#convenient russian friends

[irndad]

kiss me (under the milky twilight)- s.r.

a/n: this took so long and i'm so sorry! based on this post- reader has an ex that she keeps running back to, and spencer just wants her to see him. fake dating and hijinks ensue. VERY long. 4.6k words!! thanks to @fadingplaidtrashpatrol for ur thoughts and ideas!! masterlist // ask

The unraveling begins on a Friday. 

This is one of the rare Fridays where a full weekend is staring back at them, and Spencer is immeasurably pleased at his plans. He’s rented a Russian old movie, and his best friend had agreed to sit next to him on his shitty old couch while he whispers translations in real-time.

He loves spending time with her, a little hedonistically. She’s so kind, warm in both spirit and disposition, and Spencer treasures the time he gets to spend with her. Her desk adjoins his, and so one might assume that he could tire of her presence, but there’s something a little addicting about her, something he tries to have as often as he can. 

On this fine evening, she’s wearing an oversized sweater tucked into jeans- her position is mainly out of the field, and so she takes full advantage of the dress-code flexibility. Lovely earrings hang around her face, adorning her lovely features like a frame. 

Spencer’s more than a little in love with her. 

This has never really been a convenient fact, but Spencer’s used to wanting things he can’t have. And it was never really feasible not to want her- anyone who’s ever been in her presence would know this. It’s a foreign feeling, looking over at someone he’s lucky enough to know, and wanting them enough for that desire to turn into fantasy. 

“Spencer!” She greets him warmly, standing up to do so- if this wasn’t a workplace, if she was meeting him at the cafe like they do on Wednesdays, or his home, like she often finds herself in whenever he invites her, Spencer is certain she would wrap her arms around him in an incredibly warm hug. 

Because they are in the BAU, she believes it is inappropriate to embrace this way (which Spencer would argue isn’t true, given the way Morgan and Penelope are with each other, but if he told her that, it might be a little too obvious how desperate he is for her to touch him.)

The way she beams at him almost makes up for the fact that he doesn’t get to hug her. 

“I got you something,” he says in lieu of a response, clutching the bag of muffins in one hand. He’d woken up early to get her to stop by her favorite bakery, and it was worth it to see that look on her face. No one’s in the office now, the day long finished, and they’re getting ready to walk to his place. He lives so close by, and he’s grateful for this fact when they walk together back to his place. 

She grabs the bag, and he’s just so endeared by her, the giddy expression written over her lovely face.

“Have I mentioned that I love you? Because I do. You need to marry me, immediately.” She says to him, eyes closed in bliss, and even though she’s clearly joking, Spencer finds himself preening at her praise- wouldn’t it be incredible if she meant that? It sounds so pretty in her voice. I love you. 

He beams back at her, in a way he hopes doesn’t betray how much he wants. 

“I’m glad you like them,” he says back, his heart in his throat. 

“I have some news that you are going to be incredibly mad at me about.” She says, and a crumb is on her painted lip, and fantasy of kisses that he cannot have enters Spencer’s mind before he can shake it away.

“I could never be mad at you.”

“I think I have to raincheck tonight,” she says almost sadly, her voice apologetic, as though she has no choice in the matter.

“Is everything okay?”

He had picked up her favorite snacks yesterday night, tidied up his apartment top to bottom. 

“Josh texted me- he’s going through something and he needs me to come over-“

“He doesn’t need you to come over.” 

He rarely interrupts her, and he usually isn’t capable of being upset with her. He’s not really even upset with her now, but this is so exhausting, watching her deal with this asshole. 

It is a continuous surprise to Spencer that someone like her can be in a position like this.

Through Spencer’s eyes, the idea that anyone can not be in love with her is almost an impossibility. It’s not even his bias alone that makes him think this- it’s the truth of her. 

Josh is an asshole finance bro who works in the city center, and Spencer hates him more than most serial killers. 

He’s fucking careless with the thing Spencer wants the most in the world. Josh knows what it’s like to be with her, to be the person to falls asleep with her in his arms.  

Sometimes when Spencer can’t sleep, which is quite often, he pictures her soft cheek on her chest, pictures what she would feel like entwined with his own body, legs tangled with his and her fingers in his hair. It’s a sacred thing, this image- even though it isn’t real, Spencer knows he values the imagination of her presence more than Josh gives his attention to the real thing. 

They’ve “gotten together” and “broken up” and “started talking again” about 12 times respectively.

Spencer could kill him.

“Spence,” she sighs, shaking him out of his angry stupor, “please don’t be mad at me. He’s really going through something right now- he needs someone to be around. Besides,” she breathes out, “I can’t dump him. 

“Why is that?” He tries to temper his tone, but the memory of her mascara running down her cheeks as she sobs in his arms shoots through his mind, and manifests as a physical sharp pain in his chest. 

“That wedding is coming up,” she murmurs, looking down at her shoes. They’re scuffed, and Spencer thinks she might be embarrassed. Why should she be? He’s the asshole. “I told people I was going to have a date. Do you know how many people are going to be there, Spence? How many people are expecting me to bring my boyfriend?”

Her best friend is getting married. Spencer knows this because she’s told him, and told him gleefully when Josh had agreed to go with her. Spencer remembers thinking that he’d like to punch a wall.

Anyway. 

She’s the last of her friend group that’s not in a long term relationship, and in some twisted way, he kind of gets how Josh would be better than nothing, if you didn’t want to be seen as alone. 

“You don’t want to go alone.”

“Yeah, Spence.”

“I could go with you.”

It escapes his mouth without his permission, and he regrets it almost instantly. Because there’s no fucking way she’d go with him. He’s lanky and awkward and his blazers never fit and his ties are always tied wrong, and she’s beautiful and wonderful in ways he finds new ways to see everyday. He’s not a solution to her being worried about how she’s seen, he’d only make it worse-

“You would do that for me?” Her voice is small as she asks, and it shakes him out of his thoughts. He looks down at her, eyes softening at her lovely face. She looks touched, and he has to wonder, doesn’t she know?

He’d do anything for her. 

“Of course,” he breathes out, a nervous hand playing with the strap of his bag, “If it gets you to stop giving that asshole the time of day, I’d do it a million times.”

Her face shifts in a way he can’t read, and she swallows. 

“I can’t let you do that.”

“I want to,” he says, “Please. It would be fun, C’mon. You’re always saying I need to get out there and do things.”

“Being my fake boyfriend at my friend’s wedding is not getting out there and doing things,” she pouts, and his heart nearly jumps. It’s pathetic, but hearing her refer to him as her any kind of boyfriend is intoxicating. He wants to hear it, over and over. 

“It’ll be fun,” he says, touching her hand as it rests on the table, making intentional eye contact. She has been prettiest eyes. “C’mon, let me do this for you. I’m sick of this guy.”

She gulps again, an endearingly confusing gesture, and he finds the feeling a little desperate. Pick me, choose to be with me, even if it’s just pretend. 

“He’s going to be there anyway,” she breathes out biting her lip in a nervous gesture, “I- I’d owe you so much, Spence. It would make him jealous, I think.”

It’s a little hedonistic, how much he would enjoy that, he thinks. Someone would see her as his girl. He knows she might be doing this to get Josh’s attention, but still- the evening together seems like too lovely of a thing to turn down- too wonderful of a chance to not offer. He’d take a night of pretend over never getting to be with her at all. 

It’s enough to make him ignore that making Josh jealous is probably the reason she’s saying yes. 

“Okay, okay! Spencer, will you do me the honor of taking me to Julie’s wedding?”

“I would be honored. 

The weeks approaching the wedding are a bit of sweet torture. She’d had the idea that they could practice, whatever that meant, and the memory of it lives in his mind rent free. They’d been watching the movie, already touchier than most would allow of best friends. (She’s his best, Spencer’s just the tiniest bit resentful of Julie). 

She’d been sitting next to him on his worn out couch, her legs thrown across his, and true to his word, he was whispering the translation along to the movie. She smiled at him, watching his mouth move instead of the movie, and he felt tingly under her stare. How wonderful and bright it is, to be under her gaze. He kept speaking even though she wasn’t watching, because he imagines that if he stops, she might look away. 

Then, she had held his hand. 

Grabbed it really, fingers lacing with his own, and Spencer’s brain had short circuited. She has soft hands, he had thought to himself, and it was about the only thing he could manage to think. 

“We should practice,” she had whispered, even though it was just the two of them in the lowlight of his home, “Y’know, so people believe us.”

He didn’t say that he’s pretty sure no one needed to be convinced he’s in love with her. 

“Sure,” he had nodded, and squeezed her hand, “I think that’s a great idea.”

So they’ve been practicing. 

This has been in equal measures wonderful and torturous. She walks with him to work on half the days, with her fingers twined with his own, and Spencer finds it intoxicating that any passerby would assume he belongs to her. 

More than he already does, anyway. 

Her affection is her own, just turned up to 11. She’s gorgeous- this is a fact that was not instrumental in his love of her, but ornamental- still, this is hard to ignore when she touches him as much as she does now. When she’s out with the team at the bar, she rests her hand on the small of his back- he preens every time at this. This is simple, her domesticity, her claiming his presence as her own- it’s more than nice, Spencer realizes. It’s wonderful, to be wanted by her. Even if it’s not real.

On this night, they’re celebrating. They caught the unsub before he’d been able to kill his first victim. This is a rarity in their field, and she’d given the interview that had gotten the confession. It’s the closest to field work she’d gotten, and they’re all celebrating their win. Her win. 

She looks like a figment of imagination, lovely in a way he literally cannot believe he didn’t conjure up in fantasy. Her favorite song is playing out of pure serendipity, and Spencer likes that word for her. She is serendipitous as a whole. 

“Do you want something to drink, honey?” The endearment feels warm and natural as it comes out of his mouth. His hand is resting on the small of her waist, and he knows he’s being egregious with the practice thing. But this is so nice, her leaning into him, one drink deep and touchier than she is tipsy, and he loves this. He loves that under this pretense, he gets to know what she feels like in his arms. 

He hands her the water before she gets to answer, and she happily sips it. 

“Are you proud of me, Spence?” Her voice is immeasurably fond and he drinks it in like a man starved. 

“Of course,” he smiles at her. I’m always proud of you, he thinks. “You did so well, love.”

He’s not used to endearments, but she showers him in them. Before their little pretending, too. Called him dove, honey, darling. Packed an emergency lunch in his go bag in case he forgot his. She’s such a good friend, and he wants to be her lover more with each breath. 

He tries to return them, now. 

“Good,” she says serenely, looking at him in a way that kills him, because he will never, ever kiss her. She can hold him, and look at him like that, and he will never get to be with her, “I think my cider is too sour,” she scrunches her nose, and his heart swoops. 

“I’ll get you something sweeter, baby.”

“Yeah you will!” He hears Morgan laugh, and he flushes bright red. No one seems surprised, by how touchy they’d been. Even Hotch- he’d expected a talk, but then got a stern nod of understanding in its stead. 

She sips the sweet drink he got her, a little cherry on the step, and he thinks he’d do anything to keep looking at her. 

Five weeks to the wedding. 

He can do this. 

“Could you do me a favor, Garcia? I come bearing gifts.” 

Spencer’s snuck into her office- there’s not much to do today, but she hadn’t wanted to take PTO for no reason, so here she is, in her feathered and pink glory. 

“Is that a hot chocolate? From Dominicks? Ooh, you play dirty, Dr. Reid.” Penelope almost squeals, and despite his nefarious purposes, he finds himself joyful- it’s alwaysgood to talk to her. 

After a joyful, eyes closed and serene sip, she asks, “Alright, my sweet furry friend, what can I do for you?”

“Could you check on a Josh Collins for me?”

“Isn’t that your girl’s ex?”

“No,” Heat rises to his cheeks, before he can help it. “She’s not my girlfriend.”

“Oh, and my favorite color is black.” Penelope scoffs back, but begins typing furiously anyway. 

He needs to know what is so fascinating about this guy. Because lately he can’t figure it out. He’s always fucking hated the guy, even though he’s never met him. He never had to- she’d shown up enough times at Spencer’s door crying, been broken up with and brought back enough to know that this guy is awful. Doesn’t even come close to deserving the woman that she is. 

“He’s a financial analyst at a Marketing firm, went to state school for his Bachelor’s, says here that he played football in college, but I don’t think they met until after,” she says, “Oh, he has a scuba license. And skydiving! Looks like he’s a bit of an adrenaline junkie.”

It’s an evil thought. Is that what she likes? He finds it hard to imagine, picturing the moments where she’s wrapped up in his arms on a movie night- that always seemed to be her preference. In, not out. 

“Is that him?”

There’s a picture of him on Penelope’s screen. Josh is chiseled and strong, smiling brightly in a polo on a jet ski- this is a photo posted on his social media, and Spencer has met a million of this guy. They bullied him in school. Spencer as genius and he’s a lot of things, but that will never be one of them. It’ll never, ever be him. 

Good to know, anyway. Better not to fantasize about what he knows he can’t have. 

On the day of the wedding, it’s actually a 6 hour drive. She’d offered to get them plane tickets, but he enjoyed his time with her. He was also desperate to extend the time until the wedding was over, and she’s probably the only person he wants to be trapped in a car with. 

They’re sharing a hotel room. She’s booked two beds, which he’s honestly grateful for- if they’d shared a bed, he might’ve combusted. 

Still, there is so much intimacy. She sings in the shower. He imagines a world where he’d know that in domesticity, where after a night spent in laughter and something like love, she showered in his home. But that’s not how he knows it. He knows it because he’s at her best friend’s wedding, pretending to be her boyfriend. 

When she comes out of her bedroom, she’s gorgeous. 

She’s got a green and purple dress on, a cinched waist and a sweetheart neck, a dash of plum lipstick on her lovely pout, and he’d like to kiss that smile very, very much. She’s a delicate kind of lovely, saturated in sweetness, and it’s sweet torture to have her this close.

“You look...” He struggles to find words, an uncommon occurrence in his life, “Like a vision.”

It’s sentimental and warmer than he wished he sounded, but god- she’s stunning. She looks like she’s made of old film, beautiful in that way that’s just a bit too good to be true. He adores her more with each breath.

“You think it’s okay?” She speaks to him with her doe eyes adorned with a concerned expression. He wants to kiss it away.

“You look lovely,” he says, a vast underselling.

The ceremony is a lovely affair, and Spencer learns that she cries at weddings. The bride and groom have lovely, saccharine vows, and Spencer tries not to picture a wedding that he will never get to have. 

It’s a little bit impossible with her at his side. 

She’s touchier now, even mores then when they were ‘practicing’. Her hands are warm laced with his own, her head leaning on his shoulder, and he feels lucky to have even a piece of getting to be with her. 

At the reception, she is tackled by her friends, and he performs dutifully as the caring boyfriend. It’s not hard.

It’s a lovely night. His arms glued to the small of her waist, and he’s been introduced as her “genius FBI agent boyfriend” many times tonight. He turns bright red every time. 

“This is my boyfriend, he’s the smartest ever,” she brags when she’s half a drink deep, and he cherishes the ability to draw circles on the small of her back in this moment- his words fail him in moments of praise, and touch is an avenue that he is rarely allowed to use.

“I don’t believe that intelligence can be accurately quantified-“

“Which is a thing that humble geniuses say.” 

So he’s having a great tine. 

Her lipstick is transfer-free, and his cheek is proof. She’s so affectionate his heart keeps doing somersaults. There’s a signature cocktail with some pun in the couples name.

“I’m fucking obsessed with these, Spence,” she says, a light airiness to her voice that he recognizes as her tipsy voice, “Can you get me another, my love?”

“Yes, honey.” He smiles at her, and kisses the crown of her hair before leaving her in the company of her friends. He’s indulging a bit too much, he’s aware. He’s going to have to give up this up when the sun rises, like some fucked up fairytale where Cinderella never gets the guy because she’s not worthy of it without the pretense.

“Could I get the house cocktail?” Spencer asks the bartender, flashing a smile at her with the giddiness of knowing he will return to her.

Spencer had nearly forgotten that part of the reason he was here was because of Josh. 

Who is at the bar.

“Hey man- you’re the dude she brought, right?” 

Josh is actually about 2 inches shorter than Spencer, and Spencer makes the most of this difference. He’s a broad chested muscle man, but he looks woefully underwhelming. 

“Yeah, I’m the lucky guy.” Spencer replies in a deadpan tone, turning to face him with a stony expression. 

“Careful, man,” Josh says, and it’s a little pathetic how he’s trying to pretend he doesn’t care, “She’ll chew you up and spit you out.”

“Really? Because it seems like you’d leave a bad taste in anyone’s mouth.”

“Whatever, dude. It’s clear that she just brought someone to make me jealous.”

“Actually, while I can’t read her mind, I imagine you’ve slipped hers entirely. Clearly your entire energy is based in whatever ego-driven shell your youth has shaped you into- and maybe one day someone will care enough about whatever tragedy made you the way you are, but I am deeply uninterested, and I’d wager she is too.”

He’s not sure if this is true, but Spencer’s noticed that in the time since their ruse has begun she hasn’t mentioned Josh. Not once. She might not love Spencer,  but she might not see Josh anymore. 

“Also, if you ever speak disrespectfully of my girlfriend again I promise you it will not end well for you.”

His voice is even and has an underlaying of quiet rage. It’s wonderful to call her that, even more so as she enters into his eye line.

“You looked mad,” she says in lieu of a greeting, her nimble arms wrapping around his waist with fluid ease, “Is everything okay?” 

It’s only then she sees Josh, and there’s something wonderful about knowing that she came here to check on him. Josh is about to say something, he can tell even though he’s only visible in the corner of his vision. 

It’s a calculated risk but he chooses to do it anyway. 

When he kisses her, he doesn’t know what to expect. It falls into line like puzzles into place, one of her hands falling to his waist and the other cradling his jaw with a delicate softness. She leans into him totally and this is an intoxicating feeling- her lips are so, so soft and it’s what he’s been fantasizing about since she first smiled at him and asked him to keep going when he was rambling about Russian literature. 

It’s actually better. 

When she pulls back, she scans the space. Josh is gone.

“Well that had the intended effect,” he says- it seems better than anything else, like confessing that the only reason he did it was that he could. He kissed her. 

She nods, clearly a bit frazzled, and fuck-

“I should have asked, fuck, I’m sorry-“

“No, no, you’re okay, um-thanks for getting rid of him.”

Her voice is hollow. 

Despite the awkwardness of the kiss, which Spencer cannot stop thinking about.

Did he imagine it, or did she lean in? Did she sigh into it? How is he going to ever get over the fact that he’s never going to do that again?

Her lipstick is grape flavored. Now they both know that. 

They get back to the hotel at half past midnight, and she’d been a little distanced- not so much they still didn’t look like a couple, but enough that Spencer knows. They’re winding down the artificial love affair, and all of the things he’s become kind of addicted to are going to go away. Her fingers running through the tendrils of his hair, her delicate fingers rubbing tiger balm on his temples when he’s got his migraines. Her cheek kisses, the honeys, my loves, sweethearts. 

Kissing her. 

When she drops her bag on the hotel bed and sits on the edge of it, he sits next to her. She’s been quieter, since the kiss. 

“Hey.”

“Hey back,” she replies, bumping her knee with his in fondness. 

“I’m sorry I surprised you with, you know.”

“Kissing me?”

“I should have asked- I’m sorry.”

“I’m not upset that you kissed me,” she says, looking down at her shoes, “I’m upset that you only did it because you wanted to spite Josh.”

“What?”

“I know that this is my problem, Spence,” she says, “You never… led me on, you know? I know that this was always my thing to deal with. Being in love with you was never something that I thought would be a problem. But when you offered to go with me- to pretend to be my boyfriend, how could I pass that up?”

This makes no sense.

“I know,” she runs her fingers through her hair in a frustrated motion, “I know that it was never a good idea. But the idea of getting to be with you was just too much to turn down, even it it wasn’t the real thing. And now we’re going back to normal and I promise that I will go back to being your friend. It might take me a second, though-I might need some space.”

She needs space from him? Because she can’t transition away from being his fake girlfriend?

“You don’t need space from me.”

He’s so fucking bad at talking. 

“Spencer-“

“No, no,” because now he has a shot- now  there’s a reality where the pit in his chest doesn’t have to live there forever. He can be with her. Because for some crazy, insane reason, she wants him. “You don’t need space from because I don’t want space from you, okay?”

He sits next to her on the bed, eyes a little crazed with want with nowhere to go. 

“I’m not sure what you mean.” Her voice is tempered, and he thinks he hears hope. 

“I love you. I am in love with you. I’ve been in love with you as long as I’ve known you,” he grabs her hand-it feels desperate to say and he sure he sounds it, “I didn’t kiss you because I wanted to spite him. I did it because I couldn’t live with the idea that I would spend the rest of my life never have kissed you.”

He probably would say more- so many things are coming to mind, most of which are pleading. She’s the only thing he’s ever wanted this much. Before he gets to, though, she kisses him. 

It’s sudden, as all things of this nature are, but he pulls her close on instinct. She ends up on his lap, her hands around his neck, and it is so rare that fantasy lives up to reality. But this is better, the feeling of the weight of her pressed against him and the taste of her grape lipstick. 

It’s a minute when she pulls back, and it takes everything to not chase the contact.

“I love you too,” she says, the sweetness of it dripping from the sound of it. He wants to hear it again, and again, and again.

“For real?”

“For real.” 

When the run rises in the morning that follows, he’s wrapped around the length of her like a vice, right and close to him, Her head rests on his chest, and while there is another bed there, it’s clearly not seeing any use.

He’s never slept better in his life. 

[megxplryxb]

Dance with me Forever

Pairings - Steve Harrington x Fem!HopperReader

Warnings: None. Absolute fluff, Idiots in love, Mutual Pining, Friends to lovers, Jopper Wedding

The hot summer sun had finally set on a beautiful Saturday evening in the middle of July. The sound of champagne glasses clinking echoed throughout the romantic lake house ballroom, lit up in pinks and purples as guests celebrated the marriage of Jim Hopper and Joyce Byers. The couple had finally decided to tie the knot and unite their families once Vecna had been defeated, ending the nightmare of the Upside Down once and for all. It had been a long four years, continuously battling monsters from another dimension, always wondering when evil would rear it’s ugly head again but this time felt different, like there was finally peace in the mystical little town of Hawkins, Indiana.

The last few years had changed no one more than Steve Harrington. Long gone was the arrogant, rich boy you’d known in High School, having been cut off by his parents and left heartbroken by Nancy Wheeler, he had become somewhat of an outcast. Never in a million years did he imagine his life turning out quite like it had. Steve always thought he’d end up like his Father, marrying some girl for convenience instead of love, being nothing more than a suit for some company and have a mistress in every city he traveled to. Steve was more than grateful he hadn’t gone down the same path and he knew he had you, Robin and the kids to thank for that.

He was sat at a table with Robin, Vickie, Eddie, Chrissy and Nancy, all of whom were engrossed in conversation about how sweet Hopper’s speech had been and how emotional it was when the Chief of Police shed a few tears while gushing about his new Wife, your new Stepmom. Steve couldn’t exactly say he had heard much of Jim’s speech himself, too busy gazing at you sitting at the top table with your family, holding back your own tears, laughing with your siblings, El, Will and Jonathan. He hadn’t seen you all day as you were too busy doing bridesmaid duties, making sure everything was perfect for the ceremony but when you walked down the aisle, holding your bouquet of flowers, smelling like lavender, he swore his heart stopped when you looked his way and smiled at him. You were breathtaking, literally and figuratively, the girl of his dreams. Eddie had teased his friend for how red his cheeks had gotten, knowing that the former King of Hawkins was head over heels for you and that you felt the same about Steve. Chrissy had intervened, telling her boyfriend to lay off with the teasing but she too secretly wondered why Steve didn’t just tell you how he felt. It was obvious to everyone that you loved each other.

It’s not that Steve didn’t want to tell you, he’d almost told you twice before on the brink of death. The first time being when you were stuck in the Russian base under the Starcourt mall, the second time being when you were all preparing to battle Vecna for the final time. But he’d made a promise to your Dad two years prior, after that night in the Junkyard when you first became friends that friendship was all it was ever going to be between you. Steve didn’t blame Hopper for wanting better for his daughter, didn’t blame Jim for thinking he was exactly like his Dad back then. But he wished the Chief of Hawkins could see him for who he was now and not the asshole he was four years ago.

After dinner was done and all the pictures had been taken, you took yourself out to the garden with a glass of champagne in hand, glancing at Steve before you made your escape outside. He looked so handsome in his tux, the tux you’d helped him pick out several weeks ago when he asked you to go shopping with him. You hadn’t spoken to him all day, having been avoiding him like the plague for the better part of a week when he mentioned that he was planning to bring a date to the wedding. You had tried your best to not let it bother you, the thought of Steve with some pretty girl on his arm while you were all alone and you’d be lying if you said you weren't just a tiny bit relieved when he'd shown up all by himself.

You knew your Father had spoken to Steve about you, warned him against asking you out on several occasions and even though you were angry that Steve obeyed him, it kind of made you love him even more, because the Steve you'd known in High School wouldn't have been so respectful. Sometimes though, late at night when you couldn’t sleep, you wished he’d climb through your bedroom window so you both could give in to your feelings just one time.

As Joyce danced with her new Husband, she couldn't help but frown at Steve who was standing talking to Murray at the bar. He'd left his table to get another drink after the meal, not wanting to be surrounded by all the happy couples while he not so secretly pinned for you. Joyce had always liked Steve, saw the goodness in him that her Husband couldn't and she knew how the both of you felt about each other.

"Hop, are you ever going to give that poor kid a break?" She asks as Hopper let out a heavy sigh, knowing exactly who she was referring to.

"Joyce, please not tonight, it's our wedding for Christ sake." He begs as his new wife nodded in agreement. It wasn't the first time they'd discussed this matter.

"Exactly! It's a day full of love and happiness and your daughter is out there miserable and alone because she's terrified to talk to the boy she's crazy about in case she upsets you!" She huffs, frustrated at the Chief's stubbornness.

"Oh come on, I'm not that bad!" He defends as Joyce rolls her eyes. "What about the crap you pulled on Mike when he and El got together? The kid thought you were going to murder him Jim.”

"But I didn't! See, he's alive and well, having a great time!" Jim points to his younger daughter and her boyfriend dancing with their friends.

"And what about Steve, huh? When are you going to admit that you were wrong about him?" The bride asks, raising her brows.

"Joyce...."

"Jim Hopper, that boy has helped save our children's lives more times than I care to count. He would do anything for OUR daughter, he’s shown it time and time again. You know he’s nothing like his Father. They love each other, Jim. So quit being a god damn pain in everyone's ass and go talk to him, please?" Joyce begs, giving her new Husband a small, hopeful smile as he closes his eyes and sighs defeatedly.

"Fine, alright. I'm going."

Steve is nursing a glass of champagne, trying to look somewhat interested in Murray's ramblings when he see's Hopper approaching him at the bar. Jim lets out a small cough, before giving Murray a nod to give them a minute alone and Steve nervously waits for Jim to speak.

"Oh shit, what'd you do?" Murray mutters to Steve before downing his glass of whiskey, giving him a hopeful pat on the back before going to talk to the new Mrs. Hopper.

Jim leans back against the bar, fixing his suit jacket as he tries to think about what to say the boy beside him. He knows he should apologise for being an asshole to him but it's his wedding day and he wasn't apologising to anyone. Not today at least.

"Harrington, why is my daughter out there by herself?" He asks, pointing to you, still strolling through the garden alone.

"I uh, I don't know Sir, I haven't talked to her all day." Steve replies, wondering if this was some kind of trick.

"Well, maybe you should be a gentleman and go keep her company, huh?" The Chief suggests and Steve is really suspicious now.

"I'm sorry, I can't tell if you're being serious or not?" Steve questions honestly, not trying to offend your Dad in any way.

"When am I ever not serious about anything that has to do with my daughters?" He asks, looking straight at Steve. "Never, sir." He answers back.

There's silence for a moment as the two most important men in your life pause to look at you. You stare back at them, astounded that they seem to be having a conversation without your father looking like he was going to kill Steve.

"Do you love my daughter, Steve?" Jim asks, both of them still watching you in the distance. Hopper already knows the answer, he’s known it for quite sometime. He saw how Steve protected you during the battle in Starcourt, heard about how he looked after you and El when everyone thought he was dead. He’d have to thank him for that one day but not now. This was hard enough.

Steve didn’t have to think twice before answering the question, even if it meant getting choked out or knocked unconscious by Jim Hopper.

"More than anything in this world." Steve admits, smiling brightly as his heart swells with adoration for you. Hopper nods then, placing an approving hand on Steve's shoulder.

"Then go make her happy." He says, giving the boy the smallest of smiles as Steve begins to cross the ballroom floor.

"Hey, Harrington!" Jim yells, as Steve looks back at him, hoping it wasn't really a trick all this time. "You're a good kid." He admits, as the boy nods an appreciative thank you, finally making his way to the garden to find you.

Joyce smiles at Steve as she walks towards her Husband, wrapping her arms around him tightly, before kissing him. "You're a good man, Jim Hopper."

He sighs heavily before he begins to laugh. "Happy wife, happy life."

Steve can hear his heart beating out of his chest as he slowly approaches you, watching you in awe as the moonlit sky makes your skin glow. You haven't noticed him yet, too busy gazing at the stars above, wishing for your own fairytale ending. Your hair which had been in an up-style all day was now hanging below your shoulders and Steve thought you had never looked more beautiful than right now.

"You could catch a cold out here you know?" Steve whispers from behind you, already removing his suit jacket to cover your shoulders before you even turn to face him.

"Hey stranger, I feel like I haven't talked to you all day." You smile, turning to greet him, embracing him in a warm hug as you both stay that way for what seems like several minutes.

"Yeah, I know. I missed you, Hopper." He admits, as you blush. "I missed you too, Harrington."

The song inside changes to Take My Breath Away by Berlin and Steve knows it's one of your favourites, he bought you the album for your birthday and it's still the most played tape in your car. You both watch as everyone begins to fill the dance floor back inside the lake house and Steve swallows hard before extending his hand to you.

"Will you dance with me, out here?" He asks as you nod your head, happily reaching for his hand as he pulls you in closer to him. You nervously wrap an arm around Steve's neck, inhaling his cologne and shampoo all at once. He always smelled so good. He places his other hand gently on the small of your back, intertwining your fingers together as you begin to dance slowly to the music playing inside. There was silence for a few moments before Steve cleared his throat to speak again.

"You know, I really could’ve used you at our table earlier. Nancy ditched us to sit with Jonathan the minute the speeches were over, so I got stuck with all the loved up couples, it was totally awful.” He jokes, referring to Eddie, Chrissy, Robin and Vickie.

"I thought you were going to bring a date?" You question, trying to hide the jealousy in your voice when you ask.

"Oh yeah, I was thinking about asking someone but I didn't in the end." He frowns and you bite your lip, wanting to know more.

"Why not?"

"Cause her Dad would've kicked my ass." He replies, as you let out a small giggle. Stomach filling with butterflies as he gazes at you.

“That’s too bad, I have a feeling she would’ve said yes anyway.” You whisper in his ear, leaning your head on his shoulder as he mumbles “Oh really? Well in that case, the ass kicking would’ve been worth it.”

"I saw him talking to you, thought you were a goner for sure." You tease as Steve shakes his head.

"I knew I'd be ok, too many witnesses around." He jokes, as you both laugh.

"I'd have come to your rescue eventually, if i thought it looked like you were in trouble, you know?" You admit and he nods his head gratefully.

"I know, honey." Honey. Was he trying to kill you?

"Seriously though, he didn't upset you, did he?" You ask as you continue to dance to the music.

"No actually, the total opposite." Steve smirks as you scrunch your nose.

"What do you mean?"

"He asked me why you were out here alone, told me to come and keep you company." He reveals as your eyes widened in surprise.

“Really?”

"I know, I was shocked too but I think Joyce said something to him because she was giving him the death stare the whole time he was talking to me." Steve chuckles and you remind yourself to thank your Stepmom later.

"He asked me something else too." Steve states, swinging you around.

"Oh god, what was it?" You ask, still spinning.

"He wanted to know if I was in love with his daughter." He says, as you fall back in to him in shock, placing your hands on his chest as he wraps his arms around your waist. You feel sick with excitement, like a kid at Christmas about to unwrap her presents under the tree.

“And…what did you tell him?”

"That he had nothing to worry about, El is way too young for me." He jokes as you smack him playfully on the chest.

"Steve! I'm being serious, what did you really say to him?"

“I told him that I do, more than I’ve ever loved anybody.” Steve admits as your eyes begin to water.

“I love you too, Steve.” You reveal, trying to hold back your tears as Steve cups your face gently, placing his forehead lightly against yours.

“You looked so beautiful today honey. When I saw you walk down that aisle, I thought, Christ, I could just marry her right now.” He smirks as you bump your nose with his.

“Careful Harrington, a few more compliments like that and I might just have to kiss you.” You whisper, wrapping your arms around his neck as he hovers his lips over yours.

“Yeah, I���m sort of counting on it.” Steve says, finally crashing his lips with yours, not giving a damn who sees. You were finally all his.

[alienpossession]

Prologue of my own take for this alien story by @apushforfolly

A little bit connected to @fullfriendnerdpurse story because imagine how convenient that he used the guy I planned to use on one of his alien story, and I linked it to my early caption too that you'll find later below. Kudos to @cleanstatevessels for bugging me consistently (LOL) to fulfill my promise

Sander van Broek is a Dutch fitness model and businessman. He's a rather established name in the fitness industry and that caused him to frequently fly all over the globe for fitness expo and bodybuilding meet where he will meet old friends, build new business and personal network or sometimes speak as a panel for his experience. Due to that, Dubai become a very sensible choice of residence for him because it's practically a global hub nowadays, and he's more than lucky to have some people he knows that can show him good places to rent

Sander knew Andrei from a couple years ago as fellow fitness enthusiast. They were cordial at first, but similar type of jokes and life mindset eventually bonded the two men and they've been close friends ever since. Andrei conveniently also worked as a realtor, guess his easy-going personality and charming look proven to be helpful to close deals with the rich and wealthy. Not to mention that he's a polyglot, capable to speak Romanian (his native tongue), Spanish (his girlfriend's native tongue and still part of broader Romance language), French, Russian (language spoken by his boss in the real estate firm), English and Arabic, making him probably a great asset to attract international clientele. All the places he shown were remarkable and located in great spots, but Sander felt the prices to be a bit steep.

"Crazy view, eh? This place gets both of the best sight, and the way this room perfectly captured the sunrise and sunset, perfect righr?"

"Certainly yeah. But again, this is like the 5th place you shown me to be above my budget. I have money, but I don't think I wanna blow it for rent,"

"No worries, price is pretty much negotiable, you know. Let's talk about it while drinking in my office, shall we? We're done looking anyway,"

"How negotiable are we talking about here?"

"You'll be surprised," said Andrei with a smirk, grabbing his Ferrari key and ready to leave the unit with Sander following him closely right behind him

When they arrived in the towering glass skyscraper, Sander cannot help but look upward until his eyes blinded by the sun. Dutch might be the tallest people on Earth, but there's no such tall building in the Netherlands, that's for sure. Andrei tossed his key to the valet and strut to the lobby with confidence in his step, everyone seemed to know him just by looking at him. Well, not like you can ignore a presence like Andrei anyway, he just demanded such attention to every spaces he walked into. As the elevator flies through the floor, he just hummed casually while Sander still marveled at the whole bunch of floors they passed through and how far they are already from the ground within seconds. As the elevator dings at the 66th floor, it opens to a short hallway with lobby in the end of it. The two receptionist greeted Andrei and Sander warmly and as he stepped through the lobby area, the door behind him closed

"That's just the way it is. Don't be afraid hahah,"

"Just surprised on how loud it was, that's all,"

"Okay, you go to the 2nd room after you take left, okay? I'll be there in a sec, gotta talk to boss,"

"Sure thing,"

"Oh, and by the way, what do you want to drink?"

"Anything is fine actually. Just don't get me too drunk, we're still talking about apartment,"

"Okay, as you wished. Just wait for a sec, okay?"

"Sure bro,"

So Sander fidgeted rather awkwardly in the dimly-lit room all by himself, waiting for Andrei to come back. So that's the boss? Piotr something? Sander saw a glimpse of a man with traditional white Arab headdress, the guy is massive and he seemed like a rather stern boss. Is that guy the Russian's counterpart? He's pretty sure he heard Andrei said his boss is Russian, but that one clearly seemed like an Arab and he's pretty sure he read that "Piotr" is the one written in the gold plaque attached to the slightly opened door earlier

---

"Frankie, how's Piotr doing?"

"Still not awake and no response from his body, my Prince. Just very tense and excessively sweating. Probably the slug still trying to wrestle the control over," said the nerd from a hidden office suite right behind the bookshelves within the CEO room

"You see, Andrei? I told you, some of these guys are just not that easy to be taken over. It's beginner's luck that you got someone as massive as him as your vessel," said the Prince from his chair

"Well, clearly Piotr was not easy to be taken over. For starter, he doesn't even understand what the fuck you are saying since he only speaks Russian and here you are prancing as an Arabic prince, and two, I told you I'll take care of him. He trusted Andrei, trust means easier takeover as they won't raise their guard or being too defensive,"

"Show me then. I see you bring a fella earlier. Show me how much "trust" will help you take that guy over. I check his profile, seemed interesting,"

"Pffft, you're underestimating me, Prince Hamid. You see......*take a bottle of wine from one of the small cellar in the CEO room* *take his shorts down* *painted the glass with his black slug* it won't even take more than 5 minutes and he'll be under my control. You'll give that body up to me and the chain of command, including the fate of that dweeb, if I can prove it to you how well my method works," Andrei said as he poured the red wine into the slug-stained glass. The slug camouflaged itself by changing its color and texture to match the wine's depth of color. Mere seconds later and it seemed like it's always been red wine and nothing else ever added there.

"And if you failed?" the prince smirked

"I'll let that nerdy friend of yours used me as he pleased," Andrei hissed while looking at the nerd with disgusted look as the nerd tended to his passed out boss

"Deal. I'm inside a Prince for a reason, young man. I know what I'm doing,"

"Yeah, he's in the middle of a climax when you shot yourself into his asshole. It's not like he can fight you, he's spent. And you got that nerd helping you. Me getting inside of Andrei might be luck, but the rest of those folks you met, the people I takeover, all taken over smoothly because they never thought their own realtor turned out to be something out of this world and all of those process were hella smoother than my first takeover of this stud," Andrei said as he wipes the remnant of the cum-slug in his piss slit with his fingers, give it a delightful lick before putting on his pants back. He then strut to his office to seal the whole deal with his so-called "friend" while the Prince followed him with some distance.

----

"Hey there, sorry. Searched for some of the documents first and talked with the boss about work," said Andrei as he barged into the room where Sander already waited for him

"That's okay, is that for me?" Sander asked, his eyes eyeing the glass of wine Andrei held alongside the bottle and some papers in his other hand

"Oh yeah, for you. Sorry about that," said Andrei, a little bit forgetful about his sole goal as he played Andrei a bit too realistic sometimes while he handed over the wine glass

But instead of directly drinking it, Sander just simply put the glass on the table, which trigger raised eyebrow from Andrei

"You don't want to drink first?"

"Oh no, let's hear first about those units, and maybe if we reached a deal, I'll drink,"

"Ahh....okay *internally cursing Sander*. If that's what you want. So, basically, you can get those units with half of their prices, max,"

"What? Half?! That's so great, how the hell that happened?"

"I told them you're going to be a long-term tenant and with your job, they probably won't have to worry about the payment and all. Just basically convinced them, you know,"

"Are you playing with me right now? Is there something I have to do for them or anything? Half is crazy, bro,"

"No, I'm serious. But yeah, they wanted something. Nothing nefarious or anything, the owner of the last unit just wanted you to help by personally training their son," Andrei said, trying to hide his grin from Sander by turning his back to him and acting busy in his table

"Really? That simple? Huh well, cheers to that then," he said, instantly taking a gulp of the wine in one go due to his excitement

Not even 5 seconds later, the glass dropped to the floor as Sander's body instantly having a massive seizure. His eyes fluttered and mouth foaming like crazy as his body wriggled like a seaweed, flailing here and there purely moved by the spasm of his own body. The Prince steps into the room with his timer recorded 0:25 seconds left. Upon witnessing the state of the man he saw walked earlier, he smirked because there's no way this guy would be back to normal within seconds! But, in a plot twist the Prince didn't see coming, Sander instantly groaned when the timer left 0:08 seconds as he then stabilized and start taking normal, paused breath.

"You thought I'll fail, huh?"

The Prince just seethed in anger. The timer stops at 0:02 seconds, but promise is a promise so a black, oil-like slug gets out from the Prince's ear and then slide off to the floor. It purred upon meeting another slug that came from inside Andrei's body before heading to their respective new vessel. As both men cracked their neck upon the alien entering their brain, Sander murmured

"This guy really didn't see it coming. He simply thought he's going to die or something, that's all what I gathered from his final memory. The burst almost caused his clothes to torn apart by the way, he really likes tight clothing," He said while trying to assess and fix his tight shirt that enveloped his muscular virile form

"Well, the rest of his memories will be accessible to you for the next couple hours so you can lounge around if you want. But yeah, as I said, the owner of the unit wanted you to train their eldest son. Of course the owner is also one of us, but I guess he has that attachment issue to his human vessel or something, some of the team are watching him closely to ensure that he can serve in full capacity or else we will just abandon that old fit man. But in the meantime, I'm the one tasked to ensure we also convert his eldest son. He's based in UK, but he'll move to Dubai in the next few weeks. Since I'm no longer Andrei, you'll do the job alongside Sander, is that clear?" said the alien formerly inside Andrei that now comfortably reside inside the authoritative Prince

Both Sander and Andrei just nodded and said "okay" slowly, one still trying to adjust to a new life with a vessel and the other one still dejected that he just lost a nobility's physique. But not like any of them can say no, they understand that their mission is important to the cause.

"And now, I'm going to leave this premise and contacted HQ for update about our changes. And, let's not try to make my father's suspicious that his youngest Prince went missing for long period of time with no possible info on his whereabouts, don't want to make that old man worried sick. Let's update each other's progress a month from now, hopefully by then you two and Piotr plus the nerd have more progress in branching out, I'm the Prince after all, yall report to me,"

----

"So Mike, how do you like this condo? Your father told us to take good care of it for you. Or you want to look at some spaces to rent on your own?" said Andrei and Sander to the oblivious Mike, not knowing the fate that awaits him.....

[saint-vagrant]

for the love of god stop with these Rational Thinkers' paragraph + italicised "VOTE!" posts. is anyone moved by this? i've seen "vote for whoever you like, but just vote" VOTE FOR WHOEVER BUT JUST DO IT? BRO! that's somehow more pathetic than demanding that you back biden or else you're too young and too old and too stupid and too academic and ultimately a traitor if you came to a different conclusion and act, to your best ability, in accordance with your ethics.

like yeah you'll do whatever and so will i, i guess. but it's psychically painful to see this totally coincidental influx specifically since october 2023. people calling leftists (well specifically anti-imperialists &/ communists) "russian/chinese/3rd party agents" who are "lying to you to stop you from voting." it's been worded as "your friends are lying to you." that is so cool. it's like 2016 in here. yday i saw "voting isn't about which leader will sign off on your glorious revolution" which is such a snide misunderstanding of... most things, i think? it's giving "proudly launching headfirst down stairwell." more than half the time i check out OP, they're openly a zionist, or end up there by default in the sense of being a bland milquetoast etiquette-obsessed "let people enjoy things" centrist who's so mistrusting of information or pattern recognition that if you possess either you're corrupted by "ideology."

why would it be necessary to lie? what purpose for a big convoluted conspiracy? for whom IS this simplistic, condescending, dispassionate shit anyway??? surely not for the people whose families are burning alive, thanks to the american government who robs and brutalises its own people in order to fund further massacres. because how could you look that person in the face and tell them "no, you don't know fuckall about how things run around here. now is the time for political decorum" ?? there must be such a sense of comfort in the idea that those people are "over there." like i think it's pretty unfortunate that a lot of these posts begin by citing some ~dramatic~ ~babybrained~ "take" committed by disgruntled "western" posters (who are spies) but when i heard the source, or when i go find it, it's by a palestinian or muslim person or just someone from whom it like, kind of makes sense why they feel the way they do! but then it's characterised in such a vague wussy ass way! huh??!!! like it seems very convenient to ignore WHO is organising/mobilising/criticising, WHO is protesting and abstaining, so that these posts come off more sound and reasonable than the leftist sleeper agents who appeal to emotion over sense. and i'm not even telling you not to vote! i'm wondering why it's so impossible to conceive of a reality where a marginalised person or group concludes that the health and safety of their community will be sought and achieved through other means. you really can't imagine that? that's dumb to you?

so i guess i, too, don't care what the hell you do with your precious little life, but it is So Fucked to talk down to people about genocide like it's a petty, inconvenient wedge issue we have to sidestep for the greater good. fwiw voting isn't wholly irrelevant to me, And Also, i understand being against a system means, for many, abstaining from its approved tools and pouring efforts into direct action. this is not a new approach! greater good is sought and achieved mainly and actively on the ground— not from above. moreover, there is no good greater than opposing and ending genocide for fuck's sake! jesus!

[pampushky]

my masterlist

Behold my multitudes of writing! Requests are open!

hard nos for writing: grooming. pedophilia. don't fuck with any of that. I will include trigger warnings in my works if needed/they apply. I use non-con/dub-con to work through my own trauma. so if you don't like it, don't read it.

my ao3 | ask away

One Piece:

Vinsmoke Sanji Creature (Both Haunted & Holy) Series Masterlist

Things of Note About This Fic: Slow Burn, slow updates, MC is a selkie, mc has severe PTSD, Past Rape/NonCon, Straw Hats as a family. On Hiatus as of 9/27/24

Roronoa Zoro- Disk Florets

Things of Notes About This Fic: Hanahaki Disease, not actually unrequited love, Zoro is an idiot (lovingly)

Trafalgar D. Water Law- Foot of the Gallows Series Masterlist

Things of Note About This Fic: Fantasy Setting, Soulmates, Marriage of Convenience, Manipulation (not by Law don't worry), Slow Burn, Friends to Enemies to Lovers. Updated once a month at least.

Formula 1:

Lando Norris- My Name is Brutus (And My Name Means Heavy) Series Masterlist The legacy of your grandfather comes with a heavy crown, one partially melted and reformed in flames that should have killed him. Akin to the fire that should have killed you but took your mother instead, leaving you with the same scars that Niki Lauda wouldn’t wish on another, least of all his own grandchild. Yet here you stand, drawing the ire of McLaren’s golden boy, with a twisted crown of his own to wear as you throw everything he was used to to the flames. You force him to adapt overnight when you join the team suddenly after an unknown incident that sends you sprawling as you try to cope with the sudden change in team. You terrify him. And he terrifies you. And somewhere, James Hunt is cackling that Niki Lauda’s granddaughter is frighteningly similar to him.

Things of Notes About This Fic: A/B/O au, Alternate 2024 F1 Season, MC will be from the USA (plot reasons), enemies to lovers, No real description of the MC besides scars & having heavily dyed hair (part of the plot), Niki Lauda is still alive here (also part of plot)

Max Verstappen- Something So Magic About You (Oneshot Coming Soon) Everyone with a soulmate is given an animal that represents their other half, and it always wants to lead the other towards their soulmate, constantly searching for their missing part. The animals appear on their second birthday. And it grows with them. Max is always seen with an elegant yet terrifying, pitch-black Russian wolf hound, sometimes running the track with him, as if to dare other drivers to even come close to him.  You, on the other hand, have a lion. A large, goofy lion that begs for all of your attention, even as you try to get through your final year of university. 

Things of Note About This Fic: Soulmate AU, Past Child Abuse, Angst, hurt/comfort. Max is absolutely whipped for his soulmate. He also thinks he's represented by a house cat.

Charles Leclerc- Mon Petit Doudou It's a constant fight for anonymity in a career like yours. While you want to hide the most intimate parts of your life from the viewers who tune in to watch you fall apart from a toy or your own fingers, letting your little gasps and whines coax the viewers into tipping you. Your dominant seems uncaring about the idea that someone may recognize him, but Charles has always bordered on aloof when it came to his job and the stigma that surrounded it. But he can get rather protective---especially when some viewers seem to think they have any right to tell him how you should be treated.

Things of Note About This Fic: Sub/Dom dynamics, coworkers to lovers, sub mc, soft dom charles, manipulation (not from charles), smut, angst to fluff, pornstar au

[ev4ikcasswife]

BRIEF COMPARATIVE CHARACTERISTICS OF THE RELATIONSHIP OF CHANSAW IN THE MOVIE AND MUSICAL

By me & @evans-gallery

Special thanks goes to @theodichka for helping edit this article <3. This essay was originally in Russian, but we decided to translate it.

DISCLAIMER

By "chansaw" here we do not mean a ship, but only a duet/relationship between two characters. Evan and I are well aware that Chandler and Veronica's relationship in canon has no romantic overtones, and that such wording is merely used for convenience.

GREETINGS. WHY DOES THIS ANALYSIS EXIST?

As you know, Heathers the musical and the film are two different works. The difference between these media also affected the relationship between chansaw. Therefore, Evan and I decided to make a comparative description of the duet of Chandler and Veronica in the original and adaptation.

VERONICA'S RELATIONSHIP TO CHANDLER. BEGINNING OF THE FILM AND MUSICAL.

Unlike the musical, the film does not give us clear information about the chansaw's first meeting (namely, the circumstances under which they met, how long they have known each other, etc.). However, when we meet Veronica, we clearly see that she is simply tired of Heathers' company. When J.D. asked, “You are a Heather?” (here, not a name is assumed, but “one of the Heathers,” since “Heather” is preceded by the article “a”), the girl replies: “No. I'm a Veronica." With this phrase, Veronica emphasizes that she does not want to associate herself with the Heathers company and Heather Chandler in general.

Sawyer doesn't consider Heathers to be his real friends (and the scene at 7/11 confirms this, as Veronica literally compares Heathers to her co-workers, not her friends), presumably her motives for spending time with them are the same as in the musical (surviving high school ).

Chandler:"Come on, Veronica. You used to have sense of humor"

Interesting fact: At first, Veronica more willingly agreed to do all kinds of wild things that Chandler offered her. This is evidenced by Chandler's phrase: “You used to have a sense of humor.” Does this line suggest that Veronica enjoyed bullying people? More likely no than yes. She was probably just trying to consolidate her position in the company, so she was more accommodating first time.

Veronica: "Heathers and I have been friends for three weeks now!"

Unlike the film, in the musical Veronica has not yet gone through her “accommodating” phase. We also know how long chansaw has been knowing each other (approximately three weeks), and for her this place is much more important than her version from the original.

She is ready to tolerate bad attitude towards herself, towards her parents and towards her best friend (albeit only partially in the latter case). Veronica does not approve of Chan's actions, but does not enter into any particular confrontation with her (except for the moment at the party, but here the state of alcoholic intoxication played a role). This is not to say that Sawyer at the beginning of the film was able to tell Heather whatever she was thinking, but it is clear that she is much bolder than her version from the musical.

JD. PARTY IN REMINGTON.

As already mentioned, Veronica in the film is tired of Heathers' company. She regrets leaving Betty, her friend, for this company and her tense relationship with Chandler.

(I won't translate everything here, but in short, Veronica expresses regret at this point for leaving Betty for Heathers)

Jason became a breath of fresh air for Veronica (of course, only at first). The girl saw in him a good alternative to the company that was already boring her, so after a quarrel with Chan at a party, she realized that JD was a way to burn all the bridges between Sawyer and her past popular life. This is also confirmed by the fact that, apparently, Veronica initially wanted, albeit reluctantly, to apologize to Heather, but after a conversation with Jason she decided to finally break off relations with Chan, mixing all sorts of nonsense into her mug, because of which the girl in red I would throw up.

Veronica before talking to Jason: "Tomorrow I will have to kiss her trained ass, but today let me just dream of a world where is no Heather. A world where I am free."

Here, after a conversation with Jason, Veronica says that she wants to make Chandler throw up before cutting off all ties with her.

On Veronica’s part in the musical, a similar passage remained without much change, except that the girl was actually preparing a hangover cure for Chandler, because, as already mentioned, Sawyer had recently joined Heathers’ company, and this place was still important to her, unlike her movie version.

CHANDLER'S DEATH.

In the musical, because Heather Chandler's ghost is something of Veronica's conscience, Sawyer feels guilty for killing his "friend." In the moments when Ronnie was forced to show cruelty, one can see similarities with Chan (especially the poses).

Both versions of Veronica are trying to find an excuse for themselves, but unlike the musical, in the film the girl copes with Heather’s death quite quickly, even if she is very scared at first (cus killing a person was most likely not her everyday's routine, haha). Most likely, this is due to the fact that, again, Sawyer is simply tired of Chan’s company.

However, the scene with the locker still changes the girl's attitude towards Chandler's death. Noticing that Heather had been keeping photographs of her and Veronica together all this time, the latter realizes that for Chan their peculiar “friendship” had some weight. Veronica finally understands that everything she and JD did was not right.

To sum it up, Veronica's treatment of Chandler in the musical and the film is not too different. However, at the beginning of the latter, her relationship with Heather was already on the verge of breaking due to the fact that Sawyer regretted that she had exchanged her past friends for Chan's company and was tired of spending time with her. The episode with the locker does change Veronica's perception: she realizes that their relationship was still important to Heather to some extent, so we can assume that Sawyer changed her attitude towards Heather for the better.

CHANDLER'S ATTITUDE TO VERONICA.

We're probably going to say a very provocative thing now, but Chandler in the film shows some kind of respect for Veronica. Let's look at the beginning: the lunchtime poll. Heather Duke and Veronica question Chan about it, despite the fact that the latter discussed the topic with both of them, but only Duke receives a sharp reaction from Chandler.

This may mean that Heather does take into account Sawyer's opinion, although not always. The fact that Chandler hangs around with Veronica during the lunch poll, even though Veronica doesn't provide any practical benefit (Heather asks the questions and she writes down the answers), may hint that Chan enjoys Veronica's company to some extent. Yes, she still uses the latter's skills for her own purposes, but at the beginning of the film there is no sense of outright disrespect on Heather's part, unlike the musical.

In the musical, Chandler brought her negative qualities to the maximum. She is rude to Veronica's parents, humiliates the girl in blue's childhood friend, shakes her at a party and forces her to humiliate herself on her knees to ask for forgiveness. And in general, the whole problem of chensav in the musical is the fault of Chandler’s image. Heather in the film did none of the above (just in case, Veronica's childhood friend in the original was Betty, not Martha), which makes her more mature.

WHY WAS HEATHER SO ANGRY AT VERONICA AT THE PARTY?

At this point we are only identifying the cause-and-effect relationship of Heather’s actions. Chandler in both episodes acts, to put it mildly, badly, and such behavior cannot be justified.

In the film, partying at Remington is, in Heather's opinion, an acquisition of status. Most likely, she was going to enter this university and wanted the same for Veronica. With her requests to leave and her subsequent behavior, Sawyer, in Heather's opinion, put their reputations at risk. Veronica's very bold responses to Chan's claims completely infuriated the latter, which is why she broke off the relationship between them.

In the musical, everything is much simpler - Heather appeared at the Inca in the evening in a society in which she already had a reputation, and Veronica’s open resistance could damage it. This is what caused Chan to react so strongly.

A FEW WORDS ABOUT THE LOCKER SCENE. Chandler felt a connection with Veronica, as evidenced by the locker scene and partly the moment where McNamara, after Chan's death, says that Heather would give her watch to Veronica, since she was unhappy with her taste in accessories. In general, one could say that the moment with the clock is far-fetched, but imagine the same Duke in Veronica’s place. Chandler would hardly give her things to Heather, even if she was dissatisfied with her taste.

This stupid app won't let me insert photos. If anything, the line about the watch was in the scene where the girls were discussing Chandler's death in the locker room. If you need to show one or another scene described above, don't be afraid to ask.

In the musical, this connection manifests itself in the form of Heather as a phantom as Veronica's conscience, but such interactions cannot compare to the scenes above.

IN CONCLUSION

The Chansaw in the film is clearly more interesting and deeper than the Chansaw in the musical (especially on Chan's part). They have moments that show the connection between them. Their relationship in the film is very far from ideal, given the nature of both girls, but it still feels much stronger and capable of development (under any ideal circumstances). The main problem with the Chansaw in the musical is the way the two are presented. If Veronica's character was not distorted so much, Chan underwent big changes.

In the film, Chandler shows insecurity at the Remington party, which adds depth to her character. In the musical, she is unshakable and seems to have no complexes at all. The relationship between Heather and Veronica in the musical is simply not interesting to watch, since they do not have the same hints of any kind of friendship as they did in the film, so their relationship is clearly better developed in the original.

That's all. Thanks for reading this essay, don't be afraid to ask questions & say your opinion. Sorry for the dumb grammatical mistakes, me and Evan are from Russia, so we are just learning English ✌️✌️

[eepyuii]

frostbite — pt. 1

pairing ; childe x gender neutral!reader

content ; childhood friends to “rivals” to lovers, slowburn-ish

cw ; some swearing, mentions of wounds & medical stuff, dottore warning (?) he doesn’t exactly do anything but y’know- it’s dottore, sort of proofread

note ; i am so scared, i’ve never posted anything like this on tumblr or at all LMFAO this is my first fic ever and very self indulgent. ive already posted 5 chapters of this on ao3 but i was curious as to how the tumblr ajax kissers would react to it. im sorry if this sort of info tab isn’t very descriptive, im just basing it off what i’ve seen from the viewer’s perspective.

ALSO, for context- tetya= aunt and dyadya= uncle in russian!

constructive criticism is appreciated!

next part | masterlist

“hey, watch your step! snow’s gotten harder and slippier these days…”

“yes, sir!”

“yes, father!”

just as the warning rings out, it’s followed by the dry crunch of heavy boots against snow. it’s not the same soft sound as it was a month or so ago, rather it sounds almost as if the ice gnashes aggressively at the leather boots.

it gnaws at your ears painfully, though you’ve been sensitive to such sounds for as long as you could remember, yet you still flinch.

ajax notices right away. he always does.

“here,” he goes, the cloud of his warm breath visible. turning your head toward the boy, you see that he’s handing you his earmuffs.

a sheepish grin invades your lips as you wordlessly take him up on his offer. mind rid of the god awful crush of the snow, you come up with a brilliant idea.

“last one there’s a rotten catch!” you charge onwards with a laugh.

“ah, n-not again!”

ajax’s father only watches from behind as his son hurries to catch up, a defeated sigh leaves him. “these kids…”

said kids were already reaching the lake clearing at that point. the frozen water already has its own layer of fresh-fallen snow, making it seem like an entire new tundra- that is, until you and ajax brashly create footmarks and snow angels on the surface while his father is still yet to catch up. if he’d been closer you would’ve heard the old man’s grumbles about having to carry all the fishing gear.

thankfully, there were no rotten catches that day.

your best friend’s laughter and your very own echo in your head like bells in an empty chapel, uninvitedly. the entire memory is instead invited by the sight of a father on the street with his own children, he carries a bucket and fishing rods as the youngins run ahead excitedly. you conclude that you should’ve left for zapolyarny palace earlier today.

this morning cannot start off on a bad note, not when the doctor had meticulously scheduled an operation for this very day with your presence prerequisited.

you’re acutely aware of this.

you’re still acutely aware of this when you slam your work bag onto the desk with such force that even the fatui guard monitoring the palace hallway jumps.

and you’re still acutely aware of this when you almost bump into one of your boss’s segments on your way to the operation room, a most certain death that would be if you did bump into him. even as you break your stress fueled stride, the segment blocks the path forward.

“if i didn’t know any better, i would assume this is your first day on your first job. ever.”

you furrow your eyebrows confusedly while the segment coldly scrutinizes you top to bottom.

“even the lowliest of fatui recruits know that the first thing one should do after clocking in is get into the proper uniform.” he indicates with a snark in his tone.

ah- your lab coat.

“yes sir. my apologies.” with a haste in your step previously thought impossible to achieve without actually sprinting, you beeline straight to your office, which is conveniently on the other side of a very long hallway from the operation room. so long, in fact, that it gives enough time for a certain someone to slink into the office room without you even seeing it.

you don’t notice him even as you’re already inside the room. well, how could you with such tunnel vision, powered by your early-morning frustration and innate fear of disappointing the doctor. you’re practically out the door with lab coat in hand when he finally quips.

“uhm, doc?” the voice is shaky but still impossible to not recognize.

god dammit.

the tsaritsa was truly not on your side today. with a deep inhale, you do your best to keep a neutral expression as you turn around to face the head of red hair that haunts your dreams. or rather nightmares.

“how may i help you, lord tartaglia?” you still hated that title.

“well heh… this is the head nurse’s office, i believe you can help me by exerting the very function of this room?” the harbinger puts on a friendly front, acting like he can’t feel your burning glare. within it, you start to gauge at what’s brought him here, few surface-level scratches and even fewer cuts that are ever so slightly deeper present on him.

“i’m afraid i’m running late for an important appointment with the doctor, you’ll have to ask one of my subordinates.” you state matter-of-factly and start turning to leave again.

“w-wait, please!” he reaches out to stop you and the hand lands on your bicep, rather than your wrist which would’ve been a quicker latch. huh. “let me talk to him afterwards, he’ll understand. plus, i’m your boss as much as he is.”

“you’re quite literally not.”

“yeah, i’m not. still your boss though.”

childe is not of as high authority over you as the doctor is, afterall you’re one of the doctor’s assigned assistants, but the way he talks so casually and… playfully makes him seem even less bossy. but you don’t allow yourself anymore time to dwell on it, instead you roll your eyes and give in. your boss almost giddily sits on the examination bed.

the sterilized silk gloves slide snugly onto your palms as you look your patient up and down.

“how did you even manage to get yourself roughed up so early in the morning?”

“it’s never too early in the morning for a spar! though- hah… even i didn’t expect to take this many free hits.”

“who were you sparring?”

“eh, some junior lieutenants at the northwest wing. there were some new recruits there too so i figured i’d set an example for ‘em.”

northwest wing..? you visibly pause at the revelation.“that’s… on the other side of zapolyarny palace.”

“so?”

“so there’s nurses there too.”

childe himself seems to pause then- you were catching onto him. he realizes he must think about his next actions as carefully as humanly possible.

“ahah… a-are there?”

good one, ajax.

you look down at the alcohol-soaked cotton ball sitting snugly between your tweezers and then up to a scratch right above childe’s eyebrow- seems like the perfect time to treat your patient. the sting comes before the harbinger can even react and much to his dismay, you keep the cotton ball on his forehead even as attempts to lean away from it.

“childe tartaglia,” you start, voice menacing and low. “did you orchestrate a sparring session with low-rank officers and get yourself injured on purpose to come see me?”

“a-ah ouch!” childe hisses. “surely you w-wouldn’t commit medical malpractice over something as trivial as this?” clearly he forgets who you work for, or pretends to at least.

“start talking.”

“okay, okay! yes, i did all that…” the red head sulks with a defeated sigh. pleased by the confession, you move away with your alcohol cotton ball of doom and give him space.

you watch the tsaritsa’s weapon of war crumple into himself, looking off into a meaningless corner of the room.

“i… i’m being stationed to liyue tomorrow.” his voice is entirely different from what it was when this entire ordeal began- quiet, hesitant.

“and?” is your response before you can even think about how douchey it sounds. it’s already too late when you see childe deflate even more and feel like you just kicked a puppy.

“and i wanted to come and give you the news.”

really? that’s all he wanted from this?

“then why go through all this effort of sparring newbies at practically the ass crack of dawn and lose? why not just come here and tell me at once?”

he scoffs bitterly. “like you’d talk to me under normal circumstances.”

the regret you were feeling from your cruel response from earlier quickly bleeds out into incredulousness.

“you haven’t talked to me under normal circumstances since we were fourteen.” you stab back and childe bites his tongue, he won’t retaliate this time. the rest of the appointment is spent in the deadliest of silences as you finish tending to his “injuries”. neither of you ever look up to face the other.

you pack up quickly as to haul ass from the office room as soon as possible. but not before you mutter stoically- “have fun in liyue.”

and childe is left to sit pathetically on the bed and contemplate his astronomical failure.

—

what a wretched week.

the days seem to take a thousand years each to end, the laboratory feels stuffier, the people less tolerable and you swear the pen in your hand feels heavier than a lead ingot.

“are you done sulking?”

oh yeah, there’s also the ruthless fatui harbinger you work under and the equally insulting bajillion copies of him. you know bajillion is a gross overestimation but you also gave up keeping track of how many segments the doctor has a long time ago, they’re bossy all the same.

“not sulking, sir, just… thinking.”

“thinking about the medical records you’re supposed to be overseeing surely?” he taunts and you can only scoff non-committedly.

said medical records were mere reports on several of the doctor’s past experiments and operations, arguably not worth such a commitment of your time or worth a hackling from your boss. either way the words and paragraphs had merged into blurred lines and incomprehensible messes in your eyes about ten minutes ago, you were only pretending to be doing something at this point.

the irresistible force of your boredom drives your gaze to anywhere but the papers in front of you, eventually settling onto a corkboard hung up on a farther wall of the doctor’s laboratory. tired retinas struggle to focus on the blueprints that are stuck onto the corkboard but they seem to have rough sketchings of… body parts? they’re definitely not human, no, instead the drawings indicate they’re robotical. on another blueprint is an unfinished rendering of the full robot body. the shape language is unconventionally stylized, to a point where they almost resemble traditional inazuman patterns or even… the patterns on scaramouches robes-

“l-lord dottore!! i have an u-urgent matter sent by lord pierro himself.”

huh?

“out with it. quick.” the segment doesn’t even bother to face the stammering officer that had bursted through the door right then.

“u-uhm… some of our liyue informants have reported t-that rex lapis suddenly p-perished during the rite of descension,”

huh?

“rex lapis, dying? well,” he drawls amusedly. “that would certainly be a sight. but how exactly does this development concern me? is the banker not available?”

“w-well y-yes… lord pierro specifically requested for your word on the matter a-and perhaps see if one of your s-subordinates could… be on-site?”

dottore’s segment lets out an exasperated sigh while a gloved hand goes up to pinch the bridge of his nose. “unfortunately it doesn’t surprise me that the collective surplus amount of agents we have stationed in liyue harbor proves to be utterly incompetent to the point where the jester himself would come to me for help.”

a feeling of dread settles in your chest as you try to digest the insane information you’ve been given-

rex lapis, the oldest of the seven archons of teyvat, is dead.

pierro, the head of the fatui harbingers, is requesting dottore to send one of his subordinates to investigate the scene.

that’s you, you’re dottore’s subordinate.

which means you’ll be sent to investigate an archon’s death. in liyue.

that’s where he is.

your head feels like it’ll explode any second now. the segment, ever so brilliantly clever like his prime version, seems to have the same idea as you and beams a sharp-toothed sadistic grin.

“why my assistant here does seem to be available, wouldn’t you say?” he turns a serpentine stare over to you.

“err… i don’t think i could leave my post here, sir, i am the head nurse after all-“

“nonsense, i doubt the bumbling idiots of this palace will find themselves into anything more troublesome than a papercut while you’re gone.”

oh the irony of hearing that after your… situation the other day. you huff defeatedly, standing up to start packing for your impromptu trip. the mysterious blueprints in the laboratory long forgotten.

—

morepesok hasn’t changed a bit since you left.

which, as much as you love your hometown, isn’t saying much- morepesok is as uneventful as it gets. in such a small seaside snezhnayan village, the only points of interest are the painfully traditional values of fishing and family.

the visit to your parents’ house is brief but comforting, some teary goodbyes and heartfelt words about how pleased and proud they are of what you’ve accomplished for yourself- achieving such a high position in the fatui ranks by merely helping people. you don’t even consider telling them about the doctor.

but what makes you feel worse is the visit to ajax’s family home. it’s like the house has been frozen in time, the place where you spent years of your childhood is intact and unchanged- except for some newer family pictures, of course.

teucer, tonia and anthon are the ones to greet you first, then ajax’s parents come along. huh… ajax. you hadn’t even noticed the switch your brain does whenever you’re back home. here, he’s ajax but in zapolyarny palace, he’s childe or tartaglia. but there’s no time to dig yourself a deeper hole in that topic because you’re presently being pampered like a very own daughter of the house by his parents.

“my dear, look at you! you look so grown and mature… have you been eating well?” his mother walks up to cup your cheeks with the most genuine parental love. she, like the rest of the environment, looks exactly as you remember her, with a few newer white strands betwixt her bright orange curls. well, remember is a strong word.

“tetya, it’s only been a few months since we’ve seen each other, i’m all the same.” you laugh and she reciprocates.

“yes yes, i know… and- oh! as a matter of fact, we saw ajax just this week, said he was being transferred to a northland bank all the way in liyue!”

and when you thought you could not feel shittier about this.

“it is a shame to have our ajax so far from home so suddenly but at least we still have you, dearest!” she grins, pinching your cheek with more vigor than you’ve seen apparent in fatui sergeants.

“hey!” the three younger siblings call out in unison.

“yeah, a-about that, tetya…” you start hesitantly. “i’m… also being transferred to liyue. there have been some unexpected developments and i’ll just be on field to check up on things.”

ajax’s mother huffs incredulously. “by the tsaritsa’s name! they must hate mothers over at that palace!” she shakes her head with disappointment. “speaking of which, have you gone to see your parents yet?” you only nod. “good good… well anyhow, are you in a hurry, dear? i could make you some hot chocolate and then you’re free to be on your way.”

how could you ever deny your tetya’s hot chocolate?

the rest of your stay in the household is spent chatting with the family and playing games with the younger kids, as well as drinking a cup of hot chocolate so delicious you almost cry. the afternoon is nearing its end when you’re walking out the door and teucer is bawling his eyes out at your departure, or maybe he’s just tuckered out.

“have a safe trip, kiddo.” ajax’s father pats you on the shoulder firmly.

“thanks, dyadya, i will.”

“oh! and take care of ajax, make sure he doesn’t get in over his head.” this time it’s tonia who pipes up and the rest of the family nods in agreement.

“bye bye, everyone!” you’re already at the house’s front fence, waving back as fiercely as you can.

the only thing you don’t notice is the knowing look that is shared between tonia and her mother when she mentions ajax.

[xf-cases-solved]

S2E2: The Host 😔

Case: In what is an episode I have purposefully avoided rewatching for at least a decade—because it is DISGUSTING—we find ourselves off the coast of New Jersey, bc of course this hellscape of an episode takes place in fucking New Jersey. A Russian kid on a ship gets pulled into a septic tank (ew) by A Creature, and his body is discovered in a sewer (ew) a few days later. Skinner gives this case to Mulder, and Mulder is pissed about it, for which I don't blame him for a second bc it is, quite literally, shit work. (This does, however, lead to a very funny confrontation where Mulder throws a tantrum at Skinner, only to then discover he's currently in a meeting. I did lol at that, I'll admit.) 

Anyway, Mulder reluctantly continues with the case, secretly recruiting Scully on the side to do some autopsy(!!) work and to pick her brain for science, even though the bosses said they aren't allowed to sit next to each other in class anymore. The episode just gets worse and worse and fucking worse from there, when Scully discovers a flukeworm (ew) in the dead kid's body. More evidence continues to compile, soon making it clear that what they're dealing with is something much larger and much grosser than they could have ever anticipated. 

People keep walking around and getting covered in sewer water, making me want to scrub myself so clean all the skin comes off my body; a man coughs up a worm and it is Horrible; Deep Throat is gone, but it looks like he might have a successor (!!!); Mulder and Scully have a friend in the FBI, I wonder who it could be 🤔 (hint: he's bald); and Mulder briefly considers quitting, but somehow THIS fucking episode is the one that convinces him to stay. (Like, I get it, learning he has an ally in Skinner is all well and good or whatever, I GET IT, okay? But look. If my boss was claiming to be my ally and then forced me to chase after a giant man-eating sewer worm—requiring me to BE in the literal sewer in the process btw—I would quietly set my badge and gun down on my boss's desk, walk out the building, and get on the next flight to New Zealand. Fuuuuuuck that, and fuuuuuuck this episode.)

Does someone die in the cold open: Yes, and it is the worst way any person could possibly die.

Does Mulder present a slideshow: He no longer has anyone to present slideshows to. 😔

Does the evidence survive the investigation: If it did, they should fucking burn it.

Whodunit: ☹️ worm man ☹️

Convictions: Chris Carter, for the crime of writing this and then making it exist in the world where I had to watch it with my eyeballs and process its contents with my brain.

Did they solve it: Yes, I suppose they did, in the sense that they figured out what killed that guy, and had a semi-reasonable explanation for how the horrible monster worm was able to come to be. Whether or not the horrible monster worm is still out there being horrid and monstrous? Well, that part remains an X-File.

[how do i determine if a case is solved? check the scale here: x]

THIS EPISODE IS SPONSORED BY: Bleach. Pour it in your eyes and also over your whole entire body and forget any of this ever happened.

Oh, and also sponsored by this funny text I accidentally sent my sister:

***

General Total Stats:

(green means stat has changed since last ep; red means new stat added to list)

Total Cases *Definitively* Solved So Far: 13 (first solve of the season. unfortunate that it had to be this)

Total Number of "Mulder/Scully, It's Me": 6 (told you it starts to go up rly fast)

Total Number of Times Scully Has Conveniently Not Seen Something Crucial: 6

Total Number of Times Mulder Has Been in Mortal Danger: 8 

Total Number of Times Scully Has Been in Mortal Danger: 8

Total Number of Sexually Charged, Uncomfortably Intimate, and/or Flirty Moments Between Friendly Coworkers: 13 (nothing overt, but they did have a nice conversation together, and mulder said something to the effect of being able to work with scully was the only reason he could think to stay at the fbi at this point)

Total Number of Autopsies Scully Has Performed On Screen: 4 (and there was a worm in the body ☹️)

Total Number of Times Scully Plays Doctor: 2

Total Number of Times Mulder Talks to an Informant: 16 (i was too grossed out watching this to properly appreciate it, but X has entered the chat!!!!! my favorite informant!!! i will get into more detail as to why as we make our way through the season, but eep!) 

Total Number of Times People Making Out in a Car Are Hurt or Killed: 2

Total Number of Times Someone Correctly Guesses a Password: 3 

Total Number of Nosebleeds: 4

Total Number of Times Mulder Has Tasted/Sniffed/Touched Something Questionable Without Following Proper Safety Procedures: 3 (you know what? i'm upping this stat. why did he go to the sewer in a suit???)

Total Number of Times Someone Says "Trust No One": 3 

Total Number of Times Someone Says "I Want to Believe": 3

Total Number of Times Someone Says "The Truth is Out There": 2

Total Number of Cigarettes Cigarette Smoking Man Has Smoked: 8

Total Number of Maggie Scully Sightings: 1

Total Number of Lone Gunmen Sightings: 1

Total Number of Alex Krycek Sightings: 0 (but i can hear his slow approach...)

Total Number of Times I Had to Look Up What State the Episode Takes Place in Even Though I Literally Just Watched It: 9½ (of COURSE it's new jersey) 

Total Number of Times I Had to Look at an Episode's Wikipedia Page to Fill This Out Because It Was Fucking Confusing and/or Too Boring for Me to Pay Attention: 5 (unfortunately i paid attention to the whole thing ☹️)

[thealogie]

I might step into it rn, but as a Russian I can say that we had this "good policies, wrong population" concept in the 90s and in some ways still have it, and it doesn't work in the long run. The "evil" half of the population simply refuses to accept this for some reason and it only leads to fragmentation of the society, deep distrust and radicalisation of people who could totally be won over if politicians didn't dismiss them, but actually worked to solve their problems. We have Putin now because of this in fact (many other factors contributed, but treating a huge chunk of the population evil and backwards certainly didn't help). I apologize if I don't understand something important here, but I doubt everyone who voted Trump is an oligarch, there are definitely common people who feel that they are not represented by the Democratic party, and I don't think they're all evil

P.S. I see that you've answered a similar post while I was writing it, and I appreciate that you did it. I'm still gonna send it though:) Because I don't want to delete something I typed out while hanging with one hand on the rail in the tube during rush hour and because I do think that it's important to make this point again. This sort of thinking imo only deepens the divides and hardens the stances of those who can be turned to the "good side". If the good side listened to them and delivered on their most pressing concerns. Which are rarely the minority rights tbh, they're just a convenient vehicle for right-wing grifters to prey on them.

Ok but their most pressing concern is that they hate me and want me and other kinds of “wrong immigrants” out of their country and want my friends to not have access to gender affirming care and think I’m insane for not popping out kids. So I don’t think we should address those concerns.

Though I think if democrats actually ran on leftist things like a green new deal and health care and infrastructure as im proposing it would also persuade some people who genuinely just voted for Trump because they feel democrats are not addressing their economic needs

[beeehiives]

And They Were Roommates (´◡`)

Steve Harrington, who, after all the events with his friends dying and the Upside Down and the Russians and Vecna, finally decides he needs to get the hell out of Hawkins.

He wants to spread his wings, find a place where he can make a fresh start without the memories of this place hanging over his head.

Eddie Munson, who, despite his name being "cleared" by the government and the local police, has a shit reputation and a healthy hatred for small town malice.

He can't wait to get away, to a place where nobody knows his name and he can live without the constant threat on his life and psyche -- hopefully somewhere where he can find a community of people like himself.

One night while he's tired and a little hopeless, Steve offhandedly mentions his frustrations with finding enough money working at Family Video to move out of Indiana.

Eddie fully sits up. He's been saving up since he got his first stash to deal, and every time he makes a long weekend trip out to Indianapolis, he picks up a copy of the New York Times to thumb through the apartment listings.

"It was more like wishful thinking," Eddie says, eyes wild and full of promise. "Let's do it, Stevie. You and me."

Steve's been looking for the first chance possible, and with Eddie's charm, how could he refuse?

Robin prods at him, teasing that it'll be torture for Steve, who is definitely not developing a crush.

So, they stay for three more months, saving every penny possible and spending every minute they can with the kids, their friends and Wayne. They promise to call all the time, and Steve sternly tells Will that they expect to see him at NYU as soon as he graduates.

When the leaves green and the weather warms, Steve and Eddie pack all their shit into Eddie's van and leave at the break of dawn for New York City, everyone waving them off. Eddie's eyes get a little glassy, but Steve puts a warm hand on his shoulder and he's excited for the future all over again.

It's an eleven hour drive, but the two have grown so used to each other's presence that it flies by. They take turns driving, and whoever isn't driving gets to play the tapes they brought.

Eddie feigns disgust when Steve puts on Tears For Fears, but smiles to himself when Head Over Heels plays.

With the savings they have and the call they'd placed to the agent before leaving Hawkins, they sign a lease on a tiny apartment in uptown Manhattan.

They walk around, exploring the neighborhood and pointing out landmarks.

"We've got to eat breakfast there. Like, all the time. God, those pancakes smell great." (Eddie.)

"Does that convenience store have a cat in the window?" (Steve.)

They eat their takeout dinner on the floor of their new apartment, sitting closer than strictly necessary in the completely empty space. Their keys are between them, and they can't stop smiling.

The next day, they go out in search of jobs. Eddie finds work at a mechanic's shop in their neighborhood, Wayne having taught him his way around a car. He'll come home greasy and sweaty, but he'll also be coming home to Steve, so he couldn't really find it in himself to care.

Steve gets a job waiting tables at a diner in Hell's Kitchen, meaning he'll have to get up early, but that also means he gets to see Eddie's wild bedhead mane before he's taken a shower that morning, so he can manage.

They come back to each other at the end of their days, sharing the household chores and each other's time.

They miss the people back home, but they're also falling into the rhythm of a future they can't wait to see.

Part 2? ヽ(•‿•)ノ You said getting together part 2?

As always, feel free to submit a fic request via my profile :3

[catlady5001]

end of year fic recs

somehow it's almost 2024. where did the year go. where.

here // part two

i want to share some fics i really enjoyed this year, organized by fandom! each fic will have a short summary, the word count, and a + symbol if it's a work in progress!

fandoms:

Fear Street

Stranger Things

Percy Jackson

under a read more for people who just want to keep scrolling :)

Fear Street

break the chain by cassiopeia721 (@cassiopeia721). when Sam is forced to move to Sunnyvale due to her parent’s divorce, she’s shocked by how weird it is there. 5k, crack and angst

Stranger Things

always surprised by what i do for love by birthdaycandles (@steveharrington). dustin, lucas and mike are at a halloween party when they find someone dressed up as an injured steve harrington, and take it upon themselves to defend his honor. 6k, oneshot, hurt/comfort

the end is here (and we do it a hundred times over) by placebythering. set during season 4, steve keeps reliving the day of the apocalypse. 126k, angst with a happy ending

strange (but not a stranger) by heartofwinterfell (@nancywheeeler). mike wheeler character study - he struggles with feeling replaced by eddie. 10k, slice of life

this must be the place by palmviolet (@palmviolet). set after starcourt, robin stays at the byer's for one night - one night that quickly turns into two, then three, then many many more. 25k+, slice of life with fluff and angst

view from a bridge by palmviolet (@palmviolet). a retelling of season four that imagines a completely different type of monster - a cosmic horror. this is one of my favorite stranger things fics of all time. 173k, horror

In A Strange Land by MrsEvadneCake (@mrs-evadne-cake). set after season 2, it focuses on the eldritch monster that has invaded hawkins. another incredible fic. 180k, horror

you are young and life is long (and there is time to kill today) by heartofwinterfell (@nancywheeeler). series with two fics, one from eddie's perspective and one from steve's, about the timeloop they went through. eddie remembers. steve doesn't. 70k, angst with a happy ending

I've seen your face before, my friend, but I don't know if you know who I am by HMSLusitania (@hmslusitania). after S4, the stranger things gang has to time travel back to 1983 to fix everything. they get the chance to lead normal lives from that point onward, but everything has changed - making things very weird for eddie munson, who has no idea what's happened that makes Steve Harrington of all people try to befriend him. 27k, fix-it (this fic is ao3 locked)

a boy, a tender age by Kostas. in the aftermath of season 4, joyce byers adopts steve harrington. 11k, hurt/comfort

good for my boy by MacksDramaticShenanigans (@stevethehairington). the first time wayne munson met steve harrington (completely by accident). 7k, domestic fluff

HEARING DAMAGE by yes_bella_no. steve learns to live with his hearing damage, post S4. 35k, hurt/comfort

light my way by lesbianrobin (@lesbianrobin). in which Wayne doesn't meet Steve until quite a while after he and Eddie start dating. 10k, domestic fluff

Love and Honor but Not Obey by crow_of_crimes (Theyna_Shipper). a story about steve and robin's marriage of convenience and their (failed) attempt to keep it a secret. 11k, angst and fluff

the lathe by palmviolet (@palmviolet). my favorite steve timeloop fic. set during the season four apocalypse.

sub-culture by palmviolet (@palmviolet). steve is pretty convinced eddie now hates him. turns out eddie has the opposite problem. 61k, hurt/comfort

eating in the underworld by greatunironic (@greatunironic). 8-fic series in an au where steve goes with hopper, joyce and murray to the underground russian base and doesn't return. 103k, angst with a happy ending

an eye for an by pukner (@pukner). six times that the boy who calls himself Steve Harrington feels real, and one time he realizes that he isn't. 18k, angst with an unhappy ending. tw violence

i can give you a heartbeat by soupbitchin. ghost eddie tries to get someone to notice him. 114k, fix-it

STEVE’S FIRST BRUISE by cairparavels. spider-man steve au. 47k, hurt/comfort

hellfire (save my soul) by philomendron (tetrapteryx). steve asks eddie for help planning robin a birthday party set in the Cabaret of Hell . everything spirals from there. 49k+, slice of life / hurt/comfort

always burning, world keeps turning by pukner (@pukner). eddie survives season four, and is around to deal with the massive post-apocalyptic fallout. between all of the 'post-earthquake' mess, he and steve figure out what they mean to each other. 2-fic series, 61k+, hurt/comfort

i'll kiss your mouth, and you'll be better for it by cpressmn. somehow, steve and eddie are the last ones to realize they are dating. 8k, minor hurt/comfort

The Very Best People by scioscribe. something is very wrong in a seemingly normal suburb. steve and robin go undercover to investigate. 18k, mystery

this demo will save your life by oh_simone (@aiyahsimone). The summer after Vecna, Steve ends up managing Eddie’s band. 13k, fluff

I Like to See You in the Morning Light by BonitaBreezy (@bonitabreezy). eddie survived the apocalypse. now everyone has to deal with the fallout. 27k, hurt/comfort

you're beautiful (every little piece, love) by strawberryspence (@strawberryspence). for eleven, steve shaves his hair. 7k, hurt/comfort

Of Kings and Cult-Leaders by ladyofthenorthernlights. dustin convinces steve to host eddie's latest d&d campaign. 12k, hurt/comfort

It's Not a Big Deal by AidaRonan (@aidaronan). after S4, eddie survives, but his entire life is locked away in the Upside Down forever (his books, his DnD stuff, his guitar.). steve takes it upon himself to replace them. 12k, hurt/comfort

Percy Jackson

here comes the sun by seaweedbraens (@seaweedbraens). au where percy and annabeth are soulmates, and percy is a roman. 23k, hurt/comfort

if i were to pluck on your heartstrings and if i were to pluck on your heartstrings.by seaweedbraens (@seaweedbraens). a percabeth soulmate au told from two perspectives. annabeth knows who her soulmate is before percy knows his, and misunderstandings ensue. 45k, hurt/comfort

kiss me once 'cause you know i had a long night by herecomesthepun. no powers au where the PJO gang work together. "Annabeth is married, Percy is new and Jason is really trying to be a good friend here." 12k, comedy

Everything, And Then Some by palestinianpercy (@sar-soor). no powers au. percy is a wildlife photographer who ends up coming on his best friend's band tour to help them out while he looks for a new job and gets his life back on track. 127k, hurt/comfort

ends and beginnings series by palestinianpercy (@sar-soor). no powers au where percy and annabeth meet by chance, and while they know that what they have can't last forever, they can't resist each other. 146k, hurt/comfort

we made a lot of music dancing (you and i) by vll8586 (@percyheartsannabeth). au where percy and annabeth are dancers in a ballet company, and grow closer after being cast to perform a pas de deux together. 11k, fluff and romance

Not By Design by inkncoffee. Paul's journey from that guy dating Sally to being Percy's father. 11k, hurt/comfort

constellations by liketolaugh (@liketolaugh-writes). a series fic detailing the immense therapy percy goes through post PJO and post HoO. it's incredibly therapeutic to read. 310k+, hurt/comfort

Laying Waste To Halloween by pinspec (@pinspec). follows percy and annabeth through their childhood and teenage years. 127k, hurt/comfort

Not So Shore by bananannabeth (@bananannabeth). mortals meet percabeth au. 10k, slice of life

bring me home by pjoseries (divineauthor). percy jackson is twenty-six when hera takes his memories. alternate HoO AU. 4k, canon-divergent

is this the way to exit my youth? by afromaniiac (@afromaniiac). Percy gets a bottle of vodka for his birthday. He isn’t a fan. He and Annabeth talk about it. 1k, hurt/comfort

[warabidakihime]

Love's Melancholy Farewell

Characters: Chuuya x Reader with a little bit of Dazai

ANGST, ANGST, AND ANGST! DID I MENTION ANGST? YEAH, ANGST. ANGST? ANGST!

Synopsis: Love is like a game of Russian roulette, except the bullets are all emotions and the gun never runs out of ammo.

-

Years had passed since Dazai left the Port Mafia, leaving you shattered as you tried everything to keep him from leaving. However, it was Chuuya who picked up the pieces and became your solace. He was always there, even when you couldn't stand to be with yourself.

You started off as friends, but eventually, your relationship grew into something deeper. Yet it was clear that Chuuya was just a rebound. You still loved Dazai dearly, but you refused to admit it. Despite your attempts to make things work with Chuuya, you couldn't help but want what your heart and soul wanted, and that was Dazai.

Chuuya had always been painfully aware of this fact and carried the weight of your doomed relationship on his shoulders. He never said a word because he believed that things would eventually fall into place, and you would see him for who he truly was, not just a convenient replacement.

Sadly, your relationship had been teetering on the edge of a knife for weeks. Your avoidance had been driving Chuuya insane, and the more you pushed him away, the more he clung to you. It was a vicious cycle that had to come to an end.

One night, it all came to a head. You had been distant for days, and Chuuya had finally had enough. He cornered you in your apartment, his eyes blazing with a mix of anger and hurt.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" He spat, his voice rough and full of emotion.

You tried to deflect, but Chuuya was having none of it. He knew the truth, and he was tired of living in a world of denial.

"You're still in love with him, aren't you?" he accused.

Your eyes widened in surprise, but you quickly regained your composure.

"That's ridiculous," you scoffed, crossing your arms defensively.

"Don't lie to me, Y/N," Chuuya growled, taking a step closer to you. "I can see it in your eyes. You still love him, and you always will."

You opened your mouth to respond, but Chuuya continued.

"Do you have any idea what it's like to love someone who will never love you back?" he asked, his voice cracking with emotion. "To be second best, a consolation prize? Do you have any idea how much that hurts?"

Your heart clenched in your chest, but you refused to back down.

"I tried to love you, Chuuya," you said softly. "I really did. But I can't help how I feel."

Chuuya's eyes filled with scornful sorrow, and he took another step closer to you, his voice barely above a whisper.

"Then why did you even bother, Y/N?" he asked, his voice raw with emotion. "Why did you lead me on like this? Why did you make me believe that I had a chance when you knew all along that I didn't?"

Your eyes started to sting with tears, but you refused to let them fall. You had to be strong for both your sakes.

"I didn't mean to hurt you, Chuuya," you said softly. "I really didn't."

Chuuya laughed bitterly, and the sound sent shivers down your spine.

"Didn't mean to hurt me?" He repeated incredulously. "Y/N, you've been hurting me since the day we met. You've been using me to fill the void that damn Dazai left behind, and you never even realized it. Do you have any idea how pathetic that makes me feel?"

"Didn't mean to hurt me?" He repeated incredulously. "Y/N, you've been hurting me since the day we met. You've been using me to fill the void that damn Dazai left behind, and you never even realized it. Do you have any idea how pathetic that makes me feel?"

The accusation hung in the air, and you felt the sting of his words like a slap across the face.

Your frustration boiled over, and you couldn't hold back any longer. "I tried to love you, Chuuya! I really did!" Your voice rose, matching the intensity of the argument. "Don't think even for a second that I didn't try! You wanted me to move on from Dazai, and I tried to give us a chance. But you can't force feelings, and I won't apologize for being honest about that!"

Chuuya's eyes narrowed, anger etched across his face. "Honest? You call this honesty? You played with my feelings, Y/N, and you're using Dazai as an excuse for your own indecision."

"I'm not using anyone as an excuse!" you shot back, your fists clenched. "I admitted my feelings for Dazai, but I also tried to make this work with you. If that's not enough for you, then maybe we shouldn't be together."

Chuuya's laughter was bitter, echoing through the room. "Maybe you're right. Maybe we shouldn't be together. Because I refuse to be a pawn in your game, caught between you and Dazai."

The tension escalated, and the argument became a battleground of harsh words. Accusations and regrets flew between you like arrows, and with each exchange, the relationship crumbled further.

"Oh, spare me your self-righteous act, Chuuya!" you retorted, the anger turning your words into a venomous hiss. "You knew what you were getting into. Don't pretend to be the victim here. If you couldn't handle the truth, you shouldn't have pushed me to open up in the first place."

Chuuya's eyes blazed with fury. "Pushed you? I pushed you because I cared! I thought we had something real, but all you did was use me as a placeholder until Dazai decides to grace you with his presence again."

Y/N's heart shattered into a million pieces at Chuuya's words. She had never intended to use him as a replacement for Dazai, but she could see now how her actions might have led him to believe that.

Chuuya's heart was racing as he stared into Y/N's eyes. He knew he was throwing his last ounce of pride and dignity away, but he had to do it. He had to try one last time to save their relationship and prove himself to her.

Without a word, he stepped closer to her and cupped her face in his hands, pressing his lips firmly against hers. It was a desperate kiss, full of longing and passion, hoping to ignite a spark inside her.

Y/N initially tensed up in surprise, but eventually she gave in, melting into the kiss. Chuuya poured all his love and emotions into the kiss, hoping to show her how much she meant to him.

Between desperate kisses, Chuuya begged, "Please, Y/N. Choose me. I'll do anything to make it work. I can love you more than he can. I know I can. Please, Y/N--I need you. Take a chance with me instead."

His voice wavered, and with each plea, he sounded more desperate and pathetic. As they pulled away, Chuuya looked into her eyes, hoping to see a glimmer of hope. But instead, he saw the sadness and resignation in her gaze.

"Chuuya, I'm sorry," she whispered, shaking her head. "I can't do this anymore. I can't keep hurting you, and I can't keep living in denial. You were right. I love Dazai, and I always will."

Chuuya's heart sank as he heard the truth, knowing deep down he had clung to false hope for too long; it was time to face reality. He took a step back, his hands falling to his sides, and looked down at the ground, trying to hold back your own tears.

"I understand," he said softly, his voice breaking. "I'll always love you, Y/N. But if loving you means holding onto something that's never going to happen, then I have to let you go."

After pouring out his heart and soul, Chuuya's last attempt to salvage your relationship failed. He stood there, looking at you with eyes full of despair, his last bit of pride and dignity shattered. He couldn't believe that it had come to this.

You gazed at him with a mix of pity and sadness, your heart aching for the man who had loved you so fiercely. You could see the pain etched on his face, and it broke your heart.

"Chuuya," you said softly, reaching out to touch his arm.

Chuuya looked at your hand on his arm and then back up at you, his eyes swimming with tears.

"I'm sorry," he whispered. "I'm sorry for everything."

You felt a lump form in your throat as you observed the broken man in front of you. You had never seen him like this before, and it was a humbling experience.

"Chuuya, please don't cry," you said softly, stepping closer to him.

But it was too late. Chuuya had already broken down, his tears flowing freely as he looked at the woman he had loved with all his heart.

"I just wanted to make you happy," he sobbed, his voice choking with emotion. "I wanted to be the one you loved, the one you needed. But I guess I was never enough."

Your heart shattered at his words, and you instinctively reached out to embrace him. Chuuya reciprocated, enfolding you in his arms, and together, you shared a cathartic moment of shared tears.

"I'm sorry, Chuuya," you murmured, your own tears tracing down your cheeks. "I never intended to hurt you."

Chuuya loosened his embrace, studying you with red, swollen eyes. "It's not your fault," he uttered gently. "I knew the risks, but I couldn't resist. My love for you was too strong."

You nodded, burdened by the sorrow of your crumbling relationship. "I understand," you whispered. "I loved you too, Chuuya. But we both knew it wasn't meant to be."

Chuuya nodded in mutual understanding. "I know," he replied softly. "I just wish things could have taken a different turn."

You managed a sad smile, leaning in to share one last bittersweet kiss—a poignant blend of love and farewell. "I'll always remember you, Chuuya," you whispered as you parted.

Chuuya acknowledged with a nod, his eyes welling up once more. "Goodbye, Y/N," he whispered before turning away, leaving you standing there, solitary, your heart burdened by the weight of unfulfilled possibilities.

--

Sequel: A Love Discovered in the Darkest of Times

[wsknbfanaccnt]

Gurl I love your account!! Knb fandom is low-key dead so it's refreshing to see ppl who still like the show 🔥🔥

I have a request which (I think) is very diffrent from what you usually do? Basically your own headcanons about Akashi. But not NSFW or stuff like that. Just random headcanons you often think about, maybe some of his quirks, his favorite something...etc...

Anyway girl make sure you don't die cuz then who will post this delicious Akashi content ??😔

AAAAAAAAAA THANK YOU SO MUCH YALL I GOT A COMPLIMETN ON MY BLOG ASDHFKASJDHFLKJ HOOLY SHIT

YESSS i'd love to do that omfg

and you literally just gave me motivation to live HELL YEAH IMMA KEEP POSTING AKASHI CONTENT

i do have some already on this post that ive made so feel free to read that, but ive written more down below

i hope you like it AND THANK YOU FOR REQUESTING!!!

feel free to request more<3

tw! suicide and self harm at the end

(i hope this doesnt count as nsfw but i have a few strong headcanons abt this for him)

Akashi Random Headcanons

he was taught at an early age to put his pinky up when drinking or picking something up and he always gets teased by his friends for it

he plays Shogi with Bokushi in his head when he's bored (he literally plays blind chess why tf wouldnt he be able to do this?)

also argues with Bokushi a lot

he is secretly a metalhead and an ELITIST because his opinions are absolute (duh)

he talks to Shiori's grave when he's in a rough patch

he switches personality randomly throughout the day sometimes just to mess with people

he has online friends he plays chess with (NEEERRRRDDDD)

his name online is (this is more or less canon) Red Emperor

his hands are a bit calloused (from basketball, violin and stuff) and he's a lil insecure about it

when he needs to rant he takes Yukimaru out for a ride and rants to his horsey (with expletives)

his violin is a fucking Stradivarius (a brand on the same level as a Ferrari sports car)

fluent in many languages including, but not limited to, Spanish, Chinese, French, Italian, Arabic, Latin, Russian, German

he likes driving at night, it's so serene and calm for him

he HATES HATES HATES waking up in the morning and will willingly sacrifice a lecture session with Masaomi just to get 5 more minutes of sleep

sometimes he still eats popsicles from the convenience store to reminisce his time in Teiko

he is NOT a touchy person, he's gonna stay away from as much touch as possible (but he doesn't mind hugs)

he still has his first basketball that his mother gave to him as a kid and it's in his closet

he's never been to a supermarket lol and he does want to go inside one (he can and probably will buy every little flavor of everything that he sees interested)

when he does something slightly wrong he has an Internal panic attack and starts hearing Masaomi's voice yelling at him

uhhh he loves Sevonne (me) and considers her his wife <3

after everything that happened, he still keeps in touch with Midorima often and hangs out with him a lot

TW!

has thought about comitting suicide at one point in his life

not sure what point but one point

also has very faint scars on his upper thigh

[ofstarsandvibranium]

To Have & To Hold: Part 5

Fandom: Marvel - Moon Knight (Mafia AU)

Pairing: Marc Spector x F!Reader, Steven Grant x F!Reader, Jake Lockley x F!Reader

Summary: To ensure you’re always safe even after his passing, your father, a mob boss, makes you marry his right hand, Marc Spector. You don’t necessarily hate Marc, but you don’t get along either. Therefore, this marriage of convenience may be a bit difficult for you.

Series Masterlist

It's been a few days since you've seen Marc. You imagine that since he's taking over your father's business once you two are married, he's making sure Marc knows all the ins and outs of the L/N Family organization.

You had to admit that you miss Marc's company. You didn't have many friends, you refused to let anyone get too close because you didn't know if they wanted to get to your dad or someone from your dad's past would use them against you. With Marc, it was different. He was already in the business, you didn't have to hide part of that life from him and you already knew he could take care of himself. It was nice to be around someone that you could be yourself with.

Your mind starts to wander. Do you see yourself falling in love with Marc? Sure, he can be a little emotionally constipated, but he listens. He understands you. He makes you laugh every once in a while. He makes you comfortable.

You groan, rolling over and smashing your face into your pillow. You groan and flail your arms and legs around. You proceed to yell into your pillow, "Fucking shit! Fuck me! Fucking fuck face! Ugh!"

Your phone then starts to ring and you see that it's your friend Yelena. You immediately answer the call, "Please tell me you're asking if I want to grab dinner or drinks because the answer is yes."

She chuckles, "Shall I pick you up then?"

"I'll get ready right now!" you hop out of bed, immediately rushing to your closet.

"I'll see you soon then."

"Bye!" you end the call and you toss your phone ono your bed.

Twenty minutes later, she rolls up to your place and you're rushing into her car.

Yelena was the daughter of Alexei, one of the Russian mob bosses as well as one of your father's oldest friends. You grew up with Yelena and her older sister, Nat. Alexei raised his daughters to be very strong willed and capable. That being said, they knew combat very well and, as a result, they taught you a few things as well. You're not as skilled as them in no way, but you know a little something.

"Haven't seen you in a while."

"I'm sure you know why," you give her a knowing look. With Marc being your dad's successor, your dad probably introduced him to a lot of his associates and explained the deal.

"I do, but let me hear it from you," she gives you a nod.

You sigh and then go into it all. The bomb drop from your dad, spending time with Marc, and...the potential feelings that are starting to form.

"Oh no, you're falling for your fiance. What a terrible thing to happen," Yelena responds sarcastically, her Russian accent adding a bit more sass to it.

You roll your eyes at her, "I didn't want it to happen this way though."

"We get the cards we're dealt with. Unfortunately, we don't have a normal family or life. But we make the most of it. Sure, you're forced to marry Marc, but, from what it sounds like, he's a decent guy. You said it yourself you see yourself falling for him. This is a good thing, Y/N."

You shrug, "I suppose."

Yelena pulls up to one of her father's clubs. Knowing both you and her, the bouncer lets you both in. Due to it being a weekday, the club isn't as busy. But there is still music playing, some people on the dancefloor, and drinks being poured.

An arm wraps around your waist and you're pulled into someone's side, "Why didn't you tell me you were coming, my little sunshine!" A deep hefty laugh is heard and you look to see Alexei.

You kiss him on both cheeks, "I didn't know you'd be here," you look to Yelena and she responds, "Neither of us did. What are you doing here?" she asks her father curiously.

"A meeting," he gestures to the VIP section where you see a small group of men and a familiar red head, Nat. She gives you a nod and you give her a wave.

"We'll let you go back to your meeting," you tell your father's friend.

"Da, don't leave without seeing me first okay? I don't see you as much anymore," he kisses your head and goes back to his meeting.

You follow Yelena to the bar area where she immediately hops over the counter and begins to pour shots of vodka.

You cheers and down the clear liquid. You wince and she laughs, "After all these years, you still don't like it?"

"I can't help it! It's-It's just too much." you shake out your arms a bit to loosen up, "Can you put in an order of fries for me?"

Yelena nods and gives a thumbs up. She heads over to the iPad to put down the order. The bartender that occupied the space was on the other side giving you two space and privacy. Yelena knew her way around the bar, you didn't need them.

Your phone buzzes and you look down to see that you received a text from Marc.

Marc Spector: Why are you at Alexei's?

You: having drinks with Yelena

Marc Spector: can I join you?

A part of you wants to say no. You kind of want to enjoy the time with Yelena. However, another part of you, the part of you that's sorta kinda missing him wants to say yes. You're not sure what to say.

"Do you have a coin?" you ask Yelena. She opens the cash register and grabs a penny. She tosses it to you and you catch it. Heads means yes. Tails means no. You toss and catch it. When you look at the result, you immediately text your reply to Marc.

Yelena, approaching you again with your usual, asks, "What just happened?"

You pocket your phone and reply, "Marc's joining us."

"Aaahh the husband to be. Exciting," she wiggles her brows at you and you roll your eyes.

"It's just drinks," you give her a shrug, trying to act as nonchalant as possible.

She gives you a knowing look and proceeds to take a swig from her beer bottle.

You give her another shrug, "I mean, ya know, gotta get used to being around each other all the time now."

__________________

When Marc arrives, you and Yelena are on the dance floor dancing and singing to Whitney Houston. There aren't a lot of people in the club, but still a good amount to fill a fourth of the dance floor.

Marc strolls up to you, tapping you on the shoulder, "Hey."

You yelp and twirl around, a little embarrassed that he saw you being a little goofy, "Oh hey." You glance at Yelena over your shoulder, "Um, you know Yelena?"

"We've seen each other around," Marc gives her a nod. Yelena lifts her bottle and gives him a nod. She doesn't say anything, simply observes.

"Everything okay?" you ask with slight concern.

"Yeah, yeah. Just a lot today. A little overwhelming," he sighs, running his hand through his hair. You kind of hated how attractive it is when he does that.

You snort, "Better you than me," you take a sip of your drink.

Marc hums and looks at you up and down, clearly checking you out, "I like this color on you."

Yelena makes a noise beside you and shoot her a look before responding, "Thanks, um, I don't really wear this color often."

"You should wear it more," he simply states and then clears his throat, "I'll let you two hang out. I'll be at the bar if you need anything."

"Uh huh," you nod and watch him walk towards the bar.

Yelena slaps your arm, "He wants you!"

"Stop it!"

"Y/N he was clearly checking you out!"

"I don't-he-I mean not really," you're trying not to think too much of it. But then you glance at Marc's direction, he's sipping a beer but his eyes are on you. His eyes glance up and down your body again and you suddenly feel really warm.

You turn away and Yelena is cackling. She's way too amused by all of this. You slap her arm this time, "Shut up! What do I do?"

She shrugs, "Fuck him? I don't know. You guys are getting married, it's okay to be attracted to each other."

You groan and down the rest of your drink. You sigh, "I think it's time for more shots."

Yelena grins at you and says, "Say less," as she grabs your hand and pulls you back to the bar.

[fullscoreshenanigans]

Something that I think is underrated in the fandom is the concept of the cattle children making friends their age in the human world post-canon. I like to think that the younger kids would have an easier time socializing while the older kids may be more withdrawn (especially with the adults), but get better with time.

Do you have any headcanons about their interactions with the human world? And where in the world do you think they settled down at? I’m guessing that snowy area Alex lived at may be what was formerly Russia/East Europe because of his last name, but idk.

I also find it odd that Shirai never told us what Emma’s ‘new’ name was (that becomes her middle name). Have any in mind?

I don't know if I'd say underrated? If asked I think a lot of fans are open to it/enjoy it, myself included.

Underexplored though, definitely, but I think this stems from how hard it can be to sell original characters in fanfiction the closer in proximity and importance they are to the main characters. This is also part of the reason I believe Matilda is Norman's biological mother and Sienna is Emma's biological mother are decently popular theories: it offers people the convenience of already having a minor canon character with a design and foundations of personality and history that can be referenced with greater recognition among other fans to project headcanons onto.

But if we're just talking about alluding to it happening in the background, one of my favorite Rayemma fanfics, She Loves Me, She Loves Me Not by groundedreamer, touches upon it in almost the exact way you describe:

I didn't even realize it was a Rayemma fic at first (or a Hanahaki AU; I usually don't read those) because I zeroed in on it being in the Jemima tag with the entire first chapter being dedicated to Ray & Jemima bonding.

Highly recommend if one's open to RE.

Do you have any headcanons about their interactions with the human world?

This is very broad and we could be here for a while, but all the cattle children aware of the truth before crossing over to the human world, including the Grace Field children who didn't escape but saw Isabella being murdered, have PTSD. This initially makes it rough for the older children to accept help from healthcare professionals and to navigate the best way to handle things for the younger children.

I'm always going to advocate for Norman and Ray going antiquing or to junk shops for items they can fix up and potentially gift to people, especially if they end up finding a duplicate of the music box Isabella gave Emma on her sixth birthday.

(Mystic Code Book Chapter 1 Q&A | Questionnaire Translation Source)

I also talk about my preferred career paths for the trio here since I'm not fond of the path Shirai took with Norman and Ray, even if I understand why he did it. (I am 100% behind Nat becoming a famous pianist though.)

And where in the world do you think they settled down at? I’m guessing that snowy area Alex lived at may be what was formerly Russia/East Europe because of his last name, but idk.

I agree given that they start out in former New York City that the demon god would send her to the opposite side of the globe. And while Alex is fluent in English, I think it's sweet if the kids learn Russian to speak with him as he becomes integrated into the family as a father/grandfather figure.

I also find it odd that Shirai never told us what Emma’s ‘new’ name was (that becomes her middle name). Have any in mind?

With how cagey he was about confirming what a number of people had already suspected about Ray's bait note because he wanted to leave the door open for multiple possibilities prior to his health deteriorating, this doesn't really surprise me kfjdgvkj

I default to Wendy because of the Peter Pan connection, but I also gravitate a bit to Alice, Charlotte, or Jane.

[mikimeiko]

New Year's Resolutions 2024, but funny/silly/enjoyable ones:

Make more spreadsheets (I don't know how it took me 38 years to notice but I LOVE making spreadsheets! I might even learn how to use the interesting functions at some point)

Go more often to eastern european/russian convenience stores to get the tasty frozen treats, kefir, sour cream and more things i haven't discovered yet

Make more pretty drinks!

Broaden the range of music I listen to (you never know what your next favourite genre is gonna be)

Experiment in some way with clothes making/adapting/transforming

Celebrate my mid-year-birthday (I was born in november, when it's cold and grey, I've been saying that I want to celebrate my mid-year-birthday in may for years but I still haven't done it!)

Spend more time inside when it's cold and dark; spend more time outside when it's sunny and windy and beautiful

Now, I don't wanna impose, but I would love to read what my friends happy resolutions are, so I am gonna tag some of you and you can do it if you want - and if I haven't tagged you but you still want to do it be my guest (I was inspired by that pasta shapes resolution post after all, it's not like this is my copyrighted idea XD) @bookshelfdreams, @nestingnomad, @anthosphilos, @ayomason, @sevenya, @hello-jon-apologies-for, @invisiblegreendot, @little-orcs-hurrarrumm, @halwayne, @khargaotte, @dailydoseofsquee, @knowlesian, @unreconstructedfangirl, @vampiratesinaboat, @ferusaurelius, @swagisa-kaworu-kun, @pasquey, @lookslikeaquentinblakedrawing, @katanisohma, @edgynotice, @theastonishingavengers, @bonerrmccoy, @malvolios-yellow-stockings, @imaginariumgeographica, @armouredheart, @pandora--braithwaite