#hopefully you can recognise the references

[polterwasteist]

Anthony's Funeral Halftime Show but make it Ianthony (part 1)

[dunmeshistash]

Hi, so recently there was a dunmeshi signing (?) event with Ryoko Kui in Korea. And I have found some posts from korean fans about their experience and a bunch of illustrations. @Dgae_715 is the acc on twitter i have found most of information from reposts. But basically here are the most relevant facts that I have found (Please note that they may be inaccurate due to me relying on online translator):

A fan asked if post canon Falin will live longer, Ryoko Kui basically answered “maybe so, right?”

The same fan asked if Thistle without desire will able to live happily with the care of others, and as far as I got she said “I hope so”.(Note: I am really not sure if I got this one right at all) The fan themselves said the way Ryoko Kui answered was rather unprepared, so she may not have an answer in mind really on such specific questions.

Another fan asked how Mithrun is in post canon, Ryoko Kui said that he is doing well, working and pursuing hobbies.

Somebody asked Mithruns about strength, he is weaker than a soldier, even though he is got the fighting skills, but he developed them mostly because of his sense of professionalism (?), rather than for fighting.

Past Mithrun didn’t really fight that much, he was mostly an investigator(?), he rarely had to fight in the rear(?) units.

Apparently Falin’s chimera form can get oily, so she repells water a bit

In real life, Marcille would be a med school research student, while Laios would be a “furita” (basically a freelancer with no stable income)

Someone said if Ryoko Kui considered a bad ending for Falin, and Ryoko Kui said she, as an author wanted a happy ending, but in case of Falin, she was worried after the ending (14 volume or later?), but overall she thinks it turned out well. (I think the after the ending refers to her post canon fate, and maybe thats why Ryoko kui did an extra on that specifically later on) 8. Also someone asked if Ryoko Kui would eat the dishes from dunmeshi, and she replied she is a picky eater, and she also said to someone that she drew dishes that she liked and disliked in dunmeshi (I bet she doesnt like fruitcakes).

(Note: There is a 90% chance I got this completely wrong, translator was struggling a LOT here) Someone asked about what Laios is good at, she replied “when he is a party member”. 9. She also likes Lord of the Rings and Wizardly 6(?), and she likes Skip and Loather

When asked about what word definies Laios, she said he is actually a normal/usual person(?). I have lost the post with this specific answer, so I am going by my memory;-;

Some fan showed her that picture with Tennant Chilchuck, she didnt recognise the actor unfortunately. Also apparently this meme originated from Korean dunmeshi fandom???

There were other questions and answers too, but they mostly about Ryoko Kui. And I also may have forgotten to add some;-; Also some fan suggested to Ryoko Kui that Falin in the real life should be a dentist by the way she makes them drool(????I think they meant it in non-sexual manner, like an excited dog), they kind of laughed about it. Also Ryoko Kui drew Falin the most(?) for signing postcards, other characters, and only 5-6 Senshis, 2 Winged Lions

Anonymous asked: The same anon with Korean sign event ask. I knew I forgot something, but basicaly some fan showed Ryoko Kui the day dream picture that most of fandom presumes to be a Chilchuck’s wife and asked if its true, she answered “Its up to your imagination”. So basically neither no or yes

Thank you! I LOVE SKIP AND LOAFER WEEEE

Hopefully we get some more corroborating translations for the bits you're not sure!

[kirbyoctournament]

🌙 Welcome to the Kirby OC Tournament! 💫

CURRENTLY: VOTING IS CLOSED!!!!

the oc tournament is back again this year, and will be hosted by @starflungwaddledee and @moonverc3x!

this is a fun and friendly popularity contest for kirby-verse original character designs and their associated stories or lore. competitors can submit their characters to the competition during the submission period, after which characters will be matched randomly together in public polls for voting!

there will also be a second-chance bracket, to allow folks voted out early to continue playing and participating in the contest. polls are open for anyone, competitors and spectators alike!

in between each match-up, competitors can create artwork "propaganda" for their characters which will be shared to the blog! getting your character in front of voters will help people to recognise and care about them, and can increase your chances of getting votes-- as well as new fans-- for your OC!

🗓️ schedule of events 🗓️

submissions open: april 8th see below for how to submit your oc! submissions close: april 30th brackets announced: may 10th voting begins: may 13th bracket length: 1 week break length: 2 weeks each voting bracket will last One Week with public tumblr polls on the @kirbyoctournament blog. there will be a week between polls to give competitors time to draw up additional propaganda! depending on the size of the first bracket in particular, poll posts may be staggered over several days. if this happens, the break week will begin after the final poll closes.

🥳 how to submit your oc 🥳

Submissions are CLOSED as at midnight of April 30th. to submit your oc (only one oc allowed per participant!!), simply make a post on your own blog introducing your character with art and/or any lore you'd like to include! make sure to tag the @kirbyoctournament in your post (please do not submit via the ask box.) despite being an oc centric event, you can include canon characters in your OC backstory and propaganda. here is a template for submissions, but this is just a guide and you can deviate from it as necessary! if you want to write a lot of text, consider putting it under a 'read more'! Name: Reference Image/s: Notes on Personality (optional, but preferred!): Backstory and Lore (optional):

remember, this is a friendly competition, none of you will get hurt!

if you have any questions, send us an ask! (please do not dm either hosts, the askbox is where you need to go with questions!)

🔗 useful links 🔗

kirby oc tourney discord server. here you can chat with other competitors, mods, and get pinged when polls are posted! current confirmed competitors list. if you've tagged the blog in your submission post you can check here to make sure we've got it! Though, please allow us 24 hours after submitting your oc for them to be added before contacting us! We are doing our best to keep things up to date, but we cant be online all the time! tournament brackets here you can check to see who your oc is paired up with! polls a fast pass to the polls (2024) tag!

🌑 mod disclaimer 🌟

@moonverc3x and @starflungwaddledee are cohosting the tourney to make sure it runs smoothly this year and so that the event can hopefully bring some joy and interaction to the kirby oc tumblr community, but we also always wanted to compete. because this is a popularity contest with public voting and all pairings are 100% randomised, we don't think this gives us any sort of advantage, and all propaganda will be posted on our private blogs like everybody else's. however we do just want to be upfront about it!

[lu-is-not-ok]

In the roadmap of this season, the new .5 shown is one seemingly related to the sweepers. Given each of the .5s/second .5s were ones that setup for their next cantos I am wondering what sort of info you wish to glean from it?

I myself am rather interested in sweeper lore generally, so more about that, and perhaps the dynamics between them will again parallel Gong Lu's family. I wonder if Dante’s autotranslate for distortions will allow them to speak with the sweepers, they do seem to be standing in front of them in that teaser image.

I am. So excited anout that intervallo.

So here's a brief list of things I'm excited for, plus maybe a few silly predictions cause why not:

Since we're dealing with Sweepers, we're likely going to be in the Backstreets of whatever District Canto 8 is gonna take place in. I'm really excited to learn more about the worldbuilding for the Backstreets. Plus you fucking know Rodya is gonna have some shit to say about the class disparity, as is often the case.

Sweepers are in this interesting place of having Family-like structures, but having them work in a similar way to Bloodfiend Families - in that one can choose to become part of a Sweeper Family rather than being forced into being born into it. Considering how Fanghunt Hong Lu is the way he is, I hope facing that idea of choosing one's own Family so directly will elicit some sort of reaction out of Hong Lu.

An introduction to a new faction. I doubt they can make Sweepers into IDs (they're not like power armor where you can have the helmets be conditional, nor are they like prosthetics where you can only have a part of the face be replaced), so if they go with Event Identities we're gonna need something else for those. I'm personally hoping for a Syndicate because I like em.

Partially related to the above, I'd love to see a plot that at least partially parallels/references the Sweepers chapter in Distortion Detective. For those who don't know, there's a short arc in DD where Moses and co end up stuck out in the Backstreets during the Night and are forced to weather the waves of Sweepers while looking for shelter. Moses is able to tell they'll be unable to survive through all three waves of Sweepers, so they try to get the people already in hiding to let them in. Eventually, someone does - a group of Thumb members, causing Moses and co to have to make a deal with them to stay overnight. I'm hoping the Intervallo will have some sort of parallel to that, where the Sinners will be forced to make a deal with someone (potentially the faction used for Event IDs hopefully) to survive the night.

In general, some sort of Hong Lu nuclear bomb is inevitable. Something with the same dramatic impact as the Don Quixote being a Bloodfiend reveal at the end of Warp Express. My bet is on a proper reveal that he's a runaway, and that his previously stated reasons for leaving home (alongside perhaps some other things he's said) were a complete lie all along.

Which, speaking of Hong Lu being a runaway. Here's my silly prediction for what setup they could use for the Intervallo's plot that I've been rotating in my head for a bit now. Imagine, if you will, Hong Lu recognising that the District the bus is heading into is his home District. Imagine the panic that would stir within him. What if, in the middle of the night, Hong Lu does what he's tried once before and attempts to run away again. He disappears from the bus, and similarly to that one mini episode where Heathcliff almost got lost to the Backdoor, Faust is immediately concerned over retrieving him. Especially if being turned to liquid by Sweepers is one of those things Dante might not be able to rewind.

[py-dreamer]

remember that post with the blumin ghibli costumes where RS was the Baron?

Remember that dance scene in the cat returns?

Yea so I did a lil something something...

Its very niche and such but I personally really liked the concept

It was very fun drawing Xiaotian in like western princely wear, fairytale prince-esque. I was just fully self indulgent this time, gave him a crown, the earrings, the Cape, the collar, trimming, cloud buttons, the works.

Props to the masculine version of underkeep Frisk for Mk's design! Bit of a flashback to the past with that undertale reference eh?

(Does anyone else recognise underkeep? If not, I really recommend to just see the gorgeous character design with similar themes to this piece!)

Drawing red son in the Baron's outfit was so much fun! In particular, that feathered hat which matches their fluffy tail. Also, I actually searched up masquerade Bull masks as inspector for RS's mask and knew I wanted to make the horns longer as a sort of crown for his actual horns.

Lighting was also a fun new take with an intense spotlight and harsh shadows! Hopefully I was accurate enough...

here's an unshaded version so you can see the outfits more!

I don't actually think I'm going to turn this into an actual au, it's more of a fun one shot really, but one I had a lot of fun with!

Also @cats-and-confusion,@leesbian42,@violetjedisylveon,@cryptidwithaninternetconnection and @people who want to join!

What would you match your favourite lmk ship, duo or dynamic with what ghibli ship, duo or dynamic?

Reblogs > likes

(Click photo for less sh!tty quality)

[not-xpr-art]

Len and Tommy's life told through nine photos ~

A fanart based on the Inside no 9 episode 'Bernie Clifton's Dressing Room' because I loved it so much!

(09/2024)

See below for close ups and unnecessarily detailed explanations of each individual artwork lol

First wanna say that I spent wayy too long on these (like 25+ hours), especially trying to make them look like actual old photos lol... also trying to get their likeness right for the various ages was really bloody hard lol, but hopefully each photo has the essence of each character even if it might not look 100% right pfft...

Second thing is that the dates & locations are very much my own subjective thoughts on their life and not particularly rooted in the canon of the show lol

Also I did go really heavy with the colour symbolism lol...

Ravenhill School, 1965.

The year they met, both are around the age of 10 (give or take). Len is 3 from the left in the top row, Tommy 2 in from the left on the bottom row (also I tried to include references to the other 2 League Of Gentlemen guys... Though I think the only vaguely recognisable one is Jeremy pfft)

Also shout out to @lapis-lazuliie for the idea that they met at school!

(side note, this is the least detailed of all the paintings not just because I was too lazy to render all those children's faces pfft but ALSO because of the significance of them being less recognisable or prominent in each other's lives in this point...)

I was planning on making another childhood/early teen photo but couldn't really think of any good subject matter that could also fit thematically with the episode (also the fact both are coming from poor families who would have had limited access to cameras in this era means we can just pretend that there are just no photos that really exist of them at these ages pfft...)

Photo booth in Leeds, 1974.

Both in their late teens, they'd (well, mainly Tommy) gone to a photo booth in Leeds with the intention of getting some professional looking photos only for Len to immediately make Tommy laugh once they got in there lol

The middle photo is covered in lines as Tommy had planned on throwing it away, only to find he couldn't bring himself to do it in the end... Is it platonic? Romantic? Both? Who knows, you decide lol! I mainly wanted it to be a candid moment between two people that love each other lol

(final one is them play fighting because that's kinda just what 19 year olds are like pfft... also I think photo booths technically gave you 4 photos? so let's pretend there was another photo that they did throw away for whatever reason lol...)

Rehearsals, 1979.

Deep in the midst of practising their routine for some of their first performances!

I'll admit this photo was mainly me wanting to include something more episode specific lol and also to get in some much needed heavy handed symbolism (the crease in the photo separating them, the bottle in front of Len's face, etc)

Polaroids taken at Tommy's flat, 1985.

In-between shows the two often spent a lot of time at Tommy's place (featuring that god awful sofa the previous home owner had left). I did originally plan to have them in the sofa shot together, but was finding it hard to figure out who would have been taking that kind of photo so figured it made more sense to make it shots they took of each other.

Also marks the beginnings of Tommy's weariness (& Len's over drinking...)

Outside the Glasgow Pavilion, 1988.

The morning of that fateful performance...

Ok not much else I wanna say about this other than the reference I used for the pose had Reece sorta awkwardly clasping his hands in front of him which I really liked but unfortunately in my art it just looked like he was trying to cover his crotch so I had to change it pfft...

Tommy standing at Len's grave, 2024.

The sixth anniversary of Len's death, and the sixth time Tommy has travelled across from France to lay flowers at his grave. Photo taken by Leanne from the inside of a taxi (I'd like to have had more references to her in these photos but was unsure of dates/ages where it would have fitted...)

She couldn't get her phone to not focus on the raindrops on the window as she tried to take a picture of Tommy at her father's grave but then realised that she actually liked the pathetic fallacy and had it made into a print anyway lol (look I'll be the first to admit that this is the least 'realistic' in terms of a photo that people would take, but I couldn't resist the symbolism of it lol...)

There were a lot more ideas for photos I wanted to do but for obvious reasons had to keep it to just 9 lol

Also will be posting these on my ao3 with snippets of stories to go with each photo so keep an eye out for when I share that link!

[jesswritesthat]

Bokuto Kōtarō: Anatomy

Fandom: Haikyuu!! — [ Masterlist ]

Summary: ~0.8k, fluff

• Being a manga artist is hard enough but the panic sets in when someone thinks they know your muse.

Warnings: 1 swear word.

>>>>——————————>

"This is very good, you always manage to demonstrate attractive muscle on this character."

"Well, it's basic anatomy right?" A weak defence on your part really, but your editor righteously continued with his honest justification.

"Hm, yes but you must have a reference, this is wonderfully detailed - no wonder he is so popular."

“Maybe it's his personality…?"

"Everyone knows his personaity is vulgar, but the abs of a villain are not." Happily, he returned your work, assuring that you ‘keep it up’ prior to entering his office.

That was a general commentary you received when submitting chapters to your editor anyway.

However this new guy was not your usual manga editor, instead a stand in, but as long as you had your issue in on time you didn't have to worry much. Your work was in Akaashi Keijis’ hands now, and hopefully the latest chapter and illustrations would be approved with minimal alterations.

Still, you wondered if that would be the case as he sat on the floor of his apartment with a sceptical expression painting his features.

"I recognise this."

His muttering voice snapped your attention, looking to him with perplexity as you were originally expecting a comment on the fact you'd hand-delivered the issue to his door.

"I'm sorry Akaashi-san?"

"This villain of yours, he feels familiar now that I really look at him. You put a lot of care into this character?” The man calmly elaborated, showing you a page of your manga that depicted your villain with torn clothing.

Admittedly, your mind had drifted to how such a thing was possible considering this villain of yours was 'one hot piece of sculpted ass' - solely according to the readers of course - you supposed you dedicated time to him to upkeep that opinion.

"You think? Doesn't every manga heartthrob look as good as this."

"That's not what I meant."

Shit.

“Anyway, if there’s anything you’d like me to change please let me know by the end of the week. Thank you and have a good day!” Never had you got out of a door quick enough, thoughts spiralling with questions. Could he recognise him? There was a specific reference you used. Did another manga artist use the same one? Crap crap crap.

—

Naturally you found yourself rushing to a certain someone’s home at the crack of dawn the following morning, hopefully well timed to catch him after his morning run and workout (if they were completed he couldn’t invite you to go this time).

"Kōtarō! You're not allowed to walk around shirtless anymore!"

"Huh?" The athlete hadn’t a chance to welcome your presence, instead standing dumbfounded with a towel to his hair and form fitting long sleeve runner top unfairly complimenting his sculpted physique.

"Or in a vest!"

"But—"

"Or shorts!" Yes those too, he currently made basic volleyball shorts look good.

"Then what am I supposed to wear?!"

"A massive fluffy jumper or a ski suit, I don't know."

"In summer?! But I'll smell worse than the changing rooms after running in that..."

"You’re right, maybe I should be the one to avoid situations..." You pondered for a moment, the flattening strands of the Spikers hair allowing extra motivation. "I'll visit less frequently, and cut out staying over!"

"No! I'll make the sacrifices to wear stupid fluffy clothes if it means you'll continue to stay! I'll do anything for you (y/n)!" Solid hands grasped your shoulders to emphasise his sincerity even as you tried to elaborate.

"That's not—"

"Can I know why though?" It was fair request, and in all likelihood you were going tell him anyway.

"..."

"..."

"My temporary editor has commented that I put a lot of love into my manga villain illustrations..." You breathed, embarrassment clearly evident but this is not what your owl had taken from the conversation.

"You love someone else?!"

"No! I love you but..."

"The 'but' is very offensive!" Again he yelped, pushing you away at arms length whilst maintaining his hold on your shoulders.

"YOU'RE MY MUSE IDIOT!"

"Eh?"

"My villain, his body anyway, is almost an exact mirror of your own." You sheepishly confessed, Bokuto tilting his head curiously with those pretty eyes of his.

"Uh..."

"Kōtarō." It was a frustrated mumble, ultimately influenced by you having to explain such an intimate detail. "You're my inspiration, I can draw you effortlessly even as someone else. Featuring part of you in my work makes me enjoy it far more."

“Oh I get it! Thinking of you during a match always motivates me more too but it doesn’t bother me if my teammates mention it.” He gladly added as a way to relate to your dilemma which lead you to hopelessly smile at him.

“Alright, maybe I was worrying over nothing. It’s not like you even know my editors or anything.”

“Exactly!” He issued a thumbs up, happy to see you more relaxed. “I can take off my clothes and freshen up now right?”

With a playful nod, you couldn’t help but admire him when he removed his top, hair fluffed up and a wrinkle to his nose.

That’s when someone walked right in, apparently having keys to Bokutos’ home which had already piqued you’d interest. Naturally Kōtarō threw an arm around you and offered a bright smile to the visitor.

“Hey Akaashi!”

Immediately you paled, your world crashing down as the painfully familiar editor quietly looked to you, then back to his shirtless Ace.

“Ah. That’s why I recognised him.”

<——————————<<<<

[mephiestophyl]

I can't seem to get lucky enough to see that line again where sylus says "beasts don't belong in a cage" in destiny cafe, but besides that, I think that how sylus views himself is one of the most interesting parts of his character.

throughout our journey with sylus and in the anecdotes, we often see this reoccurring theme of beasts or "taming", like how sylus tamed his horse in no defense zone, and how he offered to take the man's dog out on a walk that had issues with people other than its owner in wander in wonder, and especially how he chose to tame the dragon instead of killing it in adventure above clouds. I personally think that sylus often finds himself sympathizing with these animals who are viewed as "troublesome" or "beastly" by other people, as he often also has to, or have taken in the past, the burden of being the "beast", whether it is others who label him as such, or if he purposefully takes on a terrifying demeanour as a means to an end.

^^ an example of this is when he frees the beasts from the overlords artificial garden, and during this anecdote, we can see some short details of what sylus is thinking during this time regarding the feelings of the caged beasts. when he frees them and recognises their need for vengeance against the people responsible for imprisoning them, it's like sylus is saying: "the ones who have been treated as monsters desire the blood of their wrongdoers. what did you think was going to happen after keeping them locked away for so long?" here, sylus is the beast, recognising his other fellow beasts, and his form of vengeance is granting them freedom from their isolation, and allowing them to take their own vengeance against their wrongdoers instead of doing it for them.

sylus is actually way more sympathetic than people give him credit for, especially towards animals, as he was also caged and treated as such, like how he was imprisoned in tartarus. I also think that when his myth drops we will also see this reoccurring narrative tool being used again, since the form that we vaguely see him take in the flashback to MCs previous life with him IS terrifying and beast-like. this appearance that he has took (which is sort of suggested to be his true form due to the multiple references there is of sylus directly saying that his current body isn't real) could possibly be what led him to alienate himself from everyone else, as people are naturally terrified by beast-like creatures and want to keep them locked away where they are isolated from everyone else.

and with the whole "taming" thing, I just think to myself how much he trusts MC?? like, it is also a reoccurring narrative tool in sylus' story where taming or some sort of bondage is involved, and I otherwise wouldve thought that sylus would hate the idea of being bound with how he desires control, but then here he is throwing himself at MC whenever a situation of him being bound by her or TO her is involved, as if she is the only one who can tug him by his leash and he'd willingly follow. honestly he's like a big guard dog..

overall, I think sylus has a tendency to objectify himself as a result of many things, such as his reputation as a beast, his lack of self-preservation due to his indestructible (as far as we know) body, and how he insists on how MC should use him to her advantage. I also love his relationship with animals and it is sometimes upsetting to see how MC thinks that sylus is incapable of extending kindness to others (though she does not think this anymore since she has developed a deeper relationship with sylus and has a better read on his character) and I hope MC can be beside him on his journey to hopefully put an end to his self objectification or at least find ways to get him in a healthier mindset and have a better attitude about himself 🥹

[elthadriel]

If you're still taking requests, I'd love Codex and 💕 kissing somewhere other than lips please

The sound the emergency comm makes is referred to in official documentation as a chime. Rex would like to shove a chiming comm up the ass of whoever made that decision.

The comm's screeching jerks Rex awake, and he's half sitting up before he’s even aware of why or that he can’t actually sit up due to the body slumped across him. Cody wakes in the same second as Rex. 

Cody snarls a foul curse that he only seems willing to use in the first five minutes of being awake and hauls himself up just enough to fumble in the direction of the self by the bunk.

“Yours or mine?” Rex asks.

“Yours,” Cody announces. His smug delight is somewhat undercut by the fact it’s delivered as more of a sleepy mumble . Rex’s comm hits his bare chest followed closely by Cody who attempts to nuzzle back into the warm spot he just left.

The comm’s pale glow is blinding in the dark. Rex squints into it, the words slowly settling from blur to proper letters. Rex is needed in a holocall. Promptly.

Rex closes his eyes and pretends they can stay closed. It’s an unforgivable hour in the morning, and he’s exhausted. The bunk is warm and Cody is sprawled on top of him, almost too hot where their bare skin has been pressed together for hours.

He breathes deep, Cody’s head rising on his chest. 

“I have to go,” Rex says and opens his eyes. Cody makes a sound into Rex’s skin, which Rex chooses to interpret as sympathy.

There’s no reasoning with Cody at this hour so Rex doesn’t bother trying, extracting himself from under Cody who impressively manages to convey bloodthirsty fury despite his refusal to open his eyes or form any recognisable words.

“I love you too,” Rex mutters. He drags himself over Cody, managing with only minimal success to avoid kneeing him in the back; it would be easier if Cody was capable of being at all cooperative when freshly awake. 

Rex dresses in the dark, pulling on blacks and then his armour. Cody grumbles at the sound, expanding out to take over the slither of the bed he’d graciously allowed Rex to have all to himself.

“You get to go back to sleep,” Rex hisses. “Stop complaining.” 

Cody grabs Rex’s tragically abandoned pillow, shoving it over his head. He rolls onto his side, putting his back to Rex. If life was at all fair, Rex would be able to climb back in next to him.

Hopefully this call won’t mean the 501st and 212th are separating again so soon. 

“If I’m still here by—” Rex stops. There’s no point. Now Cody knows he’s not getting up, he’ll be most of the way back to sleep. He won’t remember anything Rex tells him.

Rex finishes strapping on his pauldron, fingers finding the buckles through practised memory even in the dark. It only leaves one remaining order of business.

Rex lifts the pillow off Cody's head. Cody’s eyes scrunch up tighter and he twists, mashing his face into the other pillow. Rex would laugh if it wouldn’t get him kicked, if not now, later. That Cody would remember. He kisses Cody’s temple and is rewarded with another sleepy noise of complaint.

“I hope yours goes off too,” Rex says. 

Cody puts every second of his intense training to use. Fast as a Kodashi viper he snatches his pillow back from Rex’s hands. The way he slams it back over his head can only be described as violent. 

Rex rolls his eyes and finally leaves Cody to sleep in peace.

Hopefully he’ll be back soon enough. 

[thehopelessromanticclub]

THE KISS CAM

Pairing : Jeon Jeongguk x Y/N

Genre : Fluff, dating au

Word count : 1k

Summary : you appear on the KISS CAM but with the wrong person…

Weekends…

There was nothing special about weekends. For you weekends were boring. It consisted of you munching some potato chips, binge watching Kdramas, living up to your name of night owl. That was it. That was the end of it.

But that was until Jungkook came along, your boyfriend of 6 months. Weekends never felt so amazing…

Loving him was so easy…

It felt so natural…

He was shy. He was tired and messy hairs. He was oversized clothes and ripped jeans. He was whispers at 4 am. He was the smell before it rains. He was the love of her life. A love she never expected would be hers. A love so pure, that it feels to good to be true.

Author’s POV

Ding Dong

“Coming…” you yell loud enough for the entire neighbour hood to hear you before making your way to the door to open it.

There he was standing looking handsome, dashing, cool, amazing as ever… Words were never enough to describe him.

“Ready to go?” He enquired before complimenting how beautiful you looked. He always does that. He’ll call you beautiful even if you were ugly-crying some moments ago. He’ll call you beautiful even if you just woke up and ur face is all swollen up. You were always beautiful in his eyes.

“As ready as I’ll ever be.” You chimed in making sure to lock the door before you left.

Jungkook had been so into baseball recently, that he convinced you into going to one of the matches that was being held today.

Time skip

“There, that’s our seat.” He said pointing in the direction of two empty seats, both of you making your way into the direction.

The whole stadium was packed with tons of people. More than half of the population wearing their representative team’s uniform. It was spectacular.

“Y/N, is that you?” You heard a familiar voice beside you, hitting your eardrums, which made you turn your head in the direction.

“Yijoon?”

Hwang Yijoon, or more like your crush during high school. Although you did have feelings for him, but that was a thing in the past. As they always say, first love is never successful.

You grew up, your feeling changed. Both of you lost contact owing to the new chapter of adulting in your respective lives. You both got busy in the marathon of growing up.

You’ve told Jungkook about Yijoon once when he inquired who was the guy in your graduation photo, with hearts drawn all over him. Yes, it was you who drew the hearts, your only means of expressing your love for him.

“Omg, Yijoon-ah, how long has it been?” You were beyond ecstatic to meet him.

“I almost forgot about your existence.”

“Well, that was harsh.” He said placing his hand on his heart.

“You grew up so much Y/N, I almost couldn’t recognise you without your braces and bangs.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment.” You laughed swaying your hair.

Both of you got so busy in catching up that you never realised the game had started and that you had a human being accompany you today.

Jungkook’s POV

“Sigh…” this is the umpteenth time I have been sighing.

I’ve been trying so hard to concentrate on the game but all I can concentrate is on them. I know I shouldn’t be jealous, but it is her CRUSH being referred here. HER F**KING CRUSH.

I so badly want to go and sit between them and tell that guy, “hey dude, we are on a date, and if you don’t mind I’ll have my girlfriend to myself.”

Author’ POV

“Umm…Y/N? Who’s that guy? He has been eyeing us for a while now.” Yijoon inquired.

It was at this moment, she knew she f**ked up.

You quickly turned your attention towards Jungkook giving him an apologetic look.

“Yijoon, meet Jungkook, Jungkook, meet Yijoon.” You quickly introduced both of them.

“Hi, I am Jungkook, Y/N’s boyfriend. I’ve heard a lot about you from Y/N.” Jungkook gave a strong handshake to Yijoon, asserting himself, jealousy clearly visible on his face.

“Hopefully good things.” Yijoon replied.

Before you knew it, it was break time, or should I say KISS CAM TIME.

Numerous couples appeared on the screen, many of them eventually giving in and kissing, all the while, kiss me more by Doja cat played in the background.

“Aww, they are soo adorable.” You squealed clapping your hands, looking at couples on the screen have the time of their lives.

But that was until you appeared on the screen…

With Yijoon…

Oh shit…

You crossed your hands indicating you and Yijoon are not together. Yijoon even tried pointing at Jungkook. But no matter what, the camera wouldn’t budge.

Now even the crowd started chanting, “ kiss kiss kiss….”

That was the end of it. That was the final straw for Jungkook. He pulled you in for a kiss. It was sweet and soft. Our lips were madly in love and married. It didn’t involve tongue. All that was involved was love and longing. Longing for each other.

You could hear the crowd cheering and clapping in the background. But that was all white noise. All that mattered in this moment was you and him. It was your moment.

You pulled away after some time, running short of breath. Your eyes met his.

“Your face is soo…..red. Are you fine?” Jungkook quickly made sure to check your temperature by placing his hand on your forehead.

“I’m fine.” To which he nodded. You could feel your face pulsating, adrenaline still in your veins making a run for it. Conclusion- you were blushing.

“Y/N, you should know you have good taste in men.” Yijoon whispered beside you.

[valentine-cafe]

Hi!!! Hope y'all had a nice thanksgiving day!

I came here because I've been feeling lore hungry and I've been wanting to ask this question!

Sooo! I wanted to know, how do Vespasiano and Alessio canonically interact?

We know they're family (Uncle and Nephew) but how do they interact? Does Vespasiano know of Alessio's job? Does he know of Rishen and Talisen? Are they on good terms since Vespasiano has a complicated relationship with Alessio's father? Is Vespasiano only family oriented to his kids or to all his family?

I've been thinking about this since his intro. So hopefully we'll get answers. Ofc tho, if this is exclusive to your guys upcoming book series then that's ok too! Just makes us look more forward to it! Have a good day/evening/night!

- 🌕

﹙ 🍒. ﹚ ─── hello darling ! howl and I do not celebrate but thank you regardless and happy thanksgiving to you!

also THAANNKKK YOUUU for the lore asks ough we love getting these kinds of asks so so much. we can tell you lots about vespasiano actually. I'll number your questions for simplicity's sake

what is vespasiano and alessio's relationship?vespasiano and alessio are very close. vesp met alessio when he was still a kid, but since valerio ( alessio's dad ) moved from italy to elritea and grew distant from his family, they sort of lost contact. alessio knew he had family in italy but his father would not talk of them. he would only meet vespasiano again in his late 30's when talisen and rishen surprised him with a trip to italy for his birthday ( he's always wanted to go but he's always been so busy with work and such ). alessio reconnects with the rest of his family because coincidentally the town that they go to is his family's home town! his grandmother, alessia, spots him and immediately drags him back to meet the rest of his family. vesp and alessio immediately hit it off because of their personalities. vespasiano is particularly fond of alessio because it's valerio's son ( for context, vespasiano and valerio were VERY close, they were often referred to as twins ). vesp is also the first ever person that alessio saw as a sort of fatherly figure. their interactions are typically marked by humour and fondness. vesp might look at him and see the little kid from way back then, but he also doesn't treat him as such. he's more than happy to share a smoke with him ( even joking about how alessio's cigarette choice is bullshit and he's gonna start mailing him his own brand ), or have long and deep talks with him. also looottts of dark jokes. after their meeting, vespasiano and alessio keep up with each other with calls and visits and whatever they can manage. alessio is arguably closer to vesp than anyone else in his family.

does vespasiano know about alessio's job? he does. as we know, vesp is apart of a special ops unit. during an operation involving elritea ( can't say too much because of spoilers ) he ran into alessio ( who was in his reaper alias ). this was before their remeeting in question one. but vespasiano immediately recognised moves from the reaper that were techniques that only he and his brother valerio created and mastered ( back when val was also in the special ops ). vesp and the reaper actually went toe to toe. vesp actually thought that the reaper was valerio, but he would very quickly discover it is not. ( SPOILERS CAN'T SAY MORE SORRY ) he pieces the puzzle together - and conveniently - the following month is when alessio would visit italy ( in the point above ). during his stay, vesp would confront alessio but assure him that his secret is safe with vesp. he even encourages him to keep doing what he's doing.

does vespasiano know about rishen and talisen? because of the point above and the meeting, yes - vesp knows about tal and rishen! he's quite fond of them too. although rishen does make his mind go blank with his unintentional scientific and nerdy talks. he's very amused that alessio is acquainted with a grim reaper too, as rainel ( the man that is a close friend to his mother and is most definitely romantically involved with her ) is a grim reaper too. so vesp knows allll about them.

are they on good terms even with vespasiano's complicated relationship with alessio's father? they are! vespasiano's strained relationship with valerio stems from valerio's dishonourable discharge from their unit. and a lot more factors. vesp misses his brother dearly but they haven't spoken in years

is vespasiano family orientated with the rest of his family? yes he is! with his brothers, his mother, his many nieces and nephews, in-laws - vespasiano is very close to his family in general! he's just that guy in the family that everyone loves.

oh god I rambled haha sorry!! but I hope this was sufficient enough PHEW this was nice ! lore questions my beloved. . .

[stagefoureddiediaz]

https://www.tumblr.com/stagefoureddiediaz/762753972313440256/now-convinced-that-ramon-used-to-have-a-stache-and?source=share

I actually love this idea, but it feels like it's delaying his coming out again😭 I don't want another sudden article popping up out of nowhere with Ryan saying Eddie is straight😅

(I'm feeling quite elated and calm after the episode, but I can sense a new spiral incoming soon, lol)

I very much doubt we’ll be seeing another one of those articles - Ryan has changed the way he talks about Eddie and relationships - he’s clearly stated he’s working on himself through 8a and has switched to gender neutral pronouns when referring to potential future romance.

The stache will be gone in episode 6 and in reality a massive chunk of Eddie’s ability to accept or confront (or whatever descriptor you want to use) his queerness stems from the Helena of it all - that is the part of Eddie’s queer journey that is going to be the most difficult, angsty and heart breaking. I say this because Eddie figuring out who he is without Chris is about Eddie figuring out who he is full stop - he was around 11 when he got pushed into this pseudo husband and father role by Helena - that’s. Th rage that you really truly begin to figure out who you are and that was denied to Eddie. So Chris is a small fraction of that Eddie figuring out who he is - he cannot figure out his queerness until he actually accepts Helena has messed him up and denied him the chance to become who he truly is. He is still in denial about it but I think hot priest and (hopefully) Maddie can help him with that.

Eddie going to church - trying to find it in religion but actually finding Hot priest - who in the same way he helped bobby see where the root of his issues were can help Eddie See Helena is the root of the problem.

Maddie can help him because she has a similar experience - she was denied much of her childhood and forced to grow up and look after Buck because her parents weren’t. For her that led to an abusive relationship whilst for Eddie it led to his continuing poor treatment and gaslighting by Helena and to the poor treamtment of Shannon. So she is ideally placed to help him with some of that really difficult stuff (they also parallled them in s5)

Once he’s recognised it and begun dealing with it it will take some time to untangle and process etc but it can be done in 6-7 episodes (they did his breakdown in fewer - technically 5 from point of actual breakdown) which then leads him into a queer arc for a few episodes and gets him to his coming out - however that looks - around the end of 8a - which is where most of us expected it to fall along with chris’s return (although early 8b also works for this) - with buddie canon in early 8b.

Basically the timeframe hasnt changed just the order in which he deals with things and the size I’ve the various aspects - mommy issues bigger chunk queer aspect small chunk because Eddie’s actually wrestling with the thing that prevented him from knowing and accepting his queerness rather than the being queer itself. It’s great representation if it plays out this way!

[alienducky]

Fire Emblem Three Houses Crochet Wyvern - attempt 1

I finally finished it! It's taken me since the end of March 2022 (on and off, I got sidetracked making Alligator Loki for a while) but my prototype wyvern is done

Wyvern is 123.5 inches / 10foot 3.5 inches / 313.69cm wingtip to wingtip, and 56 inches / 4 foot 6 inches / 142.24cm nose to tail tip, and roughly 6 lbs / 2.72 kg ish. So a chunky baby He was made out of aran weight yarn using a 5mm hook and for the most part is Tunisian knit stitch. His toes were done in Tunisian simple stitch, and I think I did his teeth in normal rounds?

And now I do a cut to save everyone's feeds from all the pictures I'm going to share ^_^

(For reference, here are two photos of the wyvern from in game)

First, a few more angles on wyvern, and then I'll point out things I want to change for the next one

He's a handsome lad, and very recognisable for what he's meant to be!

But he also could be improved. A lot

Example 1, I lined up wyverns nose and tail tip against the in game 3d model to see how close he was to being accurate. And, er. yeah.

To give myself credit, when I first started this back in March 2022, I was working out lengths and widths and general sizing from screenshots taken from examining units in Three Houses, where I traced the outline onto a sheet of paper to measure things and perspective makes things AWKWARD, ok? (As is having brain farts and not remembering that the ruler had metric on the other side of it, but shush, let's not mention that bit)

So the biggest thing to fix will be the scaling, if I can. I can definitely make the tail longer, the head shorter and thinner, the chest between the wings thinner, the wing sockets bulkier, and thanking all the stars, the wings get to be smaller too. By a LOT

The other major thing I want to do different/better is how the ridges along his back from nose to tail tip work.

While they do work on wyvern, they don't look as great as I think they potentially can? So I'm going to be doing double layers of crochet, sort of, to help give the sticky up bit of the overlapping ridges more definition, and hopefully make them look like the slightly thicker scaling they're meant to be. It'll also help to smooth them out, so they won't have the weird dips where I've joined one to the next

I'm going to do the wings differently too, because what I did with these ones was quite frankly awful? I cut each wing segment into individual pieces to then hem and flip inside out to over sew the visible edges, and then hemmed up the sides that went inside the struts to then sew the crocheted parts to the fabric. So the fabric was the cheese to the crochet bread in this awful, awful sandwich situation. I am also never, ever buying anything that is even vaguely silky or satiny or slippery ever again for anything

For the next one I'll keep the two pieces of wing fabric as one big piece, since the top and bottom of the wing membranes are actually slightly different colours if you look closely, but I'm going to cheat and use some of that iron on hemming tape stuff to fill the inside of the fabric after I've done all the outer hemming and over sewing so it'll kind of look like all the veins and stuff that the membranes have? So the fabric hopefully won't slip around so much, so will be easier to sew, and keeping it as one big piece means there's less change of me messing up the positioning of the struts on the panels because the wings on this one aren't equal despite my best efforts

Next is Claude's white wyvern, but it'll be made with DK yarn and either a 3.5 or 4mm hook, so it will (hopefully) come out significantly smaller than this one. And that one is going to get plastic boning/skeleton in it, so it'll be poseable!!!

[journey-to-the-attic]

3rd anni req 24: luke / outing

ao3 link

note: okay, so the original request did refer to a restaurant, but i was having trouble figuring out what to write for that setting, so i ended up swapping it - but the scenario still works as a silly little date as specified, so hopefully that's okay!

∎ ∎ ∎ ∎ ∎

“I still don’t get what we’re doing here.”

“You’ll understand as soon as you get in.”

“Are you sure you can’t come with me?”

“So many questions. Yes, I’m sure.” Lucifer sighs. “You’ll have company once you get inside. Call me once you’re finished.”

“...fine.” I huff, allowing him to push me through the door.

A bell rings, and Lucifer nods at me one final time before disappearing back out onto the street. I don’t even know where this is, but this looks like a reception, so I shuffle hesitantly to the demon at the front desk.

She looks up from a notepad as I approach, and offers a friendly smile. “Can I help you?”

My mind blanks. I think Lucifer told me what to say, but—

“IK!”

“Luke?”

“You took ages! I was getting worried.” He turns to the receptionist with a polite cough. “Oh, um, this is the friend I was talking about.”

“I see,” She says with the same smile as before, then indicates a door to her left. “Well, go ahead. Enjoy yourselves.”

“Thank you! IK, come on.”

“What’s going on?” I ask, bewildered, as we step into a finely carpeted hallway. “Is there a party or something?”

“It’s afternoon tea,” He says patiently - as if he’s reminding me of something I already know. “Did you forget?”

“I didn’t know there was anything to forget.”

“Lucifer didn’t tell you?”

“No?”

He stops walking. I do the same. We stare at each other for a moment.

Clearly something’s been lost in communication here. Was Lucifer meant to tell me? He certainly wasn’t acting like he intended to. He’s got to have set this up, right? It’s definitely not a coincidence that Asmo had a new tie for me this morning, either. Maybe everyone’s in on it…

“...well, never mind,” I say after a moment - Luke is beginning to look panicked. “Did you say afternoon tea?”

“Barbatos recommended it. I thought…” He trails off for a moment. “...well, I wanted to try the sweets. And I felt bad about the thing in Enchantments.”

I’d forgotten about that as soon as we left the classroom, to be honest. (I’m not one hundred percent sure I didn’t break something, but Simeon was so quick on the ball with his healing that I couldn’t tell.)

“I did tell you it was fine,” I say, indicating for him to start moving again. “But this is nice. You didn’t invite Simeon?”

“Oh, um… no.” He looks a little embarrassed. “He said he was busy.”

He indicates a door and ushers me into a dainty little parlour room. It’s opulent in a subtle sort of way; the decor is quaint, but it’s clear that whoever owns the place isn’t skimping on costs to keep the charm of the aesthetic up. I recognise those special ambient candles - Asmo uses them for photoshoots, and they definitely don’t come cheap.

One of the chairs is already pulled out, but despite the vast spread of sweets across the table, Luke clearly hasn’t touched anything yet. He shows me the catalogue of teas on offer - the names are so flowery that they all kind of melt together into an indistinguishable haze. Eventually I spot one that I recognise from Barbatos’s own collection, and quickly latch onto it.

“You’re really good at this,” Luke says happily as I pour him a cup. “Oh, wait!”

He leaps up, rounds the table, and quickly pulls out my chair for me with a little bow. “There. Like a gentleman does it.”

“Thanks,” I say with a laugh. “Did Barbatos teach you that?”

Luke returns to his seat, a little pink-cheeked. “Raphael, actually. Okay! Let’s try some of these cakes!”

The menu is extensive: a vast array of confections, iced in a colour wheel of hues, topped with everything from spun sugar to dried fruit to little edible figurines. There are some I recognise - Battenberg, castella, chiffon, babka - and even more that I don’t.

Most of them are rendered in miniature form, so that as many can be sampled as possible, with the exception of the house special. This one is a pure Devildom creation, though it looks to me a lot like a Swiss roll with an especially large, almost dizzying swirl. It feels like I’ll fall into it if I stare too long…

“Look at the rise on that,” Luke says in awe, holding up one of the ones I don’t recognise. “They’re so teeny, but they look absolutely perfect. Mm! It’s not sour at all, either! Mine always come out too tart.”

“Hey, I know this one.” I pick out a little rectangular one with layers of puff pastry. “This guy’s French. I think it’s called mille-feuille.”

“Mille-feuille,” Luke repeats, then giggles. “That’s fun, isn’t it? Mille-feuille.”

“A lot of these are French, actually,” I ponder, pointing at several in quick succession. “Eclairs, macarons, and… well, we call those French fancies, but I don’t think they actually are. You call all these petits fours.”

“Petits fours,” He copies, then draws out the vowels a bit more. “Petits fours.”

“Petits fours,” I agree.

“Petits fours...”

We pass the words back and forth, making it a little more French each time, until the consonants completely disappear and we’re practically just cawing at each other, and finally reduce ourselves to laughter.

“You’re good!” I manage once we’ve calmed down enough. “Your French is really good!”

“Is it?” He takes a few deep breaths and grins helplessly across the table. “I was just copying you.”

“You do it better than I do, I reckon. Whew…” I compose myself with a sip of tea. “And you don’t even have France in the Celestial Realm. Actually, the Devildom doesn’t, either, so what’re all these French sweets doing here?”

“Maybe they’re just that good! Actually, even in the Celestial Realm, human-world sweets are even more popular than our traditional ones.”

“The French do really know how to bake. It might the second best thing they do. After revolution.”

“Revolution?”

“And chopping people’s heads off.”

“What?”

“Did I never tell you about the guillotines?”

I wouldn’t have blamed him for asking me to stop (we’re eating, after all), but Luke listens to the whole history lesson with starry-eyed fascination, and it doesn’t stop him from sampling a mini madeleine and two financiers while he’s listening. Morbid history is much more Belphie’s thing, but Luke asks questions even he hadn’t thought of - like how long the heads stayed ‘awake’ for after they were cut off, which is possibly the most unsettling way he could have phrased it.

A year or so ago, I don’t think he could’ve gotten past de Launay’s head being on a pike. I don’t think I could’ve identified nearly as many of the cakes laid out in front of us, either. (Now that I think about it, it’s a shame there isn’t any angel cake.) Clearly we’ve had very different effects on each other.

Once I’ve exhausted about as much of the history lesson as I can recall, it’s Luke’s turn to tell me about the time a seraph, pursued by some heavenly equivalent of a polar bear, crossed the entire Celestial Realm thrice over in a trial of justice and courage. Though the point seems to be more about the spectacle - and it sounds more like the seraph Uriel just did it for fun. A trial of courage probably doesn’t involve pole-vaulting over a perfectly level field.

Somehow, no matter how long we talk, the sweets never get sickly, for all there are so many of them. I really must have learnt something from Barbatos; something about the occasional sip of tea stops the cakes from getting too cloyingly sweet. Still, eventually we’ve both had enough for the day.

I can’t say I’m not worried about all the sugar - but somehow I don’t feel the buzz as we keep talking, either. Maybe it’s cancelling out, somehow. It’s easy to keep up the energy with such good company.

Luke excuses himself to go ask for something, and it’s only once the room is silent that I realise how much time we’ve whiled away. I decide to shoot Lucifer a message - because he likes to fret about timings, even if he denies it - just to let him know that we’re still doing fine.

As soon as I press send, there’s a muffled musical note from somewhere suspiciously close by. I pause, then turn around. There’s a large potted plant blocking the window from the direct view of the table.

I narrow my eyes. Then I get up, round the table, side-step aside the potted plant, look out through the window - and make direct eye contact with Simeon.

He, at least, has the grace to look embarrassed. Lucifer, standing plainly beside him, does not; he just raises an eyebrow at me and jerks his head, as if to say ‘continue’.

I don’t know whether or not to be annoyed at him. Actually, I still don’t know why he made such a performance of getting me here in the first place. ‘Do you want to go to a sweets parlour with Luke?’ would have been a perfectly fine way to set it up. Did he think the fancy hotel would intimidate me too much?

Luke isn’t back yet. I unfasten the latch and open the window, half-expecting them both to disappear, then hiss, “I thought you were busy.”

Simeon smiles sheepishly. “I wanted to make sure things were going well.”

“Have you been here the whole time?”

“Oh, no, just for a few minutes. There’s a little cafe just out front. We were having coffee…”

“And spying on us.”

He winces a little. “That’s a strong word.”

I turn to Lucifer, who still doesn’t look as if he thinks he’s done anything wrong. “Why wouldn’t you tell me what was going on?”

“I thought it might spoil the surprise,” He says lightly. “Well? Are you having fun? Is Luke behaving himself?”

Simeon shoots him a look. “Of course he is."

“I’m afraid I wasn’t asking you.”

“We’re having fun,” I interject, exasperated. “Lucifer, behave.”

He quirks a brow and folds his arms. “That’s an odd way to speak to the demon who’s paying for this.”

“Don’t listen to him, IK,” Simeon says. “We agreed to split the bill.”

“If you’re so quick to make corrections, perhaps you should pay for the whole—”

“Okay, that’s enough,” I announce. “Go do something fun, alright? I’ll save you some cake.”

I shut the window (Simeon waves a little meekly), then draw both the blinds and the thick velvety curtains for good measure. To be honest, without magic, there’s very little I could do about them eavesdropping if they really wanted to, but it’s better for all of us if they just listen.

I’d better light some more of these candles, too. It’s kind of dark in here now.

Luke returns just as I’m done doing that. He shuts the door behind him, then pauses. “...what’s this?”

“There, uh… there were a lot of people walking by the window.” He might start panicking if I told him the truth. Or, worse, get mad, and storm off to chew Simeon out. “It was kind of dark, so…”

“Oh! Right.” He coughs and comes further into the room. He seems a little flushed. “Ahem, anyway, I asked, and all the cakes come with the package, so we can take the ones we don’t finish home. I got some bags from the front desk - they’re really cute.

“Alright… are we leaving?”

“Well, we don’t have to. The lady at the desk said the room wasn’t booked for the rest of the afternoon. I was just thinking…”

“I could put on a bit more tea,” I suggest. “Barbatos says the neptune-blue is good for talking after sweets. If you’re not sick of me, I mean.”

He beams. “Come on, I could never get sick of you. Yeah, let’s stay a little longer!”

[mysticum-draconis]

Quick Aziraphale sketch I did in February.

Naturally I picked the harder of the two to draw first (that fluffy hair was MURDER, let me tell you!). He looks nothing like the reference, but at least he’s recognisable.

I probably should have posted this during Ineffable May, but my mind was in the void that entire month, so you can have him now! I guess Pride Month is a good time to post Good Omens stuff too 🏳️‍🌈

He’s been needing a Crowley sketch to keep him company for a while now, hopefully I’ll grant his wish soon 😅

Please don’t use or post on other websites without credit or permission, thanks 🙏

[devondespresso]

Since We're Alive Now

T | 5843 words | also on ao3 (soon) | cw: referenced/implied self-image issues, swearing, brief references to physical injury, strong self criticism, and canon typical tone in some areas but with happy ending

April Fools from the @strangerthingswritersguild !! This fic is for @medusapelagia sorry its a littttttle late, I hope the extra 2k to the word count makes up for it dgaskdgkjhdkla

I picked the prompt "platonic hellcheer: fixing their hair", hopefully its the one you gave me or if not, i hope you at least enjoy this instead! 💕

_

Chrissy walked towards the hospital doors with her pink pocketbook in one hand and the black guitar case in the other. A man on his way out noticed her and held the door, and she hurried to catch up with a polite thanks. He nodded, distracted, looking once at the state of her appearance, twice at the guitar case with her. She ducked into the lobby and pretended not to notice.

Chrissy sped up to the reception desk and asked the lady there for a visitor’s pass, smiling like she wasn’t bothered by the stress acne dotting her forehead and cheeks and chin, like she didn’t know her hair looked terrible, unwashed and unbrushed. Severely unkept, without a good mirror to glance at before entering a room full of strangers that’d easily recognise her from photos on the news. 

The woman looked at Chrissy, with an extra loaded glance to the guitar case, then looked down at her computer. 

Chrissy moved her pocketbook over to also be held by the guitar case hand, then brought up her freed hand to check her watch.

“I’m very sorry, but visiting hours are closed for Mr. Munson. You can try again tomorrow, sweetie.”

Chrissy looked up at the lady sitting and looking back at her with a sugary sweet authority. 

Chrissy checked her watch, and, yeah, she got the time right.

“Tomorrow, Miss Cunningham.” she smiled.

She checked the watch one more time, just to be sure she was right.

“What time tomorrow?”

“The visiting hours listed on the board for non-family members of special patents, now, Miss Cunningham, I’m very sorry, but there is a line.”

Chrissy looked across the room at the bulletin board, then back towards the two people behind her. She apologized to the people behind her, and slipped out of line towards the board. 

She set the case gently on the chairs lined up along the wall, keeping it close and still on the chairs in front of her, and searched the board for the hours.

Special patients… special patients… none of them said “special”. There were no new lists either, but there was a new-ish note, just to the side of the regular described hours. 

‘During these uncertain times, staff reserve the right to limit visitation for the protection of patients or their visitors. We thank you for your understanding.’

Chrissy stared at the note, reading it again to be sure.

‘uncertain times… limit visitation… protection of patients or their visitors.’

A bunch of freaking bull.

Chrissy huffed and leaned away from the bulletin board, glaring at the desk for a second before looking back at the guitar case on the seats.

She picked it back up gently, not wanting it hitting against anything despite the outside being scuffed to hell and back already, and looked back around the room for another way. 

She wandered closer to the other end of the reception desk, and on the back wall, among photos and other nurses celebrating long careers at the hospital, was a name Chrissy recognized.

Margret Briggs, and very likely Robin's infamous “second favorite person on the planet”: Miss Maggie. 

Chrissy went up to a different receptionist and politely got her attention.

“Excuse me, sorry, is Miss Maggie working today? I'm friends with Robin Buckley, she mentioned–”

“Oh, you just missed her– give me one second, sugar.” The receptionist got up and went straight to a door behind the counter, opening it to lean inside and yell, “Hey, Maggie! One of your demon children is in here!”

Chrissy startled a laugh, and the receptionist shared a playful smile. Miss Maggie came out the door a few seconds later.

“Friend of Buckley,” The receptionist hummed with a playful jab, “This one's all your's Maggie.” 

“I think you mean ‘thank you Maggie’.” Miss Maggie said, then waved Chrissy over to the very end of the reception desk, meeting at the little employee doors attached to the counter.

“Hey, doll. Christine, right?” hummed, seemingly unfazed that they'd never met before. 

“Chrissy, yeah, I– um… Has something happened to Eddie Munson? He’s not getting worse or anything, right?”

“Not that I know of– I’m not in charge of any of his charts but…” She threw a loaded glance at the far side of the reception desk, then back to Chrissy. “But I’ll check for you real quick.”

She dipped back behind the counter and to one of the unattended computers.

“Thank you,” she sighed, “He mentioned they were still keeping him for a while. For observation or something, but I figured that meant he'd still be, I don't know, relatively stable?”  

“Every now and then we get patients the state wants to oversee, they don’t give us much good reason but it doesn’t hurt anything… The paperwork is a pain in the ass, but that’s nothing to do with the patient–” she paused, caught reading something on the screen. “Munson’s fine. I've got a note about some kind of incident with a visitor, though.” 

She read it again with careful confusion, then stood up, “Looks like nothing serious, friends’ spat, but there's no way they mistake you for him.” She looked up from the computer and over again at the reception desk. “Did you come find me first, doll?”

“Um, no, I tried the front, and she said visiting hours were closed. Normally I never had any trouble…” 

Miss Maggie’s face soured for a second, then she shrugged. “Well, at least that's an easy fix, then.”

She leaned over to grab a blank visitor's pass and began writing, asking Chrissy a couple questions to fill it out. She finished with a loopy signature and handed the pass to her. Chrissy moved her pocketbook over to the same hand as the guitar again, and took the pass.

“Thank you so much, I…”

“Not a problem, doll, you always come ask for me if you need something. It's a lot easier to help you kids when you aren't making a scene.” she laughed.

Chrissy smiled and thanked her again, waving to her and the receptionist before heading down Eddie's hall.

Chrissy reached the room and knocked on the door.

“No vacancy.” Eddie’s muffled voice said from the other side, and Chrissy huffed before opening and leaning in through the door.

“You sure there isn’t room for one more?”

“Heeeey, Chris!” he yelled, stretching out the word and throwing in the nickname like they’d known each other for way longer than a month or so. “Hey, you’re hair’s down, looks great.”

“Yeah, didn’t feel like doing it today.” She said at a more reasonable volume, but she still couldn’t help the huge smile tugging at her cheeks. She ducked into the room and closed the door behind her, only to turn back and find Eddie now sitting up properly with a deathgrip on the bed rails.

“Chrissy.” Eddie said, staring at the case before looking up at her face. “Did you go back?”

“You wanted your guitar, right?” she said, walking over to the other side of the room to put it away.

“Yeah, I asked Nancy to grab it, next time she was in the area, specifically because she wouldn’t have something making that a completely miserable visit.”

Chrissy set it down, holding back an eye-roll and sealing her mouth shut.

“I also told her it could wait if something came up–”

“Well something did,” she said, keeping her voice light, “Steve’s bites flared up and Nancy wanted to check in, so I told her I’d get it.”

“Then it could’ve waited, Chris.” he sighed, “No one’s robbing the half-broken satanist’s dumpster–”

“Maybe there's a chance I actually wanted to go.” she snapped, then paused and took a breath. She picked up a chair and dragged it over to the side of the bed. “Your trailer is– I don't know, nice to me. I told Nancy I'd get it, like, hours ago, and now I'm here before visiting hours are up.”

Eddie watched as she sat down, got that look on his face where you could tell he was thinking but couldn’t guess what. She looked back, and he nodded.

“Well, thanks, Chris.” he said quietly, dropping back to the half-up position of the hospital bed and looking back at his guitar. “Nice to have her back in the room with me again.” he smiled.

“She complained the whole way, y’know, you’re going to have to make it up to her.”

“Oh, I am, aren’t I?” he sighed, with convincing fake exasperation that was broken towards the end with a smile. “Most metal concert in the world and I couldn’t even use the real version of her.”

“Looks like you’ll just have to play it again.”

Eddie glanced over at her, sad for a second before turning back. “Yeah, probably should. Make better memories and all that recovery shit.”

“You should get the rest of Corroded Coffin in on it.” she said, resting her elbows on the bed. “Can’t be the most metal without them, too.”

“Christopher, you wound me.” he ‘gasped’, hand on his chest like clutching pearls, and had he not been sternly advised to rest Chrissy assumed he’d be halfway across the room right now. “Am I alone not metal enough to have that title?”

“Are you not more powerful with Jeff and Grant by your side?” she mused along, imitating his silly accent.

“I knew it, you like Jeff more than me!” he cried, flopping over to one side with the back of his hand over his temple.

Chrissy snorted and hummed a vague agreement.

“Scandalized, betrayed– the ultimate betrayal! The greatest betrayal known to man or woman!” He continued, flopping over to the other side, other hand doing the same pose, “By my best friend no less! And also by Chrissy!”

“You jerk.” she laughed, and laid her head down on her arms pillowed below her.

“Alright, I hear your pleas.” Eddie continued, dropping the arm and looking at her over-earnestly, “You can regain your title by admitting that I’m the most metal… twenty-year-old super-super senior with interdimensional bat bites that you’ve ever met.”

“Deal.” Chrissy laughed, “But a metalhead still belongs with his metal band.”

“Of course. Every good metal band needs someone vaguely louder and charged with murder.”

“And with long hair, of course.”

“Yes, exactly, poor Gareth’s at least a year or two away from anything like this.” he preened, “If one of the nurses doesn't chop it all off before then. Mrs. Mitchell called it a rat’s nest, and I don't really have a mirror here but I don't think she's that far off.” he laughed, fiddling with the end of a curl escaping over his shoulder. Chrissy’s gaze followed the strand up to the rest of the hair, and while, yeah, there was a mess of strands outside of their curls that tied into a matted mess, a lot of what the nurse called a ‘rats nest’ was just frizz. And untamed was not the same as irreparable.

“I can brush it real quick.” she hummed.

“Thought you said you didn’t wanna do hair today?”

“I didn’t want to do my hair.” she corrected, pulling a strand of hair down out in front of her face, twirling it  “I kind of just… didn’t want to think about how I look.” She let it fall onto her face, then tucked it back again.

Eddie hummed and sunk down in the bed, hair bunching up across the bed and actively making the ‘rat’s nest’ look worse.

“Yeah, that's okay.” he muttered, then continued, “You don’t exactly brush out curly hair anyway, but thanks for offering, Chris. I’ll probably just have to buzz it again and start over. Or start back at an ugly ass bob.” he laughed, cynically.

“Or,” she said, sitting up to prove she's serious. “You could just let me try to get some tangles out first, because it's really not that bad.”

“Chris, seriously, it’s a mess. Don’t waste your time.”

“It’s never a waste of time.” she said, getting up to find the bag of hygiene stuff in the corner.

“Chris–”

“Ah ah ah, let me explain myself.” 

Chrissy dug out a wide comb and then a small compact mirror from her purse before running back to the bed. She held out the mirror and leaned over next to him, pointing the mirror so they’d both be able to see.

“Chris…”

“Hold the mirror.”

Eddie reluctantly held the little compact mirror, much lower to be easier on his body, and pointed it at his face.

“Pretty sight, isn’t it.” he said sarcastically.

“Yup.” Chrissy said earnestly, pulling a bundle of hair out in front and combing through it with her fingers, and hoped Eddie would use her mirror to let himself see it, “It’s just a little tangled down here, I can work through that part for you, and the rest of this–” she combed through the dense fuzz gathering around the shape of the curls like a glow, “This is just extra frizzy from everything. It's like half the amount of tangles the nurse was thinking, just chopping it would be overkill even if it was that bad.”

“Okay, well if I've got a personal stylist, then.” he joked, snapping the compact closed and handing it back, “But only if I can return the favor.”

“Sure.” she smiled, “But you first, scoot over.”

Eddie nodded, taking the arm she offered for assistance in moving. “So on a scale of one to ten how close is this to a classic slumber party?”

“About a seven.”

“Oh, only a seven? What are we missing?”

She laughed and thought about it as she sat on the bed behind him. “Mm, we could use some music. Madonna, The Go-Gos, Cyndi Lauper, all your favorites.”

“Mhm, you know me so well.” He grumbled, playing annoyed.

Chrissy separated out a section of hair and started working through knots gently with her fingers. Eddie did his best to keep still, head only turning slightly, probably without realizing, as he looked around the room thinking of something to do. Not nervous, just allergic to being perfectly still.

“Your book’s on the table back here, if you're looking for it.”

Eddie only hummed so she could know he heard her. 

It stayed quiet for a few more moments.

“How’d–”

He shifted slightly to sit differently, and a few strands of hair stayed caught in her hand and got pulled. On reflex he went to touch the spot that hurt, but his bigger injuries stopped him halfway.

“Sorry–”

“Its fine, my bad.” he huffed, then, purposely casual, “How’d it go with Carver?”

Chrissy shrugged. “I mean… he’s taking it better than I expected, I guess.”

“Not freaking out?”

“Nothing like that,” she hummed, “He was still upset in the beginning, kept trying to come up with excuses for me, ironically.”

Eddie hummed to show he was listening.

“So I told him even if none of this happened, I couldn’t stay with someone who wouldn’t listen to what I had to say about it all. And now he’s just… quiet, I think.”

Eddie turned his head slightly to talk to her. “Quiet as in he stopped the conversation? Or stopped talking to you… at all?”

“He still talks to people, and me, if we have anything to talk about, but he’s… lost in thought, I guess, most of the time. Unless there's some special reason to get happy.”

“Huh.” he said, leaning over in a thinking position, forgetting he was supposed to stay still.

Chrissy set the comb down on the bed beside her.

“Yeah, it’s pretty strange. He was always so expressive even before we got together, and I know some of the distance is normal breakup stuff, but since talking with me… it’s like there’s something… actually wrong.”

Eddie shook his head. “I think he’s thinking. Nothing wrong with him, not that you did, or– You did it, but not…” Eddie paused for another second to get his speech straight, then sat back up and turned to her. “He’s thinking about everything. What he did, and what it means now. Now that he can’t tell himself it’s what you would’ve wanted. And if the bastard's lucky–” he cringed right after he said it, then recovered with a breath. “If we’re lucky, he’s questioning what he wants to believe about other people, now that you’re more person than what he was expecting.”

Chrissy nodded, and gestured back to his hair.

“Right, sorry.” he said, sitting straight again.

“You’re fine.” she hummed. “That’s good, then, if he really is thinking things through. He never seemed like the type of person to want to hurt anyone.”

“Yeah, turns out you can’t really judge someone until the world is ending.”

“It’s not that. You can’t judge someone under that kind of pressure.” she said, gently pulling excess strands out of a particularly big knot.  “It’s more like… he has what it takes to do good, and he just… didn’t. I don’t know, maybe I didn’t know him well enough, but I’d like to think he’s going to get better.”

“Lovely optimism, but I wouldn't hold your breath.”

“Maybe, maybe not.” 

Eddie shrugged, and it was quiet for a good few moments before Eddie started talking again.

“I’d imagine as far as breakups go, this one’s gotta be one of the wildest rides.” he said, and Chrissy could hear the stupid grin he had to be wearing.

“Yeah, it hasn’t exactly been the fairytale romance he was hoping for.”

“God, yeah, he’d probably have a better time in a fucking Shakespearean tragedy. Like, imagine how bad you gotta screw up for your ex to start shooting the shit with the murder suspect.”

Chrissy cracked a smile. “Excuse you, I am willingly shooting the shit with a loud fantasy-loving dork.”

“Augh, you wound me, Christine!” he yelled, throwing his head back, throwing a limp wrist up over his forehead again.

She burst out into a real laugh and pushed him back into place again. “I might for real if you don’t sit still.”

“Again with you and your ruthless betrayals.” he joked, sitting back up again. “Are you this cruel with all your clients?”

“No, only the girls at the slumber party who do too much boy talk.”

“Oh my god, what jackass brings up boyfriends at a slumber party?”

“If you find him, let me know.”

Eddie straightened up, arm coming up as far as he could go in and attempted a mock salute. “When I find the culprit, dear lady, he shall be banished!”

She giggled at his antics, gently parting his hair into two fluffy sections. “Not banished. I just need to let him know his hair’s all set.” Then she tossed both halves of his brushed hair over his shoulder for him to see.

“Holy shit, are you sure this is better?” He laughed, patting the frizz down.

“It's not matted, that’s all I promised.”

“You’ve tricked me, this was your grand scheme! You lured me in with your fabulous looks and promises of detangling, only to trap me in a deal, all to get me to do your hair!”

“Oh yes, it was my plan all along!” she mused with him, getting off the bed to grab her pocketbook.

Chrissy dug around until she found the small hairbrush she kept in there. It wasn’t exactly the best tool, but it’d be enough.

They settled back onto the bed, Eddie sitting more comfortably by the head of the bed, legs folded in so Chrissy could sit close enough in front. Eddie took the pocket hairbrush and a section of her hair and started working through the few tangles gently.

It stayed peacefully quiet for a good few minutes as he focused on not pulling any hair. Then, when there was more smooth hair than knots and he seemed more confident that he wouldn’t hurt her, he started talking.

“If bringing up a guy again won’t get me banished…”

“Of course it won’t.” she laughed, turning slightly to give him her attention.

But he stayed quiet, brushing her hair like he hadn’t heard her.

“It’s a staple of slumber parties, actually,” she continued, less energetic but just as soft, “Madonna, boy talk, and just… regular talk. Secrets, if we want to.”

Eddie hummed, and stayed quiet a second longer.

“Did… have you talked with Harrington lately?” 

“Yeah, he’s okay, said he was taking it easier after the flare up as a precaution.”

Eddie hummed absently, stuck in a thought as he ran the brush needlessly through untangled hair, like either he hadn’t thought to stop or wanted to pretend he didn’t.

“Has anyone told you about me? What kind of person I am?”

“I don’t think so?” She turned around, “You’re talking about our friends? Not assholes that don’t know you?” 

“No, yeah, definitely– definitely people that know me.” he laughed, cynically.

“Who’s talking shit about you?”

“Nobody’s talking–”

“You’re saying it like you're waiting for someone to drop some dirt on you!”

“I’ve got the dirt on me!” he yelled, then took a breath and lowered his voice. “Harrington just figured me out. And it pissed him off.”

Chrissy searched his expression for any more context, but Eddie was too busy sifting through it himself to leave any to share. Chrissy put a hand on his knee, and waited.

He shook his head and looked away.

“I’m a hypocrite.” he said, then looked up and away to continue with a mocking melody. “The goon that talks himself up as something more honorable than he is, could even dream of being. A spineless rat wearing purpose like a costume.” His wide cynical smile slowly shut and clamped down into a pressed frown. “That sort of thing.”

“Did he say that?”

“No.” Eddie finally looked at her again, all fronts of humor lost. “During that whole fucked-up adventure, alternate dimensions and evil wizards and shit, I learned about myself, that I'm a coward at best. And at worst? I’m a delusional coward playing hero to make myself feel better.”

Finishing his declaration with a concrete certainty. Like he had it all figured out. Like the picture he painted looked anything like him. Like she wouldn’t have slapped him sick for saying that about anyone else.

“So now you know. He doesn’t strike me as a gossip, but, uh… I'd rather you hear it from me. I am nothing if not honest about it now.” he picked up the hairbrush again, gesturing for her to turn around so he could ‘finish’ brushing her hair. 

Chrissy turned around again, folding her knees in crisscrossed, and making sure to look at the blank wall across from them.

“So he didn’t tell you that, you decided it. And Steve got mad that you said it.”

“He made me realize it all. He was just mad at my stupid decisions.” Eddie continued, relaxing as he wove his story to the empty room, but still not loud enough to reach anyone else. “I was dropped into a real-life quest, and with real shit on the line, I realized all I think to do is run. I told him, in the middle of it, I didn’t know why– I thought I’d accepted it. So I could go ahead and fix myself before it cost us anything.”

Chrissy could feel the bed shift as he moved to sit another way again, set the hairbrush he was using on the bed beside her. 

“But I hadn’t, I just wanted… I wanted to prove it wasn’t there. And he had to have known, he told me not to– but I saw my chance and I took it anyway. 

“You mean the bats.” 

“I mean jumping into a volcano so I could be a martyr.”

“Buying time for Dustin and the others.”

She waited for his response, but he said nothing, and brushed at the ends of her hair. 

Chrissy kept her gaze on the wall in front of her, tracing the designs of the wallpaper so she wouldn’t turn around. “You couldn’t know how necessary it was in the moment. You might’ve been the only reason it worked."

“That’s not the point.”

“Then what is it?”

“That I didn’t want to survive!” he yelled again, then the brush hit the hospital floor. “My body did but my mind wanted to be a hero, wanted to be Obi-wan, Aragorn, Kas, anybody that wasn’t too scared to help, pulled along for the ride because I was in the wrong place at the wrong time, with nothing to add to the group of heroes.”

Quiet rang out behind her, and Chrissy made sure to keep her gaze stuck to the wall against her desire to look and understand. Instead, she slid a hand out behind her, palm up as an offer, and Eddie took it, cold hand taking hers quietly.

“You’re being too hard on yourself–” 

“I nearly killed myself trying to be something I’m not! And isn’t that fucking pathetic? To try and die to be like a storybook hero– I would’ve been fine if all that storybook shit was a bunch of bull, I could’ve watched the world be more depressing than fantasy, but–” he sighed, his voice starting to shake, “But he’s real. Dragged my sorry ass out of hell and doesn’t even have the decency to be a real dick about it. I just–”

He cut himself off with a big breath. Chrissy squeezed his hand, and he huffed, maybe sad, or maybe a laugh. It was quiet for a second more, and then a weight eased onto her shoulder. She looked over slightly to find Eddie resting the crown of his head against her sweater, and he took a a weak inhale to steady his voice.

“Since, like, second grade I imagined that, yeah, if I were faced with an evil wizard, or an army of minions, or whatever fantasy shit I could play as– I was sure I’d be the type to stand up and fight it, because I knew fear, I knew strategy and combat better than any asshole on the basketball team, and once Hellfire started to be more freshman than anything I figured I’d be the Aragorn to the Hobbits– but now that it’s happened? Playing is the only thing I seem to know how to do. When I wasn’t running for my damn life, I was playing shit like a game, picked the piece I wanted without telling anyone, and then got surprised when life doesn't work like that, and the party already had its hero.”

“And he knows. He can fucking smell it on me, maybe they all can. That i wanted that role so bad i missed the fucking point of it. And now that I’ve accepted it, actually accepted it… I don’t know what to do anymore. I can’t lie to the guys, to Dustin, keep playing some kind of bravery now that I know it’s all bull– I can’t host a campaign for Dustin if he knows the kind of person I am when that shit is real, every round of combat he’d know what a hypocrite I am. Maybe I should just stop–”

“Hey, hey,” she turned around, too fast and so uncoordinated that she nearly hit his leg, and she lowered her voice to a whisper. “I’m stopping you there.” 

“If you had seen me, Chris, you’d believe me.” he muttered back, matching her volume, “Probably wouldn’t hate me, I don’t really know if you… do that shit.” He cracked a smile, almost like a little laugh at the awkward wording.

“Well, even if I was humanly capable of hating people, because hate is such a strong word,” she smiled, leaning into the joke, and Eddie huffed, “I still don’t think I’d hate you for this.”

“That is probably… the most Chrissy answer possible.” he laughed again and wiped at his face.

“Yeah, maybe…” She let out a deep breath, “You want to know what I think?”

Eddie hesitated, sulking and thinking for a few moments, then shrugged. “Yeah. Color me curious.”

Chrissy nodded and took a moment to put her thoughts together. Because she could give a good pap-talk, could find something nice to say about every girl in her squad, but Eddie would immediately be able to tell if she tried a pep-talk, and he’d hate it. So Chrissy spoke slowly.

“I think… you’ve taken a picture of yourself, and you’re treating it like a mirror.”

Eddie looked up, eyes questioning for a second before opening his mouth to ask, for good reason, because pictures and mirrors were a Chrissy problem, because Eddie used that metaphor not even a week ago with her. But Chrissy held up a hand between them, asking for just another second to explain further, because Eddie didn't have the pictures or mirrors specifically, but metaphors and analogies were an Eddie language.

“You have a picture of yourself… and it’s real– and other people can see it, if you show it to them. It's a picture, not a painting– But it’s one picture, and you’ve stared at it too long–”

Eddie caught the connection but didn't like it, leaning out of the conversation with a huff, looking off to the side, far away from her face, with well-restrained frustration.

Chrissy grabbed his shirt and pulled him back over, making sure he’d look her in the eye.

“You stare at it too long, because someone back down the line told you you had to,” she gritted out, “That if you just stare at these pictures hard enough, you'll finally figure out what everyone else sees, and you’ll finally find what’s wrong with you.” 

Eddie didn’t look away but she clearly hit a nerve, so Chrissy dropped her hand, softened her tone.

“Because if you can find what’s wrong with you, you can fix it, and then you’ll be happy. Or… better. Or deserving– whatever it is. But it’s a picture. And even if it’s showing you everything as it is, even if you're right about everything you’re seeing, it's just one side of you, and it could never capture all that you are.”

Eddie sat and stared at her, expression guarded, but only in that way that you couldn't control. The urge to stay unbothered or undecided as you thought, to pause the moment so you could take in everything and breathe.

Eddie nodded, barely there, just a slight move on an inhale. His eyes flicked back and forth between her and the walls before his face soured, slightly to keep that same guard up, and he ducked his head down into both hands, a curtain of frizzy hair covering his face. 

Chrissy waited for a second, but he didn’t move. So she set a hand out on the bed in front of him, and he shifted one hand free from propping himself up, grabbing hers on the bed and holding on.

“The people that love you most will always see more than a picture of you. How you look when you’re doing things that you love, how you help people that are lost in their worst nightmares.” She smiled, the memory both sweet and sad, “I remember thinking– with everything going on, the one thing I remember best when I first really talked to you? Was how bright you are.”

Chrissy smiled, looking down, and brushed her thumb absently against the big chrome rings adorning the hand still holding hers.

“You've got the whole… all black, tough guy, stomping on tables, big denim and leather but when you take that off you're just… so bright. You know you're a lighthouse but you're also a candle, keeping the light around when the powers gone out. You couldn't know what was going on with me, but you knew there was something, and you cared enough to make me laugh in spite of it, just by being yourself. You don’t know how to take down the evil wizards or fight an army of monsters because a group of heroes is not who you fight for. And to be useful to someone else’s story was never what made people love you.”

Chrissy paused for a breath or two, then lowered the crown of her head to rest on top of his.

“If I had died, my last wish would've been to go back to your trailer’s living room. Or that bench beyond the field, or to sit at the lunch table full of people that you make an escape for, whatever place that'd bring me back to that glowing life in you. And if you can’t see how beautiful you are, I’ll be your eyes until you do.”

Eddie kept a death grip on her hand, a grip she tried to match, and a tear or two ran down her face. She wiped them away with her one free hand, and with her other she loosened her grip, then moved the thumb side to side, softly brushing against the skin on the back of his hand.

“Cheater.” Eddie mumbled to the bed, voice raw and quiet. “S’plagiarism. Half your damn speech.”

She huffed lightly at his joke, and smiled. “Well, I still mean it.”

“Of course you do.” he whispered, then shifted his head a bit. Chrissy sat up straighter again to give him space to move, but he didn't shift again.

Eddie's thumb started tracing the back of her hand, repeating the motion she unconsciously stopped. Chrissy started it again, and put her head back on top of Eddie's.

“I don't think plagiarism is the right word. Maybe inspiration.”

Eddie laughed.

“Yeah, y’pulled calling a grown-ass man ‘beautiful’ out of thin air.”

“What, do you not think you're pretty, Munson?” she challenged, ducking her head down to try and peer through his hair. 

“Oh, I'm just ‘pretty’ now?”

Chrissy bursted out laughing, and Eddie shot up, pushing back some of his hair to play into the theatrics even more.

“What happened to ‘beautiful’, Chrissington, hm?”

“You know what I mean–” she giggled.

“No, no, I see how it is–”

“You're beauuuuuutiful~~”

“Noooooope.”

“Gooooorgeous~~”

“You're flattery cannot convince me–”

“Ooo, ravishing!!”

“Oh my god–” he made a dumb gagging sound, sticking out his tongue and everything.

“Oh, that's where we draw the line.”

“Yes, god, never say that about me again.”

“Ravishing~~”

“NOPE!” He yelled, slapping hands over his ears, “Can't hear you!”

“Don't yell!” she hissed through another huge smile.

“WHAT? I CAN'T–”

“Stoooop,” she pulled his hands off his head with a laugh, “You’re going to get me kicked out.”

“Oh, sorry, forgot breaking the rules was a fate worse than death.”

“Stolen metaphors aside,” she said, coming back down from the chaos, “You’ll trust me on this, right?”

Eddie considered, catching his breath, residual joy and tears both lingering on his face. 

“Y’know, instinct says not to, but…” he hummed, then cracked a small smile, “Flattery works incredibly well with me, so I’ll take your word on it.”