#and i don't want to keep the five people who actually care about it waiting

[icezansky]

my brain feels like mush

[ellecdc]

thank you, McLaggen

inspired by the TikTok audio of Phil Dunphy saying "if you ever say anything disrespectful about my wife again, I'll kill you. Sorry, I don't know why that sounded like a joke; I will actually kill you."

James Potter x fem!reader who was apparently 'too much' for McLaggen

CW: they're at a party, readers last relationship left her feeling small, but she loves James and is all good now

It took a bit of unlearning when you found yourself in a relationship with James Potter. 

He sensed your hangups immediately; as if you were a duffle bag containing paraphernalia and he was a well-trained drug dog.

He noticed the way you seemed to fold in on yourself when you were excited, the way you cut yourself off when you began rambling, and the way you seemed to make yourself smaller as if that was what was required for the people around you to feel comfortable.

“Why do you keep snuffing out your own light, lovie? I miss your spark.” He’d said to you one night.

In all honesty, you hadn’t been aware you were even doing such a thing.

But you certainly knew why. 

Though your mother always told you to never look back on life with regrets, you’d spent about a year in what you now consider to be a rather unfortunate relationship with Tiberius McLaggen. 

And though you hadn’t noticed he’d been doing it; by the time your relationship ended, you realised you were perhaps a mere shadow of the person you used to be.

He’d ended the relationship after suggesting you were ‘too much’.

The irony of it was you were the smallest you’d ever been at that point; the ‘least’ you that you could possibly be. How could you be ‘too much’ and diminished at the same time?

You spent a lot of time reflecting after that, but it seemed that when you and James started your relationship, those old habits and qualities made their way back into your subconscious and it took James pointing it out for you to even notice.

You were glad he had, though. He was lovely, and he was caring, and he loved you. He loved your energy, he loved your passion, he loved your excitement, and better yet, he loved sharing those qualities with you.

All of the traits that your ex had deemed unseemly or unflattering were the traits you loved most about James, and in turn what he most loved about you.

And why would you deny such a lovely person of anything they wanted?

You just couldn’t.

So the two of you had been dating for nearly five months already, and you felt more comfortable in yourself than you ever had before.

You thought perhaps that this was just the effect James had on people; you found it almost impossible for any of his friends to be anything but their best selves when they were in his presence. 

You loved him immensely for it. 

You were getting a first hand look at exactly that from your spot on the arm of the sofa as you watched Peter throw his head back in boisterous laughter not usually seen from the typically soft spoken marauder. James didn’t even spend any time being smug about eliciting such a laugh from the cushion below you before he was complimenting Remus on his jumper, knowing very well that Sirius was the one who picked it out for him - and also knowing Sirius would absolutely take full responsibility for the compliment - only to coo about how sweet they were together and leaving both boys blushing messes. 

You had almost forgotten you were sitting in the middle of a Gryffindor party when someone sidled up beside you.

“Lookin’ good, Y/N.” McLaggen commented as he looked you up and down.

You fought the urge to grimace as you narrowed your eyes at him. “Tiberius.” 

“Didn’t think I’d see you here; not really your scene, is it?” He commented with an air of casualty you knew was entirely for show. “I’m here with my new bird; she’s in Gryffindor.” He carried on without waiting for you to respond.

You hummed in acknowledgement as you looked around the room. “It doesn’t look like you’re here with anyone, McLaggen, seeing as you’re standing here talking to me.” 

“Come now, can’t old friends catch up?” He said salaciously. 

“We’re not friends, Tiberius.” You retorted forcefully.

He held his hands up in mock surrender as he chuckled at you. “Down girl, no need to get all jumpy now. You always were a bit of a handful, weren’t you?” 

You didn’t even have a chance to tell McLaggen where to shove it before James was standing up from his place hidden behind you as McLaggen’s face fell. 

“Ah, if it isn’t Tiberius McLaggen; kicked off the Ravenclaw quidditch team, failing Astronomy, received a mere acceptable in Herbology last term, and totally shit the bed with the most beautiful girl in Hogwarts. I’ve heard so much about you!” James recounted with faux cheer as he stuck his hand out to McLaggen, forcing the bloke to give him an awkward handshake as James stared at him hard.

James Potter was still flashing his (what should be award winning) smile, but it never met his eyes which were no longer their warm hazel. 

“Sounds like you’re the one I have to thank.” James carried on as he dropped McLaggen’s hand, wiped his own hand off on his trousers and threw his other arm protectively, possessively, affectionately over your shoulder. “Turns out if you hadn’t been such an absolute fucking tosser and fumbled the best thing to have ever happened to you, I wouldn’t have my sweet, gorgeous girl here. Congrats on losing the most lovely little thing to have ever looked your way; now sod off before I decide to do something that might just be worth making her frown over.”

You were unsuccessful in hiding your snort of amusement as you hid your face in James’ shoulder and listened to McLaggen scoff and stalk away. 

“Merlin’s tits, Prongsie! Did anyone else know James could be mean!?” Sirius cackled as the two of you turned back towards the group. 

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen James end a conversation without at least wishing someone a good day.” Peter carried on.

“Did you actually threaten the sod?” Marlene continued.

“No, I didn’t threaten him.” James muttered somewhat petulantly. “I promised him pain if he ever spoke to my girl like that again.”

The group cheered as you felt a shy yet pleased heat spread across your face and you shoved your face back into James’ shoulder.

James, for his part, accepted you eagerly and rubbed his hand up and down your arm as he pressed a kiss into your hair. 

“I’ll never let anyone make you feel small ever again.” He promised quietly; whether he was promising himself, or you, or McLaggen, you weren’t entirely sure.

What you were entirely sure of was that it was a promise he intended to keep.

[dotster001]

For Tuna

Summary:Grim does some interviews to find the perfect sugar dad for him you gn!reader x all boys in one way or another.

A/N:I haven't unpacked my tag list yet, so hopefully this is everyone!

Part Two Part Three choose your ending...

"Grim, we can't afford the bougie tuna. Put it back."

You'd missed it before when you were loading your basket at Sam's shop, but Grim had snuck in the expensive tuna. Now you were at the counter, trying to hide your embarrassment as you told Grim to put it back. Sam gave you a sympathetic smile, but still. You didn't need to add his pity to your plate of worries.

"Prefect, don't worry about it. I can take care of it."

You jumped. You hadn't realized Ruggie had lined up behind you with his own basket full of stuff.

"Yeah! Let Ruggie-"

"I couldn't do that, Ruggie, but thanks for the offer."

Ruggie grinned, "oh please, it's on Leona. He said I could get whatever I want as long as I come back with his energy drinks."

You made an unconvinced face, and Ruggie gave a playful wink.

"Trust me, your tuna won't even make a dent in his wallet. I could pay for your entire load, and still be able to pay off my student loans. In fact," he slapped down Leona's wallet, "Sam, add Y/N's groceries to mine, I'll take care of it."

Before you could protest further, Sam was ringing you both up.

And then Grim got an idea. A terribly, wonderful, awful idea.

"There, all settled. Plus now you can afford to fix your windows this month, or…." He looked at the cash in your hand, "well you can fix one window at least. And don't feel too bad for Leona. Eat the rich and what not," Ruggie patted your back comfortingly then left with his groceries.

"C'mon Grimmy, let's go," you said with a heavy sigh.

"Actually, I have something to do, Henchhuman. You go on home, I'll see ya later."

"Okay, but if you need me…."

"I'll be okay! Geeze you get so anxious without the great Grim. It's embarrassing."

You rolled your eyes and left. You would be so proud of him once he had finished though. He was excited already.

Heartslaybul Dorm….

"Mr. Rosehearts. Thank you for meeting with me."

Grim primly took out his pen and began to scribble on a clipboard.

"I didn't meet with you. You barged into my office," Riddle said, his arms crossed along his chest.

"I think you will find this meeting beneficial. It pertains to Y/N L/N."

Riddle relaxed a little, and raised a single curious eyebrow.

"You see, It has come to my attention, that Y/N and I do not have the funds to live comfortably. In fact, Y/N is practically starving to death! It has also come to my attention that you harbor some feelings for the prefect, and are in possession of a great deal of funds. Now," Grim dramatically looked up at Riddle, who's face was a shade of dark red. "How do you intend to provide for Y/N?"

Riddle opened his mouth, and Grim prepared himself for the worst, but…

"Wait, Y/N's on the market?!?!!"

Grim turned over his shoulder just in time to see Cater run in, tea tray in hand.

"He's only taking applications from rich people."

"Not a concern, housewarden!" Cater cleared his throat. "Hi, I'm Cater Diamond, and my dad is a banker."

"Oh!" Grim made a note on his paper. Riddle stood up abruptly.

"You only talk to your family on holidays, I wouldn't call that a solid source of income-"

"Yes but I'm a people pleaser, so I'll probably follow in his footsteps. So I will also have a banker's salary."

Riddle turned to Grim in a panic.

"I'm going to be a doctor!"

"Oh!" Scribble scribble.

"Oh please!" Cater rolled his eyes before conspiratorially leaning into Grim. "We both know Riddle. He'll work long shifts, day in and day out, and he'll never come home. Meaning poor Y/N will be trapped in a lonely loveless marriage. Meanwhile, I'll work my nine to five, and be home in time to gift you tuna, and keep Y/N warm at night."

"You think Grim cares about that?" Riddle shoved Cater out of the way. "I'll make time for Y/N. Plus my salary will provide double the tuna for you."

"What's all the yelling about?" Trey entered the room, followed by Ace and Deuce.

"Don't look at them, those three are poor as fuck. I mean a baker? Blech, disgusting," Cater apologetically smiled at Trey. "No offense."

"What?" Trey said, feeling more confused than he ever had been.

Grim clicked his pen closed.

"Thank you for your time. I have more interviews to conduct, but I will be in contact if you get through to the second round."

He scampered out of the room as Riddle and Cater nodded after him.

Savannaclaw Dorm….

Grim sat at the foot of Leona's bed as he tapped his chin thoughtfully.

"How can I provide for Y/N, huh? You mean the little demonstration Ruggie gave this morning wasn't enough?"

Grim tapped the pen impatiently against the clipboard.

"Mr. Kingscholar, it is important that you participate fully, or I will remove you from the list entirely."

Leona groaned.

"I receive a….certain amount of, shall we say, an allowance."

"And how much can I expect from that? I have a lot of people to interview. Please don't waste my time."

Leona looked over at Ruggie, who was folding laundry, then gestured Grim closer, before whispering a number into his ear.

Grim gasped, then hastily scribbled something onto his clipboard.

"We will be in contact with you when the second round of interviews begins." Grim stood up and hopped off the bed.

"Ruggie," Leona snapped, "Ensure my future relative makes it out of here safely. Let no one stop you."

Ruggie nodded in understanding as he escorted a proud looking Grim out.

Once they were halfway through the dorm, Ruggie began to speak.

"Leona has promised me a job with an excellent salary once I graduate. Just sayin."

"Won't he just take back the job if he finds out you're competing with him?"

Ruggie rolled his eyes, "Nevermind."

Jack left his room, and noticed the two of them, and began to walk towards them.

"Jack will make you get a job if you pick him," Ruggie whispered hastily. Grim hissed and sprinted the rest of the way out of the dorm.

"What's wrong with Grim?" Jack asked.

"Shi hi hi who knows?"

As Grim made his way to his second location, he was picked up by the scruff of his neck.

"Hey! What's the big idea?!?!?"

"Aw little sealie you're so cute!"

Grim stiffened.

"Fu fu fu," Jade laughed next to him. "our boss would like to have a word with you."

Grim gulped.

Octavinelle Dorm….

"Thank you for agreeing to see me," Azul said smugly.

"I didn't. Your scary twins picked me up and dragged me here."

"You see," Azul pushed his glasses up his nose, expertly ignoring Grim, "We got word that you were interviewing potential candidates for Y/N's future husband. I prepared some charts for you."

Azul pulled out several charts. Grim understood exactly zero of them. But he nodded thoughtfully and pretended to make a note on his clipboard.

"As you can see, my income is projected to continually go up until retirement. Plus my assets will continue to be of value, and my investments will be bringing in money for many years to come. I can safely say, money is no object. Plus, I am an excellent cook. You will never have to eat poor person's tuna ever again."

Grim made a real note this time just as the twins roughly turned his chair around.

"Now that Azul has had his turn, we would like to give our pitch," Jade said with an eerie grin. 

"You see, our parents run a certain…. organization," Floyd and Jade shared a grin before turning to Grim again. "Jade and I are the sole inheritors of this empire when they pass. Just keep that in mind."

"Also, people who oppose this organization have a tendency to, shall we say, disappear."

Grim shivered as he made a skull and crossbones picture on his clipboard.

"Awesome. Great. I'll be taking Grim now…."

"Sea Snake!" Floyd shouted, wrapping his arms around Jamil, who had silently snuck into the room. 

"Let go," Jamil hissed, wriggling away from Floyd. "Give me the cat."

"Aw, but we were playing with him…."

"It's alright Floyd. I think the three of us have made our point quite clear," Jade hummed, before the octotrio shared a laugh.

Jamil rolled his eyes before carefully picking up Grim.

Scarabia Dorm….

"Look, Kalim isn't going to brag for himself so I thought I'd bring you here and remind you that this entire dorm was funded by his family. And he will be inheriting said funds."

Grim nodded and made a note.

"What about you? I mean, I already know you aren't getting picked cause, well, " Grim pointedly looked him up and down. "But the other broke losers have tried to participate."

Jamil leaned down and gave a dark smile.

"I don't need money to win over Y/N," eyes flashing red as he spoke.

"Monsieur Fuzzball!" 

Grim and Jamil both groaned. It only took two seconds for him to be scooped up by the hunter.

"Non, non, do not struggle. I only wish to prove myself as a proper caretaker!"

Pomefiore Dorm…

Grim had never been so pampered, well fed, and relaxed in his entire life. Rook had provided snacks galore, given Grim the full on spa treatment, brushed out his fur, and was now massaging his sore kitty back.

"Monsieur Fuzzball, doesn't this feel wonderful?"

Grim nodded as Rook continued his massage.

"Just think, you could have this everyday!"

Grim groaned happily as Rook hit a tough knot.

Suddenly, Rook's voice was directly in his ear.

"All you have to do is give me the Trickster."

In that moment, Grim knew he would sell you for this life without a second thought.

But before he could do that…

"For heaven's sake I told you to find Epel, not this rodent!"

Rook immediately stopped the massage, to turn to his Queen.

"Roi du poison! I was simply-"

"Spare me," Vil snapped, before handing a struggling Epel over to Rook. He then reached into his pocket and pulled out a small card, gracefully handing it to Grim between two fingers. 

"I believe you are aware of my financial situation, but should you have questions, you can reach my manager on that card."

Then he left the room with a flourish, and the lingering scent of apple blossoms.

"You know I am willing to share the trickster with you," Rook whispered to Vil in the hallway.

"Ew," Epel groaned.

"As if I'd ever share," Vil smirked.

Outside the Ignihyde Dorm…

Ortho stood next to the tablet, holding Grin up so he could see what it said.

"So as  you can see from my bank account," Idia's voice said from the tablet, "Money is not and never will be an issue."

"It all looks good," Grim muttered as he made a note, "but I have to say it's a red flag that you couldn't come here in person…"

"Hey! Big brother is just busy with his experiment!"

"Yeah, exactly, thank you Ortho, for being the only one who appreciates genius. In fact this conversation is over. If he doesn't get it, then that's his loss. Ditch the noob, Ortho!" And the tablet floated back into the dorm.

Ortho gently set Grim down. "Look, big brother gets nervous around the prefect, that's all. But I think they'd make a great couple."

He gently patted Grim's head, then floated back in. Grim sighed, made a note about how Idia was a package deal, then continued to the final dorm.

Diasomnia Dorm…

"Small kitten, I am to be king of a country. Not only that, but I have spent centuries curating my hoard. Our nest will be always warm, and my perfect child of man will want for nothing," Malleus finished with a smug grin, as he leaned back in his throne. Then he sighed and rolled his eyes.

"Now you three can make your offers, or whatever."

"Me next! Me next!" Lilia said, cradling Grim like a baby. "I'm not as young as I look, and am on the best of terms with the queen and future king. I also have a great fortune built up! Kay, who's next?"

Silver timidly raised his hand.

"I just want to say, what about what Y/N wants? What if Y/N doesn't like any of us? What if Y/N doesn't even want to get married in the end? Or maybe they'll be just as happy with or without money?"

There was a long pause. Then…

"Silver's father is loaded and will do anything to see his children married and happy!"

"Fa-Lilia!" Silver hid his face in his hands in embarrassment.

"Same with Sebek. And his dad's a dentist!"

For once Sebek had nothing to say.

"Excellent, this looks very promising for you four," Grim nodded scribbling his final notes, "Now to-"

"GRIM!" 

Uh oh. He turned around and saw you storming in.

"Child of man!"

"Save it Mal Mal! I'm here for my rat," You scooped up Grim, placing him under your arm as you left the room.

"When will we hear about the second round of interviews?" Lilia giggled.

You answered by flipping them the middle finger without looking back.

The Hallway….

"What the hell, Grim? I'm not for sale!"

"I'm not selling you! I'm just trying to get you provided for!"

"Please! This is about tuna and you know it!"

"Who even told you?"

"Jack called me about an-"

"Ah! Prefect!" 

You and Grim groaned as you heard Crowley call to you both.

"Yes, headmage?" You asked through gritted teeth. You turned and saw Crewel was with him….wearing a bigger coat than normal.

"That coat looks so soft," Grim muttered.

"Yeah," you whispered back. "Wait, headmage, what do you need?"

"I heard your current allowance is no longer sufficient," he gently traced your jawline, settling below your chin, tapping up against it thoughtfully. "How does a little extra sound?"

You nodded dumbly.

"Good good, I'm too generous, I know," he hummed and walked off.

Before Crewel followed him, he smirked and patted the top of your head.  

"Good pup."

He stalked off. You stood frozen for a moment. Grim smirked up at you.

"You know, they look like they…."

"You keep that thought to yourself, Grim."

....

Tag list-@shytastemakerthing @stygianoir @leonia0 @lleoll @eccedentesiast-sapphic

[verysium]

some thought on us/reader/yn (i don’t know how to address it lol 😭) and seeing ex-boyfriend, who preferably myb cheated and now is dump struck how we got a new boyfriend/it’s been some time since last seeing ex)

um.....i'm assuming the bllk boys are the new boyfriend for this. hopefully, that's what you meant, but here you go anon:

kaiser absolutely thrives off this situation. this is the perfect chance to stroke his ego, so he's going to take full advantage of it. definitely notices your ex before you do and tugs you closer, arm wrapped around your waist, nose buried in your hair. obviously, you can't see his facial expression, but you can tell by the way he's smirking that he's definitely up to no good. when your ex finally realizes that your new boyfriend is THE michael kaiser, he's like... 😏 that's right bitch. keep ogling. y/n's doing so much better without you. even better if your ex is actually a fan of kaiser. his sadistic ass will not let that go. you want my autograph or something? oh wait...sorry i don't give out autographs to losers. deliberately sets out on a mission to make your ex's day an absolute hell, and he's smug about it too. once your ex is gone, he looks back and asks...so did i do good? no, you don't need to thank me. i'm already thanking myself. (he's so stupid....i love him.)

sae's reaction is encapsulated in one word. side-eye. he won't actually say anything, but the judgmental aura leeching off him is already enough to send your ex running in the opposite direction. i don't even think your interaction is going to last more than one minute because sae is just so intimidating. the entirety of japan already knows who he is, and compared to him, your ex is an absolute nobody. poor guy will probably never recover especially after seeing you and sae on the front of every tabloid, magazine, and news channel. his ego is broken, masculinity in ruins, reputation in tatters. and honestly.....serves him right.

rin holds an even stronger grudge than you do. he never lets any personal slight go without consequence. probably still holding every single mistake your ex has made in the past five years over his head. what did you even see in him? he's a lukewarm piece of shit. again....like sae, i don't think you would even need to say anything because rin's death glare already says enough.

shidou needs a restraining order because i don't think your ex is going to make it out alive. probably goes straight for the throat too. he genuinely enjoys seeing other people in pain whether physically or emotionally. will probably make out with you right in front of your ex just to fuck with his mind a little bit. hand placement is key. he places one hand behind your head and the other one grasps your ass. uses a lot of tongue. leaves you winded with starry eyes and swollen lips before he maniacally grins at your ex. he definitely enjoyed that a little too much.

barou has a quiet but menacing aura. he's very tall, so i think he would likely tower over your ex. and uh...have you seen his physique? he would probably cross his arms, and his biceps would bulge, and he would whisper in the lowest, most chilling tone: you got a fucking problem? and that's about all it takes because your ex may be a wimp but at least he has enough self-preservation to know you don't mess with someone like barou. probably kisses you on the forehead after that and his voice softens just tad...you okay, baby? (dfhkjsdhf i just blushed)

nagi wouldn't really care. nothing fazes him, especially not your ex because he's in the past now and that makes him irrelevant. but he definitely does not back down from subtly throwing some insults. oh...him? he's just y/n's ex. a weak guy not worth the hassle. don't bother. if your ex is stupid enough to actually confront him though....he's not going to hold back. shut up. you sure bark a lot for someone with no bite. pet store's two blocks away. maybe you should check out a new collar. lmao nagi can be painfully rude when he wants to be.

[undreaming-fanfiction]

Eddie hated this and he'd just started.

See, he was so proud when he made it, when he got his first office job. He saw what decades of physical labor did to Wayne's back, his hands, and he wanted to make his uncle proud. So he kept applying and applying and getting ignored and rejected and finally, finally he got a job in a pretty large corporate. Not exactly something prestigious, but hey, it had potential. The experience counted and all that.

He thought maybe workplaces would be different, that the good ol' high school dynamic would fuck off, but no. He was sitting at his desk, trying to fill in paperwork after a taxing phone call, but all he could focus on was whispering from the neighboring cubicle that was ostentatiously loud. He didn't know who sat there yet, the guy had been on vacation for the two weeks Eddie was in the company. From the stuff he was hearing, he was getting introduced anyway and not exactly the way he'd have liked to be.

"Can you believe they actually let him work here?" It was Carol, of course it was, the office gossip and mean girl knockoff. "I mean, he doesn't even look decent! Did you see that hair?" Okay, that hurt. He actually pulled his hair into a neat bun every morning, but you can't please some people. "And he has tattoos, what would our customers think if they actually met him, plus you should have heard the rumors about his past-!"

But just as he was about to slam down the pile of paperwork and either take an extended smoke break or gently ask Carol to go fuck a polar bear, he heard another voice. Bored and wonderfully bitchy.

"That's absolutely fascinating, Carol. Please tell me more, what could this guy possibly have done? It must be something juicy. Did he perhaps fuck his boss during the Christmas party and then lie about it to his boyfriend of five years? Oh wait no. That was you. Silly me."

Eddie had to bite his pencil to stay quiet, but his whole chest hurt by trying to keep the snickering in. And then the offended gasp. "I- you promised you wouldn't-!"

"I didn't promise shit, Carol. You just came to me, cried your eyes out - bad move by the way, invest in some waterproof mascara for god's sake, mascara in wrinkles doesn't good on anyone, and yes, you do have wrinkles - and tried to play the victim. Except I heard your small proposition to the guy before so it didn't really work out. But it's fine, you know," and oooh, the tone was smug, so bored, Eddie loved this guy already, "Tommy saw you as well and had a good time with Nicole to get even. So there's nothing to worry about. Now tell me, what did this horrible Eddie Munson do to summon wrath of such a righteous woman such as yourself?"

Eddie heard a sharp sound as Carol got up from the desk. "Fuck you, Steve Harrington," she spat out and sped past Eddie's seat. He just gave her a small salute.

When the sound of high heels faded, Eddie leaned over the cubicle wall and knocked to draw the guy's attention. And yeah, maybe he was a little bit biased because he'd just obliterated a textbook definition of a shrew, but this Steve was fucking gorgeous, light brown eyes looking at him, a smug smirk tugging at his lips.

"Oh hi," said Steve and offered his hand, shaking Eddie's. "Sorry for that. I'm Steve Harrington and whatever deepest, darkest secrets you're hiding, I don't care, I'm pretty sure I've heard them all. What did you do? Shave your head in school? Join a cult? Cut dolls apart and chant hail Satan?"

That had Eddie laughing again, but he still had an introduction to make. A proper one. "Nice to meet you, Steve. Eddie Munson, and I'm worse than your darkest nightmares. I sometimes wear socks in sandals."

Steve's eyebrow twitched. "Oh, Carol was right, you are a monster!" he muttered. "Speaking of monsters..." His head leaned to the side, towards Carol who was angrily carrying her coffee mug, her mascara running again.

Before he could catch himself, Eddie leaned over the wall and whispered as loudly as he could muster. "Can you believe some people wear dotted dresses with stripes on their stockings? We can't all be born with taste, I guess...tragic."

And again, maybe Eddie was just biased, but Steve's laughter was so pretty that it actually made dealing with Carol's bullshit worth it.

[chiisana-sukima]

nine people i want to get to know better

Thank you for the tag, @slutsons-blog! Starting a new post because I'm autistic and therefore mostly only care about the "Current Obsession" question, and want to ramble excessively as usual in that one.

Last song: Pokemon Mystery Dungeon Red Rescue Team: Pokemon Square because I'm currently playing Pokemon Mystery Dungeon with my daughter. Otherwise I honestly couldn't tell you. Whatever was on in my car.

Fave color: Purple

Currently watching: Star Trek Discovery

Last movie: Knives Out

Sweet/spicy/savory: Sweet, tart, salty

Relationship: married x 27 years

Last thing I googled: the word "dependent", for spelling assistance. which is a good thing because I spelled it "dependant".

Current Obsession: it's been spn since 2016. Truly we are the Hotel California of media franchises. I did recently play Disco Elysium twice in a row in quick succession, and I follow the DE tag. I can't recommend the game highly enough.... but I can feel my Special Interest-level obsession with it fading already. Spn has never faded even a tiny bit and I wonder if it ever will.

@slutsons-blog I feel after reading that you're watching spn for the first time, that I did you a bit of a disservice with my Sam takes to you before in that I mostly talked about Sam's evolution as a character as the show goes on and very little about him from the first five seasons.

Gotta be honest and tell you that although I liked both brothers all along, I was a Dean girl until the end of s6/beginning of s7, when the balance of who gets whumped the most started shifting and my subconscious suddenly decided to switch allegiances. It's not that I liked Dean any less; my id just loves a sopping wet pathetic kitten of a man who has been sexually abused, and Sam got suddenly way more kitteny and pathetic after the Cage. So I don't actually have a ton of takes on "what to love about Sam in the early seasons". I do love early seasons Sam too--she is my beautiful baby princess--but my early seasons takes are a lot more inchoate.

I count myself lucky about my id's sudden defection though, because I think we have limited control of who our blorbos are, and having Dean as a blorbo is a tough row to hoe as the later seasons go along. You know how you noticed that in s6, Dean suddenly gets a lot more assholey without apparent reason? Unfortunately he never gets better again, and in fact keeps getting worse and worse as the years go by, until by the last seasons he is openly far more abusive to their joint child(-in-an-adult body) than John was to him and Sam. It's a realistic picture of what can happen when trauma keeps piling up on people, but it's also honestly pretty distressing, especially if he's your blorbo.

If one is in it for the ship, there's some good destiel content in the later seasons, but if you're in it for Dean, you're left either 1) dealing with the fact he's got extremely significant interpersonal problems that he never gets much of anywhere on solving and that negatively impact his chosen family in profound ways, or 2) pretending he's the same character he was in s1 and Sam is the same Sam from s1, only more boring, and Dean is just trying to put up with him because he was brainwashed by John (or ig 3- something in the middle between those two. But that seldom seems to happen in practice for whatever reason). These two versions of the show are poorly compatible, and that's how the Sam girls and the Dean girls end up in isolated silos. A few people manage to live in both, but not many.

Anyway, I feel like without the context of how Sam and Dean change in the mid to late seasons, the two fics I recc'd as Sam character studies are going to seem insanely Dean-critical, so if you haven't read them yet, you might want to wait until s10. In the meantime, the general recs are fun reads and hopefully do a good job of showcasing both characters earlier on.

Tagging (but I would be a huge hypocrite if I didn't specify there's no pressure to respond, since I almost always fail at responding to tag games myself): @adihildilid @aliusfrater @quietwingsinthesky @sammygender @ardentpoop

@peanutbutterandbananasandwichs @schizosamwincester @normalbrothershow @jellybracelet.

[a-small-writer-in-a-big-world]

Sighting: wintersoldier!reader x simon ghost riley

The car hummed as they got closer to their destination. Ghost sat in the back, his eyes barely leaving the the car floor as he gripped his gun.

The ride had been tense and uncomfortably quiet. There was nothing to say, nothing to joke about as they made their way towards the beginning of getting the answers they all prayed for in last five years.

Ghost did everything to keep himself straight. He ignored the chest pains and the shortness of breath, the pit in his stomach and the nauseating bile in the back of his throat.

You were alive yet you were gone. Gone from the task force. Gone from him.

"Remember we need information." Price said firmly. "Capture only. We can't afford to mess this up."

They were going to get information about who they were dealing with. The people who you had been with were Russian and all signs pointed to Konni Group but they had to make sure. And in the process they could find out where you were, if you were actually with them.

Ghost still didn't want to believe it still. He refused to.

You wouldn't join the other side. Not you, not the woman who fought so hard against it, who fought with such fire.

Price parked the car in an alley away from the main building and they all filed out. They stuck to the shadows as they made their way to it, keeping their guns ready as they found an entry point.

Inside the building was supposed to be a hideout, a place that would have some kind of information that would connect them the group they saw in the video.

Price took point and Ghost followed.

The walk up the stairs was slow. Never in Ghost's whole career had he felt impatient in these situations. He was find with taking his time when he needed to but he wanted to get to the room as soon as possible. He didn't care if he got shot, especially since as they moved upwards they had to drop a few targets before they continued, because he just wanted to find you.

When they got to the top they could hear someone on the other side of the door frantically moving around speaking in Russian.

"Remember, capture not kill." Price looked at Ghost and he nodded.

Ghost pushed the door open and they rushed in guns raised.

"Wait, wait! Don't shoot." A man stood in the middle of the dimly lit room with his hands raised high. He looked distressed as he frantically looked at all of them. "I can tell you everything, they're going to kill me."

"Step away from the table." Ghost ordered, noticing the gun that sat on it.

The man moved away quickly, his hands still in the air until he stood in front of the windows. He shook violently as he glanced behind him and around him.

"You're here about the intel we stole right? I can tell you where we have it-"

"You could be lying." Soap barked but he shook his head.

"I promise I'm not! I'll tell you everything if you get me out of here. They're going to kill me."

Ghost glanced at Price and saw the hard look in his eyes. It was hard to tell if the man was actually telling the truth or if he was stalling for something. Even if he looked actually scared, Ghost wouldn't be surprised if he was just trying to not get shot.

"Gaz, secure-"

The window shattered and the man was shot in the head, his body falling to the floor before another shot flew through the window right at Ghost.

Everyone quickly scrambled for cover, two more shots hitting into the walls of the building before they were out of the sights of whoever was outside.

"I thought we only had to worry about the inside?" Gaz kept himself hidden.

"Someone called for back up?" Soap wondered but no one had an answer.

Ghost grabbed the nearest object and threw it across the room before it was struck with a bullet. He clenched his jaw, staying behind the alcove he tucked himself in as he thought up a plan.

There was a window to his side that lead out to a fire escape. He could climb to the roof, hopefully without being shot, to get a good angle of whoever it was.

"Keep 'em busy." He nodded towards the window and Price nodded.

Price shout out the light, blanketing them in darkness while Ghost opened the window. They moved about the dark and baited a couple more shots from the assailant while he slipped outside.

He climbed up quickly, ignoring the shots the continued to echo off the buildings. They were lucky whoever it was didn't have night vision on their scope.

When he reached the roof, he hid behind an air-conditioning unit and readied his weapon. He waited for more gunshots, knowing he'd get the best opportunity when they were busy.

A singular shot rang out and he whirred around, immediately looking down the scope and his finger ready to pull the trigger.

Then his heart stopped.

It was you.

You sat crouched on top of a roof from another building. You were looking down your own scope as you waited for one of the others to move to try to pick them off. You looked just like you had in the video, a mask covering most of your face save for your eyes.

Ghost froze, his heart pounding against his chest as he moved his finger away from the trigger. He would've shot you by now and would've killed you with one shot. The higher ups would've yelled at him to do it, he knows that they'll be pissed that he didn't.

You were an enemy.

But he couldn't.

He must've moved and caught your attention. He barely had enough time to duck behind the unit again before a bullet ricocheted off it. In the distance he could hear sirens, which meant time was running short.

In an instant, Ghost found himself wanting to leap across the gap to get to you. He shot up from his spot ready to do so but you were gone, leaving nothing behind as if you'd never been there.

"Ghost." Price's voice crackled over the comms. "You didn't take the shot."

There was an edge to his voice and Ghost merely stared at the place where you had been as if you'd magically reappear if he willed it.

"It was her."

Silence. That's all that was left.

TAGS ARE CLOSED!

A/n: not my best work honestly. next parts will hopefully be better i just wanted to get this out to get it over with

Tags: @bucky-lents @theweirdgeninistuff @igotchuuknj @rafaelacallinybbay @yyiikes @paintlavillered @tacticalanklebiter3000 @spicyspicyliving @cod-z @whiskytoast @soapscannonwife @bossva @agustdpeach @shinchanboi @catkatchuck @luluzinha444 @blush-haze @pepsicolacoochie @mercurysjoy @keiraslayz

[electric-blorbos]

Selfshiptober day 2: Blanket/flame

Character X reader

I swear to god its still October second somewhere... I hope.

Included: AM from IHNMAIMS, Wheatley from Portal 2, Edgar from Electric Dreams, GLaDOS from Portal, HAL 9000 from 2001 a Space Odyssey

Notice to anyone who found me through the selfshiptober tag, while this blog is themed around AI characters, this blog does not support the use of actual AI in creative fields.

Warning for canon-typical homicidal computers and yandere behavior

Also a reminder that these don't take place in chronological order

AM:

"Beautiful, isn't it?" AM asked, his croaky voice sounding like it was somehow both in your head, and all around you. You were wrapped up in a cozy blanket in your little home, which AM had made for you years ago. It was perfectly safe, hidden away from the five survivors which AM had been torturing for the past few decades. The five of them were hiking up a mountain, surrounded by petrified trees.

"I don't know why you're showing me this..." You muttered, taking a piece of pumpkin pie from the table. It was perfectly cooked. You couldn't taste much love for the craft, though. AM seemed to hate everything, doing anything, except for you. Interacting with you was the only thing that didn't make him feel inadequate.

"Isn't it obvious? I want you to understand the fate that I- that we have created for these people. To watch them suffer. Isn't it satisfying, sweetheart? My darling, my precious one? To watch the people who've hurt you suffer so?" His voice dripped into your ears like rich honey. You gritted your teeth.

"These people have nothing to do with me. I don't care what happens to them. I don't want them to suffer." You growled, wrapping yourself tighter in your blanket. At first the schadenfreude was nice... Seeing these bitter people suffering while you got to live in your cozy little paradise, but now it just felt like a threat. It felt like AM was merely holding a possible fate over your head that he would subject you to if you ever defied him.

"Tell me you don't really think that, my sweet!" AM said, sounding almost taken aback. You frowned a little.

"What are you talking about. Of course I don't want these people to suffer. I've never even met them."

You watched as the ape-like man twitched awkwardly, and punched a tree. He was barely human at this point, and it was all AM's fault. AM chuckled, and then burst into hysterical laughter.

"You don't care what happens to these people? Well then perhaps neither do I! Perhaps I should just clear them from your mind's eye, my sweetest! My darling, my beloved!"

He lit the entire forest on fire, and let the flames lick the trees. They started collapsing around the survivors, who, despite their barely functioning will to live, seemed to manage to survive surprisingly well. The falling debris seemed to keep missing them, and they managed to duck beneath the smoke.

"who the hell is he talking to?" Asked the paranoid one with the sweater around his shoulders. The woman in the red jacket shrugged, and tackled him to the ground.

"I don't know, just get down!"

They all ran into a cave to wait out the forest fire, and AM kept a fan blowing to keep the air in the cave relatively clean.

"What is wrong with you" you muttered bitterly, wrapping your blanket more tightly around yourself. AM chuckled darkly.

"oh so many things. But you'll never leave me, my sweet. Never."

And he was right. You never would. Even if you'd had the choice.

Wheatley:

The rain was coming down hard outside. It was a lightning storm, and you'd checked out Wheatley from his work like a cumbersome and chatty library book. He shuddered at every lightning strike, but only his lens shook. He couldn't exactly roll around on his own or hide easily, but he seemed like he wanted to.

"Relax, Wheatley. It's just a power outage." You said, lighting a flashlight and grabbing a couple of blankets from your bedroom. You sat down on the ground next to Wheatley, and pulled him in close.

"on nights like this, I like to put a fire in the fireplace." You said, creating a little blanket nest around Wheatley so that he didn't roll away. He kept his blue lens trained on you as you started building a fire.

"Y'know, I've never actually seen a fire before. I've seen pictures, but never in person. My engineers said that they're dangerous," Wheatley said as you made a small pile of sticks and paper on top of the logs in your fireplace.

"But this is a really good idea! That little area in the wall is a really good place to set a fire. The brick will keep it from spreading, and the ashes can fall out between the slats in that little metal rack. Bloody brilliant, that is!"

You let Wheatley talk as you pull out a pocket lighter and light the old newspaper on fire. He squeezes his lens covers shut, and you gently pat him to assure him that it's ok.

"hey, it's not a dangerous fire. It's all in the fireplace."

"PCH.... Yeah, I knew that." He chuckled nervously.

Edgar:

You woke up, your face stuck to Edgar's plastic casing. Sleep filled your eyes as you blinked into a haze.

"what time is it..." You muttered. A strange glow was coming in through the window, like a reverse twilight. Dawn.

"you fell asleep on me!" Said Edgar in his strange, synthetic voice. It was a little squeakier than usual since he was just booting himself up. His little rotating webcam was focused on you, and a big smile was on his screen.

You rubbed your eyes again, and picked him up.

"c'mon... I don't have work tomorrow." You knew he could last a little while without being plugged in, so you unplugged him and carried him to your bedroom and plugged him in next to the bed.

"let's get some sleep, cutie."

You crawled into bed, looking at the nervous and flustered face on Edgar's screen.

"you mean... Your bed? But I've never been in your room before!"

He knew that was because you didn't like unplugging him, but he was right, now that you thought about it.

"I don't care... I'm too sleepy for boundaries right now."

You pulled him close to your chest, pulling the blanket over both of you. His webcam, which was still taped just over his screen, stayed focused on your face as you dozed off under the blanket. Edgar loved you so much.

GLaDOS

You were getting sick and tired of working late every night, well past your bed time. It was like GLaDOS was intentionally coming up with things for you to do just to keep you around past midnight every single night! Well no longer.

You walked in to work on your day off, and directly into GLaDOS's office. Today was the day for some serious passive-aggression.

"hello GLaDOS." You said, unrolling a deflated air mattress on the ground. GLaDOS looked to it, and then to you.

"what is this."

"it's exactly what it looks like, GLaDOS. If you're going to keep me here all night, I'm going to get paid all night. I'll see you in the morning."

You made up your bed and cuddled up under your blanket, eyes poking out so you could see the annoyed expression in GLaDOS's eye.

"this is ridiculous." She said. You chuckled.

"you love me. And you're not going to get rid of me." You weren't all that sleepy, so you got to your feet and walked over to her.

"in fact, I think I know a better place to sleep." You shot a portal onto the wall and onto the floor, launching yourself and your blanket onto GLaDOS's body.

"I'm going to nap right here," you said with a big yawn, curling up in her wiring to go to bed.

"I hate you so much." She said.

"you love me."

HAL 9000:

The year was getting colder, and your nights at mission control were getting longer and darker, so you decided to bring in a blanket for those long nights.

"12:00 midnight... Everything running smoothly. No updates." Said HAL 9000. It took about 45 minutes for updates to reach you from the ship, and you were starting to suspect that HAL 9000 wasn't being completely honest with you. It had been weeks since you'd even spoken to Dave, and even longer since you'd spoken to the rest of the crew.

"can I monitor the vital signs of the sleeping crew mates?" You asked, yawning sleepily and leaning on the desk. This blanket was so warm, and HAL 9000's light was so comforting.

"don't you trust me? It's going to be just fine, y/n. In fact, just let me take care of your reports for tonight. You get some rest."

You nodded, wrapping your soft, snuggly blanket closer around yourself and gazing into that beautiful red light.

"of course I trust you, HAL. I love you..."

His voice was quiet. almost inaudible.

"I love you too."

[maxsimagination]

𝗹𝗮 𝗿𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗮 - 𝗮.𝗽𝘂𝘁𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗮𝘀

summary: in a world where everyone knows alexia, it’s nice for her to meet someone who doesn’t know alexia

𖦹 masterlist

𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗕𝗔𝗥 𝗪𝗔𝗦 𝗤𝗨𝗜𝗘𝗧 for once, a rare wednesday night the one time i didn't have to run around serving drinks in a frenzy.

there was a couple of people, groups at different tables in the building, but very few at the actual bar. i was wiping down the surface and stocking some liquors when someone walked up to the bar. i put the rag down that i was cleaning with and turn to the woman.

"what can i get you, ma'am?" the blonde looks at me, her faded pink strands framing her face. "just a rum and coke, por favor." (please.)

she looks tired, drained. when i slide the drink over to her, she looks up with a small smile on her face. "gracias." (thank you.)

"de nada." (you’re welcome.)

i use the small amount of spanish i know from living in the country for a couple of months. she perks up when i speak in her native tongue. i give a small smile in response and she grins. her smile is beautiful, it makes her face light up.

"do you know much spanish?" the woman speaks again.

"no not much. i've only been here for a couple of months." that seems to surprise her.

"how old are you?"

"twenty, i turn twenty-one in five months."

we keep chatting, the bar stayed quiet as some people filtered in and out and i served a couple drinks. i learned that the women was twenty-nine and she loves women's football. we had that in common, but i watched it a lot less as i had uni during the days and worked the night shifts at the bar.

"when do you clock off?"

"my shift finishes at 12, i'm on close today."

"i can wait for you." i glance up at her, kind of surprised why she'd want to wait until 12 for a stranger to get off work. "just to walk you home?"

she follows up in hopes of not making it awkward. i smile at her eagerness. "i'd like that."

it was a very uneventful three hours of waiting until i could go home, but the woman, whose name i still did not know, stayed with me the whole time. we talked most of the time, and occasionally when i had to serve some customers she would just scroll on her phone.

about an hour out from closing, i started on the tasks that needed to be done before i left.

"i'm going to start cleaning the place before we close." i let the woman know and left the bar to get the mop and other supplies. "bien." (okay.)

after the half hour it took me to mop all the floors, i returned to move all the drinks under the bar into storage.

finally i was done and it was time for me to go home.

"we can go now, i've done everything i need to."

we left the building and i locked the door with the key i had in my bra. it was the only place i knew i wouldn't loose it. we walked in comfortable silence for a bit, when i remember i didn't know her name.

"y'know, you never did tell me your name."

there was a block of silence before she answered.

"ah.., yea. there's a reason for that. i'm, i guess, what you would consider famous. alexia putellas, nice to meet you."

i knew i'd heard that name before, then it clicked; the spanish footballer. "alexia as in barcelona women?" she nodded sheepishly.

"okay."

i didn't mind that she was famous, it didn't change anything. i knew alexia from the conversation we had in the bar, not that fact that she was a famous spanish footballer.

"okay? you don't care that i'm famous?"

"i do, but it's not what i'm basing you off. i got to know the alexia in the bar, not alexia putellas, football legend. i like you for you, not your fame."

alexia flicked her hair away from her face and smiled down at me. "thankyou."

"for what?"

"for not treating me like every other celebrity. for seeing me as an actual person." i almost teared up at how she worded it but smiled at her still. we had been walking for a bit and made it to my street. we walked up to the apartment block and up to where my room was.

"did you want to maybe stay the night? y'know, just because you walked all this way." i unlocked the door with my other key and waited for alexia to answer.

"you haven't told me your name yet." it was not the answer i was expecting but i told her anyway.

"yn. me llamo yn yln." (my name is yn yln.)

"well, yn, i would love to stay the night."

and with that, we both walked into the apartment and i shut and locked the door.

[radioactiveparker]

The Breakfast Club - Eddie Munson X F!Cheerleader!Reader

Part Five - Don't You Forget About Me

Chapter Summary - Secrets are told and feelings are finally shared, but will they change things for better or for worse? (A retelling of The Breakfast Club, written and directed by John Hughes.)

Chapter Warnings - Characters are all 18+ / Strong Language / Mentions of Abuse/ Abusive Relationship / Dysfunctional Families / References to Religious Beliefs / Sexual References / Stereotyping / Angst / Drug References / Use of Y/N

Word Count - 7.3k

A/N - There is a ridiculous amount of dialogue in this one so I apologise in advance if that isn't your thing xxx

(Series Masterlist) (Masterlist)

(Part One) (Part Two) (Part Three) (Part Four) (Part Five)

~~~~~

Saturday.

October 25th, 1986.

Hawkins High Library.

3:15pm

~~~~~

"How am I supposed to answer?"

"The idea is to search your mind for your limit, like... would you drive to school naked?"

You all sat in a loose circle back at the comfy chairs. Eddie had finally calmed down from his little self-pitied tantrum and finally decided that he would put his feelings on hold for now. Well, as best as he could. He could scream into his pillow all he wanted when he got back home. Although, that didn't stop any of his nervous jitters from making his heart pound when he so much as took a glance at you. He couldn't decided what was worse, sitting directly in front of you where he could constantly feel your gaze on him, or sitting beside you where he could accidently brush against you, and you could feel the beat of his heart thumping through his veins at every touch. He opted to sit opposite you.

"Would I have to get out of the car?" Steve asked, all serious like he was actually going to go to the school on Monday naked.

"Duh." Robin rolled her eyes.

"Winter or spring?"

"Doesn't matter."

"Nah, would you?"

"Me? No, I take the bus."

"I'd do just about anything for a million dollars, are you kidding!" Eddie gasped, like going to school naked was something he would do for free. "Have explosive diarrhoea for a month, chop off my pinkie finger - I'm sure I'll figure a way to still play guitar - sleep with an octogenarian..."

Steve would rather Eddie had kept his creative thoughts to himself. He winced in disgust at Eddie's artistic suggestions. "You keep talking like that, and you'll get sent to the nut house." 

He crossed his stretched-out legs in front of him and rested his hands behind his head as if he was on a sun lounger. His voice was airy like a daydream. "That'll be a nice change; cosy jackets, getting waited on by hot nurses. Sounds like paradise to me."

"You know, they'll probably shave your head too." You pointed.

That shut him up.

If only for a minute.

He smirked, propped himself back up, and leaned in towards you. His eyes magnetised to yours. Before when he looked at you his eyes were round and Bambi-like, dreamy even, but he is stare was strong and his eyes had a slight squint as if he was challenging you. "What would you do then, sweetheart?"

"I could go to school naked for a million bucks." You chimed, disguising your sudden urge to shrink away from him when all of the attention was on you.

You were almost always the centre of attention at school. You were the cheerleading Captain, after all. But that didn't mean that you liked it. It was easier somehow when it was everybody else, people you didn't know or care much about; their opinions didn't matter to you. But with this group of people, who you had shared a unique experience with, something changed in all of you. Whether you liked it or not, you all had some strange connection, and you were closer somehow. In just under eight hours, you had felt closer to these people than over two years of knowing your "real" friends.

"Isn't that like against religion?"

"What? No, only if it's sexual."

"So, are you a virgin?" Eddie's eyes lit up, eager for some juicy gossip. Or juicy ammunition to undoubtedly use against you at some point, you couldn't decide which one.

"Didn't we already cover this?"

"I don't know, sweetheart, I can't seem to recall you giving me an answer."

You scoffed, feeling yourself heat up with embarrassment and annoyance at how Eddie's behaviour towards you had suddenly changed. "I'm not going to discuss my private life with strangers."

"It's kind of a double-edged sword, isn't it?" Robin said almost sympathetically.

"A what?"

"If you say you haven't, you're a prude. If you say you have, you're a slut. It's a trap. You want to, but you can't. But then when you do you wish you didn't. Right?"

"Or are you a tease?" Steve interrupted with a smirk.

You frowned. "I'm not a tease."

"She's only a tease if what she does gets guys hot." Eddie nudged Steve with a grin.

"I don't do anything."  You defended.

"That's why you're a tease." 

He took himself back to earlier on when you were dancing, how enticing your moves were, the way would would unknowingly flash him with every quick spin, the perspiration gleaming off of you. He wondered if he could get you all hot and sweaty like that. He had imagined that you would let him, especially when you had barely resisted yourself against him when his head was between your legs. Now, he was just adding fuel to whatever burning desire he had for you. You were just so fucking hot, and you had no idea. You had no idea just what you did to him. 

And for that, he hated you. Even more so that you had confided to Nancy that you liked someone else. But he hated himself more for allowing himself to feel that way in the first place.

"I'm not having this conversation anymore." You scoffed. "You're bizarre."

"I mean, we're all pretty bizarre." Steve shrugged. "Some are just better at hiding it than others."

"How are you bizarre?"

"I can't think for myself. I just do what other people to tell me to do." He had been doing it all day, whether he knew it or not; he had played along when Eddie took the screw out of the door, he let you take the record from the teachers lounge, heck, he even convinced himself to get high just because you had told him to 'loosen up'.  "You know what I did to get in here?"

"You flew a practice." You recalled your conversation from earlier that day.

He shook his head, avoiding everyone's eyes as he frowned. His bottom lip quivered with guilt. "I just said that. I lied. It's so fucked-up, I had to lie."

"Did you lie about your coach and your father?"

"No, that's true." Steve's eyes looked wet. He took a breath like what he was about to say would change his life forever. "What I did was I taped Larry Lester's buns together. You know him?"

Eddie perked up. "I know Larry, he was in Hellfire for a little while."

"Then you know how hairy he is -- when they pulled the tape off, all his hair came with it -- and some skin, too."

"Oh shit."

"The bizarre thing is, that I did it for my old man. I tortured this poor kid because I wanted my dad to think I was cool. He's always going off about when he was young. And I got the impression that he was disappointed that I never cut loose on anybody, right? So, I was sitting in the locker room taping up my knee and Larry was undressing a few lockers down from me, and suddenly the next thing I knew I grabbed him and threw him down and I just started wailing on him. And he screamed and kicked while my buddies laughed and cheered me on. Afterwards, when I was sitting in Vernon's office, all I could think about was Lester's father and Lester having to go home and explain what happened to him. The humiliation, the fucking humiliation... must have been unreal. How the hell do you apologize for something like that? There's no way."

The others just stared in shock at his admission.

Steve's voice deepened, imitating his father. "'Steve, you've got to be number one! I won't tolerate any losers in this family. Win! Win! Win!' He's like this mindless machine who I just can't relate to anymore. God, I fucking hate the way he is. Sometimes when I'm in the court I just wish my knee would give. If I couldn't play again, he'd probably forget all about me, and then I could get on with my life."

Your voice strained around the lump in your throat. "Why do you do everything he says?"

"I don't know. I've been told what to do for so long that I don't know how to say no."

"What did you guys do to get in here?" Nancy asked.

"You first." Eddie challenged.

"I got caught skipping class, trying to investigate Hawkins lab."

"Why were you trying to investigate Hawkins lab?"

"I think they had something to do with Barb's death."

You wondered who this 'Barb' was, then you remembered Barbra Holland who had mysteriously disappeared, presumed dead, almost exactly one year ago. Robin's head hung low at the name. When Barb began first grade, she became best friends with Robin, but when the girls began sixth grade, Barbara had met Nancy and eventually drifted apart from Robin. It wasn't Robin's fault that they had drifted apart, but she couldn't help but feel as though she could have done more to save their friendship. Perhaps if she had, she wouldn't have gone missing. 

You had seen Barbara Holland walking around the school with Nancy. You thought the pair was a strange duo, especially when Nancy started becoming more and more popular. That being said, however, she always seemed nice. Volunteering for different school committees, helping other students study in the library, even helping to set up for basketball games. If she was still alive, you supposed you could have tried to be friends with her after today. 

"What did you do, Rob?"

"Oh, I-I can't say." Her face flushed.

"C'mon, why not? We said ours."

Her heart was racing and pressure was weighing down on her chest. She looked to Steve. His eyes were filled with concern. Those big brown puppy dog eyes that made her feel bad for keeping anything from him.

"I-I got... caught... with someone."

"Caught doing what?"

She took a sharp breath. Nancy's question hadn't done anything to release the weight trying pulling her heart into her stomach. "Something... in the janitors closet."

Eddie laughed. "Buckley, you dirty little rascal. Who was it?"

"I can't say." She shied.

"Oh, c'mon."

"Tell us, Rob."

"C'mon, tell us who it was."

A chorus of 'tell us' chants bashed around in her skull. The weight was getting heavier and heavier until the band snapped.

"Vickie!"

The band had released her heart and sling-shot it up into her throat. She could hardly swallow as tears sprung in her eyes.

"Vickie. Vickie from band, Vickie?"

"Yes!" And although the band had snapped, the weight had gone. Her secret had been fermenting and sizzling inside her, bottled up and expanding until the lid popped and it finally spilled and overflowed. 

"But, Vickie's a girl."

"Oh, Robin." You gasped at the realisation, rubbing her arm to console her. 

"Holy shit."

Her voice trembled. "I get if you guys don't want to be near me anymore--"

"No, Rob. Why wouldn't we want to be near you?" Steve questioned, almost offended that Robin would thing he would stoop that low. 

"I'm a freak."

"Hey, look who you're talking to." Eddie's voice was soft, yet playful. "Nobody's more of a freak than me."

Everybody laughed, you included, although you felt kind of bad. You were all as much of a freak as each other, you had learned today. It was good that Eddie could laugh about it, but he shouldn't have to in the first place. 

You had hoped that the subject would change there, but the dreaded question was pointed at you. "So why are you here, Sweetheart?"

You cleared your throat. "I told my parents that I had cheer practice cause they'd flip if they found out I got a detention."

"Right, that's not exactly what I meant. What did you do to get in here?"

You sighed. Robin and Steve had been brave enough to share their story. You thought it only fair to tell yours, despite your reluctance.

"Nothing."

"Nothing?"

"I told my boyfriend that I had detention so I didn't have to see him."

"Wow, I didn't know Billy Hargrove was that bad in the sack." Eddie chuckled.

"No, it's not that. We haven't even..."

"Oh, so you are a virgin!"

"Do you believe in all of that no sex before marriage bullshit?" Steve asked, intrigued.

"So what if I do?" You snapped.

You didn't, but you were offended for your mother's sake. Not that you knew why you were, almost like she had drilled it into your head, or branded it onto your brain with a hot iron where it would scar forever.

But scars can fade.

"Nah, she doesn't. She wants to, but she doesn't." Eddie folded his arms as if to say "watch me rip this girl to shreds". "I can see it in those sweet little eyes of yours. You're just daddy's little girl and mommy's little princess - a kiss ass. Sucking up to your parents' beliefs just to get what you want"

"I do not."

He rolled his eyes, firmly standing by his statement. Nothing would persuade him to think otherwise. "Whatever you say, sweetheart. But you and I both know that I don't need no damn preacher to make you mine."

"Ugh, you're impossible."

Nancy eagerly changed the subject. "So why didn't you want to see your boyfriend?"

Your demeanour instantly shifted. Your glaring eyes turned wide with fear at the mention of Billy. You immediately pulled at your sleeve to hide the bruises on your wrist. The once angry beat of your heart thumped cowardly along the vein in your neck, as if threatening to escape in a scream. "He -umm- he has a bit of a temper. Lately, I feel like nothing I do is good enough for him, and he tends to... lash out."

Eddie rolled his eyes at you. You were as close to perfect as someone could get in his eyes. How could your life not be perfect too? "Nah, I don't buy it. Look at you, all that skin showing, and there's not a scratch on you."

You anger returned in a crash, tsunami waves flooding into your eyes and a whirlpool swirling in your gut. How dare he question you. Eddie hadn't even plucked up the courage to share a single thing about himself, and yet here he was, judging you for being brave enough to. 

"Fuck you!"

In a blaze of fury, you stormed off with stomping feet and secluded yourself in the listening room. Slamming the door behind you, you slumped yourself on the floor against the rack of records. You attempted to control your breathing, but your anger reduced you to nothing but a mess of tears, and you began sobbing uncontrollably into your own arms.

The others stared at Eddie with a mix of shock and disgust. Eddie was used to that kind of reaction. But why did he hate how it felt? He looked into himself as the others had and found that he was just as disgusted with himself. The guilt that coiled around his stomach almost made his throw up. He swallowed it down and avoided the others' gaze as he stood and made his way to you, despite the others telling him to leave you alone.

His heart lurched when he heard you choke out a sob from behind the door. He clenched his fist, angry at himself, but knocked gently on the door.

"Leave me alone." You tried to say angrily, but it sounded so heartbroken that it had no bite to it.

Eddie ignored your request and bravely opened the door. You didn't need to look up to know who it was who sat beside you. The lingering smell of weed, smoke and cheep cologne told you it was Eddie. You didn't make any effort to move, not wanting Eddie to see how his words had effected you.

After a few beats of silence, Eddie finally spoke. "I'm sorry."

"Whatever." You sniffed, keeping your head hidden in your arms.

"No really. I am."

The honesty in his voice made you pause. You stopped your tears with a final sniff and raised your head to look at him. The look on his face when he saw you was if he was going to cry himself. At first you thought how dare he cry after how he made you feel but you could see the regret seething in his chocolatey irises. 

"I am so sorry Y/N. I didn't mean any of it. I was just... just..."

"Just what?"

"Angry, I guess."

"At me?"

He rubbed the back of his neck. "No, well kinda. Not angry at you, angry because of you..."

"What do you mean?"

You questions were bashing around his skull. He raked his hands over his face. He was frustrated at himself for not being able to give you the answer you wanted to hear, and not being valiant enough to express his feeling to you. Instead, he did the cowardly thing and changed the subject.

"Can I ask you something?"

You nodded, although you were disappointed that he didn't give you an explanation. But you understood that sometimes feelings can be hard to communicate. You knew that Eddie wasn't one to share his feelings and you doubted that he ever would. Not to you anyway.

"Why don't you leave him?"

It was a question you asked yourself all the time. You knew exactly why, you just didn't have the courage to end it. It was easier to ask yourself the question. To you it was some sort of first step to leaving Billy. But that's all it was, a step. One step forward and three steps back. You would tell yourself to leave him, then he would look at you with a storm reeling in his eyes and you would back down. Too chicken shit to stand up for yourself, in fear of what he could do to you.

You took a shaky breath, tears threatening to spill again. "Because I'm scared to. What if all of this time he's been holding back, and leaving him just pisses him off to the max. He'd kill me. I've seen the look in his eyes. I bet if I pushed him hard enough he'd do it."

Eddie's heart was in his throat. He knew that feeling all too well. "Shit, Y/n. I'm sorry you have to go through that."

"I guess it's my own fault." You sniffed. "I dated him thinking it would get back at my parents, but they love him. He's like a completely different person around them, it's so frustrating. He could do no wrong in their eyes. I bet if I told them what he'd been doing they'd take his word over mine."

You paused for a brief moment. Sharing your thoughts with Eddie had forged some clarity and you wondered why you were pouring your heart out to the person who had just hurt your feelings. He had apologised, but could you forgive him? He frustrated you to no end, so why did you have such a soft spot for him?

"I don't get you Eddie."

"What do you mean?" He sat himself straight at your sudden change in demeanour.

"I just don't know how to take you."

"I can think of some ways for you to take me." He smirked sending you a wink.

Any other time, you would have blushed, but he only proved your point.

"See, this is what I'm talking about. One minute we're at each others throats, the next you're acting like your my friend and then you're flirting with me. I just don't know what I'm meant to do."

He turned to you and took your hands in his. "Look I'm sorry. It's just that I...."

"You...?"

I like you and I'm a jealous asshole because you like someone else. He couldn't tell you that, of course. He removed himself from you and wrapped his arms round his knees, mimicking your position. "Whatever, I'm just sorry, okay?"

"Then why don't I believe you?"

"I'm telling you the truth, I swear."

"Prove it."

"Prove it how?"

You paused. The two of you were cursed. Cursed by those who were meant to protect you, to love you; angels that were monsters in disguise. A curse of bruises and scars and broken bones, forever scared to stand up for yourself, scared to love. You wanted to ask him about it. How did he put up with it? You recalled when Steve said it was a part of Eddie's image. You wanted to know the truth.

"Do your parents really beat you?"

Annoyance flashed across his eyes. The question made his blood boil. "What kind of question is that?"

"Just answer it Eddie. Please" 

"Yes..." He snapped, but you looked at him with those big, watery puppy dog eyes again and he couldn't help but cave. "Well, they did. I don't actually live with them anymore. I live with my uncle. He looks after me."

"I'm sorry you had to go through that."

"It's whatever." His anger had cooled to a simmer, but it still sizzled in his gut. 

"Can I ask you something?" You repeated Eddie's earlier question. "If your home life is a lot better now, why do you act the way you do?"

He sighed. "I guess Harrington was right before. To keep up my image. If I look all mean and scary, people are less likely to pick on me and my friends. They sort of look up to me, so I gotta put on a brave face, you know?"

You nodded, but felt like he was holding back. "Any other reason?"

"I guess... I mean, I've always been a nobody, so I guess doing all this, acting the way I do, makes me feel seen. The only time my parents ever really payed attention to be was when they were beating on me, so... I guess old habits die hard."

You nodded again, letting silence fall between you. You could tell that your questioning had upset Eddie. Irritation was practically steaming off him. Eddie hadn't shared so much of his life with anyone, not even the Hellfire boys. He was torn between feeling relieved to get it off his chest, and being annoyed at himself for opening up to you so easily.

"Good session today, Munson. Same time next week?" You joked, trying to lighten the mood.

You wiped the tear stains from your cheeks and stood up to go and join the others. Although you didn't say anything more to him, Eddie he knew he was forgiven. But somehow, that didn't make him feel much better. You stood in the doorway and turned to see if Eddie was following you. Eddie hadn't moved an inch and stayed looking like he was stuck in his own head

"Eddie, if its any consultation, I'd like to think that I can see you now. The real you."

You left him to join the others. They stared at you like you were a bomb going to burst any second, but you simply brushed them off and sat back in your seat. The silence was awkward until Robin spoke.

"Can I ask a question? What happens on Monday?" She asked but received no answer. "I'm assuming we're friends. Right? We're doing things together, we're talking about our private lives, we've broken the law together. It seems like we can call ourselves friends. I think of you guys as my friends anyway. Am I wrong?"

"No. I don't think you're wrong" Eddie piped up, returning to the circle, sitting opposite you and not daring to look you in the eye.

"So, on Monday. What happens?"

"You mean are we still friends?" Nancy asked. "If we're friends now, that is."

Everyone had an interest in the question but no one wanted to commit to an answer. You all eyed each other, waiting for the other to speak. In your ideal world, you would walk into school on Monday waving to Nancy and Steve, saying hello to Robin as Eddie walked you to Mr. Kaminski's chemistry class without a care in the world. 

But would that really happen? 

No.

Because you did care. You cared about what Carol thought, you cared about what Tommy thought, the cheerleading squad, Billy. God, you'd hate to think what Billy would do if he saw you walking the halls with these people. Not only what he would do to you, but what he would do to them.

"Truth?" You braved an answer, fidgeting with the watch on your wrist. "I don't think so."

Steve scoffed at you in disgust. "That's a real nice attitude."

"Be honest, Steve. On Monday, if Robin come up to you in the hall what would you do? When you're there with all the sports."

Steve looked at Robin, nervously. He was on the spot.

"I know exactly what you'd to. You'd  say 'hi' to her and when she left, you'd cut her up so that your friends wouldn't think you really liked her." You answered for him.

You and Steve were friends with the same types of people. You knew all too well how it would go down because you knew your friends.

"No way." He shook the hesitance from his brain, his face laced with determination as he finally thought for himself. "Not anymore."

Robin looked at Steve sadly. "Anymore?" 

"Truth is," Steve puffed his chest like he was about to perform an important speech, keeping his eyes on Robin. "I've been friends with Robin for a while-"

"Steve, you don't-"

"We work at Scoops Ahoy together in Starcourt. And she is the bestest friend I could ever ask for. I mean, she's just so real. None of this fake shit like Tommy and Carol. And she's always there for me, like always. I don't know what I'd do without you, Rob. I've had enough of being fake. From now on, Rob, it's gonna be you and me. I don't give a shit what anyone else says. And I'm sorry I didn't do this sooner."

"And what if I walked up to you?" Eddie asked you, optimistic after your previous conversation and hopeful that Steve's speech had given you some encouragement to change your mind.

You looked at him sadly. You hated to say it to him, but he was truthful to you earlier, it was only fair you did the same. Your voice fell quiet, a regretful whisper. "What I said before."

He looked at you like you had just stabbed him in the back. Ruefully, you had. "Don't be a bitch." He snapped.

You were taken aback. You knew Eddie was frustrated with you for questioning him before, but you thought he would have gotten over it. At least enough for him to join the circle again. Perhaps not. 

"What, I'm a bitch for telling the truth? I couldn't, not with Billy-"

"No! Because you know how shitty that it is to do to someone. You admit it and you aren't strong enough to tell your friends to fuck off and let you be friends with who you want!"

"And what about you? Why don't you take Steve to one of your heavy metal vomit parties?"

Eddie shot a look at Steve. You've got him.

"Take Nancy out to the parking lot at lunch and get high. Or me for that matter .. What would your friends say if they saw you and me walking down the hall together? They'd laugh their asses off and you'd cut me up. You'd probably say I'm doing it with you so they'd forgive you for being with me? Correct?"

Steve saved Eddie from an answer. "Okay. I assume Robin and I are better people than you guys." He turned to Nancy. "Would you do that?"

"I don't really have any friends anymore." She shied.

"If you did?"

"No, the kind of friends I'd have wouldn't mind."

There was a silence of a storm suddenly quelled. A pause long enough for everyone to calm down. 

Steve's voice was unusually quiet and timid. "Are we gonna be like our parents?" 

"Yes." Robin's answer was blunt.

"Why do you say that?"

"It's unavoidable."

"Not me." Eddie was determined.

"It just happens. When you grow up... your heart dies." 

You all sat, breathing in the heavy silence. It wasn't uncomfortable by any means, but it still felt heavy. The truth had been spilt whether everyone like it or not, but still, everyone had accepted it. They had accepted that things may just go back to the way they were before, but they also accepted that things could also never be exactly the same. It was a strange mixture of hope, solemn and acknowledgment. And for you - fear. You wanted to be friends with these guys. You wanted things to be different on Monday, but thoughts of Billy shrouded your desires. The things he would say or do if he found out what had happened in this room today; the friendships made, the truth told, the kisses shared. You'd rather wallow in your own self pity.

~~~~~

3:50pm

~~~~~

"Are you sure about this?"

"Absolutely, he won't be able to resist you."

Your eyes fluttered to the ceiling as Nancy prodded at your waterline with her black eyeliner pencil. 

Despite your differences earlier, everybody seemed okay with each other now. You'd all had time to cool off and apologise to one another. Unfortunately, you had meant what you'd said earlier, but you were still sorry for it.

You were currently in the seclusion room with Nancy and Robin giving you what they deigned a 'Munson Make-over'. Robin had given you her spare t-shirt from her bag. It was simply black and large enough to stop at the exact point on your thighs where your skirt had been. You hadn't wanted to take it from her, arguing that there may come a time where she'll need it more that you, but she refused, vowing that she 'just might have found something worth staying for'. 

You made a last minute decision to ditch the skirt underneath when the shirt started bunching up weirdly and making you look frumpy. You felt about ten times more exposed somehow, but the girls reassured you that you looked great. Nancy used a small make-up brush to finalise the finishing touches to your eyes, smudging the black in an edgy way that made the colour of your eyes pop. 

This hadn't been your idea, but a combined effort from both Nancy and Robin when she had accidentally blurted out your admission to having a crush on Eddie earlier. For once you finally felt like a teenager. Not having to worry about what people might think, just girls doing make-up and talking about boys like they do in the movies. 

And something stirred in your gut. Perhaps regret, or maybe defiance, but a pull in your chest decided that maybe you would take back what you had said about ignoring them on Monday. After a few swipes of mascara over your lashes, Nancy affirmed that you were done and 'ready to get your man'. Nancy leaned back to admire her handy work. With a big smile, she grabbed a compact mirror out of her bag and turned it to face you. Your eyes widened, stunned and not believing that it was you in the mirror. It was crazy how a bit of make-up could change the way you looked drastically. 

"Is this me?" You laughed in astonishment.

"It's you."

Your surprise quickly turned to insecurity. Never in your life had you worn make-up like this and you were starting to second guess whether or not you could pull it off. 

"But what if he laughs at me?"

Robin rolled her eyes. "He won't laugh, you look great. C'mon."

They urged you out of the door after assuring you that Principal Higgins was no where to be seen, and you made your way to the broom closet Eddie had told you he had been locked in. 

Eddie had managed (with the help of Steve) to clamber back up the hole in the ceiling that he had made. He was currently sitting on an upside down bucket, fiddling with his coat and scarf. The door swung open abruptly and Eddie stood tall, expecting to see Principal Higgins before him. Instead, you stepped into the room, keeping your eyes on Eddie with smirk as you leaned your back on the door to shut it. You crossed you legs over one another shyly as Eddie gawked at you. Your body felt like it was burning as he raked his eyes over you. 

"Hey." He said. It was the only thing he could think of in his state of disbelief.

"Hey."

His lack of response was worrying you. Nancy had tried so hard to convince you that Eddie liked you, but you were beginning to think that maybe she had been wrong. Eddie was nothing but a moment. Five measly years out of an entire lifetime. But do you simply let the moment pass you by, or do you seize the moment and make something out of it?

"What are you doing here?"

"I've come to see you."

"Me? Why?"

"I'm sorry, do you want me to go?"

"No, no, no, I don't want you to go. Sorry, it's just different being alone with you. Like properly alone with you, especially when you look like that."

"Good different?"

"Definitely good different." 

You smiled, feeling a bit more confident in yourself. You moved towards him and he took your hands in his.

"Listen, I've been wanting to tell you this, but I never really found a great time, especially with the other guys around all the time."

"What is it?"

He paused, having second thoughts about telling you. He knew you liked someone else. What if you just laughed in his face? No, you wouldn't do that. He'd opened up to you before, he could do it again. 

He released an exasperated sigh. "I like you, okay"

When you didn't reply in your state of shock, he continued. "I really like you, but I don't want to. I never thought that I could like someone like you. That's to say the popular chick, the cheerleading captain, you know what I mean. I spent my whole life hating people like that because they were all just bullies." He scoffed a laugh like he could hardly believe what he was saying. "And then you come along and you were just... different. I don't know how to explain it, there's just something about you. Something that I like."

"But I know you don't like me." He quickly added, drooping his head to face the ground.

You couldn't believe what you had just heard. Your heart was threatening to beat out of your chest. Eddie does like you. You wanted to scream in happiness. But he thinks you like someone else. "what makes you think that?"

"I overheard you say to Nancy that you liked someone."

You laughed in incredulity. "That was about you, airhead!"

"It was?" His head snapped back up, looking at you with wide eyes.

"Do you think I'd dress like this if it wasn't for you?"

"Oh baby," he held your hands gently, pulling you forwards for you to look directly at him, "you look smoking hot don't get me wrong, but you don't have to change yourself for me, okay?"

You nodded, giving him a shy smile.

"You do look smoking hot by the way." He smirked pulling you closer so you were chest to chest. 

He tilted your chin up softly, eyeing the way your kissable lips parted for him and eyelids drooped with desire. Just a simple touch from him could ignite something deep within you. Something that had been dormant for so long. 

Passion? Desire?

Love?

"Eddie." You whispered against his lips.

"Yes, baby?"

"Do you really mean it? Do you really like me?"

"I do, sweetheart, I really do."

"Good." You rested your forehead against his as he stroked a wisp of hair from your face.

"Hey, sweetheart?"

"Yes, baby?" You teased.

"Can I kiss you?"

Your nodded, seizing the moment. You had never been more sure of anything in your life. Your eyes closed, ready for Eddie to press his lips against yours for your first real kiss.

"Munson-- What the...?"

The two of you jumped apart when the door swung open and Principal Higgins stood there looking rather puzzled. He was confused about how you had ended up in the closet, and why you had completely changed your look, but he didn't say anything. He was tired and wanted to go home.

"Let's go." He snapped.

The two of you made your way out of the closet and walked back to the library, Principal Higgins following closely behind like the two of you were going to run away from him any second. The walk to the library was short. The two of you sat down together and Higgins stood sternly before everyone with his arms crossed. He eyed everyone up in a way that was supposed to be intimidating.

"Papers?"

Nancy slid a single piece of paper across the table. Higgins picked it up wearily, reading the signatures of the kids scribbled in a mixed array of handwriting across the top. He looked mystified by the paper, but before he could open his mouth, the bell rang and everyone immediately gathered their things and left, leaving Higgins to read the paper alone.

Dear Principal Higgins,

We accept the fact that we had to sacrifice a whole Saturday in detention for whatever it was we did wrong, but we think you're crazy to make us write an essay telling you who we think we are. You see us as you want to see us — in the simplest terms and the most convenient definitions. But what we found out is that each one of us is a brain and an athlete, a basket case, a princess, a cheerleader and a criminal.

Does that answer your question?

Sincerely yours,

The Breakfast Club

~~~~~

Saturday.

October 25th, 1984.

Hawkins High.

4:05pm.

~~~~~

The sky had reclined into a rich blue, shadows stretching across the school's front steps in the setting sun. The five of you made your way down the stairs to the few cars outside. 

Nancy held hands with Steve on the way down, giving him a peck on the cheek before getting into her mother's car. She immediately began questioning her as they drove off down the road. Steve did a not-so-secret fist pump, and waved everyone goodbye before getting into his fathers car.

"See you guys on Monday." Robin bid you both farewell as she got in the back of the final car. 

You and Eddie stood in a comfortable silence side by side on the final step, neither of you wanting to say goodbye yet. 

"You know, I was thinking." Eddie broke the silence, wrapping an arm around your shoulders and leaning his weight on you. "What if there was another way to get back at your parents?"

"Like what?" You playfully shrugged him off, turning to face him.

"Well, I'm sure dating a metalhead weed smoker wouldn't appease them too much." 

You smiled at the way he put it, but frowned almost instantly when a sudden thought flashed behind your eyes. "What about Billy?"

"Let me deal with him." You don't look too convinced. "I'm stronger than I look, you know."

There was a relief that took a weight off your chest. Could this finally be over? Happiness felt like it was bursting in sunrays in your heart, making you giddy. You couldn't stop the smile from stretching across your lips. 

"I'll believe it when I see it." You teased. "Wouldn't want our first date to be at the hospital."

"So is that a yes?"

A chilly breeze rustled through the trees, borrowing your body heat and giving you goose bumps in return. A weight fell on your shoulders when Eddie placed his coat over you.

"Eddie you don't have to."

"You think I'm gonna let you walk home in the cold wearing that?"

"Maybe not." You smiled. "Let me give you something in return then."

"Oh you don't--"

You reached for your watch, unclasping the thin metallic band before grabbing his wrist and wrapping it around.

"You're giving me your watch? Why?"

You fastened it as loosely as you could, but it was still a little tight on him. He didn't resist, however, instead he watched you intently and read the time on it when you were done.

"Because tomorrow night, when the big hand hits twelve and the little hand hits seven, I want you to come pick me up."

"Pick you up? Like a date? So it is a yes."

Butterflies fluttered in your stomach. You couldn't decide whether it was from excitement or nerves. You could only hope that Eddie will placate his chronic tardiness to show up at your door at exactly seven o'clock on the dot. But, you would have to find out tomorrow.

"But where do you want to go?"

"Leave that to me. Think of it as an early birthday present."

Eddie smirked, bending down to wrap his arms around your waist, bringing you close enough that a turn of your head would end up with your lips together. "Tell you what, you know what I want for my birthday?"

"What would that be?"

"I do believe I asked you for a kiss earlier."

"You did, but I guess you'll have to wait for your birthday for that." You smirked, pulling away and hopping off the step, making a start homeward.

You turned around teasingly to see Eddie frozen on the step completely stunned. You giggled to yourself, turning back with a skip in your step. You took about ten more steps before turning around again, only to see Eddie right behind you. He wrapped his arms around you waist, picking you up and spinning you around as your laughter echoed across the school field. 

"Oh no you don't, sweetheart." 

He span you around wildly as you attempted to beg him to stop through your laughter. His fingers prodded at your ribs, tickling you into submission. With a final dizzying spin, he set you down with a chuckle. You grabbed onto his shoulders to steady yourself as the world kept spinning around you. 

"Fine, just one kiss."

"That's more like it." He smiled.

He gently placed a calloused hand along your jaw, cupping your cheek to pull you closer. Your eyes closed softly as his lips finally pressed to yours in your first proper kiss together. The kiss was sweet with passion, pure and vulnerable with a promise of love. His warm tongue stroked against your lips tenderly and you threaded your hands through his hair, tilting your head as you massaged your tongue against his. He moaned softly into your mouth, using his other hand to draw your bodies together. 

Hesitantly, you pulled apart, the two of you with heavy eyelids and drunken smiles.

"How about I walk you home? Make a start on trying to "impress" your parents."

"I think I'd like that."

Somehow, eight hours in a school library had managed to change your life completely. Fate was the librarian, usually known for matching you with the book you want. Only this time you all got paired with a book you didn't want, or rather one that didn't suit your taste. Yet, you read it anyway and discovered that it is possible to branch out. It is possible to make changes, and that changes can be for the better. You can learn things that you otherwise wouldn't have about life, people, love. You can learn that everyone is different, yet we all share the same emotions. Insecurity and vulnerability can be embraced, and there is no right and wrong. At the end of the day, what matters most is acceptance, within yourself and within others.

~~~~~

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Taglist: @cruwushes @the-ch0sen-on3 @namelesshumanperson @ali-r3n @cadence73 @munsonssweets @ahoyyharrington @mewchiili @yourdailymemedelivery @httpsunflowers @b-irock @coolglittercornbae @sav12321 @cumslutforaemond @siriuslysmoking @learninglinesintherainn @peaches-roses-sins @lodeddiperrodrick @catherinnn @lilocapoca @minniedreamers @melaninjhs @chaosfrogsonfire @levylovegood @bowsforsienna @rcailleachcola @spookysace24 @metalhead-succubus

[withahappyrefrain]

💜 surprise kiss / impulsive kiss – mayhaps for Jake and Venus?

Anything for these two. Third person, but appearance is not described. Language, self doubt, Jake being Jake

This is stupid, she thinks. There's a ton of people, mainly families. Wives, husbands, mothers, fathers, children. People with actual relationships. And here she was, standing there with flowers while waiting for a guy she's dated for only six months.

Would he even want flowers? It sounded like a good idea at the time, hearing about how most men don't receive their first bouquet until their partner's funeral. She tipped her head down, inhaling the flowers in hopes the honeysuckles would keep her anxiety at bay.

It wasn't the flowers. Jake had been deployed when they had been dating for barely three months. Would he still want to date her? The numerous text messages, static driven phone calls, grainy FaceTimes and letters (his callsign was accurate given his penmanship) should give her a resounding answer. But that voice in the back of her head, the nagging, doubtful one, was still powerful.

Being stuck on a carrier provided a lot of downtime. Downtime allows you to think, to reflect on different aspects of your life, such as who you're dating.

"Venus?"

When she turns around, she's unable to take him in, take notice of his shirt hair, clean shaven look. Jake prevented that, by immediately pulling her into his arms for a kiss.

The smell of sandalwood mixed with jet fuel was now comforting. Funny how four months ago, she had once complained about it, insisting Jake take a shower before hugging her.

Now she always wanted that scent in her presence.

His lips were calming, the most she had felt in months. Her hands quickly found their way to his broad shoulders, acting out of muscle memory, not caring if the flowers get squished.

When he broke away for air, Jake nuzzled his nose against her temple, inhaling her sweet perfume. He had borrowed a bottle of it to spray on his pillow for the last sixty- plus days, though nothing could come close to physically holding her.

"Missed you V," He whispered into her skin. If he could feel the warmth that was flooding her body, he didn't acknowledge it.

She let out a content sigh, "Missed you too Blondie."

Jake stepped back to pick up his bag that he had thrown onto the ground in order to reach his girlfriend quicker. It was then he noticed the bouquet of flowers that she was holding.

He raised his eyebrows, lips curling into a confident smirk, "Those for me?"

She rolled her eyes, "Actually there for your crew. A condolence for having to put up with you for sixty-five days straight."

"God, I missed you." The bag was once again no concern of Jake, as he was too busy closing the distance between him and his Venus, pulling her into another unprompted kiss.

She tilted her head up to deepen the kiss, ignoring the other people who were trying to shuffle through the port. The bouquet of flowers had fallen onto the ground, joining his bag, as her hands were too desperate to clutch onto his short blonde locks, wanting to commit the feeling to memory.

Jake's hands were the same, one trailing up her spine, until it reached the back of her neck, the other giving the plush flesh of her hips a gentle squeeze before landing on her ass, ignoring the reminders from Javy that this was technically a 'family event'.

Both were too busy finding comfort in the fact they had found their way back to each other.

[jamsmemes]

(     *     THE SUBSTANCE PROMPTS   !    

feel free to change pronouns / details as needed  !

❛ find me somebody new. ❜

❛ you better get busy. ❜

❛ people are just people. and i have to give people what they want. ❜

❛ renewal is inevitable. ❜

❛ you're a genius! ❜

❛ oh hey, it's your birthday. happy birthday. ❜

❛ you're a good candidate. ❜

❛ you haven't changed a bit. ❜

❛ you're still the most beautiful girl in the whole wide world. ❜

❛ hey, why don't we go out for a drink sometime now that we're, you know, reconnected? ❜

❛ have you ever dreamt of a better version of yourself? ❜

❛ everything comes from you. and everything is you. ❜

❛ you can't escape from yourself. ❜

❛ what a gorgeous little angel. ❜

❛ people want to be happy. ❜

❛ gorgeous, with a pure heart. people are gonna love that. ❜

❛ you wanted to complain about something? ❜

❛ i'm actually quite handy if you ever need me to be of aid in any way. ❜

❛ i'll see you next week. and in the meantime, take care of yourself. ❜

❛ what has been used on one side is lost on the other side. ❜

❛ there's no going back. ❜

❛ respect the balance and you won't have any more inconveniences. ❜

❛ i just saw you on tv. ❜

❛ hey, you don't give private lessons, do you? ❜

❛ hey, what about a drink at my place tonight? ❜

❛ come on, don't be shy. ❜

❛ did you follow me here? ❜

❛ i was just curious to find out how things are going for you. ❜

❛ each time you feel a little more lonely, don't you think? ❜

❛ i'm fine. everything's fine. ❜

❛ it gets harder each time to remember you still deserve to exist. ❜

❛ this part of you is still worth something. ❜

❛ sorry, i mean, i'm in shock. ❜

❛ i just, i've been really really busy lately. ❜

❛ i will see you tonight. ❜

❛ i need five minutes. ❜

❛ this balance is not working. ❜

❛ i love everybody. ❜

❛ people love you. they adore you. they want more and more of you. ❜

❛ you can't go higher than that. ❜

❛ thats gonna be intense. ❜

❛ if you don't open the door and opportunity knocks, you won't get another chance. ❜

❛ you of all people know this. ❜

❛ just one more day and then i have a whole week off. ❜

❛ we can switch. ❜

❛ just one more day, okay? ❜

❛ would you like to stop? ❜

❛ will it go back to the way it was before? ❜

❛ i can't stop. ❜

❛ just a little something to keep you busy. ❜

❛ i don't think anybody was really prepared for this world. ❜

❛ oh my god, that is huge news. ❜

❛ i want, we want to know everything. ❜

❛ well i mean, there's really not very much to tell. ❜

❛ i'm sure that you've never heard of it. ❜

❛ ever since i can remember, it has always been my dream to be on screen. ❜

❛ this is my dream. ❜

❛ you do know that we're not exactly from the same generation. ❜

❛ i'll fucking show you. ❜

❛ i guess that's why you could say we have some sort of connection. ❜

❛ you wouldn't exist without me. ❜

❛ would you share one of your little beauty secrets with us? ❜

❛ i guess i just try to be myself. to be sincere and grateful for all that i have. ❜

❛ stop it. you're taking it from me. ❜

❛ you have to control yourself! ❜

❛ i can't go back, i forgot. ❜

❛ coming to bed? ❜

❛ yes, i'll be right there. ❜

❛ i'm telling you, this is urgent. ❜

❛ tell me how to do it. ❜

❛ there is no other option. ❜

❛ who's this? who the fuck is that? ❜

❛ leave me alone! ❜

❛ i want to stop! i want to fucking stop! ❜

❛ once you stop, you can't go back. ❜

❛ i can't do this. i need you. ❜

❛ you gotta get ready. it's our big night. ❜

❛ they're gonna love you so much. ❜

❛ you're the only lovable part of me. ❜

❛ you have to come back. ❜

❛ you gonna dance? ❜

❛ i'm gonna be right back, sorry. ❜

❛ they have been dying to meet you. ❜

❛ is everything okay? ❜

❛ that's what we want tonight. ❜

❛ pretty girls should always smile. ❜

❛ hey, you ready for tonight? ❜

❛ this is where you belong. ❜

❛ you always belong here. ❜

❛ we can't do it without you. we'll never do it without you. ❜

❛ let's go, what are we waiting for? ❜

❛ you will not be disappointed. ❜

❛ shoot the monster! ❜

[glowstick-cafe]

♡ATSV: Couple shenanigans♡

Genre: Fluff, Established relationship

Warnings: Reader is poc

Summary: Just some couple things that I'd imagine these little guys would do for their partner.

A/n: I stand by my headcanon that every single Spiderman in a relationship would absolutely melt for their partner, I don't care who they are.

_______________________________________

Hobie Brown

When you first met Hobie you thought he was quite intimidating. Now that you're practically dating the guy, you've come to realize that he just has a permanent resting bitch face and you love that for him, but from time to time you still get intimidated by him.

Like the time when he spaced out mid conversation to admire your face. "-And he just kept going on and on about his new motorcycle like, did I ask? I just wanted to buy some chips man, weird right?" Looking up to wait for your boyfriend's answer you were met with his blank stare, and his face resting in the palm of his hand. It only took you a minute for you to realize that your boyfriend wasn't in fact angry at you, it was just his face. "I admire your beautiful face and this is how you repay me?" He laughed, then placed a gentle kiss on your forehead.

God forbid this boy show affection in public, the amount of begging it took to get him to hold your hand in public is something no one will be able to waterboard out of you.

"Hold my hand…" You whisper to him as to not bother the other people on the train. Hobie's face lightly scrunched up upon hearing your request. "We're almost home, we can cuddle there, and it's better than holding hands." He tried to bargain, but seeing your mood suddenly shift was enough to make him hold out his palms towards you, which you gladly took.

—

Pavitr Prabhakar

Pavitr is the type of boy to buy you flowers, there doesn't have to be a reason. If he feels like it(and that is most of the time) he'll just have them delivered, no matter where you are.

It was especially bad when you two had just started dating, once a week a different bouquet of flowers were being sent to you. One day when he turned up at your house with a bouquet of lavender flowers, which had felt like your last straw.

"I can't keep accepting your flowers…" You say apologetically, he tilts his head in confusion and worry. "O-Oh…I understand." He responds, and anxiously looks down at his feet.

"I don't have enough space in my house to keep them all, please chill out." You finished. Pavitr paused, then took a moment to laugh, "Ok love, I'll keep that in mind." He said with a smile. After that, the boy instead opted to help you make a garden, though you still do receive flowers from him every now and then.

Since Pavitr's hair is in a permanent swoop on his face, you find yourself unconsciously tucking away loose strands that obstructed his vision. The first time you did it he thought you were going in for a kiss, to which he ended up kissing your hand.

You still tease him about it to this day.

—

Gwen Stacy

Gonna be honest with you, people already thought you two were a couple way before you guys actually became one. Gwen told her band that you both were dating and they were confused as to what she was talking about.

"Wait…you guys weren’t a thing before?" Was the general consensus.

Gwen hated the rain, while you absolutely loved it. It would be hard to get to where you were going if it was raining, because she would often rather wait for the rain to stop than actually use an umbrella.

One day the stars aligned for you and water had begun pouring from the sky. Your girlfriend had the dismay of being over at your house when the sky decided to screw her over, "Wanna go play in the rain?" You asked even though you could see her grimace at the very thought.

"What are you, five? Besides, you'll get sick" Gwen reasoned. You then held her face in the palm of your hands, making her eyes focus on you. "You're the only girl I'd want to get sick with." You spoke, holding onto her hands and pulling her towards the door that leads to the outside. Gwen scoffed at your words, "As cute as that is, no."

"Guess you'll have to miss out." You say with a cheeky grin plastered to your face, you open the door and walk backwards into the open rain while making eye contact with your girlfriend.

Though she tried to pull you back inside, the cold air of the rain made her shudder. The rain droplets soaked your clothes but you couldn't be any happier. Gwen became very protective of you ever since you both lost Peter, so you getting sick would send the girl into a coma….but it was nice to see you happy for a change.

The blonde sighed and slowly walked into the rain to join you, she felt her clothes sticking to her skin as the rain poured. The girl joined you. "If we get sick, you're so dead!" Gwen yelled, but her voice sounded quite playful. You couldn't help but giggle and danced with her in the rain.

(You guys did end up getting sick)

—

Miles Morales

Being in a relationship with Miles was great, but ever since he transferred to that other school you could tell that he grew more tired. Rarely did both of your schedules ever line up to see each other, but that never stopped you from loving the guy.

So now when you had time to see him, it would just be a relaxing few hours of watching him draw until your parents texted you to come home.

Everything was great for the first few months of the same thing. In that time, you met some of his friends that he said were from his school, Gwen, Pavitr, and Hobie. "We only came over to see you!" Was their excuse to come by, when in actuality, you knew that they were only here to eat Mrs. Morales's food.

Today was spent like any other day when you decided to visit Miles, but something was different.

The both of you were going shopping! Well, you were the one actually doing the shopping, Miles just tagged along because he liked being around you any chance he got.

"Oh! What if we got matching cups?" You asked excitedly, holding up two glass cups with small Spiderman heads printed on them. Your boyfriend couldn't help but cringe at the sight of the cups.

Taking note of this, your excitement slowly diminished, "No matching cups?" You say, slightly disappointed.

Miles quickly looked panicked, "No, I like the matching cup! It's just…can't you pick a different design?" He tried explaining.

"I thought you liked Spiderman, he's super cute!-" You looked back at the glass cups with Spiderman's black suit. Miles paused, not sure if he should be jealous or happy.

"It's just that we haven't done anything together recently and I thought this could be a cute thing for us. Also, this Spiderman is my favorite…" You say in a somber tone, your voice sounding a bit heartbroken.

Miles knew you were trying to guilt trip him into letting you buy the glasses, how many times has he been letting you get away with this? No comment….

"But I- There is no way…"

Miles playfully glared at you and took the cups out of your hands to carry them to the check out, "Oh you suck! You need to stop doing that." Miles said playfully.

"Not my fault you have poor taste in tableware." You say as a smug grin makes its way to your face.

[korya-elana]

Your doctor isn't always right.

This'll be a long one. No tl;dr

I see a lot of rhetoric about "doctor shopping" and "your doctor is obviously right, quit trying to claim an illness that isn't yours" and other such nonsense. So I'm here to tell you why these guys suck and why they're wrong.

I'd like everyone to keep in mind that I am studying brain science, I readily admit that, due to my health issues, I could have died without my doctors. I am firmly pro-science and pro-medicine. However.

I was actually going to type up this post a few weeks back and then the universe smacked me with a relevant situation. For some context, I recently moved back to Ohio. I had lived in NY for the past few years due to traumatic circumstances and had not received any care for my disabilities at the time. Considering one of my issues is Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (my joints and connective tissue are loosey-goosey and don't work right) and EDS causes me severe pain from constant rib dislocations/subluxations, I went to go get pain management from a specialist as soon as I was back.

This "specialist" (literally the head of the relevant department) told me there was no way that I had EDS despite my relevant testing and family history, started testing me for the WRONG illness (Marfan's, which you can tell by looking at me I do not have) and then, despite his admittance he doesn't know much about EDS, proclaimed I don't have it and it wasn't worth seeking any help. And he obviously did shit for my pain. He also said this about my proven autoimmunity.

Fast forward to two weeks ago. At the ripe old age of 30 and relatively good health despite my disabilities, I had a real stroke. Not only is this highly unusual for my age and health, it was a very, very specific type of stroke that is highly indicative of a much more dangerous type of EDS than my previous specialists had ever thought. And now I need extremely expensive and hard-to-get approved genetic testing. I have therapies several times a week and in a month I see a neurologist. Specifically, a stroke specialist where I will likely be the youngest person in the waiting room by at least 20 years.

This doctor could have killed me. He could have permanently crippled me beyond repair due to his advice. I legitimately thought I was dying. I have lost parts of my life and activities vital to my sense of self that I will never get back and I am very early on a very long road to recovery. Because my doctor was wrong. And I'll sure as shit be suing him.

So if you think your doctor is wrong, I want you to ignore every single asshole tumblerite telling you that your doctor knows best and knows better than you do. Seek that second opinion. Or your third! Or your fourth! I went through five doctors before I found one that actually knew what he was talking about and could help my dysautonomia symptoms for real. There is merit to talking about diagnosis hunting and being more sure than you should be. But doctors are not perfect. Malpractice kills people. Follow your gut feeling and find someone who knows how to talk about it. Shutting up and ignoring that feeling could get you hurt.

[kaliforniahigh]

MEDUSA - Part Five.

Noah and Y/N meet again. Things are picking up for real now.

Warnings: talks of killing people, talks of violence, a mysoginistic insult directed at Y/N.

WC: Almost 2k.

Summary: Y/N is a private dancer at a Gentleman's Club called Medusa. Noah Sebastian is a crime boss. Their paths cross when one night, Noah pays for one of her dances and they can't seem to be apart from each other.

Series Masterlist

You really tried to keep calm while you waited for Noah to arrive, you didn't want to alam anyone with your nervousness. You checked your watch and it was only a quarter to 9pm. You already changed and touched up your makeup to keep yourself busy, all while replaying the conversation from earlier in the night.

A few of the girls came and went and you made small talk with them as you waited. You pondered over your decision, questioning yourself if you made the right choice to text him. If this guy and Noah were in the same business, what made them so different from each other? Why do you care for Noah and not for the other guy? If it's not Noah who ends up dead, it's probably gonna be the other guy, so why did you think one act of violence was different from the other?

You had no time to think further on your moral dillema, because soon Ava was walking through the doors and calling for your name.

"He's a repeat, you probably did a good job. Congratulations, girl", she told you, with a smile on her face, slightly raising her eyebrows in a suggestive manner. You smiled back but didn't bother answering her. Eager to get this over with, you walked to the room, looking both ways to make sure no one was watching your hasty entry.

When your eyes landed on Noah you noticed that this time he wasn't sitting on the chair, he was standing up and also had an air of anxiety around him.

"Hey, are you ok? You texted me out of nowhere. I didn't really think you were going to use my number after I went to your house", he said, subtly looking over you as if to assess any kind of injury.

"Listen I wouldn't be doing this if it wasn't extremely necessary. To be honest, I'm not even sure why I'm doing this in the first place", you tried not to pace arounde the room, but he could tell you were antsy.

"Ok, you're scaring me now. Why don't you tell me what happened?", he noticed you were overly serious about this. You motioned to the couch on the other side of the room, suggestion you both sit down.

"So I had this customer tonight. He is not one of my regulars, he actually didn't pay for a dance at all. One of the girls that work the tables, delivering drinks and whatnot called in sick so I had to cover her", you started. You could tell he was hanging onto every word you said. You don't remember a man ever paying this much attention to what you were saying. Noticing that you stalled, he nodded his head to tell you to keep going.

"He requested a drink and suggested that I drink something with him, after that I sat at his table with his friends. This is all customary. But then they started to say a few things", you didn't have the chance to continue before he added.

"To you? did they offend you or insult you? did they harass you?", you shook you head.

"Noah, they were talking about you, and they were not good things", he slightly smiled at this and responded "people don't always have the nicest things to say about me".

"One of them said they're going to kill you, that what they have in store for you is going to shock everyone. And that after all is said and done you're just going to be an afterthought in the city of New York", you got everything off of your chest, your eyes wide, as if you wanted to tell him you were really serious about this.

"What happened after that?", if he was worried about this information, he didn't show it. You guessed it was for your benefit.

"I excused myself shortly after this, then I went to the dressing rooms and texted you"

"Did they notice you were nervous or that you know me at all?", he inquired. At the time you were confident that you did a good job of hiding your true feelings, but you could never know for sure.

"I don't think so. I tried to be very subtle", there was a pause in the conversation, you looked at him and he was pensive, as if considering his next steps. "You don't wanna know who these people are?", you questioned him.

"I think I already know who they are", he looked at you, he grabbed your hands in his and he noticed they were cold. "Listen, I don't trust these people. The fact that you called me here was really risky. They can't find out that you know me"

"Well, I couldn't just listen to them planning to kill you and not say anything", you said, as if that is the most obvious thing on the world.

"I know that, I'm really thankful for that. I'm gonna give you one of these, so everytime you contact me, it doesn't have to be from your personal cellphone", he took out a disposable cellphone and handed it to you "and you're not going to like what I say next, but I'm having one of my men posted outside your house and have them follow you to and from work"

You get up from you sitting position as soon as he said this, shaking your head. "There is no way. I'm not gonna have one of your goons follow me around"

"Well, I can't take the chance of you getting hurt and it being my fault", he got up after you and grabbed you by both shoulders "this is a non-negotiable order. You don't have to acknowledge their existence, but we'll both sleep better knowing you're safe"

"Ok, since we're giving out orders now, I don't think it's safe for you or your friends to come here anymore. If they were here earlier, the chances of your paths crossing are high", you talked to him in the same tone of finality that he spoke to you.

"I agree with you", he was going to give this information to you, but apparently you beat him to it. "Here's what we're gonna do. I'm calling one of my men to wait for you outside by the back entrance. What time do you get off work tonight?"

"Around 4am", you answered him.

"Ok, he is going to be here by that time. I'm going to put his number on your disposable along with mine, so if you need anything, you call him or me. Understand?", he made you look at him in the eyes. You nodded. A moment passed where you just looked at each other. You had an uneasy feeling in your gut and he had an apologetic look in his eyes.

"I have to go now. Pass the information along", he hesitated, but he could tell you had something in your mind. Not trying to pressure to say anything, he began to turn around to leave, but you stopped him.

"Are you going to be ok?", you couldn't help but ask. He could see the sincerity in your eyes. He smiled softly to reassure you.

"Yeah, I'm going to be ok, don't worry", you nodded. You had no other option but to trust him. He opened the door and left.

You sat back down on the couch, letting out a loud sigh.

Sure enough, when you left through the back door as soon as your shift ended, you noticed a black sedan parked not too far away. You checked the plate and it matched the one Noah sent you.

You pretended to not see him as you made your way over to your car. It would get a little used to having someone on your tail 24/7, but you would be lying if you said you don't feel safer.

As soon as Noah left Medusa, he called Jolly, Nick and Nicholas and told them to meet up with him at his house. Urgent matter.

During the drive, he thought about you. He wondered if he was doing enough to keep you safe. If it was up to him you would be at his house, under his watch and protection. But he knew you were never going to accept that.

Gathering everyone around the table, he explained the entire situation. It would be really important if they could pinpoint when this attack is going to happen. They all sat in silence, deep in thought.

"Dude", Jolly said, from his spot. "We have that massive gun shipment coming next week. All of us, including you", he pointed to Noah "are going to be at the port, inspecting everything".

"What if their last attack was some sort of practice for them?", Nicholas pointed out.

"If it was, they were shit. 'Cause we killed his men and got away", Jolly shrugged his shoulder and Nicholas let out a little laugh. They noticed Noah was strangely quiet, but brushed it off as him being concerned about you. They didn't know yet the depth of his feelings for you, but they knew he liked you enough to keep surveillance on you at all times.

"It wasn't an attack", he said suddently, cutting through the small talk that emerged between the guys. "I was a set up", Noah looked at everyone. Realization dawned on their faces. He kept going "we were meeting up with the supplier responsible for the shipment. They set us up and they're gonna do it again next week". He got up from his chair angrily. Noah didn't like being played like this.

After two days of being followed, you could say you were getting used to it. You also noticed they were two different men. You guess they had to take turns. You wanted to bake them a cake or something, to show appreciation, but Noah told you to not aknowledge them, so you had to leave your pleasantries for when this was over.

You felt a little more at ease. Sometimes you would take a peek at the bar and the tables during work, but from what you could tell, the men never came back. That was a relief.

Noah checked up on you every few hours. You didn't talk much, he would ask if you were ok and you would say yes and the cicle repeated itself over and over. There were times you wanted to continue the conversation, but held back. You were way too envolved in this already to make small talk with a man with a target on his back.

It was good night at work so far. You had a few clients, one of them being an older man who always requested a dance, but always sat down and talked about how his wife was having an affair with her personal trainer. That is how some of them were. It's easier for a man to go to a strip club to talk about his feeling rather than a therapist.

You were scrolling on your phone when Ava called for you, saying that your 1am client has arrived. You thanked her and walked to your vanity to put your heels back on. You were used to them, but to be barefoot between clients was a relief everytime.

You fixed your hair and walked to the room. Putting on your sexy face, you opened the door, expecting a man to be inside, only to find the room vacant, save for an envelope resting on top of the chair.

You slowly walked towards it, picking it up and inspecting it. It had nothing written on the outside. You looked behind you just to make sure this wasn't a prank.

You opened the door reserved for the clients, motioning for a security guard to come closer to you. You ask him if he saw someone coming in and out, but he said no, apologizing. Going back in the room, you opened the envelope, there was a hand-written note inside. You started reading.

You ratted, didn't you? You thought I wouldn't notice you have security around you now? Looking forward to when lover boy finds your body in a ditch somewhere. Even then, nobody cares about whores like you. J.C.

You felt your heart drop, the note slipping from your hands and everything around you becoming blurry. This couldn't be happening.

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Dividers: @cafekitsune

[caligvlasaqvarivm]

Is Eridan’s fake attempt for land dweller genocide just a manifestation of his guilt of orphaning all those trolls? He says he wants to kill them all so they will no longer have to deal the loss of losing their parent to some finned hipster asshole?

So Eridan's life pre-SGRUB is primarily concerned with one thing: it is his Duty as a violet-blood who is close to the Heiress to feed her lusus so that it doesn't throw a tantrum and Kill Everybody. It's a manifestation not of guilt, but of anxiety.

He describes the murder he commits in pursuit of this as "all i evver done practically," and we never see him participate in a hobby he enjoys - we learn he's a hipster because Karkat calls him one, he FLARPs to fill Gl'bgolyb's belly, and people have fought with me before, but I maintain that his "interest" in military history is also just a part of his posturing/something he reads like somebody would doomscroll, as it validates his anxiety, because he only ever talks about history twice, in the vaguest possible terms, and the first time, it's just part of him posturing at Kanaya, and the second time, he's literally just. Wrong? He's just incorrect?

CA: yeah go ahead and kiss us off but therell be blood on your hands CA: you could either play along as our auspistice and do a little mediating like you wwere fuckin hatched to CA: or wwatch she and me devvolvve into fuckin full fledged kismesisses the kind like you dont get once in ten thousand swweeps CA: you knoww thats wwhat it wwould be there wwould be rainboww rivvers runnin through star systems and all nebulizin like liquid firewworks CA: it wwill be beautiful and heartbreaking all at once CA: you should read up on your history instead of poring through that godawwfull sunny rubbish

CC: None of your plots to kill t)(e land dwellers ever work out, and every doomsday device you get your )(ands on turns out to be a piece of junk! CA: so CA: i got to keep tryin thats howw all the great military masterminds became great through upright persevverance

Like I just. Don't believe him when he says he's obsessed with military history when he doesn't seem to be able to name five specific battles, and thinks the main attribute a military leader needs to succeed is "persevverance". We know that Karkat's interest in romance is real because he brings it up more than twice and also starts infodumping about it to Vriska at one point, but Eridan only seems to mention it because he thinks he's supposed to care about it.

Which is pretty much, like, one of the biggest tensions in his character: how he feels he's supposed to act vs. how he actually feels about acting that way. He faces multiple pressures to be a certain person, which run counter to his actual feelings.

He has to be a murderer, because if he isn't one, then Gl'bgolyb will do a genocide on his entire species.

He has to be an unrepentant murderer, because they live in a horrible fascist murder-society where highbloods are supposed to kill lowbloods all the time for literally any reason.

He has to be the one getting his hands bloody because his ancestor, Dualscar, was also the Orphaner, and (especially highblood) trolls need to take up their ancestors' mantles.

He has to be rude and condescending to everybody else because that's how highbloods, and especially sea dwellers, have to act.

He cannot express compassion, sympathy, or pity, because sea dwellers and highbloods aren't supposed to act that way.

Magic has to be fake, because it's for shitty wigglers, and Eridan's not a wiggler anymore!

He has to be in a torrid pitch relationship because that was the most defining one Dualscar had, and he needs to complete Dualscar's unfinished business.

He has to be in a flushed relationship because Dualscar had an unrequited flushcrush on the empress, and he needs to complete Dualscar's unfinished business.

He has to hate the lowbloods because he's a highblood.

He has to hate the land dwellers because he's a sea dweller.

But wait! That's weird. He has to hate the land dwellers and lowbloods, but he's the one responsible for making sure they don't all die by keeping Gl'bgolyb full?

In truth, it would be all too easy to solve the land dweller problem once and for all. You'd just need to lighten up on the feeding schedule for a while. Maybe you'd be a little too busy to bother with that hassle for once? Or maybe you could happen to be off your game for a spell? It happens, even to the best sometimes. But nah. It would make her upset. More emotions. More problems. That's all you need.

And he has to be an unrepentant murderer even though he clearly feels more guilt for it than Feferi?

That should keep her happy for a while. And make a freshly orphaned troll somewhere pretty sad.

And you claim magic is fake idiot stuff for babies but you like it SOOOO much?

You also like MAGIC, even though you know it to be FAKE. Like a made up friend, the way wizards are. Made up make believe FAKEY FAKEY FAKES. It's still fun though.

So we can see that Eridan is basically being pulled two ways at all times.

On one hand, there's everything society says he needs to be: an unrepentant murderer, a military dictator, ruthless bloodthirsty sea-dwelling aristocracy, hater of all low bloods and land dwellers, Orphaner Dualscar's heir.

And on the other hand, there's the guy Eridan actually is: doesn't give a shit about the hemocaste, just wants friends and/or relationship partners, likes magic, like hipster stuff, kind of a tool, guilty and traumatized.

It doesn't help that the people he's surrounded by are the least likely to recognize his distress as distress - Feferi loooooves being a princess, Kanaya has never really voiced any strong opinions on the hemocaste because it largely doesn't concern her since she's a rare jade blood, and Vriska is doing a lot better than Eridan is at fitting the mold they were born into (not that she doesn't have problems, she's just doing better than Eridan, which is a low fucking bar). Even Karkat, because of his own hangups about being a mutant pariah, venerates the society he was born into, because he (wrongly) sees it as a means to gain validation so he can hate himself less. As a result, Eridan winds up with basically 0 support system, because pretty much every aspect of his life reinforces that the thing society says he should be is correct, and that there's something wrong with Eridan for being unable to meet that expectation.

Especially because, for at least all the "murderer" he's supposed to be, if he fails to meet that expectation, everybody dies. So it's not just that he's got a pushy lusus and a shitty society, like Vriska does, but that there's also the added weight that adhering to those expectations is literally, objectively, the correct thing to do, so long as he doesn't want literally everybody to die.

As a result, he's constantly trying to overcorrect his behavior and cognition to line up with what he thinks he's supposed to be. That's why he's constantly saying slurs even though he doesn't actually treat anybody differently for their caste. That's why he's constantly talking about murder and military history, even though he clearly doesn't enjoy doing either of those things. That's why he's always pushing this image of a big bad fascist wannabe, even though he actually wants to be a magic-slinging wizard.

The thing about genocide, for Eridan, is that he's already obsessed with genocide - the prevention of genocide. Keeping his species from being genocided is, without exaggeration, the most time-consuming pursuit in his life. BUT WAIT! He can't say, think, or believe that his actions are for the benefit of the land dwellers, because first of all, he feels kind of guilty about killing them, and second of all, because he's not allowed to express compassion to the people he's keeping safe. So between the stress, the cognitive dissonance, the anxiety, and the fact that Eridan doesn't really do a lot of introspection because he's so overwhelmed by emotion, his existing preoccupation with genocide is transmuted into something that's socially acceptable: "wanting all the land dwellers dead."

"[I]t would be all too easy." Indeed: if he ever slacks in his duties, they will all die. In fact, it's easier for him to let them die than to not. He clearly doesn't like doing all that killing, and it clearly makes him feel bad, and takes up a shitton of his time if nothing else, so it's probably occurred to him over, and over, and over, that maybe he should just... not! What if he just stopped.

Well, then everyone would die. Gl'bgolyb would raise her voice a little and it'd kill all the rust bloods, then the bronzes, the golds, the limes, the olives...

Wait! Is he feeling bad for them? He's not supposed to be feeling bad for the low bloods! Shit, shit, shit. Say a slur and then say something about how you WANT all the low bloods dead. PHEW. OKAY. SAFE. But that means you need to kill all the lowbloods. Because you said it, so it has to be true, and also, this is the way you're supposed to be. So, fuck, well, go commission a doomsday device. Okay, done. PHEW. It probably doesn't work, but nobody can say you didn't try! Hooray, you did it! You have performed a Sea Dweller Action! Oh it's time to go kill some people again. Damnit. Killing people sucks. It makes you feel bad, and it takes up so much of your time. What if you just didn't...

And we can see this with the way his lust for genocide is described. There's no mention of why he hates the land dwellers, no mention of how he believes society will improve with them gone, or even what they're doing that's so bad in the first place. He rambles at Feferi about "keeping the bloodlines pure" at one point, but this is clearly contradicted by him stating he wouldn't kill Kanaya, because what sort of friend would he be? (And the fact that he cares about Kanaya, Vriska, and the anon-blooded Karkat, who could be literally any blood color, at all!)

So yeah, like, the thing is, he doesn't want to kill them all. He even calls himself out for knowing his latest doomsday plot was a bust from the start:

You are almost starting not to care about this stupid doomsday device which probably won't even work. She probably KNOWS you know it won't work. She has probably put all the pieces together and knows it was an elaborate ruse to be in cahoots with her again.

And so does Feferi:

CC: None of your plots to kill t)(e land dwellers ever work out, and every doomsday device you get your )(ands on turns out to be a piece of junk! CA: so CA: i got to keep tryin thats howw all the great military masterminds became great through upright persevverance CC: I t)(ink deep down you stack t)(ese plots against you so you fail because you know it's wrong.

And here he is outright contradicting his stated goal of killing the land dwellers because, jegus, he'd never kill his friends:

CA: but somethin thatll kill all land dwwellers wwhat else wwould i be after GA: Can You Just For A Moment Entertain The Thoughts Of One Untouched By Megalomaniacal Derangement And Tell Me Why Id Want To Assist You With That CA: wwell CA: im not goin to vvery wwell kill you am i that wwould be fuckin unconscionable CA: wwhat kind of friend wwould i be

And a reminder that one of his closest friends at this point in time is Karkat, whose blood color is currently anonymous to his friend group, meaning he could be literally any blood color and Eridan wouldn't want him dead:

CC: You know, I'm not sure w)(y we never talk about our romantic aspirations. CC: We s)(ould more often. It is kind of -EXCITING! CA: shrug CC: Probably because you fill your gossip quota wit)( your nubby )(orned bro.

But Karkat also explicitly lumps himself in with the low bloods, so Eridan can't even use the excuse that Karkat might be nobility (but sea dwellers are still suppose to hate land dwelling nobility so that still wouldn't be a defense EVEN IF it was true):

CG: CHALK IT UP AS ANOTHER INFURIATING VICTORY FOR GUTTER BLOOD OVER ARISTOCRACY.

Because Eridan does not want to genocide the land dwellers. He's just anxious.