#bonus point if they both traumatised

[sleepyminty]

One of the most underated m/f friendship dynamic i like is ‘i love my wife’ with rapies man and girl trauma ™ the lesbian who has tried to killed each other before

[illmetkismet]

I'm thinking about how in RE4 Ashley is pretty much the same age Leon was in RE2. I'm thinking about the contrast between these two photographs of them we see in the game, where they're both 20/21:

Leon's is taken presumably right after he got out of Raccoon City, traumatised all to hell. Ashley is smiling in her picture, before everything that's happening to her went down.

I'm thinking about Leon, so determined to save her, to be there for her in a way that no one could be there for him, when he was her age. Telling her to keep going even though she's so afraid (he was so afraid too).

He tells Ada he's changed after Raccoon City, but she doesn't think so, and I think she's right. Despite what happened to him, Leon stayed.... Kind. He empathizes with Ashley, understands the fear she feels all too well, because he's been there when he was her age, and by saving her he saves that part of himself that's been slipping away for the past six years.

[Bonus:] I think the photograph of Luis and his Dream Team was taken shortly before the Raccoon City incident too, because it's implied they worked on Nemesis, so that would make him roughly 21 also in this photo:

He helps Leon and Ashley as a way of atoning. Ashley's the same age as he was when he (boy wonder, cocky genius) did this horrible thing, and meeting her gives him the opportunity to redeem a part of his soul that's stuck back there in that picture, young and thoughtless.

So yeah. Three very different photos of three very different people who were irrevocably changed at that same point in their lives. People who came together and each, in their own way, reclaimed something they lost.

[sarcastictissy]

The QSMP has only been in prison for a few hours. Here's what we know so far:

Niki, Pac, Foolish, Pierre and Phil managed to escape during the mining and was sent to solitary confinement

They all left therapy more traumatised

Abuleoir is back and is a janitor (janitoier) (also Fit feels threatened for his job)

Etoiles managed to acquire a backpack

Cellbit is a ghost??

Everyone is killing Badboyhalo

Tallulah went flower picking in a dungeon

Etoiles played the diabetes card to get more apple juice

Chayanne was sent to solitary confinement for killing Quackity

FitPac goes strong, even in prison

Antoine is doing Antoine things (meditating mid air)

Quackity and Phil have decided they trust everyone except Foolish

Pac said he's kiss, marry and kill Fit (he responded with "oooh, dangerous")

Foolish has been downed multiple times by both Leo and Pepito

The Tazercraft song (Pac e Mike) started playing during dinner

Aypierre misses Max :(

Missa and Wilbur are meant to share a cell, which Phil responded with "That's fitting." (Bonus points since neither logged on today)

ElMariana met Pepito (and like half the server)

Phil stole some peaches, Etoiles stole dark metal. Pop off Phil, pop off.

GUAPODUO CRUMBS?????

ElMariana and Quackity spent the night in solitary (I sure do wonder what they'll get up to!)

They all lost their minds during the dungeon

Cellbit and Baghera have a cell and they're "sleeping" in it (👀?)

ElMariana said he'd fuck Foolish (no surprises there)

Antoine said he'd fuck cucurucho

They're all gonna die on day 3 apparently

[cupparosielee]

My favourite characters are always either painfully traumatised queers who desperately need a hug, or completely unhinged motherfuckers hiding behind a veneer of charm.

Bonus points if they're somehow both.

[blacklegsanjiii]

Okay but- I'm not the same asl+sanji brothers au ask but I'm thinking about this a lot

Like, is said that Sanji run away when they were in the East Blue so, what if be accident the sea makes he go to Goa? Like, Luffy and Makino finds him in the beach, hurt and with a metal thing in his head and Luffy calls Ace and Sabo, and when they see how this boy is they are horrified.

The first weeks are hard, Sanji is always scared and flinchs at everything. Until Sabo mention something about a sea creature or cooking and Sanji is, for the first time, really talking with them and not flinching much.

Some time later, during the night when Luffy is already asleep, the 3 start to talk (more Ace and Sabo since Sanji don't really talk unless 'necessary') and Sanji ends up telling them everything he went through and- both older boys are so mad.

After this, Ace and Sabo start to be more protective of him since, well- their 'little brother' suffered as hell and still is really traumatized.

In this, Sabo don't lose his memory (he still has the scar and meet Dragon, but he ask to go back to his brothers and end up saying something about 'Makino' and Dragon drops him in the place without anyone notice) but has 3 brothers hugging him while the two younger cry their eyes out.

Since Sanji is raised with these 3 feral boys who he started to call brothers, he is more feral than in canon. But I also think he wouldn't be the way he is in canon with women, in truth, probably he would fight one just like Luffy.

In Marineford, Sabo still has his memories and manage to enter and help alongside Sanji and Luffy (I hc that even if Sabo don't go with Dragon he would still be a Revolutionary bc of like, discovering about and liking it). All of them are hurt but if it's to save one of them, is worth it.

(Zosan bonus: when the strawhats first meet Ace, he is always with Luffy and Sanji, and for Zoro who already has a small crush in the cook just make him jealous)

(WCI arc bonus: when everything with the Vinsmokes hapoens, there's no way Ace and Sabo don't go to drag their brother back, because after all the Vinsmokes did to Sanji, they aren't letting him go with them – even if to save his crew)

That's a whole timeline split. Damn. Alright. For Sanji to show up on the beach with the fucking mask??? And no one knowing where he came from having someone have to pick the fucking lock to get it off would traumatise everyone around. He's skittish and jumpy and they quickly learn to tone down the violence. This twirly browed kid who mumbled his name is 'Sanji' and is so quiet even with Makino.

When they mention having to cook that's the first time Sanji starts talking with them. They managed to convince Sanji to cook for them and it's over from them on. Sanji is theirs, dammit! Sabo, Ace, and Luffy are all about protecting Sanji and Sanji is weirded by that and Luffy is fucking rubber so ya know. They're better than his blood brothers that's for sure.

And yeah one night Luffy is asleep so the elder three are talking and at some point Ace asks about the helmet and why Sanji was wearing it when he showed up. Ace has no tact and the look Sabo gives him as Sanji's eyes well with tears that freely fall as he explains he'd been in it for two years in a dungeon in his kingdom. That his father did it to him when he failed to kill him, that his blood brothers would hurt him constantly, that he was the shame of the Germa kingdom and of Vinsmoke Judge. Ace and Sabo are crying too and holding Sanji and claiming him to be their brother and they seal it when Luffy wakes up with a drink.

If Sabo keeps his memories and comes back with Dragon, Luffy's dad who all the boys tilt their heads at because what the fuck but also Sanji and Luffy are crying because Sabo's home! He's home but Sabo explains he talked to Luffy's dad and is going to join the revolutionary army but he'll visit, a lot! So much! And he does! He's there for every birthday and event and stuff. When Ace sets off they're all happy and waving.

Also basically if Sanji isn't raised by Zeff/only by Zeff he's fighting anyone and everyone. Also imagine a Sanji who's still just as good of a cook as he usually is but just as feral. Sabo gave him a bunch of cook books and normal books so like Sanji's got the book smarts for the Strawhats and Luffy's got the emotional intelligence because if they weren't together it would be chaos and truthfully it's probably best that Sanji and Luffy set off together.

In Alabasta everyone is like laughing cuz that's Luffy's brother how cool! Why is he also hanging off Sanji? And Zoro is getting insanely jealous and Sanji, the flaming bisexual that he is like, "oh I'm Luffy's other brother! There's a fourth one of us too but he's with Luffy's dad rn! No need to be so jealous, Moss!"

Marineford shows Luffy, Sabo, and Sanji showing up. Garp is staring at his three grandsons and he's with the fourth one on the execution platform. Sabo, Garp and Ace see Sanji catch his legs on fire with no fruit and it's all. And then when they save Ace and escape with the White Beard fleet.

WCI is going to be a fucking threat if Sabo, Ace, and Luffy are all descending on to Tottoland to get Sanji back. I imagine Koala and Nami are having constant heart palpitations, Brook can't cuz he's dead and he can't even bite his finger nails, cuz, ya know, he's dead.

[utterentropy]

Oh Chonny Jash fans of Tumblr, what is your favourite part of each of your HMSW2 designs?

I'll say mine (warning: canon-divergence ahead!!):

-Heart's droopy antlers (thank you Grimmie for convincing me to make them droopy instead of Kirin-like!!) are a BIG favourite of mine, they look so unique and the idea that they move like animal ears really really assists in having him express without visible eyes!! I also adore his bird tail, I NEVER knew how much I loved bird tails until I have him one, it practically completes his design. I've seen next to no Hearts with bird tails and that devastates me, he looks SO COOL WITH ONE!!

-For Mind, it's between his esca, which really fits with the aquatic theme and aids the idea of him producing sunlight from somewhere on his body, plus it's just so cute!! I also really really REALLY like how in my AU when he sleeps his eyes are closed upwards instead of downwards like how animals do, as demonstrated in this post!! I also have in my hero-villain crossover AU that Mind has a tail mode of code that can shapeshift based off of what the binary code on it says!! I may be a dirty Heart fictionkin (doubles DNI pls just putting it out there) but I loooooooove Mind and he's extremely close to being my favourite alongside Heart!!

-Soul's an interesting one, as he has a much more "generally human"-like design than Heart and Mind do; as, Heart and Mind are full ids while Soul became one. The iconic Trident tail is always a plus and the black and white eyes are a classic, but I think what I like the most is simply his extra limbs that he can manifest and his massive size. They're simple; but I love em!! Really makes him look menacing.

-Whole, similarly to Soul, looks mostly human, even more so as he's Soul before he lost his humanity. I think I like his constantly closed eyes the most, makes him look sweet and calm, and his classic halo + fleur de lis tail absolutely make him look holy. Actually, I just remember as I was typing this a REALLY cool design choice that Grimm and I made where Whole is specifically always drawn simply, in a cutesy artstyle, whilst Soul was always drawn detailed as a way to show the contrast between what life was like between the two!! The canon-divergence of this AU is really showing, heh.

-And finally, Soul Two! Yep, a joke character is canon, but only to a select few of the AUs. All of the critters have cheek markings based around the celestial body they represent; Heart has crescent moons, Mind has suns, Soul has a four-pointed star/a rising sun (depends on which author draws him), and Soul Two, whom represents astroid belts, basically just has freckles!! He also parallels HMS's animal-theming; Heart being flying animals, Mind being aquatic animals, and Soul being land animals, Soul Two is colony animals!! Which is why he's so bug-like, and makes sense why in the Main AU/Separation AU (both the "base" AUs) Soul, whom retains Soul Two's attributes as Soul Two never actually ended up splitting off from him, is cat-like, as cats are colony animals!!

-As a bonus, Heart's cat looks perpetually traumatised due to his wide eyes and eyebrow-like markings and that's still the best design I've ever come up with for a cat lol.

Over seventy-five-percent of these are things Grimmie thought of, I'm totally not obsessed no never I hate them they suck. Feel free to reply, reblog, or even just put in the tags the ones you like for yours!! I can't wait to see em. :)

[merrivia]

hi, do u know why some ppl in the fandom think laurent and damens first time was r*pe? i get that damianos was selfish but i just can’t see it as *that*

I went back to read chapter 19 of Captive Prince just to make sure of my stance on the chapter. I honestly can’t tell you exactly why people think that, but I have my theories.

If you were going to superficially read this scene in that way, I would have thought people would question the master/slave dynamic Laurent has over Damen, more than the other way round.

It could very well seem like it’s Laurent who pushes Damen into it to begin with:

Damen says “I-don’t-“ and Laurent speaks for him. Laurent acts as if Damen is a slave and has no choice.

Now, to be clear, Laurent doesn’t rape Damen either. But if you read this bit in isolation, you might get concerned about consent. That’s why it’s important to read the chapter in its entirety (syncing it up with the bonus chapter 19 and a half) and making sure you contextualise it within the wider plot of the novel. They’re both still pretending in this scene, and that pretence is what allows them license to sleep with each other. Enemy princes, one of whom killed the other’s brother, cannot lie together. But a Prince can lie with his bed slave. So they both keep up this pretence to be able to have this.

Look at the pain it causes Damen, who is someone who is aching desperately for physical intimacy with Laurent, to try and clear his head and stop. It saddens him so much that Laurent might be trying to reward him with sex:

Pacat had difficult choices to make in this scene. She wanted it to be almost unbearably private and intimate. It needed to stay true to the characters and their arcs and the world she had created. Sex isn’t always an easy cheerful tumble as Damen has experienced it to be. This is intensely personal as it’s also about two people falling in love, and who in this moment cannot see a way as to how they could possibly be together.

The scene progresses in such a way which shows the two communicating- as much as one can, when one is lying about his identity, and the other is feigning ignorance. When one is sexually liberated and experienced and the other, hugely traumatised and repressed. In a novel whose invented world is modelled on societies from centuries ago.

Damen stops and checks for what Laurent wants:

Damen literally asks Laurent to tell him his own pleasure, because he wouldn’t just roll him over and mount i.e he literally would never rape him.

He lets Laurent control what he wants at numerous points, such as kissing and double checks that he’s okay with actual penetrative sex:

I really don’t know what person imagines that Laurent, a victim of sexual abuse, who as a consequence was probably unable to feel any kind of sexual feeling in himself until Damen and might even be enormously terrified of sex, could just casually open up verbally about what he wants. Pacat makes it clear multiple times that Laurent gets turned on by Damen and has no idea how to deal with that vulnerability, when sex is tangled up in his mind with all that happened to him.

Damen literally double and triple checks as to what Laurent once and Laurent directly asks him for sex:

I just can’t see where people are getting this idea from.

I have also read that Damen ‘fantasises about Laurent as a slave’ as part of this but…he doesn’t.

In CP he acknowledges Laurent would fetch a fortune at a slave auction, which is a material reality in his culture.

Later in KR, he wishes Laurent’s body didn’t have to be extensively prepared each time and was more like a slave or a pet, because they have no oil as lubricant (he smashes an oil lamp to solve the issue). In PG he thinks about the fact that if he turned Laurent over to the nearest Akielon army, it would lead to Laurent being given not to Nikamdros but to him. However there is no elaboration at all on what that may entail. It’s very much a hmm that would change our power dynamic, and I actually think Damen is a little turned on by the thought that Laurent could be in that role but its made very clear in the text that Damen is not a rapist.

In this scene in particular, Damen sees his first time with Laurent as incredibly meaningful:

A moment he wishes to be “worthy of”. It’s an expression of love not violence.

So why do people think this then?

Damen doesn’t pick up on Laurent’s psychological state because he doesn’t know that Laurent knows he is Damianos the man who killed Auguste. He is being selfish by sleeping with him and taking what Laurent is giving him, yes, but he really does think this is his last night with Laurent and isn’t strong enough to resist his yearning for him.

Which still is all categorically not rape.

So again, where does this come from?

Well…I do think a lot of people read a little carelessly? I’ve done it sometimes, though maybe more rarely as someone with a background in literary study. Not everyone reads closely, not everyone remembers everything that happens in a book and they form some half-baked theories due to this.

But why misread this scene to that extent, where I’d go as far as to say that it stands in direct opposition to what Pacat intended and how the scene actually reads?

If you want my theory on it, I think many white readers (and non-white) have unconscious prejudices. The darker, muscular character evokes highly racist stereotypes of rape and assault; the fair, blond characters are the idealised objects of beauty and desire (who clearly need saving from dark men and their brutish sexuality 🙄).

I do think some people must surely be mapping these prejudices onto this scene and making it fit. It’s the only plausible reason I can think of.

I sometimes wonder whether some of the Auguste/Laurent shippers are people who want the fantasy of two blonds together. Like *ugh get that dark man away from Laurent*. I am not one to morally police the fiction people write and consume, I’m just saying the personal is the political and I can’t help but feel there might be some who think that…

So yeah that’s what I think! Hope that helps.

[windsweptinred]

10 Characters/10 Fandoms /10 Tags

Thank you for the tag @two-hands-toward-the-sun, this took me on a deep delve of my fandom past! Time to roll out my gaggle of glorious bastards again...

1. Ken Ichijouji - Digimon 02

Babies first blorbo. Puppy kicking, whip weilding antagonist who giveth not a shiteth. With a soul as black as his gloriously groomed locks. Who, by the power of love is transformed into the soggiest little puddle of twink you ever did see. Tragic backstory ✔️ A smorgasbord of issues ✔️ A realtionship with their rival/best friend so obbsessive, you're going to have a harder time proving this ship isn't a thing than it is. ✔️ Ken Ichijouji came with everything a young, naive millennial needed to make their first glorious steps into the world of fandom.

2. Ryou Bakura/Yami Bakura/Theif King Bakura - (Same body, they count as one!) Yu-Gi-Oh

Ryou Bakura - Adorable British cupcake with the soul of a traumatised lovecraftian cultist. Staring into the abyss while having afternoon tea. Gothic horror in a cream knit.

Yami Bakura - Actual murder floof, the walking personification of a horror podcast. In his wake trails body gore, supernatural mystery and gay subtext. Part demon, part Egyptian theif, 100% bringing sexy back. (bonus points: Florence)

Thief King Bakura - Traumatic back story maketh homicidal rogue. Wears red, has a social circle made up of ghosts and snake monsters... Is this not prime husband material?

3. Starscream - Transformers

Darling little duplicitous second in command of the Decepticons. Not just any 'Little Shit', THE 'Little Shit'. Simulatiously the dumbest and cleverest bot in any room. And that, my friends, takes a particular breed of talent. Negative traits, scheming, petty, fabulous. Postive traits, scheming, petty, fabulous. Repetitive attempts to off Megatron, play of either the power or fore variety. Not sure which, could be both.

4. Darth Maul/ General Armitage Hux- Star Wars

I will not and cannot choose a favourite between them. Instead, watch with wonder and awe as I neatly compress them into the same blurb...

Sad meow meow with self-worth issues does galactic war crimes to prove 'daddy' wrong. What do you mean my fixation with thwarting my archnemeis can't be classed as a hobby/career goal/life ambition? My voice can launch a thousand ships... Different circumstances, same truth. Such a pathetic little sausage, you'll want to sit them down and feed them soup. But they know atleast 101 ways to kill you with the spoon... So best not risk it.

5. Crowley - Supernatural

The diabolical king of cunt serving. Me and my athletic calves are doing this right thing for all wrong reasons...And you can't prove other wise! Alignment: Risk it for a biscuit. Four step program to deal with all life's problems: 1: flirt at it, 2: shout at it, 3: throw (please pick your chosen Winchester or, if pushed, tailor) at it. 4:... Yell bollocks and follow with a whiskey chaser.

6. Desire/Destiny of the Endless - The Sandman

Again, not picking. Desire, my darling little hell kitten. Destiny, my inglorious bastard in brown...

This is my world, you MFs all just live in it!

My emotions... Which I do not have, are the route cause of everyone else's problems.

Ah humanity, the dust bunnies upon which I sneeze.

Even in a glorified bathrobe, I'm still better then you, and you know it.

It is a truth universally acknowledged, that Dream of the Endless is a f*cking dumb ass.

7. Remy Lebeau (Gambit) - Xmen, Marvel Comics

Marvel looked at their collection of motley mutant misfits. And realised they had a morally dubious, disaster bi shaped hole to fill... And there Remy Lebeau has been for for 30 slutty, slutty years and counting. Sex in fushia pink spandex. Single handily keeping thievery in Americas top 50 kinks. Slowly exhausting the world's supply of playing cards... Must be considered a traitor to the cause atleast once a decade to keep his street cred. Must be considered a secret Summers brother atleast once a decade to keep his ego in check.

8. Jonathan Crane (Scarecrow) - Batman (DC)

Scythe wielding, reigning and defending Trick or treat world champion since 1941. The physical attributes of a Giacometti sculpture with the rustic aesthetic of the folk horror genre. Grumpy old man syndrome dialed up to eleven. Pets: Craw the crow, Nightmare the raven... Edward Nygma. Built a life manifesto based on a gothic novel... Oh captain, my captain.

9. Alfie Solomons - Peaky Blinders

All hail the great arisen god of Margate. Who looked upon Tommy Shelby and called him smol. Weilds tomfuckery like a pepper spray straight up the jacksie. Views betrayal as a bonding exercise. Somewhere in his words are the the meaning of life. Still awaiting the lab results as to whether this man is the anthropomorphic personification of chaotic neutral. Not even part of the egg and spoon race. Will still manage to win with a watermelon and a novelty spork.

10. Elias Bouchard - The Magnus Archives

(art by @felix-krain and @caligosatchel)

Cluedo character brought to life by malevolent eldritch entity for sexy end of the world shinnanigans. I suspect either Proffesor Plum or Reverend Green, professional opinions vary. Maintains the inability to move more than one square at a time when enacting nefarious schemes. Still has a preference for homicide by kitchenware. Comes with all the British, arch dilf energy of an Agatha Cristie villain. Taking the horrors from the hands of privileged elite and unleashing them on unsuspecting white collar workers. Eye, chin and tits first.

Whelp, that's my ten fictional characters/fandoms. Men folk (and Desire) addition. When I say I like them on the morally grey dulux colour chart. I'm not exaggerating. 😅

I'm tagging, at your pleasure @mashumaru @aisalynn @bobbole @tickldpnk8 @writing-for-life @marvagon @missingrache @rriavian @jazzy-a and @ibrithir-was-here

[late-to-the-party-81]

He who Lovescraft loves loudest

AN: Here is my contribution to Stucky Halloween. I don’t really do true scary things, so I went a bit of a different route.

Big thanks go to @greekgeek24 for organising the event and making not only the cover for this fic, and for all the fics that are being entered, but also for the custom bonus image she made for me to share with you guys - you'll find it at the end.

Another big thanks goes to @zenaidamacrouras1 for beta-ing and giggling along to this silly story.

This story also fills Square O2 of my @stuckybingo card - Eldritch Horror as well as the October challenge prompt - Haunted House, and Square B3 on my @steverogersbingo card - Himbo Steve.

Dividers by @firefly-graphics

Summary: There’s some scary goings-on around campus. Several students have ended up in hospital, traumatised by something they’ve seen. Bucky, Steve, Sam, Nat and Alpine decide to investigate. Will they discover what’s going on and more importantly, will Bucky get lucky with Steve?

Relationships: Cap Quartet friendship, Steve x Bucky, FWB Nat x Sam.

Word Count: 6k

CW: College AU (all are late teens/early 20’s), kissing, groping, suggestive language, Bucky is constantly horny, Steve is a bit of a himbo, Nat has Sam right where she wants him, Scooby-doo inspired, crack treated seriously, cartoon style slapstick, Alpine is obviously the heroine, recreational drug usage (it goes without saying that in real life you should not have your cat inside your hotbox....)

It was quiet and peaceful in the library until Sam and Nat burst in. Steve had said he wanted to study, but Bucky had managed to convince him, as easily as usual, that making out would also be a good use of their time. 

Bucky was straddling his boyfriend's sinfully muscular thighs, arms wrapped around his neck, enjoying the feel of Steve’s lips against his own. Enjoying the way Steve’s tongue was snaking its way into his mouth. Enjoying the way both of their partially chubbed up cocks were pressed against each other through their layers of clothes.

It was in the back of his mind that it would probably be relatively easy to convince Steve to abandon the library altogether for the soft bench seats in the back of his van and a lot less clothing. However, that’s when the other two appeared.

Nat, making a statement with her skin tight purple jeans and matching top, threw her bag down onto the table and slumped into the nearest uncomfortable wooden chair, all the while making gagging sounds. Bucky pulled away from Steve with a sigh, sliding back onto his own chair. Steve chased his lips for a few seconds before realising why Bucky was no longer kissing the shit outta him. He blushed and immediately turned back to his books, pointlessly trying to make it look as though that was what he’d been doing all along.

“I don’t even know why you two even bother coming to the library to study,” Sam teased, smoothing out his orange turtleneck. “One of these days Mrs. Parker is gonna catch you and throw you out. That’s if she doesn’t throw you out for smuggling your cat in.” 

Bucky spun his chair around, planted his feet in Nat’s lap and tilted his head back to seeSam pointing at Bucky’s backpack. As if on queue, a small, white, furry head popped out of the open zipper.

“Mrow.” Bucky reached out his hand to scritch the top of her head and she started to purr.

“Nah. Mrs P loves Alpine. Who do you think gave my princess a taste for fresh cooked chicken? And she loves me too, especially after I helped her nephew study for his mechanics exam. Doc Octavious gave Peter an A. ”

“I don’t know how you do it, man,” Sam grumbled. “You never seem to study, but still manage to ace all your classes. Meanwhile the rest of us gotta work double time. Especially Goldilocks over there.” Sam jerked his thumb and Bucky twisted in his seat. Steve had gone back to his books, but he still had a cute flush covering his neck and cheeks and his hair was adorably mussed. Bucky smiled indulgently, taking in the sight of his boyfriend in his tight navy slacks and white cotton shirt, before turning back to Sam.

“It’s not my fault I’ve got more natural talent than any of you goobers.” Nat glared at him and shoved his booted feet from her knees. “What are you two here for anyway? I thought you were going to have your own ‘study session’.” He raised his hands in air quotes and Nat’s glare got more intense. Alpine ducked her head back into the bag. 

“We’re here,” she ground out, “because there’s been another attack.” Bucky looked at Nat askance and her announcement even got Steve’s attention as his head snapped up too.

“Yikes! Who was it, and when?” Steve’s shyness at being caught making out melted away, replaced with his no-nonsense ‘mother-hen’ tone. Bucky decided he loved Steve all the more for it.

Sam moved around the table and sat down on Steve’s other side. “It was Clint and Laura. They were found late last night, wandering around near the campus coffee shop.” He pulled a fold out map from his jeans pocket and spread it across the table. Steve picked up one of his pencils and, tongue poking out between his lips, drew an X on it. It was the fourth such mark on the paper.

Bucky scooched his chair closer, pushed his shaggy, shoulder-length hair out of his face, and peered over Steve’s shoulder. Nat got up from her seat and stood behind all of them, resting her hand on Bucky’s back.

“They were crying and talking nonsense when Campus security found them. They’re up at the hospital. I was gonna go up there in a bit and see if I could get anything out of them.” Her tone was laced with anger and Bucky turned his head to look at the clenched fingers of her free hand. Outside of him, Sam and Steve, Clint was one of Nat’s closest friends and she also adored his long term girlfriend Laura, having announced early on that the pair were definitely ‘endgame’.

“I can’t believe that Dean Fury isn’t doing anything about this. This is the fifth attack in just over two weeks and he’s acting like it’s nothing but Spooky Season pranks that have gotten out of hand.”

Bucky wouldn’t put it past Nat to storm into Fury’s office and refuse to leave until he took it seriously. She might not be the tallest, but she was definitely scary when she wanted to be.

“I think I see a pattern,” Sam said, cautiously. His finger tapped down on the map. “Here are the first two attacks, then the third, fourth and finally, the one last night. They’re all within half a block of the old Borson house.”

Steve’s brows drew together. “But no-one has lived there for years. As I understand it, the realtors only just got hold of his daughter to get her to agree to sell.”

“It gives me the heeby-jeebies,” said Bucky. “But maybe we should check it out this evening?”

“Got any twos?” asked Sam.

“Go fish,” Nat responded before she held out her hand for the joint Bucky was passing her. Sam grumbled and drew a card from the deck.

It was smokey and dark in the back of Bucky’s van, but that wasn’t unusual. Nor was the fact that, once again, Bucky was sitting on Steve’s lap. Now he’d passed the joint on, he could return to kissing Steve. 

Steve’s lips opened under his, so Bucky let go of his mouth full of smoke, shotgunning it to his boyfriend. Steve moaned back, his hands tightening on Bucky’s waist and rocking them together. 

“You’re so fucking sexy, Buck. Must be the luckiest guy in school.”

“If we were alone you could be even luckier,” Bucky mumbled into the soft skin of Steve’s neck.

“But you’re not,” drawled Nat, “so clothes stay on and flies stay zipped. That means you, Barnes. We all know who the bad influence is around here.”

“Anyway,” added Sam, “aren’t you two supposed to be keeping a lookout? Can’t do that while your lips are attached together.”

Bucky turned his head and stuck his tongue out at Sam. “You’re such a square.”

Sam raised an eyebrow and took a long pull on the joint. “I think you need to reframe your definition, man. I’m sitting in the back of a beat up van, smoking a joint, keeping an eye out for an unknown monster terrorising our campus and getting beaten at ‘Go Fish!’ of all things. Also, I’m me. As far from square as they come.” 

“Don’t get cocky, Wilson.” As she spoke, Nat stretched out her foot, placing it right into Sam’s crotch. Sam squeaked. Nat smiled.

“I still don’t quite understand what we’re even looking out for,” said Steve. “What did Laura say again?”

“Not a lot,” Nat replied as she stared down at her hand of cards, still rocking her foot back and forth. “She’s obviously traumatised from whatever it was that happened. Her parents said she wasn’t really talking at all, but when I got there she just grabbed hold of my shirt and pulled me really close. Then she just started muttering under her breath. The words ‘tentacles’ and ‘monster’. Then she let me go and went back to staring into space.” The others looked at her in horror, but Nat didn’t seem to notice. “Got any eights?”

Sam threw his cards down across the small table and the moment was broken. The slips of card slid across the melamine surface and Alpine, who had been lightly dozing upon it, opened her eyes and batted a few to the floor.

“Damn it, Romanoff. How the fuck do you do that?” Sam bent down with a huff to retrieve his cards, the joint wedged in the corner of his mouth.

“Observation, my dear Wilson. I can read you like a book.” As Sam sat back up, Nat plucked the joint from his lips and passed it back towards Steve and Bucky. She slipped around the table and slid onto the bench seat Sam was occupying, squishing him against the wall of the van. He grinned at her.

“And is that book the Karma Sutra?” He’d dropped his voice as low as it could go, pulling out all the stops.

“Depends how flexible you are, Sammy-boy.” Nat flicked the end of his nose and they both dissolved into giggles

Bucky, started to chuckle at their antics, when suddenly an ear-piercing scream from outside split the air. 

“Jinkies!” Steve exclaimed and leapt to his feet, banging his head on the roof of the van and tumbling Bucky to the floor in the process. Both exclaimed in pain.

“Damn it, Stevie!” 

“Sorry, Buck.” Steve rubbed at his head with one hand and with the other reached out to haul Bucky up from the floor. One strong jerk and Bucky was back on his feet. Bucky placed the joint in the ashtray and then rubbed at the ache in his ass. Sam and Nat were also on their feet and opening the sliding side door. Cool autumn air swirled into the space, flushing out the pungent fog they had all been cultivating.

Nat jumped down onto the asphalt, head tilted to the side as she waited to see whether any more noises would be forthcoming. She didn’t have to wait for long. A second scream met their ears and before any of the others could say anything she was off, sprinting towards whatever was happening. Sam and Steve looked at each other for a moment and then Sam sped away, hot on Nat’s heels.

“Nat! Wait!”

Bucky jumped down after him, but before he could follow suit he felt Steve’s large hands clamp down on his upper arms.

“Stay here, Bucky.”

“But Steve!” Bucky twisted in Steve’s hold to face him, confusion on his face.

“No, Bucky. I need to know you’re safe. Please. Stay here. You and Alpine. And we might need you to drive the van.” He dropped a kiss to Bucky’s forehead and then he was also running off into the streetlamp lit night.

Bucky watched him, mouth agape in stunned silence, before he stepped back and sat down on the edge of the open doorway.

“What the hell was that? Doesn’t he trust us, Al?” Bucky turned his head to look back into the van. Alpine was no longer sitting on the small table. “Al?” He stood up and then climbed into the van. “Alpine? Where are you, princess?” Bucky opened his backpack zipper wider, wondering whether his stalwart feline had decided to curl up in there for a snooze. No such luck.

Bucky planted his hands on his hips and let out a sigh. His girl was always trying to roam somewhere. He re-exited the van and strode over to bushes on the opposite side of the road.

“Alpine… Princess… Where are you sweetheart?” He ducked down but couldn’t see her. “Here, Alpine! Pss-pss-pss… I’ve got some chicken for you…” Bucky walked a little further down the sidewalk. She had to be around here somewhere. Just then, he caught movement in his peripheral vision; a dart of white disappearing between two fence planks.

“Ah-ha!” Bucky jogged off in pursuit. “You won’t get away from me.” He clambered over the short fence and followed the small blur of white into the shrubs. Branches snagged at his hair and his olive green t-shirt and he wished he’d worn a jacket now - it was a lot colder out here than he’d first thought and it would have protected his arms from getting scraped. The greenery thickened, forcing Bucky down onto his hands and knees. He shuffled forward and  stuck his head and shoulders into a gap under one of the bushes. Alpine was sitting under it, swishing her tail angrily.

“There you are, Princess. Come on. Out you come. We need to get back to the van.” Carefully he reached out, but Alpine let out an uncharacteristic growl as he did. “Hey! What’s gotten into you?” She growled again, the hair on her back standing up on end. As Bucky looked at her in the gloom, he realised something. She wasn’t looking at him. She was looking at something behind him.

Bucky felt a chill go through him, and realised that the ground around him was taking on a green glow. He looked at Alpine, her fur also taking on the eerie hue.

“I don’t suppose that’s Sam, trying to scare the jeepers out of me?”

Alpine continued to growl.

“Didn’t think so…”

Bucky took a deep breath and then backed up quickly, intending to surprise whoever it was behind him with his speed. However, the weed from earlier had made him a little light-headed and as he stood up and spun around, the world spun with him. Something strange - green and non-human looking - started to coalesce in front of his eyes. It opened its mouth and let out an inhuman noise as something else wrapped around his arms. Bucky stepped back in alarm and caught his heel on a tree root. As he lost his balance the creature lost its grip on his arms, but that meant there was nothing to stop Bucky as he pitched backwards. Pain flared from the back of his skull as it connected with the ground. The green, monstrous figure loomed over him, getting closer, but the world continued to spin, before it all went black.

Bucky was shaking.

No. He was being shaken.

“Bucky. Baby. Please. Wake up. I need you to wake up.”

Bucky groaned. His head hurt so much and Steve’s voice was so loud.

“For god’s sake, Steve. Let him breathe.” That was Nat. Bucky groaned again and tried to open his eyes.

“M’okay, Steve,” he croaked out. “What happened? Where am I?”

He sat up, clinging onto Steve and finally managed to open his eyes. He was in the back of his van. Hazy memories flooded back in.

“Alpine! Where is she?” Bucky whipped his head around looking for his beloved pet, but he just went dizzy again and had to cling to Steve harder.

“She’s here, man.” Sam knelt down beside him, a struggling bundle of white fluff in his arms. He opened them and Alpine jumped down onto Bucky’s lap, rubbing her head against his middle and purring. “We came back to the van after finding out that the screaming was Hope Van Dyne - Scott had jumped out on her to give her a scare. It apparently worked too well, although Scott is now sporting a black eye. But when we got back you weren’t here and the door was open. Steve was starting to have a nervous breakdown when Al came running out from the trees, meowing her head off.”

Bucky felt Steve slide to sit down behind him and pull Bucky’s slimmer frame against his broad chest. Bucky allowed himself to be pulled into the hug and Sam continued.

“As soon as Steve got close to her she turned tail and ran off again, but stopped every few yards and looked behind her. She was seeing if we were following. What on earth were you doing in the yard of the Borson house?”

Bucky inhaled deeply, letting the smell of Steve’s cheap, but familiar, cologne sooth him. “It was Alpine. She ran in there first and I followed. I didn’t realise it was the Borson yard. I was concentrating too much on getting my princess back.”

Nat sat down cross-legged next to him, eyes roving over his face as if she were a nurse checking for signs of concussion. Knowing Nat, that’s probably what she was actually doing. “We found you unconscious and Steve carried you back here. What happened?”

Bucky’s brow furrowed as he tried to recall the details. “There was some kind weird person - creature - and it grabbed me, and made this horrible squealing sound. It was green. But I slipped and fell. Banged my head. I didn’t even see it that clearly.”

Sam let out a whistle. “Jeepers! I know you were baked, but what in the HP Lovecraft did you see?”

“I really don’t know, but I want to go home.”

Bucky was still nursing a headache the next day, which sucked for two reasons. Firstly, it was Halloween, and he, Steve, Nat and Sam were supposed to be going to a party tonight and currently he wasn’t feeling it. Secondly, it was making it harder than normal to pay attention in Professor Zemo’s History of Conflict in Europe class. He just wanted to go to sleep, preferably with his head resting on Steve’s stomach as his blonde boyfriend combed his fingers through his hair.

“Are you with us, Mr Barnes?” Sam jabbed him in the ribs and Bucky lifted his head to find that the Professor's accented voice was aimed solely at him. He realised he must have been staring off into space. 

“Sorry, Professor. I didn’t sleep very well last night.” Bucky mumbled his apology into his chest. Professor Zemo sighed and briefly pinched the bridge of his nose. 

“Mr Barnes, please don’t make your nocturnal habits anyone else’s problem except your own. You can waste your own time if you want, but you will not waste mine. If you can’t give my class the proper attention then please avail yourself of the door.”

Bucky squirmed in his seat from embarrassment, aware of the heat in his cheeks that was probably turning his face bright pink. “I… umm…”

“Don’t be so hard on him, Prof. It wasn’t his fault. He got attacked by the monster last night.” Sam’s voice cut across the awkward tension in the air and Bucky didn’t know whether to hug him or hit him. However, his announcement had the effect of distracting everyone in the lecture hall. Or rather now focusing them on Bucky for something other than being chewed out by Professor Zemo.

“You saw it?” Maria turned around in her seat in front of Bucky, eyes wide with intrigue. “What was it like?”

“And why aren’t you in the hospital like the others?” Carol, in the row behind leant forward.

“Well… I…” Bucky rubbed at the back of his neck, trying to formulate an answer that wouldn’t make him look like an idiot. Fortunately he was saved from answering by the Professor trying to get his classroom back in order.

“Settle down, everyone. There is no monster. It’s all just pranks by your immature peers, I’m sure. The only real damage is going to be to the property prices. Who’s going to want to live near such a rambunctious group? I sincerely hope that whoever is behind it stops soon. It’s bringing down the reputation of our centre of learning. But anyway, enough of this distraction. Are you staying or going, Mr Barnes?”

Still awash with embarrassment, Bucky mumbled “Staying, Sir,” under his breath, but it seemed to placate the Professor. 

“Alright then. Where were we? Ah, yes… the Peninsular War…”

“Are you sure I look alright, Buck?” Steve’s voice was laced with trepidation, but Bucky was having difficulty concentrating. He knew that Steve’s costume was going to be a vampire one - he was a werewolf to go with him - but Bucky hadn’t quite realised how revealing Steve’s outfit was going to be…

The main part of it was a red singlet which made Steve look as though he was about to start wrestling. Bucky thought that he might enjoy wrestling with Steve. Under the singlet was a shirt. Sort of. It was sheer. It had a built in cravat at the net and had multiple folds of fabric around the wrists. However, it stopped just above Steve’s glorious tits. To finish it off, there was a short black cape with a red ‘pop-up’ collar. On his feet Steve wore his shiny black dress shoes, his black socks pulled part way up his calves. It was definitely ‘a look’.

Not that Bucky’s outfit was much more dignified - a furry hooded cape with ears that just about covered his nipples, some kind of cross between grey sweatpants and yoga pants with a fuzzy tail, and a pair of furry gloves with claws. He’d just put his battered combat boots on to walk around. And right now he was walking closer to Steve.

He pressed his chest up against his boyfriend’s, wrapping his arms around Steve’s slim waist. He smiled to himself as he saw Steve’s eyes flutter shut as the fur of Bucky’s cape rubbed over his exposed nipples.

“You look so good, Steve, it makes me want to howl. Ow-ow-woo!” Bucky threw his head back and leaned into the bit.

“Buck….” Steve hissed between his teeth, his neck turning a very un-vampire like shade of pink.

“What? The only other person here is your mom and she knows how I feel about you. She’s rolled her eyes at me enough. But I promise to behave myself while we’re out. Or at least I promise to try. And you can’t blame me, baby. You’re so god-damn sexy.”

Steve seemed to have got over Bucky’s over the top reaction and looped his own arms around Bucky’s neck. “Right back at you, Buck. I can’t promise not to bite your neck.” Bucky snorted at Steve’s silly vampire accent but leaned in for a kiss. It started innocently enough, but as was normal for the two of them, hormones raging, it wasn’t long until Bucky was lying on his back on Steve’s bed, being pinned down in a way he couldn’t complain about. However, before things could move from PG-13 to Rated R, they became aware that there was a knocking on the front door downstairs. 

As they listened to the dulcet tones of Sarah Rogers letting the visitors in, the two reluctantly drew apart and willed their erections to go down. There was one thing when your boyfriend’s mom knew what you were getting up to, but for her to see the evidence of it was another thing altogether. 

Costumes sufficiently smoothed out, the two descended the stairs to find Sarah chatting to Sam and Nat in the hallway. The three looked up. Sarah Rogers let a small smile play over her lips as she took in the costumes of her son and his best-friend-turned-boyfriend. Nat and Sam grinned.

“Well, well, well, what do we have here? Slutty monsters of the night?” Sam drawled.

“Can it, Mr ‘Nat and I aren’t wearing a couples costume’. You’re Batman and Catwoman for fuck’s sake.”

Nat rolled her eyes behind her mask. “Yeah, and Batman and Catwoman aren’t a couple.”

“They are friends with benefits though,” smirked Steve. “So I suppose it tracks. I don’t know why you two don’t make it official.”

“Why spoil a good thing, Rogers? Natty and I both know where we stand, don’t we, kitten?” Sam turned his head and flashed Nat his signature gap-toothed smile. Nat extended a gloved hand toward him, fingers curled like claws.

“Me-ow! Now, let’s get going, boys! Halloween parties wait for no creatures.”

The four of them all hugged Sarah Rogers goodbye, and Bucky carefully picked up his backpack from her sofa, a sleeping Alpine still inside. Sarah had said that he could leave the cat with her, but Bucky had decided to bring his faithful feline with him and let her chill out in the van while the party was in full swing at Scott’s house.

He pulled himself up into the driver's seat, placing his backpack down next to him and tucking his tail to the side. Steve slid in on the other side and reached across to squeeze his thigh. Sam opened the side door and helped Nat hop up, even though she was capable of getting in on her own. When the door slammed shut again, Bucky turned the ignition and they were off.

Steve fiddled with the radio, turning on a local station playing a medley of Halloween hits. Thriller was currently playing. Bucky hummed along while he drove, drumming on the steering wheel while Sam sang along, slightly off pitch, in the back.

It was one of those ‘blink and you’d miss it’ moments. One moment they were driving along a fairly empty street, towards campus, the next the headlamps lit up a strange green form in front of them. Bucky slammed on the brakes. Steve reacted quickly, grabbing Bucky’s backpack and stopping it, and Alpine, sliding off onto the floor. In the back, Sam and Nat let out cries of displeasure as they were shaken about.

“What the hell, Barnes!”

Bucky twisted in his seat to meet Sam’s outraged gaze.

“Did you see that? Did you see it?” He didn’t wait for an answer. He put the car back in drive and pulled over to the side of the road and leapt out. He was looking around frantically as the others climbed out of the van. Steve reached into the backpack and placed Alpine on the ground and she wound around Bucky’s legs, sensing his discomfort. Steve placed his hand on Bucky’s shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze.

“I saw something green, Buck. But I wasn’t really paying attention.”

Bucky spun to face him. “It was him, Steve. The monster.”

Sam and Nat came to stand next to them.

“Are you sure, Bucky?” There was a gentle questioning note in Nat’s voice.

“Absolutely, Nat. I’m certain.”

“Well,” said Sam, rolling his shoulders and puffing out his bat symbol covered chest, “He can’t have gone far.”

Down on the ground Alpine started to paw at Bucky’s leg. “Mwerp.”

They all looked down at her. She cocked her head, turned around and trotted off.

“She’s doing it again,” said Nat. “She wants us to follow her.” 

The four of them scrambled, Bucky only just remembering to lock the van, and they all jogged off after Alpine. She ducked down and squeezed under a gap in a fence and her faithful humans skidded to a stop.

“It’s the old Borson house again,” stated Steve. “Something very fishy is going on. Let’s go.” He started to climb over the fence, but stopped part way when he realised the others were looking at him. “What?”

“Seriously, man?” Sam raised an eyebrow. There was a heartbeat of silence, and then Sam shook his head in resignation. “Okay. Let’s go.” He followed Steve over the fence and held his hand out to Nat. She gave him a look and practically vaulted over, landing crouched, one hand on the floor between her bent knees. Bucky rolled his eyes.

“Such a poser.”

“You’re just jealous that you can’t do it,” Nat retorted.

Bucky snorted, but clambered over the wooden panel in a more sedate manner. He didn’t trust himself not to fall flat on his face. Nat smirked at him. 

With them now all standing in the yard, the very place that Bucky had been the night before, Alpine trotted back over, chirped at them and swished her tail.

“Okay,” said Steve, back in full-blown ‘large and in charge’ mode, which made Bucky’s heart pound loudly in his chest. “Let’s split up. Sam, Nat. You check the yard. Me, Buck and Alpine will go inside. Whoever finishes first joins up with the others. Let’s put an end to whatever this is.” They all nodded their agreement and Sam and Nat snuck off into the trees, black costumes helping them blend right into the shadows. 

Bucky turned to Steve and took his hand with a smile. “Do you think you’ll need an invitation to step over the threshold?”

“Ha ha, Buck. Come on.”

The front steps creaked ominously as they walked up them. Bucky clung to Steve’s back, now starting to feel a little creeped out.The only thing stopping him from going into full blown panic was wondering how Steve could be so calm and collected while his nipples were exposed and currently pointy enough to cut glass. “What do you think we’ll find in there, Steve?” Bucky asked. “A monster?”

“Pphht. It can’t be that scary.” Steve pushed open the front door, and they walked into the gloomy interior.

Something brushed up against Bucky’s leg and he let out a shriek that he quickly muffled with his hands. Looking down he saw Alpine’s reflective eyes looking back at him. Letting out a sigh of relief, Bucky bent down and picked her up. She wiggled out of his arms and settled on his fur-cape covered shoulder. 

“You wanna be close too, princess? I don’t blame you.”

He pulled out his phone and turned on the flashlight, sweeping it back and forth across the floor and walls. The house was still furnished, with thick layers of dust covering every flat surface. When old man Borson had died neither his daughter or two sons had really wanted anything to do with him or his things. It was sad, really.

Suddenly a noise ripped through the air, something akin to a hiss crossed with a scream. The two young men came to a halt.

“What on earth?” Bucky felt Steve’s voice rumble in his chest as he buried his head into Steve’s back.

“I don’t like this, Steve.” He remembered the fear and disorientation that he’d felt last night and tried to repress a full body shudder. 

The noise sounded again and they turned their heads towards the stairwell. The sound was coming from above them. As their eyes adjusted to the gloom, a green glow could clearly be seen. Bucky gulped.

“We’re gonna go up there, aren’t we?”

“We gotta, Buck. We gotta do this for Clint and Laura, and the others who were hurt before them.”

Bucky nodded against Steve’s back. He could do this. 

Slowly they walked towards the stairs, making their way up, one step at a time. The unnatural glowing got more intense and while there were no more screams, the ominous hissing got louder and louder. They crept, one foot after the other, closer and closer towards the partially open door at the end of the corridor, Bucky’s fingers curled around Steve’s red, spandex singlet. Steve stopped, one hand raised a hair’s-breadth from the old, scarred wood and looked at Bucky. His eyes looked strange under the eerie glow, but he looked so sure, so brave that Bucky knew he’d follow Steve anywhere, even if he did currently look like a cross between Bela Lugosi and Bret ‘The Hitman’ Hart. Bucky gave him a small nod, and Steve pushed the door.

The creature stood there, illuminated by its sickly green glow. Its face had two dark eyes, but where its mouth was, it seemed as though it had half-swallowed some kind of squid. Tentacles curled down around its chin, glistening with slime. It had two long arms, ending with three fingers and claws, which it raised menacingly at the two young men. 

Bucky and Steve lept in the air as it screamed, that ear-piercing sound combined with a hiss. They screamed in return, filled with terror and Alpine leapt down from Bucky’s shoulder, hair on end, hissing and spitting. They all turned tail and ran. Alpine was in front, her four legs carrying her faster and far more elegantly than either Steve or Bucky. Next was Steve, barrelling forward, clasping Bucky’s smaller hand in his, practically dragging him along behind. Bucky stumbled, bringing up the rear. He kept turning his head, shrieking incoherently as he realised the monster was right behind them. 

They thundered down the stairs, across the entrance hallway and out of the front door, Steve almost ripping it from the hinges as he pulled it open.

“Nat! Sam!” Steve shouted out for their friends as he dragged Bucky across the lawn.

“Here!” They heard Nat shout and turned to see her standing by the trees at the bottom of the yard - the place where they’d found Bucky yesterday. She waved them towards her. “This way!”

They turned toward her and carried on running. “He’s still coming,” Bucky wailed. What he wouldn’t give to be an actual werewolf right now. He could rip out its throat or something. They stumbled into the shrubbery, Nat having melted back into the darkness. Why did she want them to go this way? Surely it would have just been better to escape by running out the front gate and heading back to the van?

They ran between two trees, and as they did so, they heard Sam shout out.

“Now!”

Instinctually, Bucky and Steve came to a halt and turned around. The monster was bearing down on them, getting closer, when suddenly it tripped on something and crashed to the ground. Immediately, Nat launched herself from the shadows and landed on the creature’s back. She jerked his arms up and cuffed them together. At the same time Alpine leapt down from a tree, landing on the creature's head. She dug her claws into its skull and it let out an all too human type of noise.

“What the heck?” Bucky was dumbfounded. What just happened? Where had Nat found handcuffs? Why wasn’t she scared? She stood up, brushing loose dirt from her pleather outfit and sauntered over to Bucky. 

“We used a tripwire from Sam’s utility belt. The handcuffs are also part of Sam’s costume and I wasn’t scared because of what he and I found in the shed before you two wusses came shooting out of the house.” She patted Bucky’s cheek and he wondered if she’d read his mind or whether he’d actually spoken out loud.

Steve, choosing to ignore Nat’s teasing comment, looked down at the struggling creature in the dirt. “What did you find?”

Sam placed a booted foot in the small of the creature’s back, pinning it to the floor and trained his phone flashlight on it. “We found costume making supplies. And glow sticks. Lots and lots of green glow sticks.”

“Plus instructions on how to make a small speaker. Cos-play stuff really,” Nat chimed in, adding her flashlight to the mix.

“But that means…” Bucky’s jaw dropped and he strode over to their struggling captive, dropping into a crouch. “This isn’t a monster at all. It’s someone dressed up and trying to scare everyone. Just like the Dean and Professor Zemo said. But who?” 

Sam helped him to manhandle the creature into a sitting position, and now he was up close, seeing it lit up and having his hands on it, Bucky could clearly see the rubber and foam, the stitch marks and the little channels that had been made in the outside to house the multitude of glowsticks. Alpine came and sat down next to him, licking at a paw nonchalantly.

“Right - let’s see who you are.” Bucky grabbed hold of the monster’s head, soft and squishy rubber under his hand, and pulled to reveal…

“Professor Zemo!” The four of them exclaimed in shock.

The professor’s dark hair was plastered over his forehead, and in the torchlight his brown eyes gleamed with frustration.

“Yes, it’s me.” His lip turned up in a snarl and if he weren’t handcuffed, Bucky would have been reluctant to be this close to him.

“But why? What on earth do you get from scaring college students?”

“While I did enjoy a little of the karma from scaring some of your peers witless, it was more that I needed the house prices to come down. I wanted to buy the Borson house, but do you know how little a college professor makes? It was starting to work, too. The price had already been slashed once. I’d have gotten away with it too, if it wasn’t for you pesky kids.”

They all looked at him, dumbfounded, until Steve spoke up.

“Respectfully, Sir, that is really fucked up. Buck, sweetheart, can you call the police?”

“You kiss your momma with that mouth, Stevie?” Bucky sniggered, taken aback by Steve’s uncharacteristic swearing.

“No, but I’ll kiss my boyfriend with it.”

And he did. Just a vampire kissing his werewolf boyfriend in a dark, haunted stand of trees.

Sam made gagging sounds.

Nat called the cops.

Alpine purred.

The end.

Bonus: - They finally get to the party and have a fabulous time.

Tag list: @christywrites, @alexakeyloveloki, @doasyoudesireandlive, @galactusdevourerofworlds, @km-ffluv

[lonelyroommp3]

ohhh I love ask games like this,, so 1) when you're at the club, what's "your song? 2) since when have you been a taylor swift fan? and 3) what are your favorite youtube channels to have on in the background? (bonus question: how the fuck did you get into following sports)

1) excluding ones that are everybody's song in the club, like mr brightside, my top 2 are probably - power by little mix (a certain number of drinks in i WILL become convinced i can belt that super high "you SHOULD know". i cannot), perfect strangers by jonas blue (there's a reason this song plays a pivotal role in my braking point fic. iykyk)

EDIT: cannot BELIEVE i forgot to mention cotton eye joe, which while not "my song" per se has become something of a running joke for me bc in winter 2016 i made out with two different guys, in two different clubs, about three nights apart, and both of these times cotton eye joe was playing.

2) i will tell you a story that should really belong to a therapist's office but i don't go to therapy so tumblr will do. back in year 7 i had a very frenemy style relationship with my core friend group (ofc these are the friends that i stuck with in the end and still talk to today. haz if you're reading this) and was also just really struggling with my identity in terms of where i fit with cliques etc - my friend group was like, the weird girls, the goths, the emos, and i did massively identify with that, but a huge part of me just desperately wanted to be a normie popular girl too. and as a result i'd just swing back and forth between trying to maintain my friendships with the core group & trying very very hard to get in with the cool girls. of course this didn't work because, well, popular tween girls can smell undiagnosed neurodivergence like a shark smells blood. but fortunately for my future swiftiedom & unfortunately for my inability to read social cues related hangups that haunt me to this day, i could not smell when said girls were really just putting up with me and having a laugh behind my back. all this to say i got in the habit of riding the bus home sitting with one girl in particular, one day she was like "hey share my headphones and listen to this cool new song", the song was love story, the rest is history. later that school year i got my bangs cut back in and saw her and another girl not even TRYING to hide that they were pointing and laughing at me in the queue outside the design tech classrooms and that did traumatise me a bit but at the end of the day one day (august 16th) i'll be watching taylor swift looking fucking sick with bangs in wembley stadium and all she's ever gonna be is mean. or however the song goes

3) really into cow hoof trimming videos, livestreams of airport takeoffs and landings, and also any extremely long summaries of drama that does not concern me in the slightest. occasionally i'll sort of have a moment of realisation re: drama vids and wean myself off them for a while like hey it is NOT good for me to be watching inflammatory and manipulative videos that often commit half the same sins as the drama they're complaining about. and then i'll click one too many links and be right back into it

and as for sports: i have honestly always been into sports. since i was old enough to watch the olympics i would be absolutely engrossed by them for the entire time they were on, i had an obsessive tennis phase around the ages of 8-10 (where are my 00s federer girlies at), i was on my school's netball team, i even had a period of wanting to figure skate competitively but could only afford one out of that & piano lessons, which is a real sliding doors moment for me haha. the issue is 1) i'm not especially good at sports myself, netball is my strongest sport bc the multitasking is severely limited by the rules lol 😭 and 2) there was a lot of snobbery in my household growing up about certain sports, especially football. when i was maybe 10 or 11 a children's choir i was in got to sing before kick off for one of my local team's games and my dad wouldn't let me stay to actually watch the match bc he had an actual moral vendetta against footy. i would voraciously read the match reports in the local paper though

anyway, i also got introduced to f1 very young because my infant school "boyfriend" (read: best friend who was a boy) was OBSESSED with f1 and specifically michael schumacher. he'd talk about schumi every chance he got and i was like hey this f1 thing sounds cool but i never actually got to watch a race. don't remember why, probably just was not allowed as was the case with many things. but during covid i saw people blogging about it on here and thought hey, this looks fun, chanced it on a nowtv day pass to watch sakhir 2020 (the fact that george russell was the first driver i actively supported. scream!) and, most fatally of all, thought to myself "hey i wonder if anyone is writing hurt/comfort fic about that bottle job". anyway right now i'm watching wimbledon did anyone else clock that insane musetti moment a few games ago

[savagebisand]

I'm gonna say this and make my peace with it but I am frequently reminded as someone watching from week to week when it comes to Only Friends, that it is so easy in a series like this to find yourself accidentally having bias toward some characters, pairings etc. It's very important that we always remain open to alternate perspective and that we remain able to pick out nuances in our favourites. Critique them when they cause trouble or make a bad choice and cheer for them when they find moments of happiness. For today, I am going to speak primarily about Sand because I've already seen a lot of a sentiment on YouTube mostly that he is justified in his scheming to reveal BostonTop and drag Ray into it and yet Ray is vilified for lashing out and pushing Sand off him in the same episode.

We have really got to stop woobifying characters like Nick and Sand and even Ray or Mew because we see them as the most traumatised or the ones with the uncaring lovers. None of them were meant to be the "innocent" character amongst the darkness. JoJo has always said all these characters are flawed and live in shades of grey.

I'm getting real tired of seeing Sand constantly elevated above Ray because one has to be worse than the other for some reason? Or seeing TopMew and SandRay pitted against each other when both have tormented romances. We can note the difference in how the relationships are developing without attacking one or the other. Sand can be the kindest and most sensible character in this series and he can still be morally reprehensible and wrong in other ways. Mew can be caring and hesitant and only want what's best for his friends and still get it wrong sometimes not out of spite but simply because he just doesn't know better.

We do not have to pretend that Sand is in the right when he isn't because we don't want to lose the Sand as a good person label. He IS a good person..he's also wrong for the mess he indirectly caused this ep. Y'all I'm a Sand stan, this blog is sandified all over. The man is me coded. He's a mirror to my soul for me. And I will still sit here and hold him accountable just as much as I would do for Ray when Ray fucks up. He made some Choices this episode and they were Bad. He prioritised his vengeance against Top over Rays emotions regarding Mew and that is Unkind.

Ray was Unkind to lash out at him and push him as well but to act like Ray was unjustified and deserves to be vilified for it is just... it don't sit right with me. He stooped as low as Sand did, he hit right where he knew it would hurt. It was tit for tat. The second Ray went into that meet up where Sand showed him the audio, you could sense Ray knew he was being used as a middle man. That shit hurts. This is the person he's been vulnerable with finally and he just got treated once again, by him, as someone easily influenced and gullible.

Sand used clever words to make it sound like he was doing this for Ray but it was heat of the moment. He was thinking purely of making Top taste his own medicine and eat his words. He wanted Top to lose Mew to prove the point that Top doesn't always get what he wants. Bonus if it meant Sand got Ray and could prove Top even more wrong because "who have you got?" Well now he has him. But honestly Ray was just a prize at the end of a long game Sand wanted to play there for a second.

It can be equally true that when he saw Ray was going to rain hell upon the group, he became more concerned as in his moment of Seeing Red he thought only Top would get hurt. He under estimated the fall out a truth like this would cause for everyone in that clique. Tell one harsh truth and a million more come pouring out. Ray got hurt because of this little ploy and he got a nasty awakening that oh yeah Ray is more important than some contest with Top, it can be equally true that he cares about Ray when Top isn't clouding his judgement and actions. That he didn't want Ray to endanger himself. That he would follow Ray and get him to a hospital safe after Ray angrily tries to take himself home under the influence because he feels betrayed, a black sheep to his friends.

But like it or not some of Sands actions this episode were still laced with calculation and manipulation and involved using others like chess pieces such as Ray and Nick, two people he normally cares about more than anyone. That moment when he smashed up his phone intentionally to get his hands on Nick's? Batshit insane behaviour. He was high tempered and irrational and he made a very big mistake because as I've said before these characters are portrayed as human young adults and it's what we do. No one is perfect 100% of the time. We all have a capacity for bad inside of us that most of the time we tamper. Sand was not able to in this instance. He caused mass destruction in a butterfly effect of one choice he made way before Ray caused more fallout with the truths he spilled.

Sands actions. Sands choices. Not just Rays or Mews. And don't get me wrong Ray was wrong too, he shouldn't have brought April and Cheum into it just to further a point. He should have just let Mew handle Top alone at home. But to be fair he'd spent all day and night being ignored by his friends for not being as blind in love as them, biting his tongue when Ton played along to insinuations over Nick and still got treated kindly after outright saying he had an ice cold heart when Ray knew just how true that was. Dealing with Ton making his emotions for Mew the butt of a joke again, belittling him. Sand using him to get back at Top and lying to Rays face or stonewalling him after they'd spent a week connecting more.

So it's no surprise he went since we're being honest tonight anyway maybe you all need to see you aren't perfect either. Sand set the spark that started this fire this time around. It's alright. All of them went too far and crossed lines. None are worse than the others. This show is not a competition between which partner in this couple is worse or more fucked up than the other. It is showing its audience what it looks like when two fucked up, flawed, morally grey, young adult and queer people fall into relationships and friendships. All of the couples are equally as wrong as each other for behaviours they exhibit when together.

It's subjective of course, everyone's personal level of what's wrong and what's acceptable is different and that's what makes this interesting. Something a character does may not be going too far for one viewer whilst for another it's absolutely appalling. The beauty of media. But let's not get so caught in picking teams that we lose our critical lens when we consume media. You can be rooting for Nick or Boston or Top or Sand or Ray or Mew! A combination! Have favourites! By all means pick people you'd love to see overcome these messy dramas and challenges they face. Just don't throw rocks at glass houses.

[moonspirit]

I know most of your nsfw asks are aruani, but what would you think of a Very Not Healthy Poly relationship between the Alliance pre rumbling.

Like

Post S3 Eren making EMA poly a thing, but bcs he's pulling away and he's not as open, both Armin and Mikasa are suffering due to lack of emotional bonding. After a while, Mikasa starts trying harder while Armin gets a small breakdown due to it being only about sex.

Jean having both the looks and the reputation, and using sex as a coping mechanical while adamantly refusing to admit it is a coping mechanism.

Connie having genuine rizz and Sasha having her 300k+ slowburn with Niccolo.

Jearmin happening after Armin hatefucking Floch after a really low moment w Jean doing the actual aftercare.

On the other side of the ocean Reiner having many people jump at him for his honorary marleyan status, women specifically for the marriage benefits, but Reiner being unable to actually do it bcs of all the blood that won him the reputation.

Bonus if EMA started w Eremika just going at it while Armin was in the room till he mentioned it and then they invited him to join.

Just, really fucked up sex dynamics between traumatised teenagers w no access to therapy

[N/SFW]

Ahaha, hello and no problem, all ideas welcome~!

Veeerrryyy intriguing tho! I don't have much trouble imagining this because 1. It's not healthy, yes!! And 2. These kids have been through way too much to not resort to the easiest way to forget everything and feel good - sex.

I've said it before, but sex can be a profoundly deep ritual to go through, it has the potential to transcend visible boundaries of tangible emotion. At the same time, sex can also become one of the easiest things to turn to in times of weakness. Given the multitude of issues our characters have, it's possible to picture them depending on sexual pleasure as a means of consoling themselves from various lows.

EMA are a whole other level of unhealthy tho. Eren's emotional distance and bottling up, Mikasa's fear of ruining everything by asking for what she really wants and Armin's self-doubt and insecurity over his place among them. Man, I can imagine any kind of poly relationship between them (particularly one that's sexual) teeming with awfully unhealthy vibes. In a way sex becomes the closest thing they have to proper communication - it's easier to express things via body language than putting them in words, a thing that's especially a problem for Armin because he's not bad with words and would really like to receive verbal reassurance... but unfortunately, the other two are terrible at it. And at some point, when the sex too, grows obsolete for obvious reasons, it's just plain suffering because nobody's getting what they want.

Ugh, pain.

Jean really seems to me (and this is a personal hc of mine) to be someone who is very aware of his appeal and his attractiveness, wants to use it for his own pleasure, but is unable to really find any satisfaction from it. What he craves is some deep emotional connection, something that is precious and treasured. Casual sex, then, is only a temporary way out of the despair of not having such a relationship, and offers him a few minutes of high while sending him to the ditch right afterwards.

Jearmin tho? Oh boy. I can see Armin giving in to hate sex tendencies with Floch lol, what with how he can become self-destructive at the hands of someone who doesn't really appreciate him or take care of him - in fact, that's an heavily abusive relationship that can also be hard to get out of. But Jean being the one to deliver aftercare to Armin, telling him the real things he needs to hear and comforting him, melting away the lies and cruel words he just received at the hands of Floch, seems to me to be the one tiny shred of wholesome-ness in all of these terribly unhealthy relationships lol.

Pre-rumbling Connie's the only normal one here. Really. And Sasha really does deserve her fairytale romance with Niccolo ft. Plenty of food (this was gold haha xD).

When it comes to Reiner though. Really nice point you make about him not being able to get it on with the people that flock to him because of his sins - I've never thought of it that way! It makes sense tho - he's a deeply guilty character, shouldering nearly all of (if not entirely) the weight of RBA's mission on Paradis. He has a conscience, and maybe he will think he doesn't even deserve the small pleasures of the flesh because of what he did. The denial is a punishment he inflicts on himself.

You can't forget Annie and Pieck tho. They too carry so much of trauma. More so Annie, who is touch starved, has never been loved or cared for, has only been used for her lethality, and was forced into a mission she had no desire for. I see her hungrily devouring any kind of emotional connect she gets, especially if that's sex, since it's easier as mentioned before. She's really not good with words either, so yeah, sex to offer some temporary relief and make her feel like she's actually something more than just a weapon of war.

The same for Pieck. Among all of the warriors, she's always seemed the most sensible to me, pragmatic and grounded in reality. She, more than anyone else, knows her place in the world, as an Eldian, as a warrior, and as a shifter. With Annie gone, she probably had nobody to really "talk" to or become close with, and while I see her recognizing that sex isn't the solution for her loneliness, she's still a human and a young girl at that; for a few minutes during the act, she feels connected to someone. And who can blame her for that?

A lot of wonderful potential for character exploration here ._. Thank you for sharing!

[priarity]

not to be straight but i LOVE regency AUs and arranged marriage AUs when they’re done like. bisexually.

like imagine these two people who are marrying for their bloodline or their kingdom or whatever. and neither of them are interested in marriage because they’re being forced into the shitty cycle of making royal babies and hating their spouse and being even more miserable than they already are so. when they both find a partner who is equally unenthusiastic about this whole shebang, they’re beyond relieved.

they’re just gonna be friends who have to fuck once in a while and kinda hang out a little during public appearances.

maybe one of them already has a lover (though admittedly, that relationship isn’t going too well seeing as they’re married to a prince/princess)

but then they start falling in love, so those kisses they have to show the public? lots of romantic tension. those times they have to sleep in the same room and pretend to have sex? UM. and that one time when the more traumatised of the two suffers a mental breakdown from the burden of running the state and their shitty family? oh my god the passion and the ANGST.

and then. one day, after a ball or a gala, the both of them are losing their minds over how nice the other look and they both are nervous wrecks because “oh my god im breaking the rules i’m not supposed to let my eyes linger on their lips or stare longingly into their eyes or clutch onto their arm to calm my nerves i can’t do this anymore i can’t-“

and suddenly they’re kissing and making out and oh my god my hands are on their body and it feels too good

bonus if they both think this is supposed to be a one time thing and go to bed in different rooms, feeling heartbroken and carrying that heartbreak until the next plot point makes them face their feelings lollllll

bonus x2: if their royal wingmen are up to here *points to neck* with their highness’s complete buffoonery and incessant pining and my lord/lady, for you i have the utmost respect and adoration but for heaven’s sake you dumb bitch, they LOVE YOU.

[illegally-blind-and-deaf]

💕

Favourite ship to write?

Dmitri/Anastasia (Dmitry/Anastasia depending on how you spell his name, it's confusing and I will rant about it if you ask me anyway-)

I know I haven't posted too much about them lately, but they are my favourite ship, especially to write.

Number 1: they're historical. Bonus points already. I can put them in WHATEVER fun historical events are happening at the time (eheheh world war 2) and explore how that impacts their relationship.

Number 2: I feel like they have such an equal relationship. They both provide a family, home and love for each other, they understand a lot of what the other has gone through and they complete each other really nicely. They're similar enough in their personalities to be close, but not so similar that they clash.

Number 3: I love to write the fight they had in the actual film and musical. I once saw a comment saying that Dmitri/y is abusive and that their relationship is toxic, but I beg to disagree. While yes, there is a lot of miscommunication (and a bit of manipulation at the beginning,) it's important to understand that 1) Dmitri/y's character arc is incredibly big and by the end he is not selfish or manipulating anyone and 2) have you considered a thing called trauma? Lemme explain.

Imagine that you have spent your entire life impoverished and working in horrible, dangerous factories or in other poor working conditions, you never gained an education, your parents died tragically when you were young (if we're going via the musical, your dad was arrested and taken to a labour camp to die), you've probably been betrayed, abused and beaten several times, you have to steal in order to survive, and somehow after the revolution you were praying would happen, the country you've been stuck in your entire life is somehow worse than before. Oh how glorious your life is, hmm. Now, if I told you that you could run away from this horrible country and your life and start afresh, you could live by the seaside in a nice, warm house owned completely by you, you could have hot water and a bed and enough food to fill you always and you could be rich, BUT you have to convince a girl who could possibly by the missing grand Duchess that she's Anastasia, would you?

OF COURSE YOU WOULD THIS IS YOUR ONLY TICKET OUT OF THIS HELLHOLE! And that's exactly what Dmitri/y did AND HE HAS PERFECTLY VALID REASONS! His motives were good, his actions were not. And he realises this after Anya blows up at him about how hurt she is and he realises that not only did he come to finally trust someone again, that person trusted him back and he just destroyed it. He recognises what he did wrong and (in the movie) he apologises! In his own way of almost getting killed for her, which if you compare with Dmitri/y at the beginning he would NOT have done that so clearly he's trying to make it up for his mistakes, but anyway, in short he's a traumatised boy who trying to relearn how to actually care for people and trust them after he's been absolutely shattered by people. (Add my own personal headcanon that he's Jewish into that and OH BOY DOES THAT HURT MORE-)

Number 4: I love writing them with children. I feel like they're absolutely amazing parents who care for each other and their children and it's so cute to me

Anyway this ended up becoming longer than I anticipated whoops-

Sorry about that rant-

[lesbicosmos]

TMA characters as Torchwood characters:

in short i got bored in biology and thought about it for a sec and they're actually pretty similar

Jonathan Sims/The Archivist - Jack Harkness

boss of a group of idiots, not all that close with any of them to start with

not entirely human at this point, heals from wounds impossibly quickly

kinda lived through the end of the world

in love with the tea boy

tea boy is his main reason for going on

very queer

(main difference between them is Jon's asexual, Jack very much isn't lmao)

Martin Blackwood - Ianto Jones

tea boy

secretly badass and usually underestimated

traumatised

lonely, sometimes left out

in love with their boss

also queer

i really want to hug both of them

also janto and jonmartins dynamics are pretty similar

Tim Stoker - Owen Harper

chaotic bisexual who flirts with literally everyone

the ego of the group

dies

fandom either love him or barely care about him

Sasha James - Toshiko Sato

computer nerds

should be in charge of the whole group

the only one with a braincell

sapphic

dies

bonus: Not!Sasha as Adam - altering the group's memories so they think they've been there the whole time

also towen and timsasha - both the will they/won't they m/f couple that ends in tragedy

Basira Hussain and Daisy Tonner - Gwen Cooper

ex-police

dragged into the group while on a job

joins group later than the others

angry + Welsh (Daisy)

Melanie King - Suzie Costello

lesbian

kinda murderous

turns against their boss

[vivelegalite]

im having what may be the worst week in my whole 20 years on this earth, so here's a few byler thoughts i commented on someone's post and thought deserved their own post!!! if i got some things wrong, sorry im extremely mentally drained and my wifi literally stopped working halfway through this <3 feel free to correct me or join me in my delusion in the comments/tags/asks/dms though!!!! i need a distraction desperately so don't hesitate to interact!!!!

without further ado, here it is:

why the "i told you, joyce has this telemarketer job. mike won't stop whining about it" line is definitely about will, as evidenced by literally what the show tells us.

it's not exactly clear when watching season 3 what el's status is with the us govt following its finale. she's searched for throughout seasons 1, 2 and 3, but it's clear she was discovered following her role in fighting the spider monster and stopping the soviets. it's assumed some sort of deal is made following the battle of starcourt, allowing el to live as a normal teenager after the byers family relocates to california — dr. owens is said to help them settle in lenora, in a house they most likely wouldn't be able to afford without help.

i've seen points made for both will and el being primary reasons for the byers family leaving. will, obviously traumatised by the upside down and thus the whole town of hawkins, most likely wouldn't stand to stay there much longer without his mental health deteriorating. el is very much the same — the lab, upside down, the mall where she lost her dad are still fresh in her mind.

however, we also later find out about an apparent divide between the government and hawkins national lab, namely dr. owens and brenner. we learn that el is indeed still a fugitive, and she is still actively being searched for by authorities. that's the real reason for the move.

we've finally arrived at our point — letters, calls, and how mike kept in touch with both el and will.

in seasons 1-4 we are shown numerous times that phones are not to be trusted, and that phone lines are not safe. we know the people who were initially wiretapping hopper's and joyce's phones are the same people who then helped them escape, but after season 3 (timeline wise) and season 4 (when we are shown), this changes. dr. owens and brenner are no longer working with the government, instead operating in secret, meaning the means of communication they used to once take advantage of is no longer viable for el.

although this is only speculation on my part, i would venture to say it's pretty obvious.

government taps phones, it's a thing they do —» can no longer trust government —» knowing they tap phones, you shouldn't use them anymore.

this, however, isn't speculation: el is never mentioned in association with calls, only letters. season 4 opens with a letter from el to mike being read out, when she and mike fight she pulls out a stack of letters to prove he can't write that he loves her, and finally, will's line at the rinkomania:

"you've called maybe a couple of times. it's been a year, mike. meanwhile el has like, a book of letters from you."

will thinks mike is no longer interested in whatever he has to say because mike only called a handful of times within the timespan of a year (actually closer to 8 months, but...). he also pairs that sentiment with the fact that mike does keep in touch with el, exchanging letters regularly.

letters, because of the phone lines not being secure, are an El Thing™. we can gather from this line that calls are a Will Thing™, or at least they used to be before joyce got that telemarketing job (the timeline of which is unclear, honestly, given how the last letter el sends to mike in march mentions the job as though it was a new development, which does nothing to explain why mike failed to stay in touch with will since october. but that's another can of worms we don't have time to unpack now. my bet is on internalised homophobia btw).

thus, the line about mike whining about joyce's job? he regrets not being able to talk to will.

bonus: why doesn't mike want to write will letters, too?

i'd bet on a mix of the fanfiction staple aka "i couldn't write because i would constantly pour too much heart onto paper and/or sign the letter as love, mike" and (arguably more plausible) mike finding will's voice comforting.

i mean, come on, their whole thing is being afraid of losing each other. season 1 and 2 are literally about mike losing will and trying to get him back, first physically then mentally. season 3 is mike losing will metaphorically, growing apart because of his actions. in season 4 they acknowledge this — will saying he'd prefer to rip off the bandaid if he were to lose mike, and mike recognising that he lost will because he worried too much about el.

i feel like after all of this, ESPECIALLY seasons 1 and 2, it would be comforting to mike to actually hear will and know that he's safe and sound. if your best friend disappears for days and his voice is the only thing giving you hope about him being alive, i think it's understandable to prefer being able to hear him when he's gone from sight.

i keep imagining season 1 mike calling out to will on the walkie talkie, and can't help but think letters simply wouldn't cut it for them.