#This has literally been a normal week for me for the past two months.

[iamthepulta]

When I actually schedule a weekend to be free, it's so jarring. I traveled 2k miles this week, ate chip in Milwaukee, slept on an airport bench, made minerals at 480 C, pulled copies of Babylonian tablets, submitted two abstracts, traveled another 4 hours to write a card, declined two overlapping events, and want to fucking die about social communication, and now you're telling me I... can sleep in?

[just-rogi]

.

[shiredded]

Happy father's day!

This poll is about estranged fathers. If you are not estranged, congrats! You all get to share one answer.

Good lord! This sure did go. I'll answer some confusion as best I can.

This is a poll about estranged fathers. I'm interested in the timelines of people who don't talk to their dads.

Because I am interested in estranged fathers, I basically categorized everyone who is NOT estranged into one answer. If you have spoken within the last few hours or weeks: congratulations! You are within normal relationship parameters.

If it's been more than a month, something odd may be going on, especially if your culture normally observes father's day. After a year, it's definitely not normal.

If you want to be more specific within that month, make a poll, it's fine! No need to get mad, go hug your dad!

The results (aside from the volume holy shit) are pretty much what i expected: the vast majority of people are not estranged. Within that, some love their dad, some do not. But I don't personally care how recent contact was if it was within the last month.

I'm not trying to make a commentary about how fathers are all awful and everyone should reject them. I'm not an authority on dads either.

I am not "everyone" and I am not "tumblr"

I'm literally just a guy.

There's no goal here to try to fill every slot evenly, nor a message that you should.

Not every poll is all inclusive, and not every poll is about you.

For those who it is about, I see you. Father's day is weird for us, especially when surrounded by people who like their dads. We are rare in the grand scheme of things, and that's a good thing. But estrangement is about loneliness, either ours or his.

It's raw for some of us, an old scar for others, and for me: a turning point in life where everything started to get better. A year becomes two, a decade another, and someone who consumed your life becomes a part of the past so distant you stop remembering it so well.

We may not have dads, but we have each other.

[noiriarti]

Just Practice: Anakin Skywalker x Reader (Modern Best Friends AU) Ch. 3

NSFW!!!!!!! Literally so NSFW!!! Summary: Anakin is your best friend, the one person you can't survive without, and you're about to go to different colleges. You bring up your worries about your inexperience and he offers to help. Pairing: Anakin Skywalker x AFAB!Reader Word Count: 5.4k CW: usage of 'good girl,' rough sex, lots of masturbation, orgasm delay/denial, overstimulation AN: All the love for this fic has really blown me away!! This is quite possibly the raunchiest thing I've ever written and I hope you all enjoy it! As always, requests and asks are open!

Ch. 1, Ch. 2, [Ch. 3], Ch. 4, Bonus Chapter

Chapter 3: Black Lace

Did you love Anakin? Laying on your bed that night after he had just upended your world by kissing you for the first time, you were coming to realize that the answer was likely yes. You loved him platonically, that was a given, but the amount of desire you felt to hold his hand and kiss him wasn't quite normal friend behavior. Over the past year, you had found yourself breathless a couple of times that surprised you. Once, the two of you were wrestling over something (a water bottle? A keychain? It was unimportant), and he pinned you down harshly, a memory that plagued you when you were in bed touching yourself for three whole months after. His eyes, boring into you with that look that you now realized was desire haunted you.

Now that you had finally had his lips on yours, you had started thinking that you weren't just horny, that there was something there. Maybe you had always wanted him a little. Hearing about him and Padmé had made you jealous, but you chalked it up to how he had pulled away from you just slightly to spend more time with Padmé. But that was normal friend stuff, right? Sometimes, when you were in the stands, watching him play, and he ran over to the bench for a drink of water or during a break, his golden brown hair glinted in the sunlight, fluffy pulled back with a headband. The thin sheen of sweat would cover his brow, and Padmé would rush up to the front of the bleachers to wave to him and get his attention. When he waved back, which he always did, though with differing degrees of enthusiasm, you wished he was waving at you. Playing for you. That he'd run to you when he won the game like he ran to Padmé.

So that settled it. It turned out that you were in love with Anakin. What you would do about it depended entirely on him. If he was into you, awesome, but, if not, you couldn't risk your friendship. It was too important.

You made three decisions that night. First, you had to get through tomorrow at the airport with dignity, and not shake things up too much. Second, you had to "practice" with him again, and as soon as possible. Third, you could not get naked in front of him before you knew that he felt the same way about you. The third decision came from your own knowledge. If you were naked in front of him, and he didn't want to date you, you'd spend the rest of your life thinking this man has seen me naked, and he knows how my nipples look whenever you laid eyes on him. So you couldn't get naked yet, but you were planning to tell him how you felt as soon as you were more certain that he liked you than not.

It had been an incredibly horny two weeks for you. Your discovery that you, in fact, loved Anakin resulted in you getting horrendously turned on by every single move he made. Every text had you rushing to the lecture hall's bathroom to shove your hand down your pants. One time, he sent you his official team photo, in his pretty jersey, and you literally ran across campus to your dorm to jerk off. You were down horrendous.

Ahsoka had listened to all this (minus all the masturbation) with an amused expression and insisted that you were stupid, and he obviously liked you. But she didn't know him like you knew him. He was really, really friendly. This was all plausibly deniable. Ahsoka, however, was not stupid, so she just rolled her eyes. It was kind of cute, watching this develop. Ahsoka asked you if you'd seen any cute guys, and you mentioned that the guy who sat next to you in Intro to Sociology was passable, some guy named Jake who you exchanged numbers with for homework sessions. Jake didn't matter at all, though, really. You had eyes only for Anakin.

In your horny haze, you started watching more and more porn featuring men who kind of looked like him. When they would call the girls they were fucking sluts, you felt a shiver as you imagined Anakin saying that to you. In that one session, you really dropped down a rabbit hole that culminated in you taking the BDSM test and lighting up like a Christmas tree. Well, shit.

You desperately wanted to try some of what you had seen, so you found a local sex store and decided to go on Tuesday. There, you walked through the aisles and made mental notes, like research. In the back, you found a rack of lingerie in your size, one of which was a black lace set on sale. Perfect. They were out of fishnets in your size, which you cursed. You really wanted him to rip them. After that, you still had an hour left to explore the store before Ahsoka would be home. For a long time, you stood in front of a display of plugs and debated whether to buy one. Then you moved on to the wall of vibrators, which was overwhelmingly brightly colored. Every box yelled out the benefits--Xtreme Suction, Boyfriend Experience, 17 Vibrating Settings--and you almost didn't buy one. Almost. You took a big vibrating wand off the wall, which at least seemed beginner-friendly. So, after spending altogether too much, you half-walked, half-ran back to your room to try out your new toy while you thought of Anakin. It turned out that the vibrator was incredibly powerful and made you cum in one minute flat, which was lucky because Ahsoka's class let out early.

For the rest of the week, every time you thought of what he was going to do to you, you used the vibrator. Even on the day he was arriving, when the two of you texted about kinks, you pulled the vibe out even though Ahsoka was due to return any minute. You were halfway to your orgasm when you heard the key in the door, so you turned it off in a hurry, shoved it under your pillow, and pulled up your blanket. You just had to masturbate as soon as you heard about him enjoying thinking about you two doing kinky stuff. That's how crazy Anakin made you. 

One short hour later, Anakin was with you. You were trying your best to be normal around him, but that was an impossible mission. When Ahsoka brought up Jake in front of Anakin, you died inside. It wasn't like that with Jake. Only for Anakin. Then, when she asked if you were dating, you had to deny it, hard, so that Anakin wouldn't think you were telling your roommate how in love with him you were.

But you did love him, and you were about to do your best to rock his world. (This failed, almost immediately. He was about to rock yours, hard.)

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"Okay. First of all, I won. You touched me first," he said. He was right, you had, but it was unfair. How were you supposed to resist when he asked you like that? He was always telling you what to do teasingly, but when he did it seriously, it set something off within you. You opened your mouth to snark back in defense, but he interrupted you. 

"And, second of all, shut up and kiss me." You rose up on your toes, tangling your hands in his hair and giving him a long look before finally connecting your lips. His kisses were needy and bruising as he devoured you, wrapping his strong arms around your lower back and drawing you to him. Your bodies slammed into one another, connecting from thigh to chest, and you felt him grow harder against you. You definitely weren't imagining it last time, he was big. You mewled into his mouth, and felt him smile against you at your noisiness. Then he grabbed your bottom lip between his, swiping his tongue across it, and you made an even louder noise, which drew a groan from him. As you tilted your heads this way and that, trying to get even deeper, he slipped his tongue past your lips, exploring tentatively. He had a vague aftertaste of mint, and some distant part of your brain registered that he had probably prepared for this with a mint or gum or something. When you started teasing his lips with you tongue, he pulled away, and you feared for a moment that he was about to tell you that you had done something wrong. Instead, he just said, with his telltale smirk and half-lidden eyes full of desire,

"You're such a good kisser. Been practicing without me?" You shook your head no, and that was the truth. Was he worried about someone else? There was no one. There hadn't been anyone but him in your heart for a very long time.

"Good," he growled. You weren't sure what that meant, and it didn't seem like Anakin thought about it before saying it, based on the way his face fell for a millisecond before he recovered his cool. He dove back into kissing you with grace, like that didn't even happen. Somehow, you found yourself pulling him toward you so much that the back of your knees hit the bed, and you almost lost your balance. He caught you with those strong arms and turned you around so that he sat on the bed, with you standing over him. Just like last time, you yearned to be in his lap, so you straddled him. As soon as you sat on his dick, Anakin groaned, and you dragged yourself along the length trapped by his zipper. He rolled his hips in tandem, which only made you intensify your actions, rutting against him and practically bouncing on his lap. At some point, the friction finally rubbed your clit in exactly the right way, and you threw your head back while you rode him as a broken moan tumbled from your lips. The denim skirt you were wearing was intentionally short and tight, and, with your feverish movements, it rode up until it sat on your hips. You could feel the cool air hit your warm pussy and thighs, so knew he could definitely see the lace you were wearing underneath it. You just hoped it was something he liked.

"What are you wearing? Let me see, baby," he cooed. That pet name, baby, and the sultry way he said it, were enough for you to let the hope in your chest that he felt the same way about you flourish. He pushed up the hem just a bit more with his right hand, running his finger along the top of the underwear, back and forth. You were about to scream in frustration, and you tried to thrust into his hand, but he shook his head.

"Patience," he tutted, as if he had any himself. Anakin's thumb moved down the front, tracing you until he reached your clit. He cast a tentative look at you before he touched it, but you tapped him twice with your hand, and he gently pressed against it. Your moan sounded so loud in the small space that you were worried the neighbors would complain, but he kept going. The little bundle of nerves was so sensitive under his touch that you were shocked it could even feel this way, so intense just because someone else was there. Anakin moved his thumb in small circles, the tendons in his hands jumping as he applied more and more pressure. You kept letting out a string of curses and his name, not caring who could hear. This was too good not to enjoy fully. His other hand gripped your hip so roughly that you were certain it would leave bruises that you would masturbate over for weeks.

Just as you felt it all start to build, not quite there yet but definitely on the right track, he drew his hand away. He tugged on your skirt, which was like an extra-thick belt at this point.

"Why don't we get this off you, baby?" You nodded, and Anakin quickly popped the button and helped you stand up and kick it off. You could pick it up later. You felt a bit silly in your crop top and nothing else, so you took it off in what you hoped was a sexy way, lifting it over your head to expose the black lace bralette you had bought just for him. Anakin's gaze was locked onto your body, practically drooling. When your shirt was off too, he grabbed his cock through his pants and stroked it, to your joy. He found you sexy. You didn't know if he loved you, or if he wanted to date you, but, in this second, it was enough just for him to want you.

You climbed back up onto him and tugged at the simple burgundy tee he was wearing, as if to say I want to see you too. He obliged, shirking it quickly. As he did, you took a long look at his bare chest. 

When you were kids, you would go to the pool, so you knew what he looked like shirtless. But he had started training so much more since then, and some of the softness was gone, replaced with nothing but muscle and sinew, taut under your touch. You ran a hand down his pecs, to his abs--he had actual abs-- going lower and lower until you reached the trail of hair under his belly button. Anakin's eyes were following your hand, then flitted up to your face. His skin pressed against yours when he tightened his arms, letting them fall to touch your ass. A tense second passed with you staring at one another before he continued to kiss you feverishly. One of his hands trailed up your body to grab your tits, pawing at them and occasionally rubbing gentle circles where he could feel your nipples hard under the fabric. The feeling was so intense that, as you groaned into his mouth, you kept moving your hips until he grabbed your hips to hold you still.

"If you keep going like that, baby, I'm going to cum," he whispered raggedly into your ear, still holding you tight. Hearing your best friend say those words, so dirty and sexy, almost drove you mad. You wanted to see him try to hold back as you rutted against him, then get overwhelmed by pleasure. Next time, you vowed.

"Can I go down on you?" You asked, not sure of the sexiest way to phrase the question, but it seemed to work for him. He smiled widely, nodded, and leaned back on his arms as you got down to your knees on the floor, sitting between his legs while he stayed on the bed.

Nervousness washed over you again. After this, there was no going back. You would have seen all of him, and touched it. He wasn't just your best friend anymore, he was more if you did this. So much more. And that was exactly what you wanted.

You fumbled with the button of his pants for a second before it finally opened, then you pulled the zipper down slowly. You'd never understood why people found that sound sexy, but, now, it was making you soaked. You were met with his briefs, which had a wet spot on them that turned the grey fabric dark. You grabbed the waistband and pulled them down, following the dark brown hairs until you saw the base of his cock. When you pulled it down, and his cock sprang out, you paused, sitting completely and utterly still. Seconds passed in silence, and Anakin started staring at you.

"You okay?" He asked the question so gently, so caringly with those eyes full of worry that you thought for a moment, just for a second, that you could sense a flicker of love. It was enough to keep you going for years. You nodded up at him, eyes wide, and he cupped your face tenderly. He could tell you were a little worried that you would be bad, but he was going to make it better.

Holy fuck. This was Anakin's cock. Of course, you'd seen photos before of penises. This was something completely different. He was big--almost huge, as far as you were concerned, and thick. The tan skin of his cock accentuated the darker head. The gently upward curve of his shaft was wrapped in veins, some bluish and some purplish, and you felt a pull to trace them with your tongue. At the very tip, a bead of precum was gathering, and you wanted desperately to see if it tasted how you imagined. You looked up into his eyes, and he was giving you a concerned look, like he was about to suggest you pause for your sake. Instead, you reached out one shaking hand to grip the base of his cock, which was so much warmer than you imagined. Anakin hissed at the contact, then muttered out a "good" as you started stroking the base gently. His praise sent a rush of joy and arousal through you, and you vowed to get more. 

You lowered your lips on the tip of his cock, kissing it with your slightly open mouth as Anakin hissed. Your tongue flicked out to lick off the precum, which was salty, musky, and a bit bitter, but definitely better than you expected. You licked your lips before tracing the contours of the head of his cock, teasing the slit and the edge before trying to take some of it into your mouth. You opened your jaw as wide as you could, because, based on what you read, teeth were to be used sparingly. His cock was surprisingly warm and wet in your mouth, and when you glanced up at him from between his knees, his lips were parted and his face had gone slack as he groaned your name. You sank down further on his cock until the entire head was in your mouth. His skin was so smooth under your tongue as you swirled it around, so incredibly delicate. As you started to bob up and down, getting a bit deeper each time, the noises and words started pouring out of him.

"God, that's great--ah, right there baby, fuck, that's my good girl." The words were so dirty, so right. The praise tumbled out of his mouth so easily, and it only made you get more and more frantic on his cock, taking him in deeper and deeper. At one point, you went too deep, and he hit the back of your throat, making you gag around him. The spasm of your throat around his cock drew out another groan from Anakin, but he gently grabbed your hair and pulled you off.

"Are you alright?" It was your first time gagging around it, taking it deep, and all you could think was how you wanted him to make you do that. To make you gag on him over and over until you couldn't think straight.

"Yeah, Ani, I'm fine. I just--I. I want to do that again," you admitted. He leaned down to kiss you gently, then took your chin in his fingers.

"Can I fuck your throat, baby?" He hid it well, but you could tell he was a bit nervous, most likely worried about hurting you. Anakin was always like that with you, so gentle, so considerate, that it made you all the more certain. You nodded emphatically, because God yes you wanted that, and then he stood up, getting to his full height above you. You shifted to your knees, which were aching from the carpet at this point, then looked up and found yourself in line perfectly with his cock. He dug his fingers into your hair, grabbing hold of it at the root, then started drawing your head closer until he was engulfed in your mouth again. Once he reached a bit of resistance, he drew back and thrust, shallow and quick, then drew back again. Anakin went a bit deeper the next time, then started thrusting faster. The physical feeling itself was nothing compared to the heady rush from the look he was giving you. Anakin was always sunshine, but now he was dark and sinful, using your throat for his pleasure. Your eyes locked, which obviously affected him based on the way he took a ragged breath and tipped his head back.

Watching him get so much pleasure from you made your right hand go down to your pussy, giving it much-needed relief by slipping underneath your underwear and rubbing your clit directly. The stimulation only made you more relaxed, which then allowed him to thrust further into your throat. He was getting faster, so you hollowed your cheeks and put your left hand on his tense thigh, which was almost shaking, before wrapping it around the base of his cock and stroking. Anakin growled and sped up, losing himself in the pleasure of your mouth, about to cum.

"Fuck, baby, I'm gonna--ah, fuck, I'm cumming," he choked out as he buried himself deep inside you. Your hand sped up as you felt his cock start to spasm. It was thick and warm and incredibly bitter, but it tasted like Anakin, so you swallowed it as the cum slid down your throat in spurts. After he came, he pulled out of your mouth with a sigh, then slid his thumb over your swollen and spit-covered lips.

"That was amazing," he said, out of breath, "How are you feeling?" The hand on your mouth went to your cheek, holding it gently.

"Good," you breathed. "Horny." He chuckled, still panting and looking down at you with genuine adoration. Anakin sat down on the bed, then got on it as he pulled up his briefs to cover up his sensitive cock.

"Come up here. I'll take care of you," he said as he shifted backward onto the bed, leaving space for you to lay down next to him. As he moved, then adjusted your pillow so you could be comfortable, you realized you had made a mistake. You stood up to try and stop it, but it was too late. You hadn't moved the goddamn vibrator. He found it, of course, with a gentle "oh." He held it up for you to see what he had found, and the dread nestled in your stomach. He was so going to make fun of you for this.

"Someone's been practicing on their own, I see," he said with a raised eyebrow as he flicked the on button, sending the tip of the vibrator shaking in a frenzy. Anakin gave you a shit-eating grin. You felt your cheeks and the tips of your ears grow warm.

"Fuck, I meant to move that, I--" He interrupted you with intense eyes. His hair was wild around his face, waves messed by your hands earlier.

"Embarrassed?" Yes, obviously. You nodded, looking away and adjusting a strand of your hair that had fallen into your face from when he fucked it. He was obviously enjoying this more than a little bit, and you started to wonder how much he really enjoyed you being embarrassed in other situations too. If his teasing was all platonic. His grin grew wolfish.

"How many times have you used it?" That caught you off guard. Your teasing was something you had both enjoyed, but the way he turned it into a little game for his own pleasure made you want to be teased by him all the time. Your stunned silence had obviously riled him up, so he kept going.

"Huh? How many times, baby? How many times have you made yourself cum with this?" Oh, he really wanted to know. He brought the still-humming vibrator to the inside of your knee, then slowly started tracing it up your thigh. You jolted, but answered him.

"Got it four days ago. I--five times," you whispered as he brought it closer and closer to where you wanted it. Anakin chuckled, a sound so dark and almost condescending that you could hardly believe it came from your best friend. It flared in your pussy, sending blood to your clit until you could feel your heartbeat in it. The vibrator was so close, you could practically feel it already.

"Twice in one day?" Anakin gritted the question out with a hungry smirk, the dark echo of the one you knew so well. You loved it. You wanted him to devour you and destroy you. You nodded slowly, well aware of how close he was to finally touching you. He finally reached your clit, and gave you one-two-three seconds of pleasure before he switched the vibrator off.

"Get on the bed," he commanded, pulling you by the hips into his embrace on the bed. He shifted to the headboard, so that you were between his legs and laying back on his chest. Anakin was so warm, so comforting behind you as his arms wrapped around you and brought the vibrator back to your clit. When it hummed to life, you turned your face and buried it in his arm, muffling the moans and words you babbled out.

"Ah, FUCK. God yesyesyesyes more, please, Ani!" The vibe never failed you before, and it wasn't now. The stimulation, the aftertaste of cum in your mouth, and the smell of Anakin's sweat and shampoo all mingled together to bring you closer and closer, until you were about to finally--Anakin ripped the vibrator off of you, and your hips thrust up into the empty air as you mewled and cried out for him.

"Fuck, please let me cum! I'm so fucking horny Ani, please," you begged, not even caring about dignity anymore. You needed this, so so fucking badly.

"You want to cum? Fine. You get to cum, but you're gonna do it twice." He pressed the vibrator to you again and gently circled it on you. It was so much, the heat of the room, the strain in your legs, the way your mind was going fuzzy at the edges, filled with nothing but Anakin. You came like you never had before, jolting as your legs shook and making a series of strangled noises that included shouts of his name intermixed with breathy moans. You could hear him, vaguely, curse at the sight in front of him. The waves hit you over and over, extending longer than you thought you could, your pussy twitching repeatedly. But Anakin didn't take the vibrator off you. It almost hurt, but your sensitivity made it overwhelmingly good, like the breath was leaving your chest. Getting back to being able to cum took a minute, but you were feeling it build again, stronger this time. Your abs clenched, and Anakin started to read your tells. He could tell, just like you could, that you were about to cum.

"That's it, baby. Cum again for me, you can do it," he murmured in your ear as you let out a desperate wail and came violently. Your whole body was shaking, back arched, and your breathing was ragged like you had just run a marathon. Your pussy was desperately clenching on nothing as the feeling surged over you, so much stronger this time around. The knowledge that it was Anakin making you cum only made it more powerful. When you had come down from the peak of it, and were just riding out the last aftershocks, Anakin turned off the vibrator and rested his hand on your knee.

"That was perfect, baby. You were so good for me. So amazing," he whispered as he pulled you closer. If you were less floaty and light-headed, you would have thought more of his use of baby, like this was something more than practice. Now that he had touched you like this, you knew that there wasn't any going back, and that you were going to tell him eventually. Tell him how you felt. But not right now. Right now, all that mattered was his strong arms engulfing you, keeping you warm and safe after everything you had done. 

Nearly fifteen minutes passed with him holding you like that before you realized that you should probably pee and change. But he was so comfortable, rubbing your knee with his thumb idly as he monitored you. His hands supported you as you tried to sit up, still tired and shaky from the effort of all of it.

"I should really go pee," you said, obviously unenthusiastic. 

"You okay? Feel good about everything?" When you turned around to look at him, Anakin was so visibly concerned, it was too sweet. His pupils were blown wide, his features soft in the low light. Your heart tugged when you realized this was only making you love him more.

"Yeah, you?" And that was the truth. You did feel good about everything, almost too good. He was so perfect for you, kinky in just the right ways, and you were terrified you wouldn't find that again. When he heard you were alright, he grinned, back to his usual bright, happy self. There was also that. You were terrified you wouldn't find someone who loved you this much, even if he only loved you as a friend.

"Fuck yeah. Alright, go clean up," he said. His hands on your lower back gave you a gentle push to help you get going. With your PJs, you stepped into the bathroom you shared with the double bedroom next door, locking both doors, and tried to wipe up the wetness on your underwear. There was no use, they would go straight into the wash. Whatever. You tossed them into your hamper and got ready for bed.

When you left the bathroom, you were shocked to find Anakin naked in the middle of the room, halfway through changing. It felt almost normal, which was weird, given that you couldn't conceive of him having a penis a year ago. He noticed your strange look and pulled up his flannel pajama pants.

"What? It's not like you've never seen me naked before," he joked with a wink. You supposed that was true, but this seemed very... intimate, somehow. The first time was practice, but what was this?

"Oh, could you grab my phone charger? It's in the big pocket of my backpack," he called idly from the bed. His shirt was still off, and the flannel pants sat low on his hips, so you found your eyes roving over the wide expanse of his chest. On your way back to the bed from the bathroom, you stopped by the bag he had left on the floor. As you dug through it, you found underwear (ew, though really not ew because you had just had his cock down your throat ten minutes ago), his computer, and a couple shirts, but no tell-tale charger cord.

"I don't think it's in here," you said to him, but you stuck your hand deeper into the layers of his overstuffed backpack. This must be what performing a colonoscopy is like, you thought. Your fingers closed around something thin, wrapped up with what felt like a crumpled paper, and you started fishing it out. He was notorious for stuffing paper in his bag without thinking in high school, and you once found his report card somewhere in the depths of it during senior year. It was from four years ago. You chuckled to yourself at the memory as you finally got the knot loose, along with the crumpled paper trapped within it.

You unwrapped it carefully. The piece of notebook paper looked frequently used but recently discarded, and was covered in Anakin's distinctive scrawl. Your flitted over the first line, expecting to read something about resistors. Instead, you saw something else. Since we were kids, I've considered you my closest friend. You kept reading.

"Anakin, what the fuck is this?"

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Tag List (let me know if you'd like to be added!): @doblasftcisco @aliciaasky @cultofsin @avalovesjoe1 @akixxrafiiy @princearthur4 @sythethecarrot

[wonderlandwalker]

Second Chances | Eddie Munson x Reader

Stranger Things Masterlist / Inbox Summary: Eddie royally screws up your first date (read part 1 here) Content Warnings / Tags: fluff (i think), swearing, the worst luck ever, no use of y/n, henderson!reader, reader is described to have some freckles idk, prolly a lot of spelling errors that I'll fix later read now at your own will Word Count: 1.4k A/N: so I kinda went through some trauma this past month but I just started ADHD meds and surprise surprise they work. Still didn't proofread this and am purely posting it cause I literally just wrote all of it in one go and I have poor impulse control even the meds can't fix that

He was late, and he only knew he was late because Wayne had gotten home and wondered what he was still doing at home. Now normally Wayne wouldn't have bothered grilling the guy, but Eddie hadn't been able to shut up about this for a week. Turns out this day was the day the kitchen clock had decided to stop working, resulting in a TV remote being flung at it the moment Eddie realised, because, of course, it had to be today, of course, his luck would run out again. But Wayne wouldn't let him give up that easily, because as he said it: "fate can go fuck itself, go over there and grovel", which honestly wasn't such a bad idea. So here he was now, definitely speeding, definitely more nervous than he already was, and definitely praying to any god who would listen for help. Because this was your first date, a date he didn't think would happen in the first place and he has already managed to screw it up without even being there. In an after thought he came to the further realization that he definitely did not want to face Dustin any time soon, the boy had become oddly protective of you once his friends actually clued him in on what was happening, which was obvious to everyone -except as established Dustin- with the way Eddie's eyes would trail after you every time he managed to spot you. He was trying to hype himself up, talk some confidence into himself and find a good way to apologize, not that he thought there were any. But just as he turned the corner to your block he heard it, he heard the worst possible sound on earth at this moment, he heard the sirens to Hopper's car. For a sweet small second, he allowed himself to believe Hopper wasn't after him, there was someone else committing a traffic violation on the other side of the street. Yeah, that's exactly what was going on, on the other side of this very much empty street was a car with a bunch of teens hooking up and Hopper had turned on his siren as a warning so he could put his clothes back on. Thinking about it, that wasn't even such a wild idea, like, that has happened to him before, well, except for the empty street anomaly. Right, time to face the music: Eddie came to a stop only about a hundred meters away from your house and rolled down his window as Hopper approached. Eddie shook out face to rid himself of the nerves and turned on his best smile. "So what's your excuse this time?" The Police Chief began to ask. Eddie quirked up at the question "It's not like the other times Jim I promise." Hopper looked him up and down squinted his eyes at him, cocking his head down just the slightest bit "How many warnings have I given you this month kid?" Eddie sighed, he knew where this was going. "Two" "Which makes this?" "The third" Eddie answered, dragging out his words. "Third warning kid, gotta write you up today" Hopper began to grab the police pad in his back pocket to write up the incident report, but Eddie was not above begging, at least not currently. "Listen, Jim-, Mr Hopper-, Sir, you can give me the ticket but can you please give it to me sometime else-" he was frantically moving his hands while talking now "- I'll even come by the station and pick it up myself tomorrow morning first thing but I have to-" And of course, things had to get worse:

The gods hadn't listened to his hasty prayers, because he could see Dustin in your open front door attempting to push you outside while pointing at Eddie's van. And he could tell the moment you spotted him because he could feel a small nerve entering his system, he could feel your presence connecting with his. And Hopper was asking him to please step out of the car right now. So he did, he stepped out and saw you give him a small wave which he tried to return except Hopper was snapping him out of the trance you still had on him from the other side of the street. So Eddie gave it one last-ditch attempt "Hopper please" "Alright let's hear it, what's your excuse?" Eddie's eyes brightened with the bit of hope he had just grabbed. "I have a date" he tried to explain "A date with who?" The chief wasn't gonna admit it, but the kid had grabbed his interest. So Eddie started rambling about how you two had met and how it should be your first date and then he caught your eyes again and he couldn't hear it but his mind filled in the blanks as he watched your soft giggling while looking at the situation unfold and he felt all his tension drop out of his body at once, he felt at ease from the way your eyes searched his, instantaneously so. "Wait a second, Claudia's daughter?" Hopper was looking over at the porch now too as your mother came out of the house as well. "That's not a great first impression" "Tell me about it" Eddie was trying to ignore reality as hard as he could right now. "Alright here's what's gonna happen, giving you one more warning but it's coming out of your tolerance next month" Hopper had assumed his dad stance, a hand on his hip and the other pointed straight at Eddie, and if he hadn't been oh so terribly grateful right now he would have been tempted to make fun of him for it. "Yes, yes! Definitely that please!" Hopper released one last sigh before he spoke back up "Go on over there then" Eddie took the olive branch and ran away with it before he could change his mind. With his van performing some emergency parking down the road he ran over to you just as you shooed off Dustin, and now he stood face to face with you, he stood close enough to count the fading summer freckles on the bridge of your nose and to smell the perfume he had started associating with you, and he wanted more time to admire how well he could see you right now but he had more pressing business. "I'll make this up to you I promise" He knew his promise probably wasn't worth much, but he had to try anyway. He had already started internally debating if it was worth getting down on his knees to beg as a smile cracked on your face. "This is exactly what Dustin predicted would happen" You were full-on grinning now, and it took him a second to comprehend that you weren't upset, you were amused, and he was confused. "He what?" "When he found out we had a date this weekend he tried to convince me you'd be at least an hour late with the Hopper on your ass I'm just stunned at his accuracy" Maybe this really was his year after all "So you're not upset?" "I'm just upset I owe that nosy dipshit money now" And now Eddie was laughing too because you started asking him if he wanted to just skip his reservation which you guys had missed anyway and go to the drive-in because you had heard they were playing Monty Python. So Monty Python it was as he drove there and got both the sweet and the salty popcorn because he wasn't sure which you'd prefer and spent the rest of the evening what he'd say was the perfect time. But he wasn't done yet, he had promised to make things up to you and this was only the beginning for him, a beginning to many good times ahead.

[@saradika-graphics still being my go-to for dividers] Taglist: @vicurious28, @arlxtoa, @em0220, @madyoghurt, @saturnsbxtchx, @maskofmirrors

[narumi-gens]

The L Word

Miya Osamu x f!Reader

summary: Love makes people stupid. Osamu knows it firsthand.

warnings: minors/ageless/blank blogs dni, established relationship, love confessions, fluff with a teeny hint of angst, happy ending, small miscommunication bc Osamu is an idiot but it gets cleared up, Atsumu to the rescue, Osamu being the dumber Miya twin for a change, Osamu really goes through it in this fic but it's all okay bc you love him

notes: literally wrote this entire thing today bc Osamu just does something to me. this takes place earlier on in the Meet the Miyas couple's relationship and you don't have to read the other fics to get this one, but I sure would like you to.

words: 3.6k

part of the Meet the Miyas series

Osamu’s date with you was meant to be a quick dinner. If he was thinking more clearly, he wouldn’t have suggested seeing each other that night at all. It’s been a hectic week for the both of you and he knows that you have to catch an early morning train for a meeting out of town the next day. 

But he can’t think clearly when it comes to you. Because he loves you. He doesn’t know when exactly it happened, but he knows it was probably after only a couple of dates, which he also knows is crazy. 

Again, he can never think clearly when it comes to you.

It means that he’s spent the last few months in a love-induced haze of happiness as your budding relationship has progressed. It’s even been enough to dull the irritation he would normally feel at how smug Atsumu has been about being the one to set the two of you up in the first place.

Of course, none of that is on his mind now. The only thing he can currently think about is how much he doesn't want your evening together to end. 

It’s a desire of his that you’re more than willing to indulge in as your time at the restaurant stretches on long past dessert. When he offers to walk you home even though you live in opposite directions, you don’t even bother to give a perfunctory protest. You merely nod with a wide grin, happily accepting the arm he wraps around your shoulders as you curl into his side. 

And what began as a sweet kiss goodnight outside of your building is now bordering on something inappropriate for a public setting, even on an empty street. 

Your soft lips move against his and his tongue slips into your mouth to taste you. One of your hands rests against his neck, while the other runs through his hair, making him shiver at the sensation of your fingernails gently running against his scalp. Both of his are tightly holding onto your waist, holding you as close as he possibly can so that the only thing separating you two is the clothing you both are wearing. 

“Come upstairs,” you breathe as he begins to trail his lips from yours to the spot just below your ear that always has your knees feeling weak whenever he lavishes it with attention. 

Unfortunately, Osamu has just enough of his sanity left to know what the responsible choice is.

“Ya need to sleep,” he murmurs against your skin before pressing an open-mouthed kiss to your neck that makes you sharply inhale. “Yer meeting tomorrow is important. Gotta be well rested.”

“So thoughtful,” you tease as you guide his lips back to yours to give him another heated kiss, only to pause for air a moment later. “I promise. No funny business. We can just sleep.”

He can’t hold back his snort at your suggestion or his laugh when you pout at his reaction. He rests his forehead against yours, looking at you with a fond smile on his shining and slightly swollen lips. 

“We never ‘just sleep’ when I come up,” he reminds you and your pout deepens.

“But I don’t want to say goodbye yet,” you tell him, and damn if his heart doesn’t ache with how full of love it is for you.

“Okay. We don’t have to say goodbye,” he agrees and your expression lights up. However, it falls as he continues to speak. “We’ll just say goodnight instead.”

“Osamu,” you whine and he presses a soft kiss to your lips before you can say anything else.

“Goodnight,” he says.

When you open your mouth again, he gives you another smiling kiss.

“Goodnight.”

You open your mouth again, a smile of your own tugging at your lips, which he kisses again.

He loves you. 

“Goodnight.”

You playfully open your mouth as you pretend to say something. He kisses you.

He loves you.

“Goodnight.”

Another attempt on your part to protest. Another kiss to silence you.

He loves you.

“Goodnight.”

Your mouth opens. He gives you a kiss. 

He loves you.

“I love you.”

He freezes, but not because he’s accidentally spoken the words that have been on his mind these past months. 

It’s because the words don’t come out in his voice. They come out in yours.  

His eyes snap open to find you gazing up at him with a small hint of nervousness, but otherwise nothing but pure affection and fondness and love. It’s everything he’s been dreaming of — literally. He has literally been dreaming about this exact scenario.

But in his dreams, he gently murmurs that he loves you in return and softly runs his thumb along the apple of your cheek. The two of you then kiss beneath the first soft snowflakes of winter or the floating spring cherry blossoms or a drizzle of summer rain.

Reality is much worse. Because in his shock and disbelief, all he can do is open and close his mouth, struggling to put all of his joy and excitement and love in return into words. And the longer the silence stretches on, the touch of hesitation that was initially present on your face slowly begins to morph into sheer horror.

Your embarrassment is visible at his lack of a response and when you force out a small, self-conscious laugh, he knows that you’re regretting ever speaking those three beautiful words aloud.

“Sorry,” you wince and a cold shard of ice pierces his heart.

No, no, no. Don’t apologize. Never apologize. Not for loving him. Not when he loves you, too. 

You clumsily try to extricate yourself from his hold and he’s too wrapped up in his own mortification over how stupid he is that he easily lets you. 

“I don’t…s-sorry!”

Your voice breaks as you stumble over your unnecessary apology and even while you refuse to meet his gaze, he can see how quickly your eyelashes are fluttering as you try to blink back the tears that he’s caused.

“Night, Osamu,” you manage to say through a soft sniffle before hurrying towards the steps of your building.

The only thing worse than the panic and anger that he’s feeling towards himself is whatever it is that you’re feeling. You opened yourself up to him, allowing yourself to be vulnerable and trusting that he would keep your heart safe.

And he was too much of an idiot to be able to offer his own heart in return. 

He just needs to get the words out. Just get the words out.

Just get the fuckin’ words out, ya big fuckin’ pussy.

Relief floods through his veins when he’s finally able to blurt your name as he calls after you. He can fix this. He can tell you that he loves you and that he was just so elated that he was physically incapable of putting any words together. 

You stop, your foot on the bottom step as you turn towards him. While your eyes are shining with tears, he can also the hope in them as you silently plead with him to continue. 

A deep breath releases from his lungs. He hasn’t ruined it yet. You’re willing to listen to him. You’ll give him a chance to make things right and prove to you that he deserves you. He’s so fucking grateful to you. 

“Thank you!”

He wishes the ground would open up and swallow him whole. Maybe a car will pass by and run him over. Could he be lucky enough for a freak thunderstorm and to be struck by lightning? When nothing happens, he contemplates dropping to his knees and banging his head repeatedly against the concrete sidewalk. 

All of it would feel better than watching how quickly he’s shattered the last remaining pieces of hope that you were desperately clinging onto. You stay still just long enough for him to see your lower lip tremble before you dart up the stairs of your building.

And because of how the stupid apartment buildings in this country are designed, he gets a perfect view of you racing up the exterior staircase and then towards your apartment, pausing only to unlock the door, which then slams loudly shut behind you. The sound echoes through the quiet street, reverberating against the pavement and buildings, but also in his mind. 

Osamu takes a slow, deep breath and holds it before exhaling. He then buries his face his hands, his fingers tugging at his hair, and lets out an unintelligible scream that’s filled with a nauseating mixture of frustration and embarrassment. The noise is louder than the slamming of your door and a dog starts to bark in the distance. 

In a daze, he somehow manages to make it to his bus stop. Likewise, his phone is now somehow held up against his ear. And somehow, Atsumu’s screeching voice answers on the other end.

“Thank you?” he greets angrily and Osamu loudly groans as he slumps forward so far that his head is practically between his knees. “My best friend, the woman yer totally in love with, says she loves ya and all ya can do is thank her?”

“I was just so excited, I couldn’t think straight. I’m a fuckin’ idiot. I know, okay?” he mumbles. He hears a bus pull up to the curb but he’s too distraught to even look up and see if it’s his as he lets it pass. “She already told ya?”

“She’s on the other fuckin’ line right now, crying because of you, ya scrub,” Atsumu bites back and somehow, after everything that’s happened in the past ten minutes, Osamu manages to feel even worse. 

There’s a long pause and his guilt and mortification must be so bad that his brother can hear it through the phone because Atsumu gives a sigh of pity.

“Look, just make it right. We share the same DNA. Ya must have gotten a little bit of my ability to be romantic.” 

In any other situation, Osamu would scoff and roll his eyes. But right now, he doesn’t have the right to make fun of anyone, not even his twin. Instead, he simply nods even though Atsumu can’t see it over the call. 

“Can ya find out what time her train gets in tomorrow?” he asks pitifully. 

“Okay, sure,” the setter offers before sighing again. “I gotta go.”

“Yeah, don’t keep her waitin’.” 

He wonders if you know that it’s him Atsumu is talking to. You must. But Atsumu is a pretty good liar, much better than Osamu anyway. He’s had plenty of practice lying over every little thing under the sun since they were young. Surely, he can convince you that it was a teammate or his agent or anyone else but the man responsible for your distress.

“Same goes for you, Samu,” Atsumu warns him, but there’s at least a gentle undertone of sympathy in his voice that he probably only extends because they shared a womb.

“Thanks,” he says, feeling truly grateful to his brother in a way he hasn’t felt since he set the two of you up.

“I think ya said that enough tonight, ya scrub.” Atsumu then ends the call and Osamu’s gratitude dwindles. 

But Atsumu does come through for him, texting him the information on your train, which Osamu reacts to with a mere thumbs up, knowing that any form of thanks will have him being called a scrub for the third time that night. 

The next day, Osamu closes the shop early. It’s for the better as he keeps getting orders wrong and has to offer so many discounts in apology that if he stayed open any later, he would probably end the day at a loss. 

His mind has been so preoccupied that there’s no room left in it for onigiri. All he’s been able to think about is his plan to make it up to you. He’ll go home and change into his nicest suit. He’ll go to the florist and buy the nicest bouquet they have. He’ll stop by the bakery near your apartment on the way and order a slice of your favorite cake. 

And then you’ll come home to find him waiting for you outside of your building, where he’ll give you the speech he spent all day on. He’ll tell you how sorry he is and explain how much of an idiot he was and tell you that of course, he loves you. He’s even written down exactly what he wants to say on an order sheet from the restaurant so he doesn’t forget a word.

But apparently, the universe has decided that it wants to laugh even more at his expense. 

Everything starts smoothly. Despite not having worn it in over a year, his suit fits as perfectly as it did when he bought it. And after a quick iron, it looks like he just picked it up from the dry cleaner. When he arrives at the flower shop, the kindly older woman working there helps him make a custom bouquet filled with flowers that all represent some form of love and apology. 

It’s at the bakery where things start to go wrong. 

First, it’s so late in the afternoon that the display window is picked clean over. Your favorite cake has sold out entirely and all that’s left are a variety of croissants, donuts, and croquettes. He stupidly decides to buy a donut anyway, because although the image of him giving you a donut is much less romantic, he’s always believed that food is the best way to show you care about someone. 

Then, just as he’s finished paying and in his rush to make sure he gets to your apartment before you do, he runs right into a teenager holding a bright green melon soda, which spills all over the front of his clean, white dress shirt. The girl gasps in horror and immediately begins to apologize, repeatedly bowing as she offers him the napkins in her hand.

However, he knows it was his fault and that he can’t make another girl cry in less than 24 hours. He assures her that she wasn’t to blame and after patting his shirt dry to the best of his ability, he buys her a new drink and then helps the employee clean up the spill. He leaves the bakery with a squished donut and an obscenely green, large stain on his shirt. 

And of course, he gets one block away from the bakery when it starts to rain. It’s not the soft, romantic drizzle that he’s imagined might color such an important moment in your relationship. It’s a true downpour that has people ducking into stores and under doorways. For just a moment, he considers stopping at a konbini and buying an umbrella but he’s already drenched and when he sees how long the line is, he decides that it wouldn’t be worth it if he has to miss you. 

It’s another block away from the konbini that the bag holding the donut breaks, dropping the baked good into the gutter where it’s quickly washed away by the rainwater. As he looks at the soggy remains of the bag in his hand, he decides not to worry about it and shoves the mess into his pocket. The flowers are enough on his own.

The flowers, which he’s just now realizing aren’t in his hand and weren’t with him at the bakery. The flowers that he remembers setting down on the bench at the bus stop but doesn’t remember picking back up when he got onto the bus. 

The voice in his head is frantic as it tries to assure him that everything is fine. If you really love him then you don’t need flowers or baked goods or him in a dry, unstained suit. You’ll love him just as he is when you find him waiting to greet you after a long day.

He’s thankful that the sound of rain falling is loud enough to mask the panicked, high-pitched whine he lets out when he turns the corner onto your block to find that you’ve beaten him to your place and are already standing on the bottom step of your building’s staircase, protected from the rain as you shake the worst of the water from your dripping umbrella. 

There’s the smallest part of him that wants to just go back home and hide beneath the blankets like he used to do after losing a volleyball match. 

But then, without his consent, your name leaves his lips and his feet begin moving on their own to meet you. You freeze mid-umbrella shake and look up at him in shock, clearly not having expected him, and definitely not in this state if the way your eyes widen is anything to go by. 

Your senses come back to you quicker than his did to him last night and you open your umbrella back up and rush out to meet him, hurrying to finally protect him from the rain.

“Osamu, what are you doing? It’s pouring,” you say with a mixture of disbelief and confusion. You look him over from head to toe and frown. “Why are you so green? You look like you spilled a melon soda all over your shirt.”

It’s okay. He still has his speech. He’ll win you over with his words. Whether it was volleyball or opening his own restaurant, when has he ever given up?

Instead of answering you, he reaches into the inside pocket of his jacket and pulls out the order slip. He’s relieved that it’s held up better than the bakery bag and vows to keep buying order pads from the same supplier for the rest of his life. 

At least until he unfolds the paper and finds that the ink he wrote in has run because of the rain that soaked through his jacket. His shoulders sag as he sighs in defeat. 

“Osamu?” you ask with a timidness he hasn’t heard from you before and it’s enough to snap him from his own wallowing. His idiocy left you in tears last night.

The flowers, the suit, the pastry, the speech, this entire big, grand gesture he was trying to make all boil down to one thing.

“I love ya,” he says and it feels so good to finally be able to say the words aloud to you for the first time. It feels like a weight has been lifted from his chest, leaving room for how big his heart has grown with all the love it holds for you. “I’m so sorry about last night. I’ve been in love with ya since, like, our third date but I knew I’d seem crazy if I said it that early. And when ya said it first, I just couldn’t believe it and I was so stupidly happy that I just couldn’t say anything.” 

Now that he’s started talking, the words won’t seem to stop. But from the way you’re looking up at him with so much warmth and affection and love, he doesn’t think you want him to.

“And then I started to panic because I couldn’t say anything, which made it harder to say anything else. So, I came up with this big plan to win ya back with flowers and cake and a big speech but literally everything went wrong.”

“Osamu,” you try to gently interrupt him, but by this point, he couldn’t hold anything in even if he wanted to.

“I forget yer flowers at the bus stop and the bakery was out of cake. Then I almost made this teenager cry so I had to make that right. And of course, this fuckin’ monsoon had to sweep in outta nowhere. And my speech got all ruined, too,” he complains, holding out the order sheet for you to see the proof. 

“Osamu,” you try again. Only he’s too wrapped up now in this bizarre, stream-of-consciousness monologue to even take in the adoring way that you’re looking at him.

“If it was gonna rain, couldn’t it at least have been a soft, romantic type of rain? But I guess nothing says romance like a flash flood warning. It’s a good thing ya live on a higher floor with how much it’s comin’ down,” he continues. “All this little love confession is missing are some warning sirens—”

“You love me?”

The question finally shuts him up. But it’s a different kind of silence than the one from last night. Because you look so utterly happy as the three words occupy the space between you. His own expression softens and he crumples up the paper in his hand before shoving it into his pocket. 

His hand now free, he tenderly cups your face and presses the softest, sweetest kiss to your lips as the rain continues to come down in sheets around you, only your small travel-size umbrella keeping you both safe. 

As his lips part from yours, he rests his forehead on yours, an almost mirror image how you two were wrapped up in each other last night. 

“Yeah, I love ya,” he whispers as he affectionately brushes his nose against yours. You smile back at him and his heart pounds with excitement at hearing you repeat the sentiment back to him. 

But then, your eyes begin to sparkle mischievously as they always do when you tease him.

“Thank you,” you say and he thinks he’s somehow managed to fall even further in love with you.  

[munsster]

i'm so so obsessed with the winter in hawkins series!! i love a loser!steve and the kids pushing the steve x reader agenda

LITERALLY ME TOO! i am so glad u like it. truly nothing and no one compares to poor babygirl loser!steve. and now because i’m crazy, i came up with a billion headcanons for winter in hawkins au.

robin was obviously definitely the first one to notice babygirls longing glances (does that make robin olaf or sven in this situation…)

of course, steve was catching strays from dustin long before but it was all conjecture for like the first month

once robin pinpointed steve’s desperation and utter infatuation with you, she was hooked and intent on finding dumb excuses for the two of you to be alone

aka robin is the WORST instigator and only encourages loser!steve

yes, she thoroughly clowns on him, but her heart says steve x reader ftw

the rest of the kids find out because dustin will. not. shut. up! about it

again, thanks to auntie robin only fanning the flames

(they came up with a group name for their shenanigans: the secret society consisting of everyone who thinks steve is her prince charming OR the prince charming project for short)

(dustin uses the full name every time)

(the main points at meetings include planning your wedding, drawing your future children, and anything anti-brad)

speaking of brad, steve still remembers exactly where he was when you told him you got a new boyfriend

he cried in his car after work that day

robin was in the passenger seat

she cried, too

that was really what spurred loser!steve on

before that, steve was minding his own hopeless romantic business, but the introduction of brad put emphasis on the ‘hopeless’ aspect

honestly, steve’s just glad he still gets to see you every weekend for game night

brad is not invited to game night

you don’t think he’d come even if he was

steve hates brad

regardless of br*d, steve is not shy about complimenting you on anything and everything

sure, it makes him a little blushy thinking about how you’ll react

with that dazzling smile he adores

and yeah, theres a tiny wobble in his voice when he gets your attention

but you don’t seem to notice

and if you do, you don’t seem care

(you always notice, and you think it’s sweet)

“i like your hair like that”

“really? thanks, stevie!”

oh he melts

whenever you compliment him back, he takes diligent notes

one time he wore the same shirt three times in one week just because you mentioned how it complimented his eyes

he also got a big head when you told him his sailor outfit makes him look dashing

sometimes the kids write out lists of really good and not at all embarrassing pick up lines

sometimes these lists suspiciously wind up in steve’s glove box or tip jar

one time a list appeared in his wallet

it’s weird that they practically pickpocketed him but it’s weirder that they had access to his wallet and didn’t take the twenty

robin has a secret scrapbook dedicated to you and steve

it has secret pictures (courtesy of el), ticket stubs, cute stickers, and random receipts

if you couldn’t already tell, everyone is very normal about the situation

steve gets to know you so well that you actually start saying things in tandem

he knows your ice cream order, your coffee order, what temperature you like the thermostat, the name of your first pet

he’s never been good at memorization but it feels so easy knowing it’s all attached to you somehow

he will often bring you random little flowers that seem so small in the palm of his hand

it makes him feel very proud when you tuck them behind your ear

even more so when you let him do it for you

one late summer night, steve hosts a sleepover

OR the kids begged and begged him to either ask you on a date or let everyone use his pool for the night and watch a scary movie and stay up really late and eat junk food

so because he’s a loser, steve hosts a sleepover

and his heart flutters when you show up on his dimly lit doorstep with a gaggle of children behind you

they push past the two of you and barrel straight towards the back door

you warn him, saying you’re pretty sure only two of them brought towels

he chuckles and assures you that they do this every time and he already has a stack set out

you laugh in response and he thinks this is what a heart attack feels like

just imagine how he survived the rest of the night basking in your company and the soft moonlight

you sat next to him during the movie and fell asleep on his shoulder and he swears he’s never been so still

and the movie was really scary

steve wishes brad wasn’t such a dick

especially because he’s made you cry now on a handful of different occasions

steve’s flattered that he’s the first one you call, but he’s heartbroken hearing your choked sobs through the receiver

it’s kind of like a routine the way you always apologize for dumping everything on him and the way he tells you he’d do it any time

for you

at this point, he doesn’t care how desperate he makes himself seem

he really cares about you

steve likes you, and brad could spare a couple teeth

but he knows you love brad blahblahblah que sera sera whatever

he should’ve asked you out when he had the chance instead of sulking and pining

robin still has hope three months into the relationship

she knows for a fact steve still has a raging crush on you

those big brown eyes give everything away

and the way he gushes about your phone calls and your cute sweaters

something happens and i’m head over heels

steve has your gift picked out a month before the holiday season

little does he know, you’ve got his picked out, too

“i saw this in a shop window and thought of you…”

“i remember you mentioning that you wanted one…”

they really are just two losers fated to fall in love

sigh

more like this

masterlist

[louloulemons-posts]

Hello! I saw that you are accepting requests for strangeк things and I decided to try ... I really like reading your work and I would like you to write my idea if it's not difficult for you. In general, I sincerely believe that there is very little jealous!Eddie in the world and it kills me. What if Eddie and reader aren't together YET, but Munson is so damn jealous of her for Steve, and Steve and reader don't understand why Eddie is so...mean

+ extra points if Dustin solved all the problems again 😐😐

Sorry if this is too long and stupid! Love you!!!

Words Of Jealousy

Eddie Munson X Fem!Reader

Summary : Eddie can’t stand reader and she has no clue why.

Word count : 2.1k

Warnings : Not proofread, some parts were written at 3am and some at a normal time (i can only apologise i love napping) swears, eddies stupid, minor angst, eddies mean to reader, reader shouts at eddie, reader panics about death (it’s kinda funny), brief talks about the upside down, happy ending, fluffy, idiots in love.

~ / / / * \ \ \ ~

You don’t really know why’s it like this, but it always had been. Eddie didn’t like you that much was clear. Snide comments, eye rolls, chuckling when you embarrass yourself.

All in all he was an asshole. He came into your friend group a few months back, you’d seen him around before that, but hadn’t interacted much.

Steve Harrington had been your best friend since Pre-K, being inseparable (minus the King Steve - which you’ll forever tease him for) A lot of people assumed you’d end up together, however, the idea of that was gross to both of you.

You had dealt with the whole Upside Down situation also, becoming close with a lot of other people - including Robin Buckley, your other bestfriend and third of your trio.

“So I was thinking, we could have a movie night?” Steve said, his parents had been back for a week and had now gone on another business trip. He needed a fun night after dealing with those two trolls.

“Sounds good, but you’re not picking,” you spoke. “Why not?”

“Because your movie taste is awful,” Robin spoke, shoving a handful of M&Ms into her mouth. “What the hell? It’s not, I literally work in a movie store!”

“Which makes it so much worse,” you sighed, leaning your head on robins. “I’ll pick them out,” Robin spoke.

“Now you I trust.” She leaned her head back and kissed your chin.

“Fine fine, I’ll invite people.”

“Who are people?” you asked.

“Well you know, Nance, Jonathan, the kids, and you know …” he mumbled something.

“What was that?” He mumbled again.

“Couldn’t quite hear you Stevie.”

“Eddie.” You rolled your eyes, groaning. “He’s not that bad!” Steve tried to say.

“To you. He’s horrible to me and I don’t even know why!”

The bell to the store jingled, a sign that someone had walked in. “Speak of the devil,” you said, kissing Robin on the top of the head before jumping off the counter. “I’ll see you guys later,” you said to Robin and Steve, kissing the boys cheek as you passed.

“Aw going so soon Sweetheart?” Eddie asked, exaggerated pout on his face. “Oh bite me,” you said, shoulder bumping him as you went past.

What an asshole.

~ / / / * \ \ \ ~

Steve had called you later on and apologised about the fact that Eddie was coming. He had begged you to come also, of course you said yes. You didn’t like Eddie, but that wouldn’t ruin your relationship with your best friend.

Climbing out of the car with your bag - you planned on staying the night, like most nights. You walked into Steve’s house, calling out a greeting.

“Hey,” he shouted back, head popping round a corner. “I’m taking my stuff upstairs, I’ll be back in a minute.” Jogging upstairs and into your allocated room you placed your bag on the bed. Pulling out your hoodie you slid it on heading back downstairs.

Coming out of the door, you bumped into someone, “Oh shit sorry Stevi- oh,” you spoke, meeting the eyes of a metal head.

“Watch yourself Sweetheart.” Walking away from him you began your decent on the stairs.

“Not talking to me today?” he asked.

“Ha, you’re funny,” you spoke, sarcasm lacing your tone. “Oh yeah, why’s that?” Stopping on a step and turning to him, “Why the hell would I waste my time?”

“Come on Sweetheart don’t be like that!”

“Jesus christ Eddie can you just shut up for one fucking second. I get you don’t like me, but I’m not here for you I’m here for our friends, so get your head out your house.”

His face went still, the playful glimmer leaving his eyes and jaw clenching. “I was teasing, maybe you should stop being such a bitch for once in your life,” he snarled, stomping past you.

As you said - asshole.

~ / / / * \ \ \ ~

“Woah, you okay Eddie?” Dustin asked him.

“Princess’ got an issue today,” he rolled his eyes, sighing. “Let’s be honest, you’re not the nicest to her,” Steve spoke up, pulling a can of cola from the fridge for the boy.

“Doesn’t mean she gets to-”

“Eddie I’m telling you this as your friend, you insult that girl in front of my and I’ll break your nose,” Steve spoke, popping the tab and sliding the can to him.

The boy sighed again, taking a gulp of the drink. “Not everyone ends up liking each other and being friends Eddie, don’t take it personally,” Dustin tried to comfort him.

“I wouldn’t want to be her friend.”

“Well lucky me, cause that’s the last thing I want,” you spoke, appearing in the kitchen, making all three of them jump. Eddie almost seemed to wince when he saw you.

“ I get you don’t like me, but do not come in here and speak badly of me to MY friends. You have an issue I get that, you are rude and mean to me all the time and I don’t have a clue why, honestly I don’t care,” you took a breath.

“But do not, speak badly of me to my friends. I would have happily been buds with you, but you don’t want that clearly, every time I’ve been nice you’ve been cruel. Maybe grow up Eddie, fucking asshole,” you spoke.

After he left you on the stairs, you’d turned around and grabbed the bag. You couldn’t do this, even for Steve, you didn’t want to ruin the night with that horrible tension and simmering bitterness.

Turning on your heal you left the house heading to your car, heading your name called behind you. “I’m sorry Steve, just have a good night. I call you tomorrow and me, you and Robs can do something okay.” Kissing his cheek, you climbed in and headed off.

~ / / / * \ \ \ ~

You didn’t drive home, you felt many things. Angry. Upset. Tired. You never had a solid reason why he didn’t like you and you know, like Dustin said, not everyone gets along. But he got along with everyone else - why not you?

You car clunked. Shit. Could this day be any more shit? It was getting dark too. You had no signal. And you were down a creepy side road. You were dead, that was simple.

Heading to the front of your car, you opened your car up. Smoke flooding your lungs. Well shit, you weren’t bad with cars, but you weren’t a magician. This definitely needed a mechanic.

Looking around you knew where you were, but the walk was far and it wasn’t that safe. You climbed back into the car, placing your head on the steering wheel. All you could do was wait here for now and hope that someone drove passed (preferably not a murderer) or sleep there until morning (and didn’t get killed).

Thank god for your hoodie, Autumn was rolling in quickly this year. Only a few days into September and it was sending a chills all over you - that could also be fear. If a light flickered, you’d vomit on the spot.

You sighed, well you’d better get comfy for now. The sunset was a beautiful sight, but also scary and you wished it would stop.

~ / / / * \ \ \ ~

You’d been there for a while now, not wanting to waste your gas. It was cold and dark, and you could cry.

The car filled with light, looking behind you, a vehicle drove down the road. Squinting, you tried to make out what it was - a van. Oh shit, yes definitely dead.

Panicking, you tried to start the car again. No use. The lights of the van remained on, but the door of it slammed. Throwing yourself out of the car, you saw the large figure coming towards you.

Attempting to walk as quickly as you could without sprinting, you heading down the road and away from whoever it was. “Hey!” you heard a voice, but continued on your way.

Gravel crushed under two sets of feet, one moving alarmingly quick now. Hands gripped your shoulders and you screamed, squirming to get away. “Hey hey! Sweetheart calm down!” The voice said loudly now.

Shoving away from the person you almost cried out, “Eddie? What the hell?”

“Are you okay?” he asked, hands visible to you, as if you were a scarred animal. “Oh yeah, minus the minor heart attack I’m great.”

“What are you doing out here?”

“My car broke down,” you sighed.

“Have you been here since you left Steve’s.”

“Pretty much.”

“Sweetheart you left 5 hours ago, people are worried.”

“What?” you asked, “Why would anyone be worried?”

“Well …,” he began.

~ / / / * \ \ \ ~

Steve walked back into the kitchen, hand running through his hair. “What is your issue with her?” he snapped at Eddie, unable to ignore the behaviour anymore.

“I don’t have an issue! She’s just not my type of person!”

“Not your type of person, she’s everyone’s type of person. She’s sweet and kind and just lovely.”

“She’s you best friend, you’d think that!”

“So what you just hate her for no reason?”

“I don’t hate her!”

“Then why do you behave the way you do?”

“He likes her,” Dustin spoke up, munching on a potato chip. The older boys turned and looked at her. “W-what?” Eddie asked.

“You can deny it all you want, but you’re acting like most young boys do when they like people. Tease them, which in all honesty is so stupid.”

“Is it true? Do you like her?” Steve asked.

“N-no! I wouldn’t! I wouldn’t do that to you!”

“Do what to me?” Steve asked cocking his head, purely confused. “S-she’s your girl.”

“Yeah my best friend. But she’s not my girl in a romantic sense. That’s gross, we’ve know each other forever, she’s basically my sister.”

“What?” Eddie asked, not really a question.

“God you’re stupid. Go after her,” Dustin sighed. “Henderson’s right, go,” Steve spoke. Eddie nodded, running out of the house and to his van.

Driving to your home he was confused not to see you car there, but knocked the door none the less. Pulled open, he came face to face with your mother. “Oh hello, can I help you?” No judgement at all - that wasn’t common.

“Hi, I’m Eddie. I’m a uh … friend of your daughters. I was just wondering if she was home?”

“Sorry Honey, she’s staying at a friends tonight. I can get her to call you when she’s home,” she smiled at him softly.

“Thank you,” he nodded, raising a hand in goodbye, heading back to his car. “Where are you Sweetheart?” He mumbled to himself.

Deciding that heading back to Steve’s was the best option, to see if she’d cooled off and gone back. He panicked when he saw the absence of your car, Steve would know where you’d go.

Running in the house, he didn’t even bother to knock, calling out for your bestfriend. “You’re back?” he questioned.

“If she wasn’t home where would she be?”

“She’s not home?”

“No,” the metal head sighed.

“Shit.”

“Yeah shit.”

~ / / / * \ \ \ ~

“We’ve been looking for you for hours Sweetheart.”

“I didn’t mean to worry anyone, I just didn’t want to walk in the dark.”

“You’re lucky it was me who found you.”

“I know.”

“Seriously you could have been hurt, why didn’t you go home?”

“Because I needed to clear my head!”

“So you come to somewhere unsafe.”

“I was passing through! Why are you so bothered?” you almost shouted at him.

“Because I’d never forgive myself if you got hurt because of me!”

“Why?”

“How can you not know?”

“Know what?”

“I like you! For fuck sake! This is what all of this has been about. I thought you were with Steve and I’d rather you be happy with him and hate me then be nice and let me fall in love with you,” he said in one breath.

“Wha-“

“I know it’s stupid and childish, but I don’t really know how to talk to girls I like! And I panicked and I didn’t want Steve to hate me for liking his girlfriend.”

“‘M not his girlfriend.”

“I know that now.”

“You like me.”

“I do.”

“You’re an idiot.”

“I am.”

“I’ve liked you since Middle School.”

“I kno- Wait what?”

“You heard me. Now can you help me with my car because I am freezing.”

“Oh uhh yeah sure. I can get my Uncle to call his buddy to tow it to the shop.”

“Thank you Eddie.”

You headed back to your cars, side by side. “You really like me?” he asked.

“I do. You’d know that if you got to know me.”

“Yeah I guess so.”

“You can make it up to me.”

“How so?” You smiled slightly, then linked your fingers through his ring covered ones. “Take me on a date Munson.”

~ / / / * \ \ \ ~

A/N : I hope you enjoyed this request it was really fun to do more jealous Eddie, but I had to make it happy in the end.

I am having major writes block so if you have any ideas of requests or stuff let me know. I’m currently back in my criminal mind phase so if you’d be interested in fics about the guys from that (-mainly spencer lmao) let me know 🤍

Thank you so much for reading! Please leave any requests 🤍

[am-i-the-asshole-official]

AITA for telling mom to stop giving me unhealthy food and then refusing to say "I love you" back?

I (16, FtM) am autistic, for the longest time I struggled with eating different types of foods, in fact, i only started eating vegetables when I was 16 because my nutritionist told me to. Since I have memory, i've been teased by my weight, all my life. It led me to make decisions i'm not very proud of (like getting groomed at 8-9 years old), because of my low self esteem.

I've gone to the nutritionist a total of 2 times in my life, but in my opinion i should've gone more but my parents didn't seem to think the same. Both of those times the doctors told me I was a little overweight. They didn't tell me i was obese or morbidly obese which thank god because I would've broken down and kms (not really but even thinking of getting told that makes me anxious).

They did tell me to start eating more food other than fried food and other type of stuff. After the meeting, my parents started scolding me for embarrassing them in front of the doctor, but all i did was being brutally honest with her! I told her how my parents keep buying flavored water which has at least 2 stamps in it (The government makes it so that companies have to put stamps on their products saying what's exactly in it), so the only source of natural water is the one we boil ourselves, which i drink every time i do exercise. And also how the dinner mom makes is sausages and french fries, it's quick and easy. This last week I've eating that dinner two times and on the weekend i ate fast food for lunch, on Saturday and Sunday which means TWICE. By the end I was so worried i might have to double my exercise next week (so now) to balance it off. I felt really fat on monday so uh not a good feeling.

For my part, I've had this discussion with my P.E teacher, and she agreed to make me play basketball more so i can both exercise at home and more at school other than P.E class. I've also done the effort of eating vegetables (which due to my autism it was very hard at first but I've gotten the hang of it!) And doing more exercise at school.

But even when mom agreed to start feeding me more healthy foods, it's like she gave up. She's gone back to giving me the same lazy foods that are filled with cholesterol and grease, and every time i eat those it makes me feel worried. Tonight was one of those dinners and all i want is to get it out of my system (literally).

I told mom she can't keep feeding me like this if she wants me to lose weight, and she responds by saying "but what can we feed you? You don't eat anything else" which? Fucking excuse me? WHAT DO YOU THINK I'VE BEEN DOING FOR THE PAST MONTHS??? She always says that, it's like whenever i eat entire salads she fucking ignores me or something! It makes me feel so angry, fuck my efforts i guess???

I got more angry, but she's my mom, so i decided to shut up. Since i was getting ready to bed once i got comfortable she told me "I love you", which is a normal habit we have every time i go to bed. She says "i love you" i say it back. But this time I didn't, and she just sighed and closed the door.

Right now i'm really mad at her, but i recognize that maybe not saying "I love you" back was a bit too much, but if i have to stop saying it at all for her to understand I want to lose weight, then so be it. If she doesn't want to recognize im the only one doing the effort, whatever. I'm thinking of starting to refuse her food to make myself clear.

What are these acronyms?

[love-lilly02]

The Challenge- Ch. 7

An- hey. (drops random half edited chapter that’s probably the shortest one i’ve ever written) see ya🚶🏾‍♀️

A total of two months, three and a half weeks and six days. 

That was how long you had been MIA. Each time another day was added to that count, you grew more restless than before. You wanted to go home, to sleep in your bed, eat american food, damnit just to have a different color shirt to wear. 

And yet you were still stuck here. 

Each day started off the same. You would wake up at the ass crack of dawn, eat something akin to breakfast with Nikolai and wait to see if today was the day you were going back. Instead, he would silently place a knife on the table— some days it was different— and walk out of the room. The same routine, every day. for the past two months.

It was enough to drive any normal person insane. and it had almost driven you insane, definitely would have if you weren’t in the military. 

You had managed to work up the courage to ask why he didn’t immediately send you back one day, why he tolerated you staying with him for this long. 

“If i send you back they do things different. Look at you oddly, treat you weirder. Here you can rest, regain your skills.” He had said, not pausing to spare you a glance. 

“I take you back when you ready.”

according to him, you had not been ready in a long time. 

you never really gave up hope. Not actually, you knew logically at some point he had to bring you back to them. And going back on your own was a suicide mission, one even worse than the thing that had gotten you into this mess. So you waited. 

If it took five months or seven years, you would wait. 

Kate Laswell was a woman of action. 

She knew this for a fact, it had been thrown back into her face so many times she lost body parts to count it. Which is why your disappearance bothered her so much. You were a person of action as well, it’s what prompted her to introduce you to the 141. So then why had you been MIA for the past three months? The thought sat there constantly, turning even the best days sour. 

That, and what you were doing to the team.

It didn’t take a genius to figure it out, although you did have to look a bit harder to see the changes. Especially in people like Ghost and Price, whereas Kyle and Soap might as well have worn their emotions on their sleeves. She wished she could do something to help, to find where exactly you were. Or if you were alive, even. 

All given evidence suggested otherwise. 

She had replayed the shitty camera footage of your disappearance, watched it frame by frame, pixel by pixel. Mutiple times, and she couldn’t figure out how there could be a way for you to get out of there. It just wouldn’t have added up. 

But she didn’t give up there, of course she wouldn’t.

She kept searching, looking for any sign of you. As a civilian, one of the russian’s captives, anyone. anything could come into play, you were a smart girl and everyone knew it. 

Unfortunately, that also meant you could cover up your tracks well. 

It took another month for anything good to come up. And that something good came as salvation always does.

In the form of a call. 

John had made an attempt to push the situation out of his mind, to allow you to handle your own business. His thoughts screamed at him to be more active, to do something more, but there was literally nothing for it. 

Or so he thought. 

The call came in while he was walking out of a meeting, silently dreading the mound of paperwork he would now have to do. When he saw the caller ID he had to do a double take, and he rushed to answer the call. 

“Nik?”

“Captain. It’s been a while, no?”

“Damn right it has. Makes me scared.”

His old friend laughed, and Price could imagine the way he was shaking his head.

“Yes, yes. But i have gift—what? okay, okay sheesh. I have… surprise… for you.”

Price just stared. “Is there someone else there? What’s goin on Nik?” 

There was silence on the other end of the line, then a lot of rusting. 

“Um. Hey.” 

Price almost dropped the phone. 

The process of getting you back wasn’t as hard as they thought it would be, but it certainly took a very long time. 

In reality it took two weeks. But to them each day felt like a decade.  

The entire flight took 11 hours, and they weren’t allowed to meet you halfway (something about using military vehicles for non military purposes. all four boys thought that was absolute bull shit but they couldn’t do anything about it) So they did the next best thing. 

wait. 

And they waited. and waited. Each time a chopper landed on the helipad they were rushing to the window, seeing if it was you. It got to the point that they had someone constantly surveying that area of the base, just so they could be immediately notified. 

And finally, finally you were back. 

It was a whole ordeal, theatrics that even soap had to roll his eyes at. The moment you got off the plane you were swamped with people asking questions, doctors trying to assess how you were alive and unharmed, people just staring in awe. 

But you ignored them all, scanning the crowd with a panicked expression. It didn’t disappear till you saw the four of them, standing far, far away from the mob of people surrounding you. 

Nik walked out behind you, placing a steadying hand on your shoulder. The two of you made your way down the ramp to the group, and Price smiled for the first time in a long time when he saw you. 

“Welcome back, kid.”

this was gona be an akward chapter anyways, i had NO idea how to write the reader's return. I'll make it up to you guys next time, pinkie promise

My Masterist

[honey-words]

spider boy’s happy ending— spider-man!midoriya izuku x reader

synopsis: moments in your new routine with izuku. he’s stopped keeping secrets, and everything just feels easier now. [part 5/5 - series masterlist]

wc: 1.8k

author’s note: i can’t believe the series is done!!! tysm to everyone who stuck around, this ones for you <3

It’s hard to remember when Izuku wasn’t part of your life. He fits in so seamlessly in your routines it’s like he’s always been there, snuggled up on your couch after a long day, Moony happily napping on his lap. 

You’re both seniors now, and the past few months have been filled with new memories of the two of you becoming even closer. 

Izuku has started to share more about what he gets up to at night, and he’s also started to come back with fewer injuries. 

You asked him about it one night, a month into the new semester. You’re both still neighbors and ignoring graduation as it looms over you and threatens the little world you both live in now. 

“I think I’ve gotten better at this whole Spider-Man thing,” was his answer. He yawned, idly snacking on the bag of chips you’d offered him. You didn’t even like that particular flavor, but you kept them around your kitchen because you knew they were his favorite. 

“Plus, I don’t want you scolding me for dripping blood on your floor.” You snatch the chip bag away from him and he laughs. You can smile about it now, but it was one of the worst nights you both endured together. 

It was the first week of classes, and he had come back dripping blood through his suit. You had panicked, naturally. He had kept reassuring you it was fine and refusing to go to an actual hospital. 

“We got this,” he had breathed, head resting on your shoulder as you both sat down on your bathroom floor and you did your best to gently wipe away dried blood to see exactly where his injuries were. It would have been reassuring if he wasn’t literally bleeding all over your floor. 

You did your best to help him, and he insisted on doing his own stitches. You followed his instructions, blinking away tears at the thought of him learning to patch himself up like this all by himself. Carefully, and as gently and quietly as possible, you helped him over to his apartment. Helped him change out of his bloodied suit and into loose clothing and settle onto his bed. 

You woke up the next morning curled up on the floor next to his bed, holding his hand. 

It hadn’t gotten that bad since, and you hoped it never did. The next day you had enrolled in a first aid course offered through your university and had started reading as many first aid books as you could, but you haven’t needed to use any of the now extensive knowledge you have. 

You narrow your eyes suspiciously at him now. “You better not be keeping your injuries from me just because I freaked out,” you tell him. “Which I think was perfectly normal given the situation.”

“I’m not! Promise,” he holds out his pinkie and you smile as you take it in your own. It’s easier to believe him now, and it doesn’t leave you with that heavy feeling in your chest anymore. He holds onto your pinkie longer than he needs to and pulls your hand closer, dropping a quick kiss on your knuckles. “Sorry for teasing.”

“S’okay,” you manage to choke out. Izuku smiles down at his phone, humming quietly in response. You turn away and face the television again, barely processing anything the reporter is saying. The audacity of him to do things like that and be able to function normally infuriates you. You still blush when he pulls you into a hug or smiles at you too brightly. 

You’d never complain, of course. It’s just another thing you’ve gotten used to, an endearingly affectionate habit of his you would never ask him to change. 

Like what he’s doing now, curled in on himself on the couch next to you, wearing his giant oversized hoodie even if it isn’t exactly the weather for it yet, scrolling on his phone while the news is on as background noise. It’s become a Friday night routine for the two of you—when you get tired, you move to your room and fall asleep after whispering to each other about your weekend plans, which more often than not involve each other. 

“Whatcha scrolling through?” you asked him, turning to sit and face him properly. He turns his phone briefly to show you, smiling at you when you laugh. 

“Your Spidey-News column,” he said, going back to his scrolling. “I like to read comments on them sometimes.”

You had become more involved in the newspaper that semester and started a new column on Spider-Man. You published weekly updates on his activities of the week or interviews of people he’d helped.

Izuku had started at the paper as well, as a cartoonist. Momo had taken one look at a doodle he did on one of your notebooks and had recruited him that same day. He was also training under Jiro as a photographer and submitted the odd photo or two of Spider-Man. You’d laughed hysterically the first time you saw it up on the site.

“Are you still freaking out about grad school?” you asked him. He set his phone down with a groan, running his hands through his curls and nodding. 

“I just think it’d be weird if Spider-Man had to move cities, you know?”

You both laugh. It’s something he’s been repeating a lot over the last few weeks. You know that’s not his only reasoning for it, but it definitely is part of it, which is a bit funny to you. 

“I think it would just confirm he’s a student,” you said nonchalantly, moving to surf channels on the TV. 

“Wait, people think that?” 

“Time for bed!” is your quick reply, struggling to hide your teasing smile. He scrambles to his feet, recognizing your movements for what they are. 

“I’ll shower first!” he yelled, already running down the hall to your room, where he stashes his spare clothes for when he sleeps over. You collapse back onto the couch with a laugh. 

A while later, after you’ve gone through your nightly routine, you find him already snuggled in under your covers, scrolling through his phone. You snuggle in right beside him, smiling when you realize he used your shampoo again. 

You run your hand along his hairline to his neck and he sighs, setting his phone down on your bedside table and moving closer to you until your foreheads are almost touching. His eyes flutter clothes as you run your fingers along his hairline again. 

“G’night,” he mumbled, a sleepy smile on his face. You fall asleep soon after him, his smile the last thing you see before sleep finds you. 

And it’s the first thing you see when you wake up again, waking up to the feeling of him gently poking your cheek. You can’t help the smile that spreads across your face and you both laugh. 

Wordlessly, you go through your Saturday morning routine, which you’ve repeatedly done for the past few months. 

Izuku always rolls out of bed before you and starts his routine early, a habit you know is ingrained because of his patrols and one he’ll never quite be able to break. 

You start brushing your teeth just as he’s finishing, and he presses a kiss to your cheek as he moves past you to head into the kitchen. You freeze, turning to watch him walk out. 

No, not your cheek, you process. The corner of your mouth. 

Thankfully you hadn’t started brushing your teeth yet, because you’re pretty sure you would’ve choked on your toothpaste and Izuku would’ve had to rush back in here and save you from yourself. 

You begin to brush your teeth as fast as possible before going back and making sure your morning breath is gone, determination and adrenaline coursing through your veins. You’ve let him get away with the other sickeningly cute affectionate displays, but this one? This one feels distinctly different. 

For one, you had literally just woken up after sleeping in the same bed. He had clothes in a drawer in your room. You both had a morning routine every Saturday. He was constantly latching onto you and you onto him, and you were the only one who knew about his spidey secret. 

Fear and doubt about his feelings has been holding you back, but now you feel more confident than ever. You feel ready to talk about it. 

You sidle up to him at the kitchen counter, knocking hips with him like you always do to make him laugh. He’s decided on pancakes this morning, and you start buttering a pan without him having to ask. 

“So, you kissed me just now,” you said, working hard to keep your tone as nonchalant as possible. You move the melting butter around the pan to avoid looking at him, a bit of doubt entering you again despite your previous wave of confidence. You quickly dump some of the mixed batter onto the pan with a spoon to give your hands something to do, too. 

“Oh,” he replied, as though just realizing it. You can see him blushing out of the corner of your eye. “Oops?”

“No oops!” you exclaimed, turning toward him. Belatedly you realize you’re still holding the spoon of pancake batter, and it splatters over Izuku and the countertop with your movements. 

He blinks in surprise and you laugh, stepping closer to cup his face in your hands. There’s batter along his cheeks and you wipe it off carefully with a napkin. 

“No oops?” he repeated. You realize how close to his face you are and you freeze once more. But there’s a little batter at the corner of his mouth that you missed, and without breaking eye contact and before you can lose your nerve again, you wipe it away slowly with your thumb, barely grazing his lips as you do. 

“Can I do it again?” he asked, breathlessly. “Properly this time?”

You nod and close your eyes as he leans closer until his lips graze yours, a feather-light touch before you feel his warmth start to pull away. 

You tug him closer, still holding his face in your hands and tilt your head to deepen the kiss. He makes a small noise of surprise but is quick to adapt, hands sliding around your wais to pull you impossibly closer, mouth moving against yours in a way that makes you feel dizzy. His tongue swipes at your bottom lip and then you pull away, panting slightly.

Forehead resting on yours, his eyes flutter open. He looks so pretty like this, cheeks dusted pink and lips red from kissing you. You can’t help but lean in and peck him again, and he smiles, eyes crinkling in the same adorable way they did when he first met you. 

“Again?” he asked, and you laugh before leaning in once more, sure there will be many more instances of him asking and of you giving in.

taglist: taglist: @yoonights @justxiao @nonhon @koreluvsspring @orangetappe @shokomilks @froggybich @dekuloveshotcheetos @luvrluvrr

masterlist

[yearningagain]

it's enough (to make a girl blush): chapter three

HI SORRY FOR THE WAIT!! i had some unexpected personal setbacks but the third chapter is finally here!! finally some eddie pov smirk

i will also say that college has officially started back up for me, so chapters might come slower for the next few months, sorry! im an educated man what can i say

and now, on to the main attraction!

also on ao3!

total wc: 4.2k | wc: 1.6k | rating: e (18+) | pairing: steddie | cw: past drug use | tags: a/b/o, alpha eddie munson, omega steve harrington, modern au, baker steve, famous eddie, getting together, gay eddie, bi steve, soulmates/true mates/scent mates, side buckingham

part one | part two

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

Eddie was tired.

That’s a complete understatement. Eddie was exhausted. 

This wasn’t uncommon for him, he’d pulled his fair share of all-nighters growing up purely because he was hyperfocused on something and lost track of time. Even on nights he could manage to put himself to bed, insomnia and nightmares plagued him. His father screaming, his mother dying, Uncle Wayne finally saying he’d had enough of Eddie’s antics. He had run on pure adrenaline. (And maybe some of the leftovers Rick had given him.)

But that was high school. Now, Eddie had managed to give himself a semi-normal sleep schedule by giving his absolute all to Corroded Coffin, just to high-tail it back to wherever they were sleeping to crash for four to six hours, or until his brain got the better of him. And his dedication to the band, along with the motivation from the other members, had paid off immensely. They were actually quite popular now, selling out small venues in bigger cities and the off chance of getting recognised on an extremely busy street. The boys had toured the U.S. twice now, and were currently a quarter of the way done with their third. Their label had even begun talking about a world tour for their next album.

Eddie loved playing shows. He loved how he could feel the music deep in his bones, how the words he’d scribbled on a random notebook page were now being sung by thousands of voices, how he got to be himself through and through because that’s what got him there. He had also been sleeping fantastically, which was a plus.

Until two weeks ago.

Until the mystery man entered his dreams and knocked Eddie’s whole world out from underneath him.

—

The night had ended uneventfully, the first of two sold out shows in LA went on without a hitch. Eddie was thanking his past self for convincing the guys to get a hotel since they were staying in the city for multiple shows. No matter how much money they happened to rake in, oftentimes just staying on the bus was preferred. The alpha was crashing hard after coming off stage, barely managing to say bye to Jeff, Gareth, and Frank before stumbling to the waiting cab and eventually haphazardly shoving his key card into the lock of his hotel room. He toed his shoes off, pulled his shirt over his head, and fell face first into the bed. 

Eddie didn’t remember falling asleep. One second, he’s debating on if it’s worth it to shimmy off his skinny jeans, the next, he’s got an angelic omega in his lap frantically grinding against his thigh. 

He didn’t know where he was or who he was with, but none of that seemed to matter, if his alpha’s feeling of Omega, Mate, Safe was anything to go by. In fact, quite literally nothing mattered to him right now, except for the movements of the mystery man, the distinct wetness soaking through his pant leg, and how his fly was digging into his dick. 

“God, fuck- alpha, please…”

As soon as the title left the omega’s lips, the alpha was completely entranced. Eddie huffed, his hands quickly made their way to the man’s hips, gripping and guiding him to chase his impending orgasm. The alpha didn’t fare much better, already embarrassingly close to popping a knot in his jeans. 

“Ah- ‘M close, alpha…” was all the warning Eddie got before their efforts doubled down, both moving impossibly faster. He swayed forward trying to get a whiff of the omega, and he was rewarded greatly with the heady scent of spiced caramel apples, with an undercurrent of warm vanilla. In response, Eddie pumped out his own pheromones, hoping to get the other over the edge.

Suddenly, everything was wrong. He felt ice cold, plunged into consciousness unwillingly. As he opened his eyes, he was very disappointed to see no one in the hotel bed with him. That wasn’t unusual, waking up alone. Eddie hated hookups and one night stands and anything that left him feeling somehow more lonely than before, and he hadn’t met anyone he was willing to subtract time with the band to be substantial with. 

His thoughts were interrupted by a loud knock at the door, Jeff making sure he’s awake in time for their morning meeting. He simply groaned, rolled off the bed, and pushed all of these weird feelings as far down as he could.

—

Now, after two weeks of enduring hot dreams (that feel so so real), irritability, and the other members of Corroded Coffin, and even staff, having to tell him constantly to put on more blockers because he reeks, it makes sense that he’s exhausted. That’s not even including his growing urge to nest, his steadily increasing libido, and his inner alpha being infuriatingly restless. He thought he was putting on a brave face, hiding most of his internal issues from his bandmates, from the world. 

Too bad that his bandmates were also the people he trusted most, his best friends in the entire world, part of his pack. 

The boys had an off day- no shows, no interviews, nothing explicitly planned. They had arrived in Wisconsin late the previous night, going straight from the stage to the bus to pack up and start the drive from Missouri. Eddie had planned to take the day off to relax, maybe nap if his mind would allow it. But Jeff, Gareth, and Frank apparently had other ideas.

A knock on his bunk startled Eddie from his wandering mind, having spaced out thinking about the mystery omega yet again. He groaned, but pulled the privacy curtain back to give the stink eye to whoever disturbed him. Gareth waved sheepishly. “Hey, dude. Sorry to bother, but we got pizza.”

Immediately, Eddie forgave the beta, swiftly hauling his ass out of the bunk and into the main space of the bus where three pizzas had been laid out. Plain cheese for Gareth because he was vegetarian, pepperoni for Jeff and Frank because they were normal, and mushrooms and meatballs for Eddie because he was a freak like that. Once he grabbed two slices, Eddie sat down on the couch, finally realizing that the others were watching him intently.

“What? Do I have sauce on my face?” he asked lightly, but the set of their jaws made his blood run cold. Jeff shook his head, heaving a sigh before meeting his eyes.

“We need to talk.” Jeff began.

“Oh my god, are you breaking up with me?” Eddie comedically gasped. If there was one thing about him, it was that if he couldn’t run from the confrontation, he’d make some shitty joke about it.  

Despite his piss-poor attempt at deflection, Frank spoke up. “You’ve been different, dude. Holeing up in your bunk, snapping at us. You even growled at me. That’s not cool.”

The alpha at least had the sense to look apologetic about it. It was one thing to verbally snap at people, but it was another entirely to growl at someone. Especially someone who didn’t deserve it, like Frank. All he had done was point out a groupie that was desperate for Eddie, something the boys normally joked about knowing his distaste for engaging with them. But something about even suggesting anyone other than Mystery Omega felt completely and utterly wrong.

“Plus, you reek, bro. You know that. How do you keep forgetting your blockers? We just want to make sure you haven’t gotten yourself into something bad. I know this is different from high school, but the stress is still there. We want to know that you’re okay, Eddie,” Jeff said solemnly. 

Slowly but surely, the gears started turning for Eddie. “You- you guys think I’m on drugs?” He laughed, albeit a bit hysterically. He stood and started pacing. “I fucking wish I was on drugs! I feel like I’m losing it! My stupid alpha won’t stop being in-fucking-sane, all broody and moody and fucking annoying as hell. Keeps telling me to prepare and fucking nest and, fucking, oh, gotta make it perfect, gotta make it nice. For fucking what!”

His hands shot to his hair, tugging and pulling on the locks. “Not to mention that my dick is basically rubbed raw because I fucking always pop a knot, which I swear has gotten bigger. And I can’t stop it because those fucking dreams won’t stop! He’s always there, every single night, making my life absolute hell because he’s not actually here and he’s not actually real and I’m so fucking lonely that I made a guy up to get off!” Eddie was borderline feral now, pupils pinpoint and breaths coming in heavy gasps. He slowly sank to his knees, closed his eyes and took some deep breaths. “And I have been wearing blockers. I’ve stacked blockers.” He pulled his hair back, revealing at least three patches over his primary scent glands. “It’s not helping. Nothing is helping.”

Gareth stood from his spot on the opposite couch the alpha had been perched on, the information coming together quickly for him. “Is it the same guy?” he asks, taking a few steps to approach Eddie, who raised his head. “What?”

“Is it always the same guy, Eddie? I need you to be honest here.” The beta moved closer, kneeling in front and gently taking Eddie’s hands from his hair.

“Y-yeah. Same guy. Don’t have a face, but he smells divine, Gare. What’s going on?” Eddie asked quietly.

“I think you need to listen to your alpha. I think you need to prepare.”

[genericpuff]

The Extended Mishandling of LO's S3 Midseason Finale Premiere

Alright, so I had mentioned leading up to the release of the newest LO episode that my feelings regarding LO returning were pretty "meh". Not hyped, but not completely back of mind either. Just sort of a weird calm before the storm type feeling that could go either way.

I'm glad I got to have that moment of calmness because good god, this episode was an absolute shitshow. And honestly, I'm not surprised, for several reasons:

Rachel has never been good at maintaining a buffer, even back at the start of the series she only ever had 2-3 episodes ready ahead of her schedule which is NOT an ideal buffer for an originals series.

Rachel has never been good at writing, she's very "draw first write later" and has stated as such in interviews that when she gets 'stuck' on what she's writing, she'll just start drawing and fit the pieces in later.

Four months is NOT enough time to both rest, attend massive conventions, and work on improving a project while also getting buffer episodes ready.

Because of the FP episodes remaining locked over the hiatus, technically Rachel only needed to have ONE episode ready upon return for the newest FP release, not multiple like she'd usually need like in the past during the S2 midseason hiatus or the season finale episodes which would unlock those FP releases like normal - so for all we know, she could have drawn this episode literally last week, especially when the promo material was so last minute. Frankly I think it was REALLY stupid for whoever it was who decided to keep these FP episodes locked (whether it was her or WT, it was more likely WT) but you can read all I have to say about that in my review of the midseason finale episodes.

All that's to say, no, there was never any guarantee Rachel was going to somehow "turn around" the ride we're currently on. I know that many of the critics were hoping for that to happen, but with the circumstances of the hiatus mixed with Rachel's bad habits of putting her best efforts into the procrastination projects that aren't her actual comic (ex. the few original pieces and LO sketches she put out during the hiatus) it just wasn't in the cards. This is where the comic is at and this is where it will remain until it's over.

I want to also point something out about this episode that was... really glaring to me.

As with all of these hiatus returns, LO got priority advertising in the first two banner slots and push notifications AND a popup ad within the app. This is unsurprising, Webtoons is still trying to milk this thing for what it's worth.

I know a lot of people are gonna focus on the art, or the fact that WT is continuing to shill LO, but I wanna point out the part that WT implemented specifically - "NEW SEASON".

This is literally just false. At best I'd like to think some intern just messed up and thought this was a new season, but it's literally not, the episode designation still says "S3". Note that the creators only design the banner art, the actual labels on top are put there by Webtoons.

But at worst, this feels like blatant lying to continue to hide the fact that LO is ending. Mind you, Rachel and Webtoons have still not put out official posts stating that this is the final arc. There is NOTHING from either of them to communicate to the audience that the comic is ending next year. It feels like they're trying to avoid the topic altogether out of fear of losing the fanbase they still have, rather than hyping up the comic's end for those who have stuck around to see how it all wraps up. And honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if this was the case, considering they're now trying to funnel the fanbase into Penguin/Inklore with new marketing deals and the whole Rachel Smythe Presents thing. They're trying to make this seem like the beginning of something "new" when it's really just a quiet shifting of management (Penguin House).

But all that aside, let's actually get into the episode. It's one episode after 4 months, which is not standard for LO's hiatuses, typically FP episodes release on schedule (meaning free readers start hiatuses 3 weeks after FP readers do), the only time this has been an exception has been with the 2 week breaks because the whole point of those was to build a buffer (which you can't do if you're going ahead and releasing the FP episodes anyways). For extended hiatuses like these, usually free readers still get their FP episodes, but that wasn't the case here. That means Rachel technically only needed one episode ready for the comic's return, and it shows. It really fucking shows.

FROM HERE ON OUT THERE WILL BE FASTPASS SPOILERS REGARDING EPISODE 254. DO NOT CONTINUE IF YOU DO NOT WANT TO BE SPOILED !!!

As per tradition, we get a title that means nothing at all. It just says what we already know.

Our collective husband Zeus is dying, no thanks to the poison cupcake fed to him by Apollo. For those who don't remember, Apollo had tricked Zeus into eating the cupcake by making him believe it was from Hebe. We are fully aware that it was Apollo who poisoned him. Remember that for later in this review.

Right off the bat we're off to a hilarious start, both with a cryptid appearance from Apollo in the background (lmao) who is, for some reason, ALREADY returning to the scene of the crime he just committed because... who knows at this point. Apollo and Psyche know it was Apollo at this point, I might add, but I have no clue why Apollo is actually returning to the scene of the crime when he has no idea Eros and Psyche know.

Moving on from that, can we talk about this hilarious dialogue?

"We have to call a doctor! Let's call Asclepius!"

"No, we can't trust him! Gosh darn it, why are we only bothering to think of ONE doctor in this universe where we've seen more than one doctor?? Guess Zeus is just gonna die! What a horribly contrived situation this is!"

And that's literally how I can best describe most of this episode. Contrived. There is a LOT of manufactured drama in this that makes ZERO sense even on a surface level.

And what do you mean exactly, Eros? "What a terrible system!" Is this supposed to be a joke? Lampshading? We've seen Persephone go to the gynecologist. There are non-god doctors who tend to gods all the time here.

Eros just doesn't seem to be that pressed over this, he sounds like Ned Flanders and that's NOT a good way to open up a scene like this... let alone an episode people have been waiting four months for.

Anyways, after a few pointless reaction panels (again remember I have to cut a lot of what I show here for Tumblr image limitations but I promise you, I'm keeping as much important stuff as I can in this, there's just THAT MUCH filler at this point), Eros and Psyche confront Apollo and he is... good god.

There is... so much to unpack here.

First of all, remember those theories about how Rachel was clearly trying to write Apollo as this "secret twist villain" the whole time but it doesn't work because Apollo is simultaneously written as both a 'conniving villain' and a massive dumbass at the same time?

Well, I finally have a more appropriate term for him. He's your average red pill redditor - someone who thinks he's smarter than everyone else when really all he does is sit on reddit all day using big words incorrectly in arguments he gets himself into with a bunch of equally-air-headed dumbasses.

"You can't possibly understand the nuances of the Olympian political system," Apollo said proudly, a man who had, ironically and obliviously, run for president in a monarchy. The union of kettle and pot is eternal.

He's the Slappable Jerk but instead of it being a painfully hilarious impression, it's just painful and hilarious for all the wrong reasons.

this is so stupid because it's 1.) Eros pointing out how obvious Apollo's plan was, despite Apollo acting smart two seconds ago with a goddess who, mind you, has been a goddess for ten years, and 2.) patricide isn't even intrinsically linked to politics, there's nothing 'political' about a guy trying to kill his dad except in, idk, a monarchy, which again, Apollo has spent ten years trying to rise to power in as a president which is a completely different form of government.

If I wanted to be really granular with this, I'd like to think Apollo is making some kind of point about the critics who call out LO's whack as fuck political system (especially in the trial arc) - as if he's saying "well you're just a stupid reader and this is fantasy where you don't understand exactly what political system we're using, so shut the fuck up you stupid twig" - but I don't think it's meant to be that deep. I think it's just Rachel trying to write a smart character and then failing at it because she, herself, is not a smart writer. And I'm really inclined to believe that more than the theory about this being some kind of meta-narrative about the critics because this entire plotline is contrived and stupid down to its core.

I did not cut anything out here, that's the pacing. Leto literally just appears out of nowhere and uh oh spaghettio's, she has Kassandra! Remember Leto? The character we were led to believe was truly "pulling the strings" until she disappeared from the story completely after she realized that Apollo and Persephone weren't a thing, even going so far as to call out her own son for being a fucking dumbass? Well, she's back and once again she's being involved as some kind of "double agent" in this whole thing, even though we literally haven't seen her since halfway through S2.

"Mm yes, you're so stupid, falling into my trap! Even though you had no reason to remember Kassandra anyways because she's literally a mortal woman you just met and you yourself have committed acts of violence against mortals without a shred of care! I'm so smart! My plan is all coming together!"

We've never seen Apollo do anything except cry and poop his pants, the closest he got to being "powerful" was his attempts to murder Daphne (who he seems to have forgotten about in this "master plan" of his) but ultimately he's literally just a piss ant baby and there's no reason to believe that he could somehow outmatch the God of Love who can literally manipulate people's emotions and states of mind with his arrows. But yeah sure go off, you're so powerful and smart.

The worst part is, I can't even buy this as the narrative trying to be like "see how manipulative and conniving he is?" because it's just silly. We've SEEN this man cry with his victim complex, we've seen him say and do the DUMBEST things that don't lend to any amount of "intelligence" he may have, it comes across less as him being "smart the whole time" and more as him trying to sound smart but ultimately sounding incredibly stupid. And I can't even immerse myself into it and buy that maybe that's the point, because it doesn't feel like the point, it just feels like inconsistent writing, he doesn't feel like a 'threat', he's just monologuing.

Bad art and Apollo literally just repeating what Leto already implied so this is a waste of the audience's time.

This is the funniest panel in the whole episode because I can't tell if Apollo is supposed to be in the background (for some reason, despite him literally being in front of Eros and Psyche two seconds ago) or if he's in the foreground and just REALLY small for some reason. This is so off-putting. And of course, it's just Apollo explaining what we're ALREADY SEEING ONSCREEN.

You see, in addition to this episode being contrived, it also talks down to its audience a LOT by explaining exactly what we're seeing onscreen. It's like Rachel saw the criticisms about her not including enough to depict what's actually going on in her head and so she thought the solution was to spoon feed information over pictures that are already doing the job of explaining what's going on. Rachel really doesn't know how to write and even when she tries to implement changes that reflect criticisms that have been made of her writing, she somehow makes things worse because she completely misses the point of what those criticisms are trying to get across.

Anyways, without even trying to resist (for some reason) Eros and Psyche get sentenced to horny jail.

They're now trapped in a basement that Leto somehow has in her home. How do we know that?

HAHAHA FUNNY LAMPSHADING SO FUNNNYYYYYYY

Leto claims that they shouldn't try to escape because the dungeon is "enchanted", but she doesn't even bother to explain what that means. So they literally don't bother trying. They don't try to call her bluff, they don't try to teleport out of there, they literally just go "well shoot", shrug their shoulders, and accept their fate. Just like with the whole "we can't trust the only doctor we bothered to think of" situation, Eros and Psyche are turning out to be some of the stupidest, lowest-effort characters in this comic who literally can't be bothered to try because that would require too much brain power.

Notice how much time we've spent on this and we haven't gotten back to where the cliffhanger of the last episode left off? Well buckle up because there's still more to cover.

So it turns out Hebe was still inside with her dad, in FULL VIEW of what was going on through glass which is somehow COMPLETELY soundproof, and when Apollo steps inside, she just has no idea what happened. She never bothered to even look outside to see what was going on with Eros and Psyche, she's just been sitting on the floor staring at Zeus' dead face for what was likely several minutes, unless Rachel is seriously trying to convince us that conversation and hostage negotiation from earlier only took 2 seconds. The timeline is such a mess at this point that characters basically freeze in place as soon as they're not the focus of the scene.

Apollo rushes inside, acting shocked over the situation, and when Hebe asks where Eros and Psyche are (again, she could have just looked out the window at any time), he's just like "dur idk they just left lol" which Hebe just... buys, I guess.

That's just Persephone but yellow. She's even missing her beauty mark.

See how Apollo put his hand on Zeus' chest/shoulder by the way?

Apparently, despite Mr. Smarter Than Everyone Else trying to pretend it wasn't him, he's able to discern that Zeus is dying from a toxic and rare poison just from touching him. He doesn't even really seem to use his powers, he just touches him and goes "welp he's dead i guess lol don't bother asking me how I know that".

But oh nooo remember that note from before? Well gasp Apollo's gonna use it to frame Hebe! In front of no one else at all!

Hebe of course says she didn't write it, but Apollo continues to try and frame her anyways, even though, again, there's no one else present here, and so it effectively just becomes the most absurd form of gaslighting I've ever seen.

Again, THERE IS NO ONE ELSE HERE IN THE SCENE. He's just trying to claim she did it to absolutely no one at all, in the hopes of... what exactly? That she'll just take the fall for something she knows she didn't do? That she'll somehow be convinced? It's not like Hebe has the same thing going on as Persephone where she has a 'wrathful dark side' he could pin it on, this is just a criminal who just robbed a building pointing at the first person they see and yelling "YOU DID IT!"

All I'm saying is that Apollo would be really bad at Among Us. He'd be the type of player to kill someone, hit the report button, then claim yellow did it which, even if he DID convince the rest of the team, would still get kicked anyways as soon as yellow was proven through the eject to not be the imp and everyone would go "okay cool so yellow wasn't the imp, that means obviously it's purple self-reporting." It's a trick that doesn't even work anymore because of how old it is. Hebe isn't a child here, she's an 18 year old woman who should be fully capable of raising an eyebrow and wondering why Apollo is this quick to accuse her - almost like he's trying to hide the fact that he did it.

But Hebe can't catch onto this, just like Eros and Psyche, she has to act stupid for the sake of the plot.

At first I thought maybe Rachel was trying to do some "whodunit" scenario, but that doesn't work here because we already know who did it. And while there are stories that exist like that that pull it off (ex. Knives Out) the problem with trying to do this the way Rachel did is that the person being framed has to have this thing called motive. The reason why Knives Out and Glass Onion work so well is because the person who was murdered (or conspired against) is someone who is being targeted by multiple people who could all be the murderer. It's quite literally called out in Glass Onion as a form of smart lampshading. "It's like putting a loaded gun on the table, and turning off the lights."

But it doesn't work here because Hebe does not have motive. If you're going to attempt to frame a murder on someone, it has to be someone who would have reasonable motive to commit that murder, even if they didn't actually commit it.

And who among Zeus' children has motive?

What about the war-mongering bloodthirsty god of war who has been regularly sentenced to time in the Mortal Realm to fight in wars in which he's been regularly injured?

What about the chaos-seeking wrathful goddess who would do it to get revenge on the parental figure who cast her aside, or even just for the fun of saying she did it?

Why try and pin it on Hebe, the doting daughter of Zeus who's only had a collective of maybe 20 panels in the entire comic?

But then I realized... it's not Knives Out, it's the fucking Lion King.

Which is just as contrived - if not more - than the assumption this was gonna be some attempt to frame Hebe. It's not. He's literally just trying to keep her from assuming it was him. He could have just as easily played dumb without calling attention to the note but he intentionally went out of his way to try and be Scar from The Lion King , while completely missing the point of why that scene worked in the original movie.

Scar wasn't trying to 'frame' Simba for Mufasa's murder. He was trying to hide the murder, while also attempting to get the only heir to the throne out of the picture, so he passed the guilt of the death onto Simba - a child who, unlike Hebe, wouldn't have the ability to rationalize or realize his uncle his a scumbag - who then ran away from home because he was too terrified to face his family for what happened, assuming that it was all his fault when it wasn't.

That's not how this is panning out here. Hebe is the now 18 year old daughter of Zeus, and not one of his only children. She doesn't even fit into the whole "sons overthrowing their fathers" prophecy like Aries would. Apollo is literally just being a big idiot here by saying "well I'm gonna give you a headstart to run away, because if you stay, I might hurt you" (which btw, should be MORE of a smoking gun that Apollo did it??)

And again, it's all so contrived so that the plot can move forward. "Well I'm going to frame you for this murder, but y'know, you should just leave, I'm not gonna try and press it further lmao"

Again, Apollo is a fucking idiot here, because he just attempted to frame someone who has NO MOTIVE to harm Zeus, to absolutely NO ONE at all who would side with him, only to let her go which would leave her to question why Apollo would try to accuse and harm her in the first place before considering other options. And through ALL this he claims he's the smart one, which I can't even be bothered to "love to hate" because it's written so poorly.

And really it all comes down to how everyone else behaves in relation to Apollo that makes it so stupid and unbelievable. Apollo, you're not smart just because all the characters around you are intentionally being written to be as stupid and non-confrontation as possible. If you can only write a smart villain by making everyone else stupid, you haven't written a smart villain, you've written a dumbass whose victory only happens due to contrived plot convenience. It's not even done well like in Glass Onion, it's just bad writing, full stop.

And who does he call to report this emergency? The satyr police? His son the doctor?

No.

The media. Literally just "hello, the media?? I need your best journalist here stat!"

I need you to understand, even if he were calling a tabloid magazine like The Weekly Nark, you don't just... call a journalist to report a murder. These are not the actions of someone who's trying to absolve himself of guilt, these are the actions of a complete dumbass trying to get news coverage of his trophy kill who would be better off just playing dumb instead of trying to play smart. Even Walter White wasn't this fucking stupid despite all the times he fell on his own sword, Apollo is literally just instigating suspicion towards himself for no reason at all. He's self-reporting so hard and worst of all, you can't even take any of this seriously because of how corny it is. There's no dramatic tension, no stakes, it's just a bunch of characters performing in a really bad stage play and reducing every conflict to "well I guess Zeus is just dead now because no one's bothering to make an effort to stop Apollo or ask questions lmao"

It's truly the epitome of "this plot wouldn't exist if characters would just talk to each other."

But finally, FINALLY we mention the thing this episode is named after, the transition point to Persephone.

Just like with the midseason finale episode, there's a lot to cover here, so I'm gonna get more into it in a part two post.

That said, you can see already this is the messiest, most contrived bullshit to ever wind up in LO. It's trying so hard to be smart and it just comes across as a bunch of toddlers in the world's worst stage play rendition of Clue. None of what was done here was in any way dramatic or tense, it's just a bunch of characters infodumping shit we already know, trying to set up new plot threads that don't make any sense, and allowing one another to get away with what they're doing because they don't bother to even try.

It's completely manufactured, contrived nonsense. It's not "smart", it's not "so dumb it's brilliant", it's just dumb.

[whoishotteranimepolls]

Why is everyone so biased toward One Piece? Literally every character from One Piece I see is the ugliest creature I've ever had the discourtesy to lay eyes on and they're winning by a landslide against genuinely attractive characters.

Oh boy, we've gone over this a couple times but it's been probably a month or two. It's not so much biased as it is a large and organized fandom. Plus good writing can make anyone hot even though the art style can take some getting used to.

Let me explain some fandoms have dedicated blogs that do nothing but reblog polls so that fandom can vote in random fandom related polls all in one place. Now in tournaments it is very unfair sometimes because they can organize themselves and rally to sway a vote quickly. Now I know one piece and bleach do have dedicated blogs when it comes to anime fandoms. Other non-anime fandoms that I know have blogs are Star Trek, Star Wars and Ninjago. I only know this because I used to be really big into voting in tournaments poll.

Plus I do normally share the Fandom overall week in review list and the anime and manga list. This shows the most popular Fandom related trends of the past week by Tumblr's own data. And as someone who's been following that page just for fun since probably 2012, one piece frequently is in the top 20 on the overall chart and I don't think I've ever seen it not in the top five on the anime and manga chart. The fandom is just that large and active. I mean one piece frequently trends when a new chapter or episode drops. It's just how it is.

And as someone who used to despise one piece, I did give it a shot after I watched and enjoyed the live action. Now it's actually one of my favorite animes. However, the manga is so much better due to the less than stellar pacing of the anime. The only reason I'm looking forward to the remake so much is for fixed pacing then maybe more people would give one piece of chance. Because the story and the writing is so good. However, the art style is not everyone's cup of tea and I do understand that and that is probably the number one complaint.

Fun fact, at one point there was a group of you campaigning to get one piece characters banned from my polls because the art style was misogynistic. Luckily that was short-lived because I was about to start blocking people. So let's not start that up again.

Now I will concede that the one piece fandom does like to do cursed polls And definitely request ugly characters on occasion just to watch the world burn. You know who you are. But we're talking about a show that has furries and fish people and characters that can turn into dragons and snake hybrids and dinosaur people. So there's a lot of variety in your humanoids not all of them are hot

I know it bothers a lot of people that one piece wins so many polls but I see this as a case of don't hate the player. Hate the game. So if you can't beat them, join them. So I would recommend if this really pisses you off so much start your own blog dedicated to reblogging polls for whatever fandom you think needs one. So you can start rallying and organizing your fandom against the one piece fandom so you can try to take them down. Don't know if it'll work but it's a start. Again, learn from them and use their tactics against them

[justmeinadaze]

Without Me (Steddie X You)

PLEASE READ EVERYTHING I PUT HERE BEFORE CONTINUING!!

A/N with warnings: This is not a warm fuzzy story. This is riddled with angst and feelings. This version of Steddie aren't bad men they...they just have extremely toxic behavior due to their trauma. Steve struggles with alcohol and Eddie with drugs while the female readers drug of choice is them. She does try to stay away from them but they do not make it easy. An accident involving drunk driving is mentioned with the reader getting hurt and ending up in the hospital. They belittle her and try to make her jealous and reader mentions how their behavior has affected her. There is talk about their fears of losing her and insight into why they are the way they are.

SMUT is present closer to the end. She is a willing participate! I want that clear. It may seem like she's not but she talks about how she needs them to fight for her. Some spit play, slight edging, use of the stop light system (yellow), aftercare.

I was listening to "Without Me" by Halsey and this just flowed from me for like 2 weeks. Its not my normal stuff written wise so again I say ENTER WITH CAUTION! I will still love you if you don't read this. <3.

Word Count: 10,596 ( seriously didn't realize I typed this much)

“They’ve been asking around for you.”, you friend whispers into your ear before blowing out the smoke from her cigarette. 

“Well, they can keep asking but the answer will always be no.”

She softly grins as she takes your hand. “I’m really proud of you.”

“For what?”, the new guy you had been seeing jumped on the bench behind you, pulling you tightly to his chest.

“For finally getting my ass up for physical therapy this morning.”, you reply as you beam up him. 

“About time.”, he chuckles. “Even though I’m totally fine with you moving like an adorable little sloth.” You roll your eyes as you smack his arm playfully and he leans down to kiss your lips. “Come on. Let me walk you to your class.”

He tangles his fingers with your own as you both head back towards the building. Glen was a good man and the past month you had officially been together had been incredibly easy. That was honestly the best way to describe it. He was kind and gentle with you, always making sure you were alright. When he took you on dates, he pulled out your chair and listened intently to anything you had to say without even a squeak to interrupt. 

He didn’t smoke a pack a day or do any kind of drugs that left him so stoned you literally had to lift him from the floor on to his bed. The few times he drank in your presence, it was sips and he rarely finished the can in his hand. He never drank to the point that he slurred his words or passed out and left you to carry him into his house to get him to at least the sofa. Glen never called you names or made you feel guilty about not sharing a vice with him. He never left you crying alone in your room because he was too busy doing something else he shouldn’t be. He never hurt you or broke your heart…

“Hey Y/N.”

The man’s voice hit you like an arrow to your chest. You hadn’t heard or seen him in over two months…either of them. 

“She’s not talking to you.”, Glen growled immediately coming to your defense. 

Steve stood up straighter as he made himself seem taller. “What the fuck are you going to do about it?”

Without hesitation he stepped forward, bumping the other boy’s chest.

“Hey, hey, hey.”, you reach out to grab your new boyfriend’s arm. “It’s ok. I’m alright.”

His eyes tear away from Steve’s to meet your own as he touches your cheek with his palm making your ex huff. 

“I’m going to be right there, ok?”, he advises as he points towards the lockers on the other side of the hallway; kissing your forehead when you nod.

Steve’s eyes glare at Glen until he leaves, turning his attention towards you and promptly softening his demeanor.

“Where’s your attachment?”, you ask as you try to appear nonchalant, placing books in your locker. 

“Eddie didn’t want to overwhelm you. He thought us both talking to you might…scare you.”

“Why would I be scared of you two?”, you scoff. “Is that why neither of you came by the hospital or to my house after?”

His jaw tightens as he looks down at his sneakers. “No. We just…we thought your parents wouldn’t want us there.”

“This coming from the boy that used to sneak through my window when he was drunk.”, you chuckle sarcastically to yourself as you slam the locker closed. “You’re still such a terrible fucking liar. Stay away from me; both of you.”

“Y/N, wait—”

“Don’t touch her.”, Glen warns as Steve tries to reach for your hand. 

The man watches as your new boyfriend wraps his arm around your waist and guides you towards class as you slightly limp along the way. Angrily, he reaches into his pocket for his always present flask and takes a long swig.

**** 

“Wow, you really suck at this.”, you giggle as Glen misses another ball on the pool table. 

“Look, I’m sorry I’m not as cool as you Miss Suave who can shoot with the stick behind her back.” You grin as he gestures for you to take your turn. What he didn’t know was Eddie taught you that on one of his more sober nights. When the three of you were just able to hang out and have fun. It was hard being here as the cigarette smell reminded you of the nights after they would make love to you or when he would cheer you on while you played arcade games with him and the other Hellfire kids. 

It also reminded you of when he snorted to much of his stash and fell asleep with his cigarette in his hand almost burning down his uncle’s trailer. Or when he would light up in the middle of a fight he started with you because some guy smiled at you a little too long.

Shaking your head out of the memory, you make your shot and it promptly slams into the hole in the corner pocket. 

“I will never be as cool as you.”

“Oh, I think you’re plenty cool.”, you grin as you crane your neck just enough for his lips to meet you halfway. 

“I’m going to run to the bathroom real quick and then I can take you home, ok? Do you want to wait here or…”

“I can wait by the car. Some air would feel really good right now.”

After handing you his keys, you gradually make your way towards his car trying to cover the fact that you were gripping your side. This cold weather was killing your injury. The doctor said that would be normal especially on days it rains. What he didn’t explain was that it would affect everything else like your mobility. Every step you took shot a pain straight through you side and it was like being stabbed. 

“Hey sweetheart. Need some help?”

“Jesus fucking Christ.” You turn around meeting Eddie’s concerned gaze. “I guess Steve didn’t talk to you yet."

"No, he did. I just needed to come check on you myself.”

“Welp, I’m fine, Eddie! Now leave me alone.” He flinched slightly at your sarcastic filled tone as you try to continue heading for Glen’s car. 

“Why, um, why are you limping?”

You chuckle as you turn on him, throwing your hands in the air. “Oh, I don’t know. That happens when you’re involved in a car accident! But you wouldn’t know anything about that would you?!”

Your boyfriend appears in front of you, blocking you from the metalhead’s sight. “Get the fuck out of here! You and Harrington need to leave her the fuck alone! Come on, baby.” Without any hesitation, Glen lifts you in his arms and carries you the rest of the way. 

Eddie watches with jealous eyes as he stomps towards his van and searches for the powder that will numb the pain.

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

For the next week, you did everything you could to ignore them but you felt their eyes on you constantly. You’d be lying if you said you didn’t miss them. You thought about them every day even after what they had done but you knew what you had with them wasn’t healthy. 

“Baby are you alright?”, Glen asked as you both share your lunch. 

“Yeah, I’m just exhausted. Mrs. O’Donnell isn’t playing around this year.”, you giggle but your smile tapers off when he doesn’t laugh with you.

“You know, it’s ok that you miss them. They were your best friends.”

If only he knew… What would he think of you if you told him the truth? What if you told him that, yes, it had started as a grade school friendship but escalated to something more? What if he found out how much you loved them and why you kept them around for so long? Why you tried so hard to save them…

A loud crashing startled you back into reality as Eddie jumped on to the table and walked to where you and your boyfriend were sitting.

“Well, hello gorgeous…and Glen.”, he mocks as he turns his head towards him sarcastically. 

Steve slides into a chair beside you as the metalhead jumps down and sits across from him. 

“Can we help you, gentlemen?”

“YOU can’t.” You cringe as Steve slurs his words. You can smell the bourbon wafting from his lips as he speaks. “We just want to have one conversation with our friend. Is that too much to ask?!”

Glen breathily laughs as he faces both boys. “It’s funny. Y/N never talks about what happened. Anytime anyone including her doctors ask about the accident she says all she remembers is something darting across the road and flipping the car. I admire the fact that she’s still so loyal after what you did.”

“What are you implying?”

“I’m implying that real men own up for their mistakes especially when it almost gets their supposed best friend killed.”, he spits. “Come on, baby.”

You don’t move; you CAN’T move. Memories are flashing through your brain and the two people you want to comfort you most are the two people who are responsible for your pain. 

“Stevie, baby, maybe you should let me drive.”

“Pfft, I can drive, honey. I’m barely even drunk.”

Eddie’s arms wrap around you from behind as he tenderly kisses the nook between your neck and shoulder. “Come on, princess. You can sit in the back with me.”

“Y/N, it’s ok. I got you.”, Glen coos as he reached for your arm.

Shakily, you stand pausing for a moment as you turn towards them. 

“Stay the fuck away from me.”

****

The loud blaring of your phone beside your bed shook you from your peaceful slumber as you sleepily reached over to answer it. 

“H-Hello?”

“Y/N?”

“Steve? What…what’s wrong?” Turning your clock, you sighed as you read 2am and slammed your head back onto the pillow. 

“Baby, I’m sorry. I’m so fucking sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt you. I wanted to stay with you but I was so fucking scared and Eddie said you’d be okay.”, he cried tearing your heart in half. 

“Steve, why don’t you call him, ok?”

“Please, Y/N. Can we see you?”

“It’s two in the morning. Go to bed.” He sobbed harder and you heard what sounded like him hitting the wall. “Um, where-where are you right now?”

“I’m at home.”

“Ok, I’ll be there in 20.”

****

The entire short drive to his house, you knew you were making a mistake. You made yourself boundaries and promises when it came to them that you were already breaking. It was so hard for you though when they broke. There were many a night like tonight where Steve had cried in your arms after his father had hurt him in some way and downing half a bottle of whatever strong liquor was in the house. 

With Eddie it took a lot more for him to get to that place but when he got there it was heavy. Sometimes he would frighten you as he tore his room apart, angrily trashing the things around him or saying anything he could think of to start a fight with you. The few times he cried were the moments he thought you were asleep, pulling you tightly against his chest as he sobbed.

Afterwards, you would do anything you could to make them feel better whether it was making them laugh, going to dinner, or letting them vent their pain on to you in bed. You didn’t mind it at the time especially since they knew every little way to make you cum. It was a blessing and a curse to be in love with two men who were passionate. On good days, the spoiled you, making you feel special as they wined and dined you and afterwards playing your body like one of Eddie’s guitars.

On bad days, they demeaned you and made you feel worthless. They made you feel like nothing you did was enough and then fucked you like a whore. 

You should have left them a long time ago but there was a part of you that held on to hope that one day the boys you met all those years ago were still in there.

“Hey, Y/N. Thank you. Thank you for coming.”, Steve sighed in relief as he opened the door for you and you pushed past him to get inside. “I called Eddie. He’s, um…”

The metalhead waved from his spot on the sofa.

“Yeah, well, I’m here. Now talk. You have five minutes.”

“Ok. Ok, ok, ok…um…” You rolled your eyes as Steve tried to collect his thoughts. “Honey, look, we know we fucked up. What we did to you is completely unforgivable.”

“We never would have left you if we thought you were really hurt.”

“Hm, gee, define ‘really hurt’, Ed. Because apparently metal slicing open my side doesn’t count.”

“We had no idea.”

“I’m not surprised, Steve, since you were so wasted you didn’t realize you had swerved to the right and hit a fucking parked car so hard that it flipped yours over!” You felt the tears burn the corner of your eyes. “This was a mistake.”

“Wait, wait! Please.” Eddie reached out to grab your hand and you yanked it away.

“Don’t you fucking touch me!” Your body shook as you began to cry. “You left me…After everything I’ve done for you. After everything I ignored…after cleaning you up after you threw up and passed out.” You gestured towards Steve before turning to the metalhead. “After treating your cuts after someone knocked you on your ass when you snorted your drugs and yelled at a guy in the parking lot because you thought he was hitting on me. After all the fucking bullshit I was there for…when I really need you…you left me! You didn’t even come to the fucking hospital to make sure I was ok. YOU DIDN’T EVEN FUCKING CALL!”

“Y/N…I…we…fuck!”, the metalhead shouted in frustration as threw something against the wall, shattering it on impact.

“There has to be something we can do.”, Steve whispered making you laugh again. 

“Nothing, Steven. There is nothing either of you can fucking do. I’m never going to do bullshit like this again. You two are on your own now. Leave me alone and let me be fucking happy with Glen.” As you turned to leave you paused, hearing Eddie snicker behind you. When you shifted back around there was a sinister look in both their eyes you had seen numerous times. 

“Speaking of ‘everything we’ve done’…”, Eddie addresses you with that slick tone that tells you he’s angry as he plops back down on the couch, digs in his pocket to produce his white powder, and pours some of it on the glass table in front of him. “You think that asshole can take care of you as well as we can? After all the gifts, dinners, and making you cum till you couldn’t move… we’re just trash now, huh? Is that it?”

You slowly stalk to him as rolls up a piece of paper nearby and snorts the contents in front of him. 

“Yes.” He turns to glare at you at your response. “You think everything positive you’ve done wipes away the negative? You think just because you were able to fuck me till I couldn’t walk straight, it will make up for the fact that I literally can’t walk straight because of a car accident you two caused AND RAN FROM?!”

“If we’re so bad then why did you stay?”, Steve countered. “Fuck, Y/N, why are you even here?!”

“Because I’m a fucking idiot! I’ve always been an idiot! If I could go back in time and stop that little girl from befriending those two heartbroken little boys I would.” Tears flooded down your face as you hugged your arms around yourself. “Why, Steve? Why wasn’t I enough? Why did you both have to turn to drinking and drugs? I loved you. I loved you so much.”

Strong arms suddenly wrap around you and you angrily push at his chest. Steve steps forward again, allowing you to hit him knowing he deserves it. Collapsing in his embrace, he holds you as you cry, lifting you up, and carrying you to his bedroom where he lays you in the middle of the mattress, pulling you to his chest after he climbs in beside you. Eddie follows soon after, his limbs circling your waist as he rests his cheek in your hair.

###########

By the time they woke up that next morning, you were gone and to their dismay you weren’t at school. They tried so many times to be sober especially after they started dating you but everything just seemed to get worse. Steve was always terrified you’d realize how much of a pathetic man he was (or at least that was what his dad told him) and you would leave but…you always stayed. So, why did he feel like trash 24/7? Why did he think it was inevitable? Why was he scared all…the…time? The alcohol helped suffocate a lot of that but in turn it amplified the worst versions of himself. For a while he thought that was an ok trade. Being an asshole sometimes is better than feeling like you were nothing but on nights when he’d listen to you cry or hear you beg him to stop drinking, he knew he needed to quit…he just couldn’t. Steve didn’t want to feel those feelings he’d buried in the back of his mind. 

Eddie was more or less the same except he was pretty confident someone was going to take you away from them. That you would discard them like his parents had and run off to be happy with someone else while they suffocated without you. That’s why he needed to show you and any other man that dared to come between you guys that you were theirs. Even if he had to fight all of Hawkins he would. Unfortunately, it was a double edge sword. While he knew he would fight for you, like Steve, he felt like it was inevitable that you would leave and he took that out on you constantly by screaming, throwing things, and belittling you. If he could villainize you now, at least when you left maybe it wouldn’t hurt as bad. 

Like Steve’s alcohol, Eddie used drugs to dull his pain and the rage that coursed through him. Weed used to be enough to calm him down but after a while it wasn’t so he upped his game. There were days he would snort so much that he could barely move let alone think and he was fine with that. 

You had asked them why you weren’t enough and the truth was you were more than enough; you were too good for them and they knew that. 

When they first met you, they knew instantly you were special. In the beginning, you were like their vices. You made them feel good, listened to them, and made them laugh. They often wondered what they did to get so lucky to have you in their lives. The first time Steve drank and Eddie did drugs, you knew something was off, heartbroken that they didn’t feel comfortable confiding you. Instead, they distracted you with a kiss, sending you down that path of becoming involved in that way. 

What you didn’t know was at the start of your relationship they used intimacy to distract you from what they were doing. After you would fall asleep with a smile on your face, one or both men would sneak away to do what they needed. When they fell in love, that’s when everything got worse and their fears amplified. 

Now, what THEY didn’t know was that they were YOUR drug. You thrived on making them happy which you didn’t realize until after accident. Even as you laid in the hospital staring at that stupid, bland white ceiling, you missed them and felt the withdrawals of not having them near you. By the time you were discharged and sent home, you felt clear headed and purged of their toxicity. When you met Glen and he made you smile, you felt like you were finally free of them and headed in the right direction. 

The biggest mistake was thinking you could avoid them forever which is why you set your boundaries and told yourself to stay away. You vented to your date on the phone and he cheered you on constantly boosting your self-esteem while offering anything he could to help make things easier for you. 

For your sanity and theirs, you needed to let your boys go. You prayed maybe if you stayed away, it would convince them to start healing. That’s all you ever wanted for either of them…for both Eddie and Steve to be happy. 

****

“Wayne?”

“Hey, Y/N. How are you doing?”

“I’m doing alright, thank you. Is everything ok?”

“Um, no. I just wanted to drop by and see if my nephew is here or if you’ve seen him at all these past two days?”

“No, Wayne. I’m so sorry. We don’t talk very much anymore.”

Eddie’s uncle scans your face as he nods before backing away from your front door to head back to his truck. 

“If you hear from him, can you let him know to call me? I’m worried.”

You promise him you will as you close the door and lean against you, sighing. You have an idea of where he might be but you knew if you told Wayne and he caught Eddie with drugs again he would follow through with his promise of calling the cops and have him arrested.

“Now, Edward, I already dealt with an alcoholic brother. He never listened to me and I couldn’t force him to go to rehab but I can with you! You’re my responsibility, goddamn it! You deserve better, son. Get your life together…”

Gnawing on your nail, you grab your jacket as you run out the door. 

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

You spotted them immediately when you pulled up to Hawkins Public Swimming Pool. They were so out in the open, you were surprised no one had reported them already. Even though Steve had a pool, they always seemed to like to hide out here. Usually, it was just the two of them, both toxicities bouncing off each other as they vented about things. 

The first time you found them here was before you even started dating. Steve’s dad had screamed at him about not making the varsity basketball team his 7th grade year and told him he was a failure. He didn’t show up for school the next day so you got on your bike, riding around until you found them both swimming. From that point forward if you lost one of them and were worried, it was the first place you searched. 

“Well, well, well.”, Steve slurred.

“Long time no see, princess. Came to check on your trash?”

You scowled at him as you crossed your arms over your chest. “Wayne is looking for you, Ed. He says you didn’t come home last night.”

“What do you care? You don’t love us anymore, right?”

“Just because I’m furious with you doesn’t mean I stopped caring about you.”

“Not in our experience.”

“With me, Eddie, or bullshit people from you past?”, you growled. “One of our MANY problems. You both comparing me to your parents which fucking hurts. I don’t know if you realize that.”

Steve stood up from the chair he was leaning back on and came to stand in front of you. He was so close the bourbon smell was making you feel a little drunk but it was more so due to the cologne smell underneath that always had you clinging to him when you three went out. You loved his signature smell, his and Eddie’s, but hated that it was normally obscured by other things. 

“Do you remember when we were kids and we used to swim in my pool at like 2am? You weren’t the best swimmer but with my help you got better.”

A blur suddenly swished passed you as Eddie ran and jumped into the pool behind you. You turned right as his soggy frame came back up for air with a huge, toothy smile on his face. 

“Eddie, oh my god! It’s cold out here. You’re going to get sick.” You try to suffocate the smirk that wants to be seen. You loved seeing them genuinely smile like the metalhead was right now. 

“Oh, calm down, mom. I’ll be fine and so will you.”

“Steve, no.” Right as you spun around to warn him, his palm connected with your body and shoved you into the water. While you were underneath you heard another splash as his lanky frame came into view. As you popped through the surface, your arms promptly clung around the metalhead’s necks as you gasped. 

“I got better! It doesn’t mean I actually can.”, you laugh as he obnoxiously swims around you two. For a moment, you forgot what happened. You forgot about the accident and that you were angry with them. You forgot all your boundaries you had set in place for yourself and for just a moment felt like everything was how it used to be.  

“Don’t worry, sweetheart. I got you.” Eddie’s palms gripped your thighs as he wrapped your legs around his waist and held on to you as they floated around. 

“Why do you both come here when you want to hide?”

“Hmmm… reminds us of an easier time, I guess. Plus, no chance of our parents coming in and berating us.”, Steve sighed. 

“Wayne would never berate or belittle you, Eddie.”

“Yeah, I know, but I hate seeing that disappointed look on his face. Hey, Harrington, did you see that new Tom Cruise movie coming out? The three of us should go see it.”

You exhaled at his deflection as the reminders came crashing back down. 

“Glen isn’t really a fan of his.”

They both grumbled at the mention of his name. “I don’t think when Munson said three he meant us and your bitch boyfriend.”

You chuckled sarcastically at his words as you tried to pull away but Eddie clung to you tighter. “Let me go, please.”

“Oh, please. Did you hear that, Stevie? Our girl has manners now. Did he teach you that?”

“No, he showed me respect and what being loved is really like.”, you spat as you continued to try and push away from him. “And I’m not your girl. Not anymore.”

“You think we don’t love you?”, Steve asks as he swam to your sides. 

You stop moving then as all previous memories with them flash through your mind. They see you disassociating as the boy beside you brushes your hair away from your face, a little sigh of pleasure escaping when you don’t flinch away from him. 

“I’ve always found it amusing that you two are afraid of becoming your parents, yet you ended up becoming exactly like them.”

Thrown of guard, their eyes slowly darken in anger as you continue. 

“Steve, when your drunk and having a bad day, you call me whore and tell me I’m worthless. There was one night, you told me I’d never measure up to being good enough for a Harrington so I should feel lucky you even bother with me. Eddie, when your high and having a rough day, you throw things and squeeze me kind of like you are now. You’ve never hit me but you’re not gentle with me either. One night, I was taking you home from The Hideout and some guy held the door open for me as I carried you. The entire ride home, you screamed at me because I thanked him and said I had your permission to go back and fuck him like the slut I was.”

“You hurt me like they did you and I allowed it because I loved you so much. I changed things in my life to be there for you but you guys could never do the same. Then, like your parents, when I really needed you, you left me. If you love me…why do you insist on being the way you are?”

They stared at you for what felt like forever and it killed you. Not because it made you uncomfortable but because you would give anything to wrap your arms around them and laugh with them as you continued to swim. You didn’t want this, you never wanted this.

“Loved? You don’t love us anymore?”, Steve asked. 

Your jaw clenched as you held your resolve. “No. I don’t.”

“I don’t believe you.”, Eddie growled. 

“Well…that’s you’re problem. Not mine.”

“Say it then. Say the entire sentence. If you do, we’ll leave you alone and you’ll never hear from us again.”

“N-No, Steve and Eddie.”, your voice cracked as you said their names. “I don’t…don’t…”

The metalhead’s forehead fell on yours as your tears began to fall. “I love you. I’ve loved you since the moment I met you, baby.”

Slowly, his lips move forward to land on yours. When you don’t pull away or stop him, he grows bolder until you’re reciprocating and your arms are around his neck. 

Your heart abruptly catches up with your brain as you push him away with all the energy you can muster and climb out of the pool, running to get to your car. Just as you open the door, a heavy palm slams it shut and you’re forcefully turned around as Steve’s lips crash to yours. Your arms circle around him as he lifts you up by your thighs and presses you against your vehicle. 

“I love you to—mmm—so fucking much, Y/N. I-I-we can be better.” He groans as his lips trailed down your cheek to your neck and your fingers gently tug on his hair. “I’ll stop drinking. I-I’ll do whatever you want, baby. Please.”

Pushing him back, he drops you to your feet as you smack him. 

“The problem is, I don’t believe you. How many times have you promised me that, Steve?! Eddie?!” You turn to the boy you was now leaning against the hood of your car. “This is the last time I’m saying this. Stay away from me.”

You open your car door but he slams it again. 

“Who do you think you are, Y/N?!”, Steve screams as he steps towards you sandwiching you between himself and the car. “We didn’t ask you to fucking come here. YOU showed up! You showed up at my house! You can’t keep getting mad at us for not ‘leaving you alone’ when you don’t fucking stay away! You obviously still fucking love us so why are you making this so fucking complicated!?”

“Obviously, I’m not like you. It’s harder for me to stay away when someone I care about is hurting.” You take off your shirt and toss it in his face. “THIS is what loving you two got me!”, you shout as you point to the massive wound on your stomach. Their eyes widen as they look you over. 

“It’s been over two months and it’s still healing. Can you fucking believe that? I was in surgery for twelve hours after the ambulance brought me in. Some metal from your BMW sliced into me and I lost a lot of blood. The doctors said the only reason I didn’t fucking die was because it had managed to miss all the major veins and arteries. I was out for almost three days and when I woke up apparently the first thing I asked about was you two. When they told me I was the only one found, I didn’t believe it. ‘No. They’ve done some fucked up shit but they would never abandon me.’”

“I waited for you…every…day…I waited. It took a while for me to really lose hope though. When I had my first physical therapy session to help me walk normally again, I thought ‘This will be the day. I want to get back to normal as quickly as possible so when they come see me I can show them how well I’m doing.’ When they discharged me, I considered maybe then I’d hear from you since no one would be constantly checking up on me. I even left my window unlocked thinking you might sneak in. Nothing… but do you know who did check in on me? Glen.”

“Glen called me every other night to talk to me while I cried about my pain. He came over and watched movies with me while I was stuck in bed. He held me when I woke up from nightmares after falling asleep because of my pain medication. Glen, someone who I met only a year ago was there for me when my BEST FRIENDS who I’ve known since we were kids and supposedly love me DID NOTHING.”

“So, get a good look, boys, because next time you call I won’t be there. You finally get to live your fucking lives without the one person who actually gave a damn!”

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

“Babe? Are you alright?”

“Huh? Yeah, baby, I’m fine.”, you grin as you lean against Glen’s shoulder at your lunch table. 

It had been almost a month since that night at the public pool and you were proud you were able to stick to your guns. They had called a couple of times and each time you ignored it. You had seen Steve stumble out of the locker room after school giggling with a girl as he buckled his pants and kept walking as she practically carried him to her car. You caught Eddie passed out at the arcade on the pin ball machine and left him there as people around him chuckled. Every time you were able to let them go, you felt yourself getting a little stronger but that didn’t mean this wasn’t killing you. 

“Hey, I have an idea. Why don’t we go see a movie tonight? That Tom Cruise movie is playing.”

“Oh, sweetheart, we can watch something else. I know you aren’t a big fan—”

“Y/N, you like him so I don’t mind. Seeing you smile is all I care about.”

“Aw.”, you coo as you pull him in for a hug. “That’s so gross.”

Glen laughs as he leans down to kiss your lips. 

***

“Well, holy shit.” Your eyes squeeze shut at the sound of Eddie’s voice as you and your date walk up the stairs in the auditorium. “Stevie…STEVE! Look, its Y/N and her idiot.” The metalhead mocks as he tugs Steve off of his date he was already heavily making out with. A twinge of jealousy pierced your heart but you suffocated it as you glared at them both. 

“I thought you hated Mr. Cruise, Glen.”, he slurred as he laughed. 

The girl beside the metalhead kept sucking on his neck as her hand rested on his upper thigh.

“Come on, honey.”, your boyfriend grabbed your hand and pulled you towards your seats. “Jesus, how could you tolerate being their friends for so long?”

“They weren’t always like that. When I first met them they were shy and sweet. Steve used to make me little cards for valentine’s day and Eddie would sing me some random love ballad.”, you giggle at the memory until your eyes glaze over with his sadness. Glen tenderly pets your head before wrapping his arm around your shoulders and pulling you to his side. 

Throughout the movie your eyes kept shifting their way as the continued to make out with their dates. They were doing this on purpose, they were trying to hurt you. Normally when you three went to the theater together Eddie would lift your legs over his lap as you leaned back against Steve. They would tenderly run their palms against your skin as they watched whatever film was in front of you. They rarely if ever were sexual with you here and honestly you never really thought about it. You just enjoyed the tenderness of these moments when you had them. 

You noticed the parallels in the movie immediately and so did Steve as you watched him disconnect from the girl he was kissing. A football star from a small town wanting to get out and make something of himself while not being ‘good enough’ for the people around him. Halfway through, he stopped paying attention to his date all together as he focused his eyes in front of him. You wanted to hold him and tell him everything would be ok. That he deserved to be happy; they both did. Curling your body into Glen’s side, he wrapped his arm tighter around you as he kissed your forehead. 

****

“You know, I must say that wasn’t too bad. ‘We didn’t quit! You did!’” 

You giggle at his enthusiasm as you guys head for his car. 

“So, does that mean you’ll see his next one with me?”

“If you come watch a Clint Eastwood movie with me.”, he laughs as you stick out your tongue in disgust. “As long as I’m with you, baby, I don’t care what we see or do.”

Glen’s lips lean down to kiss yours as you wrap your arms around his neck. As his kisses grow more passionate, he carefully lifts you up, and places you on the hood of his car. Your brain began to wonder as his mouth did the same down to your neck. Your boyfriend was a good man and a really good kisser. You hadn’t been intimate with him sexually yet and with everything going on you were okay with that but that was just a double edge sword. BECAUSE with everything going on, you desperately wanted to be fucked. 

Your exes were phenomenal at that. When you felt low (usually because of them), they pounded into you till you were begging them to stop and even then they didn’t. You guys had a safe word but you had never used it. Oddly enough they had never crossed that line in bed. As you felt Glen’s lips suck on your skin, you couldn’t help but wonder if he had it in him to fuck you like that.

The sound of screeching tires brought you both back into the moment just in time to see Eddie’s van just inches from your boyfriend’s vehicle. 

“Have you lost your fucking mind, you fucking freak?!”, one of the girls screamed as she punched his arm. “What the fuck is wrong with you?!”

Through the windshield you could see them both glaring at you but especially Eddie. You saw that look so many times but this was the first time he had ever actually seen you kissing someone else. 

“Babe, get in the car, ok?” As Glen reached for your hand, the boys finally moved. The metalhead opened his driver’s side door and stomped to the back, flinging open the doors. 

“OUT! Get the fuck out!”

“Fine! We’d rather walk then spend any more time with you two.”

“Y/N, look at me. Get in the car.”

The sound of the skidding tires thrust you into your memory of that night; the tires screeching, glass breaking, metal crunching… them shouting at each other…

“Y/N?”

“Eddie, let it go, man.”

He barely heard his friend as he came around the car and grabbed Glen’s shoulder, flipping him around, and shoving him against it. His fist was raised in the air but as it hovered your boyfriend grabbed his collar.

“Do you really want to do this now? After you scared her half to death? I guess it’s not enough you two almost killed her. You have to keep twisting the knife, huh?”

“You keep saying bullshit like that but what proof do you have?”

“Beside my fucking brain? Oh, I don’t know, maybe it’s the fact that I have a nose and can smell the drugs and bourbon. Maybe, because I’ve smelled it on you and still watched her get in a car with you. Speaking of, where’s your BMW, Steve?” Glen pushes Eddie off of him and faces them both, gesturing towards you. “This isn’t the first time she’s shut down like this. When she does it’s hard to get her back but she does mumble. Do you know what she says every single time? ‘Please don’t leave me.’” He shakes his head in disgust. “Neither of you deserved her friendship.”

Reaching for your arm, he guided you to the passenger side and opened the door. 

“Probably why we were more then just friends.” Your bag fell as Eddie spoke, your wide eyes turning towards him. “Oh, let me guess. You didn’t tell Captain America here that you were fucking us to, did you?”

Glen looked you up down as his body froze.

“Please…”

“Give me a fucking break with that pathetic little girl routine. She’s a wild one, Glen. Definitely too much woman for one man.”

“Stop it.”

“Stop what? Telling him the truth? Trust me, bud. The stories we could tell you about her.  Fuck me…”

“Stop.”

“…There were times we didn’t even have to ask. You could just push her into an empty classroom and fuck her tight little pussy till she cried and she would still beg for more…

“Eddie.”

“…Oh and wait until she sucks your cock. She can take it so far down her throat—”

“STOP IT!” You charged at him, screaming and crying as you smacked his chest. “WHY?! Why can’t you just let me be happy!? I hate you! I hate you! I…”

Strong arms held you back and pulled you away from the metalhead as Steve moved to his friend’s side. 

“I hate you both.”

“Come on, Y/N. There we go.”, Glen soothes in a gentle tone as he guides you into his car. He flashes them one last cursory glance before climbing into the driver’s side and speeding away. 

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

You and Glen sit in silence as he turns off his car outside of your house. 

“Is it true?”

Closing your eyes, you heavily exhale before you answer. “Does it matter?”

“Jesus.”, he sarcastically chuckles as he turns his head to glare out the window. “I don’t even know what to say.”

“Nothing to say.”

“It would explain why you’re so protective over them.”

“No. I WAS protective over them because I used to love them…even before we became intimate.”

“Psh was.”

“I don’t love them anymore.”

“Oh yeah? Why don’t you go to the station then and tell Hopper who was really driving that night. Let them experience the consequences of what they did without the safety net of you getting them out of trouble.”

“You don’t understand.”, you whisper.

“You’re right. I don’t.”

“Glen…”, you pause as you try to gather your thoughts. “When I met them, they were both in a bad place even as kids. Eddie had just moved in with his uncle after his dad was arrested. His body was splattered with bruises. It…”, your voice cracked at the memory. “Steve wasn’t at the king status he is now. He hid any chance he could so no one would notice he was crying because his dad had told him he was worthless that morning. I remember our first in-depth conversation he looked at me and asked me why I was even talking to him because he wasn’t someone worth being friends. They needed me. Someone who would listen to them and—”

“Use?”, he interrupted making you sigh again. “Y/N, MAYBE, in the beginning you were exactly what they needed but now…now you’re like another drug to them. You realize that right? They use you whenever they need to feel better, take advantage, and then leave. They aren’t little kids anymore, sweetheart. They are grown men who know what they are doing and they know every time you’re going to bail them out.”

“Thank you for the movie. I’ll see you tomorrow at the party.”, you mumble as you start to open the door, now physically exhausted from this whole evening. 

“Y/N…Maybe we should take a break.”

You laugh under your breath as you get out and slam his car door, stumbling inside of your house as you sit at the base of your stairs and cry. 

***

They watched you from a far as you danced your way back to the punch bowl for the fifth time that evening. You had shown up to the party that Saturday alone and as soon as you walked in you began drinking which was something they would normally do but not you. This was wrong. You couldn’t be like them. You had to be better than they were especially since you were their angel, their saving grace. 

Steve huffed, having enough of the sight before him as he stomped to your side and grabbed your wrist. 

“Y/N, stop. You’ve had enough.”

“Oh, really Steve Harrington? You’re telling me when I’ve had enough?”, you cackle as you yank your arm back and dip the cup into the bowl. Before it can reach your lips, he pulls it from your grasp making you whine. “Jesus fucking Christ. Isn’t this what you always wanted? Me getting wasted with you while the freak gets stoned.”

You continue to drunkenly laugh making them both glare at you. 

“Y/N Y/L/N, I’m warning you.”, he growls as you reach another cup and fill it. 

“What are you going to do, Stevie? Ruin my relationship? Your partner in crime already did that. Accidently almost get me killed? We can check that off. Break my fucking heart…” You raise your glass in their direction. “Done and done.” After chugging back the liquid, you feel your body begin to sway. “Steve…” Suddenly, it feels like your legs no longer work as you fall into his arms. 

Effortlessly, he lifts you up against his chest and carries you out the door. Your mind drifts in and out as things happen around you. You feel quick movement that you assume is a car driving. 

“No! No!”, you grumble as you fight against something holding you. 

“Y/N, calm down. We’re in Eddie’s van. Everything’s ok.”

Your head violently shakes before your eyes get heavy and you feel yourself fading. “Don…don leave…don’t leave me again.”

When your eyes open once more, you’re being carried again and you smell cigarette smoke in the air. You mumble something but your struggling to form words as you feel your body being laid flat on something soft. 

“Hospital?”

“No sweetheart. You’re at my trailer. Just sleep it off, ok?”

“Are they ok?”

“Who, honey?”, the other boy asked.

“Steve and Eddie. Did they…get hurt?”, you start to drunkenly sob. “Please…are they safe?”

“Y/N, go to sleep, baby.”, Eddie soothed as you felt his arm wrap around you and your mind finally shut off as you passed out.

***

“We’re assholes.”

You wake up a few hours later but keep your eyes closed when you hear their gravelly voices on either side of you. 

“What’s your point?”

“Munson, look at her!”, Steve hisses. “She’s never been like this. She’s never been so…angry.”

“Well, what the fuck should we do, Harrington? We love her and she loves us to. I know she does. It’s good that preppy fucker is out of the picture.”

“I don’t like this…”

“Oh? Then tell me, Steve. Why did you let Olivia Samuels suck your cock in the locker room last week? Or make out and fucking grind on that girl you brought to the movies? Why are you still drinking alcohol like its fucking water?!”

“Really, Eddie? You want to lecture me right now? You were the one that always flipped out anytime anyone would even look at her! I’m surprised you even fucking noticed with how many times you’re so fucking high on that blow you pass out wherever your body lands.”

They both become silent but you can feel the heated energy between them. 

“Look…”, the metalhead sighs. “We can do better. We can be what she needs. We just…”

“What do I need?”, you mumble as your eyes finally open. “What do I need, Eddie?”

“You need us to stop idiots, to give up our vices. You need us to love you the way you deserve.”

You shake your head as you sit up and rub your eyes.

“You’ll never understand. I gave up on trying to make you a long time ago. I need to go home.”

As you try to slide of the bed, Steve’s palm grips your arm and pulls you back down. “Explain it to us then.”

“I need you to actually love me.”

“What the fuck are you talking about, Y/N? We do.”

“Flush your stash.” Eddie’s eyes search yours as you glare confidently back at him. “Flush your stash and tell Wayne what you’ve been doing. Let him help you get clean.” You shift your gaze towards Steve. “Throw away the flask in your back pocket and pour out all the booze you have hidden around your room. Come clean about the accident and tell Hopper you need help getting sober.”

Neither boy moves or says anything and you laugh as you slide out of bed searching for your shoes. 

“What does that have to do with loving you? Huh? We can give up all that crap without us having to get in trouble.”

“It’s accountability, Eddie! That’s what I need! I need you to take responsibility for your vices and the damage they fucking caused. You say you love me and I don’t doubt that. I really don’t. But the truth is and always has been, that you love that stuff way more then you ever loved me!”

You feel the tears start to surface but you refuse to let them see as you suffocate them down. 

“Glen was right. I’m just another drug for you two to use and, honestly, you’re like a drug to me but unlike you I’m strong enough to let you go.”

As you reach for the door, a strong hand grabs your arm and shoves you against the wall. 

“Miss high and mighty over here. You want to play that game? You’re weak just like us according to you. ‘I’m strong enough to let you go.’” You cringe as Eddie mimics your tone. “If you’re so fucking strong then follow through, little girl. Say you don’t love us. My offer still stands from the pool. Say you don’t love us anymore and we’ll leave you the fuck alone.”

“Even if I do say it, you won’t. With the way things are now, you two can barely function without me.” You giggle as his eyes darken with anger. “Seriously. For the past 3 months you haven’t notice you have gotten worse? And not just with the booze and drugs. Steve…Olivia told everyone that you came early.” As you laugh harder, you can see them getting angrier but at this point you don’t care. “She said…that’s why she stopped at a blow job because she didn’t think you could make her cum even though you offered. And you Eddie, did you know they have private Hellfire meetings without you? Dustin is their Dungeon master now.”

Steve abruptly comes from the side and throws you over his shoulder as he carries you back to the bedroom kicking and screaming before tossing you back on the mattress. 

“Say it. Say our fucking safe word and I’ll take you home so you can continue sitting up there on your self-righteous pedestal.”, he growls as he straddles his body on top of yours.

“Fuck you!”, you shout as you spit in his face. You push against his hold on you but he’s stronger, keeping you down with one hand as he uses his other to wipe off your saliva. 

“Open. OPEN YOUR MOUTH, Y/N!” When you don’t do as he commands he pinches your cheeks between his fingers forcing your mouth to pout open before spiting between your lips onto your tongue. “Swallow it. We both remember how good you are at swallowing things.”, he snickers. “Eddie, can you help me?”

The metalhead, who had been watching the whole thing unfold thus far, climbed onto his bed so he could unbutton your jeans and pull them down. 

“5 bucks she’s dripping.” Eddie pressed his fingers against the fabric of your panties between your legs. “Oh, yeah. What’s wrong, sweetheart? Fucking boy scout hasn’t been taking care of you?”

“Believe me, he has. He’s made me cum harder than you both ever did. Probably because he was actually fucking coherent.” You wiggled enough to get Steve off of you and push Eddie backwards as you ran into the hallway.  The metalhead was faster, catching your arm, and shoving you against the wall. Holding his palm against your chest, he pinned you against it as he tore off your underwear and sunk down to his knees.

You gasped when his mouth wrapped around your clit as his tongue worked its magic. This is what you needed and they knew that; it was something they were good at. For a while you thought maybe it was the roughness that allowed you to relieve some of the stress you always built up especially when it came to them but after not having them for so long you realized it was so much more than that. You enjoyed the idea of them needing you. Of doing whatever possible in the moment to make you stay and make you theirs. 

Lifting your leg over his shoulder, he pressed his face further into your cunt making you moan as you clung to his hair on the back of his head. 

“Why do you fucking lie to us?”

“Mmm…I don’t.”

“Yes, you do, honey. First you say you don’t love us and then you claim that your boyfriend is better in the sack than we are. Come on, baby.”, Steve coos as he leans on his arm by your side.

“I-I—fuck—I don’t…he is better.” Just as the coil was about to snap, Eddie stopped and abruptly rose to his feet. “No! No, please.” Your hands cupped his face as his fingers took over and he pushed two inside of your entrance, moving them so fast the sound of your arousal filled the hallway. “Please.”

“Don’t lie. Tell us the truth.”

“Why do you get to lie…but…but I can’t!”

“Because you’re better than us.”, Steve answered. “We all know that.”

You whine as he cuts your pleasure short again and as you begin pushing back against them, Eddie holds you still with this shoulder as he straightens his arm and moves his fingers again to build you up. “Please…”

“Say it, Y/N.”

“I’ve—mmm—I’ve never slept with him! We haven’t even done anything besides kiss.”, you cry as your arms circle around his neck. “Please, Eddie. Please.”

“You can cum, sweetheart. That’s it. Use my fingers to cum.” Your hips grinded against his hand as you clung tightly to him. “There you go. Come on, pretty girl. I can feel you squeezing me.” Your body shuttered as you came and his free arm promptly caught you as your knees buckled.  

You crashed your lips to his, humming at that familiar cigarette taste as his tongue grazed your own. Your fight wasn’t as forceful this time as you pushed him to get away. Falling to the floor, Eddie wrestles with you, pushing you onto your stomach, and holding you down with his palm between your shoulder blades as you listen to him unbuckle his belt and jeans. 

“One lie down, one more to go. Tell us you love us, princess.”

“I hate you.”, you grumble into the carpet below you. 

“Did you hear that, Stevie? She fucking hates us!” Your body trembles as he runs the tip of his cock between your folds. “You should tell that to your pussy honey because it’s just sucking me in.”

You both groan as he guides himself fully into you and you force down the tears of happiness that try to push free. They always felt so good inside of you, knowing exactly what you needed and how to get you there. As Eddie thrust into you roughly, you felt fingers brush your hair away from your face and you opened your eyes to meet Steve’s who was lying beside you.

“Say it, baby. We know you do. Why do you keep torturing yourself?”, he murmured as he continued to pet your head. “I mean look at you. How long as it been since anyone made you feel good like this?”

Lost in the feeling of you, Eddie pushed you further into the carpet causing you to squeak and wince as you grabbed your side while the other boy’s hand shot out to grip his friend’s arm.

“Y-Yellow. I’m sorry.”, you cried and the metalhead shook his head as he pulled out and slowly turned you onto your back. 

“No reason to be sorry, sweetheart. You’ve never had any reason to be. Unlike us assholes.”, he softly chuckled as he laid on top of you making sure most of his weight was on his forearms. “Is this ok? Am I hurting you?”

Wrapping your hand around the back of his neck, you tug his lips to your own. Reaching between your bodies, you grip his cock and guide it back into your core. 

“I love you.”, you whisper as his glassy eyes quickly scan over your face trying to get a read on you. “I love you, Eddie Munson, so much.”

His head fell beside yours as he thrust his hips into you, panting into your neck as your nails ran down his back and into his hair. 

“I love you to, Y/N. I’m sorry, princess. I’m so fucking sorry for everything. For—fuck—for what I said at the theater. For yelling at you and being jealous all the time. Oh my god… For leaving you there that night.” You mewled as he pumped into you harder, his cock repeatedly hitting that spot inside you that had you suffocating the screams of pleasure that wanted to escape. 

“It was my idea, Y/N. I told him we should leave. I-I told him you’d be fine. I’m so sorry.”

You barely heard him as your legs wrapped around his waist. It was all things you had heard before and he still wasn’t mentioning what you really needed from him, what you had mentioned before about flushing his stash. He wasn’t even acknowledging that the drugs were part of why he did the things he did. 

“I know, baby. Make me cum, Eddie, please.”

Pushing up on his hands, his hair tickled your face as he picked up his pace, groaning as his eyes squeezed shut. 

“Say it again, sweetheart, please. Tell me that you love me.”

As you closed your eyes, flashes of the boy you met all those years ago passed through your mind. The boy who made you laugh, who wrote songs for you to strum on his uncle’s guitar which was a bit too big across his chest. The man who took you to concerts and danced with you in the aisle at the movie theater as you waited for it to start. 

“I love you, Eddie.”

Arching your back, your hands gripped his forearms as you came. The metalhead grunted at the feeling as you tightened around him, slamming into you till you felt him warm your insides with his release. 

Collapsing to the side of you, he tried to catch his breath as you turned to find Steve starring at you with those beautiful but needy eyes.

“I love you to, Steve Harrington.” 

He exhaled heavily in relief as he delicately slid you closer to him and placed his lips on yours. It didn’t take long for his kisses to become passionate and he spun you on to your side till your back was against his chest. He fumbled with his belt and pants before pushing them down as much as he could, lifting up your leg by your thigh, and guiding himself into your entrance. 

His heavy breathing filled you ear as you lean back into his warm chest reminding you of the boy who held you close to him while you three would swim in the lake. The boy who pretended not to be scared by horror movies but always jumped and pulled you closer after any scary scene. The man who showed up with flowers randomly because he said he was just thinking about you and wanted to get you something nice. 

“I love you, baby. I’m…I’m sorry to. I shouldn’t have left you and we shouldn’t have stayed away. I’m a fucking coward, honey.” Your arm looped around his neck as you kissed his lips. “I don’t know what we would have done if we lost you, Y/N.”

“You did.” His rhythm slowed as he looked down at your face. “You haven’t had me for months. Did things better?”

Steve’s jaw tightened as he wrapped his arms tightly around yours and began pumping into you slow and deep making you groan. 

“Things will get better, Y/N. I promise. I don’t care what I have to do. Fuck my dad, fuck these people, fuck this town!”

Eddie’s worried eyes met his as your face scrunched and your nails dug into his skin. 

“Am I hur—”

“No. No. Harder, Steve. Please.”

The sound of skin slapping skin echoed through the trailer as he did what you asked. 

“Is that what you need, baby girl? Fuck…I’ll give you anything.”

As his fingers reached down to play with your clit, his other hand gripped your throat as you tilted back moaning his name as you came. His own face scrunched in pleasure as his mouth fell open and with a few more rough thrusts came inside of you as well. 

You laid on your back staring at the ceiling as you tried to control the urge to cry. There was a part of you that wished you could back to before the accident when you were still slightly ignorant to their behavior. When they would scoop you up and give you a bath, curl up with you in bed, and talk about different things. 

That was always just an illusion though and it was now completely shattered. Eddie lifted off your shirt as Steve carried you to the shower, turning it on for you, and held your hand as you stepped inside. As he sat on the counter, from behind the shower curtain, you heard his heavy sigh before the quiet clinking of his flask pushed through the silence. 

When you stepped out, he softly smiled and handed you a towel as he led you back to Eddie’s room. The boy quickly wiped his nose before grinning in your direction and handed you his clothes you used to sleep in but his smile faltered when you hesitated. 

“I’m sorry. I just assumed you would sleep here like you used to.”

It was your turn to smile but it didn’t stop the tears that began to flow. They reached for your hands and pulled you between them, whispering promises they could never deliver as the comforted you. 

###########

[katealpha]

Art by @Dizy Wata ToonS

—-—————————-

One week since Nina’s first post, she practically disappeared from social media, but had appeared on a few TV interviews that discussed her decision. Being a semi high profile actress meant that that initial video journal went viral. Most reactions expressed neutral curiosity. Many others hounded her with judgment. The worst of them being “those” types who declare that she’s a traitor for welcoming non human creatures into her womb. But Nina hardly cared. On Friday morning, precisely a week after the first message came out, a new one was uploaded to YouTube and Instagram.

—-———————————————

Nina was seen activating the live feed and backing up from her phone camera. She wore some very short shorts, and a snug grey hoodie. Already, one could tell that she was looking a bit bigger around her waistline just by looking at it, even with the hoodie covering it. Nina smiled.

“Hey guys! It’s that time of the week. I have a lot to tell you guys about, so save those super chats for a bit later. I’ll get to them after I talk about….this.” Nina moved into a position against the counter of her opulent kitchen and used both hands to lift up her hoodie. Her belly was indeed bigger. Like it had grown the normal pregnancy equivalent of several months over the course of a single week. It stretched past her shirts and had begun to hang over her waistband. Behind Nina on the counter was a plethora of foods that hadn’t been there before. As she held her hoodie up to her chest, she continued talking and watching her chat go by to gauge reactions.

“I know right? I’m huge already. I can’t even suck it in anymore, it’s just gonna keep growing from here. The craziest thing is like, I can already feel them moving in here. Like yesterday, I was walking down the road in downtown, and I just felt with wiggly feeling in my guts. I literally just stopped and put my hand right here…” Nina places her hand stop her lower stomach. “…and I just felt like a big ball of….worms were just moving. Then, my stomach made the loudest hunger rumble I’ve heard in my whole life. I’m not even kidding. I went home with like two whole meals from Wendy’s. So now I know that the increased appetite is staring to happen. I just ordered a bunch of food to keep around so I don’t have to keep leaving to go get it. DoorDash is such a lifesaver.”

Suddenly as she spoke, the camera picked up a deep, low groan that seemed to moan from Nina’s stomach. She looked down with a gaped jaw before she looked up and chuckled. “Speaking of food, I think they’re hungry again.”

After that, Nina threw off her hoodie and reached back to grab an apple from the counter behind her. She began to talk about how career has been going since the last post, talking with her mouth full as she began to almost mindlessly eat the apples one at a time.

“At this point I’m so glad I left Twitter. They’d have been eating me up for this decision, and I do mean everyone. You guys on YouTube and Insta are so much more accepting. Not much has really changed overall. I’ve been sending in voice work for that new Dreamworks movie I signed up for, I’ve gotten a few interviews lined up. I think you guys saw me show up on Jimmy Falon the other night. That was….fun. Honestly besides this,” She gestured to her belly. “I really don’t have that much to tell. I’ve just been pregnant and growing fast. I haven’t even heard any news from the Serpents. Their own guys have been going on TV or like that one big streamer had one of their special forces over at his house. That was like, wild. Woah, hold on..”

Nina stopped and held a hand over her stomach as she felt an audible groan swirl about inside with some moment from the brood. She grimaced slightly before her mouth hung open and a rather uncouth belch was let out.

“Uuuuuurrrrp! Geez! ‘Scuse me everyone. Wait, how many apples did I just eat??” Nina suddenly looked confused, not knowing at first to turn around and see over half a dozen apple cores on the counter behind her….

After reading super chats for about 10 minutes, she ended the stream.

To be continued….