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persevereforahappyending · 9 months ago

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Maybe in Another Life |4|

Pairing: Clarisse La Rue x Hunter of Artemis!Reader

Summary: You are a Hunter of Artemis, but you start to question what you truly want when you meet Clarisse and get to know her.

Warnings: Slight Titans Curse Spoilers

Word Count: 2.6k+

Main Masterlist | Series Masterlist

ch. 1 | ch. 2 | ch. 3 | ch. 4 | ch. 5 | ch. 6 | ch. 7 | ch. 8 | ch. 9 | ch. 10 | ch. 11 | ch. 12 | ch. 13 | ch. 14 | ch. 15 | ch. 16 | ch. 17

“Just let me come,” you whisper yelled at Zoe. The sun had just started to come up and though all the Hunters were awake, the rest of the camp wasn’t.

“No,” Zoe whispered back harshly. “We went over this. You are needed here; you are in charge when Artemis and I aren’t around.”

“That was before Phoebe got sick,” you pointed to the bed where the other Hunters were taking care of Phoebe. The shirt the campers had gifted her had been laced with something making her sick and it was going to take to long for her to recover, the others needed to leave for the quest now.

“This doesn’t change anything. We’ll just do it with four.”

“The quest demands five.” You crossed your arms, daring Zoe to argue with you. The prophecy said five and though prophecies could be miss leading the one thing they tended to get right was the number of people involved. Trying to defy a prophecy tended to not work out.

“I need you here and I’m not taking anyone else. Now, we have to go.” Zoe nodded at Bianca who quickly grabbed her bag and went out the door to wait.

“Zoe-”

“My decision is final,” Zoe snapped. “Am I clear?” she stepped closer, looking up at you. You were taller, you were older, but that didn’t change the fact that Zoe was in charge.

“Understood,” you said.

With that Zoe swung her bag over her shoulder and marched out the door. You unclenched your jaw and slowly breathed out through your nose before following after her. You might not have been allowed to go on the quest but that didn’t mean you weren’t still going to see them off like you always did. You were silently hoping the dread you had been feeling ever since Artemis left on her mission was you just being paranoid and now with Zoe you wanted to write it off as being petty about not being able to go on the quest yourself.

As a daughter of Nike you desired victory, almost above all else, it was an issue many times. You had gotten better since joining the Hunters and Artemis helped show you victory wasn’t everything, though you still desired to win and be on top at the end of the day. Winning wasn’t the only thing being a child of Nike gave you though, you also could usually judge who would come out victorious in certain situations.

Whether it be watching a game, a sparing session, or watching two sides fight a war, Nike was always there. Nike could sense which side would come out on top. It’s one of the reasons, while Nike was seen with both Ares and Athena, she was usually more connected with being at Athena’s side. Ares loved a good fight and though he enjoyed winning, he didn’t really care one way or another, as long as the fight was good. Athena, however, was all about strategy and that usually led to her victory. Nike chose whose side to be at based on who was more likely guaranteed victory, she could sense it.

With this quest, a feeling had brewed inside you and had since stayed there. If you were to focus on it, you would find that you were sure that the quest would be a success. You could sense that the group would be victorious in their mission. However, you knew the victory, like most victories in time of war, would come at a great cost. Winning was usually everything, but there was something tugging at the back of your mind telling you that this time, despite the victory that loomed ahead, you��d rather take the lost, for you did not want to pay the price of this victory.

You followed Zoe and Bianca up to the entrance of Camp Half-Blood, seeing Thalia standing next to the tree she once was. “Reminiscing about old times?” you snarked unable to help yourself.

Thalia turned, taking her hand away from the tree it had been resting on. She only offered a glare before dismissing you and solely looking at Zoe. “Are we ready?” she asked, her arms crossed.

“Yes,” Zoe answered.

Zoe turned to you, ready to say something, but you were looking around at the group before you. “Aren’t you missing-”

“I’m here!” Grover yelled, running up to all of you as he struggled getting his bag over his shoulder. “I’m here,” he said again. He rested his hands on his hips as he began taking deep breaths after running all the way from wherever he had come from.

Zoe looked down at the wheezing satyr. You were starting to think maybe you were lucky for not going on the quest. “Let’s move,” Zoe said, turning on her heel and already marching off without the others.

“Zoe!” you called out. She turned, looking up at you from where she stood on the hill. You stared at her, trying to find the words you wanted to say. You ended up not needing to say anything, Zoe already knowing what you wanted to say gave you a nod.

You stood at the top of the hill, watching them set off until they disappeared from your line of sight once they hit the woods. You let out a sigh before turning and making your way back down the hill into camp. You didn’t bother going back to the cabin, you already knew you wouldn’t be any help to Phoebe so you might as well stay out of the way. Besides, you needed a distraction, your mind was already spiraling with what could potentially happen on the quest, what might happen to Zoe, and what Artemis must be going through.

You made your way to the training area, picking out a dummy on the far end. You unsheathed your sword and swung, nailing the dummy in the neck. You dealt blow after blow onto the poor training dummy, the wood was beginning to splinter.

“So, they left for the quest,” a voice interrupted your training dummy demolishing. You spun around, slashing the blade down onto the dummy’s neck causing a crack to echo throughout the still sleeping camp. With your sword still in hand you turned to see Percy standing there. He had wide eyes as he looked behind you at the nearly decapitated dummy. “Chiron won’t be happy.”

You rolled your eyes, the last thing you cared about was what Chiron thought. “It’s a training dummy, it’s literally what it’s meant for.” Percy didn’t say anything, he just stood there shifting from one foot to another. “What are you doing here? It’s barely morning.” You gestured around to the still dark sky; the sun was just beginning to peak up over the horizon.

“Look, I get you’re a Hunter,” he said defensively, waving his hands around, “and you hate all men.” You rested the hand still holding the sword on your hip as you raised an eyebrow at him. “But, you don’t even know me! We’ve never even had a real conversation. I don’t think it’s fair to judge me based on-”

“Have you ever considered,” you interrupted him. “That I don’t hate all men and me not liking you, is solely to do with you?”

Percy opened and closed his mouth a few times before settling on a frown. He looked up at you with wide eyes as he pouted. You rolled your eyes; it wasn’t like you were going to take it back or apologize. Percy was a tad annoying when you first met him and then the other day, he had the audacity to question your shooting skills, he might as well be an enemy for life after that.

“Not everyone likes you,” another voice interrupted the two of you. You looked up while Percy whipped around, nearly tripping over his own feet. “You should be used to that by now,” Clarisse looked Percy up and down as she approached you.

You looked at Percy as he just stood there staring at Clarisse, pouting. You raised an eyebrow wondering if he would get the hint, but you got the impression he was rather oblivious. Clarisse crossed her arms and continued to glare at him. “Why are you still here?” she snapped, causing Percy to jump from the sudden outburst. “Bye!” she gestured away with her hand which Percy took as his cue and ran off back towards the cabins.

It was still dark, the sun taking its time to rise. Percy never managed to answer you as to why he was wandering around so early. You didn’t really care; you wouldn’t be surprised if Percy had been intending to sneak off. He was bummed, he couldn’t go on the quest and the only thing on his mind seemed to be rescuing his friend.

Clarisse glanced over your shoulder at your mostly decapitated dummy. “Not bad,” she shrugged. “But a training dummy isn’t exactly a moving target.”

“Is that a challenge?” you questioned, your eyes lighting up with excitement. A fun and intense sparring session is exactly the kind of thing that could get you to stop thinking about Zoe and the quest.

She cocked her head to the side with a smirk. “Think you can keep up? This isn’t going to be some fun little,” she wiggled her hand, “bow and arrow trick.”

You chuckled, knowing she had no idea what she was getting herself into. “I thought you would have learned your lesson during capture the flag, guess not,” you sighed. “I’ll even give you an advantage,” you smirked. “You can choose the weapons.”

Clarisse clenched her jaw; you wouldn’t be surprised if she was grinding her teeth. You awaited her response with a smirk. “Swords,” she finally said through gritted teeth.

You silently laughed. “Okay.” You gestured for her to lead the way and you followed behind her. You were surprised she didn’t argue with you about you kicking her ass the day before. You were going to take it as her knowing you were right.

When you got to the sparring ring Clarisse walked to one side while you walked to the other. You watched as she pulled out her sword, examining it and twirling around in her hand. You looked down at your own sword, extending your arm as you played with the balance until Clarisse was ready. You turned to check on her to see she was turning to face you. You both stood across from each other at opposite ends before you each took a step into the ring at the same time.

You and Clarisse circled each other in the sparring ring. You twirled the sword in your hand as you watched her movements carefully. Just because it was sparring didn’t mean you’d let her win. A bow and arrow might have been the preferred weapon of Artemis and her Hunters but all of you were skilled in a variety of weapons. You might not have remembered much about your time before you became a Hunter, but you did remember the first weapon you ever picked up, the first weapon you ever killed a monster with was a sword. The bow and arrow was an extension of yourself now, a second arm, but picking up a sword was like greeting an old friend.

Your sword was one of the only things you carried from mortal life to your immortal one. You left everything behind, only taking the sword you now currently held in your hands. The sword was a relatively simple thing, well simple compared to something like Percy’s, yours didn’t turn into a pen at your convenience or reappear in your pocket no matter where you seemingly lost it. The blade was celestial bronze, like most demigod weapons, the hilt was steel, with a golden laurel wreath on each side of the pommel. You had it specially made from a blacksmith or maybe it was a child of Hephaestus, you couldn’t really remember, it had been a thousand years after all. Whoever forged it, you had them place laurel wreaths to represent your mother, to represent your impending victory.

You knew you wouldn’t have to wait long, children of Ares were impatient, as well as cocky and arrogant. Clarisse would make her first move and that would set your eventual victory into motion. As if on cue Clarisse swung her sword, you smirked as you brought your sword up, your blade meeting hers in a loud clash. You gripped your sword tightly before pushing back, forcing Clarisse to step back. She glared at you before making her next move.

Clarisse swung, you blocked. She swung at you, you blocked again. The two of you fell into a dance of slashing and blocking each other. You eventually gave in, swinging at her occasionally, you didn’t always play the defensive. You knew Clarisse was good in a fight, she had a powerful swing, but you were curious if she was just as good at defending herself. Being good in a fight was meaningless if you couldn’t protect yourself. You could be the best fighter in the world, but it didn’t matter if you couldn’t block a simple attack.

“How long have you guys been out here?” a feminine voice asked.

You and Clarisse just clashed swords, holding them against each other as both of you turned to see Silena approaching you. You and Clarisse each released your hold and turned to fully greet Silena. You and her had apparently been at it for a while, the sun had fully risen and there were other campers beginning to walk about around camp. You glanced at Clarisse to see she seemed just as shocked, neither of you had been aware of the passing time, the two of you were so engaged in your sparring match.

“It’s time for breakfast,” Silena said. “And you have to eat something,” she pointed an accusatory finger at Clarisse.

Clarisse rolled her eyes but nodded, nonetheless. She had her sword resting at her side as she tried to catch her breath. You didn’t realize how exhausted you were until the two of you stopped. You looked over at the daughter of Ares then down at yourself seeing that both of you were dripping in sweat.

“Uh oh, someone’s in trouble with the girlfriend,” you joked, not able to help but take another shot at her.

Clarisse flicked a glare at you. “She’s not my girlfriend.”

“You too!” Silena moved her accusatory finger towards you. “Breakfast important! And she is not my girlfriend,” she looked at Clarisse as if the idea of dating the girl horrified her.

“Yeah, cause she’s to busy being in love with Beckendorf,” Clarisse teased, smirking at her friend’s reddening face.

“I told you that in confidence,” Silena stepped forward, slapping Clarisse in the arm. There wasn’t enough force in the slap to hurt Clarisse, but she did stumble back, but not without laughing at Silena’s antics. “Let’s go,” she demanded. “And you’re joining us,” she pointed at you, narrowing her eyes so you knew there would be arguing or getting out of it.

You and Clarisse both shared a look, having the same thought about Silena. Regardless the two of you followed Silena to the dining pavilion. All of you gathered up breakfast on your plates, making your offering to the gods before taking a seat at one of the tables. It was still early enough that the pavilion wasn’t filled with campers. It almost felt weird how normal it felt sitting at a table other than the one designated for Hunters of Artemis. You had planned to sit quietly as Clarisse and Silena talked but Silena kept including you in the conversation until the three of you eased into a discussion, both of them asking about your travels with your goddess, the adventures you’d been on, and all the monsters you’ve slayed.

Taglist: @cxcilla

#clarisse la rue #clarisse la rue x reader #clarisse la rue x you #clarisse x reader #pjo #percy jackson #percy jackon and the olympians #maybe in another life

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hellfirenacht · 3 months ago

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Wing Man: Epilogue

Fic Summary: Steve ‘the Hair’ Harrington is your best friend, and is constantly striking out. Sick of this, you two make a deal; you’ll wing man for each other. Hooking Steve up with dates is easy, but he finds himself struggling to find you a date. At least, until Dustin starts talking about his new cool friend Eddie.

Chapter Summary: Corroded Coffin takes flight, and you're on air.

1.4k Words

(Master List 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15)

“Oh, is it on? Sorry about that everyone! You’d think after a year on air I’d get this cue right, but apparently we’re still working out some of the technical bugs for getting that timing right. Anyway, welcome back to LTRD, The Right Road to Good Music.”

That was a lie, you hadn’t missed the cue. You had only ever missed the cue once on your first week on air, and the few listeners had found it so funny that you had been instructed to keep it as a bit. The radio persona you put on was a bit more air-headed than you might have picked out for yourself, but you had fun with it.

In all the time you had tried to be on stage, who knew that you’d do better when no one could see you? The sound mixers not-withstanding, of course.

“In studio today we actually have Eddie Munson of Corroded Coffin fame here to tell us about their new studio album.” You smiled across the table at your boyfriend, who was leaning back casually in his chair, as if he’d done this a hundred times.

And he might as well have with how many times you two went over everything the past week to get ready for this interview.

“It was going to be a garage album, but it turns out the studio doesn’t want everything recorded on a tape recorder.” He gave you a winning smile that still gave you butterflies, even now a little over a year later.

“With the way your popularity has taken off in the area, I’m sure more than a few people would be willing to shell out for that.”

“Maybe, but we aren’t shell outs.” Eddie looked at you with the biggest grin and you had to take a deep breath. That had NOT been in your practice, and you were so mad that stupid joke almost made you laugh.

“Welp, this has been a good interview, but we’re gonna have to cut it short- I’m joking, Merv.” You said to the station director who was shooting you a look. “So, tell us about the new album.”

“Thanks for having me on to talk about this.” Eddie said, fiddling with one of his rings. His hair had grown even longer in the past year, falling down just passed his chest now. His arms had a few more tattoos, and you knew from up close and personal experience that his thighs now had a few very nice pieces. You tried not to think about that while you were on air. “The new album is coming out this October, and it’s called Fire Shroud. The whole album is heavily inspired by a Dungeons and Dragons campaign that we all played together a few years ago.”

“Dungeons and Dragons?” you asked, pretending to know less than you did for the sake of the interview. “Pretty brave to say that on air. I think we had a few people storm the phone lines a few weeks ago for dating to mention the game.”

Eddie grabbed the mic and pulled it closer to him. “I want people to know that enjoying fantasy, using your imagination, and learning basic math isn’t even close to the Satanic bullshit people say it is- wait, can I say that on air?”

You looked at the clock, it was just passed 1 am. “Fuck no.” you smiled at him.

“Good.” he continued. “Listen, whatever freaky sacrificial rituals I do, happen in my off time when I’m not playing music or running a game.”

“I take it that the blood just gets all over the game board?”

“I spend so long painting my game pieces, so I don’t like getting blood on my hard work.”

The interview went on like this for a while, and you and Eddie effortlessly went through the basic points that you two needed to hit. The albums release, how excited Corroded Coffin was to be working on this, and how excited they were to hopefully put the game that meant so much to them in a better light.

“So, if anyone wants to come see Corroded Coffin live, where can they go to see you?”

“We’re actually playing a few venues and theaters in the Indianapolis area next month, we’ll be sharing the stage with a few other bands. We are also going to be helping out with one of the shows at the latest Rocky Horror Picture Show revival soon.”

Columbia (you were sure Robin told you her real name at some point, but she would always be Columbia in your mind), had staged a coup after the theater had been handed over to Left Turn. She had taken the remaining members and had gone to another theater. When news about Corroded Coffin’s graduation take-over hit, she had Robin reach out to you and you had talked to Eddie and everything came together pretty easily from there. It would only be for one night, but you found yourself really looking forward to seeing the show again.

Merve signaled at you to wrap it up, and when the light went off you sighed and sagged in your seat. Eddie got up to get you some coffee, and you were thankful for that. Being a late night radio host had made your sleep schedule a bit weird, but you wouldn’t change it for the world.

“Are we still on for breakfast when you get off?” He asked. “Still doing a double date with Steve and his latest girlfriend?”

You snorted. “As far as I know. He might sleep in again and miss it.”

“Well, if he does then we’ll just get breakfast to go and I can keep you to myself then.” Eddie said. “I’ll need a nap after this.”

“You know, you don’t have to stick around. You can go home and get some sleep.” you suggested. “Just because I’m here all night, it doesn’t mean that you have to be. You already spend most of your time down the hall with the rest of the boys.”

“I gotta make sure no creeps call in and try and flirt with you.” he said. “Not while I’m here.”

“Eddie, I do this five nights a week, and I’ve only had, what, maybe 3 creeps call in and most times Merv is able to catch them before they make it on air.” You reached up and scratched at his scalp. “I appreciate the concern, though.”

Eddie yawned and closed his eyes. “I’m not leaving.” he mumbled, his eyes closing. “If I go home, I know I’ll miss picking you up.”

“We drove here separately.” you laughed. “Go take a nap on the couch in the break room. I’ll wake you up when it’s time to go.”

“Fine, but I’m taking your blanket.” He said, grabbing the fleece that was draped over your chair. Eddie leaned in and gave you a kiss. “Knock ‘em dead, baby.”

“Only if you bury them.” you smiled back at him.

The night went on with music, call-ins, news, and weather. When the first rays of morning light peaked through the windows of Left Turn Studios, you signed off, got your notes from Merv, and went to the break room where your boyfriend was already nursing a room temperature cup of coffee.

“Let’s get you some real coffee.” you took the flimsy cup away from him and tossed it in the trash.

Eddie stood up and leaned in and kissed you, his hand cupping your jaw. You hummed against his lips and wrapped your arms around his waist.

“What was that for?” you asked as he pulled back.

“It’s a better wake up than shitty coffee.” He said, kissing your forehead. “But now I want mediocre coffee.”

It was a surprisingly cool morning as the two of you stepped out of the studio. You said your hellos to the morning shift as they filed in, and Eddie walked you to your car. “See you at the diner. If Harrington doesn’t show up within fifteen minutes, we’re taking our food to go.”

“Can’t argue with that.” You agreed.

Within an hour, you were dozing off on Eddie’s chest in bed together. Your leftover breakfast pushed to the side as MTV played some song that you were glad you didn’t have to put on your show. Eddie’s arm was around your shoulders and tracing patterns absently against your skin.

There had once been a time where you felt like a fish out of water, and then later you could breathe. Now, so long after making the dumb little deal with Steve you realized you weren’t meant for the land or sea.

From now on, you could fly.

a/n: The End

Dividers by: @strangergraphics

Tag List @k8loo @terrormonster55 @sp1dyb0y1008 @crocwork-clockodile @ali-r3n

@mxcheese @josephquinnschesthair @gagasbee @peaches-roses-sins @witchwolflea

@vintagehellfire @royale1803 @cumslutforaemond @prestinalove @browneyedgirly93

@perpetualmessmachine @thebook-hobbit @cultish-corner @grishaversecaptivated @sortagaysortahigh

@siriuslysmoking @huffledor-able541 @pookiesnatcher @eddiesguitarskills @browneyes-8288

@sheneedsrocknroll92 @kores-mun-son-n-more @eddiebuttcheeks @kirsteng42 @dreamerjj

@moonisu @em022O @cosmorant @kurdtbean

#nacht fic #eddie munson x reader #eddie munson x you #eddie munson x y/n

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gentlefangz · 8 months ago

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ithink this is what tumblr would be like in the dogman universe: a simulator

😀 randomcivillian-956 follow

can those villain asshats get control of those goddamn monsters i have lost literally every single fucking thing thanks to those brainless pieces of shits last week a fucking T-REX SKELETON destroyed my fucking HOUSE and everything around it

🪻 inmylane-1999

how are you able to say those words

😀 randomcivillian-956 follow

what words?

🪻 inmylane-1999 the a word, f word, and s word

😀 randomcivillian-956 follow

oh i see you're one of the Collardale inhabitants. screw the fuck off your town is a CURSE

🪻 inmylane-1999

what did i do? :(

10 notes

🪰 greenweirdthingwithteeth follow

hnstly i dont get y Daryl hangs arnd that pig guy hes rlly mean & bad

🐊 piethrowingboss

didnt u help us go after him when he ditched us after the mini jail broke 2 bits?

🪰 greenweirdthingwithteeth follow

yeh butt hes still rlly mean & i was a lil moar concerned 4 Daryl

🐊 piethrowingboss

ohhhh kk

5 notes

🐕 zupabuddiezthezenutz

zomg did u guyz watch that new mini-documentary w/ Petey The Cat n Zarah Hatoff??? that waz tragickk..

#holy shart i have so much moar respect 4 him now..

6 notes

🔄 24hotdogsatyourdoorstep reblogged

🌆 icareforyou follow

still dont know why people are supporting Petey Duckhat just because of that documentary, didn't he terrorize the city for more than a month or two?? ntm he quite literally MUTILATED Officer Knight and Greg The Dog's bodies bad enough with that bomb to where they had to become that sick and horrible abomination i have to stomach through seeing on the news every week.

😀 randomcivillian-956 follow

i know right?? like hes genuinely a horrible cat but people are supporting him for no other reason other than "oh hes a victim!!" like shut the fuck up and grow up.

comicpanel-deactivated-98325749857

op i wouldn't say DogMan is sick and horrible, he seems to be in great condition despite such an accident and hard surgery to conduct, and looks perfectly happy. while i don't support Petey Duckhat either, you took it a step further and suggested that DogMan is currently in conditions horrible enough to render him an "abomination".

🌆 icareforyou follow

dont you post tips for fucking evil monsters on your blog.

#LMAOOO dude was SLAUGHTERED so hard they deactivated #redogs

1,509 notes

🌭 24hotdogsatyourdoorstep

walking on the street with a small can of living spray in my pocket and the nearest cop explodes into blood guts and viscera

10 notes

🦷 bigmonsterinyourheart

okay i get that Dr. Scum is a real and kinda sucky person and all that but his labcoat kinda fucks!!

0 notes

✨ lookatthestars

Hot take or whatever but I don't think we should trust a guy who gets really distracted by squirrels and balls and a kitten who could easily get hurt to protect our city. Lightning Dude IS one of the better options as they ARE a highly durable and strong robot, but The Bark Knight and Cat Kid maybe aren't our best bets, they could get hurt easily and aren't exactly professionals.

Don't get me started on the Friendly Friends, I don't think we can trust two guys who JUST left the same exact trio that was responsible for that marshmallow factory's destruction (which left many injured, some DEAD), what if they're pretending? Also the bugs could easily get killed, they're small and fragile, the most work they can do without a high risk of getting smashed is spying on villains.

Commander Cupcake's a different story, as I'm pretty sure that guy only helped out, like, 3 times.

#anti-supa buddies #anti-friendly friends #twinkle twinkle little star

15 notes

🪁 lalalalala89

dude imagine if we were in a book rn and ppl were posting on tumblr abt us

0 notes

🎠 supastarr

remember, calico trans toms are perfectly valid! even cis toms can be calicos, and fur pattern doesn't determine exact gender, especially with fur dying technology nowadays! :)

506 notes

#dogman #dog man #matthew.txt #IVE BEEN WORKING ON THISS POST FOR 4EVER TRYING 2 FIGURE OUT DOGMAN UNIVERSE DISCOURSE TOPICS

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thedevilrisen · 1 month ago

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Welcome to my 300 follower celebration! This number to me is astounding and I am so, so, so grateful for each and everyone of you!

As usual I will be doing what I call a prompt celly which consists of my prompt poll and my prompt lists which you can find here! I will be taking requests from today to the end of October so you have 16 days!

The first prompt poll is here!

Here are the prompts for requesting!

Coffee Shop Prompts

"Do you come here often?" "I work here, so what can I get for you?"

"I will not drink whatever you just ordered for me. That would be considered torture under the Geneva Convention."

"Why would you come to a cat café if you're afraid of cats?"

"That is enough caffeine for one day, I'm cutting you off."

"You can't just connect your phone and change the music, just because you dislike my playlist."

"That is the worst way anyone has ever spelled my name."

"Yes, you can sit here, but I'm not a small talk kind of person, so don't try."

"I'm not getting paid enough for this." "You say that at the slightest inconvenience." "And I'm always right."

"So sorry I spilled your coffee, let me get you a new one."

"I've never seen so many people here." "Well, we have Wi-fi and we have air conditioning, the people love us right now."

Drunken Love Confessions

Concerned Angsty Questions

1. “Should I call someone for you?”

2. “Did you take anything?”

3. “Do you want to tell me happened?”

4. “When was the last time you ate anything?”

5. “Can you walk?”

6. “How do you think this will all end?”

7. “Do you need an ambulance?”

8. “Were you crying?”

9. “Should someone help you get home?”

10. “Do you know where you are?”

11. “Can you tell me your name?”

12. “Where do you want me to take you to?”

13. “Do you need my help?”

14. “How do you feel now?”

15. “Can I do anything that would make it better?”

16. “Do you want my jacket?”

17. “Can you let me see your eyes?”

18. “Should I stay a bit longer?”

19. “Will you be alright?”

20. “Do you have someone who can look after you?”

Sick/Comfort

“How did you end up like this?”

Burning Up then Freezing Cold

Caught in the Rain

Herbal Remedy

“Could you just hold me?”

Spoon-Feeding

“I’m still not used to being taken care of.”

“Couldn’t you keep your cold to yourself.”

Face Masks

“You’re safe, it was just a dream.”

“You’re burning up!”

Role Reversal – Medic to Sickie

“I wouldn’t even trust you to boil tea in your condition!”

Falling asleep in the wrong place

Guiding sickie back to bed

“Is it me or is it really warm in here?”

“I know you want to help but you’re only making things worse.”

Delirious

“I know ice cream is good for sore throats but that’s way too much!”

Lost Voice/Strep Throat

From better to worse

“Our date can wait! You’re far more important.”

“You need a tissue?”

“Don’t you think you should stay home today?”

Standing Vigil

“You sure I’m sick? Because I feel fine.”

Vacation Disaster

“Well, it sounds to me like you need a little bit of TLC.”

Late Night Dialogue

#risen rambles :d #cici's celebrations 🌼#luke hughes #jack hughes #sidney crosby #quinn hughes #nc57 #sh48 #trevor zegras #cole caufield #alex turcotte #alex vlasic #wyatt johnston #brock boeser #evgeni malkin #kris letang

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not-5-rats · 5 months ago

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I love being goth in Scotland /sarc (these people are so mean, like bro let me be creative-)

Bug Question/Scenario times <33333

1) Modern! AU

Be honest, ever taken an 'Am I Gay?' quiz? (Also what's ur Bugs sexuality/gender identity? I got a stupid doodle idea (it'll make sense when I show y'all))

2) Uh oh, Bodie worked hard and cooked your Bug a meal without knowing they really dislike one of the ingredients! Does your Bug tell him or just suffer through it?

3) Are they good at keeping track of their possessions or do they often lose things?

4) Bloodmoon Swap! AU

How do they hunt/kill people? What's their strategy?

5) Scenario #1 (this shit is super long I'm sorry bros)

Bug had been looking for Chester round the house for like 15 minutes, yet they couldn't find him. That was until they saw him coming out of the room his younger sisters were staying in.

He was clearly exhausted, his pasture was slouched, his eyes half-closed...he looked as though he was about to fall asleep right there. They asked why he looked like shit, he chuckled

"Daisy's sick, she couldn't sleep, couldn't eat, just kept throwing up- been watching her since like 9 last night and only now has she gone for a nap"

He dragged himself through to the living room then threw himself onto the floor beside the couch. He sat on the floor, his back resting against the couch as he sighed out of relief, finally free for a couple of minutes. Bug went and sat on the opposite side of the couch.

"...do you think I'm an alright guardian?"

Bug looked at him, clearly a bit confused by his question. They asked him to elaborate

"Y'know to Daisy and Fran. Out of all my siblings I'm the one least...suited to taking care of kids. Felix is social, caring, always got the energy to play with them, Audrey is organised, knows how to manage kids, can afford to get them the toys and shit they need! Whilst I...I'm just a grump, a sad asshole, who barely ever has any energy"

He pressed his face into his hand, rubbing his forehead as he went on

"They deserve somebody who's gonna be more involved in their life...more than I can give them. But there's no other fucking choice. Mum and Dad ain't in the equation anymore, Felix doesn't have the space for them and Audrey is so busy...they have nowhere else to go...but I'm not fit to be a parent, I'm not fit to take care of them, they need so much more. I just want them to be happy, but I don't think they are happy"

He let his head fall back on the edge of the couch, he didn't look upset, he just seemed blank. Dead even. The only hint of emotion they could see on his face was a shimmer of anger in his eyes..and that anger was towards himself.

What does bug do?

6) Do they enjoy celebrating their birthday?

7) Scenario #2 (ik I'm talking alot rn! It's the holidays I have nothing else to do rn lol)

Most of the Bugs had went out to town in order to collect some new resources, but Chester has stayed back to take care of the baby bugs. Bug had overslept that morning so by the time they woke up the Bugs were already gone...so they bad to stay behind with Chez and the little ones.

Bug and Chez had been talking bout how everything had been going the past few weeks, how the recent town visits had gone, Chez made some sort of joke which resulted in Bug giving him a rough flick to the forehead, this made him chuckle.

Suddenly Chez had to quickly run off as one of the young ones had gotten themself stuck in the top branches of a tree

As soon as he was gone though Fran appeared in his place, an unusual smile creeping on her face as she started quickly signing to Bug

'you know he really cares about you, he isn't very good at showing it but he really cares about all of you'

Bug smiled and questioned Fran on how she was so sure that he cared, she giggled before responding

'cause if he didn't he would've shut down completely when you poked him, he doesn't like people being anywhere near him let alone touch him at all'

Fran kept smiling as she looked over at her older brother, struggling immensely to get the little kid out of the tree. (Like comically on his tippee toes, arms stretched right up as the kid clung to the branches.)

Bug thought about all the times Chez had hugged them, not even just them, all the Bugs! He was always offering a hug, patting them on the back, poking them, etc...and all of it was just a big show of how much he trusted/ cared abt them

*hands the mic to you* here ya go

☆---------------☆

Tags -

@rozeliyawashereyall @willowve01 @asmrbrainrot @kaiamtt @iistxrmyskyii @insignificant-anarchy @stxph-artist @aspenm00n @keyaartz @fangsshadow @rustycopper4use @piffany666 @dreamyshape @idontevenknow7878 @lunaritychuwolf @littlesiren79 @castbracelet240 @strayharmony943 @proxdragon @tiefling-chaos @threeweekinsomnia @recated @wilderrorcard @diamondzoey @fennaboysenberry @lunnats @lightdragon789 @pinkcocopuff-aqualoid @itsargyle @astralbulldragon13 @ccstiles @puffin-smoke @fruity0salad @takashishihoin @reefhastoomanyaccs

#not projecting throughout this thing #nope-#maybe-#i feel like i've eaten a rock rn #ow #bug army #asking thingssss #the bug army #gator boys #obsidian lantern #capital m audios #mage bunkshelf #daysprite

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cressthebest · 9 months ago

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Tender Curiosities, Baby! thoughts pt. 2

chapter 2:

1. barty being referred to as “bartemus” only further confirms why he chooses not to go by that name. jesus christ, it’s a bad name

2. his father just straight up called barty gay. like, unprompted, not even with malice. wtf guys.

3. 😑😐😑😐 blink blink. why is barty straight up just deciding to be straight because he wants to spite his dad. that’s wild (i promise i love this fic)

4. barty meeting regulus <333 they’re brothers your honor! they love each other!

5. “Every time they locked eyes, he’d forget how to breathe, and Barty found himself working overtime to make Evan smile.” GAYYY

6. barty going to reg when he runs away <333333333 i love them so much

7. the origin of barty pretending to like tea for reg 😭😭

8. they may be criminals! they may murder people! but barty asks for consent when having sex with evan! and i love him for it!

9. awww barty, it’s okay if you’re gay. you’re father can be right about this one thing. it’s okay. don’t keep doing this to yourself

10. barty is literally like, i’m not gay. but i’m gonna sleep with you sometimes. but in a straight way. and i’ll also live with you. and keep you in my life forever. cause you make my life worth living, in a straight way of course 😑

11. god, i finally see the appeal of rosekiller. one of my favorite ships now, yall

12. barty 😭😭 this is getting ridiculous. evan left for a bit and he’s like, “evan broke up with us! as freinds!” like oooh you’re so close there buddy. try again.

13. regulus is so british 😭😭 “oh dear. i’ll make some tea.” jfc that was so funny to me.

chapter 3:

1. evan, my dear. distance and time will not remove your crush on barty

2. Orion is sick! fuck yeah!!!

3. oh no. sirius left reg. i knew it was gonna happen, but it hurts so bad

4. “I’m sorr–congrats-ry?” DYING. that’s what evan says when regulus says orion is dying. like jfc he’s so silly

5. evan and barty have a job with regulus now!!!!!!!!!! i can’t wait for them to be business partners forever! and no one dies 😊

6. YALL!! REGULUS IS MAKING HIS PLANS FOR *THE* HEIST

7. BARTY WAS SHOT ON THE JOB??? i feel like i knew this was gonna happen, but i’m still shocked

8. god, what’s crazy is that reg is having flashbacks to when sirius was shot. he’s saying stuff like “i won’t leave you again”. my BABIES

9. “if you ever talk to me about Sirius like that again, Evan, it’ll be the last thing you ever fucking say to me.” HOLY SHIT that’s crazy. i’m pretty sure reg just threatened evan’s life

10. 😳😳 reg was fucking barty’s doctor. that’s wild

11. the people who shot barty no longer have fingers 😦 wow

12. !!!!! reg is on the phone with james for the first time

13. oh my god. i love seeing james and reg meet from the other perspective this time. reg fixed up his hair and dressed up to meet james 😭😭

14. evan and barty are planning on being together forever!! (not yet as partners, but we’re getting there)

15. THEYRE KISSING AGAIN

16. WAIT WHAT evan just told barty to fuck off. oh my god

#marauders #mwpp #art heist baby #mwpp era #regulus black #ao3 #fanfic #evan rosier #barty crouch junior #tender curiosities baby #barty crouch jr #barty x evan #rosekiller #cress' ahb reviews

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choicesseptemberchallenge2023 · 1 year ago

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[Masterlist]

Welcome to Choices September Challenge!

Hello everyone! I'm Aura (@midnightmelodiz ). This is my first time hosting this monthly challenge, so I'm really excited about it. I really hope you all will like the prompts chosen for this month.

🍁GUIDELINES🍁

This is a prompt based contest. There's a prompt given for everyday, using which you'll have to create a content. Some days have multiple prompts, and different types of prompts. Feel free to use them all in the same work if you want.

You can use multiple prompt for the same work if the prompts are for same day. Don't mix and match prompts from different days.

Almost all kind of contents are acceptable. List of acceptable contents : fanfictions, drabbles, short-story/one-shot , poetry, microtale, art, mood board, theme, banner or other graphics etc.

Work based on any book from the Choices universe are welcome.

Submitted works will be featured on a weekly masterlist.

You can participate as many times as you want throughout the month.

Multiple entries for the same prompt, or same day prompts are allowed.

If your work contains NSFW/mature or triggering content, please use appropriate warning.

Mention/list the prompt(s) you are using in your content.

If possible, in stories, drabbles etc., write the prompt(s) in bold.

You can use the tag #choicesseptemberchallenge2023 & #choicesmonthlychallenge .

Please tag @choicesseptemberchallenge2023, feel free to tag me too : @midnightmelodiz . You can dm me your entries as well since Tumblr glitches a lot. Honestly I'd prefer if you dm your works, as Tumblr tags don't always work.

If I don't mention your work in the weekly masterlist, please send me a dm with the link.

🍂PROMPTS🍂

🍁 DAY 1 : Memories •||• "I can't be who you want me to be"

🍁 DAY 2 : Stars •||• Two people who keep crossing paths but miss actually meeting.

🍁 DAY 3 : Sea, Ocean •||• "You really like it?" "No, I was kidding."

🍁 DAY 4 : Moonlight, Moon •||• They have been secretly in love with each other for a long time.

🍁 DAY 5 : Diary, Journal, Notebook •||• "We're here now. Everything's alright."

🍁 DAY 6 : Dreams, Day Dream •||• "I'm in love with you!"

🍁 DAY 7 : Hope •||• Sharing something personal about them that they've never shared with anyone before.

🍁 DAY 8 : Coffee, Hot Beverage •||• "Come back! I'm not ready to get up yet. So you aren't either."

🍁 DAY 9 : Date Night •||• "I'm home, sweetheart!"

🍁 DAY 10 : Gift •||• "I care about you. I always will."

🍁 DAY 11 : Travel, Holiday , Vacation •||• Sharing an ice-cream together.

🍁 DAY 12 : Books, Reading, Writing •||• "You and me, it's never going to happen."

🍁 DAY 13 : Flowers •||• "I want to be with you." "I don't."

🍁 DAY 14 : Polaroid, Picture •||• Clicking candid pictures of their S/O to capture the special moments.

🍁 DAY 15 : Childhood, Nostalgia •||• "I love you. It's always going to be you."

🍁 DAY 16 : Cooking, Baking •||• Pretending to date each other to get out of a situation.

🍁 DAY 17 : Picnic •||• "That's all I really need. Some time with just you."

🍁 DAY 18 : Cuddle, Snuggle •||• Taking care of the other when they're sick or feeling low.

🍁 DAY 19 : Museum, Library •||• Picturing a future together even though they know it might never be true.

🍁 DAY 20 : Blue •||• " Are you saying that there's hope? Maybe in the future-" "No."

🍁 DAY 21 : Love, Kiss •||• Sending love letters to the other.

🍁 DAY 22 : Friends, Friendship •||• "It feels like I've known you forever."

🍁 DAY 23 : Fall •||• "I'm seeing someone."

🍁 DAY 24 : Serene •||• "Guess all those romance novel paid off after all, huh?"

🍁 DAY 25 : Secret, Surprise •||• "Is that my shirt?"

🍁 DAY 26 : Chocolate •||• Predicting the other's words or moves.

🍁 DAY 27 : Sunset •||• "Why did I know you would say that?"

🍁 DAY 28 : Wedding •||• "I always knew you would get together someday. What took you two so long?"

🍁 DAY 29 : rêveur, rêveuse •||• " You are all I could ever ask for."

🍁 DAY 30 : Home, Heart •||• "I'm here for you. Always."

**{Credit for most of the dialogue prompts goes to this blog~ @youneedsomeprompts}**

Have fun creating!

#choices stories you play #choices #choices monthly challenge #choicesmonthlychallenge #choicesseptemberchallenge2023 #choices september challenge 2023 #writing prompt #dialogue prompt #fic prompt #prompt challenge #word prompt

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scary-grace · 1 year ago

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Love Like Ghosts (Chapter 12) -- a Shigaraki x f!Reader fic

You knew the empty house in a quiet neighborhood was too good to be true, but you were so desperate to get out of your tiny apartment that you didn't care, and now you find yourself sharing space with something inhuman and immensely powerful. As you struggle to coexist with a ghost whose intentions you're unsure of, you find yourself drawn unwillingly into the upside world of spirits and conjurers, and becoming part of a neighborhood whose existence depends on your house staying exactly as it is, forever. But ghosts can change, just like people can. And as your feelings and your ghost's become more complex and intertwined, everything else begins to crumble. (cross-posted to Ao3)

Chapters: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21

Chapter 12

Any workday when you don’t go to work and aren’t sick feels strange, but you only got three words into explaining why you wanted the day off before Mr. Yagi excused you. Now you’re running around to every nursery and garden shop in the city, asking which of their plants are invasive, and buying all of them, leaving a trail of environmentalists who hate you in your wake. You’re going to have to go out of town if you ever want to buy plants again, but you’ve got plenty of plants. Enough plants to power up Dabi, Nemuri, and Tomura to a truly ridiculous degree.

“I don’t know if this is a good idea,” Keigo says when he sees you coming with the fifth oversized butterfly bush of the day. “He can’t control his consumption rate the way he used to.”

“Who cares? It’s not like I need to materialize.” Dabi is eyeing the new plant in a way that creeps you out. Four pots with charred-to-death trees are already sitting in Keigo’s front yard. “When my conjurer gets here, I’m going to burn him from the inside out.”

“Not a chance,” Nemuri says from across the street. She’s hanging out on your front porch, barely materialized. “He’s tortured two of my friends. I get to suffocate him.”

“Fuck you both. This is my neighborhood.” Tomura’s not materialized at all, but his voice echoes up and down the street. “He’s mine to kill.”

This has been going on all day. “You’re all pretty,” Keigo says, exasperated, which cracks you up. Your laughter sounds ever so slightly hysterical. “Whoever gets him first can do the honors.”

Keigo hasn’t heard the same legend Spinner has, then – that, or the idea of Dabi getting sucked back into the world between doesn’t bother him very much. As far as potential conjurer assassins go, you think Nemuri’s most likely to do the deed. She’s stronger than Dabi is, and unlike Tomura, she’s free to move around the neighborhood. Likely as not, she’ll deal with the conjurer, and the rest of you won’t have anything to do at all.

At least, that’s what you’re hoping. You believe everyone when they talk about how strong Tomura is. You doubt there are many ghosts who could go up against him and win. But you remember what Mr. Yagi said about conjurers drawing power from the world between through multiple conduits, and you remember what Aizawa said about who usually wins in clashes between ghosts and conjurers of equal or greater power. Tomura could face one ghost. Maybe even ten. But twenty, or fifty, or a hundred? You don’t see how it could work, and you don’t know how many ghosts Garaki has left to draw from.

As terrible as it feels to admit, you’re okay with sacrificing Nemuri. When it comes down to it, you’d sacrifice Dabi, too, although you wouldn’t like upsetting Keigo. It’s Tomura you don’t want to lose. He’s got a lot of strength, but he’s never used it. With that in mind, you find yourself going to Hizashi for help for the second time in the last twenty-four hours.

You find him ransacking your garden shed for makeshift weapons. He doesn’t notice you, and you take the opportunity to scare him for once, something you regret doing the instant you hear the earsplitting shriek he lets out. Inside the house, Phantom howls. “What do you want, human?” Hizashi snaps, red in the face. “Don’t you have more plants to buy?”

“Not right now,” you say. Nemuri told you to stop bringing them. She and Dabi are maxed out, and if you power Tomura up anymore he might blow up the house. “I know you’ve killed a conjurer before. Have you killed a ghost?”

Hizashi raises an eyebrow. “That’s a personal question.”

“Get over it,” you say, ignoring the affronted sound he makes. “Have you killed a ghost?”

Hizashi glances left, then right, like he’s checking for eavesdroppers. Then he nods. “Good,” you say. “I need you to teach Tomura how.”

“I know how,” Tomura says, indignant. You should have known he’d be listening. “They die the same way anything else does.”

“No, they don’t,” Hizashi says, pointedly avoiding your eyes. “If you try draining another ghost, it won’t work. You’ll just keep sucking up power from the world between, and once you exceed your capacity, you’ll blow apart. It’s a stupid way to die, which would be in-character for you.”

For once, Tomura doesn’t rise to the bait. “So I’ll send power to them. That way they’ll blow up instead of me.”

Hizashi looks surprised, but he shouldn’t be. Tomura catches on fast when he wants to. “Right, but it’s a weird feeling. It’s the opposite of what comes naturally to us. It’s not something you want to try for the first time in the middle of a fight.”

“Then I need somebody to practice on,” Tomura decides. He raises his voice. “Hey, idiot –”

“No,” Hizashi says as Dabi shouts back from across the street, calling Tomura something unrepeatable. “Dabi and Nem are both maxed out. You can’t use them.”

“What about Shirakumo?” you suggest. “If we could get rid of the ghost –”

“That ghost is my friend, and separating them like that could kill them both,” Hizashi snaps. He turns away from you and begins to pace back and forth in front of the shed. “If you really want to practice, you gloomy brat – not that you’ll need it, Nem will handle most of this before Garaki clears the top of the street – there’s only one way to do it. And you’re not going to like it.”

Tomura’s influence deepens, so dark and threatening that even you can feel it. “That’s not an option.”

“That’s your only option. You can’t practice on a live ghost, and there’s only one person on the planet you care enough about hurting to make this even slightly safe,” Hizashi says, and it clicks into place for you. “Ghostly energy doesn’t affect them the same as it affects us, and you need to get used to the sensation of discharging power.”

“I’ve done it before. When I fucked up the fence.”

“By accident. You need to do it on purpose.” Hizashi lowers his voice, and you can tell he’s trying to sound reassuring. “You don’t need to use a lot, and even if you overdo it by accident, it won’t hurt her. She’ll glow in the dark until it burns off, but that’s it.”

“No.”

“Yes,” you say. You’re not sure how much you trust Hizashi, but you’re damn sure that Tomura needs to know how to fight properly. “It’s fine. Let’s do it.”

“No!” Tomura’s voice is sharp and angry. “Don’t be stupid. I’ll use his human.”

“You don’t give a shit about my human,” Hizashi snaps. “I don’t trust you with him. To be honest, I don’t trust you with her. I don’t even trust you with that dog. But you need to learn, and if she’s okay with it –”

He breaks off midsentence. For a second you wonder if Tomura’s silenced him somehow, but then you see the way Hizashi’s making eye contact with empty space and realize that he and Tomura are talking. It takes you a second to grasp the implications, and once you do, unease uncoils in the pit of your stomach. Tomura changed the mode of communication. Whatever he and Hizashi are talking about, it’s not something he wants you to hear.

The silent part of the conversation ends when Hizashi shakes his head. “Tough shit,” he says out loud. “If you want to win against whatever’s coming here tonight, this is how it has to be.”

Tomura materializes slower than you’ve ever seen him do it. “Good,” Hizashi says. He looks to you. “Hold your hand out.”

You extend your hand and Tomura takes it. His hand is cold, like always, but it’s shaky in a way that makes you worried. “It’s okay,” you say.

Tomura won’t look at you. “Shut up.”

“It’s time,” Hizashi says. “Take the smallest amount of power you can and deliberately push it out. It’s going to feel unnatural to you, but remember, it’s not going to hurt her.”

Tomura’s eyes are closed, concentrating. You see Hizashi waving his hand in your peripheral vision, and you glance at him in time to see him mouth two words, then raise a finger to his lips. He’s sorry. He’s saying he’s sorry, and shushing you – and then a rush of cold sweeps over you, obliterating every thought and feeling in its path except one. Pain.

Hizashi lied. You know why he lied. You’ve got no idea how he successfully lied to Tomura, or if he lied at all and Tomura decided that learning to fight was worth hurting you. You decided it was, didn’t you? That’s why you volunteered. That’s why you feel like razor-sharp shards of ice are piercing through every last nerve in your body.

But that’s not the only thing you feel. Your own feelings might be gone, but in their place there’s something else – a vast, yawning emptiness, unfathomably deep and dark. Other emotions waver at its edge, confusion and hurt and fear, and slowly but surely they’re being dragged down into the black hole at the center of it all. Loneliness, or hopelessness. In Tomura’s world, they’re one and the same. That’s what this is, what these are. This is Tomura’s power. This is how he feels.

The cold dissipates suddenly, and you hear Hizashi’s voice addressing Tomura. “I’m guessing that’s all the control you’re capable of exerting. How did that feel?”

Tomura’s voice sounds strange. “You’re sure it doesn’t hurt her?”

“Definitely,” Hizashi says. You blink hard, trying to clear your vision. “Ask her. Go ahead.”

Hizashi’s at least a little bit of a sadist. “I’m fine,” you say before Tomura can ask. “Just a little cold.”

“Let’s go again,” Hizashi says, and you revise your assessment from “a little bit of a sadist” to “fully sadistic”. “One time’s a fluke. Let’s see if you can replicate it.”

It’s worse this time, because you know what’s coming. The pain is bad enough, but you’re afraid of seeing what you saw before – that glimpse into Tomura’s feelings rattled your mind more than you want to admit. You keep your eyes open this time, and instead of feeling, you see. You’re not seeing your world through Tomura’s eyes. You’re seeing through Tomura’s eyes, back into the world he came from. The world between.

You can’t grasp it, not all the way. Trying feels like it’s twisting your mind apart. There’s no light, no direction, no up or down or left or right; no landmarks to work from, no wind to push in one direction or the other – but you can feel at the same time that there are features, structures, humming cities that you can perceive but not see. The world between is empty and boiling with life at once, a different kind of life than you can grasp, a different kind than you can understand. If you wanted to understand it. You don’t. All you want is for it to stop.

“Ease off,” you hear Hizashi say, and the world between disappears from your sight. Tomura’s all that’s in your field of vision now. “Was it easier this time?”

Tomura nods, but he’s looking at you. “We can stop now. I know how to do it.”

“One more time,” Hizashi says. He’s getting off on this. He has to be. “Prove to me that you’ve got it.”

“Don’t tell me what to do.” Tomura’s grip on your hand tightens, and it happens again.

You shut your eyes this time. As much as you don’t want to see into Tomura’s head, you’d rather look at anything but the world between. This time, when you’re pulled to the edge of the void, you see that it’s not quite as empty as you first thought. There’s a light flickering somewhere down in the darkness. No, two lights. Two tiny lights, small enough to mean almost nothing. But when the other feelings fall into the void, it’s the lights that swallow them. And the lights grow brighter with every scrap of confusion or fear they consume.

You focus on the lights with all your strength, clenching your jaw against the agonized howl that wants to escape. It’s not much protection from the cold and pain, but it’s enough. Enough that when it fades and you open your eyes again, you can tell Tomura that it doesn’t hurt and make him believe you.

Hizashi, pleased with Tomura’s success, heads across the street to teach Dabi the same lesson. He brings you with him. Ostensibly your job is to convince Keigo to let Dabi practice on him, just like Tomura practiced on you, but you’re pretty sure Hizashi has an ulterior motive, and once you’re over Keigo’s property line, he proves you right. “Personally. I don’t give a damn whether Dabi learns this or not. You can’t go back over there until I’m sure you won’t give the game away.”

“So he didn’t know,” you say. “You lied to him.”

“So did you,” Hizashi points out. “I’m glad someone around here can see the big picture.”

You see the big picture, all right. Hizashi pretends his big picture is protecting the neighborhood, but in reality, he’s just like Tomura – except there are three people he really cares about instead of just one. He’ll do what he has to do to keep them safe, and keep himself safe in the bargain. Keigo may not have heard the story about what happens if a ghost kills their own conjurer, but Aizawa and Hizashi have, and Hizashi wants to make sure the duty of killing Garaki falls to anybody but him. If convincing Tomura to torture you and convincing you to keep quiet about it is what it takes for that to happen, Hizashi will do it.

You don’t realize you’re glaring until Hizashi comments on it. “Don’t look at me like that. You could have said no.”

“And then what? Let you push him into a fight he doesn’t know how to win?” You shake your head. A flash of the world between spins through your vision and you almost throw up. “If I tell him what you did, you’re dead. You know that, right?”

Hizashi doesn’t respond to your threat. “How about I tell you what he and I talked about, hmm? We’ll call it even there.”

You really want to know. Besides, there’s no reason you can’t break your promise to Hizashi later. “Tell me.”

“He’s more aware than you give him credit for,” Hizashi says instead. “Not that much more aware, granted, but enough. Enough to tell that the way you feel about him is a lot different than the way he feels about you.”

Your stomach clenches. “That’s not what I asked.”

“He wanted to know if discharging power into you would let you know what we’ve all known for months,” Hizashi says. “I told him of course not. Human minds can’t comprehend us, we’re too complex, all that jazz. I told him not to worry, because there’s absolutely no way that the human girl could possibly find out how much he feels about her.”

Hizashi scoffs. “He knew I was lying, of course. I asked him why he was so spooked – clearly you’re not opposed to it, or you wouldn’t spend so much time having obnoxiously horny ghost sex with him – and he gets quiet all of a sudden. He’s not very bright, your ghost, but that doesn’t mean he’s stupid. You see him as a – what do humans call it? A friend with benefits. He sees you as the only thing in his entire existence that’s ever made him happy. And he thinks that if you find that out, you’ll leave.”

For a moment, your hatred for Hizashi feels strong enough to wipe him off the map. You swallow it with an effort. “So naturally, the first thing you do is tell me the exact thing he didn’t want me to find out.”

“If he embodies himself permanently, we’re fucked,” Hizashi says flatly. “That won’t happen if you leave.”

“You’re fucked? Your conjurer’s dead after tonight. That just leaves his. We don’t even know if his is coming back.”

“You’re not that naïve. You’ve read the same research as I have,” Hizashi says. “His conjurer’s coming back one of these days. He might be planning to punish Tomura, but he’ll take the rest of us down, too. If we don’t have a ghost to stop him.”

“You think Tomura will keep protecting the neighborhood if I’m gone?”

“We don’t need him to actively protect the neighborhood. He does it just by being here and being a ghost,” Hizashi says. “How he feels about it is irrelevant.”

You fight to keep your temper in check, trying to match Hizashi’s cold calculations with your own. You replay all your interactions with Hizashi, all the times he’s scared you on purpose, all the times he’s deliberately made you uncomfortable, all the times he’s tried to provoke Tomura into acting like the kind of ghost he’s supposed to be. “You’ve wanted me gone since I moved in,” you say. “This is why, isn’t it?”

Hizashi does you the minor courtesy of not lying to you. “When you lasted longer than three weeks in that house, I saw the writing on the wall. Shou said I was being ridiculous, but I know ghosts like yours. I was a ghost like yours. All the power in the world doesn’t matter if there’s nothing you want enough to use it. And once you do, it’s over.”

He looks at you without a hint of remorse in his face. “My family is on the line here, and I’ll do anything to keep them safe. You wouldn’t understand what that means.”

Your stomach lurches. “Shut up.”

“I did some research of my own. Your backstory’s not tragic, it’s just pathetic. Mommy and Daddy didn’t love you enough, and nobody else liked you all that much, so you move in here and act like you belong.” Hizashi laughs, cold and cruel, and you feel your eyes well up. “If you think anyone here will miss you, you’re wrong. We were all happier when that house was empty.”

Some part of you knows Hizashi is lying. Most of you knows it, because if you were in his spot, you’d probably do the same thing – pinpoint the problem and do whatever you had to in order to get rid of it. Most of you knows that somewhere underneath this cruelty, Hizashi’s scared shitless. His conjurer’s gunning for him, he’s lost most of his powers, and his family’s in the line of fire. Knowing all that doesn’t change how it feels to hear him target every last one of your deepest insecurities, every agonizing thought you’ve ever tried to push aside. You’re one wrong move away from bursting into tears on Keigo’s front lawn.

You hold it together. It takes everything you have, but you do. “Did it feel good to get that off your chest?”

“It’s not personal,” Hizashi says, which puts the final nail in the question of whether ghosts are capable of lying. “I’d say good luck out there, but you survived here long enough. You won’t need it.”

Someone calls out to you from across the street, and you look over to find Aizawa on your porch. “We need some plants kept in reserve, in case the ghosts burn through more power than expected. Are there any nurseries you haven’t checked?”

“A few,” you say. Aizawa’s eyesight isn’t great. There’s no way he’ll be able to see the look on your face. “I’ll go right now.”

“We’ll Venmo you,” Hizashi says, patting your shoulder. If you thought you could get away with it, you’d break his hand. “I’ve been doing lots of gardening these days. I know plants aren’t cheap.”

“Thanks.” You force the words out around a smile, hop Keigo’s property line, and head for your car at high speed.

You make it out of the neighborhood. Quite a ways out of the neighborhood. You make it at least halfway to the next nursery on your list before you start crying too hard to drive. You pull over, put your hazard lights on, and double over with your head against the steering wheel. Your head hurts and you’re freezing cold and your stomach turns every time you think about what you saw in Tomura’s head – and worse every time Hizashi’s words sink into your chest. You’ve never felt this sick in your life. You want to die.

Your phone is ringing. You don’t care who it is, but whoever it is keeps calling, and when you pick it up to silence it, you see that it’s Aizawa. You text him, trying not to sound like you’re a) crying yourself to death and b) plotting the murder of his husband. I’m busy.

Tomura wants to talk to you. The phone rings again. This time you pick up. “Hi.”

“What did he do?” Tomura’s voice is full of cold rage, and your heart sinks. “I saw your face and I felt what he’s feeling, so I want to know what he did. That way he’ll know why I’m killing his human when I do it.”

“No,” you say. Your voice sounds awful – not calm and collected like you want to be, but sick and miserable and lonely. Like you got your feelings hurt exactly as much as Tomura thinks you did, which isn’t great when you’re trying to convince Tomura that it’s fine. “Tomura, don’t. Please. It’s not worth it.”

“He wants you to leave me. He made you leave.” Tomura sounds like he’s pacing. You try to pinpoint where he is in the house, but can’t. “I can take away his human, too.”

“Please don’t,” you say again. You just wanted to cry yourself out in peace. Why couldn’t you just do that? You grit your teeth and make a threat you never wanted to make again. “If you hurt Aizawa or the children to punish Hizashi, I am never coming back to that house.”

“He made you leave –”

“He can’t make me do anything.” Your voice wavers when you think about what Hizashi said, but you repeat yourself anyway. “If you hurt Aizawa or the children, I’m never coming home.”

It’s quiet for a moment. “Why do you care so much about them?” Tomura asks. It occurs to you that Tomura’s got Aizawa’s phone, that Aizawa’s probably sitting there listening to you try to talk Tomura out of killing him. “Why don’t you want to pay him back?”

“Because it’s not their fault,” you say. You’re pretty sure Aizawa wasn’t in on Hizashi’s little torture session, and you know for sure the kids weren’t. “They’re good people, Tomura. They’ve been kind to me, and even if they weren’t, they don’t deserve to die because Hizashi mouthed off.”

“He made you cry,” Tomura says. It’s quiet for a second. “I didn’t know you did that.”

You always cry in the shower when you cry at home. You’ve been doing that since you were little, and the memory of Hizashi’s taunt – Mommy and Daddy didn’t love you enough – blasts apart what little composure you’ve gained. You press your hand against your mouth, trying to stifle your tears. Tomura snarls, and you force yourself to speak. “Please don’t do what you’re thinking of doing. It won’t fix anything. It will make me feel worse if you do.”

“Fine.” Tomura’s voice is still icy. You wish you could drive home, drag him into the passenger seat, and drive around until he’s calmed down. You’re scared of what will happen when you hang up, and worse when you hear his voice, speaking to Aizawa. “You’re only alive because that’s what my human wants.”

“Understood.” Aizawa’s voice is steady, and when he speaks again, it’s clear that the phone’s back in his possession. “Go get the plants and come back. Everything here is fine.”

“Um –” You cough into your elbow, make some kind of godawful snuffling sound into your sleeve. “I’m sorry. About Tomura. That’s not okay. He shouldn’t –”

“You have as much control over Tomura’s behavior as I do over Hizashi’s.” Aizawa’s voice takes on a dangerous note, and for a split second you actually feel bad for Hizashi. “Get the plants and come back, quickly. The children’s bus is here, and it’ll be dark soon.”

You cough a few more times. “Right. I’ll hurry,” you say. Something occurs to you. “If he starts acting scary, get out of there. I’ll deal with it when I get back.”

“I’m past the property line. My husband and I need to have a conversation.”

Whatever conversation the two of them are about to have, you don’t want to be anywhere near it. You hang up the phone, blink a few times to clear your vision, and switch your hazard lights off before pulling back onto the road.

You do your best to calm down before you get to the nursery, but you know you look like you’ve been crying your eyes out anyway. There’s nothing you can do about that right now. You browse through the nursery, searching for plants you know are invasive, choosing the largest and healthiest ones, trying to focus on the task at hand. But Hizashi’s words hit home, as much as you didn’t want them to. Even thinking about hitting him with a shovel doesn’t make you feel much better, and the longer you dwell on it, the worse it gets, until you’re sniffling and wiping your eyes again in the middle of the tropical plants aisle.

“Are you all right?”

It’s a man’s voice. You’ve always been a little wary of men who approach crying women in public. “I’m fine,” you say blindly. “Um. Everything’s fine. I just –”

“Here.” The man, whoever he is, pushes a handkerchief into your field of vision, and you seize it, just to avoid wiping your eyes and nose on your sleeve. “You can keep that. I have plenty.”

“Thank you,” you say, and mean it. And then you feel like you’ve got to explain yourself. “I really am fine. I just didn’t get a lot of sleep last night.”

“That makes everything more difficult,” the man agrees. You peer up at him and discover that he’s around the same age as Mr. Yagi. The same height, too. “I doubt that’s all it is, though. Whoever made you so upset ought to feel ashamed of himself.”

You have a few problems with that statement, mainly with the assumption that you’re upset over a man, even if it’s true. But this man is being kind to you. You’re not immune to kindness. “That’s quite a lot of plants you’ve got there,” the man continues. “Are you a gardener?”

“I’ve got a garden. I don’t know if I can call myself a gardener,” you say. “What about you?”

“Oh, it’s been many years since I was settled enough to have a garden,” the man says, and laughs. “But I’ve planted many trees. It’s always interesting to check back and see what they’ve grown into. Some of them are magnificent. Others need a little – assistance.”

“I’ll remember that if I ever get into planting trees.” You wipe your eyes again, then glance down at the mess you’ve made of the handkerchief. “I really am sorry about this.”

“It’s no trouble. And it’s yours. If we should ever cross paths again, you can return it to me then.” The man inclines his head, then starts off down the aisle, heading for the saplings at the far end. You add one more plant to your wagon and make your way to the cash register.

You feel better after meeting the man. If a stranger thinks you’re worth being kind to, then it’s easier to believe in the kindness of your neighbors, who actually know you. By the time you reach the neighborhood again, the puffiness around your eyes has mostly gone down, and you feel ready to confront Hizashi. You’re not sure what you want to say when you confront him. “Fuck off” feels appropriate, but some part of you also wants to remind him that Tomura’s more than able and more than willing to return whatever insult Hizashi levels at you towards his own family. But that’s shitty. You know it’s shitty. You’ll be better off telling Hizashi the truth: This is your neighborhood, too. And you’re not leaving.

When you get back, though, you realize there’s no need to confront Hizashi at all. Aizawa’s already doing it, or something similar. They’re both on Keigo’s lawn, standing a few feet apart, voices too quiet to hear from your side of the street. Hizashi looks mulish, defensive, sulky – just like Tomura looks sometimes, when he’s accepted that you get to be mad about something but still thinks it’s stupid. If Aizawa looked at you with the same expression he’s aiming at Hizashi, you’d run for your life.

“Hey,” someone hisses as you get out of your car. You look up and find Shinsou staring at you from the other side. He looks alarmed. “What the hell happened? My dads are fighting. I’ve never seen them fight. Dabi’s been texting me updates and he says they’re fighting about you!”

Dabi’s an asshole, and also a liar. You have a feeling that Aizawa’s upset less because of what Hizashi said and more because of Tomura’s reaction to it. But Aizawa’s clearly not worried enough about Tomura’s reaction to keep his kids away from the shelter provided by the house. Shinsou came down to talk to you from the porch. Eri’s still up there, on the swing, and she’s playing a game with somebody. At first you think it’s Nemuri. Then you see Nemuri up the street, talking to Magne, and you realize that Eri’s playing a game with Tomura.

You need to check on that. You need to check on that immediately. You skid around Shinsou and book it up the steps, only to find Eri sitting in the swing and Tomura sitting on the ground, a collection of facedown cards spread out between them. You recognize the cards. In fact, you’re pretty sure this game came from inside your house. It was one of the few things you managed to rescue when your parents downsized while you were in college. “Uh, is that the Rainbow Fish matching game?”

“It’s so pretty,” Eri says, smiling up at you. “Toshi won’t play with me but Tomura said he would.”

Tomura looks sort of like he’s regretting it. “How come it’s still your turn?”

“If you make a match, you get to try again. And you keep trying until you don’t get one.” You study Eri’s pileup of cards. She’s really good at this. “So it’ll be your turn when Eri misses one.”

In talking to you, Eri lost focus. She misses her next match, and Tomura promptly racks up eight matches in a row. You cringe, wishing he’d let Eri win like adults are supposed to do with kids, but Eri’s more pleased with the result than he is. “I knew you’d be good at this,” she crows. “You got the shells and the rainbow fish –”

“That’s not hard. There are ten of them.” Tomura looks sort of pleased with himself, and you wonder at how quickly he’s calmed down. Maybe it wasn’t actually that quick – you were gone for about an hour – but his control over his temper is shaky at best. You’d have expected to find the entire house vibrating with fury, not to find him sitting quietly and playing a kid’s game with the youngest ghost in the neighborhood, who also happens to be the daughter of the ghost who pissed him off in the first place.

He looks up at you. “Are you going to watch?”

“I have to move the plants.”

“I’ll move the plants. Me and Keigo,” Shinsou says hastily. Keigo pops up next to him, looking like he’s been through a war. You don’t even want to know what it’s like inside Keigo’s house right now. “You stay here.”

Shinsou clearly doesn’t trust Tomura’s unusual calmness any more than you do. You nod in thanks and settle down next to Tomura on the porch, only to hop up again to retrieve Phantom when she whines from inside the house. You hold her in your lap so she won’t run through the cards and scatter them, scratching her ears and watching the game. Eri and Tomura are playing with equal amounts of seriousness, which looks unbelievably funny. The two of them look enough alike with their grey-tinted hair and red eyes that they could almost be siblings. Eri’s pleased whenever Tomura gets a match, and after a few rounds of being congratulated every time he finds two of the same card, Tomura congratulates her on a match in response. It’s not much of a congratulations, but Eri beams at him like he’s just handed her a gold star.

Eri wins by one match, and although you’re worried he won’t, Tomura offers her a grudging congratulations. “Nice game.”

“Do you want to play again?” Eri asks eagerly. “I bet you’ll beat me this time.”

“I’ll play with you, Eri,” Himiko calls from outside the fence. “If Tomura lets me in.”

You think Tomura will say no, but it turns out that Tomura’s so desperate to get away from the Rainbow Fish matching game that he’ll say yes to just about anything. “That game is stupid,” he mutters once you’re both inside and out of earshot. “You actually liked that?”

“When I was a kid.” You were good at memory games, and you liked how pretty the cards were. But you’ve got a bigger problem than what Tomura thinks of a card game you played as a kid. “Why are you so calm? On the phone –”

“I don’t mess with other people’s humans. I’m not like him.” Tomura’s voice takes on that icy note again. He’s glaring out the front window. You wonder if he can hear what they’re arguing about. “You said it would make you feel worse if I hurt them. And last night you said you were scared the first time because you didn’t know what I’d do when I got angry. Me getting angry makes you feel worse. So I stopped.”

“Just like that?”

“It wasn’t easy,” Tomura says, insulted. “The kid said she knows how it feels to want to hurt people who make her human sad, so I asked her what she does to not kill everyone who makes her human sad. She said she has to do something else. So we played that stupid game.”

You’ve been searching for the right word to describe the scene you just watched unfold. “It was cute.”

“I thought I was pretty.”

“You are,” you say. “But that – you playing a game with her – was cute.”

Tomura’s nose wrinkles. “What does that mean?”

“It means –” Now that you think about it, cute is hard to define. “It makes you feel nice to look at. Warm. Happy. People react to babies that way a lot. Or dogs.”

“So that’s what it was,” Tomura says. You look questioningly at him. “The thing that happened when I saw you and Phantom. Cute.”

He’s talking about the day you moved in. You didn’t even know you had something in your house, much less what it was, and you thought Tomura was just as indifferent as you were. But what he just said – that means he wasn’t. And that means this all started a lot earlier than you thought it did. Hizashi’s words drift through your head, not his insults but something worse: He sees you as the only thing in his entire existence that’s ever made him happy.

Fine. If that’s how it’s going to be, you’ll take it. This is the only place in your entire life that’s ever felt like home.

“Hey,” you say, and Tomura looks at you. “Do you have enough energy stored up to stay materialized?”

“Yeah. Why?”

He probably thinks you’re angling for a hookup, but that’s not what you want. You step forward, closing the space between the two of you, and wrap your arms around him. The two of you are close in height. Your forehead is level with his chin, so you turn your head to the side, resting it against his shoulder. The same place he rested his head all of last night, until the sun came up and you set off on your mission to buy every invasive plant within twenty miles of here.

You’re expecting Tomura to complain, and you’re ready to fire back that it’s your turn, but he keeps quiet. His arms wrap around you in return, and the two of you stand there, each of you holding tight to something that could vanish easily from your grip, as the sun sinks and the neighborhood drowns in dusk, then sunset, and finally full dark.

#lovhalloweenhorror #shigaraki tomura x reader #tomura shigaraki x reader #shigaraki x reader #shigaraki x you #shigaraki tomura #x reader #reader insert #ghost story #loser nerd ghost boyfriend

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braceletofteeth · 6 months ago

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15 people, 15 questions

I was tagged by @scarefox ❤

1) Are you named after anyone?

They just thought the name was pretty, I think.

2) When was the last time you cried?

Today :) I've been doing it a lot lately, but only a little at a time. Probably just need some rest.

3) Do you have kids?

For many years, I've been helping my grandmother raise my younger brother. I'm the one people call when there's an emergency, I'm the one who takes him to the doctor and tend to him when he's sick, I'm the one who notices when he needs something new, I'm the one who takes him shopping, I'm the one who attends school meetings, I'm the one who guides him through the government's bureaucracy, and I'm the one he talks to about his problems, as well as his prospects for the future. Sometimes, when grandma allows me in her kitchen or is unavailable, I'm even the one who feeds him.

So, by all means, yes, I do have a kid. And soon from now he won't be a kid anymore, but I know I'll always consider him my utmost responsibility in this world.

That's one of the reasons I don't want any more kids than I already have. Looking after the lives of two people (mine and his) is enough.

4) What sports do you play/have you played?

I was never a sportive person tbh.

5) Do you use sarcasm?

Yes (usually for a humorous effect).

6) What's the first thing you notice about people?

Their... apparent age? “That's a teenager.” “That's an elder.” It's one of the factors that help me predict/understand others' behaviors/expectations.

7) What's your eye color?

Dark brown.

8) Scary movies or happy endings?

That might come as a surprise, but I've never been much fond of scary movies 😅 Unless they are something like psychological horror, it's rare for me to actually get invested in them.

I like happy endings, but I'm ok with sad endings too. I just feel averse to open endings—especially when the story feels incomplete because of it.

9) Any talents?

Very good at elaborating questions that will lead people to talk more than me during a conversation (in a way that is enjoyable for them, of course!)

10) Where were you born?

North of Brazil. I lived in other places, but I'm back in my hometown now.

11) What are your hobbies?

Learning other languages

Baking cakes

Watching asian dramas and talking about it on tumblr dot com

Reading books and fanfics

Finding places where listening to music feels more intense than usual

Lazy walks along the river

12) Do you have any pets?

It's technically my cousin's, but we do have a pet in the house. It's a cat we call Relâmpago (it means Lightning). It sleeps at my doorstep during the day and we frequently eat together.

13) How tall are you?

168cm. Most women are shorter than me, but I still wish I was just a tiny bit taller 🤏

14) What was your favorite subject in school?

Story Time with real events (a.k.a History).

History teachers from public schools are very passionate about their field of study! They know exactly why we're forced to live on hard mode and go through so many injustices today. If they could, they would tell everyone about it, so we'd argue more, question more, and bend history in our favor for once. I loved my History teachers, loved learning about the people that came before us, and especially about how changeable everything is.

15) What is your dream job?

The idea of doing anything, and I mean anything, repetitively, for decades, non-stop, takes off the spark of any career path I have found compelling in the past. I don't want to do something I love in exchange for profit/out of obligation, because I know this won't work for me. I tried it before, and all it did was make me resent my hobby. So I don't mix the two concepts anymore. I literally do not dream of labor.

But I still need labor—at the very least, not to starve to death. So what I dream about, now, is a job that doesn't take too much of my time and energy, so I can dedicate them to enjoyable activities and to the people I love; so I can live a life that is not determined or owned by my job.

—

tagging: @softneomiro @somebodycallixii @srabaskerville @kdreader02

As usual, only if you'd like to 😊

#tag game #I was just being honest but it feels weird because I'm usually not this serious 🥴

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avorbl · 2 months ago

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Avor's Watchlist for weeks 36 + 37

Fall has begun and I am watching 16 currently airing shows 14 of which are Qls. My rewatches have been on hold for a few weeks now.

Currently Airing

Battle of the Writers 7/12 Beautiful Boys kissing, tropes and even a bit of a story if you look hard enough

Sugar Dog Life 6/10 Lonely people, food and not enough communication the Japanese recipe for a good watch

First Note of Love 6/12 Compared to all the loud stuff thats currently airing this one is very quiet

Seoul Blues 7/8 Messy people messing around Jeonha finally reacted to something but it feels very much like they stitched two scripts they had and made it 8 episodes with the same character names

The On1y One 8/12 Best thing currently airing beautiful cinemaphotography and wonderful acting

Love Next Door 10/16 The first 8 episodes showed us why Seokryu did not feel that she could be open about her problems with anyone at home and now I am supposed to find her at fault because she kept her illness a secret?

Live in Love 3/5 The colours keep colouring and with all the talk about tone this week the tonal dissonance between what his happening to Cake and how they react to it is a bit distracting

Room 2/5 Fun and chaotic not sure what it wants to tell

Happy of the End 2/8 I am waiting for the sub of the fourth episode to continue because I dont think I can get myself to watch each episode on its own its heavy and beautiful

Kidnap 2/12 I get to see Ohm again

The Hidden Moon 2/10 A propos Ohm a ghost romance. They rank right after robot romances for plots to avoid for me. I am cautiously optimistic about this one though as long as they are not introducing time layers.

Jack & Joker: U Steal My Heart! 1/12 War is a good actor and I liked Yin whom I havent seen outside of En of love. But I was promised a heist.

Love is Like a Poison 1/10 The colour intensity was to mismatched between the poison transitions and the rest of the episode hopefully that changes

Unlock Your Love 1/8 I am not sure about this one the character interactions and the main characters action compared to her flashback experiences feel a bit too contrived

Bad Guy My Boss 1/10 20 year olds in charge of a company are always so in control. A fantasy office setting to forget work on Sunday evenings

Love Sick 2024 1/15 Real children bringing me a highschool story. With a big cast I am bit scared that I am supposed to remember and differentiate all these boys in their highschool uniforms

What I am catching up on

My Best Boyfriend 4/17

Unstoppable High Kick 25/167

Gym Affairs 15/24 Loneliness and desire (for love)

The Princess Royal 21/40 A typical mid show slump with this one, its promising

Word of Honor 17/36 I think of all the gay characters Gong Jun could have played while watching this

Like Love 8/15 2014 BL

Fight for My Way 4/16 I really need to watch everything Park Seojoon has been in

Finished in the last two weeks

Takara’s Treasure 02.09.24 9,5/10 Loved how they got gradually closer. Taishin getting a better understanding of Takara and Takara's reason for being so withdrawn getting revealed. The depiction of the "creepy uncle" really is the only blemish on this otherwise well thought out series.

Mr Mitsuyas Planned Feeding 06.09.24 9/10 A lovely story about finding support and yourself.

Takara’s Treasure Spin off 09.09.24 8,5/10 A nice end cap to this wonderful story

I Hear the Sunspot 12.09.24 6/10 This is the series I ve written the most notes for this year and it all boils down to: Great visuals but a dissappointing second half. We got the introduction of a secondary character instead of the growth and adaptation the couple needed

4 Minutes 13.09.24 9,5/10 The finale was truly unnerving, limbo made palpable. Those first minutes of surreal softness really got to me. A perfect ending to a good show. Regrets, Consequences, Redemption, LIMBO This series makes a strong case for how choices influence our lives and if we dont make choices life wont be better. Simplistic solutions only work in fantasy

Boytoy 14.09.24 7,5/10 Deeper than I intially thought. But a classic gay people at the edge of society BL with a happy ending though.

With You I Bloom 15.09.24 8/10 About social bonds and priorities. Would have been better if the credits werent as lighthearted/ the opening credits did not have such a sports drama vibe. Probably would have worked better as several movies .

Love Enemy 15.09.24 7,5/10 Fourty minutes of fluff to pass the time

Dropped in the last two weeks

The Founder of Diabolism Season 1 5/15 03.09.24 -/10

Addicted Heroin 4/10 03.09.24 -/10

#avor watches #watchlist #aer float

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galaxyseclipse · 4 months ago

Note

(Agent 4)

Tier 0

3, 9, 15, 16, 20, 29

Tier 1

1, 10, 11, 15, 28

Tier 2

10, 12, 17, 18, 27

Tier 3

Tier 4

9, 21, 24

Tier 5

Tier 6

6, 11, 30

don't you smile mischievously at me /lh

though I did say "hit me" so maybe this is on me lol

but I will say: for future reference, maybe don't put 24 in one thing please

I like the long ones, and I'm glad y'all have that much interest in my characters, but that's a little excessive

Tier 0

3. What species are they? Any special notes?

They are an Inkling, specifically based on the hummingbird bobtail squid, so they glow.

9. Main tentacle color? How did they pick it?

Teal; they were born that way, but there has been some green creeping in lately :)

15. What is their main weapon? How did they pick it and why?

Dark Tetra Dualies. They like to feel powerful on the Reefslider and zip around with the more rolls.

16. Languages they speak? Any that they’ve learned or want to learn?

They speak Inklish mostly, but they know enough Octarian to carry a conversation pretty well(though their accent is usually somewhat off). They've lived with Ika long enough to start to recognize the occasional thing in Salmontongue, but definitely not enough to speak it(they can mostly only tell if they're talking about them).

20. What size are they? Are they average size for their species or not?

They are about 4' 10"(147 cm), so they're a little shorter than average.

29. What makes them cry? Is it a common sight?

They claim “nothing”, but that’s not true. They just don’t like people seeing them cry so they avoid doing it in front of others.

Tier 1

1. Any pets? Do they want any?

They probably had small ones as a kid, but none currently. They're a little too busy for one("keeping up with squirt is basically like taking care of an animal").

10. How much does it take to trigger their Special Rush state? Do they get pumped fast?

Only slightly less than average; like you've got a couple Special Charge Up slots. They are Tsunami's cousin, after all. They are very easily excitable though.

11. Are they a good Super Jumper? Do they land their jumps?

They're pretty accurate, but they can't go super far. It's about a 50/50 shot on whether they'll land it properly(they don't have bones, they'll be fine).

15. Their favorite way to listen to music? Headphones, radio, et cetera?

Headphones, it's more private.

28. Anything they have too much of?

Everyone tells them "blankets and pillows", but they themself would say "cups". They just started accumulating them and before they knew it, they had a ton.

Tier 2

10. How often are they in swim form? How does it feel to them?

Really only when they're trying to hide or swimming, though hiding still doesn't work very well because half of their body still glows. They are very small like that so it's a little scary.

12. How do they sleep? How much do they usually need to sleep?

They sleep under a very large pile of blankets and pillows, saying they "need the weight to be comfortable". How much fully depends on how close exams and project deadlines are; swinging between the normal 10-ish hours, and zero.

17. Are they in a relationship? Do they want to be?

They are dating Marie. They try to keep it lowkey for her sake.

18. Any past relationships? Why did they end?

No, they were never really a "relationship oriented" person. They had crushes, but they never went anywhere.

Tier 3

18. If they could be any other species, would they? And what would they be?

No, they're pretty content the way they are now.

Tier 4

9. Any short-term color change? Which emotions trigger which colors in them?

Not really other than for ink battles and stuff. Their tentacles get more or less saturated depending on their current mood, and their spots glow more or less in the same way.

21. What do they find attractive in somebody?

Personality first; if they can properly match their energy and look good while doing so? Instant attraction.

24. How often are they sick? How do they handle it?

Other than the frequent migraines, not super often. They're the kind of person who says, "if I can do [insert fun thing] I can do actual work" when sick and powers through it, even if they're on the verge of passing out.

Tier 5

2. Anything they are dreading or horribly afraid of in their current life?

The heat-death of the universe.

And some of the stuff they've done as an agent catching up to them.

Tier 6

6. What is their preferred weather? What is the worst one?

They like warm, sunny weather the most, and hate the cold(another cited reason for the blankets).

11. Are they doing alright mentally? And is their “alright” ACTUALLY alright?

Yes and no? Probably not, especially if they’re saying they’re “fine”.

30. Are they a good person? In their own opinion.

Objectively, yeah, but they sometimes struggle with thinking that.

#eclipse's ask box #eclipse's oc lore #four(agant 4)#half of this stuff i pulled out of my butt lol

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wishingforatypewriter · 6 months ago

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Thanks for tagging me, @orangepanic!

20 Questions for Fic Writers

1. How many works do you have on Ao3? 58 and counting!

2. What’s your total Ao3 word count? 177,456. Not a whole lot, but I suppose it makes sense since I usually write shorter fics.

3. What fandoms do you write for? Currently, I write for Legend of Korra and occasionally Avatar the Last Airbender. However, prior to my Ao3 days, I wrote for a few other fandoms (mostly anime related).

4. What are your top five fics by kudos?

1. Her Caldera Sunrise - A fluffy little oneshot about Ty Lee taking care of Azula when she gets sick while they're tracking the avatar.

2. Friendly Fires - Another fluffy little oneshot (I'm beginning to see a trend here) about Azula comforting Ty Lee after she gets stung by a flaming man-o-war on Ember Island.

3. The Successor - A fic centered on all the messy mother-daughter, mentor-protege, and not-quite-sister dynamics between Opal, Suyin, and Kuvira leading up to Kuvira's departure from Zaofu. It follows the timeline and events of books 2 and 3 of LOK, but it's really character and relationship driven.

4. The Weight of Empire - A collection of oneshots about Kuvira, Baatar, their relationship in all of its stages, and to a lesser extent, the Earth Empire.

5. House of the Flaming Boar - A multichapter AU about a happily married Lin Beifong and Lightning Bolt Zolt taking in young Mako and Bolin after their parents die. It's a mostly lighthearted family fic, with some splashes of angst.

5. Do you respond to comments? Yes! I'm a little behind on them right now, but I try to respond whenever I can!

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending? Probably Suitcases, in which twenty-something year old Lin tries to break things off with Zolt, even though she doesn't really want to.

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending? Hmm...I do write a lot of fluff, so this is a bit difficult. I think I'll go with The Road to Zaofu, my Suyin/Baatar Sr. origin story, because Baatar Sr. gets his happily ever after.

8. Do you get hate on fics? Not really. I don't think I'm relevant enough in the fandom to get hate lol. However, I did once get a very angry tumblr anon accusing me of fascism because I portrayed Kuvira as a sympathetic character.

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind? Occasionally. More so for certain ships than for others. When I do write smut, it's generally unremarkable, and pretty vanilla. But I'm proud that I can write it at all now without feeling so embarrassed that I think I might faint.

10. Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written? Not typically, and never for my current fandom. When I was in high school, though, I wrote a Naruto/Fairy Tail crossover where Natsu and Sakura were distant relatives.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated? You know, someone asked for my permission to translate one of my older fics years ago, and I said yes, but I don't remember if I ever saw the translated work.

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before? Not yet, but there may be something coming up in the future!

14. What’s your all-time favorite ship? All my ships are dear to me in different ways, but I think I have to say Linzolt!

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will? I am determined to finish just about everything I have on Ao3...it just might take a while. Please be patient with me lol.

16. What are your writing strengths? Hmm...I think dialogue, concision, and interiority are my biggest strengths.

17. What are your writing weaknesses? Description, description, description. Also, endings and managing conflicts and complex plot events in the story.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic? I think it's really cool whenever I see it in other people's fics, but I don't believe it's something I'd try in my own.

19. First fandom you wrote for? My first ever fandom was Kim Possible back when I was like ten.

20. Favourite fic you’ve written? Hmm...I am a little fond of all of my fics, having written them and all. But if I had to choose, I'd say either The Matriarch (because Suyin is a lot more fun if you let her be ruthless) or Black Sun (because I love the concept of politically savvy Ty Lee).

I'm tagging @linnorabeifong, @nyamadermont, @chiefbeifongcanrailme, @oldandirrelevant and anyone who wants to participate!

#tag game #personal #my fics

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maikaartwork · 1 year ago

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15 people, 15 questions

@thornescratch tagged me in this, and since I have the first day off in like, three weeks today, I feel inclined to share - thanks for wanting to know stuff about me thorne!

1. Are you named after anyone?

Not to my knowledge. I was supposed to be given a different name, but the priest didn't agree to it (I live in a weird country and the 80s were even weirder), so I got the second choice on my parents' list.

2. When was the last time you cried?

Pretty recently, actually, the stress of the last few weeks made me a bit meltdown-y, despite the calming effects of the cool medication that makes me generally chill.

3. Do you have kids?

I have a cat daughter. For a long time I wanted children, but it never worked out. Now I feel a bit too old and a bit too single for the childbearing endeavor and decided to focus on doing cool shit that I enjoy and on being the weird auncle to my friends' kids. If I ever have the means, I would like to adopt.

4. What sports do you play/have played?

Currently - nothing except transportational rollerblading. I used to do offroad biking, basketball and swimming. If it counts, I was also a competition level sharpshooter.

5. Do you use sarcasm?

I should insert a sarcastic remark here but the truth is: I try, but I'm bad at it. My brand of neurospiciness makes it very hard for me to detect sarcasm sometimes in others and honestly, it makes me wonder if I'm ever doing it right. Also makes me nervous that people will not get that I'm being sarcastic and get offended.

6. What's the first thing you notice about people?

Nails, posture, hairstyle, tattoos, demeanor, accessories, type of creasing on their face, amount of makeup, amount of dandruff and animal hair on their clothes, shirt print. All at the same time. Neurospicy.

7. What’s your eye color?

Brown changing into hazelnut, depending on lighting and, apparently, moood.

8. Scary movies or happy endings?

Happy endings.

9. Any talents?

I got good at reading people's hidden needs. I'm really good at searching out information and fixing computer issues. I'm well-trained in customer service. I guess I draw good, too? I'm a fast learner and good with organizing shit.

10. Where were you born?

Poland, a medium sized-city down in the Silesia region

11. What are your hobbies?

Reading, drawing, playing ttrpg, learning obscure facts, observing people

12. Do you have any pets? My cat daughter, Piu (pronounced Pew) and a cornsnake named Noodle that has a pattern on his head that some say looks like a heart and others say looks like a dick.

13. How tall are you? 168 cm

14. Favorite subject in school?

Art, English, Biology (this one mostly because in middle school I had a REALLY cool teacher that sparked my love for the subject that holds to this day)

15. Dream job? What I do now, actually - tattooing and drawing dumb shit on the side. After finishing my management bachelor's I never thought I'd go that way but here we are and honestly, I couldn't be happier. When I ever get too old or too bored with it, I'll become a Marie Kondo-style helper for those in need of organizing their spaces, I think.

No pressure tags: I saw some of my friends being tagged in this already, but I would love to learn more about @legitcookie @sidekick-hero @luna-fortunaa @maxinemaxmayfield @pink-luna-moth @xirayn @becomingfoxes @atmilliways @eriquin @stacetanicpanic and anyone that wants to tag themselves in lieu of the last five tags (sorry, I am sick, brain foggy, remembering nicknames hard)

#tag game

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thaliaisalesbian · 1 year ago

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i get myself twisted in threads

Chapter 15: i tell you that i think i'm falling

Chapters: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 16

“Will is staying the night. Jonathan should also stay the night.” Hopper is going to kill him. He’s dead.

“You’re not dating Will, El.” Steve tries to explain. She just thinks that since she’s got someone staying over, he should also have someone staying over.

“El, I have work in the morning.” Jonathan saves him. “I’d have to get up, like, super early and go home and change, so it doesn’t make sense for me to stay the night. Besides, I’m sure you don’t want me interrupting your reading time.”

Steve’s not sure he wants reading time tonight, honestly. Nancy had read them a few chapters of her old copy of Anne of Green Gables—one time, when she’d been sick, Steve had come over and tried to read some of it to her. Since then, they’d taken turns with it, at least until they broke up.

That had been good, but their surprise—it wasn’t the cookies, which were good, and would have been just fine as his surprise.

No, what they gave him, sitting in the car right before they left the park to drop Nancy off for her church dinner, is something he never would have expected them to even know he liked.

Carol’s the only person who's ever known about this. It’s something they shared when before Tommy, and then after Tommy, usually when Tommy was being a dick.

He doesn’t even know how they got some of these. Steve doesn’t want to know how long it took them to collect them all, and then organize them like this for him.

They’d had to make this all by hand. For him, at such short notice.

Steve can’t even figure out how they made the cover so thick, it’s almost like a published cookbook.

Nancy and Jonathan alternated recipes, and there’s a Polaroid of the finished product—he’s pretty sure some of the dishes are Mrs. Henderson’s—in the corner of the final page of each one.

He doesn’t recognize the cursive on the front: Knead for Sweets.

It’s so cheesy, and it’s so nice and well-thought out. He wants to spend the next month going through each recipe, making them until he can get them perfect.

He wants to know how in the world Nancy and Jonathan knew that while he likes cooking just fine, he loves baking. He can’t bake right now—Hopper and El won’t let him, and he could work with the space limitations but he might run out of pots and pans.

He wants to spend the night flipping through the recipes, seeing how many they’d been able to collect.

He’s glad they waited until they got to the car to give it to him; as soon as he realized what they’d done, he’d almost started crying.

It’s just so much effort, and time, to get the whole thing together. To get people to agree to give up family recipes, and then to write them out all, and take pictures of each dish.

“Yes, but you can be part of the reading, too.” El says, staring Jonathan down. “And you can get up early. You can just share the bed with Steve, like Will is sharing mine.”

“El, what are Hopper’s rules about you and Mike?” Jonathan asks.

“We have to leave the door open three inches. He cannot stay the night in my room, even though Will can.”

“What do you think the rules are for me, Nancy, and Steve, since we’re dating?”

“You are older.”

“That doesn’t mean the rules don’t apply. It’s true that some rules don’t apply because we’re older, but those ones do. It’s okay, El, really.”

“Fine.” El glares at Jonathan the whole time he’s leaving, not even looking away like Will does when he kisses Steve goodbye.

“El, that wasn’t very nice.”

“Well, he should want to stay with you! He likes you and he should want to stay here, no matter what Hop says.”

“El, just because he left doesn’t mean he didn’t want to stay.” Will tells her. “Besides, wouldn’t the bed be crowded with four of us? We’ve still got to read our book.”

“It would, but that is okay. We will be fine.”

“Would Steve be fine? He’s still healing.”

“Oh.” El looks at him again. “I am sorry, Steve. But he made you happy today, and I wanted him to stay and make you happy again.”

She’s not wrong about that, but she’s also not supposed to know that.

“El, what did we say about watching me?”

“You did not make any rules for weekends.”

“We’ll do that tomorrow, then. It’s bedtime.”

“It’s like, nine!” Will’s face screws up in the same way Jonathan’s does when he’s protesting. “That’s too early, we’re not little kids!”

“You’re right. You’re babies.”

“Steve!”

But El’s already headed to her room to change, so Will won’t have any ground to stand on much longer.

“Go get ready for bed, kiddo.”

“I’m not a baby!”

“A tall toddler, then.”

“Steeeeve!” It’s a tone he’s much more used to hearing from Dustin, but god it is fun to mess with these kids a little. He can’t be the nice babysitter all the time, he has to keep them on their toes, or they’ll start to think they can boss him around and get whatever they want.

(They can, but he can’t let them know that. They have to figure it out for themselves.)

Steve puts Knead for Sweets away before the kids come in to read. He’s not hiding it, not really, he just wants to keep it nice.

And if he wants to keep the wonder of the whole thing to himself for a while, then that’s for him to know.

finish on ao3 or continue reading

Jonathan can’t pretend he hasn’t noticed that the kids have picked up on the way he, Nancy, and Steve have been acting around each other. Will and El are the only ones they’ve actually told, but there are going to be questions from the others soon enough.

“Hello, Jonathan.” He won’t lie and say it doesn’t make him jump. That’s been one of El’s favorite things lately. Mostly with him and Nancy.

Okay, it’s only with him and Nancy.

“What’s up, El?”

“When are you going to take Steve somewhere again?”

Well, they’re going to a drive-in movie tonight, because Jonathan knows that Steve is still anxious about being seen around town.

“Tonight, why?” She stares at him for a minute.

“If you make him sad again, you can’t take him places anymore.”

“Make him sad? What do you mean?” Steve hadn’t seemed sad at all after their first date; sure, he’d cried a little when they gave him the cookbook, but he’d said he was happy with it.

“He was upset, after you left.”

“El, what are you telling Jonathan?”

“He is not allowed to make you sad.” El doesn’t look at Steve. He’s walking a little more now, opting only to use his crutches on bad days.

“He didn’t make me sad, El. The recipe book he and Nancy made for me was a really nice and thoughtful thing to do, and it made me happy.”

“But then he left.”

“Yes, he did, but not because he wanted to leave. I was a little sad about that, maybe, but he can’t not go to work.”

“You don’t go to work.”

“I can barely walk, El, of course I don’t go to work.”

And Steve has never needed a job in the way Jonathan has, but that’s not something they need to explain to El right now.

“Where are you going?”

“El, no spying on us.” Steve says. “I know you like to check in, but not tonight, okay? Nancy, Jonathan, and I are trying to have some alone time.”

“Ew.” She crinkles up her nose. “Max says alone time is code for ‘things you don’t want kids to know about.’”

“Not always, but if it makes you stop checking in, then sure.” Steve finally gets over to Jonathan. “What time are we picking Nance up?”

“We’ve got about an hour.”

“So we could surprise her with slushies?”

“Yeah, if you want.”

“Nice.” Kissing Steve isn’t like kissing Nancy, not that he’d expected it to be, but it’s still good. Between the two of them, Jonathan thinks he can learn about the type of kisses that bring people to write so many poems about romantic love.

Still, it doesn’t mean he’s about to start writing poems or anything. He’ll stick with his camera and the darkroom.

He’s got some pictures to show Steve and Nancy today, too. He’d gotten these done as fast as he could, but it’d still taken longer than he would have liked. And he’s still got more to do.

It’s too bad that it’s going to be too dark for pictures at the drive-in. Otherwise, Jonathan could probably get a few good ones.

“Do you know if El has said anything to other kids?”

“About us dating? I don’t think so, but I haven’t asked. Pretty sure Mike would have already thrown a fit about it, he hated me for a while. Pretty sure it’s because he thought I was taking Nancy away from him. What was she saying to you, anyway?”

“I’m pretty sure she was trying to give me a shovel talk, actually.”

“She’s been like that lately.”

“Well, aren’t you and Hopper making plans to move you back to your house?”

“More like fighting over it. I don’t think Hopper wants me going back at all, especially not when I’m on crutches. I’d be fine now, honestly. I can get around well enough and I’ve handled crutches in my house before.”

“What, you don’t want to spend more time with El? What about your story time?”

“I’ll miss it, but I don’t want to keep taking up Hopper’s bed when I really don’t need it. He won’t let me sleep on the couch, though.”

“Mom wouldn’t mind if you spent the night at ours.” Jonathan offers. “And Will won’t tattle, either.”

“I know he won’t.” Steve puts his hand on his knee for a second. “I don’t know. I just… it feels unfair that I get to spend the night with you and Nance doesn’t, you know?”

“She’s not gonna mind, Steve. It’ll happen.” And it’s not like Nancy and Jonathan haven’t spent time alone together since they all started dating, though it’s much easier for them than it is for Jonathan and Steve. “We could ask if it would make you feel better.”

“Yeah, I guess.” Steve’s hand doesn’t move until they stop for slushies, but he doesn’t say anything else, and Jonathan’s left to wonder if maybe Steve’s been feeling left out, or jealous, and what he and Nancy can do to fix that.

“What type of slushie do you want?” He asks, instead of what he wants to say. Jonathan knows Nancy’s—cherry, which always tastes ridiculously sweet to him—and he hasn’t decided what he’s going to get himself yet.

(Blue raspberry. It’s always blue raspberry, even though he pretends he hates it in front of Will.)

“I’ll do cherry cola, I can come in with you, though. And Nance always gets cherry, which is just weird, like who gets just plain cherry? And you’ll probably get blue raspberry or something, which doesn’t even exist. It’s Will’s favorite, though.”

“How did you know that?”

“I take the kids to get slushies sometimes.”

“No, I know that, but how did you know I like blue raspberry?” Will’s old enough now that he’s in on the joke, so that could be it, but Jonathan doesn’t know why Will would be telling Steve about what types of slushies Jonathan likes.

“Wait, did you ask Will? Steve, have you been asking Will what my favorite things are?” Jonathan thinks back to all the times when seemingly random candy bars would show up in his locker or bag, and how Nancy always said it wasn’t her, but it was always on shitty days, so he figured she’d just been hiding it.

“...Maybe.” Steve’s got his good leg pulled up to his face. “I didn’t know how else to talk to you, sometimes. Most of the time, I didn’t have to ask, he’d just say something about it while we were getting other stuff.”

“But you didn’t have to remember it, Steve. You definitely didn’t have to do that.”

“I wanted to, though.”

“We’re telling Nancy about this.”

“No! No, don’t, she’ll never let me live it down.” Steve’s redder than Jonathan’s ever seen him—he was kind of starting to think that the guy just didn’t blush.

“No, I’m telling her. And I think it’s…” Cute? Sweet? What word should he use here? “Nice, that you remembered all that after Will mentioned it.”

“Can we just go get the slushies now?”

“Yeah.” Somehow, it’s not busy—even on cold days, there’s usually high schoolers here getting slushies as an excuse to meet up with their friends.

When Jonathan sees Hagan in the corner, though, it makes more sense.

“Do I have to talk to him?” Steve’s using his crutches while they’re in the store; it’s not icy on the sidewalks right now, but it’s still wet, so it’s a risk they’re not taking.

“No, I can scare him off.”

“You couldn’t scare off a cat, Byers.” Steve snorts. “But you’ll have your hands full, I can’t really help with the slushies.”

“Just ignore him?”

“I can try, if he even comes over.”

Jonathan doesn’t know what Hagan’s deal is these days—he’s come over a few times, to ask what’s up with Steve, but it’s not like he’s been checking every week, or even every month. From what his mom says, Carol has asked her about Steve every time she comes in, which is a lot more than Hagan has done.

“I’ll take one of those.” Hagan doesn’t just grab it off of the counter, or out of Jonathan’s hand, which is really for the best. “Since Steve can’t, and all.” Steve had moved over to the counter to pay, and probably had gotten them candy, too, since Jonathan was filling the slushies and couldn’t protest.

“Thanks.” Jonathan just hopes that he doesn’t ask Steve anything. Steve knows the basics of what they’ve told everyone, but they haven’t had time (or wanted to, really) to go over everything they’ve said.

“He’s doing better, then? Since he’s out with you?”

“I mean, yeah.”

“I don’t know if he’d want to talk to me.”

Then why did you come over? Jonathan wants to snap, but he doesn’t want to get into a fight with Tommy Hagan today. He doesn’t want to get into any fights today.

“Is he… is he okay, at least? Is he doing okay?”

“Yeah, he has been.” He’d be shocked if Steve wasn’t having nightmares, but it’s not something he’s brought up with Jonathan or Nancy.

“Jon, you ready?” Steve glances their way, not bothering to look at Hagan.

Jonathan gets a little rush of vindication from that. The guy who has been Steve’s best friend for years, and Steve’s looking at Jonathan instead.

“Yeah.”

“Steve—” Hagan starts. “Can we talk?”

“About what?”

“You went missing again, that’s kind of a big deal.”

“So, you want the gossip. No, then.”

“No, Steve! Are you okay? Have you seen anyone? Do you need somewhere to stay? My mom still adores you, you know.” Hagan only gets quieter with each sentence, matching Steve’s pace as he leads them to the car.

“I’m good, Tommy.” Steve pauses to open the door and stash his crutches, sitting down before he speaks again. “Tell your mom I say hi.”

“That’s it?” Hagan hands over the slushie he’s holding; it’s Nancy’s, not that he needs to know that. “That’s all you have to say to me?”

“What else do you want, dude? You were pretty clear that we weren’t friends anymore. Made it real easy for Hargrove to come after me, from what I remember.”

“I shouldn’t have told him that shit, man, come on—”

“No. You shouldn’t have. And as much as I’m sure you regret it now, you haven’t even tried to apologize for that. If you want a lesson on apologizing, go talk to Carol. I’m sure she’ll help you.” Steve shuts the door in Hagan’s face, and Jonathan kind of wants to cheer.

That’s the Steve he remembers from before the Upside Down, the guy who could tear a person apart with his words. He hadn’t done it often, but damn, is it hot to watch when it’s not being used against him.

Even this much, much milder version of it. The one time Jonathan had seen him do it to someone else, he’d torn into the guy’s insecurities like it was nothing in the middle of the hallway.

He’d been a transfer student from the next town over, and he’d had rumors already. He’d gotten caught once trapping freshmen in the bathroom with him, and Steve had apparently decided that was enough.

Jonathan doesn’t know what happened to him after that.

“Was that too much?” Steve asks, as they leave. “Like, he’s still watching us as we leave.”

“Steve, I don’t know what he told Hargrove, but I’m betting what you said wasn’t enough.”

“I used to be a lot meaner, with a lot less guilt about it.”

“Well, you did grow up with Hagan. And I don’t think you were ever that mean, actually.”

“Jonathan, I smashed your camera. I let Tommy and Carol say and do shit they shouldn’t have gotten away with. Even if I wasn’t doing it myself, I should have stopped them.”

“And you apologized for that, or tried to, like immediately. And you were trying to protect Nancy, it’s not like you broke it because I was taking pictures of trees. That’d be different.” Does Steve still feel bad about that? Jonathan figured they’d been done with that a long time ago. “And come on, Hagan turned on you enough that he was telling Hargrove your secrets, what would have happened if you had stopped them?”

“I don’t know. I don’t want to think about him anymore, though. If I do, it’ll just ruin the whole night.”

“Then we won’t. We can tease Nancy about her terrible choice in slushie flavors, and I can tell her all about how you memorized my favorite candies already.”

“No! You said you wouldn’t!”

“I never said that, you assumed I agreed.” Jonathan winks at him as he pulls into Nancy’s driveway. He doesn’t get a chance to even open his door before Nancy’s halfway to the car.

“Let’s go before my mom decides to chase me. She’s not very happy about the cookies last weekend.”

“Just the cookies, huh?”

“Don’t you start, Steve.” She relaxes a little once she’s in the car, though. “I get the backseat all to myself?”

“Yeah, it’s cause I didn’t want to be near your disgusting all-cherry slushie.” Steve tells her.

“And you got trail mix cause you just love raisins, right?” Jonathan can tell from her tone that Nancy thinks she’s won. She’s probably right, because he’s about to give her a lot more ammo.

“What else is in that bag, Nance?”

“Oh, you let Jonathan pick out his favorites, too!”

“No, Steve got all the snacks while I was filling the slushies. And I’ve never told him any of my favorites.”

“Steve! How long have you been paying that much attention to Jonathan, hmm?” Nancy leans forward between their seats.

Jonathan doesn’t poke fun at them at the same rate they do each other, or even him, but he has to admit that the car ride is a lot more fun this way.

<- 14 16 ->

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