#and both adored heather

[sarnai4]

Storm Chaser

Since storms have been on my mind (and Dagur too), the thoughts began combining. Now, I have headcanons of Dagur in really bad storms.

(In a lightning storm)

Dagur: Heather, come on! If we hurry, we'll spot a Skrill! (Almost gets a bolt of lightning to the boot)

Heather: I think that's a sign we should stay.

Dagur: It's a sign that Skrilly is trying to say hi!

(In a tornado)

Hiccup: Could you get back here? The tornado is RIGHT there, Dagur.

Dagur: That's why we should stay. We can watch it suck up everything. (Laughs) Like that yak!

(In a hurricane)

Hiccup and Heather: Stop running to the water!

Dagur: How else am I going to go sailing?

(In an earthquake)

Dagur (to his siblings): Okay, so while you two stay low, I'm thinking about heading to the cave. Could be interesting to watch the ice break u--(gets tackled by them both)

[littlexdeaths]

stage tech eddie munson x actress reader

warnings: 18+ only here folks, modern!college au, dry humping, little bit of kissing, just two ‘friends’ practicing, ami’right?

a/n: shoutout to both @keeksandgigz and @hippiegoth97 for hyping me up and encouraging me to finish/post this. also full credit to keeks for giving me the idea for that one specific eddie line in here hehe. you are both angels and ily 🫶🏻

“eddie, i don’t know about this…” you hesitate, silently praying he can’t hear your quickening pulse due to your close proximity. “this isn’t too weird?”

it’s a precarious position you’ve found yourself in, straddling the lap of one of your tech crew. and if anyone were to peek their head in the auditorium they would think something much more scandalous was taking place.

but between the two of you, this was just a friend helping out another. even if the utterance of the word friend made you want to shrink inwardly.

because you felt way more than friendly feelings towards the guy seated beneath you.

“hey, it’s alright… just,” he pauses, hands carefully slipping around your waist to coax you fully onto his lap. “there— see? i don’t bite.”

but eddie’s cheeky grin does nothing to slow your accelerated heart rate.

“besides, if you can’t do this with just you and me… how do you expect to do it in front of an audience?”

he gestures to the sea of empty seats, but the unyielding reassurance in his eyes has you relaxing fully onto his lap.

“there you go,” he mumbles, glancing down at the pages of your open script beside him.

while you fully knew what you were in for when you auditioned for this show, you didn’t exactly expect yourself to be thrust into the role of leading lady veronica sawyer.

you had been gunning for the role of ditzy, but adorable heather mcnamara— but were utterly surprised to find yourself cast in the role of veronica instead. but it was a challenge you were more than willing to take on. 

so when eddie (amongst the rest of the cast and crew) had seen you struggling during beginning rehearsals for dead girl walking— he of course offered to help you work on your confidence outside of scheduled rehearsals.

while his intentions were mostly pure, he can’t deny that having you in his lap was making him feel things he would be too ashamed to admit aloud. he just hopes his lower half can keep itself in check for the next hour and a half.

you blow out the breath you didn’t realize you were holding, allowing your hands to rest fully on his shoulders. you can feel his muscles contract beneath your fingers when he sets your script back down on the stage floor.

“so, from the full steam ahead line?” he asks.

but you’re suddenly rendered speechless when the dimmed stage lights reflect the deep flecks of gold in his eyes.

oh you were so royally fucked.

“u-uh, just before that?” you suddenly break his intense gaze but your next move has heat soaking into your limbs.

you slide your hands down the front of his chest, only stopping when you reach the hem of his t-shirt. your eyes flick back up to his in a silent question, to which he just nods. 

“gonna ride me till you break me, right?” he grins, his hand gently squeezing your hip in a reassuring manner. 

but his words send a shock through your system and without thinking you quickly rip the soft fabric up and over his head.

it hits the stage floor with a silent thud and before he can react your lips are on his neck. light as feather when they trail down the base of his throat, the encouraging, yet snarky words of your director now flooding through your head.

i want passion, give me horny teenage aggression!

so when you suddenly shove him until he’s lying back on the stage, you can see the flash of surprise that flits over his features. but you somehow miss the way his cock stirs beneath his jeans and the hunger that reflects in his eyes. 

“sorry, you okay?” you whisper between kisses down his chest and eddie swears he’s gone to heaven.

“yeah— yeah, shit. keep going.”

you bite back a small smirk at the breathless hitch in his voice but continue your descent down his torso. you can feel the rapid rise and fall of his chest beneath your lips and the faint tinge of sweat on your tongue. 

it takes all of your remaining resolve not to lick over the dark ink that swirls across his hip bone, but you are suddenly reminded of exactly where you are and why you are even doing this in the first place. 

focus. 

but when your fingers carefully card through the patch of hair just below his navel to reach for his belt buckle— it’s eddie who has to pull himself together.

while you’ve been attempting to count the beats of the instrumental break in your head, you soon realize you’ve gone on a little longer than originally intended. but eddie hasn’t bothered to correct your mistake.

the male was far too enamored with how good your lips feel against his skin. your eyes flick up to meet his ever darkening gaze as you sit back up, tossing your head back with your arm stretched high above your head.

“full steam ahead— take this dead girl walking.” you sing.

“h-how’d you find my address?” he stutters.

“—let’s break the bed, rock this dead girl walking…”

eddie’s a little stunned before he can deliver his next line at the subtle roll of your hips. the male merely leans up on his elbows to bring you closer as he tries to look anywhere but your chest.

that spark of confidence has re-ignited within you and eddie can’t help but feel a surge of pride fill his chest as he watches you in complete awe.

“no sleep tonight for you, better chug that mountain dew,” you tap your thumb against his jaw when you cup his cheek, fully immersing yourself in this moment with him.

he nods almost frantically, echoing JD’s breathless sentiment as his warm palms envelope the bare skin of your thighs. you gladly push one of his hands up higher beneath your pleated skirt, until he’s nearing the curve of your ass.

every movement and graze of his skin feels natural, like his hands are meant to be on you. it had never felt like this when you rehearsed with jonathan, that feeling of red hot desire was always missing whenever he gripped you tighter. 

but when eddie continues to pull you in, it ignites a flame deep within you, one that you never expected anyone to stoke again. 

you playfully tap your palm against his cheek in a mock slap and guide his dominant hand to tug on the loose strands of your hair.

“touch me there and there and there…” you gasp, yanking open the snap buttons on your blouse. 

eddie’s eyes nearly pop out of his head when he takes in the lacy pink fabric of your bra, unable to tear his gaze away as you start to rock your hips down into his. 

when you feel the bulge that’s now entirely pressing against your clothed core, it only encourages you to guide his hands up to completely envelope your breasts. 

any remnants of the blocking and choreography have completely left your mind as you both desperately grind against each other. 

the male meets your thrusts with almost perfect precision, his fly catching on your clothed clit in a way that has your whimpering in between breathy lyrics. 

those sparks that have been building up inside you are about to completely burst into a raging fire, threatening to swallow you both whole if you aren’t careful. 

“— wait, wait!” he all but groans when your lips press against his jaw. 

his body seizes up beneath you, all in an effort to stop himself from completely busting in his jeans. each drag of your hips feels too good and the pretty noises you’re making have him wondering what you’d sound like moaning his name instead. 

control yourself, munson.  

eddie is panting by the time you finish belting out your final note, your body practically slumping forward against his bare chest. he cradles you a little softer, fingertips gently trailing over the bare skin of your back. and it has a shiver running down your spine.

when he finally speaks, he can’t hide the titillate lilt in his voice. 

“… so, you wanna run it again?”

[storieswithvenus]

Anna - Aaron Hotchner x Pregnant! Fem Reader

“I am not naming my daughter Samantha, Aaron,” you say as you are folding up a load of washing you had thrown on your shared bed, Aaron sits on the armchair which was located in the corner of the bedroom, a pair of glasses laid on his face as he flicked through a book of baby names.

Licking his index finger and flicking to the next page, he started listing multiple girl names; Olivia, Rachel, Emma, Heather, Sarah, and Lisa. None of the names stuck out to you, at one point you groaned at one of the names.

"I told you I wanted to name her Astoria," you frown and look over at him, " I don't understand why you don't want to pick that name, it's adorable." Aaron sighs and puts the book down onto his lap, taking off the pair of glasses and placing them on the smaller table beside him as he runs his fingers through his hair, combing it out.

"I didn't expect it to be this difficult when it came to naming girls if I'm being honest, but you and I aren't getting anywhere with this and by the time the baby arrives we will still be arguing about her name." his voice was soft but slightly stern, you both knew the baby girl would be here any day, so why count you settle on one perfect name?

Your pregnancy had been amazing so far, you were always being taken care of by Aaron and your beautiful step-son Jack. Anything you needed they came immediately to you and got it for you. Jack had even suggested a few names himself, however, they were only names of girls in TV shows he watched.

Getting up out of his chair, Aaron walked over to you and pulled you into a hug, his arms wrapping themselves around your waist and his head pressed into the crease of your shoulder and neck. "I think it's time we let go and let Jack pick the name," he begins as you feel him leave butterfly kisses on your shoulder, "it'll make him feel part of the family if we let him get the final pick."

You knew he was right in what he was saying. Jack had been a rock in this world for the both of you, he always went out of his way to make sure you knew he loved you, even if you weren't his biological mother. Jack went from being a shy boy who couldn't even look at you the first time you met him to now, this confident and goofy little boy who went and bragged about his mum and dad's career, that they "fought bad people and kept the world safe".

Aaron lifts his head to look down at you, both of you silently agreeing to each other that now is the time you should ask Jack to pick the name. Aaron grabbed your hand and led you outside of your bedroom and down the stairs, your eyes eventually settling on Jack who was playing with his toy cars on the carpet in the living room.

"hey little man, we have something we need you to do okay?" you sit down beside him on the carpet as you pick up one of his toys to play with, running the wheels over the carpet. Jack looks at you then at Aaron, "Am I in trouble?" his soft and quiet voice makes it hard to hear what he said. "No no of course not bub, me and Daddy just need you to help us with something to do with your baby sister okay?" holding onto his hand as you watched his eyes glass up with tears.

Aaron sits down on the other side of him, "We want you to pick baby sister's name jack, will you do that for us?" his eyes light up and his head turns to Aaron before looking back at you to make sure you two were asking him to name his little sister. Aarons's smile covers his face, and joy fills his eyes as he watches his son get up and start dancing around the living room and squealing at the fact he gets to pick the name.

"Really Daddy? You want me to pick baby sister's name?" Jack asks his father as he stops dancing for a moment. "We want you to be a part of this decision buddy, we want you to name her, anything you want. You tell him as he turns to look at you.

"Anna, I want her to be called Anna like in Frozen."

[slasherscream]

Just rewatched Heathers and I'm Feral and In Love, what do you think of poly!jd/reader/veronica where all three of you are down to murder some people then go cuddle after the adrenaline rush dies down

“JD, do you always have to be so damn rough with them?” Veronica sighs, watching JD wipe a smudge of blood from your face with a rag. 

She buys soft ones on purpose, because like she said, he’s always too damn rough with you. 

“I’m not being rough! Am I being rough with you, darling?” JD asks you, pausing in his pursuit to clean you up.

“I don’t know why you’re even asking me. You just want to bicker with each other, doesn’t matter what I say.” You tease them both. 

“We do not want to bicker!” Veronica gasps.

“Yes, you do.” You say.

“Do not!” Veronica says.

“Do too!” 

“Seems you’re the one who wants to bicker with us, darling.” JD grabs you by the chin, turning you so you’re looking at him instead of Veronica. 

“Do-”

“-Not?” JD finishes, smirking at you. 

“Whatever.” You laugh, trying to push him away. 

“Aren’t they just irresistible when they’re being bratty, Veronica?” 

“Absolutely adorable.” Veronica quips, crawling into your lap.

[rip-quizilla]

We Could Be Beautiful: Dead Girl Walking

Eddie Munson X Fem!Reader

🔹An AU in which you and Eddie are both actors in a community theater production of Heathers: The Musical🔹

Word count: 1.6K

A/N: Just an idea I’ve had rolling around in my head for a while. This will probably become a series of short blurbs within this AU, taking place between the auditions and the cast party following the final performance of the show.

Tags: mutual pining, unconfessed feelings, allusions to sex, passing mention of suicide (pertaining to the plot of Heathers), references to Heathers: the Musical, song lyrics

If you’d like a visual for the scene described from the original musical, click here

🔹divider made by @k1ssyoursister 🔹

You took your role as Veronica’s understudy seriously. 

You’d copied down every stage direction, every line, every director’s note- you’d made sure you were prepared. Now, the ultimate test would determine just how prepared for this you really were.

Barb, the actress playing Veronica, had warned you that her sister might go into labor early, and that had been exactly what happened. That meant she would be in the delivery room on opening night, and every program in every audience member’s hand would have a little insert with your picture on it, alongside your name followed by “-will be playing the role of Veronica Sawyer.”

Already, you had managed to make it to the first quarter of the show. “Beautiful” had gone without a hitch, and you’d gotten through “Fight for Me” without your voice cracking. But next was “Dead Girl Walking,” and you were just about ready to fling yourself in front of a bus. Or drink some drain cleaner. 

You hadn’t rehearsed this song with Eddie yet; you knew the words, knew the blocking, knew exactly which note you were expected to sing and every riff you had to hit. But standing behind that velvet curtain as you waited for your cue, you were practically on the verge of a panic attack. When you finally had to enter the stage, you channeled it all- the panic, the nerves, the terror of what comes after tonight.

I need it hard

I’m a dead girl walking

I’m in your yard

I’m a dead girl walking 

You’d watched him sing this song with Barb so many times, and each time you’d wished it was you- now, you had your chance. 

Sorry, but I really had to wake you

See, I’ve decided I must ride you ‘til I break you

Tonight I’m yours, 

I’m your dead girl walking

Get on all fours, 

Kiss this dead girl walking

You knew Eddie’s wide, wet eyes were those of an actor. The eyes of JD as he watches the girl of his dreams. Still, the heat and want you felt right now wasn’t Veronica’s- it was purely yours. So you let it feed Veronica’s words as you held his face in your tender hands and told JD the things you wished you could say to Eddie.

And you know, you know, you know

It’s ‘cause you’re beautiful

You say you’re numb inside

But I can’t agree

You were the one in the blue blazer now. Tonight, he was your JD, and you were scared shitless that when your lips hit his in a stage kiss that was supposed to have so much fire it set the stage ablaze, it might feel a little bit too real. 

So the world’s unfair

Keep it locked out there

In here it’s beautiful

Let’s make this beautiful

Eddie- JD- gazed at you with all the wonder and adoration of a man on his knees for a generous god. His head shook gently, bewildered by his luck as he delivered the next line. “That works for me.”

Then your lips were on him, and for a second you let yourself pretend he was kissing you back and not Veronica. His mouth was warm, his hands hungry as they roamed over your clothes and subtly squeezed until you felt your blazer’s polyester pucker.

When you pulled away for your high note, you gazed into his eyes and saw nothing but truth looking back at you. That fire you’d been feeling all this time was reflected in his eyes tonight. Sure, maybe it’s the stage lights. Maybe he’s just a really good actor. Maybe you’re fucking obsessed with him- but whatever it was, you felt wanted in those eyes. So yeah, you let yourself believe it. You let the script burn you alive.

Full steam ahead, 

Take this dead girl walking

Let’s break the bed,

Rock this dead girl walking

You were drunk on the awe in his gaze, the way he looked up at you like he wasn’t sure if you’d really just barged in through his window to ride him until he was a broken mess, or if you were a fantasy his mind had conjured to fuel his desire to belong to someone who would cherish all he had to give. 

Again, Eddie was a talented actor. You knew that was his interpretation of how his character felt about your character. Still, you let yourself fall into the script as you straddled his tense, shirtless body, his abs crunching under the blue stage lights in a way that made you salivate. You wondered what your spit would look like on his skin. 

You were far too horny to be professional. At least you weren’t so far gone that you couldn’t remember your blocking. 

No sleep tonight for you,

Better chug that Mountain Dew

Your heart fell into your core upon hearing Eddie’s whimpered ‘okay, okay’ in character, needy and submissive beneath you. 

Get your ass in gear,

Make this whole town disappear

His eyebrows pulled together, voice stronger and raspier as it ripped from his chest. ‘Okay, okay!’ His fingers snuck underneath your skirt, fingertips digging into the soft flesh of your ass. You wished it was real. 

You eyed him like a predator eyes a kill, determined to stay in his head until he needed you for real. You ran your palm over your cheek, brought your other hand up to fist in your hair, and pretended both hands were his.

Slap me,

Pull my hair,

You grabbed his wrists forcefully, bringing them up one by one to grope each of your tits. 

Touch me 

There (left tit)

And there (right tit)

And there 

To punctuate the final syllable, you couldn’t stop an involuntary writhe of your torso into Eddie’s hands as he grasped your white button down (which was actually a snap-up) at the chest and pulled hard, simultaneously pinching your nipples through your bright blue bra and ripping open your blouse to showcase the swell of your chest for the whole audience to see. You didn’t notice them, though- you noticed the way he looked at your chest like it was the second coming of Christ. You witnessed that fractional widening of his eyes, the way he was entranced by every move you made as you writhed in his lap. 

And no more talking

Love this dead girl walking

Eddie’s voice was lightning in the wake of thunder, bright and jagged and beautifully raw with power as he crooned a harmony to your lead as the song drew to a close. This song wasn’t an easy one to sing; had you not been so distracted by how it felt to have Eddie’s hips between your thighs you might have been nervous that you’d flub your high notes- but you didn’t. In a moment of sheer improvisation you did what just felt right, and that meant grabbing Eddie by hair at the base of his neck and wrenching his head back as you rolled your hips into his.

You knew your blocking was to arch your back away from him, but instead you brought your face close enough to his that it’s possible his mic picked up your perfect, clear falsetto as you pleaded, ‘Love this dead girl walking’ with the cadence of a lover asking, begging their beloved ‘don’t stop, don’t stop, don’t stop’. Eddie’s eyes registered your improvisational choice, and maybe you imagined it but behind those big brown button eyes he seemed to come alive with you, sitting up even further and digging one hand into your soft, hot skin while the other flexed against the stage floor to keep him balanced. His little ‘whoa, whoa, hey, hey, yeah yeah’s were short and breathy, sounding more like moans and whimpers as he rolled the sturdy bones of his hips into you as you matched his rhythm. 

If you closed your eyes, you could pretend. If you didn’t have blocking to follow, you might have kissed him again, might have bitten his lip, might have reached for his belt buckle with reckless abandon and let a summer’s worth of pining win over in your mind. Instead, you channeled that passion into the way your hips ground into him with the fervor of a woman with nothing to lose. 

Together the two of you finished out the song with heavy breaths and belted lyrics. You writhed. He thrusted.  ‘Love this dead girl,’ your voices intertwined in a desperate dance for release from the tension between you that, at some point, had grown thick as two oak trees planted near enough to forget where one ends and the other begins.

‘Yeah!’

Your hand on his chest splayed out over faded ink. Your hips swiveled against his groin.

‘Yeah!’

His hand fisted in the plaid fabric of your skirt. That wasn’t in the blocking- had they added that? Was this improv?

‘Yeah!’

Using the grip on your skirt, he tugged you further into him as his hips bucked up just enough to bounce you on his groin and shake your exposed cleavage. Without thinking, your hand flew into his hair, grasping the sweaty curls at the nape of his neck and tugging sharply back. You weren’t supposed to do that. 

‘Ow!’

It wasn’t supposed to be a moan, but that was definitely what you would call the sound you pulled from Eddie’s mouth. A soft yet sharp, breathy moan that existed somewhere in the valley between pleasure and pain and definitely sounded more sexy and less funny, which is how it was supposed to sound. You saw Eddie’s eyes go wide as he too came to this realization. 

No matter; if you played it off, no one in the audience would know the difference. You let go of his hair and flung your hand into the air above you, reaching for heaven and belting out your last ‘Yeah’ into the stage lights that lined the rafters above you. Your back arched, and you felt one final push of Eddie’s pelvis into yours, weaker this time as he too came down from the endorphins that ravaged every thought in both your mind and his. 

Taglist (people I've been talking to about this since the idea spawned): @ghost-proofbaby, @the-unforgivenn, @munson-blurbs, @hellfire--cult

[mysadcorner]

JD from Heather's with a secretly yandere reader? Maybe they despise JD and Veronica's relationship? I'll leave creative liberty to you!

Jason Dean x Yandere!Reader Headcanons

————————————————————————

- Credit to the images owners - Please be specific about characters wanted in headcanons and read request rules -

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• When he first meets you he probably won’t pay much mind to you being around it gives you much attention other than sarcasm and a free rude comments until he realises you’re not exactly like the popular girls he resents so much. Afterwards he’ll enjoy your company, but it’ll usually come with him being quite cryptic or manipulative while he’s still with Veronica.

• He might get a bit suspicious of you if he notices you giving him and Veronica a bit more of your attention than the average person does. The glances you give the two of them will definitely be noticed. JD wouldn't see this as a good thing though, and would probably approach you about it with some kind of threat or do something in retaliation to try and make you avoid them.

• Once he notices that you’re actually turning to come between him and Veronica, he’s going to absolutely love it. At first he thought the attention was a bit strange, but now he’s got you and her bidding for his attention and it’s the first time in his life that he’s being given options on who to pick.

• The more manipulative the better, he adores seeing someone be just as toxic as he can be. If you’re being manipulative he’ll catch on pretty quick, but most of the time he’ll stop do what you want just because he’s been looking for someone likes that and like himself for so long.

• As you become more obsessed over him the more he’ll start to reciprocate, until finally he’s practically replaced Veronica with you. If you manage to grab all of his attention and show that you’re more like him than Veronica ever will be, then he’ll easily cast her aside and be with you no matter how upset she is.

• He's realised that you're probably going to do a lot of what he asks you to, and whatever plan he makes you'll be encouraging it. Since this is the case, he'll even encourage you to get involved in the planning too, making you both just as guilty as each other.

• Every little thing that he does will be a way for him to take advantage of your feelings, even if you think that it's the other way around. JD has experience manipulating people, so he's pretty much always a step ahead of you no matter how bad your yandere tendencies might be.

[ezziefae]

My thoughts on The Prisoner's Throne.

(spoilers ahead, and talk about Holly Black's planned book)

ps: I finished this book in one sitting on release day and needed days to process everything, that's why this is a late post. Enjoy!!!!

Heather and Vivi

Where were Heather and Vivi? They were present in the prologue but then they vanished. I was excited to see Vivi become friends with Wren, especially after the rude comments she made towards Wren in TQON. I wonder why Holly excluded them from everything after the prologue, such as the family drama scene at the feast. However, I appreciated how they were mentioned in the story, particularly when we learned that Oak and Heather's mom are close, and that Oak would sleep at their house.

Oak abdicating as heir

So yeah, Jude and Cardan have given Oak permission to resign from the throne as heir, and obviously Oak is taking that opportunity to do just that, just not yet….he has to stay heir for months since Jude and Cardan are going away together. I always knew Jude and Cardan were going to stay as High King and Queen of Elfhame, but only because Oak married Wren and therefore became King of the Ice Needle Citadel, but that didn't happen…Jude is letting him step down because she knows he's grown, and wants him to make his own choices, which is great. If Oak resigns, Jude and Cardan will need to have a child to maintain the royal lineage. So, it's VERY possible that we may see a Jurdan baby in the future.

political problem (Holly Black's next faerie book)

So finally we know what the next book will be about. We know that Jude and Cardan have plans to go to the Undersea. That was the plan Holly Black has been teasing at us for a long time now. This means we’re getting another Elfhame book (Holly didn't say an "Undersea book", she said "Elfhame" even though it's going to be set in the Undersea). In an interview online, Holly Black states that this book will possibly be a stand-alone. Many fans are speculating that this book is going to be a Nicasia POV, but from reading the interviews from Holly I believe it’s going to be either a Jude or Cardan POV (maybe even both). This would make sense since Holly has said many times that she's planning to give us more Jurdan, and that Jude still has a lot of story in her. The Prisoner's Throne leaves us with many unanswered questions, such as what happens to the Ghost, if Oak gets married, news about Wren and her family, and whether Jude and Cardan have children. A standalone book to wrap up these loose ends would be very needed.

Cardan saving and being protective of Jude

Do you guys remember the post I made about Cardan fighting alongside Jude? and how he will not sit on the sidelines to watch her fight? Fans who know Cardan well already knew this to be true, but this book further proved this. This isn’t the first time has Cardan stepped in front of Jude to save her from being impaled. My man sacrificed himself so Jude wouldn't get hurt. Many times during the Stolen Heir duology Cardan has been called a coward, but mannn he's no coward, he will protect those he loves dearly, it was so refreshing to get more of his protective side in this book.

Taryn and The ghost

Since TQON, fans have been speculating that Garrett and Taryn are involved in a romantic relationship. Although it wasn't confirmed in the book, The Prisoner's Throne offered some insight into this. We find out that Heather, Vivi, and Oak have all speculated about it. Furthermore, Oak reveals that even after 10 years, The Ghost has remained close to Taryn and her child Leander. In one chapter of TPT, The Ghost has a serious conversation with Oak, but when Leander interrupts them, Oak notices that The Ghost becomes a different person around Taryn's son. He changes his behavior and has an indulgent smile towards the boy. I personally find it adorable, and after all the hardships The Ghost has been through, I believe he deserves to find happiness, even if it's with Taryn of all people.

The Ghost’s tragedy *sobs into pillow*

I never expected The Ghost to become such a prominent character in the book. It was amazing how I started to develop an emotional attachment to the Ghost throughout the book, only for him to end up turning into a tree by the end. The chapter where the family feasts and Lady Elaine and the Ghost are found dead was pure chaos and full of royal family drama. I had such a good time reading that part, until the Ghost turned into a tree. Also, going back to the topic of the Ghost and Taryn, I feel bad for Taryn even though I know she is a terrible character. It was heartbreaking to see Taryn sob and hold the Ghost while he was slowly dying (We didn't get word from Taryn that they were dating but I think that part was enough comfirmation that they were indeed lovers). As far as we know, Taryn and the Ghost did not get a happy ending in this book :(

ps: This is why I believe holly black's next book will be a Jurdan POV, because the only way we get to know about the ghost is through them. Nicasia is not close to Wren, Oak, the Ghost, or Taryn, we will never get insight on what happens to them if this next book is a Nicasia POV. Also I've been hearing as of 3/12/24 that Holly might possibly write a Jurdan dual POV, so...more reason to believe that it will definitely not be a Nicasia POV.

Taryn Vs Wren

It's funny how Holly decided to create a lot of family issues in the second book of the duology. Many fans believe that this duology should have been a three-part series to resolve these issues. One major problem is that Taryn dislikes Wren and holds her responsible for what happened to The Ghost. Oak's family is also not very fond of Wren. It would have been nice to see a moment in the book where Oak's family and Wren could have worked together and gotten along, but that didn't happen. If Oak and Wren plan to get married, I hope that they can resolve these issues between them all.

Cardan VS Taryn

It shocked me that after 10 years of them being brother and sister in law, that they still don’t get along. I think Taryn was wrong to feel like she had to protect The Ghost from Cardan when he was only trying to help. In fact, it annoyed me a bit. While Cardan was respectful towards Taryn, he had every right to dislike her, unlike Taryn who had no reason to dislike Cardan. Moreover, I would like to mention the moment when they found the ghost almost dead and Cardan ignored Taryn and answered Jude instead, Cardan being petty to Taryn in the most respectful way is hilarious. I think that moment perfectly sums up their relationship.

Wren’s Family

Although I’m happy Wren's sister Bex reunited with Wren, I was very much expecting to get more closure from that, like seeing Wren's entire family together reunite in the book. It feels like that left a huge void at the end of the book.

Wren’s Transformation

Okay, that was absolutely shocking. Holly mentioned in one of her interviews that there would be a transformation in the book, and I guess that was it. Wren now has beautiful wings. Can someone please draw a picture of Wren with wings? Also, can you imagine what Oak and Wren's children would look like if they ever had any? Their child would have blue skin, hooves, and wings. That would be a very interesting looking child.

Wren VS Jurdan

Wren was so wrong for making Jude and Cardan appear weak in front of their court. While reading this part, I remember thinking 'Wren, please stop," I found this chapter fun to read, and seeing Jude and Cardan's reaction to Wren's power. It was interesting to see how Wren exposes Jude's geas and curse to almost the entire court, and how Cardan becomes overprotective of Jude while Wren was removing her curse. I love Cardan.

Where was Queen Annett?

Since the stolen heir, I believed that queen Annett was going to be a problem for Elfhame and Wren. As you may recall, Wren freed her prisoners, and I always believed Queen Annett would've punished Elfhame for it since Wren was with Elfhame's heir Oak. However, she did not appear in The Prisoner Throne at all. I wonder if Holly forgot to bring this issue up or if she has decided to address it in her upcoming faerie book. (Queen Annett is also pregnant, so I think she will definitely be brought up again)

Madoc's Character

I'm a bit disappointed. I was expecting a lot from Madoc in this book, but nothing happened, except the fact that Jude lifted his exile (temporarily?) It bothers me that she lifted his exile easily, does Jude not remember he caused many problems for them? Madoc is the reason why Cardan almost died, why Oak was put in danger, he's the reason why the royal family died, and why Orlagh was weakened. I at least expected that Jude lifting his exile would've caused political problems for her, since Madoc is a political criminal for Elfhame and the Undersea. I thought he would’ve at least made a big heroic or villainous move in The Prisoner's Throne, or found a way to at least redeem himself, but nope.

Oak and Wren's Ending

So…Oak does not become king of anything, which is shocking. Everyone believed that if he didn’t become the King of Elfhame he would at least rule the Ice Needle Citadel, which can still happen, since he did propose to Wren at the end of the book. But still, I find it unnecessary, I think that Wren should step down from being Queen, and run to the mortal world with Oak where they can live away from the royal duties. Oak has expressed many times he does not want to be king, but if he marries Wren he will be king, which doesn't seem satisfying to me. Wren never cared for power in The Stolen Heir, she only ever cared for love and her family, I think the ending felt incomplete and unfinished. A lot of stuff was built up from The Folk Of The Air series, and this duology was supposed to give us results, but it did not. Even Oak and Wren's love story felt rushed. I didn’t see much of a connection. It didn't give me much of what I felt when I read Jude and Cardan's love story (You guys are so welcome to disagree with me)

Jude and Oak

So if you read the book, you know how shocking Jude and Oak's relationship became. Especially that scene where they “duel” (And Jude was an absolute fucking badass in that scene) The way she tricked Hag and even Oak at first that she was going to trade Oak for Cardan. I was very impressed with Jude in this book, especially in this chapter where we see her ordering her archers, and her ripping her dress to be able to fight while she's all wet. Her dialogue was so badass: "What if I give you Oak's head instead of Cardan's" and even this quote "Well, then, what a wonderful opportunity for you to prove your loyalty and die for the High King." Chapter 23 (I was so gay for Jude in this chapter, she was so mommy material) Despite feeling a bit betrayed by Oak and believing that she had failed in protecting him, she still trusted him when it came to Wren.

Oak Vs Taryn

"For a moment, he thinks of going over there and dumping his red clover tea over his sister's head" (Chapter 19)

(Jaw was on the FLOOR when i read this) I think it really sucked that Oak's family never told him about this, and I understand that Oak had every right to feel so raged that his family hid his mother’s true killer from his knowledge. Oak and The Ghost have been close, we did get some insight of The Ghost going to the mortal world and train Oak with Magic. I really hope Oak and The ghost's issue gets resolved, but that can only happen when the ghost gets cured....I love family drama, and it shows.

Jurdan Kids

Going back to the topic at hand, Cardan and Jude have given Oak permission to abdicate, which leads me to believe that they are planning to have kids of their own. So far, there hasn't been any indication from Jurdan that they are against having children. Holly has given us insights into Jurdan taking care of Leander, which is incredibly heartwarming. For example, we find out that Cardan plays with Leander, and there's a part where Jude is in the mortal world with newborn Leander, and Oak remembers Jude playing with baby Leander with a toy, almost like she was playing with a cat. I think these are definite hints from Holly that Jurdan would make great parents. Holly did say that we would get an answer to Jude and Cardan possibly having kids in the Prisoner's Throne, and I believe this was it. I will definitely make a separate post on this.

Randalian

I'm so happy this man is dead, it was long overdue. This man annoyed the crap out of us since the folk of the air series (it’s crazy that Jude and Cardan never decided to remove him from the living council, he never saw eye to eye with Jude and disrespected them constantly)

Lady Asha apperance

It turns out that Lady Asha is still in the court. She was only mentioned once when Lady Elaine was speaking with her. At that moment, I became suspicious and believed that Lady Asha was also part of the conspirators.

Locke appearance

The dream Oak had with Locke as a fox was fun and interesting. Even though it was a dream, it was cool to hear Locke again and how he acknowledged being murdered by Taryn.

Taryn is aging...but not Jude

FINALLY, we have some information on this topic. Oak describes Jude as looking very young, and Taryn as aging. He offers two possible explanations for this: either Taryn has visited the mortal world too often as her years are catching up to her, or becoming a mother has exhausted her. For a long time since TFOTA series, fans have speculated that since Jude is the Queen of Elfhame, she will never age. And it looks like Holly seems to support this, especially since Oak finally wonders "if Jude is quite as mortal as she once was". I from now on have no doubt about it, i am a "Jude will never age as long as she's Queen of Elfhame" believer.

The Cardan and Oak problem

it turns out that it wasn’t a big deal, Oak had been too much in his head, he was his own enemy when it came to Cardan, and it was amazing to see Cardan and Oak have a brotherly talk by the end of this book. Cardan’s character has really matured, and its amazing how comfortable he's become with his loved ones (i love him so much) I will admit, that when Cardan was talking to Oak about delaying his abdication of heir, I thought he was going to announce Jude’s pregnancy and you can't blame me, the way Holly wrote it made it sound like he was going to do that. (would’ve made me scream) but nope.

Summary:

The beginning was slow, but I nonetheless enjoyed it. I love Oak and Wren, however, I felt that they could have had a stronger connection in the story. There were too many unanswered questions left in the book, and it did not provide any closure to Oak and Wren's future. I feel that the series should have been a three-part book series instead of a duology. Moreover, many of the main characters seemed to have lost their power, such as Oak's resignation as heir to the throne, Wren losing her godly powers, and Tiernan being fired from his position as Oak's guard. I think many new readers who have never read the Folk of The Air series might not have appreciated that. Despite this, I appreciate that Jurdan was not removed from the Elfhame throne. However, I think that Holly Black set up more problems in this book than solutions, which makes it feel neglectful towards Oak and Wren's story. I am excited about this book, and I am sad that we may not get more news on Elfhame until possibly 2026, as she is currently working on the second book of The Book of Night. Anyways, In other news, I have a virtual event with Holly Black tonight 3/12/24, so I will write anything important down, and I will try to ask good questions!

[hurts2think]

Hook × morgie- it's saddening how little of them their is in this world :(

🏴‍☠️Young!James Hook x Morgie Le Fay Dating Headcanons🐍

Pairing: Morgie Le Fay x Young!James Hook

Plot: Just dating headcanons of them getting into some shenanigans!

Extra: Hey guys! I'm still sick and haven't been able to write. I've been resting but I feel horrible so I did this for you all! Hooksie one of my favorite ships🫶

- They have one singular braincell that they share

- Black cat x orange cat dynamic

- A couple months before they started dating, most people already assumed they were dating because they mostly acted like it and they were both just oblivious

- Hook always tries to find ways to annoy Uliana and Morgie always tries stopping him. Uliana is annoyed either way

- Hook always suggests they study together, knowing damn well they will not be studying and just goof off the whole time

- Neither of them are used to emotional intimacy so it was very awkward when they first started dating

- After the initial awkwardness they easily became the most annoying couple in school

- They set up a bunch of candles and flowers and make the mood very romantic just to play Uno and yell at each other

- They’re both very romantic but a little tone deaf

- They argue but most of the time only one of them is arguing and the other has no idea

- “You know what? I’m done arguing.” “We were arguing?”

- They’re banned from most public spaces. Restaurants, parks, grocery stores, malls, pretty much anywhere

- ^ usually banned due to their dates and getting in trouble. Whether it was intentional or not

- Always doing stupid dangerous teenager stuff in the middle of the night and calling it a date

- ^ climbing fences, pushing each other down hills in a stolen shopping cart, trespassing, graffiti, TPing houses, ect

- They often trespass into this field that gives the perfect views of the stars. There’s a little stone bench and some animals and they just hold hands and point out the stars.

- They sneak into movies all the time.

- The one place they aren’t banned from and don't have to sneak into is the arcade

- ^ They’re lovers but become rivals the moment they step into the arcade. Always trying to beat each other’s highest scores. They’re definitely regulars there

- They record mixtapes for each other on cassettes like every other month. Listening to them 24/7

- ^ These playlists definitely have Guns n Roses, U2, Queen, AC/DC, and more

- They do movie nights with movies they'll think they'd make fun of but end up loving it

- ^ The Princess Bride and Heathers is definitely one of those movies

- Hook is more affectionate than Morgie but Morgie loves the affection. They're still both very clingy

- Hook always pulling in Morgie for kisses

- They both fluster each other so much. Hook usually does flusters Morgie on purpose and Morgie usually flusters Hook on accident but finds it adorable

- They have attempted to start a band with the other VKs multiple times but it has never worked out

- They cuddle 24/7 and kiss and hold hands and are literally piling on each other, trying to be as physically close as possible

- If one of them is out from school because he's sick, the other will skip school to take care of him

- They always do cringey obscure couple Halloween costumes that no one understands

- When they goof off in class and the teacher is lecturing them, they definitely keep looking at each other and have to hold in from busting out laughing

- ^ Detention buddies

- Morgie leaves little sticky note drawings and letters for Hook just throughout the day.

- ^ Hook keeps a couple of them in his wallet

- Theatre kids and definitely make jokes about their chatacters dating each other in the show

- Overall they just get into so much trouble with their shenanigans and are very clingy

[lina-lovebug]

USM characters dating an Avengers daughter

- you knew his about his not-so-subtle crush on your dad when you first met, and decided not to tell him

- you adore him but whose to say he won't just use you as an excuse to hang out with your philanthropist billionaire playboy dad?

- but you'd been dating awhile, and had met Aunt May (who adored you), so why were you avoiding the subject of your dad?

- that was until you were fixing your suit and Peter walked in, gave you a kiss and offered to help. You forgot the little engraving your dad left you on your suit, "be careful and kick ass, love dad"

- "aw, that's sweet," he smiled, "when can I meet him?"

- "you. . .already have," you said, trying to gage his reaction, "he made me my first suit. . .and yours"

- it took him a few seconds but then it all clicked. His super amazing genius girlfriend whose dad bought her a Porsche at fifteen was Tony Stark

- his idol

- "I'm sorry I didn't say anything sooner, but you idolize him and I was scared and-"

- he understood - completely shocked but understood

- he does ask if that means he can drive the Porsche now tho

- you and your mom? Best friends

- danny and your mom? Not so much

- being the daughter of Black Widow herself came with a lot of trust, and many secrets so you never intended on dating because of it

- but then this handsome motherfucker gentleman comes along and you're on cloud nine

- you told him you have a complicated past and he respected that, waiting until you were ready

- but he's Iron Fist, King of K'un L'un and an Agent of SHIELD so he took notice when you'd disappear from team sessions

- he admits he got curious and followed one day, and there you were: training with Black Widow herself, and doing it flawlessly

- and at the end of it, his suspicions were confirmed once you hugged and said, "thanks, mom"

- "So are you gonna introduce us or does he always do that?" She made DIRECT eye contact with him and it honestly sent a shiver down his spine

- he introduced himself, remaining calm and collected, which impressed her but she also knows that people can hide how they rlly feel

- she GRILLED HIM

- "where'd you grow up?" "K'un L'un" "who are your parents?" "Heather and Wendell Rand" "if you're a billionaire, why do you wear five dollar flip flops?"

- you knew she approved of him, but she liked to keep him on his toes

- "beloved, I love you, but your mother scares me"

- oh how does one BEGIN to explain to their bullet proof boyfriend that their dad is Thor?

- he knew you had to be other worldly, and not just because he thinks you're a Goddess you accidentally struck him with lightning one time

- you wanted to keep it a secret for a bit before the Almighty Thor comes in and demands to know Luke's intentions

- "babe, why is Thor asking me when I'm proposing?"

- being a God came with perks, so Thor knew not long after you guys started dating that something was amiss with his daughter

- (you stopped remembering to being him poptarts and he got upset)

- "how do I know if he is worthy of your hand?"

- "He makes me laugh :) and he's bulletproof so. . ."

- they get along great

- his first trip to Asgard was a bit intimidating but seeing as you're half human, your mom reminded him that love between you guys was possible

- "I recommend a traditional Asgardian ceremony-"

- "dad we're sixteen"

- o h b o i

- talk about overprotective father

- you're a minute late, who were you with? What were you doing? I want their names, addresses, social security-

- if you guessed Winter Soldier a.k.a Bucky then you guessed right

- he knew something was up the moment you two lingered for a bit after training, and watching from the top deck this man SPOTTED your hands brush and asked Fury for Novas' personal file

- but knowing your dad, you were actually able to keep your relationship a secret for two months before he put the pieces together himself

- you both were out on a picnic date, Sam having made a cute cake, and a very threatening man with a metal arm came up sat down, smiled at him, held his hand out and said, "Samuel Alexander, sixteen, last Nova, grew up in Carefree, and 5'8, correct?"

- you were LIVID

- meanwhile Sam was like "omg he knows my name :0!!"

- you had told Sam long before dating that your dad was extremely overprotective, but Sam being Sam was just excited that his badass girlfriend has a badass dad!!

- and Buckys like "wtf this kid isn't even remotely terrified"

- Sam asks question after question, and it even turns into a third wheel - as in they're bonding and you're just there

- Bucky likes him but still tries to be somewhat intimidating, being the infamous Winter Soldier and all

- "Babe. . .baabe. . .when's your dad gonna be back? I wanna ask him if he likes my new helmet look"

- so like where do I even start

- you and Ava had been dating for a couple of months before she started to realize that she hadn't met your family

- you told her that they were just really intense and you didn't wanna scare her

- but who could scare White Tiger? So she insisted and you said "your funeral"

- also how does one explain to their partner that they technically shouldn't exist because your dad is a robot and your mom is a witch?

- your brothers LOVE her

- Billy and Tommy immediately recognized Ava, seeing as they'd work with the team from time to time and said "ooh our sisters dating the smart one"

- and Ava like, "babe I think I kicked one of their asses in training"

- Wanda adores Ava, she thinks she's good for you and might as well have someone mentally stable in your life

- Meanwhile in Avas' mind, "omg omg her mom is Scarlet Witch, her dad is Vision - wait is that why she's so smart? Is my girlfriend a robot?"

- no you're not a robot

- Vision likes her, and he knew about you two before you two even started dating. Why? You rambled about White Tiger during dinner once and Vision CLOCKED that look in your eyes

- needless to say, Sunday dinners with your family are now mandatory with Ava

[endless-ineffabilities]

Chemical Override - Submission Board

Hello, my darlings! I've received a lot of ideas and requests and queries about Chem Ov, so I'm making this post as a way to keep track of all of them.

Feel free to share in the comments or in my ask!

Once an idea has been submitted, I will add it here, to avoid repetition and to make sure that I am able to incorporate it into the story if it fits the narrative 💙

*random pictures included above, added cause they amuse me :)

series masterlist ▪︎ main masterlist

Ewan and the reader thinking about living together - 🦜 anon

Reader adopting Benjicat who ends up preferring his mum, unlike Sansa - TheCatAnon

Ewan seeing an ad or film of the reader and sending her a picture along with a compliment - @seamaiden

Audience reactions to Ewan and Matt's game interview from Above The Gods Eye - ✨️ anon

Reader running to Ewan's aid when he gets injured on set, shoving past Matt - @ajantanijhum

Reader having a naughty dream about Ewan and Matt - anon

Ewan comforting reader when she's on her period - anon

Sansa sneaking into Reader's bag and ending up in HOTD set - TheCatAnon

Reader getting addicted to viral pastries from a Japanese bakery, influencing Ewan, who over-indulges his sweet tooth - @theintrovertedwriter868

Ewan watching (and adoring) Darling's interview on Hot Ones or another variety show - @just-fics-station

Ewan and Darling discussing marriage and babies - anon

Ewan and Darling do the Wired Autocomplete Interview / friendship test - @seamaiden

Matt or Ewan or both seeing Darling's lingerie campaign - anon

Ewan posting Darling's high fashion ad on his stories - 💌 anon

Hotd cast playing never have i ever, drunk edition, but prior to the game they all decided to target ewan and make all of the questions related to darling (e.g. "never have i ever made longing gazes at darling during interviews?") - anon

Darling gets cast for a music video. Matt visits her on set and he gets cast in an extra role as her lover - @just-fics-station

Darling is in a musical on the West End, playing a character who's dominant and confident (thinking of Heather Chandler) and Ewan goes to watch and is obsessed - Scottish anon

Darling meets Ewan's parents or vice versa - @clarkysblog

Ewan and the reader vacaying with the cast. Them sneaking off to make out. Ewan gawking at the reader behind his sunglasses - anon

Darling prank calls Ewan/Matt for Elle - anon

A famous celeb says that Darling is their celebrity crush and wants to work with her - anon

Darling wearing a 'revenge dress' for an event - anon

Darling taking the buzzfeed hotd character quiz and getting Aemond - @seamaiden

[assistant-of-drama]

In the show Total Drama World Tour, the ruthless and determined Heather watched with a mixture of curiosity and amusement as the suave Alejandro nestled the aloof and sarcastic bookworm Noah in his arms. Noah's sharp wit had always grated on her nerves, but now he looked... different.

Noah's eyes, usually filled with sarcasm and cynicism, were glazed and empty, lost in a deep trance. His lips were curled into an adorable and mindless smile, revealing his normally hidden dimples. As Alejandro stroked Noah's hair, a tender expression washed over his face. 'Why do you keep cuddling him, Alejandro? Have a thing for nerds?' Heather finally asked, her voice dripping with curiosity and some venom. A smirk tugged at Alejandro's lips. 'Noah has his own... unique charm when he's like this.' With a gentle push, Alejandro handed Noah to Heather. As soon as Noah's arms wrapped around her, Heather felt a wave of warmth and tranquility wash over her. Noah's cuddles were surprisingly gentle, and his soothing presence calmed her racing thoughts. Looking down at Noah's entranced face, Heather saw a side of him she had never noticed before. He looked vulnerable and innocent, like a child who had found comfort in her embrace. For the first time, Heather understood Alejandro's fascination with the antisocial intellectual. 'I get it now,' she whispered softly. 'He's... cute when he's like this.' Noah purred softly, contentedly nestling his head into Heather's neck. His warmth and the rhythmic sound of his breathing filled her with a sense of peace she had never experienced before. She didn't even notice that they were both slowly falling asleep. 

Alejandro watches the slumbering duo in amusement, walking over to take Noah back. 

[vympirestake]

Hello, could I please request head cannons for: Veronica Sawyer, poly Billy and stu, brahms heelshire, and marko from the lost boys where their s/O is very insecure about how they look and always wear a mask and maybe their reaction to seeing their face for the first time.

— Insecure Masked S/O

— Various x GN!Reader, just fluff, headcanons

— Mentions of insecurity, a little bit of bullying maybe

═════════════════════════════

— Veronica Sawyer

Veronica is your knight in shining armor, your protector and biggest supporter

Her alliance with the Heathers makes it so, if she so chose, she could squash anyone who dare try to shun you either for your mask or (this bring a semi small town) your actual face if they've seen it

She's always quick to your defence, whether or not you were going to defend yourself she is chewing everyone out and moving you to where she can check up on you

Literally starstruck when she sees your face

She's more gentle than the others, opting to gently brush her fingertips along your cheeks, across your jaw, smoothing your hair down if the mask had covered it

She is really just in awe, wanting to make you feel wholly loved and appreciated for everything you are

If anything, she gets more protective of you. Feeling as though, because you entrusted her with the barest part of you, she needs to keep it safe

For a complete sidenote, I think in this AU instead of thirsting for Veronica, JD sees himself in her fierce passion for you (and he just thinks you're neat, probably always talking down society and norms to encourage you) so he ropes her into killing in your name

═════════════════════════════

— Poly Ghostface

In a couple words, the general idea is that these boys would kill and be killed for you

This goes for really just in general, mask or no mask, but the fact that you are so insecure almost seems to triple this instinct

You can bet they're shoved right into your sides whenever you're in public, staring down and threatening anyone who even looks at you funny

When you finally decide to show them your face they both sit in their anxious anticipation

They'll love you no matter what, don't get me wrong, but they don't want to mess this up and make you more uncomfortable

When you actually show them they both just sit there like :0, literally in the gif just wide eyed with their mouths slightly agape

Stu giving a quiet whisper of "woah, man" before diving in to finally kiss your face for the first time

Billy (lowkey pissed Stu beat him to it) moves the blonde out of the way so he can get his smooch too, both assuring you beyond a shadow of a doubt that they love you masked or not

Billy especially gets almost a power thrill from seeing your face, knowing he's one of a very select few to actually see you which, in his mind, makes you all the more his

═════════════════════════════

— Brahms Heelshire

Of anyone, Brahms is going to understand your insecurities the best

Your mask is probably what made him comfortable in his choice to finally reveal himself

He knew that you wouldn't judge or be afraid of him purely because of his face or his way of hiding it

When you do finally reveal your face to Brahms, he is filled with nothing but pure adoration

He knows that taking off your mask, removing that layer of security, and being so very vulnerable around him makes Brahms fall that much deeper in love with you

Unfortunately, this probably means he would end up staring for an uncomfortably long amount of time, nearly making you regret removing the mask in the first place

Before you could fathom apologizing Brahms, in turn, removes his own mask

It's such a gentle moment, quietly and with so much care exploring the newly revealed skin of the other

═════════════════════════════

— Marko

While Marko doesn't necessarily understand your insecurity, he nontheless tries his hardest to make sure you're more or less as comfortable as possible

He strives to make you as comfortable in your own skin as he can

He's always right by your side, offering a comforting hand or a moment alone

You know the other boys are always checking back on you two, especially looking out for Marko flagging down their newest meal who thought being disrespectful towards you would be ok

Marko has an interesting opinion on it, knowing that his "human" face is really only a mask for the vampiric one but it makes him not as serious as the others might be

Not to say he doesn't understand the importance of this! But more that he feels the removal of the "mask" is empowering and therefore should be celebrated

So when you remove the mask for the first time, he's whooping and hollering

"yeah! that's my s/o" while he bounds up to kiss you

probably immediately shows you his vampire face (if you haven't seen it already) so you can finally see each other bare

[mangobug]

Alenoah is so goddamn appealing to me for the same reason i like aleheather: they're both enemies/rivals with a tension. However, what makes alenoah so much more interesting to me is the fact that Noah just would not visibly care about, or outwardly acknowledge, Alejandro's advancements. When Alejandro flirts with the other contestants, he easily throws them off or (in Heather's case) pisses them off, turning them into putty in his two hands. When he attempts to throw Noah off, though, it doesn't (visibly) have an effect on him, and it bothers Alejandro because Alejandro always has the upper-hand, around both women and men. It makes Alejandro feel almost humiliated when Noah brushes him off or shoots back sarcastic comments in response to his flirting. Noah barely even bats an eye. But Alejandro can't bring himself to stop when he finds Noah as a person so interesting. Alejandro loves debating with Noah and adores his snark and intelligence, and this adoration drives him. He makes it a goal of his to somehow really fluster Noah or throw him off his game like he does with the other contestants, which has proven to be quite a difficult task. But Alejandro isn't a quitter.

In reality, Noah enjoys the playful and teasing banter just as much as Alejandro, even if he seems uninterested, because it's entertaining to be debating with someone of similar intelligence. Alejandro's flirting, though, does actually throw him off, just not in the same way it does to other people. Noah is entirely (and rightfully) convinced that Alejandro's flirting with him is just a part of his slimy, slippery, eel-y personality, and a sad attempt to rid of Noah in order to further himself in the competition. And Noah is nothing if not stubborn, so even if he feels his stomach twisting into a knot every time Alejandro compliments his brown eyes or his hooked nose or his impressive intelligence or his interesting personality or even the peaceful, curled position he sleeps in—Noah will always just nod his head and respond with a doubtful "sure" or a sarcastic "thanks, honey."

And if Alejandro were to hear about how Noah views his persistent advances, then he wouldn't deny it, because in the beginning that was about half of the truth. He did want to use this new challenge to knock a few opponents out, and if reaching his goal would not only prove to Alejandro that the cold-presenting bookworm had a heart that could be tamed but would also get him out of the way and push Alejandro one step closer to his imminent victory, then, well, that's a win-win for Alejandro. That isn't all the reason though because, against all of Alejandro's big ego, he does actually quite like Noah. This "like" didn't mean the same in the beginning as it did in the end. Because it didn't start with Alejandro wondering if Noah had had anything to eat that day or if Noah had any pets or what Noah's favorite book was, or even if Alejandro could borrow that book Noah was reading once he was done.

Against all of Alejandro's wishes and expectations, he finds that between the two of them, he is the one who has been getting flustered. And it is downright embarrassing, because Noah doesn't even do anything. Well, except for all of the things he usually does. He makes his sarcastic comments and argues with Alejandro just as he did before, but now the details are so much clearer. It's like every feature of Noah's has been enhanced, including his features that previously Alejandro would have considered flaws. His forehead was rather larger than average, but Alejandro has decided that it fit his face and personality and that it was only natural for a head to be big enough to store all the fascinating knowledge and wit that Noah had proven to have. And that pimple just below his right cheekbone, well, that is just time's beauty mark, a proof of growth and maturity that was one feature of many on his face that showed that he was very alive. He found an adorableness in the way Noah uncurled from his sleep and rubbed his eyes first thing after a long night of rest, and he felt a burning discomfort in the unmistakable image of Noah curling into Owen's nap for a makeshift pillow later that day. Alejandro felt electricity course throw his veins and his hands become shakey and clammy at every short lock between ivy and coffee irises. He felt his heart beat a thousand miles a minute each time he stood next to the other, and he would feel it speed up ten times fast at every sarcastic comment the other would make.

Alejandro found himself staring.

Alejandro finds himself studying his face, gauging his face for reactions whenever he makes a joke, and he finds himself way too excited when Noah cracks a smile at it. One time, Alejandro had made Noah laugh. Belly laugh. Gasping for breath laugh. A laugh so full of joy that Alejandro found himself smiling. Not from the contagiousness of Noah's laugh nor from the humor of the comment he had made about Duncan, which, truth be told, he couldn't recite on the spot even if he needed to because his memory had been wiped and replaced with this. Rather, he was satisfied that of all people, he could make Noah laugh like this (and Owen.. he supposes.) That night held for him some distasteful news, because how could Alejandro be the one melted into somebody else's palms?

Noah had noticed the sudden change in Alejandro's behavior, but it'd be a lie if he said he knew why it happened. And if anyone were to tell him why, he would deny it, because not only was it obviously not true, but he also didn't want it to be. The idea of someone as slimy, slippery, and eel-y as Alejandro even daring to approach him was for one, unfortunate, for two, terrible, and for three, impossible. But he couldn't help but ponder why this change had happened. Just why was Alejandro so... fidgety? He was running his hand through his hair what felt like every five minutes (Noah heard him curse under his breath once in spanish, likely at the realization of the inevitable accumulation of grease by the end of the day due to the excessive hand-to-root action), he kept unbuttoning and buttoning the top button of his shirt (Noah heard him mutter once, "is it too scandalous undone?"), and he wouldn't stop playing with his fingers, cracking and popping them, pulling and intertwining them—not that Noah was always watching his hands or anything, because he wasn't, but it was just such a drastic change to Alejandro's usually confident demeanor that you must be a fool to not notice it.

Alejandro did not notice—how could he be such a fool? Developing a crush on an opponent with a million dollars on the line? Pathetic.

The night following Noah's laughing fit, Alejandro found himself staring at Noah's sleeping form. Alejandro had noticed the way he usually sleeps, which would be creepy if Noah didn't have such a noticeable way of sleeping. He curled up to sleep, upright or on his side, and it was pretty cute. His eyes observed the way Noah was curled up against Owen's side, face resting into the other's fat. Ah, right. Owen. Alejandro felt a scowl creep up on his face when his eyes shifted to the blond's face—only to immediately divert his eyes, because Owen was already looking at him. He heard Owen laugh, which made his embarrassment double—embarrassment? I don't get embarrassed.

"Don't worry, Al." Gross. Al. "Noah doesn't know, so your secret is safe with me."

Alejandro blinked. He looked back at Owen, although reluctantly. "...Secret?"

Owen laughed again, and Alejandro was getting worried that he would wake Noah as he watched the smallest of them bounce against Owen. "You know, Al. Your cute little crush on Noah! He's smart and all, but he kind of sucks with love. You can take as much time as you want before you tell him. But between you and me, I think he likes you, too."

Alejandro's mind blanked. Crush? "Uh. My what."

Owen's face turned confused as well. "Oh... Do you not? Oops. Forget I said that about Noah."

Alejandro wished he could think of a decent response, but, what?

"Uh... No, I wouldn't say you're wrong. I just... didn't know myself."

"You—" Owen laughed again, this time making Noah groan in his sleep.

"Ugh... Owen. Stop, 'm trying to sleep." He said, not even opening his eyes.

"Sorry, buddy." Owen giggled, "Al's just pretty funny."

Alejandro glared at Owen, and the other shrugged.

"Sure." Noah groaned, adjusting his position before quickly falling back to sleep.

"Wow! How could you not know, Al? You're always looking at him and talking to him, 'n stuff. It's like Tyler and I aren't even there! And you're so nervous around him. I didn't know someone as cool and confident as you could get nervous around anyone. It makes me proud to know my little buddy could do that."

Alejandro nodded. "Hmm. You're right... Maybe that is the case."

It was a silent agreement between the two that it was their business and no one else's, an agreement that Alejandro wasn't too confident that Owen wouldn't break, but it was enough. Alejandro couldn't decide what was more shocking, an agreement between him and Owen, or the fact that he actually liked Noah in a more than just curious way. Looking back on what Owen said though, he thinks an Owen and Alejandro alliance is much more surprising.

[reyreadersblog]

"A duel my love?"

Pairs: Lyra x Grayson, Lyrason.

Warnings: swords, fighting.

AN: this is basically set after TGG, also i am writing in first person because i phisically can't write in third person and i'm sorry if it's not your cup of tea, also sorry if it's too corny😭🙏🏻

Tags: @reminiscentreader @lxvebelle @jkriordanverse @f4iry-bell @dutifullysparklyphilosopher @two-braincells-in-total @wish-i-were-heather @whatsamongus @lyrakanefanatic

♧COLLAGE♧

♧CUT♧

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LYRA'S POV:

If you'd told me a year and a half ago that today i'd be standing in front of the opening gates of the Hawthorne mansion with my boyfriend, Grayson Hawthorne beside me, i'd laugh at your face and praise your imagination.

Oh, well...you know what they say, only time can tell.

To say the house is huge is an understatement, it's enormous. Until now i had only seen it in magazines and social media.

A few weeks ago Avery Grambs, a Hawthorne heiress and Grayson's brothers insisted that i visited them with Grayson.

"you need to visit us at the mansion, i'll be your guide" Avery said.

"yeah, you're part of the family now" Xander winked at me.

I am part of the family now.

I am part of the family now.

I am part of the family now.

I repeated that sentence few times in my head and smiled to myself.

"Lyra" a voice called behind.

"Lyra" a voice, his voice.

"Huh?" I blurted out.

"Lyra, are you okay sweetheart?" Grayson stood in front of me caressing my cheek, looking a bit concerned, I melted into his touch.

I took his hand in mine and smiled at him.

"I'm alright, i just...zoned out a bit"

Grayson smiled back at me, and i could swear everytime he smiled, i felt days of my lifetime taken out of my body. It was killing me.

Then suddenly it hit me.

"Oh, wait i forgot to take out my luggage!" I panicked.

Grayson chuckled and i felt kind of embarrased.

I'm sorry mister but i'm just getting used to this lifestyle.

"You don't have to worry about them, i told the valet to take it to our room" when he said "our" i felt something in my stomach.

Was i having butterflies?

Jesus, we've been dating for almost a year and he still found a way to make me anxious (in a good way).

"Are we going to meet them inside?" I asked.

"Yes, but before i want to show you something"

"Show me what?" I arched an eyebrow.

He took my hands and kissed them.

"You'll see, i just need you to follow me" and so i did, i followed him. First thing i saw was a giant fountain and two paths, splitting of in both directions. The great garden had everything: Brenches, flowers, bushes, fountains and...a hedge maze.

"Where exacly are we going?" I asked him, following his every move.

"You're not usually this impatient" he told me, ignoring the question, slightly smiling.

"Well, i don't know, what if you're kidnapping me?" I teased him.

"I know better than to kidnapp Lyra Catalina Kane"

I watched his every move and every turn...and it would be a lie if i said i didn't stare at his muscles which you could see even when he wore his armors.

Right turn. Left turn. Forward. Left. Right.

Every once in a while he'd turn his head and look at me, i don't know if this was his way of adoration or his way of making sure i was right by his side.

"We're here" Grayson said.

Finally we arrived at what i guessed would be the center, a large square area. I don't know what i expected, but it wasn't this. And then i saw Grayson kneeling, touching something undernearth the grass and all of a sudden i felt ground shaking.

I stepped closer and i saw a steel compartment embedded in the ground, about six feet long, three feet wide and not that deep. I looked in Grayson's direction, he was holding something metal.

A sword.

I laughed. a shocking laugh.

This i didn't expect at all.

"Longswords" we both said at the same time.

I knelt down to hold it.

"Careful, they're heavy" Grayson warned me and i rolled my eyes at him.

It was indeed heavy, about 3 feet long, with a T- shaped hilt.

I brushed my hand through the hard metal.

"Type Xll, sword of the early middle ages, grete swerdes"

Grayson smiled at me and he looked..proud.

"A duel my love?" I asked him.

"No" he said without hesetating.

"What? Why?" I asked confused

"Lyra, i've been practicing sword fighting ever since i turned 6, my grandfather made sure i knew every technique and i don't want to-"

"Ohhhh..so that's what this is about..you think of me as a low oponent, i'm guessing me telling you the history of this sword wasn't enough to make you believe how skilled i am, huh?" I chuckled

"I just don't want to hu-"

Swing.

I swung at him aware of every muscle in my body and his.

He avoided it, and now our blades made an "X".

"Try me, asshole" i said smirking.

Grayson smiled softly. Everything about it was dangerous.

Grayson stepped forward and we both swing the sword at the same time.

Nice stance, he needs to work more on his reflex though.

But he isn't showing his full potential. He is going easy on me.

I knew it, sword fighting has always been one of my passions and i hated when people underestimated me.

My sword touched his.

Winning against Grayson is going to be easy, all i need is control and balance.

One of the main rules of sword swinging was to never look into an oponent's eyes more than 2 seconds, always pay attention to the sword and the way your oponent moves.

Yet i could't take my eyes away from his.

Ever since we started dating, i'd look into his eyes and i could swear every day they were different shades. One day they'd be grey like the ashes, the second day they'd be blue, but not like the sky, like the pool he swam in at nights.

Concentrate. I remind myself.

I take a step back..and lost the balance.

That's what happens when you act stupid.

Before i fell, Grayson caught me with one hand.

His hand. My waist.

We both laughed softly, his hot breath on my mouth.

And then i kissed him. Hard and fast.

Both of us melt in this kiss.

And i could feel him slowly loosing control.

He lowered sword, his other hand traveling from my cheek to my neck, softly grabbing my hair.

And then i pulled away, sweeped my leg, turned around and swung at him again.

"Your grandfather didn't teach you to never be swayed by a sexy woman?"

Grayson opened his mouth to say something and suddenly stopped.

"Your arm- You're bleeding Lyra" Grayson panicked.

I looked at my left arm, i was indeed bleeding.

How did this happen?

He came closer to look at my arm. He looked very worried.

"Gray, it's just a scratch-"

"Just a scratch Lyra? This is an injury, we need to go back, i'll fix you up"

Grayson Hawthorne would destroy the world before he'd let anything or anyone hurt me. So there was no point in going against his will right now.

"Okay, but i'd really like to continue this later"

"Sword swinging, or the kiss?" He knew what he was doing.

I smiled as he pulled me in for a kiss.

I knew we were going to do anything like that in a hedge maze but i'd be lying if i said i didn't want to.

Grayson pulled away.

"Lyra-"

"I know, i know, let's get back to the mansion."

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♧CUT♧

[vampirememory]

Intuitive PAC | Who is your next lover?

Howdy! I had this one in the drafts for a little while! I think I intended to have more than three piles, but since it's been a while since I've started it, we are keeping it at three! Choose a pile and get some intuitive predictions on your next lover! This may or may not pertain to your future spouse, use discretion as needed.

♢ There are three piles to choose from. Pile one is the green bow, pile two is the pile of papers, and pile three is the green fan. Feel free to pick one or several piles.♢

Due to the fact there are only three piles, you may not have a message here. Take what resonates and leave the rest!

Pile 1 ♢ Green Bow

Someone shady/snake-y. Slithers like a snake, might walk very quietly and elegantly. Firm boundaries. Misunderstandings. The color blue (favorite color or blue eyes). Tattoo that wraps around the arm. Brilliant blue (lots of blue coming through). Snakebites. Elegant.

Masculine/Males: May be tall with darker features (brown/black hair; seeing curls) with possible blue eyes. Thin & agile. Wears a lot of black, somewhat mysterious and seductive.

Feminine/Females: long black/brown hair, red lips, somewhat of a devil's smile (whatever that means), player energy.

Both/All/Other: dark on the outside, but a softie on the inside. Still dark inside though, it just softens for you. Nice hands. Gold jewelry/a watch. Black & white layered tops, dark academia aesthetic, or old money aesthetic. Possibly wealthy or a very good thrifter.

Pile two ♢ Pile of Papers

Bright and cheerful; red, cherries. Kissable, huggable, adorable. Exit sign, might leave soon (out of town for a trip? For the summer?). Black pearls. Picnic blankets and caressing under a big oak tree, Summer vibes.

Masculine/Males: blonde, strawberry blonde. Boy next door vibes. Sweet and cute, very rosy and sweet. Buys you a lot of flowers, flannels are a closet staple with silver jewelry. Might have a silver or gold tooth, or possible missing teeth (punched out?)

Feminine/Females: shoulder length, poofy light brown hair, almost ginger. Friendly smile and appearance. Cute summer dresses and floral patterns. Brown sandals, crocs with lots of jibbits.

Both/All/Other: friendly vibes! Soft lovers. Happy to have you in their arms, treats you like a gift. May be clingy. Slightly tanned skin. Romantic softies. The relationship may not last long due to outside influences, but it'll be one to remember and one you'll look very fondly at (you may stay lifelong friends because the relationship simply wasn't meant to be; platonic but mistaken for romantic).

Pile three ♢ Green Fan

Heather? Heathen? Black tongs, barbecue or cookout, might meet them there. Plastic cups, drinking and a poolside. They might be a bit drunk when you meet them (liquid courage I heard). Crop top with possibly the American flag? With black mesh?

Masculine/Male: jock? Physically strong. Baseball caps & a large sneaker collection. Nice hands. Dark eyes, like the galaxy (heard that specifically).

Feminine/Female: darker colored makeup, dark under eyes, large eyes (very white & clear), long lashes.

Both/All/Other: doesn't take alcohol well, you might meet them while helping them to their car or something. If it doesn't resonate, you still might be helping them do something when they're struggling under some type of influence and not at their best (injury? Exhaustion?). Might be really embarrassed after this encounter, but fell for the way you care for them. Possibly Black or Hispanic, maybe foreign which is why they need help (possibly you speak their language? Or are incredibly patient?). May take a while for the relationship to start due to ego issues on their end (embarrassment), they really care about a good impression. Might be interested in business, politics, or international affairs.

I didn't get much appearance on this, I see that you might be focusing more on helping them rather than their appearance so you might not get a good look at them.

Thank you so much for reading! Feel free to check out my masterpost with more readings, or you can support me by purchasing a reading by clicking here. Thanks for the support, let me know which pile you picked and if it resonated or not :)!

[penny00dreadful]

Folie à Deux - Part 4

For @psychocatnerd

Rating: Explicit

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 AO3

Robin was completely stumped, which wasn’t exactly what Eddie wanted to hear but he supposed they were no worse off than they had been before.

They talked about contacting the kids, all away at college but as they argued back and forth about it they decided to let it play out until tomorrow.

After all, they had woken up switched so maybe they’d wake up tomorrow… switched back?

There was a not 0% chance that they would change back, after all and it would take the kids half a day if not longer to get back to Hawkins so they’d figured they’d be better off waiting. 

Eddie didn’t know what Robin and Steve had spoken about in the garage, but when did he ever know what they had been talking about? He wouldn’t be surprised if they hadn’t spoken at all and just communicated through some kind of mind meld, staring at each other like freaky little aliens.

And Robin had called him the pod person.  

She hadn’t interrogated him nearly as hard as he had expected, given how she’d held a knife to his throat only a few hours previously. She was remarkably cool about the whole thing, just asking when he’d noticed the difference which he was simultaneously not wanting to divulge and also delighted to disgust her with. 

She had this funny little curl to her upper lip when he told her how he had originally thought his piercing had fallen out and it was only then that he had realised that something was off.

Though she had been extremely unsurprised to hear that he had his dick pierced, which left Eddie spiralling ever so slightly because there was only one person she could have heard from about that particular piece of jewellery so like…

Had Steve touched his dick?

Please god, he hoped so.

Not to be, like, creepy about it. 

But please god, he hoped so.

The only vague theory Robin was able to put forward was that it could be linked to the matching bat bites the two of them were sporting, the joint venom and trauma and general Upside Down fuckery that they still barely understood.

But it was only a theory and they were still completely in the dark.

So they waited.

Robin and Steve did what they had planned to do that day anyway, hang out and gossip in front of the TV, only now, Eddie was involved.

He had momentarily forgotten himself and said that he’d head home to give them their space. 

But he couldn’t head home, he was reminded. 

He was in Steve’s body.

And Steve’s body couldn’t just turn up to the trailer without explanation and hang out in Eddie’s room when he wasn’t around.

Wayne wouldn’t really have had an issue with it, he adored Steve but it would definitely be… strange. 

It hurt to think of, and hit him with a momentary panic. Would he have to go the rest of his life with his relationship with Wayne altered?

Would he eventually be able to tell him?

What if it never got fixed, would he still be able to treat Wayne as his uncle?

Eddie couldn’t lose Wayne, he couldn’t.

Steve and Robin had taken a hand each and talked him down, told him that they’d never let that happen. They’d fix it. No matter what.

He was pulled down onto the couch to sit in between the two of them, which was a telltale sign in and of itself of how much he had probably been freaking out because those two were always joined at the hip, so for him to be stuck in the middle…

It was big.

It meant everything. 

Eddie took the excuse though, felt Steve cuddling up to him on one side, Eddie’s own hair getting stuck in his mouth but he didn’t mind. Having Robin nestled into his other side was just as nice, too. He couldn’t deny it. Eddie was a touchy guy. He liked to be touched and hugged and cuddled and held. And being squeezed on both sides was everything.

They made their way through a truly obscene amount of movies and tv shows Steve had practically stolen from work.

Friday the 13th and Heathers, along with the Golden Girls, the biggest hit between the three of them.

It was well past midnight by the time they all trudged up to bed. Eddie had insisted they stay up to see if they switched back like some kind of Cinderella story, but unfortunately he was not wreathed in a swirl of sparkles and then popped back into his own body, so all there was to do for it was to sleep.

He ducked into the usual guest room he frequented, though it had been getting rarer and rarer he stayed there. While Eddie’s trailer was small, it had a complete lack of guest rooms and unless Steve wanted to be sleeping out in the living room with his Uncle, Steve often stayed in his bed with him.

Here in the Harrington home, they had no such excuses to sleep in the same bed, though that hadn’t stopped them on the few occasions they claimed to be too drunk or too high to have good judgement about these things. 

But Robin also had dibsed the bed so, the crafty lesbian got the bed, damn her. 

Eddie was surprised he managed to get a full night’s sleep after what had to be the weirdest dream in existence.

Like, really?

Ending up in Steve’s body?

Fucking hell, his horny brain was really going to extremes.

Like what had possessed his mind to come up with something like that?

Nothing sexy had even happened.

He didn’t know how to explain it, but when he came to consciousness, he just knew without even having to open his eyes, that he was in his own body.

Like, of course he was in his own body.

It had all been some kind of fucked up dream, right?

Except something else was off.

As he slowly woke up more and more, his brain coming back online, he realised there was a body pressed up against his.

A small, lithe body with unmistakable boobies pressed into his arm.

What the fuck, had he gone out last night or something? Had he brought some girl back with him? When was the last time he had woken up next to a girl in his bed?

A long fucking time.

Eddie blinked his eyes open.

Oh, it was just Robin.

And oh. He was in Steve’s room.

Robin was plastered to his side, curled around him like a vine. But one of those pretty green ones, sprouting ivy or wisteria, not some freaky Upside Down vine sprouting slime and horror.

“Jesus H. Christ.” He muttered out, trying not to wake her.

So all of that had happened.

He’d been in Steve’s body all of yesterday. He was back in his own body today. He was simultaneously relieved and… a little disappointed.

It all felt very anticlimactic. All that build up, and for what?

He tilted his head down to look at her, his own arm curled tight around her back, keeping her close to him. 

“You two really are inseparable, aren’t you?”

“Don’t say that to me while your boner is digging into my leg.” Robin responded, muttered and sleepy, not moving an inch, still clutched on tight, stopping Eddie from jumping out of his skin.

Eddie huffed. “Well let me go then, and I’ll move.”

“No.” Robin squeezed him so tight the air was pushed from his lungs. “I’m comfy.”

“Then stop complaining about my boner.”

“No. I’m gonna complain about your boner as much as I want. Besides, Steve’s gonna come in in a minute, so maybe try your best to will it away. I’m not getting stuck in between whatever dance the two of you have got going on.”

Eddie rolled his eyes and was just about to open his mouth to ask just how she knew Steve was about to come in when the door swung open.

Steve stepped inside looking like a kicked puppy, looking like a little boy who’d just woken up alone after his mother had sworn to stay with him.

He trudged over to Robin’s side of the bed and fell in next to her.

She immediately abandoned Eddie, swivelling on the spot to cuddle into Steve’s side. Eddie sighed dramatically to himself and threw his arms over his eyes, humming out a pitiful few bars of All By Myself, giving his voice a performative wobble that was cut off by a hiss when Robin kicked him. 

“Coffee.”

“This abuse of your elders, Buckley. Are you not even going to say ‘welcome back to your own body, Eddie? Oh, it’s so great to see you feeling like yourself again, Eddie?”

“No. Coffee.”

Eddie grumbled, rolling himself out of bed and nearly collapsed to the floor when his legs and stomach flared up with… he wouldn’t quite call it pain, but it wasn’t pleasant. It was like a deep ache right in his muscles.

“Ow, fuck.” He flopped back down onto the mattress, sending the other two bouncing. 

“Eddie?” Steve asked, lifting his head from his pillow and eyeing him with some concern. “You okay?”

“Yeah,” He nodded. “Yeah I’m… I’m fine, I guess. Just a little achy.”

“That would probably be the squats.” Robin’s voice came out at half volume, buried where it was in between Steve and the pillow.

“Oh, well, that’s just fantastic, isn’t it?” Eddie huffed, standing again with a groan and stretching his muscles out, raising his hands over his head and shaking out his legs. “I get left with the consequences of Steve’s bad decisions yesterday.”

“Hey!” Steve pouted, his cheeks pink and his eyes hurriedly flipping up from Eddie’s hips, caught red handed. “Exercise isn’t a bad decision.”

Eddie put his hands on his hips, pushing his pelvis forward, just to hopefully drive Steve even more insane. “Well apparently I didn’t even need it, I’ve heard I can squat, like, 300.”

 Steve fixed him with a deadpan glare.“You can do 160.”

“Same thing.”

Steve hoisted himself up onto his elbow. “It is not-!”

Robin let out a groan of frustration, throwing a pillow over her head and nearly elbowing Steve in the nose. 

“Coffee!” She screamed, her outburst reduced by the pillow and the way she was kicking her legs like a toddler in a tantrum.

So, everything was back to normal now, right?

Eddie went home to Wayne, hoping that he hadn’t noticed anything extremely off. Thankfully he hadn’t.

Steve spent the rest of the day with Robin, probably mind melding again or choreographing another dance or whatever it was those two did in their spare time.

Eddie tried to take his mind off everything by burning the skin off himself with a hot shower, hoping it would help to loosen his sore muscles out, but no luck.

It also did next to nothing to clear his brain.

Because how normal could things be now, after this had happened?

Steve knew he had his dick pierced.

That was going to be something that lived in his brain forever now.

That Steve knew.

And Eddie knew that Steve had his vest secreted away in the back of his closet.

He kind of wished he’d never found it, because once Eddie had something like that to fixate on, it would never leave him.

It was gonna consume his every waking thought.

But he had managed to last most of the rest of the day before he’d grabbed his keys and headed back to the Harrington home.

He had to know.

He had to ask Steve about it. 

Eddie sat in his van and waited. 

Steve wasn’t home yet. He’d probably driven Robin back to the bus station and it only left Eddie more time to stew, to panic, to think that this was a fucking terrible idea, what was he going to do?

Just attack Steve with information he wasn’t supposed to have about something that was probably super sensitive?

That would be a terrible way of doing things.

A knock on the window made him jump so hard he honked the horn.

Steve was outside because of course Steve was outside, his hand still raised where he’s two knuckle tapped on the glass in some kind of hot guy move that he probably didn’t even know he was doing but every fucking move Steve made was a hot guy move.

He was looking at Eddie with a strange mix of amusement and concern. 

Eddie stared at him, trying to get his brain and mouth to cooperate, trying to stop his mouth from blurting out the question he’d come here for, in a complete lack of impulse control.

He really did try his best.

Steve pulled the driver's side door open.

“You okay, Ed-”

“I found the vest.”

Eddie watched as the small smile across Steve’s face slipped away along with his hand on the door handle, his elbows curling into his body and his eyes breaking away from Eddie’s to look anywhere else.

“Oh.”

Shit. Shit.

God damn his stupid fucking brain why did he have to do it like that?

“Steve, I-”

“Can I explain first?” Steve had stuffed his clenched fists into the front pockets of his jeans, his shoulders curled in on himself and his eyes still firmly on the side of the van.

Eddie could only nod and Steve gave his own stiff nod back, gesturing to the house with his head and turning on his heel without looking back, leaving Eddie to scramble after him.

They entered silently, Eddie mentally tearing his hair out and Steve… Steve was stiff yet still somehow keeping himself small. He was angling his body to the side, like he was trying to keep Eddie in his peripherals.

Like he was worried Eddie was going to swing at him. 

Or run.

Which hurt, he couldn’t lie to himself about that but he supposed he understood.

Steve pulled his fist out of his jean pocket and gestured Eddie towards the couch without looking at him, still not saying a word.

When Eddie sat silently, Steve hovered above him, seemingly unsure about whether he should sit too or stand a few paces away.

Eddie took a deep breath.

“I’m not mad.”

It came out much quieter than he had intended. 

Even though Steve had been standing still, hesitating about what to do, Eddie could still tell his muscles locked at his words, frozen up like he was taken off guard.

Silence settled around them again, like a thick blanket and Steve finally looked at him.

“Why?”

Eddie shrugged. It was his turn to look away now, tugging at a rip in his jeans, unable to answer until he heard a telltale rip of the tear getting a little bigger.

“I dunno.” He muttered, shrugging again. “Why do you think I should be mad?”

Steve stared at him, mouth agape, a confused furrow in his brow.

“Because… w- because I stole your… your… like your signature thing?” Steve shook his head like he couldn’t believe he was having to explain this. “That vest is like… it’s you. It’s yours and you clearly put a lot of work into it and Robin told me that vests like that are… important and I just… took it-”

“Why did you take it?” Eddie asked, needing that question answered more than anything. 

Steve opened and closed his mouth again before his shoulders sagged and he finally sat down, across from Eddie, on the coffee table, elbows on his knees and head bowed.

It was a long moment before Eddie heard him almost whisper out;

“You were dead.”

Eddie swallowed. “It didn’t take.” He said, attempting a lighthearted tone, but it came out more of a nervous giggle.

“It nearly did.” Steve breathed. “You died. On the operating table. Twice. And then you were in the ICU for days, they didn’t know if you’d make it, if you’d just… go.”

Eddie could only nod. He knew all of this, he’d been told, afterwards. Wayne had been straight backed and strong shouldered as he’d said it, but his eyes had been shining and he’d been holding Eddie’s hand in a death grip.

“I couldn’t…” Steve hesitated, head in his hands. “It was a way to feel… close. I took it from where it had been left in the Winnebago and I was going to-” He sighed, long and heavy, like he was trying to breathe through drowning, “-I was going to take it home and clean it up and give it back to you but… then you were hanging on by a thread and even when you’d gotten more stable you still weren’t waking up and they didn’t know if you’d even be the same when you woke up. If there’d been too much blood loss for too long or if you’d gone too long without oxygen to your brain or if you would even wake up full stop-”

Steve’s voice was getting high and thready and Eddie wanted to do nothing more than reach out, but he knew if he did, Steve would spook, like a cornered animal.

“It was selfish, but I needed something. And it sounds stupid but something in the back of my mind told me that if I let it go, I’d be letting you go and then you would actually… go.” He shook his head, hands in his hair tilting back and forth with the movement. “For a while… I thought it would be all I had left of you.” He whispered, his voice catching.

“Then,” Steve sighed again, an extra slump to his shoulders. He raised his head a little, but still didn’t look at Eddie. “Then once you were healing and getting better, I kept meaning to give it back, I really did. I brought it with me in my car on so many occasions but I just… couldn’t let it go. Eventually too much time had passed and it felt so weird that I still had it, I weirded myself out with it and I was… ashamed. That I’d kept it. This part of you. Away from you. So I… I hid it.”

Eddie nodded again, though Steve still wasn’t looking at him, turning things around and over in his brain.

He meant what he said, he wasn’t mad about Steve keeping it. He’d known from the moment he’d thrown it at Steve’s face that it was going to end up permanently stained with Upside-Down goop and Steve’s own blood. He liked seeing Steve in it too, and even more so, liked that Steve had kept it as his own little secret thing, even if he was ashamed by it.

Which he didn’t need to be.

Eddie was pretty sure he would have done the same thing had the roles been reversed. 

“I’m not mad.” Eddie repeated, watching Steve as he shook his head again. He looked like he was relieved to have the information out, even if it hurt him to do so, like pulling a thorn. Eddie finally gave into the urge to reach out, scooting forward until his knees were just barely in Steve’s space, in between.

He reached out with a gentle hand, fingers tipping Steve’s chin up so he could finally look him in the eye again.

Steve stared at him wide eyed, taking in Eddie’s expression, while Eddie dipped his own gaze, tracking it all around Steve’s face, taking in his moles, his strong nose, the soft pink bow of his upper lip, the gentle swell of his bottom lip before he slowly moved his gaze back up to those sad, if slightly startled, downturned eyes.

Eddie knew what he wanted it all to mean; Steve keeping the vest. Same as he had yesterday, he knew what he hoped and hearing Steve’s reasons… it certainly felt like his hope wasn’t unfounded.

He leaned forward some more, fingers still on Steve’s chin.

“I’m not mad.” He repeated for a third time, whispering it into Steve’s mouth before he finally left no space between them, kissing him softly and as sweetly as he could, more gentle than he could ever remember being.

There was barely half a second of Steve’s frozen shock before there were hands in his hair, pulling him closer still and lips moving against his own, so tender and slow it made his stomach explode with butterflies.

Shit this was actually happening.

Steve was kissing him back.

Fuck yeah!

Steve pulled away, just a tiny bit, to mutter “How long?” Into his mouth, sealing the two of them back together again before Eddie could answer.

His brain was slow and syrupy, he was being kissed like he was the most special thing in the world, excuse him for taking a little longer than most might have to comprehend what was being asked of him.

Not that he could.

“What?” He asked, barely separating. It was almost incomprehensible, given that he refused to be away from Steve’s mouth for any longer than he needed to be.

“How long- have you- felt-” Steve kissed him in between the words, “-however you feel- about- me.”

“Shit, man.” Eddie kissed him back, feeling a creeping ache in his spine from where he was almost bent over to reach Steve but he also could not give a singular fuck right at this moment. “I don’t know, like-”

Steve cut him off with another kiss. 

“My junior year?”

Steve stopped kissing him completely, but only pulled back enough to be able to speak unimpeded.

“What?”

“Well- I-” Eddie stumbled around his words, futilely tugging on Steve’s shirt to get back to the kissing. “You were getting picked regularly for the basketball games and you were in those shorts and you were on the swim team and those speedos should be fucking illegal by the way. Like who the fuck decided it would be okay for Steve Harrington to be walking around all wet looking like that. I was nothing but a poor hormonal queer teenager, Stevie!”

Steve blinked at him and Eddie was stuck a little cross eyed trying to catch his expression.

“You can’t have liked me for that long.”

“Uh, I can. And I did. I do.”

Steve closed his eyes, pressing his forehead against Eddie’s and just… breathed.

“Uh, Stevie?” Eddie grasped the back of his neck. “Everything okay?”

Steve muttered something that Eddie didn’t catch, somehow too quiet, drowned out by the sound of his own thundering heart. It was almost like Steve had only mouthed the words, not actually said them.

“What?”

Steve tilted his head away and with a firm hand on Eddie’s shoulder, pushed him back into the couch, climbing onto his lap and wrapping his arms around his shoulders, burning his face into Eddie’s neck.

“I said, we could have been doing this the whole time.” Steve answered him and again, Eddie had trouble connecting the dots.

He shook his head in confusion.

“I’ve liked you since the first time you stood up on a fucking lunch table, you freak.” He punctuated the statement with a little nip to Eddie’s neck, a move that had Eddie tilting his head to the side with a little sigh, heat starting to build in his body.

Steve hummed into his skin, almost amused and started kissing up and down the column of his throat, occasionally dragging his teeth. 

Eddie could feel Steve grin whenever a new sound was worked out of him and he shoved his hands into Steve’s back pockets, dragging him closer.

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 AO3

As always, my biggest thanks and much love to @hbyrde36 for the beta work with this and to the @strangerthingswritersguild for their motivation!

Divider by @firefly-graphics

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