#hell yes....thank you for all that you did. dunno what's going on in there but you truly have a great time

[unproduciblesmackdown]

love my own like theatrical relationship to shakespeare which is a) being so slow to realize like "oh, i've loved theatre? everyone doesn't just feel this way & go 'of course acting onstage would fucking kick ass' & adore rehearsals and hanging around backstage and in greenrooms and changing and performing & etc?' never really occurred to me" and b) my response to most encounters w/shakespeare being "wha" when it comes to anything granular yet the relevance still in the spirit of things lol

namely one prominent example being i was an on campus college student where said campus has a shakespearean theater literally three blocks away, and we had like a freshmen orientation weekly class there doing shit with actors and checking out the theater, not to mention like punchcards to see four shows free (to write up about afterwards but yeah sure whatever) and this wherein also you always got student discount tickets And there were pwyw performances....kicked ass. i went there for shows so many times. i have never fucking known what tf is going on in any of the like dozen shows i saw there when a) audio processing can be tricky enough for real life modern vernacular parsing and b) sure am not used to ye old very stylized language nor any other qualities of shakespearean material so lots of times when i finally started to kind of acclimate to the language it would be like "oh wait that was the conclusion? ok. hoorayyyyy" like also c) You Have A Great Time Seeing Shakespeare Productions Anyways like again i loved going anytime. it's Theatrical and if people are just putting their damn backs into delivering and performing the material it's An Experience even if you're really not following lmfao. and i suppose one can read the text / familiarize oneself beforehand

also like my first and really one of my only like regular theatre performing experiences was my literature class in fourth grade doing a few scenes from julius caesar. i was so hype for getting cassius like one of the most prominent roles? a guy? an antagonist if you're caesar or dante??? oh Fuck yes. b/c of technical difficulties we got to perform it twice in a row when we did a field trip to some other school to perform our respective [scenes from various shakespeare plays] altogether. even back then i was way into it and cared about stuff like "we have like no Effects to make it that dramatic when we kill caesar. or like, non silent. bit awkward" and "also i like, don't know how to act and am just winging it. and of course, i'm also like 9" like in theory i do like to know How to do something vs trying to make it up myself. somewhat lol. a balance, who can argue w/that

beyond that there's also lots of things i just didn't quite realize "counted" lmfao like, when you're a theatre gay with a parent req'ing you go to church every week but you have a good time being in the choir....i was sure on those tenor harmonies & singing loud. and going relatively often to various live theatrical events, having an engaging enough time there, but also would've assumed anyone would be into it And that that's not really the same as actually being in them, of course. but that most of my firsthand experience was just sticking w/ballet for like a decade, and kind of live theatrical performance adjacency there. don't say shit, for years was effectively just like, an ensemble for the occasional performances, but even then it's like hoorayyy i Love rehearsing and being onstage and backstage and dealing w/costumes and coordination behind the scenes and shit. and eventually being like, a distinct individual character in shows, so despite again nobody saying shit you're still somewhat interpreting and doing whatever character work while also enjoying the bennies of [it's dance, so also it's choreographed]....even more clear like oh i love backstage and rehearsing and behind the scenes and onstage and putting together stage character makeup, and i don't mind tackling technical difficulties, and etc etc. didn't even necessarily have the reference like, idk, wouldn't / doesn't everyone feel similarly. classic ye old memory of like being idfk 7 or some shit simply getting to walk with classmates behind a backdrop to the opposite wing of a stage, and loving that lmao. combines a love for [backstage] and [secret passages] type deal lol, big fan of these elements

also in 7th grade doing a theatre/drama class for a few months and we couldn't really get like all this in depth extensive stuff b/c you know, intro course for like 8 weeks for rando middle schoolers, but idk it was just illustrative lmao like after julius caesar, us slapping together some kind of script and my getting to be this fun little theatrical(tm) antagonist guy again? feedback was "what was supposed to be happening" but could've stood to have learned that the enthusiasm and affinity i felt for acting onstage was perhaps indicative of enthusiasm and affinity for acting onstage rather than just, idk, the exact kind of baseline experience any & everyone would have lol. not that i would've necessarily had the chance to really do anything with that knowledge, but even now, ofc i don't particularly anticipate getting to use it, but it's great having that knowledge like ohhh i see. the entire time i've been huge into doing theatre with all these kind of adjacent & gently overlapping brushes with it. gotcha

[iceman-soup]

masc!reader × divorced!price

Knowing John Price from outside of the military - fuckin hell, knowing him from a toddlers' group of all places. You had both joined at roughly the same time, and being the only dads there rather than mums, you quickly stuck by each other, becoming fast friends since the first session.

Turns out, he'd had a shitty divorce a few years ago, and, well - his sweet baby girl got caught up in all the middle of it. She was a tiny baby at the time, but the legal stuff regarding her in the divorce was messy and Price barely managed to see her at all; and then her mother had been arrested for something or other (he didn't like to talk about it) and he had gained full custody, and arrangements were made for her to stay with his family whilst he was on deployment.

Your story was entirely different. The kid was technically your sister's - but she had died shortly after childbirth, and with no partner and an awful relationship with your parents, the two of you had agreed beforehand that if anything happened, you would become the baby's legal carer. But you'd called the boy yours after only a few months, and that's all you ever introduced him as now. Your son.

The toddler group wasn't great for either you nor Price, to be honest. The kids loved the playtime, which was good - but the parent "teachings" that the leader held were mostly encouraging weird outdated shit that wasn't worth listening to, let alone enforcing. Not to mention the constant repetition of how a single parent is a "bad" parent, which you scoffed at every time. Good thing about it was how you and John could sit at one of your houses after and shit talk it over a coffee.

Was he hot? Sure. Yes. Absolutely. It was the very first thing you noticed about him. But more than that you were genuinely grateful to have a friend; another single dad to lean on, to finally start talking about your sister's death and all the guilt you felt with your son. Someone who would actually get it.

Price started to come around to yours almost every day, even when the toddlers' group was only once a week. He insisted it was nicer than his flat, and the kids had more space to play anyway. You never minded. He took you over to his parents' house, introducing you to them. They were quick to befriend you and your child, mentioning how you should visit John's daughter there when he's on deployment.

Deployment. Forgot about that.

You laugh and nod, thanking them before you leave. You take your son to a play park and sit on a bench, watching him and just thinking. It doesn't take long til you realise you're thinking less about your friend being all captain-y and more about his smile you've come to adore being wiped from his face. About him coming home and there being more scars on his hands and arms than before. 'Cause you fucking counted. Realising he might not come home at all.

You go to his flat the next day, awkward small talk as the kids go off to play. He can tell something's up. He asks if it was his parents. Fucking apologises as if he did something wrong. You sit him down on the sofa, and rest your head on his shoulder.

"Dunno what to do," you start, eyes flickering shut when he combs a comforting hand through your hair. "You're such a great man, John. Dunno what I'd do if you went."

He looks at you for a moment; you can feel his gaze. Tilts your chin up with a calloused finger and brushes his lips against yours. It takes a second or two to process what's happening - and then you're kissing him again, his jacket balled up in your fists as you hold him closer, suddenly realise this is what it was all along. The hot, slightly traumatised dad had tripped you up and you fell fuckin hard.

All too quickly and you're lowering him down against the sofa, and his hands are on your back, and your tongue is prodding impatiently at his lip. Then he opens his mouth and you almost seem to melt into it, a soft groan in his throat, and you're lying on top of him, and his legs are around your waist-

"I'm not complaining," you hum between kisses, "but how is making out gonna help?"

He breaks apart. Looks at you with a sort of dog-like curiosity, mulling over the question for a second. Then his hands snake up to rest in your hair, and he smiles his signature smile. "Don't know. Just thought I wanted to kiss you. Won't fix me goin' on deployment, but-" he glances away, a flush creeping up his neck, "thought... thought you might be somethin' to come back to, y'know?"

You chuckle quietly, pressing your lips to his blush. "You askin' me out, John?" He kisses you tenderly, shuffling to sit up a little, pulling you onto his lap facing him.

"If you'll take me."

And you don't even have to think about it. "'Course I will."

[sugdenlovesdingle]

What if everything hadn't been wrapped up in 42 minutes and the 118 did get closed down?

slightly spoiler-y for 8x04, now also on AO3

---

"They're shutting us down. They're actually shutting us down." Buck ranted as he paced up and down Tommy's livingroom. "Actually, no, they have shut us down. As of today the 118 is no more!"

"So you've said." Tommy sighed. Evan had been talking and ranting almost non stop since he'd walked through the door of his house an hour ago, and while Tommy had been happy to see him, he quickly realised his boyfriend wasn't in the mood for romance.

"I'm sorry, I know I'm a lot... but... I've never worked at a different house than the 118. Working under a different captain than Bobby is bad enough, but at least I always had the others. Now I won't even have that."

"Don't apologise. I get it, I really do." Tommy stood up and put his hands on Buck's hips. "But didn't you say Hen is working on something?"

"Yes! And she won't tell me what! And look what happened! We're all going to be moved to other houses and Bobby will still be on that tv show!"

"Hmm... but don't you think they all want the band back together as much as you do?"

"Well... yes... but I wish they'd tell me what they're doing! I could help." Buck sighed in defeat.

"I know, but I think they want to keep everything as on the down low as possible. The less people know what they're doing, the less chance there is of things not working out or someone getting in trouble."

Buck groaned and let himself slump against his boyfriend's 6'2" frame.

"I hate it when you go all reasonable on me."

Tommy chuckled and dropped a kiss in his hair.

"A few weeks at a different house might not be so bad. I mean... it did me the world of good."

"So not the same thing." Buck muttered, face still buried in Tommy's shoulder.

"When do you find out what house you'll be at?"

"Dunno." Buck mumbled. "We just came off a 48 so we're supposed to have a couple of days off... but... they just said we'd get an email telling us what house to report to and when."

"You might end up at the 122 with Sal." Tommy mused.

"Oh yeah that would be great. Working under my boyfriend's best friend." Buck said sarcastically.

"At least you know him." Tommy reminded him. "And he's a good firefighter and a good captain. If Bobby hadn't shown up, I think the 118 would now be Captain Deluca's house."

"He'd give me shit just because he could. He'd be worse than Gerrard because he's your friend and we're together."

Tommy knew he was right, but also didn't want to admit it and spend the rest of the night talking about work.

"Are you hungry? I got Chinese take out last night and there is still plenty left. I'll heat some up for you."

"In a minute." Buck said, wrapping his arms around Tommy a little tighter, keeping him exactly where he was. "Just want to stay like this for a while."

"Maybe we should sit down. We'll be more comfortable."

"Nope. I'm good." Buck told him and somehow stepped even closer until they were practically one.

"Uhm babe... I think you're buzzing."

"Baby no more bee puns please. I'm tired. It's been a hell of a day." Buck groaned. He was practically falling asleep on his feet with just Tommy's arms holding him upright.

"No, babe, you're actually buzzing. I think it's your phone?"

"What? Oh! Oh shit." Buck scrambled to get his phone out of his pocket. "Shit shit shit it's LAFD HQ." he said after glancing at the screen. "Hello? Yes this is Evan Buckley."

Tommy gave him a questioning look when almost every emotion possible moved across his boyfriend's face in a matter of seconds.

"A-are you sure about that?" Buck asked and paused to listen. "No, no, no problem. I'll uh... yes... I'll uhm... wait for the email for the details then. Yes... thank you. Bye."

"What? Don't tell me they're actually transferring you to Sal's house?"

"No... Not Sal's... I uh... have to report for duty on Friday... at the 217."

[satorusugurugurl]

HIHI is this for the summer Drabble thing? If yes can I choose the hiking with Choso and like I dunno kinda maybe perhaps exhibition kink? I LOVE UR WORK SO DAMN MUCH I ALWAYS CHECK UR STUFF KEEP GOING UR AMAZING ❤️❤️❤️

-Kirby

What a View!

Summary: Marie’s Summer Fest prompt: Hiking

Pairing: Choso Kamo x AFAB!Reader

Warnings: exhibitionism, smut, outdoor sex, unprotected sex, creampie

Word Count: 1,598

A/N: sjndjdjfjdn thank you so much! Ugh you guys are so sweet to me I love you!!! I hope I can keep putting out stuff for you guys to enjoy! On that note! we only have one more prompt to post and then we are finished with my 2K follower celebration! These props were a lot of fun and I hope you guys enjoyed them as much as I did! Love your guys!

“Oh my god.” you granted to yourself as you climbed higher up the mountain you and Cho had decided to climb on your day off. “What the hell was I thinking?”

“You said you wanted to be one with nature. I tried to warn you that you would regret this decision, but you told me you needed to find your Zen.”

It was barely eight-thirty in the morning, the sun wasn’t even at its highest, and yet you were already sweating. “Yeah, well, the next time I tell you, I need to find my Zen. Give me a phone and watch some sensory videos for a baby or something. Would be an easier way to find instead of climbing a mountain!” Choso chuckled, looking back at you with a gentle smile; he hadn’t even managed to break his sweat yet; then again, he does more intensive training than you do.

“Come on, it'll be okay. We’re almost to the top!”

“Mmm,” you grumbled as you continued, climbing up the hilltop to overlook the beautiful mountainside you had chosen to hike.

When you finally reached the top, you watched your boyfriend’s eyes sparkle as he overlooked the sea of trees roaming over the mountains you were surrounded by. That smile on his face, with the far-off look in his eyes, made you realize that maybe this was worth all the sweating. So perhaps you would have to make this an activity the two of you would do occasionally.

“It's beautiful up here.”

“Yeah, but it’s fucking hot. After we rest for a bit, can we start climbing down? I'm starting to get hungry, and before we even think about going to eat, I want to take a shower first.”

“Yeah, of co—agh! What are you doing?!” When your sweet, loving boyfriend glanced back over to you, and he saw that your tank top had been lifted, wiping at the sweat dripping down your face. Leaving you in nothing but your shorts like that left your sports bra on full display for anybody to see.

You were so pretty. Your skin was flawless, your breasts were smashed together, and the confinements of your bra made Choso’s pants tighten. You were so cute and perfect in his eyes. Seeing you like that made him glance around protectively for any peering eyes.

“I’m wiping sweat off my face?” you asked point-blank as if it were the most obvious answer.

“I-I know that, but why are you lifting your shirt? Someone could see you!”

“Cho there is no one up here.” you motion around you to emphasize your point. “I think we’re good.” You take note of the way his hands dart down to cover up his crotch. His cheeks are flushed, and his eyes nervously glance around for any other souls that could be up there with you, watching you. “Oh—“ you bite your bottom lip, smirking at how he shrinks in on himself. “Unless you like the idea of that.”

Choso blinks, whiling towards you in shock. “Wh-What?! I—” His dark eyes darted down towards the crotch, his pants not even bothering to be coy about it, painfully obvious. “M-Maybe a little—?”

“Yeah?”

Choso, once you do nothing more than climb the mountain and crawl under a rock. You must be disgusted with his arousal at the idea of being intimate out in the open like this. He wouldn’t blame you if you were because the more he looked at your body, the more he wanted to take you right there out in the open.

“Choso~” your sweet singsong voice had his attention darting towards you, finding your tank top and sports bra pushed up, revealing your perfect breast to him.

“H-Honey!” he yelled, rushing to pull your bra back down. You snatched his wrist with your hand as he reached for it, preventing him from readjusting your clothes. “Honey?”

“I want you, Cho~ right now.”

Choso wasn't sure what happened or how it happened so fast. One second, he was standing a good five feet away from you, and the next, your hands were pressed against the tree in front of you, the bark of it dug into the palms of your hands, scratching the surface of your skin. Your boyfriend watched your head fall forward leg, shaking as he gripped your hips, slamming into you.

“M-Mmm—nngh—mm!!”! You moan softly, digging your teeth into your bottom lip as the sound of Choso’s ball sopping your ass off the trees just off the trail he dragged you down.

“Mmm—good girl.” Choso praised his hands, reaching up, groping your breasts that bounced with each hard thrust. His fingers kneaded at them, holding them gently. “You keep squeezing me. It feels so good!”

“Ahn fuck Cho!” you did your best to keep your voice down, but you were finding that extremely difficult with how good the drag of his cock inside your pussy felt.

“Fucck, oh fuck this is so hot I need—” a twig snapped somewhere in the distance, causing you both to freeze up momentarily in shock.

“Baby, maybe we should stop—mmphm!” You cried out as Choso’s hand clamped over your mouth, his cock throbbing inside of you as he began slamming into you, his lips moving over your neck as he softly grunted and whined against your neck.

You had just been teasing him in the beginning! Choso was the type of person that was easy to tease. But feeling him twitching and panting made it clear that your boyfriend was an exhibitionist. His mouth pressed firmly against the crook of your neck, his breath hot against your skin as he snarled, thrusting inside of you faster, deeper. The head of his cock pressed firmly against your cervix before pulling out just enough to slam into your g-spot before pushing himself in as deep as he could.

Being out in the open like this, with the chance of anyone coming across you, had your knees buckling, making it difficult for you to stand. This had to be one of the most erotic moments of your entire life. Having Choso fuck you in the middle of the woods like some animal in heat. Fuck, it was so arousing it was honestly driving you wild, causing you to dig your nail into the bark of your sturdy tree while your walls squeezed around your boyfriend tightly.

Choso smirked against your skin, a deep, rumbling chuckle sounding inside his throat as he leaned in his mouth close to your ear. “Heh, what was it? Weren’t you the one teasing me earlier? Liking the idea of being caught?” his sharp canines dug into the skin of your neck, your sharp cries muffled by his palm. “I think you’re the one who likes this. I can feel you clamping down on me. You’re squeezing me so tight.” his words, your eyes rolling back as you nodded in agreement. “At least you're honest. Now be a good girl and cum for me.”

Who were you to deny your boyfriend? Your head rocked back, resting against his shoulder while you shut your eyes tight as you came around him, squirting hard. Your moans were still muffled and inaudible because of his palm, and you were thankful for his hand. Because holy shit, your boyfriend was fucking so you so good. His cock was sliding deeper into you before throbbing as Choso came, his fingers gripping at your hips, squeezing them to the point you would have marks left. These marks would be a pleasant reminder of your sexual escapade out in the woods. A delightful memory as the warmth of his cum flooded you in the deepest parts, slowly spreading until Choso barely held you both up.

After a minute to recover, your boyfriend weakly pulled out of you, watching as you stumbled forward just an inch before resting your head against the tree you were clinging to your thumb in your ears as Choso adjusted both of your clothes before his hands gently grabbed your shoulders. He massages them before placing a gentle kiss against your cheek, smiling softly.

“Are you okay, honey?”

“I’m great,” you whispered, turning your head to watch him with a shy and hesitant smile. But we might have a bit of a problem.”

“Are you hurt? I wasn’t too rough with you, was I?”

The other concern in his voice had your heart fluttering. “No, I am okay. I just uhm—” Your body decided to answer your boyfriend‘s question for you. He watched as your legs gave out, resulting in you slowly sinking to your knees. The impact had you whining. “I don’t think I’ll be able to walk for a while.”

Luckily for you, your boyfriend was one of the sweetest souls you had ever known. He carried you all the way down the hiking trail, happily chatting with you as you wrapped your arms around your neck. You peppered kisses along his cheek as if he didn’t just fuck the life out of your legs. It was safe to say you both would be taking more hikes in the future, especially if they ended like this.

Forever Tag List:

@darkstarlight82 @pandoness @nealeart @simp-plague @sugurubabe @chilichopsticks @reap3erslov3 @wil10wthetree @luvsymai

Summer Fest Tag List:

@typicalife-101

[loveinhawkins]

The RV careens out of the trailer park and hits the open road with what pretty much amounts to ‘all speed, no grace.’ The turn Steve makes is, quite frankly, abysmal; he’s sure that if his driving instructor could see him now, the poor man would be weeping in distress.

Yet his passengers erupt into cheers as they pass the Leaving Hawkins sign, like he’s pulled some kind of James Bond move.

And, for all his insistence on being the absolute antithesis to so-called ‘jock culture’, Eddie rushes over to the driver’s seat, starts squeezing Steve’s shoulder with decidedly jock-like exuberance.

“Holy shit, holy shit, that was so fucking cool, Harrington.”

Oh, he’s definitely broken through the depression stage of the ‘finding out there’s an alternate dimension in Hawkins’ journey—landing firmly in the fuck it, might as well have some fun stage.

Steve could tell they’d reached that point even before the goddamn ‘big boy’ comment, when Eddie had taken one look at the Michael Myers mask, looked Max dead in the eye and said, “This is gonna be. So fuckin’ stupid. Let’s do it.”

Steve goes through a few seconds more of having his shoulder pummelled before saying, “Dude, you’re doing a shitty job at being undercover, stay down.”

“Like, do you have any idea,” Eddie says breathily, as if Steve hasn’t spoken, “just how perfect that was? That was, God, a childhood dream fully—”

“You dreamed of stealing an RV?” Steve says dubiously.

“Not in such crude literal terms, no. C’mon, Harrington, you must’ve had an imagination once—”

“Hey!”

“—didn’t you ever dream of, like, daring escapes, pulling the sword outta the stone, all that shit?”

Steve thinks about it. “I mean,” he says, “when I was a kid, I just kinda… climbed trees and stuff.”

Eddie sighs as if he can’t decide whether Steve’s done something especially annoying or endearing. “Of course you did.”

They reach a stop sign and Eddie finally flops into the passenger seat, facing Steve like he’s sitting side saddle on a horse.

“So,” Steve says, “I take a right after this, yeah?”

“Mm-hmm, well remembered, Mr Getaway Driver.”

Steve scoffs, glances over—finds Eddie framing him with his index finger and thumb, like a director trying to capture the perfect shot.

“James Dean,” Eddie says authoritatively, dropping his hands.

“What?”

“Was tryin’ to figure it out, your whole look, you know? Very Rebel Without a Cause.”

“Okay,” Steve says, “but I have a cause, we all do.”

Eddie just blinks at him, and Steve chuckles.

“You, idiot.”

“Oh.”

Steve has a moment to appreciate the way Eddie’s eyes go all soft and maybe just a little shiny, before he has to set off again. He takes the right turning.

“We should watch it,” Eddie says eventually. “Hell, I’ll take any movie. Just gimme, like, two hours of not having to think.”

“Tell me about it.”

Steve’s sure he’ll never complain about double VHS tapes ever again. Then a thought occurs to him.

“Shit.” He calls to the back. “Rob?”

“Yeah?”

“Y’know when we left Family Video, did we even lock up?”

“Yes,” Robin says followed immediately by, “No?”

Steve snorts. “God, we’re so fired.”

He hears Robin making her way up to the front, then Eddie saying, “Oof, Buckley, that was right in the ribs.”

“Why the sudden concern about our jobs, dingus?”

“I’m not concerned, I just got reminded of—Eddie was mentioning—”

“—Rebel Without a Cause,” Eddie finishes.

“Oh, Steve, I know you’ve seen it, I put it on last week!”

“Uh, maybe I was preoccupied doing, I dunno, my job.”

“It’s the one with—”

“James Dean,” Eddie cuts in.

“Yeah, I gathered, thanks,” Steve says sarcastically, but he can’t help smiling as he does so.

“—and it’s, you know,” Robin goes on, “troubled kid moves to a new town, and—”

“Aw,” Steve says, “you think I’m troubled, Munson?”

“It’s all in the eyes, Harrington. Such depths.”

“Right?” Robin says, and she’s laughing, tongue-in-cheek, “I’ve always said so.”

“You ever considered wearing a leather jacket?”

Steve laughs, too. “Tell ya what, Eddie, why don’t I just wear all your clothes?”

“Well, we know denim suits you.”

“If only you saw his last car-stealing outfit, Eddie.”

Steve sighs. “Robin, shut it.”

“Excuse me,” Eddie says, “d’you have form, Harrington? Grand theft auto form?”

“Literally once. Crazy circumstances.” Rest in peace, Todfather. “It was a Cadillac.”

“A Cadillac.” Eddie sighs dreamily. “Do you have any photos?”

“Uh, no, I was kinda busy.”

“I shall mourn the loss.”

“Take the next left here,” Nancy calls, which Steve is grateful for—the directions had gone completely out of his head.

“Wheeler, come up to the front,” Eddie says, “it’s a party.”

She must do, because her voice sounds much closer when she says, “Shit, I think I forgot to lock up, too.”

“Don’t worry,” Steve says, “no-one’s gonna ransack The Weekly Streak.”

Another stop sign—Steve looks over, smirks at how Eddie has ended up squished between Nancy and Robin, all of them sharing the one seat.

“They better not.” To Eddie, Nancy adds, “I think I gave your uncle the impression that I’m doing a big piece on you. Like, testimonials for an innocent man, stuff like that.”

For a flicker of a second, Eddie looks nauseated at the thought—Steve spots the shift, the decision to make a joke about it.

“Well, Wheeler, you better make me sound good.”

“Oh, I was going more for journalistic integrity.”

“Hey.”

Steve hears a couple of thumps behind him; without even glancing in the mirror, he says, “Sit your asses down, shitheads, don’t make me turn this thing around.”

“Don’t make me turn this thing around!” Lucas parrots.

Max scoffs playfully: “Nineteen going on forty.”

“Eddie was standing before!” Erica points out.

Steve rolls his eyes. “Yeah, well, Eddie’s a law unto himself. Look, just sit down and, like, make a list or something, I’ll stop off for food after we’ve—”

Dustin laughs. “You really are forty.”

“Uh-huh, one more wisecrack and you’re not getting any chocolate pudding.”

Steve’s hamming it up, he knows he is—smiles to himself as he hears a quartet of giggles.

“Can you believe they used to think I was cool?” he says.

“I dunno, Harrington,” Eddie says warmly, “at least one of them doth protest too much.”

Nancy stands in search of a pen, Robin following, insisting to Dustin that, “We’re getting one of those camp stoves, if I don’t eat something hot soon, I’m gonna die.”

“Yeah,” Steve says. Maybe it’s because they’ll soon be arriving at The War Zone; his levity slips just a little when he says, “It’s probably, like, a proximity thing. Henderson’ll have a scientific term for it.”

Eddie chuckles. “What, the Steve Harrington effect?”

Steve shrugs. “You get too close, the shine wears off eventually.”

He doesn’t realise until he’s said it that the joking, perhaps, has stopped somewhere along the way.

“Huh,” Eddie says. “I’m no scientist, but that doesn’t sound like the Steve Harrington effect to me.”

“No?” Steve says.

He can see the parking lot in the distance, and he gestures for Eddie to duck.

“Nope,” Eddie says. Steve can hear him moving, crouching to hide behind the driver’s seat.

He parks and everyone’s abruptly all business, deciding who’s staying in the RV, who’s going into The War Zone.

Steve hates it, has a sudden intense longing to keep talking about movies, to just be stupid.

And maybe Eddie can tell, because just before Steve heads out, he catches his eye, smiles.

“Hey, don’t worry, Harrington,” he says with a tiny, fleeting wink. “You’re still my leading man.”

[taelophone]

Hold My Hand‧ ˚₊⊹ TWs: Abnormal friendships, mutual pining, reader is lowkey going THRU it lol, death jokes, Reader and Joost are grossly close, unresolved feelings! A/N: SORRY I LITERALLY FORGOT TO POST THIS OMFG😭😭 continuation of “Good To Grow” ^^

RPF under the cut!!

*DOING!*

Huh…?

*DOING!*

What the hell was that?

*THUD!!*

You turned your head towards your bedroom window, immediately furrowing your brows with concern.

Something had been hitting your window, and it wasn’t letting up.

You got out of your bed, quickly making your way over to your window and drawing the curtain. It was definitely still early in the morning; you could see the tint of melancholy blue in the sky as you peered out the window.

The deep blue painted the color of the warm pale face you had grown to love over the past few years. You stared at him as rosy cheeks and angel blonde hair stared back up at you.

You used all your strength to open your old, creaky windows as they growled at you for the early morning noise.

“Oh…Hello!” You murmured, resting your hands on the windowsill as you leaned out the glassy entrance.

“Agoeie! Goedemorgen! Come outside!” He beamed, waving at you eagerly.

“What time is it..?” You questioned, rubbing the sleep away from your eyes. “It’s so early..”

“It’s like 6:30! Don’t worry, I’ll have you back before 7…PM.” He said, an impish grin plastered on his face.

“I have to ask my mommy…” you sighed, staring down at him with an amused expression.

You sighed, stretching your arms up as much as your window would allow, shuddering with pre-morning adrenaline that dispatched from your fingertips.

“Okay…let me go get ready.” You sighed, waving goodbye and placing your hands on top of the window ledge again, pushing it down with all your might.

“Yes!” Joost exclaimed, darting to your front door and finding purchase on the warm blades of grass as he waited for you to get ready.

You brushed your teeth as quickly as possible, pricking and scraping your gums a couple of times from the speed and aggression of your toothbrush.

You flew out of the bathroom, making quick work of sliding through your bedroom and tearing up your closet for something to wear. 

Yellow, yellow, white, pink, blue, green, white, yellow…man, how much yellow did mom buy? You sorted through the different fabrics until you pulled out a yellow spaghetti strap top.

It had flowers textured into the top, with a little bow at the top of the bust, just like a little babydoll shirt.

And finally, you turned to your jeans, pulling out a light blue pair of cuffed shorts with a cute flower button that paired pretty well with your shirt.

You tugged on your outfit, keeping in mind how hot it was going to get later thanks to the summer sun. Thanks, weather.

You moisturized your arms and legs, knowing that dry skin was the enemy these days thanks to the great explanation from your mother.

Once you smelled like Jergens Cherry Almond and youth, you headed to your parents room and barged in, not able to grasp the necessity of knocking before entering.

“Hi mommy…” you whispered, immediately zoning in on her form which had been startled awake.

She sighed, clutching at her chest as she registered that there hadn’t been a break in. “You scared me…hi, sweetie…” she breathed, catching the breath you had stolen from her seconds prior.

“Can I go and play with Joost? He’s outside.” You asked, noticing the absence of your father. “Where’s daddy?”

“He left early for work. They gave him a new schedule, so he’ll be heading out by 5…what time is it?” She surveyed, finally peaking open her eyes.

“I dunno.” You shrugged, watching as she stared at her alarm clock.

“Sweetie, it’s 6:40…you can’t wait another hour?” She sighed.

“No, he’s already outside.” You murmured.

She sighed, running her hand across her face. “Fine, have fun. But I want you back home before dinner, and this is only allowed because Joost is going with you. Don’t split up, stay together.” She mumbled, lying back down.

You nodded, immediately nodding. “Yes ma’am! Thank you mommy!” You beamed, slamming her door shut and departing from the house within the same 10 seconds.

You flew down the last few stairs, grabbing your ivory messenger bag and sliding on your yellow jelly sandals before making your way out the front door, immediately locking eyes with Joost on your front lawn.

“Hi.” You smiled, waving at him as you closed your front door.

“Hallo!” He beamed, standing up from the spiky blades of green to pull you into a hug.

“Oh..! Okay.” You smiled, gently but hesitantly reciprocating his hug and patting his back gently.

You could finally see his face clearly, and you could see the little freckles he had begun to accumulate during the beginnings of summer.

He was dressed casually, with his khaki jean cargo shorts and black LittleBigPlanet shirt, in addition to a new black beaded bracelet you had never seen before.

“Where are we going?” You murmured, letting him take your hand as he led you away from your front door.

“To this arcade I saw…and then we can go climb trees again.” He nodded. “Can you put these in your bag for me?” He asked, holding up 6 fat stacks of 25 cent coins rolled up in red and white paper.

“Woaaaahh..” you murmured, eyebrows dispatching upwards at the amount of coins he had. You opened your bag, letting him drop the stacks of coins in before snapping it shut again.

“That’s a lot of coins..” you said, walking alongside him as you began your walk to this arcade he was talking about.

“My dad gave them to me!” He smiled,  giving your soft hand a gentle squeeze.

“That was very nice of him.” You smiled, glancing up at him briefly. “I like your dad, he’s cool. He lets me eat your ice cream in the freezer.” You snickered.

“Wait what-?” Joost blurted. “He told me he was eating them!”

“He lied. It was me.” You beamed, giggling at his slight frustration.

“Man, stop it! They’re delicious and they’re mine.” He huffed.

“C’mon, friends share! I’m carrying your coins right now, they’re heavy.” You pouted, letting go of his hand.

“Hey!” He exclaimed, clutching your hand again. “You’re gonna run off!”

“I’m not! I promise…” you mumbled, still a little irritated with him.

“Fine, you can eat my ice cream.” He huffed, rolling his eyes.

You smiled, welcoming his hand within yours again. “Thanks!”

He rolled his eyes, but gave you a small smile anyway. He wasn’t really mad, and he couldn’t exactly pinpoint why.

He had always been somewhat of a spoiled baby; his parents did everything for him, and he didn’t necessarily have to share with anyone else, considering both of his siblings were over ten years older than him.

To put it short, he wasn’t used to sharing. Yet.

But he wasn’t very mad at the idea of sharing with you. In fact, it made him feel all giddy and fluttery inside.

“Do they have prizes at the arcade…? Like candy?” You asked, looking up at the light blue sky with thin, stringy looking clouds.

“Yeah, of course.” He nodded, though he suddenly paused. “Wait.”

You paused with him, stumbling over your steps a little before looking at him. “What?” You whispered, looking around frantically.

“We’re too early. It doesn’t open until 11.” He sighed, staring at the large, blocky looking building covered in what would be neon lights over in the distance.

“Really, Joost! You showed up at 6 in the morning just to say we can’t go!” You huffed.

“We can still go! We just have to go later…”He sighed, turning around and setting off in the direction of the woods. “I’m sorry…but we can still go climb trees.” He reassured. “We’ll be back later.”

You sighed, but gave a small shrug. Loud arcades weren’t really your scene anyway, so the change wasn’t unwelcome.

This time around, you actually knew where you were going. The wooded, quiet, little forest was somewhere you went almost every single day, hand in hand together as you helped him climb up each branch. So you knew the area and how to get there.

He wasn’t good at climbing, that’s for sure, but he seemed to love doing it anyway. With help, of course.

“You wanna start a fire when we get there? We can use stones to keep it in a circle…” He offered.

“Why would we need a fire?” You asked, tilting your head to the side in confusion. “It’s already hot!”

“I don’t know.” He shrugged. “I thought it’d be nice for marshmallows, but we don’t have marshmallows.” 

“You’re so strange.” You tittered, following him into the green and brown paths of trees and slumping down in front of a large downy birch tree.

“I’m not strange, I just think out of the box.” He giggled, nodding subtly.

“Yes. That’s very you.” You smiled, nodding in agreement as well.

You chattered back and forth, talking about anything and everything your small minds could think about.

Winning the lottery, the bugs on the trees, ABBA, and overall life.

“I think when I grow up I wanna take care of animals…” you murmured, tearing up a piece of leaf gently, piece by piece.

“I wanna be on Eurovision!” He beamed, not even having to think about it at all.

“I’m gonna be on Eurovision, with a lot of music, and be rich! Then I’ll get married, and have 5 dogs!” Joost assured, drawing nonsensical shapes in the dirt with a random little stick.

You nodded, slowly bringing your hands to a stop on your leaf.

“I wanna get married…and I wanna wear a big long dress. And I’m not sure about dogs, I think I want a bunny…” you muttered, daydreaming about the absolute ball gown you’d wear if you ever got married.

“Bunnies are very cute.” He nodded, dropping his stick and bringing his knees to his chest and his arms on top of his knees.

You followed suit shortly after, deciding to wrap your arms around your legs instead.

“Who do you wanna marry?” He asked, tilting his head and letting his semi-long blonde bangs hang off to the side.

“I’m not sure…” you murmured, not having actually spent a lot of time thinking about the topic.

“If it could be anyone in the world, probably Nathaniel Motte…” you shrugged. “Or Leonardo DiCaprio.”

“Ew, Leo?” He giggled. “Who even is Nathaniel anyway?” He surveyed, fighting back giggles.

“That guy from that new song! Y’know! Shush girl, shut ya lips! Dooooo the Hellen Keller, and talk with ya hips!” You sang, giggling wildly. “It just came out like this April.”

“Oohhhhh, them. Three-oh-or-something,” he nodded. “That guys ugly.”

“He is not! He’s tall, and has long hair, and he’s very handsome to me.” You snickered, sensing the warmth on your face.

Joost side eyed you, furrowing his brows in slight concern before standing up abruptly.

“I’m tall! See?” He stated, standing up as straight as possible and flipping his hair out of his face. “And I have long hair!” He added, placing his fists on his hips smugly.

“Would you marry meeee?” He asked, grinning at you boyishly.

You stared at him, giggling at his antics quietly before he pulled you up on your feet, holding you in the air from under your shoulders like always.

You yelped quietly, dangling your ankles above ground as you held his wrists gently. “Joost!” You whisper-yelled, staring in his eyes of melancholy. “Put me down!”

“No! Not until you answer me!” He laughed defiantly, holding you up as high as his arms would allow.

He looked so much different from this angle. You had always seen him from below, but now that you were up above him, you could see his face in the pale yellow contours of the sunlight.

A baby angel held you up in their soft hands, helping you learn your new wings of emotion as you held that blind faith that he wouldn’t lead you astray.

That halo of platinum framed the sides of his face, tilting just above his eyes as he struggled to keep it from blinding him 24/7. You knew that there had to be someone resting upstairs in that moment, because if divinity didn’t exist, then why was he so divine?

“I—…I dunno? Maybe?” You squeaked, giving him an upside-down grin.

“It’s yes or no!” He chuckled, shaking you gently as he kept your head in the clouds.

“Uh…yes..?” You hesitated, nodding slowly.

“Good.” He beamed, putting you safely back down on the ground.

If you could find your mind, you’d be scouring the entirety of the woods for what you seemed to have lost just a second ago.

“I’d marry you too.” He giggled, holding your hand and pretending to put a little ring on your finger…on the wrong hand.

How cute.

“I dunno, I think being married sounds fun…but it’s also scary. What if we get tired of each other?” You murmured, hand still interlocked with Joost’s as he listened to you carefully.

“Well, we’ve known each other for a while right? Are you tired of me?” He asked, flipping his hair out of his face, AGAIN.

“No…” you whispered.

“Well then think of it that way!” He smiled, the corners of his eyes crinkling with joy and life.

You nodded, fidgeting with his fingers as he watched you silently.

“You’re really pretty…” he blurted, going pink in the nose, as he tilted his head to the side.

You veered your head up, glancing right through him through your lashes. “Thanks…” you nodded, avoiding his eyes totally as you suddenly became—afraid? Of his presence.

Your mind, body, and soul told you to run away; to clutch the soft ivory of your bag and flee to safety and cower under your blankets. But your heart clenched and twisted, writhing in fluttery agony as you smiled at him.

Your stomach felt like you hadn’t eaten in years; sick threatening to spill from your pores and out into the world around you. Maybe then it’d take form and clarify your thoughts, tell you how terrible of a friend you were for even feeling this way.

Little did you know, you would spend the rest of your life bunking with this dormant feeling of lovelorn anguish.

You leaned up, pecking the side of Joost’s cheek gently and smiling at him softly.

Joost froze, staring at you wide wide eyes before placing his hand on his cheek, giggling breathlessly. He went red with adoration as it lit him on fire and burned him from outside-in.

In the same way you felt sick and afraid of your own heart and mind, Joost had never been more fearful in his life. Doubt swirled with sentiment and tangled in his hair, knots traveling down his throat and stinging his tongue with paralysis.

He couldn’t move or speak. Not in the way he wanted to, anyway.

If he could record this moment in his mind and replay it over and over again, he’d put several blockbusters out of business.

“Uh…Dankje…” he sputtered, staring down at the ground.

“Oh—! I…I’m sorry…?” You whispered, the heat of embarrassment clouding your mind.

“Nee, Nee, it’s alright!” He assured, scrambling to think of how to let you know he wasn’t off-put.

Without even thinking about it, he pecked his rosy lips against yours, strangling his anxiety head on.

Great. Now you were BOTH confused!

You stared at each other, wide eyed and dazed. You could see the galaxies and cosmos in each other’s eyes, and for a brief moment in time, you could see the lacy white fabric of a wedding dress trailing down the blue carpet of a church walkway.

A few beats of silence passed as you absentmindedly kicked up some dust from the dirt floor, trying to avoid his attention as much as possible.

“I think we should probably go do something…” Joost whispered, quickly backing away, but not letting go of your hand as he led you back out of the forest without another word.

You wanted to protest, to stand in the shrubbed forest. All you wanted to do was swim in the waves of confusion and let them crash over your head; allowing the cool tide to extinguish the fire that scorched the two of you.

But the pair of you stayed with both feet on the ground, silent and stupefied.

And oh my, it stayed that way for a long. long. LONG. time.

And things faded back into normality, with the help of Joost’s hands and words threading the pieces of your friendship back into its usual pattern. But there was no denying the bright shade of pink that would stain the soft cotton of your history.

Three years went by, and you were finally able to call yourself a teenager. You and Joost had turned fourteen, and winter break left all the time in the world for you to be back in close proximity.

You darted up the stairs, tripping over your own feet a couple of times as you completely banged into wall after wall, railing after railing. Normally you would NEVER catch yourself being this energetic, but this was too important.

“JOJO! JOJO, HURRY UP! OPEN YOUR DOOR!” You exclaimed, knocking in the door as fast as your wrist would allow. 

“Hold on! Let me at least tie my pants!” He called back, tugging on his shirt over his mop of blonde hair, fucking it up entirely. He tugged his sweatpants up a little higher, afraid that a little of his stomach would taint your innocent eyes.

He tied the string tight, leaving no room for them to slip or even move. Because having to tug your pants up constantly is borderline embarrassing.

He stumbled over to his door, swinging it open to reveal you, who was practically vibrating with energy.

“MARIO KART 7 IS OUT!!” You hailed, holding up two twin chips delicately in your hands.

“REALLY?” He asked, eyebrows shooting up as he practically threw you in his room. “Wait! Wait wait wait let me get my DS!” he urged, flying to his desk to grab his Nintendo 3DS, powering it on quickly and crashing into his bed.

“Owww, FUCK!” He grunted, pressing a hand to the top of his head, but not once stopping in his journey to get comfortable.

You laughed, pointing at him very clearly as you kicked his door shut with your ankle and joined him on his bed, sliding your DS out of your pocket and the game chip into the cartridge.

Joost had reached that stage of life where he was just…lanky. His arms were almost concerningly long, and it seemed like he was getting about an inch taller a day. While your legs had completely enough room, one of his nearly dangled off the edge thanks to his horizontal position.

“Dude why’re you so…long.” You frowned, leaning your back against the wall next to his bed.

“I don’t know! I can’t control it.” He murmured, popping the other chip in his DS as well and diving into the world of pixelated street racing.

“OH MY GOD YOU SUCK!” You shouted, frowning deeply as you lost match after match. Time flew by, your bickering bouncing off the walls and spilling through into the hallway.

You stayed over at his place for the night, genuinely contemplating getting into a fistfight with him over Mario Kart. It was that serious, absolutely.

“YOUUUUU, AND YOUR STUPID BLUE SHELL!” You shouted, pointing a finger nearly inches away from his face. 

“THE FIRST TIME I EVER HEAR YOU YELL, AND IT'S ABOUT A SHELL?” He started, immediately standing up on his bed.

“YEAH! YOU SUCK!” You exclaimed, immediately standing up with him.

He laughed, putting his hands on his knees and bending slightly just so he could stare you in your eyes.

“Speak up, I can’t hear you from up here.” He taunted, cupping his hand behind his ear teasingly.

You glared at him, giving him the most unamused, tired expression of your life.

“Awww, the baby sleepy!” He cooed, his voice dipped in deep condescension. “You sleepy? Yeah, I think you’re tired.” He nodded, a smug grin on his stupid lips.

He picked you up, sweeping you off of your feet and keeping his hand behind your back, supporting you like a literal baby.

“What is even happening.” You stated, not even sure of how to be angry anymore as he cradled you, shushing you entirely.

“Sleep.” He nodded, dropping you suddenly back down on his bed before laying down beside you.

“Don’t do that! You scared me!” You muttered, sucking your teeth before hitting the back of his shoulder. 

He snickered, reaching his arm to fake-fight you back. “Just get better.” He said, rolling his eyes and turning around to face you.

You smiled, giggling at his face quietly for no particular reason.

He smiled back at you, waving at you sheepishly as you both struggled to cope with this newfound proximity.

Yeah you were close, but not sleep in the same bed face-to-face close.

“Hi.” You beamed, waving back.

“You wanna go to the woods tomorrow..? The one we went to when we were kids?” He asked, fighting the bright red that kissed the apples of his cheeks.

You quickly avoided his gaze, looking everywhere but him as your eyes widened ever so slightly.

It’s impossible to forget your first kiss, so the idea of forgetting the location was blasphemous.

It all came trickling back to you like soft rain; the strange feeling that you now knew to be love that took you by surprise, the guilt you felt for the next few months following, the way he didn’t let your hand go for even a second despite everything that happened. All of it.

“Uhh…sure.” You nodded.

He was thinking about it too. You could tell. You could almost see little you taunting yourself behind the black void of his pupils, standing there like a deer in headlights as she stared down at the ground.

“Okay.” He nodded, flipping himself back around to get some semblance of sleep.

You paused, debating on whether or not you wanted to be a civilized person and not punch him in the spine. Instead, you wrapped your arms around his torso and leaned your face against his back.

You’d come to learn what spooning is a little bit later, but that’s not the point.

“Goodnight, Joost.” 

“Goodnight.” He yawned, holding your hand that rested just below his ribs.

——————

You woke up a little bit earlier than Joost, earning yourself just a few minutes of solitude. You stretched, the early morning adrenaline rushing through your muscles before finally exhaling from your body as you took a deep breath.

No sooner than you put your arms down, Joost arose from his mountain of blankets and stretched as well.

“Good morning…” he rasped, cracking his knuckles and resting his hands  in the little valley his lanky legs created in the blanket.

“Hi…” you sighed in response, attempting to rub away the insomnia from your eyes as you waited for your vision to clear.

“Can I use your shower…” you breathed, resisting the urge to fold over and back to sleep again. “And borrow some clothes…”

“Yeah they’re…in the dresser over there.” He nodded, pointing at his black dresser.

“I don’t wanna move, can you get them…” you groaned.

“Absolutely not.” He huffed.

“You suck.”

“Mhm, whatever you say.” 

You rolled your eyes before rolling over him, flopping on the ground and making your way to his dresser,  pulling out some black jean shorts and a blue zip-up hoodie that would definitely pool around your wrists

Anyway, you made your way to the bathroom as you actually thought for a bit. Why is it that it’s a wife beater for men, but a tank top for women? Why wife beater, I mean, the implication is…kinda bad.

Your shower was warm and thoughtful, the soapy suds aiding in your battle against sleep as you scrubbed away the fingerprints of guilt and nausea. 

In the rare moments where you weren’t sharing oxygen with Joost, you felt a little bit better. The pit in your stomach wasn’t as endless, and time wasn’t so slow.

Maybe you were too close. Maybe being together meant you were breathing in the carbon he created. Maybe that’s why you felt so light and airy around him.

Anyway, you switched the shower off, drying yourself off quickly before putting on your outfit. Technically Joost’s, but ok.

Once you were dressed and clean, you searched around the bathroom for some lotion, which you found standing at the far end of his sink.

You lathered yourself in the pale white moisture, fighting off the dry patches of skin that had formed after your shower before stepping out a little later, tossing the towel in his clothing hamper and giving him a thumbs up.

“All done. You can go now.” You murmured, lying down on his fuzzy baby-beige floor and staring up at the ceiling.

Joost nodded, grabbing his things and making his way to the shower as well.

It seemed like everything hit everyone all at once, and things started to fade into view as Joost stepped into the glassy box of thoughts and fog.

You being at the forefront of his mind all the time was almost annoying—in a “you shouldn’t be here this much” kind of way.

The more you spent time together, the more his brain rotted with your memory. Your face, your interests, your habits, all of it.

He even found himself daydreaming about you frequently, interrupting his homework and train of thought. “Oh, I wonder what she’s doing right now…maybe sitting outside.” “She would really like these flowers.”

He sighed, rolling his eyes before blushing a little, a fond smile creeping up his face.

He turned off the lukewarm water, shaking his hair free of any excess droplets and drying himself off.

He put on a little cyan T-shirt and his dark blue jean shorts. And, just for good measure, he threw on a black baseball cap with a white rim that he had turned backwards.

He reunited with you on the fuzzy floor, instantly trying to access your mind and see what made you so quiet. Well, you were always quiet. But quieter, maybe.

“What’s with you?” He asked, staring up at the plastered ceiling, envisioning the many pale and puffy clouds of powder blue.

“Nothing…just thinking,” you sighed, letting Joost lace your fingers between his and hoist you off the carpet. 

“Do you want to talk about it?” He asked, grabbing his DS and stuffing it in his back pocket. 

“Eh, maybe later” you shrugged, grabbing your things from Joost’s room and following him out of his home.

Joost nodded, trekking along the sidewalk with heavy steps. He held your hand securely, the quiet flip-flop-flip-flop of your sandals pressing against the pavement pushing him forward.

Silence wasn’t really rare between you now. It wasn’t awkward, but it was heavy. It was the kind of silence where you know one is waiting for the other to say something.

And you had a LOT to say to Joost after these many years.

As more and more trees came into view, memories poured into your brain against your will. All it did was burn your face with red hot embarrassment, and you didn’t know what to do.

“You remember when we came here before and tried to make a time capsule?” Joost said, cutting through the heavy silence.

“With your sock and a game chip you chickened out of burying?” You giggled, shooting him a nostalgic glare.

“Yeah, and your little flower hair clips” he smiled.

You nodded, immediately recalling the little click-and-close capsule containing your childhood treasures. You spent about 30 seconds digging with a cheap shovel, immediately growing bored with the physical labor and not wanting to part with your precious valuables.

“We can make another one, if you want,” you nodded. “We’ll actually commit to it this time.”

Joost smiled, swinging his hand with yours as he stopped in front of that familiar tree. 

“Nah, it’s okay. I don’t wanna bury anything else again” he stated nonchalantly.

“JOOST!” You gasped, going cold in the face as his little joke hit you like a brick.

“Too soon?” He murmured, fighting back a little smirk.

“WAY. Too soon” you sighed, gently setting yourself down on the ground with the insistent— but polite, guidance of Joost.

He leaned his head on your shoulder, his little angel blonde locks pillowing against your neck and kissing your gentle skin.

“Don’t be mad at me,” he mused, crossing his big blue skies slightly as he glanced up at you. “I’ll cry and then it will be your fault.”

“Hush, you’re acting like a big baby” you chuckled, leaning your head against his.

He giggled alongside you, rolling his eyes as flamboyantly as he naturally could.

“I literally spent…about nine summers wiping your tears whenever you cried from some stupid leg injury” he chided, glancing at the permanent little scrapes you had garnered on your kneecaps from your lack of prudence.

“Listen…after like 9 years you’d assume I’d be used to it but it still hurts,” you sighed with a breathy chortle. “But my knees are like…sensitive, I dunno.”

He rolled his eyes for the millionth time that day, gently tracing little shapes on your kneecaps as he let the sounds of nature and distant wind-chimes fill the air.

You hummed quietly—no song in particular���as you stared up at the sun-streaked trees and leaves above. 

“Sooo…” Joost started, startling you a bit as he suddenly straightened his usually alarming posture.

“Do you want to talk about it…?” He hesitated, avoiding your eyes for the first time in years.

You froze, immediately fighting off the urge to just burst into tears then and there. It wasn’t exactly as embarrassing as it was confusing, but when in doubt,

Just cry it out.

“Uhh…” you began, furrowing your brows slightly as you threaded your hands in your hair and embraced the tangles that fought against you. “No, not really…”

Joost frowned subtly, giving you an understanding nod before doing the exact opposite in typical Joost fashion.

“I’m not mad at it…I just want to make sure that I didn’t freak you out or anything. It was kind of sudden” he nodded, his grip on your hand tightening ever-so-slightly.

“Looking back I think I was just confused…but I wasn’t mad or put off” you shrugged. “You did take my first kiss though, so you suck for that.”

Joost laughed loudly, furrowing his brows with whole-hearted amusement. 

“I was kind of expecting you to say I was weird and gross, but you’re worried about some dumb first kiss. You were mine, too!” He giggled.

“Joost, best friends don’t casually kiss under trees” you sighed, rolling your eyes just like he would.

“We’re different,” he shrugged. “Too much time and history to question it” he smiled.

“Joost, you can’t—“

“Nope! It’s normal now” he beamed.

“Ooooookay…” you nodded with slightly arched brows.

“So what does that mean for us exactly?” You asked, finally bringing your eyes to him after what felt like forever. “You’re still my best friend right?”

“Yeah why wouldn’t I? I just don’t want you to feel like I’m uncomfortable or you have to be uncomfortable. What happened, happened and we were silly kids” he shrugged.

It was weird. He almost had a philosophical approach to saying “we were just kids.” As much as you wanted to laugh at him and call him corny for not just saying that, you felt incredibly giddy that he was doing his best to make sure you knew things wouldn’t change between the two of you.

But that didn’t make it a good thing.

You loved Joost. You had come to realize that at a quite embarrassing time. But it was hard not to love someone when all you ever did was share, share, share and cuddle, cuddle, cuddle.

You had stepped through most of elementary, junior high, and now high school alongside him. He’s all you’d grown to know and all you had learned to love.

Other boys were growing into their ugly personalities and even uglier words, aiming their sharp daggers down the throat of any girl they could just to say they drew a woman’s first blood. It sickened you.

But Joost fortunately didn’t do any of that. He’s always had a soft influence in his life, be it you, his sister, or his mother.

But you had your closure, so everything felt a little bit better. Affection was now even more common between the two of you, even going as far as practically LIVING in the other's skin in the following years.

Joost had always been touchy, but now the boy was practically sleeping on top of you when you stayed over. And contrary to his skinny form, dear god that boy is heavy.

“Joost…Joost c’mon, get up I can’t breathe—“ you winced, eyes barely even open as your pupils burned with insomnia.

“Mmmphf…” is all he grunted, his arms firmly wrapped around your neck and forehead in a nice and snug headlock.

“Get up, fucker…” you grogged, pinching the bare skin of his arm. 

“It’s hot, you don’t understand that you’re heavy, and you barely have a shirt on anymore, c’mon get up…” you rasped, relishing in the girly yelp of pain you had earned from the blonde.

He groaned, rolling his eyes like he always did before wrapping his slightly toned arms around your hips, rolling you over WITH him so you could face the cheap rickety fan that was mere centimeters away from his bed.

“Joost, get up and move!” You huffed quietly.

“Nee.”

“Move, you bastard…”

“Nee.” He groaned, barely cracking his eyes open and shooting you a glare.

You turned around slightly, craning your neck to the left to stare at him.

“Joost, c’mon…”

“Nee!!” He whined, completely throwing away the fact that he was a 16 year old young man who was now whining like a child.

Instead of debating with you anymore, he pecked your lips before grabbing your whole face and repositioning you to face the fan.

You sighed, rolling your eyes and smiling softly to yourself. 

“Goodnight, Joost.”

“Shut up and go to bed…”

[greentrickster]

Okay, so, just so you all know, I'm aware of what many of you have probably been thinking in regards to the Great God Airplane AU: "Yes yes, blah blah Shen Jiu blah blah Bingge, WHERE IS THE MOSHANG, IT'S AN AU CENTERED AROUND SHANG QINGHUA, WHERE'S THE MOSHANG??!"

Thank-you for waiting patiently instead of saying this part out loud, because up until this point Moshang has mostly been doing the literary equivalent of sitting in a corner of my head with head pats and juice boxes being just the goodest boys whom I love so so much, you know?

Here's the Moshang:

It's a few days after the conference where Shang Qinghua got outed as Airplane Shangdi, and that's exactly how long it took Shen Yuan to get used to the idea and go back to treating him like normal (because he's read too much of SQH's terrible porn to ever truly take him seriously for an extended period of time). Which, as it happens, on this day includes razzing Airplane for the fact that, after everything that's happened, his sex scenes still have 'written by a virgin' slathered all over them.

To which our favorite divine hamster, newly imbued with some actual, legit self-confidence and tired of being razzed for this, snaps back that yeah, so he's a virgin, so what, he's been literally too busy his entire time as Shang Qinghua to get around to finding someone to do something about that with! Besides, Mobei-jun's also a virgin, and no one gives him shit about it!

Shen Yuan: ...like hell he is, you're telling him a guy like that's never had sex!

Shang Qinghua: Yes I am! (arms folded and nose in the air) He's the sort who's only interested in doing stuff like that with someone he wants to spend the rest of his life with and he doesn't have any love interests because I didn't write any for him, because I wrote Mobei-jun for one person and that's me! He is my perfect man, no one else's, and we're both virgins, and I'm God, so there! And if you have anything else to say about it, I'll- I dunno. I'll have Precious Blossom shrink Binghe's dick or something!

Shen Yuan: ...

Luo Binghe: A slightly smaller pillar might be more convenient, actually, but don't threaten Shizun. >:(

Our favorite hamster then gets to choke on his own spit, spin around on his cushion (half falling over in the process), and gape at the portal he hadn't noticed Luo Binghe and Mobei-jun just use to sneak into Shen Qingqiu's house.

There is silence for a moment before - in the most daring display of disloyalty he's ever made - Mobei-jun calmly pushes Binghe out of the way, ignores his indignant 'I am your emperor how very dare you-!' squawks, picks up Shang Qinghua by the back of the robes, and walks back through the portal with him.

Shen Yuan: Well that just happened.

Binghe: Husband, what did Shang shibo mean about not having written any love interests for Mobei? What does his writing have to do with that?

Shen Yuan: ...I don't have enough tea and snacks for this.

(also there will be more of this, and we're gonna cut over to our icicle/hamster duo, I'm just very tired at the moment)

[rapunzelbro]

The amount of times I have refreshed the angel dust x reader tag----Anywayyyy, I dunno if you do hurt/comfort (if not that's okay please ignore this lol) but here is a idea for a oneshot! GN!reader x angel dust where they're in a secret relationship because he's trying to protect you at all cost from his boss (reader can know about his situation or not its up to you!) but Valentino somehow found out about it and is pissed about it. You can use creative freedom to fill in the angst parts and whatever happens next, but please make it have a happy ending ^^

Imagine being in a Secret Relationship with Angel

Omg yeah I can! I wish there were more too so haha I shall provide I suppose. This is uh. Super angst. But I promise it’ll be a happy ending lmao I promise. Thank you for requesting. Just a reminder yall my requests are still open! Just give as much details and I’ll make it happen. Anywho enjoy!

Masterlist Character Taglist

Being in a relationship with Angel Dust wasn’t often easy, Well at first that is.

When you first met Angel he always had his guard up, on some sort of drug at all times, and pushed serious conversations aside with Sexual remarks to drop the conversation entirely

So when you were able to actually break his walls months later, it was honestly a shock to you. Because damn was he stubborn. Honestly you didn’t think it would be possible

He started telling you small things about himself after the first month of letting his walls down, introducing you to Fat nuggets, and watching movies with you.

After the third month, he tells you his real name is Anthony. You said it suits him and you swear you see him blush

The fourth month is when you ask him out. He is super hesitant on accepting, but you don’t push him for an answer, he later comes in your room

“Y/N.. I.. I want to say yes, but I’m so terrified ya know? I just can’t I don’t know what would happen”

“Why would you be terrified?”

He tells you everything. Everything about the man who tears him apart, the man who hurts him on the daily.

He is trying to hard to explain how terrified he is of you getting hurt, and all you can do is gently take his hands as you look at him

“Angel, nothing will happen, no one needs to know but us. If you’re scared still, I get that, I’ve been there before. But I’m not scared of that prick, and he won’t find out okay?”

He finally makes eye contact with you and he begins to calm down, hugging you as you two just sit in silence before he quietly responds

“Then, I accept”

It’s months after that when he introduced you to his Best friend Cherri. You two are super hesitant about telling her, but you eventually decide to.

She’s super super happy for you two but don’t think she won’t get super protective

Will pull you aside at the club when Angel isn’t there

“If you hurt Angel you and I are going to have a problem okay? You break his heart I break you”

Yeah she scared the fuck out of you for that. Angel never did find out about your conversation.

It’s been almost a year of hiding your relationship when it suddenly begins to turn sour

The calls from Valentino, get more frequent, more violent on the phone.

Angel comes back to the hotel limping, bruised and bloody

You practically sprint and grab him, carrying him to his room take care of him the best you can, talk to him when he is ready, or be a shoulder to cry on.

Angel doesn’t know why Valentino is being more violent, he didn’t do anything wrong, he kept your relationship so quiet that it was basically impossible for him to know about you two

Except Valentino did find out. He heard Angel talking in his dressing room to you, he investigated throughly after Angel said I love you, to you.

Valentino got Vox to look at the cameras around Hell, he saw you two together. You don’t hold hands at all, not in public, if it wasn’t for that phone call, he wouldn’t of thought anything of it

“That little whore is going to fucking pay”

You and Angel are at Val’s bar after Angel reassured you he wouldn’t be there. You two are talking when Angel stands up to grab you more shots

That’s when Valentino appears, gun pressed up to the back of your head

“I Wouldn’t move an inch if you want to live perra tonta~”

You’re absolutely frozen as can be. You don’t move a bit as he leans closer to you

“I have all eyes on you, I know you’re with Angel Dust, you’re fucking with my property. Now here’s how things are going to go down tonight if you want your precious Angel Cakes to live. You’re going to break up with him, and stay the FUCK away from him. Do I make myself clear?”

You are silent visibly shaking as he presses the gun harder as he becomes impatient with you

“Do I make myself clear!”

He sounds absolutely pissed as you quickly nod your head frantically

“Perfect, now fucking leave”

You don’t have time to explain to Angel Dust but you leave before he makes it back with your shots, Valentino is no where to be found.

“Y/n? Where did you go” “Amore mio?”

You didn’t reply to his texts, you didn’t know what to do, you were trapping yourself in your room.

You were in a panicked state as the tears just didn’t seem to stop, nothing made sense, you two were so so careful? How did you fuck up?

Angel knocked at your door. No answer. He knocked again before he eventually used the spare key you gave him, which you forgot about

Angel instantly rushed over to you when he saw you crying, which caused you to flinch

He instantly froze in his tracks when he saw you flinch, concern building

“Y/N what happened.. why are you crying”

You are struggling through sobs as you explain what happened, Angel is so fucking pissed he can hardly contain it but has to for you, he just listens as he sits next to you

“Amore mio, i shouldn’t of I left you alone I’m so sorry. I don’t know how that asshole found out but I’m not fucking this relationship up because of him”

“But he will kill me”

“Sweetie, there’s a thing called acting you know, all we have to do is play the part, pretty easy for me, as you’ve seen.”

He takes your hands with a slight smirk

“I’m not letting him fuck this up okay? Who cares what he thinks? Val is literally blind as shit, I’m surprised he even knew it was you. Probably had to have someone point you out to him”

Yeah that made you laugh, which Angel was thankful for.

For then on, you two had your ‘breakup’. You were never seen in public together, or not without disguises. You had most dates alone at the hotel together

You weren’t letting the one good thing to happen end because of a stupid fucking moth

And he wasn’t going to either.

Angel Dust tag list: @vendetta-ari @brithedemonspawn @satansmanager @storydays @saturnhas82moons @zamadness @fizziepopangel @saitisfied @the--rebel--fae @mcueveryday @rainbowbunny15 @molarloo

[cakepoppresent]

Let Me Beat His Ass

A few things

Lol poor Daisuke his future wife is going through it and hasn't been returning his texts or calls

Malcolm truly is a big baby. Since Malcolm has been told "no" by Luna he doesn't know how to react. He's taking her wanting to see Andre as a personal attack against him rather than his sister just wanting to find out the truth.

Love Veronica and Luna, in an alt time they would have been GREAT

Transcript under the cut ~

Luna: She’s looking into it, she trying to find this “source”, Chantel isn’t saying who told her

The comments under the pic (it's much smaller on a phone than a computer)

@toucanman - I fucking knew it a rich girl like her would never actually be nice, she was just hiding her bitch ass attitude

@coochielicker - This isn’t the Luna I stan! All SMZ does is lie lie and LIE. Shes been acting for years and its only now shes a diva? Stop playing with my good sis!

@flo- Hmmm...I can see it tho, shes from a super wealthy family its probably her way or no way but who cares was anyone even hurt?

@fruitysims - LOL ive been waiting on something to come out on this hoe. Her nice girl shtick was so overbearing now her true colors are coming out. Thank god

----------------------

Veronica: What did Destiny say? Is she gonna do anything about this?

Veronica: You should send her bitch ass a lawyers letter or something. Can’t be legal to spread malaious rumors like that

Luna: I dunno. I’d rather find this source

Veronica: Where the hell is that man of yours? He must have connections he can use

Luna: Probably... he’s been calling but I don’t even have the time to deal with him right now. Malcolm that bitch still won’t talk to me and now Andre’s face is all over the news and my bitch Dad hasn't even called. It's...a lot right now

Veronica: Let’s travel then, How about Tomarang or Tartosa? Just until everything dies down and you figure out what to do next

Luna: No...I don’t want to leave Andre to deal with this alone and Malcolm is gonna crash out once he sees this online...I can’t leave right now

Veronica: Get off your phone babes. Reading all these comments is going to make you feel worse.

Luna: This is fucking awful and I miss Malcolm, can’t believe his ass won’t talk to me. Benji gives me updates but I’d like to meet Andre with Malcolm.

Veronica: Malcolm is the biggest fucking baby you gotta force him to see reason. If you don’t he’s just gonna pout and mop all day. Let me talk to him

Luna: What are you gonna do? Beat him up?

Veronica: Yes? Beat him up verbally at least. You’re hurting and he needs to get over himself, I'll help him see reason

Luna: He really does listen to you. Don’t be too harsh on him

Veronica: Hush. It's important you guys deal with this Andre thing. Malcolm needs to at least hear him out and stop punishing you for wanting to talk to Andre

Luna: Hahaha Malcolm has always been so sensitive, I wonder where he gets his bitch ass attitude from

Luna: V... it's been hell these past few days. It means a lot that you’re here with me now

Veronica: Babe. You’re basically my sister and I love you. Whatever is happening now will pass I know it will.

Luna: Feels like it's never going to end everything is going to fucking shit. I’ve never fought with Malcolm like this and Benji doesn’t know what to do he hates being in the middle of all this

Veronica: Sleep it off. I can’t help with what's going on online but I can and I WILL speak with Malcolm okay?

Luna: Okay...

Veronica: No more tears babe. I’ll beat his ass up if I have to. Just wait for my call okay?

Veronica: Love you too babes

Luna: Love you V

[fallinforerling]

the pinterest board - eh

A/N: this is so silly and stupid, i love it so much. i dunno why i thought about this, but my pinterest boards for erling are very specific, and yes, i do have a board for his short hair era. i still miss it. love you guys xx

ೃ⁀➷ erling’s masterlist 

ೃ⁀➷ erling's taglist

ೃ⁀➷ masterlist

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆

It was unusually quiet around the house, and Erling wondered what could be causing that. There weren't many moments throughout the day where you weren’t doing some type of activity that caused noise. From playing music, to cooking or practicing your pronunciation in Norwegian, you were always making your presence known.

So when he finally arrived from practice, it felt odd to find a very silent living room, with no sight of you anywhere. He peeked through the kitchen door, hoping to find you with your headphones on, but it was as empty as the previous room. Then he thought that maybe you went out, but you rarely did that without giving him a heads up.  

So where were you?

“Baby?!” He shouted, still not getting any response. 

He was starting to get worried. While making his way to the bedroom, he got his phone to call you. Only when he reached the door, he realize he did heard your voice. And you were giggling. But it wasn’t your usual laugh; it sounded like the giggly laugh you made when he kissed you behind the ear or when you saw him shirtless. 

You were giggling because you liked whatever the hell was happening. 

Of course he wasn’t thinking about cheating or anything related to that matter, but something clicked in his brain. He made sure to open the door as quietly as possible, sticking his head just enough to see you resting flat on your stomach, seeming to scroll through your phone. 

Your smile was so big and mesmerizing that he took a moment to openly stare at you, finding your happiness contagious. It lasted a few seconds, because you giggled again and then he remembered wanting to find out what you were looking at.

“What are you doing?” He murmured, smiling when you visibly jumped on the spot. You turned and smiled at him, but your eyes were full of panic as one of your hands hid the phone deep into the pillows. 

“Babe! Hey, I didn’t see you there. How was practice?” You fixed your hair behind your ears, something that you only did when you were nervous. You were hiding something. And now he was determined to find out what. “Wanna have some dinner? I prepared that liver you like so much.” 

“Sure, sure. Thank you, honey.” He discarded his training bag on the floor, still standing at the door. “What were you watching?” The playful smile never left his face as he leaned on the doorframe, not letting you get out. 

“Me? Nothing—I was just, you know, checking out Pinterest. Typical stuff! Anyways, back to the liver? Pretty well seasoned, let’s go make it! My big guy needs to eat!” You let a nervous laugh out, hitting his arm with no actual force. You were so nervous, it was killing him. 

“I’m sorry, baby. Don’t hate me for what I’m about to do, okay?” 

You seemed confused for a few seconds, and that was enough for him to grab you by the waist and practically kick you out of the room. He made sure to quickly lock the door, making a little run to the bed to get your phone before it was too late. He could hear your muffled screams as you banged on the door, begging him to stop being so noisy. 

The problem was that the noisy monster he is today was created by you. 

Once he got a grab on your phone, he thanked every god available that it was still unlocked. As he stared at the screen, his mouth opened in a silent laugh as his thumb kept scrolling through the content. There were hundreds of photos of him at literally every stage of his career. Then, he noticed that you didn’t lie about the Pinterest thing. There were boards dedicated solely to him. Once he had finally seen it all, he opened the door, still laughing a bit as you stared at him with hatred. 

“Seriously, baby?” He still held your phone at his face level, so you weren’t able to reach it. “Short-haired Erling? There’s a specific board for that point of my life?” 

“Give me my phone back!” You said instead, taking it roughly from his hands. “And yes, I have a Pinterest board for photos of you with short hair, so what? You looked stunning.” You turned around, and started to walk towards the kitchen. 

“Hey! What’s wrong with my long hair?” He touched the man-bun he had going on hesitantly, following you. “You don’t like it?” 

Then it was your turn to laugh as you turned again to face him. 

“Of course I do.” 

“Oh, but you don’t love it.” He didn’t even know why it offended him so much. “You don’t like it enough to make a Pinterest board. huh? Are you trying to say that I don’t look stunning in it?” 

“Oh, c’mon! I didn’t say that!” 

“But you’re not denying it!” He was getting worked up for no apparent reason, but it was mortifying to think that his own girlfriend didn’t like his hairstyle. “That’s it— I’m chopping it off!” 

“Erling! It’s not that big of a deal! You do look stunning with long hair!” 

But he didn’t let go for at least another two hours. Dinner got forgotten as he went off about how you loved his past-self more than his current one. You had to make sure to create a new Pinterest board with recent photos of him in front of him, and just after that, he seemed convinced enough that you liked the long hair as much as his short hair phase. 

Talk about unnecessary drama queens.

˚ ༘♡ ⋆｡˚*ੈ✩‧₊˚⋆·˚ ༘ * ERLING’S TAGLIST

@questionable-behaviour | @koufaxx | @xjval | @nikki01234 | @evarasworld | @kynykyny | @alleyahah | @444pantheress | @football4life9 | @f1lover55 | @frankcastleonlyfans | @ironmaiden1313 | @pizzapie349 | @may-machin

[nat-20s]

THE GIRLS (FOURTEEN AND DONNA) ARE FIGHTIIIINNNGGG'

aka Donna has some lingering Feelings on the whole mind wipe thing and she's gonna shout about it <3

The Mess That's Made of Us

She didn’t mean for an outburst. They were having a calm, rational, adult discussion, not a fight. She didn’t even want a fight, not really. But The Doctor, he couldn’t just let it go and let her sort out her big stupid feelings on her own. No, he had to needle, he had to inquire, he had to push. He had to say that “everything had turned out all right, in the end”, and oh, that so wasn’t the fucking point. Nearly choking on the words, she yells out, “What would you have done?!”

After he startles and she has a moment to be thankful no one else is home right now, he’s shockingly even when he replies, “You..you know what I did.”

She lets out a right and proper growl of frustration. Clenching and unclenching her fists a few times in an attempt to ground herself, she grits out, “Not what I meant.”

“Donna, I don’t-”

“I meant, you pedantic little-”

She cuts herself off, takes in a deep breath in and out through her nose, and tries again. “I meant if our roles had been swapped. If I had been the one to take that year away from you, if you were about to have an essential part of the person you had become stripped all away in a moment. How would you have reacted? What. Would you. Have done?”

“I..”

She doesn’t let him finish, collect his thoughts, say pretty words that would fix it all. See, she can push, and push, and push too, now can’t she, Doctor? Generally, Donna doesn’t consider herself a cruel person. Sometimes oblivious, sometimes obnoxious, sometimes inconsiderate, but not cruel. But she knows she’s capable of it. She knows, if she so desires, she can hurt someone. She’s not trying to hurt The Doctor, except that she is, not to wound but to pull him to where she is right now. To make the grief and the rage and the conflict be shared. So she keeps going. “It’s not the same though, right? No, of course not. One year out of a billion, maybe more, that doesn’t make much of a difference, does it? Like forgetting what you had for breakfast that morning, barely a breath. I bet it would’ve been so easy, for you.”

“Donna!”

When he says it, his face is hard, and frustrated, but not cold. That’s something she’s still getting used to, with this new-old face. He used to have the coldest rage she ever saw, standing like a stranger. Now, he doesn’t tend to rage at all. It’s enough to make her clamp her mouth and actually listen for a second.

“Respectfully, what the hell are you talking about? Barely a breath, easy for me? Do you really believe that our time together meant that little to me? Do you really not understand by now? I mean, look at my face, Donna. And this is the second time that I’m completely rearranged myself in memory of you! One day with you changedme. One full year with you? Rewrote me.

So yes, removing my time with you would’ve made a difference. It would’ve made all the difference in the universe. And I don’t know what I would’ve done. If I had to get rid of the part of me that was made from you. I’m not sure I could.”

Such pretty words. And, well, the face in front of her right now does suggest some truth to them. But she can’t quite believe them, and she can’t quite look at said face, so instead her vision drifts over to the Tardis parked outside their kitchen window. Folding her arms and staring listlessly, she counters, “Yeah? Don’t you think you would’ve, I dunno, blinked and gone ‘oh that’s odd’ before putting on one of those manic smiles and inputting the coordinates to Venus in the 15th century, and that would’ve been that?”

Out of the corner of her eye, The Doctor’s face goes through a rapid series of motions that she can almost sort out, before stopping at realization. Oh. She didn’t like that one bit.

“Ah, that’s what you think did happen, huh? You think I flew away in my box and had magical adventures and found someone else in a day. It would make sense, right? Start pallin’ around with the nearest redhead I could find, forget all about me ol’ mate Donna, it’s not like she was gonna remember, so why should I?”

She sniffs, and tilts her face up, and resolutely does not let any tears fall. She also does not look at him.

“Donna, there was no one else, not until I was someone else. You want to know what happened, after I lost you? I broke. And then died. There was no me without you.”

Fuck. He changes his tune then, and she’s pretty sure they’re no longer fighting. They’ve always lacked a talent for it. He comes closer, placing both his hands gently on top of her still crossed arms, and moves until she has to look him in the eye. He even throws in a smile. Damn him to hell, he knows it’s near impossible for her to see her best friend smiling and start smiling a bit herself.

With a breath that borders on being a laugh, he continues, “But you! You got married, and yelled at parking attendants, and had a kid, and you existed. And I can’t regret that, I can’t. So I’m sorry, I really am. I ignored your pleas, and I took some of you away, and I’d do it again. I’d do it every time.”

She lets out a sigh and lets her arms drop to the sides. “I know.”

Wiping a hand down her face, she mixes a huff and a shrug. “Honestly, Doctor? I think I’ve already forgiven you.”

With a nod, she stands up straight and tells him straight, “I think I forgave you the moment it happened. I just..I just need time. I know it’s been years but I’ve only been able to think on it for a week.”

“I understand. Hell, there’s things that take me a couple thousand years to process, so.”

Donna rolls her eyes and let’s out a small chuckle, before opening her arms and saying, “C’mere, spaceman.”

The Doctor quite readily does, and the hug fits just as naturally as it always has. They take a moment to breathe together, and Donna gets to listen to the comforting double rhythm of the two healthy hearts in his chest. The silence is comfortable and the sharpness has eased.

When she pulls back, she can’t help but ask, “Wait, second face? What was the other one?”

“Ah. About that-”

[archangeldyke-all]

Rawrrrr I need more of Sevika and house mom reader!!! I need to see their dateeee omg I need to see Sev turn into like house step mom or somethinggggg

Im gnawing at the bar of my enclosure on my knees begging for more of these two.

Also cowboy!sev/reader- sev giving cait her blessing for vi <333

Uhhh dk if this is cool with 222daniela or nah but black vamp reader/sev- idk but i feel like sev would have a corny bucket list of things to do before reader turns her so something with that ig

love love love ya, kisses if you want em, and should i drop the official babyfather teaser? we're about 3/4ths done with that bad boy lemme know

marssss!!!! a million kisses back (and keep an eye out! i'll definitely be adding the bucket list idea to the next vampire/sevika request i have in my inbox tonight!!) but yes. lets do more club mom reader!!

men and minors dni

cherry's sitting on your couch, eating your food, laughing at you as you emerge from your room with a lingerie set she insisted you put on.

you sigh. "i look ridiculous." you huff. she snorts.

"you look like you just learned what sex is." she says, shoving more chips in her mouth. you groan.

"why are you even here? just gonna insult me?" you ask. she giggles then stands from her perch, approaching you.

"i'm here to help you get ready for your hot date. i know the sexiest thing you own are those granny panties-- you need some serious help." she says as she approaches you. you groan.

"i have sexy shit!" cherry raises an eyebrow at you, and you huff. "okay, fine." you mumble, waving her toward you. she laughs, and starts adjusting the lacy black two piece set on your body.

she tightens the straps, then adjusts your tits until they're sitting higher up on your chest. she pushes your shoulders back, turns you around, gives your exposed ass a quick smack, and then laughs when you jump.

"you actually don't look half bad, mom." she says. she walks past you toward your bedroom, laughing at the outfit you have laid out on your bed. "this is what you're wearing?"

"what's wrong with it?" you ask, walking in beside her. she laughs.

"blue jeans and a sweater? what-- she's taking you to the library or something?"

you groan. "fuck off! what am i supposed to wear?"

"i dunno mom, something that shows off those tits of yours! or your ass. or that slutty waist you got." she says as she throws open your closet door, rifling through your clothes.

"i don't remember asking you over." you say as you sit on your bed. cherry looks over her shoulder at you.

"you didn't have to. you help me get sexy all the time, now it's time for me to help you." she says. you chuckle and roll your eyes. cherry gasps, pulling a red dress out of your closet. "where the hell did this come from?" she asks. you shrug.

"remember when kelli got married?" you ask. cherry groans and nods. "i was a bridesmaid." you say. she laughs.

"god-- they were married for what, like three weeks?"

"two weeks and a day." you correct her. "it was a great fucking wedding though." you say. cherry snorts.

"i don't remember any of it i was so fucking drunk." she says as she throws the dress at you. "try it on." she demands.

you stand and slip the dress on, turning to have cherry zip up the back. she whistles when she's done, eyeing you up and down as she licks her lips.

"sevika's gonna love it." she says. you sigh.

"sevika's gonna be sorely disappointed if we go on a second date and i show up in my usual get up."

"i'll lend you a couple of slutty shirts." cherry says. you laugh.

"no thanks. we have very different measures of slutty." you tease your friend. she groans.

"you're such a prude. where are your shoes?" she asks. you laugh again and lead cherry to your living room, where your shoes are piled up by your front door. cherry frowns down at the pile, sighing, before she picks up a plain pair of black sneakers. "these will have to do. it's too bad we're different shoe sizes." she sighs.

"what, so i could break my fucking leg on some of those pleasers of yours? that'd be great for a first date, don't you think? making her chaperone me to the hospital?"

"if you're lucky-- you won't be walking at all." she says, smirking. "your feet'll be in the air all night." she teases. you laugh.

"a girl can dream, i guess." you say. cherry snorts.

"oh please, sevika's obsessed with you. i'd be surprised if you guys make it past appetizers before she's dragging you back to her place." she says. you roll your eyes.

"right." you say sarcastically. cherry scoffs.

"i'm serious! you know she came in today looking for you? you shoulda seen how fuckin' bummed she looked when i told her you had the day off."

you smile, something fluttering in your stomach.

"and i couldn't even talk her into staying for a dance, mom. i think she's really crushing on you."

you laugh and nudge your friend.

"okay, okay, get outta here, i gotta get ready." you say.

"what, you won't let me help you with your makeup?" she asks. you shake your head no.

"i do all of you guys' makeup in the club-- how hard can it be to do it on my own face?" you ask.

"whatever you say, mom." cherry says, wrapping you into her arms and pressing a kiss to your cheek. "good luck tonight." she says. you hug her back.

"thanks cher-bear." you say. she giggles then pulls away, pulling your front door open and waving over her shoulder.

"see you tomorrow!" she calls over her shoulder. you wave to her.

"be safe walkin' home." you call. she nods.

"yeah, yeah. love ya mom!"

an hour later, and there's a knock at your door.

you almost trip over your feet and faceplant in your rush to get to the door.

when you swing it open, you almost die.

sevika looks so fucking good. she's wearing a black button up, only the top few buttons are undone, giving you a lovely view of her cleavage. she's got on dress slacks and fancy shiny shoes, and her hair's slicked back off her face, tucked behind her ears. she's gawking at you, clearly just as impressed by your appearance as you are by hers.

"fuck." you say in greeting. sevika closes her mouth, then smiles.

"yeah. you look so fucking good." she mumbles. you grin, and step out of your apartment, taking sevika's hand in yours. she smirks, then swoops in to press a kiss to your cheek. you gulp.

"hey." you say when she pulls away. she smiles.

"hi hotstuff." she says. you laugh.

"don't get used to it. cherry dressed me today." you mutter as sevika starts walking you to the street. she snorts.

"yeah? ran dressed me." she says. you grin.

"well they did a great fucking job." you say. sevika stumbles a bit at the compliment and you laugh. "shy, sev?" you ask. she rolls her eyes.

"f-fuck off." she mutters. you burst into laughter.

"oh c'mon! i thought you were supposed to be all sexy and suave-- all the girls keep telling me about how cool you are."

"i am!" she insists. you raise an eyebrow at her and she groans. "you just make me nervous." she mumbles. you snort.

"i make you nervous?"

"yes!" she exclaims. "i don't-- i don't think you understand." she says, stopping in the middle of the sidewalk to turn to face you. you blink at her. "you kinda knocked me on my ass last night." she admits. "like-- forget it." she mumbles.

you tug on her hand. "tell me." you say. she shakes her head no, starting to walk again, and you tug her again. "i'll tell you my secret if you tell me yours." you offer. sevika blinks, then sighs.

"i dunno. you ever seen one of those films they make in piltover?" she asks. you nod. "and how-- how when there's a romance scene and the guy meets the girl it's like-- like the screen goes all blurry everywhere except where she is? and the background noise goes away and corny music starts playing?" she asks. you nod again. "it... it kinda felt like that first time i saw you." she says, shrugging. you blink again. "i-i... i've never done this before." she says.

"done what?"

"dating. flirting." she says. you smile.

"oh. well you're doing a pretty good job of it." you say. she snorts.

"am i? i feel like a fuckin' idiot."

"you're not, you're cute." you say. sevika smiles.

"i'm cute?" she asks. you nod.

"very." you say. sevika grins, then tugs on your hand. "what?" you ask.

"you gotta tell me yours." she says. you laugh.

"oh. mine's no where near as sweet as yours." you admit. she raises an eyebrow at you.

"no?" she asks. you shake your head no and sevika grins. "well?" she asks.

"it's more of a show don't tell secret." you say, winking at her. sevika grins.

the place she takes you to is pretty classy. she orders drinks and appetizers to share, and the two of you chat a bit as you look over the menu.

you look up at some point to reach for your drink, and find sevika admiring you from the other side of the table. when she's caught, she doesn't even seem to care, just grinning at you.

"okay, so tell me about this near death experience." you request. sevika laughs.

"silco's got this kid." she starts. you nod. "she's into explosives and stuff. blew up this building we were all in-- killed like five or six people." she mumbles. you frown. "lost my arm." she says, gesturing to her mech-arm. "and... i dunno. it just got me thinking, i guess. what i'm doing with my life-- the stupid shit i'm wasting all my time and money on. where i always thought i'd be when i was a kid versus where i actually am."

"where'd you think you'd be?" you ask. sevika snorts.

"when i was really young, i thought i'd be one of those show wrestlers-- you know the ones that get all dressed up and sell out arenas. but then i found out those fights were staged-- it took all the magic outta it." she says. you giggle. "but, i dunno. i... i always saw myself, like, doing shit. reading a hundred books a year, learning new languages, learning how to cook. i never did any of that shit. so now... i'm trying, y'know?" she asks. you nod. sevika smiles at you. "you were not in the plan, by the way." she says. you smile.

"didn't see yourself meeting anyone?"

"i saw myself meeting a lot of someones." she says simply. you laugh. "i... i didn't ever expect to meet someone who i'd like though." she says.

"we've known each other less than twenty four hours."

"yeah." she says. "i just can't shake the feeling that i'll know you for a long time to come, though."

you take a hefty sip of your drink. this is like the third time sevika's said something disarmingly romantic and sweet, and she doesn't even seem to register the fact that she's being so romantic and sweet. you reach over the table to take her hand, and shake your head at yourself.

"what?" sevika asks.

"you're not playing me?" you ask, just to be sure. sevika's eyes go wide.

"no!" she says. she opens her mouth to say more but you stop her by squeezing your hand.

"i-- you can say no. it's your first date and everything, i don't wanna fuck it up for you. but... do you maybe wanna just call it a night and come back to my place? find out what my secret is?" you ask.

sevika grins.

"really?" she asks. you giggle and nod, and sevika gets out of her chair so fast it clatters to the floor beneath her. you laugh. "let's get the fuck outta here, babe." she says, throwing some cash onto the table and tugging you out of your chair.

you get to your apartment twice as fast as you got to the resturant, sevika urgently tugging you behind her the entire way.

before you can reach for your keys, she's pinning you to your front door, pressing herself against you, and shoving her tongue down your throat. you moan against her, reaching up to sink your fingers in her hair and tugging, relishing in the shiver that travels down her spine.

"oh fuck, i like you so fucking much." she mumbles against your neck as she begins trailing kisses down it. you take a shaky breath.

"i-i like you too, sev." you say. she grunts, shoving her thigh between your legs, and you moan, hitching your thigh up over her hips. she whimpers.

"c-can i touch you?"

"yes please." you mumble. she grins against your neck, her hand slowly trailing up your leg until it reaches the hem of your dress, and then ducking beneath it, traveling farther and farther up.

you can feel the moment she feels your lingerie, her whole body goes stiff and she sucks in a sharp breath against your neck. you giggle.

"it-- i-- it's not mine. cherry lent it to me, so don't go expecting thongs and lace all the time." you say. sevika groans.

"you better find your keys before i fuck you right through this door." she says. you take a shaky breath and start fumbling through your bag in search of your keys.

you pull them out with a gasp of victory, turning in sevika's arms as she starts grinding against your ass to fumble with the locks until your door swings open.

"i'll give you the tour later." you joke. sevika chuckles against the back of your neck as you both spill into your apartment.

you scream. sevika jumps behind you.

"cherry what the fuck?!" you yell. cherry snaps awake from where she was sprawled across your couch, a bag of chips on her chest, a record playing in the background. she curses.

"oh fuck, mom." she says, rubbing her eyes. "i am so sorry." she says, giggling as she takes in you and sevika's rumpled appearances.

"what are you doing here!?" you ask. cherry giggles.

"about an hour ago i realized that two of you might come back to your place-- and it's a fuckin' mess! you got dishes in your sink and laundry all over the place-- you didn't even make your bed!"

"s-so?" you ask.

"so i came back and used the spare key you gave me to clean up a bit for you two!" she says. "but-- i guess i fell asleep somewhere between folding the laundry and lighting some candles to set the mood."

you groan. "so your plan was to light candles in my place and then leave them unattended? for possibly the entire night?" you ask. cherry cringes.

"see when you say it like that--"

"oh my god, get the fuck out!" you cry.

cherry holds her hands up in a placating gesture, shoving her shoes on and stumbling past you and sevika.

"you two have fun! be safe! if you hurt her, i'll figure out where you live." she threatens sevika as she walks past. you groan again. "love you mom, see you at work tomorrow!" she calls over her shoulder before she slams the apartment door shut behind her.

you sigh, then turn around to look at sevika. she's grinning.

"i'm sorry." you say. sevika snorts.

"it's cool." she says. you groan.

"it's horrible!"

"you're a single mom of like thirty girls-- i get it." she says, slinging her arms around your waist. you chuckle, your head falling forward to rest on her chest. "guess you're a bit of a package deal, huh?" she asks.

"i guess so." you say. she chuckles.

"that's cool. i can work with that. just no actual kids, okay?" she says. you laugh and lean up to kiss her. she hums against you.

"no kids. sounds good." you say against her lips. sevika smirks down at you.

"that... i mean. 'no kids' doesn't necessarily mean we can't try to make a few." she says, raising her eyebrow at you. you grin.

"yeah?" you ask. sevika grins and nods at you.

"show me your bedroom. i hear the bed's freshly made and everything." she says.

you laugh, wrapping your hand around sevika's, and dragging her toward your bedroom.

taglist!

@fyeahnix @sapphicsgirl @half-of-a-gay @ellabslut @thesevi0lentdelights @sexysapphicshopowner @shimtarofstupidity @love-sugarr @chuucanchuucan @222danielaa @badbye666 @femme-historian @lia-winther @gr0ssz0mbi3 @ellsss @sevikaspillowprincess @leomatsuzaki @emiliabby

[disillusioneddanny]

Okay okay DPXDC idea!!!

Danny has been acting strange for weeks. Damian, being the attentive and loving boyfriend that he is has decided that it’s up to him to find out what’s wrong with the half ghost. For weeks he spends his time stalking his boyfriend, taking him as best as he can when he can. When he isn’t following Danny behind his back, Damian is doing everything to spoil his boyfriend and make sure that he’s happy.

It’s not working tho! He doesn’t know what he’s doing wrong. Usually he’s an amazing boyfriend but no matter what he does, it just seems as though the ghost king is restless. Danny isn’t sleeping, he’s floating through the halls of their house at all hours of the night. It’s as though the halfa is looking for something. But what? What the hell is Danny looking for? Why isn’t he happy?

One night on patrol, Damian mentions it to his brothers, not sure what else he could do to take care of his boyfriend. He’s usually so good at this. Why isn’t it working?

“His death day is coming up, right?” Todd questions.

“Yes. It will have been ten years since his accident. We have already made plans for what we are going to do to commemorate the event. Why?”

“When it’s my death day I always like to go to my gravestone. I know I’m not there anymore. But it soothes the pits and I dunno the weeks before my death day I get restless.”

“We’ve been together for five years now, Todd. He has never behaved like this in his death day before.”

“I don’t fucking know dude. Maybe since it’s the ten year anniversary it’s striking something in him. Does he have a grave he can visit?”

“No. He never fully died. And he was never buried.”

“Why don’t we hold him a funeral and give him a grave?”

So that’s what the BatFam does! They decide to hold a funeral on Danny’s death day. It’s really more like a memorial service and it’s pretty morbid. But the grin on Danny’s face as his friends and family all take the time to tell their favorite Danny stories makes Damian feel as though he’s the best boyfriend in the world. Manson and Foley both give tear jerking speeches about the day Danny died and how it had hurt them. But that they had also were so proud of the halfa and how far he had come since then.

After the eulogies Damian’s brothers all decide to throw Danny into a casket and bury him, just so the guy can get the full experience. Danny finds it absolutely hilarious and also cathartic as hell. Danny floats out of the casket to find a headstone with his birthday and death day on it. He immediately bursts into tears and pulled Damian into his arms.

“I didn’t realize how empty I felt for so long,” he whispered, face pressed against Damian’s chest. “As fucked up and morbid as this was, it was what I needed. No one ever grieved my death except me. My parents didn’t even grieve, they just wanted to experiment on me.”

“Danny, I grieve your death every single day,” Damian said, running fingers through his beloveds hair. “Every day I think about what you missed out on in life, I grieve the childhood that you lost. I grieve the parents who disowned you. I know for a fact that Manson and Foley grieved, you heard their speeches. Watching you die did a number on them and is something that still effects them. Just remember, though, you are still here and with us.”

Danny pulled back and kisses Damian, effectively embarrassing his boyfriend in front of his friends and family. The vigilante absolutely hated any kind of public displays of affection. “Thank you.”

Every death day after that, Danny and Damian find themselves in the cemetery in front of his gravestone. After a few years, Danny finally finds the courage to tell Damian the full story of how he died. Damian had a rough idea but no one had ever mentioned the full story as to how it happened. It may be fucked up and morbid, but the peace that Danny feels is more important to Damian than any kind of discomfort that he would ever feel.

[vvalllerie]

okay whatever this thing is, thank you @kings-highway for the tag. i enjoyed delaying my getting out of bed at 3:30 in the afternoon in favor of this

how many works on ao3:

22! which considering i’ve been writing for less than a year, is pretty good in my opinion

top 5 by kudos:

1. the craving (shouyou’s version). i’m actually really proud of this one and it’s one of my favorites that i’ve written. based on the craving by twenty one pilots, of course

2. Illness, Injuries, and Iceland. guaranteed this is because i wrote it for king and they reblogged it. thanks pookie for making me write ushiten

3. Sweet. this one.. i wrote based on my own experiences with depression. it’s very difficult for me to express these types of feelings explicitly so i love to project onto my fav characters. daisuga especially

4. Love, In Itself. i’m actually really surprised at this one because it’s pretty short and it was actually a request from a friend!

5. Cry. my one and only oisuga fic, only got one chapter. apologies for making daichi the bad guy

do i respond to comments:

yes! i try very hard to respond to every comment i get. i love getting comments since i don’t get very many, and i know the amazing feeling of having an author acknowledge you and thank you for your comment, so i try to let people know that i appreciate each and every comment i get!

angstiest ending:

uhhhhh it’s not done yet, but run (until you feel your lungs bleeding) is gonna be SO angsty hehehe. iwaoi of course. i’m very excited for it. if you want one i’ve already finished, tho, it’ll have to be i know that losing dogs exist, because i bet on them and i am one. sakuatsu, mcd, entirely based on my own experience w a disastrous breakup i had. thank you to king again for being there when i needed it most.

happiest ending:

well most of them are. but in my opinion, it’ll have to be my iwasuga fic Quetzalcoatlus! one of my FAVORITE fics i’ve written. i just. *sniffle* i just love them so much

do i write crossovers:

no. honestly i don’t see the point. i like getting immersed in the fics and i can’t do that if they aren’t even the same fandom

ever received hate:

nope. only some very disappointed commenters begging for me to continue my fics. im sorry guys i promise im trying

do i write smut:

none that you’ll ever see. a very select few people have access to it.

ever had a fic stolen:

no idea. probably not. they aren’t good enough for that

ever had a fic translated:

nope. have had a few people comment in different languages tho that was pretty cool

ever co-written:

no way. i need control. what the hell. MY fics. did have an idea for a collab but dunno if the other person even wants to do it still. if you got this far down tho please let me know if u do 🙏

all-time favorite ship:

sorry to everyone who thought it was daisuga. it’s oidai. forever. my babies.

wip that i will probably never finish:

unfortunately, i have a trio of wips that all go together. all mcd fics, one happy, one sad, and one right in the middle. iwaoi is the sad one, daisuga is the happy one, and the one right in the middle is sakuatsu. all titled from/based on songs

writing strengths:

uhhhh. uhhh. the characters? making them relatable? no idea. not sure if i have any. i’m just vibing

writing weaknesses:

erm. probably the fact that i start long fics with only an idea and no plans, so then i never finish them because i was just writing as it came to me

thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages:

dunno. do what you want. i’ll only do it if i know that language

fandom/ship i haven’t written for yet:

oidai. i know, i know. i really want to but it has to be PERFECT so i just. haven’t done it yet

favorite fic i’ve written:

chaos theory, no doubt. haikyuu and dinosaurs? two of my favorite things ever? yeah, no hesitation, it’s chaos theory

tags:

i dunno who’s been tagged in this already so if you have just ignore this. buuuuut here pookies <3

@numericalpie @artisticxlly @thatfanficauthor107 @otakurooster907 @cabbybaby

[icycoldninja]

Dante being oblivious to fem readers flirting until they say, "Shut up and take me already"

Dense (Dante x Fem!Reader)

You stormed home from the Devil May Cry ageny, frustrated beyond belief. That dense douchebag! Why wasn't he picking up on your signals?! Why wasn't he noticing how you talked, how you walked, and how you generally behaved in his presence?! Hell, you were emitting signs loud enough for Vergil to see, so why wasn't Dante getting it?! Did you have to spell it out for him directly?! Could you even tell him?! You grumbled angrily, folding your arms in a vain attempt to quell the butterflies zooming around inside. You wanted to tell Dante how you felt, but you didn't think you had the guts. You tried subtle flirting, but that didn't work, so you upped the intensity higher and higher until you were downright hitting on him--and even that wasn't enough.

No, if you wanted Dante to get the fact that you liked him into his thick skull, you were going to have to make a sign, wave it in front of his face, and scream your confession directly into his ears.

Breathing out a sigh, you made a resolution: Tomorrow, you were going to confess to Dante. After all, the worst he could do was say he didn't feel the same....right?

The very next morning, you headed to the Devil May Cry agency, nerves and knees quivering like a leaf on a branch. Brushing past a smiling Lady and Trish, you headed straight for Dante's desk, determined to make your confession.

Then you saw Dante, and your confidence melted like butter in a hot pan.

He was lounging in his chair, feet up on the desk, magazine obscuring most of his face. He noticed your presence and set down the magazine, eyebrows raised. "Need somethin'?" You tried to speak, you really did, but your brain was blanking out on you--you couldn't remember what you wanted to say! "Umm...well....uhh....see...I was....kinda...uhh...." Dante eyed you confusedly before slowly raising his magazine back up to his eyes. "Oh, damn it," You sighed, fidgeting with your fingers and hoping Dante would notice why you were behaving this way. Unfortunately, he didn't.

"Y/N?"

"Yes?!"

"Could you move? You're blocking the light."

"...Ok."

"Thanks."

And so you nervously edged away from the light, sidestepping into the corner. Dante remained in his seat, oblivious to your feelings as always, perusing the perverted magazine before him. he was completely ignorant, and always would be, unless you did something now.

Summoning up all the courage and power you had, you cleared your throat, adjusted your clothes, walked up in front of the desk again, and slammed your hands down on it, making Dante jump and drop his magazine. "What!?" He demanded, sounding a bit annoyed. You were not to be deterred, however, and simply cleared your throat before beginning. "I like you, Dante. No, wait, I love you."

Dante's jaw fell pen, his eyes widening as he leaned back so far the chair toppled over. "Wh-?! Wait, are you saying you love me?!" You would have slapped him then and there if you weren't in the middle of confessing your crush. "Yes, Dante, I'm saying I love you." You sighed, pinching your nose. "Well...that's great!" Dante shouted, leaping to his feet, a wide smile on his face. "Cause I've been crushing on you for a while now." You gaped at him. "You have?! Why didn't you say anything?" Dante shrugged, "I dunno, the way you were so comfortable talking to me made me think you'd friendzoned me or something." Your brow wrinkled as you tried to remember a time when you ever acted in a way that would give someone that idea. "I never friendzoned you!" Dante shrugged again, scratching his head this time. "Well, I mean, you were so relaxed and comfortable around me, ready to say exactly what was on your mind. It gave me that "homie" vibe, you know?" You laughed, glad to know that your earlier attempts at flirting were at least noticed, though they were misunderstood.

"You absolute dork," You chastised, playfully. "Come here." Dante took a step back in response. "Why?" "Oh, shut up and take me already!" You cried, stamping your foot in frustration. Dante seemed to get the message now, as he readily stepped forward, a devious smirk on his face, and kissed you, with both lips and tongue.

As you kissed him, you found yourself fondly wondering to yourself,

"How can he be this dense?"

[waitmyturtles]

BLUBBERING SPOILERS BELOW FOR I FEEL YOU LINGER IN THE AIR, EPISODE 12/FINALE:

YEAH. SO. YEAH. SO!

This can't be meta. I don't think I can conjure it. Just blather. I'll try to be sensible. First, a little housekeeping before we start the meeting:

We know there will be a special episode (the preview looks..... LIKE A GODDAMN HOLIDAY GIFT, GAAAAHHH).

Peeps are going back and forth on a second season, and while it seems that Nonkul Chanon blurted it out during the final episode fan meeting (lol you cute, Nonkul), Tee Bundit is rolling back a bit, *likely* due to funding. But seeing social media going absolutely INSANE over this ending, I can't imagine that Dee Hup will have any issue with finding the moolah for a second season -- especially after that after-credits scene, WITH HORSES, WITH MUSTACHES, WITH TATTOOS, WITH ARMOR, the whole thang. Tee let that shit hang all out like that. Warrior-era Thailand, let's m'fing go. That was a hell of a lead into a second season that may not happen, come awn.

Alright, with that out of the way:

I didn't think a show would top Moonlight Chicken for me this year, but IFYLITA is my top new drama of the year (with the HEAVY CAVEAT that I have not seen La Pluie yet -- that's for either after my Old GMMTV Challenge, or just making sure I watch it before year's end).

Part of the reason why I lost my gatdamn mind last week on episode 11 is that Tee Bundit did not interfere with any damn nonsense last week -- he let the episode's story unwind without any noise. He let the emotion roll.

The same light touch (or rather, a lack of interference) happened here, BUT: there was a LOT more happening firstly by way of closing some loops that were open, moving to new loops, and shedding more depth into Jom and Yai's final moments together

We got closure on Yai's dad, who was grumpily like, uhhh, I dunno what happened in my life, but yeah, daughter Eaung Peang, you go have a good life with Maey, crotchety crotch. I think that's the best we could get from politically involved dads of 1928 Chiang Mai. (EP AND MAEY SWINGING THEIR HANDS WHILE WALKING AWAY -- SAAAHHSHAY FROM ALL THAT, LADIES, SASHAY.) It looks like EP's herbal abortion left her safe -- thank goodness. We didn't see James or Ming this episode.

For loops that weren't closed, I'm not complaining, because we got an explanation for how Jom's beloved ones will repeat in his reincarnated futures and pasts, through the explanation of the northern Thai ceremony of having 32 blessings reinstated to you after illness or misfortune (THREE CHEERS for @blmpff for capturing screenshots of this explanation!). (AND THE WHITE THREAD, PEEPS, THE WHITE THREAD, I'm coming back to this in a second.) If we do get a season 2, then I will not be colored surprised if we see Ming and James in different roles. (And, yes. Your bitch here has relaxed on Pat's shooter, finally. My nose was trained on James being a colonialist interferer, but he did good last episode.)

But this episode belonged, of course, to Yai and Jom, their final moments together in 1928 Chiang Mai, saying the slow farewell as Jom slowly disappeared in front of Yai's eyes.

LORD. WHEWWWWWWWWWWWWW. The lacy fabric with which Yai used to cover the mirrors so that Jom wouldn't see himself fade away. The empathy of that. The scene where we heard their lovemaking over the flashbacks montage. WHEW. WHOA. (I did say, to my friend @shortpplfedup, something something Jom started really fading away after that intimate scene and something something had the ontology cough cough outta him, ANYWAY.)

The way that Yai pitched forward when Jom finally disappeared.

AND I MOTHERFUCKING SCREAMED WHEN JOM AND MUSTACHIOED YAI WERE ABOUT TO TOUCH INTO THE WATER AGAIN, AND THEN THE DIVER EMT WAS LIKE, BLOOP I'M HERE AND OH, JOM, YOU'RE ALIVE IN 2023. I yelped in the deli, shit. The way Jom was silently screaming in the water for Yai.

And, so. In the "present" day (present dimension, really), Jom survived that CRAAAAZY car accident (LIKE! WHAT?! He flew out of the car into the water, bros! The magic of fiction, anyway.)

He.......he holds space for Ohm?! Looking BACK on that scene, AFTER we get the explanation of the 32 blessings, we realize: despite Ohm's infidelity and his promise to a new woman, Ohm is still important in Jom's life -- he's still a beloved presence, as he did mean something, for a long time, to Jom. Of course, modern Jom did NOT let a moment to shade Ohm pass him by, oh no. But wasn't that interesting to note? That Jom's dimensions would allow Ohm to be in those dimensions -- that Ohm would be reincarnated through Jom's 32 blessings (at least in the past direction).

You know what I also loved about seeing Jom in his present-day apartment, with the present-day Jeed, Ohm, and Khaimuk (aka Fong Kaew). I LOVED WHAT THAT CASTING, THE SHIFTING OF THE CHARACTERS AND CHARACTERIZATIONS, SAID ABOUT JOM'S PERSPECTIVE OF EQUITY IN 1928 AND 2023.

Jeed is NOT Khun Eaung Peang. Jeed is ALL SASS. But Jeed is YOUNGER than Jom. Jom, in 2023, is P'Jom, with the honorific. Present-day Jom can smack his little sister's head in jest. Jeed can be OUT and SAFE and have a crush on her girl friend, safely, and can ask for her brother's support, OPENLY.

Jom never stopped being Jom, whether it was 2023 pre-accident, 1928, or 2023 post-accident. Jom is comfortable in his own skin, and wants happiness AND EQUITY for the people he loves around him. I love that the casting and characterizations of the incarnations of the characters reflect Jom's state of mind that all people are equal and the same, no matter a fancy honorific or a royally appointed residence.

I screamed at @shortpplfedup when I saw Jom wearing the white thread in bed during the thunderstorm. I stopped, rewound, and saw he was wearing the white thread in the water scene with Warrior Yai. The white thread never left his wrist -- he still has his blessings intact.

And, and, and, back to the house of Palanthip in 2023. Who's the lady of the house? This lady knows Jom's the only one who can open that chest. The chest opens, the drawings are there, THE PICTURE OF THEIR PARTY, AND THE LETTER FROM YAI TO JOM, THE LETTER, THE TEARS, AKSLKDF, AND, AND, AND --

Oh my god, I was crying, y'all. Shit. Just our confident dude, striding in, asking Jom, sweetheart, why are you crying. And Jom jumping into Yai's arms.

I was shaking my head. I mean. I love that we learned that Yai actually HAD HIS OWN BLESSINGS CEREMONY because he was so lost after Jom's departure. WE LEARNED ABOUT THE REST OF YAI'S LIFE. We know, now, that the Yai of 1928 yearned for Jom for the rest of his life. So much so that, at the twilight of the life of 20th-century Yai, that he had the good mind to leave Jom a letter, to let Jom know that his life was a good life, because Jom had been in it. To let Jom know that Yai's love had never faded away.

AND THEN THAT YAI CAME BACK TO JOM.

Jom, dude, you're a good dude, for these good people to be coming back to you, in dimension after dimension. That monk was right.

I told you this was just blathering; I can try to put some sensible thoughts together in a few days, but the structure of this story, the empathy of this story, the way this story was leveraged by drama and romance and HOPE. I mean. This series was utterly fantastic.

I know there's the lifelong debate of whether or not BLs "count" as queer media, and in many, many instances, they do. But since I've had the disappointment of Only Friends and GMMTV on my mind lately, I had to note, mentally, particularly during the lovemaking scene, and during the closure of this episode, that Tee really fucking handed it to anyone who criticizes BL as a not-as-sophisticated drama genre.

And you know what? I also wanna say that Tee fucking handed it to GMMTV as well. I am so DAMN glad this series was airing when Only Friends was airing. While Only Friends sat on the opportunity to present progressive ideas on queer love and queer community, IFYLITA ROLLED right into it.

(I'll ask @lurkingshan to fact-check me on the following:) Because this series was a historical drama with a queer romance centering it, I think Tee Bundit could feel free from the chains of BL tropes and expectations to do something truly singular. I felt that what I was watching was cinematic, it was moving, it was strikingly emotional, particularly because I felt that this show was showing me something that transcended any viewer's expectations of what we should be watching, as opposed to, say, a BL set in an office like Tee's Step By Step. Where that show fumbled was in the show itself not knowing if it was a workplace drama or a BL-centric romance.

IFYLITA knew what it was: a historical drama, certainly centering romance, but also balancing conversations about equity and wealth disparities across eras. With that uncomplicated centering, I think Tee Bundit made an absolutely BRILLIANT show, and it fucking WORKED.

I will scream to anyone who'll hear me. If you haven't watched I Feel You Linger In The Air yet, do it, PLEASE PLEASE. Y'all know I am an Aof Noppharnach girlie for life, and I LIVE FOR MOONLIGHT CHICKEN, I DO, I DO, all of my Asian references in MLC and the food and everything, god I loved that show, but --

IFYLITA was a cinematic masterpiece. Full stop. All hail @neuroticbookworm and @lurkingshan for telling me to keep with it after my Step By Step-PTSD. This show was worth every last minute I spent watching and writing on it.

Season 2, Warrior Yai, let's get him a better mustache -- let's FUCKING GO, BABIES.

P.S. BRIGHT AND NONKUL FOR LIFE, FOR LIFE!!!!!!! THE ACTING!!!!!! MY GOD!!!!!