#but now that I'm a little older we suddenly have like 15 teens?

[wherela]

It appears I'm on my way to become a youth leader. I completely wouldn't have expected this, but God works in mysterious ways I guess

[smok3r7]

Latching On To You

Joel Miller x F!reader

Explicit, 18+

Chapter one: History Lesson

Series Masterlist & My Main Masterlist - My Ao3

Series summary: What happens when, after thirteen loving years of being with Joel, you start to feel like he’s slipping away from your grasp? How much of yourself will you lose because of the trauma your father put you through, at such a young age? You could be wrong about Joel, but something is telling you otherwise - or are you just not healed enough to see past your own insecurities?

Chapter summary: The beginning of you and Joel is a story that most can’t relate to, truly one of a kind. The history between your father and you, explains how the trauma shaped your mind and future. You and Joel have a bond like siblings for the longest time, but as you grow older and independent, a stronger connection is formed - which leads to your blissful beginning of your life together.

Word count: 4.4k

Warnings: age difference in the beginning (15/20) NOTHING SEXUAL UNTIL READER IS OVER 22 & JOEL IS 27!! No use of y/n, no outbreak AU, no Sarah AU, smoking weed and drinking, abandonment issues, trauma from father w/ alcoholism, attachment issues, HEAVY ANGST, daddy kink (minimal), unprotected P in V, fingering, mutual pinning

~So here we go ladies and gents! My first story back, I cannot wait for you all to read this, I’m not sure how long of a series this will be but this is a start! Thank you so much to @chloeangelic for helping to revise this and giving me tips, I really appreciate your help babes🫶🏼

“Aren't you somethin' to admire?

'Cause your shine is somethin' like a mirror

And I can't help but notice

You reflect in this heart of mine

If you ever feel alone and

The glare makes me hard to find

Just know that I'm always

Parallel on the other side

'Cause with your hand in my hand and a pocket full of soul

I can tell you there's no place we couldn't go

Just put your hand on the glass

I'll be there to pull you through

You just gotta be strong” ~ Mirrors by Justin Timberlake

——————————

You and Joel pretty much grew up together in your teen years. His mom actually worked with yours at the hospital as nurses in Austin and that’s how they became close, like sisters. Hence how the Millers became a pretty huge part of your family, resulting in Joel and you meeting. You guys happened to also live across the street from each other - complete coincidence. You had just turned fifteen, and Joel had turned twenty, only a month after your birthday when you guys started hanging out. Joel wasn’t going to college because he was working full time, saving up the money he made so he could buy his dream house he talked about and maybe even venture out a little bit. But since he was living at home, Joel would watch over you a lot while your mom was either working, out with friends, or with his parents.

Your home, that had always been a two parent household, had now gone down to a one parent household in a matter of seconds, or so it felt like. Your dad was always heavily involved in your life with everything you ever did and he loved you unconditionally, but it was as if something switched in his brain, and he suddenly started to drink all the time, then distancing himself from everything the last four years. After the second year of him acting like a mess, you brushed it off that it’s because you were becoming a teen and that’s just what happens, that you weren’t “Daddy’s Little Girl” anymore.

But as months passed, you started to notice how bad it really was. He was drinking so much that he would pick nasty fights with you and your mom. He needed it to live at that point, where he would wake up at night from withdrawals. But the part that will forever leave you scarred, the part that causes your heart to break the most, is how he left.

It was the morning of your fifteenth birthday that your mom told you that he left, the bastard packed up his bags and left in the middle of the night. No goodbyes, no big hugs, and no apologies while he bawled “I love you baby.” Absolutely nothing.

Since then, now in your mid twenties, there’s been radio silence from him. You haven’t heard anything, which you honestly prefer after how he left things. But after all this time you still don’t understand where your relationship went wrong or what you did wrong for your father to drastically change like that.

But like a blessing in disguise, here came Joel and his family to help you and your mom. Joel’s parents have been good friends with your own since you were little, so they were caught just as off guard as your mom was when your dad just packed up and was gone. Since your father left, Joel’s parents have been a godsend for your mom. She was the one who went into a spiral because her and your dad had been together since they started high school. Least to say, she never saw this coming, not then and not in a million years. It truly broke her, and you were scared that you would lose her too.

—

Throughout high school, you and Joel hung out but still slowly drifted apart as he was working all the time and you were focused on school. You were okay with that - you needed a bit of a distraction from Joel, mainly due to having the world’s biggest crush on him and the fact that you were getting a little bit attached to him. Ever since your father left, you tried your best to avoid serious relationships of any kind in fear of them suddenly leaving you. But it was different with Joel, you always thought he was the most genuine person there was and you knew he wouldn’t leave you.

He would play the silly games you wanted to play, listen to whatever drama was happening with your friends, and he would help if you were having any trouble with the feelings that you had regarding your father; if you could even call him that. However, you’ve never told Joel about your feelings for him because, well, at that point you weren’t eighteen, so that would be wrong on his end. But you also didn’t want to ruin the relationship you guys had. You two were literally best friends and you were scared that, if you went any further, that he would slink away from you, just like how your father did, and you didn’t think you could take another emotional loss like that.

—

As soon as you graduated high school and had celebrated your nineteenth birthday and Joel’s twenty-fourth, you and Joel would hang out all the time. You pretty much lived between your moms and Joel's two bedroom house he ended up buying a year prior. You got a part time job at the local bar in town and only worked early afternoons. So, you had the evenings to do what you wanted, which usually included something to do with Joel - worked out great since he got out of work just an hour before you. You two would go hiking, fishing, you’d kick his ass in card games or a lot of the time, you would smoke some weed and have some drinks together and talk about whatever was on your mind.

After your twenty-first birthday, you had gotten a job as a receptionist at the largest law firm in Austin. You were doing really well for yourself, considering your work history - which altogether was not that impressive. So you were really proud of yourself for not giving up and continuing to strive to better yourself. After getting this job you finally felt like you had a purpose, you didn’t feel like you were floating around lost and barely getting by. Your mom was so happy for you, so happy in fact that she threw a party to celebrate you and your success.

You’ve never liked parties that had you as the center of attention, but you knew that your mom needed this more than you did. Ever since that night, your mom did the best she could to hide her feelings around you, but you knew she was breaking internally. So you’ve let her make a big deal out of anything - even if it’s small, for example; About five months ago you had made a beautiful painting of a cabin that you and your mom love to run away too sometimes. She had loved it so much that she showed it to everyone and somehow she ended up getting it put into a little gallery downtown. So needless to say, you adore your mom and will let her be happy by letting her throw you celebrations for even the smallest victories.

After getting settled into the job, there were a couple months where you and Joel didn’t see each other. Nothing was wrong, it just kind of happened, your mom needed you at the house and the new job was taking all your time and attention - Joel understood completely and was so happy for you. However, deep in you, there was a part of you saying that he was distancing himself and he was going to leave you. You almost felt like he sensed that because you two would just chitchat on the phone for a couple hours when you both had time instead, and this helped ease your mind and confirm that he wasn’t going anywhere.

Around a year and a half goes by, as does another round of birthdays, and one promotion that you couldn’t believe you got. You are proud to say that you have finally found a healthy mix of home life and work life. You pretty much have been living at Joel’s for the last three months, which naturally started happening because the commute to work was shorter by twenty minutes from Joel’s house. You still pop over to your moms to grab a few things, hang with her for a day or two, make sure she’s good, and then you’re back off to Joel’s. You’ve honestly been really happy with how your life has been going, you couldn’t be happier.

—

It’s a calm summer evening, warm enough for the bugs to be out but the breeze helps to keep them away. You and Joel are sitting out on his gorgeous back patio that has string lights from tree to tree like a roof, a good size fire pit in the middle of the circle of comfortable lawn chairs - this is your favorite place to be.

You two are talking about how each other's Friday went, which led to Joel bringing up that since you’re here all the time, you should just move in with him. You used to joke around about living together anyway, so when he brings it up as he puts more logs on the fire you started, you just brush it off thinking he’s joking around like he always does.

You laugh as you say, “I remember we used to say that all the time,” looking up at Joel after lighting the blunt you rolled, quickly realizing he’s not joking this time. You oppose at first, not wanting to step on his safe space more than you feel like you already have. But Joel stops your rambling by saying your name as he sits back down next to you and grabs your hand on your thigh.

You instinctively stop rambling and start listening to him talk, “I’m being serious. You’re not a burden. I love that you come over, I honestly don’t know what I would do with myself if you weren’t here. If I didn’t want you here, I simply wouldn’t have asked you.” You’re left speechless, a tear starting to roll down your cheek as you take a hit off the blunt. You hand it to him and, before you can say anything back, you start coughing like you’ve never smoked before. Joel just starts laughing at you, his laugh so genuine he leans back into his chair, putting one hand on his belly and the other arm folding over his head.

“Shut up, Joel! You act like this never happens to you!” You spit between coughs and sips of water. Joel calms down with his laughter as he wipes a tear from his eye and takes a hit.

“No darlin’, you always know how to ruin tender moments.” He goes to put it out so you can recover but, before he can, you grab it from him.

“Um, Miller, I’m not done with that. Also, just for the record, I don’t always ruin the moment. I just make them an even better memory for us,” you wink as you blow smoke out into the starry night sky, watching the soft wind make the smoke disappear. He looks at you and just shakes his head as he smiles to himself and says, “That you sure do, sweetheart…that you do.”

You two sit back into a comfortable silence as you watch the flames dance around and listen to the bugs chirp making their own melody. After a couple rounds of passing the blunt back and forth, Joel puts it out in the ashtray next to the two of you. “The offer is on the table, always will be,” Joel says, looking into the fire as he sits back and puts his arms over his head and leans back in his chair. You smile to yourself, knowing he was not going to give it up and, honestly, you wouldn’t either if it was the other way around.

You lean back and turn your head to your right and look straight into his beautiful brown eyes, your high starting to catch up to you and you can feel yourself beginning to look at Joel in a hazy way. Your eyes start to wander along his beautiful features, you notice his hair is getting a little bit longer and the curls are developing a lazy pattern. You start to fantasize about how it would feel to run your fingers through them and pull on his locks to make him look at you while he kisses you.

His lips are the next thing your eyes travel to, and you wonder how they would feel on your body. Starting from your tits, all the way to your pussy, the thought makes you squirm in your chair a little. You’re hoping you can play it off, that you’re just got a chill, but you know Joel is smarter than that. You go back to looking at his eyes, almost forgetting that he said something to you, and you see he’s already staring back. There’s a sudden shift in his eyes as you say, “I might just take you up on it then.”

The next thing you feel is his warm hands on your cheeks and his soft warm lips on yours. You instantly start to kiss back with desire and affection, instantly melting into his touch, but as soon as you bring your hands to his, he stops.

“Darlin’, I’m- oh, shit,” he mumbles, starting to back away from you, feeling like he has overstepped, but before he’s completely out of your grasp, you pull him back in by the collar of his denim jacket and kiss him again. This time, he doesn’t back away from you. Instead, he stands up from his chair and picks you up from yours, latching your legs around his waist as he brings you inside. As he opens the slider door to go in, you open your eyes and the flames from the fire catch your eye.

“Joel!” You exclaim, and he stops walking, looking at you with a confused look on his face,“The fire.” You try your hardest not to laugh and he turns his head to see the flames are still pretty big. He sighs as he shakes his head, “Another perfect example on how you ruin the moment darlin’.” You slap his chest playfully and you both start to laugh. He kisses you as he taps your thigh, signaling for you to hop down.

“Sorry for not wanting your place to burn down,” you scoff, putting your hands up in surrender.

“Yeah, yeah, pretty girl. Go upstairs and wait for me, I’ll be right there,” he winks at you, slapping your ass as you turn on your heels, and you yelp as you run towards his stairs.

—

Your mind is racing as you reach his bedroom door. You slowly turn the knob and walk into his light gray colored walls, instantly feeling safe. You’ve been here countless times, under different circumstances, yet you don’t feel out of place - You feel like you’re supposed to be here. Like everything that you’ve been through has led to this moment.

As you move across the carpet, you stand in front of his dresser and you see two framed pictures of you and him - first one being a selfie in front of his house the night he bought it, the second one being an off guard photo of you and Joel talking the night of your party for your job. You never noticed that he had these framed, and as you bring your hand to it, a smile creeps on your face as you slightly shake your head in disbelief.

All of a sudden, you feel a pair of big soft arms hug across your waist, and his chin resting in the crook of your neck. “My favorite pictures of us…especially you. Your smile was the biggest I’d seen it in a long time in both of these,” Joel says, starting to kiss your neck softly in between his words. You fold into his touch instantly and you moan as he starts to suck a soft spot on your neck. His hands start to travel down to unbutton your jeans.

“I was so proud of you… I was so happy that you got the dream house you wanted. You deserve it,” you say between heavy breathing.

“Don’t downplay yourself, sweetheart. You worked your ass off to be where you are now and I just admire that,” You try to say something, but your mind and mouth won’t cooperate. “My dream wasn’t complete then but now that you’re here to stay. My dream is finally starting to come true,” he tells you, and you both look into his dresser mirror, making eye contact. You turn around swiftly in his grasp as you put your hands on his chest and push him towards his bed. The back of his knees hit the mattress and, as he sits down, his legs open and you stand between his thick thighs. He looks up into your eyes and smirks.

You smile back as you dip your head to slowly take your jeans off, when you bring your head back up to look at him, you grab his chin and pull him into a hot and heavy kiss - one of those kisses where yours and his tongue are exploring each other like it’s an addiction, while he grabs your ass and massages it.

That’s when he pulls you into his lap so you can straddle him. You start to rock your clothed clit back and forth on his growing hard on, while Joel’s calloused hands somehow feel soft as he grabs your ass and guides your movements. You can start to feel the wetness leak through your panties onto the bulge of his jeans, but that’s the least of your worries right now. “You don’t know how long I’ve wanted to do this pretty girl,” Joel says between kisses as one hand goes into your panties. He gathers your wetness and brings it back to your clit, rubbing circles causing you to shake.

“Me either,” is all you can say without becoming a moaning mess. You’re still rocking back and forth but with a new pace, one that Joel is setting. Initially, you wanted to be the one in control but you quickly changed your mind about that, it seems. You want Joel to be in complete control of you right now, you don’t even want to think about anything other than Joel. Always Joel. Only Joel.

Your train of thought is stopped quickly by Joel inserting two fingers into your dripping pussy. Your movements pause as you adjust to his fingers, your jaw dropping as a long moan comes out. “That’s my good girl,” Joel’s starts as he begins to pump his fingers in and out of you. You continue to grind on his fingers as he murmurs, “Gotta warm you up first, darlin’… I don’t wanna hurt you.” All you can do is nod and whine to him that you can take him, but he chuckles to himself. “Oh my pretty girl thinks she can take it, huh? Well, let’s see.”

Before he finishes his sentence, he’s pulling his fingers out of your pussy and flipping you over so you’re now on your back, with him towering over you. You giggle from how smoothly he did it, he then brings his fingers to your mouth so you can taste yourself. Without any hesitation, you open your mouth and let his fingers in as you suck on them. He moans when you make a mess with a mix of your own saliva and juices. Joel pulls his fingers away from your mouth with a pop and bends down to kiss you again, but this kiss is different. This somehow feels like a “I love you and I care for you” kind of kiss, one you reciprocate, wanting him to know you feel the same.

He slightly breaks the kiss so he can pull his jeans and boxers down, his cock springing onto his belly, dripping with precum. Your mouth drops when you notice all the veins he has, just hypnotized by the way it was throbbing for you. “You still sure you can take it baby?” Joel taunts as he sees you staring. Without even thinking, you grab his cock and start to slowly stroke him, and his head falls behind his shoulders, his body jerking as he moans.

“Yes, daddy, I can,” you taunt back with a smirk on your face. Once you say that, it’s like something primal snaps inside of Joel. He stops you from touching him, his hands rips off your panties, and throws them somewhere into the darkest corner of his room. Next thing you know, he’s lining his cock up to your throbbing, glistening pussy but he doesn’t put it in. Your arms are clawing at his back for him to make the move.

“You’re so impatient, baby. You gotta relax,” Joel drawls. Before you can come back with some smart ass remark, you feel him sliding his cock up and down your slit, creating a lewd mix of your juices and his precum. Your hips start to move with the rhythm of Joel’s, and it has the tip of his throbbing cock hitting your clit perfectly. You can already feel that tightening in your belly starting to form, turning you into a moaning mess.

His forearms are on either side of your head as he starts to suck and lick your neck again, having found the sweet spot that makes you cave for him every time. “Joel, don't stop. Fuck, baby,” you moan out, as you lift your hips just trying to get him to quit his teasing, he slowly starts to slide his cock into your needy pussy. He gets about halfway in, but has to stop, “Fuck, you’re gonna kill me baby girl,”.

“C’mon baby, move,” you whine as you claw at his back again, wrapping your legs around him and digging your heels into his hips. Your pussy is throbbing for more, so pent up that you’re getting impatient. “Fuck me, daddy,” you moan as you throw your head back into his soft pillows. Suddenly, you feel the other half of his throbbing cock split into you, and your legs let go of his hips as you yelp. He starts to pound your pussy, like you pleaded him to, the mixes of each other juices creating a loud slapping sound that echoes in the bedroom - you are losing your mind from that alone.

“This what you want needy baby? Just need daddy to give it to you rough.” Joel grunts as he grabs your right ankle and brings it to his shoulder, he holds your ankle in place with a hand as he starts to bite and kiss it while his other hand goes to your throat. You give him a smirk, telling him yes. He starts to squeeze the sides of your throat and you feel yourself start to get in a daze, before he lets go, then does it again.

You jolt a little bit when you feel his fingers from his other hand moving down to your clit. The mix of his fingers working on your clit, his cock hitting every spot you need it to, his words praising and degrading you, and him squeezing your throat has you seeing stars.

“Joel, fuck. I’m close, don’t stop, please,” is all you can say as you feel the tightness in your belly about to snap.

“Let it go sweet girl. Look at you, showing me you can take my cock and all,” he coos, and that’s all that it takes to send you over the edge.Your back arches as you moan Joel’s name over and over like a mantra, not ever wanting to forget him. Your body goes limp and your head is dizzy, when you feel him pull out and you both moan at the loss of each other's warmth, before he cums on your belly - moaning your name over and over like you did his.

—

Fucked out of your minds, Joel rolls off of you and both of you lay on your backs next to each other, just listening to one another’s breathing. You feel him get up from the bed as he walks to his bathroom, coming right back with a warm hand towel to clean you up. He gently rubs the towel and cleans you, then he throws the hand towel in the direction you know his hamper to be.

Joel grunts as he lays back down on his side to look at you, while you mimic his movements. This is the first time you’ve seen Joel with this post-fuck face he has, looking like he went to heaven and back. You hope you get to see more of him like this, just crumbling for you - He moves a piece of your hair behind your left ear and looks into your eyes.

“How’s that for ruining the moment?” you say without even thinking. You and Joel just start giggling again. ”Well, you’re two for zero right now..but you were right. You do make the memories better,” Joel is barely able to get out. After a little bit, a comforting hum from his rotating fan and both of your breathing, is all that can be heard as you stare at each other sincerely, you slowly move your body closer to Joel’s, wanting to feel him again. Joel wraps his arms around you like a delicate cocoon as you begin to slowly glide your fingers up and down his strong, yet gentle, arms. You slot your right leg between both his warm thighs, then you wrap your left leg around his hip.

The two of you are wrapped together like some kind of beautiful present you get on Christmas morning. As both of your breathing patterns and heart beats sync up, Joel kisses the top of your head and sleepily whispers, “I’m so glad you decided to stay, my love.”

You smile into his chest and hum, “Mhmm. Me too, Joel…me too.” You drift off into sleep feeling safe and loved while in Joel’s arms, Joel’s home, and Joel’s heart. Just you and Joel.

[olderthannetfic]

I don't get this "they discussed nsfw themes with minors they are totally a predator" thing I see even on proship side of fandom. Don't get me wrong, if it was a random adult getting random minor roped into discuss fetish stuff with them, it's could be red flag (still — when I was a minor I was deeply interested in some s/m practics and spent a lot of time in bdsm circles reading, asking and talking about this stuff completely on my own will so it depends). For example, I have one friend whom I know since they were sixteen. We started from them making a nsfw art for my fic and immediatly developed into talking in details what other kinky stuff they can draw. Predatory? God forbid, just pure entusiasm about more art for rarepair! Recently — and it was hillarious and awkward — I joined a fandom chat with people I don't know. We talked for a couple of days, about nsfw topics too, then one of people there told that they tried to audition as main kid character in our show when there still was casting. I was like "wait, it was less then two years ago and they specifically asked for preteens, 13 yo max?" and they was like "lol yeah, I turned fifteen like month ago". I asked them privately if they are good with nsfw stuff I bring into chat and they were like "yeah?? or we won't ask you to join?? duh". Which is fair, since, again, they already read and commented a lot at my nsfw fics and I did the same for them and we had little chat about there at twitter before I joined the group chat. So like... it's fandom, it's the place where people under 17 regulary read, write and draw stuff they shouldn't see without parental approval untill they turn 17, and like how it should work? You shouldn't comment a fic if you don't know if author minor or not? Or like you can gush about how this and this is sooo hot in their fic but you can't talk about this in private? Minor can like all your nsfw stuff and tell you how good it is but if you link them to other creators with same themes suddenly you're a predator who sends porn to minors and worth a callout? I don't want to be like "back in my days" but I was hanging with fandom adults since I was 13 yo and nsfw stuff was discussed freely around me and I just haven't joined until I was interested in topic, which was probably around 15, and no one thought it was somehow unsafe or damaging for me, myself included, but like maybe I'm missing something...

--

Now that I'm in my 40s, I don't particularly want to discuss horny stuff with teens in private. It feels weird in a way that it didn't in my early 20s.

But I despise how pearl clutching inevitably leads to the idea that even telling people kinks exist is "adult content". As a kinky teen, it was hugely formative to me to go read a bunch of adult perverts' web manifestos. I had all these informative books from the local sex-positive bookshops that talked about how to do bondage safely too.

I was able to get a lot of good info without really interacting with older people much, but that's harder these days. Lurking is more penalized. Search engines hide the ancient 90s sites. If you want to even find info, even just recs for books to go read on your own, a lot of that is through social sites that are all about interacting. That's just how it is now.

Seeing predators under every bush actually just cuts young people off from information and resources.

[impulsivelycontentious]

The desire to pseudo-parent teens is one i am probably never gonna get over. When i was a teen I wanted to pseudo-parent younger kids. When i was a younger kid I wanted to look after little kids.

And imma do it. Imma be nice to younger people than me and listen to them and talk to them like I trust that they have thoughts in their head and take their opinions seriously and really discuss it.

I have always done this and a lot of adults think i'm some kind of kid-whisperer because kids tend to do what I ask them to. And I tend to under where problems come from.

And it's all just listening and responding. I genuinely see kids as less experienced people who are developing. And people can be fun. Listening to kids infodump about dinosaurs or share the gossip among the 8 year olds can be fun.

It'a nice not to have adult problems as part of the conversation.

I have also explained psychology to 10 year olds who need to know why people do some things.

I have given advice to teenagers who are just sorting things out that I FUCKED UP HARD and didn't figure out for another 10 years. It's great! I love being able to tell teenagers how badly i fucked that shit up and what i learned eventually. Most of them don't fuck up in the same way as a result! It's fulfilling!

Also. New ideas are essential for older people in thw same way interacting with elders is essential for youth.

Without it our brains age faster. Our memories go quicker. Our ideas get stagnant and set and it gets harder to THINK. Children and elders need to interact with eachother for our brains and there's research on that one.

We haven't done researched on, say, middle aged people and teens but there's literally no reason to assume it isn't important. That only little children and our eldest make a difference.

We need that variety. We need it. We need to teach and to learn our whole lives. We do.

And it isn't all take. The new ideas can help YOU, too.

Like i know for most of you it won't be a great example but I HAVE to point at elders who find out they're nonbinary or asexual in particular. They have never heard of these ideas before because of WHATEVER, but a younger family member or acquaintance comes out and suddenly THEY UNDERSTAND SOMETHING ABOUT THEMSELVES. And this happens with all kinds of things. Where qhwn we were younger qe just didn't have exposure to these ideas and now young people do and we LEARN. Or they see things differently and they're RIGHT. And we learn.

I have brain damage and my brain is melting out of my ears slowly. I'm not gonna make it to ripe old age before the dementia sets in. I already have memory loss.

Interacting with younger people HELPS. I still don't remember but the mental workout is good for me the same way long walks are good for my heart.

There's nothing sinister with forming friendships with your WHOLE community. Not just your age mates. The divide is bad for the kids and it;s bad for the adults and it's bad for the elders.

Keeping us separate is just. Bad. Anyone trying to push it has bought in to someone distracting from a REAL problem or is distracting from a real problem with something they can have a fake moral outrage at.

For the record one of my oldest friends is over a decade my senior and we've been friends since I was 15 years old. I'm WELL over double that now.

i think some of you guys are insane 👍 it's actually possible for a 16 year old to be online friends with someone in their 20s. source: teenagers are actually people who can talk to other people about shared interests.

[semimedieval]

the beach part 9: Okay then. BYE BYE!

What I failed to mention – because I completely failed to notice it – is that in the midst of Spark's ice cream heist, the set-up for the ultimate resolution to the Soul Pearl plot was actually present the whole time.

Suddenlly a wide 34 year old lady wearing fancy clothes strolled around. Chuji stared at the high heels. "uncomfortable......"

Talk about Chekhov's Gun, because Augustine goes on to disappear for the entire long span of posts discussed previously. The conspicuous absence of Augustine might have something to do with the conspicuous absence of Obsidian, come to think of it, because god forbid anybody talk to characters who aren't their love interests.

Anyway, we remember the lady is there only after a long break, when we're informed while Quartz and Spark are talking that Chuji is running around in circles for unclear reasons, catching the lady's view. Spark is suspicious.

Spark looked at the lady. "Who is that?" she whispered. "I have no idea," Quartz replied, her eyes narrowing.

Everyone's characters get activated, suddenly, because the gang surrounds the lady as if its their beach and other people aren't allowed to walk there. Big ups to her for wearing heels on sand, by the way. I'd have taken those right off. Without pussyfooting around too long, Augustine drops the reveal.

Obsidian woke up to see the lady standing a few feet away. A surprised squeak exited his mouth and he scrambled up. "A simple lady who-" she stared at miyon "MI YONG?!" Miyon squeaked "Hi auntie." "Auntie...?" said Obsidian. He looked from Miyon the the lady and gasped. Spark ran up to Miyon. "This is your Aunt?" Now the Lady was flailing her arms "MI YONG! WHERE ARE YOUR PARENTS?!" Their bones in GoatVille....." Mi Yong looked down

Quartz reacts to these revelations with a #problematic endorsement of blood ties over chosen family, but who can blame her, I like the element of straight projection in me that rejects Anime Tropes in favor of "this 15 or so year old is terrified by the prospect of being partially responsible for a whole child."

"Whoa! That's great! Miyon will have a real home now probably!" Quartz exclaimed, laughing. The lady reared her face towards Spark "You better believe it!" Spark gave Miyon a strong hug. Ky looked at the lady skeptically. Spark faced the woman straight in the face, glaring. "Miyon is perfectly fine with us, lady." "Now Now. I'm Duchess Calimbrie Rosa-Flower Darmka.. The eleventh."

Well, if she's the eleventh. Quartz clearly thinks so too, because she's clearly on team Fuck Yeah No More Babysitting. It comes off a little more callous than I think Quartz would be in real life. Frankly, I'm still tempted very regularly to ditch Miyong/June's stupid ass altogether, the only Arguments For keeping her being character development for Lark, her presence as a fun character in next gen, and the fact that I've already written out Chapter 3 with her in it. The Soul Pearl plot certainly doesn't count – I can come up with plenty of creative ways for them to get it. Still, I like the ideas that June's inclusion conveys about family within and without the bounds of legality, and its impact on Lark's character in the long term. If I had a full outline it would be easier to make these decisions.

Anyway, Quartz has this to say. You can tell that this is before my 'I've decided being kind matters a lot actually' arc, which I guess spans from summer 2013 onward.

Quartz grabbed Spark's arm. "Spark! Calm down! I know you love Miyon, but she needs to be with older people, family, people who have had experience with children! Do you want her to grow up in some cave with teens, eating nothing but goose?" Spark gave a forced smile, trying to hold back tears. She bent down and gave Miyon a huge hug. "It's for the best. We'll all miss you." "Besides young.. girl.. I'm her aunt and you have NONE OF her blood and a permit for her to be under you roof!" "We're very sorry, Your Grace," Lupus said, bowing charmingly.

What a little suck-up. I believe that Leander would turn on the charm in this situation, but I don't believe that he wouldn't defend his friend. Of course he would defend his friend. That's his friend!

Ky's mouth was still in a frown. Royalty meant nothing to her.

The word Ky is looking for is nobility, but still real as hell. My characters are being suckup teacher's pet chumps about this situation, I'm man enough to admit that.

Then, the moment of truth!

"Come come Mi Yong, I'm sure puff will be excited to see you." "Wait!" Mi Yong said loudly "I wanna say thanks to my friends for saving me..." She then took off a necklace she had made recently, On it was a pretty blue and purple pearl Ky gasped. Could it be.... "The soul pearl!" Spark couldn't hold back the tears. Nobody knew how much that little girl had meant to her. "Miyon! Don't go!" "It's Mi Yong, Spark...." Mi Yong looked at her side ways. "Mi Yong then." she pushed back a strand of Mi Yong's hair. "It suits you." she laughed as bittersweet tears fell from her eyes "Don't mind me." "Okay then. BYe BYE!" and she skipped away behind her aunt leaving them with her little necklace

"Okay, then." Ouch! This whole plot line is a mess and I wish it wasn't there. I am just not very prone to Pet Child-centered sentimentality when done poorly – one would recall that I resisted the presence of Omega in The Bad Batch before I came to my senses and realized that Omega is one of the Star Wars characters of all time.

Jack is unhappy with Quartz and Obsidian's choices to say goodbye to Miyong nicely instead of getting on the ground and throwing up. My response, while unfair, is fairly reasonable given the circumstances. I will tentatively give myself this credit as a writer: I am slowly working towards the idea that moments of emotionality can be subtle, can be earned, can be repressed the way Quartz represses hers in the previous post. Those are all interesting modes of writing, but screaming and crying and throwing up can be an interesting mode of writing too, and certainly the right character choice for Spark in this situation. We're both right, in short – that's the gist of it.

TOESOCKSQUEEN: (.....that was a bit wierd. XD Why is no one sad about leaving friends who they've known for like half a year?) DRAGONODSESSED: *shrug* Quart was sad but distracted and knew what was best for Miyon, and neither Lupus nor Obsidian really spend much time around little girls.

But now, at long last, the Soul Pearl. Spark is decentered in these revelations, as is Chuji, which I think is kind of dumb because they're by far the two most Tozi-centered character. Instead the task of remembering the Soul Pearl comes to the third most Tozi-centered character. And also Ky.

Obsidian knelt down next to it. "Do you really think it could be the soul pearl?" he asked softly. Ky flipped it over in her palm. "Let's ask Tozi." "Tozi!" Obsidian called. "I think we might have found the soul pearl!"

Spark remembers she's supposed to be in love with the guy, and hands it to him. Also I love the way everyone at this point assumes it's the soul pearl due to pure plot convenience, with no contemplation given to how Miyong would have come across it. This is making me realize that I really need to finish macro-outlining at least the next three adventures before I write much more.

"Hmm? HA well let's see." Spark scooped it up and held it too him. "Well?" He suddenly yelled and a BIG poof of light surrounded him, then.. There he was, in the clothes he wore the day her died, still bloody. He was back. "Tozi!" Spark screamed, running to him. She almost knocked him over with her huge hug.

Looks like the wedding is BACK ON, girls!!!

Obsidian is really laughing here because he's realizing another girl is interested in Tozi, thus unburdening that situation from being his problem. Quartz, in another classic demonstration of being A HOMOSEXUAL, realizes it's her problem now instead. The Greythornes will never be free.

Obsidian blinked -- it had all happened so quickly. Then, understanding what had happened, he laughed in joy, sounding a little demented. Spark started laughing. "You're back! You're really back!" Here was the boy who told stories by the fire. Befreinded them. Risked his life for Chuji. "Ha ha. Yeah" He said while detaching Spark. Quartz looked at Spark. She really did like Tozi. Spark stepped back,starting to blush. Did she really just do that? She did'nt like Tozi that way. Did'nt she?

Girl, you were asking yourself if he was up for grabs yesterday. I like Tozi's awkwardness here – the last physical sensation he felt was the pain of dying. So I think so much of his discomfort here is that hugging Spark is his first real human touch, and that he is still covered in clothes covered with his own fresh blood. So much of the imagery here is super cool. Tozi/Tallin doesn't come back wrong, but that's only as a product of his best efforts. I like that I changed him in 3.0 from dying instantly to dying slowly, and I like that I stopped metanarratively dunking on him. I like Tozi, you guys. I still kind of think that he and Spark should epic divorce but I'm not completely set on that either.

One more section to go before Extranei Summer really, formally ends and Complicated Extranei Fall begins. What could possibly happen next? Hint: as per Augustine's suggestion, it starts with B and ends with Each party. I like to imagine that September by Earth Wind and Fire, which is not on the nostalgia playlist, starts playing around now, in the best 'end of a 2010s movie' tradition. It's not the end of the movie, of course, but the end of the movie was left for 2016 me to write and 2024 (2025?) me to improve.

[fallingcascades]

Saving The Game of Life

Since I was 13, I've had this little game I play in my head. I imagine my life as a video game, with clear save-points etched into my memory. They're ordinary moments, but in my mind, they're portals to change my life's course.

The first memory is from when I was in 7th grade, around 13 years old. I was living in Hawaii at the time, floating atop the water in the natural pool off Maunawili Falls. I can still feel the chill of the water, hear the birds singing, and my father's voice in the background, urging me to hurry. "I want my second breakfast! Hurry it up, bluegill! We still have an hour's hike back," he called out to me.

As I lay there, staring up at the sky, I knew my time in Hawaii was coming to an end. In just a few weeks, I would be moving to North Carolina. It was a bittersweet feeling. Despite the challenges of being bullied and feeling like an outsider because of my pale skin and blond hair, I had also found friendship and even experienced my first-ever boyfriend, whom I didn't want to leave behind. And amidst it all, I had finally learned to appreciate the beauty that surrounded me.

Taking a deep breath, I reminded myself to soak it all in, to hold onto these memories forever.

The second memory takes me back to 9th grade, when I was 15, stepping into High School for the first time. Since leaving Hawaii, I'd sunk even deeper into my shell, feeling withdrawn and downcast. Dressed in all black with my blond hair shielding my face, I found myself amidst a sea of unfriendly faces, feeling just as disconnected from them as they seemed to be from me. Leaning against the wall, I slowly slid down to sit on the floor, when suddenly, I caught the gaze of a boy a few years older, tall and sturdy, with soft eyes that met mine. It was a simple moment, but that smile from him lit up something inside me. He became my boyfriend for much of that year, though it didn't last. Even as we tried again in our late teens and twenties, the spark never fully reignited, and we eventually went our separate ways. Still, he remains a part of my memories, a piece of my story that I carry with me.

The next moment etched in my memory happened years later when I was 23, during basic training in the Army. We were being disciplined for something, I can't recall what, and forced to hold planks under the open sky. As I strained against the discomfort, I looked up to see the American flag waving proudly in the breeze. It was a simple scene, but in that moment, I knew it would stay with me forever.

My most recent save point came just a few weeks ago. Now, I'm a Middle School ESL teacher in the South, working mainly with Arabic-speaking refugees—a path I chose since I was 17. With spring break approaching, I felt a longing to escape, to explore. Renting a cozy shed on Airbnb, I embarked on a solo adventure, with my two cats in tow. Driving through the picturesque landscape, I stumbled upon a trail promising a waterfall. Yet, before I even reached the falls, another moment unfolded.

Hiking along the trail, I noticed water trickling down the mountain, a gentle stream born from recent rains. Squinting against the sunlight, time seemed to slow, allowing me to witness each droplet as it fell. Through the mist, a bald eagle soared majestically overhead, a symbol of freedom against the backdrop of the mountains. Feeling the cool mist on my face, I closed my eyes briefly, still looking up, savoring the tranquility of the moment. When I reopened them, I found myself caught off guard by the gaze of a young mountain climber, his presence a reminder that I wasn't alone in my reverie. Where did he even come from? How silly I must have looked...embarrassing.

And so, here I am, living within this current save point, pondering the decisions that lie ahead, hoping to shape a future that feels less solitary and bleak.

[prismatica-the-strange]

And You Are My Sunflower 🌻 | Part 1

Warnings: 18+, drug use, nudity, allusions, and mentions of sex

Modern!AU The older teens go on a road trip to Cape Cod to stay at Mika's grandparent's beach house for a week.

Synopsis: The Gang gets together and heads out on the long journey to the Cape.

Ships: Forged in Hellfire with some Badass Babysitters Club in the background with Nancy and Johnathan (as if they actually have communication skills)

Words: 3.6k

"15 hours?" Eddie's eyes go wide, "Songbird, I hate to say this, but you're vastly overestimating my patience."

"Well we won't drive there all in one day," she assures him, toweling her wet hair, "There's a campsite about halfway, and then the next day- Bam! We're at the beach! Sipping Mai Tais and getting sand in uncomfortable places."

"But that's like 8 hours in a car. Babe, I can't even sit through a movie without losing interest!" He whines.

"You get pretty sluggish when you're high," she shrugs, "We'll take smoke breaks."

He narrows his eyes at her and jumps up from his spot on her bed, arms wrapping around her from behind, "Y'know I get... other things when I'm high too."

He trails his tongue after a water droplet on her neck before burying his nose into her exposed skin.

"Now we'll have none of that mister," She giggles, "At least not in the van. I'm sure whoever we're carpooling with would appreciate our modesty."

"What?!" He pulls away suddenly, "You mean I don't even get road head?!"

"You absolutely do not!" She playfully smacks his chest and he looks at her like she's grown a second head, "I honestly doubt Robin wants to watch me suck you off!"

"Yeah, no," he steps away, "I'm not going."

He flops back on the bed and grabs one of the magazines strewn about, flipping through it mindlessly.

She glares at him through the mirror, time to pull out the big guns.

"That's too bad," she sighs, digging through her dresser, "I'd bought a new bikini for just this occasion, but since you're not interested, I guess I'll just leave it here. Damn, and I've never seen Buckley blush so hard before."

He lowers the magazine to his chest, "New bikini?"

"Yeah," she drops the towel from her body, tosses it at him, and pulls on a tshirt and shorts, "It's dark red, and strappy..."

She crawls over him, fingers tapping the middle of his chest, "And it ties in this pretty bow right... here."

He looks back and forth between her fingers and face, "I uh... Yeah... On further reflection I think I might join you on this little roadtrip."

Her face breaks into the biggest smile and he can't help but laugh.

"You conniving bitch," he teases. His hands snake there way under her shirt, fingers tickling her sides, "Tricking me into saying yes with that gorgeous body of your's."

She let's out a shrill laugh and tries to squirm away, "Edgar!!!"

"Uh-uh, you're not getting away from me that easily," he flips them over, pinning her to the bed as he continues to tickle her, "Say it! Come on, say it!"

"S-say wha-at?!" She grabs onto his wrists but he doesn't stop.

"Apologize for using these perfect tits against me!" He takes a moment to squeeze one of her boobs with one hand.

"Never!" She giggles trying to wiggle away, "They're my g-greatest assets! I would- ah!- I would be a to-total idiot to not use them!- Ah! Eddie st-stop!"

He grins and leans down, blowing a raspberry against her neck, making her squeal his name again.

"Stop, stop! I'm gonna piss myself!"

"Say you're sorry!"

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" She begs, "I'll never use my boobs against you again! Mercy! Mercyyy!"

"Fine," He pulls his hands away, but keeps straddling her hips, watching her try to catch her breath, "You still owe me like, 50 kisses though. For toying with my mind like that."

"Oh you love it," she teases, tugging him down to capture his lips. He smiles into the kiss, hands cupping her cheeks, "One."

▪︎¤▪︎¤▪︎¤▪︎¤▪︎

"Hey dudes," Argyle raises his hand in a lazy wave as he gets out of Joyce's car, "Hope you don't mind me taggin' along on this little excursion last minute, heh, the van's still outa commission."

"You guys have fun at the beach!" Joyce calls when Jonathan gets out of the car, "Just call me when you get there! And text me if anything happens!"

"Yeah mom, I will," he assures her.

"Hey Ms. Byers!" Mika grins while Johnathan grabs their bags from the trunk.

"Hi Mikaela. Eddie, you look handsome today," she says, causing said punk's face to turn pink, waving awkwardly at the woman.

He tries to hide behind his shorter girlfriend in embarrassment when Joyce waves again as she drives away.

"Niiice van," Argyle compliments, opening the back doors and tossing his duffle in with the other luggage, "So where are the other ladies and Harrington?"

"Steve is picking up Nancy and Jess," Mika says as they all climb into the van, the walls stained with the smell of weed, "We're picking up Buckley and meeting them at the town line."

Mika pulls out her phone and turns to the boys in the back, "Look at this cool app I found! You connect your Spotify to it and you can broadcast like a personal radio station to anyone with the app, I forced Harrington to download it too."

"Yeah, we're gonna take turns subjecting each other to our personal playlists," Eddie rolls his eyes, making a turn.

"So if you guys tell me the name of your favorite playlists I can add them into the rotation."

"Sounds cool to me! I hope you like stoner music, hehe."

It's not long before they're at Robin's house. She's sat on the front step with her grandfather's beat-up old suitcase next to her. She's been waiting for this trip for what feels like forever, beyond excited to hang out with some of the most accepting and supportive people she's ever met, at the beach no less!

"Hey losers," she grins, throwing her bag in the back and jumping in after, "Took you long enough!"

On the way to the edge of town Mika gets her playlist, mostly Indie artists and Show tunes.

The other group is waiting for them when they pull up.

Jess is sitting on the hood of the car, Steve leaning next to her as she laughs at something's said. Nancy is laying on her back in the back seat, legs dangling out the open door as she scrolls through her phone.

Johnathan switches cars, but Argyle is too busy joking with Robin to really notice. Not that he would mind anyways, he's just glad they're communicating again and not stressing him.

Mika triple checks that Steve has the right address in case their small caravan gets separated and pesters him about adding his playlists to the app. Eddie sees him roll his eyes and whine, but he gives in when Mika let's him play his music for the first couple hours.

Eddie groans, not particularly wanting to listen to pop music for hours.

Well, he thinks to himself, looking in the rearview, at least the company is decent.

She waits for the couples to get in Steve's car before getting back in the van.

As they drive on, he has to admit, not all of Steve's songs sucked, a couple of them he actually kind of liked. Maybe it had something to do with the way Mika sang along with a few of them with that smile he loves so much. But he'd still rather be listening to something a little more metal.

Steve hoped it wasn't obvious how much of his playlist was just songs that make him think of Jess, but he could almost hear Robin and Eddie's relentless teasing already. He distracted himself by focusing on the road, smiling over at Jess, her hair flying wildly around with the window open.

He looks back at Johnathan and Nancy. He's staring out the window and she's reading on her phone, but in the middle seat he sees their hands clasped together.

"Hey, I dunno 'bout you guys," Argyle says a few hours in, "But I gotta pee."

"Yeah I could also use a leg stretch slash pee stop," Robin adds.

Mika looks to Eddie, his fingers are tapping the wheel erratically, not at all in beat with the song, and his eyes aren't quite focused on the road. He was starting to get fidgety.

She finds a gas station on her phone and texts the other group that they were pulling off for a snack raid and pee break.

Before Eddie can even get the break on, Argyle is jumping out the back and running inside, followed shortly by Robin.

"I told you 15 hours was too much," Eddie growls, "How the hell am I supposed to do another 12 hours of thissss"

Mika rolls her eyes and opens the glove box, rummaging around til she finds a small ziploc with a few joints and a lighter in it.

"The same way we go on late night drives," she laughs, sticking one between his lips, "High off your ass."

He watches with wide eyes as she lights it for him.

"I fucking love you," he mutters and the blunt nearly falls. He holds it away and kisses her, before taking a long hit.

"I'm gonna go grab some snacks," she's says, grabbing her wallet and opening the door, "You want anything?"

"Doritos... oh and Chips Ahoy!"

"Gotcha," she chuckles and he watches her go inside followed by Nancy and Steve.

15 minutes later they all come out as a group, bags of goodies and trays of Icees in hand.

Eddie is reclined in his seat, curls of smoke swirling around him as he soaks in the warm sun through the dirty windshield.

He jumps when the driver's side door is pulled open, "Jesus! Wrong side princess."

"Nope," she steps up, "Move, it's my turn."

He groans and dramatically rolls his eyes, but climbs over to the passenger side. He knows she doesn't like him driving high. He grabs her sunglasses from the dash and puts them on, making her snort as she hands him a mixed slush and his requested junk food.

"Gimme your phone," he says after they get going again.

"Trade me," she's squinting against the bright sunshine, but holds out the device.

He does, putting on his own shades and changing the playlist, not to his, but Mika's.

Hitting shuffle, the song "Hope Less Romantics" by Make Out Monday comes on.

"They'll break you ten ways to Sunday

And Eleven to Monday my dear

Don't give 'em your hearts, give 'em your bullets

They'll hurt less when they throw them back at you

Hope less romantics

Come on, hope a little less romantics"

He passes the joint back to Argyle and sings along with her. Drumming his hands against the dashboard and shaking his head around, his hair flying around him.

They're both laughing and headbanging to different songs, sharing looks and little touches.

"And here I thought Steve and Henderson were the sickliest sweet couple on this trip," Robin coughs after a drag.

Thin clouds of smoke flow out the open windows of the van ahead and Steve rolls his eyes. The road is empty besides them and he's sick of looking at the piece of shit in front of them. So he decides to pass them.

To his surprise, he sees Munson smiling and singing along with non-metal songs in the passenger seat. And not that stupid smirk he always wears when he tries to annoy people, but a real one.

Not all of Mika's songs are rock, some are more folksy and warm, but a few almost sounded like... Eddie? But like he was doing screamo.

Looking at the screen of his phone quickly, he realizes that it is Eddie. His band Corroded Coffin had a Spotify page and, of course, Mikaela had it in her list.

After another handful of hours, the caravan makes it to the campgrounds that marked the almost halfway point, 7 hours from Hawkins.

They get the most secluded spot they can. There's just enough room for two tents and the vehicles, maybe a campfire if they squeeze the tents up against each other at one end of the lot.

"Did anyone see that food truck thing in the park across the way?" Nancy asks, stretching her back after the long ride, "Something there smelled so fucking good."

"Yesss!" Argyle points at her, "We should get food! And chill here and tell each other our deepest secrets like besties!"

Everyone just stares at him for a minute before Eddie speaks up, "Yo Byers, your friend scares me... But he has a good point, get in the van, we're getting food."

Before they go Eddie pulls Mika aside.

"Can I get a little something to remember you by?" He asks, hands firmly around her waist.

"Eds, you're not going off to war," she giggles against his lips when he presses kiss after kiss on hers, "The park's less than a mile away!"

"I know," he groans, hands traveling down towards her ass, "But it'd been a whole 40 minutes since the last time I kissed you! I was growing so weak."

He fake faints, collapsing against her and she struggles to hold him up.

"Poor Eddie's kissometer is still running-" he let's a little more of his weight on her, "Oh so dangerously low."

"Oh come're you big goof," she cups his face and plants a firm kiss on his waiting lips.

She feels his arms loop under her ass before he lifts her up and presses her against the side of the van.

"Fuck princess, don't stop," he whines and she tugs on his bottom lip with her teeth.

"Hey guys," Johnathon awkwardly clears his throat and they freeze, "Are we still getting food, or are you guys... ahem... too busy?"

He can't even look at them and his face is red.

"Duty calls," He pecks her lips again, "Keep those lips warm for me 'kay?"

He and Johnathan get everyone's order and take off to feed the masses.

A while later Steve and Nancy nearly have the tents up.

"Hey does anyone have like, any matches?" Robin asks, the fire pit ready to start burning.

"Yeah, just lemme-" Mika goes to grab her wallet, where she always keeps a small matchbook, from her back pocket but it's not there. It was there when they pulled into the campground, where did it- "God damnit Munson! Uh...."

Thankfully she'd thought to grab her messenger bag from the van before the boys left. She digs around in it until she feels the cool metal of her zippo brush against her fingers, "Gotcha!"

She tosses it to Robin who momentarily fumbles it, "Whoah, cool lighter!"

"Thanks, Eddie got it for me, it's one of my favorites."

"How many lighters do you have?" She asks as she lights the kindling.

"Uh... twenty..... three? I think."

"Yeah, that tracks," Nancy chuckles.

"Huh?"

"No, it's just that most people collect like... stamps or porcelain dolls," she explains, "I think it's pretty on brand for you to collect lighters."

"I collect porcelain dolls," Mika argues.

"Oh, really?" Nancy's eyebrows shoot up in surprise.

"Yeah," she shrugs, "I've got like 8 clowns... and now that I hear myself, I see what you mean."

"Hey, tall stuff!" Mika calls to Argyle, grabbing a staple gun from her bag and a white sheet she'd brought, "Help me out here."

"Yeah sure, what're we doin'?" He joins her by a few trees.

"I need you to lift me up so I can hang this up, I brought my projector and we need a screen," She explains.

"Shit, we're doin' movie night? Absolutely, just let me- Here we go!" He bends down and wraps his arms around her thighs, lifting her a good distance up.

"Hey!" Just as she's about to staple the first corner to a tree, when tires scrape against gravel and someone yells, making Argyle turn.

"Yeah, what's up?"

"Dude!" The van recklessly backs into the spot.

"Those-" Eddie nearly falls on his face as he jumps out of the still running van, "Those are my thighs! Hands off!"

Before either of them can say anything, he grabs around her knees and pulls her close. His grip loosens just enough for her to slide down to eye level, but her shirt catches on his arm and rides up.

"Hey man, no harm meant," Argyle raises his hands in surrender before wandering over to help Johnathan with the copious amount of food.

Eddie glares at him as he passes, holding Mika tighter.

"You're cute when you're possessive," She comments and he gasps.

"I am not possessive!" Still holding her off the ground, he pouts, "I'm just not used to sharing!"

"I dunno, sounds pretty possessive to me man," Steve says, earing a huff from Eddie.

"'m not possessive."

"Whatever you say Munson," She smiles, lightly kissing his nose, "Now give me my wallet back and help me staple this sheet to a tree."

He sets her down, giving her a sheepish smile as he hands her wallet over, "Sorry."

"You're lucky you're cute."

"Yeah," he turns her around, arms wrapping around her thighs, and he lifts her back up.

She staples one corner, "Okay, now move over... Eddie?"

He's too busy nuzzling his face into the side of her ass to hear her.

"Edgar Munson!" She giggles, tugging on part of his hair.

"What?! I'm a little busy here!"

"Well, be a little busy over there," she points to the other tree.

He let's out an exaggerated groan, "So fuckin needy."

"So what did you bring to watch?" Steve asks through a mouthful of food.

"I have a bunch of movies on my laptop," Mika tells him, stapling the second corner of the sheet, "I was thinking the Poltergeist trilogy."

She feels Eddie's arms tighten around her, "Or Labyrinth. I guess it depends on what people want to watch."

Much to Eddie's dismay, as the group settles around the fire with their food and Mika sets up the projector, they decide on the horror genre. They had (nearly) all agreed that Poltergeist sounded like the perfect series to watch.

Mika almost felt bad for suggesting it when she sat down in the back of the van with Eddie and he looked like he wanted to die.

"Oh come on," She whispers teasingly, trying to lighten the mood, "This movie's ancient, you don't actually think it's scary."

He lets out a little noise, almost a whimper before clearing his throat, "Yeah, no. Of course not."

He wraps his arm around her shoulders and pulls her against him, but his fingers tap nervously against her arm.

Her phone rings about 10 minutes into the film. Eddie whines when she pulls away to check it, "It's Kota, I'll be right back."

She kisses his cheek and walks around to the other side of the cars.

"Hey Gramps."

"Hey, I just wanted to make sure you kids got to the campsite safe."

"Yeah, we're all settled. We just started a movie."

"Whatcha watchin?"

"Poltergeist.

"Oh yeah? How's the metalhead doing with that?"

"He's uh... okay?" She doesn't even try to sound convincing.

"He'll live," he chuckles, "Oh, before I forget! I dropped off a little surprise at the house this morning. There's something for you in the living room, and something for everyone in the fridge, you're all 21, right?"

"Tsch- No!" She laughs. Knowing he's fully aware of that fact.

"Ohhh, that's right, you're the oldest, aren't you? Well, just don't talk to any cops."

"Sounds like a plan-"

"Jesus Fucking Christ!"

"Uh, I gotta go..."

"Ok, just don't forget to check in tomorrow so I know you're alright. Love you songbird."

"Love you too Kota."

She shoves her phone into her back pocket and goes back to find Eddie pressed against the wall, one leg hugged to his chest. His other foot is shaking anxiously just above the ground as he tries to stare through the makeshift screen.

"Hey," her voice is soft as she carefully reaches to touch his shoulder.

"Fuck!" He jumps, pressing himself closer to the wall.

"You okay back there man?" Argyle calls over from the other side of the campsite, "You seem a little jumpy."

Every one turns around and his eyes go wide.

"Y-yeah I just... uh-"

"I popped up and scared him," Mika cuts in with an apologetic smile, "Sorry guys."

Satisfied with their explanation, the group turns back to the movie.

Mika grabs a blanket and wraps herself in it. She leans against the opposite wall, looking at Eddie worriedly.

"Hey," her voice is even quieter as she nudges him with her toe.

He's biting at his fingernails when he looks over at her with the biggest, saddest, brown eyes she's ever seen. So she opens up her arms for him.

He hesitates for a moment, glancing back at the rest of the group, god forbid he look mushy in front of the gang, but in the end he dives into her waiting arms.

The warmth of the blankets wraps around him, blocking the sound of the movie and allowing him to breathe again. He sighs when he feels her press her face into his hair.

"Sorry," She mutters causing her to look up at her in confusion, "I... I shouldn't have suggested horror, I know you don't like it."

"Hey-"

"So much for starting on a high note-"

"Mika," he chuckles, sitting up enough to grab her chin, "There's no reason to get all worked up, Songbird."

Those sad eyes are gonna be the death of him. He leans up to meet her pouty lips, melting against her.

▪︎¤▪︎¤▪︎¤▪︎¤▪︎

[astrophilic-soul]

Thank you so much for the tag @darcymariaphoster 💜💜💜

1) How many works do you have on your AO3?

Two, but I would probably have more if I posted all the ones I’ve ever posted on tumblr lol

2) What’s your total AO3 count?

2,283 not that much cause I don’t post fics as often as I want to :(

3) How many fandoms have you written for and what are they?

On AO3 probably just Hetalia but I guess before I knew fandom existed I technically wrote Pokémon self insert fanfics lol

4) What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

I wish I had 5 fics uh on AO3 the highest is A Kiss and second highest is A Date :)

5) What’s the the fic you’ve written with the most angstiest ending?

Ooo ok, I don’t have any published fics with like- really bad angst but I have this one WIP that’s purely just ideas temporarily titled “Cloudy stars and Pineapple Sweets”. It’s a really big fic so idk if I’ll ever get to it but basically it’s a AU where 25 year old Matt takes care of his maybe 15-ish year old younger brother Alfred. They were both orphaned at their teens from an accident which isn’t really brought up. Anyways, to help his older brother, who is a 12+ hours a day surgeon, make a little more cash he does drag racing and is the best in his region. However, his brother doesn’t know this cause he’s out during the night, and basically thinks that Alfred’s a really innocent little boy who works at some shop outta town. But suddenly a new racer comes to town and- I’m not going to explain too much of the plot. But at the end we figure out that Matthew illegally sells organs from his patients that comes out due to some circumstances which you'll know if I ever get to writing that fic lol

6) What’s the the fic you’ve written with the happiest ending?

I think most of my fics end happily, but finished? Probably A Date from the rusamechu event lol.

7) Do you write crossovers? If so, what is the craziest one you’ve written?

I don’t lol

8) Do you write smut? If so what kind?

I don’t write smut either, maybe one day....

9) So you respond to comments? Why or why not?

I do! I haven’t gotten any comments on my works on Ao3 but on tumblr sometimes I’ll get some and I’ll usually respond :)

10) Have you ever received hate if your fics?

No, but I’m quite happy I haven’t had one yet

11) Have you ever had your fic stolen?

I hope not?

12) Have you ever had a fic translated?

I think so! I think there’s a translated A Kiss somewhere out there lol

13) Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Nah, it sounds super cool though!

14) what’s your all time favorite ship?

Rusame, no doubt lol. I love them, their themes and just everything very much!

15) What’s a WIP you want to finish but you don’t think you ever will?

Uh definitely Cloudy stars and Pineapple Sweets since it’s one of my first WIPs for this fandom but it’s definitely one of those 20-35 chapter fics and it’s a bit intimidating lol.

16) What are your writing strengths?

I don’t think I have too many to be honest, maybe descriptions and metaphors??

17) What are your writing weaknesses?

Honestly dialogue and my ability to make things flow well. This makes all my oneshots like 1k words and it's something I'm still working on.

18) What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in fic?

I find it pretty cool! I personally really hate using google translate to write in other languages because it's often really wrong with the translations but then again it's really convinient lol. But yeah, in fics that I'm reading I'm fine with it lol, it feels more true to the character :)

19.) What was the first fandom you wrote for?

Hetalia

20.) What’s your favorite fic you’ve written?

Ballet AU fic for the ones I've posted, it isn't my best one reading wise but I definitely think it can be if I ever get to rewriting it :)

Tagging:

I think most of my fic writing mutuals have been tagged in this by now so anyone that wants to :)

Fic Writer Questions

Thank you for the tag :D @spinyfruit

1.) How many works do you have on AO3

34! they're mostly Oneshots and drabbles.

2.) What’s your total AO3 count?

208,218

3.) How many fandoms have you written for and what are they?

Just Hetalia

4.) What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

1. I call it a draw (Rochu/ Amechu)

2. Nerium Oleander (rusamechu)

3. We need to talk (Rochu)

4. Secret (Rochu and one sided Rusame/ Amechu)

5. Western pleasure (Rusame)

5.) What’s the fic you’ve written with the angstiest ending?

It's either Together (rusamechu) or I'll come back to you (RomeChu)

6.) What’s the fic you’ve written with the happiest ending?

Sublime since Itapan is my comfort ship I usually write fluff about them

7.) Do you write crossovers? If so, what is the craziest one you’ve written?

I haven't done this o:

8.) Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

Yeah, I have a couple of Oneshots and Nerium Oleander has smut too. I guess they can be described as explicit m/m, tough I think it's mostly Rusame or Rusamechu smut

9.) Do you respond to comments, why or why not?

I try to, sometimes I forget or just don't know what to say. I think it's nice to reply, as a reader I get happy when an author replies so...

10.) Have you ever received hate on a fic?

Not really

11.) Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Nope

12.) Have you ever had a fic translated?

Yes! Three of them. Nerium Oleander, I call it a draw and I'll come back to you were/are translated into Chinese (⁠ ⁠≧⁠Д⁠≦⁠)

13.) Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Not yet

14.) What’s your all time favorite ship?

The black triangle trio (rusamechu) and whatever pair comes out of it

15.) What’s a WIP that you want to finish but you don’t think you ever will?

We need to talk, idk I've reached the point of not knowing what's next in the story. It's probably the only fic I didn't really planned before hand, and it wasn't supposed to have multiple chapters haha

16.) What are your writing strengths?

I like to think that descriptions when it comes to settings and like the overall mood of the chapter/story is what stands out. Also I think I'm getting better at foreshadowing :D

17.) What are your writing weaknesses?

Probably pacing, I struggle to move forward certain parts sometimes, I don't usually plan or pay attention to the time within the story so it's pretty much vague.

18.) What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in fic?

I think it's pretty common in Hetalia fanfics, I did it a couple of times too. I think it's fun and it's a nice touch for a character who's native language is not English but as a writer I find it it's difficult to add it without butchering a language or getting overwhelmed by adding footnotes with the translation haha. If I were to write characters like Spain more often, I would totally do it.

19.) What was the first fandom you wrote for?

Hetalia

20.) What’s your favorite fic you’ve written?

Ahhh this is a hard question

I will say that Nerium Oleander because I am focused on finishing it and it's been very rewarding.

But White Flame is also my favorite because it's just me having a bunch of fun with words and world building.

Tagging:

@darcymariaphoster @crumpled--notes @magictrio1118 @fireandiceland @koolkat9 if you want to~

[screamingintosilence]

You Were the Greatest Thing (That Ever Happened to Me)

Songfic Writing Challenge Day 10

Terrible Things - Mayday Parade

Warning: Major Character Death

Jughead Jones watched in amusement from across the yard as his 16 year old son brushed a hand through his own dark locks, looking nervous and slightly sweaty as he stuttered over his words while talking to the beautiful red headed 15 year old daughter of Archie Andrews and Veronica Lodge.

To his chagrin, Betty had put her foot down during pregnancy and that's how their sweet, beautiful baby boy ended up being named Forsythe Pendelton Jones the Fourth. FP had laughed heartily when they told him, he knew it was definitely Betty's choice. But when their little guy came into the world, screaming, pink, and a head full of downy black hair, Betty had looked at him with a smile that said, “See? He's your son and I was right.”

And she was right, she was always right. The only concession she gave him when it came to their child's name was letting him pick out a nickname because “Betts, if that's going to be his name, we’re not actually calling him that.” And that is how Cooper Jones the Fourth made his entrance into their lives.

He watched as his son turned and ran towards him, smile splitting across his face and all Jughead could think was his much he looked like Betty in that moment. His eyes, his nose, his cheeks, they all came from his wife.

“Hey Dad!” Cooper was practically bouncing on the balls of his feet.

“Son,” Jughead smirked at the boy while raising the glass of sweet tea to his lips.

“Can I borrow your truck? I finally did it! I asked Jules to the movies and she said yes!” Both Joneses looked over to where the redhead girl was excitedly talking to her mother, the look on Cooper’s face one of adoration. Jughead smiled, it reminded him of how he must have looked when he first fell in love with Betty.

“Don’t stay out too late. You behave tonight, ok? And you treat her right Bud, got it?” The ring of keys rested on the older man's finger, waiting for his son to take it.

“He always does, Mr. Jones!” the young Juliet Andrews cut in, skipping over to them, not realizing how her words made Jughead's heart stutter and stop for a few moments before picking up again.

“Always! Thanks Dad!” Cooper grabbed the keys before interlocking his fingers with the petite girl next to him, both getting lost in each other as they walked to the front of the house where he had parked when they came over to the Andrews’. Neither teen noticing how tears brimmed in Jughead's eyes.

He felt a slim arm loop itself through his own at the same time as a heavy, familiar hand came to rest and squeeze his shoulder.

“B and I used to joke about this happening,” he heard Veronica softly say next to him as she too squeezed his arm, resting her head on his other shoulder. “We would talk about just how long it would take them, like how long it took for you two.”

The tears started to slowly fall. “He must take after me,” he let out a watery laugh. “I'm pretty sure he's been in love with her since I told him what love was. Probably took until reading his mom's words from when we were his age about how she wished I would just make a move for him to pluck up his own courage.”

The pressure from the hand his redhead best friend increased. “You were the very best thing to happen to her, Jug. Believe it. She glued us all together, figuring out in her Betty way just how this crazy jigsaw fit together.” He nodded, sniffling to keep from sobbing.

“She did,” he swiped at his eyes. “It's been nearly eleven years, but it still feels like yesterday, ya know?” He could see tears rimming Archie's eyes as Veronica let hers stream down her cheeks as they both nodded.

“Let's get you home, Jug,” Archie's arm wrapped securely around his friend’s shoulders as Veronica's hand dropped to his, holding it firmly. He might have always been friends with Archie, but it was Betty's doing that they had stuck together through even the toughest of times; and it was Betty who had brought the whirlwind that was Veronica Lodge into his life, even if it was begrudgingly at first.

--

It had been hours since the Andrewses had seen him safely home. He had pulled some of Betty's old journals from her last few days to read, a habit of his from the past ten years.

His was reading over her passage from the day she had told him the news, his heart breaking over every sentence.

I told Juggie the news today, it didn't go well. I had gotten the call this morning from the doctor that my results came in. It was devastating. Juggie and Cooper were out having a boys day with FP and I just didn't have the heart to interrupt to have him come with me.

Crying in the middle of a doctor's office without my husband definitely makes it on my top 5 most embarrassing moments... But I won't have many of those moments left to make, I guess.

I've been in tears all day, but there's nothing to be done about it. I was told that I can still give it a shot to fight this, but the cancer was progressing so rapidly that my chances are very slim. The oncologist said that my counts have jumped exponentially and that I'm already Stage 4. Stage 4 cancer at 33….

Cooper is only 5, what will Juggie do? He's the most amazing dad, I know he'll be ok, but God, I'm far from it. There won't be chances to see him grow from my tiny little squirt to being as tall as Jug. There won't be any Homecoming, Formal, or Prom pictures of me pinching his cheeks. I won't get to meet the person he'll fall irrevocably in love with and I won't get to tell him that that's how it was with his father.

I know Jug will do all of these things, and he'll be wonderful and amazing and everything or baby boy needs. It's just so hard to come to terms with one’s own demise.

And Jug, God, Jug. We won't have our 90 years together like we joke about. I don't know if we'll even have 1. God what I would give for the assurance of just one more year together.

I love him more than all the stars in all the galaxies. He was everything I ever needed, always there for me from the beginning. God, I don't know if he even knows how much I love him, how much he means to me.

I-

The front door opened as Jughead hastily wiped the tears from his cheeks and dabbed at the page of Betty's diary gently, careful to try and not smudge it even more from where his past years and even hers had fallen.

His 16 year old son, his and Betty's pride and joy, waltzed in with a look of having his head in the clouds. Jughead smiled, though some rouge tears still fell free.

“You guys have a good time?” His question came out a little choked, causing Cooper to come to, taking in the scene of his father on the couch, nose and eyes red, with his mother's journals in front of him.

“Yeah, the movie was good. Jules was just…” His eyes got a little dreamy at the mention of his best friend, now potentially girlfriend. “You ok, Dad?”

“Yeah, just…” Jughead trailed off.

Cooper sat next to him wrapping an arm around his shoulders, shoulders that used to carry his son on them for hours, but now felt like they carried the world, especially in moments like this. “Just missing Mom?”

Jughead tried swallowing past the lump in his throat, wiped his hands over his face, and nodded. “Yeah. She would have been so proud of you, Cooper. You were her baby boy, and now you're all grown up.”

Tears filled the young man's emerald green orbs (ones just like his mother's) as he ducked his head to gather his thoughts.

“You know, she was terrified of being a mother, scared after the way she was raised and seeing how crazy your Aunt Polly. But God, Cooper, you made her so happy. She took one look at you and it clicked. She looked at me and said, ‘This is it, Jug. This is how it was always meant to be. I was always meant to be his mommy and you his daddy.’ And like always, she was right. I was always meant to be your dad. You made it so easy, you were such a wonderful baby and child. You have me the strength and will to keep going, Buddy.”

Jug pulled Cooper into a tight embrace, kissing the top of his head. He could feel the tears staining his shirt from where his son's head rested.

After a few moments of silence, the younger man pulled back, wiping away the tears that lingered on his face.

“Dad?”

“Hmm?”

“Can you tell me about the time that you first kissed Mom again?”

Jughead laughed. “Sure, Bud. Well I had went over to her house one afternoon to see how she was. We had snuck into The Sisters of Quiet Mercy, where your grandparents had put Aunt Polly when she was pregnant with the twins, the day before.” Cooper was nodding along. Jughead had told him this story so many times now but it was one of his son's favorites.

“We got caught by your grandmother, and she was so furious that she kept your mom home from school without access to her phone. So naturally I grabbed the ladder from your Uncle Archie's dad's garage and scaled the side of the house to your mom's window.” He gave his son a stern look suddenly, “Don't even think about doing that with Jules, you hear me? Your aunt would kick my ass.”

Cooper snorted, “I won't, but Aunt Veronica wouldn't do that. She loves me too much to care,” he grinned mischievously.

Jughead jokingly cuffed his ear, “Let’s not test that theory, shall we?” The young man laughed, settling down one more.

“So, anyways. I could see your mom through the glass looking very serious and contemplative, kinda like how you get sometimes. She was still trying to solve everything in that beautiful blonde head of hers, and I just knew that that was my moment. I had loved her for years already, but seeing her be Nancy Drew,” he looked down at the floor, his mind conjuring up the image of his love. “She was something else, Coop.

“I knocked on her window to get her attention, thinking I was so clever and smooth. I remember the first thing I said was ‘Hey there Juliet, nurse off duty?’” Cooper snorted again. “Yeah, it was as cheesy as it sounds, but God, your mom? She just brought that mushy side out of me.” He grinned at the memories.

“You know, that's where Jules got her name.”

“Wait, what? You never told me this. How?” Cooper looked bewildered at the new information.

“Yeah. After the complications of your birth made it so we couldn't have any more kids, your aunt decided that she would use the name for us. She loved your mom so much and knew how much she wanted to name a little girl Juliet that Veronica said she'd name her daughter that to honor her. Jules was originally going to be named Elizabeth but your mom insisted that they go with Juliet once you were born.”

Cooper sat, stunned that the love of his life got her name from his parents love story.

“Betty desperately wished she could watch the man you would become, she's so proud of you, Bud. I just know it.” Cooper's and Jug’s eyes glistened.

“She's so proud of you too, Dad.”

“Thanks, Coop. Now, enough sad. Tell me about your date,” giving his son the biggest shit-eating grin.

“Daaaad-”