#What do you mean I avoided mentioning personality at all? Weird thing to miss but also implies he views that as important.

[fatalistic-aberration]

Name : Ilztaun Auvryvirr Race : Drow (Partial Illithid) Gender : He/Him Age: (undecided likely in the 200-ish range) Class : Bard (Breifly studied at the tower but it's been decades and he was a terrible student so he mainly knows the basics of pure arcane casting.) S̶o̴r̸c̷e̶r̶e̸r̶ Sub Class : Elequence A̷b̸e̶r̶r̶a̸n̴t̴ ̴M̵i̴n̶d̷ ̷ Background : Noble Deity: Vhaerun Worm Status : Wormed past the end of the game even. He and Miette come to many agreements about what they both want to happen with their body over their time together.

Originally from Menzoberranzan, most recently found working as an apothicary in Baldur's Gate (and bard who's often found singinging in The Blushing Mermaid) who's never been willing to sell anyone poisons nor do mercinary work, nor listen for rumors about interesting treasure to tell his enchanted item obsessed adventuring partner about, learned from a very young age that he was only going to survive as long as he was useful, and more important than that, useful in ways which he couldn't be replaced by a single person easily. The entire reason he became a bard was once realizing he didn't have much chance as a mage, but did have a natural inclination towards spellcraft and music, managed to talk his Matron into allowing him to study as a bard above ground, with the logic being it was a skillset few would have or expect. He frequently was sent above to scout for potential raids, often befriending those who would be attacked, keeping out of sight until the fighting was done, often managing to feign innocence to those left over. This would also be how he and the only person he'd consider a friend Sylfiel ▇▇▇▇ Wildwalker ended up taking the odd excursion after an overheard rumor about a cursed spellbook spiraled as things do until she's wanting to forsake being a pristess of lolth in favor of enchantments, and he's killling her older sister so the blood is primarily on him without anything substantial tying them outside of having fled at the same time. He also has no interest in keeping his own name alive, just those around him, so even if, yes, there's far more to that story, it doesn't matter much. He doesn't matter much, and should like to keep it that way. He's better becoming whatever it is he's needed to be for those whom he cares about.

As for the whole aberrant mind situation..it sounds worse when given in a quick sum up so it's best left as something not important in most circomstances.

[theabigailthorn]

Hi Miss Thorn.

I was recently reading through your trans writes article about you choosing not to do PR for the NHS. In one line you mention that the medical system "exaggerates or wholly confabulates" certain medical risks, and I was wondering if you could give more of an explanation or some examples about that stuff. I tried looking it up on my own but I didn't really know what keywords to search for, and I don't want to fall into some weird anti-science conspiracy theory rabbithole (especially at a kind of vulnerable part of my transition where I'm finally giving "doing hormones" more serious thought as a Thing I Would Actually Do rather than an idle fantasy where the results magically "fix" me (or a kind of anxiety where it doesn't do anything of value at all :< )

Thank you regardless for your great videos over the years,

A Very Nervous Enby

Sure! So, I would argue that the Cass Review is a prime example of this phenomenon. It concluded that puberty blockers have caused zero documented cases of harm as long as they've been used in Britain, but they might cause some unknown kind of harm in the future, somehow; a harm that hasn't been detected in any of the other countries who have used them, whose evidence - by the way - was discarded.

So we have no evidence of past harm, no idea what a future mystery harm might be, when it might happen, the mechanism for it, or why it would only show up here, now, and not in any of the other countries who have given trans kids blockers previously...

This is clearly making shit up!

And yet the Cass Review was used to justify a ban on blockers.

The only way this makes sense is if by "harm" they mean "being trans." Cass expressed particular concern that most kids who start on blockers go on to medically transition, which - yeah duh? But whereas a normal person views this as a neutral fact about the world, transphobes see it as bad - they see being trans as a bad or dangerous thing to be - and so they want to make people "avoid it" as much as possible.

This is what I mean when I say pathologization exaggerates or in some cases outright fabricates risks of medical transition to justify restricting our bodily autonomy under the guise of "care."

[supernovafics]

series masterlist | last part — next part

pairing: modern!college!steve harrington x fem!reader, bestfriend!eddie munson x fem!reader

word count: 4.4k words

warnings: explicit language, angst, mentions of reader’s strained relationship with her parents

summary: the first night in mexico with steve is not as weird as you thought it would be, but it’s hard to avoid thinking about everything that happened with eddie

CHAPTER TWELVE | ❝𝒊𝒕'𝒔 𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒚𝒐𝒖❞

Fall Semester 2016

You figured that the first night was weird because the first night in a new place was usually always weird.

But then the next two nights were somehow worse. Alone in a room that you were slowly starting to wonder if it would ever feel like “home.”

You sat in your bed and stared up at the ceiling for what felt like hours, but when you looked at your phone, you saw that only twenty minutes had passed since the last time you’d checked it. An annoyed sigh left your lips as you closed your eyes again, willing sleep to come. 

Unsurprisingly, after another few minutes, it didn’t, and that made you grab your phone and call the one person that you wanted to talk to at that moment. 

When Eddie answered with a soft and tired “Hi,” you asked, “Hey, are you busy right now?”

“At one in the morning? Not really, no.” When you didn’t laugh at his joke, he became serious. “You okay?” 

“This is probably dumb and I already feel that way for asking this, but can you come over?”

“Yeah, of course,” He didn’t hesitate to answer and then things got quiet for a second before he asked again. “You okay?”

“I’ll explain when you get here,” You said, not wanting to go on what you felt like would be a neverending ramble about your current thoughts over the phone. “You can even take the bed if you want. I’ll sleep on the floor. Doesn’t matter to me.” 

“I’m not gonna kick you out of your bed,” You could practically hear him shaking his head at your offer. “I’ll be there in ten.”

He actually made it in five minutes and you were greeting him with a small smile and a promise to give him as many blankets as he needed to be comfortable on the floor when you opened your door. 

“So, what made you wanna do this impromptu sleepover?” Eddie asked once he was settled and you were back in your bed. You knew what the lighthearted question was really saying, What’s wrong? 

“I feel dumb because I should’ve known that this was gonna happen,” You said, starting your answer in the middle because you knew that he’d catch on immediately. “We both know how I am when things are too quiet. But, after my roommate situation last year, I thought this single dorm thing would be better. But, actually, it sucks. Now, I weirdly miss the nights where I had to fall asleep to the sound of her talking on the phone.”

“You’ll get used to this,” He said, but you weren’t entirely sure if that was possible. You did appreciate how encouraging he sounded, though. “Hey, do you want this old TV that my uncle’s been meaning to get rid of? It’s just sitting in my room back home collecting dust right now. You can leave it on all night and it’ll probably make it easier to sleep.”

“Shit, that makes so much sense,” You said. It was the easiest fix and you were now realizing that it probably should’ve hit you before.

“We can get it this weekend,” Eddie told you. “I’ll even give you the old VHS tapes I used to play on it all the time. Lots of horror movies.” 

You let out a quiet laugh. “I don’t know if falling asleep to Friday the 13th or Halloween every night is the greatest idea.” 

“Okay, yeah, makes sense. There are also some cartoons.”

You smiled then. “Now that sounds great. I get to find out what cartoons Eddie Munson loved as a kid.” 

He laughed. “It was a lot of things that were just weird knockoffs of Barney because that’s all my uncle would buy.” 

“That sounds very cute,” You said, still smiling. “Thank you, though. Seriously. And thank you for being here right now too.” 

“There’s nowhere else I’d rather be right now.”

Not even with Chrissy? You wanted to ask that, but you didn’t because you had a feeling what his answer would be and you didn’t want to make things weird or awkward. 

So, instead, you said, “Thank you for ruining your back for me.” You shifted a bit, turning on your side toward him. “We can still switch if you want. I’m fine with taking the floor.”

“Not gonna happen,” He told you and you decided against once again trying to convince him otherwise.

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。. .・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。

Spring Semester 2018

There was a mourning period that came and went. And it didn’t even feel that overdramatic to call it that. 

Stupidly, you expected to wake up the day after the moment you had with Eddie at his apartment and be completely over him— because you now knew that he’d never see you as anything other than as his best friend. There was no point in having even a little bit of hope for something equivalent to “a fairytale ending,” so you expected every other part of you to understand that too. But, apparently, an almost three-year-long crush couldn’t end that easily.

A part of you felt like you were back to Freshman year— pretending that everything was fine and normal. When, in reality, nothing was fine, and instead your life now felt like you were stuck in a really bad movie or nightmare. 

You didn’t just feel hurt by the rejection— which technically wasn’t an outward rejection, but it felt just the same— you also felt embarrassed about everything you’d done over the past month. Even when days passed and the hurt faded into a wholehearted acceptance that still also felt a little sad, everything else stayed. 

Steve was the only person that you could possibly admit any of this to since he was a part of the whole fake dating thing. You could tell him that it all ended up being an entire waste of time for you. However, somehow the thought of telling him only made you feel even more embarrassed. 

He was so settled on the idea that this would work for you, and he continued doing things in hopes of making something happen over the last few days. It all felt so wrong now, but you simply pretended that it didn’t because you found it too hard to be honest.

You instead actively forced yourself to stop thinking about how everything had changed and how you were the only one who was aware of that fact. And it actually wasn’t the hardest thing to do. Except on the nights when it seemed as if there was nothing to do but think. 

It was usually easy to drown out your thoughts with the sounds of whatever was happening within your apartment, but the circumstances were different at this moment since you weren’t in your room or the apartment at all. Instead, you were in a different country in a random bed with Steve sleeping right next to you. 

You’d been exhausted after the flight and the hour drive to the fancy resort, but once you were actually settled in the huge bed that barely filled out the even bigger room, you couldn’t seem to sleep. Neither you nor Steve had been able to figure out the TV, you couldn’t even find the remote, but you figured that was fine because you thought you’d fall asleep easily. Clearly, you were wrong, though. And you now couldn’t stand to lay in the silence anymore.

You slowly pulled the blanket off of you and got out of your side of the bed— the left had been designated as yours and the right was Steve’s. The bed was also big enough that you had declined his earlier offer about putting a sort of pillow divider to make things more comfortable for you. In your head, sharing a bed with him probably wouldn’t end up being the weirdest part of this trip. 

You maneuvered pretty well in the dark. Finding your sneakers that sat by your already haphazardly picked through suitcase and slipping them on, and then grabbing your phone and room key off of the nightstand and slipping both into the small pocket of the pajama shorts you were wearing. 

It would’ve been easier if you just left without saying anything to Steve because you’d probably be back before he could even notice that you’d been gone. But, for some reason, it didn’t feel entirely right to do that.

“Hey,” You whispered as you stepped a little closer to him. “Steve?”

His eyes didn’t open as he shifted a bit and let out a soft, “Hmm?”

“I’ll, um, I’ll be right back.”

“Where you going?” He asked, words quiet and slightly mumbled. 

“I can’t really sleep, so I think I’m gonna check out that twenty-four-hour buffet for a bit. The one that they mentioned when we were checking in.”

“Okay,” He said, eyes opening and he rubbed them for a second before pushing a quick hand through his hair and getting out of the bed. 

You shook your head at his actions. “You don’t have to come.”

“I know,” He said but kept moving, standing up and going to grab his sneakers. 

“You really don’t have to come,” You told him. “I already feel bad about waking you up.” 

“It’s the middle of the night, and Robin told me that if anything bad happens to you during this trip, she’ll kill me.” 

Hearing that made you laugh, and it didn’t entirely surprise you. “When did she say that?”

“Yesterday, when we were all watching TV at your place,” He answered as he grabbed his phone and pocketed it in his sweatpants. “It reminded me a lot of the game night conversation.”

“It also felt like The Godfather to you?” You asked, pulling open the door as he walked over to you. Abruptly going from the darkness in the room to the harsh and bright lighting in the hallway made you squint. 

“Yeah, it did,” Steve told you and then rubbed his eyes again. “Jesus, it’s really bright out here.”

“Please go back to sleep. I’m sorry for waking you up.”

“Wow, good to know that you want me to get murdered by your friend,” He joked. 

You smiled. “Don’t worry, you’ll be fine. I promise I’ll protect you.”

He kept walking with you, though— heading down the hallway toward the elevators— instead of turning around and going back to the room. You wondered if Robin hadn’t playfully threatened him (in your head, the only way you could imagine it was playful) would he still be this adamant about being with you right then. 

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。. .・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。

“Did we really come here just so you could get cereal?”

“I told you not to come,” You said as you picked around the dry bowl of Cheerios. “Also, nothing would have happened to me if I was alone right now. Unless you think that that drunk couple would’ve kidnapped me or something if you weren’t here.”

You gestured in the direction of said couple that were the only other people at this buffet aside from a few workers; they were sitting barely twenty feet away from you and Steve and looked as if they were in their entirely own world as they shared a bowl of ice cream. 

Both you and Steve abruptly looked away when they started passionately making out with each other. 

You let out a quiet laugh. “Wow.” 

“Yeah, you’re right,” Steve started, grabbing a handful of cheerios from your bowl. “I don’t think kidnapping you would’ve been on either of their minds right now.”

You weren’t going to admit it, but you were actually glad that he stayed with you. Sitting at this random table with him in this near-empty room was a lot better than being alone with your thoughts. 

You suddenly wondered what time it was, but you also didn’t care enough to check your phone. “What time do we have to meet your parents in the morning?”

“They wanna get breakfast at eight,” He answered, and you nodded at that. “Apparently, they’re really excited to see you.”

You gave him a skeptical look. “Normally, I would think that’s a good thing, but is it in this case?”

Steve shrugged. “Yes and no. At this point, I think it’s just gonna be a lot more of interrogating you— them trying to see if you’re truly the “right person for me” and all that bullshit. Pretty much the same thing that happened at the dinner, but it’ll probably feel a little worse since we’re gonna be seeing them a lot for the next few days. But still, even if they didn’t like you, they wouldn’t tell me to break up with you or anything, they’re mainly just happy that I’m in something serious.”

You nodded again. “I know your parents can be super intense and overbearing, but in some weird way, I think it’s actually kinda nice that they, at least, care, I guess, about your “love life.” I sometimes wish mine did.”

Steve shook his head. “Yeah, but mine don’t actually care, though. They’re only so focused on my love life because they care about themselves and their image.”

Maybe that should’ve been obvious to you. Because hearing him say that, and when you thought about all of the other things that he had told you before about his parents, it made a lot of sense. “Okay, I fully take back my previous statement.” 

“What’s up with your parents, though? You never really talk about them,” Steve said. “How do they feel about you going on vacation with a guy you just met?”

You shrugged halfheartedly. “I don’t know how they feel about it because I kinda forgot to tell them. Well, not kinda, I did. I did forget to tell them about this.”

It had been the farthest thing from your mind. And deep down, you could even admit that you purposely pushed away the thought of telling them because you knew that they probably wouldn’t have cared that much about it, anyway. 

“Oh,” Steve said, and then things became quiet. You wondered how insane you probably sounded to him right then, or how fucked he must’ve thought your relationships with your parents were if you didn’t tell them about this. “Okay, so if I don’t end up getting murdered by Robin after this trip, it’ll definitely be your dad then.”

You were immediately grateful for his lighthearted comment. You could feel yourself inwardly sighing in relief. The tenseness— that was probably only firmly planted on your side of things— quickly washed away. “That would never happen, but if it did, I’ll once again protect you.”

“Thank you, that’s all I ask,” He joked, smiling at you.  

You were abruptly reaching over the table to fix his hair, there was a part of it that was sticking out weirdly— it was the bedhead, you figured. “Sorry, that was kinda bothering me. Anyway, this is very random and a complete one-eighty from what we were just talking about, but do you ever think about how different some things in your life would be, maybe even how better they would be, if certain things had ended up working out, or if they had ended up happening?” 

Maybe it was the slight sleep deprivation that made you ask that question— that felt like it was the only thing that could correctly explain the abruptness of it. A similar version of that slightly confusing question had also been the exact thing that you’d been wondering about barely thirty minutes ago before you refused to continue to sit in silence and in your thoughts about Eddie.

You were pretty certain what your answer to it was— a resounding yes; you thought about “what-ifs” a lot, probably too much.

A part of you expected Steve to ask why you were asking that question, but he didn’t. “In what way do you mean?” He asked instead.

“Romantically,” You didn’t hesitate to answer, and then you shook your head at yourself when you realized what you were saying. “Actually, that’s probably so dumb of me to ask you since you don’t care about relationships and all of that.” 

“I do think about it,” He told you. “Old relationships and stuff. What went wrong, what could’ve gone better…” He trailed off, letting out an awkward laugh and breaking your gaze. “Sorry.”

“No, I’m sorry, this is probably way too much for a middle-of-the-night conversation,” You said and realized just how true that was. You now wished that you had brought up some random lighthearted question about a movie or something.

“No, it’s fine. I’ve just never really talked about this before,” Steve said, and you were about to tell him that he didn’t have to talk about it now if he didn’t want to, but he continued before you could say anything. “Um, I think saying old relationships is a stretch, actually. I’ve mainly just thought a lot about the last one, I guess.”

The high school relationship that he had mentioned to you on Valentine’s Day, you remembered. It was the last serious one he’d been in. You wondered what it had been like, how equal parts amazing and devastating it must’ve been if it turned him off of relationships completely for the foreseeable future. 

“This question is probably so stupid, so please feel free to tell me exactly that, but do you ever miss her?” 

“Sometimes, sure, yeah. But, it never really happens that much anymore. And whenever I feel like I miss her now, I think it’s more of me just missing what we used to be instead of me really missing her specifically. Does that make sense?” He looked up at you then and you nodded. You honestly felt as if you understood him completely— missing the picture itself but not necessarily who was in it. 

It was that analogy that somehow made you realize something that you maybe should’ve realized earlier. Specifically, during the moment also on Valentine’s Day when you asked him why he didn’t do relationships and he pretty much said that he didn’t want to get his heart broken again. He was scared of it now, of love and relationships. It wasn’t just about it being easier not being in relationships and not falling for someone, it was about it being a scary fucking thing to do again. 

It honestly made a lot of sense. So much sense that you really didn’t understand why it didn’t hit you sooner. 

You didn’t say this to him, though, because it didn’t feel right to, and a part of you also really hoped that you were entirely wrong about it. Because this would shift everything that you thought you knew and understood about him. 

It would be a thousand times easier if you solely took everything that he previously said to you at face value. If your understanding of him and who he was and what he wanted was as simple as what he had told you that night outside the arcade and what he’d been telling you this entire past month. He didn’t want to get involved in anything serious for simply that exact reason— he didn’t want to.

You had only nodded in response to his “Does that make sense?” question and you knew that you probably should’ve said actual words, but you couldn’t think of what exactly to say right then. And then Steve was speaking again before you could figure something out.

“And I guess that’s when I kinda think about that question you asked— wondering about how different things would be if it all had actually worked out,” He said. You’d completely forgotten that that question had even started this conversation. “But, it’s kinda hopeless and dumb to think about it, though, right? Because the outcome can never change, so what’s the point of even wondering about it?” 

“Yeah, exactly,” You said softly, abruptly thinking about Eddie again. “What’s the point…” 

Steve looked at you for a second before giving you a small smile. “Why was that question on your mind at,” He pulled his phone out of his pocket to check the time. “One-thirteen in the morning?”

You suddenly felt really close to telling him what happened at Eddie’s place days ago, and the conclusion that you had come to about everything; the timing honestly felt pretty perfect. But, you still couldn’t do it.

It wasn’t about you feeling sad about the entire thing, it was about feeling stupid. And you honestly didn’t even think that Steve would judge you or think that you were stupid— he’d probably feel bad for you, you realized, which somehow felt a thousand times worse. 

“I don’t know… I’m always getting randomly existential in the middle of the night, I think,” You answered, and then immediately shifted the subject. “Hey, what’s the name of your cousin who’s getting married?” 

“Charlotte.”

“Okay, got it,” You nodded. “I felt like that was information I should probably know.” 

“And her fiance’s name is Charlie.”

A part of you wanted to laugh, but you held it back. “Woah.”

Steve nodded, also recognizing how slightly ridiculous that was. “Yeah. Once again, I’m sorry that I’m putting you through this whole thing.” 

You gave him a playful smile. “As long as you protect me from any weird family members, like I’m protecting you from Robin, I’ll be fine.” 

You remembered then that this fake dating thing wasn’t at all about you anymore, it was about him. And you quickly decided that you’d make sure to play the “happy and in love” girlfriend part really well— just like he had for you this past month— so that he could get what he needed out of this. Because, at this point, that was all that really mattered. 

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。. .・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。

You gave Steve’s hand a quick squeeze. “Kiss me.”

“What?” 

“Your parents are looking over here. Just do like a quick peck thing,” You said, looking up at him. 

He didn’t question you further and instead closed the small bit of distance between you two and pressed his lips against yours. You weren’t sure if you expected it to feel weird or unnatural, but it didn’t. Actually, it happened so quickly that it really didn’t feel like anything at all.

When he pulled away, you gave him the sweetest smile that you hoped didn’t seem too exaggerated or fake, as you two continued walking toward his parents and a handful of his other family members. 

That would probably be the easiest part of the next few hours. Before you were forced to embark on a hike that you weren’t at all excited for, but Steve couldn’t get you two out of. It was during breakfast when his mom mentioned it and she was so adamant about making you and Steve come along too. 

“It’s gonna be fun. According to the tour guide, we’re going to get to see the prettiest view of a waterfall,” Anne had said and you finally nodded and agreed to go because you knew that she wasn’t going to take Steve’s attempts to say no as an answer.   

Now it was two hours after that forced yes and you were in an outfit that didn’t feel entirely great for a hike— denim shorts and a black tank top— but it was the best that you could do; you hadn’t prepared “hiking outfits,” or any sort of workout attire for that matter. And walking over to Steve’s parents and other family members, which he quickly whispered to you were a few of his cousins and aunt and uncle, and seeing them look a lot more prepared than you were, didn’t do much to ease your sudden out-of-place feelings. 

“We still have a few minutes before we have to leave, come to the gift shop with me,” Anne said to you before either you or Steve could say any sort of greeting to her and his dad.  

You gave her a small smile and let your hand drop from Steve’s. “Okay.” 

You met his eyes for the briefest second and he gave you an encouraging look, and then you were following his mom to the gift shop that was right next to the lobby. 

“How’s everything going?” Anne asked you as she started looking around the small shop, stopping at a shelf of ceramic mugs.

The question felt weirdly vague, but you still answered it as if you weren’t slightly confused. “It’s been good. Thank you again for everything. You really didn’t have to invite me to this whole thing.”

“Yes, of course, no problem. Tom and I are happy you’re here,” She smiled at you. “And we can tell that Steve is too.”

Inwardly, you waited for the shoe to drop. For her to suddenly come out and say that she and Tom actually hated you because you weren’t from “their world” and you hadn’t been handpicked by them. 

However, with what Steve reminded you about last night, you remembered that it wasn’t about that. It wasn’t about them liking or not liking you as a person, it was about them being happy that Steve was simply in a “serious relationship.” And all you and him had to do was show that.

“I’m glad that you guys approve of our relationship,” You said, looking away from the bracelet in your hand that cost way too much and made you realize that this gift shop was way too fancy. You met Anne’s eyes. “Steve was worried about that. It was why he waited so many months before telling you guys about us.”

“Well, it’s probably obvious that you’re not exactly who we would’ve chosen for him. We always wanted him to be with a certain type of girl from a specific kind of family, you know?” You nodded at her words because it felt like that was all there was to do. “But, maybe this is better for him; at least, for now. And it’s so easy to see that you make him happy— probably more than Nancy ever did all those years ago— so that’s great.” 

Nancy. Finally knowing her name made her feel more real to you. You still knew absolutely nothing about her, though, aside from the fact that she and Steve had been happy and in love at one point in time.  

You weren’t entirely sure how to respond to Anne’s words that felt like the kind of compliment that was actually more of an insult. It was almost funny because there it finally was, somewhat of a shoedrop. She really didn’t like you. 

But, clearly, the show you and Steve were putting on was working, and you were inwardly sighing in relief at that realization because that was all that mattered. Ultimately, you decided to simply smile at her. “Thank you. He makes me really happy too.” 

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。. .・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。

next part!

taglist (lmk if you want to be added or taken off<333); @eddiernunson , @loulouloueh , @the-aster , @blckburd , @totally-bogus-timelady , @yujyujj , @irhdifartzamfyaa , @mochminnie , @munsonssweets , @blckbrrybasket , @xprloki , @definitionwanderlust , @dwcode , @sun-fiower-seed , @keerysfolklore , @damon-loves-pie , @lodeddiperrodrick , @bisexual-and-intellectual , @munsonburn3r , @negomi123 , @khena , @facexthexsunshine , @seatbacksandtraytables , @suckerfordylansstuff

(if your user is crossed out it means i can’t tag you</3)

[sgiandubh]

What sort of marketing is this? Why do they air this TV Insider interview with David Berry on YouTube b e f o r e the episode airs when they ask detailed questions about what happens in the episode and tell us practically everything? Was it an accidentc or the way to entice the audience to increase the ratings or ⭐ marketing strategy sucks?

On a happier note, allow me to interpret David's answers:

"I was ready to explore the love scene further but there were negotiations because Sam interfered. I feel very uncomfortable talking about just as I was extremely nervous to pretend that I was having sexual relations with his wife both on and off screen. We practically improvised the whole scene. Cait was aggressive because she felt uncomfortable doing it knowing that Sam will watch it. She didn't want to be in it as much as I didn't. We didn't rehearse much because Sam was very much against the scene being filmed. I'm seriously avoiding Sam now. He is very strong and protective of Cait. It feels weird being in his presence. Thank God for the scripts that don't give us many interactions afterwards."

I genuinely sorry for David. What a peculiar position he was and quite possibly still is in!

Dear Peculiar Position Anon,

I will give my take on it when I get to the third (Jesus, what a scandal!) batch of #jottings. Spoiler, though: it wasn't as terrible as I thought it would be.

As for your interpretation, yours is as good as anybody's, of course. I would be much more reserved: this is, after all, acting (I am serious, this time) and I don't think these three people would be as naive as to give it such a childish connotation. I think SC and David are very good friends and, while I do agree S is very protective of C, I wouldn't go as far as you did.

Anyways, for those who missed it, here is the interview you are referring to:

May I also add that I like David Berry a LOT? Rewatching the interview, I think he gave us one of the most credible feedbacks ever on what it means to shoot a difficult scene, while you just knew all eyes would be upon it and expectations over the roof.

It also goes to show - and David has been endearingly honest about it - just how hard it is to shoot such a scene (all the 'really difficult' preparation process, the things that 'ended on the cutting room floor', the 'negotiation') when you don't have the organic famous 'shorthand' and 'ease' S&C always mention, when they talk about their intimate scenes.

That 'shorthand' and that' ease' have a name, Anon. We know exactly what that is about.

I also loved what David shared about his own research on gay people's approach to love, feelings' management (if I may say so) and intimacy. All I will say right now (I might get back to it later, who knows?) is that he did it respectfully and empathetically. A very, very difficult thing to achieve, I believe, that speaks volumes about how special David Berry is, both as an actor and a person (note to self: buy Landcon extras!).

Finally, you might want to compare the above interview with the somewhat sanitized, in-house narrative of ***:

Quite different things, I believe. And I so wish Maril would shut the dang up about what obviously is way above her range!

[milla984]

A Million Reasons

Summary: after a phone call from Penelope, Reader teases Spencer about a potential love interest and things don’t go exactly as planned.

Pairing: Spencer Reid x gn!reader

Category: fluff with a little angst

TW/CW: a little bit of angst, brief mentions of food, self-doubt, mentions of anxiety, kissing

Word Count: 1.2k

Thank you @drgenius-reid for taking the time to beta-read this!

The following work is my entry for @andiebeaword's 3,000 Follower Celebration Writing Challenge (prompt n. 12) and is also part of the series Spencer Reid, my beloved

Spencer scooped out of the paper cup what was left of his ice cream before he finished recounting the events leading to the arrest of the unsub the entire BAU team had been successfully tracking down in Seattle during the past few days. 

“He’ll be charged with ten counts of murder, one attempted murder, and unlawful possession of multiple weapons. He’s facing ten life sentences without parole.”

“Way to go, Justice League!” you cheered, enthusiastic. 

He tucked his hair behind his ear with a cute chuckle. His sleeves were rolled up to the elbow so you caught a glimpse of his wristwatch reflecting the light of a lamp post standing along the edge of the walking path; from the bench you were both sitting on you could see the illuminated dome of the US Capitol rising up against the dark mid-summer sky. 

Despite being within walking distance of a major street in the southwest quadrant of Washington, the park was quiet and uncrowded and the nearby gelato shop was one of Spencer’s favorites. 

You took the last sip of your drink, acting very casual. “And that’s all that happened?” 

He shrugged, unsure about which crucial information could have been missing from his story since he was under strict instructions not to fill you in on the most gruesome details of the cases he’d worked.

“Uhm, graphic descriptions of tortures and mutilations are not—”

“I’m talking about a certain homicide detective… the one you gave your number to…?” you explained and his jaw dropped instantly.

“What?!”

You nudged at him with your elbow. “Garcia called me from the Original Starbucks in Pike Place. I couldn’t tell if the hype was about your new admirer or being there.”

“I don't understand how this is such a big deal!” he blurted out in a high-pitched voice. “She showed an interest in what we do so I gave her my card.”

No profiling skills were required to detect his firm intention to avoid discussing the matter, yet the words came out of your mouth like a river in spate. 

“Any chance it wasn’t only a professional interest?”

The way Spencer looked at you, disappointed and hurt, hit you worse than a punch in the liver. 

“What’s with you, guys?! Are– are you all so invested in my personal life because you’re convinced I’m chronically unable to have one without your help?” he snapped, something you’d never seen him do. 

“I’m s—” you tried to reply, even though he was still too angry to let you apologize and cut you off again.

“Or maybe it’s that I’m no Derek Morgan, so why would someone even notice I exist, right?”

“Seriously?! An IQ of 187 and this is the best inference you can come up with?” you snorted, upset by the subtle insult he’d thrown at you - even if you had to admit you deserved it.

His brows furrowed. “Then why did you bring this up?” 

“I didn’t mean to pry, I’m sorry. I truly am,” you admitted, “and the Derek Morgan type is not the one I’d go for, just so you know. I don’t think that people hitting on you is funny or weird, it’s… I’m just surprised it doesn’t happen more often. There, I said it.”

He remained silent for a while, quite aware that Penelope’s inability to keep her mouth shut generated from genuine excitement about what she perceived as good news; sharing such personal information with you meant you had been put to the test over and over and, in the end, deemed worthy of her trust. 

The peaceful atmosphere around you served as an amplifier for the sound of splashing water and Spencer indicated the fountain at the center of the large, round basin in front of you with a jerk of his head. 

“I read a book about the architectural history of D.C. on the way back. This piece was created for the 1876 Centennial International Exhibition in Philadelphia, the US Congress acquired it in 1877 and placed it at the base of Capitol Hill. It was dismantled in 1926, then it remained in storage until 1932 when they moved it here.”

The pedestal held three twin iron-casted sea nymphs wearing wet tunics, with their arms raised above their heads to support a shallow vasque; on top was a group of kneeling child tritons, and the base was decorated with turtle-like aquatic creatures.

“It’s beautiful,” you mumbled.

The fact he’d for sure started and finished said book in less than fifteen minutes was among the 999.999 entries in your list of reasons to crush over SSA Reid.  And so were his three PhDs, his crooked ties, his passion for Star Wars, chess and Halloween.

“I don’t talk much about my private life. Especially outside of work,” he confessed after a pause. “A lot of times I have a hard time discussing personal issues—”

“Spencer… you know you don’t owe me an explanation, right?” you rushed to clarify.

He nodded and you did the same in response, to confirm you had no intention of pressuring him into opening up if he felt uncomfortable yet you were also ready to listen to anything he had to say; even in dim light, you could see the sadness veiling his beautiful hazel eyes.   

“Garcia was being Garcia, with her ‘look at the world through rose-colored glasses’ scenarios. I gave my card to a homicide detective to discuss behavioral sciences, it was just what it sounds like. But I understand where she’s coming from, I never told her…”

Your whole body tensed up, courtesy of a rush of anxiety triggered by the possibility of him being already involved with someone he had never mentioned, not even to his closest friends; you wondered if he could hear the butterflies fluttering in your stomach.

Luckily for you, Spencer didn’t seem to notice.

“I’m trying to come to terms with something I’ve been feeling, for weeks now. And I’m worried, because of what happened in the past and I can’t let go of…” his voice broke a little, so he swallowed. “Deep down I’m afraid I'm not the type of person who gets to live out happily ever after.” 

Refraining from hugging him on the spot and holding him close to your heart had gotten increasingly difficult lately, so you settled for a peck on his temple in a clumsy attempt at a comforting gesture.

You feared the worst when he looked at you for a moment that seemed to last forever; you certainly didn’t expect him to lean forward to cup your face in his hands - big hands.  With slender, elegant fingers he tenderly brushed over your cheeks.

You both held your breath, waiting for the distance between you to vanish until your foreheads touched and the tips of your noses rubbed together. 

“... are we really doing this?!” he whispered, sending shivers down your spine.

You smiled. “Don’t make me wait for another six months.”

Spencer squinted, an indication he was browsing countless data stored in his memory, then he eventually pinpointed the exact moment you fell for him and squeaked in surprise. 

“Christm—”

You pressed your palm on the nape of his neck, guiding his lips over yours for what you both had been longing for. 

Reason number 1.000.000: Dr. Reid was one hell of a kisser.

@thisiscalmanditsdoctorreid, @pretty-boys-book-club, @spookydrreid, @f-me-reid, @foxy-eva, @scorpiofangirl1109, @a-potato-wearing-plaid, @cynbx, @reidsbookclub, @nagemasstuff, @hotchsdharma, @reidmainbitch, @lizzylynch1, @will-grahams-eyes, @padawancat97

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[yuus-sentient-teddy]

"You're staying here."

A/N: Spoilers for Prologue, Books 1-6, and certain events. Sorry! I've had this story in my drafts for so many months. I hope ya'll enjoy it and please let me know what you think.

EDIT: I accidentally posted this while in the middle of editing and decided to still work on it while it was posted XD

". . . What? Hang on--"

"Calm down, we just need you to be our in-between in case the beast gets to us. Having you up here means you can get to the Headmaster faster--"

"Wait, stop. Stop." Yuu squinted at Leona, incredulous. "You could have one of your dormmates do that. Your dorm is based on athletics, I'm pretty sure whoever he is could get to the Headmaster faster than me. Not to mention, I'm a Beast Tamer, I should be going with you guys!"

"You're also magicless." Leona was mercilessly blunt with that fact. The words reminded Yuu of all the jabs of random bullies throughout the schoolyear, and they gritted their teeth. Before they could argue back, Leona said, "I'm not saying that that makes you useless, but let's face it: you're not going to survive that oversized house cat unless you can put up a barrier or counter a spell."

"I probably wasn't meant to survive a lot of things since coming here, but look what happened--" Yuu spread their arms out--"I'm alive anyways."

"It's probably because you had one of us or Grim with you," Ace said. "Dealing with the ghosts at Ramshackle the first night and every other thing after that, Grim. Fighting the Phantom in the mines, the three of us. All of the Overblots, a group of us." He was counting off each instance with his fingers, clearly not sorry for making a case against Yuu. "I know you're not thrilled about being left out of something as big as this, but without Grim, you're not going to be able to do much, let alone protect yourself. We can't keep an eye on you either, so it's basically better if you stay here."

He didn't shrink away from the look of betrayal and anger on Yuu's face and stood still when they marched up to him. "Okay, first of all, when have I ever asked any of you to keep an eye on me? Yeah, never. And second in case you forgot, I've handled myself pretty damn well when it came to random magic crap. I literally can't count how many times I almost got burnt by fireballs, impaled by ice, and struck by lightning by people that can't aim, and there are a lot of them at this school. Yeah, Vargas's 'catch-up' lessons helped with my speed, but my point still stands."

They held up a hand, stopping Ace from rebutting. "And if you're going to bring up Grim probably throwing out spells with weird side effects, don't. I've suffered enough curses getting thrown at me and potions being snuck into my food to get used to weird effects."

"Wait, people have been doing those things?!" Kalim's eyes were wide in disbelief and shock. "Why?"

Yuu half-heartedly tossed their arms, palms turning upward, as a form of a shrug. "Probably because they're assholes and I'm an easy guinea pig. If we're being a little pessimistic, it's probably also because no one would miss me. Magicless nobody from another world and all that."

"That's a horrible thing to think about!" Kalim cried. The Ramshackle Prefect was a helpful person and tried avoiding trouble the best they could. Not to mention, they weren't in line for something major like a merchant business or a throne. How could anyone want to trouble Yuu? (And how could Yuu think no one would miss them?)

"No surprise they'd think that," Idia mumbled.

"Hate to break it to you, but even if you got potioned and cursed a lot, there's still going to be something you won't be able to handle," Ruggie said. "I get what you mean, though. I got cursed and potioned a bunch of times before I started working for Leona and still a little after. At some point, you're more annoyed than bothered by whatever happens to you."

There were times he saw his freshman self in Yuu. Struggling to understand the lessons, having to bear with a handful of cruel upperclassmen or fellow classmates, left to carry out a difficult task on their own... he sometimes may or may not have been at the right place at the right time to offer help--in exchange for a favor, of course.

"That still doesn't mean you should throw yourself into a fight without knowing what could happen to you," he added, almost scolding.

"I know, but I still helped with the Overblots, didn't I? I think that's enough proof that I can handle being in dangerous fights," Yuu said, crossing their arms. Their sleeve got pushed up and a healing scar on the back of their wrist was revealed, which caught multiple eyes.

Savanaclaw and the Leech Twins remembered the cry of fear and pain when the Octopus Phantom's tentacle snatched their arm, right after they had stepped out of the way of a funnel of water. Octavinelle and Kalim remembered Yuu being sent flying after the Genie Phantom shot a spell that created a force upon impact. They would have hit the wall like a rag doll if Azul didn't catch them with wind magic. The VDC group members remembered them on the ground, twitching sporadically as one of the Hag Phantom's regular sized apples innocently rolled away like it didn't poison them through touch. (Deuce panicked so hard he summoned a cauldron to crush it even though just stepping on the apple was all that was needed.) And who could forget Yuu yanking their arm out of a nest of thorny branches that had been summoned by the Dragon Phantom? They had scars from thorns that got particularly stuck.

After realizing they were staring, Yuu followed the gazes and put their hands in their pockets as casually as they could.

"If you're worried about us thinking less of you, I assure you we wouldn't," Azul said. "There's nothing about the offer that you should be worried about. Again, it's not because your magiclessness makes you less valuable. It's simply letting you avoid another troublesome fight."

He didn't turn on the charm; no smiles or overly fawning words. He was dead serious and it made Yuu uneasy. Why did he want them to take the offer? Although--and this uneased them much more--it was starting to feel like most of the boys were conspiring to keep them out of the fight.

"After everything you've gone through, you pretty much deserve this. Don't worry about Grim, either." Deuce pounded his chest. "We'll be sure to bring him back in one piece."

"I. . . appreciate. . ." Yuu gestured vaguely while also feeling that 'appreciate' was a strange thing to say. They didn't appreciate being pushed out of something important without being heard, and they weren't sure how to feel about the unexpected concern for their wellbeing, especially at a time like this. "I appreciate you guys wanting to give me a break, but I really am serious about coming with to save Grim."

They saw shoulders slumping and heard frustrated huffs. "Listen!" they yelled, starting to feel frustrated themself. "I almost lost Grim once! I need to be there to make sure I don't lose him again. I know you guys can do what I can't, I've seen you all fight before, and I know you all will be able to handle what's coming, but I can't stand being on the side again! So, like it or not, I'm coming with. And why do any of you care about me getting a few scratches or hits from magic, anyway? It's not like it hasn't happened before."

No one responded.

". . . Guys?"

Finally, Leona clicked his tongue. "So annoying. I told you all it would've been pointless to do this."

"What's going on?" Yuu scanned the faces around them, noticing how uneasy Jack and Riddle looked, how Ace and Deuce seemed to have something to say, how irritated or hesitant everyone else appeared. Malleus approached them and they immediately noticed his brows furrowed in concern. "Tsunotaro. . . ?"

"Two night ago, we all shared a prophetic vision, likely similar to what you have been experiencing as of late. All of us were gathered together battling the chimera form of Grim in the same area as the current one. He casted spells that were beyond his usual abilities, including one that made it hard to breathe. Somehow, in the blink of a moment, you ended up alone with him trying to get him to come to his senses."

Yuu held their breath as Malleus said, "But then he opened his mouth and lunged towards you, and the vision ended. Forgive us for not telling you sooner. It is difficult speaking of someone's prophesied death and we did not want you to lose your confidence."

Multiple eyes carefully watched Yuu process everything he said. Some wondered how this would affect their character (Malleus admired them for their courage, considering their circumstances, and Ace liked them for their gutsy and surprising moments; hopefully nothing would change).

Others hoped that Yuu would relent and let the group fight Grim without them (Rook was regretful of leaving Yuu behind, but someone as special as them needed to be kept safe; Riddle simply didn't want to lose a dear friend).

And others prepared to rebut Yuu if they were still stubborn about going (Leona was mentally groaning and Vil shared his sentiment; aside from the Freshman Squad's reputation for having hard-heads, the two understood how much Grim meant to Yuu).

The Ramshackle Prefect started to observe them in turn with an unreadable expression.

Then they scowled. "You all realize how fucked up it is to keep that a secret, right? I mean, shouldn't I be told I might be walking to my death? Or is it--I don't know. You all think I can't make my own decisions?"

"That's the thing, Yuu. You care a lot about the people around you, and when it comes to Grim, you'd do anything to keep him safe. Even if we told you about the vision, I'm willing to bet you'd try to convince us to let you come anyway," Ace said. "You're right, it was fucked up to keep the vision from you, but we can't let you be so careless about yourself, especially since it's basically confirmed you might die."

"That cat has no idea how lucky he is to have a patient and caring person like yourself," Sebek said. "It wouldn't do for him to learn it through severely injuring you."

"And actually, none of us would be able to stand it if you got hurt or worse and we had the opportunity to prevent it," Ortho said. "You've done a lot already. Just this once, we want to handle this without troubling you."

Yuu silently stared at their Squad, mouth agape.

"When we found out you had gone with Epel and Hunt to find S.T.Y.X.'s headquarters, we seriously thought wouldn't see you again," Deuce said. "You gave us a heart attack with what happened in Scarabia. What you did then was unbearable."

"I know it's pointless to think about, but I sometimes worry over what would have happened if I didn't get my Unique Magic in time," Epel said. "Seeing that vision of Grim pouncing on you, though. . . it's made it harder to sleep at night."

"Frankly, the headmaster could be more considerate of you," Jack said. "Having to take care of Grim and being a Prefect can't be easy. Not to mention, what was he thinking tasking you with stopping Azul?"

He rubbed the back of his neck, looking to the side. "On top of being a little reckless, it makes it hard to not want to pull you back from any trouble."

"So, whatever you tell us, we're not taking no for an answer," Ace concluded.

The anger they had towards everyone for their audacity to keep the vision a secret was dimmed a little (just a little) by their friends' worry for their well-being. At the same time, the worrying made their heart tremble and throat tighten. They closed their eyes and took a deep breath. "You know, this whole time I was expected to be a stone wall. I forgot what it felt like to be cared about."

"Huh?" multiple voices chorused.

"What do you mean by that?" Deuce asked.

"Well, I was pretty much thrown into a lion's den and expected to survive it. I wasn't given much sympathy either by nearly everyone I met, especially during the first month." (A few of the boys internally cringed, remembering the hurtful words he had said.) "There's also the fact that most of the school consists of pricks who are self-absorbed year-round. It's not very comforting to know that if something happens to me, there's a good chance no one's going to give me a hand, except if it's people I get along with or people who can benefit from my suffering."

"I don't blame you for wanting certain attitudes to change, but you know as well as I do that you'll encounter pricks and predators anyway beyond the school walls," Vil said but not without some sympathy.

"I do," they said bitterly. "Look, I get it. I shouldn't expect the world to hold my hand or offer me everything on a silver platter. But--god damn it, would it have killed anyone or even any of you guys to have some sympathy? To be a little more decent?”

"I was able to bear the atmosphere of NRC for a while, but at some point, it gets so fucking tiring. A student population that can't be a smidge nicer unless they're beaten up or more upfront about their actual intentions." They shook their head, then made a derisive sound. "That's why I'm having a hard time processing this. I'm sorry, but I can't wrap my head around the fact that you guys, who come from Night Raven College, are actually showing that you care."

The corner of their lip twitched upward, forming a broken smile. Concern was visible on everyone's faces.

"Yuu," Ace said, "are you okay?"

". . . No. I haven't been okay since coming here, or maybe I wasn't okay before coming here and it just got worse. I don't really know."

They turned their face to the side, but it was too late: everyone saw a tear slide down their cheek. Except for Grim and the rest of the First Year Squad, no one ever saw the Ramshackle Prefect cry. It strangely made everyone concerned, and some reached out a hand.

"Yuu..."

"Prefect..."

They raised a fist to their face, as though it could stop the tears before they could spill. They took a slow, deep breath to calm themself, but they never let that breath go in fear a sob would escape.

"Yuu." A hand gently touched their shoulder. "It's all right."

They shoved the person away. They couldn't see who it was from the torrent of tears that suddenly spilled and blinded their sight. "It's not!"

"I was starting to believe people when they said I wouldn't be anything! They told me I was useless and dumb and a nobody. They told me I should've stayed a janitor because I couldn't do anything right. They'd try to beat me up for some etiquette I didn't know or for some stupid reason."

Insulting Yuu's parents and them. . .

Riddle noticed Trey setting aside a big cookie during preparations for the Unbirthday Party. It was for Yuu. Earlier that day, someone or some people had stolen their bag and stuffed it with crumpled paper and empty food wrappers. Their notebooks--thankfully still in tact--had been tossed haphazardly around the school and led to the field where the bag was left. Trey found all this out when Ace and Deuce returned to Heartslabyul dorm scowling. The Unbirthday Party went on as usual, and Yuu seemed cheered up by the cookie and receiving the honors of petting a hedgehog. Much, much later, Riddle caught a bully red-handed and dished out the consequences for breaking Rule #53: You must replace anything you steal. Sadly, it didn't deter other bullies from stealing Yuu's bag, but Riddle still punished whoever he could for breaking an important rule and troubling someone so undeserving.

Threatening to take a tooth. . .

Leona overheard a conversation while napping in the botanical garden. In between sleep and waking, he initially thought he was dreaming the times he overheard the servants whispering disapprovingly about him. What made him wake up was hearing plots to get Yuu kicked out. He couldn't be bothered to care what ridiculous crap the herbivores in the other dorms or his juniors in Savanaclaw got caught up in, but this was something different. Joke or not, someone had to step in before either party gets kicked out--and that's what he did, telling the students off for planning something ridiculous and highly risky (and glaring harshly when he recognized some of the students as members of the Magift Club). After the students scrammed, he settled back down to sleep and his mind wandered to Yuu. He felt a little deja vu when he thought how they needed a tutor to keep themself from failing (and Grim too even though that fur ball could pay to be less annoying). It would dig into his rest time, but he had an idea for what Yuu could do to make up for that. Say, help a certain hyena finish his given tasks quicker.

"It feels like I'm only here for people to use or take from. I keep wondering why it always happens. Is there something wrong with me? Was there some invisible sign telling people I was a tool that didn't need repairs? Was I cheap labor because I'm on the bottom of some hierarchy?"

Taking Ramshackle Dorm away. . .

Once, Azul came across a group of students playing 'keep away' with Yuu and their lunch box. For a moment, he was reminded of his child self, trying to get back a seashell from a couple of bullies who were tossing it to each other over his head and taunting his slowness. He snapped out of his memories when Ace, Deuce, and Grim entered the scene, magic ablazed and yelling. It wouldn't be the first time he would see this happen: anytime anyone picked on Yuu while using magic, their friends would come to their aid. (If Azul had to be honest, he envied the Ramshackle Prefect for having people like the First Year Squad look out for them.) But then, some time after his Overblot, he came across a couple of students on brooms waving Yuu's homework from their perch. The sight particularly irked him, but before he could step in, one of the bullies lost his grip and a couple of papers got blown away. The rest of the homework got lost when he and his accomplice tried grabbing the sheets. It all drifted onto the wet grass below or sailed over the trees, and the bullies, suddenly remembering they had something more important to do, left Yuu scrambling to salvage what they could. Azul wouldn't forget the Prefect's face when they asked, defeated, what he wanted in exchange for helping them with the missing papers. He neither wouldn't forget their face when they asked how he had been able to deal with being picked on so much. For once, he didn't feel the urge to strike a deal.

Using them for a plan. . .

When the high of partying in the desert died down, all Jamil could think about was how he would tell his family that he Overblotted and why. It churned his stomach picturing their horrified faces, and it was made worse when he wondered what the Al-Asim family would do if they heard that their heir had been caught in a dangerous situation by none other than the loyal best friend. What would happen to him and his family then? Amidst the inner turmoil, the Ramshackle Prefect and Grim were far from his mind until he and Kalim found them practicing for the VDC tryouts. A proper apology was due, but he didn't have one prepared. It didn't seem to matter to the two, though, as they acted like nothing happened. As though he didn't force them to "solve" another dorm problem right after Grim expressed not wanting to. When Vil Overblotted, he saw Grim rearing to fight while voicing how troublesome it was to deal with yet another Overblot. His eyes slid over to Yuu. . . and it was crystal clear they didn't want to deal with anything anymore. They stared at Vil's cackling, levitating figure with despair, eyes telling of exhaustion and mouth tugging into a grimace, a sign of reluctant acceptance. He tried to protect them when he could from poisonous spells--emphasis on tried, since he still had Kalim to keep safe--and afterwards, offered leftover food whenever Scarabia had parties.

"Was an Overblot all it took for people to see me differently? I can't control how other people act, only how I respond. All I can do is take things easy and forgive, but I don't know if I can keep doing it. It's just. . ."

Their voice trembled. "So hard to keep going when it seems like barely anyone wants to consider you."

Word spread fast around Night Raven College and it wasn't long before Vil recognized that Yuu was in a challenging position: they lived in a literal ramshackle dorm, had to live on a small budget, and were entirely new to this world. He had to hand it to them, they possessed quite the will and backbone. After all they experienced, he counted himself lucky that they warmed up to him rather quickly--which was why he noticed how tensely quiet they became the night after their friends snuck a bite of unknowingly cursed dessert. When asked, they told him bluntly that it was painful seeing food used like that. They were struggling to pay off lunch debts and it was made much worse when already broken windows broke a little more or parts of the roof had to be patched up after a short downpour. Vil could see a little hunger in their eyes as they talked of instances where they had to decide between repairs and eating dinner that night, even the next two nights. He didn't know about their struggles in the first place, but he nonetheless felt terrible about what he did and deeply apologized. For the rest of the VDC training camp, he ignored any footsteps that came from the Prefect's bedroom and headed downstairs, even as they made the floorboard creak loudly.

Idia sometimes thought about how the Prefect looked when they thanked him for listening to their rambles of all the anime they watched back on Earth. The two of them were sitting in Ramshackle Dorm's lounge, waiting for the next level of the game to finish loading, when he glanced over. Serene and distant, like they had recounted a fond memory. He thought back to all the isekai manga, anime, and video games he consumed. Some protagonists seemed pretty eager to be in another world, others were immediately wishing to go back home, but those who expressed homesickness did it in a cool way, like staring at a moon while sitting next to a best friend (he did remember reading fanfiction where it was more emotional, though.) None had a protagonist talk about something as mundane as the shows they loved to watch, let alone a protagonist who would talk to someone awkward like him. Didn't Yuu have their squad for these sort of heart to heart things? But they insisted that he was the guy they wanted to talk to; according to them, he was the most similar to the friends they rambled to about anime and would very likely 'get' what they would be talking about. Idia was simultaneously flattered and frightened: flattered because his expertise in the media was recognized and frightened because he was in a position reserved for those with high relationship levels. In fact, he panicked when Yuu suddenly got teary-eyed. The saving grace was the next level finishing loading and the characters getting thrown into chaos. The next time he came to Ramshackle Dorm, he brought with him some anime he thought Yuu would appreciate.

"And that's the thing. I don't understand how people forget there's more to a person than whether they have magic. There were times I wished no one had magic so they'd just shut up and stop acting like they're better than me or anyone else. It's like having magic is an excuse to be an ass."

Yuu sometimes joined Malleus on his nighttime strolls. Most nights they would be sound asleep, which was why he treasured the times they were awake enough to walk with him. The two talked about anything that came to mind: gargoyles, schoolwork, differences between Earth and Twisted Wonderland. Then one night, Yuu casually mentioned that many of the students were rather. . . unwelcoming. "Some of them act like I don't exist, but it's better than getting my homework stolen and thrown to the wind." He was surprised, but not unfamiliar with bullying from Lilia's recollection of cruel humans and various history lessons. He asked why. They shrugged, answering, "Probably because I'm low on the hierarchy. I don't have basic knowledge on magic on top of being magicless." When he said it still didn't warrant such behavior, they smiled sadly and replied, "Well, that's how it goes when you got something another person doesn't, and that other person just so happens to not really fit in a certain place." Later, Malleus was distraught to hear from Lilia that some of the students who were unkind to Yuu were of Diasomnia. The dorm was founded on the elegance of the Thorn Witch, surely the students would act with decor. But Lilia told him not to worry, he had a word with those students on being more open. But Malleus still wondered if there was something he could do. It turns out the answer was simple (even though it took place after his Overblot): hang out with Yuu during the daytime. They were a fellow student, were they not? So why should they be treated any different?

"Sometimes, I wonder if anything would change if I Overblotted. Would anyone wonder then why it happened and be nicer? Or. . ." Yuu let out a bitter scoff. "Would nothing change and people just see me more as an alien freak?"

They scrubbed the tears in their eyes. "Maybe I'm just a dumb ass and my Phantom would just eat me. It's not like I have anything else to offer it. God, what am I doing?"

The weight of what they had spilled for the past couple of minutes started crashing down like a crumbling shelf. They didn't want to see what the others' reactions were and continued to wipe their eyes with their hands and sleeves, even if there wasn't much to wipe. Their mind cycled through anything they could say to escape such an embarrassing situation. So sorry, I didn't know where it came from. Let's go back to arguing why I can't come with you guys to save my cat. He has been nothing but a pain in the ass, I should know, but he's become nicer and been my primary protector. He keeps insisting he'd protect me because he's the boss and I'm his henchman, and it's so endearing sometimes. And he's comforted me when I become so sick and just need someone to hold me--

"How long has this been going on for?" It was a gentle question. Yuu lowered their hand and found Ace and Deuce standing before them, the worry on their faces making their heart clench.

"A long time."

"Why didn't you say anything? We could have done something, you know," Deuce said.

Yuu shook their head. "This school runs on sink or swim. 'Losers don't have the right to complain.' And did you guys forget that we're freshmen? What can you guys do against the whole school? I actually talked about this with the school counselor and all he could do was apologize and tell me he'll put in a note for the headmaster."

Yuu almost laughed at the faces Ace and Deuce made. "I'm pretty sure I'm his first case for something like this."

"Still, you shouldn't just take everything lying down," Deuce said.

"I don't want to anymore, but I'm so tired of fighting. At what point can I stop?"

Yuu was once again seen under a new light. The viewpoint was different for each boy: from magicless outlier to honorary dorm member, notorious problem solver to exhausted errand runner, doe-eyed student to determined but kind mastermind, just to name a few. Yuu had laid bare wounds previously covered up by uniform sleeves, things they couldn't talk about or didn't feel comfortable sharing because otherwise they'd go against the school norm and grab negative attention to themself. Their closest friends knew of these wounds; others caught glimpses of certain parts. With the revelation, they all shared a similar viewpoint: an ordinary person so far from home, dropped into a magical, chaotic world and more vulnerable than what anyone realized. More exhausted and heavily scarred than what anyone realized.

"When Leona told me to stay here, I thought all along you guys didn't think of me as someone who could stand beside you and that everything had just been you all tolerating me." Yuu's voice dropped to a whisper. "That had hurt me more than any of you could know."

". . . Anyone who thinks you're undeserving of your position knows absolutely nothing," Riddle said. "Not counting your grades, you've proven yourself enough to have a place in this school."

Yuu gave Riddle a wobbly smile and he found himself feeling a little bashful. "Thanks, Riddle."

The smile suddenly became strained and they looked away. "I'm sorry. I know I said I took things easy and forgave, but--" they grimaced--"I can't bring myself to let go of some things you and the others did."

A/N: This accidentally became a two parter

EDIT: I forgot to add the link to part 2. Here it is

[southtopaz]

PSYCHO KILLER - SCREAM

Summary: in which Iris Morris has to navigate her personal relationships while surviving a psycho.

Warnings: Fem!reader, angst, mention of violence, swearing, mention of death, Tara Carpenter x Fem reader, multiple parts.

Word count: +2,5k

A/n: this part will follow the events of Scream 6 but it will take place two years later from Scream 5. English is not my first language, so I apologize for any grammatical mistake.

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8, Part 9, Part 10, Part 11, Part 12, Part 13, Part 14, Part 15, Part 16, Part 17, Part 18.

After Tara and Iris stepped out of the room, they made their way downstairs, where Sam, Kirby, and Wayne were deep in discussion about a plan to catch Ghostface. The plan was simple: walk through a public area, wait for Ghostface to call, and then trace the call to pinpoint his location. Iris couldn't shake the feeling that the plan was almost too easy, but at this point, they had nothing to lose.

As the three of them ventured into the nearby park, the sun shone brightly, casting a warm glow over the scene. Families were scattered across the grassy areas, children laughed as they played, and couples strolled hand in hand. The contrast between the carefree atmosphere and their dangerous mission felt surreal.

Tara and Iris walked side by side, their silence punctuated by an unspoken tension that hung in the air. Every time they caught each other's eyes, a rush of awkwardness washed over them, causing both to quickly look away.

"You two should have stayed with the others," Sam said sternly, glancing back at them as they walked.

"That's not going to happen," Tara replied defiantly, her tone firm.

"And miss all the fun? Nope, Sam, I want to be there when we catch him," Iris added.

"Yeah, same," Tara chimed in, her gaze fixed on the ground, unable to meet Iris's eyes for more than a fleeting moment.

Sam shot them a puzzled look, her brow furrowing as she sensed the weird tension between them. "Okay, what happened?"

"What do you mean?" Iris feigned innocence, her heart racing.

Sam gestured between them, her expression shifting to one of concern. "This... whatever the fuck is going on. You two are acting weird."

"We are not acting weird," Tara protested, but the slight tremor in her voice betrayed her.

"Don't know what you're talking about," Iris said at the same time, still avoiding each other's gaze.

Sam studied them closely, her curiosity piqued. "You," she pointed at Iris, "went to talk to her," then she turned to Tara, "and then you two spent a big fucking amount of time upstairs, and now you're both acting like this? Like Tara was all red when you guys came downstairs!".

She paused, her eyes widening as realization dawned on her. "Shut up, like shut the fuck up."

"Sam, no," Tara began, her voice rising slightly in panic.

"You're telling me..." Sam's grin widened, amusement lighting up her face.

"I'm not telling you shit, we have things to worry about like catching a fucking psycho that wants to kill us thank you very much" Iris shot back, quickening her pace to escape Sam's gaze. She could feel the heat rising in her cheeks, mortified that the woman seemed to realize what went down between Tara and her.

"This is the funniest shit ever" Sam declared, unable to contain her laughter.

"You know Sam? Maybe Ghostface has a fucking point".

Sam laughed for a moment before she redirected the conversation back to their plan. "Alright, alright. Focus, everyone. We need to stay on track here." She gave Tara a proud pat on the back, making the girl smile softly.

"Anyways, there's no point in all of us putting ourselves at risk," Sam continued, changing the topic of conversation.

"We're not," said Tara simply. "We're your backup."

"Hey, Sam." Kirby's voice crackled through the phone, breaking the silence that had settled over the group as they walked. "Stay frosty out there, okay?"

"We're good," Sam replied, her voice steady but tinged with an undercurrent of tension. She glanced around, her eyes scanning the park, taking note of the families picnicking and the joggers weaving through the paths. It all felt too normal, too peaceful for the chaos they were entangled in.

Nearby, Wayne sat on a bench, pretending to read a newspaper. His posture was casual, but Sam could tell he was hyper-aware, eyes darting around to ensure they weren't being watched. He had insisted on keeping a close eye on them, and Sam appreciated his presence, even if it felt stifling at times.

As they continued their stroll, Iris trailed behind Sam, her mind wandering. The sun warmed her skin and Iris felt tempted to buy an ice cream cone as it seemed like the only time they actually wanted Ghostface to talk to them was the one time he didn't feel like it.

Minutes passed in silence as they walked, and just as Iris was about to complain, Sam's phone buzzed, cutting through the tranquility. The sound was sharp and jarring, Sam pulled it out of her pocket without hesitation, her heart racing as she glanced at the caller ID. Once again, it displayed Richie's name.

A chill ran down her spine, but she took a deep breath, steeling herself. "You're gonna die, you know," she growled into the phone, her voice surprisingly calm despite the fury simmering beneath the surface.

"No, you're gonna die, Samantha!" Ghostface shot back. "Choking on your own blood when I hack up your sister and your friends."

"Unless we find you first." She shot back, her grip on the phone tightening. She could feel her pulse quickening as she glanced at Iris and Tara, both of them looking around the park, their eyes darting from one person to another, searching for anyone who seemed out of place.

"For a mastermind, you're not very bright,"

Ghostface's voice came through, smooth and taunting. "Waiting for me to call, desperately hoping I'm nearby so the police can grab me? But I'm not nearby. I'm a step ahead of you idiots, as always. Be seeing you, Samantha." With that, the line went dead, leaving a silence that hung heavy in the air. Sam's breath came in short bursts, and she clenched her jaw, fighting back the rage that threatened to consume her.

"How the hell did he know about our plan?" Iris exclaimed, panic rising in her voice. "Someone must have told him."

"Did you get the location?" Sam spoke to Kirby, struggling to keep her voice steady.

"Yep," the FBI agent replied, maintaining her calm. "Geolocation is coming through right now. He's on the Upper West Side, in an apartment halfway across the city."

"On West 96th?" Tara interjected, her heart racing.

"Wait, how did you know that?" Kirby asked, a hint of disbelief in her tone.

The realization dawned on them simultaneously, the air thick with dread as they processed where the killer was calling from and who he was targeting next.

"Gale," they whispered in unison, horror etched across their faces.

Without a moment's hesitation, the four of them took off running, adrenaline propelling them forward. "My friend Danny is on the West Side," Sam panted, fingers flying over her phone as she messaged him. "He can get there faster."

"Yeah, or he could finish her off!!" Wayne shot back, his voice laced with urgency. "Is it possible he's the killer?"

"We'd be dead without him, so I'll take my chances," Iris replied, fear fueling her stride. As Tara ran alongside her, she subtly pointed out a police car parked on the street. Both of them exchanged a quick glance before sprinting toward it, leaving Sam and Wayne to argue behind them.

Iris and Tara dove into the car, and Tara scrambled for the driver's seat, her palma sweating as she rifled through the compartments for the keys.

"Are we about to commit a felony?" Iris asked.

"Yep. You ready?"

"Okay cool just making sure" Iris found the keys and tossed them to Tara as she buckled her seatbelt. Tara immediately started honking the horn, glancing back to see Sam still engaged in conversation with the police officer.

"Sam!" Tara shouted over the blaring horn. She honked again, urgency pulsing in every beep. "Get in!"

"What is she doing?" Wayne demanded, noticing Tara behind the wheel. His concern deepened as he watched Sam bolt toward the car, his expression laced with disbelief.

"Hey! Get out of my car!" the older man shouted, storming toward them. "What do you think you're doing? That's an official vehicle! HEY!"

"I feel like we should use the sirens," Iris suggested, rolling up the window to muffle Wayne's protests.

"Did you really think we were going to steal a police car and not use the sirens?" Tara shot Iris a playful smirk as she pressed the button, the blaring sirens instantly echoing through the air.

Wayne began banging on Iris's window, desperation written all over his face. "Do you even have a license?"

"Sorry, bro, can't hear you!" Iris mouthed exaggeratedly, dramatically pointing to her ears and shaking her head.

"Let's go!" Sam urged, glancing around as Tara slammed the car into gear and sped off down the street, the sound of sirens fading in the distance.

In the backseat, Sam anxiously dialed Gale's number again, frustration mounting as the call went straight to voicemail.

"She's not answering!" Sam exclaimed, her voice tinged with desperation. "Can you drive any faster?"

"I can try!" Tara replied. She swerved around a sedan, the tires squealing as she weaved between cars, almost like it was a fast and furious movie.

"Jesus christ Tara, try not to get us killed please!" Iris shouted from the passenger seat, gripping the handle as they picked up speed.

They burst into Gale's apartment to find Ghostface looming over her, as he pushed a knife to her face while the older woman fought with every ounce of strength she had to stop him.

"Hey fuckface!" Sam shouted, as she quickly snatched a gun from the floor and shot at Ghostface a couple of times, missing him by inches. She didn't kill him but it distracted him long enough to break his grip on Gale.

Iris and Tara rushed to Gale's side, panic flooding their senses as they took in her injury. Blood was pooling beneath her, and it seemed impossible to stop it.

Iris quickly tore off her jacket and pressed it against Gale's abdomen, her hands shaking. "Gale, stay with us! Come on, don't give up," she urged, desperation lacing her voice.

Tara squeezed Gale's hand tightly, her eyes wide with fear. "You're going to be okay, we're right here. Just hold on!"

"Oh, shit, Gale!" Sam exclaimed, dropping to the floor beside Iris to help apply pressure to the wound. "I'm sorry. I should've known that he was gonna come after you."

Gale opened her eyes briefly, locking gazes with them. "He didn't get me. Tell Sidney he never got me," she said, her voice steady yet haunting, as if she was coming to terms with her fate. Then, her eyes fluttered shut.

"Gale!" Sam called out, panic rising in her chest.

"Don't you dare, Gale!" Iris pleaded, desperation filling the air.

"Out of the way!" a paramedic shouted as they burst into the room, urgency written all over their faces.

"Move! You've got to move!" Tara cried, gripping Sam's shoulders and pulling her back, the older girl unwilling to accept the reality that Gale might be gone.

"Got a weak pulse, we gotta move now!" the paramedic said as she assessed Gale's condition. The three girls collectively exhaled in relief, tears spilling down their cheeks as they sobbed quietly, clinging to hope as the paramedics worked swiftly to stabilize Gale.

Gale was rushed to the hospital, and the entire group hurried there, anxious for updates. They filled the waiting area, each person lost in their own thoughts. Just then, they spotted Danny sprinting through the hospital doors, urgency in his stride.

"I got here as fast as I could," he panted, but Sam could only stare at him, her mind racing and words escaping her.

"Did you?" Tara questioned suspiciously, her eyes narrowing. Iris felt a knot tighten in her stomach; Danny was supposed to be close to Gale, yet he had arrived much later. It didn't look good.

"I'm sorry, I—" Danny started, but he was interrupted.

"I'm scared, you guys," Mindy suddenly spoke up, her voice trembling with fear. "I really don't want to get hurt again."

"Neither do I," Chad added, his own voice quaking.

Mindy turned to her twin brother, concern etched on her face. "I don't want you getting hurt again, either."

"I know. I know." Chad leaned his head on Mindy's shoulder, drawing comfort from her presence.

"We're going to be fine. We have to be," Iris spoke up, trying to reassure her friends but she wasn't sure anyone believed her. Tara leaned against Mindy as well, and Mindy extended her hand, prompting Iris to join them.

Iris looked at Sam, who stood nearby, her expression failing to show anything other than despair. She rubbed Sam's shoulder in a comforting manner.

"So, what do we do now?" Chad asked, making eye contact with everyone in their friend group, searching for answers.

"Maybe he gets to win this time," Sam's voice came out soft, causing the room to go still. Everyone turned to her in disbelief. "He wants to punish me."

Sam stood up, her lower lip trembling as the weight of her words sank in. "Me," she reiterated. "So maybe I just let him."

"Are you insane, Sam?" Iris shot back, her disbelief palpable. She couldn't understand where this was coming from.

"I'll just give myself up," Sam continued, as if she hadn't heard Iris. "If this is what I have to do to keep you all safe, then it's worth it."

"No, we're not doing that, Sam!" Tara exclaimed, rising to her feet to close the distance to her sister. "You went back to Woodsboro to protect me and every single day you make the decision to protect me. None of us would even be alive if it wasn't for you. You have to let us protect you this time"

"No," Sam shook her head, her resolve unwavering.

"Yes, we're a team. Remember?" Tara urged, her voice rising as the others began to stand as well.

"We have each other's backs, now and always," Iris added, stepping closer to reinforce her point.

"Actually, we're a family," Mindy interjected, her expression firm.

"Let's go! Core Five! Come on!" Chad declared, his enthusiasm breaking through the tension as he clapped his hands together and raised one hand in the air.

"Core Five!" Mindy echoed, joining her brother, and the others quickly followed suit, hands in the center.

"Core what?" Danny asked, a bemused smile on his face.

"It's an us thing," Chad shrugged, dismissing the confusion with a grin.

"He's going to keep coming after us," Sam said, her voice trembling as fear crept in.

"Then we kill the bitch" Iris replied, as if it was that simple.

"Isn't there somewhere safe we could just hole up in?" Ethan chimed in for the first time, his tone unsure.

"No, he'll just keep finding us," Tara countered, her expression darkening.

"Great," Ethan muttered, clearly frustrated.

Tara paused, deep in thought, before a glimmer of hope crossed her face. "Maybe we can use that though."

She grabbed her phone and quickly dialed Officer Bailey. The group exchanged glances, unsure of what her plan was but trusting her instincts. Tara put the call on speaker so everyone could hear.

"I'm getting my ass chewed out for not dropping the case, and now you want me to do what?" Officer Bailey's incredulous voice crackled through the speaker.

"We want to lure him to a secure location and trap him," .

"And then what?" Bailey asked, skepticism clear in his voice.

"We execute him." Tara declared like it was a normal thing to say, but maybe to them it was. After a moment of silence from Wayne line she spoke again. "Are you going to help us?"

"Let's kill the son of a bitch." Wayne's voice sounded angry. "Now, I'm stuck here, but Gale gave us the cards to the theater. It's got heavy surveillance and security cameras, but we can use that against him. I'll tell Kirby to meet you there, and I'll join you as soon as I can."

"Got it."

"And remember, travel in public," Wayne added. "The more people around you, the less chance he has to take a shot at you before you get there."

They hung up, and the group moved toward the door, setting the plan in motion. Iris lingered back a moment, turning to Tara with a smile.

"What?" Tara asked, a hint of nervousness in her voice.

"Great plan,"

"Thanks," Tara replied as they made their way toward the subway station.

"So, execute him?" Iris raised her eyebrows in mock surprise. Tara rolled her eyes at the theatrics. "And then you say I'm the sadistic one?"

"Don't lie to me, you kinda dig it," Tara shot back, echoing what Iris had said a few hours earlier.

Iris burst into laughter. "Oh, you have no idea."

[ilovefoodandslasherswithmasks]

Yall can listen to: X from Lexxe

While you read this, I promise you, this song is so Billy coded. I'm always like 😩

TW: no minors yall shoo, suggestive language, etc, it's spicey but not burning hot spicey yet, part two is coming in a few days, touching, mentioning pet names and fem reader, suggestive gestures but not detailed iykyk

Cause I need more than my imagination

~ part 2

Going to Hawkins was boring as shit, the high school sucked, everyone was so..small towny? People were either extremely religious, judgy, or complete popular kids.

'Like Steve Harrington, guy had girls drolling if not also boys, I mean I get it he's attractive but not like ATTRACTIVE.'

So going to school and seeing no one fitting your type was exhausting, but there was Billy, he came to Hawkins a few years ago, with his Step sister and all.

Really there wasn't much to him at first but then, there was rumors, about him, how he was like in the bedroom. He wasn't very alluring at first, his snarky, flirty personality not really your thing. But when you went to a party, playing Pool and absolutely obliterating the other team, you caught a glimpse of him staring at you as you bend down to hit the white ball against the last colored billiard ball, absolutely missing when a blush slammed itself on your cheeks. Giving the other team the win. Huffing you drop a comment to the other team that was being a sore winner, "I would've won if I hadn't had more to drink dipshits, yall are sober assholes!" You snap at them, groaning as you go get yourself some more heavily alcohol infused punch. It didn't taste good but fuck did it do the job.

You sit down outside by the pool, as you watch a group of guys gather around a beer keg, Billy, as you knew him, is doing the weird drinking over head thing. Staring at the scene unfolding, while sipping your drink, when he was done you watch the way the drink slips down his bare chest, vanishing under his flannel somewhere, when you look back up at his face he was already staring at you, all smug and shit. God you would've been embarrassed but you had so much alcohol you found it incredibly hot. So you smile before walking away. Deciding to leave the party early, you walk down the street, turning around one last time to see him standing on the street watching you go.

That was about a week ago, but the stares didn't stop, you'd catch him staring at you chewing on his toothpick in the hall, the classrooms he was in with you, the cafeteria, parking lot shit even when you passed him on the way to the toilet.

Honestly it was a bit much, you didn't forget what happened, how could you, but now you weren't drunk, you were you. And you avoided all his stares, he was basically undressing you with his eyes, and he didn't try to hide it. He'd lock eyes and lick the toothpick, or he'd adjust his pants, which you weren't sure was just habit because hsi belt seemed annoying to you, or for other reasons.

But you always did you best to avoid his gaze, you'd occupy yourself when he stared at you, opening the book you had no intend to read, or whatever else was closest. And he definitely knew you were just shy, embarrassed and definitely not used to this attention.

The second week you got a bit more confident, you'd hold his gaze a little longer until he would wink at you with his smile, which imidiatly caused you to blush and again, occupy yourself with something else. That's how the second week passed.

Third week he was visibly closer, sitting at the same table, behind you in class, or standing next to your locker. Hell avoiding him was hard, but you tried less and less to avoid him. His eyes still flustered you as did his slowly more suggestive gestures. But you tried so hard to be more comfortable, and slowly it came naturally to stare back at him. Imagining the things he would do to you if you finally had the courage to say more than hi back to him.

Fourth week, he would gently slide his hand over you shoulders as he whispered a sweet hi in your ear, in the crowded hallway. Which he only received a flustered hello or a broken good morning. In class he'd play with your hair, or draw random patterns on your back.

Fifth week, those patterns weren't just random, slowly you made out words, like "pretty today" or "I like those pants" or "smelling good" really it wasn't much but the last Friday that week he wrote "you look incredibly hot today, wonder if it can get even hotter". Which left you a mess all weekend.

Sixth week he sat next to you at the cafeteria, he never really ate, but he got the food you enjoyed and shared it with you, staring at you as you drank the chocolate milk, or took a bite out of the snacks he got. He would feed you if you would talk to him a bit more. You still barely said anything but small talk, that's all he got, he flirted? You shut down and stayed quiet while blushing.

Seventh week, you got a lot more comfortable, one or two flirts back to him a day, that was it, that was all you managed. And it humbled you when you stuttered it out instead of saying it normal. Shit it was real humbling. But he took it all, he basked in it, he chewed his bottom lip when it was a good line or he'd nudge your thigh with his knuckles when he started to lose himself in your eyes.

Eighth week, you finally found yourself in the position of openly flirting, less shy, a lot more bold and profound suggestive. He loved it, he'd laugh, or actually get a slight tint on his freckled covered cheeks. Shit he had the prettiest smile and laugh. In class he now sat next to you and the stares were more obvious, in the last row, no one really noticed. But you wear skirts and the slight cross your legs, moving so the skirt rode up a bit. He couldn't help but smile and grip the table when he looked at you, his eyes traveling up to yours holding them. Getting regularly scolded by the teacher for being all love doves.

Ninth week, you finally let him drive you home, sitting in the passenger seat as he'd blast his favorite music, but keeping it low enough to talk to you, his fingers flickering against your thigh. He'd shift gears and his hand would fall to you leg. Eventually he let his hand rest on your thigh, and you let him it was nice. Gentle, careful, kind of sweet. He never went to far.

Tenth week both of you reached the limit. He had his hand between your thighs when he was driving you home, your hand gripping his wrist and slightly squeezing as he stared ahead at the road.

"Billy" you said over the music,

"Yeah hot stuff?" He asked puffing out the smoke of his Marlboro red.

"Uh..did you ever like, imagine things when you stared at me? Like before we talked..."

He glances at you, a smirk slowly coming to play on his face,

"Yeha but I doubt you can handle it Doll"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It's supposed to mean that I don't think you're able to handle my nasty thoughts yet sweets"

"That's bullshit!"

"Oh yeah? You know why I wanted to call you candy cane at first?"

"No?"

"Cause I love to suck on candy cane"

"Uh oh"

"Yeah, so don't worry, I'll eventually call you that too when you let me taste you as well."

"Oh....uh wow okay uhm"

"See? You can't handle it, and Doll, there's more of that waiting to be exposed to your sweet, innocent mind"

You just laugh a bit, the heat in your abdomen settling and your cheeks match it.

Well there was a lot he kept from you so far, the both of you have just started dating and it was obvious he desired you so deeply, but he was nice enough to wait and keep it to himself. Mostly. He'd call you sweet tit's and stuff when you looked very tempting, but he only said that when it was you too.

In school he'd been basically eye fucking you, you definitely didn't miss it. You're not idiotic enough to miss the way he'd lick his lips when he was forced to sit away from you. Or when you guys had PE and he'd purposely wipe his face with the hem of his shirt, and pull yours up when the teacher told the next exercise, to place his hand in the lower part of your back. Keeping it there, letting his finger nails gently scratch your skin.

It flustered you to hell, you'd have to hurry to the changing room to take a cold shower, or the bathroom if it was during class, to catch a break from his need. To be honest you had to sit down sometimes just to stop yourself from getting rid of that annoying wet feeling that he always caused. He didn't even know how bad you had it for him.

The way his hands wrapped around the steering wheel or how he'd lick his lips after puffing out smoke, or the way his cologne clung to your clothes at the end of the day with his cigarette smell. Drove you insane, so when you were at his place that day, you, in his bed room alone, checking his perfumes to see which is the one he always uses. When you found it, you memorize the name and how it looks and spray some on your sleeve.

Playing dumb when he came back with drinks as he smelled the air.

"Did you use my perfum?"

"Uh no that's probably just you"

He wasn't idiotic to miss what you've been doing either, sneaking away when he tempted you, smelling his jacket when he had you wear it, or the way you looked at his hand when he touched you. Or how you flinched in PE when he touched your bare skin. Well whenever he touched you to be honest. He did it on purpose, to see how long you'd last.

(I didn't read over it, but part two will be here soonnnn I'm so excited yall, but also so stressed cause this is the first time sharing spicey writing and basically my thoughts and own fantasies. 😔 Anywayssss enjoy)

PART TWO IS COMING TODAY YALL, the explicit version, but you can skip it, I'll make sure to write the less spicey version for those who don't enjoy this!!!

[skinwalker-bratz]

Eyeless Jack x AFAB reader: memories

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

CW: gore, cheating, angst, character death, mentions of sex.

A/N: First time posting an angst fanfic that I planned and had an idea behind, well if no one likes it I'll just pretend nothing happened. I hope it's good and you enjoy it.

Reader's POV:

I lived with him for a few years, he's always been very affectionate with me and perhaps one of the only people I've been able to trust in my life.

And it really was, I never had luck with people and relationships, to the point where I couldn't even trust my own family.

And since I had a difficult life in the city with a bad job, annoying people and loneliness, I agreed to move to where Jack lived, a cabin in the middle of the forest.

At the cabin he brings everything i need and want, while I take care of it and grow some of what I eat.

And it was good, for the first time I could experience the feeling of genuine happiness that I missed from my childhood.

He made me happy after a troubled life.

I know it's weird to have this relationship because he's a demon, or something like that, but it's just that in life you meet people that are so evil that they make demons more trustworthy.

And I loved him, since the day we met for the first time.

Well, I confess that I was a little scared before but it seems that he became less threatening each time I got to know him more.

And as soon as I gained his trust, we started to have a friendly relationship, and then slowly everything escalated into a romantic relationship and then I decided to live with him.

And everything seemed like a Disney princess story, we always did everything together, we cooked, we watched movies, we showered, and in the end, we were cuddling and kissing. It's like we couldn't stay apart from each other.

I had never had a person who gave me so much love before, so I always reciprocated by making handmade gifts, taking care of him and doing whatever he wanted, he was like a sun in my life.

He even put his mark on me, the demonic mark like a bite on my neck during one of our love making sessions, a permanent mark which represents a unbreakable bond as he told me.

Everything was always so good, that even when we fought, we started talking again as if nothing had happened before.

But it seems like this year he started acting weird towards me, suddenly all that burning fire and unconditional love from Jack had gone out like a dead flame.

He was more distant than usual, he spoke very little to me and all the sex, making out and words of affirmation were slowly becoming less frequent.

I thought he was sick, or that something had happened to him, maybe someone was causing this or hurting my love.

But every time I tried to talk to him, he just avoided bringing up the subject, diverted the conversation or invented something very important to do at that moment.

Of course, this made me worried, maybe I had touched a nerve, maybe something very worrying was happening to Jack, but as he didn't want to tell me I just respected it.

And of course I also suspected that something was wrong with me, but as I was sure I hadn't done anything, I thought something had happened to Jack.

And the days went by, I remember that that was the grayest week of my life, I really remembered what it was like to feel alone, what my life was like before.

Even though I had things to do and distract my mind in the cabin, it was strange doing all that without Jack's company.

It was as if those activities had lost their meaning and were empty.

But after a week he spoke to me again, apologized for the sudden silence and we went back to normal.

He never told me what had happened, but I was happy that at least I had Jack back.

We had sex that night and it was one of the best I've ever had, it was like filling a need I couldn't hold back any longer.

The next day I woke up feeling strange. Jack, suspicious of the situation, went into town that morning and returned with a pregnancy test.

We didn't know whether to be happy or shocked by the situation.

We didn't even expect it to be possible for us to procreate.

In the end we accepted that, and Jack started to take care of me so that our baby could come into the world healthy.

But deep down I still felt weird, and it wasn't anything related to the baby or my pregnancy.

My intuition kept screaming that there was still something wrong, something that had changed in my life since Jack had been silent that week.

Even though he still gave me all the love in the world, I felt like that love didn't feel the same, like it wasn't truly genuine or meant to fill some hole.

Some hole he didn't want me to discover, so I kept my guard up for any clues as to what was going on.

It was until one night I was sleepless so I stayed up late in bed with Jack without him noticing.

Until he went on another night out to collect organs and I stayed in bed waiting, maybe that had something to do with what was happening.

And since I was sleepless, I stayed awake until he came back. And he returned, not realizing that I hadn't slept yet.

Until then everything was normal, He took off his clothes and went to bed, and as he lay down next to me I smelled something strange and unusual on him.

It wasn't blood or mud, it seemed more sweet but slightly acidic.

That's when I realized what was going on but I kept my composure, I tried not to cry or think about it or he would feel the scent of my sadness.

The day dawned gray, as if my world had died and I had lived a lie for several years.

I didn't see Jack as my one and only love anymore, and now he was just a stranger to me.

It was as if we had never loved each other before, and nothing I experienced with him was real.

He lied to me, he lied.

I waited for him to leave and cried all morning until he came back.

I didn't know what to do, I would never be able to forgive him, I've had my dignity taken away too much in this life, I wouldn't want it taken away again.

I confess that Jack changed in some way, there was something strange in his aura, something that scared me.

I felt like the first time I met him, he seemed more threatening now.

I didn't feel safe in his presence even though he seemed "normal." It was as if at any moment he was going to attack me and he was manipulating me just to give me a false sense of security.

A security that he always promised, he was always very protective of me, but now it seemed like I was just another prey.

But It was already almost nine months of pregnancy, my belly was huge and our baby would soon come into the world.

Maybe he wouldn't try anything with me when our son was born... Or no, maybe he was just waiting for me to deliver the child.

All of this was my speculation, since Jack had a strange vibe after that night.

And I myself must have changed in some way towards him after that night, I became a little distant but I tried to hide it.

I always remembered the smell and how it felt to be betrayed.

But I was afraid I thought to try to get revenge and he would want to retaliate and take my life in some way.

I know it seems absurd, but I had already completely lost trust in him due to what he had done and the circumstances of our relationship.

It was like coming back to reality and seeing how stupid I was to think that a literal demon was worthy of being loved.

If he was already interested in someone, what if he started to like that person or thing more than me?

And if that happens, what will happen to me?

What if... What if he thinks about getting rid of me?

...Kill me?

My mind sometimes imagines too many things, sometimes I go out of my normal range, but this is a great possibility within everything I've ever experienced.

More tears fell and I felt a terrible pain in my chest, I collapsed crying again on my bed, until I felt weak and fell asleep.

I woke up in the afternoon and Jack was by my side. He had asked if I had slept at night and commented on how swollen my eyes were.

There seemed to be some concern in his tone, but I replied that I just hadn't slept well.

As the week went by I came up with a plan to find out but I didn't know where to start, so I had the idea of ​​following him on his outings, but it would be difficult.

I would have to sleep in clothes suitable for going out at night, but he would suspect of me, since I always slept in pajamas.

Until that afternoon I saw a letter left for me on my plantation, the place I usually access the most, so it was definitely for me.

Yeah, it had my name, it was for me.

When I opened and read the letter I felt things like shock, hatred and then sadness again.

It seemed like everything I was suspecting was confirmed there, I wasn't paranoid.

The person who wrote the letter was getting involved with Jack, and he wasn't human, just like him.

He described how easy it was to steal my husband and how he was good in bed and I was a cuckold.

I didn't know whether to cry again or kill Jack, but since I was only human, what could I do?

I was trapped in a cage and my captor was much more powerful than me.

I wanted to believe it was all a lie and show Jack the letter, but given his strange behavior and everything that had happened so far I decided it was better not to.

It was just better for me to accept the truth once and for all.

As I couldn't face Jack and I was afraid that if he knew that I discovered everything he would do something to me, the best alternative was to leave without warning and hide.

So I slowly packed my things, I organized my clothes and my belongings in a way that would make them easy to put in my suitcase when I leave, but without raising suspicion or seeming too easy.

And the week passed, soon I was going to give birth to our son and that made me nervous because it was the week I was planning my escape.

Jack seemed closer now too, and he hadn't left my side all week, probably because of the baby.

It was the first time that his presence irritated me, I tried to show any affection but that would be useless if he smelled me and felt that I didn't love him anymore.

Maybe he didn't even suspect it since he never said anything, or maybe he did, I don't know.

I got the news that someone Jack knew had been injured and needed his help, oh it was just Toby.

So Jack had to leave but and promised to return as soon as possible.

And for me, it was my chance to finally leave and when he took a considerable distance from the cabin I quickly opened my suitcase and threw my things inside.

I already knew that region very well from living there and knew how to get to the nearest city, I was taking money and a first aid kit and food, I was more than prepared.

It was when I was leaving that I froze at the door when I came across a tall, pale figure, that thing was Humanoid and with strange features but handsome in some way, it seemed to be male.

The thing just looked me up and down and laughed in a mocking tone as if I had lost some competition.

He explained who he was and asked if I had received his letter.

I felt that hatred climbing my chest again when I remembered that fucking letter, that demon was provoking me again, but this time I didn't care much, since I didn't feel anything for jack anymore.

That demon continued to tease me as I headed away from the cabin, telling me all sorts of things that might offend me.

I tried to ignore him as much as possible but I couldn't take it and started responding to him in an equally rude and cold way.

He laughed and continued teasing me, but I kept my composure and just gratuitously offended him trying to regain my dignity.

Somehow I was amused by this because I saw he was getting angry and I was winning.

It was then that he released how flawed the idea of ​​a demon loving a human was, how weak we are and a bunch of other bullshit.

He said jack never loved me and will never love me, that humans are nothing but prey for demons.

Even tho it could be a truth I replied that even so, I was married to Jack and he was just the other guy.

This angered him deeply, and as I smiled and savored my victory I soon felt something crossing the area between my belly and my chest.

When I looked down I saw that the fucker had thrust his huge claws into me and then ripped them off with such force that I fell to the ground.

The pain was piercing, it was like nothing I had felt before, I felt my blood leaking and pouring on the ground, my veins popping and my face getting hot with my tears.

Until I howled and moaned loudly trying to contain a loud scream that could alert Jack.

For some reason I preferred to fend for myself rather than ask for his help, I already doubted any intention he had with me.

I didn't think he would actually help me.

I crawled away from the creature while he laughed like a child at some immature joke.

He told me to get away from there before Jack came back and finished the job.

It broke me too, how did he know I distrusted Jack? Was he just saying something or did he know something?

I tried to get up and leave as quickly as possible, but the pain was unbearable, I had to limp and lean against the trees without making any noise, keeping my hand pressed against the wound, I moved away from the creature and its laughter became more and more distant behind me.

it was only then that I remembered the baby, and then an even greater pain cut through my chest.

My mind filled with thoughts and my heart with panic, what if he had hurt my child?

My baby could be my only hope of being truly loved in this world.

I couldn't sit still and think, so I felt an even greater motivation and strength to get out of there and find someone to take me to the city.

Before going, I opened my suitcase and first aid kit and cleaned the wound and bandaged it.

I ate something noticing that the sun was setting, I didn't know if there would be cars on the road after that time, so I hurried through the forest to get there as quickly as possible.

I finally found the road, but I was already losing my strength and a lot of blood, what was in the kit might not be enough to stop an internal bleeding. And so I started walking slower still looking for a car or someone.

I had been walking for a few minutes, I was feeling very weak, everything was getting dark so I felt on the side of the road I lost my bag and I was waiting there for someone to arrive.

But no one came.

I felt like an abandoned dog on the street, who had escaped from an abusive home and was left to slowly die.

My vision started to get blurry and dark and soon I lay down, seeing the moon in the sky, it was hard to see it's details but I knew it was my only source of light.

And somehow I felt comforted, the moon might never leave me and I didn't feel alone in its light.

I slowly things didn't make much sense, but I could see every memory of my life so far playing like a movie for me.

I saw my family, school, high school, college, my first job and all the misfortunes and bad things that happened to me,every wound, every abandonment, every betrayal, even Jack.

I saw our life in the cabin and how absurd it was what he did to me after so much joy, maybe I really was insignificant to him, maybe jack was like any other man in the world, even though he was a demon.

Then I saw the demon that killed me.

This life was too difficult, maybe the child I was carrying could be my true light, but I couldn't never let them see the sun for the first time anymore.

I was sure that if I was going to be able to see my son anywhere, it wouldn't be here on earth.

Maybe next time I'll be able to meet you my little hope.

I closed my eyes and haven't heard anything since.

Investigator's POV:

This was the letter encrypted by a medium who visited the forest after several reports from visitors regarding paranormal activities in the region.

The activities vary, from voices, screams, cries, to a kind of Poltergeist in the forest that throws rocks at visitors and causes scratches on their skin.

There has even been a report of an alleged possession, it must be a very disturbed spirit.

The cabin in the region, which has been abandoned for a long time, is the location of most intense activity.

According to the descriptions, the spirit that disturbs the region must belong to −/·−/−−/·−/·−·//−−/·−/·−·/·−·/··, who after disappeared ten years ago was presumed dead weeks after a long search.

I try to process this story, which is pretty crazy by the way, a relationship between a demon and a human in the middle of nowhere, where the two got married and were going to have a child...

I even thought it was the medium's joke but after some investigation everything was confirmed when we found in the basement a frame containing a photo of the missing person and the thing they were married.

From the photo and the description on the card, this demon is very reminiscent of the internet legend "Eyeless Jack", that became popular in the golden age of creepypastas.

In the backyard of the cabin, where there was probably a small plantation, there was a simple tomb, which, when investigating the buried remains, confirmed that it belonged to −/·−/−−/·−/·−·//−−/·−/·−·/·−·/··.

We found no remains of the couple's child or this Jack, which perhaps indicates that they are alive or have left the region.

Of all the cases I've ever dealt with, this was the craziest.

Me as a paranormal investigator, I have dealt with all types of paranormal activity before, with varying stories, but nothing compares to this.

This ghost appears to be much more aggressive than any spirit I've ever investigated, and its story is pretty crazy too, somewhat intriguing.

But so far there's nothing left to see, maybe tomorrow I'll find more clues and then call a priest to bless the place.

[nyx-v1]

TWST boys at your funeral Headcannons tw-mentions of deaths and funerals

[Heartslabyul],[Savanaclaw], [Octavinelle]

a/n-might be a little ooc

Riddle

Planned to whole thing, from the flowers, to what kind of clothes you would be wearing.(it’s not weird I promise)

Insists that you are buried on campus.

Stands by the casket the whole time, he also give the eulogy. The eulogy was surprisingly heartfelt.

Riddle also makes a point to not cremate, or anything that  like that. He wants to make sure that if there's a way to send you back home it's in one piece even if you're dead.

takes no disrespect towards you at all, any students who say anything get collared (for like a week before trey tells him it’s been long enough.)

Deals with everything after the funeral too

Riddle personally cleans your grave every week, and if he doesn't have to time he sends other students to do it.

Doesn't know how to grieve so he just takes on a lot of extra work. Basically he spends his life now studying, working, and then sleeping.  

Overall 10/10- he makes sure Crowley doesn’t put you in an unmarked grave.

Bonus: What kind of flower they would leave you+ what they would say

Pink carnation, meaning- I'll never forget you. 

"Please forgive me for not being there perfect, thank you for all you've done."

Trey

Helps Riddle organize everything 

Makes sure all students are well behaved 

The one who says they should have grim in their dorm

Makes sure to regular check up on everyone else in his dorm, especially the Adeuce duo.

Trey makes the food, if there is a need for food.

His way of grieving is by taking care of everyone else, ignoring his own needs.

10/10

Bonus: What kind of flower they would leave you+ what they would say

Rosemary- remembrance

"Sorry, it has to end this way.”

Cater

makes sure to backup all photos of you he has, picks the best photo of you for the funeral.

Surprisingly does not take photo during the funeral at all in fact he's off social media for like 2 weeks, before he decides to look at it

Before he takes the break he makes one last post dedicated to you.

Doesn't talk about what happened, in fact  he goes out of his way avoid the convo about how he feels

during the funeral he makes sure to dress apparently, he is also super quite when talking 

After like a week he's pretending to be over your death

What kind of flower they would give you+ What they would says

A pink rose- thank you

Ace

tbh would probably be in denial for a while, that or he gets extra annoying no in between 

Has to be dragged to the funeral by riddle 

Yells at crowley for your death, then gets lectured by riddle

oddly quite during the whole things

leaves right after the ceremony is done, Ace goes right to ramshackle after he leaves.

Straight up refuses to go to your grave, and to talk about you

Ace does grieve tho he does this by spending all his free time in ramshackle, more specifically your room

5/10

Bonus: What kind of flower they would leave you+ what they would say for a final goodbye 

 dark crimson Rose - mourning

Won't say anything instead he gently place the flower down, before taking once last glance then walking out.

Deuce 

offers his and aces room for grim to stay in

takes 2 hours getting ready. Has also never been to a funeral before

Offers to help with anything, because he's not the best academically he decides to help set the venue up

Deuce is on his BEST behavior during the whole thing, he remains quite and by Grims side

Cries a lot, but denies it

During the whole thing he's super emotional, and when ace goes off he can't help but agree

Wants to fight Crowley but doesn't bc he doesn't want to disrespect you like that

overall 

11/10 give him a hug

Bonus: What kind of flower they would leave you+ what they would say

Statice- I miss you, compassion, remembrance

"I might not be good with words, but thanks [name]."

[goyurim]

I agree that sol has loved him and tried to save him selflessly but so has he to the same extent? He loved her in two time lines and will in this third one as well for 15 years selflessly without knowing at all that she has feelings for him, he also saved her life multiple times risking his and is ready to do it again paying the price with his life. The reason she has to go back and save him is literally because he saved her spent 15 years miserable because of guilt he couldn't save her legs and then got murdered for it. No to mention the other thousand things small and big he did for her safety and care in all 3 timelines. I don't think I have seen a character love someone so selflessly or devotedly as sun jae so I have to disagree with you there.

you're very welcome to disagree with me! we don't have to agree on everything anon, that's the beauty of it, as @sunlighthroughthe-ashes so eloquently put it, "the beauty of art and entertainment media is the subjectivity of its interpretation. one little show can mean so many different things to so many different people, and i think that's wonderful."

i think you've misunderstood me slightly though so i'd like to address that - you seem to interpret my statement about sunjae liking sol selfishly as some sort of bad thing - as if being selfish in love is wrong and cannot coexist with being selfless, too. you're absolutely right about sun jae being selfless in the way he loves sol, in everything he's done for her. but he's also been selfish in his devotion to her too, he wanted her to love him back, he wanted to be someone special to her. he gets mad at her in the woods during the retreat when she's been avoiding him like the plague, and even back when she bought him all those self-help books, he shuns her away out of his house by saying "you can't give me what i want so just go". does that make sun jae a bad person? of course not! when you love someone you want them to acknowledge it, that's perfectly valid and true. doesn't make it any less selfish. sun jae choses to be selfish, that's why he ends up with sol, and tae sung does not. tae sung's love, in my eyes, is truly selfless. the kinda love that wants their object of affection to be safe and happy, even if that means they themselves will never be on the receiving end of the same.

to me, the whole "i like you" "i love you" scene was a direct continuation of the scene where sun jae misses his flight and returns to sol after finding everything out. he literally asks her to stop worrying about him and allow herself to like him. sol doesn't respond, she's too overwhelmed with everything that's just happened. the "i like you", this time around, was her response. she tells sun jae that she's listened to him. that she's allowing herself to unabashedly like him. his response being "i love you" encapsulates everything he told her back then, but also somehow something more. when you love someone so much, the lines between selflessness and selfishness begin to blur, bc it's not about doing the right thing anymore, it's about doing right by this person. bc your compass of morality isn't a direction anymore, it's a person. sun jae's verbalising these thoughts to her, through his "i love you". these two have loved each other through time and space, over and over again, and their love has evolved over time. from a crush and a fan, silent and afar, to truly devoted, unapologetic love. but neither of them knew! what they've been doing for one another! all this time! the "role reversal" i was referring to might sound weird to the audience bc we know both their feelings from the start. but they don't! they never got to lay their hearts out so openly in front of one another. they're finally doing that now.

[raineandsky]

The Villain's Housekeeper

(part 1) (part 2) (part 3) (part 4) (part 5) (part 6) (part 7) (part 8) (part 9) (part 10) (part 11)

tw death mention

The courtesy the villain has decided to show the hero has been incredibly weird. A relief, of course, but weird.

They avoid the hero most days now. The time they used to spend watching the hero break their back for them is now spent as far away from the hero as humanly possible. The hero kind of understands, though—since their damning little slip up in the bedroom last week, the villain’s demanded they stop doing the chores until their arm is better. There isn’t much to watch anymore.

And when the villain disappears out the front door for the night, it’s always with the same instruction now: “get a decent night’s sleep, don’t lie on your arm, and for the love of god don’t make it worse.”

No chores to be done in their absence. No rules. Just… rest. Get better. It’s a breath of fresh air.

Anyway, the lack of random work to do gives them more time to snoop. Okay, so it’s not no rules, but one very easily breakable rule. A rule they couldn’t care less about breaking—snapping clean in half, if they can. The agency taught them how to pry and leave no trace. This is the easiest, most rewarding part of their stay here. It's more of a routine than anything now, trekking through their notes.

The villain’s office is a mess, to put it lightly. It makes it just that little bit harder to restore when they’re done, but it doesn’t matter too much—they get information. A list of missing villains, heroes on hit lists, plans. Plans to infiltrate and extort and seduce and kill. God, everything the agency’s ever wanted is in here. The hero commits it all to memory, and by the time the villain gets home they’re already asleep on the sofa downstairs.

The villain always comes back in the early hours of the morning, and today is no different. The only difference is that the front door batters against the opposite wall and the villain staggers rather loudly into the kitchen.

The hero is up in an instant, sleep torn from them abruptly. They trail after the villain, glancing instinctively to the floor for blood, but the tile is clean. The villain sinks into a kitchen chair like it’s the last thing they’re ever going to do.

“[Villain]...?” the hero says into the silence. The villain barely responds, their gaze burning into the table as they lean their face against their palms, their elbows propped up on the table.

“We’re dying,” the villain says flatly. “We’re dropping like flies, and [Supervillain] is still trying to send us all to our deaths to save herself.”

It’s not hard to feign surprise; this wasn’t mentioned in any of the paperwork the hero’s seen. They pull a chair out and settle opposite them. “What do you mean?”

“What do I—” The villain’s tone is scathing for a moment, but they bite back the end of their sentence with a sigh. “Heroes are killing us. I’ve found more than one person face-down in some back alley. People I know—allies. Friends.”

The hero’s throat closes up for a long, long moment. “I– I’m sorry,” they say testily, but they come out as more of a choke. The villain doesn’t seem to hear them anyway.

“Every so often [Supervillain] sends a new batch of villains into the thick of it, to try and take down some of the heroes wiping us out. Those who do survive are few and far between, usually screwed up beyond repair. And [Supervillain]— she’s—”

The villain sucks in a shuddery breath. The hero waits patiently.

“[Supervillain]’s chosen her next round of sacrifices,” the villain says with a breath of a humourless laugh, and a knot twists in the hero’s stomach. The villain fixes them with an empty stare, and the hero shoves down the urge to glance away. “I’m one of them. I’m— I’m being sent to die.”

Perfect, some part of the hero’s mind murmurs. A safe haven, all to yourself.

But despite everything, the villain’s been kind to them. Even though they humiliated them and forced their hand, the hero’s not in the claws of the superhero yet because of them. And they’re going to die. The villain’s going to leave one day, and they won’t come back. The hero’s brain almost can’t wrap around it.

“She— I’ll be setting off… for good next Thursday.” The villain’s face morphs into hopelessness.

It’s Tuesday now. Nine days.

The villain clears their throat, though it doesn’t seem to dislodge the anxious rasp residing there. “I, uh— I’m sorry,” they say unexpectedly. “For being a villain, for making you dance for my entertainment to stay alive, for— god, for everything. I’m sorry, [Hero].”

The hero can only blink at them for a moment. Sorry? “That’s, uh… it’s okay,” the hero says dumbly after a moment.

“No, it’s not. The least I can do is fix what I can before I… y’know.” The villain’s eyes lock onto the hero’s so intensely that they can’t find it in themself to look away this time. “I’m so sorry.”

You saved my life. You let me stay here. You let me hide from your enemy. You let me hide from mine. You ignored the benefits of turning me out for what? Companionship? Necessity? Something else entirely?

The hero can’t say that to their nemesis. The villain already sounds insane saying all this. They don’t need to feed into the absurdity of the evening. So they simply force a smile, of sorts, onto their face, and say, “I forgive you.”

(next part)

[alwaysonf1]

charles in his own way?

Pairing: Charles LeClerc x Hamilton!OC

Genre: Slice of Life; Fluff

Word Count: 2.6k

Warning: N/A

Rating: PG-13

Author's Note: N/A

The occasional big deal Ferrari gala is fine for Charles. To a degree he enjoys these things, the chance to get out and talk to people who he needs to impress and who in turn want to impress him. But something about this season has meant a lot more events to go to. Mandatory ones that mean that even if he feels slightly off his game, he can’t avoid them. And they’re all so serious that he feels nervous in a way he hasn’t since the beginning of his career.

This one, the one that has him hiding out at a small bar in the corner of the massive ballroom, is one he wasn’t even briefed on. All Fred did was remind him it was happening, tell him where, and mentioned that some big investors and sponsors would be. He emphasized that there were several potential sponsors so he should be as charming as ever in their presence.

It wasn’t until Charles was walking to his car that he thought about how little he knew and called Carlos. A useless move since the Spaniard had as much information as he did.

Upon his arrival he was thrown into the lion's den as Fred and then a higher up woman from Ferrari guided him around the place. They tried their best to make it seem like he wasn’t on a very short leash, but he was sure that everyone he spoke to expected a little herding of the talent. Which is what one of them called him and while true, made him feel weird enough that he made his escape as soon as he could.

Thus, his hideout and the rum he was nursing. He’d already downed two and knew that was going to hit him hard enough without adding a third into the mix. That’s why there was also a glass of water in front of him. His second of the night. But he knows it won’t be enough. Charles ate before he came, but he needed more food in him. An added distraction for anyone who finds and wants to talk to him.

He takes a deep breath, downs the rest of the water, and with his rum in hand turns to find a waiter walking around. Just as he faces away from the bar a hand clamps down onto his shoulder. It startles him, but he maintains composure as he turns to look at to whom it’s attached.

Seeing Lando relaxes him. But it also confuses him.

“Mate, what are you doing here?” he asks as they shake hands.

Lando looks at him with a slightly confused expression.

“This is a McLaren event too. Actually, it’s for McLaren, Ferrari, Williams, and Aston Martin. Did you not see the signs?”

The inclination of Lando’s thumb has Charles looking around the room. Several seconds of scanning and then he notices the tasteful banner that holds all those logos. How he missed it and the other signs indicating what was going on was beyond him. 

Charles shakes his head. “I was barely given time to breathe.”

There’s a look of understanding that dawns on the younger man’s face. Every driver knows what these things are like. How you’re so wrapped up in making the best impressions that you barely get time to think, let alone take in the space. 

“Yeah, they’re like a pack of wild animals. All wanting a piece,” Lando whispers.

There’s a couple next to them that appear like the rich type and there is no need for them to hear and spread what either of them is saying. Feelings in this kind of place are much more fragile than any of them would be willing to admit. Though there have been many times Charles has endured them calling other people’s feelings soft when most of the time the response to their displeasing personalities are more than warranted.

With a tilt of his head Charles leads Lando away. He heads toward an area of the room that is largely just employees of one of the teams. Many of the potential stakeholders are speaking amongst themselves at this point in the evening.

“All of them act as if they’re going to attack. Every question I answer, they have another question before I’m finished. And they lack understanding of space.”

“One tried to breathe my air.”

They both laugh.

“One man was so focused on getting the chance to drive the car that he didn’t realize his father had been talking for five minutes. It was two of them at once and neither knew how to shut up. I’m sure the father kicked him seven times before he finally stopped,” Charles says.

“Oh, I had them too. I think I heard him getting yelled at. Something about being fired if he doesn’t get his act together.”

There was a mutual eye roll there. Though Charles could never remember the names of that particular family it was always the same thing and then they’d see the man again. He didn’t understand how someone ten years his senior still acted like a child.

“Have you seen any of the others?”

“Mate, I did not even know you were here until moments ago.”

Lando laughs. “I forgot about that. You should have checked your phone; we were all with Carlos and he texted you. We all did, even Iman.”

Charles' body went rigid and though he was already looking at the younger driver he turned his neck hard enough to induce whiplash. 

“Iman is here?”

A sly smirk forms on Lando’s face and Charles curses himself for having such an obvious reaction. Lando, like many of the other pilots on the grid, like to tease Charles about his very obvious feelings for Iman. He refuses to call it a crush because they always do and it makes him feel like he’s back in grad school. Hell, he tries to ignore the feelings all together when he can help it. After all these years he thought they’d leave, but they stay firmly in place and have only grown since she joined the grid.

“Don’t.”

“I don’t know why you won’t ask her.”

“There is nothing to ask.”

“It’s not like she’d say no.”

“If there was something to ask, she’d laugh in my face.”

“You know that’s a lie, mate. Everyone knows she’d say yes if you just ask. Your banter is a bit gross and makes the feelings clearly mutual.”

Without a thought Charles throws back the rest of his rum and takes a long, deep breath. “You know it’s complicated.”

“How?”

“What?”

“How is it complicated?”

“We work together,” he pauses, holding up a finger as Lando opens his mouth. “I know we work for different teams, but it is too close. Plus, what happens with Lewis, I still look up to him. And Sargeant, he’s made it clear he would kill for her.”

Lando grimaces, looking off into the distance for a moment before coming back to the present. Charles is sure he’s remembering the time the American punched a man because he was less than respectful to Iman. The look in his eyes as he was held back made Charles a little scared of him.

“Yeah, he was definitely going to end up in jail if Oscar hadn’t stopped him. But you aren’t going to do anything to upset them. From what I hear you’ve liked her since that week. Logan noticed it and he was barely with you lot for twelve hours. And him and Lewis approve. So, what is it really?”

A number of excuses are on the tip of Charles’ tongue, but he knows they’re useless. All of them are a bit pathetic when he doesn’t actually believe what he’s saying. In all honesty he isn’t sure why he keeps fighting what he feels for Iman. At one point it was because those feelings hadn’t developed all that much and he had stronger ones for the women he was with, but as time went on and he got to spend more time with her and saw her passion for the sport and honestly everything she was passionate about things were harder to deny. He couldn’t claim not knowing her enough for things to be only superficial because he talked to her multiple times a week. They hung out as a group sometimes. They were definitely good friends.

Another sigh escapes Charles and he reaches for Lando’s drink, but he puts it out of reach and nods his head to the space behind Charles. Even without the mischievous grin Charles knows who is behind him. 

With a smile he turns and watches Iman walk towards them. The soft smile that was never ingenuine grows as she looks at him, but then he notices her quick pace and the tension in her face. Concern washes over him, and he scans the space behind her. Most people are giving her just a passing glance or looking at the two drivers, but there is a man who seems to be following her but gets pulled into a conversation. He makes eye contact with Charles for a second and looks away almost immediately. 

“Everything okay?” Charles asks the moment she’s in reach.

“Fine. Just dodging a man who believes we’re meant to dance together, and I need one of you to dance with me so he gets the hint without me doing something that James will have to smooth over later.”

A hand on Charles’ shoulders stills him and he realizes he was walking toward the man in question. It hadn’t been a conscious thought, but it also wasn’t one he disagreed with. His eyes move to the hand and Lando takes the cup he’s holding and lightly pushes him toward Iman.

“I’ll run interference,” Lando says.

Then without another word he heads toward where the man in question is talking, and he engages with the group in an animated conversation. He makes sure that the creep is involved in the conversation, leaving no room for him to leave without appearing rude.

“I owe him,” Iman says.

“So do I.”

Charles was sure he said that under his breath, but the raised brow from Iman tells him that isn't the case. He shakes his head and holds out a hand.

“I think I owe you a dance.”

The confusion leaves Iman’s face and she puts her hand in his. There’s a momentary shock when they touch, but to Charles it’s nothing compared to the warmth he feels as he leads her toward the dance floor. Once there his hand moves to her back and they begin what is a simple variation of the waltz, matching the others scattered across the floor.

Minute one of it is a comfortable silence and Charles finds that he’s never felt more at peace dancing in this way. He also notes the ease in which they fall into the dance despite never having done it together before.

“I owe you too.” Iman breaks the silence.

“Huh?”

“For saving me.”

“You would never owe me that.”

“Which I appreciate, but I still owe you.”

There’s an urge to make it very clear how serious Charles is about her never owing him for helping her out because he would do it a million times over. That he would jump if she said so. That helping her makes him feel like he’s doing what he should be. But he’s still fighting himself and this isn’t the right moment. Nor is it the right setting. 

He’s also a little scared of her response if he bears his heart a little, even if he can admit that Lando wasn’t wrong.

So, instead he dawns what Iman calls his cocky little smirk.

“I’ll have to think about what I want then. Would be a shame to not get the favor in full.”

Iman rolls her eyes and softly hits him.

“Ugh, you can’t stop being a cocky little shit for more than a minute, huh?”

Charles scoffs, faux offense coloring his face. 

“How am I being cocky? You offered me something and I plan to use what you’ve offered me. It would be rude of me to leave you unsatisfied.”

The double meaning was clear.

“You sure that’s why? I have it under good authority that you’re not used to leaving someone unsatisfied.”

Now he’s a little offended.

“I have never. You could ask and everyone would say I’m very good at keeping satisfaction high.”

“Sure.”

“I am!” he softly shouts.

Iman throws her head back and laughs. The sound is music to Charles’ ears, but it doesn’t stop the slight pout from what she’s implying. He tries his best to not be insecure about that and she isn’t poking at that insecurity, but it does call out some of the compatibility things he’d gone over before in his attempt to get rid of how he feels about her. Another failure on his part.

It takes a few seconds, but Iman stops laughing and meets Charles’ eyes with her own. They’re a little watery due to her laughter, but the threat to her make-up doesn’t change how beautiful she is. Her hair is in its naturally curly state and framing her face in a way that makes her look angelic. Charles tries to focus on that and not the way her deep brown dress compliments the brown of her skin and the curves of her body.

“Haha,” he says sarcastically.

“Oh, Charlie, I’m sure you’re good at what you do. I mean how else could you have pulled girls from similar circles so often. They must speak of you fondly.”

That one doesn’t land. It’s something he’d seen on the internet and is a joke among his friends and on the grid. His intentions have never been that and he knows that to a degree it makes him appear as a walking red flag, but it rolls off his back. And he’s smart enough to know that if Iman had an actual fear of that she wouldn’t also have a thing for him. Even if Charles thinks it’s different from his thing.

Goodness, he is an idiot. But that doesn’t matter now.

“Haha, very funny.”

“Aw, you know I don’t mean it, Charlie. I think you’re more of a yellow flag than anything.”

That one gets him to laugh, and he knows they both are drawing attention with how loud their amusement is, but he doesn’t have it in him to care. All that matters to him is this moment because it feels so good. How being with Iman always feels.

“At least, I’m not the one dating weirdos. How long did that thing with Dennis last? Before or after the weird kink incident,” Charles says.

“You promised to never speak of it!”

“I know, but he really thought that you’d never find out about his Lew…”

A tap on the shoulder stops Charles and his attention shifts to Carlos, who looks a little sorry to be interrupting, but also has a glint in his eyes that Charles isn’t fond of.

“Sorry to interrupt. Fred has someone we must speak to and Iman, James is looking for you,” Carlos says.

Iman nods and slowly pulls away, which feels almost painful on Charles’ end.

She gives Carlos a side hug. “Thanks for letting me know.”

Without a word to Charles, she turns to leave, but then she turns back and looks at him with narrowed eyes and her hands firmly planted on her hips.

“You and I will not be picking up this conversation where we left off.”

“Yes, we will.”

And with one last eye roll she leaves. Which means Charles and Carlos are standing in the middle of the dance floor and that glint is still in the Spaniard’s eye.

“Don’t say it.”

Carlos smirks but holds his hands up in surrender.

[ladyluscinia]

I've mentioned before that I go digging up some of the reactions to Izzy's character arc (especially from the people who hate it lol) to ponder and I'm still doing that, mainly because looking at how people apply lenses I cannot for the life of me understand is fascinating.

Anyway, still deciding if I've got more interesting thoughts to post later, but I do want to share a weird observation from immediately post-2x04 and 2x05 with the class:

So we've all seen "reliable narrator" debates that range from exploring possible meanings of a vague or emotionally loaded statement to just "my headcanon wasn't debunked because he could be lying obvs 🙄". Izzy enjoyers & Izzy haters clashed over this kind of stuff all hiatus - like to the point people were treated as deluded by a problematic blorbo crush if they thought he was honestly representing a conversation he had off screen as his basis for believing Edward intended to kill Stede. If you believed anything out of Izzy's mouth was informed by reality it was inherently suspect.

Which gave me fucking whiplash when - as far as I could tell - the first gut reactions to Stede's flattery suggesting Edward was praising Izzy to the high heavens were "I can't believe the writers fell so far into Izzy fandom that now they want us to believe this too"

Say WHAT

The people who questioned every single thing have apparently been taking the bitter truth so hard they have now switched to fully missing blatant unreliable narrator lines. It's amazing. We saw Stede talking to Edward - Izzy was not coming up (😘 Edward's avoidance) 🤣 and we know Stede was not exactly inquiring after him in S1. It could not be more heavily suggested that Stede is just saying nice, flattering things based on guessing Izzy and Edward have a long history and wanting Izzy to help him pirate better (the actual thing he and Edward just talked about).

I will give credit to at least one person who I saw sticking to their "Izzy was useless" guns in the immediate reaction, but iirc they proceeded to get excited about how Stede was luring Izzy into trust as some kind of ulterior motive (not pirate training, as Izzy sucks) that will surely be revealed soon, so a baffling and strange take but in a different way lol

I think they've successfully turned back around to "we're not supposed to take this literally" over the weekend, but it's truly a new world that they didn't all start there.

[wren-writes-things]

I mean personally for me I would appreciate at least 2 Sasha episodes in Season 3a to help flesh out her arc more cause I LOVE her but I feel more screentime around 3a (and maybe) a bit around Season 2, would have done wonders for her arc. It’s almost criminal how little we know of her bad homelife other than her parents are divorced.

What would you personally add to Sasha’s arc?

So my biggest issue on Sasha’s arc (and honestly most of season 3 aside from Andrias) is just how much is left unsaid. And a lot of that does come down to her family.

Everything we see regarding Sasha is her learning to turn a set of poor coping mechanisms (seeking control, aggression, etc), into something that could benefit those around her (being a leader). The problem is that there are just large chunks of that development that are missing, specifically the origin and most of her improvement. Which are both kind of important.

Now I will say I think these flaws stem from an aspect of the show that in some scenarios (namely True Colors) was incredibly important. And that was the use of Anne as the protagonist, and really the only character you ever see the POV of. What I mean by that is that unless a character directly explained their motivations on screen in front of Anne, you really don’t know it (even then you still got Sasha’s POV though so this isn’t a strict rule). The thing is though is that this doesn’t necessarily apply to season 3

Anyway yeah back on topic, like I said a big thing for me would be stating Sasha’s perspective on things back on earth. I’m not for suggesting a full backstory episode because I don’t see that flowing well with the overall show. However starting a Sasha centric episode with a final flashback to the day of the that they stole the music box (similar to Reunion and True Colors) I believe would work quite nicely to address Sasha’s dynamic with her parents and her friends. Additionally Anne speaking with the Waybrights and Wus (not Zeus autocorrect, no one wants to speak with Zeus ever) instead of writing a letter could allow an outside perspective on how both families were handling their missing daughters. This also avoids the issue of addressing this situation in Sasha’s apology to Anne (which seemed to be what the writers kept getting hung up on based on interviews).

That being said I’m not certain how exactly I would handle Sasha’s family dynamic. I don’t think it was necessarily healthy aside from the divorce based on her actions in The Third Temple flashback and throughout the show. But… I don’t think I’m necessarily qualified to handle that topic without a lot of research. Might come back to it though because I have at least a guess that I find interesting.

Anyway, I think my next big thing would be just making season 3 more Sasha centric. (And honestly if I were doing a full rewrite I would probably take tharrb’s approach and split S3 into two seasons, I think there just wasn’t enough time to address everything even if you took out the filler episodes especially with how large the main cast of the show is). Season 3a has a lot of potential ways that it could go but overall her arc was one of the most important ones to develop in that period.

Specifically I would want to show her developing a connection with the rebellion members and learning to lead the rebellion in a way that took all members concerns into account without endangering the group. And also her dealing with her feelings regarding Marcy and Anne. Which is a lot of aspects hence why I said you honestly would need to divide season 3 up.

My one additional point because I have opinions about it, is addressing the full reason why Sasha had her change of heart. Because I was reading on the topic and it just kind of bothered me.

Like that is a pretty important aspect of the show to address and for some reason it just never is mentioned. Which is especially weird considering that she clearly had a change in perception by the season 3 finale and that is just such an interesting development that I want to see.

Anyway yeah, there’s a few other aspects to my overall take on Sasha. Like honestly I probably would have added another episode focusing on her in season 1 but my main issues with her arc are in season 3 so that’s most of what I addressed. Also this was very general so if you want further exploration of any topic I am always open to explaining it.

[ninapi]

New to this (Osamu version)

○●○●○●○●●○●○●○●○●●○●○●○●○●

Premise: Osamu fights for his very own chance at happiness when he is reunited with his first love, the mother of his brother's son.

Word Count: 4389

Warning: Slightly suggestive, mentions of an active unprotected sex life, pet names.

Chapter 4: Family Pt.2

Saying things were moving fast wasn’t probably an accurate statement, you’ve been pinning over each other for a lifetime, but anyone seeing it from the outside would say it was fast indeed.

Family life came out so naturally, it had a rhythm of its own. The three of you spending a night together was all it took to have your son fall completely in love with the concept of having a dad and his uncle stopped being just that.

Seiji wasn’t sure if he was allowed to feel the way he did. But he didn’t even know bath time could be so much fun, he’s seriously been missing out in a lot of things, ¨Uncle, I….¨ he’s been acting weird all day, even left half of his food untouched and that had you both worried. ¨Is there something wrong? You didn’t even eat your pudding tonight. ¨ Osamu pulls the child closer, discarding the toys separating them, ¨It’s just that, well you know I don’t have a daddy, never had one,¨ the child is now tucking himself under Samu’s armpit, playing with his own fingers and looking down, ¨Is it weird that I want you to be it? I know you are my uncle, not my real dad, but I’ve seen what dads do with their kids in school and it looks like what we do together.¨  grabbing a rubber duckie, Samu pokes his little cheek with its beak, ¨It’s not weird at all. I also see you as my own son, so we are on the same boat here.¨ the toddler immediately looks up at him, his eyes sparkling, ¨Can you be my real daddy then? I want to live here with you for real not just some days.¨ he’s been meaning to ask you to just move in together, you were basically there every day, having an apartment just to sleep in sometimes is rather silly, but he knew the implications of asking that of you. He’s been sneaking in a few kisses here and there but you haven’t really talked about where you guys stand in terms of a relationship if you were even in one. ¨I’ll talk to your mom, kay? But as far as I’m concerned, I’m already your real dad.¨ Seiji was overly excited, his naked self clinging onto his neck, ¨Daddy, can we still eat that pudding later?¨ Samu chuckles getting out of the tub with the child in his arms, ¨Course, we can.¨ and after having a man to man conversation during bath time he officially became your son’s father.

──•~❉᯽❉~•──

You were currently laying down a futon in Osamu’s office for you to sleep there tonight, he wanted to just turn it into a room but you were hesitant for some reason. You didn’t want to think of Atsumu when you are thoroughly enjoying domestic life with Samu and your son but you can’t avoid thinking of what’s going to happen once he finds out you are there with his brother. You don’t want your son to be too comfortable or to lose your apartment and then having to run away once more.

Samu sneaks in behind you, grabbing you by your hips and resting his chin on your shoulder, ¨You ain’t sleeping here tonight. Gotta talk to you about something.¨ you nodded at this, releasing a breath you didn’t know you were holding.

¨Daddy! I can’t reach the pudding is on the top shelf!¨ yells your son from the kitchen, making your eyeballs almost bulge out of their socket. He called him WHAT-, you could feel you were starting to sweat in places you normally wouldn’t but before you could succumb to panic Osamu lets go of you and heads over to aid the child like if nothing had just happened.

You stayed there in the room staring at an empty corner, trying to process what you just heard and think of a way to mend it. What if that freaks him out? Any sane person would freak out at that, what is your son thinking!! But once you were brave enough to face him, he was cuddling your son on the sofa, both eating out of a small pudding cup while watching animal planet. Nothing out of the ordinary. Was he ok with this? Is this what he wants to talk about tonight? You were sweating so much that you decided to take a cold shower and just leave it for later.

Once you got out of the bathroom you headed over to the office room to see your son was already tucked in and was just waiting for your kiss to sleep like the good boy he was. ¨Good night, mama. Daddy said you were going to sleep with him tonight.¨ he kisses your cheek, unable to contain his happiness, according to his daddy the first step to get the both of you fully settled with him would be you agreeing to sleep in his room without him in it, so he was doing his best to be brave and sleep by himself, ¨You ok with that, my love?¨ this is the first time you wouldn’t be by his side all night, it worries you. ¨I’m a big boy now! Daddy said I can have my own bed next week.¨ he nods, turning onto his side to hug his whale plushie. You had so many questions but decided not to bother your son with that, ¨That’s lovely, baby. See you in the morning, ok? You can always call me if it gets scary at night, I'll be here right away.¨ the child waves at you before closing his eyes and you head over to Samu’s room. He was waiting for you, already in bed, shirtless, making you stop by the door glaring at him while crossing your arms over your chest. ¨What?¨ he blinks at you, patting the empty side of his bed for you to come. ¨Ready much?¨ eyeing his smug expression you crawl over to your side of the bed, leaving some space between the two of you as to not get distracted by the muscle display.

¨Can you tell me what’s going on?¨ you really needed some answers. You weren’t upset just confused. ¨We had a chat during bath time. He asked me to be his real dad and I said yes.¨ he shrugs as if he was just checking the weather app. ¨Oh? Not like I have a problem with that, but shouldn’t I be part of that conversation? Last time I checked he came out of me, that comes with some rights, don’t you think?¨ you smacked his arm playfully, faking an annoyed huff. ¨You mean I should have asked you to marry me before agreeing to his terms? Cuz things can be arranged.¨ he pokes your knee, avoiding your eyes. ¨Aren’t we skipping a few steps here?¨ you giggle at his shyness, a stark contrast to how sexy he looked half naked in bed, his hair still a bit wet. ¨Oh heck no, I’ve waited too long to go to a holding hands face, (Y/N). We are both adults here and have known each other all our life, pretty sure we can skip a few of those. Don´t chicken out on me now.¨ he pulls you over to him, quickly caging you against the pillows, ¨Or do you not want me as much as I want you?¨ you could see the years of longing in his eyes. Each time he stole a kiss from you, every soft touch that lingered on for too long, you could almost feel how desperate he was. Of course you wanted him just as much, but you were scared, scared of finally having the future you always wanted, scared of having to deal with Atsumu.

¨Stop thinking about him (Y/N) please.¨ he rested his forehead on yours, heaving a deep sigh, he was trying his best this time and he feared it wasn’t coming across as intended. ¨I want this too, Samu. Always did and you know it better than anyone. But what are we going to do? He is your brother’s son. It’s much more complex than if he was just someone else’s kid.¨ you brought both of your hands to his face, gently caressing his jaw, your eyes were starting to fill up and he hated that, he won’t let him get in the way again, not this time. ¨I know, but at least for Seiji it isn’t as bad, we have the same face and he should have my last name, anyways. I know it won’t be fun dealing with Atsumu but I’m sick of losing you to him. I’ve loved you my entire life and I love this kid so much, I can’t go back to just being your best friend (Y/N).¨ you know he is right, best friends don’t kiss each other, not like that at least and definitely didn’t share a life like you two do now. ¨Ok…¨ your voice nothing but a whisper, ¨Ok what? Use your words, love.¨ he nudges your nose with his making you look into his eyes, ¨I love you too. I want to be with you. I want you to be the father of my son. If you’d have us of course.¨ you were going into shy mode again, hearing your own words, but he won’t let you, snatching your lips before you could say anything else, your hands were in his hair in a matter of seconds, his tongue invading your mouth almost immediately. You’ve never been kissed like this, it was so intense, you could feel years of bottled up feelings in each of his kisses. Shortly after, any remaining clothing items were being thrown around without a care in the world and even if you tried to tone it down for your son, he turned you into a moaning mess, like the true starved man he was. Years of fantasies turning into reality right before his eyes.

That was just the first of many to come, your son leaving so early for school every day just being a good excuse for lazy morning sex. There was no surface in the entire property that hadn’t been a victim of your repressed passion in the last few weeks.

He was unstoppable, relentless.

While Atsumu was fierce as well, the difference was quite noticeable. Atsumu was softer, long hours of love making, very vocal, mostly prompted by heavy cuddling and making out on the sofa. Samu was rough, intense, demanding, he gagged at the mention of condoms, he wanted to feel you squeeze him dry, he wanted you full to the brim with his essence. Two complete opposites. 

You moved in together officially a couple of days after the initial conversation. As he promised, Seiji got a big boy bed and was fully installed now, his old office turning into a toddlers room, a shark patterned wallpaper now decorating its previously dull walls, toys and books scattered all over the floor.

Nothing much has changed for your son, he is thrilled at the fact that he fully lives with his daddy now and has his own room. But he tells everyone his name is Miya Seiji, proudly. Always handing out shop flyers to the school staff and inviting his friends to come over to his shop for the best onigiri they will ever have.

──•~❉᯽❉~•──

Atsumu was currently at his parents house, he had to take the bullet train back to Tokyo that afternoon but wanted to be fed by his mother once more before leaving.

¨Take this box to your brother. I bought way too many fruits this week.¨ he nods to her, peeking inside the heavy looking box.

¨How come you never send me food packages?¨ he whines, clinging to his mother’s arm. ¨Atsumu, you come here so often, why would I send you food? I should start charging you at this point.¨ she shakes her son off of her, adding a couple of extra peaches into the box. ¨But Maaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa, it´s so heavyyyyyy!¨ he was still sore from morning practice, not wanting anything to do with his mother’s request.

¨You will take this box to your brother today and I won't hear anything more about this. You make sure to Facetime me once you are there so I can see it.¨ she drops the box on his hands and pushes him out of the house, ¨Have a safe trip, son.¨ she kisses him goodbye and closes the door on his face before he can whine any further. Couldn’t she send the box through the mail? He grumbles all the way to the station, sending a text to his brother, letting him know he will be stopping by the shop this afternoon.

His brother however, was currently very busy all over his ex-girlfriend to notice said message.

──•~❉᯽❉~•──

Tomorrow was finally the day to see your son up in the stage, shining in all his onigiri glory, so you would be closing the shop for the day. Samu wanted to take him out for dinner afterwards to celebrate.

It was a slow day, only a couple of salarymen stopping by and requesting their meals to go. Which meant your boyfriend had dragged you onto the kitchen for some snogging. His lips were currently latching onto your neck, making you squirm against the prep table when the little bell on the door rang, bringing you back to reality, Samu not really caring about the waiting customer.

What he didn’t know was that said customer was no other than his twin, annoyed at the lack of attention he was currently being given. Didn’t he hire a pretty girl for the counter? That’s what Hinata said the other day when he stopped by the shop. He was actually looking forward to being ogled over today. ¨Samuuuuuu, are you in the back? Come help me, your mother sent you a very heavy box full of food.¨ he whined loudly, making you gasp in realization, you could recognize that voice anywhere. You smacked your man lightly for him to stop his ministrations. ¨Oh god, Samu! Should I go hide somewhere in the back?¨ you whisper-yelled at him, in full panic mode.

Atsumu was growing more annoyed each second that went by in the absence of his other half. He pulled out his phone, video calling his mother, ¨Ma, I’m here look, but your other son isn’t. Can I go now? I’ll leave the box on the counter.¨ his whinny tone angering his mother. He felt something on his leg, so he looked down before his mother would start yelling, ¨Excuse me sir, are you my uncle’s twin brother?¨ the confusing question making him tilt his head to the side, the phone changing angle as well at this, leaving Seiji fully in display for his grandmother to see, that’s when you came out of the kitchen, grabbing Samu’s hat to cover your face a bit and scooped your son into your arms, running out of the shop within seconds, moving like a true ninja. This didn’t stop their mother to see you clearly though. ¨Miya Atsumu. What are you not telling me? How can you not tell your loving mother that she was finally a grandma? Don’t you know how much I’ve wanted to be one all my life? How can you be so CRUEL!!¨ he was so confused, ¨What do you mean? You are no grandma. I’ve never seen this kid in my life.¨ his tone of voice raising at the accusation, ¨You’re so dumb, sometimes I wonder who do you even take after. That was (Y/N), Atsumu. So that was your son, you know, his uncle's twin? Meaning that’s your child. MY GRANDSON! Go after her right now, if you want to still be considered my son.¨ 

Osamu ran out of the kitchen, stopping Atsumu from following his mother’s orders. ¨You ain’t going anywhere.¨ he could hear his mother groan, she can see the bigger picture, unlike her eldest son. ¨So she’s with you now? When were you planning on telling me I have a grandson? I can understand you not wanting the competition biting you on the butt again but I’m your mother, I have the right to be in my grandson’s life even if his dad doesn’t.¨ she was moving around the house now, in a hurry, while Atsumu was speechless, staring at the spot the child was at just a few minutes ago. ¨I’m hoping on the next train. Osamu, go after (Y/N). I want to talk with all of you as soon as I get there, she’s like my own daughter, how can she think I wouldn’t recognize her just by wearing a hat? Ridiculous.¨ truth is Atsumu didn’t recognize you, neither did he take a good look at the kid. You’ve been in his life forever, how could he not notice. Does this mean you were in fact pregnant with his child all those years ago?

¨No.¨ it’s all Osamu could say, he needed to be cautions or things would escalate quickly, he knows his family all too well. ¨Excuse me?¨ mama Miya was losing the last drop of patience in her body, her sons would be the death of her. ¨They live with me, I won’t let the child hear all this. Come tomorrow when he is in school. We have time during his morning period. Make sure to come to the shop around 8AM. Tsumu, take Ma to your place.¨ he nodded to his brother’s commands, not ready to face this whole situation just yet. ¨That’s fine. I don’t want my grandson to hate me. I’ll see you there tomorrow then.¨ she was about to hung up when her son spoke once more, ¨He has an important day tomorrow, I’m sure he would be happy to have all his family there for him. He is a great kid, bring him a gift or something.¨ her son never talks this much, is making her feel things. ¨Got it.¨ he nods and snatch the phone from his brothers hand, ending the call. He pushed Atsumu out of the shop and closed it, quickly running over to the park, he knew you’d be there.

Seiji was playing in the sand box completely unfazed by the situation, but you were crumbling on a bench. He sits by your side making you flinch at the sudden movement, ¨c’mere babe.¨ he wraps his arms around you tightly, kissing the top of your head, ¨Everything will be just fine. Ma is coming tomorrow.¨ you nodded quietly, knowing this day would come eventually. You’ve been trying to prepare yourself but were dreading having that conversation with Atsumu, it could even turn out to be worse now that your mother in law was going to be in it as well. ¨I won’t let him get in the way. I promise.¨ he kept on reassuring you, tipping your face up to meet his eyes, ¨I don’t know how to face them, Samu. How will we explain what we have right now? It was enough as it was for him to see he actually has a kid. How are we going to-¨ you hiccup in between words, sobbing onto your boyfriends chest. ¨I’ll handle this (Y/N), all you have to do is stay by my side. Everything will be ok, they will understand this, Tsumu might not like it, but he had his chance and wasted it. I didn't get in his way, its only fair he doesn't do it either this time.¨ he brushed your tears away, kissing your lips gently. ¨Lets go back home. Seiji is probably hungry.¨ you nodded, letting him drag you back to the shop with your son in his arms.

──•~❉᯽❉~•──

¨Don't forget you have to be in the school gym at noon. And don’t forget to bring the headbands!¨ your son yells out at his parents from the school bus window, both of you nodding in response and waving back at him.

Today was finally the day he’s been looking forward for so long.

You headed back inside the shop as soon as the school bus was no longer visible, you were so nervous, didn’t even touch your breakfast.

Mama Miya sent Osamu a text saying they were on the way so the both of you just stayed downstairs, Samu holding you tight, whispering sweet nothings next to your ear, his thumbs rubbing circles onto your hips as you waited for the rest.

The doorbell ringing a few minutes after. You could hear a sharp gasp almost immediately, making you press yourself deeper onto him, wanting earth to swallow you whole.

¨So that’s what you meant when you said they live here, huh? You shameless brat.¨ grumbles Atsumu, plopping onto a stray chair, staying as far away from you as possible. He’s been aware of his brother’s feelings toward his girl since forever, but somehow he thought it was over. Seeing this with his own eyes was utterly painful and he just didn’t know what to say or do.

¨(Y/N), my child. Come give me a hug.¨ the older woman headed straight to your shielding form, speaking as softly as she could, she clearly sees what’s going on and doesn’t want to aggravate the situation. You honestly missed her lots, she’s been more your mother than your birth one. She was there for you while growing up as a woman, even there for you on your first period. She was the one who taught you how to handle it, which pads to buy, she patiently answered all the awkward questions you couldn't ask your own mother about. Always showered you with love and treated you like you were her own daughter. 

You let Samu go and returned her hug, a loud sob leaving your lips at her warmth. ¨It´s ok, baby girl, mama is here. You can cry all you need.¨ she rubbed your back affectionately until you calmed down, Osamu guarding your back and keeping an eye on his brother just in case. ¨Thank you for giving me such a lovely grandson, darling. He looked so healthy, I could see how well you’ve been taking care of him just by looking at his round adorable little cheeks.¨ she smiled up at you, holding both of your hands with pride, and you returned her smile in between sniffles.

Atsumu just had to say something, this situation was driving him insane, ¨So it was true. It was my baby.¨ you looked at him, nodding quietly, ¨Of course it was yours. I told you, but you wouldn't listen to anything I said. I also tried to find you again when he was born so you could see it for yourself since he looks exactly like you, but your phone number wasn’t good anymore.¨ your voice was raw, tired of crying so much, his heart being ripped out of his chest as you spoke.

¨Why did you not tell me she was pregnant, Atsumu? You never told us anything, wait until your father hears about this. Is this why Osamu broke your nose and dind't visit us in years?¨ Osamu nods, not giving Atsumu time to reply. ¨You had to raise him on your own, you are so strong, I’m so proud of you, darling.¨ her loving words were making you feel so relieved, you thought this would be very awkward and troublesome but it was actually quite comforting.

You were back in Osamu’s arms in no time, he wasn´t letting his guard down for even a second, but you weren´t feeling very well, your head was spinning and he noticed this, the back of his hand reaching over to your forehead to check if you had a fever, ¨You don’t look so good, babe.¨ he looks into your eyes, worried. ¨It's probably the stress, I’m sure you couldn’t even sleep last night, my poor child. Give her some water, son.¨ she headed over to your side and helped you on to a chair.

¨Do you not have anything to say to her, Atsumu? You just found out you have a son and I don’t see you fully grasping what’s happening.¨ you could hear the disappointment in her voice, making Atsumu grimace. ¨Don’t know what you want me to say, Ma. I do feel sorry for leaving her with such a burden on her own, but I can’t go back in time even if I wanted to. Doesn’t seem like they need me right now so yeah, I doubt they even want me here.¨ he shrugs, checking his phone while he speaks, not even sparing you a glance. His heart was hurting and seeing you in his brothers arms was aggravating to say the least.

¨Got that right.¨ Samu hands you some chilled water, standing beside you, ¨We don’t need your help. Kid's got all he needs. Don’t even think about messing around with my family.¨ he shields you from the glare Atsumu is currently throwing at the both of you for the seemingly uncalled for aggression, ¨Your family? You mean MY family, the one you stole.¨ his phone now on the table, he was trying to be patient and well behaved but he just had to go on and say it. Osamu scoffed at the sudden outburst, ¨I stole nothing, you are the one who took her away from me. YOUR family? You're nothing but a sperm donor, Tsumu. You better stay quiet, I didn't say anything when you snatched her away from me, now please stay out of the way.¨ he crouches down to take a better look at you, all color was gone from your face and you looked like you were going to be sick. ¨Ma, I think (Y/N) needs to lay down. I´ll text you the address of his school so you can go watch the play with us.¨ she was about to agree with this, both of them were about to throw a punch at each other and that would do you no good. But you got up from your seat running to the shops restroom as fast as you could, everything you had in you now down the drain.

Osamu was quickly losing his cool and mama Miya followed after you, rubbing your back, while you were still hanging from the toilet bowl, too weak to get up on your own. ¨You ok, sweetheart? Doesn't seem like you ate much for breakfast.¨ you shook your head and she helped you getting up, she noticed you scrunching up your face in pain as you bumped your breasts against the door frame. The ordeal clicking in her head quick.

Once you were back on the chair, she pulls Osamu to the side, ¨Son, please don't think I’m judging you right now. But have you two… you know….?¨ she really didn’t know how to ask this, never thought she would have to, not with Osamu at least, ¨Have we what?¨ he blinked down at his mother, noticing how you were once again running towards the restroom, grunting in distress. 

¨I think she might be pregnant, son.¨ 

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