been killing him. Their mother backed him up, reassuring Garrett that everything was fine. 

She fussed over him, asking Mike if he remembered to take his allergy medicine, and if he brought his inhaler. 

The answers to both being: yes, his mom never let him leave the house without taking it, and yes, though at that point in his life, Mike hadn’t had an asthma attack since he was ten. 

He remembers….being woken suddenly by the sound of screeching tires and his mom’s screams of panic. 

The car ride home that night was silent. Blurry in his memory, besides his mom’s caustic side glances towards him. He’s sure no one can read minds, but if he was granted the power to read her’s, Mike would have never left his room again. 

He remembers very little else. 

The guilt slowly ate away at him. It was almost maddening. His parent’s sorrow made it worse. If he had a time machine. A single wish. A shooting star. Anything. 

A chance. 

Mike would use it to bring his brother home. 

If he had been watching Garrett none of this would have happened. Headache or not, Mike had one job. And the years that followed weren’t kind to him. His mom and dad moved on (as much as they could, given the circumstances), and even had another child, Abby. 

And, as much as he adored and loved Abby (and Mike loved her with all his heart, mind, and soul), the feeling of being a complete and utter failure never left. Mixed with the gnawing worry that his little brother suffered terribly following that day, made Mike barely functional. 

But eventually, he too, moved on. 

His parents died, and Abby needed someone to step-up. 

But the guilt never left. It was a constant companion, right by his side, day and night. 

He had been doing better. He was getting better. 

“It should have been me,” Mike says. “I’m sorry that I wasn’t there.”

The animatronic bear in front of him continues to stare impassively. The only sign that it’s listening at all is it’s one working ear twitching ever so slightly. 

“I’m sorry I failed you, Garrett. I should have been watching you.”

“Not your fault,” a garbled, almost staticy voice rang out. “Tried your best.” A large paw pats him on the head. 

Mike tenses up. After the week he’s had, with all the other animatronics trying to kill him, it would be fair of him to assume this one (possessed by his brother or not) also wants him dead. 

“Good big brother. No sorry….forgive you.” 

Its words are just barely coherent. He can make out his brother’s voice through the mess of static and the broken module, the thing once called a ‘voice box.’ 

Mike hasn’t cried in a long time. Not while being chased through the pizzeria. Not in Vanessa’s hospital room. And not even at his parents’ funeral. 

The last time he had cried, truly, actually cried was….

He swallows, nodding. No words can express the weight that had just been lifted from his shoulders. 

“Never blamed you.”

Unable to stop the tears from flowing, Mike breaks down. It would take years for him to truly process his emotions regarding Garrett’s disappearance, but the fact his little brother never blamed him, soothes Mike’s soul in a way no counseling or therapy session ever could. 

“I…miss you. Everyday,” Mike says, stinging, watery eyes staring firmly at the ground. His voice breaks, wavering. “I never stopped looking for you. I wanted you to come home. I…I’m so, so sorry. You deserved better.” He fumbles to find the right words, mind racing. 

A paw finds its way to Mike’s head again, giving it a short but firm pat. It rests there. He looks up slowly at the animatronic Fredbear. It tilts its head to the side. 

“I…love you.”

Mike gives a wobbly smile. “I love you too. You….you can rest now. The bad man is gone. Abby is safe.”

“Good job?”

“Yes, you did an excellent job. Rest. Mom and dad are waiting for you.” 

The suit seems to sputter, powering down. Its one glowing blue eye goes black. 

“Goodbye, little brother. I hope to see you again, some day.”

He stumbles outside. It’s lighter now, almost daytime. His mind is a blur, and he wants so badly to sleep. 

“Mike!” Abby yells, running over and hugging him tightly. “I was so worried.”

“Everything’s okay, Abbs,” he reassures her, placing a gentle hand on her head. 

“Where’s Fredbear?”

Mike sighs, sadly. “Gone.”

Abby sobs, clinging to him harder. “It’s not fair! He was my friend!” She hits his chest and stomach in frustration (which hurts, but he fights down the urge to wince). 

“I know,” he murmurs, because he does. Better than anyone else in the world (besides, maybe, Vanessa). “Let it out.”

She screams, pulling away from him. “It hurts, Mike. Why does it hurt so much?”

He bends down to her level. “Because he was your friend. It hurts when someone you love leaves you.”

“But it didn’t hurt this much when mom and dad left.” Tears drip from her eyes, and her bottom lip quivers. 

“I wish I had the answer for that. If I could take it all away, I would.” He pauses for a moment, opening his arms. In an instant Abby is once again clinging to him. “I don’t have the answers, but I can assure you I felt the same way about Garret.”

“I wish I could have met him,” she whispers, head resting on his shoulder. “I bet he would have been a great big brother, just like you.”

Mike swallows down his tears. “...yeah, he would’ve been the best.”

[empressgeekt]

Trolls - Accidental Knight and the end of the world (Field of Forget-me-nots au - what if?) -PART 2!!!!

Okay, so this is a what if off of second movie of the FoF au (this post), where Barb won. This was inspired by the fic "The Beginning of the End" by AnimationFan2006 on Ao3. Pls go give it a read. I highly recommend that anyone go to look at the rest of the Field of Forgetmenots au. And I had to split it in half because I posted the first one at 2:00 am. Here is that first post!

Now on to the meat of the story.

Our survivalist group is now mostly formed, Floyd, john Dory, Bruce, Demo and Crimp have met up with Tresillo, Wani and Keith in the pop forest. After some explanations Tresillo and Keith take everyone (minus John Dory he needed to hide Rhonda and Wani stayed behind to help him get back), back to the bunker through the tunnel network. Bruce ever since entering the tunnel hadn't been able to take his eyes of Keith. His parental instincts going into over drive from the moment that Demo said who the trolling was. Bruce may have been out of the loop for a few years when it came to the royal family, he was fairly certain they were made up of warm colored trolls, but that doesn't mean he isn't horrified by the implications of why this poor little kid was on his own. Floyd is on the same page. They both start asking Tresillo questions and get the truth, which isn't any better then the misconception.

Tresillo: Keith isn't the prince. Queen Poppy didn't have any ninos.

Floyd: Then why did Demo call him Prince?

Tresillo: Because Chico was captured along side Queen Poppy, and Queen Barb is an idiota. I don't know the specifics, but his hermano was the chief of security for the tribe, and some how Chico ended up going with them.

Bruce: Wait, I get the brother going, but their parents let a child go?

Tresillo: Once more pop troll, I don't have all the details, but from my understanding, his Papi is long gone. All he had was his Hermano.

Floyd: Then where is his brother?

Tresillo: *sigh* where the all the héroes go. Keith's brother was the first to stand up to Queen Barb, and the first to fall to her song.

Both Floyd and Bruce are horrified. This poor kid probably watching his brother sacrifice himself while trying to save him. Bruce is just thinking of how all the parenting book he read telling him how harmful an upbringing without a stable family unit can be for a kid. It also doesn't help that Keith has the same hair and eyes that Bitty B once had. They both decide that they were going to keep Keith safe, and find away to help Bitty and get Keith his brother back (not knowing their the same person).

Once back in the Bunker, they loop John Dory in and they do try to approach Keith, and give him comfort. Telling him that Big brothers would always come back for their little ones.

Keith: Would you do that for you're little brother?

Floyd: Of course.

Keith: Then why can't I believe you?

Keith fully knows who John Dory, Bruce and Floyd are, and what they did. He's going to subtly twist that knife he put in their backs every chance he got. They had twenty years to find Branch, and now that he was gone they just show up at the bunker like they own the place. He's polite to Crimp and Demo, Branch taught Keith manners after all, but he's not going to be civil with Brozone. And he's certainly not going to tell them who Branch became.

During their stay at the bunker, John Dory and Demo join in on the excursions, to capture Zombies and round them up in a pen in a dark corner of the woods. While Bruce and Crimp stay in the bunker with the children, and Floyd while he recovers. This allows DJ to start to help more with the outside work. John tried to object at Keith going out with them, but he's quickly proven wrong when Keith proves to know the forest better then any of them. When John asked how Keith knew all this stuff, the trolling only ever answered, "My brother taught me." John feels very strongly when it comes to learning about Keith's brother. The whole situation kind of feels close to home. After all he was saddled with his brothers after his parent's death, just like Keith's brother, and from what John could tell, the brother did a fantastic job. Keith could clearly take care of himself, and he adored his brother, it took a very strong person to be able to raise a child like that after losing your parent. He was certainly stronger then John ever was, All he managed to do was break his already broken family apart further. Sometimes he would wonder if Keith knew that, and it was the reason why the trolling was so cold to him.

At some point, Floyd wouldn't have been able to sleep one night and He would stumble on to a Keith who had fallen asleep while working on a book. He picks the trolling up, and starts to take him to bed. Tresillo would be up and point out that Keith had been sleeping in his brothers room and gave his to the girls. Floyd would follow this information and tucked Keith into his brother's bed. He would put the book on the nightstand while tucking the trolling in and knock said book off of the nightstand as he turned to leave. Said book is a photo album as Floyd would soon learn, and landed open to a page with a single picture. A picture of Keith and an older blue troll cuddled up on a hospital bed asleep, the trolling's hair obscuring half of the older trolls face. At first Floyd just figures it's Keith and his brother, and find the photo cute...until he notices the green leafy vest on the bed next to them. And everything clicks.

Floyd runs out of the bedroom and wakes up his Brothers, dragging them to his room to show them the photo. John Dory and Bruce immediately recognizes the adult as Branch. Sure his hair was darker, but John and Clay's hair darkened as they got older. It's all just confirmed when they take the picture out of the album and flip it over, reading on the back, "Three Days until Branch can come home. Boys are celebrating early with snuggles! :] " Floyd would continue to to flip through the album, while Bruce and John spiral over this revelation. Their baby brother had a baby brother?! He was in the hospital at some point?! For what?! Who took care of Keith during that?! Grandma?! Who was the dad that Keith mentioned?! And they didn't know any of it. Eventually the older two siblings are pulled out of their panic with a shocked gasp from Floyd, who found the earlier pictures, from Branch's grey days. How on earth had they let their baby brother go grey....They spend the rest of the night just going through the album. Seeing Branch and Keith, Branch as grey, Branch missing and eye, their brother with a pink female troll, and an older troll that looks almost like a purple haired keith (they all assume that this was Branch's adoptive father, as Rosiepuff isn't anywhere to be seen).

In the morning the three of them confront Keith, they do so gently, at first believing that Keith simply didn't know about them, however they we're into a very rude awakening when Keith says, "I know who you are, I know what you did, but unlike you I know the aftermath. We're not family. Family doesn't abandon each other." And well, there's little they can do about that...other than try and make it up to Branch by protecting Keith and saving him.

Sadly, things aren't as safe at the bunker at they originally thought. The group had been capturing zombies and storing them away on the other side of the village, until they could find a cure. They didn't expect a Rock patrol to find where they were keeping the horde, and the group is forced to relocate, sealing up the Bunker so that the Rock trolls can't find it. Keith tries to get them to go to Bergentown but JOhn Dory is driving so that wasn't happening. They travel passed bergentown, and look for a place toe shelter. Rhonda needs a rest after two days of travel, and they stop at an old abandoned golf course. The kids immediatly want to check out the living horror movie place, the adults follow. DJ trips on a wire and the clown activates. Keith Marches up to the clown, little bow drawn, just like Branch would've done, much to Brozone's horror. Viva pops out giving Keith a giant squeeze, and pulls the group further into the putt putt course.

Keith doesn't like a the puttputts at first glance, they look feral like a predator and it makes him uncomfortable. He lived with a grey Branch he knows what paranoia looks like, this this was different then what happened to Branch. This was worse. He warns the other trollings and considering that Keith was a good judge of character, they take him seriously.

After reuniting with Clay, both him and Viva pull the brothers, Tresillo, Demo and Wani into a private meeting. While DJ and Crimp take the kids to get fries. Viva tries to should Keith off on to DJ, but the trolling follows them into the meeting room and remains stubbornly in his seat.

Viva: Look Keith sweetie, we're going to have an adult talk in here. You'd probably have more fun with your friends.

Keith: I'm not here to have fun, miss viva. I'm here to talk business.

Clay: Look kid, a lot of the stuff we're going to be talking about is, scary and very serious.

Keith: You want to talk serious fun boy? My family is currently brainwashed or imprisoned, I've lost my home to a maniac, and now I have to deal with people like you talking down to me, because I'm a child. I'm not here for fun, I'm here for progress.

Demo: *whispering to Wani* Are you sure he isn't the prince?

Demo's comment make's Viva ask questions, to which she learns that while Keith wasn't in fact Queen Poppy's heir, he was still the closest thing and considering that's what the rock empire believes their keeping up the ruse so that there's less of a chance they'll brainwash or kill Keith on sight. Viva is ecstatic to learn that her baby sister is alive, and grows horrified to learn that poppy's currently held captive in rock troll territory. Clay doesn't believe them, mostly it's his emotions regarding John Dory and now keith's jab that are making his judgement poor, but he convinces himself that what trolls would be hostile to them when there was bergens to worry about, and how could they trust what a kid is saying. Though, he holds himself as Demo, Tresillo and Wani's stories match up with Keith's.

After being convinced about the dangers of the Rock trolls, Clay and viva immediately make plans to go full on lock down. No one goes in no one goes out. Everyone objects to this. Wani, Tresillo, and Demo, knowing that the plan would never work with Rock troll weapons. While Keith and the other brothers want to go get Branch (one of the few things they can agree on).

Clay: Wait, wait, you just spent like the last twenty minutes explaining why these guys were dangerous, and now you want to go into their territory.

Keith: I want my brother back.

Clay: from what you told me kid, he's gone. You need to move on.

Keith: Just because your too much of a coward to get your brother back, doesn't mean I am! Then again I guess you're already used to throwing him to the bergens to save you're own skin!

Clay: what are you talking about?

Keith: You probably never cared about Branch in the first place, after all you left him to die once already.

Clay: WHO IS THIS KID?!

Brozone: *Share's glances*

Floyd: Clay, Branch is keith's brother.

Mean while in Volcano Rock City, Hickory finally found a way to make contact with the imprisoned Queen and remaining un-zombified pop trolls. He might not have been able to get to the cells himself, but he found someone who could. Jovi was a mixed troll (rock and celtic), who didn't under any circumstance agree with Queen Barb's conquest. It took a bit to convince him to help, but Hickory manages it. Being a nurse, with a family member on the medical board, Jovi managed to get clearance to access the prisons underneath the guise of mandatory check ups and patch jobs on minor wounds. When he finally opens the cell that held Poppy he was in for a sorry sight.

Poppy had been completely crushed by her imprisonment. Her home destroyed, her friends put in danger, and her family...Her dad had been turned but she wasn't sure what happened to him after that. Cooper is imprisoned like her and they weren't allow to see each other. No one will tell her what happened to Keith, and Branch...Branch was gone. The man she loved secretly had been warped away by the powercord. She saw him everyday, but it isn't her branch. Her Branch wouldn't taunt her with her failures. Her Branch wouldn't hold his own sword to his neck making threats to hurt himself, her Branch wouldn't lie about finally being happy after being turned. After a month she wanted Branch to turn that sword on her, or for Barb to corrupt her. Her color had long bled away, there was no hope in her prison.

That is until a dull blue troll with golden streaks in his hair comes to her cell. Jovi tells her everything, that keith escaped and that he nad Hickory were working on a way out of their. Poppy breaths a sigh of relief that Keith got away and she wants to believe him about the rest, she really does, but she can't. Jovi tells her it's okay, he just asks her to be ready to take a chance when the time comes.

The snack pack are a little more receptive to Jovi's news, and their ready help however they can. Even if waiting like Jovi asked is hard. Right now their trying to establish contact with outside help and that could take time. Smidge mentions that they used bloodhound beetles to send messages in the village and it gives Jovi an idea. Volcano Rock city didn't have bloodhound beetles, but they had something similar. Fruit bats could travel for miles, if given something to smell for. With a little help from a friend of his who trained therapy bat's and one of Demo's old bandanas that Hickory found they manage to send a message out.

Things at the putt putt course had been tense for the passed few days. Viva and Clay had held firm about their desicion to hunker down, and no one was happy about it. John managed to get viva to let Rhonda in but that was a small comfort to him. He feels like a sitting duck and he's not the only one, Tresillo and Wani are just as stir crazy as him. Bruce spends most of his time keeping the peace, Clay is hostile towards everyone but him and Floyd, and is letting his anger take control of his actions, John can't make suggestions because "he can't stand it when he's not in charge", Tresillo, Demo and Wani can't help because "they don't understand how things work here" DJ and Crimp don't even try. And Clay certainly doesn't listen to Keith. Bruce had been trying to get everyone to at least agree on a plan, and so far he felt powerless. Oringially he thought thagt Floyd would back him up, but Floyd was too busy trying to take care of that Keith kid.

Key work trying, Keith wouldn't let any of them near him. It hurt really, watching Floyd follow this kid around like a lost puppy. Bruce's theory was that Floyd thought he could redeem himself after failing to protect branch if he could keep Keith safe, keep his other little brother safe. Clay thought it was stupid, the kid wasn't their family. Sure he was close to Branch, that much was clear after he saw the photo album, but that didn't mean Keith was there brother. The kid didn't want to be their brother. Bruce had let Clay vent to him about all these harsh feelings, but he also made his younger brother swore never to tall Keith about them. Even if the kid hated them, he was still a kid that had lost all of his family, the last thing he needed was rejection.

Viva had tried to talk Clay into speaking more with his brothers, but she knows it's a losing fight. Viva had been talking more to DJ suki, trying to learn all about her sister, and slowly the DJ words have been getting to her. "Why don't you go get her" "CJ's mom, was my big sister, I knew I could count on her." "Sometimes family's worth the risk." It was starting to break her resolve. After all her dad had once, launched a full-blown escape to save poppy, why couldn't Viva do that for her sister. When she went to clay about it, he shut it down though, they had no way of planning such a mission. They didn't know where her sister was kept, they didn't have a way to get the team there and back, and they didn't know what the Rock trolls were capable of.

All this changes when a small fruit bat flutters into the golf course with a letter addressed to Demo.

----

there will be a part three.

[jbbuckybarnes]

We need to talk...

I knew that this topic of interactions will come up again, because it has never been talked all the way through, so I had this drafted for a while. So much of this old draft still resonated with this permanently unfinished discussion that I just had to edit it and post it, because I feel like it has to be said and put into one post. We can’t keep starting this conversation and then make it so dramatic that there is no conclusion or compromise. The only reason this time is more mellow is because people have better standards for this stuff due to a pandemic going on. This is written for the MCU fandom, but I’ve seen this go down in different fandoms, so here we go:

Things that are NOT at fault for readers not interacting:

The Readers. Should be clear after asking them again and again. And nothing changing. The readers at large are not at fault for a couple people being demanding or hateful. Neither are they at fault for this website and other social medias automatically putting writers at a disadvantage. They do their best with the time they have in their life (just like writers). And after asking them over months to try and reblog more and not much changing, it should be obvious that it isn’t where the problem lies. At least not 95% of it. NOW:

Things that ARE at fault for readers not interacting:

Pushing them, thinking they owe you stuff, while you tear other writers down saying that nobody owes them stuff. That happens time and time again. To me, to friends, to writers I check in with. Don't expect community to come to you when you don't come to them.

Not putting anon asks off when demands and hate get too much. It’s literally THAT easy when people get nasty. It’s sad for the nice anons, but they will understand. Save your mental health! Save the mental health of people reading that hate on their dash. I don’t know how many people constantly answering to hate I have unfollowed and I’m sure people have unfollowed me for doing the same.

Ego and hypocrisy. You can't say numbers aren't a problem and then say they are. In the same post. AND then also deny it later in some of the cases we’ve seen in recent months. Yes, that happened. In several fandoms where this topic comes up semi-regularly. And that might also be the reason people are tired of this stuff and speak out against it.

The fact Tumblr is only used approximately twice a year by most people. And has a shitty tag system. And a shitty algorithm. You are at an automatic disadvantage.

The fact some of you can't understand that 3-5% of your following interacting is a good and normal rate on pretty much all social media. The bigger you get in followers, the bigger the gap gets between followers and interaction (and demand and hate). There are literal statistics on that. 1% interaction at 10k is still good for a platform you have no power over!

The fact some of the people here call anons *haters* for pointing out that you interact w the same 10 people, making that speace seem excluding, when it's literally true what those people say!? Nothing wrong with only support the same 10 people on your blog, but then don't say that you practice what you preach (cause you don’t). You can’t demand more interaction when you don’t interact more yourself. That is how it works, for anyone, not just people of a certain follower count. If I reblog more fics, my blog gets more clout. Logical conclusion. Works for everyone. You have no time for that? Then don’t expect more back. It’s called SOCIAL media for a damn reason.

Telling people asking for Tumblr advice to interact more to make new friends but being the most defensive/indifferent person once they talk to you in DMs. Yes, that keeps happening and I know it from either my own experience or from others sharing their experiences with me. It’s kinda sad. It’s more of a minor factor in people not interacting, but I’ve seen it enough to mention it.

Making shitposts and personal posts all day and then saying you don't have the time in your life to interact w peoples' writings. Like, drabbles exist on almost anyone's masterlist. 5 minute read, easy support for a writer that might be losing motivation. Not every work has to be written like a novel to be great as hell or “quality proven.”

Oh, and there hasn't been a MCU movie in a while, making most of our readership probably currently not care about the fandom as much. Especially after Endgame ended up being a total opinion splitter.

Bonus: The misunderstanding that pushing shy readers to interact does the exact opposite. Not to start about the fact that we are in the middle of a pandemic at the moment. That means they may not have time to read and you may not have time to write. Normal. Logical. The same reason lots of people currently don’t publish. Don’t expect anything predictable and controlable out of current times.

Bonus: Check how you connect interactions to self worth and worth/fun of your writing hobby. Define what success means for you in this space, otherwise you will never be satisfied. It won’t matter if a post has 1k reblogs, you’ll always want more, because you chase an infinite metric.

Bonus: Maybe take a month to concentrate on community, getting outside of your bubble that you deny but very likely have (I’m not excluding myself from this), and actually improve interactions. Some people seem to have forgotten that when you interact with other writers, they probably interact back. Surprise! Your followers already know your tried and true fanfic friends, they want some new stuff without searching for it. Basic Marketing knowledge, know what your audience wants. If you do this for the interactions you gotta look at it from a marketing standpoint and not a pure passion standpoint. Oh: And maybe they find you interacting in the notes of someone else’s post and become an active follower. Win-Win-Win situation.

Bonus: Community is a loop, a net of interactions. Some people here have clique behavior, sound defensive and/or simply don't practice what they preach. That is not me or anyone else hating on specific blogs (I’m also no complete exception), it’s people trying to tell you that you can’t ask for shit you don’t practice yourself. Nothing wrong with supporting your friends only, but then don’t go around expecting new people to find your stuff. It’s literally THAT simple. You can’t have both!

Bonus: Ignoring some of the ride or die readers that are already there. Some of the people on here wish they had that and it’s deadass taken it for granted by some. Meanwhile I'm sitting here with Serotonin levels like christmas when someone I know reblogs my stuff and my fic gets some clout. Imma repeat myself: If you do it for the numbers, you gotta look at it more like marketing and less like pure passion.

And again: You are on a social media platform that will always put you at a disatvantage. That is not the readers' fault. It's how social media works at this point. If you want as much interaction as you can without putting in more interaction work yourself, simply share your works on here, AO3 and Wattpad simultaneously. Problem solved.

Bottomline: If you want more love on your work you gotta go beyond what you currently do, since it’s clearly not working for you. Reblog stuff from people you don't know. I don't give a sh*t if it's a 5k or a 100 follower blog. Hell, there is the whole 366 reblog challenge and some of you deadass went on reblogging the same people when that’s not really what this was made for. I, personally, haven't run out of new people to reblog, so this shouldn't be hard. Actually take time to talk to people in DM's, it takes 10 minutes in the evening to write a few people a message asking how they are or sending a cute gif. If you want stuff, you have to give it. Not leave it. People have come to me before, telling me "the community doesn't owe you stuff", no, they don't, but they do owe if they wanna be owed something back or even demand to be owed something back. Community is about back and forth. You give, you get. It's work, cause it's a big hobby. If you don't have time, that's cool, but then don't be sad about lower interaction. It’s logical that low activity from you leads to low activity from others in the long run, unless you do something worldshakingly new. You don't wanna look beyond a circle of friends or your go-to writers much? That's fine, but don't be upset about barely new people interacting cause they feel excluded or simply don’t find your work because of the same people seeing the same people reblogging the same works. What's not fine is not seeing how readers are NOT THE PROBLEM.

I haven’t talked to a single person about this that DIDN’T find the posts surrounding it demanding and completely ignoring the arguments some others had...repeatedly. Every single time it came up. Not just once but time and time again, whenever this topic comes up. You want interaction? Interact. You don’t want hate? Don’t give it a platform. As harsh as that sounds, I’ve never felt better on this platform since I put anon asks off, even when I miss the nice anons. They probably understand. PS: Again, this was written a while ago and edited to fit into a more general context now. I hope people can discuss this in a civil, non-judgmental way, because that is how I tried to write this. This is not again a specific person or group, it’s pinpointing what I see repeating for two years on this platform now, in all corners. I’d also like to mention that we are still in a pandemic and lives have never looked so vastly different, so you can’t demand anything normal in this very not normal time. Even if you do it all right, your interactions dropped in the pandemic cause people likely stay away form this platform for mental health reasons. There is so many layers to look at, these clearly aren’t all, but I hope it makes some people think about what and when they complain. Numbers will never satisfy you, they will always leave you wanting more if you don’t know why you do what you do and for what. Anyway: Be nice to each other and me in the notes in case this gets shared! No drama please! Ignore any grammar and typo mistakes, lol. Love ya!

[chiliconsharls]

i was tagged by @honestlyfrance. thanks for this, it’s so much fun!

WHICH OF YOUR FICS…

…did you think would get a bigger reaction/audience than it got?

writing for buckyrhodey it’s a guarantee that i’ll get low reaction but my on-going baby Distant Stars it’s a monster of a SteveTony fic disguised behind a so-far false pretense that is a shared fic with BuckyRhodey. 

…got a better reaction than you expected?

definitely my previously (as of, literally a few days ago) most kudo’ed work, The Mess That We’ll Become (leaves something to talk about) for the Élite fandom. Not only did I not expect to get that much attention because the fandom is arguably smaller than other fandoms I had written for so far but also because not a lot of people seemed to be into the MMF ship the fic is about lol 

…is your funniest?

i consider myself to be a very fluffy, funny-crack fic writer so almost all my works have some sort of funny bit or dialogue here and there but if I had to pick the funniest it would be both of the series of the Holy Trinity and their Token White Guy: The One With The Back-Seat Drama, The One With The Lousy Method To Help Sleep, aaand this WiP I don’t know if I’ll ever pick up but sigh, it had a couple of really funny three chapters

…is your darkest or angstiest?

i don’t usually write too angsty or heavy fics bc it’s tiring to get in that mindset now but years ago I guess I was more into it and I wrote You’re Still Written In The Scars On My Heart, which still has a happy ending anyway, bc that’s who I am as a person. Also, I think Until We Meet Again bc I was coming from the Endgame trainwreck and it hurt to write. 

ps. I am in the process of writing yet my angstiest fic as a continuation of my last buckyrhodey fic and I’m really excited abt pushing myself further with that. 

…is your absolute favourite?

Now, what kind of question to ask a writer is that? It’s like asking a parent to pick between children. That being said, I do have favorites but never just One favorite bc no. 

Reason Why (if only because it was the first lenghty -by my standards- fic I managed to finish) 

Distant Stars (bc duh, I’ve been working on it for longer than two years now)

I've never seen a mouth that I would kill to kiss (bc even though it’s a little plot-less AU, I think it’s a testament to how much I think I’ve improved in my writing)

…was easiest to write?

I think To All The Boys Rhodey’s Loved Before was pretty easy because I just had to take from the bits of the movie that worked for me and then the scenes I added for this own AU came to me from the beginning so I never really struggled with anything to write this. 

…was hardest to write?

Smut is my absolute kryptonite when it comes to writing something so the begining of I’ve never seen a mouth that I would kill to kiss was a Challenge (tm), as well as a few others of my early BuckyRhodey stuff. 

…has your favourite lines/exchange/paragraph? (Share it!)

ok, I’m going to INDULGE myself with this lmao: 

“Blood-filled hands like his don't get to hold such precious things.” -- from I Love You (ain't that the worst thing you've ever heard?)

“What a pair we are,” Rhodey says, amused.

“What a pair we are,” Bucky says, in love. -- from Reason Why

“It’s somewhat astonishing —Rhodey muses as he watches the TV in the American embassy unfold the current events happening at the Vienna International Centre — how fast can shit hit the fan.” -- from All Misinformation Open To Interpretation

“Stark is dead and it definitely sucks more than Steve fucking off to another universe to retire. But gone is gone, no matter how you slice it.  And it takes miserable and lonely to know miserable and lonely.” -- from Until We Meet Again

“He was being touched with the uttermost care, kissed by soft lips. He was being wanted as if he was brand-new and unscarred.

Rhodey had managed to caress and love every corner of him that Bucky swore he would hate. Rhodey had proven him wrong.” -- from (I've been sleeping so long in a 20-year dark night) And now I see daylight

“Even shit-faced, Carla Rosón Caleruega was a sight to see.” -- from Hesitate

And from my last few works: 

“Life’s about the little steps. From holding your own head up to your first movements crawling, to standing up and falling until you walk. From talking to reading to writing. From pre-school to high school to college.

From falling in love to falling into your grave.” -- from I've never seen a mouth that I would kill to kiss

“Alex really thought they could’ve made it work before, but as they got older he just realized he and Luke weren’t as birds of a feather as they once were.

And soon it became either their dream or their relationship and they both agreed on something, after all.

Even as he broke both of their hearts, Alex knew he would love Luke forever. He just wasn’t sure about how.

Luke was kept busy writing, Alex was kept busy playing-pretend with his family and Church camp.

But they didn’t drift apart, could never have been able to, so they just had to endure a few awkward weeks of uncomfortable silence and bitter arguments about the band.

Until Alex and Luke were fifteen, and Reggie came blasting into their lives like a saving grace.” -- from Time Will Stand Still (if we stay young in love)

…have you re-read the most?

definitely Distant Stars. Each time I get a writers block or I get bummed out about writing it, I re-read it to find my motivation again

…would you recommend to someone reading your work for the first time?

lmao i really dont know. probably Hesitate or the last three fics I’ve posted for the Julie and the Phantoms fandom. Also,  I've never seen a mouth that I would kill to kiss just bc my beta readers did an amazing job with me on that one.

��are you most proud of?

Again, I would have to say Distant Stars. The amount of time I’ve put on that fic and love I’ve poured it’s like no other. It’s the one work I keep going back to. 

I really have no idea who to tag now bc i’ve lost touch with so many of my mutuals who also write so idk, IF YOU SEE THIS AND YOU’RE A WRITER: I’M TAGGING YOU! DO IT, IT’S SUPER FUN!

[seapandora]

Fierce (Part 1?)

Avengers x oc!Rexy, (I honestly haven´t decided on what the final ship will be if there will be one…, also kinda oc!reader)

A/N: I started writing this as a reader x Steve fic but it just works better with an OC. I tried my best to not be too descriptive. This is sorta following the Avengers movies, not the comics. Probably no mention of the guardians… or maybe of Rocket and Groot but they get a pass in my book. Lastly, Ive got no clue wether this will be a series or not. Depends on how its received. So if you wanna see more, reblog and like. I don't own Marvels characters, this is just a fic, nothing more. Enjoy reading it. Thanx <3

Warnings: Anxiety, Blood, Probably some character-distress, slow burn, probably some character death along the road.

Words: 3019

Steve, oh sorry… Captain America… The world's golden boy and everyone's favorite Avenger. Well, everyone, except the Avengers, favorite Avenger. He was always so correct and he drilled the others quite hard, to the point where they had all thought of ways to take him out. Not that that was an easy task. He was a supersoldier. He had superspeed, superstrength, and well, he was quite agile. Bucky was a good sparring match because he also had the supersoldier serum. Those weren´t the only two with it though. They had a third supersoldier on the team, Rexy. Although the serum was the same as Steve and Buckys, Rexys had been spliced with genome from different animals who possessed certain abilities. While Rexy had no real clue as too how Hydra had created the "improved" serum, she now knew what it contained. Mostly thanks to Bruce, who had taken a blood sample when she was taken to the compound. Turned out she had genomes from a cuttlefish, those genes had proven to give her the ability to blend into any kind of background. She also had genes from a pit viper, which essentially gave her the ability to detect people's heat-signatures.

In all honesty, Rexy was a genetic freak, and it was clear that the scientists had been very keen on the whole Jurassic World deal seeing as the genes they had been using had also been used to create the fictional Indominus Rex. That had essentially gotten Sam to give her the nickname Rexy, and Rexy didn't mind. She had never provided any other name and wasn't about to start now that she had stayed with the team for a few years. It would be weird. Steve had been the first one to approach Rexy when she was found, but she had shied away from him. He had thought he could understand her, but he realized how wrong he was when Bucky told him that it was very different to be injected with something out of free will, compared to being injected against your will. Bucky had started to speak Russian and while Rexy hadn´t understood a word, she knew who Bucky was. She had seen his picture millions of times and had heard how he betrayed and left Hydra. That led to Rexy trusting Bucky to keep her safe. She had never heard of Steve before, only Captain America, and she hadn´t made the connection at that point.

For a while, Rexy didn't speak to anyone, not even Bucky. Mostly because he kept speaking to her in Russian and she didn't understand a word. Eventually one day she had asked to be allowed to make a phone call. She had spoken perfect English and the Avengers had all been frozen in their spots when she spoke up. After that, she was able to bond with each and every one of them in a unique way. She had always been the most comfortable around Bucky and Sam because they never put any pressure on her. The same went with Natasha who had become like an older sister to Rexy. Rexy had also quickly bonded with Peter who had become a very close friend of hers. That lead to the Avengers finding out that she was only four years older than Peter and that she had been taken at the young age of 12. Once they realized that Tony made sure to get her into a homeschooling program that the Avengers would help her with. Bucky and Steve worked with her on history, Sam on current conflicts of the world. Natasha helped her learn computers and programs. Bruce helped Rexy with chemistry and Tony worked with her on physics. Wanda helped her with psychology and Vision provided his knowledge whenever someone lacked information. She had gone through her missed years in just under two years and had applied for college. When she knew she had a spot she talked to Tony to see if he could get her a program she could follow from the compound. She wasn't comfortable around others and just felt the safest when she could be in her own space.

Tony had taken care of it all and Rexy was reading three different programs. She was like Tony, a workaholic and she hated not having something to do, and currently, she wasn't allowed on missions. She had had a bit of a tantrum a few weeks which had resulted in a lot of destruction and Steve with a black eye when he tried to calm her down. Rexy was still extremely embarrassed by the whole ordeal and she hated that she had hurt Steve even if he was completely healed after three days. She hated just thinking about it. Back to her studies, she liked having a lot on her plate and she was studying psychology, chemical engineering, and computer science. She wasn't an overly intelligent human freak, but she was interested and that took her more than halfway to her goal, most of the time. And now that she had a lot of time on her hands she made sure to keep up with everything and not fall behind on her studies. The Avengers all tried to help her, but often Rexy would just stare at them until they shut up, and then she´d kindly say she´d ask for help if she needed it. Mostly she talked to Natasha or Tony about stuff she found hard with her computer science courses, but she often asked Peter as well. They usually did most of their homework together or just sat and studied together.

Today just so happened to be one of those study days. Summer break had just started and technically Peter didn't have to study, however, he was still doing the "Stark Internship" and for his teachers to accept it he had to write a larger report on Starks technics, and how some of them worked. Tony had given Peter some parts that didn't do much for him and that wouldn't be a security risk if it leaked. Not that Peter would ever be that stupid. Rexy would trust Peter with anything. Sure he could be a bit of a talker but he had a pure heart and could challenge Steve for being the kindest and most caring human being on the planet. Or should he be called humanoid? He was part spider after all, right? Rexy was just finishing up an essay she had to write for her chemical engineering. It wasn't that hard, just a lot of work and she had put it off for a few days in favor of spending time with Shuri when she had come to visit. Shuri was of big help as well but seeing as she rarely visited them, she and Rexy rarely had time to talk about school or help each other. Mostly when they called they talked about boys or just T´Challa, Bucky, Sam, and Steve because it was fun to gossip about the old men.

Peter repeated his question and Rexy looked up. "Sorry, I was in a weird zone, care to repeat Pete?" She asked softly and blushed slightly at her antics. She usually didn't space out when someone was talking to her. He laughed but just shook his head. "Don't worry ´bout it. How´s the essay going, need anything? I was going to get something to drink and something to eat, you want anything?" He asked as he stood up. Rexy thought for a moment before she stood up as well. "I´ll just go with you." She answered knowing Peter would most likely forget something and then he´d be mad at himself. This way they could focus on what they wanted for themselves and then help each other back. She was always keeping an extra eye on Peter knowing he did suffer from a bit of anxiety. It didn't help that he was underage and fighting crime. It was a lot of pressure on a teenager. Rexy always figured that everyone stayed strong for her that she would repay them by staying strong for someone so important to them all and be his rock instead of the opposite way around. Yes, Rexy had missed a lot of her life as a teenager, but her years in Hydras´ grip had made her appreciate the small things in life and she didn't take anything for granted. She taught Peter to enjoy life while he still had it. It wasn't something you could get back later on, once you were gone you were gone. Peter had, because of Rexy, started to date MJ and he had started saying no to nightly patrols in favor of spending time with MJ.

Rexy didn't mind Peter spending a lot of time with MJ, she knew she always had him. She also had a lot of other things she had to do rather than think of Peter. She was an Avenger. Well, sort of at least. She hadn´t signed the papers, afraid that she would end up in another organization, like Hydra. She did however work as a consultant for the government. The American, and several other governments as well. She wasn't American by birth and didn't even have American citizenship. Hence why she didn't show loyalty to only the states. She was a freelancing superhero. She snapped out of her second daze in just a short time as Peter stood up and she followed his lead. She had gotten a call earlier during the day and she was leaving for a solo mission in just a few hours but she and Peter had planned this afternoon of studying for some time. Once they were all done she would be leaving though. So far only Natasha knew as she had been around when the call came. Rexy was hesitant to telling Peter she was leaving. Peter always worried about her and he wouldn't be able to relax until she got back and she didn't want that for him. He had a date with MJ the next day and Rexy wanted Peter to enjoy it.

They walked to the kitchen and Rexy got herself a cup of coffee and a soda. She needed the energy for the rest of the afternoon. She also got herself a FlapJack bar, one with summer berries. She waited for Peter to grab what he wanted for the afternoon before they began walking back towards the library. Rexy yawned a bit and hummed. It was a slow day and it made her slow and tired. She was in some weird way looking forward to the sleep she could get on the jet. She enjoyed sleeping on the jet, something about it was soothing. Rexy and Peter sat back down at the table and quickly emerged themselves back into their studying. Rexy began to type on her essay fairly quickly and within minutes she was in a flow. Her essay was actually on nanotechnology as a means of drug delivery in the human body. While Rexy wasn't necessarily supposed to make a case for a certain technology her professor had accepted her request to be allowed to create a drug delivery system that could work, with the help of nanotechnology. It had all been a success and the essay was mostly a discussion about potential issues her mechanic could have and whether it was more effective than traditional drug delivery. She was, in all honesty, very happy with her results and the way the essay was coming along. She was just hoping it would be accepted by her professor and that the reviewers wouldn´t be too harsh, even if that was the point. Rexy didn’t intend for her research to go mainstream and she had no interest in making it a reality. The technology was expensive and few countries would get access to it and in Rexy´s mind, everyone should have the same possibility to acquire the technology or no one should have it. The current techniques were acceptable and working, rich countries didn’t need another way of distributing drugs, not yet at least.

She typed up the last few paragraphs and emailed it to Bruce, who had promised to proofread it and think whether Rexy's arguments would hold or not. She noticed Peter was still stuck on one of his problems and leaned over to get a better look at it. Their relationship was incredible. They didn’t even need to talk to be able to communicate their issues. Rexy could see he was struggling and wanted her help. “Read the problem to me, and I´ll see if I can help.” She said softly and smiled at him as she leaned her head in her hand. “Okay, so… I have to calculate the momentum of a 2000 kilo elephant who´s running at 7.5 meters per second. Compare the momentum of the elephant to that of a 0.0400-kilo dart fired at 600 meters per second. And lastly, I have to calculate the momentum of a 90-kilo human running at 7.4 meters per second.” Peter explained and sighed softly Physics wasn’t his strong suit. The truth was it wasn’t Rexy´s either, but she had taken a course in basic physics just to understand some things that Bruce and Tony would talk about now and then.

“Okay so let's break each question up. The first question was about the elephant's momentum, right? So momentum is the mass times the velocity and you have both of those factors, right?” Rexy said and smiled. Peter nodded and quickly wrote up the equation as meve and continued by adding in the values he already had. Peter used his calculator to do the multiplication of 2000 times 7.50 and got the answer 15 000. “Cool, now let´s write that as a scientific notation instead. “ Rexy said and waited as Peter instead wrote the answer as 1.50 x 104. “And don’t forget what it is you’ve calculated, kg times meter per second.” She added to let Peter know he had to write out the SI-unit. “Okay, now the second question. Let´s calculate that the same way, to begin with, now that you’ve got how to calculate the momentum.” She said and smiled as she took a sip of her drink. It didn’t take Peter very long at all and he waited for Rexy to swallow her drink before he looked at her for help. “So comparing the two momentums… momenta?... oh well. You want to divide the momentum of the elephant by the momentum of the dart. So it will be 1.50 x 104 kg x m/s divided by 24.0 kg x m/s as that was the momentum of the dart.” She explained and pointed to his two previous answers. The more Peter thought of it the less hard this became. Maybe it was just hard because he was thinking of so many other things. He had the date with MJ in his head and he had a few exams coming up in the next few weeks. Peter did the math quickly and got the result 625 as he should. “Great, so if you'd want to put that sensibly for a test or so, you could write that the momentum of the elephant is 625 times the momentum of the dart because the elephant weighs much more than the dart,” Rexy explained with a quick shrug. She didn’t mind Peter asking her for help even if the problem wasn’t that hard. He always helped her with things that turned out to not be very hard.

“So last question. This is the thing you’ve done for both previous questions so why don’t you do it while I save up my file and I´ll check it in 2 minutes?” She asked and smiled at Peter before she turned to her laptop to save her current file and to open the email she had received from Hill with some assignment details. She quickly transferred those files to her file in Friday's head and made sure Friday would lock it up with a password. The password wasn’t that hard, but it was something the others didn’t know about her. Okay maybe Natasha knew, but she knew everything. She checked back in with Peter in precisely two minutes and smiled as he had done it correctly. “You got it.” She said and patted his arm. “Now if the questions get any harder, please don’t ask me, I suck at physics.” She chuckled and closed her laptop. “I gotta go, Pete… I have some stuff to do.” She said and frowned. “Oh, okay Rex. Study sesh tomorrow?” He asked and looked over at Rexy as he too began to pack his things up. “I can´t tomorrow, I´m going out of town for a little bit.” She said and sighed. “I´ll be back by the end of the weekend.” She added and looked at Peter who looked like she had just told him someone had died. “Is it a mission or something?” He asked and frowned. He was always very protective of her even if she was technically older than him. “Yes, but I´m going to be fine Peter. It’s a simple mission.” Rexy assured him. He stood up and hugged her quickly. “Are you going off-grid? Or can you send me updates?” He asked as they hugged. This was the exact reason she hadn´t wished for Peter to know. He would be worried sick and she hated making him worried. “Look, you have a date tomorrow night, and I don’t want you to worry. Hill wants me to be off-grid but I´ll make an exception for you until tomorrow night, okay? You and Tasha are the only ones who know I´m going. You can´t tell Sam or Bucky until later tonight, or they will try to stop me. This is something I, and I alone, have to do.” She explained and kissed Peter's cheek before she let him go to collect her things. Peter sighed but knew better than to argue with Rexy. She was a capable woman who was more than used to her own missions by now.

[skeletonwoman]

9. Cinema At Its Finest

honeslty, christmas movies are wyld and they literally all have the same casts and it’s just so impressive. also. this one is abt THEO RAEKEN AND EXCuse the horrific text talk but as that old text post says “its hard to make the words go [etc etc] so text speak easier or something” idk i can’t quote it perfectly whatever

You grimace as the delightful song starts filtering through your speakers. The credits are rolling, the girl got the guy, everyone is happy and the world is right.

And now you’re here, alone.

Snatching your phone from beside you, you open a text window.

Me: I mean

Me: Fr

Me: like I want a boyfriend so f*kn bad my guy

Me: But like I don’t

Me: I am strong and f*kn know that guys are bullshit

Me: but also pls love me

Me: y’know?

Me: like I f*kn hate movies but like

Me: ugh

Theo: u know I died and don’t have emotions anymore, right

Me: suck a dick

Theo: bby love me

Theo: why u text me anyway? Ur friends w girls

Theo: do u want me???

Me: ……………….ya lol take me now theodore raken

Theo: I came out to have a good time and I’m honestly feeling so attacked right now

Snorting, you beam at your phone before sighing and sitting up. Maybe you should’ve texted Lydia or Malia but they wouldn’t get it. A stupid notion, of course, everyone gets those feelings after movies but…

You grimace at the title before shoving to your feet and leaving the random holiday themed movie and your laptop behind.

“I’m here, I’m here, you can all relax,” you call, coming to a stop in the center of the room and Scott sighs.

“Finally!” Liam cheers, jumping to his feet and you turn to him with a smile, only to frown as he runs past you. “Pizzas here, guys!”

Scowling, you slump into his seat and sigh. Beside you, Theo grins at you before flopping back against your chest. You grunt at the sudden pressure but allow him to pull your arm over his front anyway.  You'd press a kiss to his forehead or something equally romantic and adorable if he wasn't wearing a Santa hat. As it is, you're having a tough time blowing the pompom away from your nose.

“That’s my seat,” Liam whines and you smirk at him.

“You wanna take my place?” You ask, nodding at Theo and he hesitates.

“I’d like to take Theos place,” he mutters under his breath and Theo growls, his clawed hand settling on your thigh possessively.

“Don’t talk to me or my undead son ever again,” you counter and Liam harrumphs but takes a seat across the room. “As your penance, you will get me a slice.”

“What? What’d I do?” Theo whines, already climbing from the circle of your arms to grab the pizza.

“You had a little peeing contest on me. It was gross.”

He hums, peeking at you over his shoulder and grinning. “Must be why you’re so stinky.”

“Honestly, I’m so freaking over you,” you growl, opening your arms as he lays back against you and taking the slice from his hand. “You’re a nightmare and a pain in the ass.”

“Hey,” he says with a scowl and you glare. “I won’t respond to your boyfriend texts next time.”

“Is that a threat?”

“Obviously.”

Beaming through your misty eyes, you set your laptop aside and snatch up your phone.

Me: wjy r all the movies abt boys

Me: like I love elle sm

Me: but im totally that other girl who snaked her in the beginning

Theo: wtf

Me: Legally Blonde

Theo: wtf x 2

Me: I want a bf n not a christmas themed one :/

Theo: just ask me out already jeez

Me: smd hoe I also want a dog and maybe a law degree

Me: def a dog and a law degree

Me: a bf could probs wait

Theo: ur killing my vibe

Me: What vibe? R u out w/out me????

Theo: I was napping

Me: sounds abt right. Come over 2mororow?

Theo: ok, feed me snakcs

Muttering to yourself, you stare at the elevator doors and wait. Clunky, industrial and orangey brown, they creak open and you step inside.

“Wait!” A voice calls and you hold the doors open, spotting Theo coming through the lobby doors. “Ah, my sweet, sweet were-pig.”

“I’m a were-tiger if I’m anything, mutt,” you hiss and he laughs, stepping in beside you. “Sucks about our plans.”

“We were probably just going to end up napping,” he says reasonably and you hum an agreement. “This is something to do.”

“I’d rather be at home napping.”

“Yep, me too.” He sighs and you grin. For a moment, you’re caught in his blue gaze and the doors slide open.

“Oh- hey! Come on in, guys,” Stiles calls from the doorway and you blink, frowning at the decided lack of holiday decorations in the interior of the apartment.

“Come on,” Theo whispers, his arm settling over your shoulders and tucking you into his side. As a pair, you waltz past Stiles and into Dereks lair. Definitely a lair considering the lack of holiday joy.

“You guys took long enough,” Malia complains and you sink down onto the couch beside her, Theo still glued to your side.

“I was doing stuff and didn’t see the message,” you mumble and Theo smiles lazily instead of responding.

“Anyway,” Scott says, clearing his throat and blushing, “we have a lot to talk about.”

Theo: girl

Theo: girl

Theo: girl

Me: I have a f*kn name

Theo: ok girl

Me: what u want, snake

Theo: mood.

Theo: y’know that mood. When post movie that’s cute or someshit

Me: omfg

Theo: my emotions aren’t as dead as my body

Me: ur boddy is very alive so

Theo: ikr fml

Me: aw boo

Laughing, you tuck the phone under your pillow and snuggle down among the blankets. This winter weather is just delightful, perfect for naps.

Stretching, you lean into the warm blankets and sigh. When they sigh back, you can’t help gasping and flailing. Kicking something, you hear a recognisable grunt and groan.

“Theo?”

“You didn’t text me back,” he whines and you roll over and cringe. A pillow crease has left a red line down his cheek and you watch it disappear, fading like a scar over time- though in hyper speed. Why is he here?

“So you broke into my house and climbed into my bed while I was asleep?” He makes a softly protesting noise but doesn’t voice a denial. Instead, he gives you a sad look and cuddles just that little bit closer.

“I wanted to hang out,” he says softly and you grunt noncommittally. Who cares about hanging out- you were napping.

“Liam exists.”

“Liam doesn’t like me.”

“Scott.”

“You know,” he starts, voice getting serious and you push your leg between his calves. “The pack only tolerates me cause you like me. None of them actually like me, they actively dislike me.”

“That’s crazy of them-”

“Thank you.”

“Thinking I like you. Why would I like you?” You tease and he growls. The sound draws a smile from your lips, only for a laugh to escape your belly when he turns his fingers into claw shapes and digs them into your sides. “Ah! Werewolf hands!”

Your bluff works but only for a moment when he pauses, pulling his hands back and inch to check. Proven wrong, he digs his entirely human fingers and nails into your sides once more.

“N- not fair!” You gasp out, shrieking another laugh. His grin is savagely delighted and you’re about to shove him off you when a knock on your door has the both of you freezing.

“Kiddo?”

“I’m alive! All good! I saw- uh, a really good vine. Patrick Charlton…” You answer awkwardly, silence following your words as Theo fights to contain a laugh. Smacking a palm over his mouth, you clutch him to your chest and wait.

“Okay, don’t wake the neighbours.”

“Will do!” You agree quickly and heave a sigh of relief as footsteps sound down the hallway. Theo snickers against your hand and you bare your teeth at him.

“You absolute rat,” you snarl, still holding him tight to your chest and you feel him grin under your hand.

“You’re the one who couldn’t keep quiet,” he muffles and you have to let him go or you’ll break his neck.

“So you two aren’t dating?” Lydia stares, a crease between her eyebrows and an uncomprehending look in her eyes. All around the room stare similar expressions.

“No! What? I would never.” You scoff, looking down when you feel Theo twist around and look up at you. Your arms hang over his shoulders and down his chest, his back against your stomach and his head pillowed on your chest. Or it was, moments ago. No Santa hat this time though- because he'd stuck it on your head instead.

“Rude!” He gapes, glaring at you. “What do you mean never?”

“What do you mean what do you mean never?”

“I thought my question was pretty clear.”

“And I thought I was too. Why? Do you want to date me or something?”

“What the f*ck? Gross, no.”

“Okay, what the f*ck do you mean by gross?”

“So you guys aren’t dating?” Malia puts in but you can’t even look away at this point. Theo. Theo just called you gross.

“You can’t get angry, you said you wouldn’t date me,” he argues and you blink at him, looking him up and down- sort of.

“I didn’t- I would but like…”

“What does “but like” mean?”

“It means what it means, jeez, back off,” you snap, pushing him off you but you can’t get him to budge too far. He’s too invested in this awfully embarrassing and public conversation. In fact, he rolls over completely so his chest is pressed to your belly and his arms are around your waist.

“So… Definitely not dating?” Scott asks and you spare him half a glare.

“Well we are now,” you grumble, glaring at your spectators, spectators who happen to be very interested in the various pulls of thread on their clothes.

“What do you mean “we are now”?”

“It means exactly what I said, honestly, I know dying can kill parts of your brain but I didn’t think this was a symptom.” You scowl at him and he glares, begrudgingly rising to his hands and knees and pressing a soft kiss to your cheek.

“You’re such a bitch. All the f*cking time.” His words are a whisper, sweet and gentle to the ear and you shoot him a dark look. Stilling, you’re caught like a cobra in a song. The unadulterated affection on his face, written in his eyes, has you transfixed.

Wow.

as i schedule this fic, i am late to posting one from like 4 days previous woops