#and yes that is on the fic playlist

[kittylittersmoothie]

⚠️ TW: Brief Mention of Su1c1d3 ⚠️

❗️+ Spoilers for "The Hang-Up"❗️

(≡・x・≡)

Fun fact! "The Hang-Up" is titled as is for FOUR discrete reasons:

1) Perhaps most simplistically, the noun "hang-up" refers to, broadly, an emotional problem.

2) Donnie's hanging attempt

3) [236, 238[ (Don't hang up yet; I'm not done)

4) The Hamatos grow increasingly hung up on/worried about Donnie as the story progresses

That is all <3

[nebuladreamz]

We're so fucking back chat

[kevindavidday]

You Give Love a Bad Name: Chapter One

Playlist

[set-in-stardust]

Words: Light Leaves, Dark Sees. Pt. 1 - Los Campesinos! // Norman fucking Rockwell - Lana Del Ray // Return and Release, Chapter 3 - set-in-stardust on ao3 // Awake My Soul - Mumford & Sons

Gifs found on thepunkmuppet, aceofwhump, and the-torchwood-archive.

just a quick janto webweave. they're in my brain and they won't LEAVE!

[strangersteddierthings]

Porcelain Steve - Part 7

Part One🦇Part Two🦇Part Three🦇Part Four🦇Part Five🦇Part Six🦇Part Seven🦇Part Eight🦇Part Nine

((TW for this part; period typical slurs and internalized homophobia. Read the tags before clicking readmore if you want the details))

Steve has been a porcelain doll for seven weeks when disaster strikes.

"What is that," Jeff says, because even though the words are in an order which would suggest that it's a question, the tone of voice Jeff uses decidedly is not questioning.

"What is whaaa-AH! Nothing! It's nothing!" Eddie, who was torso deep into his closet throwing things around to find his backup amp cord, turns to look at what Jeff was talking about, and is now launching himself across his room to stand between Jeff and Porcelain Steve. Porcelain Steve, who Eddie had lain on his bed, propped slightly on a pillow, headphones carefully perched on his little head, hooked to a cassette player currently playing the first hour of last week's Top 40 countdown that Eddie had taped for him (all three hours of it, leaving out the chatter of the radio show host. He'd had to use two tapes to get it all).

"Nothing sure looks a lot like a doll in headphones, Munson," Jeff has an amazing poker face but Eddie's certain he can see a bit of judgement underneath the carefully blank expression Jeff is wearing.

"I don't know what you're talking abo- hey! Hey, no, no, don't!" Eddie tries to bodily block Jeff when he moves forward and the two end up wrestling, a match that Eddie almost wins, if not for the hazard that is his messy room. He gets Jeff walked almost to the door before he steps wrong on something, ankle rolling and sending him down sideways. He clutches at Jeff but can't make purchase and Jeff, the bastard, does fuck-all to try and catch him. Instead, Jeff leaps out of arm's length, then lunges onto the bed as Eddie collapses to his floor.

Eddie frantically tries to stand and, in his haste, ends up with his feet tangled in a pile of dirty laundry and that sends him crashing down again, this time forward onto his hands and knees, so he gives up on standing and crawls the few short feet to the bed, finally looking up to see that the damage has been done.

Jeff has picked up Steve, holding him inches from his own face, eyes squinted in suspicion. Eddie is frozen, horrified and afraid, and can't bring himself to do anything as Jeff examines Steve closely, turning him around, poking his torso, flipping him upside down to examine his shoes more thoroughly. It's only when Jeff reached for the shirt, pinching the hem of it between two fingers that Eddie kicks back into action.

He lunges up, one knee on the bed, leaning over to grab Steve and yank him from Jeff's grip. His first instinct is to throw Steve over his shoulder, out of sight out of mind mentality, but as soon as he does, he realizes his mistake and twists, lunging to catch Steve in midair. He does manage to catch Steve, but it sends him bouncing off his dresser and almost back to the floor before he manager to regain his balance, where he proceeds to cradle Steve to his chest, which is heaving from the adrenaline, wrestling match, and subsequent dive after Steve.

Jeff is giving him a concerned look but something else piques his interest; Jeff reaches over and picks up the headphones, holding them up to one ear. His face goes through every emotion a human could possibly experience in less than fifteen seconds as he listens to whatever track was at the forty-ish minute mark on the Top 40 countdown.

Slowly, Jeff lowers the headphones, letting them drop to the bed before he gives Eddie a new, more judgmental, yet infinitely more concerned, look. "Eddie. What. The fuck."

Honestly, he's not sure there's anything he can say in response.

"Why- I don't... are you okay, man?" Jeff sounds both scared for Eddie, and scared of him, at the same time.

"I'm fine," Eddie manages to squeak out.

"Eddie," Jeff says seriously, "this is not fine. This is- this is insane behavior. You know that, right?"

"I've no idea what you mean," Eddie doesn't even know what he's defending himself from but his default response to anything is to defend himself. He grips Steve tightly around the torso with one hand and then moves both his hands to be behind his back so Jeff will stop staring at Steve.

"I mean this fuckin' insane shrine you have dedicated to Steve fucking Harrington. How did you even get a doll that looks like him. Did you- did you make that?"

Fuck. Holy fuck. What can he say to defend himself here? Is there a single way for him to come out of this not sounding deranged? If he agrees, let's Jeff's drawn conclusion be the truth, then that's all but confirmation to Steve about his big fat crush, so when Steve's back to being Steve he'll never look at Eddie again. Jeff might think he needs mental help, but he'll be here for Eddie. If he tries to deny the accusation, then he'll need an explanation. He'll have to tell Jeff something that make him seem less like a creepy stalker, but what? He can't tell the truth, not without letting everyone know he's going to tell Jeff. There's a whole other secret he'd have to let out to even have a chance of Jeff believing him.

Jeff must take his silence for acceptance or guilt, because he's speaking again. "I.... man, this is not healthy. Please tell me you aren't, like, hoarding a lock of his hair or his clothes or something."

Involuntarily, damningly, his eyes dart to the closet, where several of Steve's sweaters hang from when he'd borrowed them and never returned them. And it's not like Steve doesn't have several of Eddie's own articles of clothing, like his battle vest and a few shirts. But Jeff doesn't know they easily, willingly, swap clothes, so his eyes go wide and dart towards the closet, as if he can pick out which pieces belong to Steve on sight.

Actually, he probably can.

"This really isn't what it looks like," Eddie says because he has to say something. Being silent is too incriminating.

"I don't think you're aware of what this looks like," Jeff says, wiggling himself off of Eddie's bed to stand at the foot of it. "Of all the boys in Hawkins.... I knew you liked Steve but this is.... creepy. That doll looks so much like him that I recognized it. Does Steve know you're in love with him, or is this like a way to process your crush without having to-"

"Jeff!" Eddie yells, mortified. He can feel his whole face heat up, knows he must be bright red. Because Jeff just said, out loud and for Steve to hear, the thing that Eddie very much hasn't even said out loud to himself, even if he knows how he feels deep down.

Jeff must know he's overstepped some invisible boundary he wasn't even aware of because his face immediately shows regret. He takes a step forward and Eddie takes a step back.

Immediately, Jeff stops his forward momentum. "Shit, I'm sorry, Eddie. I'm sorry."

When Eddie answers, his voice sounds like he's been eating gravel, "Just, can you go wait in the living room? I'll be right out, and we can talk, or whatever, but can you just..."

A nod, and then Jeff is gone, closing the door behind him.

With shaking hands, Eddie brings Steve back to the front of him. Looks down at him. He's not even aware he's crying until he watches his tears mark Steve's tiny polo. He can't keep holding Steve. Can't keep looking at him. Not when- not when his best friend just outed him in the worst way possible. And Eddie can't even be upset or hurt about it because Jeff didn't know. He's teased Eddie about his crushes before, and in the safety of his own room, there was no reason for Jeff to have to watch what he was saying.

Even knowing that Steve is okay with Robin, loves her anyway, without the ability to confirm that Steve doesn't hate him right now, Eddie's going to freak out. But he can't. Jeff is waiting in the living room, and the band is waiting back at Gareth's. This was just- they were supposed to just grab the amp cable and get back, a fifteen-minute job at most, and now.

Now Eddie is staring down at Steve, willing himself to not have a panic attack.

"I'm sorry, Steve. I'm so sorry. You shouldn't have heard it like that, it s-should have come from me. It should- you-I'm sorry," Eddie gently underhand throws Steve onto the center of the bed. He lands face up and Eddie sinks to the floor because he can't stand anymore, and he can't really breath.

Steve knows Eddie's a fucking faggot now, and that he wants Steve, and there's no way he'll get to keep the friendship they had before this. There's no universe in which Steve isn't creeped out by this information. There has never been an instance where a straight boy found out about his crush on them and didn't abandon him. Not always cruelly, he'll admit. He's had friends that learned and just... slid from his life with no words and no fuss. Eddie just never spoke to them again because they never came back around, but they also never outed him.

That's what will happen with him and Steve. He'll quit inviting Eddie around, or calling when he's bored, and eventually it will get to the point that Eddie only sees him at BBQ's that Joyce drags him to.

Fuck. FUCK!

He's not sure how long he's on the floor but eventually, he finds the will to get back up and resume digging through his closet to find the amp cord. It doesn't take long, he was ridiculously close to finding it earlier, it seems.

Before leaving his room, he picks back up the cassette player and headphones. Silence comes from them, so he pops the tape out before flipping it to the B side and popping it back in. He puts the headphones around Steve's head again and presses play, doing his best to not actually look at Steve. He'll just have another breakdown if he does.

He trudges out of his room, closing the door behind himself before taking the short walk to the living room, where Jeff waiting on the couch, elbows on his knees, fingers steepled under his chin, eyes faraway as he stares towards the wall in front of him.

"Hey," Eddie says, to get his attention.

"Hey," Jeff says, sitting up straight and turning towards Eddie. "I'm sorry. Whatever I did, I'm sorry."

"Why are you apologizing? I'm the fucking psycho here," he sighs, leaning sideways against the kitchen counter, arms folded across his chest, hand clutching at the amp cord just for something to ground him.

"Forget that, whatever I did, or said, or whatever, you were- when you yelled my name. You looked terrified. Of me," Jeff almost whispers the last sentence, and if not for the stark silence in the trailer, Eddie wouldn't have heard.

"Not of you, Jeff," Eddie whispers back, but his voice doesn't stay quiet because 'quiet' isn't a thing Eddie does easily or often. "Of... of myself, and these- of how I feel- I'm a goddamned faggot and now that Ste- when Steve finds out I'll lose him! Like I've lost every fucking person who ever even suspected I was a fuckin' queer!"

Silence stretches between them, enough to make Eddie fidget, dropping his crossed arms to twist the amp cord about anxiously with both his hands.

"Look, man, I don't know what's, like, the appropriate thing to say so I'm just going for the honest thing. You got me. You'll never lose me. And all those other assholes that you think you lost? You're wrong. They lost you. And if Steve Harrington is gonna be another one of those, then you aren't losing him. 'Cause he was never really in your corner to begin with."

If this were anyone else, with the exception of his uncle, he would be able to hold it together better. But it's Jeff. His best friend. Who never believed Eddie committed unspeakable horrors over Spring Break last year. Who didn't question the strange, new friends he suddenly had afterwards; who accepted as the only explanation a softly spoken 'they saved me' and that was enough. Who had said 'ok, cool' in response to Eddie telling him he was gay, years ago now, and continued trying to find out if Eddie had a secret relationship, switching girlfriend for boyfriend like it wasn't a big deal (Eddie did not have a secret relationship; his good mood that week was the result of snooping for his birthday present and finding the guitar hidden under his uncle bed).

It's Jeff. So, Eddie does the most metal, manly thing he can and bursts into tears, blindly reaching for Jeff and pulling him off the couch so he can bear hug him and sob into his shirt.

"There, there, you big baby," Jeff rubs his back soothingly, "let it out. Then pull your sorry ass together, because Gareth and Brian are going to think we died in a car crash on the way here if we take much longer."

"Ah, fuck," Eddie manager to say around the sniffling he's trying to get control of, "you're right."

"You good, though?"

"Uh, I will be."

Jeff nods and steps back. "How about this. We go to practice, and then you can come to my place tonight and we can like, hangout and talk. If that's what you want."

He's already nodding as he says, "yeah. That would be good. I- uh, I have something to do after practice, but yeah, after that I'll come over."

Eddie tosses the amp cable to Jeff after they climb into the van and head off.

Halfway there, Jeff says, "you know Gareth and Brian are in your corner, too. If you ever feel like telling them one day."

"One day," Eddie agrees, "but today has already been... a lot."

Practice goes well, with some ribbing for their tardiness allowed. If Gareth and Brian notice Eddie's been crying recently, they keep it to themselves. Which is good, because Eddie cannot handle one more thing today.

A promise to meet up with Jeff later and Eddie's back home.

Back to where he left Steve, who will be laying in silence on his bed because it's been well over two hours since he and Jeff left, and the tape only held an hours' worth of music on each side. Back to the nightmare of not knowing if Steve hates him now, or if Eddie's, and this is the most likely scenario, being a bit overdramatic.

His uncle is home, so he greets him, asks after his day, gets told dinner is Fend For Yourself Night (which just means leftovers or a TV dinner), and gets asked about Steve. Because of course he does.

"You sure he went on a vacation willingly with those parents of his, and he ain't actually kidnapped and trapped somewhere?"

That's a little bit too true. If only Wayne knew. "Well, no. I'm not sure. All I know is what he said when he left."

Wayne gives him a look. One Eddie is used to seeing, that says 'I know more than you think but I'm waiting for you to tell me' and Eddie's a little afraid of what Wayne thinks he knows. So, instead of prying that box open, Eddie just says he's tired and goes to his room.

Steve is exactly where Eddie left him.

Suddenly, without reason or logic, Eddie is angry. He's so pissed at Steve for being gone for this long. For having transformed in the first place. For not being able to assure him they'll still be friends, regardless of Eddie's stupid crush.

He snatches Steve off the bed, hand clamping around one of Steve's arms and his torso so he can hold him up with one hand. Steve's face, permanently stuck into a blank expression, looks back. Even knowing that Steve sees and hears through this thing, Eddie's so angry at the doll. If Steve hadn't been turned into this stupid thing, if Eddie wasn't so helplessly in love with him, this wouldn't have happened. Eddie could have taken his own time telling Steve, instead of hearing his deepest secret spilled easily from Jeff's lips. Instead of this not knowing what Steve is thinking, or how he feels. Is he recoiling in disgust at the fact Eddie's making him look at his face? Or is Eddie being awarded the same kindness as Robin, a quiet acceptance that won't change their friendship?

Eddie doesn't know that answer and he hates it.

He's so angry with himself because he should know better. He's forcing his own insecurities onto Steve, about acceptance and caring, when nothing Steve's done since they've become friends is prove that he'll always be Eddie's friend and not even the apocalypse could change that.

"I'm going to hang out with Jeff, so you're gonna be alone a bit longer. Or maybe I should drop you off at Robin's when I go," Eddie goes to toss Steve back on the bed when something pinches his palm. It's a startling sharp pain, quick to fade, but it's surprising enough for Eddie to let go.

Eddie watches, horrified, as he falls to the floor. He twists in the air, landing with a dull thump and cracking sound on his left arm before falling onto his back.

"Shit. Shit! Fuck, Steve, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to," Eddie is crouched, already in the process of reaching for Steve when he freezes.

There is a crack on Steve's left arm, a line that starts above his elbow on the inside of his arm and runs down and across his arm to his hand, where Steve's pinky finger is gone. Looking slightly to the side, Eddie can see the small porcelain piece that Steve is missing laying on the ground next to him. Eddie's own hand is hovering in the air above Steve, shaking.

This can't be- how did- Eddie wracks his brain. Was the crack there already? Did Eddie cause the crack when he bounced off his dresser earlier? When did it happen? Does that fucking matter when it's Eddie who broke a piece off him? If Steve didn't hate him before, he's got to now. Eddie doesn't have time to panic about this, he's got to- El. El can talk to Steve. Find out if he's okay. What if breaking him-

Eddie launches himself up and to his dresser, grabbing at the Walkie up there. He pulls the antenna up, clicks it on and tries not to actually shout as he says, "Code Red! Code fucking Red!" He lets off the talk button, counts to seven in his head, enough time, he reasons, for someone to respond before he repeats the process. "Code Red!! Code Red!"

He repeats this process for three minutes with no response. Where the fuck is everyone!? How is he supposed to- Oh! The phone!

He tears down the hall and to the phone. He must look a right state, because Wayne looks very concerned and is halfway to standing up when Eddie gets to the phone beside him. He yanks the phone up and dials the number for the Byers-Hopper household, holding up a shaking finger to Wayne, a silent plea to give him a moment.

It rings and rings and rings before the answering machine kicks in. Eddie presses down on the disconnect button before dialing the Wheelers' number next.

"Hello?"

"Mike! Code Red! Where the fuck is everyone and why aren't they answering!?"

"What?"

"Code Red! Where's Nancy. Put Nancy on."

"Dude, slow down, what's-"

"I broke St-it. I broke it and someone needs to get El here now. Code Red does not mean ask questions, Mike! It means Code. Fucking. Red."

"Shit, shit, right! I'll get Nancy and we'll get everyone- just- we'll be there soon."

Eddie slams the phone down and has to meet his uncle's eye now.

"Eddie. What is goin' on?"

Eddie inhales a breath and can feel his lower lip quivering. "It's- can we talk about it later? I promise I'm not the one hurt, or in trouble, or- it's not me, ok. I just-"

"Yer shakin' like a leaf boy. What's got you so spooked?"

Eddie just shakes his head and flees back to his room, slamming the door shut between him and his uncle. He can't bring himself to cross the room to Steve. He slides himself down the door to sit on the floor, pulling his knees up to hug.

"I'm so sorry, Steve. I'm sorry."

[the-broken-pen]

“I don’t need you.”

It sounded less grounded than the villain had wanted it to. It sounded like something someone had told them to say, and they were just repeating it with half hearted determination. They said it again, “I don’t need you.”

“No,” the hero agreed. They were grinning. “You don’t.”

The villain floundered. They, in all honesty, wanted a fight. To prove something, they supposed. That they really didn’t need the hero. That they weren’t in the wrong, here. “What?”

“I said,” the hero said slowly, and the beginnings of a grin curled at the edges of their mouth. “You don’t need me.”

“I don’t need you,” the villain repeated, and the hero nodded encouragingly. It just made the villain want to hit them.

The hero lounged against the doorframe, halfway in and halfway out of their apartment. And truly, that was the worst bit of it all—the hero wasn’t showing up outside the villain’s house, or driving by the villain’s work to see if they truly looked happier without them. But the villain was.

They wanted to scream, and kick, and throw plates onto the ground.

‘Leave me alone.’

But they couldn’t say that, because the hero had. They had cut contact and blocked numbers and ignored the villain’s car as it went by. Still, the villain felt haunted. As if they would never be clean of the hero, parts of their soul forever dirtied by it all.

The hero’s smile, and the way their voice sounded when they knew the villain would cave to their wishes.

They just wanted the hero to—

“Leave me alone.” It slipped out against their better judgement. From the way the hero’s grin widened, they knew it had been the worst thing they could have said.

“Darling, I have,” the hero said, their tone saccharine. Pitying. “You’re the one outside of my apartment.”

It felt like being burned alive, the frustration of it. The way it rose in their chest but had nowhere to go, leaving them shaking with nothing and everything trapped under their tongue.

“That’s not what I meant and you know that—“

“What, you miss me that bad? I thought you—“

“Shut up,” the villain snapped. The hero raised an eyebrow.

“It’s eating you alive, isn’t it?” They sounded pleased.

“It’s not,” the villain protested.

“I told you, you don’t need me.”

“I know,” the villain grit out.

“But you want me.”

Something in the villain’s brain stalled.

“Excuse me?”

“You don’t need me. You never have,” the hero said it like it was a fact. “You want me, though. Even as the sound of my name burns you, and the memory of me rots in your mouth, you’re going to want me.”

“You’re wrong.”

“Am I?” The hero’s voice dropped to a whisper. “You can go out to every bar in this city, kiss a hundred people who look like me and get just drunk enough to forget you’re not mine anymore—but you’re never going to stop missing me.”

The hero knew, of course they did, how hard the villain had tried to forget it entirely. The disaster they had become trying to be clean again.

“No matter how many shots you take to block out the memory of me, you’ll always be mine.”

“You’re insane,” the villain finally managed. The hero simply tipped their head to the side in acknowledgement. “That’s not-what’s wrong with you—“

“You’re the one who misses me.”

It stung, deep in the villain’s stomach. It took them too long to remember how to breathe—too long after that to think of what to say.

“If I’m lucky, I won’t ever have to see you again,” their voice quivered, slightly. “But knowing us, the next time we meet it will be in hell.”

The hero laughed and closed the door in their face.

The villain blocked them. Avoided the side of town the worked in. Moved three cities over.

It didn’t matter.

The villain could still feel the hero under their skin.

Later, whenever someone would ask, “Have you ever been haunted?”

The villain would think back to the hero.

And say, “Yes.”

[shhhsoftnwet]

Lamb Loose (by @a-very-fond-farewell) AU where they slow dance to Etta Jones’ “Don’t Go To Strangers” after a big fight, an amnesiac Doyoung thinking that Dongsoo must have missed his wife very much, but as much as he hated to admit it, is actually missing the old Seo Doyoung

[iodotsys]

So as some of you may be aware, I am a musician. And since I am a musician, I am also insane. So, I decided to write an entire overture for Insane in the Membrane over the course of two days. Enjoy.

[fumifooms]

Dandan x Asivia

Dubbed dansivia. Confused as to who either of these are? Here’s a Dandan comp and Asivia wise this post is close enough for now

There is a brave visionary on ao3 and they’re so right

Ok first of all let’s address the theory:

Dandan is indeed the only Laios party member not pictured here (besides Chilchuck himself but we saw he didn’t like her which would contradict this anyways). I keep wanting to add "that we know of" or some other caveat but honestly not even no, it’s never implied or mentioned they had yet another party member and that makes sense since we saw the party’s inception right up to its current party composition.

… So… Mystery solved right out of the gate? I dunno, it feels weird to me to claim Dandan hates Laios, but if he kept it under wraps enough or reasoned with himself about it I could see it. Laios and Dandan were coworkers from their gold peeling days, and so when Laios left to try a career in dungeon diving Dandan joined him.

They seem very standard coworkers that get along well enough to me, far from skulls emoji energy, but yeah there is a case to be made on both overt strong dislike and repressed strong dislike ends. But maybe the true beef started after he left the party even, especially if he fancies Asivia and kept up with the party’s drama that went down with her, though the chart does imply it was the work dynamic while he was still in the party because of context. But, believing that Dandan likes her and Asivia considered getting with him like the other men of the party, Asivia would have literally sidelined Dandan to pursue Laios. And Laios doesn’t even realize her attempts at seduction? Ok yeah the hate is plausible nvm. Also we can keep in mind that this is Chilchuck’s chart and he could have more insight on Dandan’s feelings than the average coworker since he’s his friend. It def fleshes him more out with implications. He’s professional he keeps unnecessary shit to himself. It’d be weird to me if the relationship chart was made without Kui thinking it through, or retconning it, it is the canon we get so it’s interesting to ponder. Kui giving us secret romantic drama for free <3

Speaking of what’s not free. Ok maybe Dan does dislike Laios, do business introductions really cost money… I mean I respect the hustle but. So Dandan is heavily implied to be the one to introduce Asivia to the party. The only other mage was Marcille and well we know how that went. "A real cutie". Yeah. I bet. 👀

This is the most interesting dansivia part to me, they did meet previously to the party, both doing what they do best, networking. Dan helped Asivia find a job, how did they meet and how did that go? What if she had an infamous reputation already, how much did they get acquainted… There’s a lot of leeway for fun here

Gorgeous hustling but lazy manipulator that seeks a fortunate husband x slight womanizer hustling & hardworking poor guy that’s been around in business for too long to be played… Both work a lot but like to take it easy when they can. Tavern flirtations and having met while networking and "I can hook you with a job" (staring and smiling too much) and "Oh Dandan, you’re so capable and knowledgeable about the Island, could you help me out~"

Manipulator hustler seductress x laidback hustler flirt… Social butterflies, streets smarts in different yet similar ways… Observant x observant………. She’s very harsh and drops people/her damsel act at the first second she can’t get something out of it anymore and I think he’d be so into that. Dandan liking strongminded women. Women who kinda play dirty. Makes him respect them and want to pursue them help…

And like, takes on Asivia differ nowadays but I do need her to mean this shit for this, this is what she's unabashedly about. She is just a woman trying to make it in this world but working people’s the name of her game. Whatever reason you give her, she was taking advantage of Laios and trying to get a marriage with any decent profitable guy she could. She knows what she’s doing and she doesn’t look the least bit remorseful. A girl who knows what she wants and chases it, rawr ⬅️ Dandan voice

They both fall for each other but neither can admit it because they know it’s just temporary, she’ll go look for a well-off tallman husband eventually. Messy situationship go. Can they even have a good ending together. It’s all only ever nice in the present moments… She’ll leave he can’t offer her anything but himself and a very humble lifestyle, she’ll leave she can’t settle for that she won’t, he knows that and it’s part of why he liked her in the first place. Oughhhhh

Ohhh to be underdogs, settling for a humble life & being content with that vs unapologetically ambitious and chases that life and comfort she seeks, which in turn makes him admire her…….. But even if she inspires him to chase what he wants, she can’t give it to him…………..

Putting this on blast bc they’re great thoughts

Because I’m me I’m trying to make them reach a happy long term ending together and it’s not working… Which is more fun tbh. I shall ponder this puzzle…

Casanova Dandan is so important to me now. Chilchuck’s in a separation slump & faithfulness oath to the wind but Dandan, good friend dandan? He’s living he’s thriving he’s pulling

I want fics of them meeting & networking. He’s very up to the news in the dungeon goer community… All I’m saying is I can see Dandan bartering for a shot with her in exhange for information or helping her out find jobs, knowing she’s after guys to marry too 🤭 I think they should flirt in a tavern. I think they should make eyes at each other over glasses and exchanging business convos and leaving it all in the implied and unspoken

Dansivia is getting too real to me

The fics are fun go read ‘em

[idonotbitemythumbatyou]

The Mark by @hellostuffedtiger

Obsidian Order Agent, Garak's, latest assignment: surveil Doctor Julian Bashir, the Federation medical delegation’s lead doctor who’s been living on Cardassia, trying to find a cure for a deadly Cardassian illness. Tain wants damaging intel on Julian and he's counting on Garak to get it. If surveillance doesn’t work, he may always use interrogation.

I always appreciate when writers take the Soviet Union as inspiration for the Cardassian Union, and this one takes that concept and runs with it. Cold war vibes in desert weather. Spies commuting, clocking in, and talking shit. The characters we know are all one step away from how we know them in canon, because this is how they would be if their circumstances were ever so slightly different. I'm particularly fond of Garak's Tain-generation coworker. I based this cover on a few different Le Carré covers.

[emberunderscore]

here to share my wet birds playlist with the people because i just cannot write atm

[whosthere54]

I can’t find my original post about it but I did do a poll a while ago on what fic I should finish. Yes it’s been a WHILE but I finally did it so here’s the “If Icarus got that hug in family reunion” fic cause I can

Until Ao3 Works you get it here :]

The TWs for Family Reunion are Panic, Yelling, and Manipulation. Let me know if you believe anything else should be added and I’ll edit the list.

You know how it is, these themes will carry over to my fic so pls make sure to take care of yourselves first <3

“I never asked to be here at all. So why do I still have to face the fear of loosing it?” - Song: The fear of loosing this by Florist

Or - What if Icarus got that hug?

—=+=—

There’s a moment of silence between the two brothers, Rae glancing at Aax before speaking again.

“Do you… do you want a hug?”

They look up, surprise and confusion washing over them before they’re able to adjust their expression to something neutral.

“I… yeah. Please.” Their wings adjust on their back, draping themselves over their shoulders as they move their arms to cross over their chest.

Rae nods, glancing at Aax again who gives him a nod back. He takes a few test steps forward, when they don’t move he walks over to them. Aax follows, keeping a decent distance between her and Rae- letting him have space but making sure he’s safe. They can’t exactly blame him, like they said- the two don’t have the best track record when it comes to “talking” right now.

Rae gets close, and they instinctively take a small step back, feathers flaring for just a moment before settling again.

Rae stops, holding his hands out placatingly. He gives a gentle reassurance, a simple repeat of what they’d said before- another “we’re not here to hurt you” “I-I’m not mad.” and some other quiet reassurance they didn’t quite hear.

After a moment of hesitation, they take the next step forward- Rae immediately pulling them into a hug.

It was nice. They couldn’t remember the last time they had a hug from Rae.

Trying *so hard* not to let tears escape, they look at Aax over his shoulder. Though immediately regretting it when she just looks so… sad. Pity held in her gaze that makes them feel sick.

They hid their face against Rae’s neck, quiet shaky breaths the only indicator that they were trying not to cry. Rae sighs softly, and when he speaks again it sounds like he’s close to crying as well. “It’s gonna be okay Icarus… I’m still going to try- I promise I’m not going to give up on you.”

Maybe that causes some of their tears to fall, and maybe Rae holds them just slightly tighter.

When their knees shake and threaten to give out Rae adjusts them so they’re both sitting in the wet grass, not letting go of them. (Not letting them fall, even if it’s something as stupid as this.)

They hear Aax settle to sit nearby, facing away from the brother to scan for threats. It was comforting, they couldn’t do it themself and if Fable came back and did something to him they don’t think they’d be able to forgive themself.

They sit like that for a while, Rae occasionally murmuring soft reassurance not once loosening his hold. It was nice, a comforting pressure- a distraction away from the cave they were still sitting outside of. Rae seems to think of something then- adjusting slightly and causing Icarus to pull away. Not completely- just enough so the two brothers were looking at each other. Icarus tilts their head just slightly as Rae looks at them with renewed sadness- pity in his eyes causing them to look away, fidgeting with the hem of their sleeves.

“I… Icarus it’s four months today isn’t it…” He says it so softly and they can’t-

“Shut up-“ They mumble.

“Icarus-“

“No-no. He isn’t… he isn’t gone I can fix it I’m going to fix it! He’s gonna come back-“ They wrap their arms tight around their chest careful of the ever-changing wound still concealed.

“Icarus…” Rae tries again, but they cut him off just the same.

“No- if you’re gonna say what all of them have been saying I’m not- I don’t have to *mourn* him he’s gonna come back, I don’t have to think about it because when I fix it it’ll be fine… you can go back to normal and it’ll be fixed…”

Rae’s face contorted into something confused, and then shocked and it crumbles into something sad, he blinks tears away so he can see them clearly.

“Is that… is that why you’re working with him?”

They give him a weak laugh, head angled down so their hair covers their face- goggles having fallen to their neck earlier that day and they didn’t bother to put them back up.

“Icarus…” they can’t handle this. They can’t handle the way he’s talking to them, holding them so gently like they’re something that’s going to *break.* they can’t handle him looking at them like that- they can’t-

“You have to go.” They say their voice firm and monotone.

“Icarus no-“ Rae’s brows furrow slightly and his hands linger on their shoulders.

“Please”

And that makes Rae pause.

“I don’t… Icarus I don’t want to leave you alone here. I- even if I don’t… *like* him Fable isn’t here right now. I’d rather you at least have him here.” When Icarus frowns at that Rae asks another question that leaves them thinking- more than they should be. When they think it doesn’t usually lead to anything good.

“Icarus how long has fable left you alone?”

They shrug. They really haven’t been keeping track of the time he was gone.

“He’s… he’s busy. The faster he gets whatever he’s doing done, the faster we can get this over with.” They mumble. It feels like they’ve said the same things over and over and *over* again and it still seems like nobody understands what they’re doing even after they explain it. Geez how many times have they done this circle of conversations with the things in the past four months?

“So you’ve been… you’ve been alone out here most of the time?”

They shrug, and nod. (They don’t want to lie anymore. It leaves them feeling sick and *wrong*)

“Icarus…”

Aax gets up quickly, face contorting into muffled anger, motioning at them to get up as well.

Rae turns to them- “Icarus-“ but they shake their head, getting up and helping Rae up as well.

“You have to go-“ They repeat the words, this time fueled by anxiety.

“Icarus!”

“Rae!”

“Icarus!” Fable’s booming voice echoes through the small clearing and they back away muttering a quiet apology under their breath that only Rae was meant to hear.

“Are you alright? Are they… are they here for anything?” He pulls out the reaver and it takes all of their power to look away from the blade glinting in the rain dimmed light.

“I’m okay… I ’m-I’m okay.”

“We’re not here to fight.” Rae’s gaze lingers on them for just a moment to long that it makes their skin crawl, arms wrapping around their torso and wings pulling slightly tighter to their back as Fable sighs.

“Of course. I see that it is only the two of you.”

Aax moves to stand only slightly in front of Rae, trident out and ready to attack if necessary. His voice carries confidently actress the clearing, low and sharp. An easy enough warning to understand. “We wouldn’t be stupid enough to come just the two of us if we were here for a fight.”

“No. You wouldn’t be that… stupid. No one would be.” He looks at Icarus then, solid gold meeting heterochromatic gold and purple. His eyes are too sharp, and they look away, casting their head down again.

He turns back to Rae, head held high. “But why are you here?”

“I’m here for Icarus.” They look at Rae through unkempt bangs, eyes darting between Rae and Aax as if analyzing them for a threat.

“Because they don’t need to be alone out here with just you, isolated from everyone else.” His tone holds more anger with Fable than it had with them.

“I’m not alone.” They say, loud and probably too sharp. They wince at the sound of their own voice casting their eyes to Fable when he looks at them again.

“Yes.” He looks away, and they do too. “They have me, they have Ven, they have Arisanna…”

“Which don’t know where you are?”

They cast their eyes down once more shuffling their feet.

“This place is supposed to be a secret for a *reason*, Rae. To keep others safe.”

“From… what, exactly? We’re not the ones running around hurting people.”

“Perhaps not now.”

“You haven’t changed! You’ve always hurt people! I’m starting to remember more of that now! You’ve always been like this… and now…” Rae turns to them, his voice softening just slightly again. “Look, Icarus he’s not a good person!”

“Neither am I!” They hold their head up as they say that, regretting it immediately in the way Rae shuffles and glances between them, Fable, and Aax.

“None of us are good people right now, Rae.”

He starts talking, he starts talking and they try so hard to tune him out. They don’t want it- they don’t want him to say more stupid words that get them to comply because they’ll comply regardless of what he says. They don’t think he knows that, but they will. They don’t… like him. They don’t trust him. But they’re good at putting on a show, and they can pretend they do. (Maybe deep down they do. They try not to, they know he’s wrong and they know what he’s doing to them -they don’t want to acknowledge the fact that it *is* working- but they love him. He’s their dad after all, and when they have no memory of their childhood he’s something that they can cling to)

“You hit me!” Rae says, anger disappearing to leave a suffocating tone of sadness fear, and *betrayal* that lingered in his voice.

“I did.”

They just look between him and Rae feet shuffling against the grass, begging their head to go blank like it tends to do. They’re feeling too much and it’s too wrong and they’re thinking- thinking leads to questioning and questioning leads to things they don’t want to know-

“Where is she.” Rae’s voice wobbles with anger and unshed tears. They glance up to Fable as he turns to them- “Where…”

“Icarus, do you wish to see your mother?”

They blink, looking back up at him with a muted look of confusion. “Yeah…” they said it too quietly, too much emotion filling their voice that wasn’t supposed to be there. They can tell in the way they feel Rae’s gaze on them again. They try to cover it up- “Yeah, yes, yes.” But then Fable starts to walk towards the stupid fucking cave and-

“W-wait- wait” they stare with wide eyes as Fable creates a small opening, just enough for them to get through. “Uhm..” Rae glances at them again, Aax moves to stand in front of Rae, trident in hand face contorted into disgust and then anger. “Wait-wait where…” He pulls his shield out.

“It was the one place I did not think anyone would go.” He breaks a small hole through the stone, just enough that they would be able to walk through. Rae walks closer to him, while Aax lingers behind.

“Uhm…. Um…” They walk towards him, stopping about the same distance Rae is away from the entrance for a moment before moving up to stand beside Fable.

They don’t want to be here anymore- they don’t want to be that close. They don’t want to *see* it again- they can’t…

Their breathing shakes.

“Where are you… where is…” Aax moves quickly back in front of Rae. “Where is that? What are you…”

“She is in a pocket dimension. Just as Enderian had held her before.” He says his sister's name with a sneer. “I will bring you Rae, and I will bring Icarus to see her.”

They can’t breathe- they look through the space Fable had cleared into the cave. The first thing they noticed was that there was still blood on the floor… theirs or Centross’s they couldn’t quite tell. Their eyes fell on the slab, seeing their blood still dried on the smooth stone and splattered on the ground in front of it. Fuck they can’t breathe… their chest *hurts* they can’t-

They manage to pull their gaze away from the cave back onto Fable as he speaks again.

“I’m sorry, Aax, but I will not let you see her. I cannot take the risk.”

“Why… why does it smell like death in there?” They turn to look at Aax, his tone settling on a heavy undertone of sadness as they speak.

They try to bring themself to explain.

“It… it’s-“ Fable cuts them off sharply. “Because it is a place that I thought was of life. I was *foolish* enough to believe it was of life. But it is a place of death. This is where the first mortals were made by me. This is the place where I first mourned them when they *died.*”

“This is where… Centross… died.”

“And you’re taking him in there alone, just the two of you?”

“Yes. I know you do not trust me…”

Their chest aches. They have to take a moment to breathe through a wave of pain that courses through their chest, through their ribs. They tune back into the conversation a moment later when Fable says their name again, though they don’t pay much attention. Their mind won’t stop wandering, and the things won’t stop talking.

“If *anything* happens to him. Know that I will be hunting you to the ends of the earth.”

“As you should. Rae is important to you, as he is to me.��� He turns and walks into the cave, but before they can even *think* about following him Aax stops them.

“Icarus. I need you to promise…”

They nod, trying to get their thoughts to work to the current conversation. “Yeah… I’m- he won’t-“

“Promise me he’ll be okay.” Aax asks, and they nod firmly this time.

“He’ll-he’ll be okay.” They can’t tell if they’re trying to reassure her or themself.

“Okay.”

Icarus turns to the entrance, hesitating a moment before heading inside.

“Are you ready?”

“We’re going… in?”

“Yes. I did not think Enderian had this power. I thought she could simply create the bubbles, but she could move if she wished it. If she had other abilities I now hold. She might have been able to escape at any time if she had known. If she could’ve held the same powers I now have .”

They have to take another minute to even out their breathing.

“She couldn’t escape. She- she gave them to me. She was trapped there.”

“Just as Isla was. But now we can move freely to see her.”

They nod lightly. “Okay.”

Fable inhales, “Here we go.” They teleport into the small pocket dimension.

It was a bright, glow stone blinding encircling the small space. As soon as they looked up at their mother- blonde hair blocking a face they couldn’t even remember- they felt an overwhelming sense of dread. It was almost like anxiety, the way it thrummed through their veins. Just a sense of something was wrong.

They couldn’t tell if Rae felt it, but when they got in there they knew he was more distressed, probably at the sight of their mother in a stasis chamber than anything else.

“Icarus I can… I can help. You don’t need him- I can- I can help her! I can help us…” They don’t know what to say, but they get cut off by Fable before they could respond.

“How, Rae?”

“I… I’m not going to tell you. I’m not going to let you do something else to her. Or screw up trying.” He spits the last part with lingering anger, tears beginning to form in his eyes.

“Rae…” He turns to look at them a moment before turning back to Fable as he speaks again.

“You will not give me the chance to help your mother? *My wife?* To bring her back to us.”

Rae doesn’t speak, he simply shakes his head.

Fable frowns. “No?”

“No.” Rae says softly.

“You’d have her stay here?” Rae’s expression crumbles.

The next time they look back at Isla, they can’t look away. This is the first time they’ve seen their mother in person. They don’t have any image of her in their memory other than the portrait that’s sat locked away in Fable’s house. She looks different, they can’t quite see her face but she seems so… tired. A lingering sense of sadness seems to be all she has in that small tube, and it almost physically pains them to see her like that. (To have her feel so similar to what they feel locked up in their house.)

“I have Enderian’s powers now. I could wield them.”

They look back at Fable then. “What?” They glance between him and Rae.

“You could do this! You could hurt her all over again!”

They frown. “He wouldn’t.”

“He did it the first time!” Stray tears are beginning to fall down Rae’s face now that make them stop.

“As a *mistake*, Rae.” He tries, but Rae isn’t having it.

“So what’s preventing you from making the same one?!”

Fable sighs. “Remembering what happened the first time. Seeing my wife’s face, and having it haunt-“

“She doesn’t want to be yours!” Rae yells, his voice echoing in the small chamber. There are more tears spilling down his face, and Icarus can’t help but take a step back as they take another shaky breath. They watch Fable's face, but he doesn’t seem to react. Simply responding calmly, anger quiet and reserved (as if that doesn’t scare them more.)

“She gets to make that choice. Not-“ Rae cuts him off again. “Does she?!”

Fable frowns, and his tone comes out just slightly more angry than he probably wanted it to. “Yes. When she is well, Rae.”

“You don’t get to make that choice, you tried to take that choice away from her. I won’t tell you shit!” Rae talks over what he tries to say next, words hitting their mark effectively when Fable sighs again.

“Rae!” They start, trying to maybe help in some way, try to get that information. But they go quiet as Fable talks again.

“I understand. If that is what you wish.” He inhales sharply again, and they are teleported back outside the bubble. Back into the cave.

They can hear Rae’s breathing shake, as he is ushered out of the cave by Fable. They take a lingering glance back, eyes falling on the slab, and then spot Centross died before Fable pushes them out.

They linger near the cave entrance as they hear Fable walk out behind them with a sigh. Rae goes to huddle next to Aax with his head down as he wipes the lingering stray tears from his face.

“Rae. When you are ready to help your mother and to fix our family, now you know where we are. You said it yourself, you can do that Rae. Bring her back to us. I have made mistakes in the past, but I have done my best to watch over *you* and your brother in her absence. I have protected you and your brother as best as I *could.*”

His tone changes then, more earnest, more desperate. It was all tinted with an undertone of anger a force perfectly covered as he says the words that hit their mark as Rae seems to cower as he says them.

“It was not perfect, I admit this, none of this has been perfect. None of this had been perfect. I have not been perfect, Rae. But *you* gave me a chance. All the same. As you have given so many others. *You* freed me from purgatory Rae. I owe you my life. You can do the same for your mother. You can give her a *chance.* When you are ready to give her that chance, we will be here.”

There’s a deafening silence as Rae takes a few steps back, eyes moving between Fable and Aax.

“We should go- we should go.” His voice sounds like he’s trying so desperately not to cry and something in them feels concerned, it does, but as Rae and Aax fly away all they can think of is that he didn’t say goodbye.

All they can think of is that he didn’t even look at him after they left the bubble. All they can think about is how he left them alone again without saying goodbye. He’d just said he wasn’t going to give up on them. That he wasn’t going to leave them alone here again, but that’s all they feel like is happening.

Fable ends up coaxing them inside. They take the confirmations and reassurance he gives them, ignoring the fact that they know that sometimes he’s lying to them. They ignore the things all yelling, ignoring the way they erupt again when Fable apologizes to them. Apologizing that he couldn’t remove Quixis from them. They ignore them as they say he just apologized for not killing them that day.

They just don’t want to think about it anymore. (They don’t want to remember… and that’s a concerningly familiar wish for them.)

Fable finally gets them to take their mind off it, changing their focus to the birds lingering at their bedside.

They eventually lie down, Fable leaving them to their own thoughts again. The things leave soon after that, sleeping or going somewhere else they still don’t exactly know.

The silence is so so much worse. They curl in on themself under the covers, their birds having fallen asleep a bit ago on the birch next to their bed, so they weren’t making any noise either.

There’s a lingering feeling they can’t quite explain. It’s something under their skin that just makes them want to cry. It’s the lingering feeling of their brother’s hug, his hands running through their hair and his arm wrapped securely around their back. Their wings try to compensate, wrapping around their curled-up figure tightly as their arms wrap around their chest and their tail falls over their legs.

They want their dad. As stupid as that sounds. They want their dad, they want Rae they want… they want Centross.

Four months.

Their hand moves to stifle a quiet sob.

They miss him- gods they miss him so much.

They miss him randomly interrupting what they were doing to get them out of their house. They miss talking with him, joking with him. They miss being *near* him, as pathetic as that sounds. His presence was always comforting. Something that made them feel *safe* and fuck they missed that feeling.

They miss his voice, they miss and they miss and they miss.

They *swear* they’re going crazy when they get the phantom feeling of fingers running through their hair, just closing their eyes and willing themself to just sleep as their breathing shakes through more muffled sobs.

It takes too long in their opinion. By the time they fall asleep, they’ve run out of tears. Sitting in heavy silence for too long until they finally fall asleep.

Maybe sleep isn’t much of a release, the only thing they see is the memories of their best friend, the happiness stained by a lingering sadness and guilt that follows them when they wake up in the morning because of the memory of the cathedral that the dream always ends with.

Soon.

That’s all they have to remember.

It will be over soon.

[thatcrazymind]

THEY MAKE ME SICKKKKKK 😭✨

Did someone say happy Cherik playlist???? 💕✨🥹

They had to do something between divorces right?

And it’s full of Taylor Swift I promise 💕

[nerevar-quote-and-star]

Trying to transliterate Leara's name into Quenya, and it somehow becomes, uh,

Lëarra

Which basically means "You Sealion!"

And I'm just, "Oh yes, this is That Sealion Woman, and she can breathe fire, as all sealions do."

If Leara, for any reason at all, needed an actual Quenya or Sindarin name for any fun Elvish shenanigans, we'll just use Calairie/Calearil, which is "Light of the Sea" in Quenya and Sindarin, and what Leara actually means.

[gravitywonagain]

Sunshot Band AU - Fire in the Back of My Throat

Wangxian, Wangningxian?

Genderswapped WWX, WN, everybody else is the same — why? Taylor Momsen’s voice and bisexuality reasons; also I don't control my brain at 3am, it does what it wants; also also let ladies scream in metal!!

Sunshot lineup:

Wei Ying: lead vocals, unclean vocals, rhythm guitar, programming

Mianmian: lead guitar, backing vocals -> Replaced by Lan Zhan: lead guitar, keyboards, backing vocals

Wen Ning: bass, backing vocals, screaming, unclean vocals

Jiang Cheng: drums, percussion, backing vocals

Music insp:

The Pretty Reckless (Wei Ying sounds a lot like Taylor Momsen and switches often between rock vocals and classical vocals)

PVRIS

Halocene

Red Handed Denial, CrazyEightyEight (Wen Ning screams like Lauren Babic)

1. Audition:

Starts when Sunshot has to audition a new lead guitarist because Mianmian is leaving to finish out her pregnancy and be a stay at home mom who only occasionally does shows close to home -- it's her dream, we're not judging her about it -- and cannot go on tour.

When Lan Zhan auditions, he plays well, but Wei Ying is skeptical. She was actually hoping for a woman to replace MM and there's something about LZ's stoicism that just irks her or something, so she pushes.

"Yes, well done. Now play us something we haven't heard before."

LZ plays a classical guitar piece, but WY identifies it easily.

LZ plays a guqin piece that he's transposed for guitar, but, again, WY identifies it -- though maybe not as easily.

Finally, LZ plays a personal composition that he hasn't recorded on bandcamp or youtube yet.

WY smiles. "Why didn't you start with an original composition? Save us all the hassle."

"I needed to know you were worth my time, as well." [or something like that]

2. Distant Road (远道) Tour:

LZ steps into MM's role easily. His falsetto is good enough that they don't have to do too much reworking of the vocals for the tour.

On stage, WY, who has always flirted with both WN and MM, flirts with LZ, too. This causes a Public Stir, because what if WY is actually straight and she's just been baiting the audience for attention! Gasp!

WY, who has been openly vocal about being bisexual goes on a media rampage about it. "I've said for years that I go both ways!" [etc.]

She ends up kissing them both on stage while JC remains ever grateful that he's her brother and thus excluded from the nonsense.

Sometime during this tour, there will be at least a WNX threesome, if not a triad formed.

3. Forgetting Envy (忘羡) Album:

Sometime after the tour is over, Sunshot decides to invite LZ to stay in MM's place. They start writing their next album. But LZ brings with him piano skill as well. Now they incorporate keyboard into their sound, as well as LZ's intricate fingering and lower vocal range.

Writing the album is... a mess. But a good one, in the end.

When they perform on stage, there are songs that require keyboard, so LZ (for at least the first song) gives his guitar to WY so she can take over -- because she's also very skilled at intricate fingerings -- and he can play the keyboard. (Mostly because I think it would be really hot if this happened in real life. WY has her own guitar that she'll probably use on other songs and has used in the past when songs req more than two guitars. But like. I want this moment. Whether she steals the guitar while he's still wearing it or whether he lays the strap gently over her neck depends on the vibe of the crowd that night.)

[razzle-zazzle]

3682 Words; Discolored

AO3 ver

“Poppy, did Branch crash at your pod last night?”

Poppy turned to look at Floyd as he ambled over to her, cane and tail working together to keep his balance. He came to a stop and sat down on a nearby mushroom, and Poppy smiled. Floyd was making great progress with his recovery! He wouldn’t have made it to that mushroom in a single go last week.

“No, I haven’t seen him since yesterday.” Poppy responded. “Was he not at home last night?” That was pretty unlike Branch—either he slept in his bunker or he slept somewhere else he considered safe enough, which was pretty limited.

Floyd shook his head. “I haven’t seen him since yesterday afternoon.” He looked out towards the rest of the village, frowning. “Is that…” He swallowed, his eyes not meeting Poppy’s, “That’s not normal for him, is it?”

Poppy’s tail lashed behind her. For all that Branch was eager to have his brothers back in his life, they’d been gone for so long that they were essentially strangers. As much as she wished everyone could fall back into familiar routines and get along, the world just didn’t work like that. Once again, she was confronted with the fact that, for all that he was living with him, Floyd still didn’t know Branch as well as she did.

Poppy shrugged off the annoyance—it wasn’t her issue to resolve, and it was well on its way to fixing itself—and focused in on the important parts. “Did he leave any notes on where he was going?” While he didn’t do it as often these days, Branch could still disappear into the forest for days at a time in search of supplies and other materials for his stockpiles. But he never left without some kind of indication of where he was going—not after his and Poppy’s adventure to Bergentown that ended with the formal end to Trollstice.

Floyd’s grip tightened on the handle of his cane. His tail curled around his legs as he spoke, “Not that I could find. He was acting really evasive all day, too.”

Poppy’s tail smacked the ground. Okay, now things really weren’t adding up. “I’ll go ask around,” she decided, “and see if anyone else has seen Branch.” Her duties as Queen took her all over Pop Village and Trollstopia as a matter of course, so she was bound to stumble upon some answers eventually.

Floyd nodded. “I’ll go see if John knows anything.” He decided, standing up. Poppy almost offered to go with him, but Floyd didn’t even spare her another glance as he went on. If something went awry, there was no shortage of Trolls who would happily help him out, so Poppy resolved to put her focus to where it would be most useful.

Her daily rounds were pretty routine at this point—after the morning song, Poppy went around to check on her people, letting them voice opinions, concerns, and even just happy “Good mornings!” Though not a social butterfly, Branch still had a few friends throughout the village and in Trolltopia, so it was just a matter of collecting what information she could and putting it all together.

Everywhere she asked, she got the same response. Nobody had seen Branch past yesterday evening—most Trolls hadn’t even seen him after the morning at all. Floyd seeing Branch in the bunker yesterday afternoon was the latest that anyone had seen him, it seemed.

The market was bustling with activity when Poppy arrived, sun high in the sky. Trolls of every shape and color walked around through the stalls, exchanging goods and gossip in equal measure. Poppy beelined for Smidge’s stall—the stoutberries were in season, and her Right Paw Troll had no shortage of eager customers.

“Good Morning Poppy!” Smidge greeted, passing a mug of stoutberry juice across the counter to an eager Troll. “Here, have a mug on the house.”

Poppy took the mug with one paw and reached into her hair with the other. “In that case, have THIS!” She handed the bag of cookies across the counter. “On the house, of course.” She smirked. It was a routine exchange, but no less genuine.

Smidge giggled, taking out one of the cookies before re-tying the bag and slipping it into her hair. “Oh, yeah,” She passed out another mug, and Poppy shifted to the side so she wouldn’t get in the way, “A pair of Pop Trolls came up to my stand the other day.” Smidge started.

Poppy leaned forwards. Smidge wasn’t one for frivolities—outside of the usual frivolities Trolls concerned themselves with, of course—and Smidge’s tone implied there would be more to the story than face value.

“I didn’t recognize them at all.” Smidge elaborated, passing another mug out to another customer. “But they were nice enough and they bought plenty of stoutberry juice.” She shrugged, pleased at the successful sale.

“Huh.” That was weird. Poppy knew everyone in Pop Village, and was well on her way to knowing everyone in Trollstopia, as well. As her right paw, Smidge should also be able to recognize every face, if not know them all personally. “Maybe they were Putt-Putt Trolls?” Poppy was still familiarizing herself with Viva’s people, after all.

Smidge hummed. “One of them had wild enough hair for it, but I don’t think so. The rest of the details just don’t line up.” She lifted her paw to her mouth, her brow creasing in contemplation. “Come to think of it, one of them had eyes just like Branch’s. Like, uncannily so.”

Poppy frowned. It wasn’t unheard of for Pop Trolls to be out wandering the world—Branch’s brothers had been doing exactly that for years—but something about the timing of it all felt off. Two strangers showing up barely a day before Branch’s… Poppy didn’t want to call it a disappearance—Branch was tough, he was probably fine. But the fact remained that nobody she’d talked to had seen him since yesterday, and nobody had any idea why. It reminded her of years past, before peace with the Bergens when Branch barely involved himself with the village at all if he could help it. But he had come so far since then!

“Speaking of Branch, have you seen him?” Poppy asked, already anticipating the answer.

Smidge hummed. “Last I saw was when he bought some stoutberry juice yesterday morning.” She handed out three mugs to a pair of Trolls. “I don’t know where he went after he left the market.”

Right, just as Poppy had feared. She sighed, and turned to Smidge with a grateful smile. “Thanks, Smidge.”

Smidge’s eyes narrowed. “Have you seen Branch?” She asked, already intuiting the reason behind Poppy’s question. It was just like her to pick up whenever Poppy had a problem. Poppy didn’t know what she would ever do without Smidge.

Poppy shook her head. “Not since yesterday.” She responded. “And everyone else is saying the same. I’m gonna check his bunker for a note after doing my rounds in Trollstopia.”

“That’s unlike him…” Smidge put a paw to her mouth, thinking. “Once I’m done here, I’ll go see if Milton has any snoutsniffers in his care, see if I can’t track down any leads.”

“Thanks, Smidge,” Poppy grinned, “You’re the best!”

Smidge laughed. “Don’t I know it!” She waved as Poppy stepped back, reaching for another stoutberry to refill the pitcher with. “Have a good day!”

“Of course!” Poppy laughed as she skipped off. Like she could ever have a day that wasn’t good in some way—there was always a bright side to everything, even when things got bad. There had to be.

With that thought in her mind and a spring in her step, Poppy went on to continue her rounds.

+=+=+=+=+

“Any luck?” Floyd’s voice greeted Poppy as she returned to her starting point, the sun having long disappeared behind the trees. Floyd was sitting on a mushroom, cane leaning to his side, his arms folded in his lap. His tail curled in on itself.

“Smidge offered to borrow a snoutsniffer from Milton to help investigate.” Poppy responded, sitting down next to Floyd. “But other than that? Nothing.” She leaned back and stretched her arms above her head, her tail and legs stretching as well. There hadn’t been a note in Branch’s bunker—at least, not where he’d usually leave notes. But it could take weeks for Poppy to dig through the entire bunker, and Branch wasn’t the type to leave his notes where they couldn’t be found. So here she was, sitting next to Floyd and looking for something more concrete to do.

“John hasn’t seen him either,” Floyd shook his head, “But he said he’d go looking.”

Poppy brightened. “Oh, that’ll be a great help!” She hadn’t known John Dory for long, it was true—but it was already clear that he had a skill for finding people. He’d managed to find Floyd’s prison in Mount Rageous and Branch at Bridget and Gristle’s wedding within days, after all! For all his… well, Poppy didn’t want to be so mean as to call them faults, and it wasn’t really her place to say, but John Dory definitely needed some work—for all his… rough edges, Poppy trusted that when John Dory put his mind to something, he’d find it.

Floyd nodded. Poppy waited in case he wanted to say anything else, but no words were forthcoming. That was fine, though.

“Queen Poppy!” And there was Smide, approaching with a snoutsniffer in her hair! Poppy stood up excitedly, her tail beginning to lash in anticipation.

Smidge set the snoutsniffer down. “Meet Petunia.” She boasted, “Milton says he’s the best tracker in the litter.” Her chest puffed out as she spoke, pride welling up in her eyes as she thought of her boyfriend.

“He’s. So. ADORABLEEEEEE!” Poppy was already on her knees, tail whipping behind her. With a squeal she brushed her paws over Petunia’s periwinkle carapace. Petunia whuffed in response, shoving his face into Poppy’s paws to demand more attention. “Ohhhh my Troll, who’s adorable? Who’s the cutest wittle snoutsniffer in the world? Is it you? Yes! It’s you! AWWW!” Poppy’s paws were covered in slobber. Her heart wanted to burst right out of her chest. She couldn’t stop cooing—Petunia was just! Too! CUTE!

Behind them, Floyd chuckled faintly, standing with a grunt of effort. “Are we ready, then?”

Smidge nodded, and Poppy stood, tearing her paws away from Petunia’s perfect periwinkle carapace. They started by the bunker, Petunia sniffing at a shirt Poppy had retrieved from within before puttering off to find the scent. Smidge unclipped the leash to let Petunia work more efficiently.

“Does…” Floyd closed his mouth, mulling over his words. “Does Branch ever just disappear like this?” He made a face the moment he finished speaking, ears flushing slightly. Poppy opened her mouth to speak—

“Not really?” Smidge answered, as Petunia kept puttering around. “A year ago this would have been pretty normal—Branch only ever came into the village when he needed something. We’d go days without seeing him at all sometimes.”

“Ugh, and he used to never leave his bunker at all during winter.” Poppy added, flicking her tail. “So we wouldn’t see him for months.” She crossed her arms at the memory.

“Yeah, and you’d end up bundling all the invitations you made him into a basket for him to find in the spring.” Smidge giggled, paw over her mouth. Her tail flirted behind her as she turned to face Poppy fully. “Oh, and that first year when you just piled them all on his welcome mat!” She mimed a big pile falling down with her paws, making a whoosh noise. “He told me about that a few months ago, said the whole pile fell on his face when he opened the trap door!”

Poppy snickered, face flushing. She hadn’t heard about that part! But it made sense; though fifteen-year-old Poppy hadn’t known that the welcome mat was the entrance to Branch’s bunker, that didn’t change the fact that she had basically buried Branch’s door in invitations.

…maybe she should apologize for that. What if Branch had been unable to open the trapdoor?

“Huh.” Floyd was gripping the head of his cane rather tightly, his tail starting to curl around his legs. “...all winter?”

Poppy nodded. “He’s really come out of his shell since!” And she would never not be proud of how far Branch had come. Finding his true colors again, braving the trials and tribulations of developing a healthy social life, reuniting with his family—Troll, Poppy could gush about how proud Branch made her for hours! She almost turned to her side as if to nudge Branch, but—

But Branch wasn’t here. He wasn’t here for Poppy to watch his face flush and ears flutter in the way they did when he got flustered, blue tones creeping up his paws to his chest in that way that made Poppy’s heart melt. Branch wasn’t here, and he was probably definitely fine because he could take care of himself and get through almost anything when he put his mind to it—

But that was fine because Poppy would find out where he went and it would all work out! Her tail straightened out behind her, taut and rigid like a cord ready to break. Of course she was worried, he was her boyfriend, she’d worry about him always because that was what it was to care about someone—

Petunia’s barks snapped Poppy out of her spiraling thoughts.

“Oh my guh, Petunia found something!” Smidge called out. Poppy rushed over to the Petunia, kneeling down to see what he had found.

It was Branch’s Hug Time bracelet, half-buried in the dirt. Poppy leaned down and picked it up, examining the cut in the cord. The flower looked like it had been stepped on—no, stomped. The petals had withered, and the timer was shattered. Poppy had almost missed it entirely—it looked no different from regular forest floor detritus.

This… Poppy tucked the bracelet into her hair. She couldn’t tell how recently it had been cut, but—surely she was overreacting. Branch probably caught it on something without noticing; he could get really single-minded when he was in the zone. Yeah. It was fine. Everything would be fine.

But Poppy still couldn’t shake the feeling clinging to her fur. It hung off of her tail and hair like a foreboding miasma, implacable in its surety. If Branch were here, he’d be doing all the worrying for her. But he wasn’t here, and all Poppy had was a cut Hug Time bracelet to show for it. So far, of course. She would totally track him down in the end, of course.

Yeah. Poppy clenched her paws. She was sure of it: they’d find Branch by the end of the week!

+=+=+=+=+

It had been weeks. Poppy saw neither hide nor hair of Branch, and nobody else did, either. It was official; something had happened, something big.

She’d already told Bruce and Clay and Viva, and John Dory was coming in and out of Trollstopia to tell her how his search was going—

(Not super well. Rhonda could track, but she wasn’t a snoutsniffer. Whatever Branch was doing, he was moving around a lot, and every time Rhonda found a lead it only lasted a few days at most.)

—Poppy had done about all that she could, at this point. Petunia and the other snoutsniffers were earning a lot of treats and attention for their work combing the forest for clues—

(not far from the Hug Time bracelet, Petunia had found critterbuss tracks. They were similar to Rhonda’s, but not quite the same.)

—she’d gotten the word out to her fellow leaders in case they know anything, including Gristle and Bridget—

(even after a full year of peace with the Bergens, Branch was still wary of the ones he didn’t know, and didn’t like going into Bergentown alone. But that didn’t mean he couldn’t be near Bergentown; Hole ‘N Fun was in the same general area. None of the other genre leaders had any news, but they agreed to help spread the word around.)

—and between all of that and her regular duties as Queen of the Pop Trolls and Pop Ambassador to Trollstopia, Poppy was outright exhausted!

But even as she settled down on her bed with a sigh, limbs spread out as she stared at the ceiling of her pod, a nervous energy hummed in all of her veins, crackling and stinging with the need to do something. Poppy’s head fell to the side as she considered her crafts table. Maybe scrapbooking would calm the fire in her paws?

Ughhhh, this was way too much worrying! Worrying was Branch’s thing, because at least he knew how to turn his worrying into something productive! When Poppy tried that, she ended up worrying all over again once she was done. She kicked her feet and huffed, glaring up at the ceiling. Maybe if she worried hard enough, Branch would just show up and this whole worrying thing could be done with!

With a groan, Poppy rolled off her bed and stood, stretching for a moment before going over to her crafts table. She sat down, flicking on the radio with her tail as she contemplated what to scrapbook. The radio was a recent acquisition, custom-made by Rhythm and Blues for her last birthday. A song that Poppy hadn’t heard before was playing, upbeat melody drifting into the background as she opened her current scrapbook. Well, it was one of her current scrapbooks, set right between the one she started to chronicle Branch’s disappearance and the one about Rock Troll agriculture that she had been working on and off on. But the scrapbook before her was her current Feelings Scrapbook: a place to work out everything she felt. It didn’t need to be organized, or follow a story—she cut fabric into shapes and drew nonsense lines with glitter glue, pushing pieces together and making something purely for the sake of it.

The radio continued to play, the song having ended. An ad segment started, making Poppy’s tail lash in minor annoyance. Ugh, maybe she could shift to a different station until the adbreak ended—

Wait.

That—

Poppy’s eyes widened. She set down her scrapbooking supplies, not even bothering to tidy up her workspace as she put her full attention on the radio. That was—

Poppy stood, and ran for the door of her pod.

+=+=+=+=+

“Sooooo what’d you drag us all the way up here for?” John Dory asked, pulling himself up to Poppy’s doorpetal with his hair. Floyd came up behind him, mostly-recolored hair pulling him up with no visible strain. He’d really come far, these past weeks—he could go for a lot longer without getting exhausted!

Poppy brought them inside without preamble. John Dory tracked in dirt as he went, not even bothering to wipe off his feet on the mat like Floyd was currently doing. Poppy didn’t care. The radio was still playing, right there next to her crafts table, on the same station she had left it on. “Listen.” She said, as the current song came to an end and, thankfully, an adbreak started instead of the next song.

John Dory listened for all of two seconds before frowning. “It’s a radio.” He said. “I don’t see what this has to do with any—”

“Just listen!” Poppy insisted. The ads were playing out in roughly the same order as before, which meant the ad they needed to hear was coming up. Indeed, the ad about stage makeup ended, and the next ad began, the speaker talking at a rapid clip.

“Hey ho! Tired of single-genre shows for single genre venues? Looking to hear some new talent on stage? Then you’re in luck! Come see Robin Lily LIVE on his tour throughout the genres! Hear music from all corners of the world, including the new hit single ‘Candy’!” A clip of music started playing, the abrupt start making it clear that it was taken from the middle of a song. “Hey, ho! Here she goes! Either a little too high or a little too low! Got no self-esteem and vertigo, ‘cause she thinks she’s made of candy!” The clip cut off there, the rest of the ad playing out, but—

It was unmistakable.

“That’s Branch!” Floyd gasped, his tail thumping against the ground. “That’s—that’s him singing!”

“What in the world is he doing?” John Dory put his paws on his hips, giving the radio a consternated look. “Running off on his own without telling anyone? Is he really that immature?”

Poppy shot John Dory a look, then decided to ignore it. He and Branch were still getting to know each other, after all. Instead, she pushed forwards. “The next concert is tomorrow, right?” She looked at John Dory. “Can Rhonda get us to Garden Grove Theatre by then?”

John Dory grinned, tail waving behind him. “Uh, yeah, of course she can!” He turned to leave, reaching up for his goggles. “C’mon, let’s get going!”

“Wait!” Floyd interjected, gripping the head of his cane. “Aren’t we going to tell Bruce and Clay?” With Bruce back at Vaycay Island and Clay hopping between Hole ‘N Fun and Trollstopia on a regular basis, it would probably take a while for the news to reach them, and even longer for everyone to convene at Trollstopia. It was a valid concern, but Poppy already had that handled.

“We’ll send them crittermail on the way!” She grabbed Floyd’s paw in her own, waiting until he squeezed back before she started to pull him along. “C’mon, we got a concert to catch!”

“Hair yeah we do!” John Dory whooped, already making his way down the tree, goggles over his eyes. With a grin, Poppy followed him down, Floyd following her down with a yelp and a startled laugh.

Now she could say she’d find Branch by the end of the week—and she intended to! He wasn’t getting away from her that easily!

If only the worry trickling down her fur could agree and go away.