#gotta start thinking more of the flower family i guess

[erigold13261]

Will Mama and Yinu in the FRAU ever get along? (Or without Mama getting sick, will their relationship stay sour?)

I honestly don't know. I see Yinu as the type to never truly give up on her family. She would get away from Mama but never fully cut her off. She might go a year or two without talking to her, but eventually she would come back around (unlike OG Neon who fully cut his parents out of his life and what the FRAU Sayu Crew will do once they turn adults).

Thankfully those years apart would probably snap Mama back to reality, so it's not like a situation where Yinu is going back to an abusive relationship. Though I also see Yinu being able to stand up for herself and articulate her feelings to her mother once she is an adult and after spending time away from Mama.

So yeas, I can see them getting along later in life, whether there is a health scare or not. But their relationship will never be as strong as it could have been.

[literaryavenger]

New Year's Eve

Summary: A game of two truths and a lie reveals to the team a fact about the you that Bucky can’t seem to stop thinking about.

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Avenger!Female Reader

Warnings: Minimal use of Y/N. Language 'cause why not. A lot of fluff. My poor attempts at being funny. Mutual pining, idiots in love. Self-deprecating thoughts.

Word Count: 3.2K

A/N: Happy New Year's Eve! Thanks for all the messages when I was sick, I'm finally feeling better and I'm negative for Covid! I really wanted to post something for New Year's Eve and this came from a fever dream I had when I was sick, lol. I hope it's any good and someone enjoys it! A particular thank you to @ordelixx for helping me with this story!💘I've only started posting here about a month and a half but I'm really enjoying it and feeling more and more comfortable in my writing. I hope I'm also getting better at it. Anyway, I have big plans for the New Year that I hope you'll enjoy! This year hasn't been great for me, but I'm planning on working harder than ever to make sure the next one is a year I can be proud of. I hope you guys have a nice last day of 2023 and an amazing start of 2024! Love you all.💘

Masterlist

“Ok, your turn, Kill Bill. Two truths and a lie, go.” Tony says, referring to the fact that you fight with swords, making you roll your eyes before you join in on the laughter.

“Ok, uhm...” you try not to look at anyone so you don’t give away the answer “I have a teddy bear that I sleep with, I have bungee jumped from the top of the tower and I’ve never had a New Year’s kiss.”

You look back up to the room and wait for their guesses.

It’s a Friday night and the people that remained in the Tower for the holidays decided to have a little game night.

Every year the same people stay around, having nowhere in particular to go, and spend Christmas together. 

Clint and Scott usually spend this time with their families, this year Thor decided to go to New Asgard with Bruce and Loki to visit Val and Korg, and Peter decided to spend it with aunt May and Happy.

You usually alternate between going to visit your family and staying in the tower each year, and this one was your turn to go to your first home.

You came back the day after Christmas, never being one to miss Tony’s New Year’s Eve party that’s gonna happen in two days now.

“Well, we know she has a teddy bear.” Wanda says.

“Do we know that?” Tony turns to you, narrowing his eyes. “Do you have one?”

“Yes, she does, we’ve seen it” Natasha answers for you while you glance at Bucky, praying he doesn’t put together that they’re talking about the teddy bear he gifted you for Valentine’s Day this year along with flowers. 

Natasha and Wanda were more happy than you when you told them, sustaining that he did it because he liked you until you pointed out that he gave flowers to them too, because he’s sweet and a gentleman and that’s just who he is.

They wouldn’t let up on the fact that neither of them got a teddy bear though, and you would have agreed with them but Bucky never really did anything else about it so you decided to let it go and not read too much into it.

You're brought back to the present by Tony.

“Ok, so she has one. Then it’s gotta be the New Year’s kiss, everyone has had one at least once in their life,” he was looking at your reaction very closely while talking, but you did your best to keep an easy smile and not give anything away.

“Even Captain Virgin over there had one last year.” he adds vaguely waving towards Steve’s general direction. 

You crack at the nickname and at the undignified sound Steve made while blushing and glancing at Nat that shared that kiss with him.

“Tony, there’s no way that she bungee jumped from the roof without us knowing, that’s gotta be the lie.” Sam interjects, also watching you closely for any signs of a reaction that you manage not to give.

“Alright, just take your guesses, people.” You say to the group.

“New Year’s Kiss.” Tony all but yelled, Natasha and Wanda agreeing with him.

“Bungee jump.” Sam says and Steve and Bucky agree, then they all seem to hold their breath as they wait for your answer.

It’s not a surprise that even these stupid little games cause a lot of competition amongst the team.

“Neither.”-you finally said and let out a laugh when they all groan in annoyance while taking their shots for guessing wrong.

“WAIT- you bungee jumped off the ROOF? When?!” Steve seems more concerned than anything.

“Well, you know a few months ago when we happened to all be on different missions at the same time?” They nod, not knowing where you're going with this “Clint and I came back first from ours, we were bored and there was no one around to stop us from doing anything stupid so…” you trail off, shrugging while laughing. 

Steve looks shocked, Sam is laughing his ass off while Tony immediately goes to look for the security footage.

They all cheered while watching you throw yourself off the roof, Clint's yells and laughter could be heard, and then Steve shakes his head while joining you in the laughter when you see Clint take his turn and scream like a little girl while you fall to the ground laughing on the video. 

Once you all composed yourselves, Tony pokes Wanda’s arm “I thought you said she had a teddy bear.” he's looking at her like she brought him on a treasure hunt and then betrayed him and left him for dead on a deserted island.

“She does! She got it from-” you interrupt her before she can finish the sentence, blushing a little and avoiding Bucky’s eyes.

“I do have a teddy bear, I just don’t sleep with it.” you say, shrugging.

“Oh, come on, that’s cheating!” Natasha whines.

“It’s really not, just because I do have one it doesn’t mean I didn’t tell a lie about it” you laugh at her pout.

“Wait a minute, so you’ve never had a New Year’s kiss?” Tony looks at you like you suddenly grew two heads.

“It’s not a big deal. Funny thing is, I have had boyfriends during New Year’s Eve, I just never happen to spend the day with them.” you say absentmindedly while thinking back at all the parties you’ve been to over the years to celebrate the new year.

“Really?” it's so quiet you almost missed it, your eyes snapping up to meet Bucky’s that were already looking at you.

“Is that so hard to believe?” The room seems to go quiet as everybody looks at you two, but you're too focused on each other to notice.

“I didn’t- I mean…” his cheeks started to turn a little pink as he seemed to have trouble finishing his sentence “It’s just you’re very pretty, who wouldn’t want to kiss you?”

You didn’t know what to say to that, you start blushing too while opening and closing your mouth a couple of times, looking like a damn fish.

You settle for a quiet ‘thank you’ with a smile that he shyly returns, neither of you noticing the glances passed by everyone else.

The whole team is convinced that there’s something between you and Bucky, but both of you always deny it and don’t seem to read too much into each other’s actions, always dismissing the glances and lingering touches as friendly affection even though you’re not really that close.

But really what else could it be?

The team lets the moment end and the game goes on, everyone keeps drinking and having fun until it gets really late and you all decide to call it a night.

Bucky goes to his bedroom and gets ready for sleep but he can’t seem to focus on anything else but you.

He really doesn’t understand how can anybody see your pretty self when you’ve just woken up, no makeup and your eyes full of sleep and not want to kiss you, let alone when you are all dolled up in a pretty golden dresses like you do every New Year’s. 

Every year it gets harder for him not to just grab you and kiss you, hell every day is pretty much torture to see you around the Compound and not get to be with you the way he wants to.

But he has to keep his hands to himself because there’s no way you could actually like him like that. 

He’s even tried to drop hints here and there like giving you the teddy bear for Valentine’s Day but, except for the cute shade of pink that your face turned, you still didn’t seem all that interested.

Still, that didn’t stop him from thinking what it would be like if you did like him and fantasize about being your first New Year’s kiss and maybe even your last first kiss.

At the same time you were in your own room getting ready for bed while your own thoughts kept going back to the moment you shared with Bucky in the living room. 

You didn’t know if you were more embarrassed because you actually told the team you’ve never had a kiss on New Year’s Eve or happy because Bucky called you pretty.

If it was anyone else you wouldn’t even think twice about it, but coming from him it just felt like you were being complimented for the first time ever. 

Everytime you thought about it you felt all warm and fuzzy inside, and at this point the moment was pretty much on loop in your mind.

The more you think about it the more you feel your face heat up, sleep not coming easily as you slip into Bucky filled dreams.

The next day everybody’s hanging out in the living room, most of them nursing a hangover from last night. You get ready for a last minute shopping trip to try and find a new dress for New Year’s Eve.

When you get to the living room you see Steve grinning at a disgruntled Tony, Wanda, Sam and Natasha who are obviously very hangover and nowhere near as amused as the blonde supersoldier. 

Bucky’s attention is on you as soon as you're in his field of vision and no one fails to notice it, except you of course, your own attention on Wanda and Natasha sprawled on the couch.

“Well, I was gonna ask you if you wanted to come shopping with me,” you start watching from one to the other, as amused as Steve at everyone’s inability to contain themselves when drinking. “but I don’t think that’s happening.” 

“Bite me, YLN.” Is all Nat says.

Wanda, on the other hand, is a little gentler. “I can come with you, if you want.” she says sweetly.

“That’s okay, Wands.” you smile at her “just rest and drink lots of water.”

You turn around, saying bye to everyone and making your way out. As soon as the doors of the elevator close, everyone turns to Bucky that's not even pretending not to be staring anymore.

Not that anyone could ignore the longing look on Bucky’s face as he watches you walk away.

“Buck,” Steve starts talking, glancing at everyone before setting his gaze back on his best friend. “we need to talk.”

“Okay…” he slowly drags out, unsure if he even wants Steve to keep going.

“Well, we’ve been noticing some things lately…” He’s unsure of how to say this. “Between you and Y/N.”

Bucky’s cheeks start to turn a slight shade of pink, but he’s still not sure where Steve’s going with this so he says nothing.

“So we thought” he gestures around at everybody. “that maybe we should-”

“We know you like her, and we want to help you get with her.” Tony interrupts Steve, quickly getting to the point.

At Steve’s glare, Tony merely raises his hands in surrender saying, “Listen, Capsicle, I’m way too hungover to take the panoramic route. Let’s just get this over with.”

“Yeah, Stark’s right.” Sam says, turning Bucky whose face is fully red now. “You have a weak ass game, man. Let us help you.”

They all look at the brunette supersoldier while waiting for his answer. He chews on his lip while looking at the expectant faces of his friends, before letting out a deep sigh.

“How would you even help me?” He says quietly, neither accepting nor denying their help just yet.

“Well, we know Y/N,” Wanda says.

“Yeah, we can tell you what turns her on.” Natasha smirked, before Wanda flicks her ear making her let out an ‘ow’ with a slight pout.

“What she means is,” she glares at Natasha “we can tell you what she likes, you know. Maybe help you get closer to her.”

Bucky shakes his head lightly “This is not a good idea. And it doesn’t even matter if she doesn’t like me.”

Wanda and Natasha seem to have a silent conversation, ending with Natasha raising her eyebrow at Wanda and Wanda just sighing with a soft ‘fine’.

“She does like you.” Wanda turns back to Bucky.

“She’s just convinced that you don’t like her like that.” Natasha says with a roll of her eyes.

Bucky still wasn’t completely convinced, but he agreed nonetheless. Maybe it was the glimmer of hope the girls gave him, but if there was even the slightest chance you could actually like him, he owed it to himself to try. 

So he let the team make a plan to get you guys together, hoping to god he wouldn’t come to regret it.

You come home a few hours later, super excited to have found the perfect dress for the party the next night.

Bucky thought you were just so cute, all smiles and giggles.

Wanda and Nat talked you into having the last girls night of the year, although it didn’t really take much convincing.

And so the plan begins.

You’re relaxing on your bed, Wanda lying next to you, your head on her lap, and Nat sprawled on the love seat near the window close to your bed.

You’re wearing bathrobes, sheet masks on your faces as you watch a cheesy romcom that you’re so embarrassingly into you don’t even notice the girls exchange a look and nod at each other.

Wanda clears her throat and then begins talking, as casually as she can. “So, how come you never told us you never had a New Year’s kiss?”

They had to approach the subject somehow, right?

“I don’t know,” you say absentmindedly and then shrug, your attention still on the Tv. “didn’t think it was important.” 

“Sure it isn’t.” Nat said, and her tone took your attention away from the movie for the first time since it started.

“What’s that supposed to mean, Tasha?” she simply shrugs, an innocent look in the face.

“It doesn’t mean anything” she says, her attention seemingly on the movie “I mean, if it doesn’t bother you, it doesn’t bother me.”

“Why would it bother me?” you frown, you don't understand what's so weird about this.

“Well, some people might find it a little…” Wanda trails off.

“Sad?” Natasha ends for her.

“It’s not like I’ve never kissed anyone.” you're starting to get a little defensive.

“We know that, sweetie.” Wanda coos, stroking your hair while you look up at her.

“We really didn’t mean anything by it.” Natasha ends, giving you an apologetic look.

“Yeah, whatever.” is all you say, and you turn your eyes back to the tv, your attention nowhere near it.

Natasha and Wanda can basically hear the gears turn in your head and give each other one last glance. 

Part one of the plan is complete.

The next day goes through like usual, the team spending basically the whole morning together.

It’s a tradition, having the last breakfast of the year together, watching the last movie, having the last lunch and so on. Doing all the lasts together.

It’s silly, but it’s a tradition you've all come to be very fond of. 

The afternoon comes and you and the girls spend it getting ready for the party, last night’s conversation almost forgotten.

Almost.

As you got to the party the music was deafening before you even stepped out of the elevator and, once you did, you were immediately immersed in a sea of perfume and cologne and, like every other Stark party extravaganza, you didn’t know about 98% of the people there. 

You quickly find the team, as outgoing as most of them are, you usually spend most of the night together because it’s the last night of the year, last party and, again, it's your tradition.

You talk, you joke, you laugh but the more you drink the more you keep thinking about your conversation with the girls last night.

Was it really that sad that you’ve never started a new year with a kiss?

Midnight came sooner than you would’ve liked and your teammates decide to ask you a sobering question.

“So, who are you kissing?” Tony asks very casually.

You turn around confused, the team’s eyes all on you. “What are you talking about?”

“Oh, nobody told you?” Sam says, looking around him “We’re all kissing someone tonight.”

“I- You- What?” you glance towards Bucky so quickly he almost thought he imagined it.

“Well, Romanoff is kissing Rogers, I’m obviously kissing Pepper and Wanda is kissing Wilson.” Tony said, before specifying while pointing at the last two “As friends, obviously.”

“So, you’re all kissing someone?” You look at everyone except the one person you actually want to look at.

Something inside of you just believes that he would nod too and a beautiful woman that you could never compare to would appear at his side.

“Well,” Steve starts. “not all of us…”

He trails off and, following his gaze, you land on the very pair of blue eyes you were trying to avoid.

Suddenly everyone else scatters and it was just you and Bucky. You don't know what to say, but you feel like you can't look away from him now.

What the hell is happening to you?

You’re talking before you can even stop yourself “You know, we could also kiss. As friends.” you add, realizing what you just said, your eyes wide with your own surprise.

He’s about to say something, but you don’t give him a chance to get a sound out before you’re backtracking so fast you might actually fall out the window.

“You don’t have to. Obviously. It’s not like I’d make you.” you chuckled awkwardly, but you can’t stop yourself from rambling “Unless you wanted to. But why would you want to? It’s not like you’re missing anything. I’m not anything special.”

You can hear the countdown starting, but it sounds distant to your ears as your heart pounds faster. “I mean, I’m sure you’re a good kisser. Why wouldn’t you be? Not that you’re like a lady’s man.”

Bucky glances around him, the team giving him encouraging looks as they near zero and you just keep going “But like you were, you know. Not that it’s a bad thi-”

You're thankfully interrupted abruptly by Bucky’s lips on yours just as everyone yells ‘Happy New Year’ and gold and black confetti starts falling down on you.

You can't even begin to comprehend what's happening but your body does, kissing him back almost immediately.

It feels like forever and also too soon when he pulls away, you can't even hearing the chaos around you anymore.

All that exists is you and Bucky and his eyes and his arms around your waist and yours around his neck and his lips that you wanted to kiss again and kiss forever and never stop.

“You have no idea how long I’ve been wanting to do that” he says after a few seconds. Or maybe days. Weeks? Hours? It doesn’t matter.

All that matters is the bright smile he gives you when you say “Me too.”

He kisses you again, but this time the spell is broken by the team’s whistles and cheers. 

When you pull away you’re both blushing a little, you glance around you and see all the smug faces of the idiots you love to death, Bucky’s attention never leaving you.

“And by the way,” Bucky says, gaining your attention once more. “you have more qualities than you think,” he then pointed at your chest “You have this.”

You looked down to where he was pointing before saying “I do have great tits, yes.”

When you looked back at him he was blushing even harder and looked like he was having a hard time maintaining eye contact, while you were more relaxed now that the kiss took away all the awkwardness, but trying hard not to laugh. 

“... I meant heart” he said after a few moments of silence.

“Either or.” you answered, shrugging and when you heard the snickers of the team around you, you couldn’t help but join them, followed by a still blushing Bucky.

Yep, this year is definitely gonna be an interesting one.

[mehiwilldoitlater]

Now hear me out,what if. What if we did get Sent back to our world. But. Our monke was sent with us. Pretty please 👉👈🥺 We gotta fuel the shenanigans of things somehow. I wanna see him get whiplash from both technology and culture shock. We've been nice to our boi for a good while,it's time to bully him finally.

When you both wake up in the middle of the city, with people standing, asking if there was a con around or something, you know that you both are in something big.

You needed to find a good hiding place, but you knew what was happening: you and the Destined One were now in your own world.

The buzzling city, the cars, the technology—everything made his poor brain scrumble. You cane from this?! This chaos?!

The smell for him is difficult to handle, the absence of trees, and the strange behavior of the people...

///

"This is...your home?"

"Yup."

Hiding in a tree, the two of you admired the small portion of the city that the park hallowed you to observe. While you remembered what it feels like to breathe the same air where you were born, Yuán Fèn couldn't take his eyes off the palace in the distance.

"Are those... pagodas?"

"Oh no, those are skycrapers. People live and work there."

"Oh..."

Everything was out standing. And the mortal did it without the help of gods or others! They did it themselves! He gasped again, his tail swaving excited.

"We should go now! ...Maybe you can finally meet my family!"

///

That's your plan...until you find out what's really happened to you.

You were wondering if the car that had crashed into you was some sort of allucination or something like that, but when you reached your home, you could feel all the pain that you hadn't felt the day of the accident.

When you knocked at your door, you guessed that your mother could feel dizzy. After your disappearance of months, what you didn't expect was her tò Just faint on your porch, right in front of you and Yuán Fèn. You both were able to bring her into her room, and after that, you started to notice a pattern that scared you.

While Yuán Fèn tried to make her come back from the world of the living, you noticed the door of your room locked; many of your photos were missing from the usual spot. And there, in the living room, a photo of you at your prom, in an intricate frame. Written in silver ink, the lines "in loving memory.".

You really wanted to faint at that moment.

///

It feels so strange looking at your own grave. You guessed that they would you in this one particular spot. It was a family place there.

"I told them that I wanted to be cremated."

Yuán Fèn was more interested in trying to decipher your mental state. You were just there, watching at your own photo. He felt so strange... so that was what Mitraya meant when he said you were rebuking everything in your real world by choosing him. He looked again at that stone block, your name carved in there... then moved away.

"Okay, I think I'm in need of... What are you doing?!"

You spotted him taking a few flowers from one spot to another.

"Playing respect!"

"To Who?!"

Then, with the small bouquet in his hand, he put the flowers in the small pot near your photo. 

"..oh ..." That was the only word that you said after that.

///

Three things were clear to you:

1) Going back to Mount Huaguo was the priority;

2) You needed to find some money since you were basically broke;

3) Need to keep the monkey away from every electrical device.

The first one was based more on a sense of morality. After all, you made a choice, and that was the choice to stay in that world full of magic because you fell in love with the destined one and a simple cane back home wasn't enough to move you. 

Not to mention that you have nothing that came back anymore, so...

The second, hard but not that much. You have nowhere to go, so you were forced to stay in a cheap and very not so sanitary motel that you both found. 

Luck were your side because that place needed someone that could clean or fix staff and you two? We're the masters at fixing staff...sorta.

But the third one...oooh boy...

///

You were drinking coffee, how much did you miss it, trying to schedule the next day of work for you and Yuán Fèn. You could clearly hear him doing something in the small kitchenette, moving staff, putting them somewhere, opening things, cutting them...

Then you heard the roar of that old blender that you both found around.

" DARLING?" You used your very sweet tone, a sign that you were expecting the worst for him. "What are you doing?!"

"Nothing."

"That doesn't sound like a -"

And there, in front of you, he putted a very strangely colored liquid, viscous, and with some strange objects floating here and there.

"What Is It?"

"A bunch of staff!"

"I know that; it's clearly a bunch of different staff."

"You should try it, then talk!"

"I genuinely want it five meters away from me."

"Suit yourself!" And then, in your horror, he proceeded to drink the staff. 

///

After days of adjusting and trying to get used back to the modern world, when you both got inside your shared room and found no one but Maitreya himself, you both got a huge shock. You don't know what was the most unrecognizable scene—the actual boy in the room or the fact that he was reading a comic book that talked about the Monkey King or the Yankees cap in his head.

And he just waved! Like nothing! 

He decided to give some explanation, but the most important was why you were sent there and how to. come back.

The first was more for the two of you. After your decision, you decided to leave your world behind, but you did know what that really meant? He wanted to know that and gave you a free way out, a small taste of your original world, and the thought that even this could sway you away from the destined one, and he received a slap on his head by you, and he admitted he deserved it. Another test of loyalty? They really believed you were so easy?!

Well, many were before you...

As for coming back, it was easy, of course! Did he not do it himself right now? 

When you and Yuán Fèn looked at each other, Happy Tò was able to finally come back to Mount Huaguo, but you were stopped by the kid.

"You have to finish your schedule this week! And, oh, won't it be better if you gave a notice?"

How the heck did he know these things?!

"Aaand," he continued, holding an old toaster, "explain to me this little miracle."

@sun-jglim @crimsonflameproxy

@everlastingmoonlightsworld @biankanoir

@miraclecherryblossomsblog @sleepingdramaqueen

@certifiedsimpinggalore @cromboloni

@masksandfeathers @cinnamonroll-anon

@justrandomlypassing @cute-angi

@luckyangelballoon @dressycobra7

@naarra @virtualexpertanchor

@phoenixeclipse-lmkau @szynkaaa

@kirax-the-lazy-girl. @sleepydang

@weaverworks @kishimiest

@marcu-bug @thepoweroffiction

@riolu4 @angryvampire

[amoreva]

FEIGNING FOR YA’

—– ٠ ✤ ٠ —–· • —– ٠ ✤ ٠ —– • · —– ٠ ✤ ٠ —–

CHAPTER 1

pairing: luke castellan x fem!reader

summary: as a little childish act of rebellion, you try dating your friend, Luke Castellan, to really piss off your parents (for a actual real reason, not the small things they hate). what was supposed to be no strings attached turned into a little more than just childish revenge.

warnings: slow burn, college au, smau, fake dating to dating, cursing, clarisse x chris, aged up! pjo charcters, yn is older sister figure to percy, luke and thalia are older sibling figures to annabeth

a/n: i have re-written this one too many times and am still in the process of revising and proofreading to give you guys the best condition of the start of this fic series! So sorry for the delay!

series list | next

—– ٠ ✤ ٠ —–· • —– ٠ ✤ ٠ —– • · —– ٠ ✤ ٠ —–

“Are we still friends?”

“What?”

“Can we be friends?”

“After all of this?”

“After all of this.”

It would be a disastrously great story to tell your grandkids (if you had grandkids). Quite embarrassing really, telling someone about how naive and oblivious you were (still are.)

It was spring. The flowers in full bloom. Allergies spreading like wildfire due to pollen. Thankfully, it was raining cats and dogs, so no stuffy noses tonight. You decided to come back from your hometown two days before spring break ended. As much as you were homesick after spending so long at college, your family made you feel homesick for college.

It was torturous. Questions and questions about your college life were thrown at you left and right. From potentially having a significant other to your major that you were taking to who you were friends with to being disappointed in your college major to asking about your grades to being disappointed you party to just being disappointed.

All in all, truly you loved your family. Really, you do. Your aunt made great pastries. Your dad a great cook. Your uncle made really funny (bad.) jokes. Yet, they found some way to critic your every decision and move you make. You hated it.

Your shoes squeaked on tiled stairs. Lugging up your suitcase, you just prayed you didn’t fall. The tiles were wet because people’s shoes were wet. You did not want to pay a hospital bill after barely paying for college.

By the time you got to your dorm, you were already half asleep, running on an overpriced yogurt parfait from the airport. The soft comforter of your bed calling out to you like a siren’s song.

You were lulling off to dreamscape when a loud ominous creak filled the silence. “C’mon. You gotta be better than that. Lock your doors.” Luke’s “charming” voice replaced your peace. “Some creep could waltz in and kidnap you in your sleep.”

“Supposed you’re that creep?”

Luke has been attached to your hip since highschool, freshman year. Both of you have suffered through each other’s numerous cringy phases (only to bring them up for the annual birthday post on instagram).

He was one of the friends your parents despise. They always ranted about how they’ve been a bad influence to you since highschool.

“Depends.” The bed dipped under his weight. “Do you think you look okay enough to go out?”

“I guess, but I feel disgusting.” You answered. Confusion swimming through your mind. Where was Luke going with this?

“Are you upset because of a recent event?”

“Kinda.”

“Upset enough to stay holed up the whole evening?” Luke rephrased.

“No.”

“Okay.” Decision.

You heard his windbreaker swish as his arms wrapped around your waist. “Luke!” Like a bag of potatoes you were tossed over his shoulder. “You fucking—!”

He grabbed what he was originally came in your dorm for and exited. Silena, Chris and Clarisse were waiting for Luke and now, you. “Welcome back!” Silena said, masking her shock.

No one knew you were coming back home early and Luke wasn’t surprised. As much as you wanted to stay in your dorm and sleep, you were glad to be with your friends.

The restaurant was loud and lively. The rain ceasing. College students were celebrating their final few days before classes started up again. The occasional drunks here to watch the multiple football games going on. Your friend group chose to celebrate.

The dim lighting was a stark contrast to the bright TVs that played various football and soccer games. Drinks slid down the bar into the awaiting consumer’s hand. Alcohol got everyone in a better mood during the night (though the same cannot be said the morning after).

A waiter placed down the five shots Luke had ordered, in toast of your unexpected return and the final days of spring break. The shot glasses made a tiny clink before the liquid burned your throat. It left a warm feeling in your chest.

Silena and Clarisse went to take photos via Chris the cameraman. The three went out to the porch of the restaurant bar. You opted out and Luke stayed with you. You weren’t exactly in the nicest clothes.

Another round of shots were placed on the table. Luke ran his fingers through his curls and checked his phone. “What’s bothering you?” He asked.

“What?” You tore your gaze from the two girls and looked at Luke.

“You said you were upset about something, but not too upset to not go out.” Luke explained. “Better to get it off your shoulders than to bottle it up.”

You roll your eyes at his last sentence and sat up in the cushioned restaurant chair. “Family.” Luke laughed a little at that. He’s known how perfect your family wants you to be.

You shove your face into your hands as if you were reliving the reunion all over again. “I didn’t even do anything bad or get in serious trouble this time!”

Luke nodded along slowly, taking in your every word. You can’t tell what he’s thinking as you continue on your little rant. Yet his face shifts as you rant.

“Why are your grades like that?”

“I saw your Instagram post. Drinking? Really?”

You parrot some of the questions your family said to you, with their fake smiles and judgmental eyes. You were old enough to drink! “And then they started talking my ear off about you all. Clarisse! Thalia, you—Silena and Chris” The list goes on. Luke knows it. You know it.

“Why are you friends with that temperamental girl? Lord knows the trouble you’ll be roped into with her.” You mocked your parents, aunts and uncles’ words. “I don’t like how that Thalia girl. Too rebellious, disrespectful too!”

“That one girl is an airhead. Head in the clouds.”

“Don’t get me started on that Luke boy again.”

“Get better friends.”

“Maybe you hang out with a different group.”

“They piss me off! And well maybe they’re concerned about my wellbeing, but—they keep harping me about everything little thing I do.” You groaned and rubbed your eyes exhausted. “Which is why I came back early.”

“So piss them off.” Like that was the hardest thing you do. You unintentionally trigger their judgmental side without even trying.

“What?”

“It’s what I do to my dad. I piss him off most of the time when he tries to come back.” Luke shrugged. “If they hate all of us so much. Date one of us, shit—date me, you’ve known me the longest. I think they’d be pretty pissed about you dating a bad influence.”

“That’s so childish.” You commented, but it was good, but it could work. Rebellion never hurt anyone that bad. Well, maybe your aunt will have a “heart attack”, but it should be fine.

And you were out of options to try and get your family off your back.

So the next afternoon, when Clarisse was out, Luke and you sat on your bed and conjured up a contract for this temporary relationship; a day before break was over.

“I don’t see why we need a contract.” Luke sipped on a juicebox. The sunlight providing a nice atmosphere in your dorm room.

“I saw it work on a show I watched kinda.” You whispered the word “kinda” under your breath. It was a long time since you’ve seen the show.

Luke raised an eyebrow and set the empty juice box on your desk. “So…uh—terms and conditions.” You typed out on a Google doc in big bolded letters. How do you start this?

“We could “date” from now until the start of summer? I think that is a long enough rebellion.” You suggested and looked at Luke. “I have to go back home for Easter and my little sister’s birthday, but then I have that family trip in summer…”

“Sure.” Luke agreed.

You looked at him silently asking him to elaborate. “From now until that family trip is over. I’ll go to Easter, the birthday and the trip.”

“You aren’t trying to mooch off me for the trip are you?”

Luke slid the computer to him and typed out the first terms and conditions. He ignored your question with a smile and a shake of his head. “You have to come with me when it’s Mother’s Day though.”

You agreed to that relatively quickly. Your mom and dad were always out of town that day. “I’m fine with kissing on the cheek and forehead and holding hands, if you are?”

“What? No lips?” Luke teased with a grin.

“I haven’t had my first kiss yet.” You muttered in embarrassment.

“Fine, no lips.” You were slightly surprised Luke didn’t tease you for not having your first kiss yet. He typed it on the computer. “And no sex.”

“No sex.” You agreed. “And we cannot let the others know. They’ll start talking and then it’ll get to my family somehow—”

“Okay…no sex and no talking about the fake relationship.” Luke chucked and typed it on the computer. “This seems good enough for a contract right?” He still thinks the contract is stupid.

You smack his shoulder. “This is serious, Luke! If I wanna piss of my parents I have to do it right.”

“Okay, sweetie.” He spoke sarcastically and typed his name at the end of the document. You did the same. “But there is no right way to piss off someone. You just do.”

After signing the temporary dating contract, Luke and you talked about the story of how you got together.

Luke and you supposedly have had some unrequited feelings during highschool. Both of you began talking over spring break after a drunk conversation and decided to give dating a shot.

Then, there was the fact that Luke and you had to announce the relationship. So, social media it was. Which prompted you to grab his hand. “Where are we going?” Luke asked as he was dragged off your bed.

“A cafe.” You held his hand, fingers lacing together. “I’m hungry after all that and it would be great publicity if we went out holding hands.”

“Whatever you say.” Luke rolled his eyes, though he didn’t mean it. “Then I guess I’ll be the good boyfriend and pay.”

“Really?” You asked and looked back at him.

He shrugged. “Why not.”

Luke and you held hands and talked about whatever came to mind. Like you usually did as bestfriends. He opened the cafe door for you and paid for your food and drink.

Maybe “dating” Luke won’t be the worst thing ever. Rebelling doesn’t seem to be all that bad now. Maybe everything will turn out fine. You rebel against your perfect family and Luke will get a free trip as a reward. Yeah, you’re sure things will turn out okay. Maybe.

—– ٠ ✤ ٠ —–· • —– ٠ ✤ ٠ —– • · —– ٠ ✤ ٠ —–

taglist:

@happy-mushrooms @m00ng4z3r

[hyuuukais]

⋆.˚𖦹°‧✮‧°𖦹˚.⋆ ERROR 404

pairing ~ yang jeongin x fem reader

synopsis ~ y/n starts getting messages from an unknown number after buying a used phone for cheap. as she finds out more about the boy she's talking to, it turns out there's much more to this than a wrong number --- he died, and she's talking to his spirit, yet he has no idea what happened to him. will y/n have what it takes to solve the mystery of his death? or will the boy's spirit remained trapped in his phone?

warnings ~ gen, anxiety

MASTERLIST | PREVIOUS | NEXT

CH 5 ~ FAMILY TIES (wc: 2.3k, 2 screenshots)

"There," Jeongin directs you to a house on your right. It's a modest house with dark blue paneling and a neat front yard. As you pull up to the curb, you catch a glimpse of a woman ushering two children back inside, abandoning a soccer ball by the door.

"Cute. You grew up here?" You ask, parking the car.

"Yeah, but like everything else I don't remember much," Jeongin leans forward in his seat to get a better look at the house. "I don't think it was always blue though, that's new. And they cut a tree down from other there," He points to one corner of the yard and you see a short stump. "Other than that, nothing."

"So why are we here then?" You take your hands off the wheel and place them in your lap. "There's gotta be some kind of emotional connection to this place, something important that happened."

"Isn't growing up there exactly that?"

"Well, yeah, but take the other memories into consideration," You say and turn your body to face Jeongin. "That park, anything could have happened there, but your brain decided the most important thing was meeting Hyunjin. Then again at the lake, the first night of having your own car and celebrating that. Even then you mentioned another event that took place there, the party, so why not that? So many things probably happened at that lake just like in this home, but we're here for a specific memory."

"Wow, you've really put thought into this." The corner of Jeongin's mouth quirks up as he faces you. "Maybe you should be a detective."

"I'll stick to the flower shop," You laugh.

For a while it's like this, the two of you chatting in the car waiting for something to happen. Morning turns to noon to late afternoon before anything happens, the sun hanging low in the sky. You point it out to Jeongin when you see it; two little boys have exited a pale yellow house and are making their way down the sidewalk in your direction. Stepping out into the sticky heat of late summer, you and Jeongin follow them all the way to the corner of the street before they stop.

They look to be about thirteen here, Hyunjin wrapping an arm around Jeongin's shoulders as they walk side by side. When they stop, his arm drops and they face each other. Hyunjin is slightly taller than Jeongin and has already started killing his hair with bleach, fiddling with the edge of the yellow tank top he's wearing. Jeongin sighs and crosses his arms with a frown on his face, Hyunjin matching the mood with a pout.

"So this is it?" Hyunjin asks, voice quiet.

"Yeah," Jeongin replies. "I guess so."

"You're leaving me."

"I have to."

"Come live with me," Hyunjin jokes. "Then you won't have to. Convince your parents by saying you don't want to switch schools or something."

"You know I can't do that," Jeongin looks away uncomfortably.

"I wouldn't make you live with me," Hyunjin's head drops. "With him."

"You could come with me-"

"No, I can't, you know that," Hyunjin crosses his arms. "It's stupid you're moving right out of our district, you should still be allowed to stay." He kicks a rock with the toe of his shoe, looking away embarrassed. "Don't make a new best friend."

"What?" Jeongin almost looks offended. "I could never! You know you'll be my best friend for life, always, even if I died! My ghost would haunt your ass."

Present-day Jeongin snorts at this.

With a pinky promise, you watch the two boys make a pact to stay close friends no matter what happens between them. They'll star in their first movie together side by side, they'll always support each other; they'll do everything together and never leave. A car pulls up and honks and Hyunjin waves goodbye to Jeongin, entering the vehicle. As it drives away, Hyunjin is looking out with fingertips barely touching the glass. Little Jeongin is gone, leaving you in silence.

"You know, I've been wondering why this neighbourhood has felt so familiar," You say quietly. "My mother was buried just down the road."

The car is silent, Jeongin placing his hand right next to yours on the compartment, just a hair away. Even with him not touching you directly, you can feel his energy coming off on you. It's different, the way you can feel him without feeling drained; it almost makes you want to take the risk and extend your pinky, closing the distance between you. When you look at him, the setting sun has created a warm glow around him, but accentuating his ghostly-ness. This is both the most alive and dead you've seen him, pale skin and eye bags, orange glow and soft eyes.

You start the car, fully intent on driving home, but your body seems to direct the vehicle the opposite way. As you pass the cemetery you slow down, making a full stop right outside the entrance. In the corner of your eye, you can see Jeongin looking at you, but you can't face him. This is big; walking into this place could change so many things for you, and you don't even know where you'd start with your mom. You've never met her, what if she doesn't recognize you? What if she's not there? What if-

"Y/n, stop thinking so much," Jeongin teases lightly, trying to bring up the mood. "We don't have to go today, or at all even."

"I want to," You finally look at him. "But there's so much I don't know about her and that she doesn't know about me. This could change everything I've ever thought about her."

"Don't you want to know who she was? Not who you think she is?" He asks.

Yes, of course you do. Without answering, you step out of the car and brace yourself for the wind; it's picked up a lot since leaving. Leaves blow off the trees that line the pathway in, some getting caught in your hair as you walk. The air is crisp and cold, goosebumps forming on your arms and the back of your neck. Whether that's actually from the coolness or from the atmosphere, you don't know for sure.

In your peripheral vision, you spot the odd spirit here and there. Most are lingering by graves, presumably their own, wandering back and forth, or sitting on the stone benches sprinkled around. One reaches out for you as you pass a bench, her frail, wrinkled fingers grazing your wrist, but Jeongin shifts over and gently pushes her away. She simply curls into herself, and you think you can hear crying as you get further away; your skin burns where she touched you.

"Up there." You point to a large structure with named boxes in straight lines. Your mother was cremated, but still laid to rest with the rest of her family. Underneath her box are two empty ones and a man's name. Before you can read the name, someone is calling out for you from behind.

Turning around, you spot a young woman not much older than you crouched down by a bush, a bright flower in her hand. She drops the flower, shock written all over her face and tears welling in her eyes. Standing up straight, she eagerly walks toward you, but Jeongin stands in her way as a warning.

"Sorry, I'm not used to the living," She laughs, leaning to the side so you can see her; Jeongin's back is obscuring most of your sight.

"That's okay," You squeak, stepping out from Jeongin. You're a lot more nervous seeing her now, especially noticing just how alike you look. "I'm-"

"Y/n," She exhales. "Don't think I'd recognize my own daughter? C'mon. But..." Her eyebrows furrow, looking around as if someone's missing. "Your brother, where is he?"

Brother?

You stare at her, mouth agape and unable to form words. Glancing back to the stone behind you, it dawns on you that there are two empty boxes underneath your mother, not one. Which means...

"I have a brother?"

"You-" Her eyebrows somehow knit together further, the flower clutched so tightly in her palm you doubt any petals could be salvaged. "You didn't know? How do you not know? Your father-"

"I'm adopted," You admit shyly, avoiding her eyes, but you can hear her scoff.

"That motherfucker."

Jeongin snorts and whispers, "Definitely related."

Your mother opens her mouth to speak again, but she's stopped short when something catches her attention to the side. When you follow her sight, you can see a man in the far distance staring her down. Suddenly, the air is tight with tension and fear, like all the spirits around you are wary of him. He doesn't come closer, but he raises something sharp and you finally recognize him as the man in the boat. The bottle isn't at his neck this time, but rather pointed at your mother. His head is tilted in a sinister way, only part of his face visible from behind his extended hand, but his features are both sharp and soft at the same time.

"We should get out of here," Jeongin says, his own voice tight with anxiety.

"But-" You try to protest.

"No, he's right honey," Your mother spares a glance toward you. "You need to leave, just promise me- promise me you'll find your brother?"

"I-I promise."

Wasting no time, Jeongin encourages you in front of him without tearing his eyes away from the man. The further you go, the blurrier he becomes, and soon enough the man is completely out of sight. Who is he, and why were all those ghosts so scared?

Back in the car, you take a chance to breathe before starting it up. With shaky hands, you turn on the ignition and prepare to drive away, but something bangs on your car window loudly, causing you to jump, almost enough to hit your head. You yelp when you see the man outside, the closest he's been to you since the first sighting. There's a distinctive mole under one of his narrowed eyes, his slender fingers pressed up against the window. Without thinking twice, you speed off and don't stop until you're outside of your home.

Jeongin is trying to speak to you, but you're dizzy and can't make out any words he's saying, the world around you spinning like crazy. A raging headache is beginning to form behind your eyes, placing your head between your legs and trying to control yourself. Anxiety threatens to sweep you under its strong waves, but with every breath you can feel yourself settling down. One, two, three. One, two, three. One, two, three...

"I need to contact Minho," You say, voice weak.

"Let's get you inside first." Jeongin exits, rounding the front of your car and opening your door. "Can you stand?"

"I don't know," You admit. "But if you touch me, especially when I'm already feeling like shit..."

"I know," Jeongin sighs, frustrated.

Placing one hand on the open door and the other on your seat, you push up and cling to the vehicle, a wave of nausea hitting you. Once it passes, you take a step away and allow Jeongin to close the car door. You wonder what this looks like to others; can they see the actions he makes, or does it appear different to them? Stumbling to your front door, you enter quickly, feeling uneasy so exposed outside.

The warmth of your house hits you like a weighted blanket, sleepiness overtaking you making it hard to undress. Trudging upstairs, you half expect Jeongin to be gone when you enter your room, but he's still watching over you. Walking over to your closet, you throw the first comfy clothes you see onto your bed and flop down. It's too much to move- your whole body feels as though there's a ton of bricks weighing you down. With sluggish eyes, you see Jeongin looking out the window to the right of your bed, opening it just a crack to let some cool air in. The breeze prickles at your skin, but it's nice.

"Jeongin."

"Yeah?" He turns his head toward your sleepy figure.

"Can we take a risk?" You mumble, gauging his reaction. His eyebrows raise and he looks down, stretching away from the window.

"What kind of risk?" He asks, trying to keep his voice light.

"Help me get dressed," You say, almost wanting to cry from your exhaustion. "I'm so fucking tired."

Rolling onto your back with your head still in his direction, you watch him consider his options. Slowly, he makes his way toward you and picks up the sweatshirt you abandoned at the bottom of your bed. Hesitantly, the tips of his fingers meet your upper arm. Nothing happens, no sick feelings or passing out; only you and him and the surprising warmth of his touch. When he realizes you're okay, he continues to lift you up into a sitting position, teasing you for your groans. Lifting your shirt gently, he looks away red in the face and feels for the sweatshirt, finding it close by and bringing it over your head. Next, he helps you out of your jeans and slips the matching sweatpants up your legs, his hands pausing at your hips.

He's holding his breath, and you're more awake than ever as you make eye contact with him. You realize the position you're in with him overtop of you, his face oddly close to yours, enough for your breath to mingle. His eyes dart down your face, back up to your eyes, and away from you shyly. Taking his face in your hands, you thumb his cheekbones and run your fingers down his jawline. Touching someone has never felt so natural for you, so real and safe. Either your eyes are deceiving you, or he's getting closer and closer and-

Your phone buzzes. "Minho."

notes ~ this may or may not be unedited for the most part, so apologies for any mistakes i am simply too eepy

taglist ~ @chaeryred @toplinelix @channie-143 @bloomingstay @sona1800

@dollschan @defnotfertilizedtoesw @thisisnotjacinta @kayleigh-28 @kayleefriedchicken

@lailac13 @linocvp1d @ilov3jeong1n @mooseung @kkamismom12

reply or send an ask to be added (18+)^^^ green means i can't tag you

[writer-in-theory]

Meet Me At Skull Rock — steddie.

For: @skjachukson as a part of the @steddieholidayexchange

Relationships: Steve Harrington/Eddie Munson

Rating: T

Word Count: 4k

Warnings: N/A

Tags: childhood best friends, love confessions, first love, friends to enemies to lovers, season 4, canon divergence

Summary:

One petal he loves me, one petal he does not.

When Steve finds out that his childhood best friend is accused of murder, old feelings resurface.

Read on Ao3

One petal he loves me, one petal he loves me not. 

Steve’s little fingers shook as they plucked away at the wildflower in his hand, willing it to leave behind one solitary petal just as it had for the girl in the movie he’d watched last weekend. The loose petals gathered on his lap and in the grass around him, one errant petal clinging to his left sock. 

“Whatcha doin’?” a familiar voice called loudly directly into his ear as the person practically leaped onto Steve’s back, sending him reeling forward in his attempt to remain upright where he sat. Eddie’s hands pulled at Steve’s shoulder so he could get a better look at what had taken his best friend’s attention, face scrunching up at the sight of the blue flower in his hands. “Why’s the flower look so sad?”

His eyes drifted to the small stack of petals sitting on Steve’s knee, torn at one edge from where Steve had plucked it from the center of the flower. “Why’re you hurtin’ the flower, Stevie?”

“I’m not hurting it,” Steve huffed, setting the flower down on the ground in front of him for safekeeping. He turned around in his spot in the dirt so he could face Eddie. “I’m doing magic on it.”

“Magic?”

“Yeah,” Steve said, eyes lighting up bright at the mention of the word. “Carol said flowers tell if the person you like like feels the same way.”

“What’s the flower saying now?” Eddie asked, leaning his head forward over Steve’s shoulder to get a closer look. 

“I dunno,” Steve said with a tiny shrug. Normally he wanted to share everything with his best friend, but even now he could feel himself wanting to tuck the flower closer to his chest as if to protect it from view. “Didn’t finish the magic. Do you think it really works?”

“You can’t lie about magic, Stevie,” Eddie said back, relaxing into a spot on the ground beside him. “That’s the rules, so it’s gotta really work. Same as how Skull Rock has to stay a secret hideout.”

“I guess.” Steve sat the flower down on the first rock to make up Skull Rock, ready to put it out of his mind until he could ask Carol more about the magic behind it all. “We should get back to your Uncle Wayne’s, it’s almost sundown.”

“Aww, c’mon, we can stay five more minutes,” Eddie protested, though was already standing up and brushing the dirt off of his jeans. “Maybe we can get Uncle Wayne to order us pizza.”

“Race you back!”

“Hey, wait up, no fair!”

As they ran off toward the treeline of the woods, a flower lay left behind among the rocks, three lone petals hanging onto the center.

“He just disapp—Are you even listening, Steve? This is important!”

It had been years since Steve let himself feel anything for Eddie Munson. It was easier to pretend that the other man didn’t exist than to remember all of the fun they’d had as kids, or the night that his father had firmly and resolutely demanded an end to their friendship. For years Eddie Munson was nothing more than the outcast of Hawkins High who had at one time been Steve’s very best friend, back when his shoulders weren’t yet weighed down by the family name and the expectation of popularity. Even when the nerd pack had started to talk about him, it was easier for Steve to pretend that he didn’t know Eddie at all. 

In truth, maybe he really didn’t know Eddie, at least not now. Because Dustin and Max were there to find him and Steve didn’t have a single clue where to start looking. At one time in their lives, Steve would have been the person Eddie came to if the entire town was looking for him, but now Steve couldn’t name a single place Eddie considered safe. They had no leads except the vague mention of a dealer Eddie had once worked with.

When had they drifted so far apart that even the local dealer knew Eddie better than Steve did?

“Are you really sure Munson would go there? I mean, any guy named Reefer Rick can’t be that trustworthy,” Steve spoke up once Dustin called him out. 

“No one would check there,” Robin pointed out, already grabbing the keys to the Family Video doors. “It’s the perfect place for an accused murderer to hide.”

“He didn’t murder anyone!”

“I didn’t say he did, mini-dingus, I said he was accused of doing it. I can’t see Eddie Munson actually killing anyone.”

“No, I can’t either,” Steve sighed, following the kids as they rushed out to his car. At one time, he would have yelled at them for even daring to get near the thing, but one bad breakup and a half dozen demodogs later and it was weirder to see the car without them arguing in the backseat. “Calm down, Henderson, we’ll find him.”

Steve’s hands were tight on the steering wheel the entire ride to the lakehouse, mind racing as fast as his heartbeat despite all of his attempts to calm himself down. This was it, the inevitable meeting that he’d done his best to avoid for years. Eddie Munson needed him now and there was no hiding from it, not when the kid in the backseat of his car would be devastated by Steve doing anything but help.

Steve couldn’t say the broken bottle to his neck wasn’t deserved, given everything that had happened between him and the man holding it. He could see the fear in Eddie’s eyes that said everything—he was expecting Steve to turn him in or join the manhunt. Only a few years ago and he might’ve (though even the thought alone sent a shiver down the back of Steve’s neck), but somehow Eddie’s biggest fan had worked his way into Steve’s life and that meant that he had no choice but to stand there now ready to hear the real story about what had happened to Chrissy Cunningham in the Munson trailer.

It hurt to see Eddie so afraid, as if the man knew that the rest of the town wouldn’t accept him staying alive after the loss of their star cheerleader. Even after Robin, Dustin, and Max were able to talk him off of the ledge there was an edge of the same feral terror. It was the kind of fear that Steve knew would never completely fade even if they were able to solve this situation—the same that Steve had felt when facing down the demodogs with nothing but a baseball bat a few years earlier. Sometimes, in the middle of the night when the loneliness hit Steve full force, he’d wish that he and Eddie had more in common. He never would have wished it if the universe meant this.

“Steve should stay behind while we check out the trailer,” Robin suggested. “You know, in case anyone else finds this place before we can get back.”

“Huh?” Steve asked, finally tearing his eyes away from Eddie to face the group. “No way, Eddie can handle himself.”

“I hate to say I agree with Harrington, but Eddie can protect himself,” Eddie said. 

“The whole basketball team is out there looking for you, Eddie!” Dustin practically shouted, “you can’t fight off all of them. Steve’s good at this, trust us.”

Already Steve could feel the finality in this decision, but still he had to try to dissuade them from leaving him alone with Eddie. “I’m the only one here with a car. How do you think you’re getting over there?”

“We’re resourceful. The mini-dingus will figure it out for us,” Robin said.

Fifteen minutes later, Steve was left in the boat shed of the lake house with nothing but a baseball bat of nails and the one person he dreaded being alone with. They both sat on the ground against opposite walls of the shed, each clearly trying to avoid the inevitable conversation. Maybe Steve could last this entire time without having to face Eddie, even if it meant this uncomfortably stifling silence continued. 

“So the great Steve Harrington really is a hero,” Eddie spoke to break the silence first. “I didn’t believe Henderson when he told me.”

“I wouldn’t say hero.”

“I don’t know, the way the kids tell it you saved their lives with all your supreme righteousness.”

A sigh slipped from Steve at the bitterness that ran through Eddie’s words. He couldn’t even blame him after what had happened between them, after everything Steve had done.

“Look, man, it’s gonna be a long day if we can’t work together. We can just…pretend we didn’t know each other until today, or something.”

“You’re really great at pretending, aren’t you, Harrington?”

Steve winced, knowing deep down that he deserved the venom in Eddie’s words. “Yeah, I guess so.”

Eddie must have seen something in Steve’s face though, because he suddenly seemed to deflate. His features softened as he finally made eye contact with Steve for the first time since holding a broken bottle to his neck. “We covered interdimensional creatures and weird girls with magic powers…anything else I should know about?”

“The little nerds are great at getting themselves into trouble. Especially Henderson, you really have to watch out for him.”

“Yeah, I’m noticing that,” Eddie laughed. “What kid comes running after a guy accused of murder?”

“A kid who basically worships you. All year it’s been nothing but ‘Eddie this’ and ‘Eddie that’. It gets annoying hearing how great you are all the time,” Steve said with a laugh, hoping Eddie understood his lighthearted intentions.

“Tell me about it. I had to hear about how amazing you are every day. He said it so much he almost had me believing it.”

“Wow, that’s wild coming from you.”

“Is it?” Eddie asked. “I used to be that guy too, telling anyone who’d listen all about you.”

“Feels like forever ago,” Steve admitted. “Anything that happened before I knew about the Upside Down feels like a dream.”

“Damn. That bad, huh?”

“You have no idea. I keep thinking I’ve seen everything and somehow it keeps surprising me.”

“Even more of a reason to get out of Hawkins as soon as I can,” Eddie returned.

The silence that fell over them was less tense then, something a little closer to comfortable. 

Steve had missed talking to Eddie, even though he’d never admit it aloud to anyone. Even Robin didn’t know that they used to be friends, that he used to-

Well, that was all history anyway.

It was just when Steve started to get comfortable that voices began to sound from outside the shed. A few of them, all sounding angry and one of them that he was sure belonged to Jason Carver. Carver had been an asshole even when Steve had still been on the team, but he never once thought the guy would start an actual manhunt for someone in town. It was all too much, everything a terrible byproduct of the Upside Down refusing to leave the town of Hawkins alone.

“We have to get out of here,” Steve whispered, climbing to his feet and looking for a quick exit.

“What happened to protecting me with that?” Eddie asked in the same hushed tone, gesturing to the bat held tightly in Steve’s hands.

“I don’t want to use it if I don’t have too,” Steve answered. “Have any ideas how to get out of here?”

“The boat,” Eddie said, pulling the sheet off of it. “They can’t follow us across the lake.”

It was a decent enough idea, so Steve followed Eddie’s lead into the boat. They tried to row out of the shed as quietly as possible, if only to solidify their lead ahead of Carver and his friends before they noticed where Steve and Eddie had gone. 

Steve really thought it would work, too, until one of Carver’s friends pointed to where they were in the middle of Lover’s Lake. 

“Row faster!” Eddie screamed as the guys took off after them, having no qualms about swimming in the freezing lake in the middle of March. 

“I’m doing the best I can!” Steve shouted back, though sped up his movements until his upper arms burned. “Grab the bat!”

“What? I’m not gonna actually murder someone, Steven!”

“You will if it means not letting them murder us first!” Steve said, too stressed to feel triumphant when Eddie actually picked up the bat.

It all happened too fast for Steve to really process what happened. They got lucky most times they dealt with the Upside Down; no kids had actually gotten seriously hurt until the night Billy Hargrove was killed by the Mind Flayer. Steve had hoped that he’d never have to watch someone get killed in such a brutal way ever again, but then again the universe seemed to love proving Steve wrong time and time again. 

Patrick McKinney had been a good guy, his only fault really being that he subscribed to whatever Jason Carver said was true. He didn’t deserve to go out in such a horrific way. Every crack of his bones made Steve’s chest tighten even more as a wave of nausea built at the thought of Patrick and Chrissy suffering so much at the hands of the Upside Down. They didn’t deserve this, no one did.

He and Eddie were silent the rest of the way to shore, the only sound being that of the oars pulling through the water. 

How many more people have to get hurt before they can put an end to the Upside Down? More than once Steve had wondered if the government was wrong in choosing to keep this a secret from people. Shouldn’t the people of Hawkins deserve to know about the threat to their lives? Maybe it could have prevented this, or at least kept people from assuming Eddie was behind it all. 

One thing was certain: no one would believe that Eddie didn’t do this, after seeing Patrick’s death. 

“Hey, are you coming?” Eddie asked, the words sounding more distant than they should. “Steve, are you okay?”

That shook Steve out of it enough to notice that Eddie was already out of the boat and a few steps toward the tree-line. He looked…worried for Steve.

“I’m fine,” Steve said quickly, getting out of the boat and taking off after Eddie. “Just don’t get used to seeing that.”

“It’s what happened to Chrissy,” Eddie spoke, falling back to walk beside Steve. The moon was only a sliver, leaving them to fumble through the woods. Steve didn’t know where Eddie was leading them, but he was fine to allow someone else to take the lead for once. “One second she was fine, then she was…on the ceiling. I tried to help her but she wouldn’t wake up.”

“There was no way you could’ve stopped it,” Steve told him, though knew if Eddie was anything like him that he’d feel guilty about it for years after. “I don’t know why this is happening, but I do know we have a pretty good track record at stopping the Upside Down. We’ll figure this out and clear your name while we’re at it.”

“Since when is Steve Harrington such an optimist?”

“Since you told me to be,” Steve said before he could think about it. 

The memory was one that still sat in the front of his mind, easily reachable whenever he felt particularly down on his situation in life. They’d been kids then, still in elementary school. Eddie had just moved to Hawkins, though, to move in with his uncle after what happened to his parents. 

‘My momma said when I’m sad to always remember the sun will rise again.’

“Where are we going anyway?” Steve asked, mostly to distract himself from the fond memory. Even now, so far away from it, the thought of having lost that friendship caused an ache in his chest. 

“Skull Rock,” Eddie said, shrugging like it wasn’t a big deal. “You remember it, right?”

That bitterness threatened to come back like a sharp knife in Steve’s throat. 

‘Skull Rock can be our secret hideout! We gotta swear to never tell anyone about it, Stevie. Pinkie swear!’

“Eddie, I didn’t mean t-“

“You didn’t mean to start taking all of your conquests to my favorite place to get away? Or you didn’t mean to completely ditch your friend and pretend I didn’t exist?”

Now wasn’t the time, and yet with Skull Rock in view Steve knew there was never going to be another time like this. They were alone for the first time in years and vulnerable enough after what had happened on the lake to let everything out.

“You don’t get it,” Steve tried, though that seemed to only make the situation worse.

“You’re right, I don’t get it. I don’t get how you became such a royal dick so goddamn fast. King fucking Steve suddenly remembered to be embarrassed that he was friends with the devil worshipper, huh?” Eddie was yelling now, no care for the fact that the entire town would be looking for him now, after the loss of a second teenager in his presence.

And Steve, well Steve was going to let him do it. Eddie had a nightmarish day and if yelling at him made it better, then dammit Steve could take whatever Eddie had to say to him.

“I was never embarrassed of you,” Steve said, feeling the urgency building in him to correct the mistake. “I didn’t want to stop talking to you.”

“Then what, Steve? What fucking happened? Why are you even here now?” Eddie continued to yell, his movements becoming more frantic as he began pacing in front of Skull Rock. “Don’t tell me you’re here because of Henderson. You don’t risk your entire fucking life for a friend, and you definitely don’t do it for someone you left behind. Just go, alright? I’ll tell Henderson you did a great job as my knight in shining armor, ‘kay?”

”Eddie-“

”You disappeared, Steve. You left and found people who were better for your precious reputation.”

It was like something snapped in Steve. He could feel the band around his chest release, letting everything that he’d shoved down years ago come back up to the surface.

“It wasn’t my choice, Eddie! And I don’t want to see you die for this!” Steve shouted back, stunning Eddie in place. “Is that what you wanna hear? Or that maybe I brought all those girls to Skull Rock hoping I’d have an excuse to talk to you? You don’t get it, Eddie. I’m a Harrington. My dad had expectations for me, and it wasn’t until I almost failed out of high school that he realized I’d never meet them! What else was I supposed to do when he found out th-“

Silence. Steve could feel the pressure of it all around him, making it harder to breathe. It felt like he’d just gone on a run, his chest heaving with the effort to take in one breath after the other. 

“When he found out what, Steve?”

“Don’t make me say it.”

“What did your asshole dad find out about?” Eddie wasn’t going to drop this, not after Steve let the entire secret loose.

There was no escaping from this.

Steve sighed, finding a small crack in the rocks to focus on instead of Eddie.

“I thought everyone felt that way. I was just a kid, I said it so simply because I didn’t understand that not everyone would be nice about it. My dad��even then I knew he was an asshole, but I didn’t know he could be so mad.”

“What happened, Steve?”

“You’re really gonna make me say it.”

“I have to know.” Eddie’s voice was softer now, like he could already tell what was coming.

Steve’s hands shook where they rested at his sides. He felt like his heart might beat right out of his chest at any moment, which might be a more preferable end than whatever Eddie would do when he found out.

“D’you remember that day when I started pulling off all those flower petals?”

“Yeah, you started doing it all the time. I assumed it was for Carol.”

“Carol Perkins? God no, we’re just friends,” Steve laughed, trying to ignore the hurt as his brain corrected himself to were friends. “No I…I was wishing you felt the same way, okay?”

Eddie didn’t answer. Steve stood still, staring at the rock as he braced himself for what was going to happen. But even more time passed and Eddie still wasn’t answering him.

“You gotta say something, Eddie. Anything.” Steve hated pleading with the man, but all of his nerves felt frayed and raw as he stood there in front of his old best friend, the guy he had a crush on for too long.

“What the fuck, Harrington,” Eddie said with a heavy exhale. He didn’t sound angry though, more so in shock.

“I’m sorry, okay? I didn’t choose t-“

“No, no, my turn to talk,” Eddie cut him off quickly. “This whole time, this whole time, King Steve Harrington has not only been gay but liked me?”

“Please don’t tell anyone. They wouldn’t g-“

“Is that why you’re suddenly friends with Buckley?”

The talk in the Starcourt bathroom was life-changing for both of them, when Robin admitted that she loved a girl in their class. It was the first time that Steve had felt like someone really understood him, that it would be okay someday, when he finally got out of Hawkins.

“How did you know?”

“We can spot each other from a mile away. I never saw you comin’, though, Steve Harrington.”

“Why do you keep saying my name like that?” Steve had imagined telling someone a thousand times over. He’d imagined telling Eddie even more than that. Each time, though, he’d never imagined a reaction like this. He had no idea what to make of it, had no clear insight into what Eddie was thinking.

“Because I’ve spent the last decade trying to tell myself I was batshit for falling for Steve Harrington, but here you are telling me this whole time you’ve felt the same somehow.” Eddie was smiling now, his voice shaking a little from the shock still lingering in him.

And that-

“You what?”

“You’re really that surprised, Harrington? Everyone at Hawkins High had some kind of feelings for you,” Eddie returned simply.

The next breath Steve took wavered as much as his hands still did, unsure of what to do next. Steve had taken many people here, and yet standing there with Eddie he suddenly forgot everything he’d once learned about being with someone romantically.

How was this possible?

“You know, this is really the worst time to find out you like me,” Steve said with a laugh. “What with the murder accusations and the supernatural…whatever the hell it is.”

“Hey, you’re the one who picked now to confess your undying love for me,” Eddie laughed back, lighter than Steve had seen him since all of this began.

“I don’t think I said it like that.”

“How about this, Harrington. You figure out a way to get me out of all this, and we’ll ride off into the sunset together.”

Steve had tried to picture his future dozens of times, each time coming up more unsure than the last. Now, though, with everything off his chest and the knowledge that Eddie feel the same way for him, he knew there was something to look forward to. 

So he stepped forward, daring himself to be braver than he’d ever been before. The kiss was quick and feather-light, but there all the same. Steve grinned at the look of pure shock and wonder on Eddie’s face when he stepped back. “You have yourself a deal, Munson.”

“Okay, we clearly missed something here.” When Steve turned, he saw Max, Dustin, and Robin standing there in front of them. Robin was grinning mischievously, like she already knew how she would pry the details out of Steve. “We said protect him, Steve, not woo him.”

[bonefall]

could fern leaf be a former park cat or something that clear sky sends to spy on tall shadow & then defects? or, since she’s important to the rescue of star flower in the books, maybe she could be involved with one-eye somehow…? even though star flower is totally different now, so she doesn’t really Need rescuing from any situation she’s in that you’ve talked about so far. guess it depends on which aspects of the character best serve the story, and whether she would work better as part of DOTC proper or thunder’s SE

i also genuinely can’t remember if bb!clear sky’s original M.O. for his group is Tribe Cats Only, or if he is willing to take in anyone who kisses his ass enough. could make sense if fern leaf (or more accurately, any tom willing to vouch for her) appeals to clear sky enough. hell, maybe she could be a mole on one-eye’s behalf instead?

(Follow up ask to this post)

The new rub to the formation of the groups in BB is that there is two distinct cultures in the forest: Park Cats and Tribe Cats. They're divided by a language barrier, with the Park Cats speaking Parkmew and the Tribe cats speaking what we now call Old Tribemew.

So Clear Sky doesn't have the same "options" like canon. These ""rogues"" don't speak his language and he simply would not learn even if the chance was offered to him. It doesn't even really cross his mind that these are full people to reach out to; in his mind they're intruders. The flavor of bigotry in the modern era hasn't quite evolved yet, so he has the most straightforward kind of xenophobia you can imagine.

He only starts changing his mind after the First Battle, after his revelation, when he's back on his bullshit in Thunderstar's Justice. In my head it's kind of like... a mockery of Thunder Storm's way of life, that allowed him to live in defiance of him for so long. "See, now I do what you do. Since Gray Wing approved of you so much." kinda thing

There's two park cat groups; The River Kingdom, and The Wind Coalition.

The first conflict the Sun Trail Pioneers run into is with WindCo up on the moor, who chases them down into the forest! The Park cats who lived in the forest weren't united, just various individuals that had little "homestead" territories.

The conflicts with them start after the Shadow/Sky split that follows the death of Jagged Peak. Shadow's Clan moved eastward into the caves at Snakerocks, where no one bothered them, but Sky's Clan started getting hostile towards the little homesteads and pushing cats westward, back to the River Kingdom.

SO with that recap out of the way...

I have two and a half-ish cats already that I'm heavily interested in using to turn on Clear Sky for Thunder's Clan. So I'm not sure how to slot Fern Leaf in there.

1: Snake. Snake is the only cat in-canon who said that maybe Clear Sky shouldn't be their leader after letting One Eye into the Clan against all warnings, and then he gets DOGPILED for it, and the very next book shoves him into the arms of Slash to undermine the fact that they accidentally gave him a good fucking point.

I'm RIDICULOUSLY fond of him because of this. I love him out of spite. I've spoken before about how I plan for him to be a Tribe-descended cat, and a lot of that is because I want to keep his goon roles serving Clear Sky. One of which is that he is going to badly injure Sunlit Frost in the First Battle.

So thinking about it... it makes the most sense for Snake to turn on Clear Sky in Thunderstar's Justice. Still unsure when. But if I have any roles where a cat needs to get help, stop a battle, or call Clear Sky out for making a really bad decision, it's gotta be him.

I'll keep him in my hand for a while; this feels like a piece that will fall into place.

I'm also unsure of what family he's going into. I keep waffling on it. I'm leaning towards the Claw family and possibly the son of Fox, since he's going to be living a bit longer. He's going to be about the same age as Thunder Storm, maybe a bit older.

2: Red Claw Since Acorn Fur is now Acorn Swoop, and she's not nonsensically going to go join the guy who killed both of her parents because it would be too sad to go home where they're not alive, her love interest has to end up in Thunder's Clan.

I'm already pretty committed to making Petal into Petal Claw and Fox into Fox Claw, so it follows that Red Claw would be in the family. Thinking about it, maybe Red should be the son of Fox instead...

Especially because he could defect earlier. Moth Flight's Vision is totally overhauled anyway and I'm planning to shift a lot of the original plot to something for another character anyway...

Plus, enemies-to-lovers is fun and I haven't really had a chance to do it yet. Acorn Swoop is absolutely the kind of punk who would nab one of her worst enemy's best soldiers, and the type of nerd who would frame it like her biggest catch yet.

("OI THUNDER!! LOOKIE WHAT THE CAT DRAGGED IN")

And most relevantly... this is leaving Fern Leaf's backstory up in the air. Him leading a dog pack into the heart of camp and getting Beech and Frog killed is what kicked off the Bunny Bones plot of the original MFV that I like so much, and I feel like it's an important part of Fern Leaf.

So not only am I here planning Red Claw as a high priority for being someone to turn against Clear Sky, but also, he complicates Fern Leaf a bit.

Maybe I should step back a bit on the two and start from scratch with them, and replace their backstories with new ones that preserve the "emotional core." I'll have to think about it.

That 1/2 Cat: Alder or Birch The kits that are stolen from Misty, that queen who was murdered by Clear Sky and whose kits are given to Petal. In BB, that's something I want to examine for how fucked up it is. It becomes the basis of Kit Stealing later, an awful practice that the Clans will struggle with for many generations.

These ones are SUPER important, but I say 1/2 because it doesn't have to be Thunder's Clan they turn for. But I do want one of them to eventually learn their origin, and end up finding their family in River Kingdom or the Wind Coalition.

I mention them because I keep going back and forth on if they're going to get combined with other characters. Basically imagine me next to a big conspiracy chart and I'm connecting a big red line between possible plot threads back to Fern Leaf. Maybe her? Maybe she can be one of the stolen kits?

I could even make it so Birch is actually an older sibling, or a half-sibling, or one from the same litter who was saved... maybe even end up making it a litter of 4. Slots in well with her canon story, too, where she mentions her mother abandoned her.

The truth can be that it was a lie. Her mother didn't abandon her. One of them was murdered and the other was chased off.

And, of course, I could save her to be a "One Eye Cultist." None of my drafts so far have brought in any extra followers of One Eye who will follow him from place-to-place besides Star Flower herself. I would like to add some, and that's a fine place for Fern Leaf, but somehow I feel like I can do her better.

[glitch-pep]

Aight, let's talk about the process behind CJ's creation. First up, concept art!

Second, the full explanation under the cut! 🩵

A few months before CJ was even a thing, I got the idea of a character concept. The concept was basically Charlotte having an older brother who is far more calm, level headed and cautious than she is. I liked the idea of it, but I didn't feel like working on it, I simply didn't feel inspired enough.

A while later, I was trying to figure out Milo's lore, and I thought to myself... "Heh... wouldn't it be really funny if there was a character, who is the complete opposite of Milo, and his only purpose is to piss him off?" and then I thought "Hm. I could reuse the old Charlotte's brother concept for that."

In the poems Obverse and Reverse, the line:

"...the concept was a joke at first I gotta admit,

but I think I've gone too far with the bit."

Is me referring to this. CJ and Milo's whole relationship was based on a joke I thought was funny, but eventually I started to actually take it seriously and it just all went haywire from there.

I still find it slightly funny at times... but of course, this isn't CJ's only purpose anymore.

Anyways, let's get into the rest of his creation.

The first design idea I had for him was more surfer dude and Hawaii inspired, which made ultimately no sense considering that Charlotte and CJ are from Vermont. The one thing I kept from that are the hair and the flower.

His hair was a struggle to figure out, at first I wanted to try to make it curly like Charlotte's, but that didn't feel right. I still don't really know what's going on with it even now, but it has that slightly modern, fluffy and messy look I was going for. I guess it's shawed on the sides? I don't know, let's not think about it too much.

He has a flower hairpin on each side of his head, because when I only put it on one side it looked empty. I was debating about the flower as well. I had the idea to make it into a specific flower that has some sorta meaning but I couldn't find one I liked, I also looked up flowers from Vermont and ended up with the purple flower but I didn't like it. Eventually I just looked through the show, found a scene where there was a flower, and took the flower from it and used it for the hairpins. I made it into a flower because in the show Charlotte is often depicted with them.

I did consider giving him a bow so that he could fit in with Charlotte and Grandma Charlene, but I decided against it for a lore relevant reason that I won't talk about just yet. Besides, I think he still fits in just fine the way he is now.

For his color I just took the colors of the whole family and adjusted the settings until I got this shade. I was considering to make the color lighter but he just looked washed out.

His name was an easy decision, it had to start with a C and I was debating between Cody and CJ but I'm glad I chose CJ, I really like it!

The only thing that's really changed is that he used to be far more music, singing and comedy themed, but I scrapped the idea of it.

Everything else stayed the same most of the time... well, I did scrap two characters during the development process, but CJ was always the same.

At first CJ was only supposed to be Charlotte's cousin, and he had a different sister named Carol. Carol had anxiety, and the interest of botany and gardening used to be her thing. She had an intense fear of fiends. She was supposed to be some sorta yellowish color and had a headscarf with a flower pattern on it as well as long messy hair. I had the plan that she's related to Mr. Milk and that would explain their similarities, but I just ended up scraping her cuz I couldn't find a place for her in the plot that made sense. I do wanna make a character like this but in a different font one day, we'll see.

The second character was named Faith, and she wasn't related to CJ or Charlotte in any way. Her name was supposed to be a nod to the word fiend since they both start with F. She was orange/dark orange and she wore a black headband with some sorta black pattern on it. She also had some really tired eyes with eyebags and too much eyeliner, and a messy bag with a bunch of random papers. She was basically the new girl in town who got there a while after CJ, who developed an intense interest in fiends, with the intense desire to study and understand them. She'd spend hours observing them, writing things down, and conducting experiments. After a while her and CJ would form some sorta alliance and they'd slowly become friends. I ended up scrapping her because I couldn't find a place in the plot for her either. I do like her, but I think she'll fit better in a different universe.

Also, random addition that has actually nothing to do with CJ's creation.

I recently went through my sketches when I randomly stumbled upon these, and then I remembered that I actually had a Making Fiends oc idea even before I thought of Milo.

Her name was Megan, she was a sort of dusty blue color, and had long hair that slightly covered her eye. She was literally just Maggie but even more stoic and monotone and instead of poetry her thing was drawing... I thought of her before I watched the show, but after I watched it I immediately gave up on the idea the moment Maggie stepped on screen. I think I tried to make it work with making them best friends? I don't know honestly, very boring idea, dunno why I thought it was a good one.

Figuring out CJ was fairly simple, I took Milo and flipped everything about him on its head, polished it, added new stuff and made it into an actual character and not just Milo but in an opposite au.

Still, CJ and Milo are obviously narrative foils. I tried to make that clear with A LOT of different details. In fact, there's so many of them that I'll have to eventually make a seperate post for it...

No idea when I'll do that since I keep adding parallels to the bunch... I'll probably make a character analysis thing or something one day-

[rapha-reads]

IWTV rewatch

Season 1 episode 4 [The Ruthless Pursuit of Blood With All a Child's Demanding] - part 2/2

- [Claudia] "We do like mortals do. We fight, we eat, we laugh, we sleep, we love. And then the phone rang last night. And all the easy times stopped." - ooof. How to destroy familial domesticity: bring back the real world.

I love, love, loooove Louis' coldness and casual cruelty at his mother's wake. And looooove the family solidarity. Oh, Daddy Lou's fighting with his sister? Time to show our fangs and have his back.

- Oooh, a Lestat and Claudia scene! Dad teaching his kid all the true, important ways to make it in the world. And accidentally making her realise some things she'll never get to have, stuck as she is as a young teenager. But the blood kinda makes up for it tho.

- "Uncle Les says I gotta practice killin' both the one and the plus one at the same time, but I came away understanding something else tonight. I can't quite put it into words, but it's like something opened up in my head, in my body. I've been 18 for 7 months now, and it's time I started acting like it."

Aaaaand there it is. Happy hunting indeed. Happy until the reality hits back...

"I've lost my appetite, I can't sleep!" - welcome to hormones. Can't say I know first-hand what you're going through but good luck. Oh, no, but this is waaay too adorable. The giggling and the skipping and the flowers and the staying on the balcony waiting for Charlie to look up...

- "Everyone in my family looks younger than their age." - yeah that's one way to put it I guess.

Aaaand exit Charlie, pursued by a terrified horse. Taking this opportunity to say a lil something about how book!vampires are basically asexual in the way that their desire and pleasure express themselves through the blood, blood drinking and blood sharing. While the show being a visual media for a modern audience decided to make human sexuality also a part of vampire sexuality, all while keeping the blood as this irresistible force and the source of everything. Don't really have an opinion one way or another, except to say, please we need more asexual representation that still shows that ace people can find and express desire and pleasure outside of sexuality.

- Lestat taking on the ugly role of teaching Claudia about control and how it's hard for vampires to make lasting connections with mortals... Parenting's hard.

- [Louis] "Vivid writer, isn't she" - I'm kinda glad we don't get Claudia's own words about Charlie's death, knowing the writers they would have given us another lyrical prose that would have made us all bawl our eyes out.

The way Daniel is visibly impacted and heartbroken reading Claudia's diaries: he is deeply compassionate. And you can't read people and write about them without a certain level of compassion and even empathy. "Anne Frank meets Stephen King" indeed.

- [Louis] "Claudia was... everything." - ouch. Break my heart, won't you. It's the way Louis is physically struggling to talk about her, the way he needs the pebbles of his zen garden beneath his feet to anchor himself solidly enough to talk about her.

- "It's funnier when they fight in French. And diary, you'd think a girl whose mama died in childbirth, whose daddy gave her away to a mean old auntie who beat her 'cause no one said she couldn't, who died in a fire but came back by the blood magic of two demons, well, you'd think that girl wouldn't know what funny was. But you'd be wrong, diary. And if I told you, dumb diary, that that same girl was being raised to kill like her demon parents did, to take two souls a day so she could stay in the same flat-chested, hairless-crotched 14-year-old baby doll body as her mind and spirit turn 19, 20, 25, 63, 358, you dumb, dumb diary, I bet you'd say to anyone who'd listen 'Fun? Fun? How does she even get up in the morning?' Well, let me tell you something, you stuck-up, flower-covered, three-dollar fancy fucking paper diary, I'm doing just fine. And how do I know that? 'Cause the first man I killed called me the devil, and the last boy I killed, the last boy I'll ever love in this world, called me an angel. So that means I'm on the right path. And that means there's so much more fun out there to have. I'm just getting started."

THE INTENSITY, DAMN.

The crescendo of Claudia's voice overlayed by the music and echoed in the angrier and angrier words. Wow, I need a minute.

Between the "losing my mind in the coffin" scene, that "madwoman in the attic walking down from the attic" scene and the "the sun is a deadly laser" scene, someone needs to give Bailey several awards. And the writing team needs these awards too.

Show!Claudia actually has a backstory, not very detailed but still there, a miserable, painful human life, 14 years of misery and pain - she had a life, she had experiences before becoming a vampire; unlike book!Claudia who was 5 when she was turned, told Louis she couldn't remember her human life before being Louis and Lestat's, and doesn't have her own narration in between Louis' recollections.

Here, the addition of the diaries to the way the story is told not only allows a third party, a third perspective that's no more and no less of an unreliable narrator as Louis' voice, but it also, and I think more importantly, allows for Claudia to speak for herself. She isn't anymore just a footnote in the messy romance of Louis and Lestat. She is her own person, in her own narrative, with her own agency and life. And that's a huge difference between the two versions of Claudia: eternally-5-year-old Claudia couldn't have her own agency, no matter that she was really 40 in a child's body, because that child's body was more of a damnation, a cage, than a teenager's body. At 14 and with make-up, fashion, body language and speech, Claudia can make herself look marginally older, and thus can reclaim some of that agency, of that control. Therefore the issue comes not from the fact that Claudia needs at least one adult to have that agency by proxy, but from the fact that she might never pass for older than 18 and will be taken advantage of. As we'll soon see.

Also she was right, last boy she loved, but not last person, we stan a bisexual murder deranged queen.

And I did tell Lestat, that roof window is a structural failure.

Well, welcome to the Claudia show. That was one hell of an entrance. Crowd's seated for the next part, "Claudia goes Wild party in the Mississippi".

episode 1 | episode 2 | episode 3 | part 1 | episode 5 | episode 6 | episode 7

[echantedtoon]

Everyone Wants A Brother Like You Part 4 Genya

(Warnings: Mentioning of Genya's scars.)

She was a bit confused on Senjuro's strange behavior two days ago. 

Visiting Kyojuro the next day as she promised lead her to believe he was fine. The man was as jolly and happy as ever despite the sounds he was still recovering from and was happy to see Nezuko. They talked briefly but he didn't give any indication of Senjuro being upset with anything although he did mention that Senjuro and her were so cute together when they hung out. That..was strange and considering what he spoke about yesterday...She decided to judt brush it off for now. It was probably nothing but Kyojuro making jokes about Senjuro being upset with their families not...being married to one another?? She decided to just brush it off and not think too much into it. It was all probably nothing anyways. She also managed to get Tanjiro that bento Senjuro made him, and he seemed to really enjoy it too!

The garden was beautiful today. 

The flowers were blooming. The vegetable garden was thriving. Butterflies fluttered all over the place. She giggled as they fluttered around her and a bunch just decided to randomly sit on her body. Butterflies of all kinds sat upon her and greeted her hello. They were all so pretty! She giggled more as on orange one landed on her nose.

"Hello," she greeted looking slightly crossed eyed at it. "You're so pretty!"

The butterfly fluttered it'd wings in agreement with her-

"Is this what you're always doing when you're alone?"

Nezuko jumped at the sudden deep voice causing some of the butterflies to flutter away as she turned her head and found someone standing behind her. Although she smiled recognizing him instantly. "Genya!"

The boy was standing not too far away from her with his arms crossed and head turned away from her as he tried not to directly look her in the eyes. "....hi."

She smiled wider at him. The butterflies that had scattered off of her still fluttering around her pretty face. He looked up once at her seeing the sunlight hit off her pink eyes- His face instantly went a bright red and he snapped his head away again. Ok. Focus! Focus on why he was here! Unbeknownst to him a butterfly softly landed on his shoulder.

"What are you doing here? I thought you'd be recovering from your wounds with everyone else."

He cleared his throat and shrugged. "I mean I was but I have a strict exercise schedule to keep." He tried to make a subtle flex of his arms by putting his hands on his hips. "Y'know how it is. Gotta keep my strength up!"

Nezuko hummed watching as more butterflies settled on his flustered body still unknowingly to him. She giggled at that making his eyes go wide. "Oh that's right. You fought upper moon one with your brother and Muichiro right? That must've been a really hard battle."

"I-Itwasapieceofcake!!," he voiced out quickly and slightly high pitched due to his flustered state. "Iwastotallyincontroltgeentiretime!!" His clearly flustered state made her giggle more at him. Genya got more and more and MORE red as more and MORE butterflies landed softly on his body. "IMREALLYSTRONG!!"

"I'm certain about that! You are very strong!" Genya puffed up a little in pride. "Just like Muichiro!" He paused again. "Or Shinobu and Kanoe- Oh! Or Mitsuri! She's the strongest person around! Do you remember how she handled the demon at the swordsmith village?!"

"I-...*sigh* Yeah. I guess they're pretty strong too.... Y-You were also pretty strong, a-a-and fought really well. We uh-...Me and you made a good fighting team when Tanjiro wasn't there."

"Aw. Thank you! And thank you for all you've done. I appreciate everyone's help! Especially someone as nice as Rengoku!"

"HUH?!" Started he looked back to her. Only to be bombarded by a wave of butterflies fluttering over to land on him. "AH!! WHAT THE- GET OFF!!" He froze as Nezuko giggled when the orange butterfly landed on his own nose as she giggled at him. The rest of the butterflies flying from her over to him.

"Aw. They like you! That's so cute." He could only freeze more as she waved at him. "Well it was nice seeing you again, Genya, but I promised Tanjiro we'd go visit Giyuu while he was here! I'll see you later. Ok?"

"I- H-HEY WAIT!!" He held up an arm only for the rest of the butterflies to land on his outstretched arm making her giggle again before she waved again and turned to walk away. "I-... Y-Y-You're really great! I-... Let's fight together more- AH!! TRAIN!! I MEAN TRAIN NOT FIGHT!! I-I-I'D NEVER FIGHT A GIRL EXCEPT FOR THAT ONE TIME B-BUT I APOLOGIZED TO HER FOR THAT!!! I S-SWEAR!!"

She smiled back at him continuing to walk away although...she did raise a brow at his blushing face and flustered state. ...Hey. Wasn't Senjuro acting the same way when he was talking to her two days ago? They both seemed really flustered..

She shook her head smoking. "Sure! That sounds great! We can all train together sometime!"

Genya watched her confused from disappear before he made a shaky unsure fist. "NAILED IT!!....I-I think??...Maybe." More butterflies fluttered onto his other arm making him sigh and grumble. "You all are real dam lucky your cute."

[swearingcactus]

OC INTERVIEW : Lil V :)

thanks for the tag @v-eats-bugs (and @elvenbeard's post that reminded me that I have yet to do this even though I was tagged!) get ready for your local little guy answering some of your q's (this pic was supposed to just be a cover but it does make him look like he's answering these before bed in his jammies, which could fit too)

🔸Name?🔸 "Contrary to popular belief, it's not a pasta brand, but I would neither confirm or deny any guesses."

There's been wild rumors that he's changed his name to Vitoli or Viagra (Jackie's fault for that one) but nope, his name's still Vincent. His last name's Woodman or some other boring generated name hospitals print out for babies with no parents claiming them, so he never went by it. Great decision on his end, cus "Vincent Woodman-or-similarly-boring-sounding-last-name" sounds more like an accountant than a cool merc.

🔸Nickname?🔸 "Just V."

Before Atlanta, some 'friends' burned him and used him as scapegoat for a gig and he landed in prison because of it. His efforts to erase the records and leave much earlier than his sentence bankrupted him; but he got out and decided to wipe his slate clean. What better way to start a new life than with a new (technically just chopped down) name?

🔸Gender?🔸 "🤨📸"

Cis male. But he thinks it's weird if people gotta ask that.

🔸Star sign?🔸 "Aw fuck, I gotta ask Misty for that, I keep forgetting which one I am. Hang on."

This is totally not a cop-out cus i haven't played phantom liberty and therefore am still unsure when is his canon birthday. Either way he doesn't care about it that much.

🔸Height?🔸 "5'8 which I've heard is 173cm."

173cm is NOT 5'8, he's lying or simply getting it wrong, and frankly for night city denizens, that's more amusing to ponder than his height.

🔸Orientation?🔸 "Oh ;) I'm not picky! ;) heheh wait i mean 🤨📸"

Sometimes his excitement at the prospect of getting laid by hot men and women makes him forget to act cool and nonchalant about being bi.

🔸Nationality/Ethnicity?🔸 "I mean I'm pretty sure I gotta be somewhat white, but never knew the detes. Not gonna pay a corpo for them to tell me about it either, cus what do they know?"

He has a paler complexion, but sometimes his features on the right lighting kinda play tricks on you. With him being from Heywood and no parents to speak of, he has no idea if he could actually be part Hispanic or Asian or any other ethnicity. Obviously, he could pay to get some 2077 "hyper-accurate" version of 23andMe but he thinks that's bull and way too easy to fake. Totally just that and not cus he gave up on the idea of biological families anyways, nope.

🔸Fave fruit?🔸 "I dunno, never really had anything 'ganic 'cept some grapes and they were really sour, so probably not those. Pears are okay, I guess."

🔸Fave season?🔸 "Winter. Atlanta sucked but they had better winters."

Atlanta's winter was colder than Night City's, so the idea of spending the holidays just cold and broke with crippling loneliness sounded too horrible. He attempted to avoid this by treating himself to a 'real' white christmas experience, tried ice skating and making snow bunnies when it did snow and got hot chocolate and even bought himself some overpriced present and all that. Atlanta didn't work out, but he did like winter coming out of it, and he gets nostalgic of it when the holiday season come around.

🔸Fave flower?🔸 "Sunflowers. Oh, but cherry blossoms are really pretty too, even when they're just holos."

He doesn't tell this story much, but when he got out of prison, the field next to the road was riddled with dying sunflowers. Nothing welcomed him out of the gutter but those shriveled plants right next to ones that were done blooming couple weeks ago. If he had been able to get out earlier, he could've seen at least some of them in bloom. It should be a bitter thought and memory, but he found walking next to them very comforting. He has a soft spot in his heart for them ever since.

🔸Coffee, tea, hot chocolate?🔸 "Well not coffee, and not tea, so I guess hot chocolate it is. Actually, you have that iced?"

He used to think he's a coffee guy but dating Kerry made him realize the canned coffee he drinks are just sugar with a hint of caffeine flavor. (he hated the black ganic stuff Kerry drinks but powered through that One Time) In general though, he likes cold drinks more than hot ones.

🔸Average hours of sleep🔸 "I'd like to say 8 but I know that'd be lying. Probably closer to 5 or 6."

Don't get him wrong, he gets on the bed. He just scrolls his phone for hours after and doesn't sleep immediately when he gets on it is the problem. He falls asleep closer to 2-3AM, then wakes up at 8 or 9. This is a real issue if he stays the night over with Panam at camp, since the Aldecaldos are mostly early birds.

🔸Dog or Cat person?🔸 "Oh cat, definitely. Have you seen my cat Nibbles?" *queues up 100+ picture slides of her directly to your holo*

🔸Dream trip?🔸 "Antarctica, maybe? Heard it's kinda peaceful over there, and it'd be even colder than Atlanta so hell yeah, could get all cozy, bundled up and waddle around there for a bit."

🔸Fave Fictional Character🔸

to reiterate this post , he found a copy of Toy Story 4 and made fun of how Duke Caboom sounded like a chipper, Canadian version of Johnny. Then the whole 'guy who failed a stunt and got thrown in the trash because of it, is actually deeply terrified about the entire experience but still continues to be a happy dude' hit too close to home.

🔸Number of blankets they sleep with🔸 "??? People sleep with multiple blankets??"

Just one. He gets too cold even with it when he gets even sicker from the relic, so he sleeps with fuzzy socks too now. The idea of two blankets for one person never occurred to him.

🔸Random fact🔸 "Okay, I'm only gonna tell you this 'cus I'm back in Night City, and enough time has passed that no way anyone can actually get anything to stick to me... but back in Atlanta, I used to crash weddings. Not even for gigs, was just trying to avoid spending eddies on meals. It's really easy to just sneak in, especially if you wear some black cardigan, or flash a digital lanyard, or just walk really fast and with purpose. They just assume I'm part of the event organizer or one of the catering team, and let me in. Then you just act like you've been invited, grab a plate and mingle with some guests who don't look important. Was better entertainment than BDs too, hearing all the stuff about the bride and groom from different tables. Sometimes I just let slip some gossip I heard from another group to the current one I'm mingling with, and shit would hit the fan real quick, which means I get to delta nice and quiet. I wish I could stay for more of 'em, Atlanta weddings end a lot more in fist-fights than Night City ones, that's for sure."

Yeah so he might not know or realize this detail, but he most definitely was the reason those fist-fights happen and was part of the reason for the spike in divorce rate in Atlanta for a bit.

phew that was a lot of words. no pressure tagging @mail-me-a-snail @glitchinginthegarden and anyone else who'd like to join but haven't been tagged! :)

[skater-brain]

Beat had expected to come home to an argument. After what little Mr Hanekoma had told him about his conversation with her, all he knew was that when he faced his mother, there was going to be shouting -- and somehow he was going to have to keep a lid on it and calmly persuade her to back down from the legal threats she had made. As if diplomacy was a skill he possessed, and didn't have a long history of opening his mouth and making things worse.

But... there had been no shouting. Despite being alone in the house, Mum had quietly called him into the privacy of her room, closed the door, and had barely started to explain how she had run into some of his 'friends' -- when she crumbled. Distraught like Beat could never remember seeing her before, hysterical but not angry. Confused and hurt.

Something Hanekoma said had hurt his mother, and that realization suddenly flipped all of his priorities on their head. He had been worried about losing the wrong person in all of this.

And when she managed to communicate the cause, Beat's whole body went cold with guilt, and dread, and mortification. She had been accused of harming him, her own son, and convincing him he wasn't cared about -- and naturally those things could have only been construed from things that Beat himself had confided. But no matter how he fought with her, Mum was family, and he had never intended for the things he had privately vented to Mr Hanekoma to make him appear mistreated... much less to have them revealed to and weaponized against her.

So rather a shouting match, the discussion wound up with Beat consoling his mother, desperate to impress on her that she hadn't been betrayed. That he hadn't been spreading lies behind her back about imaginary abuse he had endured (he couldn't possibly make up something so grave), that he hadn't secretly believed that his own mother wouldn't mourn if he died (he had seen the flowers; he knew she would). That she was absolutely right: Mr Hanekoma was crazy and Beat was going to bash his head in for meddling with his family.

That reaction succeeded in allaying Mrs Bito's fears that such an evil person was exerting undue influence on her children and could lure them away from her, and calmed her down enough to reconsider legally branding the man such a danger as to be barred from seeing them. Beat was easily the more dangerous one when his righteous anger was ignited, and it was so rarely sparked in her defence that she could only allow it.

But, unlike usual, Beat didn't allow his indignation to carry him to Wildkat immediately. He didn't report the outcome of the long, emotionally-draining discussion with his mother like he was likely expected to. Mr Hanekoma had warned him to really think about it before coming to see him again, and for once, he would. Being impulsive in sharing details about his home life was the mistake that had snowballed into this, so he had to be careful with what he said going forward -- and he couldn't do that until he had calmed down and let the pain he had caused his mother sink in.

Though, no one would ever guess that had calmed down when he finally arrived at Wildkat the next day, timed like he was showing up for his café shift but with the door exploding open and voice on full blast.

"Yo, Hanekoma! I gotta talk to ya!" With a fist raised, like it was going to be doing all the talking. "WHAT THE FUCK?"

@strawberry-barista

[shinagawa-division]

ARB Birthday Special: Sumire Shinomiya

~~ November 6th ~~

“Your pretty empire took so long to build, now, with a snap of history’s fingers, down it goes.”

Login Lines:

“Wha-? Eh? Oh, what the hell, did I fall asleep? Shit, I didn’t think I was that tired. Hah, I need to get back on my schedule, I’ve let Malphas convince me to sleep in more way too many times. So? What do you want?”

“Oh…it’s that time again, fucking yippee-no, no, I need to be positive, I promised Aiko that I would genuinely try to enjoy my birthday this year. Thanks for the gift.”

Voice Lines:

“I don’t get what the big deal is about, so I’m 21 now, am I supposed to be happy? I’ve been doing the same adult shit I’ve always been doing when I was younger and I’m still gonna continue to do it now that I’m actually “of age”.

“If there’s one thing I’m looking forward to, it’s always whatever the Den has planned for my birthday. They get so excited around this time of year and they’re so…loving towards me even though I haven’t done anything to deserve it. Still, who am I to ruin their fun? Nothing makes me happier than to see my family happy and enjoying themselves.”

“Speaking of, I should pay a visit to Yosuke, it’s been a while and I’m starting to run low on Zenith, the nightmares are starting to come back.”

“A-AHHHHH!!! I GOTTA GET READY! Why am I freaking out?! Jiro’s taking me on a fucking date! That’s why I’m freaking out! Hnngh, I can’t mess this up, do I dress cute? But it’s fucking cold outside, what if we go to the park or something?! But I don’t want to over bundle, he’d think that I’m not interested! Ughhh-“

“Aiko and Seizou wished me a happy birthday earlier, Aiko is as excitable as always, it’s always a pleasure seeing her so happy and not only that but Seizou seemed to be a tad bit livelier, he even gave me a present. Hard to believe that this is his first time celebrating my birthday…well, first time celebrating a birthday in general, he seems to be in the spirit, I’m proud of him.”

“Heyyyy Ritsuko, weird seeing you out of your lab, I’d say you were out and smelling the roses but you don’t strike me as a flower kind of woman. Haha, I’m joking I’m joking, hm, thanks for the mini lesson, I’ll keep that in mind next time when I suffer from deadlines. Oh, thanks, I keep forgetting about that, no, it’s fine, I don’t necessarily hate it, I just…don’t care for it. Ha, I knew you’d understand. Aww, thanks Teach! Now I’m curious about what you got me…”

“Oh sweet! You actually did it! This? Well, I’m afraid it’s another stop secret project of mine~ Hehehe, well, I couldn’t take all the credit but what’s done is done and now I can finally fucking breathe again, I’m sure Miho will bounce back from that, she’s already been diving into her work as usual, besides this is actually for her, I made one comment and Aiko’s really been taking her “matchmaking business” seriously, I tried to get her to tell me what she needed this for but she’s tight lipped, but thanks again.”

“Oh, hey Miho, how’s it going? You seemed to be in good spirits? Ohh, work stuff, of course, well it’s good to see you out and about, not to bring up any unwanted memories but I was worried that you wouldn’t leave your room. Pffft! Haha, yeah, I guess you're right, you get what you give! Oh sweet, what is it?"

"Oh cool! These are really cute, thanks Miho! Look, I'm not a huge fashion buff but as long as it's creepy yet cute and in black and purple, I'll wear it. Thanks again, oh, you're heading out? Ah, well good luck, thanks again for the gift!"

"Malicious! Feels like I haven't seen you in forever! Seems like you're going out more everyday, I missed you, my spider! Hm? No, I'm not mad, in fact, I'm glad you're getting out more, you used to be so antisocial and broody back then...well, you still kinda are. Hey! Don't throw my gift away! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! Now give it here!"

"Aw, Mal, this is so nice! And so us, haha, black and purple all the way! Eh? There's more? Inside...oh! OH! Awww! This is so cute! Look at us, the whole family all together! Yeah, I had a lot of fun that day, this...this is really sweet, Mal. Thank you so much."

Ritsuko Lines:

“Hello Sumire, a good day to you. Yes, amusing, but even I like to clear my mind from time to time, nothing productive can be done if your mind is in every which way all at once, you’d be best to remember that. Anyways, I’ve came to wish you a happy birthday, I know you typically don’t care for things like this, not that I blame you, but as my most precious and important apprentice, it is my duty as your mentor to reward you for your hard work, as such, I have come with a present.”

“I’ll admit, I was caught off guard with your request, I was wondering what was going on in that dark little head of yours until I remembered the scandal that took the country by storm, don’t give me that, I know it was your doing and as much as I wished Miho didn’t take so much damage from it, I am certainly impressed with your work not to mention relieved that we won’t be seeing that insignificant worm anymore. Aiko, hm? Who only knows what she had planned, happy birthday, Sumire.”

Miho Lines:

“Happy Birthday, Sumire. Yes? Pray tell, why would I not be? Ah. Right. That. Well, that's old news, you know I don't like dwelling on past matters when there is always work to be done. Besides, I believe that man has bigger fish to fry what with that 'Dead Pool' still circulating about, but enough about that, I wanted to give you your present, here you go."

"I'm glad you like them, I made sure they were made with great quality. I absolutely refused to buy anything from that harlot now that she's starting her own fashion brand but that's neither here or there, I noticed that it was your style so I got it for you. Now if you excuse me, I have a meeting to get to, have a good day."

Bonus! Malphas Lines:

"Oof! Well, hey there to you too, c'mon Sumire, I wasn't gone for that long. Yeah, well, I'm finally starting to live life more as "Masuzō" than "Malphas", is that...wrong? Are you angry? Oh, good. Look, if you're gonna act like a brat then I might as well throw your birthday gift away, yeah, that's what I thought."

"I thought you'd like it. Can't go wrong with good ol' black and purple, the family colors. That's not all, it's a locket, open it, I put something inside. Neat, yeah? This was from when we all went on that picnic Aiko forced us to have, it...was a good day, I enjoyed it. Happy Birthday, Sumire."

[lyranova]

So, don't panic... Actually, I have three requests, but about the same topic, so I put all three in one ask, if it's okay. One time Vanzel, one time Zobra and one time Astelle, but each of them visiting Aciers grave. I hope this is okay for you.

Hiya anon! Lol tbh when I saw “don’t panic” I did panic a bit 😆, but as I read the request my panic went away! This is such a sweet idea and instead of having them all visiting the grave at the same time I broke it down into different paragraphs! I also didn’t use Ace and Josslyn for the Zobra kids since this doesn’t take place in the COTF universe. But I hope you still enjoy~!

Word Count: 1,473

Warnings: None

———

Asta and Noelle walked along the stone paths with their three daughters, Brielle, Mizuki, and Kaiyo. Today it was so beautiful and comfortable outside, the sky was a bright blue with a few white puffy clouds floating along. It was the perfect day to go visit Acier Silva’s grave, Noelle’s mother and the girl's grandmother.

“ Hi mom,” Noelle said softly as she walked up to the headstone and placed beautiful flowers on it. The girls and Asta came up behind her and also put flowers down.

“ Hi granny!” Brielle said cheerfully and Mizuki glared at her.

“ It’s ‘grandmother’ not granny! Don’t disrespect her like that!” Mizuki said angrily, and Brielle glared back.

“ It’s not disrespectful! It’s endearing!” Brielle shouted back, and both girls went back and forth bickering.

“ Hi granny-grandmother!” Little Kaiyo said cheerfully as she moved past her older sisters and the two glared at her.

“ Don’t call her granny-grandmother!” They shouted, causing Kaiyo to jump. Now all three girls were bickering, and Asta had enough.

He scooped up all three girls into his arms and hugged them close, causing them all to become quiet.

“ Hi Ms. Acier! I hope you’re doing well, I’m sorry about the girls, they’re all in rare form today!” Asta stated cheerfully but with a sheepish laugh, the girls began to grumble about how loud their dad was, but stayed quiet as he looked down at them with a serious look. “ You guys need to apologize to her right now.” He told them seriously.

“ We’re sorry.” The three said in unison as their heads hung in defeat, Noelle suddenly began to giggle which made everyone look at her.

“ I don’t think my mother would mind, I think she would be happy to see her granddaughters look all excited and happy. Especially since today is a joyous day.” Noelle said with a warm smile. “ Guess what mom? Asta’s becoming the Wizard King today.” She announced and the girls suddenly cheered and hugged their father.

“ H-Hey c’mon, it’s not that big of a deal.” Asta tried to downplay as he scratched his head nervously, but the girls, including Noelle, told him otherwise.

“ Also,” Noelle started again. “ I was offered the position of Vice-Captain for the Silver Eagles. But I turned it down. I was genuinely tempted to join them, since it’s the opportunity of a lifetime but I think I’m happy where I am now. Being a mom, being a member of the Black Bulls, and being the Wizard King's wife and confidant. I think this is where I’m meant to be. Maybe if the jobs open when the girls are older and Asta becomes more confident then I’ll consider a different path, but right now, I’m happy where I am.”

Noelle smiled as a gust of wind swept through, it was as though her mother was telling her that she was so very proud of her.

“ Momma! We gotta hurry, the ceremony’s about to start!” Brielle suddenly shouted as she held her fathers hand and began to drag him and her sisters.

“ Alright alright, it’s not like they’re going to start the ceremony without us.” Noelle muttered with a shake of her head, as she caught up with her family Asta wrapped his arm around her waist and Kaiyo grabbed her hand.

The family of five walked back up the stone path and towards the Castle, as the ghost of Acier Silva watched them with a warm, proud smile on her face.

———

Later that same day Nozel, Vanessa, and their four children walked towards Acier Silva’s grave with more flowers in hand. They looked in surprise as there were already five flowers on her grave, and Nozel smiled. Noelle and her family must’ve been here already.

“ Hello mother, it looks like you’ve already been visited today.” Nozel said kindly as he set his flowers down, and Vanessa set hers down next.

“ Hello Ms. Silva, you look extra beautiful this morning.” Vanessa complimented as she watched their four children set theirs down as well.

“ Hello grandmother!” They said happily as they stood back up and Vanessa wrapped her arms around her kids shoulders.

“ Your manaless son-in-law became Wizard King today,” Nozel said with a chuckle. “ To be honest, I think everyone was a little surprised that it wasn’t me after Fuegoleon. But as much as I want to become the next Wizard King, I think I still have a lot to do in the Silver Eagles.” Nozel admitted softly.

“ I offered Noelle the position of being my Vice-Captain, but she turned it down. When I asked her why, she said she was happy and content right now, but in a few years I could ask her again and see if she’d like the job.” He told her with a chuckle and shake of his head. “ I’m happy for her, and I’m happy for Nebra and Solid too. They’re all doing well and are thriving, just like you wanted.” He suddenly grew serious.

“ I’m sorry you couldn’t live to see it mother,” He began sadly, and he quickly cleared his throat. “ As Vanessa has told me many times today you are here to see it, but I wish…I wish you were physically here…” Nozel added as he suddenly felt his family wrap their arms around him in a hug.

“ Don’t worry Ms. Silva, I’ll take good care of your son and grandchildren and I’ll make sure Nozel doesn’t drag the celebrations down too much.” Vanessa told her with a wink, and the children laughed while speaking and nodding in agreement.

Nozel felt a warm gust of wind suddenly sweep by and his smile returned. He knew without a doubt that it was his mother. She was telling him that it was okay to laugh and smile today, that she had witnessed everything that had happened and she was so proud of everyone. Including him.

“ Come on dear, or we’re going to miss Asta’s party.” Vanessa said as she leaned up to place a kiss on Nozel’s cheek. The silver haired man smiled as his cheeks began to turn pink. He took his wife’s hand and followed his children back to the castle for the celebrations.

Acier Silva sat on her headstone and watched happily as the family of six laughed and talked. She was so happy to see her eldest son’s warm and gentle smile on his face again. She had missed it so much.

———

Later that evening, Nebra, Zora, and their three children walked towards Acier’s headstone. Each of them held flowers and as they saw all of the 11 flowers already sitting there they began to laugh and shake their heads.

“ Damn, looks like your siblings already beat us to the punch huh.” Zora said with a laugh as he set his flowers down amongst the others, his children followed suit as did Nebra.

“ It looks that way, but if someone hadn’t decided to party with his squad we would have been here sooner.” Nebra quipped as Zora rubbed the back of his head.

“ Hey it’s not everyday your squadmate becomes the Wizard King y’know.” Zora said with a shrug as Nebra sighed and shook her head.

“ How are you mother? It looks like you’ve had as eventful a day as we have.” Nebra said with a chuckle as she looked at all the different colored flowers.

“ Noelle’s husband became Wizard King, and Nozel offered Noelle the position of Vice-Captain. While I am a bit hurt that he didn’t offer the position to me, I understand why.” Nebra said. “ I’m nowhere near ready for that kind of responsibility.” She added with a sigh.

“ Maybe one day I will be, but right now I still have a lot of work to do. I need to become a better squad mate to everyone, I need to get stronger with my magic, I just have a lot to do. That’s not to mention all the work I have to do with my family.” She said softly. “ One day I’ll be ready for it, but that’s not today.”

Nebra felt a gust of wind sweep through. It had to be her mother telling her that she understood, and that she was proud of Nebra’s growth as a person. That she would be supporting her and that she believed one day she could become Vice-Captain of the Silver Eagles. And most importantly, that she loved her.

“ C’mon momma, we need to hurry! Otherwise Brielle’s gonna eat all the food~!” Nebra and Zora’s youngest child whined as they began to pull on their parents' hands. They both chuckled before following behind their children back up to the castle.

Acier watched as the family disappeared into the distance and couldn’t help but look down at all the beautiful flowers that sat on and beside her headstone.

She had a really amazing, beautiful, and loving family.

———

Thank you all so much for reading and I hope you all have a good day~!

[bloodmoon24]

Join in if you want…

Scene shows an island with the sun setting down

Moon narrating: Hi, you see this island? That’s the island I was born in. It has amazing beaches, huge fields to run around and play in, large mountains to climb and explore. Seems like a good place for a vacay, huh? Yeah, I would think so

Scene then shows a little girl, flying through the air

Moon: You see that little girl? That’s me. My name is Moon the Bat. And I was born with a very rare ability. “Wonder what it is? It couldn’t be flying, because she’s a bat”. True, but that’s not what it is. My guardian discovered this ability when I was a little bit more younger. Like…A year old, maybe?? Anyways, I have the ability to do magic. And no, not like magic tricks, like sawing a person in half, or guessing someone’s card. No, like “magic” magic. Unfortunately it’s called Chaos Magic, but I still call it what it is

Scene changed of kid Moon, making a magical circle in the air with a sigil in the center, then some bubbles appeared out of it. She starts to pop them as she giggles. Once they’re all popped, she continues flying

Moon: How my powers work was that I draw a circle in the air, and while it happens, a sigil appears in the center. As I focus on what I want to conjure or control, it appears out of the circle. Like if I drew a flower or any other plant in the circle, then that plant will appear. It’s kinda fun when you get used to it. But I have been told to keep them secret, and just like any other kid, my curiosity got the better of me

Kid Moon flew into a house made of bamboo and leaves, lands down on the ground, and goes to her guardian, who was an older owl man

Moon: And this is my guardian, Steelwing. The one who raised me and helped me with my found out powers. He was the one who kept telling me to stop using them because they might attract power-hungry people and take me away. But I keep telling him that I was careful and that I was hidden the whole time I was using them. …And boy, was that like a punch in the face

Other Mobians broke down the door of their house, startling the family. Kid Moon hides behind her Steelwing as he lifts up his wings, ready to fight. But instead, he grabs kid Moon and flew out the window. The Mobians who broke in starts chasing after them as they shoot arrows at them. With one Mobian shot one at Steelwing, that’s when they crashed

Steelwing: Moon, *puts her down* listen carefully. You have an amazing power I have ever seen, and that means that someone will anything to get it

Kid Moon: W-What should we do? I’m scared…

Steelwing: *held her chin up with his wing* It’s ok to be scared. But it’s not a “we” this time

Kid Moon: What…?

They heard the Mobians getting closer. Steelwing quickly pulled out a book and a small bag from a satchel he has around his shoulder. He pulled out a ring, threw it, and a portal appears

Steelwing: This world is on the far side of the galaxy. You must go there where you can be safe

Kid Moon: What? N-No, I don’t want to leave you behind! *tearing up* Th-There’s gotta be something I can do!

Steelwing: You must, and you can’t. This is the only way to keep those who are after you away *hands her the bag and book* These rings will help you travel, and the book will teach you more of your Chaos Magic ability. If you were discovered, use another ring to escape

Kid Moon: B-But…

The Mobians getting closer

Steelwing: Go, Moon. And what ever you do, don’t stop flying. Go!

Kid Moon runs through the portal, but looked back to see Steelwing was ready to fight back. She screamed for his name as she ran back

Steelwing: Goodbye, Moon…My child

Kid Moon: No! *ran through the portal, but it faded away* Steelwing! *pants and sees the portal is gone as a tear went down her face*

Moon: What to know what happens to me now? You’re about to find out…

12 years later…

[lampmanliveblogs]

Amity’s hair is abomination colored. W-which I knew too, I realized it the moment I saw it! I just never commented on it because, uh… Look! Character growth!

So Amity finally got around to telling her dad she doesn’t want to join the Emperor’s Coven. It’s unclear, but I don’t think she told him that she doesn’t want to join ANY coven… which is probably a good idea. We gotta ease into things, it’s a little early to say ”Hey dad, when grow up, I want to become a criminal and overthrow the government.”

It’s a start.

Which is the thing to take away from this scene. We don’t get a conclusion, we get a start. A beginning of things getting better…hopefully.

Like I said before, Alador has not been the most involved with his family, far too busy focusing on his work. Which leaves Odalia, who tries to exert an unhealthy level of control over her kids (well, Ed & Em seem like they do what they want, so maybe it’s mostly Amity). She even tires to control the color of her daughter’s hair.

(side note about Amity’s hair: her natural hair color is brown, like her dad. and now she’s colored her hair purplish-pink like abomination goop. signifying that despite him being very absent, she is still closer to her dad in some ways?)

Amity’s words about Alador not talking to them anymore indicates that things weren’t always like this. That it was at some point over the years that he became busier and more obsessed with his work. Odalia might’ve had something to do with it; we know she is very ambitious and obsessed with status. But of course… the price we pay to be classed as elite is that we become like the others.

Still, Alador is an adult and a parent, he has responsibilities toward his family. Not just to provide for his children, but also to nurture them. He seems to realize some of the errors of his ways and promises to do better. Or at least try to make things better. It’s late and maybe too little… but it’s a start.

I talked about this place before and what it might mean to revisit it in this episode. And most of it didn’t go anywhere I think. But I want to bring up something

I mentioned the changing seasons before, that it was fall. I wrote something that I then erased and rewrote because it felt a little too grim. I don’t remember the exact thing I wrote, but it was something like ”Fall brings to mind death or dying.”

Which… yeah. Considering the reveal thirty seconds later… I kinda wish I went with that.

This is beautiful.

It’s not the same thing and Luz is right in that it won’t ever reach the Human Realm. But it eases her mind.

(i guess there’s also the imagery of sending something into the sky and the idea of heaven and all that)

I’m pretty sure that this is the first time Amity has ever drawn a glyph. We saw her use one of Luz’ invisibility spells earlier (correct me if I’m wrong, but I think that was the first time she ever used a glyph?), but this is the first time she’s drawn one. And… it looked about as good as any of the glyphs I could draw (again, just wait until you see my new conspiracy corner).

My snake daughter!

Vee is hanging out in her regular form I see. Now, I do know she gets another human form at some point, I’ve been spoiled on that much. Which makes sense, I figure it might be a little awkward for her and Camila both if she went back to looking like Luz.

More importantly though, Camila places a flower in a vase. It looks like the same kind of flower that Luz made, but white instead of pink. And that vase looks a lot like the abomination balloon Amity made. Cool detail, showing the connection between them.

There might be some symbolism with that flower, but I don’t know anything about flowers. I know I’m from Sweden, but we can’t all be Carl von Linné.

And so comes to and end episode fourteen, with Luz & Camila both looking up at the night sky, thinking of what they have lost.

Except the sky in the Demon Realm looks prettier because there is less light pollution.

As per usual, I did my rewatch of the episode and here are some things I either missed or didn’t talk about my first time through:

•Luz actually names the new glyph combo she learned in this episode The Safety Hover… and I somehow didn’t hear it and has been calling it Fall Break instead. Whoops. •Luz asks Hunter if he’s good now. I initially misinterpreted it as meaning ”are you okay/unharmed now?” But no, she was asking if he was a good person now, which is one hundred times funnier. •The book on abomination creation Alador is holding in the first scene between him and Amity is written by Darius, and if you look on the back, it looks like it might be a signed copy. I’m going to headcanon that it’s like an introductory-level book Darius wrote for students that he sent signed to Alador. I mean, why else would Alador have it? •I pointed out that the announcer at the Bonesbororugh Brawl was the leader of the demon hunters who first appeared in Hooty’s Moving Hassle and I pointed out that one of the security guards at the event was the wild witch being arrested in Eda’s Requiem. But the demon standing next to her also made an appearance in Hooty’s Moving Hassle. He was the one tasked with pushing the kids off the cliff. Something he apparently always dreamed of doing. So not really the guy who should be doing security at big events. •Actually, I went back and checked, and the purple-haired wild witch is part of the demon hunters in that episode. •Eda has much better control over her harpy transformation, implying she has either been training or eating a lot more voles since Eclipse Lake. •I really like the music during the tournament/ingredient collection montage. •I obviously didn’t bring it up in the moment, because I was trying to keep things somber, but I am ever so slightly amused by the text in Luz’ event reminder. At: Gravesfield Graveyard. Gravesfield Graveyard. Those words mean basically the same thing. •We also got to see half of Luz’ dad’s face. •I also love the acting in that scene, I don’t give the VA:s the credit they deserve, Sarah-Nicole Robles who plays Luz did an excellent job in that scene. She always does a great job, but this was extra great. The animation was great too, for that matter. •I don’t think I pointed out Alador’s proud smile when he and Amity do their combo attack to restrain War Wrath. •I don’t think I’ve noticed before that Eda grows quite a bit in height when she’s transformed into her harpy form, I only noticed when she transformed back while standing next to Alador. •We got a look at a calendar in the Human Realm. Based on the markings, the anniversary of Camila’s husband’s death is on the 22nd of August. And according to that thing I bought years ago and literally never used until today, the 22nd of August 2020 is a Saturday. Except the day marked is clearly a Tuesday. This means the series can’t take place in 2020, which is what I’ve been thinking. This means that the series actually takes place in 2017, 2023, 2034, 2045, 2048, or 2051. This revelation means some of the dates on my conspiracy corner are wrong.

There is another brief moment I want to acknowledge, mostly because someone pointed it out in the comments. When threatening Wrath, she referred to Luz as her student/child. The reason I didn’t bring it up was because it was pretty much stated in Eda’s Requiem that Eda thinks of Lus* as her child. So hearing Eda say it wasn’t so surprising. The one thing that is kinda notable is that she said it not just in front of Wrath, but also in front of King. And King is not exactly known for keeping his mouth shut. This makes me wonder… if it might be brought up to Luz some time soon that Eda feels that way about her, cause I don’t think she quite realize it yet.

(*did I seriously misspell Luz as Lus? Who am I, the swedish dub?)

(yeah, the swedish dub pronounces Luz as Lus. Which means louse)

Anyways, this was a great episode. The big stand-out moment was of course… that scene. Where Luz told Amity about her dad. Just everything about it was perfect. I loved it and also hated it because it made me feel sad.

We got to see Amity’s dad get involved, and not just in the plot of an episode, but in his daughter’s life. In a positive way too, at least in the end.

As for Luz… while she did eventually open up about the stuff with her dad and why she was so distracted… the underlying issue of her avoiding and not talking about the things that trouble her with the people that love her and want to help wasn’t really addressed. I think this is something that we’ll see a return to in a future episode.

That’s about what I have to say for now. Stay tuned for a little while longer though, because I have some more things I want to show you. As for when I’ll get to the next episode… I’m not sure. I’m going to be working for a few days in a row and I have other stuff to do as well (can you guys believe it’s almost Christmas?? I’m not ready!).

With that said… I’m The Lampman, and until next time, take care of the planet Earth and remember that anything can happen in space!

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