#but Michael is kinda glad he’s there too

[sansaorgana]

— DINNER AT THE SHELBYS

🚨 This fanfic is a repost from 08 Apr 2022 from my different blog. I kept the Author's Note and everything from the fic the same as it was back then.

PAIRING — Jack Nelson x fem!Reader

SUMMARY — Before you go back to Boston, you spend a night at the Shelby’s with your husband. What was supposed to be a nice dinner, turns out to be a one huge mess when he gets drunk on whiskey and two uninvited guests join you by the table.

AUTHOR’S NOTE [08 Apr 2022] — In S06E01 Tommy tells Michael that Jack takes his wife and lover to the UK and we actually never saw them, which is a shame... Or actually not LOL Anyway, me being me, there’s a fic. I wouldn’t call Reader a nice person but she absolutely hates Mosley and Diana. Jack is a cheater (like in canon, I guess).

WORD COUNT — 3,660

ENGLISH IS MY SECOND LANGUAGE.

DINNER AT THE SHELBYS

When you arrived at the Arrow House it was already dark outside and it was a head-maid with Mrs. Shelby greeting you in the hall. She didn’t look very happy to see you and your husband but you decided to ignore it since she was a woman in a state of mourning.

“My husband is not home yet,” she informed you. “He will meet you at dinner. We serve at eight.”

“Thank you,” you forced a smile in her direction and followed the maid upstairs to your guest bedroom.

It was quite impressive, you had to admit. And your bags were already waiting for you there.

“Mr. and Mrs. Nelson,” the maid bowed her head a little before leaving the room. “If you need anything, I am at your disposal.”

“Yes, thank you,” you nodded your head and watched her close the door.

You sighed and crouched down in front of your bags to take out all the things you needed before taking a shower while Jack kept staring outside the window.

“Huh?” you asked him.

“He’s got lots of land,” your husband pointed out.

“Yeah, so?” you straightened your back. “It’s a shithole. We’re in the middle of fucking nowhere.”

“You don’t like this house?” Jack turned around to look at you and he smirked.

“It’s dark and kinda scary. You seen the portrait by the staircase? It’s of his dead wife. Gave me creeps, honestly!” you rolled your eyes and then you lowered your voice. “Haven’t seen the portrait of the current one, though.”

“You’re looking for a sensation as usual,” Jack sighed and shook his head but he let out a chuckle before putting his hands into his pockets. “Can’t wait to get off that fucking island.”

“Me too,” you agreed. “Can’t wait to see the kids and be back home. People here are so awful, Jack. But at least your niece had lots of fun. Poor thing, she didn’t realize they were all making fun of her.”

“Gina’s not very bright, that’s a fact,” Jack shrugged his arms and sat down on a sofa. “But she’s pretty, which is useful.”

“Oh, and I am not?” you laughed and approached the sofa to stand above him.

“You’re the prettiest, you know that, doll,” Jack grinned and extended his hand to squeeze yours.

“I’m going to take a shower now. Do you think I should wear a black dress?” you asked.

“You don’t have to,” Jack shrugged his arms. “I mean, let’s brighten up the mood a little.”

“I don’t want to be inappropriate either,” you rolled your eyes and approached the door leading to the bathroom.

“Since when do you care?” your husband snorted at that. “I’m glad we’re getting off that fucking island ‘cause you’re becoming boring like them.”

“Excuse me?!” you put your hands on your hips. “Since you’re a businessman, Jack, since you’re a businessman…!” you protested but didn’t care about the answer. You disappeared in the bathroom instead.

Twenty minutes later you went back to the bedroom and saw Jack reading some book while laying on the sofa with his legs on the backrest.

“Shoes,” you pointed at his feet but he didn’t react in any way.

You laid down on the silky sheets and let out a small moan. That finally brought his attention as he raised an eyebrow at you from above the book.

“Oh, fuck me, Jack. Have you felt the sheets? I bet they imported them from Shanghai. That’s where he’s making the drug business, isn’t it?” you caressed the soft material.

“Well, we can order the same ones,” he shrugged his arms and glanced at his watch. “We don’t have much time. Dress up.”

“What dress, Jack?” you whined and left the bed lazily.

“Yellow.”

“Don’t be stupid! That would be highly inappropriate,” you scolded him.

“It’s the color of mourning in Egypt,” he sat up and put the book down.

“And how the fuck do you know?!” you laughed at him and opened the bag with dresses.

“I know things.”

“Not a day without you surprising me with some random shit,” you sighed and decided to take out the red one. Jack laughed. “What?” you asked him and furrowed your brow.

“Red is not inappropriate, doll?” he teased.

“That bitch Diana Mitford criticized it, remember?” you gritted your teeth. “She told me it screamed cheap.”

“I doubt the Shelbys would mind cheap,” Jack shrugged his arms.

“Exactly,” you pointed a finger at him and nodded. “I’m really glad we won’t have to see all those people again… Because we won’t, right?” you furrowed your brow at him and took your robe off.

“I don’t know, baby,” Jack sighed. “I’ve told you. It’s business.”

“I like how that Mosley guy treats you,” you admitted. “He’s not showing disrespect, he’s showing off in front of you. Never thought I’d have an English upper class dickhead bootlicking me,” you winked and stepped between the folds of the dress’ fabrics. “Button me up, baby?”

Jack stood up to help you with the dress. When he finished his work with all the buttons he leaned in to place a kiss on the base of your neck that sent shivers down your spine.

“Oh, Jack,” you giggled and put your head back to caress his head.

“You look beautiful,” he murmured into your ear and placed his hands on your waist. “You always do, wherever we are. You’re the prettiest in the room.”

“Jack…!” you chuckled. “Can you just promise me one thing?”

“Yes, doll?”

“Don’t drink too much whiskey tonight, alright? Pretty please.”

“Fuck wine, whiskey!” Jack interrupted his story about Gina and barked at the butler that was about to serve him the liquor. His fist banged the table and you flinched at that a little while giving Mr. and Mrs. Shelby an apologetic look. “Shelby, you having whiskey?”

“Jack…” you hissed at him and kicked his calf under the table.

“I’ll stay on wine,” Mr. Shelby answered.

“Fuck wine! More whiskey. I’m celebrating,” Jack explained and you rolled your eyes at that.

You didn’t know why some part of you wanted to impress those people. You didn’t feel this way with all the upper class bastards but somehow you wanted to impress the Shelbys. Perhaps it was caused by the fact that they were the same kin as you and Jack. There was a silent competition between the two working class self made families about who had achieved more.

Who had become more posh.

You looked at Mrs. Shelby from the corner of your eye. Jack told you about her past but she looked like a proper lady. She deserved a huge portrait in that house, you thought.

“Celebration, you know. Getting off this fucking island,” Jack continued and you sighed ostentatiously. “You see, the thing with England, the currency here, it’s not money,” he started to explain while waving his hand and you looked down, embarrassed by his little stunt. “Nah, you got bored of money a long time ago. Cos you know, anyone can have money, you can fucking…” he stopped to look up at the butler with a glass of whiskey in his hand.

Jack pointed at the table and the butler put the glass down.

“Actually, I want more wine,” you whispered to the man and he nodded.

“...you can fucking find money in the mud. You can forge money,” Jack went back to his speech and you took the glass of wine from the butler and sipped on it. “Mr. Shelby, you can steal money, am I right?” your husband looked at Mr. Shelby and you coughed, choking on the wine.

“Jack…” you hissed once again. It was awful how awkward he was making the whole evening and the reason behind that was the golden liquor in his glass.

“The currency here… it’s blood,” he ignored you because of course he did. He always did in situations like this. A short silence occurred. “And Mr. Shelby knows that better than all of them. Blood here is like wine,” Jack pointed at the bottle standing on the table and you furrowed your brow at Mrs. Shelby.

She was moving uncomfortably but you couldn’t quite understand why. Of course, the situation was a bit embarrassing but she looked like she was about to run out of the room at any given moment. You also noticed how she was sitting far away from her husband. There was definitely something shady going on there.

“...like the vintage wine in that bottle. It’s the… It’s the label, it’s the terroir, it’s the grape that makes the wine,” Jack rambled on and all his gesticulation meant that he had just started. He was a charismatic man, of course he was, but it was not good when mixed with alcohol. “Who fucking cares about the glass around it?” he looked at unbothered Mr. Shelby. “And you, my friend, you’re an American. You fucking smash the glass!” Jack banged his fist on the table once again, this time with so much force that all the dinnerware clattered. You could feel your cheeks burning out of embarrassment. “You spill the blood and you spend their currency to get what you want. Am I right?” Jack asked with a smirk.

But there was no answer, of course, because why would it be after such a speech. You cleared your throat out loud.

“When you come to America, I will show you things,” Jack pointed his finger at Mr. Shelby and Mrs. Shelby raised her head, alarmed. Apparently she had no idea about it so you went back to sipping on your wine and observing.

You loved the drama.

“You’re going to America?” she asked her husband.

“To Canada, Lizzie, to collect the payment for the shipment,” Mr. Shelby explained to her. “I need to do it myself.”

“And who will be going with you?” she asked and you furrowed your brow.

You found it weird that they had been discussing such matters by the table around strangers. Jack was usually telling you about his business when you were alone in the bedroom.

“Michael will be there to watch his back,” Jack answered her but you kicked him under the table to shut up. You wanted more of a drama between Mr. and Mrs. Shelby.

“Another journey, Tommy?” Mrs. Shelby leaned in to her husband.

“Five million, Mrs. Shelby,” you faked a smile at her, “It’s worth a little cruise, don’t you think?”

You wanted to stir in the pot and you had succeeded because Mrs. Shelby’s eyes widened a little after realizing that you had known about everything.

Well, you didn’t know about lots of things. But you knew about some.

“Anyway,” you cleared your throat and changed the topic, playing with the glass of wine in your hand as you laid your eyes on Mr. Shelby. He was quite attractive, you had to admit. “I’ve heard you were born on a boat, Mr. Shelby?” you asked and there was no response.

God, these people were really fucking stiff.

“I was born on a boat, too,” you told him and he raised his eyebrows. “On a ship,” you specified. “On a ship to America. Many people here think America is made up. There’s not such a thing as an American, Mrs. Nelson. I’ve heard that a lot during the boring parties with all those lords and ladies,” you winced. “You, Europeans, you prefer to think that an American is actually an European or an African or an Asian – someone who came there on a ship. But I am a real American, Mr. Shelby. I was born on a fucking boat to parents who didn’t speak English, with no money in their pockets,” you put the glass down and extended your hands towards Mr. Shelby. “Look. Not at the golden rings. Look at my hands,” you opened them. “They're the hands of a working class girl. I am proud of that, Mr. Shelby. But people here, they looked with disgust. I refused to wear gloves.”

He only blinked a few times at your hands and then at you. Probably thought you were as crazy as your husband. Perhaps you were.

“What do you think, Mr. Shelby…” you sighed and took your hands away. “All those Europeans I have met here, are they saying America is made up out of ignorance or… fear? Do they fear what America might become?”

“I didn’t know you were interested in geopolitics, Mrs. Nelson,” Mr. Shelby smiled at you in a patronizing way.

“Look, Jack,” you pushed your husband’s elbow. “He’s just like all of them. Just like the rest.”

Mr. and Mrs. Shelby moved uncomfortably and Jack snorted at that while sipping on his whiskey.

“Mr. Shelby, there’s a car coming up the drive,” a maid interrupted you suddenly. “A Rolls-Royce. Were you expecting more guests?”

“No,” Mr. Shelby shook his head, surprised. Then he took his cigarette out of the ashtray and a sip of wine. “Excuse me,” he looked at you and left the dining room to check the source of trouble.

“I love your dress, Mrs. Shelby,” you told her casually and finished your glass of wine. She only nodded at you, a bit taken aback.

“Thank you, Mrs. Nelson.”

You squinted your eyes at her. She didn’t compliment you back.

“Shh,” you grabbed Jack’s wrist and looked at the door. “I can hear the voices,” you furrowed your brow. “Oh God, no… It’s them.”

“We came to say one last farewell,” Oswald Mosley walked inside the room with a huge grin on his face. You rolled your eyes and then you clenched your jaw at the sight of Lady Diana Mitford following him inside. She had a gorgeous gown on and she smirked at you with a mix of pity and resentment. She really hated that red dress of yours. “It isn’t that I wasn’t sure Mr. Shelby would give you an excellent send-off…” Mosley started as Diana sat next to you. You instinctively moved a bit closer to your husband. “I just felt, since telegrams and wires and letters can be easily intercepted,” he sat down next to Mrs. Shelby and leaned back comfortably like he was at his own home, “we might confirm all that we’ve achieved during your visit over champagne,” he looked at Jack.

“Actually, we weren’t supposed to discuss business tonight, Mr. Mosley,” you faked a smile at him.

Now it was Jack kicking your calf under the table. You kicked him back.

“Well, Mrs. Nelson is right. We can talk about different things,” Diana smirked. “It is remarkable how quickly our relationships have developed. So many triangles in this room,” she added mysteriously. “Everyone except for Mr. and Mrs. Nelson is the point of a triangle,” she looked at Mrs. Shelby.

You pointed your finger at the empty glass in your hand to signalize to the butler that you wanted more. Apparently, the drama was just about to start.

“How am I part of a triangle?” Mrs. Shelby asked while taking a drag of her cigarette.

“Mr. Nelson, you have all that you came for?” Mosley asked your husband and the butler poured you more wine.

“I have confirmation that the future of Europe is in the hands of men like yourselves,” Jack’s voice became serious despite all the whiskey in his blood system. You often had a feeling that Jack was sometimes pretending to be more drunk than he truly was.

“And that urgent conversations between Washington, Rome and of course Berlin can now begin,” Mosley nodded. “A two-week visit that may have changed the course of history,” he grabbed the glass of champagne.

“We have all got what we wanted,” Jack raised his hands.

“Yes,” Diana nodded with her eyes focused on Mr. Shelby and Mr. Shelby only. You squeezed Jack’s thigh under the table and brought his attention to her with the movement of your eyes. “And I got what I have wanted from the moment I set my eyes on it.”

Mr. Shelby looked down and blinked a few times, avoiding her gaze. Mrs. Shelby looked at him and you pursed your lips.

“Elizabeth,” Diana addressed her, “you are a very lucky woman to have each day what I have only sampled once.”

The heavy silence and awkwardness made it really difficult for you to keep a poker face on. Jack grinned like crazy as well.

But it was easy for him to grin. He was a man.

He was a cheater.

Mrs. Shelby put the cigarette down and hurried out of the dining room. You decided to follow her as some part of you pitied her but the other part just wanted to hear even more gossip.

“Excuse me, I have to go to the bathroom,” you smiled at everyone in a fake way and went outside.

You turned around after hearing rapid footsteps. You followed them and found yourself in the hall upstairs. She was on her way to their bedroom.

“Mrs. Shelby?” you asked and she froze, slowly turning around.

“Yes?” she furrowed her brow. You could see her wet eyes even in the dim light surrounding you both.

“You let her win,” you told her and she clenched her jaw. “You let that bitch win, you showed her you were hurt.”

“I’m sorry, Mrs. Nelson, but you are not in a position to…”

“Jack fucked every whore in London,” you interrupted her and she closed her mouth. “These women, they’re all the same – they wear the same smirks, they use the same tones. More than one of them back in Boston has done the same thing to me. They want you to know that they fucked your husband.”

“How can you live with that, Mrs. Nelson?”

You shrugged your arms.

“All men cheat, it’s a fact. Men are whores,” you explained. “It’s better to accept that, Mrs. Shelby.”

“So what would you tell that bitch?”

“I don’t know… I would pretend that I knew about it, that it doesn’t bother me. I’d give a snarky remark if I was in the mood,” you chuckled. “But at the end of the day…” you started with a sigh.

“You’re hurt?”

“No,” you shook your head. “What I wanted to say is that at the end of the day Jack is my husband. I know that he loves me.”

“I know that Thomas cheats,” she stated and leaned on the wall before crossing her arms. “We have a difficult relationship, I had to accept that. But something about her…”

“She’s a spoiled brat. Always gets what she wants,” you rolled your eyes.

“I expected you to be like her,” Mrs. Shelby confessed suddenly and you clenched your jaw.

“No, she’s more like her,” you pointed at the huge portrait behind you. “Anyway, good night, Mrs. Shelby.”

“Good night, Mrs. Nelson,” she drawled out and walked away.

You sighed and went downstairs, only to bump into Mr. Shelby on your way. Apparently, the dinner was over.

“Mr. Shelby,” you smiled at him.

“Mrs. Nelson,” he nodded.

“I’ve just tried to explain to your wife but I am afraid she’s still very mad at you,” you told him and he furrowed his brow.

“Explain to her…?”

“Oh, you know, not to take it personal,” you waved your hand in a dismissive manner. “Good night, Mr. Shelby,” you patted his arm and left him alone at the hall after spotting your husband downstairs.

“Where were you?” Jack asked. “Let’s go to sleep. The faster we go to sleep, the sooner we wake up and leave that fucking island.”

“You’re all the same, Jack,” you mumbled. “Whores.”

“What? Jesus, woman, you got drunk,” he laughed and shook his head before putting his arm around you to lead you back upstairs.

“You got drunk, actually,” you started after entering your bedroom and Jack sighed before loosening his tie and discarding his jacket on the armchair. “And I was embarrassed.”

“Come on,” he rolled his eyes and laid down on the bed.

“Take off your fucking shoes,” you barked at him and he groaned before removing them with his own feet to kick them away. You took your own heels off and laid next to him to stare at the ceiling. “They really fucked, huh? You knew about it?”

“I don’t fucking care,” Jack shrugged his arms.

“She looked very pleased. You think he fucks good?” you bit your lower lip.

“I don’t know. You think he does?” Jack turned his head around to look at your face.

“I think he used to fuck good back in the day. But not anymore. He looks very tired and he’s not that young. By the way… He did that right after his daughter died…?” you furrowed your brow.

“Sick fucker,” Jack chuckled and you pushed him with your elbow.

“Either way, maybe he didn’t fuck her. Maybe she was the one to fuck him. You think she was the one to fuck him?” you giggled and Jack rolled his eyes.

“I don’t know, maybe,” he sat up and started unbuttoning his shirt. “We should go to sleep now.”

“Yeah, we should,” you sat up as well and hugged him from the back. “Jack?” you whispered into his ear.

“Huh?”

“I love you.”

He froze for a second as your confession seemed to be a bit out of place.

“I love you, too, doll,” he held your hand. “I love you, too.”

“And only me?”

“Only you. You know what I’m like but I love only you,” he assured.

MASTERLIST

[chloesimaginationthings]

FNAF 4 nightmares haunted all the Afton kids..

[francis-ford-kofola]

When I showed my bf the godfather he said it was quite good ("solid four stars") but that the only character he liked was Kay. I told him that Kay was hated in some parts of the fandom, mainly because some of the fans think the stuff she did in Part II was fucked up (I didn't tell him any details). He said: "I don't care, she should have killed Michael," and honestly...

[p0lyn3sian]

Hiiii can I request a selfcare day with the slashers? Like their s/o some how convinced them to do a mini spa day? Clay mask, manicure, etc? :))

OFFFCCC, THESE SLASHERS NEED TO TAKE A SPA DAY!!

Slashers: Patrick, Norman, Carrie, Chucky (Charles) & Tiffany, Sinclair brothers, Billy & Stu, The Lost Boys, Hannibal & Will, Jason, RZ Michael, Thomas & Bubba, & Billy Lenz & Brahms!!

(This was not really accurate, because I've never been to a spa before, also I really wrote this kinda fast so there might be a lot of repeated words, so I'm so sorry!!)

Slashers x S/O doing a mini spa day!

Patrick:

Patrick wanted a spa day with you after all his anger he put on people.. So he reserved an expensive spa place for you and him! You didn't know how to pay Patrick back for taking you to an expensive spa, but he just says that it doesn't matter, and that his darling needed a spa day too!

Patrick ordered manicures for you, clay masks, massages, etc! There was so much that Patrick ordered for both of you, and he decided to reserve the whole damn place too! Because he didn't want to be bothered by other people.

Once you were done with your manicures, he pulled you into the massage room, and the people started massaging. Your muscles were really tight, due to the stress, and now you feel so relaxed and so does Patrick too! After massages, Patrick pulled you into the sauna room and rubbed the clay onto your face, and then he did his. Feeling even more relaxed in the hot sauna, you and Patrick are so glad you guys decided to do a spa day off of things that stresses both of you out.

Norman:

You suggested to Norman about a little spa day with you and him, since you've seen him always stressed out about something. Of course Norman wanted to take a day off of work and have a mini spa day with you! Norman had things for the spa day, because he does own a motel for bath stuff too!

Luckily your own home has a bath tub that would fit both you in, so you started turning on warm or hot water. Norman got bath bombs, things to make the clay masks, etc! Norman was so ready for this little mini spa day with you!Norman plopped 1 or 2 bath bombs that smell like flowers that you love to smell, and started making the clay masks. You took the bowl from him and told him that he had to relax, and that you will do everything prepared for him.

Norman then nodded his head and took his clothes off, and went into the water. After you did the clay masks, you then said to Norman you'll be right back, because you are going to get something. You came back with two bowls, one with melted chocolate and one with strawberries! You then pulled a chair and a small foldable table and sat down, and you started massaging Norman's head praising him for how wonderful he is, and also feeding chocolate strawberries!

Carrie:

You and Carrie have been planning a spa day as an anniversary on the day you two became best friends, or being girlfriends! You two decided to go to a spa that was nearby in your neighborhood, and the usual people that know you two welcomed you both in! Because you two loved to get manicures from there!

You then told the person that was working at the front desk, that you and Carrie are gonna do a spa day! They immediately got their people to prepare for the spa, clay masks, etc!

Then your spa room was ready, you and Carrie both walked into the room and felt the humid air on your skin, just the perfect temperature! You both then went into the spa and immediately felt relaxed, you then put clay on your face and Carrie's, and you then massaged her back. Just a nice relaxing spa day with your bestie/girlfriend Carrie!

Chucky (Charles) & Tiffany:

You and Tiffany were planning to go to a spa for relaxation, but Chucky heard your conversation and wanted to tag along since he wanted to relax too. You invited Chucky too since you got paid on Friday for this special occasion for everyone to just relax!

Walking into the spa it felt really welcoming, the decoration, colors, everything! You and Tiffany were ready for the spa and everything, but Chucky didn't want to do spa stuff, he thinks it's only for women..

That's okay, you didn't want to force him into anything that you and Tiffany like! You two immediately got ready for the spa, skin routine, clay masks, etc! After you two were done doing your routine, you both then went into the spa and immediately felt relaxed! Chucky just watched you two have the time of your lives, happy that you both are having fun, even him too!

Sinclair Brothers: (Bo, Vincent, & Lester)

You decided to make a spa day for them without telling them about it, since they've always been stressed out about something. You got everything ready for the brother, the warm bath, clay masks, etc! Right now you are taking them to your spa, blindfolded. A little trip and hits from tree branches over there and here, until you all arrived!

You pulled their blindfolds over their heads, and they were amazed to see a steaming built spa, some sweets/food, and a lot of other things too! Both Lester and Bo immediately went into the steaming spa and felt relaxed, but Vincent was taking his time. All three of them are now in the spa, and you grab some sweets/food and drinks.

You were happy they liked what you have done, all three of them were so relaxed! You then told them that you got snacks for them, and immediately Lester came by and wanted you to hand feed them. You laughed, and started feeding him snacks, Bo and Vincent just got their snacks. Everything was perfect for everyone!

Billy & Stu:

These two love snooping around your room, for stuff.. They looked at your colorful calendar to see what plans you have for this week. They've seen 'pay bills,' 'pay electricity bills,' so many damn bills they thought. Until their eyes landed on a Saturday and they read it, 'Spa days with my boys!!'

Billy and Stu put on their "poker face" and totally did not read your calendar! They went downstairs to see you cooking, and felt bad because after seeing that your calendar was full of bills and other important things, they wanted to help you! Billy grabbed the wooden cooking spoon from your hand, and by your surprise you were about to say something until Stu walked you over the table and let you sit down.

Once it was Saturday, they were so ready for you to take them to the spa! You told them that you all will be going to the spa! Arriving at the spa, you have already made a reservation for a room, and these two already hopped into the spa! You took your sweet sweet time putting on your clay mask, and you hopped into the spa too! Billy and Stu then started making fun of you, because of the stuff that was on your face! Which yes you almost got out of the spa and went somewhere because of their rudeness, but they pulled you back in. Laughter just filling in the air, while making splashes everywhere in the spa!

The Lost Boys: (David, Dwayne, Paul, & Marko)

Since these vampires can't go out in the sun, you planned their spa at night! You made it a surprise, so you had to put on masks to cover their eyes so that they wouldn't peek. Everything was ready, the spa, snacks, etc!

You uncovered all their eyes and let them see! The boys looked around the place you did, and walked towards the hot spa. Paul and Marko already took off their clothes and went in, feeling relieved and relaxed. David and Dwayne think that the steaming water will burn them, but looking at Paul and Marko it didn't seem they were screaming in pain or anything, so they went in too!

All of the boys started splashing water at each other's faces, making messes, and just being boys! Once you came by with the snacks, they wanted you to feed them, so you did! All the boys thought that you were coming to the spa, but you said it was for them. They all said their thanks since you did so much work for your vampires! They love you so much that you took your time with the spa, and how you take care of them too!

Hannibal & Will:

You had to take these two to a spa, because Will is always stressed out, and Hannibal needs to take his mind off of his killing.. So you pulled Hannibal and Will into the car and drove off. They asked you where you were taking them, and you just answered with a 'somewhere fun'.

You then parked your car and got outside with Will and Hannibal. Hannibal and Will looked at the store and thought that you were taking them shopping, but once they walked inside it was one of those spa places! They saw you talking to a front desk lady, probably thinking that you were paying, which they tried to stop you from paying. You told them you have already paid a reservation, and that you told them to follow you!

Hannibal and Will felt bad that you paid for the reservation for them! You told them not to worry about anything and that they just needed to relax! So they took your word and took off their clothes, and went into the spa. You did the same thing, since you felt really stressed too. You all felt really relaxed afterwards, and these two decided to take you all out to an expensive restaurant since you paid for the spa!

Jason:

Jason loves to look at magazines during his free time, and his eyes came across a page about spa! Jason then came running to you feeling all giddy about it, and you thought it was an earthquake since the cabin was shaking!

Then it stopped once Jason came to you, Jason showed you why he came running down the hall to you, and you looked at what he was pointing at and saw he was pointing at a spa. Relaxed people having fun, snacks, clay masks, etc! So you told Jason you would do that for him! Jason shook his head, and signed in sign language that he wanted to help you with building the spa and everything else!

You and Jason started building a spa that was like the one in the magazine, but a little different! After building the spa, Jason worked on doing the snacks and you did the stuff you both need for the spa! Jason then worked on putting a filter for the spa water, because since the only water there is, it's the lake water. You then came outside seeing Jason already prepared the spa, snacks, and the decorations! After all that hard work, you both finally went into the spa and everything was perfect, just a romantic spa with Jason!

RZ! Michael:

Spa day at home, because this Tarzan looking dude, is everywhere where he is wanted! You wanted to do a spa day for Michael, because you have a feeling that his hair is tangled, and he also needed to take a bath since he reeks of blood from his victims and animals..

You started a warm bubble bath, grabbed some body wash, shampoo, & conditioner. You then waited until the bath was filled almost to the top. Once the bathtub was filled, you then walked downstairs to get some snacks, and went back up. Michael then wondered what you were doing, and walked upstairs to where you were.Michael then saw you sitting down, and you looked at him and told him to come and shut the door. Michael then did what you asked and walked over to you, you then pointed at the bathtub and said that he had to take a bath.

Since there were bubbles in the bath, Michael immediately took off his clothes and went inside. Bubble baths is what makes Michael entertained, and it also reminds him of his mom doing his bath too! You squirted some conditioner on your hand and started untangling Michael's hair. After a little while of untangling his hair, you then fed Michael some snacks and told him that he did a great job of not complaining of showering! Just giving love and praise to Michael for doing such a great job!

Thomas & Bubba:

It was just a normal hot sunny day in Texas, and you have been working on doing a spa day with these two! Nice ice cold water for both of them, since their skin is always hot during hardworking days like these. Killing off people and making them as meat.

You got the ice bath ready, snacks, clay, etc! Now you have to tell them that they can come outside! You walked your home and told Thomas and Bubba that it was ready, Bubba got up from the chair he was sitting in and walked towards you, Thomas did the same too.

Walking to the backyard, Thomas and Bubba looked at the whole thing you made just for them! A nice cold bath, snacks, drinks, and some other stuff that they didn't know you made too! Since it was still hot outside almost all the ice melted, so it was still cold and Thomas and bubba love you so much that you took the time to make all this just for them. You also wanted to feed them some snacks which they let you! Luda Mae looked outside seeing that you made a spa for them, but with cold baths which she laughed at. But she was really happy that both boys are having fun and relaxing at the same time!

Billy Lenz & Brahms:

Doing a spa day is good for these two, because they always smell bad whenever they walk around the house. That's why these two are trying to find you in Brahms big mansion, until they found you in a big room that's like a big sauna room.

They looked at what you were doing at the spa, the snacks that were nearby, etc! You turned around and saw Billy and Brahms looking everywhere in the spa. You then walked to the door, closed it, and locked it just in case those two tried to run out from not taking a bath.. They wanted to know what was all this, until you told them that they had to take a bath. They fled to the door, but it was locked and saw that you were giving them your glare.

They sluggishly walked to the bath that was full of warm water with bubbles, took off their clothes, and went inside. You then placed the snack on a little foldable table, you grabbed a shower cloth and started scrubbing off all the dirt off of those two. You then grabbed the treats and fed them, they felt so relaxed and happy that you fed and washed them!

[rekino2114]

Blue lock girls reacting to you giving them an assist

A/n:first blue lock post with some of my favorites. Also, in most posts I'll do, they will play mixed. Just don't question it

Fem!meguru bachira

She jumps on your back and starts cheering and laughing uncontrollably

"Woooooh! That pass was insane y/n!"

"I-it's nothing babe, you were the one to score anyway"

"But I wouldn't have done that if it weren't for you, I knew the monster inside you would have chose me!"

"O-ok but can you......"

"What?"

"Get off my bac-"

You two fall down while Bachira continues laughing

Fem!rin itoshi

Rin just accepts your high five when you offer it to her (to the rest of PXG's surprise) and compliments you

"Hey nice pass"

"Oh thanks, you made a nice goal too"

She then pulls her jersey over her mouth to hide a blush

"If you want.....I can give you an assist later too"

"Oh~ what is this? Bottom eyelashes offering someone an assist? That's not something you see everyday"

"Yep, she's really head's over heels for y/n, isn't she~😈" (that's the weird demon emoji Charles does btw)

"SHUT UP YOU LUKEWARM IDIOTS"

Fem!sae itoshi

She doesn't do that much, just nods at you with her usual cold face

"Hey sae, nice goal"

".....thanks......your pass, it was nice too. Almost as good as mine"

"Oh thanks a lot, I'm glad you think so"

Later in the match, she continues giving you passes so you can score too. It's her way of saying thanks

When you do score, she compliments you and belittles the rest of her team for being in your way because you're "the only one who can receive her passes"

Fem!shidou ryusei

She immediately tackles you to the ground and starts making out with you passionately. You're genuinely worried she might take off her shirt knowing her

"Y/n! Y/n! That reaction we just had was so amazing~ it was so so so much fuuuun~!!!"

"T-thanks shi, but that wasn't anything special it was just a pass"

"What are you talking about? That was an amazing explosion, like all of the ones you do, and I mean all of them~"

"W-wha-"

Rin has to basically tear her off of you while you're blushing profusely when the match has to restart

Fem!seishiro nagi

She rubs her eyes and smiles slightly when she sees you approaching and helping her get up

"Thanks"

"Hm? For what?"

"For the assist, it was perfect, that's why I scored"

"Please it was all you, no one else could have scored a goal that amazing"

"Ah, thanks do you mind giving me more assists like that? I wanna do a hat trick"

"Oh for sure"

You two high five and walk back to the field.....while reo is looking at you jealousy

Fem!Michael kaiser

She immediately pulls you into a dip kiss, holding you with one arm while showing off her tattoo with the other, meanwhile ness is cheering and clapping for you in the background

"M-michelle, here? Really? It's being broadcasted live"

"As was your amazing assist and my amazing goal mein schatz. We need to show everyone how wonderful of a couple we are, both in football and in our private life"

She somehow makes sure that the goal is on all the major German football channels and everyone is talking about you two

And definitely brags about it to isagi Non-Stop

Fem!Alexis ness

She kinda can't believe she actually scored since she usually just passes to you or kaiser. But after the shock wears off she goes and hugs you tightly

"Y/n! Did you see that? I scored!"

"Yeah, that was amazing lexi!"

"O-oh please no it was all because of you, you passed to me? I can't believe it, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you"

She keeps thanking you for basically the entire day and looks at you with that adorable smile of hers that melts your heart

She talks to kaiser about it later and he actually compliments her on it, which just takes her over the moon

[broareweabouttoviberightnow]

"Well someone's home early." Darry ruffles Pony's hair as he tries to slip past him 'n into the hall. Pony ducks under his hand, makes a small noise in hello. Darry immediately straightens up, notes the lack of work shirt he left with this mornin'. "Ponyboy Michael back it up 'n bring it here."

Pony lets out a long groan but turns 'n trudges back. Darry rakes his eyes over him. Pony stares at the ground. "Why are you back so early?"

"'Cause I got fired ok! Jesus!" Pony throws his arms up, stomps the ground, 'n whips his head to look back at his older brother.

"You what?" Pony lets out a huff 'n quick smart Darry's hand flies up to cuff him around the ear. "Pony this is the fourth time what the hell happened? And let me tell you it better be a damn good reason."

Pony can only match Darry's glare for a moment before he drops back down to starin' at the carpet. "I kinda called a customer a bitch."

"You huh?"

"Look, Darry, you weren't there so lay off, ok! She was talkin' to me like a was trash, alright? I dunno. She was actin' like I was stupid 'n she called me a son of a bitch 'n I told her I wasn't her damn son last I checked." Pony hitches his shoulder 'n Darry is suddenly glad Pony's scowlin' down at the carpet by the way his lips twitch. It wasn't funny.

"Ponyboy Michael since when has it ever been ok in this house to call a woman that?"

"Since she deserved it real bad." Pony mutters 'n Darry's fingers catch his temple. "Ow."

"I outta skin you just for that."

"Aw, Dar, look. I'm sorry, ok? I ain't discriminatin' or nothin'. If she'd have been a guy he would have been actin' like a bitch too." Pony scuffs his toe on the floor 'n Darry shakes his head in bewilderment.

Glory, sometimes Pony would say somethin' 'n it would make Darry feel like he was twenty 'n Pony was fourteen again 'n Pony's moods were enough to make him want to put the kid's head through a wall. 'N then he'd blink 'n they were sixteen 'n ten 'n he actually would. But that one hurts a bit 'cause then they had someone to holler 'n make them make up.

"Pony, how old are you?" Pony rolls his eyes, already knows Darry's line.

"Too old?" Pony glances up 'n Darry arranges his features into a passable impression of their ma's does it look like I'm laughin', mister? glare.

"Too damn old." Darry nods firmly. "You're sixteen now, Pone. You need to get a hold of that mouth. How many times are we gonna have to have this conversation?"

"Too damn many times- yeouch!" Darry's palm clips the back of his head 'n Pony's hair falls into his eyes.

"Don't you go gettin' fresh with me lil' boy." Pony's dry humor suddenly falls away 'n he's spittin' mad.

"Darry, you wouldn't get it, alright? I'm sick of workin' for a bunch of assholes who treat me like shit 'n takin' bull all day from people who look at me like I was born to spit shine their shoes. You just don't get it." Darry sighs, rubs a hand over his eyes.

"Pony, c'mere." This has become their routine. Back 'n forth, stern, sarcastic, angry, tired. Pony seethes but allows Darry to push him to drop down into one of their kitchen chairs. "I wouldn't understand, kid? I've been bustin' my back since you were twelve on the roofs of people who think greasers were born to bag their groceries 'n clean their floors. If anyone gets it, Pone, I do."

Some of the tension drops out of Pony's shoulders 'n he worries at his lip.

"You think Soda likes havin' to work on the cars or people who treated him like a failure 'n a dead-end dropout when he quit school?" Pony winces but Darry is damn tired of havin' to chase the kid around his own self-righteousness so he drives the lesson home with, "Do you think Dad liked patchin' up shingles from dawn til dusk? Or ma washin' the clothes of the women she used to meet after school who married up 'n moved west 'n forgot all it took was a bit of bad luck to end up right back on the East side? Sometimes the world ain't fair, Pone. Don't mean you get to lose your temper every time someone gets your goat."

The angers dropped right out of Pony 'n Darry sighs, pulls his chair so the kid can lean against his chest. He does without hesitation.

"I'm sorry, Dar. Sometimes... I dunno. It ain't fair. You're ten times the person those assholes in their fancy houses will ever be. Soda don't deserve to be treated like he's stupid. I just... I dunno. How do you deal with it?" Pony pulls his head back, blinks up at him with those green eyes that look like the sea after a storm's rolled through.

"Y'know... back when I first started workin' with Dad, a thousand years ago," Pony snorts, "I was mad about that all the time. God, I couldn't stand the way they looked at him. The way they talked about us. I didn't know how the hell he did it." Darry strokes his hand absent-mindedly through Pony's hair 'n he presses closer to him.

"It was just too much for me one day. We were behind schedule 'n behind on men 'n the guy who had hired us was hollerin' his head off 'n I turned right around 'n socked him right in his nose." Pony sits back suddenly, eyes round in surprise.

"You?" Darry chuckles, brushes Pony's bangs off his face.

"Yeah, kid, I don't know why you're so shocked. We've had enough fights to last a lifetime." Pony rolls his eyes, shifts around in his chair.

"I guess, I dunno. You always have it so locked down."

"Yeah, well, I do now. But it took a lot of time. Glory, maybe you were too young to remember properly but I swear sometimes I turn around 'n it's like dealin' with a younger me." Darry snorts at a memory 'n Pony raises an eyebrow. "I remember one time ma had gotten so sick of me 'n she told me she hoped one day I had a kid just like how I was to give me the same grief. Glory, I think she'd be laughin' now."

Pony's smile is a little wet but it's there 'n Darry won't mention it as long as Pony doesn't point out Darry wipin' at his eyes with the back of his sleeves. "What did Dad do? When you punched that guy?"

"Well, he was plenty mad. He sat me down 'n I told him it was unfair that we had to take whatever kinda treatment they decided to give us. 'N he grabbed me by the shoulders 'n looked at me like he always did when he was real serious 'n he said Darrel you catch more flies with honey than with vinegar."

Pony's face twists up in confusion 'n Darry laughs. God, he could look straight back through the years 'n picture himself starin' up at their dad the same way. "What does that have to do with anythin'?"

"I'll tell ya, kid. He dragged me back in the next day 'n made me apologize 'n then he shook the man's hand 'n left him with this sticky sweet smile 'n promise that he was real sorry for me 'n my behavior. Then he hauled me up a ladder 'n showed me how he would repair the man's roof so it would hold for another six months. Exactly. 'N when we left he shook hands 'n left him his card with the offer to come back if anythin' else ever went wrong. 'N you know what? The man was so impressed with his attitude 'n his work when that roof went up again in six months he called dad right back."

Darry chuckles 'n refocuses on Pony whose jaw is damn near on the floor. "That true?"

"Now, don't go makin' a liar out of me. Every word."

"Shit. You know? That sounds just like Dad."

"And he was right. Look, it sucks kid. It does. People are never gonna look at you like they should. There are always gonna be assholes who think they're better than you. You keep your damn head up 'n it doesn't matter at all. You fix the roof. 'N if it leaks you make sure you make yourself a lastin' impression."

Pony bites his lip, plays with the bottom of his shirt. It takes another minute but he nods, shoots Darry a lil' grin. "You know, I'm sure I left an impression."

"Yeah, like the type of impression I'm about to leave on your ass, kid." Pony yowls indignantly 'n dives off his chair to get away from Darry's snatch. Darry doesn't go for him again, settlin' for rollin' his eyes 'n not meanin' it at all.

"Hey, Dar?"

"Yeah, kid?"

"I'm gonna go back to the store tomorrow 'n ask for my job back. D'you mind... vouchin' for me?" Darry studies him for a moment. Pony's heart always was too big. The unfairness would always hurt. But the kid would figure out how to muddle by. Darry had.

"Sure, Pone. Just this time? Don't go ruinin' my reputation by callin' no one a bitch." Pony grins 'n opens his mouth. Darry cuts him off with a pointed finger 'n a raised brow. "Even if they deserve it real bad."

[slashingdisneypasta]

Slashers x Reader || Blurbs

Topic: How they undress you 😅 What the experience of being undressed by them is like XD

Includes: Bubba Sawyer, Chucky Lee Ray, Freddy Krueger, Jason Voorhees, and Michael Myers.

Warnings: Some smutty themes.

~

Bubba Sawyer: His hands are sweaty and he doesn't seem to understand (or care) how your limbs work- he's just trynna get this over with as soon as possible. Either he just really wants to see you naked (If y'all are in a mood~), or he wants to get you redressed super quick (If he's helping you cuz you're injured or something) before he gets horny and mortifies himself 😅 He'll be worrying his bottom lip the whole time.

Chucky Lee Ray: Doesn't undress you. This is unnecessary and the redress effort is always too damn inconvenient (Its likely that y'all are in some semi-public place so someone could walk in at any moment). He's a 'pull the pants down to your knees, yank your shirt up over your tits and we're ready to roll' kinda man. Bing bang boom. And honestly- just be glad, because his hands are cold as hell.

Freddy Krueger: Okay so first of all, there is nary a moment throughout this ordeal that he is not verbally teasing you. Making you as flustered as possible. And he draws it out as long as he possibly can, too, because he is an asshole who likes you to be embarrassed and nervous. He thrives on it, maybe he feeds off it??- and also he's just a major tease in general, so yeah. Even if this is not a precursor to, you know, he'll still be this way 😂😂😂 Goodluck.

Jason Voorhees: He's very careful and deliberate manhandling you, like a doll he really loves. He'll raise your arms up above your head himself before slipping your top off, he'll stand you up when its time to rid you of your bottoms; he's very methodical and, depending on the mood~ it may be pretty quick or relatively slow.

Michael Myers: Rough!! Make sure that you don't stiffen up or he'll dislocate your shoulder!! He just comes up to you and schwoop go the pants, and yank goes the shirt, and you dunno where they go they get lost behind a dresser or something. Michael doesn't care. Michael wants to get this part done with. He's um... efficient? XD

[bengiyo]

Ben’s Big BL Blurb 2: Fall is Finally Here

I am simply too busy with worth, family, other hobbies, and life to write about every show in real time anymore. I’m sorry to all the Stray Thoughts readers who’ve reached out about whether I would pick that back up, and I simply just do not have the time to do them anymore. Instead, I’ll try to do one of these as often as I can to catch up on things.

First, let’s go over some shows I finished recently that I don’t think I wrote much about.

First Note of Love

I was so happy to see Michael back on screen, and I was glad to see that he’s still able to get great chemistry with his co-star. Unfortunately, I don’t think this show was very coherent, so I didn’t get a lot out of it emotionally. It was a pretty inoffensive watch overall, and thus an easy show to put on without having to work through too much. I liked the work between everyone, and Mei Lei was such a fun character. Probably won’t return to this one, though. 

Let Free the Curse of Taekwondo

This is probably the show of the year for me. There’s so much I loved about this show. I loved that the characters had sex, but were neither rewarded nor punished for it; their sex didn’t solve any problems. I also really love how this show explored how childhood trauma expresses in two different kinds of boys, and I love that we got to see a bully reckon with his actions and get closure. I love that this show ended with them being kinda poor, but happy together. I love how messed up they both were about everything. I loved that Juyeong wasn’t stupid, and could read what was going on.

I clearly need to write a separate post to unpack everything I felt in this show.

Let’s move on to what I’m watching currently, in no particular order…starting with the lesbians, and then the worst BLs.

Apple My Love

Genuinely having fun with this GL. I like how quickly most of the drama plays out. It’s giving me quite a bit of secondhand embarrassment, but I like the characterizations in this show. This new production house brought us Knock Knock, Boys! and Monster Next Door this year. We need to keep an eyes on them. 

Haunted Hearts

I’m so fascinated by Oxin Films teaming up with Regal Entertainment. The leads are very attractive, but the cinematography is really boring. I’m trying to stay invested, but it’s kind of a sleepy watch. Also amused that they started airing a ghost romance right after Halloween ended. I’ve kind of moved on emotionally from the season.

My Damn Business

This show could be good, but it’s not. I struggled with episode 5 because our lead looked more relaxed and happier with his senior than the guy he’s getting into a romance with. There’s something missing here in this one, but I can’t exactly put my finger on it. I think it’s primarily a side effect of the short run time, but I think the boss’s interest isn’t landing properly for the employee to respond to. 

Eccentric Romance

This show could be good, but it’s not. Still, I am obsessed with a murder mystery being the primary source of confusion between our leads. I was willing to forgive this show a lot of its rough edges, but it failed to handle the turn from friendship to sexual/romance really well. I feel like our guys just started dating and having sex, and I’m a bit frustrated that they didn’t talk about it really at all, particularly since this show features two different languages spoken on screen. Genuinely looking forward to seeing how this one finishes. 

See Your Love

I’m not sure this show is exactly working that well, but everyone is very pretty and I’m having a decent time watching it. I like the way Shao Peng stands up for himself, and I like that nothing that’s happened has been totally unbelievable or unreasonable (at least with the mains). I’ll be curious how the hard of hearing and deaf viewers respond to this one once it’s complete. 

Love is Like a Poison

This show is actually so funny. I love that Shiba is in his own lawyer genre separate from everyone else, and I really like how the two of these guys have become a team. I’m curious how they manage to resolve the scamming next week, but this has been the most unexpected dynamic of the year. 

Love in the Air: Koi no Yukon

MAME won this year, y’all. We all have complicated feelings about her, but she’s secured a loving adaptation from a Japanese team that’s put solid effort into bringing her characters to life. Every character feels correct compared to their Thai counterpart we saw on screen, and that’s a strong sign that the writing behind MAME’s work is strong, even if we all have issues with the way she tackles certain themes. I’m really impressed with this adaptation, and really like this version of Rain.I also feel like this show is doing a better job blending the forthcoming couple focus shift.

Our Youth

We just got this show, but damn does it feel sharp! I’m always going to be a sucker for a cinephile character, and I’m so compelled by the way Minase is drawn to Hirukawa. The scene in episode 2 where Minase has to leave Hirukawa’s house might be one of the most impressive sequences we’ve had in a while, requiring a great deal of choreography and effort from the actors and the camera crew to pull off, and I’m excited to see how these characters split and then come back together. 

Smells Like Green Spirit

Let me just say that I need another Abe Alan appearance when he isn’t playing a character doing horrible things to his students. I’ve enjoyed meditating on the 90s with this show and what that era felt like. I’ve liked how the show has tried to focus on how different parents (especially the moms) have responded to their kids coming to terms with themselves. I’ve also really enjoyed the friendship that’s grown between Mishima and Kirino. I’m struggling with Yumeno a lot, because I’m really not a friend of bully romances. Still, I feel like this is one of those shows I’ll remember for a long time because of its focus on the 90s. 

Blue Canvas of Youthful Days

I think @lurkingshan covered reactions to episode 5 and episode 6 better than I could, and I loved @twig-tea giving context for the film history moment in episode 6. I remember screaming into the chat for friends to show up for this when I got to that moment. This show has two great pairs of dynamics going on that mirror well. It’s got such a strong handle on its characters’ motivations and how they would respond to the actions from each other. It’s probably the tightest thing I’m watching now, backed by extremely dialed-in performances. I will be thinking about Qi Lu organizing his potential first kiss with Qin Xiao, and how unapologetic he’s been about the entire affair. He’s being selfish here, but I kinda like it. I’m so thankful that we are somehow still getting this show, because goddamn do the Chinese actors deliver on chemistry sometimes.

Interview With the Vampire Season 2

I finished this with a friend last week, and holy fuck is this show still so, so good. We watch a lot of gay romance because of BL, and I am having so much fun watching the show about gay divorce. I loved the time we spent in Paris, Daniel’s shifting role in the narrative, and the new insights we got into Lestat this season. I will miss Claudia so much, and I have to give a standing ovation to Delainey Hayles stepping into the role of Claudia and doing the damn thing this season. I just love seeing my little fucked up gay people torment each other on screen.

I'm still thinking about Louis and Lestat reuniting in a hurricane after Claudia derided this as yet another chapter in their stormy romance.

Dropped Shows

Unfortunately, everyone can’t win. Some of these shows are just too long for me to keep up with them, and oftentimes I get bored. I’ve currently dropped:

Lovesick 2024 - I may go back. We’ll see

Jack & Joker - It’s just too long, and they just killed Jennie and a kid. I’m good.

Fourever You - I’m bored with Earth always playing this character type.

Pluto - Namtam and Film are beautiful, but this looks too messy right now.

Every You, Every Me - Wasn’t intrigued after episode 1, but the commentary may draw me back.

Kidnap - Ohm is not enough to keep me invested in this show. 

Uncle Unknown - How did they make a 6 minute show feel slow?

I’m genuinely not trying to be harsh to Thai shows out here, but I just do not have the time to keep up with all of them when they’re this long and dragging.

Thanks for stopping by, and let me know if there’s something I missed that I should check out.

[da-shrimping-station]

I really liked your headcanons about the seraphim’s!

Please tell us if you have more, no need to rush, take your time answering this. You can reply once you get new ideas ☺️☺️

hiii! im glad you appreciate the headcanons 💕

you're in luck cuz i had a longer list and just posted some of it first cuz i wasn't sure if it will be well received

lemme post the rest of it here!

and i got some angst lmaoooo

Part 1

more sleepy seraph cuddle pile headcanons:

at first they each had their individual mattresses and they pushed it all right beside each other but in the end they got one big mattress to accommodate everyone (especially Raphael's wiggling around)

at some point they all got tired of Raphael's moving around that they burrito'd him in blankets (he does not like it unless Lucifer is the one doing it)

if Lucifer catches Gabriel getting up to pray, he offers to have a quiet conversation instead until they both fall asleep (Gab would get carried away talking and not notice that Lucifer had already tapped out but he just smiles and goes to sleep)

there are times when those little angel mochis come up to add to the cuddle pile

RIP any angel mochi that end up in Michael's arms (most of them don't survive his death grip of a hug)

they've tried tying Michael's hair when he sleeps but it's too soft and silky that whatever scrunchie they use slips off during the night

Raphael rolling off the mattress is considered normal (honestly im glad they sleep on the floor cuz have y'all heard how a body drops from a bed onto the floor? that shit wakes me up in a panic no matter what)

since they can't always stop Gabriel from his nightly bullshit, Michael gave everyone sleeping masks (but it's still no match for Gab's halo especially when he makes it shine brighter on purpose because fuck you Michael)

whenever Lucifer is the last one to fall asleep, he goes around tucking everyone in properly (loosening Michael's grip, making sure Gabriel is fast asleep, untangling Raphael from the blankets and righting his limbs and wings) before going to sleep himself

HAVE SOME ANGST!

everyone had trouble sleeping after Lucifer fell

so much so it took a long while for the three of them to sleep in the same space together again

at that point, they swapped out the big mattress for the individual ones like before

they all get pissy and snappy towards each other (Michael especially) whenever the mood is particularly sour that night

they fall asleep out of exhaustion more than anything, barely acknowledging each other before going to bed and after waking up

their nightly habits didn't stop but they don't do it as much since they aren't that comfortable when sleeping anymore to the point it kinda mellowed out

in the end they slowly got used to Lucifer's absence

sometimes Michael drapes his wings over the others like how Lucifer used to (they notice but won't say anything and it's not like Michael will admit to it when confronted)

[p4ngilz]

★ love bites

*sighs* i miss my man... also will get started on reqs after i post pretty impressive, huh? already set on rewriting hehe

wc: 870

"Have you noticed Michael's hands?"

"They're kinda green honestly, why?"

"That's my fault."

You smacked your boyfriend's arm as he giggled, sounding pleased with himself as he snickered about his most recent prank. Though there was not much reason to be suppressing your noises, as he insisted you sit at the farthest row at the campfire and Michael was leading the singalong anyway so he wouldn't have heard you at all. Unless one of you pushed the other off the log you were sitting on, which could happen anytime. That would've definitely caught more than just Michael's attention.

Luckily no pushing was involved, at least not too much shoving. You whispered and flirted and told jokes and chatted there in the back row. Though you didn't have as much freedom as you would have had at the edge of the woods, you were glad you got to spend time with your boyfriend.

At some point you started rambling about your opinions on the latest counselors' meeting, but you couldn't focus. How could you when every time you looked to the side, you'd see Connor gazing at you like you hung the stars in the sky and rooted the mountains in the earth.?

Your cheeks hurt from smiling so widely and trying to resist it. You'd lose your train of thought every time he'd move an inch beside you. You could've sworn you had the biggest crush on him even after you confessed to each other, even after he said he liked you back, even after the dozen times he'd kissed you at just the right times in just the right ways.

"But that wouldn't be effective, right, because majority of the camp is kids, we wouldn't listen, it won't do much to stop us because we'll keep coming back to do it all over again—what?" You asked, catching him for the millionth time that night just watching you speak. You doubted any words were getting to that head of his as he took your hand.

"You're just damn pretty!" He mumbled, whisper-yelling as he kissed the back of your palm.

"Is it my fault?" You whispered in the same tone.

"Yes." He grinned cheekily, and you squeezed his fingers in response. A moment of silence passed, until he asked, "Can I bite you?"

"What?"

"Can I bite you?" He whispered, slightly louder this time.

"...Okay?"

He giggled, and then continued doing so like an excited child, pulling you closer until there was barely any space between you two. "So cute, sweetie, I love you, hehe, the cutest..." He mumbled words as he pressed kisses onto your skin. You found it endearing until he actually bit the skin on your forearm. Not that it hurt, you just didn't expect the feeling of his teeth on you.

You gasped, but didn't pull away. You watched as he kissed up your arm until he reached your hand, and then continued on each of your knuckles. He nipped at your fingertips with a big grin on his pretty face, and then went on his knees, pulling your legs to straddle his waist while you stayed on the log.

"Didn't think you'd be into this. You got an oral fixation? Or am I just too...sweet?" You started in a low voice as he kissed up your neck, his other hand going to knead your thighs. He nibbled at your neck, collarbones, kissed your cheeks, lips (and left bites on that, too), any exposed skin you were comfortable with him placing his mouth on out here in the open, concealed only by the darkness.

"That's really corny, baby. Maybe you should leave the comedies to me. Gosh, you know, if you weren't wearing long pants right now..."

"But you call me sweetie."

"Yeah."

"Yeah!" You went on, leaving him to his business as he continued, kissing over the spots he nibbled at. Eventually, he slowed down, taking both your hands and cupping his face with them. "Anyway, this is nice. again, unexpected, but it's forgiven because it's you. You think this would look weird if anyone caught us? Nah, I think it should be forgiven because it's you. Is this—what's the word? Cuteness aggression? That's probably what this is. Honestly, I'd prefer you give me a full body bear hug squeeze, but I guess I have no choice but to go to bed covered in—"

"Mhm."

"—Love bites," you finished, beaming at him.

One of his hands went to the small of your back, nudging you to come just a bit closer. Still rubbing circles into your skin, he chuckled. "Love bites? Those aren't love bites."

Your smile faded slightly. "They're not?"

"No?" He paused for a second, then laughed. "Sweetie, do you know what love bites actually are?"

"I don't...I used to think I did, but now, probably not. Wait, what are they? Connor!" You swatted his arm at how his teasing smile quickly grew into a snicker. "I didn't know, okay? I thought it was something else!"

He patted your side, mumbling an apology while holding in more chortles. His eyes glinted with the reflection of the bonfire before he said, "It's alright, N/N, I'll give you real ones next time."

[chaifootsteps]

If no one is going to say it, I will....Im thankful that viv didn't keep Michael as AD.

No, i'm not a stan, I don't hate Michael, and I know it kinda sucked for him to lose that spot but you know what?

It was for the best tbh.

When the old VA cast from the pilot did that bittersweet "thank You and goodnight" video, neither of the VAs that was still working for SH was able to participate, it was incredibly shady at the moment and given how V*v treated people that stepped slightly away from her projects in the past, then I guess that not only Michael wouldn't had being able to sing but wouldn't had starred the wonderful rolles he currently has and there is a high chance that anyone loves some of the characters he voices, being either Designator N, Rocky, Jax, and so much more than what we could have had if he was still trapped in SH.

Not to mention the people that he would have attracted...remember that creepy Valentino cosplayer that thought it was okay to attack him just because he voiced angel? How many times you can guess that it would keep happening if he keep the role? Without generalizing, Hazbin and Helluva attract a good bunch of ...ejem..."cases", that believe that harming, insulting and belitting others over a cartoon is fine because they are "passionate" and V*v never call out those who do or say cuestionable stuff in her fandom.

I'm glad, i'm wholeheartedly glad Michael dodged that bullet, because he is to nice to stick in a badly writted character for GOD knows how long and be harassed by weirdos that can't behave properly, influenced by the most chaotic fandom i've seen.

Anyways, goodnight sir, always happy to see you around, don't let the "cases" ruin your cool vibe.

-Midnight anon if that's not taken

As much as it hurts to say, as loved and missed as Michal's Angel was, agreed. He's in a better place with better people now, creating things alongside people who wouldn't dream of treating him the way he and Ashley were treated.

Some birds aren't meant to be caged. Their feathers are just too bright.

[alexxncl]

‼️NIGHTBRINGER LESSON 58 SPOILERS‼️

masterlist | all lessons | season 3 | lesson 57.1 | lesson 57.2 | lesson 58.2 | lesson 59

throwing us back into the SF after the last lesson's cliffhanger was indeed a choice

i wanted him so become a demon so bad y'all don't understand 💔 i'm happy that they didn't do a full 180 and turn him back into an angel though bc his fall was so pivotal to his character arc

this is actually really interesting. i wonder how much of his angel-ness is in his genetic/physical makeup, too, considering the fact that he still has demonic genes despite never fully turning into one

i feel like the different sets of genes battling for power also explains why he seemed emotionally off and physically sick when we found out he was turning into a demon. maybe he was like 95% human and 5% angel up until a certain point

we know that mammon's skin has burns on it from the celestial jewelry he used to wear, so maybe their angelic genetic makeup got physically and chemically destroyed during their fall. maybe simeon's body still had some kind of angelic genetic makeup until he started turning into a demon, and then the demonic genes destroyed whatever angelic part was left of him

either the celestial realm didn't know about what would happened to simeon when he became human and spent excessive time in the devildom, or they didn't care and wanted him to suffer the possibility of transforming into one due to overexposure as an extra cruel punishment

part of me wants to believe that they didn't know bc of the way raphael reacted, but i still don't trust michael. at ALL.

idk i'm yapping

i still want simeon to turn into a demon but i don't want him to have to go through the physical and emotional pain it takes to get there. but i also don't want him to suffer through not able to physically be there for raph and luke bc he don't he allowed back in the celestial realm if he's a demon. UGH

ahhhh yes i love it when the stakes are raised

but are they really raised when we know that simeon's not gonna die? probably...hopefully

idk maybe that teaser really did mean something...

i'm very glad that it isn't just a one-and-done kinda solution though. that makes it more engaging

see every time i wanna praise him for thinking of something smart and sweet and kind he ALWAYS has to bring a profit into the situation 😭 this mf

also "fartin' around" ?? (i can't believe i just typed that) LET MY MAN SAY FUCK. we all know it's what he meant

beel just like me bc my dumbass didn't know what the fuck a manchineel was. googled it to see if it was a real word

if y'all could've heard the sigh i just let out 😭 it's okay though. it's fine

i'm a little less mad bc it's what simeon himself said that he wants. even though he said he never really felt like an angel in the way that the rest of the celestial realm angels did but whatever. i think he's doing it in part because he does miss being an angel, but mainly because he wants to be able to be there for luke and raphael after seeing how his transformation affected them, and he won't be able to be there in the way that he wants or the way that they need him to be if he's not an angel, or at least allowed in the celestial realm

honestly if he turns into a demon atp it's just the devs fucking with him just bc they like to torture his character 😭 like imagine the potion is something that reveals someone's "innermost desires" or the race that their soul is destined to be and he ends up not being an angel ??? luke especually would be devastated

the fact that they have to go all the way back to the cave where they met cerberus to find the last ingredient feels kinda full circle. i feel like they knew the game was ending here

bc why else would the apple be in a place that solidified the brothers' positions and status into what we know them as in the present day

this also makes me kinda sad bc there was so much potential to explore the time paradox shit they alluded to all throughout the game

from the characters in the past feeling like the guest room was a second home

to the brothers in the past feeling intrinsically connected to mc despite never having seen them before

to the characters in the present feeling like they hadn't seen mc in months and crying uncontrollably for seemingly no reason

and now this...

i did the other option too just to see what levi's reaction was and GOD i wish we had more than 2 lessons left

are they gonna make barbatos time travel to get the apple? what if they travel to the exact time that mc and the brothers went there and the gang ends up seeing mc in the past through barbatos' portal? UGH i wish they did more with the time travel stuff it would've been so cool

[chloesimaginationthings]

I love your art, and I really love how you did him, he's such a guy (he's my fav 💜)

I HONESTLY didn’t expect such a big reaction to the silly way I decided to draw Withered Bonnie this time, but so many of yall clocked it LMAO

[determinedowl23]

ohhhhhmy god oh my god guyssjsjaidbwisjsis IT HAPPENED I SAW IT AND IT WAS AMAZING

Notes:

Act I

I NEED TO MARRY ALFIE BOE SOOOOO BAD BRUH YOU DONT EVEN GET IT

Alfie’s so short I forgot about that lmao he’s so baby

I do really really really love Michael but I can already tell that Javert is not exactly his thing. He’s too whimsical- too Marius. Super glad he gets to do something with Alfie tho <333

Jeremy (I think) rocked the bishop omgggggg

I WAS NOT EXPECTING KATIE HALL TO BE HERE CHAT- soprano Fantine is such a foreign concept to me but she was gorgeous 

THANK YOU BOEBALL VALVERT FOR BEING THERE FOR ME I LOVE MY BOYFRIEND AND HIS BOYFRIEND

THENARDIERS ARE SO FUNNY I’ve never seen funnier thenardiers. He called Cosette Baguette when Valjean took her away

Also at the beginning of the bargain when Alfie started singing Madame T went “oh he’s got a lovely voice tho”

COSETTE NEW PINK DRESS IS SO PRETTY!!!!! It matches Marius’ bow :))))

Ok both Eponine and Cosette were mixed bags for me- I liked them most of the time, but there were a couple times their voices felt a bit… nasally? They were both very pretty tho :)

James D Gish is beautiful. My dad says he’s the second coming of Ramin Karimloo and im inclined to agree

Gavroche is king shit as per usual

They had stars in stars omggg. ALSOOO at the end the lights make it look like he has wings. Probably unintentional but he’s soooooo fallen angelcore 

As much as Michael doesn’t fit Javert, his Stars really is amazing

WE GOT ENJOLTAIRE CRUMBS 👏👏👏 The entire pause between ABC Cafe and Red & Black they were just looking at each other forever

As much as I do love enjoltaire, im an even bigger fan of Gavroche and Grantaire’s dynamic. It was the main thing I noticed about R’s character (even with Kyle Adams playing him) and I’m so happy that it’s in other productions

No Javert barricade outfit in one day more :(

Three flags??? In this economy????

Act II

Okay I did genuinely forget about the barricade outfit but it did come back! It’s different from the Staged Concert, more greenish-black and I think he has his hair down- there’s at least some strands loose on the front

OKAYYYY IM REALLY SURE TGAT BEFORE R STARTED HIS SOLO IN DRINK WITH ME HE WENT AND HELD ENJ’S HAND FOR A BIT- and after he sang and Enj left Gavroche ran over and gave him a hug it was so sweet

Alfie Boe Bring Him Home is still my favoritest thing in the entire world. I owe him my life im so serious he was my top artist for a reason

Enjolras did the Aaron Tveit “until the earth is free” opt up it was amazing

They cut Gavroche’s individual death scene which was either for better or for worse because that’s the one that always gets me crying, so I just teared up at the end

When Javert let valjean and Marius go from the sewers he turned around as if he was gonna follow them, paused, screamed, and put his head and his hand

Dude michael ball does the best suicide scene he’s so unhinged and skdjaidhaisjsj

EMPTY CHAIRS BRO. At “phantom faces” the Amis all stood up in their places in their seats, with Enj, R, and Gavroche on the center balcony right by the conductor. Also at this point he begins to scream with anger at his survival. I’ve never thought about angry Empty Chairs, but it works so well and I need to see it more

Valjean in AHFoL Reprise made me so sad bro. Insert my post about him and Donna Sheridan but add that they’re so attached to their daughter (Amanda Seyfried) and kinda don’t want to let her go to get married

The audience clapped along to Beggars at the Feast. Don’t know if we were allowed to, but we did anyways

When Marius tells Cosette her father is a saint Valjean just shakes his head no oh my god 😭😭

HE DID THE NICK CARTELL NOSE BOOP WITH COSETTE

THE BISHOP COMES UP BEHIND VALJEAN WHEN HE DIES AND VALJEAN GIVES HIM THE BIGGEST HUG EVER OMFGGGGGG

During bows when Michael came up to bow with Alfie they had to switch sides so that Michael could be on the left and Alfie could be on the right. Order has been restored to the world

In summary: Amazing show god I love Les Mis!!!!! Alfie Boe is the only one who can save me <3333

[avengedbiologist]

Thunderbirds 80s style

So turns out my 80s phase I've been having has brought me back to tbirds so here's my 80s au. Info under cut x

Firstly I ain't taking criticism, these designs feel right 2 me and so do the song choices. Sorry there isn't more diversity in the music tastes these r literally just from bands I know.

Gordon-

Kiefer Sutherland (specifically him in the movie 1969 with his longer hair) and George michael r my inspo for him, I mean the hair is the main inspo but the vibes from both of them R verryyy Gordon to me. He dresses very typical 80s he's a big big fan of denim.

His playlist:

His favourite bands are Wham and Cinderella, being a big George Michael fan in general. His favourite album is night songs by Cinderella. Not sure why Cinderella is his fave but it feels right ☝️ (everyone listen to Cinderella xxx)

Him and Alan being the lame duo they are, were Wham for Halloween.

Alan-

Alex Winter for this guy, probably because of bill and ted (definitely because of bill and ted and also nose 👃) and I can genuinely get behind Alan having curly hair. Despite this he has long hair in this cause he's a trendy fella, and if I didn't give any of them long hair I would be a fraud and a fake to the 80s cause. He switches his style a lot but he has a lot of inspo from rock bands.

His playlist:

(I am definitely not projecting) (okay maybe I am, be glad my favourite KIX song is from the 90s)

I feel he is more rebellious (very 04 Alan me thinks) so he tends to lean more to the rebellious type music (big glam rock fan) his favourite band is and will forever be KIX, he has seen them live like 50 times. And his favourite album is Midnite Dynamite by KIX. Listen to KIX and u will get it (or not idk).

Scott-

I'm blaming @knyee because of their Tom Selleck thoughts 😩. Older Scott very Tom Selleck, younger Scott very Tommy Lee, and Jason patric is just there cause he's a guy with brown hair and blue eyes, any 70/80s person with brown hair is Scott to me (could Eddie Van Halen be the next Scott Tracy 😮).

His playlist:

I feel Scott's tryna be more cool but hes not as deep with his music as say Alan or Kayo. So he's a very, whatevers popular kinda guy. Big Bon Jovi fan, his favourite album is Bon Jovi, slippery when wet. And he's a big fan of older stuff as well, big Kinks fan.

Ugly ass fashion as per w Scott, I mean it's not bad it's just,,, very Scott 🧍‍♀️.

Virgil-

Now I am about to be controversial,,, I genuinely forget Virgil exists. Like who is he,, U tell me ? So this made someone that vibes w him very hard to find. So this may be weird to people, this may not fit as well as the others, but if U ignore the hair I hope U can see my vision. Paul Stanley. Look at his eyebrows, look at his cheek bones then get back to me Kay x.

His playlist:

Virgil's cool af what can I say, he does like older songs too but alas I didn't focus on them. Tho this au of the Tracy family has no specific like version (weather it's tag tos or 04, tho with me it's never TAG do not speak to me about TAG Alan xx) I will say this, TAG Virgil is a Metallica fan, I get he does classical music but he can do that,, and like Metallica, cause guess what,, he's cool as shit. Despite this is fave album is Lick it up by kiss.

Don't ask me how to dress virgil, I just put him in green and call it a day.

My fun fact about Virgil is his gay awakening was Slash from guns n roses.

John-

Again don't know shit about John, not do I care for him but if I make him look like Billy Idol I begin to care. I'll tell U sommat not only is this inspo, Billy is like a face claim for me, Ur telling me that's not John Tracy. Is Billy wasn't cool af he would be John Tracy. And as well as looking like Billy idol he is a fan of Billy idol, his fave album being Billy idol by (U guessed it) billy idol.

His playlist:

(R we starting to see my love for lost boys, cause if not just wait till kayo xx)

Rolling stones yeah pretty sick, time in a bottle is out there compared to the others but John's an all over guy I think.

Kayo-

Oh look, Jami Gertz, lost boys reference, what a shock.

Kayos cool, like just look at her, holding hands with penny (women in love what can I say) originally her like fave album was gonna be Kill em' all by Metallica but Kayos here for the girls so her fave Album is Vixen by Vixen. Corker of an album (everyone listen to it x)

Her playlist:

I fear Joan Jett would also be on her playlist but idk man. Kayos just like quirked up but in a fun way, she does try to listen to a lot of female artists. She likes spooky music and old music. If I was doing a 90s or later au she would be a fan of the song 'Living dead girl' by Rob Zombie.

She's a lost boys fan (not projecting) and loves horror films and she takes John to see em, only cause Penny does not like horror films.

Penelope:

Janet Gardner (from Vixen) is her celeb inspo, tho I fear there's a lot of blonde 80s celebs that would work, but why go for Madonna when Janet's right there, and her hair is taller. If Penny doesn't have tall hair that ain't Penny.

Her playlist:

Big big big Stacey Q fan, her fave album is Stacey Q better than heaven. Penny is a big fan of 60s music as well, loving Erma Franklin, he favourite song being her cover of 'Hold on I'm comin''. She loves Daughters of Eve, their song 'Hey lover' is her and Kayos 'song'.

She has seen Stacey Q live many times and has (lovingly) dragged Kayo to them. Kayo is also a bit of a fan. They both like a lot of each other's music, if they find a new band or an artist they like has released a new song they always try to listen to it for the first time together.

I am realising now I didn't write Penny's fave films which are: Heathers, Labyrinth and Hairspray.

This is a long ass post oopsies, hope U enjoy my nonsense x

[hearts401]

A Shitty Brother Kinda Christmas

(7,441 words)

Evan invites Michael over for Christmas after not speaking to him for over two years now. Shenanigans ensue

Michael was cold.

He was also annoyed and bored and excited and the slightest bit nervous.

But right now, he was just cold.

He was sitting out in the middle of nowhere waiting for a bus that had either already come or was nearly a half an hour late.

He was praying it was the latter.

It didn’t help that he’d had literally no time to prepare. Evan had called him at six in the morning and he’d had to rush to find a gift and means for transportation and it didn’t help that everything was closed for Christmas. So he’d thrown on the only coat he had and went for the first bus he could catch. Now he was stuck out in the snow waiting for a bus that might not even arrive.

But some things were worth getting hypothermia for.

Unfortunately for Michael, this was not feeling like one of those things. But it was a second chance, and he’s fucked up too much to give up on a second chance. Frankly, when Evan had asked for his number, he’d already expected not to hear from him ever again, and he’d made peace with that. As much peace as he could at least. It wasn’t something he thought about a lot, and he doubted Evan thought about it much either.

But today his head’s been full of it, as unpleasant as that is.

When the bus finally pulled up, the driver assured him that the snow was what caused the delay, and apologized profusely. Michael didn’t care, he was just glad it came at all.

The bus was almost entirely empty, which made his life a lot easier. He clicked on his phone, not that there was anything to look at. It was Christmas, after all.

When Evan had invited him, he’d known it would be disappointing to Jeremy; He always looked forward to Christmas, but he promised they’d have their own little Christmas when he got back, but this was the first time he’d spoken to Evan in… Forever. His little brother had a house for god’s sake! A house! And he lived with his friend! That friend who’d punched Michael, the friend who always let Evan stay over his house, the friend he’d totally definitely not gotten into a fist fight with more than once all because of his own stubborn attitude.

So yeah, Michael was a jerk. But in his defense, Gregory was stubborn too.

His phone pinged and he picked it up. It was Evan again. Geez, why did he keep calling? Michael had already agreed, he didn’t want to talk to him right now, not yet.

But he can’t keep putting it off, and he doesn’t wanna seem like he’s avoiding Evan. (Even though he is, technically.)

“Hello? Hello, hello?” He said, “What’s up?”

“It’s me.” Evan said, “Just wanted to make sure you’re doing okay? I’m really sorry it’s such short notice.”

“It’s whatever.” Michael replied, “The bus was late though.”

“It’s Christmas, that’s expected.” Evan replied.

This was weird. Not a bad weird, but not a good weird either.

“Yeah.” Is all he said, “Uhm, is there anything else you need? The service here is ass.”

“Uh, no, I was calling to tell you if the bus hadn’t come to just forget it because I didn’t want you to keep waiting. It’s cold outside.”

“No shit.” He said with a dry laugh, “I’m gonna go now. Bad service, you know how it is.”

“Oh? O-Okay, yeah, bye.” Evan said.

“Bye.” Michael said before hanging up and sitting back against the seat.

“Shitty service?” He mumbled to himself, “Idiot.”

“Well, that sucked.” Elizabeth said. She was hanging decorations she’d brought since their house wasn’t “Christmas ready” in her words.

“He’s probably just tired.” Charlie said, “I’m sure he’s happy you invited him.”

“Well maybe the invitation isn’t what’s got him in the dumps and maybe it’s more the timing?” Elizabeth said.

Evan shrunk back, “I really didn’t notice how close it was getting to Christmas, I just… I couldn’t decide if I wanted to invite him…”

Elizabeth shrugged, “Fair, I guess. I usually invite him over but he spends his Christmas with his friends a lot.”

“His friends?” Charlie asked, “Jeremy?”

“And those other kids from middle school.”

Evan scrunched up his nose, “He still hangs out with those guys?”

“Yeah?” Elizabeth climbs down the small step ladder she was on, “They’re his friends.”

Evan huffs, “Yeah, I know.” He mutters.

Charlie offers a small smile at him, nudging him, “He’s not bringing any of them, it’s just him, Ev.” She says, “I’m sure everything will be okay.”

He nods slowly, “Yeah, yeah I guess.”

“Hey, Evan?” Gregory calls from the other room where he’s helping Sammy set up for dinner.

“O-oh, yeah?”

“Why does Michael do that weird ‘hello? Hello, hello?’ thing?”

Evan blinked, “I… I don’t know, actually.”

“Oh my god he does that all the time I don’t think he even realizes it!” Elizabeth said, “It drives me insane!”

Charlie laughed, “Yeah, Sammy says he does it every time he calls him.”

“He does!” Sammy said, “Every time. I asked him about it once and he was just as confused as me! He just does it. It’s like an instinct.”

Gregory laughed too, “That is funny as hell I’m never letting him live that down.”

“Oh, speaking of living things down,” Evan hopped off his bed and headed to the kitchen, “You’re gonna be on your best behavior. If you and him fight, I’m sticking you both outside.”

“If you put me outside with him I’ll bury him alive in the snow.” Gregory said.

“I’m serious.” Evan said, “I don’t want you fighting with him.”

It’s not that Evan didn’t appreciate Gregory standing up for him, but it was stressful. He didn’t want his friend hurt for him, and he certainly didn’t want to spend Christmas breaking up his brother and his best friend.

Gregory looked over at Evan, “Yeah, of course.” He said, “No fighting.”

“And that means no punching, kicking, swearing, snapping, pushing, shoving-”

“Okay, okay, okay, no fighting.” Gregory said, “But he needs to back off sometimes, I’m gonna let him know.”

“I can let him know.” Evan said, “We’re going to have a nice Christmas like a family!”

They all turned to look at him.

“We’re going to have a nice Christmas like a… decent dysfunctional patchwork family…” He rephrased, “I-I guess.”

Gregory laughed at that, “It’ll be fun, I’m sure.”

“I wish you could’ve invited Nessa,” Evan said, “I’m sure she’d have loved to meet Mike.”

When Michael finally arrived, he was met with the entire house laughing at him. Even Evan couldn’t hide his amusement at seeing his brother pull up to his house soaking wet and shaking like a leaf.

“You look great.” Sammy said.

“Piss off.” Michael muttered.

“Come inside, you look like you’re gonna freeze to death.” Charlie said.

“I feel like it too.” Michael muttered.

They brought him inside and Evan found himself suddenly regretting every decision that led up to this.

He felt sick, and he realized with a shock that there was a reason he had avoided Michael. He didn’t know what to say to him, what to do with him, or what to talk about. What do you say to your big brother who you ghosted for nearly two years after getting his number? What do you say to the person who ruined your life? What do you say to the person who treated you like shit and almost killed you and only formally apologized a couple years ago?

Gregory must have noticed because he discreetly led Evan back to his room and sat down with him.

“Not ready?” He asked.

“Not at all.” He said, flopping onto his back.

“What is it?” Gregory asked, laying down beside him.

“I don’t know. I haven’t spoken to him in forever and I was cool with that but then we did talk again and then we split up again and I just… How can I never speak to him again after that? How can I not give him at least a chance to be better? But at the same time… I don’t want to talk about The Thing, and I don’t want to bring it up but I can’t move on if I don’t and I feel sick thinking about it because what if it goes wrong? What if I fuck it up? What if he fucks it up? What if all this bullshit was for nothing this whole time and I’m just gonna end up hating him more than I already do?”

Gregory listens intently, staring at Evan, “You know, I told you not to invite him.”

“I know but-”

He continues speaking, interrupting Evan, “But! You insisted. Why?”

“Because I want to give him another shot.” Evan said.

“And he came because…” Gregory raises his eyebrows expectantly.

“Because he wants to take that shot.” Evan said, slowly understanding.

“So, you want to give him a chance? You don’t have you, you don’t owe anything to him, especially forgiveness. Do you wanna cut this short? Nobody would blame you if you did. I sure as hell wouldn’t.”

Evan sits up, “I guess.”

Gregory smiles, “Why don’t you take some time, dinner’s not done yet. Nobody’s rushing you, and I’m sure Michael is just as nervous. The only difference is that he deserves it.”

Evan laughs a bit at that, “Be nice.” He said.

“No promises!” Gregory called as he walked out of the room.

Frankly, Gregory was right. Michael was just as nervous. In fact, he wanted to curl up in a ball and sink into a hole and die right about now. He didn’t know where to sit so he ended up standing awkwardly off to the side.

Unfortunately for him, Sammy was quick to act like he owned the place. Gregory and him were like siblings, to be fair.

“Come on Mike, sit down.” Sammy said, “What’s wrong, are you nervous?”

“No. Not at all.” He muttered, “I just prefer standing.”

“Yeah, well, you look out of place with the Christmas decorations and I need to take photos so unless you wanna be my santa clause, I suggest you move.” Elizabeth said.

“You're as blunt as ever.” He muttered.

“Thanks, I try my best.” She replied with a grin.

He sat down next to Sammy, pulling out his phone, only to have Charlie grab it away from him, ignoring the indignant noise he made.

“Aw, Jeremy? Are you guys dating yet?” She teased.

“Wha- no! Give that back!” He lunged, reaching for it, but she snatched it away too quickly.

“Come on, Mike, you’ve gotta have something interesting in your life, how’s my dad?”

“Uncle Henry’s doing fine.” He answered as he continued to chase her around, “Give it back Charlie!”

“What pictures do you have? Aw, is that your dog?” Charlie pulled up a picture.

“No, it’s Jeremy’s! Now give it back!”

“What’s its name?” She asked.

Michael looked over at Elizabeth and exaggeratedly gestured at Charlie, but she just laughed at him.

“She missed messing with you, this is your own fault.” She said.

“She’s right, messing with Evan isn’t as fun. He doesn’t get mad like you do.” Charlie said.

Michael scowled at her, but he couldn’t deny that it made him feel a lot better though. 

When Gregory and Evan returned, Michael offered a smile and a small wave at Evan, that his brother slowly returned.

Evan was pale, but Michael didn’t mention it; He probably was too. Although that could just be from sitting out in the snow for half an hour.

He was still a bit upset about that.

Elizabeth invited him to sit beside her, which ended up sticking him right beside Evan, who had Gregory on his other side, who had Sammy next to him, and then Charlie beside him, and then it came full circle back to Elizabeth.

Great, cool, cool cool cool cool cool. This could go one of two ways:

One, it goes horrible and awful and everything that could go wrong does go wrong.

Or two, it goes fine and Michael’s overreacting.

But he could tell Evan was uncomfortable, and the tension was uncomfortable for him as well.

He took a breath before standing abruptly, “Actually, I ate at home and I could totally just grab a hotel or something so I’m gonna-”

“You’re not leaving.” Evan said.

Michael turned to him, “I’m sorry what?”

Evan shrunk back, “I-I just mean- you can stay here. Uhm… Unless you really don’t want to which is fine but you know you should stay here with us because it’ll make it easier and honestly who sleeps in a hotel on Christmas Eve I mean-”

“Okay! Okay. That- we can do that, that’s fine.” Michael said. He sat back down slowly, staring hard at his plate.

“And I can tell you didn’t eat at home.” Evan said, “I don’t like that you’re lying to me.”

Michael doesn’t reply to that, shrugging.

Evan’s eyebrows furrow, but he doesn’t say anything else. Gregory leans in next to him and whispers something, though.

So it went bad. Not awful, but bad. Michael didn’t eat much, but the food was good. Henry knew how to cook, and it seemed like he’d taught the twins how to cook as well.

Elizabeth leans back in her chair, “So, now that we’ve invited Michael, who wants to send a call to dear old dad? I have his number.”

Evan groans, “Not again with this…”

“Please, please Evan it would be so funny please.” Gregory shot up in his chair, “Please you didn’t let me do it to Michael let me do it to your dad.”

“Do what to Michael?” Michael asked.

“They wanted me to prank call you guys and send you random shit. Gregory, my dad will find and kill us all. I hope you know that.”

Prank call his dad? Prank call the William Afton?

“No wait I like this idea, Ev, we should do it one hundred percent.” Michael said.

“See? He agrees.” Elizabeth said.

Evan rolled his eyes, “You guys are the worst.”

“We’re the best actually.” Charlie said, “And it’s uhhhh… five against one.”

Evan sighed, “Do what you want. I need to set up our room anyway.”

Charlie cheered.

“I actually think I’m still in his contacts.” Michael said, “He keeps texting me, I don’t read 'em though.” He didn’t tell them that he repeatedly hesitated and refused to block his dad for a reason he himself couldn’t fathom. But to be fair, Lizzie hadn’t blocked him either. In fact, she still messaged him back sometimes. Even if the conversations weren’t friendly, he couldn’t imagine talking to his dad ever again, he didn’t know how she did it. 

“And we don’t wanna start today, let’s use Charlie’s phone.” Sammy said.

They spent the night sending random images to William until he blocked them, and then they went on to relentlessly call Jeremy, who had apparently been asleep, before they went on to call Gregory, and stayed on call with him while he and Evan set up.

It was weird how normal this was. It was weird how quickly it had become just spending Christmas together instead of unloading 15 years of bullying and 21 years of loathing.

But then again, they were the Afton family, pretending to be normal was their whole thing. They did it for the first eighteen years of Michael’s life.

But he could sit back and enjoy this before the incredibly uncomfortable conversation that was inevitable. If him and Evan would quit avoiding it.

Gregory then came in to let them know the room was ready.

Sitting down in Evan’s house was one thing. Sleeping in it was a whole other thing. He felt like a teen again, when his dad was in the hospital for one of his springlock accidents and Michael had to stay with Henry while he was gone. That had sucked. His dad hadn’t wanted to bring him over Henry’s house, so he hardly knew Charlie and Sammy, and because of that he’d felt so out of place in their house. Not to mention his siblings were there, and by then he was sick to death of them.

Thinking back on it, he did have a lot of issues as a kid. Maybe he still had them. Who was he to dwell on it, though.

Michael Afton has issues, like that’s news.

This time he made a point to sit beside Elizabeth. She wasn’t the best choice, but she was the only one who still messaged him. Despite how she acted, she always wanted a family. But she got the Aftons, which is more like a classification than a family.

She gave him a disappointed look, but he ignored it.

The decorations in the room were really cool. They had lights strung up on the walls and they’d put up blankets to hang over them, as well as covering up the window. The floor was layered with blankets and pillows, and Michael noticed it looked like a nest.

He had taught Evan how to make nest-like pillow forts when he was only four. Michael had been seven, and hadn’t even been good at teaching, but Evan had really enjoyed it. Michael hadn’t enjoyed teaching him, but it kept the kid quiet and that’s all he’d needed. But this fort was obviously not a product of his teaching, since it was unlikely Evan remembered that.

Weird that he’d remember that. It felt like a karmic “fuck you” from the universe.

Evan was really enjoying this. He didn’t feel as anxious anymore, and it felt almost normal. He had been preoccupied with everything else to think about The Thing and it made him feel a lot better about it. He was also proud of the pillow fort, which Gregory had helped with a lot. They’d had it planned for a while, and he was glad it turned out so well.

Good food, good bed, good friends, and so far no issues with Michael. None that he wanted to talk about yet, at least.

This was a good day! A great day! And hopefully a great Christmas day would follow!

He was quick to pull his friends into it and talk to them about it. He loved how cozy it looked. Like a shiny little nest. It was awesome and he loved it so much.

“Wait. Wait! I need my camera!” He went out to the kitchen, “Gregory? Do you know where I put my camera?”

“I put it in the end table drawer! The bottom one, next to the couch!” Gregory called back.

“Awesome. Thank you!” He grabbed it and ran back into the room, “Mike get in the back you’re the tallest, Gregory and Charlie, I need you guys up front. Elizabeth, get closer to Mike, come on. Sammy, you’re perfect there don’t move. It’s on a ten second timer so hold that for a moment!”

He ran over to them, positioning himself beside Michael and behind Gregory.

He went to grab his camera when it was done, smiling at the picture, “It looks awesome, I can’t wait to print it.” He said.

The others crowded over to see.

“You’re pretty good at sitting still and looking pretty.” Charlie teased Michael, “It’s your one redeeming quality.”

Michael shoved her face away with his hand, “Oh piss off.”

“He said the thing again!” Sammy cheered, “He said it earlier too. I feel like I’m in England every time I talk to him.”

“Did I tell you guys about that time Evan screamed ‘you cunt’ at the top of his lungs?” Gregory said.

“No! No! You promised you wouldn’t tell them about that!” Evan wails, grabbing Gregory’s arm.

“He was playing a racing game or something and he just lost big time. Huge time. Horribly. Awful. It was embarrassing.”

“Gregory!”

“And he just shouted at the top of his lungs. In the most British I’ve ever heard him, it was insane.” Gregory continues, “He had to apologize to our neighbors. It was hilarious.”

Evan covered his face, “It was awful, I felt so bad.” He groaned.

Michael chuckled, “That’s funny, Lizzie was always the one who used British slang. She got it from our father.”

Elizabeth shoved him playfully, “Okay Mr. I-Say-Bloody-Hell-And-Piss-Off-Every-Five-Seconds.”

“Pi- leave me alone!” Michael said indignantly.

“He almost said it again!” Charlie said, laughing.

“Jeez, you people are impossible.” He said.

At that moment, his phone rang. “Oh, shit, it’s Jeremy. I’ll be right back!”

Evan watched Michael leave, his head tilted slightly to the side.

Gregory nudged him, “Feel better?”

“A bit… Thanks.” He answered.

Gregory smiled, “I told you it’d be okay.”

Evan nodded, “I’m stressing out a bit still but I do feel better. Maybe I was just overreacting.”

“Mike is being super weird though.” Elizabeth said, “He’s not usually like this with his friends.”

“Well duh,” Charlie said, “he’s overthinking just as much as Evan is. He’s just shit at hiding it because he’s not a ball of fear and sadness the way Evan is.”

Evan frowned, “Well I wish he’d just act normal. I don’t like that he keeps lying to me. He makes everything harder than it has to be.”

Charlie hummed, “He’s just scared. Like a little animal in the woods.”

Evan couldn’t stop his sudden and loud laughter at that.

But he did feel angry. He wasn’t going to say it, he wasn’t sure he was ready to say it, but he felt it. Michael wasn’t even trying.

“I’m gonna use the bathroom real quick.” He told Gregory.

Michael knew the call wasn’t Jeremy. He also knew it would end long before he wanted it to. It’d been one of his friends from middle school, and they had hung up several minutes ago. But he liked the silence while it lasted.

“So, you’re avoiding me?” Evan asked from directly beside him. 

Michael jumped with a shout, nearly falling off the couch.

“Jesus Christ, Evan!” He gasped, “Don’t do that!”

Evan didn’t react, “Whatcha doin’?”

“Sitting… on the couch?”

Evan’s eyebrows furrowed. He looked like Dad when he did that.

“No, actually,” he said, “you’re being a bum. Alone on Christmas? Come on, we’re heading to bed now.”

Michael nodded, “Yeah, okay.”

They spent the night doing random things. Charlie told some scary stories, they watched a movie, Michael showed them his playing card collection and Evan beat Gregory at war at least ten times, and Elizabeth got a whole console out and they played a few different games.

Of course, the tension did not leave. Everytime he accidentally bumped into Evan or one of them said something a little too… Iffy… it only got thicker.

When he looked over at his little brother, he noticed he was asleep. Him and everyone else.

Well, except for one.

“Can’t sleep?” Gregory asked.

Michael shrugged, “Who can sleep on Christmas Eve?”

Gregory eyed the others, “Them, apparently.”

Michael chuckled, “Yeah, I guess so.” He said.

They fell silent, and Michael laid down on his back, staring at the blankets hung above him.

“You know I don’t want you here, right?”

“Yeah. I know.”

“But he does. Don’t ruin that for him. Or Elizabeth. She said she’s been trying to get you to come over for Christmas.”

Michael stares at him, “I don’t talk to her a lot, I thought she was just being nice.”

“She was.” Gregory said, “I don’t doubt she was. But she still likes talking to you. I don’t know, don’t you think maybe she actually cared if she asked every year?”

Michael scoffed, “I told her every year that I spend my Christmas with Jeremy. Or Henry.”

“Speaking of Henry, what’s he doing for Christmas if Charlie and Sammy aren’t there?”

Gregory sat up, “Charlie said He remarried or something.”

“Really?” Michael said, “That’s… He didn’t tell me that…”

“I might be wrong but that’s what I heard.”

 “Hm.”

Gregory looked over at him, “You’re kind of a loser, you know that?”

Michael stared at him for a moment before he burst out laughing.

Gregory shushed him, “You’re gonna wake them up, shut your mouth!” He hissed.

Michael flopped over on his back, still laughing, though he tried to keep quiet, “You are incredibly blunt.”

“Well, to be fair, I don’t particularly like you very much,” Gregory said.

“I can tell.”

When Gregory heard him go quiet, he glanced over his shoulder.

“Lightweight.”

Evan woke up with a pillow being chucked at his face the moment he sat up.

So he stayed down.

But he could hear Charlie and Michael laughing.

Michael sounded like he’d been doing this for a while, and Charlie kept squealing. The noise was quickly giving him a headache, but it made him feel better about the day, and that’s all he needed anyways.

The day?

Holy shit it’s Christmas.

Evan bolted upright, “It’s Christmas.”

Gregory laughed, “Yeah, it is.”

Elizabeth threw herself on Evan and pulled him into a hug, “Morning sleepyhead!” She said, “You’re the last one to wake up.”

“We’ve been waiting forever.” Sammy groaned, “So I started chucking pillows at you and seeing if you’d wake up.”

“I told him not to.” Gregory said.

Evan smiled, “You guys are amusing. Has anyone made breakfast?”

Charlie points at Michael, “I told him to.”

Michael pushes her finger away from his face, “And I told her that I have not cooked something edible since I was 15.”

Elizabeth shuddered, “That lasagna was not edible.”

“Har har har.” Michael muttered, “at least I tried.”

Charlie sat up, “Me and Sammy made dinner, it’s someone else’s turn.”

“I vote Greg does it.” Sammy said.

“What? Why me?” Gregory whined, “I always do it!”

“I’ll make it.” Evan said.

“I’ll come help.” Elizabeth jumped to her feet.

She grabbed Michael’s arm, “I’ll show you what edible actually means.”

Charlie waved Michael goodbye with a smirk on her face as he scowled.

Evan took out the stupid cinnamon rolls in the weird circle can thingy? He didn’t know anything about them but they were good so who cares.

Michael frowned, “This is breakfast?”

“You look like you live off ramen noodles, shut up and enjoy Christmas dinner as it should be.” Evan said.

Michael blinked a few times.

“… You don’t… You don’t actually live off noodles, do you?”

“…”

So Evan learned several unpleasant things about Michael’s eating habits.

But so far, so good. He’d only felt soul crushing anxiety twice since Michael got here!

So… Good?

He wasn’t sure but it wasn’t bad so that had to mean something.

Despite joking around, Evan was a bit irritated. Michael was still being weird and it didn’t help that Elizabeth clearly didn’t understand the tension.

“You two are too quiet, come on, it’s Christmas.” She said, “Loosen up!”

“I’m just tired, Liz.” Evan said.

She flicked his forehead, earning a yelp from Evan.

“Well, don’t be, it’s Christmas!”

He didn’t like how much this reminded him of home. He didn’t like that this reminded him of his sister avoiding and ignoring his problems or his brother never listening to him.

They were all so different, but some things never change.

Unpleasantly, his mind drifted to his dad. But he pushed those thoughts away. He didn’t know why he always thought of his dad when he talked to his siblings.

“Evan, it’s done.” Elizabeth said, “Do you wanna frost it?”

Evan nodded, “While they’re still hot.”

She smiled at him, “Then we can open gifts? You’re gonna love what I got you, I promise.”

No, his siblings were nothing like his dad. No doubt they have pieces of him in them—No doubt Evan did too—But they were not him.

Maybe he could learn to live with those pieces. He’d done it with Elizabeth.

But it was just so much harder with Michael. Even now, when they were laughing and pretending to be okay, he felt dissatisfied. He wanted more than this, he wanted reassurance that his brother actually wanted to change and didn’t just feel bad. What if Michael was doing this for himself? To make himself feel less guilty? Less at fault?

As cruel as it sounded in his head, he found himself regretting giving Michael this chance. He didn’t deserve closure, not when it had taken Evan over a decade to get his own closure. He knew Michael was trying, but why did he get to decide when this change of heart came along? Why did he get to decide when this ended?

He settled in his seat beside Gregory, who was talking to Charlie and Sammy. Elizabeth was quietly talking to Michael, and Evan stayed quiet. He had things to think over. A lot.

When they finished, Charlie and Elizabeth practically dragged him to the tree.

Michael hung back, and Evan felt a twinge of… Something. Sadness? Anger? He didn’t know. But it was something.

Elizabeth insisted he opened hers first, so he did. It was a camera. Except it was yellow and had little bear ears and…

“It’s Fredbear!” He exclaimed, “It’s so cute! Oh my god, Lizzie, this must have taken forever!”

“Charlie helped with it,” She said.

He looked it over, “And it’s brand new… Smile!” He pointed it at Elizabeth and Charlie, snapping a photo quickly, “Oh my god, I love it, Liz.”

She grinned, “I knew you would.”

Gregory smiled at Evan, pushing a small box closer to him.

Evan unwrapped it slowly, before slamming it down and giving Gregory a playfully harsh look, “You did not.”

Gregory laughed, “I really did.”

He held up the sweater, “This is so dumb I’m gonna wear it for the rest of my life.”

The sweater was black with a skull on it, but it was sporadically decorated with random Christmas things. It looked so strange and out of place and he loved it.

Of course he got Gregory an equally ugly sweater, one with flowers on it, but the middle of the flower was replaced with Glamrock Freddy, one of the characters made for Fazbear Entertainment after his father had sold it off in response to the horror rumors about it.

Evan knew they weren’t true, but they still made his skin crawl sometimes.

Sammy bought him a crochet kit, with a bunch of colors for him and Gregory to mess with. He must have remembered Evan mentioning that he wanted to pick it up as a hobby.

They continued exchanging gifts, and Michael was quiet for the most part, as if he was dreading something, which Evan found amusing; of course he was nervous, he’d had one day to find thoughtful gifts for people he hardly spoke to.

Suddenly, just as Evan was going to stand, Michael tossed something to him, and he jumped in surprise.

“I didn’t know what to get you, to be honest. I, uhm, I hope this isn’t a shitty gift…” Michael said, “I also hope it doesn’t like… ruin your day… it’s a hit or miss, so I’m taking a shot.”

Evan blinks a few times, “Alright…”

He carefully unwraps the gift, gasping softly when he sees it fully.

The fur is worn, and the stitches are messy—the handiwork of his uncle, no doubt—and one of the ears has a hole in it, but there’s no mistaking it.

It was Fredbear.

The original plushie.

The one he hadn’t seen since he moved out of his dad’s house.

He’d had another, one that Gregory’s dad had made for him, but it’d never been quite the same. It also didn’t talk to him.

… Well maybe that was a good thing.

He didn’t take his eyes off it as he spoke softly, “Where… did you get this?” 

“Dad sent it to me since he didn’t have contact with you. He didn’t give me a chance to say I didn’t either. Henry patched it up and it’s just been collecting dust for the past few months.”

He stared at it. It reminded him of a lot of things. The animatronics on stage that terrified him, being bullied, his nightmares, his dad, The Thing, meeting Gregory, that day he broke his ankle, that time Mike almost hit him with his car his first time driving it, when he spent that first night with Gregory, and so many other things.

“Huh…” He said.

“Is it… a good gift…?”

“Yeah, yeah I missed him.” He said, “Thank you.”

Michael smiled.

Elizabeth stood up, “Well, that was sweet,” she said, “let’s get this picked up now.”

They all groaned, and Lizzie clicked her tongue, “Come on, guys, this isn’t our house, we can’t trash it and leave.”

So they picked up. It wasn’t hard, but at some point Charlie bumped into Elizabeth, who playfully pushed her away, and then that ended with the two of them wrestling each other to the ground. Sammy jumped in and for a moment Evan thought Gregory would too, but he didn’t.

So the two of them just continued cleaning while Charlie squealed. And he glanced over at Michael.

He was picking up alongside them, and Evan couldn’t stop himself from laughing a bit.

Michael frowned, “What? What am I doing?”

“Nothing, nothing, it’s just funny that you’re cleaning. We were lucky if Dad got you to pick up a sock, much less your room, much less Henry’s house.”

Michael scoffed, but didn’t say anything.

Thanks for participating in the conversation, I’m glad we’re talking. Evan thought sarcastically.

Gregory looked like he wanted to say something, but he bit his tongue when Evan gave him a look.

“No fighting, I know,” He muttered.

God this sucked a lot.

Michael didn’t know what to say. And he was annoyed that Evan would bring that up. He got so much shit from his dad for not picking up his room, but he could never bring himself to care. He’d hated that house, he’d hated his dad, he’d hated his siblings, and god he’d hated his little brother.

Not that he knew exactly why, though.

His thoughts were interrupted by Elizabeth grabbing his arm, “It snowed last night, do you guys still get snow over in Utah?”

“What? Of course we do!” He said, “Why wouldn’t we?”

“I don’t know, you seem so grumpy I thought you must have never experienced a good thing in your life.” She said.

Evan winced and Michael frowned, “I’m not grumpy.” He said.

“Sure, as if you haven’t been moping around. You know, if you were just going to sulk this whole time you shouldn’t have come,” Elizabeth crossed her arms, “Nobody forced you to come, but you’re acting like this is the worst place to be right now.”

“I’m just… nervous…” He said slowly.

“Nervous? About what? You came because you wanted to see us, didn’t you?” She challenged, “You’re just being dodgy today, I don’t know. You just nudged gifts to us and mumbled ‘thank you’ and hung back, why aren’t you at least trying to participate?”

“I am trying! I’m just not feeling it, okay? Why do you even care, you’re not the one who invited me!”

Elizabeth scoffed, “I invite you every year and every year you shut me down, but not Evan? Is this even about him? Because it feels like it’s about you!”

Michael stared at her, “I’m trying my best!”

“Avoiding us is your best!?”

He fell silent. One look at Evan and Gregory told him they had been thinking the same things.

Goddammit.

He really had been neglecting his sister, hadn’t he? It’s not that he meant to, it’s just that he didn’t know how to talk to her. Her life fell apart pretty quickly once their father’s parenting… declined… but even then she still reached out to their father. Whether she actually thought he could change or if she was just doing it for herself, though, he had no idea.

He was trying to settle these things one at a time! why did he have to fuck up with both his siblings?

“She’s not wrong.” Gregory said, “You’ve been weird lately, and it’d be much easier for everyone if you just… I don’t know… talked? You’re not getting anywhere sneaking around like a dog.”

Michael felt his anger spark at that, “I’m not sneaking around! And don’t call me a dog!”

Elizabeth clenched her fists, “Well if you were really here to make amends, you’d put some effort in, but instead this feels more like a shitty way of getting closure and making yourself feel better-”

Evan stepped forward then, “Okay, that’s enough!”

“-And maybe if you hadn’t almost killed Evan he wouldn’t hate you so much!”

The whole room fell silent.

Evan stared at her, “Elizabeth…”

“It’s true!” She said, “It’s true! He’s always done this! You just avoid us, you shut us out, like that will help, and then you come crawling back for forgiveness so you don’t feel like shit about it!”

“Elizabeth!” Evan shouted.

She turned to look at Evan, and they locked eyes for a moment. She sighed, “I’m going… To go to the gas station for a bit. Call me if you need me.”

Michael watched her go, silent. His gut was twisting and he felt sick.

He was a shitty brother all around, wasn’t he?

He couldn’t even get his sister to like him. Not that he’d tried very hard. Elizabeth made herself feel untouchable. She avoided her brothers because she didn’t want to be caught in the middle of whatever they were doing. She hadn’t been talking about Evan, not entirely. She was probably lonely, he realized.

He looked at Evan, “I didn’t… I’m… I’m sorry…”

Evan stared at him, “Do you want to talk about It? Now?”

Michael laughed, but it was dry and humorless, “No, but I’m willing to, if you want to.”

“We’ll leave you guys alone.” Charlie said, grabbing Gregory and Sammy and pulling them away.

“Liz is right, you’re not really proving anything other than the fact that you feel bad. Which is… It’s annoying.” Evan said, “I know you feel bad, I’ve known that since I got out of the hospital when I was ten, Mike. I don’t need to know you feel bad, I need to know you care and want to make an effort to change.”

“Well, I am trying I just-”

“Don’t know how?”

Michael looked up at him.

“...Yeah.” He said softly, “I don’t know what to do, I hardly know you guys anymore.”

Evan sat down beside him, “None of us do, it took Elizabeth years to even look at me, and even longer for us to finally start actually talking. There’s a lot of things we can’t fix. Elizabeth will always be blunt, that will never change. It’s something she got from Dad. She can’t help that, but she can make it better.” He looked up at Michael, “And I think you can, too. If you just talk to me, but you won’t. And that’s making it hard. I don’t want to push you or bother you but I really really need to just… understand this.”

“So… About The Thing…”

“Yeah, The Thing. Me almost dying, you putting my head into heavy machinery? That Thing?”

“Yeah.”

“I… I still have the scar, you know? It healed over pretty well though, head wounds do that. But I still dream of it, you know. Do you have nightmares?”

“Of seeing my little brother’s head get crushed like a grape? Yeah,” He took a deep breath, “Hard to forget that when I spent at least five minutes staring at it.”

Evan stares at the floor, “... I don’t even remember when it happened. I didn’t feel it at all. Not until I woke up, at least.”

He takes a deep breath, “I… Can I just ask you why?”

“What?”

“Why did you do all that? Why did you treat me like that?”

Michael fell silent. He never talked about the why. It’s not that he didn’t know. He knew. He had known since he started, since he watched his brother’s skull get crunched in front of him.

“I thought it was funny,” He said, “I didn’t like that Dad did all that shit to me. He obviously enjoyed it, and I enjoyed doing it to you. Some kind of fucked up stress relief, I guess.”

Evan stares at him, looking hurt, “That’s brutally honest.”

“You said you didn’t want me to lie to you.”

Evan nodded, “Yeah.”

They sat in silence for a bit, before Evan spoke.

“I don’t know if I want to forgive you or not,” He said, “It’s not that… It’s not that I don’t think you’ve changed but… I still have nightmares. I still remember these things that happened to me and they… they suck. But sometimes I feel like a jerk because I know you’re trying and I know you don’t get why this is so hard for me but… But I really hate you. I hate that you are here for closure, I hate that you are here at all. But I invited you.”

“I think I do get it.” Michael said.

“Hm?”

“I… I haven’t blocked Dad yet, did you know that?”

“Really? I blocked him the day I moved out.” Evan said.

“I keep not wanting to. I keep thinking, ‘what if something happens? What if I need to talk to him?’ even though I know that’ll probably never happen.”

“So I guess I can get where you’re coming from. In a weird twisted way, you know? I don’t know how to cut him off, but I don’t know how to talk to him. It’s like there’s a door open in front of me and I’m too scared to walk through it but what if I close it and it locks? What if there was something good in there?”

Evan doesn’t take his eyes off Michael, before he says, “Give me your phone.”

Michael blinks at him, tilting his head, but he slowly hands Evan his phone, “What’re you doing?”

“Blocking Dad.”

“What!? Did you not hear anything I just said?” He reached for his phone, but Evan was quicker and pulled away from him.

“There’s nothing behind that door, Michael.” He says, startling Michael with his intensity, “Nothing that you want or need. You left that room forever ago and you deserve to stay out of it for the rest of your life. You and Liz.”

Michael watched him and his hand dropped back to his side.

Maybe Evan was right. Maybe there was nothing behind that door. Maybe he was just wishing there had been something in that room. It’s like he was closing and opening it in hopes for something new.

“...Thanks.”

“Always available for cutting off shitty family members. I’m incredibly good at it.”

Michael laughed, “... Yeah… you are.”

Evan stood up, “I think that’s enough for now, I don’t know if I forgive you, honestly.”

Michael shrugs, “Eh, that’s not the most of my worries,” He says, “I guess this was something of a test run?”

“If it was, I think it turned out okay.”

When Elizabeth got back, Michael took her aside to talk to her. Evan didn’t listen in, but he knew what they were talking about, and he did indeed see them hug tightly. It wasn’t Evan’s business. He left it alone.

So things weren’t fixed. But they were better. They had wrapped old wounds. Nothing was healed, but they weren’t bleeding anymore, and that was good.

The rest of the day was fun. Elizabeth insisted Michael stayed, but he had to go home eventually, and there was a mutual understanding that he needed some time alone after all that. It was overwhelming, and Evan was definitely done with seeing his family for a bit. They weren’t friends, but it was something.

He watched Michael walk outside, where Jeremy had come to pick him up.

“Hey, Mike?” He called.

“Yeah?”

“Thanks for coming.”

Michael smiled at him, “Thanks for letting me.”

Not forgiveness, and in the end he would always prefer the family he’d made for himself, but otherwise this went well.

That being said, he was never inviting that many people over for Christmas again. He should’ve gotten them together for Thanksgiving instead.

Gregory pulled Evan back inside, “Dude, it’s freezing, come inside.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

Gregory looked inside, “This place is a mess. What happened to ‘we can’t make a mess and leave it’?”

Evan laughed.