#and harder challenges and saying they're just like him for that but like. hes wrong about that with deidre too. they've got other shit

[starrystevie]

rating: mature; 18+ only | cross posted on ao3 here

"truth or dare?"

steve's looking at eddie expectantly while he waits for his answer, his eyes wide and cheeks pushed up from the grin pulling at his lips. he's shirtless from past dares and eddie's trying hard to not look at the hair covering his chest, to not look at the way his scars have faded into a pretty dusty pink, to not look at the flexed muscles in his arm from where it's slung over the back of the couch and he's definitely not looking at the way the movement pulls his pec up.

they aren't high enough for this, not drunk enough for it either, but he feels intoxicated. maybe that's just what being around steve harrington at 2am does to him. it makes him stupid.

"...truth?"

steve's grin grows wide enough to challenge even the cheshire cat and eddie knows that truth was the wrong choice. see? stupid.

the hand on the back of the couch tightens and eddie can feel the way it pulls the cushion under his back, the fabric creasing against his shoulder blade. steve's leaning in a tiny bit closer, same wild grin on his face, and eddie feels himself stop breathing. he tries to remain calm, tries to keep an even expression on his face, but when steve harrington is in his presence, it's harder than it seems.

"okay... truth," steve's close enough that eddie can see the specks of green in his eyes and he tries to focus on that instead of how he can almost feel breaths that aren't his own on his lips.

"what's your biggest turn on?"

whatever breath eddie attempts to suck in gets stuck in his throat and turns into a cough forcing steve to pull away cackling. he isn't in eddie's face anymore but he can still feel him, can still sense the barely there exhale on his face, can still only see steve green behind his eyelids.

"what the fuck, dude?!" is all he can get out. his palms are sweaty so he rubs them furiously over his jeans, scowling at his fingers when they get stuck in the small rips.

steve is laughing at the other end of the couch but his arm is still settled over the back of it, creating the most delicious tension on his chest. he looks broad like this, broader than eddie's really ever seen him. and with his hand across the couch and his legs opened just slightly and his bare chest on display and his bright white teeth glinting in the dim moonlight he looks-

he's hot.

he looks like the old steve, all cock-sure and suave, like he knows he can get absolutely whatever he wants. it does eddie's head in. is he what steve wants? is he why steve looks like he could jump on anything and everything that came his way? is he why steve thought he could ask him about his turn ons as easy as if he was asking about the weather?

"i don't have-"

"oh bullshit," steve says with a flick of his free hand. "everyone has one, man. what gets you all hot and bothered?"

eddie tilts his head up with a scoff. "why do you want to know?"

"consider it your average every day bonding." he says it like it's obvious, like all guys do when they sit around and play sleepover games like they're kids again is talk about what they like in bed.

but eddie's drunk on steve in 2am moonlight and can't help himself for giving him everything.

"i like dirty talk."

he'd always give steve everything.

steve's grin shifts into something borderline feral that has eddie vibrating under his skin. he moves his hips and settles back into the arm of the couch, leveling eddie with his gaze. his eyes are heavy when they look at him and eddie feels glued to the spot.

"oh yeah?" steve's inflection sounds exactly like what eddie craves for and he's afraid that he's shown all his cards already if steve was able to pick up on it that fast. "like what?"

he rolls his eyes if only so that he can take them away from watching steve's muscles contorting as he shifts on the couch. it's not hard to get eddie in the mood, that's the embarrassing thing. his limited experience before he learned about alternate dimensions and things living under hawkins didn't exactly help his case. he didn't exactly have guys throwing themselves at him as a social pariah covered in still healing scars, either.

so steve looking at him with those eyes and that grin and without a shirt for god's sake? not helpful.

"i don't know, i just-" his mind supplies images that gets his cock stirring. a certain king of hawkins under him or on top of him or right behind him whispering things in his ear that he had never really thought about before.

"-i just like hearing the effect i have on them, i guess."

and then without warning steve is moving. he's up on his hands and knees and is leaning into eddie's personal space again, his face close enough to eddie's that he can see that damn green in his eyes again.

there's still a bit of space between then but not nearly enough that eddie isn't effected by it. steve's pinkie is brushing his thigh and his cock that was already interested just thinking about the sounds steve could make is stirring even more awake under his gaze.

"you like hearing you're doing good?" steve questions. eddie sighs. "you like all the moans and stuff?"

all eddie can do is nod, afraid that if he speaks that he'll do something embarrassing like say he wants to pull whatever sound out of steve that he'd let him. suddenly, steve's pulling away minutely to get his mouth close to eddie's ear, breath coming out in puffs against his skin.

"oh fuck," steve huffs out, voice pitched high and dainty. feminine. "oh, oh eddie, it's so good."

eddie grips his hands onto his knees like they're the only thing keeping here on planet earth as steve moans in his ear. his cock is starting to grow, whatever blood that was left in his head heading south fast and it's leaving him dizzy. from up close, he's sure steve can see what he's doing if he was to look down. he's wearing sweatpants that don't exactly hide anything, after all.

the sounds steve are making are all light and pretty like he's going off of his own experience and eddie has the fleeting thought that it's what girls sound like under him. that some girl has been pressing up close to steve's chest and had her pretty pink lips up close to his ear as he fucked her into the mattress. but oh, if eddie had the courage he'd tell him. tell him that he doesn't want to hear some girl, some stranger.

he wants to hear steve.

"you gonna take care of that?" steve's voice is back to somewhat normal, a bit raspy and deep, and it floods through eddie's veins like molten lava. he doesn't remember closing his eyes but he peels them open and turns his head to look at steve. he follows his gaze and sees that they're both looking at how turned on eddie is. he doesn't have enough blood left in his cheeks to blush but he would if he could.

"steve, that's wei-"

a hand wrapping over his knee stops him mid sentence. "not weird. do it. i want you to."

eddie gulps even though his throat feels drier than it's ever been. steve's fingers tighten and he jerks his chin up to urge him on and fuck, he knew he'd always give steve whatever he wanted.

"can you just," eddie sucks a breath in through his teeth as he drops his hand to his waistband, fingers teasing under the fabric. "sound like you, please?"

the silence feels palpable. he can feel every place that his clothes are touching him, every place that steve is touching him, every place his breath has fallen on him that evening. he has half a mind to take it back and tell him he was joking, to pretend like he's some girl again and eddie could get off on that, too. he could at least try, especially if it was steve.

but then- "eddie, fuck."

steve's mouth is close to his ear again, lips ghosting over the shell of his ear as he groans into it. his voice is pitched deep but it's definitely undeniably steve. he shifts onto his knees so he can drape his arm behind eddie once more. not touching, but there and as eddie's hand slips under the fabric to grip at his cock, they both let out a sigh.

"yeah, there you go. gonna touch yourself for me, hmm?"

"shit," eddie groans out as his hand trails over his weeping cock. he brings his thumb up to gather a bit of the precome that's dribbled out of the top and rubs it between his fingers before gliding them down his length. steve's panting these little sounds into his ear that mirror eddie's own moans. when he sighs, steve sighs, when he whines, steve whines.

it's like he's touching himself to get steve off, too, and isn't that something to think about? them laying side by side with each other's dicks in their hands, stroking just how the other likes to get them off. he'd watch steve's face, speed up when his eyes open and slow down when he's close. he'd buck his hips into steve's steady grip, swallow the moans he pulls out of him so they echo through his body. it'd be heaven on a mattress or hardwood floor or ratty couch in a ratty trailer.

"got me all hard in my jeans, eddie." steve breathes out and eddie can't see is he's lying or not but it sounds true and eddie briefly wonders if steve should go into porn with those acting skills. "the way you look with your hand in your pants, jesus, it's a sin. all flushed and hot and, god-"

if steve keeps it up, eddie is going to be done way faster than he wants to be. his hand speeds up when steve lets out a particularly loud moan in his ear and then there's a brush of denim against his arm and wow, steve was in fact not lying. his hips keep jumping up to get pressure against eddie's forearm and the long line of steve's cock is teasing him.

"steve," he whines out, "are you..."

"of course i am," he laughs against eddie's ear before sneaking a tiny kiss to his temple. "you're so fucking hot, dude. been wanting to do this for too long. too long, oh my god."

his hand that was on eddie thigh moves up to unbutton his pants and slides under his own waistband and eddie takes a moment to slow his strokes as he looks up at steve. he looks like a greek god in grungy trailer lighting, chest shimmering with sweat and puffing with heavy breaths. he's grinning down at eddie and he feels like he could float away.

"think i'm hot, stevie?" he says on a shuddering breath as he hits a spot on his cock that he immediately goes to find again. steve smirks before his eyes roll back as he gets a hand on his own dick.

"so hot, so fucking-"

he's cut off by a moan and eddie sends up a silent thank you to the universe that they have the trailer to themselves for the next few days because eddie needs to pull more of those out of him. he needs steve on his back and on his cock and in his mouth and on his fingers and every which way he'll let him have him if it means he gets to hear more of that.

"gonna get my mouth on you soon enough, gotta know what you taste like. gonna get you down my fucking throat..."

steve's brought his mouth back down to eddie's ear and is grunting like he's running the race of a lifetime while he tells eddie what he wants to do him. says truths of his own outside of the now forgotten game, secrets laced with some of the most romantic things eddie's ever been told. tells him how pretty he is, how good he is, how he's imagining eddie's fingers on his cock and on his skin and how he's close, close, close.

knowing he's effecting steve this much, knowing he has this hold on him that he thought was one sided, knowing that he's racing through steve's veins like he's racing through eddie's, it's too much.

"i'm... fuck- i'm gonna," eddie's hand speeds up and the hand on the back of the couch comes up to tangle in his hair. there's a pressure pulling him back until he's looking at the ceiling for a second until all he can see is steve and the flecks of green he's come to love.

"it's okay, i've got you, come on. let me just-"

their first kiss is shared on a ratty couch in a ratty trailer with their hands in their pants and come covering their fingers. eddie's mouth is open enough that he's moaning into steve's and the hand on the back of his head is twitching while he comes. they pull apart enough that eddie can hear what they sound like as they work through their orgasms together, can hear what steve sounds like as he works himself down.

he's going to get that on a record someday, he tells himself. it'll go platinum.

and just as quick as it started, it's over. only this time steve's snuggling up next to him and using his clean hand to stroke over the exposed skin on eddie's stomach instead of returning to the opposite end of the couch. their chests are heaving as they try and regain their composure and it feels like bliss until steve laughs.

it's like an ice bucket being poured over him and he wishes he didn't love hearing steve so much because he's afraid that the laugh will haunt his memories for ages to come. steve must feel him freeze up because the hand on his stomach circles around his waist and pulls him even closer so he can nuzzle his face into eddie's chest. it starts to settle the nerves that had wound themselves around his insides.

"i don't know if you could tell," he starts, voice muffled against eddie's flannel. "but i've been wanting to do that, this, for ages."

eddie snorts. "you've wanted to make me jizz in my pants for ages? really? low standards even for you."

steve snorts out a laugh in return. "no, you idiot. i've wanted to be able to do this for ages."

he tilts his head up and places a featherlight kiss to eddie's lips. it's soft, it's sweet, it's the opposite of everything that happened not two minutes prior. eddie feels a smile tugging at his mouth and pulls back to see steve smiling, too.

"does this mean..."

there's no words, no definition that eddie can put to the events of the night that don't sound silly or juvenile. but then he sees steve settle back down, pressing a kiss to right over his heart before laying his head down where it was.

"... that we're doing that again? absolutely. just maybe in a bed next time."

and maybe they don't need a label. maybe all they need is laying on a couch with come cooling in their pants and echoes of what just happened bouncing off the trailer walls. maybe all they need is a promise of later sealed with a kiss and their heartbeats in synch.

and maybe, just maybe, they'll play truth or dare again.

[shadowdaddies]

no man has ever made me come, not even close to that

so, could you write reader experiencing that frustration, telling hunt how boring sex while out drinking, and him proving how wrong she is?

have a nice day!! 💕

I feel you. This might just be my beef with the patriarchy talking but I swear men act like it's harder than it is because they're lazy. But Hunt knows what's up. Have a nice day, honey!💜

Electric Feel

Hunt Athalar x f!Reader

Warnings: smut below the cut, oral f!receiving, overstimulation, p in v sex, minors dni, not proofread

Slumped down in the cushions of the sofa, you sipped your wine, half-watching ‘Fangs and Bangs’ while talking with your friend, Hunt. The angel groaned dramatically from where he lounged on his chair, twisting his sunball cap to cover his eyes. “Please change the channel! I can’t take this shit anymore,” he pleaded, his voice muffled by the fabric of his cap.

Scoffing at his ridiculous attitude, you reached for the remote. “Gods, okay, I’m changing it. I’m tired of this show anyway. They play up the sex like it’s so great when it’s so overhyped,” you grumbled, more to yourself than to Hunt. His attention was caught, however - Hunt practically leaping from where he sat, sunball cap forgotten to the floor as he leaned towards you in interest.

“What do you mean, ‘it’s so overhyped’?” he pressed, brown eyes boring into you. Setting down the remote, you turned to face him, blinking as you realized how close he was to you. You swallowed, forcing in a deep breath as you met Hunt’s intense gaze.

“I mean, it’s not as great as people make it seem. Half the time, it’s not even enjoyable. Not to mention a guy has never even been able to make me cum.” Hunt jumped back as if you were the one throwing around lightning bolts. 

“You’ve never had an orgasm?!” Hunt practically shouted, mouth hanging open as he gaped at you. 

Reaching forward, you swatted his massive bicep. “Say it louder - someone at the bottom of the Istros might not have heard you!” With a huff, you plopped back down against the sofa. “And I haven’t never had an orgasm. I know how to get myself off. It’s just males who don’t know what they’re doing in bed.” 

Hunt had the audacity to laugh, leaning back in his seat as he laced his hands together behind his head. “That’s not an issue I’ve ever had.” You whipped your head to see a cocky grin on his face that you were determined to wipe off. 

With a sickeningly sweet smile, you retorted, “you do know that females fake it, right? I wonder how many have faked it with you.” You found yourself successful in removing his smile, immediately regretting it as Hunt’s eyes darkened, his arms slowly dropping to his sides.

Wings slightly flaring out behind him, Hunt answered you, his voice lethally quiet. “If you would like to test that theory, I would be more than willing to show you how real I can make your orgasm.” 

You refused to give Hunt the upper hand in this conversation. Sure that he would back down, you decided to challenge him. “Okay,” you said in the most nonchalant tone that you could manage. His brown eyes widened, a distinct change in his scent as Hunt blinked at you. You weren’t expecting this reaction - fully thinking that Hunt would blow the conversation off as a joke. But as his wings twitched behind him, you realized Hunt wanted this, and you startled at the realization that you did too.

Hunt noticed your change in scent, arousal now hanging thick in the air as you and your best friend eyed each other hungrily. “If we do this, promise me that things won’t get weird between us. This is just for you to enjoy yourself - I don’t want to lose my best friend because sex made it awkward.” 

You scoffed, rolling your eyes at the cocky angel. “I think I can refrain from falling in love with you. Sex has proven to be the quickest way for me to get over a guy.” Turning beet red when you heard how that sounded, you were quick to amend, “not that there’s anything about you to get over! Like, I’m not under you, you know.” Oh gods, this was embarrassing. 

Hunt just laughed, pulling your hands away from your face to gently hold one, rubbing soothing circles across the back of it. “Well, let’s get you under me, then,” he said with a wink, yanking you up by your hand before he threw you over his shoulder with ease. You squealed, shouting in protest as he carried you to your bedroom. 

Hunt just smacked your ass in response, earning a gasp before he threw you on the bed. He ripped off his shirt, baring his toned chest as he crawled over your body. The butterflies that erupted in your stomach were making it difficult to breathe, looking up at your friend as you prepared to cross the point of no return.

“Are you still alright with this?” Hunt whispered, his features softening as he brought a hand to hold your cheek. You nodded, taking a deep breath as you removed your top, now left only in your bra and leggings beneath him. “Beautiful,” he whispered, one hand immediately finding your breast as his lips gravitated towards your neck. 

As Hunt kissed and licked his way down your neck, his hand pushed the cup of your bra down, palming your breast before tugging the nipple, earning a gasp from you that made him chuckle against your skin. He continued kissing his way down, yanking your bra down to completely expose your chest, flicking his tongue against your tweaked nipple. You mewled at the sensation, writhing under Hunt’s firm hold as he repeated his actions to your other breast. This sex was already better than most you had before, but you wouldn’t give Hunt the satisfaction of telling him that. “Gods, Hunt. Do you plan on fucking me or are you just going to tease all night?”

Hunt looked up at you, his eyes nearly black as he flashed a wicked grin. “Oh, I’ll let you come on my cock. But I’ll take my time making you come with my hands and tongue first.” You blushed at his words, biting your lip as you watched the angel continue his path down your stomach, large hands gripping the waistband of your leggings. 

Hunt dipped down, pressing his nose to your center as he breathed in your scent through your clothes. Whimpering at his teasing touch, you wiggled your hips in a silent request for more. Kissing your clit through the fabric, Hunt lightly dragged his teeth and lips over your core, a slow taunt before he finally tugged your leggings down, leaving you finally and fully bare for him. 

Throwing your clothing to the side, Hunt sat up slightly as he admired your figure before spreading your legs wide. “So beautiful,” he murmured again, breath warm against your clit. You huffed out another quiet plea, thanking the gods when Hunt finally lolled his tongue out, licking a stripe up your core. 

You sighed in relief, hands threading through his long black hair as Hunt groaned against you, sending vibrations straight to your core. Lips wrapped around your clit, sucking as his tongue flicked out against the bud. You felt the familiar coil tightening, faster than you’d ever been able to get yourself there, and you tugged on Hunt’s hair in warning as you threatened to come undone. 

With a smirk against your clit, Hunt pulled you closer to him, doubling down his efforts as you came with a scream. He kept your hips pinned, unrelenting as he pushed a finger inside of you, still working your clit with his tongue. Legs shaking, you clumsily tried to push his head away, breathless pleas leaving your lips as the overstimulation had you seeing stars. 

Hunt pushed another finger inside of you, a gentle stretch as he curled them against your walls, hitting the perfect spot over and over. Praises or curses - you didn’t know - were pouring from your lips as you felt your orgasm building again. You clenched around Hunt’s fingers, the angel taking that as a sign to make the move he’d been waiting for. Brown eyes locked on yours as he brought the tip of his tongue to your clit, a zap of lightning sending you over the edge again. 

Your voice was hoarse from screaming his name as Hunt climbed back up your body, caging you in his arms. That cocky smirk had returned to his face, but you could only nod at him. “Okay, you made your point,” you breathed out, reaching up to brush Hunt’s hair behind his ear.

The smirk never left his face as the angel kneed your legs apart, leaning down to whisper in your ear. “Earlier you were begging for me to hurry up and fuck you. Are you sure you can take it?” 

You weren’t sure if you could, but your aching body was still desperate for more, as much of his touch as you could get. You nodded, moving to shove Hunt’s sweatpants down his hips. He groaned against your neck, “good girl,” pressing a kiss to the skin before shuffling his pants the rest of the way off. 

Your eyes widened at the size of his cock, fresh arousal pooling in your core at the sight. “Hunt, I need you,” you whispered, looping your ankles around his waist to guide him closer. 

“I’ve waited so long to hear you say that,” Hunt murmured, looking in your eyes as he pushed into you. His head hung, resting in the crook of your shoulder, your own jaw dropping in a silent moan at the feeling of him filling you. After a moment, Hunt began thrusting at a brutal pace, throwing both of your legs over his shoulders as he gripped your hips hard enough to leave bruises.

You were a moaning mess when Hunt flipped you over like a rag doll, pushing your face into the mattress as he took you from behind. He hit the perfect spot inside of you at this angle, eliciting loud moans as you clawed helplessly at the sheets. Hunt twitched inside of you, spilling his release as he brought his hands to your breasts, small shocks on your nipples shooting straight to your core as you spiraled into your third orgasm of the night.

You collapsed into the mattress, Hunt slowly pulling out and padding off towards the bathroom. He returned with a damp cloth, cleaning you up before pulling the covers over the both of you. The angel brushed your hair out of your face, his earlier smirk replaced with a genuine smile, brown eyes glittering in the dim light. “Thank you for letting me be the first man to make you finish.” 

You smiled back at him, mischief dancing in your eyes. “I think I would be okay with doing that again.” Hunt laughed, pulling you into his chest as he pressed a kiss to your hair, the both of you eventually falling asleep in each others’ arms.

[thousandyearphantombunker]

The Owl House Critical Post, scroll away now I don't know if I am being too harsh in this post but I wrote it anyway so if you don't wanna read something potentially upsetting this is a warning (to those who decide to read please tell me if I'm being too harsh)

I remember initially hating how the show handled its villains, they all felt like jokes, they never felt like threats or like they provided a meaningful challenges for the main cast, they never had any real depth or complexity. but i bit my tongue, I was told that I was basically a dumbass for complaining that Bump openly breaks a law that's supposed to be punishable by death so that Luz could fulfill her witchy fantasy and that he wasn't arrested. the show could've had him make the multiclass student thing be something underground- boom it lets luz live out her fantasy but doesn't ignore what was established about the setting and creates potential stakes if these underground classes ever got discovered! That already made me angry but the cult thing is what I wanted to complain about- i only had basic ass knowledge about cults and TOH fails at portraying that crap, most people in the EC can just quit and do so in a way that makes it feel like they're just quitting a job, it doesn't feel like they fear losing their friends or sense belonging and community, they don't feel like they're anything but jokes. Leaving a cult is scary, often times cults will send their followers into the real world and set them up to have bad experiences so they'll come running back, they'll hire thugs to scare them into staying or position them in away so that they suffer (sending them out without money or the skills to survive), they humiliate those who begin to ask questions so that they stay in line. guilt tripping, putting members against each other, cutting off contact with the rest of the world! The show only adds the whole 'forced to fight on a mountain' thing for flavor! Everytime it brings up actual stuff cults do it feels like it's more for flavor than actually writing this topic with sensitivity- look at how they treat Lilith! Imo It feels like the show insulting people for ever trusting belos, treating them like they're braindead and could've just realized fairly easily that he was evil. It's the most egregious with hunter who was basically fucking born into the EC. the show is also pretty black and white, which is curious for a show that gets praise for its portrayal of religious trauma. You think the show would be more grey. I did deeper research into cults and just got SO tired of people talking about how good the show was at conveying such a heavy topic. The titan reveal also doesn't help- Luz is told by an all powerful deity that she is the chosen one basically and is told that old man is evil and needs to go down- isn't that the same justification that belos uses for his actions- not saying belos should've gotten redemption or forgiveness but this feels wrong. He deserved to die don't get me wrong but using this justification feels gross. What's even worse is that the titan made Philip's life harder on purpose- ah yeah that brainwashed cult victim would totally change his mind especially if you make his life harder- yeah I would've preferred if belos was depicted in a flashback just having a bad time on the boiling isles and cherry picked those bad experiences to justify his actions. Also I hate that the show just writes belos off as greedy and glory seeking when it could've conveyed a message about how people can get absolutely get warped by religious dogma. I do wonder though if I'm being too harsh because TOH is for kids and I was told it would be hard to portray this stuff in a way kids could understand. I can come up with ways to make the breaking the law openly thing less egregious but I am struggling to think of ways the show could have handled the cult thing, I am aware that maybe I'm accidentally saying stuff that is kind of bad faith but this is my truth. I feel like TOH wasn't good at villains and it sure as hell didn't write cults well

[starryeyedjanai]

you and me and a lot of bad decisions

steddie | explicit | 8k | chapter 1: 1994 - i'm only human

read on ao3

written for @thefreakandthehair's summer challenge!

Steve swears he doesn't know how he ends up in these situations.

One minute, he's applying sunscreen to Eddie's back like a good friend, and the next, they've got their hands down each other's pants, breathing harsh breaths and groaning as they get each other off.

It's true that maybe Steve has been a little pent up for a while. He hasn't had much luck dating recently, and working as a guidance counselor is stressful. He's had a tough school year and even after it ended, there was no outlet for him to pour any of his anxious energy into. Robin was still working because "not everyone gets the entire summer off, Steve!"

All of his friends still have to work and he's disillusioned about trying to date someone new after his honestly awful track record.

Last summer, he dated a woman and she was nice and tried to get along with Robin, but Steve knew she didn't understand their relationship, didn't get that she was someone who would always be in Steve's life, regardless of if he has a partner or not. So things got ugly in the end, because she threw out an ultimatum that Steve readily answered - just not in the way she wanted.

So, he's hesitant to try again because most people won't get it, won't get that Steve and Robin are a package deal, do-not-separate, kind of thing.

So between all of his friends still working and not being remotely interested in dating, he's been a little lonely.

He's been cooped up in his apartment being antisocial because this school year has taken so much out of him that he feels like he could sleep for a month.

The one thing he had to look forward to was this vacation.

The sun, his friends, no obligations for an entire week? It sounded like heaven.

And it starts off fine enough. Their hotel is nice, has a nice pool area that opens up to a private beach.

They all get in around the same time, so they make their way to their rooms to drop their stuff off. They're all sharing rooms because it makes more sense to split the cost rather than everyone getting their own room.

He's sharing with Eddie because while he would normally share with Robin, she and Nancy have finally got their shit together and started dating after putting everyone through the misery of watching them awkwardly flirt for years now.

He and Eddie are friends - he thinks. Kind of. After everything, they have so much tying them together that they kind of have to be. They share all the same friends, they live in the same city now and grab drinks together with Robin and Nancy, they spend holidays together with everyone.

While it's true that they're kind of friends, he can admit that he's a little nervous to have so much time alone with Eddie because they just don't normally hang out alone.

He, Eddie, Robin, Nancy, and Jeff were all on the same flight, but Eddie and Jeff took a separate cab to the hotel since there wasn't enough room in the other one. Steve's cab driver was apparently taking the scenic route because he gets to the hotel room and Eddie is already inside, pulling his shirt over his head, getting ready for the pool, it seems.

"Hey, man," Steve says, dragging his suitcase inside. Eddie's already claimed the bed by the window, so Steve drops his sunglasses onto the other bed and grabs the suitcase stand from the closet.

"Hey, man," Eddie parrots back.

Steve opens his suitcase and starts pulling some of his clothes out to put in the drawers.

"Oh, fuck, Steve, tell me you're not one of those people who unpacks on a vacation," Eddie says, watching him open up the empty dresser drawer.

It's rhetorical, Steve knows, but he still answers, "And what's so wrong with that?"

Eddie just shakes his head and says, "You would be the type to make even vacations harder on yourself."

Steve rolls his eyes. "How am I making things harder on myself? What do you do? Just leave your stuff in your suitcase and dig through it everyday to find what you need? How is that easier?"

"It's less work than making sure all your clothes are perfectly folded and in the drawers," he says pointedly.

And- okay. Steve hadn't even realized he was re-folding the shirt in his hands, but he just likes when things are tidy and neat. What's the harm in wanting his stuff to be tidy?

He stuffs the rest of the shirts into the drawer and closes it.

"Are you going to the pool?" he asks, changing the subject.

Eddie grins over at him, gesturing to the swim trunks in his hands. "Very astute, Mr. Harrington."

He drops trou and Steve takes maybe a second too long to look away. He just wasn't expecting to see Eddie's dick so early on in this trip. Not- not that he was expecting to see it at all, you know? Just, he wasn't expecting it.

"Mind if I join you?" he asks, grabbing the trunks from his suitcase. He grabs the rest of his shorts and underwear from the suitcase and puts it in a drawer - he's not going to let Eddie teasing him stop him.

"Sure, the more the merrier. You know what room Nancy and Rob are in?"

"Ah, yep. Or, well, I know they're on the eighth floor, not sure the exact room number. I told them I'd meet them in the lobby before dinner, so that'd give us enough time to unpack and get settled."

He hears Eddie rumble about unpacking on vacation as he steps into the bathroom to change into his trunks. He makes quick work of it before peeking around the bathroom. This hotel is nice, much nicer than last year's disaster. He thinks Robin working at one of the sister properties back in Chicago is probably why they were able to get such a good deal.

He steps out of the bathroom and puts his travel-day clothes back in his suitcase. He rubs sunscreen on his face and shoulders and thinks about calling it a day. He doesn't really need to put it everywhere, right? It's just gonna wash off when they get in the pool anyway.

"Hey, you wanna help me put this on my back before we get down there?" Eddie asks, holding out the sunscreen bottle in his hand.

Eddie doesn't seem to have the same skepticism about putting sunscreen all over, Steve notes as he looks him over - his arms and legs have that sunscreen sheen to them.

He must not say anything for a beat too long because Eddie asks again, impatiently, "Can you get my back or not? Time's ticking, we're wasting daylight."

"Oh, sure, sorry," Steve says, shaking his head, taking the sunscreen from him. He pours some in his hand and steps closer as Eddie turns his back to him.

He looks at the wide expanse of pale skin on his back for a second before he slaps the handful of sunscreen in the center of Eddie's back and Eddie arches away from him for a second.

"That's so cold!" he says as Steve spreads the sunscreen down his back and Steve snorts.

He maybe grabbed a little bit too much because it takes a long while to rub it in. He rubs harder, trying to make the white-cast disappear.

He hears Eddie groan and he pauses. Did he hurt him?

"Sorry," Eddie says when he realizes Steve's frozen behind him. "That just, that felt good."

"This?" Steve asks, digging his palms in harder. He doesn't know why it makes his heart speed up when Eddie hums in agreement.

It's just- it's been a while, since he touched anyone like this. There's so much skin on display, so much pale skin beneath his fingers. He can't help but dig his thumbs in a little as he rubs, turning this into something closer to a massage than spreading sunscreen. The white liquid has all but disappeared, but Steve keeps rubbing, keeps digging his fingertips into the muscles of Eddie's back.

He can't even say how long they stand there, Steve's hands on Eddie, working his thumbs into the muscles there, listening to him sigh and groan at his touch. He rubs up and down on his back and he listens to the little sounds Eddie makes when he hits a good spot and it- fuck. He realizes this is making him hard.

Now the speed of his heart beating makes sense. He's turned on. He's getting hard from putting his hands on Eddie. All this warm skin, the noises he's pulling from him, it's all doing it for him.

"Everything good back there?" Eddie asks, pulling Steve out of his stupor. His hands were frozen on Eddie's back. The air in the hotel room is cool on his skin, but he still feels overheated in the moment.

He realizes he needs to answer, needs Eddie to stay turned around because when he looks down, he's visibly hard in his swim shorts - they're tight, the fabric pulled tight around his cock, leaving very little room for interpretation on what's going on here.

"I'm good, just stay there for a sec?" He takes a couple steps back, his hands falling away from Eddie's skin, leaving him cold in comparison to the way the warmth just seems to be rolling off Eddie's skin.

Of course Eddie doesn't listen. He never listens.

He turns around as Steve is backing up, a thousand thoughts floating through his brain, the number one thought being am I into Eddie?

He swallows hard as Eddie looks at him, sees the moment Eddie notices. His lips curl up, cocky, and he's looking directly at Steve's crotch.

"Oh? Big boy, indeed," he says, and Steve can't even find it in him to roll his eyes because Eddie can't tear his eyes away.

Steve's never shied away from someone looking at him - he likes the attention, likes having eyes on him like this. When Eddie looks back up at his face, Steve sees the hunger there, knows he's wanted.

And he's never been good at making decisions that don't bite him in the ass, so he steps forward, closer to Eddie again.

It's a bad idea, his brain is telling him.

But he's looking at Eddie's mouth and his chest and his tattoos and his goddamned pierced nipples.

Fucking friends is a bad idea, his brain is shouting at him.

But he's stepping closer anyway, feeling the heat seeping from Eddie's skin once more. He wants to touch him. He wants to put his hands on him again. It feels like all the air has rushed out of his lungs, like he can't breathe through the want.

He doesn't know how to make the first move here, where he's so incredibly unprepared for what's about to happen, but luckily he doesn't have to.

Eddie hooks his first two fingers in the waistband of Steve's shorts and pulls him forward, gets their hips aligned, nearly pressing together.

He looks at Eddie's face and realizes how close they are, leaning in towards each other like this.

"Yeah?" Eddie asks and Steve knows he should back away, knows he should laugh it off, make some joke about accidentally getting hard from touching him.

But Eddie's fingers are still dipped into his waistband and Steve is sweating about it. His brain is short circuiting because five minutes ago he was utterly unaware that he was into Eddie like this.

He had no idea that he wanted to feel his skin against his like this, feel the skin of their chests brush.

Eddie's chest is sunscreen-sticky and Steve wants to get stuck to him.

When they're pressed together, flush from chest to waist, Steve feels him, really feels him. He's hard too. Hard from Steve touching him, maybe, or from knowing Steve wants him. Either way, feeling his cock brushing his through only a couple layers of thin fabric is making Steve's scalp prickle like a shiver wants to run it's way down his back.

"Yeah," Steve whispers, shifting his hips forward minutely and biting back the groan that wants to escape.

Their thighs slot together and he takes in a shaky breath. Looks from Eddie's lips to the metal glinting on his chest. He knows it had to have hurt. Did Eddie like it- the hurt?

He knows his face has to be flushed by now. He feels sweaty and red and somehow Eddie's still looking at him like he wants to eat him. It's really doing it for him.

Eddie takes his fingers out of Steve's waistband and Steve doesn't even get a second to mourn the skin to skin contact there because Eddie is cupping Steve's dick through his shorts.

It's such a tease, just Eddie's hand cupping him, no real pressure. Steve pushes himself forward into Eddie's hand.

Eddie lips twitch up again into a smirk, like he's having fun with this, like he likes teasing Steve, getting him a little desperate.

Steve tries to hitch his hips forward again, but Eddie moves his hand back to Steve's hip, herds him backwards until he's backed up against the dresser.

"Is this okay?" Eddie asks, tugging at the waistband. Steve's not exactly sure where this is going, what Eddie wants from him right now, but he nods. If it gets him touched, he wants it.

Eddie grins at him and shoves his hand down into Steve's swim shorts and wraps his hand around Steve's cock. It's suddenly a lot all at once.

Eddie's hand is warm, but his rings are cold to the touch. He's never had someone touch him while wearing rings before. It's not something he's ever had to consider before, whether he's like the feeling.

He does. There's something about the texture difference between the smooth, hard surface of the rings and the softness of Eddie's palm. His fingertips, when he rubs the head of Steve's cock with his thumb, when he wraps his hand around the length of him and strokes, feel rougher than the rest of his hand, callused from years of playing the guitar, Steve guesses.

He drops his head back and groans at the feeling of Eddie stroking him.

The rings are a contrast to Eddie's warm skin, and every stroke is making Steve want to come on them, get them wet with it. It's dizzying, making Steve a little crazy, thinking about coming on Eddie's rings. That's never been a thought that crossed his mind before, but he can't get it out of his head now that it's there.

Eddie strokes him from root to tip, slow and measured, and the only thing Steve can do is sigh about it, bringing his hand up to Eddie's hip.

He looks at where his hand rests on Eddie's hip. Steve's been sunbathing, for lack of anything better to do, recently. His skin is tan and golden and Eddie's skin is so pale in comparison.

This is all so much. And they've barely done anything at all.

"You wanna touch me?" Eddie asks, pulling him out of his thoughts, and Steve nods. He wants to touch him so fucking bad.

He can feel Eddie's breath on his lips, they're so close. He wants to lean in and put his tongue in Eddie's mouth, sloppy and wet the way Eddie's thumb feels on the head of his cock.

He shoves his hand down Eddie's swim shorts instead. They're tight too, like his, so his hand barely has space to move.

But he feels him, gets his hand around him, and he's- he feels big. His cock fills out his grip nicely, it's thick, a good length.

He breathes out a heavy breath as he strokes Eddie's cock. The tip is already wet, pre-come pearling there, getting Steve's hand all sticky when he rubs his palm over it on the next upstroke.

Eddie moans, sharp and sudden, when Steve's thumb catches on the underside of the head of his cock, and then it's like all bets are off. Whatever perceived notion of taking it slow has faded, quickly.

Their hands are moving fast on each other's cocks, grips tightening, like they're in a race to the finish. Like who can hold off the longest?

And Steve still wants to kiss him, almost feels like he has to. He doesn't want to stand here in the middle of their hotel room and touch Eddie, be touched by him, and not know what his mouth feels like against his.

But it feels like it would be a step too far. Like it would snap Eddie out of it, Steve pressing his mouth against his, trying to push this into something it isn't.

Their mouths are close, they're already sharing the same breath, practically. It would be just a hair of a movement that would get their mouths slotted together for real- he wouldn't even have to move much. It still feels too far a space to cross.

Eddie makes the decision not to kiss him even easier when he dips his head to bite at the juncture of Steve's neck.

"Don't leave any marks," he says, breathless. He can't show up to dinner with hickeys on his neck.

"I won't," Eddie says, licking at the spot he bit.

Steve feels close already and it feels too soon. It feels like they just started and Steve is tensing up, ready to come.

Eddie pulls his mouth away from his neck and Steve whines.

"Just," Eddie says, ducking back down to press his mouth quick against his neck again, his breath warm and damp on his skin. He presses a kiss there and it feels more intimate than the situation allows. "We just- I only have two bathing suits and I can't get come on one of them the first fucking day."

Steve nods. Anything, anything- he'll do anything to get Eddie's mouth back on his skin, his hand back on his cock.

He feels like he knows what's coming, and he sucks in a deep breath, at the thought of them pushing their shorts down, at the thought of them rubbing their bare cocks together. He wants it. He wants it more than he's wanted anything in a long time.

He shoves Eddie's shorts down and lets Eddie do the same to him. He looks down and groans. Fuck.

Eddie's cock is red and wet and Steve wants it in his fucking mouth, wants to lap at the wet head, taste his pre-come. He wants Eddie to come in his mouth, wants to roll it around on his tongue.

But Eddie's wrapping a fist around both of them, his hips thrusting forward like he can't stay still and that's good enough. That's more than enough to have Steve riding close to the edge again - feeling Eddie's cock snug against his own in the grip of his hand.

Their foreheads are pressed against each other as they look down at their cocks sliding together in Eddie's fist. It's like he can't look away - it's captivating, the rough slide of them together in Eddie's palm.

He puts one hand on Eddie's neck, the other hand back on Eddie's hip, pulls at him like he can drag him closer even though they're already as close as they can get.

"Fuck. Can't believe the rumors about your dick were true," Eddie whispers, his gaze still glued to their cocks.

"There were rumors about my dick?" Steve asks, switching between looking at their cocks and looking at Eddie looking at their cocks. The feeling swirling in his stomach is so much, and he's so goddamn close.

"Mhm," Eddie hums. "Prettiest dick in Hawkins."

That makes Steve groan, his hand tightening on Eddie's hip.

"Oh yeah?" Eddie asks. "You like being called pretty? Like knowing people are talking about how pretty your dick is?"

He doesn't know why that's what does it for him, but he's coming, just rocking his hips forward, squeezing the hand that's on Eddie's hip until it's probably bruising, and coming all over Eddie's cock. He looks down again, watches it get all over and that makes him twitch even harder. He didn't know that was a thing for him - any of this.

But watching his come get everywhere, all over Eddie's hand and his rings and his cock makes Steve shiver with the sheer amount of possession it strikes in him. He likes his come marking Eddie's skin. He likes Eddie not stopping even for a second, just stroking Steve through it and trying to get himself off with his come-slick hand at the same time.

The sound of Eddie's hand still going, so wet with Steve's come, is obscene in the quiet of the hotel room.

It makes Steve want to get on his knees. He wants to drop down and put his mouth on Eddie, taste his own come on Eddie's cock, lick at it until the taste of salt is gone, keep going until Eddie's filling his mouth with his own salty come.

But he's still catching his breath, still trying to reckon with all of this, when Eddie gasps this perfect little ah sound and comes, getting his fist even slicker. Steve's straddling the edge of overstimulation as Eddie's hand tightens to work himself through it, his grip turning the pleasant aftershocks sharper, meaner.

As Eddie comes down and loosens his grip, Steve brings his hand up to Eddie's chest and touches the metal going through his nipple. It's warm. His skin under Steve's fingertips is so warm. He tugs at it, pulling a groan from Eddie's mouth.

His cock twitches where it lays, still touching Eddie's, still messy with both of their come. It's way too soon to be thinking about more, to be thinking about again, to be seriously considering getting on his knees to clean Eddie up, maybe keep him warm in his mouth until he gets hard again.

He lowers his hand back to Eddie's waist, moves to rest his head on Eddie's shoulder, and closes his eyes.

"Fuck," Steve whispers into the quiet of the room after a minute, only the faint hum of the air conditioning reminding him where they are.

"Mhm," Eddie agrees.

"We just-" Steve cuts himself off, because he still can't quite believe it.

"Mhm," Eddie hums again.

"And it was-"

"It sure was," Eddie says, his clean hand stroking down Steve's back. It's comforting and grounding, having Eddie's still touching him like that, knowing that Eddie's not going anywhere right now.

The room is actually pretty cold, so having Eddie's warm hand running up and down his back is soothing. It makes him shiver just as much as the cool air on his hot skin.

They have to clean up soon or the come will dry uncomfortably in his pubes, but he takes another minute to bask in it. Because in a minute he has to evaluate whatever the fuck just happened. He'll have to look Eddie in the eyes and figure out what the hell this was and how to move forward from it.

He's known Eddie for over eight years now, and nothing like this has ever happened before - Steve's never wanted anything to happen. He had never even considered him an option before.

It's true that they aren't the closest of the bunch - they never really got the chance to get close because Eddie left Hawkins pretty quick after he recovered from the bat bites. He was out in San Francisco and then LA for a couple years, so he and Steve didn't really get the chance to get to know each other.

They'd talk on the phone sometimes to catch up because they were beginning to become friends before he left, before everyone kind of split up. With Steve following Robin to Chicago and Eddie in California, they only ever really saw each other for the holidays at the end of the year, which wasn't exactly enough to foster a deep friendship for them.

It's only recently that Eddie and his band moved out to Chicago, maybe a year or so after Nancy did.

So they've hung out more this past year than they had in the past, but it was still mostly hanging out with their group of friends rather than them hanging out one on one. They'd sometimes go to the bar after work together to de-stress, but unless everyone else was busy, they were rarely alone together.

He thinks he would know if he was secretly into him, is the thing.

He obviously knows Eddie's attractive - the same way he knows his other friends are attractive - but that's never translated into wanting to stick his hands down his pants. Until now.

Something about the ambiance, the liminal space of a hotel room, being all alone with his hands all over Eddie's back- something about that flipped a switch in his brain.

Because standing here, panting into Eddie's shoulder and coming down from an orgasm he was wholly unprepared for, he still wants.

He wants to push Eddie down onto one of the beds in here and grind on him until they come again. He wants to feel Eddie's cock against him again, in him, maybe.

When they pull apart, he doesn't know how they're going to handle this.

There's still so much want running through his body that he's sure Eddie can tell, can see it on his face.

They make their way to the bathroom to clean up and Eddie helps him, dabbing a washcloth across Steve's sticky stomach like it isn't something totally domestic. The warmth in Steve's stomach isn't arousal right now, watching Eddie take care of him like this - it's ooey gooey squishy feelings that Steve is sure didn't exist an hour ago.

He doesn't know how this happened so suddenly, the onset of these feelings, the rubbing off against each other like they've done it before, like they've mastered the art of dry humping against each other until they're desperate with it, breathing heavy against each other's mouths, lips never quite touching.

But Steve lets Eddie clean him up, lets him dab a wet washcloth over the head of his soft cock, lets him tuck him back into his shorts, like this all isn't tugging at his heartstrings, making him feel something he can't quite name yet.

They don't say anything in the bathroom, but when they walk back out into the bedroom, Eddie grabs his sunglasses and asks, "We still goin' to the pool?" kind of like nothing happened between them at all.

Steve blinks at him.

"Yeah, yeah. Uh, lemme grab a towel," he says before grabbing the beach towel he packed.

They walk down to the pool and Steve claims a couple of chairs while Eddie dives straight in.

It's fine.

The way the water glistens off Eddie's skin when he resurfaces makes Steve think about putting his tongue on him to lap up the wetness.

But it's fine.

The way the sunlight glints off Eddie's nipple piercing makes Steve want to touch it, pull at it again, see what noises he can get Eddie to make.

But everything is fine.

The way Eddie looks at him with hooded eyes like he knows exactly what Steve is thinking about makes Steve a little dizzy with the want that washes over him.

But it's probably fine.

Right?

They head back inside after a while of Steve being utterly unable to take his eyes off Eddie in the pool, and Steve knows he's in trouble.

Eddie calls first shower and Steve sits there with his head in his hands for the better part of Eddie's ten minute shower.

How does he get himself into these situations?

He hates not knowing what to expect, wishes he had a manual for what to say and do right after you hook up with your friend.

He doesn't know how to be normal about this the way Eddie seems to be able to. It feels like Eddie is somehow accustomed to hooking up with his friends and Steve doesn't know what to do with that. He doesn't know how to handle any of this.

Does Eddie do this a lot? Does he have friends back home that he hooks up with? Does it just mean nothing to him? The way he's able to just walk it off and appear totally normal is grating at something in Steve. He wishes he could be normal about this.

He's spiraling and he doesn't really know what to do.

When Eddie walks out of the bathroom, Steve tries not to stare, but he's only human. It was bad enough at the pool, but he's sure Eddie is teasing him on purpose now, towel hanging loosely off his hips, water still dripping down his chest, his skin pink and soft looking.

Steve holds back the groan of frustration and slips into the bathroom to shower before they meet the others for dinner.

Unlike Eddie, Steve took his clothes into the bathroom, so he changes in there instead of walking out into the room in just his towel like a harlot.

Robin eyes him suspiciously all throughout dinner, like she can somehow tell he was up to no good, but doesn't know exactly how yet. She always seems to know when something's up with him, but he doesn't think he has the words to say anything about this to her right now, or at all while they're still on vacation. He doesn't even know if he'll have the words when they get back home, because he knows she's going to want to know what's going on with him.

Robin's somehow even more suspicious the next day.

They're late to the lobby the next morning to get breakfast with the others because Eddie slips into Steve's bed as he's swatting at the alarm on the nightstand.

He turns around and Eddie is right there, right up in his space, saying, "You wanna?" and placing a hand on Steve's chest.

And Steve does want to.

So they do.

Steve is still groggy from sleep, but he still pulls Eddie on top of him, he still presses his mouth against Eddie's neck, awake enough to remember to not leave marks there. It's slow and sleepy and he comes in his underwear less than a minute after Eddie does, fingers playing with one of Eddie's nipple rings, his other hand on Eddie's ass, urging him closer, closer, closer.

It's good and Steve still doesn't know how to come to terms with that. How is he supposed to go back to normal after knowing how good it can be with Eddie?

They're late because they spend a few more minutes in bed after they both come, breathing heavily into each other's necks. One of Steve's hands is still on Eddie's nipple, thumbing at the piercing - he's pretty sure that's a thing for Eddie, having it played with. And it definitely is a thing for Steve. He almost wants to go again, wants to put his mouth on Eddie's nipples and grind against him until they're hard again, until they're making even more of a mess.

They're late because after they brush their teeth together in the bathroom, Eddie presses him against the counter and puts his mouth on his neck. He puts his hand on Steve again, circles his fingers around his soft cock and strokes his thumb over it softly, gently. He plays with him for long enough for Steve to start to get hard again.

He's inching his hand down to where he feels Eddie starting to get hard again too. He's curling his fingers around the shape of him, wanting.

They only pull apart because the phone rings - the front desk calling because Robin and the others are tired of waiting for them.

They rush to get changed and they make it downstairs and Steve tries to act normal.

The skin of his neck is sensitive and red from Eddie's facial hair, which is now a whole 'nother thing that Steve can no longer think about without getting turned on apparently. Because now he knows what his mouth feels like against his skin, what the scruff on his face feels like against him.

So Robin knows something is up - either because she and Steve know each other so fucking well, it's obvious to her, or because Steve's not doing anything to try and conceal that he's making what are probably really bad decisions.

On the third day is when she finally says something to him about it and he was right- he just doesn't have the words to say anything about it, mostly because he has no idea what he's doing.

She says something because he's not being normal right now.

Because Eddie refuses to eat his ice cream cone like a normal human being.

He makes eye contact with Steve as he licks his ice cream like he wishes he was licking something else. It makes Steve's cock throb, which is unfortunate considering the entire group is together.

"Why are you looking at him like that?" Robin asks him with wide eyes when Eddie is briefly distracted and talking to Grant.

"Looking at who like what?" Steve asks, cursing the fact that Robin knows him so well, that they share a telepathic bond most days.

And- okay, maybe he wasn't being subtle. He can't help it. Eddie's doing it on purpose, lounging like that, looking like that, all spread out and -

"You're doing it again, dingus." Robin's looking at him with judging eyes when he tears his eyes away.

Steve lets out an exasperated noise. "I'm not looking at anyone like anything, Robbie."

She clenches her jaw and gives him an unimpressed look.

"I'll tell you later? Like when we get home," he says sheepishly, hoping he'll actually be able to. Because right now, he has no idea what he'd even say. We just happened to fall into bed together. Oh, actually, that was after we accidentally jerked each other off. How can he explain that?

Robin looks back and forth between him and Eddie a few times before she nods and says, "Okay, but you're telling me everything. And I mean everything."

Steve doubts she's going to want to hear all of the details of what he's been doing.

This is their last full day here and Steve is maybe having an internal crisis about it. Because he doesn't know what's going to happen once they get home.

He has a feeling he's going to be extremely awkward about it when they get home. He doesn't know if Eddie will want to continue doing whatever it is they're doing or if it'll stop. Because they haven't talked about it at all.

They've just been doing things without talking about it and that isn't really something Steve's dealt with before. Even when he's had hookups in the past, they've established boundaries, called it exactly what it was, and when they were done, that was it. He's never had a week-long extended hookup and he's especially never had one with a friend.

He thinks it's probably going to come and bite him in the ass, not talking about it. Because he's going to get home and all of his friends are going to go back to work and he's going to be left alone to freak out about it, probably.

They spend the last day walking the pier and hanging out on the beach and he tries not to let it show how much he's currently freaking out. He thinks he manages to make it seem like he's a normal human being thinking normal thoughts and not about to spiral.

That night, their last night at the hotel, Eddie pulls a bottle of lube and a couple condoms out of his suitcase and looks at Steve meaningfully.

"You brought lube and condoms?" Steve asks, scrunching his nose up. "Were you planning on fucking someone in our hotel room?"

The thought upsets him more than he wants to admit. He can't imagine coming back to the room and finding Eddie with someone else, someone he sought out and brought back because he wanted to fuck them.

They've had plenty of opportunities to hook up with other people, is the thing, considering they're in San Francisco, and have been going to bars - straight and gay bars - and have been meeting up and hanging out with Eddie and the band's old friends from when they lived out here.

He hadn't thought about it, but now he's thinking about Eddie hooking up with those people he met this week.

It's entirely possible that Eddie could have wanted to take one of them or one of the many people he flirted with back to their room. Why didn't he?

Eddie grins at him and says, "I mean, you never know what could happen on vacation. It's not like I was planning on fucking anyone with you in the room. I mean, probably."

"Only probably? Jesus christ, Eddie," he says, rolling his eyes. He's not going to be jealous about this. He's not. He knows from Eddie's tone that he's joking, mostly.

"I'm kidding. But like I said, anything can happen on vacation, man, as evidenced by everything we've been doing," he says, the first time he's mentioned this thing they've been doing. He lobs the bottle of lube at Steve, badly, but he manages to catch it anyway. "We don't have to use them, by the way. We can keep doing what we've been doing, if you want."

What have they been doing? He wants to ask, wants to know what's going on in Eddie's head, but he also doesn't want to rock the boat. He doesn't know exactly what Eddie thinks is happening, but if he says something, it feels like it would put an end to things early. If this is the last night he has of this, he doesn't want to turn Eddie off by trying to talk about it.

He looks at the condom in Eddie's hand and pauses to think about it. He doesn't think fucking would change anything between them given everything else they've gotten up to this vacation, but he doesn't really want to have to sit on a plane for four and a half hours and be uncomfortable for the entire flight tomorrow.

This is probably the last time they're going to hook up, at least while they're here on vacation so they should make the most of it and make use of the lube at least.

So he says, "I- we shouldn't. Um, there are other things we can do with the lube, though."

Eddie looks at him thoughtfully and drops the condom back in his suitcase. How he even managed to find anything in the explosion currently coming out of his suitcase is a miracle.

"I could fuck your thighs," Eddie says, and a jolt of heat runs through Steve's entire body.

"You could fuck my thighs," he agrees and then goes to grab a towel to lay down on the bed.

The cleaning staff came by while they were gone and remade the beds, so Steve pushes the covers down on his bed and lays the towel there.

He shucks his pants and underwear and pulls his shirt off quickly. Eddie watches him with dark eyes, pulling his own clothes off at the same time.

Steve gets on the bed, turning to lay on his side, facing away from Eddie. He feels Eddie get onto the bed behind him, but he still jolts when he puts a hand on his hip.

Eddie smooths his hand down Steve's side and fits himself along Steve's back.

Steve's already starting to chub up, feeling the hard press of Eddie's body against him. That's another thing he's going to have to reckon with when this vacation is over - Eddie's body is insane.

He never really thought about it before, never really noticed it before. Gone are the days of Eddie being a lanky little beanpole.

With the passing years, he's started going to the gym and his body has more muscle mass than it did before. He's still lanky, but there's muscle there. There's strength and lithe muscles that have had Steve drooling over him for the past week now that he knows just what that strength can do - Eddie lifting him up and placing him on the edge of the desk in their room on the second night here so he could go down on him left Steve feeling shaky and had him blowing his load way too soon.

Feeling Eddie behind him, the press of his half hard cock against his ass, is making Steve kind of regret saying no to getting fucked. It's been a while, and he just knows Eddie would fuck him so right.

He thinks it's the right decision, though - he doesn't know how much more knowledge of how Eddie is as a lover he can take. He doesn't know if he'd be able to survive knowing what Eddie cock feels like inside him, how well he stretches him out, because he knows he would. His cock is wide, fills out Steve's palm so fucking nicely, and feel big when he's taking him in his throat when he's blowing him, so he knows the stretch of it would feel insane.

He feels Eddie press a kiss to his neck before he hears the snick of the bottle of lube opening.

He feels like he should have said something about Eddie having lube this entire time when he saw what was in Eddie's hand a few minutes ago. Because they've been trading spitty hand jobs for days when they could have had the slippery glide of lube on their cocks instead.

Eddie says, "Lift your thigh up for a sec."

So Steve does, feeling a little vulnerable in this position. Maybe they should have done something else or done this a different way, one where he had more control of the situation. Right now, he feels a little bit like he's at Eddie's disposal, like Eddie could do whatever he wanted and Steve would let him.

Eddie reaches between his thighs to coat them in lube before coating his cock. He nudges up closer to Steve, so he's pressed up more firmly against him and Steve lowers his thigh when Eddie's cock slides between his thighs.

Eddie groans, low in his throat when Steve tightens his legs together to give Eddie a nice, tight channel to fuck into. Steve shivers at the sound.

His hand is still coated in lube, so when he reaches around to take Steve's cock in his hand, it's slick and wet with lube, the slide is so nice, exactly the way he does it alone - nice and slick and tight around his dick.

There's a moment of pause where they just breathe together, caught up in it, caught up in the feeling of it.

And then Eddie starts to move.

The drag of him between his thighs is a lot - it's the girth of him pressing against him, nudging up behind his balls on every thrust. He's thick and he feels good between Steve's thighs, would probably feel even better inside him.

He knows it's a little too late to stop and say something like you didn't happen to grab that condom anyway, did you? because he knows Eddie wouldn't - Steve said no, and he knows Eddie would respect that even if he did want to fuck him.

Having Eddie so close to fucking him - the motions are all the same, with Eddie's thrusting against him like he would be if he were really fucking him, his hand wrapped around his dick - but not having him inside him is kind of torture and he's eating his words from before. It might be the smart idea, but fuck if he doesn't want to do the wrong thing right now.

He wants to feel the stretch of him, his hole quivering around him as he bullies his way inside. He wants to feel how deep he'd reach inside him, pressing in slow and measured and considerate like Steve knows he would. He'd want him balls deep, hips pressed flushed against him.

He's gasping at the thought of Eddie inside him, can almost imagine what it would feel like. Eddie's hand around him feels so fucking good - after days of giving each other hand jobs, it's like he knows exactly what Steve likes, how hard to grip him, how and when to play with the head.

The slide of him between his thighs, the feeling of him pressing gentle kisses to his neck, his other arm around Steve like a hug - it's all so much to take in.

He feels wrapped up in him, surrounded by him.

He can feel Eddie's heartbeat against his back with how close and tight they're pressed together.

He comes suddenly in Eddie's hand, gasping, his own hands gripping the pillow beneath him, shuddering through it. Eddie strokes him through it, his slick hand milking the come from him.

It's not the most intense thing he's ever done in the bedroom by far, but this orgasm leaves him feeling wrung out and shaky because Eddie's hand doesn't stop stroking him after he crests through his orgasm, pulling whines from his mouth at the overstimulation.

"Eddie, it's too much," he says, his hand coming down to grab at Eddie's hand still wrapped around him.

"You sure? I could wring another one out of you," he says and Steve's cock leaks at that, still hard, just another glob of come seeping out from the tip. His eyes roll back at the sharp, intense feeling of Eddie's hand being too much on him.

"Fuck, I don't know if I have it in me," he says, voice shaky. Eddie's still hard between his thighs, still thrusting, catching the underside of his sensitive balls every stroke.

Eddie hums in his ear, says, "We'll have to try that another time then," and stops stroking, but keeps his hand on him, cupping him, as he speeds up his hips, chasing his own orgasm.

Steve clamps his thighs together tighter and reaches his arm back to grip Eddie's hair and pull.

Eddie groans, setting his teeth against Steve's shoulder and biting. The edge of pain makes Steve's cock twitch even as it softens in Eddie's hand.

It doesn't take long for Eddie to get there, his come painting the inside of Steve's thighs as he thrusts shallowly and rubs the head of his cock between his thighs.

As they come down, Steve feeling sticky all over somehow, he can't help but think of the way they've come to know each other. He thinks about how intimately they've come to know each other's bodies.

He feels like he knows more about Eddie's body and how to make him come than some people he's actually dated.

He thinks about how Eddie's had his hands and mouth all over Steve, near constantly when they've been alone for this entire week. And how Steve has reciprocated, of course. How his tongue has come to know the shape of Eddie's barbell nipple piercings. How he's come to know the taste of him, the weight of him in his mouth. How exactly he likes his cock to be sucked.

That's not knowledge he should know about someone who's supposed to be a friend, he thinks.

He shouldn't know that Eddie's voice gets gravelly and low when he's about to come. He shouldn't know what Eddie's dirty talk sounds like. He shouldn't know that Eddie still cracks awful jokes even as he's getting his dick sucked.

That all feels like forbidden knowledge, something that he shouldn't be privy to.

But he knows it now. And he isn't sure how he's going to be able to go back to normal once they get home.

taglist (people who've expressed interest in the wip games): @stobinesque @scarcrossdlvrs @cuoredimuschio @steves-strapcollection @patchworkgargoyle @delta-piscium @matchingbatbites @kkpwnall @inairbinad @legitcookie @sidekick-hero @eriquin

[misc-obeyme]

Dia and MC making a silly bet that the first cumming would pay dinner for their next day JWJDJSDJ

It's a really crack scenario and like their talking during sex, teasing and reassuring that they would win.... and they came at the same time so they both pay JDJDKS

-🍵

NSFW MDNI

Oh I think Diavolo would love if MC issued a challenge like that. He doesn't care about paying, he would pay for MC all day every day without being asked. But if MC said, okay, whoever comes first has to pay... oh you can be sure he's taking that bet.

He's super confident, too. He thinks he can outlast MC easily. But he has to do more than just hold himself back, he has to see if he can get MC to come quicker, too. He's going all in, doing every little thing that he knows makes MC crazy, saying things in their ear that he knows is going to make it harder for them to hold on.

And in the end, it's the way MC responds still, even though they're the one who suggested this challenge to begin with. The way it's so clear that MC is struggling, moaning and whining and probably squirming like crazy, unable to resist the way he's touching and kissing and the sound of his voice, they're so turned on by everything he does. And it's MC's reactions that make him lose control, even though he was trying soooo hard.

When they end up coming at the same time, they just stare at each other for a minute before laughing. Because that's a pretty hilarious result. I think Diavolo would probably insist on just paying for the whole thing himself, unless MC made a fuss about it. Then he'd let them pay their part and they'd both be giggling the whole time, too. The server taking their money is just like ??? What is wrong with these two??

[nonbinarypirat]

A fellow enjoyer of mairuma who likes reading others headcanons/interpretations here! just thought I'd share my own headcanons

1.) I think the misfits lack parental validation from one or more parental figures so they seek that validation from someone else, like Kalego. He, as their homeroom teacher, knows full well what they're capable of and actively gives them harder challenges to further bring out their potential. So I think the misfits would seek near impossible tasks not just for the fun of it, but to receive validation from someone they look up to.

2.) I believe that Kalego shows his love in pride. And when I say love, I mean all love; familial, romantic, platonic, and the kind that you know is there but don't have a name for. I guess a good example would be Balam, his closest friend and well-respected researcher. Balam would have achieved great things in his field of research and Kalego would be very proud of him for it, though I doubt he would explicitly show it. The same would go for his students. A mix-match group of kids who have, more than once, taken the impossible and made it reality while proving him wrong every chance they get.

(also a small group of demon plus one human children have better cooperation skills than most adult demons. yes demons are self-centered but i do think its really funny.)

well, these are my headcanons sorry if its really wordy. what are your thoughts on them and what are your mairuma headcanons?

thx for reading and have a good day/night :D

I have been fully focused into my classes and college recently since I’m in my third year (we’re so close to the finishing line yall) but YES I love this!! One, I appreciate you sending me this since I haven’t done a post for a while! I promise im still here and I’m keeping up with the recent chapters 🫡. But yeah, I just love Kalego as a character. Like, he really is my favorite because I love a rude and snide character who you can tell cares a lot. Even if he won’t tell you that.

Kalego cares deeply for his students. Like sure, they annoy him and are goofballs. But at the end of the day, he is also protective of them. He knows they can accomplish great things and that’s why he’s hard on them, it’s not due to a lack of love. His pride is his way of showing affection. He will do his damnest to make sure you succeed and through his little actions, the characters can tell that he’s proud of them too. It’s the little moments with Kalego that make them know he does deeply care for them.

And yes, I also have a head cannon that for many of the misfits, they are lacking in some sort of parental or familiar love. Obviously we can’t say this for certain for all the characters, but it just feels like that’s why, no matter how much they complain about him, he also means a lot to them too.

As for my other head cannons… One head cannon I have (with the little info we have so far) is that Elizabetta grew up similarly to that little girl from Ouran Host Club, ya know the sister of the black magic club president? That is to say, I think she’s loaded but was primarily raised by her maids who gave her a lot of the romance books to keep her entertained. I think her parents were never really around. Or if they were, they don’t have her a ton of attention. I guess this is more of a head cannon slash theory? But when we see the house visits, we don’t even see her parents. A lot of them you saw the parents, a back shot or their torso. Something. We even saw Kalego call some of the parents. But her parents just wasn’t in the frame and she just kept showing him the things in her room which gives me the feeling she had a lot of material goods they bought her, but maybe not their affection. We also don’t see any adult when we learn about her ambition. Which is why I think she’s so attached to love, she is reaching for a connection she may not feel she has with her parents. And maybe in a way, she’s wants to build a family that will actually appreciate her the way she wants. Which to me makes the relationship to the misfits even more special because she finally has the love and pride of her found family. Idk, just a silly head cannon I have based on current knowledge!

[cressthebest]

Crimson Rivers thoughts pt. 28

chapter 47:

1. 😟😶 no one even got to say goodbye. i- WHAT THE HELL??? FUCKING RIDDLE

2. i’m at least happy that remus, james, and pandora can all take care of each other during the games.

3. im actually highly worried about regulus being a death eater. too worried, actually

4. “Regulus realizes it as he sits there, never moving or doing anything at all, just breathing; he isn't scared this time. Not even a bit.”

reg not being scared makes ME scared

5. “He had planned to kiss Remus' mask one last time, and kiss Remus, too.”

of COURSE it’s ALWAYS wolfstar that tips the tears over. why does THAT make me sob???

6. oh shit. it’s a maze

7. “”Come now, surely you wouldn't harm me and little Draco, would you?"

"I'm going to give you one chance to run," Sirius tells her, holding still, "and take little Draco with you."”

LMAOO they both know she’s lying out her ass

8. “It's Mavis and Velvet; they'd done exactly as they promised they would. They found weapons, found each other, and they died together. Their bodies are splayed out on the ground right beside one another, curled close in death like the lovers they were in life.”

oh shit oh shit oh shit i’m starting to cry again. i feel so bad for them, but don’t blame them in the slightest. it’s what i would have done

9. “and there's just this quiet, momentary mourning and respect for two people who loved each other and decided, together, that they would not participate in a game as cruel and sadistic as this one. They went out together, in complete control of their own fate, and they never deserved anything other than a long life full of love.”

crying HARDER. this would be the turning point in the games for me. i shit you not, i’d start teaming up and trying to break out the fucking arena

10. “And then, unprompted, Regulus' voice rings out, nearly snarling. He's addressing the sky, the audience, the Hallows in a low hiss of derision when he declares, "When you take them, you take them together, and know that it's your fault."”

i know i’m quoting this whole little section, but it’s IMPORTANT and it HURTS and everyone in that arena is being human right now instead of trying to survive. they’re all united on the front that they’re human and understand what it meant to love

11. i’m not surprised that the “first” kill of the arena was made by sirius. especially since it was to save regulus

12. WAIT YALL ARE GONNA LAUGH AT ME FOR THIS!!! sirius killed twelve people in the arena the first time. just like how he was blamed for twelve deaths in canon. i. it took me too long to make that connection yall

13. oh CHRIST i forgot that they planned to kill marlene’s parents in front of her right before she went in the arena. i’m so sorry. i want to comfort her

14. “Someday, Riddle is going to fuck with the wrong person, and they're going to slaughter him, and on that day, the whole world is going to shine just a little brighter” 👀 side eye

15. sirius has too much trust in regulus and i understand why and i see that, but BABES you’re so wrong

16. “In fact, they're all eyeing him like they're considering just killing him now so they won't have to deal with the headache he is sure to be. He's so ridiculously fond of each of them, truly.” ���😑😶 blink blink. my dear. you need therapy

17. i- eli got in the arena and took a GODDAMN NAP- no fucking way. that’s wild y’all

18. regulus hating the rain is so me. and i’m not even exaggerating. reg hates the rain and refuses to go in it. if i get wet from the rain, the second i get indoors, i start having severe panic attacks over getting wet. i don’t blame him in the slightest.

19. y’all. people have really got to stop challenging regulus. he says that he’s gonna kill a person or stab them with a fork or brutally maim them if they kill/insult james or sirius. and every damn time, people still test him. and every time, he goes through with it. why do people not believe him?? he SAID he won’t hesitate

20. the authors notes are literally me on the previous point (19):

“regulus: i am telling you explicitly what i will physically do to you if you do This Thing

everyone else: *does it anyway and is immediately shocked when he follows through*

like??? DOES HE LOOK LIKE THE TYPE OF MAN WHO JOKES??? WHY DOES NO ONE TAKE HIM SERIOUSLY??”

😭😭😭 me fr

remember to respect zar’s wishes and fanfic laws! do not buy fics! do not repost crimson rivers on other sites. please and thank you.

[body-face-words]

Video Analysis

Requested by @letscoffeebreak !

The first video is normal and the second is slowed down without audio.

Before I start - I'm analyzing what is being dropped by David. In this video he doesn't seem like he's entirely joking. His face, tone, walking, and words show it.

David shakes his head right after Georgia says 'can we have a convo about this?'.

Looks away, shakes his head, mouth noticeably open, while staring straight ahead. The sunglasses cover his eyes and brows so it's a little difficult to see if his smile is a 'omg stop bullying me lol' smile or a smile of disbelief 'I can't believe you're bring this up'.

The video also smooths out everything so wrinkles that can be seen in a neutral face are harder to see but from the looks of it, his smile isn't that wide.

The cheekbones are noticeable and the wrinkles next to his eyes are also visible. This does show he's smiling, but we can't tell for sure hat type of smile it is due to the sunglasses covering most of his upper portion of the face. His forehead is smooth, meaning that he didn't engage his eyebrows much. David could've furrows his brows, but we won't know because of the sunglasses. This 'smile' could also be cause by how he pronounces 'me' like 'meh' making it look like the corners are going up, when in reality they're going back and his mouth is opening more. It looks like a smile, but it's just him pronouncing 'me' as 'meh'.

In the middle and after what he says ('you're so rude to me') that hint of a smile (whatever type it might be) disappears. The cheekbones and winkles around the eyes decrease. Corner of the lips also fall/become neutral (not up nor down). He looks straight ahead, not making eye contact/looking at Georgia.

"The trendy kids - the cool people."

Looking down and shaking his head. No trace of a smile or playfulness. Overly swinging his left arm back and forth while emphasizing his point by making a hand gesture.

Trying to think fast (which is also shown in his stuttering), annoyed (overly swinging his arm), and trying to get his point across (hand gesture going along with his words. It looks like he also picked up the pace a little, causing his shoulders to move more back and forth. Could be because Georgia got ahead of David in order to film him better.

"Watch and learn."

Raises his head up, does a type of nod, and points his chin up.

David's default is having his chin raised, but when he feels threatened/agitated, he points it out more. He went from tucking his head in order to look down, to sticking the chin out. His action goes hand in hand with his statement 'watch and learn' making this a sort of 'bet' or defiance. It's a way to challenge the other person. Think about a bull or ram. They go down, challenging/charging at their target, then push them up. "Come on, fight me!"/"I'll prove you wrong."

"Stop filming me."

No playfulness in his tone. Cut and dry, stop filming.

There's a 'twitch' or flinch of the right shoulder. At the same time, David 'nods' (quickly and slightly lowers his head). Annoyed, irritated, and containment. He's controlling himself.

David continues walking without waiting for Georgia to catch up nor to answer. At the end, when he says 'me' what looks to me a smile could also be him pronounce the word 'me'. David says is like 'meh' causing corners of lips to go back and mouth to open, making to look like a smile when he's actually just pronouncing a word. This is also reinforced when we look back at "you're so rude to me (meh)' also looking similar to a smile. If it would have been this one time, I would be inclined to say it was a smile, but this is the second time. Looking back at other videos of him saying 'me' we can also see this 'smile' which again, isn't a smile. Just him talking.

It could be that initially, David was trying to play it off and seem as he was joking, or maybe he was actually joking. What happened afterwards though shows he was getting annoyed by this interaction and wanting for it to stop. His tone of voice was also cut and dry.

Let me know if I missed anything! If I did I'll add onto this

[creative-kny-fics]

I want to apologize for the person who asked me for the fic that I will show below. I was editing it and it was posted by mistake, it wasn't ready and in a panic, I deleted it. I ask your forgiveness 😭

Ler: Tanjiro Kamado

Lee: Muzan Kibutsuji

'Mr Kokushibo, you truly are amazing! I didn't know you could do so many tasks at the same time!'

'Thank you, I wish everyone would see it that way. But no problem, where do you want me to leave this box?'

'What do you mean by "I wish everyone looked like that"?', Kamado crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow.

Michikatsu just shrugged and tried to justify himself by saying it was a lie, but Tanjiro knows when you're lying, so there was no way he could be fooled.

Even though Tanjiro insisted, the older man did not give in and once his "social work" was finished he retired and left the young man alone.

'It's not right that your boss or other people appreciate your work...' 'What did you expect? That's how grown people are Tanjiro, plus it doesn't seem like that guy cares enough to do anything. If it were him, I would have given up a long time ago and sent them all to hell.'

'Zenitsu! That's very cruel! Maybe he has his reasons... Mmmm, I know! I'll brighten his day by bringing him some desserts! They're sure to make him smile!', Zenitsu shook his head in disbelief and sighed, there was nothing he could do after all.

After a huge controversy over what dessert he should bring, Tanjiro finally opted to bring him some sweet breads, a few mochis and a huge slice of cake, it had to be enough.

Now the challenge was where he could find him, he didn't know where he worked, so that was the next mission.

'I wish I had spent more time with him to ask him where he worked... It's almost half a day... Half a day... Ooooh, I know where he goes to lunch! It must be there!'

But nope, the place Tanjiro went to didn't give him the answer he was looking for, this was harder than he thought.

'Is something wrong with you young man? I've seen you go around the street about 7 times. Are you looking or waiting for someone?'

'In fact yes, I'm looking for someone... But I don't think you know him... Anyway, thank you for your concern sir...?' 'My name doesn't matter now, little one! Why don't you tell me who you're looking for? I know most of the people in the city, maybe I can help you with something', well, there was nothing to lose, was there?

He turned around, the guy was a little tall, with blonde or silver hair, he couldn't be seen well because of the sun, but anyway.

He told him everything about the person he was looking for, this in case he didn't know his name or something similar. 'Oooooh, I know who you're talking about! I didn't know Kokushibo-Dono had friends at school hahaha!'

'Do you know him?! Do you know where he works?!'

'Sure, I'll tell you, but don't tell him that I was the one who brought you... His boss might get upset with him hahaha', Tanjiro agreed.

As they walked, Tanjiro was thinking seriously, was Mr. Kokushibo's boss so bad to bother just because he is friends with a child?

He shook his head, if he kept thinking about it he was going to end up kicking his boss and he didn't want any problems.

'Well, it's here, I hope I've helped you. Tell him to take good care of himself and that I hope to work with him again...'

'Thank you very much sir! Here, I'll buy you something to eat! It's the least I can do for helping me' 'No thanks little one, I'm sure Kokushibo-Dono eats too much hahaha. It's nothing, see you!'

Well, it was moment of truth, it was curious, there was no receptionist or anything similar, now who could he ask about where his office was?

'WHAT THE FUCK IS KAMADO TANJIRO DOING HERE?! HE'S GOING TO RUIN EVERYTHING IF HE SEE US HERE!!'

'SHUT UP KAIGAKU!! We have to think... We are not going to achieve anything... We have to hide and SHUT UP or he will find us'

'And now what's happening to you? Kaigaku, if you're in trouble again don't expect me to save your ass...', Kaigaku shook his head and dragged Michikatsu to where the trio was.

When he looked out, he realized the young man's presence and sighed, leaving and covering his mouth as he dragged him to his office, luckily no one had seen them. 'What are you doing here kid? It's no place for you to be here, mainly, how did you find me?'

'I had help! And to answer your question, I brought you some desserts because I thought you...-'

Tanjiro's mouth was covered again, someone was approaching and it didn't seem to be anything good.

'KOKUSHIBO WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING?! I ASKED YOU TO DO ONE THING AND YOU CAN'T EVEN DO THAT?!'

'Sorry sir, I'm coming right now. I got distracted by something' 'I'm not surprised, you're a distracted idiot sometimes', Tanjiro's patience ran out.

Despite Michikatsu telling him not to go anywhere or go out, Tanjiro did it to confront the adult, he was not afraid after all. 'That uniform...'

'Why are you acting like that?! Mr. Kokushibo tries his best and you should appreciate it! Don't yell at him!'

'Don't fuck with me, I don't have time to deal with brats like you. My head hurts so I screamed, I'll apologize, satisfied?'

Naaaaah, the way he said it didn't convince Tanjiro at all, so he came out from under the desk and stood in front of him with his arms crossed.

'Look kid, I don't know you, I'm not interested in knowing who you are and so on. So do me a favor and leave already or else I'm going to... AAAAAHAHAHA!!'

'LEAVE MR. KOKUSHIBO ALONE!!', do you believe what you just read?

Don't be scared my dear readers, Muzan is not ticklish even in his nightmares, and if so, why is he laughing?

Hasn't it happened to you that someone pinches you and instead of hurting you, it makes you laugh? Well, that's more or less what happened here. That "useless" squeeze probably also contributed to him laughing, but anyway, no one understands that man.

'Why are you laughing?! I'm hurting him!!' 'Yohohour stuhuhupihihid attehempt is whahahat mahahakes me laugh... You should...'

'Sir, I already brought you the files, where do you want me to...?', Michikatsu dropped his papers, why?

Well, it's not every day you see a kid kicking Muzan in the balls, so it was something new.

That inclusive blow hurt Michikatsu, who intervened and moved away, even knowing that it could cost him his dismissal. 'Sorry about that sir... By the way, here's the bill for your order...'

'Oh, sure, here you go young man and something extra for bringing you here'

'Thank you, see you! I hope you get better soon sir!', Tanjiro skipped away before disappearing.

You can imagine the scream that Muzan gave for having been humiliated by a child...

But hey, at least, Kamado definitely achieved his goal, he made Kokushibo smile.

[ughtyrell]

Obsessive Felix Catton AU

AU where Felix falls into a hopeless decent into obsession with Oliver. It's not obvious at first, especially when it's clear that Oliver is so infatuated with Felix, but later it becomes increasingly worrying that Felix has become obsessively possessive of Oliver. Basically the "one falls first but the other falls harder" trope but more demented.

Maybe people at school notice how Felix is a bit weirdly close to his newest boy BFF but don't think much of it besides a few side eyes at how he lays a grip on Olivers thigh when they sit beside each other. That later turns into Felix grabbing and dropping one of Oliver's legs over his thigh at any chance he gets. Occasionally even sitting Oliver on his lap if he can get away with it.

Maybe there were a few intense moments that made people uncomfortable, or just dead stop to stare. Like the time someone tried to sit in the chair beside Oliver and when Felix got there, didn't hesitate to pull them out of the seat and onto the floor so he could take the spot himself. But haha oops didn't mean to be that rough! Sorry mate! So everyone let it go.

Maybe a few people take note how, that if someone is actually trying to have a conversation with Oliver, Felix always ends up interrupting them. Either popping up and saying hi, putting himself right in the conversation or giving a cheeky grin and saying, "don't mind if I steal Ollie woulda ya?" before he takes off with Oliver.

No one ever calls him out on it though, and if they did Felix would laugh it off. If someone really pushed then the glare they'd get from Felix would be enough for them to never bring it up again. But no one at school ever really figures out Felix is developing a problem.

Slowly but surely though, The Cattons and Farleigh notice how strange Felix is acting and become a bit worried. For Felix at first because is something up with their boy?

When they first get to Saltburn, they're all expecting Oliver because Felix wouldn't shut up about his best mate Ollie! He's just the best, amazing little guy and how he's so excited to have him over to the estate! Normal if a little more over the top than usual gushing for the guests Felix brings to Saltburn. And maybe it was a little weird how Felix said there's absolutely nothing wrong with Oliver when Elspeth tried to dig a bit into Oliver. Nothing to worry about yet though.

Everyone knows how Felix gets touchy with his things, including if especially his little boy toys he likes to be best friends with. But they notice how this time he really doesn't want to give any of them a chance the wisk Oliver away from him. He has Oliver on a short leash. Sure he's seemingly carefree about it, smiling and guiding Oliver around Saltburn, never straying far from Oliver at any time. But it becomes clear Felix doesn't want Oliver out of his sight. When Elspeth invites Oliver to chat outside Felix complains, "mummmmm, Oliver doesn't want to hang with you" but when Oliver meekly says he doesn't mind and goes with her the others see Felix silently fuming a few short minutes before he goes after them and laughs his way into conversation like he has done all through their time at Uni.

When Oliver first gets along with his father he's delighted. Until his father starts to take too much of Oliver's attention away that he gets annoyed. Suddenly him and Oliver have much things to do so gotta go pops! And it's something that becomes more and more frequent and not just with James but if any of them interact with Oliver too long or maybe at all eventually.

It's the beginning of their concerns.

With Venetia Felix straight up warns her off. Something that she'd ignore entirely and take as a challenge but...something felt off when he said it this time. As if they'd be consequences this time and she doesn't know what exactly but shes...unnerved.

Farleigh is just annoyed with the whole thing. Rolling his eyes and scoffing at them. Until he notices things he doesn't want too notice. Like how when Felix drags Oliver away now, his grip on Oliver is bruising. And now that's he's notice he can't not notice. Bruises on Oliver, a dark gleam in Felix's eyes sometimes and how Felix is actively isolating Oliver from everyone.

I don't know where I'd want this story to go from here. Could be a funny lovely twisted story about their mutual obsession and Oliver absolutely loving everything Felix is doing while the family worries and hums about what to do.

Or, Oliver maybe realizes he's in over his head here and Felix is even more twisted than himself and wants to back out. Only to realize that Felix isn't going to allow that to happen. The purposely careful relaxed possessive facade becomes a frightening suffocating grip on Oliver. The family is still idly wondering what to do as they progressively witness Felix turn into a abusive person and Olivers teary eyes in empty hallways they pretend not to see. So this version is no longer just a obssessive Felix AU but a Abusive Felix AU. 😔

[what-have-i-unleashed]

@toffeebrews since you asked very rudely...

hewwo everynyan, what's an anime without an opening song amirite :3

previously on high school au z...

color-senpai has been kidnapped! delta-senpai, the first love rival, challenges killer-kun but failed!

cross-kun, the second love rival, challenges killer-kun but dust-chan comes to the rescue and proposes a cooking contest that goes wrong!

the star sanses infiltrate killer's apartment but cannot find color-senpai, because *gasps* he's at nightmare's house all along! and now killer-kun lives there too, protecting his home and everything he holds dear.

what more challenges will killer-kun face now? tune in this second episode to find out!

"so..." the student council president, mars (a/n: reaper undyne), says while folding her arms in front of her chest, "no one knows where color-kun is?"

the atmosphere of the student council meeting room, cheekily referred to as "the war room" by many members, is quite heavy, as is expected when one member is unceremoniously missing for 3 days in a row.

dream, head of the disciplinary committee, can't do anything but stay silent and pointedly avoid the glance his brother gave him. as a committee member, nightmare is also present at the meeting, hiding his smug smile behind his hands.

the council has been going on for half an hour now, and they're nowhere near figuring out what happened to color. dream wants to say something, but he can't risk anything with his brother being in the same room. so he waits for the meeting to end before running up to rus (a/n: classic papyrus), the student vice president.

"oh, dream-kun!" rus greets enthusiastically. "what can i help you with?"

"uhm," dream says nervously. "it's about color-senpai... is there any way we can ask error-san to help us with that?"

"error-kun?" rus frowns, stroking his chin. "i'm not sure about that... he's suspended right now."

"but what if he's the only one option we have left? we're out of ideas!"

"dream-kun, if you want to talk to error-kun, i'm not the one to ask," rus sighs. "you have to ask either my onii-chan or geno-san!"

upon that, dream sweats profusely. neither of them is who he wants to meet again.

... but... if it's for a good cause, then maybe dream has to try!

meanwhile...

"hey there! is killer-kun here?"

killer looks up from his phone, feeling a distinct sense of deja vu. at the door stands epic from class 3-a. looking at dust and horror, killer shrugs at them before approaching epic.

"epic-senpai! what are you doing here?" he says, all smiling. epic beams back at him.

"what? a senpai cannot talk to a kouhai anymore?"

"suuuure," killer drawls. "is this because of delta-senpai again?"

"well..." epic scratches his head. "i'd like it if you apologize to him for what you did, but i don't think you'd do that," he puts his hands in his pockets. "actually i just want to meet you somewhere after school. does the bike parking lot work?"

"meeting... about what?" dust suddenly appears behind killer like a ghost, his bi-colored eyes staring intensely at the senior student and his hands squeezing killer's arm from behind threateningly.

"that's between me and killer-kun," epic smiles enigmatically, which only makes dust to squeeze killer's arm harder. epic continues, "anyway, class is about to start so i'm going now. bye, killer-kun! and... dust-kun, right?" killer pretends not to hear dust make a small startled noise. epic winks, making a gun gesture. "the cookies you made last time are the bomb, so thanks for that!"

with that, epic walks away, his cloak fluttering in the air dramatically. killer doesn't have to wait one second before dust turns him around and looks at him in the eyes.

"you. are not going to see epic-senpai," dust enunciates each word with gritted teeth.

"uhhh, pretty sure he asked for me, dust-chan~"

"how about i break both of your legs right now so you won't be able to go, trash?"

"how about i tell epic-senpai about your stupid crush, dust-chan~?"

before they can tear into each other, horror intervenes, pushing them further from each other. "okay, break it up, you petty bitches," he sighs. "you can both go to see him after school. can we just start class now?"

school cannot end fast enough.

[nogenderbee]

♡˗ˏ✎*ೃ˚ 𝕄𝕠𝕠𝕟𝕤 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕤𝕦𝕟 ₊˚ˑ༄

*ੈ✩‧₊˚ @nenes-numberonefan request: REQUESTS ARE OPEN YIPEEE (dumbledore said calmly)

what’s popping can i get a niigo x reader (separate) with a reader who’s like emu (idk i’m still ill and this is the only idea i can come up with)

take your time drink water and don’t be a #sicklyvictoriangirl like me!!

link

*ੈ✩‧₊˚ OMG YES!!! I hope you don't mind that I kinda did Emu here literally- like, instead of name "Y/N" I just did "Emu", since it's kinda the same?? Just the difference in name... except for Len, I left Y/N since it kinda feels wrong to ship it.. HOPE YOU DON'T MIND!

*ੈ✩‧₊˚ fluff

✧ N25!Len completely didn't expect you in the SEKAI... it's Empty SEKAI, every Vocaloid here is so timid and yet you.. how did you even got here?

✧ he starts to think there was some error between SEKAI's and you got trapped here while the n25!Vocaloid was in your place!

✧ but when it turns out, that's not how it is and you really belong here... he's confused but obviously not gonna do much about it

✧ at first, he was very startled by your loud personality and constant rambling and need to run all around

✧ but give him some time and instead of hiding from you he'll just sit with a gentle smile as he watches you being energetic like always

✧ the fact that you're so energetic actually makes it whole lot easier on getting to know each other!

✧ it's definitely a challenge to break theoguh his shyness, but it's honestly enough if you stop minding it and he'll be more at easy around you!

"Uh.. yes, I want to hangout. If you.. want of course..."

✧ your non platonic relationship is pretty similar... you also have to take the lead with affections BUT there are times when he tries and you can see it!!

✧ there are times when he reaches for your hand shakily and worried but it usually ends on you just grabbing it because boy, he's moving it back faster than it goes forward and if you'd want to wait for him it'd take around an hour...

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@superstar-ethereal @nenes-numberonefan - come get your banana boy!

✧ Emu and Kanade meeting is very rare due to white haired girl coming out of her room rarely.. but they'd most likely first meet at Phoenix Wonderlands in evening hours or at Emu's way back from said place

✧ if they met at Phoenix, Emu would immidietly approach Kanade with "Wonderhoy" because it's Mafuyu's friend!

✧ tho they ended up talking quite a bit or so it was more of Emu rambles... so both girls remembers each other!

✧ their relationship is also very slow to develop due to meeting rarely, but if not counting long breaks, you could say it develops fairly quickly!

✧ I feel like Emu would try being sweet at first and kinda just hinting she likes Kanade, while Kanade also throws few hints but she'd be the first to confess since she felt like this mystery was confusing her slowly more and more...

✧ once Emu gets allowance to come to blue girls house, she'll pop up at the most random hours, just wanting to hangout and maybe plan their dates together

"Good evening Kana!! I just brought some Taiyaki with me so we can share them! And if we want more, we can go to the booth I bought them from together! Or I can just run whole you write! Oh! Or...!"

"Yes, that sounds like a good idea... but.. can we please not run..?"

✧ and Kanade's gonna agree on every single one of her ideas, unless they're clearly highly risky.. but if they're just a little risky and Emu is happy about it... she might as well try, right?

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@prsk-krow @modyuki @virtualpoison @miguelito-maruti-blog @hakulivesformusic @hayillaaaaaaa - come get your noodle lover!

✧ Mafuyu and Emu already know each other from school, and it's easy to say their relationship is pretty interesting...

✧ pink haired girl always tried to make her smile but only received the one that make her shiver... and purple haired girl, despite showing so little true feelings, couldn't brush the warm feeling in her chest

✧ so Emu tried harder and Mafuyu eventually got used to her new lively friend, sometimes even breaking out of her act...

✧ this relationship is definitely growing very slowly but sweetly~

"What a soft feeling... Huh? Oh don't worry about me, Otori! I'm just.. revising some of my material..."

✧ it take good few years, in best scenario a year so both of them can realize they fell for another...

✧ first one to fall is Mafuyu but first one to realize her feelings and confess is Emu!

✧ I feel like Emu would be at first a bit startled when she sees Mafuyu's real side but later on, it also motivates her to keep going and make her smile for real!

✧ and she doesn't hide now her worries from Mafuyu too~

"It's fine to be sad from time to time, Mafu! All that matters is for you to not let it ruin your whole day!"

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@prsk-krow @modyuki @virtualpoison @miguelito-maruti-blog @bl4cktourmaline @nenes-numberonefan - come get your aquarium lover!

✧ Mizuki had to meet Emu in Kamiyama! I just feel like pink haired girl would just run around corridors and bump into some other pink haired person who was trying to sneak without uniform to get their stuff!

✧ they'd both first laugh when they hear each other stories and that's how their silly friendship started~

✧ after Mizuki got to know Emu works in amusement park, they just couldn't help their curiosity and went with Nightcord there go check it out!

✧ I just feel like their chats would be infinite since they're both big ramblers

✧ so it shouldn't be surprise that they started to hangout a lot, and during one of the talk, they blurted their feelings at the same time!

"I have something to tell you too! Let's say it at 3! 3..2..1.."

"I love you!"

✧ in their relationship, Emu is definitely more clingy but Mizuki never pushes her away. How could they when their girlfriend is just so cute?!

✧ they both hide their real feelings more or less, but I feel like that'd get them both to open up to each other at some point, and both would receive the comfort they need

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@prsk-krow @modyuki @virtualpoison @miguelito-maruti-blog @written-by-kafka - come get your cuties lover~

[snugleaf]

Introducing TEAM RASCALS! They’re here to cause trouble!!

Pipsqueak is a spunky little guy and the leader of Team Rascals. His parents are famous adventurers, and he idolized them and their stories of grandure ever since he could remember. This admiration turned sour when, several years ago, his parents never returned from a dangerous mission. He spent many hopeful nights wishing them to return, but they never did. The more he heard the townsfolk glorify their bravery for leaving on the dangerous quest, the more he began to resent exploration teams as a whole. He teamed up with his best friend, Scoot, and the two of them started pranking all the local teams they could. One day he was struck with a brilliant idea: if he started his own team, they could live in the guild and dunk on all the teams there even harder. Thus, Team Rascals was born. If asked, he will never tell his devious reasons for joining the guild, instead lying and saying it's because he wants to be just like his parents when he grows up. ...that's not true, not even a little bit!!

Scoot likes to live life on the edge. He's a street urchin who grew up sneaking and stealing to get by, and he wouldn't have it any other way. He met Pip when the two were kids, and they got along like gasoline and a lit match. The two stirred up so much trouble around town that everyone sighs long-suffering at the sight of the two of them. Scoot is easily riled up; it takes only a couple words of challenge to have the tiny bunny stomping his feet and demanding a fight. He relies on Pip to talk him down and remind them of their bigger goal: retribution when they least expect it. Though he's often grumpy, Scoot has a strong sense of justice and can't stand seeing anyone being picked on by a stronger pokemon.

Rags is the most recent addition to the trouble makers crew. When the duo was backed into a corner after a prank gone wrong, Rags stepped in to help them escape, and the trio have been thick as thieves ever since. They're not sure why Rags helped them to begin with, nor do they know much about them at all. They're completely silent, never speaking, only staring with those huge eyes of theirs. Always watching. Though Rags never talks, Pip and Scoot seem to be able to understand them just fine.

[brf-rumortrackinganon]

I love all your analysis! Could I ask you to chime in, if you have the time and the inclination, on my pet theory?

Here it goes: Meghan found it harder than Catherine to be succeed in the Royal family because she's not athletic.

The Aristo crowd is sporty. It's a good marker of privilege - one you cannot fake - to be able to ski, play tennis, row, sail, ride, dive. All these things require lots of leisure time, and money, and the confident, cheerful ease of the amateur sportsman.

Catherine is a good minor athlete - her reaction to the 2007 breakup was to enter a rowing challenge with her girlfriends (she went clubbing with Pips too, sure, but she was out there most mornings in her wetsuit, being healthy and determined). It's hard to explain the mindset of the "amateur athlete in friendly competition" if you've never been one, but it gives you confidence, emotional regulation, and the bone deep knowledge that small constant steps are key to achieving progress and success.

Meghan just knows that "rich people go skiing", and she gets photographed on the slopes in an unsuitable coat, thinking it's the same thing. She looks for the shortcut - and she may fool some of the non-skiers, but it's just a house of cards. It works for an influencer who will quickly move on to the next thing, but the Royal family thinks in decades, and the persona their PR builds for you must have some consistency.

And there would have been nothing wrong with saying outright "you know what, I didn't grow up with that kind of money, I can't ski or row" - she would have got lots of sympathy.

Don't you love "training montages" in movies? She could have had years of upbeat training montage PR! Or she could have gone with an "outsider perspective" PR strategy, where she would have represented the slightly ironic common man faced with the BRF.

But Meghan the Narc can't stand to acknowledge she doesn't know something. She should have been herself, and instead she tried to be Catherine and failed.

It's a good theory, but i don't think it holds much weight when you really dig into it - for exactly what you pointed out: Meghan wasn't herself.

Kate was unabashedly and genuinely herself. Long before St. Andrews or William entered the picture, and she stayed that way after everything with William. The aristo crowd probably prefers that, and Kate doesn't strike me as someone who's impressed by all that. She probably cared more about their art collection than whether they were Duke So-and-So or Earl Whozitsandwhatsits, and that's impressive on its own. (I'm reminded now of the story with Cillian Murphy; he doesn't like it when people fawn all over him and he shuts down when that happens, so a seat-filler who sat next to him at one of the recent awards shows pretended she didn't know who he was and had the most incredible conversation wtih him.)

Whereas Meghan was always playing a role, and badly at that. So it was pretty easy for the aristo crowd to see right through her and know that she was bad news. Especially once she stop pretending to be aristo-like, with the cursing and demanding to sit next to Harry/switching place cards at the dinner parties, the screaming at staff, policing what everyone was saying and confronting them when it wasn't PC (according to her).

I think being sporty/athletic helped Kate, but the vibe I get from the aristo crowd isn't necessarily a sporty set. As a whole, they seem more outdoorsy to me with the skiing holidays, the shooting parties, the horse racing, the sailing. I think William's side of the aristo crowd (like his friends and Anne's family that he's closest to) is sporty because that's what they've connected over, and Kate fits in well with that crowd so it was easier for her to be accepted by them. But there's also the "city" side of the aristo crowd like the Yorkies and the Spencers where they're more known for their holidays, artsy/culture-type activities, and spectatoring sports.

Not to say that the two can't blend - they do, obviously, and everyone is probably really good at code-switching to navigate between the different segments of the aristo world (William and Kate especially as the future King and Queen, who have to be both representational and aspirational to all segments of the populartion, not just the aristos). And maybe the more culture set are sporty too (like how Diana danced and the Yorks skiied) but sport isn't how we think of those aristos. The latter crowd is what Meghan expected because that's the world Diana inhabited and as we all know, Meghan views royalty through Diana exclusively, so when she saw Kate in that sphere, she tried to emulate that side of Kate (the evening-gown wearing, gala attending, world-traveling, tennis-watching, polo-wifeing Kate) not knowing that it's just a small piece of who, and what, Kate actually is.

It's why the role she tried to play fell flat; Meghan didn't know the whole character, she just had the PR version of Kate to work with. Or, in acting parlance, Meghan had the character notes for Kate the Bit Player. She didn't get the character profile for Catherine, the Duchess of Cambridge, a main character.

Going back to what you originally said, that Meghan didn't integrate as easily as Kate did because of the athletics, I'd say it's bigger than that. It's because she didn't have any hobbies or interests. Everyone in the aristo set has hobbies and interests. Meghan didn't/doesn't have a single hobby and that made/makes it hard to connect with people on any level. She didn't need to have the same hobbies or interests as everyone else, she just had to have something. But she didn't. She had nothing.

All she had was Harry but Harry assumes the personality of whomever he's dating...which is the same thing Meghan does; she assumes the personality of whomever she's dating. So when there are two people being each other, they end up with nothing. Or they end up being his mother. Which isn't that much better either.

[moontheoretist]

How views change with time

I used to be the type of Cullen stan that insisted that he must have not known about the abuses, must have been blindsided by the others or something similar, but the one that still tried to hold him accountable for his bullshit. I still think it could be possible to some extent for him to be blindsided by his subbordinates when it comes to more vicious abuses that happened in Kirkwall. But I also no longer think he needed to be blinsided, considering all the things he says. At the time I tried not to take people who speak like him as people who would not react if situation called for it (i.e protect someone from the abuse) or join in on the abuse itself, but now I'm older and I know that talking like that is a sign that he may avert his eyes when he happens to see something he can't reconcile with his views or will try to rationalize it as something that "is ok and must happen" in order to not challenge his views. I've done the same many times before too. Cullen and me are both easily manipulated into supporting bad things. I am often in awe and a bit jealous of Alistair that he was able to see through a bullshit that I was not able to do for years in my life (in regard to church and misogyny I was taught, and many more bad stuff). Hence why I keep comparing them. Cullen is past me, and Alistair is who I wish I was as a child.

It was naive of me to insist that he must have not known. And even if he didn't know, it doesn't excuse his behavior, his words and actions. That's also why I keep saying that DAI is not Cullen's redemption arc. He didn't redeem himself in that game, no matter how much it insists he did. He only started to redeem himself. If you choose to romance him as a mage or any other class you are helping him in that journey. Heck, you can even participate in it as a friend, but as a lover you can have a clear view of everything that is happening. It's not ideal as you should not rely on your lover in the same way you would on therapist, but alas DA world doesn't have any psychologists so it is what it is.

I believe that people like Cullen need others to realize how wrong and bigoted they were. Because I also needed them. There was a time in my life when I was deaf to any voice of reason, just like Cullen was in previous games. At that time nobody would be able to convince us that we were wrong. But with time we were both given the chance to reflect, change and open ourselves to those voices. There is no point talking to people like us when we are not in the place where we can even listen to reason, but we are also a perfect example that some of those bigoted people you know can be reached later in their life and at that time they will need help to properly sort through their bullshit.

Inquisitor and Leliana are perfect for that role. Sadly Inquisitor is not actually given many opportunities to call Cullen out on his behavior (if they're given any). We can only be quiet and encourage him to quit lyrium and even that is not how it should be, because this is not how you handle an addiction. Quitting is necessary for him, because if he doesn't he will still be under influence. And we know that in DA world lyrium makes Templars not only more receptive to the indoctrination after they become the Templars, but also controls them like dogs on a leash and drives them mad, further strenghtening their bigotry. It's not ideal but i's the only way for Templars to become free of the Chantry's influence. Without doing that it's even harder to convince them that mages are not evil beings that were born sinners and will die in sin. Yet even then we have people like Samson who saw through all of it even though the deck was stacked against him. We can't expect everybody to be like Samson who helped mages even before he was kicked out or Alistair who bailed out the first chance he got, but we can hold them accountable, and if possible try to create places where they can heal and unlearn all the bullshit they were fed all their lives. They need it.

[midnightcreator12]

DONNIE IS OBJECTIVELY THE BEST FIGHTER IN EPISODE 1 OF RISE

LISTEN LISTEN LISTEN! IT IS 1 AM AND I AM HAVING THOUGHTS!

Because, objectively, when Donnie isn't trying to lean on his tech, he is the best fighter outta the brothers in episode 1.

He lasted the longest against Draxum, actually landed a hit, and probably would have done more if Mikey hadn't smacked into him

You think it'd be Raph, since Raph is the one who is the most gun-ho about training but Raph runs like a bulldozer, one objective, one action, especially early on. It makes him a bit easy to predict tbh

Aaand sometimes makes the situation worse when the only plan is to 'hit it harder' (tho, tbf, Raph's size and ability help that plan work sometimes. Just not all the time)

(i know this is from episode 2 but it gets my point across)

Now, Donnie does have more moments of being a badass later but it's usually with the group or its later one when they're all on a more even skill level, a fact we can probably attribute to them wanting to use the mystic weapons more effectivly.

And while we could argue that maybe the other three were lacking because they were trying to use magic but we saw on the surface that they are not very good in a real fight.

Except Donnie didn't actually go in for the fight, he tried to show off his tech first and got distracted by the teleporting dog-thing (a reasonable reason to get distracted, imo)

Plus, grunt 1 cheated, he used a laser (jk, Donnie should'a reacted quicker but, hey, baby got excited over teleportation.)

But this begs the question. Why was Donnie, the most tech realiant of the brothers, the one he held his own the best?

I think Donnie got good at fighting so he could keep up with Raph.

Because Raph LOVES training, he loves fighting, and I bet that Raph and Donnie don't have a lot to bond over that is just a them thing (video games and JJ and Lou Jitsu are shared things, all four of them bond over that. But there's something about having a thing between just you and one sibling)

I think Donnie spared with Raph as a way to bond with him but Raph would hold back and Donnie felt that cheapened the experiance.

So he got good at fighting so he could at least give Raph a run for his money. I bet Donnie is the only one who shows up for training on time and it's why he was so salty about Raph saying it's an hour before the actual time frame

Oh, and we see that Donnie also has the best track record for going on missions.

(Okay so he has a 50/50 record but you gotta wonder if he misses sometimes because he thinks Raph is lying about the time frame again, lol)

I'm betting that Donnie often asked to spare with Raph because Raph likes sparring and Leo and Mikey don't like it as much so that can be a THEM thing!

And maybe at first Raph was holding back because he didn't want to hurt Donnie so Donnie got good quickly and demanded that Raph take him seriously as a sparring partner, which led to a very long losing streak for Donnie but he still tried to beat Raph every time and revels in the challenge of it!

And lookit Sparring Partners! So much PROOF!

He went from questioning what was wrong with Raph to ready to throw down in SECONDS. This is an old hat to him, he was READY!

^^ The face of a man ready to show off his moves to his big brother

And the confusion when Raph does not counter his attack. He KNOWS something is up.

But he's Donnie and a teenager so he takes the 'win'

But he's still confused! He KNOWS Raph is being weird

LOOKIT! He's not smug, he not reviling in the fact that Raph was so tired after their spar that he canceled training! He is confused because Raph is acting WEIRD!

THIS IS CANON FOR ME! DONNIE BONDED WITH RAPH VIA SPARRING AND IS SECRETLY VERY SAD AFTER SPARRING PARTNERS BECAUSE HE'S WONDERING IF RAPH WAS JUST HUMORING HIS INSTEAD OF ACTUALLY SPARRING!