#i didn't think the card made as much since to play if the jumps couldn't go on any skaters

[tsarinajissa]

My last bit of worlds inspired craziness over the past week I'm going to post: an Amber Glenn magic the gathering card which I'm going to try to give to Amber (since she enjoys MtG).

[ageingfangirl2]

Imagine Being Bonten's Receptionist (Bonten x F Reader) - Tokyo Revengers

PART 1: FIRST DAY/INTRODUCTIONS

TWO THREE FOUR FIVE SIX SEVEN EIGHT NINE TEN ELEVEN TWELVE

Bonten is Tokyo's most notorious crime syndicate but has an office like any respectable business. even if it was a front. Each member had an office, there were a couple of meeting rooms, and they even had other staff who like you were sworn to secrecy or face deadly consequences. The pay was better than any other place you'd interviewed at, and the hours were reasonable, but you were expected to be flexible if needed to come in early or stay later.

The reception area had a few sofas and tables, and your counter was the first thing you saw when you got off the lift. You couldn't actually enter the offices behind you unless you had a key card or you buzzed them in. It would be quite lonely out here on your own or so you thought.

Hajime Kokonoi had hired you, he said it was because you looked trustworthy, and of course, you made a joke that he'd probably had your background checked. He told you to your face he had and you were the most worthy applicant. When you pushed for more he sealed his lips. On your first day, he put a very nice vase of flowers on the reception counter stating it gave the place more life, but it was a bouquet of your favourite flowers. So you thanked him and he said it was nothing, even though a couple of flowers had to be imported. You heard he was stingy with money.

You were typing away when Takeomi Akashi walked out of the offices with an unlit cigarette between his lips not noticing your presence, because he was busy cussing the lighter that wasn't working. 'Excuse me, let me help you,' you call out, grab the lighter from your bag and walk over to him. 'Who are you?' he asks confused, and you explain as you light the cigarette. 'Thank you, you smoke?' he enquires and you shake your head, and explain your friends do and on nights out you'd rather them come to you than a stranger. 'Smart girl, never smoke.' Takeomi now knew who to come to when his lighter wouldn't work.

Kakucho walks out of the lift on his phone, 'good morning,' you say politely. The poor man jumps out of his skin and nearly drops his phone on the marble floor. You apologise profusely for scaring him and his face gets a little redder the more you talk to him. It's not lost on you that he's not so subtly checking you out, in fact, you find it kind of cute when he should be intimidating. 'Nice to meet you, err I have to go,' he stutters and makes a quick escape into the offices. At the end of the day, he introduces himself properly, telling you if you need anything you can call him. It had been a while since a guy had given you his number.

Word spread by lunchtime about the new hire and that's when you met the Haitani brothers Ran and Rindou. Hajime had warned you to be on your guard, you were innocent and the brothers would try to taint you. 'hello beautiful, I have a reason to come into the office more now,' Ran croons, leaning over the counter staring at you with lustful eyes. You sit up straight, 'it's nice to meet you, but nothing's going to happen.' Ran looks hurt while his brother laughs, 'Maybe you're not as much of a charmer as you think brother. Call me Rindou.' and you're shocked when he takes your hand and kisses it. You would almost believe he was a gentleman if he didn't have the same lustful eyes as his brother. You smile and remove your hand from his, 'I don't know what game you two are playing but it won't be easy. I've been warned.' the brothers exchange a look and huff, 'Koko,' they say in unison. You nod and go back to your computer. Little did you know that your rejection ignited a challenge between the brothers to see who could win you over first.

After the Haitani brothers, you thought you'd be left alone but there were a couple of cocky male employees who thought they could flash expensive suits and watches while being drenched in overpowering cologne. Unlike the brothers these two immediately violated your personal space making you feel uncomfortable, 'can you leave me alone please?' you ask, 'get away from me,' you insist. One of the men goes to grab your arm 'Know your place bitch--' when he's grabbed himself and thrown backwards. Kanji Mochizuki stands guard in front of you, 'the lady said no, just wait until the boss here's about this.' Then men scurry off scared by the threat. He turns to face you with a warm smile, 'Sorry about that, they won't cause you any more problems. Give me a shout if anyone else makes you feel uncomfortable.' you weren't quite sure what to make of him, but you just got your second number of the day.

Hajime or Koko as he told you to call him asked you to stay late to accept a parcel for another member. This is where you met Bonten's no.2 Haruchiyo Sanzu and the leader Manjiro Sano. You were taken aback seeing Sanzu covered in blood while Mikey didn't seem to have a single scratch on him, both looked equally intimidating and you didn't want to get on either of their bad sides. You gulp and look down at the parcel you'd not long signed for seeing it was addressed to Sanzu, 'good evening I have a parcel for Haruchiyo Sanzu.' both men stare at you, Sanzu looks manic while Mikey looks bored. 'Thank you, lovely lady, pink looks good on you,' Sanzu chuckles and takes the parcel before skipping into the office. You brush imaginary creases off your light pink blouse, 'well I guess I'll be going then, have a good night sir,' you pick up your bag, turn off the monitor and stand up noticing Mikey hadn't moved his eyes from you, 'are you okay sir?' you ask. He blinks a couple of times, 'Yes, get home safe,' you nod and press the lift button, feeling a little uneasy having Mikey continue to stare at you.

When you returned to your apartment, you threw yourself on the bed, thinking about your interesting first day of work and all the Bonten members you'd interacted with. This was going to be an interesting job.

[solifloris]

≡;-꒰ 𝐑𝐀𝐅𝐀𝐘𝐄𝐋 ꒱₊˚ ପ⊹ I  𝒀𝒐𝒖𝒕𝒊𝒇𝒖𝒍

╰┈➤ ❝ rafayel x afab!reader | smut nsfw 18+ mdni

tags : softdom!rafayel, hints of switch!rafayel, reader is hesitant with intimacy, descriptions of self-esteem issues and general insecurities, mentions/implications of toxic relationships, implications of dubcon (not with rafayel), praise and reassurance, kissing and making out, heavy petting, first time sex (with each other) (no virginity loss), masturbation (f), oral (m. receiving), vaginal sex, cowgirl and missionary positions, unprotected sex, creampie, soft sex, use of pet names "cutie" "princess" "baby", references to card "fiery undercurrents", lmk if i missed any tags !! ((unedited))

wc : 7.9k (help me)

youtiful masterlist

a late birthday os for our favorite deep sea painter! ✨

You jumped at your phone, nearly gasping at the caller ID that flashed on your screen.

"Rafayel!"

Your grip on your phone was tight, held against your ear with an immediate burst of excitement.

It had been days.

You knew how it was, of course—an artist's inspiration was often sporadic and fleeting, and you'd even lost count of the number of times Rafayel had told you that. How essential it was to grab the spark of creativity before it you lose it; how paramount it was to focus on your flow before it disappeared... It was ingrained in the forefront of your mind, by now.

And even more than that, if Rafayel had always been one to speak of the elusiveness of inspiration, then Thomas had always been one to insist you leave him and his stroke of genius alone whenever he called for it.

You didn't understand much about the world of artists, so it was natural for you to take their words to heart, but it hadn't been easy.

Rafayel, being Rafayel, would always send you texts and updates, never failingly missing a single day... But it had been days since you'd last heard his voice at all—much less seen him. Now, marking a week sinve you'd been to his studio at all, you were pacing back and forth in your apartment, wondering how long you had to wait, and if maybe you should take a chance and visit him yourself—

But you didn't want to be selfish.

In fact, you quite despised being needy at all—with a quiet laugh, you thought, that was usually the role that Rafayel would play in your relationship. You wouldn't think to take it from him.

Yet, now, your phone rang, and the ever-familiar sound of his voice brought on a wave of butterflies in your stomach that had your mood lifting in seconds.

"Heeyyy there, cutie!"

In the background, you could make out the faint sounds of metal against concrete in the background, and your ears perked.

"Is... that your ladder? Have you finished your painting?"

"Yeah! It really took a while, this one... But Thomas'll be happy to know that it's finally finished! ...That is, if I could get ahold of him..."

You carefully sat on the edge of your bed, swinging your legs in sheer happiness at his little ramblings.

"...And, actually, I kind of need your help."

You blinked.

"Hm? Help? With what?"

"Well, you know how I told you it's been kind of a while since I last cleaned this place...?"

"...Yes..."

"Are you free now?"

"Rafayel, you can't mean...?"

"Yeah! Can you come over and help me clean?"

You couldn't believe his first thought with this call was to ask you for your cleaning services. You strained to hear the familiar tease in his voice, even waited for a moment for some kind of "Just kidding!" or whatever else that could tell you he wasn't being serious—

You felt your eyes narrow in disapproval when you found nothing.

"Rafayel, I'm not your maid, you know."

Not even an "I missed you", not even a " Want to hang out later?".

"Yeaaahh.... But you're my bodyguard, right?" The hopeful tone in his voice now would have made you laugh.... In other circumstances.

"What does that have to do with anything?!" There was a laugh, then, on the other side of the line, and you huffed. "Rafayel, don't joke with me—"

"Look! I told you, right? Thomas won't answer me, and, seriously! The studio's a mess. I really need some help... Please?"

He was laughing completely now, and the sound brought over that same, very familiar ripple of butterflies, despite all the odds.

You caved.

"This is labor abuse, Rafa. Of your own girlfriend, might I add!" You hmphed, but stood up from your bed, haphazardly gathering your things into a purse and walking out of your flat. "Fine. I'm on my way there."

"Oh, you really are the best girlfriend I could ever have wished for! Thanks, princess! See ya!"

Not even a "stay safe"!

You wondered if this was what Rafayel felt whenever you were late to receive his calls or to reply to hia texts, and you sighed.

Is he just trying to get back at me...?

Regardless, he made up for his actions by immediately twirling you over with a kiss the minute you knocked on his door, and you smiled.

"Nice to see you again, princess," he grinned.

You thought you could never have wanted to see his smile as much as you did now—

But you couldn't bring yourself to admit that to him.

"Would've been better if you said that when you called me, huh?" You rolled your eyes playfully, shoving him aside and scanning the space in front of you.

He hadn't been lying.

Paint had been scattered around, well past the patches of safety paper he usually had lying all over his studio. While you were used to seeing the place mostly messy, anyway, this seemed a lot less like the organized mess you were used to. What's more, the painting wasn't even in this room anymore, and god knows where he'd put it now to dry.

You turned towards him with the raise of an eyebrow.

"Geez, Rafayel... This place looks like it's been through a hell hole. What were you doing?"

"Painting."

He shrugged, ever nonchalant and casual, only as if stating the obvious—that clearly being so engrossed in your painting would result in such a mess, and that clearly—he handed over a bundle of cleaning supplies—this was a very normal way of greeting your significant other.

You sighed.

You supposed, nothing was ever truly normal with him, anyway.

By the time you had finished, the sun that peeked through his windows bathed his studio into a golden glow. You settled onto the couch beside him, silent as he rubbed soothing circles into your shoulder, your head resting contently on his shoulder.

"You're rich, Rafayel," you mumbled, a little tiredly. "Why can't you just hire a maid if you don't want to clean things yourself?"

"And where do you think I'd find one I could trust enough to let near my paintings?"

The scoff in his voice made your lips quirk into a smile, and you tilted your head up to look at him.

...Ah.

Your breath caught in your throat when your eyes met, the gentle mix of red and purple hues in his eyes once again having you transfixed. His hair was slightly unruly from the work you'd both done, but the sunset rays streaming in from the window had little specks of sunlight painting his tresses in such a way that had you utterly mesmerized.

He chuckled slightly.

"Cat got your tongue, princess?"

You could barely bring yourself to mumble a response when he leaned in, shifting your positions just enough to have you lying on your back against the couch. Half of his weight rest over you, and you could feel it; his heartbeat against yours. You could almost amazed feel at the comfort in your synchronicity.

He sighed, brushing your hair out of your face. "...Why haven't you been to the studio?" he mumbled.

His words pulled you out of your reverie, and immediately, you felt your heart sink.

"...I thought... I thought you'd be busy..." Your voice came out meek, already searching his eyes anxiously. "Thomas told me not to disturb you, a-and I thought, maybe, you didn't want to be interrupted? I know how hard it's been for you to finish that painting..."

You swallowed thickly.

"Yeah, that might be true..." Rafayel nuzzled your nose affectionately, succeeding in soothing your nerves down to a certain degree. "But what if I wanted to see you, too?"

"...You... You usually just ask..."

Your words were met with silence, and you squirmed under the intensity of his gaze.

"Rafayel—"

"But you can't expect me to be the one asking for you all the time, right?"

Something at the back of your mind told you he didn't mean it that way, but his words stung nonetheless. The disapproval in his pout made your stomach churn. The atmosphere had, to you, become a little weightier, and your chest felt heavy with guilt.

You promised you wouldn't make him wait... But didn't you, in the end? Some useless game of seeing who'd cave first?

Your gaze shifted away from him, and you played with the hem of your shirt.

"Sorry, Rafa, I didn't mean to upset you... I-I don't know much about art, and I didn't want to bother you, and—god, actually, maybe it was stupid of me to just rely on Thomas' words instead of asking you, I'm such a terrible girlfriend—"

Tears began to well up in your eyes as you spoke, but before you could proceed any further, you felt the soft sensation of lips upon yours.

You blinked your tears away rapidly, refocusing to meet his, parting your lips slightly in shock when he pulled away.

"Don't say that, princess." He shook his head, and there was a ghost of a smile on his face. "You're not a terrible girlfriend. You're perfect, actually, and... I'm partly to blame. It was wrong of me to test you like that... You're right. I should have just asked."

You drew in a breath.

Perhaps, it was because your roles had been reversed today; perhaps, it was because you'd been so anxious to see him again that even the slightest signs of any conflict had you feeling like walking on eggshells. But it was rare for you to see him take the situation at hand so maturely, and it did well for the tenseness in your shoulders to melt away.

He moved his hand back into your hair, soft, gentle strokes, if only to soothe you further away from your worries.

"...Well, actually, maybe we both are a little stupid. I... kind if made the studio messy on my own."

Your ears perked up with that, and you looked at him curiously.

Rafayel laughed.

"It wasn't that bad when I'd finished! And I wasn't lying, I had been neglecting the studio, I just..."

When his voice trailed off, you found the courage to speak again.

"Did you.... Make an excuse to bring me here?"

He smiled, bringing his lips over to the top of your head, another one on your temple, and then another one over the corner of your eye.

"Yeah," he whispered. "I missed you a lot. I guess I just got creative... A little too much, anyway."

His lips were on yours again the next second, soft pecks that made your heart soar with glee. You wrapped your arms slowly around his neck, barely registering the way he'd pulled himself over you, feeling safe under the weight of his body—you liked this. And you missed it, being close with him, having a few moments to yourselves just to revel in each other's warmth.

With half-lidded eyes, he pulled back for air, panting softly over your skin.

"...You really could have just asked me," you whispered, gazing into his eyes and allowing yourself to get lost in them once more.

He let out a soft laugh. "Hm, yeah. Buuuut, maybe I thought this would be more interesting... And maybe, then, you could stay the night, too..."

His eyes flickered closed as he ran his hands through your hair once more, bringing a lock up to his face and letting out a sigh.

"You used that shampoo again."

You faltered slightly at his words, but he pressed you against the couch, capturing your lips into a deeper kiss.

...That shampoo.

You knew exactly what he was referring to.

The last time he'd noticed this scent on you, the way he'd pressed his lips against yours had been anything but innocent—it was one of the first times the both of you had made out together, the hairdryer and towel that had started the whole ordeal then long-forgotten beside you. The mere thought of that night brought an undeniable flush to your face, an all-too-familiar tingling sensation breaking throughout your body.

And you knew what he was insinuating. Even as he continued to kiss you, and even as you felt yourself easily melting into him the way that you would.

His hand began to roam your body, slowly stroking down your sides, making their way to your thigh and inching closer, closer, to the heat of your clothed core—

Your breath hitched.

You couldn't control it.

It was like instinct, whatever this conflict of mind and body really was—

You immediately reached out to grab his wrist, and his reaction was immediate. In an instant, his lips were off of yours, and he froze in place, wide eyes searching yours.

"Shit," he whispered. "Princess, I'm sorry— Did I— Did I go something wrong—"

Though breathless and panting, your lips quivered, and your grip on his wrist tightened.

The silence that followed was deafening.

Slowly, you felt him peel himself off of you, sitting up carefully... And you took in a deep breath.

"R-Rafayel, I..."

The waver in your voice and the alarm that had found its way into your eyes weren't missed by him, and you turned your head. "I'm sorry," you swallowed thickly. "I... I don't think i can do this right now..."

You felt feeble and small as you moved to draw your knees up to your chest, almost as if with the intention of hiding yourself away. "I... M-maybe, just... Not tonight...?"

When you sneaked a glance back up at him, you could see it. That glimmer of hurt in his eyes, perhaps just barely there, but more noticeable to you than anything else. You were also made painfully aware of the sun that had set, the studio now darker into the night—a cold draft blew in through the windows and made you shiver, and now, you felt incredibly small.

Rafayel, however, gave you another soft smile, gently moving to sit with your legs over his lap, resorting to holding your hand in his gently.

"Okay," he said.

And it was so simple the way he accepted your rejection, so devoid of judgement, that it made you feel...

Guilty.

Even guiltier than you already were to begin with.

"...I'm sorry, Rafa, I—"

He shook his head, giving your hand another squeeze.

"No, that's... Well, also on me. I should have asked you about this first, too..." The regret in his voice made you want to hit something. "It's okay. We don't have to do anything today. I'll wait until you're ready, princess."

...He'll wait?

Quietly, you moved to crawl back towards him, snuggling into his chest.

This wasn't the first time he had tried to go further with you. That night, after drying your hair, had been one of such times, and it wasn't as if you didn't want to take the next step in your relationship.

In fact, you wanted it just as much as he did.

You've fantasized about it for nights on end, laying on your bed, fingers playing with your clit and imagining how well his hands would have worked you, how well his cock would have stretched you out and filled you up far better than your fingers ever could. You lost count, how many times you'd come undone, alone on your bed, having his name spill from your lips as you did.

You wanted so badly for him to ravage you.

But thinking of it was incredibly different from having the situation at hand right in front of you.

You were nervous.

There were so, so many things that could go wrong from just exposing yourself to him as you would have if you did go that far—just as so, so many things had already gone wrong the last time you had, with other people.

You buried your face into his chest, pressing against him, drowning yourself in his warmth.

"...Are you mad?" You whispered.

"Me? Why would I be, when you're cuddling me like this so tightly?" The playfulness in his voice chased enough of your worries for you to let out a little laugh. "Just so you know... I'm perfectly fine with this."

You shifted, tilting your head to look up at him.

Rafayel gently poked at your nose.

"I can't be mad at you, princess, just because you said no to me. There are other ways for us to be affectionate, and I don't need to have sex with you, you know?"

"...But you want to?" Your voice remained meek, still very obviously wanting to hide yourself back into his shirt. And you would have, if he hadn't pried you away, hands firmly over your arms, leaning down to study your gaze.

"R-Rafa—"

"I want to, princess, but only if you want to. And I need to make that super, suuper clear to you, because I won't be forcing you into anything you don't want. 'Kay?"

His words sent a flurry of comfort into your stomach.

"...But... But what if I make you wait too long? You dislike waiting... A-and it's normal, anyway, right? For couples to have sex? If we don't, then..." As you spoke, you noticed a frown frown gradually form over his face, and you faltered.

"You... You expect me to leave because of this?"

You turned your gaze away in silence.

"Princess... You... May I ask where that's coming from? Do... Do you feel unloved with me? Am I doing something wrong?"

It was like a trigger—the way his voice dropped into a soft whisper, his hands falling back down to take yours in his, lacing your fingers together.

He was so gentle with you.

You felt the unwelcome sting of tears in your eyes, and you shook your head—"N-no," you whispered, squeezing your eyes shut. "You've done nothing wrong, but... But you're so—so nice to me, Rafayel..."

"...Baby? Of course I'm nice to you! Aren't you my girlfriend?!"

The nickname switch made your heart jump, and you nuzzled yourself further into his embrace.

"...I don't deserve you."

A pause.

You felt as if you could drown in the silence, even though you knew that he was just thinking of what to say.

"I'm sorry, I just made things worse—"

"...Deserve me? There's... there's nothing for you to say that—princess, that's my line, you know. You deserve everything—every little good thing out there, and so much more than me."

"But—! You—you're so good to me, and I'm—! How many times did I disappoint you? This whole week, and even just now, and—"

You felt yourself sniffling, and Rafayel once again brought you to look up at him. You chewed on your bottom lip, a flash of insecurity in your eyes that made him sigh softly.

"No, no, no... Don't cry, princess... Nothing's going to change just because of this, yeah? You know I love you. And nothing in the way that I love you is tied to... whatever ways you'll allow me to love you. I get it, you know? If you're not ready to go there yet, then that's fine. I promise. I don't make promises without reason, princess."

His gaze, now, was firm, and his words were warm. Genuine—like he always was with you. In the silence that followed, you felt yourself calm down slightly, your breath easing, the tears in your eyes blinked away in your insistence not to cry in front of him.

And more than anything, you found thr conviction in his words to be something you could... Trust.

You took in a deep breath.

"I've... I've done this a couple of times before," you spoke, slowly, quietly. "It's been a while since the last time, but— it's— it's just scary, Rafa."

Your voice trembled, and you hung your head.

"And I feel like it's so silly to be scared of it. It's always so obvious that I am, because I get too focused on trying to relax that I never really do, and then in the end I can only ever make up for it by letting them finish. So I— I don't know. Everyone says that couples always do this, like it's supposed to be a staple... Or else, what are they for, right?"

You let out a dry, sarcastic laugh, but it almost came out as if you were scolding yourself.

"Wait—hold on. You... You've never orgasmed?"

You blinked in surprise this time, looking up at him with a confused frown. "Huh? Only on my own, I guess... Never with them, no, but—"

"Oh, princess..." he began, almost like a whisper. "You've never enjoyed it, have you...? To call it a staple... Gosh. It's not something necessary to maintain a relationship, let's get that out of your pretty head first."

You watched him bring his hand over to the side of your face, a gentle caress.

"I don't know if humans really do think such fickle things, but I wouldn't leave you just because you won't go further with me. I want you to be ready before we go there. Okay? God, who have you been with?! They sound like the worst kind of humans!"

Despite yourself, you laughed at his indignation, watching him fall back against the couch with his arms crossed.

"No, seriously, baby—doesn't it sound wrong to you?! You know, I wouldn't have stopped until you came. In fact, I bet I could make you feel so much better than they ever could—" He paused, ears turning slightly red in telltale embarrassment. "...Sorry. I'll be totally patient, I really mean it. I was just, you know... saying..."

You giggled.

Rafayel was always cute when he was embarrassed, even if just a few moments ago, he'd so obviously reduced you to just a puddle through his kissses alone.

But his words, once again, made you feel all warm and fuzzy inside. When you looked at him, his eyes were as gentle as the waves of the ocean you'd grown to love almost as much as him, and you couldn't help but feel... safe.

You'd never really felt safe before—not with anyone else.

Any time you opened up about this, your previous partners would have scoffed in your face—would have told you there couldn't have been a basis for what you felt, and that there was nothing more irrational than all of these needless worries of yours.

It was silly.

You had always believed that.

Yet you couldn't help feeling the way that you did.

Whenever you experienced sexual intimacy with anyone else, though you had let it happen in the end, you had never... associated it with anything special. Like you'd said, it only ever felt a mandatory part of any relationship. It was like going through the motions, and then you'd find out that you'd been a terrible experience—no matter how pretty they said you were, no matter how much you'd always be told that they were looking forward to it.

You were disappointing.

That was what conclusion you'd come up with, after several times of the same result.

And you always envied your friends, too.

Whenever the topic came up, they'd speak of how magical it was—how sweet, and how loving, and how good it felt... Yet you'd felt none of that. If there was anything good you associated with sex at all, it had been you—by yourself—in your room.

You really didn't know how to reconcile all of these feelings together—

And, yet, Rafayel had been the very first one to let it slide in a way that put your feelings first.

You promised him you wouldn't make him wait...

Yet here he was, adamant on letting you do exactly that.

You looked up at him, again, listening to him guide the conversation elsewhere, talking about how his week had been, and how painful it had been to get that painting done.

"You haven't seen it yet, have you? Hmm... I'm thinking if I should show you. I guess my girlfriend can have early access to it before the exhibition, right...?" He had one hand resting on your back, the other brought up to his chin in thought. "What do you think? Do you want to see it now?"

You stared, silently, as his eyes were back on yours.

That familiar, adorable tilt of his head, the inquisitive gaze in his eyes bringing that familiar shine to it that you loved, loved, loved, so very dearly.

You watched a small smile form on his features, and he pulled you close enough to have your foreheads touch.

"Hey. What's on your mind, cutie? You're spacing out again. Everything okay?"

God. You really loved him.

Even the simplest phrase had the butterflies in your stomach fluttering around almost mercilessly, and if you hadn't known better, you thought you were very likely blushing in that moment.

"Just you," you spoke, softly, quietly, barely even registering that you'd spoken so honestly in front of him before you recognized the look of surprise on his face. "Shit—I mean—"

"Nuh-uh, no take-backs! I like it when you're honest," he cut you off with a laugh, placing a quick peck on your lips.

Though he didn't say anything more on the subject, you knew he was thinking it—even if you'd tease, endlessly, of Rafayel's own clingier habits, you knew that in the end that you could easily eat your own words.

Rafayel was so good to you.

Sometimes you'd think he was too good to you—too good for you.

But admitting it out loud was always so difficult to you; your honesty of your own overwhelming feelings for him often more than you could speak to him yourself.

He reached over to tuck a strand of hair behind your ears.

"Maybe we should go to sleep, yeah? It's pretty late. You've worked hard!"

Slowly, you moved to straddle his lap, and then buried your face into his neck.

"...Princess..."

"...Are you really okay with this, Rafa?"

"Me? I told you, I'm perfectly fi—"

"I just—I could make you feel good, at least..."

Maybe you'd let him consume your thoughts more than you'd intended, or maybe the guilt was simply eating away at you, having never been truly placated. You didn't know which side of emotions you were acting upon, and perhaps, it seemed as if he'd sensed that.

"Baby... No. We're not going to do it tonight. I want you to set your mind straight first."

"But—"

"No buts!"

He lifted you off of his lap, another firm shake of his head. "I want to ease you into this. And that means I won't be taking any pleasure for my own just yet, because I want you to feel good."

"...Wh- What do you...?"

He smiled, before poking your forehead.

"I mean, I want you to be comfortable around me first, before you even think of trying to give me an orgasm." Rafayel gave your hand another squeeze. "I'm hoping I can at least show you that it's not supposed to be a bad experience. So we'll sleep on it first, clear our heads, take things slowly... Then we'll see how things go from there. 'Kay?"

"Rafa..."

"Baby, relax. No rush. I'm not going anywhere."

Rafayel was always so good to you.

Even through your biggest insecurities, there would be no exception.

It had been quite some time since that conversation, and, sure enough, he had been adamant on taking things slower with you. You could feel it, how he'd constantly hold himself back with you. The way he would be sure not to take it too far when he kissed you, always respectfully lifting you off of his lap whenever he felt like it would get too much if you continued...

He took things step by step, just like he said he would. From kisses, to slowly dipping his hands beneath your clothes—You had found, over the past couple of days, how warm his hands were around your breasts, cupping and kneading them like a perfect fit. It was comfortable. And it had become almost a staple to your cuddling sessions over time.

Those nights in his bed slowly, slowly became less than innocent as weeks passed by.

And then one other night, you'd finally gained the courage to let him go even further. His fingers were long, able to reach deeper inside of you than you ever could, and the stretch in your walls felt more than welcome after so long. It was just as you'd fantasized—he'd buried his fingers knuckle-deep into your cunt, slow thrusts gradually picking up the pace until you were trembling around him, his arms holding you safe as you released. Even now, when you thought back to that night, you felt tingles all over your body. It was the first time anyone had made you cum, the first time anyone had bothered to cradle you in their arms afterwards, the first time anyone had cleaned you up without you having to do it yourself—

You hadn't known that this could really feel so intimate.

So loving.

That Rafayel could ease all your worries away, so... naturally.

It had gotten to the point that you began to notice a boldness in both of your actions—you were growing more comfortable with him, like he'd intended you to, and now, you found yourself gladly on your knees, feeling the drag of his cock against the walls of your mouth.

He'd gotten you to cum from his fingers and his mouth multiple times over the past few days, and you had promised him—promised him—that you were only returning the favor because you wanted to. Because through the past weeks, Rafayel had been gentle with you, and patient—always asking for your consent, never pushing you to do anything you didn't want to, never even giving a thought to his own pleasure as long as it meant focusing on yours.

And this, you thought to yourself with a smile, was now a reward for for him just as much as it was for you.

Your eyes closed as you swirled circles over the tip of his length, taking your time with him as he often did with you. Your tongue ran up and over his cock, wetting him fully becore taking him in again, keening at the way his hips would stutter and his moans would reach your ears in a well-received melody.

"Fuck, yeah—Just like that, princess—" Rafayel's words were broken, his eyes half lidded as he watched you work him. "So good for me, baby—ngh, shit—"

You found his praises go straight to your core, eager to please him, eager to hear more. And in effect, your pace quickened, bobbing your head up and down his shaft, stroking and sucking him with a new hunger. His hands tangled in your hair, the sensation more than welcome as he guided you into a rhythm, hips bucking upwards to meet your mouth.

"So, so good— Feels so good, princess, don't stop—"

Another tug on your hair had you moaning against him, feeling him throb in your mouth at the extra stimulation.

He was close.

Determined to take in the sight, you watched, fondly, as his head fell back into the pillows, the skin of his thigh hot to the touch, your eyes drawn to the way his mouth hung open, his own eyes squeezing shut.

"Shit— M'gonna—! Gonna cum, baby, pleas—"

He arched his back, his hands fleeing from your hair to fist into the sheets beneath him. It hit in an instant, then—the sheer intensity having rendered him silent, mouthing curses, eyes still shut as streaks of cum shot out of him and onto your tongue.

You were familiar with the taste; warm in your mouth, and salty—thick. There was a certain discomfort to it, swallowing every last drop, but it couldn't compare to the thrill of it. Having Rafayel finally cum in your mouth, finally come undone for you... Your eyes locked as you released him with a wet 'pop', licking your lips and then hastily wiping your mouth with a little smile.

"Damn... That was..." He was breathless, chest heaving, barely moving to allow you to climb back up on the bed and reach for the bottle of water on his nightstand. "You're really... Really good at that, princess."

Feeling warm at another word of praise from him, you exchanged the bottle for the washcloth beside it, and crawled over to gently pat him clean.

"...Baby, I can—"

"If you won't let me do it when I finish, then I won't let you, either."

Your gaze was firm, and he laughed.

"Well played. My habits are growing on you, huh, cutie? That's good."

He pulled you up into his arms for a kiss, and you snuggled into his embrace. The heat from his skin was comforting—another thing you'd slowly gotten used to, having your activities now easily practiced without the need for any more clothes on.

"...How are you feeling? Was that okay?" He mumbled into your hair as you buried your face into his chest, lifting your leg over him as if to draw him even closer to you. You nodded quietly, and a soft sigh escaped his lips when you brushed your wetness against his still-sensitive cock. "Princess... Did sucking me off get you all wet?"

You could hear the laugh in his voice, and you whined.

"You— you made me wait to do that!" You protested, and you didn't need to look up to know he had that ever-present smirk on his face. "...I wanted to make you cum, too..."

He only replied with a chuckle, trailing his hand down your back to settle upon your waist. "I know. And thank you, by the way. Your mouth feels heavenly. Did you know that?"

You swat at his arm playfully. "Rafayel!"

"What? I'm only saying the truth! And, anyway..." You squealed when he leaned over to nip at your earlobe, completely sure of how flushed you were in that moment. "You're drenched, so which one will it be? My tongue? My fingers? My thigh?"

When you didn't reply immediately, he gently gave you squeeze. "Or do you want to sleep it off? We don't have to do anything if you—"

"N- no!"

You looked up, pouting, and found that the mirth in his gaze had melted away into one of pure adoration.

"I... I think..." You gulped, your eyes traveling downward to where you rest over him.

Your heart beat wildly in your chest.

You would have been lying if you said you hadn't been thinking about it on a constant—how he would feel inside you. And though you'd thought about it generally before, you found yourself warming up to the idea. Craving it, even, in a way you hadn't before.

You raised your head to meet his eyes again, holding your breath as you moved to straddle him, sliding your folds over his cock gently.

The moan that he let out was music to his ears, but when his hands gripped your waist tightly, you stopped.

"Fuck, wait—are you sure, princess?"

You smiled slightly at that.

Truly, Rafayel had been nothing but gentle with you; nothing but patient.

You nodded.

"I-I mean... Only if you want to? But you just came, right...? S-so, maybe not... Sorry, I don't mean to be needy, you can just—"

"Hey, hey. Deep breaths for me first, baby, yeah? Relax."

Immediately, his hands were rubbing soothingly into your sides, and you fell forward onto his chest, holding him close.

"Don't you worry about being needy with me, I don't think I'm any less needier than you, anyway," he laughed. "I want this. I really want this. But, princess... I need to know that you aren't forcing yourself into it."

You remained silent, only managing a nod.

"Look at me?"

Compliant, you raised your head once more, and Rafayel reached over to thread his fingers through your hair. He smiled.

"Verbal consent, princess. I've given you mine. Now, I need your confirmation before we do anything. Have you decided? Do you want me?"

Your heart swelled in your chest.

You didn't know how Rafayel could be so selfless with you.

None of the others you've been with would ever treat you this way, and it was... new.

It was true, what he said—it wasn't a secret to you how much he wanted you. Though he wouldn't say it, so determined not to make you feel pressured, you'd see it in the way he looked at you. The way he touched you. Even the way he spoke with you—always the more vocal one in terms of clinginess, even though you, yourself, secretly enjoyed his attention.

You'd understood from the start that he was doing his best to stay firm in his self control just for you, and it made you feel warm—Loved. Appreciated.

Even now, as you were sitting on his cock, readjusting your position only to have it poke against your back—he was patiently waiting for your answer. He was waiting for you to be sure about this.

You thought it ironic, almost.

It wasn't as if this was your first time, and yet... you'd never experienced someone be so gentle with you.

With another determined nod, you sat back up, placing your hands on your lap.

"Okay," you said, and took a deep breath. "I'm sure, Rafayel. I want you."

You swore you could feel the way his cock twitched at your words, and couldn't help the way your lips quirked into another smile.

He read your expression, and laughed. "You really drive me insane, princess."

His hands remained firm on your hips, gently lifting you off—"Do you want to stay on top? Set your pace for me?"

"...Um... Do you?"

"Baby, don't turn this back to me! Doesn't matter what I want right now, I wanna make this about you. In case you haven't noticed, I'd be more than happy to take you in any way you want me to."

You almost rolled your eyes, shaking your head. "...Okay, then... I'll try it like this. But, Rafayel, sometimes it's concerning how much you pay attention to my needs..."

"Me? Concerning? Says the one who's had some of the worst sexual experiences on the planet!" He scoffed. "Listen, princess. I say this a lot, but you understand, right? I'm not in this relationship for your body. I'm not using you for your body. I love you, because you're you, and not just so I get to fuck you some day." He paused, then, and you saw a flash of contemplation in his eyes, "...Which miiiight be today, but that's besides the point."

You laughed, this time, and perhaps in any other situation, you'd playfully hit his chest, and tell him to stop being so silly. But the lighthearted atmosphere was welcome, and you felt your shoulders slump in some sort of relief.

"I know, Rafa. I..." You bit your lip, steeling yourself, willing yourself to say it. "I... I-I love you, too."

Immediately, you watched his eyes widen, a certain shine in them that almost could have made you melt.

"...Seriously?" he whispered. "You mean it?"

You flushed at the way he sounded so much in disbelief, despite what you were about to do. But, perhaps, you understood the shock that he displayed. While he would often use the words around you—having made it clear that they were his feelings, and that you didn't have to reciprocate them immediately—you had yet to say it back.

You did love him.

Of course you did.

And you have, for a while now.

But it wasn't easy to speak these feelings out loud; wasn't easy to make yourself so affectionate and so vulnerable around him. At least, not as easy as it has been for him. It had been long established that Rafayel was the more expressive one—though he would tone things down with playful jokes and banter to match your pace of things, you knew that his feelings had been nothing but genuine for you.

And you'd always struggled to make sure that he knew you felt the same, but...

You nodded.

You could do it, this time. Give back all the love that he'd always given you.

Slowly, you reached behind you to guide his cock to your entrance, letting out a slow breath at the feeling of his tip—hot, and wet, and stiff—prodding your hole.

"I love you," you whispered, feeling confident, now, as you spoke.

His fingers dug into your skin as he gasped, finally having you slowly lower yourself down onto his cock. "Fuck," he muttered. His eyes closed—you could tell he was fighting the urge to thrust up into you. "You feel so... so..."

A loud whine rattled past your lips when he finally pressed all the way inside of you, so big, and so filling, like nothing else you've ever had before.

"Shit," he continued to curse under his breath. "So—so good, baby."

His hands, shaky, massaged your hips in reassurance, eyes opening to reveal a hazy glimmer of lust that you had yet to see on his face before. The image before you made you shiver—every ounce of self control was slowly slipping away from him, and he was trembling with the little bit of patience he still had left in his body.

"M-move," he whimpered, looking up at you with pleading eyes that made you gasp. "Please, princess—please—can you do that for me?"

Your jaw clenched, and you obliged—how could you resist?

You rocked your hips slowly, at first, getting used to the feeling of him in side you. And, you found—you were enjoying this. Whatever you'd imagined could never compare; he felt good inside you. Every sensation you felt of his cock against your center was pleasurable, every moan that fell from his lips having you swirl your hips with a need to hear more.

You bit your lip when he slowly began to rut his hips up to meet your pelvis, now finding the strength to guide your hips gently up and down his length—

"Fuck, baby, don't hide from me, please," he moaned, eyes locking with yours with an air of desperation. "Haah—Let me hear you—hear how good it feels—'s it feel good, princess?"

You found yourself obedient.

As his tip knocked up against your sensitive spot, a loud moan spilled from your lips—immediately, you rest your hands on his chest as your head hung, feeling yourself bounce to his rhythm, hips moving in sync.

"F-feels good, 'fayel— Ah—!"

"Yeah? Like that, baby? That spot, huh?"

You grinded down on his cock, eyes screwing shut at the sound of your arousal slicking around him. His words guided you through your motions, whisperes of praise and reassurance that had you soaring—and you could feel it. The tightness that had gathered in your stomach, slowly, slowly building into something more—but so far away, so unobtainable, that it had you whining.

"R-Rafayel!" You cried as you leaned forward, burying your face into his chest. Even as he planted his feet on the bed and thrust up into you, picking his pace up a little and grunting into your ear, you shook your head— "M-more, please— I— I can't—"

"Oh, fuck, princess—"

He groaned when you clenched tightly around him, and with quick movements, he had you lying on your back, caged between his arms as breathless pants fell from his lips.

"I—fuck, baby... Are you okay with this? I'll—Shit— Sorry, I m-moved—"

He'd snapped his his hips back into yours the minute you wrapped your legs around his waist, but when he looked at you, your own eyes filled with a desire that dared to rival his own, he let out a slow breath.

"...Okay?" he whispered.

You nodded. "Please."

Rafayel laced his fingers through with yours, holding them against the pillow. At your consent, he resumed his pace, fucking deep into your cunt with thrusts so precisely rubbing against your spot that you closed your eyes with another loud moan.

"Ah, Rafa—Rafayel, s-so good—"

Any thoughts of holding back your sounds were lost in the pleasure raking through your body, feeling the way his cock would brush against all the right places. So thorough, and so loving—and so, so good.

Rafayel was making you feel good.

Better than you've ever felt—better than your fingers, and better than his, and you thought—

Fuck.

You wished you'd gotten to do this sooner.

"P-princess," he whimpered, hips stuttering as he pressed his forehead against yours, drowning a myriad of moans of your name with the way he kissed you. So needy with his touches, you melted into him like you always did, easily following his thrusts and receiving everything he could give you.

"Princess—are you—are you safe?" he breathed.

You could feel the way he tensed inside you, his hips slowing slightly into a pace that had you whining as he waited for your reply.

"Can I... Can I cum inside? If—If you—"

It almost seemed like he could barely form coherent words, and you smiled slightly. Your arms wrapped around his neck; "I'm safe," you mumbled. "Go ahead, Rafa."

The moan that he let out sent a shiver down your spine, and then his lips were on your neck, kissing and sucking—you didn't even mind, anymore, whether or not he'd be leaving marks on you by the time you were done. Groans spilled from his lips between his kisses, and you felt yourself moaning along with him. The pace he'd set picked up, no longer as gentle as you'd started with, but you found that it was more than welcome.

"C-Cumming," you shut your eyes, breathing out his name in endless chants into his hair. "Cumming, Rafa, I—!"

You felt it.

The throbbing of his cock as he spilled rope after rope of cum into your cunt, just in time with your own release. Your nails dug into his scalp as you clenched sporadically around him, throwing your head back with a drawn-out moan of his name, feeling yourself drown in the sheer intensity of it.

"Rafayel—!"

"Fuck—Fuck—Take it, princess— Shit—" He hissed into your neck, pumping his cum into you, moans falling back into whimpers.

A moment passed after, and you smiled contentedly as he hugged you, pulling out of you but still so determined to keep you close to him.

"...R- Rafayel?" You whispered, soothingly stroking his hair. And only then did he look at you.

Your breath caught at his expression.

Tired, undeniably, but so... tender.

"Hey..." he mumbled, slowly moving up to give you a quick kiss. "Can you say it again?"

"H-huh? Say what...?" You felt your face grow even warmer at the mere thought of all the things you'd possibly moaned in the midst of your lust.

But he only smiled. "What you said, earlier. Say that you love me."

A giggle bubbled at your throat, and you pushed him onto the space next to you—

Naturally, he only pulled you back against him, arms wrapping around you, tucking you under his chin.

"C'monnnn, baby. Please?"

It was so hard for you to say no to him like this.

You turned around to face him, placing a kiss on his cheek.

"I love you, Rafayel," you mumbled with a smile.

His expression relaxed.

"...And, thank you. For always making me feel so loved. I've never... I've never thought it could feel like this, a-and..."

"Did you like it?"

"More than liked it! I... I enjoyed it. Really. Thank you."

He grinned, then, gently setting you down on the bed and placing a kiss on your forehead. "Then, mission accomplished! So... Let's clean you up before we sleep, yeah? We can have another round in the morni—"

"Rafayel!"

"I'm kidding!"

⁺₊ / an: holy shit this took an eternity to write??!?!?!! nearly 8k words, what do u know... all this love for the birthday boy, this is an insane amount of special treatment for rafayel fr 🍰

© solifloris. all rights reserved. do not: steal, copy, repost, reupload, modify, or claim any of my works as your own, regardless of credit given. absolutely do not use my works for AI training and other related purposes.

[spookwriter-xo]

Coppélia

Chapter 1 - The Doll That Came To Life

Chapter Summary - Y/N performs her first show as the lead ballerina, little does she know she caught the eye of an admirer.

Series Masterlist

It was no secret that the Grand Ballet Society was the best. Ever since I was a little girl I dreamed of being a part of it all, dreamed of performing in front of men and women who admired the art as much as I did. I couldn't believe it when I was offered a position at 17.

My parents hated the idea and forbade me to go. How could their eldest daughter take over the estate if she was too busy galavanting around on stage in a tutu and leotards? I didn't care though, I had a chance to have my dream and I took it.

I just wished they could see me now.

I'd been a part of the society for almost 5 years now, and not once in that time had anyone in my family come to watch me perform. At least not to my knowledge. It often left a bitter taste in my mouth when I'd think about the first few months after, how quickly my parents were to drop me the second I defied their orders. I was really just an heir.

Tonight was the opening night of the play Coppélia. It's about a doll that comes to life and captures the heart of a young man and was first created in 1870. It was one of my favorites of all time, and I got to play the lead.

I stood in my dressing room, fixing my hair to make sure it was neat and out of my face. I let out a soft exhale, opening night was always the worst. Mistakes could be made at every twist and turn and the expectations were high from the audience.

A firm knock on my door made me jump. "Y/N We're starting." The director's voice calls from the other side before his footsteps hastily retreat. I take another deep breath before rushing out to get to my position.

I brush past the male lead, Miles, who offers me a comforting smile. "Hey." He says, stopping me for a moment. "You're gonna do great, okay?"

"You too," I say, giving his arm a soft squeeze before pulling away and rushing to my starting position.

Go time.

I stumbled into my dressing room with a beaming smile. That couldn't have gone any better. I let out an excited squeal as I sat on the plush couch. Not to sound self-absorbed, but I did amazing. My excitement was short-lived as I was temporarily distracted by the bouquet of flowers sitting atop my dresser. Gifts already?

I stand and look at the pretty pure white Gardenia bunched up and placed neatly in a glass vase. I notice a note placed beside it on the counter, the words 'Pretty Ballerina' written out in neat cursive.

I pick it up with a small smile and unfold the card.

'To the pretty ballerina,

I couldn't imagine a more fitting beauty to play such a role. Please do not be deterred from the early gift, I could not help myself. You amazed me and others with your performance, even though it is opening night!

I've always been a fan of Ballet, however, this is the first time in a long time that I have been completely captivated by one of the dancers. I hope to see you continue on stage, and one day I may even show you my face. Enjoy the Gardenias, known for their purity and sweetness. I'll send you many more gifts in the future.

From, Seonghwa'

I stare at the name at the bottom of the page. Seonghwa, huh? I smile as I put the card down, my fingers lightly touching the Gardenias petals as I let the smell engulf my senses. A part of me hoped this secret admirer would come and visit, another part of me hoped he wouldn't. Either way, I assumed this wouldn't be the last I'd hear from him.

And I was right.

Over the next few weeks my apartment and dressing room slowly turned into a florist from the amount of flowers and gifts Seonghwa had sent me. They letters of admiration slowly turned into love letters, causing my heart to race with excitement after every show.

I needed to see him, needed to know who he was, and I felt like I would slowly eat myself alive. I got butterflies just from the words he wrote on paper. Would I feel the same if I saw him?

I hatched a plan to catch him. I left him a note tapped to my mirror to wait so I could see him. I didn't have high hopes at all. He'd written in his letters how he had no time to stay, how he longed to hear my voice and see my smile up close. I needed to meet him desperately, and I prayed as I danced that tonight would be the night where my wishes would be granted.

As I walked into my dressing room after yet another amazing show, I let out a soft gasp. A tall man dressed in a black suit stood by my dresser. He was handsomely pretty, his features sharp but his eyes soft. His hair was long and styled back, making him look like he walked straight out of Dorian Gray.

"Seonghwa?" I ask softly, stepping forward. I could feel the heat on my cheeks, glancing in the mirror to see a light pink hue. He smiles as he hears my voice, clearly liking his name on my lips.

"Hello, Y/N, is it?" He asks, god even his voice is pretty. Was this really the same man who sent me those letters? I smile softly and nod, moving to stand in front of him properly. "You truly are the prettiest thing I have ever laid eyes on." He murmurs softly, his eyes scanning my body. My cheeks were surely red by now as I lowered my head to hide away from his intense gaze.

I've been flirted with before, it's no surprise, especially in such a big city. However, no flirting attempt had ever come from a man whose beauty could compare to a Greek god. None of them actually worked either.

"You're the one who has been sending me gifts?" I ask, looking back up at him to see him beaming down at me.

"I hope you don't mind. I understand it could seem weird that I've come to every show." He says sheepishly.

"No, not at all! I've started to look forward to your letters." I say with a soft laugh. If a smile could get any brighter, his did. I couldn't help myself but to return it.

"Are you free tomorrow? For brunch?" He asks, holding out a card between his middle and index finger for me to take.

"Is this you asking me out on a date?" I ask, taking the card from his hand, making sure to brush my fingers against his. He purses his lips at the contact, trying to suppress his growing smile.

"It can be a date if you want it to." He says, his voice like honey as his hand lingers for a moment.

"I'll give you a call." I say, holding his card tightly as he nods.

"I wish I could stay longer. However, work calls." He apologizes, tilting his head as he moves away, taking his warmth with him. I wondered what he did. He had to make a lot of money to come to every single one of these shows because they sure as hell weren't cheap.

"I'll see you around then?" My words came out as a question rather then a statement.

"Definitely." He says, bowing like a gentleman before he turns to leave. I furrowed my eyebrows as I looked down at his card. His phone number was written in neat font with his name 'Park Seonghwa' written above it. Below his number was a company name; ATZ Corp.

I recognized the name; ATZ Corp was a company started by an old money family, the Kims. I knew their son, Hongjoong, had taken over the company a few years ago and had hired a few of his close friends from college to help run it. They worked with real estate mostly, however, I had heard rumors that they also did work in the underground. After finally meeting Seonghwa, I didn't really believe it. He looked far too neat in his appearance to work for a gang, let alone the mafia.

I turn back to my mirror and laugh softly at the fresh bouquet of Gardenias waiting for me. He never bought fake flowers and never anything other than the same pure white Gardenias. They must be his favourite, or he assumed they were mine.

The sound of the director calling us for a briefing snapped me out of my haze. Quickly tucking the card into my purse, I rushed out of my dressing room to meet with the cast.

I tried my best to pay attention. However, my brain kept sweeping me back to Seonghwa. His smile, his warm aura, the excitement that bubbled up inside me as our hands touched even if it was brief. I couldn't help but let my mind wonder into what could be.

[empressgeekt]

Trolls - Parental Guidance (Brozone's Parents part 1) Backstory.

Okay this will be a post on my headcanons and backstory for Brozone's parents, and extend family. I'm naming them Jubilee (mom) and Branch Sr. (yes, i headcanon that Branch is named after his father). How they lived, how they fell in love, how they started how they died.....yeah this is going to tear jerker. First it's going to be a backstory post, and then I'll make a what if they survived post, set it FOF based on the vote I put out a few days ago.

Let's start with everyone's favorite grandma! Rosiepuff! In her younger years she worked as a seamstress while running a card playing ring on the side. She fell in love with one of the local baker's boys as a teenager, and they were married young. Her husband was a deep ocean blue troll with bright indigo hair, and pale eyes, named Johnathan. Together they built their family in the mid-branches of the trolls tree, and had two girls. Jubilee and Lotus. Jubilee was the older daughter, and shared many similarities with her father, both physically and personality wise. They both loved music, Johnathan playing an old acoustic guitar while Jubilee sang, and sharing dreams of escaping the tree, finding somewhere out there was that safe. They were happy family.

Until Johnathan was killed working on the escape tunnels. It was the first attempt at escape in years and Johnathan was going to make sure it was going to happen. However, the trolls in charge of the tunnel design didn't really know what they were doing and eventually there was a cave in. Johnathan died fighting for his family's freedom. Jubilee was only 12 and her life changed forever. She stopped singing and her Daddy's guitar was left to gather dust, from then on she was determined not to lose anyone else. She kept up with escape plans and always made sure the pod was ready for a disaster, she never went out to parties or concerts. Lotus' relationship with her crumbled, as they both entered teen years as they clashed from Lotus being more a free-spirit that didn't want Jubilee's protection, calling her crazy. Rosiepuff did her best to keep her family together, but there was only so much she could do, Johnathan was always better at fixing fights. She gave Lotus the space she thought was needed and tried to Jubilee to enjoy her life a little.

"Mama! How could i think about enjoying my life when I might not even have it by next year! I need to keep you an Lotty safe, make sure Daddy's life meant something!"

"Jubilee! Don't you say that. You're Daddy may not have gotten out like he always dreamed, but that didn't mean his life meant nothing. His life meant you, me and Lotus. He had something more important then freedom from this dang cage, he had love. That's all I want for you junebug."

Let's jump to the other side of the family tree for a second.

Branch Sr. was born an only child to Norma Tigerlily and Dorian Meadowlark. Their family lived in the lower branches of the troll tree due to a lack of income, and were at further risk of getting snatched. Their home wasn't all that happy. In the beginning, it was okay. There was always this sort of underlying tension between his parents, due to them having differing beliefs, his father being a strict traditionalist worried about how they appear to others, while his mother was more internally minded only really worrying about how actions will effect the family's wellbeing. However, usually this conflict would remain in the back ground, until Branch Sr.'s first day of school. The day goes fine for the most part, all trollings, whether from the tree top or lower Branches attend the same school, so everyone of his peers were present. Including one little, Jubilee.

Music class always started with a singing test, just to see where each trolling was, it wasn't even that necessary since most trollings could instinctually sing. Jubilee had been a perfect example that day, her voice was stunning, and Branch Sr. couldn't take his eye off her, already in love without knowing what it was. But at his turn...Well...lest just say the teacher and his peers were less impressed, while the picture frame shattered. Branch Sr. couldn't sing....and from there things took a down hill turn for him. After all, a troll who couldn't sing, was hardly a troll at all.

Tensions raised in Branch Sr.'s home, his parents continuing to fight. His father wanting to continue singing lessons in the hopes his son could be remotely "normal", and not put the rest of them in danger. While his mother was more supportive trying to help her son express himself in other ways, she teaches him guitar and how to dance. Both of which Branch Sr. excels at.

When he turns five tragedy strikes again. After a particularly bad blow up between his folks, Branch Sr. runs from the pod and hides in a knot in the bark, what he forgot was Trollstice was the next day. Branch Sr. wakes up to heavy footsteps and people screaming. He stays curled up in that tree knot for hours, scared to move, and when it's all over...his home is gone. The pink and yellow pod was ripped in half, and no parent comes to his cries and screams.

The next roughly decade and a half is a hard life for Branch Sr. He grows up as a street rat, stealing from market venters for most of his meals and living in the half broken pod. Sometimes the parents in the other low hanging tree branches, would take pity on him and let him in during a storm or give him dinner. However he never stuck around one family for long. They always grew tired of him. He only had one friend, a little orange trolling, by the name Peppy, who was notoriously bullied for his squeamish personality, and massive case of stage fright.

He grows up to have this "se la vi" attitude about life, what's the point of working towards anything if it all ends. The other trolls enjoy his company, simply because he knows how to turn up a party, but he still feels like an outsider since he's never able to join in music. Then one night as young adults, Peppy takes him to a restaurant with a karaoke stage, naturally he is not enjoying it, but he isn't the only one who isn't having fun.

Jubilee was also dragged to the event too, by Princess Daisy (Poppy and Viva's mom), after a day of stocking up on suppiles and making food for the tunnel diggers, rather then sleeping off her hard day of work, her only friend decided to drag her out in to the open for a night of fun. She is also not enjoying the night. This draws the attention of some orange troll with pink hair, who knocks his table partner, and mentions that someone else might be more miserable then him. Jubilee did not take kindly to that, sure she knew the others saw her as a kill joy, but she wasn't going to put up with being picked on in public. Somehow she enters a bet with the Green trolls with pink curls that if she successfully got a round of applause from the crowd then he had to actually pull his weight, rather then just lounge around, and go help in the tunnel construction. She wins the bet rather easily, though she feels sick afterward and goes home.

Branch Sr. did not recognize Jubilee initially, in however when her hesitant, yet stunning voice rings out the venue, he's bewitched. It had been nearly 15 years since he heard that voice...and it was just as beautiful as it had been when they were kids, just more filled out, more mature. He has to see her again, so he doesn't complain when he goes to work on the second tunnel system attempt. Jubliee might be banded from digging, buy she still gives out lunch and supplies to the trolls who can.

By now the miners have stumbled upon old mole tunnels and think they might lead to the outside. Branch Sr. Isn't interested a5 first but Jubilee volunteers behind her mothers back. He goes after her. They get trapped outside of bergen town after falling into a worm hole and while trying to get back to the tree to the seeds of romance begin to blossom. Though it isn't without bumps.

Branch Sr: you know I don't get your over obsessive need to do things perfectly.

Jubilee: im not obsessive! I just have a drive unlike some lazy tree knots here!

Branch sr: I'm not lazy! I just don't see the point of working myself to death when I'm just going to get eaten one day!

Jubliee: if you worked hard to escape then we wouldn't have to worry about that

Branch sr: escape? Escape when?! There have been so many attempts at getting out of that tree! I can count on one hand hiw many have been successful . What's the point!

Jubilee: maybe I'm not fighting for myself! Maybe I'm fighting for my family and for anyone esle who can't! Don't you want to fight for your family!?

B: in case you haven't noticed Missy jubilee I don't have a family!

J: but you could!

B: please no one wants a troll like me.

J: no one wants mister party animal? They call me a party pooper.

B: no one wants someone who can't sing. They call me a freak.

J: then I guess we're not that different...

by the time they find the mole tunnels to get back to the tree, they are structurally unsound. And collapse as the make there way back to the troll made ones. They way to freedom is lost once more, and they return to the tree, though Branch Sr. does ask if they could hang out from time to time. Jubilee says yes, though they both refused to call the hang out dates for a while.

Rosiepuff was a little hesitant at first, but she did approve of the match once she saw Branch Sr. playing guitar and getting her little girl to sing again. Lotus straight up did not approve, and nothing Jubilee or Branch Sr. could do would convince her.

Maybe six months after the whole tunnel incident, Branch Sr. finds an Egg in his hair. They are both terrified. Branch Sr. fears that the baby will be like him and Jubilee is worried about raising a child in the tree. Branch Sr. tries to give her an out by offering to breakup, but Jubilee shuts that down, claiming he isn't the problem! it's the environment they were stuck in. They actually consider possibly getting rid of the egg to protect it from being born in the tree.

However Rosiepuff steps in at that point, "Now I understand that you're scared and you have every right to be. But we've been dealt these cards and we'll make due. If you don't want to raise this munchkin, either leave them with me or the orphanage. Yes this is inconvenient, but this is not a mistake. They're a surprise, and nothing more."

Eventually they decide to keep the baby, and Rosiepuff moves Branch Sr. into their pod, not wanting her grandbaby to be hatched in the half broken pod Branch Sr. had been living in since his parents were taken. John Dory is hatched, happy, healthy, and to his father's relief singing before his first birthday. Since were already living together with a baby, Jubilee just goes ahead and proposes. Might as well make their situation official. While wedding planning, Branch Sr, finds himself pregnant once again, though this time its and internal carrying. It's another surprise, but they can't help but shrug. They have one kid what's one more.

Sadly, while Jubliee and Branch Sr, are building their family, Lotus and Rosiepuff's have been falling apart. Lotus started courting Brook Bell-Blossom, a troll who was rather full of himself, and never treated Branch Sr well due to his lack of a singing voice. Now Rosiepuff could put up with a lot, but she wouldn't have infighting between her daughters and their partners, especially with a baby around. This tension rose until a big fight broke out between Rosiepuff and Lotus, and Lotus left to marry Brook, never contacting her mother or sister again.

Spruce is hatched right before the wedding and both boys are in attendance as their father's best men, along side Peppy who had began to court Princess Daisy. They managed to wait about two years before, Branch Sr, finds another Egg in his hair, and Clay is born. With Floyd coming into the picture two years after Clay, with Jubliee carrying him internally. However while Branch Sr managed to carry the first three to term no problem. Jubliee suffered several complications leading to an early laying and hatching. Floyd was born small, and his parents stayed up many a night making sure he didn't stop breathing with his under developed lungs.

For the next nine years they were a happy family, and each of the boys took after their mother in terms of musical talent, though Floyd did ask Branch Sr to teach him guitar. Then one morning, Jubilee wakes up to an egg in her hair, and even they were like "okay we need to stop". While they were happy to receive a fifth baby, this was a little much.

Sadly however they would never get to meet their youngest. Shortly after the egg detached but before hatching, they get snatched by the chef. Royal Bergen weddings were required to have a troll flavored cake so no one was ready when the cage around the tree was opened. Branch Sr would try to fight off the chef giving Jubilee and john dory the chance to run. Jubilee stuffs her eldest into a tree knot and hands him his youngest siblings egg before going back to trya and save her husband.

...they never come back...

----

Well here's the back story of the brozone parents in my aus. Sorry this took so long to come out. I was trying to figure out the plot, making it cohesive and all that. Hope yall enjoyed, and I will try to make a 'what if post' on how Jubilee and Branch Sr. might have survived from getting taken.

[multifandoms27-blog]

The Sacred Cards

Content: (Platonic) Yugi Muto x gn!Reader

Warnings: None

Notes: Been playing Yugioh: The Sacred Cards recently and I got to the end and it made me want to write about it

• ───────────────── •

You, a renown duelist, stood on the Kaiba blimp that soared over Domino city. It was the night before the final match. So much has gone wrong since you and seven other duelists stepped foot on this blimp. Your friends and yourself blindly trusted a man who turned out to be Marik, leader of the Ghouls, a group that had been hurting people since Battle City started.

But something happened to Marik. Something awful. He wasn't himself, not that you really knew him in the first place, but he seemed...more evil somehow. The semi-finals went smoothly at first, but it all came crashing down after a while.

First, there was a match between yourself and Yugi Muto. You, as his long time friend, knew of his other self when he dueled. Somehow, you were able to beat him, even if by a hair. Seto was not happy about that development, and had vowed to beat you in the finals.

However, that didn't happen. The next match was Marik and Kaiba, to which Seto had, unfortunately, lost. Seto then went into a coma and is being kept in one of the medical rooms with Joey and Mai. As far as you knew, this was his second coma. Couldn't be good for the body.

While you were thinking, you didn't notice your door room opening and someone stepping inside. "Y/n?"

You jumped and turned around. There stood was Yugi. He looked shy, as if he were approaching you for the first time. "I...came to see how you were doing. Are you ready for tomorrow?"

"I've gone over my strategies, but Marik could throw anything at me..." You look off to the side.

"So you're nervous?" Yugi wrung his hands. "I am too...I couldn't sleep..."

"Oh, Yugi..." You looked back down at him. "I'll be okay-"

"But what if you aren't? What if you end up like Joey? Or Kaiba?" Yugi looked worried now, and you swore you saw tears in his eyes.

You opened your mouth to say something, but you just walked forward and brought a hand to his cheek. A tear fell from his eye and you wiped it away with your thumb, though it smeared his eyeliner slightly. "Yugi, I'll be okay. I have full confidence in my deck, and I'm sure they'll all wake up after I beat Marik tomorrow. Then this will all be over."

Yugi sniffled and looked up at you. He put his hand over yours and took a deep breath. "I just don't want you to end up like them."

"I understand. I promise you I wont." You gave him a friendly wink. "Now try to get some sleep. I'll see you bright and early for the duel tomorrow, okay?"

Yugi nodded. "Okay. And what if you can't beat Marik?"

"Then I leave him in your capable hands."

Yugi nodded, then turned to leave. With one last look to you, he finally shut your door and walked down the hall. You weren't going to lie to yourself, you were very nervous. But that wasn't going to stop you from trying your hardest to beat Marik and win the Battle City tournament, and wake your friends up. That you were sure of.

• ───────────────── •

Here is my Masterlist in case you want to request, or look for more of your favorite character!

[crescencestudio]

๋࣭⭑ Devlog #39 | 3.27.24 ๋࣭⭑

Happy March!!

This devlog is going to be a bit shorter, but...... it's for Exciting Reasons that I will share later in the post. heh.....heh.....HEH.....

Let's jump in ^^

This month, writing was mostly dedicated to Etza's route! We have officially entered the Developmental Editing part of Etza's route, which is super exciting!!!

There were parts of Etza's route I wasn't completely satisfied with, so I spent a lot of this month tinkering, adding, fleshing out, editing, etc. for their route. I'm happier with it now compared to where it was when we entered this month, and especially with Wudgey's help, I'm excited for Etza to get the love they deserve!

I had a small, optional goal for myself to start Kuna'a's route, but honestly, I felt like between work with the Enhanced Demo, Etza's edits, and just generally feeling a bit tired after being Super Productive in January and February, I decided to give myself a break. That being said, I'm relatively confident I'll be getting started with Kuna'a's route next month, and I'm excited to dive into their route (and the Fae routes in general, teehee!).

Vui is on the very last of the BGs I need from him..... So I am in mourning.......

Kidding but not kidding. Vui has done an amazing job of putting the backgrounds for Alaris together! They're absolutely stunning, and by the time we get to the next devlog, he will have finished ALL of the BGs for Alaris! It's been about a year and a half in the making, which is kinda crazy to think we have been together for this long (and working on the full game for this long), but it's definitely A Moment.

In celebration of him reaching this milestone, I wanted to highlight some of the BGs he's made for the game! The theme is early morning; some of these BGs are in the demo, and some are in the full game hehe. You'll have to guess the context of the mysterious full game BGs :')

Sneak Peek: BG Showcase, morning strolls around the world of Alaris

I also thought it's been a while since I showcased a CG here. While I don't play on showcasing many of the full game CGs on public devlogs (I do show them on my Patreon!), I wanted to show a little snippet of this specific CG.

Why, you ask? Well, for the OGs, you might remember I showed a sketch of the CG during the Alaris Kickstarter---whenever the hell THAT THING happened.

I finished rendering it now that I got the BG for it, so I wanted to show a peek of that sketch that I showed oh-so-many-years ago.

Sneak Peek: Kayn Full Route CG I want to lick him

Generally for art progress, I've been working on CGs as well as some promotional materials, which I'll be getting to in the next section \o/

Now for the Exciting News!!!!

I have two bits of exciting news. The first is...

Sneak Peek: Selection Screen for Alpha/Beta Access (OUUUUGGGGGHHHHH)

I STARTED CODING KAYN'S ROUTE!!!! The first act is already "done" and ready for beta access. And I'm hoping to finish the other two acts within the next couple of weeks. It is crazy to finally be able to code some of the full game routes. Even if they're not at the "final version" or early access stage, it is Extremely Rewarding to finally experience the scripts I've been writing in the game!!! With the CGs.... Extended Screens..... Just seeing the script with visual assets and not just a Google Doc is SOOOOO FSEIKLFJSEILE

Sneak Peek: Chapter Character Cards (AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA)

The second piece of Exciting News is that I have a release date for the Enhanced Demo. YEEEEAAAAAA. It's finally happening!!! Please stay tuned over the next couple of days...... An Exciting Announcement is on its way...................................

I didn't do much market research this month. If I'm being honest, I actually struggled a little bit this month with like...... burnout and workaholism guilt. I wanted to take a break after getting the demo ready for public release, but I just couldn't bring myself to fully rest. It felt like there was so much to do (not just with Alaris, but also with real world/work obligations) and all these looming deadlines was starting to get to me.

I'm hoping next month because I'll actually be Releasing the demo (oops, sneak peek of general release date teehee!), I'll be able to feel like I can take a break. But it also sucks a bit that I feel like I have to Earn It. I think with Alaris being a Kickstarter project, I want to get the game in your hands as soon as possible, but of course it's not to anyone's benefit if I burn myself out in the process and end up with either a worser project or taking even longer to finish it.

I did...... start Stardew Valley again since it is the ultimate dissociation/break game for me. So far it's been working! But we'll see how it continues <3

LOOK AT MY FARM!!!

Should I marry Sebastian or Elliot.

Anyways, hope you all have a great rest of your month, and I'll talk to you Very Soon with an Exciting Announcement! <3

[twistedbunni]

Mind Show pt. 2

Buggy x telekentic!reader

A/N: Here's the smutty part 2, took me a little longer cause I had to figure out how I wanted it to play out. Again excuse any mistakes as I'm once again too lazy to reread/proof it.

Enjoy!

Once the pair of you had made it back to Buggy's ship, taking in the view of his crew destroying the town as you'd strolled, he quickly and eagerly led you to his Captain's chambers.

Instantly after you'd entered his room he stopped holding back the urge he had to pounce on you like an animal in heat, kissing you with as much passion as he could and letting his hands roam you. Clearly he wasn't lying when he mentioned that you killing that guy with a mere card had done something to him.

It was a little scary to think that you killing someone turned Buggy on, but you honestly couldn't blame him considering you always enjoyed the thrill of seeing such unflashy people exit this world by your own willful powers. The crazy look in his eye is what instantly drew you to want to ride this clown as if he was the pole and you were the pony on this wild carousel of desire.

His hands were caressing your clothed body in ways that were slowly driving you mad. You were a performer, you couldn't let yourself break this character you've set up for yourself, you had to show him what you could really do and impress this one man audience.

"Captain~ why don't you have a seat? Let me give you a real show I'm sure you'll enjoy." You gently pushed him away, towards his bed.

"oh a private show just for me? I'm honored babe." He sat on the edge of his bed, a prideful smirk on his face and lust in his eyes that served as your spotlights for this little show.

You stood a small distance Infront of him, sliding your hands over your body slowly in a way the captain was finding quite seductive. After a minute your hands halted right over your chest, a smirk growing on your face as the buttons of your shirt started to undo themselves, along with your pants. Your shirt slid down your shoulders but thanks to your hands still resting on your chest, the fabric of your upper torso remained covering the bits of flesh you knew the clown was eager to see.

Teasing him a little you let the shirt slide down a little more but not giving him a view of anything too 'juicy' so to speak. You turned away from him, looking back over your shoulder to look at him, finally you removed the rest of the clothing covering your upper half, and your pants as well with the help of your magic.

All the clown could see was your bare back and ass now, and boy was he fighting hard to keep himself from jumping up to spin you around and see you in your full naked splendor.

"I notice your not wearing underwear sweetheart why?" His his were glued to your butt, scanning for any string of a possible thong or something else since the only fabric that came off your lower half was your pants.

"Oh, no!" You feigned surprise. "I was sure I had some on earlier. Well maybe check under that hat of yours sir."

Raising an eyebrow at you, he did exactly that. Removing his hat he found a pair of stripped laced underwear tucked inside his hat. When had you done that though? He didn't see you slide them in there and you'd physically only touched his hat once earlier when you gave it back, and used your telekinesis when you had initially taken it.

"How did- When did-?" He started to question, amazed by the trick.

"A magician never reveals the secrets of their tricks." You winked as you turned to gave him fully, letting him see your form in all it's glory. "But I can reveal my body to you~"

You could practically feel his gaze sliding over you, as he studied each and every detail of your body. Disembodied hands moving to caress your form once more like they had earlier. Once they'd seemingly mapped your form enough they came to rest on your hips, lightly tugging you towards him urging take a few steps closer.

"God your body is as mesmerizing as your magic." He pulled you into his lap, making quick work to start marking every inch of your skin as he could.

"it's quite unfair for you to be fully dressed still while I'm sat bare on you." You teased him, using your powers to strip him of his coat, best, and bandana in a mere instant before he'd even had time to give any form of response to you.

"I can already tell I'm gonna enjoy you doing that everytime." His voiced cooed out between the kisses he was currently planting along your neck.

At this point you'd begun to grind on his still clothed crotch, the feeling of needing him in you was growing extremely fast. "Buggy now that I've shown you mine performance, won't you show me yours?"

Getting the hint of what you meant, he slid you off his lap, standing to remove his remaining clothes himself. Afterwards he instructed you to lie on your stomach legs spread apart slightly, he grabbed what little bit of lube he had, using it to slick his member up, positioning himself at your entrance.

"Hope your ready because we're jumping to the main event." His form now seemed to trap you below him on the mattress as he slid himself into you.

Buggy gave a few slow experimental thrusts to get you both accustomed to the feel of each other, before setting a quicker pace of his hips. It was blissful, he wasn't absolutely wrecking you but also wasn't going aggravating slow either, he'd somehow found a good pace that was perfectly pulling moans out of your throat without much effort.

His crazed demeanor that had drawn you to him back in the pub had faded away, instead he'd become more like a lover you'd known for years, whispering sweet praises into your ears as he moved inside of you tenderly. Sure you would have been fine with this complete stranger completely rearranging your guts till you couldn't walk, but this sweet side of him was also a welcomed changed.

"God you feel amazing" His breath was warm against your ear. "I'm glad youre joining my crew because id honestly have to kidnap you if you weren't." He planted a few kisses to your shoulder.

"Of course sir, I've already decided to be all yours after tonight." You'd heard a satisfied groan come from him.

"Damn, just thinking about that is pulling me closer to the edge. Cum with me sweetheart." His pace picked up, one of his hands snaking it's way around your front to stimulate you and bring you to your peak quicker.

"Buggy~" you mewled so close to that peak of pleasure, and as soon as he'd given you a 'thats it baby' you were flying over that edge with him following along with you.

The pair of you were left panting messes, tangling your limbs back up together after you'd briefly separated yourselves, the two of you now laid together, curling up in the captains bed. You were taking in the warmth of each other as your hearts started to calm down and beat as one.

"Well I guess you could say that magic brought us together in this moment." You joked, enjoying this afterglow with him.

He laughed at your comment, relaxing that you were right considering your magic show is what brought his attention to you. "Yea, you're not wrong bout that."

With that the two of you spent the rest of the evening curled up together, listening to the distant sounds of the crew wreaking havoc and the sea softly crashing against the boat, till the pair of you fell asleep.

[golbrocklovely]

What did you think of the new video? Are you going to do a review?

sure, i can do a review :)

instead of making a separate post, i'll just do it here

i liked the video overall, but there were a couple parts that weren't... my favorite? i guess that's the right way to put it.

i think the one thing i didn't like about the video was the semi preachy message that they ended up going with, ie "we should do this together instead of apart". i think the reason why i didn't like it so much is just bc if you think about it timeline wise, they posted the haunted dolls vid in december, only by february to do ONE investigation and realize "you know what? i take back what i said. no separation necessary :)" and i think that's kind of dumb.

that's not even mentioning the fact that the haunted dolls vid was filmed before farrar, was gonna be hell week, but instead farrar took that spot. and then they filmed this video in december, clearly not separating at all at any real point except for this one lone vid.

and look, it's not like i expected them to actually separate, go their own ways filming content, and then come back later. i knew this was all an "experiment", so to speak. just the start of trying something new for the first time. i get that. i just find it a little silly that they couldn't even keep up the act for like two videos. and really the only reason they came to this "conclusion" is bc sam got stuck in handcuffs for like almost two hours lol

i think it's also bc sam is the one that made this whole speech, and since he's the one that kinda caused this to happen in the first place, it's annoying to see him say "actually i've learned my lesson and i want to go back to how things were, thx." bc the whole reason this shit happened was bc you dragged colby into something he didn't want. and now that you're alone you realize it's too scary aka why colby didn't want to be a part of it........

and then i think the other part that kind of annoyed me, but that i also found hilarious, is that he got stuck in handcuffs. bc only their dumbasses wouldn't check to make sure that they are either self release ones or have the keys with you. like.... this is peak "snc are dummies" sksks

i think i was just more surprised by how dramatic they played it. while yeah, it would be scary to be in that situation, it wouldn't have been scary if you thought before you did it lol

other than that, i thought the separate investigations were kind of interesting. sam's place was clearly really haunted. colby's, not so much. i think there was also a point where colby was getting really freaked out or jumped to some conclusion bc of the evidence he was getting and i was just like "dear lord colby CALM DOWN"

the place they investigated together was cool. the attachment segment/theme for this video is... a little bit tiring at this point, given that they still think sam has one from sallie house, but whatever. as @xplrvibes said, and i agree, colby plotlines don't really stick around long so they most likely will cut this one out by next video lmao

since i complained so much i'll mention some stuff i loved:

i really liked the separate investigation aspect. i think doing something like that, just maybe closer by one another, would be interesting to see. maybe places that are connected or interwoven in each other's lore??

the estes method, as always, is a 10/10 creepy. especially given colby doing it.

colby finding the keys, the soft "oh...", and cut to sam's disappointed face was fucking comedy lmao

the card game was kinda cool. i remember them doing that YEARS ago at the queen mary. doing things like that in vids is always fun to me. whether or not it's real evidence is up for interpretation

i think the overall investigation together was really solid. also snc married old couple banter gets me every time lol

them not having another person in the vid honestly raises this whole video up a point in my book. less guests please and thank you !!

overall, not their best video imo, but definitely not their worst. it was fine. tolerable. i would say a solid 6.5/10. definitely room for improvement, or just some minor tweaking.

[gravityfallsrewritten]

Chapter 13: Through Fears and Insecurities

"So how do you play this game?"

Dipper looked at Y/n, offended. "Seriously? You've never heard of this game before?"

She rolled her eyes. The two of them stood in front of a worn arcade machine with Fight Fighters in big, bold letters on the side of it. "I have, I just never had the time to play it." She crossed her arms.

"Well, you pick a character first," Dipper said, stepping forward and moving the joystick. "My favorite one's Rumble McSkirmish." He pressed a button and the character was chosen. "Your turn."

Y/n scoured through the list of fighters until she finally stopped on her chosen character. "This one looks promising." A ginger woman with two buns in her hair, and the name 'Suggessica' above her.

"Okay," Dipper nodded, smiling. The announcer shouted that the fight had begun and the two fighters faced each other with a referee in the middle. He felt excited as he taught her the basics of the game. "First things first, you use the joystick to move your character."

He moved left and right, Y/n following after him.

"Okay. Four buttons. This one is jumping, this one is punch, this is for kicking, and this is for your ultimate attack. You wait until the blue bar is full then you can use it."

Anyone who could be listening in to their conversation would deem this the nerdiest thing, but Y/n understood it easily. She nodded, and began pressing the buttons.

Suggessica moved forward, while Rumble stepped back. Y/n and Dipper began fighting momentarily. It was clear to her that he was taking it easy since she's only a beginner– which she appreciated, but Dipper shouldn't underestimate her.

Dipper was mashing the buttons and she picked up the strategy, because doing that can do some combos. Y/n pressed the kick button repeatedly, making Suggessica jump and kick Rumble a few times while in the air.

"Woah," Dipper muttered under his breath, beginning to fasten the pace, doing a counterattack of his own.

A couple of rounds later and the score was tied. "Wow, I didn't think you could beat me at my own game!" He spoke, staring at the screen.

"What can I say, I learned from the best." Y/n winked, nudging Dipper playfully. The two of them laughed. "One more game to break the tie?"

He grinned. "Game on."

"Fight!" The announcer declared.

Y/n and Dipper focused their attention on the match, pressing buttons. Dipper had his power meter almost full when someone pushed them both away.

"You kids have been playing the game since this morning. How about you two sit this one out?" Robbie came out from nowhere and immediately, Dipper felt annoyed. His presence alone made his blood boil. More than anything, he just wanted to wipe that stupid smirk off his face.

Dipper boldly retorted, "But we just started this round."

"Whoa, whoa, hey! Relax man, I'm just trying to spend a little time with my girlfriend, alright?" Robbie was defensive. "You and your own girlfriend can play some other game for now."

"She's not my-"

"Couldn't you have asked a bit friendlier?" Another voice cut him off and Dipper only noticed that Robbie was with-

"Wendy! Hi," the boy greeted albeit awkwardly. She always seemed to have this effect on him.

The redhead smiled apologetically at the two. "Sorry for Robbie's behavior. He's just a bit nervous for his upcoming gig," she said, waving her hand dismissively.

"Come on, babe! Let's play!"

With that, Wendy excitedly accompanied Robbie, the game's music being mixed with their laughter.

As they played, Robbie put his arm over Wendy's shoulder, subtly glaring at Dipper.

Y/n watched Dipper with mild bitterness as he stared back at the couple with the same level of animosity.

***

***

Eventually, the two went back to the Shack. Soos invited everyone to play cards, and as much as Y/n wanted to join, she had to go down and diagnose the portal as per usual.

She must've been down there for quite some time because the moment she went back up, Dipper and Soos were gone, Stan had his back on the ground hysterically sobbing, while Mabel was on her way upstairs with Waddles in tow.

"Um... did I come at the wrong time?" she spoke.

"Y/n! Perfect timing!" Mabel exclaimed with her hands together. She sprinted towards her, literally ignoring her great uncle sprawled on the floor having fallen from fear from seeing a skydiving commercial. "I need your help."

"Woah!" Y/n yelped from the force that was Mabel Pines. She pulled her upstairs to her shared bedroom and began pacing around. Y/n dusted her clothes from being dragged. "Mabel, what is wrong? Why is Stan crying?"

She continued marching in circles. "Did you know that he secretly has a fear of heights?"

Y/n stared at the twin. She did have a hunch that he may have a phobia, but Mabel just confirmed it. All the hints that the old man didn't know he dropped, she picked it up. "What about it?" She asked instead.

"How am I gonna get Grunkle Stan over his fear?"

"What are you planning?"

Before Mabel could reply, the bedroom door opened and entered Dipper with an entire new character – literally.

"Hey, Mabel. Hey, Y/n. This is Rumble, my new bodyguard."

"The child gave me a taco!" Rumble responded with the same monotone voice and stoic expression.

Y/n wasn't able to speak as Mabel just gawked at the tall guy in interest. "Wow! He's got a crazy voice! Here, say these words," she said, writing something on a blank sheet of paper before handing it to Rumble.

"Effer...vescent! Apple..fritter! RIBOFLAVIN!"

"Mabel, he's not a toy, he's a fighting machine. I'm gonna get him to defend me from Robbie."

"Isn't that like cheating?" Y/n pointed out as she stared disapprovingly at Dipper's choices.

He simply shrugged. "I guess so." He continued to smile and a brief silence passed by. "Well, I'll see you after the fight."

The door closed. It was quiet until Y/n spoke. "I'm just as unsure as you, Mabel," she reassured the twin. "But if his plan backfires, then he has himself to blame."

"I'm not as worried for him as you do, Y/n," Mabel smirked.

"I-"

"Come on, Y/n! I have an idea on how we can help Stan overcome his fear!"

And when Mabel managed to convince Stan to walk him out while wearing a blindfold, Y/n knew she was up to no good.

She got herself another can of Pitt Cola before the three left for Mabel's adventure.

"Mabel, are you sure about this?" Y/n asked as she stared up at the water tower with a muffin spray-painted on it.

"100% sure! Grunkle Stan," she turned to him, "you have nothing to worry about! We just have to climb on a... something." If she said the word 'ladder' it would've been a dealbreaker.

Stan grunted, trying to grasp what was in front of him considering that all he saw was black. "What? Climb? You're not talking about a ladder, right?"

"No!" she giggled 'reassuringly'. "You can trust me, beloved great uncle!" She patted, slightly pushing him.

He slightly hesitated. "Alright, fine."

"I don't think he can still trust you after this," Y/n muttered under her breath, but followed after Mabel.

After a moment, the three eventually reached the top, the wind washing over their faces as their hair flew. "Take off your blindfolds now!" Mabel exclaimed.

Stan did as he was told and immediately saw the great height before him. The same feeling of anxiety returned before he could think. "Yep, that's pretty much what I was expecting," he said monotonously.

"You're doing better than I thought!" Mabel cheered. "Now let go of the handrail..."

Y/n could feel Stan shaking beside her, his knuckles were turning white from the vice grip he had on the rails. "Nope!"

All of a sudden, a teen with a scent of anger and hormones climb up the same stilted structure, gasping for air. Y/n had to step back from the stench that was Robbie.

"Hey, Robbie! Get your own water tower!" Mabel demanded.

Robbie looked uneasy and scared. Y/n's eyebrow raised in suspicion. What was he running from?

"CHALLENGER SIGHTED!"

She looked down and saw Rumble on the ground, clearly aiming for Robbie. Dipper's plan to destroy him seemed to be working.

Rumble screamed something else before attacking the water tower, kicking one of the stilts, making it lean.

Mabel panicked, shaking as she grasped the handrails. "What's happening?"

Stan's arms were shaking. "Oh, boy..."

"We're safe, right?"

Y/n held on to Stan and Mabel tightly as the older man panicked and screamed. The stilts of the water tower were punched until it weakened, and the whole thing wobbled. Y/n pushed the two to the other side of the tower to balance it, but Robbie unfortunately fell to his demise.

He was caught by none other than Rumble, who was prepared to finish the teen. But all of a sudden, Dipper stopped him with a single pebble. The fighter was perplexed, confused as to why the boy interrupted. Dipper admitted his faults, his lies– that Robbie didn't actually kill his father.

Rumble felt utterly betrayed. He let go of Robbie and began to summon the wind as he closed his eyes. He was thinking very deeply as he felt his soul get corrupted once he realized that he has been manipulated by this kid.

"If Robbie V is not the last stage..." the character began, "then it must be... YOU!"

He pointed directly at Dipper as he jumped into the air to emphasize his seething anger. A floating 'START' button appeared at his side. He stared at it before Soos came running beside him.

"Dude! Don't fight him, man. That dude's got like a black belt wrapped around his black belt! You could get killed!"

"I have to," Dipper replied, already feeling defeated. "I started all this and I got to at least try to stop it."

He looked at him, uncertain. "You sure you wouldn't rather hide like a wimp?"

Wordlessly, he punched on the 'START' button, and it vanished, signifying his agreement.

Soos crossed his arms as he looked proud. "Fight like a man it is."

The round began, and just like a video game, Rumble's stance was bouncing on his heels. Dipper attempted to follow his movement but it just looked awkward.

He fought with all of his might, but in the end he just accepted his fate– as well as Rumble's Super Power Ninja Turbo Neo Ultra Hyper Mega Multi Alpha Meta Extra Uber Prefix COMBO– leaving him bruised and beaten up.

The round ended, and as much as Rumble was very confident in winning, he just didn't know that arcade games will always have a 'GAME OVER'. Rumble screamed as he disappeared pixel by pixel.

Meanwhile, Y/n watched from the water tower, and now that the fight was over, she urged the other two to go home. "Come on, guys, let's go."

"I'm sorry, Grunkle Stan!" Mabel exclaimed over the wind. "I thought this would help, but I was wrong! So wrong!"

Stan began patting himself. "I... I survived! I survived and I feel great! Wait, let me do a cocky dance just to be sure." He placed his hands on his hips as he moved it back and forth with a huge smile on his face. He cackled. "Deal with it, world! Stan Pines has cured his fear of heights!"

Y/n rolled her eyes, but there was a twinge of amusement in them. "Alright, after you, old man."

He climbed down. "You coming, kid?" He said to Mabel. She shook her head, fearfully looking down. "What, you have a fear of heights now?"

She didn't say anything. It was quiet, and he only realized. "Uh oh." He and Y/n shared a worried glance.

"Come on, Mabel," Y/n cooed as she placed a hand on her shoulder. "I'll help you get down." She took Mabel's hand and led her towards the ladder.

She was shaking, closing her eyes as tight as her grip on Y/n's palm. Gently, they climbed down as silence washed over them. The moment they touched the ground, Mabel immediately reached for Y/n's hand, holding it tightly that would have hurt, but it was never an issue for her.

While walking away from the water tower, Stan was telling the story about how he bravely faced his fear and eventually overcame it. Mabel was spacing out so clearly she wasn't listening, while Y/n was watching over the ruined park where Wendy had just arrived from her trip and was now talking to both Dipper and Robbie until she kissed her boyfriend and pushed down the boy's hat before walking back to her family.

The two boys talked briefly for a moment, agreeing on Dipper's offer of having a cold war with each other instead of fighting and risking Wendy seeing them. Robbie walked away with a scoff as Dipper stood there. Soos offered to walk him home seeing that he was still injured.

Everybody arrived home. Y/n already had the first aid kit out since she saw how bruised Dipper was. She waited until the door opened to the living room from the gift shop, and it didn't last long when it did open to reveal Dipper limping inside. "Ow, ow, ow," he muttered under his breath.

"Are you okay?" Y/n asked. Of course he wasn't, but she didn't know how else to open up the conversation without him overthinking the fact that she waited with the kit. "You should sit down."

Dipper obliged, sitting on Stan's yellow recliner. He closed his eyes but winced as he felt his black eye swelling again. "Ow."

Y/n ran to the cooler for ice and quickly handed it to him as he immediately placed it on his eye. He hissed as the cold, cold temperature met the bruise.. She began tending to his other wounds and it was quiet. The type of quiet where they could hear just their breathing. The type of quiet where you cringe when something rustles in the background. But it was the type of quiet where it was comfortable, calm, pleasant.

He closed his eyes as he breathed out, "Thank you, Y/n."

"You're welcome," she replied without missing a beat but she was still looking at his wounds.

Dipper had to admit, he felt guilty. He didn't know why. Maybe because she's always been helping him without expecting something in return. She had always been kind hearted and selfless, often seeming to be looking out for him and his sister.

He was brought out of his stupor when he felt her hand brush against his cheek. She was cleaning the scratch with wet cotton. He gulped at the proximity. What is happening?

Y/n was very gentle with every wipe. Every time her hand caressed against his skin, he felt warmth, but her stare could be so cold. She looked very determined to clean away his gashes. Dipper noticed the way she stopped moving. Her eyes shifted to meet his, and the two remained staring. Can you stop looking at me?

He had to back away. "Okay, I think I feel a little bit better. I can– handle it."

"Alright," she said after a brief moment and began cleaning up the dirty wipes and cottons. Dipper breathed what he didn't know if it was a sigh of relief. Y/n stood up. "I'll be in my room. Good night, Dipper."

"Good night."

***

It was one peaceful morning. Stan and the twins were watching another episode of Ducktective, when all of a sudden they heard a knock on the door.

With all of his might, Stan trudged towards it, opening it to reveal a suited man with a stern face. "Stan Pines..."

"Oh, no," Stan sweat-dropped upon a cold realization. "The tax collector! You've found me!" He threw a smoke bomb to the ground that effectively temporarily blinded the man and that was Stan's cue to take his bag of money hidden inside the walls of the living room and escape while he still could. He was looking desperately for a fake opening. "Which one of these is the trap door?!"

"Mr. Pines," the man spoke again, now inside of their living room. "I'm from the Winninghouse Coupons Savers contest, and you are our big winner!"

A cameraman, along with two women carrying a large check of ten million dollars, came in. Confettis were thrown around as Stan was shocked. "My one and only dream, to possess money, has come true!"

"We're rich!" Dipper exclaimed. "I'm gonna get a butler!"

Mabel punched the air. "I'm gonna buy a talking horse."

The man brought out papers. "Just sign here for the money."

"You bet!" Stan wrote into the paper without hesitation.

Only, it was all a lie when Gideon tore through the large check, exclaiming. "Stanford, you fool! You just signed over the Mystery Shack to lil 'ol me!" He began to do a little celebratory dancing jig.

Dipper and Mabel gasped in horror, but Stan was unperturbed. "Uh, you might wanna take another look there!"

Gideon raised the papers to his line of sight and began reading. "The Shack is hereby signed over to..." he saw the signature, 'SUCK A LEMON LITTLE MAN'?!"

Stan bellowed as he took pride in humiliating Gideon. The twins laughed as well to see the priceless look on his face.

The little boy tore the paper violently. "How dare you! I am not a threat to be taken lightly." He reached for the guy he hired to be the fake host. "Come here, I need your arms."

The unnamed lawyer followed his order and lifted Gideon before backing away slowly.

"I"ll get you, Stanford Pines! I'll get you all!"

First, get the name right.

Stan shook him off. He shouldn't dwell his attention on kids such as Lil Gideon. He had bigger matters in his hands. One of them was getting the cooler fixed– and another was setting up the gift shop. He was too lazy to do any of those, that's why he hired people for a reason. Soos will handle one of those tasks, though it was quite unfortunate that Wendy didn't work today...

He excused himself to the kids, telling them that he's going to go to the restroom. Boy, he's slowly running out of excuses and it's not even the half of the summer. He stood in front of the vending machine, surveying the closed shop before forcing it open and quickly shutting it once he got in. He meandered down the ramp that led to the elevator, punching the level's number, and waited until it took him there.

The elevator opened with a ding, and he walked to the pathway that showed the portal. "What are you doing here," deadpanned the girl who was casually working on the portal. She was typing the data that was coming out of the old-timey processing unit that Ford had designed for this portal. It was always ciphers– classic Ford– that Y/n had learned to decode. So far, the results have been... neutral.

"I should be asking you that question. You should be out there."

"I have nothing else to do."

"Then I'll give you something to do, fix the cooler."

Y/n groaned. "What? Have Soos fix it. I taught him how."

"I already assigned him other duties. Do you want to rearrange the shelves in the gift shop?" Stan asked. He waited, and when he heard nothing from her, he smirked as he felt cheeky. "I thought so. Now get off your butt and go upstairs!"

She punched down the table in defeat as she stood up, letting out an annoyed huff. "I hate you,"

"I love you, too. I'll take care of these while you're gone." He dismissed her, taking the seat she was previously in.

She rolled her eyes. As if he could understand a single symbol plastered there. Surely, he'd just take a nap.

Reaching the top level of the Shack, she took a peek on an opening from the vending machine. The gift shop was vacant, and no one seemed to be wandering around. So as quickly as she could, she slotted herself out of the machine, punching it shut for a Pitt Cola to fall off. She took it out and opened it like nothing had happened for the last ten seconds.

The universe was on her side when Soos had just opened the shop's door. "Sup, dude."

"Hey, Soos," Y/n said with her lips on the tip of the can. The two met in the middle of the room to give each other fist bumps. "You're on shelving duty right?"

"Yep, one of my favorite pastimes," he chuckled. "I just like looking at neatly arranged items that are all identical and stuff. Pretty satisfying."

She nodded, "Well, you get on that. I have to repair the cooler– again. Did you know why it broke?" The girl walked towards the cooler and circled around it, examining it from afar.

"I have no idea." Soos spotted the cardboard box from a corner and began inspecting it. It was a couple of Mystery Shack bumper stickers and other merchandise. "Maybe it was the heat of summer that's causing it to like– overheat. Or something."

Y/n couldn't help but smile. "You are exactly right, Soos. How did you figure that one out?"

"Well, the first thing I fixed was a cooler– uh, that cooler specifically. I helped Y/n – wait, not you you, but the you who was older... who was also named Y/n... She helped me fix the cooler. Your older sister."

She almost snorted in laughter. Stan was right, Soos was never going to pick up the clues. "Yeah? What did she teach you?" She already had the back of the cooler facing her, with the panel being opened. The toolbox was ajar, but she hadn't started yet.

"Everything I know," Soos answered. "She's the smartest person I know. Ten-year old me would have probably freaked out if it wasn't for your sister. Which is why..."

Soos trailed off. Y/n poked her head out the side of the freezer to look at him. "Which is why..." she repeated, wanting him to continue.

He smiled sheepishly. "Which is why... I'm kinda grateful that you're here, Y/n. The younger sister Y/n. It's like– you're continuing your sister's legacy. I don't know, I say dumb things."

There it is again, what Ford referred to as tears. It was simply there. To a normal person, it would feel like it was pricking the corner of their eye and about to come out, but to Y/n, it was just an inconvenience.

But what she felt inside after Soos said such a heartwarming statement... was enough to make her cry.

She quickly wiped it away. "I didn't think it was dumb..." she muttered.

It was times like these where she just wanted to tell the truth. "I was the same Y/n from ten years ago. I never grew up, never had a sister, and had been residing in this Shack for more than 30 years."

She wished it were that easy. Despite her desire to tell the truth, she would rather be selfish for a moment and let Soos talk about her nonexistent older sister with her than tell everything. The truth would eventually come out, and she had no idea what would happen or how he would react.

The twins entered the room before her mind could conjure up any more depressing scenarios. Dipper held a chessboard in his hands. "We need a table!"

"Hey, Dipper, what about this one?" Mabel pointed at a green, fake turtle shell with a random skeleton inside. "This seemed sturdy enough."

"Sure." The two brought the shell meters from the counter as well as dragged two tall wooden logs for chairs.

Mabel sat down, her legs swinging around because she couldn't touch the ground. Dipper crossed his legs as he brought out the chess pieces from the board. "What are we playing?" Mabel asked.

"Chess."

"Ooh, I love chess!" she expressed her excitement.

The two set everything up– well, Dipper did since Mabel doesn't know where to put the pieces– before they began the game.

Soos was on his way to reorganize a collection of Stan bobbleheads on a high shelf. Y/n was quietly turning a screw as she listened to the twins argue about the game. The game was full of commentary and Mabel impersonating a horse sound every now and then. Dipper was becoming increasingly enraged by his sister's casual approach to chess. This sport should be taken seriously.

After a few hours, Y/n had completed the cooler repair and was confident that it would work again. She connected the plug into a nearby wall outlet before switching it on. It hummed back to life as a single light turned on. She smiled proudly, her hands on her hips.

"Little guy to black space 9!" Mabel announced knowingly.

"It's a pawn, that's not your color, and stop stealing the tiny horses!" He pointed at her with an exasperated look.

Mabel smiled carelessly, cuddling the pieces close to her as it snuggled inside her sweater's pocket. "They like it better here!" She leaned closer to the black and white. "Don't you, babies?" Once again, she neighed in response to herself.

Dipper ignored her and lifted a bishop piece. He toppled Mabel's king with a big grin. "And checkmate."

"What? Booo!" Mabel shouted.

The boy took out his trusty notepad and pen, turning to the page that listed his victories in chess against his sister. He just got his 85th win. "OHHH! Dipper wins again!" He exclaimed. Mabel glared at him, annoyed.

Soos cast a glance to his right, where he noticed a brain in a jar wearing a tall hat and another brain in a jar wearing a blonde wig. He intended to replace the jars behind the bobbleheads, but he couldn't go down the step-ladder without letting go of the falling lantern beside him. He will have to fix that later, too.

He turned further to his right to go look for Y/n, but it seemed that she walked out of the room already. She was the tallest one out of the three preteens. She was taller than the twins by approximately four inches. Guess he had to go for the second tallest person in the room who could help him.

Still holding the lantern, he called, "Yo, Mabel, could you pass me that brain in the jar? The lady one?"

Dipper was already standing up. "I got it."

"Thanks, but Mabel's taller."

"What?!" Dipper reeled, "No she's not! We're the same height! We've always been."

Soos let the lantern fall, placing his fingers under his chin as he examined the two. "Better check again, dude."

He hopped down the stepladder, pushed them together back-to-back as Dipper removed his hat. Soos brought out a measuring tape he conveniently had in his pocket and began measuring. "Yep. She's got exactly one millimeter on you."

"What?!" Dipper was perturbed.

Mabel was amazed. "Woah, don't you see what's happening, Dipper? This millimeter is just the beginning. I'm evolving into the superior sibling! Bigger! Stronger!"

"Like some kinda alpha-twin!" Soos happily pointed out.

"Alpha-twin! Alpha-twin!"

Dipper crossed his arms, exhausted. "C'mon, guys, nobody even uses millimeters. It only makes you taller than me in Canada."

Mabel wondered aloud, completely ignoring her brother's complaints. "Y'know Dipper, I've always wanted a little brother. Who knew I already had one?" She laughed at her own joke.

Stan walked inside the gift shop, rubbing his eyes. "I was awoken by the sound of mockery." When actually, he was woken up by Y/n herself, telling him that she'd just finished the repair. "Where is it? Show me the object of ridicule!"

"I'm taller than Dipper!" The girl exclaimed.

"By one millimeter," the boy emphasized.

"Hey, hey," Stan warned, "don't get... short with your sister." He laughed uncontrollably. Dipper deadpanned.

Mabel put her hands together. "Now Grunkle Stan, I hope you don't think little of him."

He remained bemused while Stan laughed some more. "Yeah! And, and uh... he's short!" He and Mabel laughed in unison as Dipper began to think about his life choices.

Soos felt bad. He thought he had some kind of liability as he started all this height comparison thing. "Dude, maybe you should lay off a tiny bit."

Stan guffawed. "HA! Tiny! Soos is in on it now!" The two cackled hysterically, watching as Dipper finally stomped away.

"N-n-no, I didn't mean that!" Soos clarified.

Mabel placed her hands on her hips, walking towards her grunkle. "Dipper will forget. He's got a 3... 2... 1..."

"SHORT-TERM MEMORY!"

Y/n was about to return to the gift shop to see what Stan had to say when she ran into Dipper in the hallway. She chose not to say anything because she noticed he had a deep frown on his face and his brows were furrowed, indicating he was stressed.

She opened the door and saw Stan in tears because he couldn't stop laughing. Mabel, too, was howling with uncontrollable laughter. "What happened just now?"

"Oh, Y/n! There you are! Can you believe that I'm actually taller than Dipper? This is the best day of my life!"

"Congratulations?" She didn't know what to say to that trivial news.

Stan pulled Y/n to his side and playfully gave her a noogie. "Oh, come on, Y/n. Why don't you give Dipper some of your height? He could use it!" Once more it was followed by rounds of laughter.

She withdrew herself from the older man. "I didn't come here to make fun of Dipper. Have you seen the fixed cooler yet?"

"Eh, I trust you enough to know that you did a good job." The way he said it felt so dismissive, but she still felt pride when she heard that. Stan's compliments are a rarity. "Welp! I'm off to go back to my office. Waking up to this was better than some cup of coffee." He chuckled as he walked away.

Soos went back to the counter and got the jar of brain himself, while Mabel sat on the barrel chair beside it. Y/n bought herself a nice can of Pitt Cola before retreating towards the living room.She plopped on the yellow chair rather ungracefully, the content inside of the soda sloshing around as she did so. Sipping slowly, she stared at a random spot on a ceiling.

This was the same couch that Dipper had sat on as she had tended to his wounds. That felt like so long ago when it was actually just last night. What was she thinking?

This is just a ploy to get closer to them. The more you do something nice for him, the more he trusts you that he'll eventually lend you the journal.

He shouldn't even be lending it in the first place. It belonged to her first!

Another reminder that she's doing this for Stan as well. He was desperate to redeem himself and change. To show the kids that he wasn't just the stupid older brother. He wanted to be a good role model (though he wasn't really living up to that), but most of all, he wanted to protect them and keep them safe. And, as much as possible, they should avoid doing anything that will raise their suspicions.

Slowly, but surely.

She rose from her seat. It's pointless to dwell on these thoughts. She was drinking the last of her Pitt Cola when Dipper marched into the living room, almost making her spit it out as she noticed something different about him.

Dipper came to a halt, feeling unwell as he realized he no longer looked slightly upwards whenever he spoke with Y/n. He's looking directly into conniving eyes. They were the same height this time, and she noticed it right away.

"When did you get so tall, Dipper?"

He laughed quite nervously. "Oh, you know... puberty and stuff."

"Hm..." She'd read a few medical books about the topic because she hadn't got a personal experience, but she didn't realize that going through puberty also meant having your clothes enlarged...? It was too convenient to consider.

Dipper clenched his knuckles, looking like he was about to break. "Okay, I give up! Y/n follow me," he said, taking the lead and marching up the stairs.

Y/n watched as Dipper approached the shelves and reached for a seemingly ordinary flashlight—except it wasn't. It had a crystal taped to the spot where the light was supposed to shine.

"Wait, where did you get that?" Y/n pointed out as she realized something.

His eyes briefly widened. "Do you know this?"

"I see these exact things from time to time whenever I take walks. I thought they were just shiny rocks..." Gosh was it hard to act dumb.

He almost had a smirk on his face. "Well, you thought wrong because they were actually height-altering crystals. I read it in the journal. For example, this knight is tiny. I just shine a light at it and–" he presented like it was show and tell. "--BOOM! It's bigger now. But it can also be reversible. Just flip the crystal over and it'll shrink." He pointed the flashlight towards the knight and turned it on, this time the light was pink.

"That's interesting! But...why did you need it, Dipper?" She just had to question it out loud. Though Tall Dipper was a sight, she had to know what his intentions were.

"I... I'm just sick of my sister teasing me, and I have a habit of proving people wrong, so..."

When she said nothing else, he stepped forward and gave her the flashlight.

"Here, just aim it at me and turn it on then off. Do it quickly so I won't turn into a giant."

She nodded. following his instructions. He had his arms out as if embracing it. and that was her cue to turn it on. It was only a millisecond of the blue light washing over him and he grew in an instant.

Y/n stepped closer just to compare. This time, he was so tall that she had to look up slightly to meet his brown eyes. Woah.

Dipper's thoughts were racing. It was as if he had been slouching his entire life, and stretching his back changed his entire perspective. She was looking up at him. She had considered it before, and she had considered it again. Tall Dipper was a sight.

He couldn't help but smile at Y/n's stunned expression. He wanted to treasure this priceless reaction for the rest of his life. Surely he can keep being taller than her forever.

What was he saying?

All of a sudden, Mabel opened the door. "Give it up, Dipper!" she declared as she entered. As if they were electrocuted, the two hopped away from each other. Mabel marched up to them. Either she didn't see or she did but was too distracted by her frustration to notice.

As quickly as she could, Y/n turned around and made her exit. Only then did she notice an enlarged pawn literally behind them that went through the ceiling. How could she have missed it the first time she walked into the room? Her guard had been completely lowered.

The more Mabel trudged closer, the more she realized that her height couldn't compare to Dipper's right now. She gasped and instantly glanced down on the ground to see that he wasn't standing on anything. "What happened?!"

Dipper shrugged casually with a smirk. "I told you, sis. I just had a growth spurt. No big deal."

"This doesn't make any sense! Just a second ago you were– WAIT A MINUTE!" Mabel yelled. "This is some kinda magic-y thing, isn't it? Was it a wizard or something? There's a wizard in this closet, isn't there? ISN'T THERE?" Mabel strode to the closet.

"What? NO!" Dipper shouted back.

"You're telling me that there is not a wizard in this closet. You're telling me that if I open this door right now-"

"Fine! Open it."

She did, revealing a flannel shirt, a tee, and a pair of boots clearly too big to fit for either of the twins. Whose clothes are these?

Mabel remained unfazed, looking completely disappointed. "An invisible wizard! Really, Dipper?"

Meanwhile, Y/n had just run down the stairs. She could feel her very normal heart pounding in her chest. What the heck is happening?

"Woah, you alright?" Stan asked the moment he saw her.

She began walking away. "I'm fine. I just need... some space."

"Maybe you need some free entertainment," he suggested, on the brink of laughter. "Look out the window if you want a laugh."

She raised an eyebrow, but did what he said. She leaned on a nearby window and saw Gideon running around wildly as he smacked his hair repeatedly. He was screaming the words 'TERMITES!' over and over.

Stan was laughing beside her. "Come on, you gotta admit. It's hilarious."

"It's quite amusing."

"Boo, you're not even laughing." He glared.

Y/n looked at the clock and she suddenly looked surprised. "Oh, my! Is that the time? I have to do something really important! In the meantime, don't you have to be ready for your tour? The people would be waiting! Welp, ta ta!" She rambled before dashing away without giving him a chance to speak.

"Stop changing the subject!" Stan burst out as he watched her down the hall.

Upon entering her room, Y/n clenched her fists. Her plan to get closer to Dipper appeared to be working, but why did she feel so differently? She experienced emotions she had never encountered before. Is this normal? To be fair, she wasn't even normal to begin with. She punched a nearby wall until it was literally smashed to smithereens. It didn't hurt her hand in the least. Yep, definitely not normal.

She wasn't having the best day.

Dipper wasn't feeling well either, having been shrunken down by Gideon himself using the same magical flashlight he'd created. Now he and Mabel are trapped inside the jar as the boy takes them home. When Gideon arrived in his dark room, he opened the container and shook the twins out, causing them to fall to their butts on the wooden drawer.

"You two!"

"What are you gonna do with us?" Mabel asked.

Gideon giggled. "Why Mabel, I wouldn't hurt a hair on your itty-bitty head– if you agree to be my queen!"

"We live in a democracy! And never!" She pushed his finger away from her hair.

"Maybe you'll change your mind after this!" He picked her up by the collar of her sweater, bringing her to a pack of her favorite snack.

"Gummy Koalas!" Mabel gushed after threatening to fight Gideon until the day she died. That would keep her suppressed.

"As for you, boy," Gideon continued, facing Dipper. "Tell me, how exactly did you come upon this magic item? Hmm? Did somebody tell you about it? Did you.... read about it somewhere?"

Dipper raised his gaze to the pale child. His vest pocket became noticeably heavier as he realized the implication of his question. He remembered the journal tucked inside as the words 'TRUST NO ONE' flashed across his mind. He took a look around and noticed an air horn nearby. "Lean closer and I'll tell you!"

"Well don't mind if I-"

He sounded the air horn right in his face, making Gideon scream. He cupped his ringing ears as his face turned red from anger. He was breathing heavily before turning back around pushing away the lamp. "I COULD SQUASH YOU RIGHT NOW!"

Dipper stepped back in slight fear.

But Gideon stopped himself. "Steel yourself, Gideon. You could use them." His voice dropped into a whisper. "You could use them."

The ringing of the Shack's main telephone echoed throughout the house. Y/n's eyes opened for a brief moment. She laid on her bed with her hands on top of her stomach. She was waiting for Stan's order to answer the call, but nothing came and the ringing already stopped. He must've been nearby. After a long silence, it was cut off by his obnoxious laughter.

"Y/n, can you come down here!"

She blinked. She may not have been called to answer the phone, she was still ordered to come down nonetheless. What did he need this time?

Leaving her room, she trudged down the hallway. But before she could take a turn towards the parlor, she took a detour to the gift shop. She needed that soda intake before dealing with anything. Gideon Gleeful busted open the main door to the shop before her hand could reach the employees' only door. "The Shack is mine, Stanford Pines!" She heard, and that's when she took a peek at the slightly ajar door.

She saw Mabel's eccentric pink sweater and the blazing blue vest that Dipper wears by Gideon's grasp. In his other hand, the magic flashlight that he blatantly stole, with the pink light shining towards a direction.

Y/n followed the light, and that's where she noticed Stan's fez on the ground. She clenched her fists so tightly as she feared that Gideon may have won the battle– until he lifted the hat revealing a green speck. Gideon had shrunken Soos instead. "What?!"

The boy captured little Soos and took a random jar lying on the counter. He opened it and carelessly tossed the trio inside, even shaking them for a little bit of torture. "Tell me where Stan is!" Gideon yelled onto the jar.

Y/n observed him as he suddenly had a huge grin on his face, indicating that he had figured it out. He moved towards the door where she was hiding. She exited the living room as quickly as she could and headed straight for the kitchen."Stanford! I'm coming for ya!"

She peeked from the kitchen as Gideon turned to the direction where the parlor was located. Come on, think! She needed to tell Stan about Gideon's attempt to shrink him, but she had no idea where he was. He could be in the mirror maze that he was talking so proudly about, but Gideon could be ahead of her already.

Even after a few unsuccessful attempts to smack the glass, the twins and Soos remained helplessly trapped. As he felt guilty, Soos placed his hands on his head. "Guess I kinda 'Soos'ed that one up, didn't I?"

"It's not your fault, Soos," Dipper said," I"m the one who put together that shrinking device. I guess it's just..." he turned to Mabel, "... you kept teasing me, Mabel, like, all day! What was that all about?"

Mabel frowned, feeling bad. She tossed Dipper the notepad with the list of their games. He glanced at the paper cluelessly. "I guess it's that... you're better at me at, like, everything! And you always rubbed it in my face. Chess, checkers, ping pong..." Even croquet. "I guess I finally felt like I was winning at something for once."

Dipper felt bad as well. He lightly smacked the notepad against his head. "Aw, man. Now I feel like a big jerk."

"Don't you mean, a little jerk?"

"Oh!" The two of them chuckled at the lighthearted joke. "Alright, I walked into that one. Are we cool?" He stretched his arm for a fist bump.

"We're cool."

"Am I cool?" Soos spoke, presenting his fist as well.

"You're cool, Soos."

"Yes!"

Dipper smacked his hands together. "Alright, let's find a way to get out of this jar. We can't break it, so let's just open it the old-fashioned way. Soos! Carry me on your shoulders."

The handyman raised him until he was sitting comfortably on the back of his neck. He then raised Mabel, and Dipper grabbed her until she could step on his shoulder and sit on it, forming a tower. Mabel twisted the cover until it was loose, and a hard push was all it took. Soos stood on his tiptoes until she was able to lift the cover. The container had finally been opened.

"Let's get that flashlight before Gideon gets Stan!"

Y/n stalked after Gideon as he walked down the steps and into the mirror maze. It indeed looked like a maze made out of mirrors. Now how much did this cost Stan? "Ew, termites!" Gideon suddenly exclaimed, slapping the back of his neck. He continued walking until he saw Stan looking down on him.

He jumped, instantly reaching for the flashlight and turned it on. The light bounced off the various mirrors until it landed on the wall mount of a moose head. Unsurprisingly, it shrank.

Stan was laughing at him, causing Gideon to become enraged and throw the flashlight at him. "No!"

The flashlight broke one of the mirrors, shattering it into a million pieces. "Hey, watch the merchandise!" Gideon picked up the device, and with a devilish smirk, he had the perfect plan. He began smashing the mirrors with his flashlight one by one, not caring if it would prick him. He broke about 10 mirrors until Stan finally showed up, his hands on his hips. "You little troll! These mirrors caused me 10- I-I mean, uh 20- 5, 500... 500 dollars each! And you're paying for all of them!"

Gideon imitated his pose. "Au contraire! It will be you who pays!"

Y/n burst into the scene and tackled Gideon to the ground, reaching for the flashlight and attempting to apprehend him by pushing down his wrist, but he was quick, withdrawing his hand and pointing the flashlight at her. But before he could turn it back on, Y/n slapped his hand, causing him to drop the flashlight, which rolled to the ground.

"Ah! No!" Gideon screamed, thrashing around like a toddler. With the way he smacked his fist down her cheek, he wasn't exactly throwing back punches. Y/n didn't even flinch as she grabbed his wrist. She steeled herself against punching him back as much as she wanted to. All she has to do is keep him away from the flashlight.

"What is happening out there?!" Mabel exclaimed as her grip on Gideon's pocket tightened.

Dipper felt dizzy. "Y/n must be helping us by stopping Gideon from shrinking Stan! We gotta help her!"

"Wait, she knows about the magic flashlight-?"

"It doesn't matter, to his armpit!"

"Uh-uh!" Mabel grimaced.

"Just- just go! Come on!" He pushed her down until they were both crawling on his skin.

Gideon smacked Y/n several times, but she didn't budge. "Ugh, let go, you fool! Give me back my flashlight!"

"That's not yours to begin with!"

"You will rue the day you cut off my vengeance against Stanford." Gideon glared, pointing at her. "I wasn't going to include a nobody like you in my schemes, but now you've made a grave mistake messing with me! You and the rest of the Pines family will feel the wrath of Gideon Glee-"

He began giggling.

Y/n and Stan stared at him confusedly.

"Gideon Glee-!" He was laughing uncontrollably on the floor.

"I don't even know how to respond to this," Stan spoke aloud.

He was chortling before stopping himself. "No-!" Then he's back to laughing. Stan looked at him as if he were insane. He looked to Y/n for assistance.

Y/n stood up and began kicking Gideon, causing him to roll on the ground. She took up the flashlight as Stan took over the punting this time. The two rolled a laughing Gideon until they reached the front door, where Gideon landed on the ground with one last kick.

He finally stopped laughing. Gideon clutched his pockets and yelled, "My light!"

"You're the light of my life, too, pal," Stan replied before closing the door. "Phew! Freak show, am I right?"

He left without saying anything else. Y/n stood there motionless as she watched him walk away. "Dipper? Mabel?" she whispered after a moment.

"We're here! Y/n, we're here!"

Two little dots were jumping on the ground below her. She smiled and pointed the flashlight at them after flipping the crystal. She turned it on and the light was back to blue. The twins had all returned to their normal height, but they still needed to measure for... good measure.

"Hey! You're letting me keep my extra millimeter?" Mabel said.

"Oh," Y/n said, facing Dipper. "Do you want me to...?"

"Nope, she earned it." He brought his hand up, though he really missed the feeling of being taller.

"Aw, thanks! Little brothe-"

"Stop it."

The night had ended. Of course, they didn't forget about Soos and bringing him back to his normal height, too, before destroying the crystal completely.

***

CONTINUES IN CHAPTER 14!

MASTERLIST

author's note: i planned to include a scene where dipper comforts mabel after having a newfound fear of heights (it was already written out and everything), but i scrapped it since it would really cause major plot holes. let's just say that mabel's fear of heights wasn't perman64ent.

anyway-

23-8-1-20-0-9-19-0-20-8-9-19-0-6-5-5-12-9-14-7- -19-15-0-19-21-4-4-5-14-0-1-14-4-0-14-5-23-?

[muddyorbsblr]

Ohh holy hell goddamn from the first paragraphs I already knew we were dealing with an unhinged Bucky since he's literally peeping at her from her bedroom window, and then deciding that he was gonna make this Valentine's Day ✨special✨, like I knew we were in for one hell of a dark rollercoaster ride.

Poor Steve though he had no idea Reader even liked him and now he's in the hospital because of Reader liking him 🥺 Like when I read that part I was just like "NOOOO". That's what happens though when he gets in Bucky's way, I guess 🙃 And then top it off with that warning after he got jumped, poor pretty blondie was probably just all "Goddamn now I wish I couldn't remember what he looked like" 🥲

I really liked the nod to the movie though with YN reading the card and thinking "Who the hell is Bucky?", and also this bit establishes that this stalker is someone that she hadn't been aware of until he made himself known to her. And this was such a terrifyingly convincing take on a stalker and the completely unhinged and irrational mindset that they have.

And something in the way that he fixated on YN as well just rings so convincing because she's so trusting and naive and naturally leans toward choosing to rationalize and see a completely non-malicious light on things, that it leaves Bucky with this wide margin for error because even if he slips up something or other, she might just think "Oh I could have sworn I left my curtains closed before I left, but I guess I didn't" or "Oh maybe my landlord finally found his keys and this is just a sweet little gesture from him".

Like she's so sweet and trusting that it makes me sad for her knowing what's next for her 🥺

The completely heartbreaking part though was this part that told me that Bucky wouldn't have actually had to go down this path. Like he actually probably stood a more than decent chance with her if he just introduced himself and didn't just go dark and psychotic on her:

Under any other circumstances, you would’ve thought he was attractive. With piercing blue eyes, brown hair framing his face and stubble covering a sharp jaw, he was undoubtedly handsome even if there was a dark look in his gaze that sent a new wave of fear washing through you. 

Dammit Bucky you couldn't have it all with her without the fear and torment, but you just had to do it this way, didn't you 😭

But then he kept talking and it made him even more of a terrifying character because of that "hollow affection" in his voice. It's like he sees her as a literal doll to possess and play with, and all of his actions are him unable to rationalize that she isn't a doll that's meant to follow the play script he's laid out, but rather that she's a living breathing person that should be free to be attracted to whomever she wants 😭 And then my brain went back to the whole "preparing his truck" bit and the scariest question popped up in my mind:

Has he done this before? How many times has he done this before?

And the flash forward in the end where you could really see how effectively worn down she'd become from how consistently he kept on telling her "you're mine and you know you're mine" that she actually believes that it's acceptance and happiness? Like she actually became his literal doll playing house with him in his cabin in the woods? That was just so chilling and such an insanely good depiction of Stockholm Syndrome that I've seen in a fic.

Me thinking about Reader like:

I really liked that you didn't take on this story as a dark romance or even a stalker romance, but a truly dark story where the only "happy ending" is in the mind of the stalker and the victim is really portrayed as such. Like I'm not always up for dark stories but this was tastefully done and much as my heart broke for Reader and her life now, it didn't make me as sad as some other dark fics I've read before that I've had to up and walk away for a good few days/weeks or drown myself in fluff & smut to wash it all away

Also another thing I really appreciated: That this didn't include any explicit smuttery, and instead it was just implied that yes of course he did take her when he got her to the cabin. It was such a well done approach that the horror can be just as effectively delivered in what wasn't shown alongside with what we as the readers/audience were shown.

You're definitely gonna be a go-to for me when I want a good dark fic in the future.

pretty little doll

pairing: stalker!bucky barnes x reader

summary: it's valentine's day and bucky barnes has been stalking you for months, but he decides it's time to finally take you and make you his doll.

warnings: dark themes and elements, stalking, jealousy, non-consensual kissing, voyeurism, obsession, mentions of violence (not against reader), abduction, gaslighting, implied mindbreak/brainwashing/stockholm syndrome (idk what it is or what you'd call it so just including all the possible things), if i missed any tags please let me know!

word count: 2.5k

a/n: so this was inspired by @bellasburdens's valentine's day this or that's she put together! one of them is about finding flowers left on your kitchen counter by a stalker and i chose bucky barnes and then i just couldn't get the idea out of my head!! so please enjoy some very, very dark bucky barnes—the complete antithesis to the fic i posted yesterday 😅 happy valentine's day y'all ♡♡♡

-

When you got dressed the morning of Valentine’s Day, you had no way of knowing that choosing to wear a cute matching set of pink lingerie—just for yourself, just to make you feel good—would be what set everything that came after into motion. You had no way of knowing Bucky Barnes was standing outside your Brooklyn brownstone, watching through your bedroom window from across the street as you get dressed. 

Bucky had his black cap pulled low over his eyes and he was damn near drooling at the sight of your body wrapped in pretty pink lace. It took all his self control not to touch himself while you stood in your bedroom in your lingerie, unaware of his eyes devouring your curves. He could stare at you forever, and he was determined that he would.

You didn’t know until later that moment, while he watched you dress, was when he made his decision. Because of your pretty pink lingerie, which he believed you wore just for him, he decided it was time to take you. It was time to make you his.

That Valentine’s Day started out like any other day—besides the lingerie. You got up, got dressed in your bedroom at the front of the first floor apartment you had to yourself in a converted Brooklyn brownstone you loved. You went to work in Manhattan, where you tried to get your projects done in between meetings and trying to time your coffee breaks so you’d run into Steve Rogers, a guy from the art department you had a crush on.

That day, you weren’t successful in catching sight of Steve in the break room, and it was the topic of conversation during lunch. You grabbed a table with your friend from work, Wanda Maximoff, at the café around the block from your office building. Wanda, who’d had this conversation with you many times already, told you again that you should just talk to Steve. But you reminded her how you’d get flustered if you were in the same room as Steve, shaking your head and wishing he would make the first move. Wanda smiled kindly and patted your arm comfortingly.

Unfortunately for Steve, that conversation happened in a public place, well within earshot of anyone who might want to listen in. 

It wasn’t until the next day that Wanda learned Steve was put into the hospital that very afternoon, not too long after you and her returned to the office from lunch. Steve had been stepping out to grab his own lunch when he was attacked. He told the police he was mugged by a large man, but couldn’t remember specific details of his appearance. In truth, he remembered Bucky’s face perfectly, but decided to heed the warning his attacker left him with—to stay away from you and not mention anything to anyone unless Steve wanted Bucky to return and do much worse.  

You wouldn’t know about any of that until much later, when Bucky finally confessed to you that he’d been enraged hearing you talk about another man like that. Even though Bucky had already decided to make you his that day, he couldn’t stop himself from taking out his anger on the blond man. After all, how could you truly open your heart to Bucky if you were hung up on some punk named Steve Rogers? He’d come to the conclusion it was best to make sure Steve stayed out of the way.

That afternoon, while Bucky was confronting Steve, you were still blissfully unaware that anything was wrong, or that your life was going to be completely upended before the day was done. You just went back to your desk after lunch and slogged through the rest of your work, excited to get home. You didn’t have any Valentine’s Day plans, but you were eager to relax. However, your evening would be far from relaxing. 

You noticed the first hint that something was wrong too late.

Later, you’d kick yourself for not seeing the signs of Bucky earlier—the curtains of your bedroom window open despite the fact you’d definitely left them closed and the barest hint of men’s cologne you didn’t recognize in the entryway. But that evening you were still so blithely naive, you didn’t realize something was very, very wrong until you walked into your kitchen and spotted a bouquet of pink roses on the counter, a card next to it.

You froze in the doorway. No one else had a key to your apartment. Even the landlord, who lived on the garden level below you, didn’t have one since he’d lost his copy a couple months prior.

You’d later learn that Bucky had stolen your landlord’s key. He’d initially planned to just make a copy and return the original to your landlord so he wouldn’t notice anything amiss. But the thought of anyone else having unfettered access to your apartment had rage churning in Bucky’s gut. It didn’t matter that your landlord was a kindly old man who’d never dream of entering your apartment uninvited, Bucky couldn’t bring himself to return the key. So he kept the original and used it as often as he liked.

But on that night, you were too frozen with fear to make the connection between the stolen key and the flowers in your kitchen. Blind terror slithered down your spine, making you shiver despite the fact that you were sweating under your winter coat. You had the chilling sensation of being watched, which was ironic since, at that moment, Bucky actually wasn’t watching you—he was preparing his truck for you. 

It was one of the few moments he didn’t have his eyes on you. But somehow you felt them, like all the times you’d been observed without your knowledge compounded and hung heavy like a scratchy blanket around your shoulders.

It occurred to you that you should call the police. You knew, instinctively, the flowers were evidence of a break in, but your brain started rationalizing instead. Maybe your landlord had finally found his key, and maybe he’d left the flowers for you as a nice gesture. Maybe he’d let in one of your friends to surprise you for Valentine’s Day. You convinced yourself you had to be sure it wasn’t something innocent, so you didn’t look silly for calling the police.

When you looked back, you knew that was your biggest mistake. If you’d just turned around and left, if you’d gone to a friend’s and called the police, or at least knocked on your landlord’s door, nothing that came after would’ve happened. In fact, the police may have even caught Bucky. 

But you didn’t turn and leave. You walked into your kitchen and picked up the card, flicking it open. 

My sweet, pretty doll, it read. I knew you were the one from the moment I laid eyes on you. You looked so beautiful that day, your eyes sparkling and your smile so wide it took my breath away. When you put on that pretty pink lace getup this morning, I knew it was just for me. You put it on because you knew, before I did, that today was meant to be the day we make our relationship official. Don’t worry, doll, I’m ready. My heart is yours and you’ll soon be mine.

Your heart was pounding in your chest, the sound of it loud in your head as you read the card. It was signed, Yours, Bucky. But all you could think was, who the hell is Bucky? Your thoughts raced, trying to figure out who he could be, imagining all the strangers you’d interacted with over the last few months to try to figure out if you could place him. But you came up blank. New York was a big place and you couldn’t remember all the faces you’d see in a single day, let along the weeks or months he’d been stalking you.

It was time to the call the police you decided, and you were so flustered by the card, it wasn’t until your had reached into your coat pocket and found it empty that you remembered you’d left your phone at the office. Well, you hadn’t left it on purpose. You’d misplaced it, and you were too excited to get home to bother looking for it too hard. You figured it’d turn up on your desk the next day. But as you stood in the kitchen, staring down at the flowers and card left by a stalker you’d been completely unaware of, you realized your phone may not have been misplaced at all.

The sound of your apartment door closing wrenched a scream from your lips and you spun around to find a man standing just inside the closed door.

Under any other circumstances, you would’ve thought he was attractive. With piercing blue eyes, brown hair framing his face and stubble covering a sharp jaw, he was undoubtedly handsome even if there was a dark look in his gaze that sent a new wave of fear washing through you. 

The man was big, too, easily standing at over six feet tall with broad shoulders encased in a black jacket that was open over a black t-shirt. He wore dark jeans, a dark cap on his head and black boots. Everything about him screamed predator and you knew with absolute certainty that you were his prey.

Your body tensed as your gaze flitted around your kitchen, looking for an escape. But the man—Bucky—was standing in front of the only entrance to your apartment and you didn’t think you could make it to your room and get a window open fast enough to escape him. Your mind realized you were trapped before your body did, your blood still drumming an insistent pulse through your veins, your heart pounding with the instinct to flee. 

So focused on escape, you almost missed it when your stalker spoke, breaking the quiet of the kitchen that was only filled with your harsh, panting breaths.

“My pretty doll,” Bucky murmured, his gruff voice almost sounding soft with the endearment. 

But your ears picked up on a flat hollowness to his tone that made you think the emotion he put into his voice was nothing more than play acting. The attempt of a sociopath to pretend he felt anything real. That what he felt was truly love and not a demented kind of obsession. It filled you with horror. 

Bucky stepped closer and you flinched, pressing your back against the kitchen counter like you wanted to keep as much space between you as possible. He stopped.

“Don’t be afraid, doll,” he said in his best attempt at a soothing voice, his hands up like he was trying to placate a wild animal.

In that moment, you wished you had the teeth and claws of an animal—something sharp that could hurt the man who had come into your home, who had watched you for countless hours while you’d never known. You wished you could scratch and claw at him, do anything to keep him at bay. But instead, you just watched him warily, unsure if it was worth it to put up a fight. You still didn’t know how dangerous he could be, even if you could sense violence in his every movement.

The man was still talking, still murmuring in a low tone like he could calm you down with his voice and his words alone. “I won’t hurt you, doll, I promise,” he said, but then he tilted his head to the side like he was thinking. “Unless you make me,” he added. He said it like a reassurance, but you took it for the threat it really was.

Bucky moved another step toward you and when you didn’t lash out or try to escape, he became emboldened, getting closer until he stood just in front of you. His hand reached up and cupped your cheek. His touch was gentle, but you had to brace yourself not to flinch again, already learning he didn’t like that.

“My pretty, pretty doll,” he cooed, that terrifying hollowness undercutting his affectionate words. His face was arranged in a mask of tenderness you didn’t believe.

You stared up into his blue eyes and they were flat, emotionless. No matter how much he could try to pretend to be sweet with his words, his gaze didn’t lie. There was a vast emptiness inside Bucky that he was desperate to fill, and you knew he’d already decided you were the sacrifice he’d feed to the yawning void in an attempt to stave off being consumed himself. You whimpered, knowing the fate that awaited you and succumbing to the fear overwhelming your body.

Bucky shushed you in a gruff rumble, cupping your face in both hands. It wasn’t until his thumbs swept softly over your cheek, wiping away tears, that you realized you were crying. 

His blue eyes were bright and intense on your face as he watched you. “So pretty when you cry, doll,” he murmured, his eyes going heavy lidded as they followed the tracks of your tears down your cheeks. 

Slowly, Bucky ducked his head down, and then he brushed his lips against yours. You froze, not wanting to anger him by fighting, but not wanting him to continue either. So you just let it happen. You let him press his lips to yours more firmly, let him slide his tongue into your mouth, let him coax a response out of you. A soft sigh escaped and you felt Bucky smile against your mouth, pulling you tighter against his body. You melted into him, the adrenaline from the fear draining out of you until you were soft and loose in his arms.

Later, you’d learn that not fighting Bucky’s kiss was your final mistake. He would tell you that kiss was what made him so sure you were his—truly his—and that you knew you were his. Because you didn’t fight him. You didn’t bite his lip or try to push him away, you just stood there and let him kiss you, your lips so soft against his mouth, the salt of your tears on his tongue. He took it as a sign you’d already surrendered to him.

Eventually, you came to believe him. Not when he gathered you into his arms and took you away from your apartment, never to return. Not when he showed you to his cabin in the woods, your new home together. No, you didn’t believe him until much later.

But eventually you did. You believed you were his, and he was yours—you believed you were meant for each other. When you decided to believe, it didn’t feel like surrendering to him, but accepting your new life with Bucky. When you finally accepted it and believed it, it was a relief. You could finally find peace.

It didn’t matter anymore what he’d done to make you his, you were Bucky Barnes’ pretty little doll and you were happy.

[ayearlaterletters]

10JUL2024 - 14JUL2024

This letter will mark the first letter I am writing to you. My letters will consist of randomness, my pov, thoughts and emotions. Most importantly, from the heart so please bear with me.

I want to recap our days together, every day. Something for us to look back on and remember the little things and the good days. I'll try to remember the little things you do or say to me that made me feel good.

On July 10th We went to karaoke for less than 2 hours. I sang L-O-V-E by Nat King Cole and you sang do for love, sail away, Telephone Man, and Michael Jackson love song lol. After karaoke, we head on over to Claudia Birthday celebration at Dave and Busters. We got to see Janel and Mya, Gaby C and her daughter, Sean, and Claudia's co-workers from her other job. We threw up the 4's as a bit and you bought the photos! I loved it for the frame because it's hilarious - what were we thinking we are just goofy lol. After we ate pretzels and garlic fries and drank your alcoholic beverage we played games. I got hit smacked on my face with a basketball because I wanted to win so bad on tic tac toe basketball, which I did win! After gaming, we went to the parking lot because I needed to go home and rest. I also accidentally took the night medication instead of the day one so that's why the alcohol was hitting fast but I was still functional! That day you wore your hawaiian button up, black trousers, docs, and a jacket. I wore a mini floral dress, jean jacket, and white heels to match your style. I wanted to dress up with you because I thought you looked handsome. When you wear trousers and a button up I think you're dressed up even though you don't agree. We were kissing pressed up against your car then we hear Mya say we left 30 mins ago when we really didn't lol. we were just admiring each other looking into each others eyes. You and I took a drive to Sunset Cliffs and we were intimate until 1am. I went to work on 1 hour of sleep lol. I would do it again.

On July 11th

I took an 8-hour nap according to you lol. I know for sure I took a juicy nap. After my much-needed slumber, I texted you and you scooped me up to attend your brother's volleyball practice at the YMCA. That day I learned about slapbox and it's such a guy thing to do. Apparently, you are a champion at this boyish sport. Attending the YMCA felt very nostalgic and I learned you were a YMCA kid too which made me smile. Little things I learn about you make me feel a closer connection to you because of the little things we have in common. After rooting for Marcus, he is extremely good at serve jump, we went to baked bear in PB. I learned Marcus and you had a bowling arc. Custom bowling balls too! Next time we go bowling or anytime we go bowling, Marcus is more than welcome to join us and he said he was willing too. Also, you sitting on my itty bitty lap with all your weight and all legs on top of me was so heavy but I love feeling you on me and then I sat on your lap and you picked me up surprisingly. you're so strong. You drove me home and it was a great evening spent with you and your brother.

On July 12th mid-afternoon, we went out to get So Saap - fun fact it means " Very Delicious" in Thai. My grandma taught me the translation and I didn't tell you that day because I forgot, but I just remembered since I'm now writing this. After lunch, we took a nice drive to Balboa Park. I pointed out a vegan restaurant that offers vegan Caribbean options. That place has been on my bucket list of places to eat. You told me you went to a location nearby to play the bongos and you have a homegirl that teaches something there - not sure. Fun fact: I played bongos too in the 5th grade - very fun. I showed you my magic card trick that my mom learned from somebody she knew in prison. My mom is very impressed I remember the card trick after all these years. I wish I could show you another card trick that my cousin showed me but I forgot and I couldn't figure it out, oh well. You also showed me Yu-Gi-Oh on your mobile and I was just clicking on random buttons but yeah I never understood the game when I was younger nor will I know now haha.

After spending time together at Balboa Park, you dropped me off at home. That was the day I told my mom I'm with you seriously. Her advice: have fun, be happy, and don't argue. I'm very happy she is supportive of my choice. I couldn't wait to tell you about my conversation the next day but it was news that was much needed to tell in person rather than over a phone call or text because this is something serious to me. It's a lot for me to tell my family something serious like that because we usually don't - family dynamics.

You went out about your day with Ezra and Oscar to Red Robin to get some milkshakes and have a boy's day. Oscar wanted to cancel on ya'll because he was tired. that had me dead lol

I missed you that evening. I contributed to the playlist you shared with me and then I was knocked out from the medicine.

On July 13th

I had a good day at work, came home, and took a good nap before I would see you to have some energy. You scooped me up around 3:30 we drove to Otay ranch and got some vegan orange chicken from panda express. We made our way to Plaza Bonita to attend our showtime Long Legs and sneak in some snacks from Target. On our way there I told you the news I've been needing to express to you in person. You were so happy even though you were just joking about me not telling my family and keeping you a secret but I can tell you were genuinely happy because I sure was. We make our way to target watched a really fascinating movie that captured us both and we were definitely feeling each other that night. On our way to sunset cliffs, you said " I feel like I finally hit the jackpot" that statement alone made my heart just M E L T. I just felt so special. You also called me divine. out of your league. words and statements I don't understand or can't comprehend because I didn't know those words could apply somebody like me. i am the apple of your eye. Sunset cliffs was so beautiful that night. clear skies, Waxing Gibbous as bright reflecting off the ripples of the coast. God, you took so good care of me that night I wasn;t keeping track of how many times I came because I just came when I felt like you were getting me there. As we were driving home too we kept getting flashbacks and you said me sucking your dick was heavenly lol. i love when you're in charge of me. I can't believe you became soft after coming once. i did that lol. What a beautiful night to end with my lover. Came home, knocked out, woke up, took a shower, then went to work.

Today is July 14th

Establishing this blog has been on my mind since July 12th. I originally wanted to do PowerPoint presentation leading up to our one month officially. I have that folder on the side, I just have to scroll through messages if I want to really to go deep but I'll find a way to deliver my message to you. Today is a rest day between the both of us. we got to catch up on some things before you start your new job tomorrow and I need to do laundry, clean, and go for a walk. I'm so happy for you and I am proud of you.

I miss you always. you leave such an everlasting impression on me.

angel numbers today: 11:11, 4:44, 5:55

[xxgoblin-dumplingxx]

Jason actually getting secret reader to go out with him (even if it’s just a walk around the block or a five minute rip to the store) and they run into Bruce by complete accident?

It was depressingly wet, even for Gotham. The rain and the clouds hadn't let up all day. It was one of those days where even the most hardened Gothamites had taken shelter and the street was mostly empty.

In other words, it was a perfect day to coax you into leaving the house. You didn't have to worry about being seen- or worse, recognized by someone who knew someone who knew your family. You know. Since you were supposed to be dead. Or rather "Missing and presumed dead". They still had some time before they could just kill you off since there wasn't a body.

Or so Jason thought anyway.

You saw someone approaching before he did. Jason was too busy watching you- Even with him next to you, playing muscle, you made yourself as small as possible. And when he felt you tense it took all his self-control not to groan.

Of course Bruce was out. And of course he was here. If he didn't KNOW where to find him, he'd have been surprised. But then, Bruce looked genuinely confused to see him so- maybe not.

"Jason-"

"Hey," Jason answered, trying not to feel awkward, tightening his grip on you just slightly to keep you from bolting all the way home and hiding under the bed.

"Who's your-" Bruce hesitated just slightly, not sure what to say. Or if he should say anything. You look like you'd probably rather jump in front of a train than be spoken to.

"This is Y/N," Jason said, wishing now that he'd let you grab your scarf and your gloves as you shove your hands into your pockets. He'd been trying to get you to a place where you didn't feel like you had to hide. And he knows you're thinking Bruce is staring at the burn scars that are visible instead of doing whatever Batman shit he's doing in his head. "Y/N this is Bruce."

"Pleased to meet you," you answer. Your voice is barely audible over the hiss of the rain and Jason winces slightly. He'd never really heard what you sounded like before. And he knows you've been trying to sound 'better'. To soften the shock when you did speak but- he hated it. To him, you sounded fine as it was.

"This weather," Bruce said, gesturing vaguely to the sky, tutting. "I won't keep you. I'll let Jason get you back inside before you both catch a cold."

"We'll be fine," Jason snorted.

"Go home," Bruce scolded, "You don't even have a coat. At least Y/N had the sense to bundle up."

Jason pulled you a little closer and kissed the top of your head, "You're out here-"

"I have a meeting," Bruce said, "And unfortunately it's already been rescheduled twice." He rolled his eyes, "You'd know if you ever came home-"

"Bold of you to assume I don't just come when you're not there," Jason said, smirking.

"Take your young lady home so she can teach you manners," Bruce said primly. "And how to dress." And before Jason can say anything else, Bruce winks at you and walks into the building he'd been about to enter. And Jason lets out a breath he didn't realize he was holding. That could have gone worse. Much worse.

"I'd rather you teach me how to undress," Jason said, letting you turn towards home and adjusting to keep you away from the street.

"Jay-"

"Just saying," he teased.

"Half my body just feels like leather-"

"Hardly," he said. "Y/N it's not as bad as you think it is-"

"Last time I went to the store a kid cried when they saw me."

"Baby-"

You shake your head and walk faster, forcing him to lengthen his stride to keep up with you and Jason felt his heart twist. You'd been tortured. Burned and beaten. All because they thought you knew things you didn't. Because they thought they had your twin- the one who'd done all the shady shit to start with. And then your own family had just added insult to injury. Because you wouldn't look good on a Christmas card. And not for the first time, he was thankful you weren't with them. Because even if he couldn't protect you from everything, he knew the rest of his family wouldn't think twice about what you looked like. Not once they knew you the way he did.

[dudethattries]

I might be Bisexual | Michael Afton x male! Reader

Trigger warning: Sexuality crisis, homophobia (mentioned), gay panic

Inspired by life is strange :)

You are teenagers here, post bite of '83.

Pronouns used for reader: he/him/his ------------------------------------------

"I might be Bisexual."

"What?"

"I think I might be Bisexual."

"What do you mean 'you think'?"

"I'm not sure."

You sighed leaning back. Michael and you were currently on the junk yard near your house. He was balancing on top of some sort of old pillar, while you sat inside an old car that missed most of its windows and doors.

"Well, why do you think you're Bisexual?" Michael hesitated.

"There is a boy I think is cute." You turned away. There was a boy? Who? Why couldn't he just like you?

"Well, if there's a boy, why don't you ask him out?" He laughed.

"Cmon (Y/N), you really cant pull that card if you haven't asked your crush out, who you've like since like 7th grade." You chuckled sadly.

"Yeah, I guess so. Who is it anyways?" He sighed.

"Will you tell me who you like?" You laughed.

"No?" He laughed too.

"Well then Im not going to tell you either." Its you! I cant tell you because its you!

"Why are you not sure if you're Bi?" He started walking on the pillar thing stretching his arms out wide to keep his balance. He looked far too handsome like that, the setting sun making his features stand out more. It made your stomache feel fuzzy.

"I don't know. I like him. Very much in fact, but Im kinda new to this I guess?" He sighed.

"And I know dad wouldn't be too fond of it." You snorted.

"Since when do you care what your father thinks?" He snickered and jumped down from the pillar and walked to the car you were in. He sat down in the passenger seat turning to you.

"How did you know you liked him?" He leaned closer. Leaning back with a slightly hotter face you ran a hand through your hair.

"I don't know? I guess I just crushed on him long enough that I couldn't really ignore it?" Michael leaned to the side to rest on the slightly rotten car seat. He looked like he was contemplating on doing something potentially very stupid. You'd known him long enough to know exactly to know the mischievous twinkle in his eyes didn't mean anything good.

"What are you thinking about?" You groaned, scared of what he would come up with.

"Have you ever kissed anyone?" You choked on your own spit.

"What?!" you coughed up. He laughed at your reaction.

"You heard me. Have you ever kissed anyone?" You looked away embarrassed.

"No..."

"Do you wanna try?" Shocked you stared at him. Was this really happening?

"What about your crush?" He chuckled leaning closer, your face felt hotter and hotter.

"Something tells me he wont mind."

"Then- Then thats okay then." You stuttered out as Michael came closer.

"Are you sure this is okay with you?" He asked looking into your eyes. He was now slightly hovering over you, one hand on the dashboard of the car the other on your backrest. Not trusting your voice, you simply nodded.

Michael leaned in and kissed you. Your shock-filled eyes closed after the initial surprise, that he actually did it and wasnt just joking. His lips were slightly chapped but softly pressed against yours, so you really could care less. His hand, now on your neck pressed you even closer to him. Hesitantly you moved your hands to his hair, softly playing with his curls.

When you parted both your faces were a bit redder than before. Grinning and slightly out of breath Michael leaned back to give you a bit of space.

"You okay?"

"Yeah." You took a deep breath.

"Did Susie tell you?" He looked confused.

"Tell me what?" "That I like you." He grinned even wider.

"So it was me! God I was scared you liked someone else."

"You didnt know I liked you?" He snickered embarrassed.

"Well I wasn't sure, you didn't exactly talk too much about it."

"What, didnt I boost your ego enough already?" He laughed. The butterflies in your belly started acting up again.

"No, you can continue please." You chuckled. Michael stood up and walked around to your side of the car holding his hand out.

"Cmon its getting late."

You took his hand and he pulled you up. He looked at you and smiled softly. You pecked his cheek and gently pulled him along back towards the direction of your Homes.

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

Whats up dudes, this is reposted (and slightly edited) from my wattpad oneshots book. Hope you liked it :]

[officialaemondtargaryen]

Age Of Consent [part five]

Summary: Dustin’s older sister thinks Eddie Munson could be a bad influence on her younger brother due to their history. Can he change her mind?

Pairing: Eddie Munson x Fem!Henderson!Reader

Word Count: 3.083

What you’ll find in this series: big angst, wholesome fluff, sexual content, drug use, tobacco use, alcohol use, and a lot of profanity. This is a slow burn- buckle up, buttercup.

A/N: Halfway through!! Remember I post an update daily at 12:00 PM EST, tags are unfortunately closed for this series. Really hope you guys like this one! Can't wait for what happens next!

Read Part Four || Read Part Six

When your brother mentioned that he wanted to go to a concert, you weren't sure what to expect, but you certainly did not expect to pull up to a dingy, poorly lit bar on the outskirts of town.

"Dustin," you said. "I think you have the wrong address."

"I most certainly don't," he replied with a wide smile. "Come on, let's go."

The inside was just about as welcoming as the parking lot. If your mother knew that you had brought her sweet, sweet baby boy into a dive bar, she would flatline on the spot. You mentally reminded yourself to make sure that Dustin pinky swore to never tell her about this little escapade later.

No one even seemed phased by the presence of Dustin which both relieved and frightened you. A scantily clad waitress brought over two glasses of water and asked if you wanted something stronger, but you declined. You had a feeling that she wouldn't even card you.

The lights dimmed and Dustin began to cheer. He was the only one.

You could see four dark figures walk out onto the stage and pick up their instruments. The beginning notes of a song that you faintly recognized played through the amplifiers and your brother cheered loudly, once again. The spotlight hit the stage and your jaw just about hit the floor.

You could not believe that your brother had brought you to a Corroded Coffin show. This was the exact reason why you didn't want Dustin hanging around Eddie; he had clearly been deceiving you from the jump and this was one-thousand percent a setup. It was as clear as day to you now. You had gone two years without once seeing Eddie in this small town, but the moment your brother got involved you started seeing him everywhere? Total setup.

However, you were still so goddamn impressed by the boy's ingenuity that you weren't mad at him one bit. You knew your brother was smart, you should have known that he would have figured out that you still had feelings for Eddie.

Speaking of impressed, you were enamored by Eddie's band and how good they had become over the years. You didn't recognize any of the other kids, but they were great, and probably the best metal cover band that you had ever heard of- not that you had heard of many in Hawkins. Out of all of them, however, it was Eddie who was the best. He had been playing the guitar since he could tie his shoes, pretty much, and it was obvious that he was extremely talented.

You couldn't tear your eyes away from his hands.

Your surroundings melted away as you became entranced by the way his fingers worked the neck of his guitar with such delicacy, such ease. His hair was damp with sweat as he bounced around the stage, that effortless charisma on full display for the small crowd. You remembered when he used to pull out his acoustic guitar and play for you; his onstage persona was the complete opposite of the softness of his bedroom.

After every song, Dustin screamed at the top of his lungs in support of his friends. You could see the shy smile on Eddie's lips every time and it made your heart melt.

When the set was over, Eddie hopped down off of the stage and immediately made his way over to the table.

"Dude!" Dustin yelled, giving Eddie a high-five. "That was so awesome!"

"Thanks, man," Eddie said before his eyes landed on you. "I'm glad you were able to make it."

"I lost a bet, remember?" You smiled at him and he laughed. "That was pretty impressive, I gotta hand it to you."

Eddie placed a hand on his chest sarcastically. "That is just about the best damn compliment you could give a guy, Ms. Henderson, considering how hard it is to impress you."

"Can we get something to eat?" Dustin interrupted. "I'm starving."

"You should have had something to eat before we left." You chided. "It's so late, I doubt anyone's open."

"There's a diner down the road that has the best burgers in all of Indiana," Eddie added. "I am also on the verge of starvation if you want to go. I know it's way past your bedtime, kid."

"Can we go, Y/N?" Dustin pleaded. "I'm not even tired!"

"You are spoiled, you know that?" You asked your brother.

He was already running out of the door to the car. Eddie grabbed your elbow before you could head out after him. It was a simple touch, but it made your cheeks flush; you hoped that he hadn't noticed with how dimly lit the bar was. You looked at his hand holding on to your arm and he immediately pulled away, shoving his hands in his pockets as if he was in trouble.

"I gotta stick around here long enough to take down the equipment," he said softly. "The diner is about five minutes from here, you just take a left out of the parking lot and keep going straight. It'll be on the right-hand side of the road. I'll meet you there in about twenty minutes, this won't take long."

"Sure," you replied. "I'll see you there."

"Can't wait," he smiled.

You had been fighting the butterflies in your stomach from the moment you had left The Hideout bar to the moment that Eddie's van pulled into the diner parking lot. It was a losing battle, but you weren't ready to give in to them. Not yet. You couldn't just give up the ghost after two years of being at war with your own feelings. You wouldn't let him get off that easy, no matter how hard he or your brother were trying.

He slid into the booth next to Dustin, across from you, and immediately the nonsense began. Eddie and your brother were like opposite sides of the same coin; they read the same books, played the same games, watched the same movies. They were both brilliant, yet immature, and didn't care about who stared at them or how big of a scene they caused.

In the two hours that you spent in that booth, you don't think you had laughed this hard since your dad was alive. Between Dustin's snappy comebacks and Eddie's jokes, your cheeks were in pain from smiling so much.

And it was comforting to see Dustin so happy.

"Getting tired?" You asked your brother as he let a yawn slip. "We should probably get going."

Dustin wanted to protest, but both you and Eddie reminded him that he had school in the morning. You were surprised when Eddie asked for one check and fished out a twenty-dollar bill to cover your meals. You had mentioned to him that it wasn't necessary for him to do that, but he waved a hand at you, muttering something about it being no big deal.

"Thanks for coming to see my band play," he said quietly as he walked you to your car. Dustin was already in the front seat waiting on you. "Despite the fact that you only came because you lost a bet. You don't have to remind me that you definitely would not have come if it weren't for that, I already know."

You smiled, "you know me so well."

"That I do, m'lady."

"Look, I know that you have school tomorrow," you began, not really knowing how to finish this particular sentence without feeling like you were choking on thin air. "But I'm not quite as tired as that guy," you pointed over your shoulder at Dustin who was practically already asleep in the car. "You want to maybe- I don't know- If you wanted to come over? You totally don't have to, I would definitely understand."

You were rambling.

"Y-yeah," Eddie blurted almost as soon as the question left your lips. He was a little confused, definitely shocked, but ready to go with you wherever you asked nonetheless.

"Okay, cool." You replied doing your best not to smile like a goddamn idiot and play it cool. "You want to just follow us?"

"Sure," he nodded, still surprised that you would even ask him to come over and in front of your brother, no doubt.

You climbed into your car, trying to ignore your brother's stare.

"Did you just invite Eddie over to our house?"

"Yes," you replied as you started up the ignition. "And you're not going to tell mom, considering that this was your plan all along. You're especially not going to tell her that the little concert you wanted to go to so bad was at a dive bar. Pinky promise me."

Dustin wrapped his little finger around yours and bound the contract.

The drive back to your house was longer than usual. You weren't quite sure what made you want to invite Eddie back to your house, but you were only slightly regretting it. It's not like you could get all the way into your driveway and tell him that you had changed your mind.

"Straight to bed," you told your brother when you pulled up outside of your house. The lights were off, signaling that your mother had already gone to bed herself.

Eddie had parked across the street out of habit. He never wanted your mother to question why there was a creepy white van sitting directly in front of her house, especially since she had no idea that he even existed in your life. Dustin gave him a wave before heading inside, leaving the two of you alone.

"For old time's sake?" He asked, holding a joint between his fingers.

"I will not be so easily corrupted, my good sir."

"Says the young lady who used to sneak me in through her window every night," he countered. "Should I go grab the ladder from the side of the house?"

You playfully shoved him before heading towards the front door. Eddie stayed where he was, however, not sure what to do. You turned around and motioned for him to follow you and he was at your side in an instant. When you passed through the front door, Eddie was stalled by the pictures that hung on the walls of the foyer; there was a picture for every year, almost. He had never been through your front door, never stood in your living room. This was all new to him and he needed a moment to take it all in.

"Look at your cheeks," he whispered with a smile as he pointed to one of your baby pictures.

"Come on," you whined, pulling him by the hand into your kitchen.

You knew that your mother kept a few cans of beer in the very back of the fridge in case she ever had company- which was never, and you were certain that it was probably stale, but you still fished them out from behind the two-week old leftovers and handed them to Eddie.

"Who's corrupting who?" He asked with a quiet chuckle.

"Come on, let's go."

"Oh, I'm taking these!" He whispered excitedly as he grabbed a bag of Doritos off of your counter.

You guided him through your backyard to Dustin's treehouse. He was insistent that you go up the ladder first, possibly out of chivalry, definitely because he wanted to stare at your ass. He handed you the beers and the Doritos before pulling himself up the ladder behind you. The tree house was small, and missing a roof at this point. Your dad had built it for Dustin when he was only five, so it had definitely seen better days.

But it offered a clear view of the sky and the crickets in the background provided a beautiful soundtrack.

You sat leaning against one of the wooden beams, Eddie was opposite you. Your feet playfully bumping into his. He cracked open a can of beer and passed it to you before opening one of his own and taking a swig. He placed the joint from earlier in his mouth and lit it, inhaling deeply before blowing the smoke out into the night.

"You remember the first time you brought me over here?"

He passed the joint off to you and you took it without hesitation.

"How could I forget?" You asked, taking a long drag. The burn of the smoke in your throat made you cough. "You were so nervous. You didn't want to touch anything in my room, you were afraid you would break something."

You reached out to pass the joint back to him. His calloused fingers brushed against yours, sending a shiver through your arm. He took a hit of the joint and gently knocked the ashes off of the end.

"I was nervous because when I got there you looked me dead in the eye and asked me to take your virginity. I, too, was a seventeen-year-old virgin, how else was I supposed to react?"

"Hm," you remembered that night fondly. "You were so cute asking me for permission every twenty seconds."

"Just in case you changed your mind."

Eddie reached back out to you, passing the joint; your fingers lingering a little longer this time. The effects of the high were wearing on you, as they always did. You were giggling over nothing with eyes half-open. Eddie wasn't helping; his constant jokes and theatrics as he re-told past memories had you crying from laughing. You prayed that no one could hear you, it had to be past midnight by now.

At this point, you were both laying on your backs looking up at the stars and talking about nothing that mattered because neither one of you wanted to ruin this moment. You were pressed against each other, side-by-side, the warmth from his body keeping you from getting too cold. Your hands touched, back to back, but you could feel his fingers itching to intertwine with yours.

"Fuck, I've missed this," he said softly as his thumb rubbed circles on the back of your hand.

You became suddenly hyper-aware of the situation that you had put yourself in. Your mind began to fixate on the fact that he was holding your hand in his, and that you were completely leaning into him. The high immediately dissipated and you were left with the aching feeling that you were about to cross a line that you did not want to cross.

"I think you should go," was all that you could think to say. "I didn't realize it was so late." You had hoped the last part would soften it.

He sat up and frowned, "Did I do something wrong?"

"All of this is wrong, Eddie." You sighed. "We shouldn't be doing this."

"Why?" He asked, his voice breaking. "I thought we were having a good time."

"We were," you answered honestly.

"Then what is it?" He pushed. You paused. "I'm still not fucking good enough for you am I?" You sighed in response, not wanting to go down this road with him right now. "Well, I am so sorry that I don't fit into the cookie-cutter life that you always wanted; good college, pastel sweaters, conformity."

"Wasn't even able to get into a good college because of you, so don't even bring that shit up right now." The words came heavily from your mouth and were laced with anger.

Eddie stops and turns to you.

"What?"

You had thought about this argument for a long time.

"I know that you remember the day we were caught smoking pot out past the football fields, even though you swore up and down no one ever came out there." You recollected. "I had to put on the performance of a lifetime pretending that I was sick for that 10-day suspension so that my mom didn't find out."

"In case you weren't aware, things like that go on your public record, making it impossible for me to get into a decent school." You could feel your eyes burning. "I applied for almost every college in the goddamned country."

Eddie sighed and reached a hand out to comfort you but you pushed him away. "Y/N, I didn't realize-"

"Of course you didn't," you cried. "You were so- so fucking selfish back then, all you cared about was your little club, your guitar, and your punk ass reputation. I wanted to break up with you then, I almost did, but I loved you so much."

"Baby," he whispered, trying to pull you into his arms. "I'm so sorry."

"I didn't want to break up with you Eddie, but I had to. That day at graduation, I just couldn't do it anymore."

You could see his eyes glossy in the moonlight. He was mere inches away from you, wanting nothing more than to hold you and somehow make this better. He felt fucking awful, and suddenly he realized what you meant when you said that his choices had a way of bleeding into the lives of the people around him. Fuck, he felt like such an asshole.

"You should really go," you said once again.

He nodded, knowing that there was nothing that he could say or do to remedy this situation. In his heart he also knew that trying to win you back was a moot point. You were right to have broken up with him, to never want to see him again. Hell, he wouldn't have wanted to see himself either.

In high school, all that you had talked about was getting out of Hawkins and getting into a good school with a good theater program. The fact that he had something to do with you not being able to achieve those dreams made him feel sick to his stomach. He remembered that day as if it were yesterday. You didn't even want to go out there. You said that you needed to study for your Literature test, but he begged you to skip lunch with him and head out towards the woods.

He remembered how you didn't talk to him for almost a month after that.

He climbed down from the treehouse and turned back one more time, but you wouldn't look at him. He muttered something under his breath that you couldn't quite hear before stalking off into the darkness. You could hear his van start-up and take off down the road, leaving you with nothing but an ache in your gut and a feeling of regret.

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[astroluvr]

dad!jack and his little girl for his birthday

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your daughter, ivy, was more than excited for her daddy's birthday. any time there was talk about it, she would perk up with her dark blue eyes she stole right from jack. while you were planning jack's bowling alley birthday, she was always on your lap and trying to micromanage.

"which color do you think for the balloons, ivy?" you cooed softly to her, turning your laptop to her while she played with her blocks. "it's for daddy's birthday."

that made her turn her head and get up, her chubby legs helping her waddle to you and babble at the screen. you smiled at her when she chose the picture that was was perfect for what you were going for.

in the end, all of her planning didn't pay off for her given that she was settled in her grandparent's home by the time you and jack snuck out. he had a great time, commenting about this and that, thanking you for such a beautiful birthday party.

"i really like these balloons, babe." he said, eyeing them as you stood between his legs and fed him his cake.

"ivy picked those out."

his eyes glinted at her mention, smiling hard as he thought of the girl. "she's so smart. gets her great taste from her mama." his sly smirk gave away the double meaning and you shook your head.

when you left, you picked ivy up and got her back into bed in your kentucky home before she realized that she was even being laid down in her crib again.

"by my next birthday, she'll be in a big girl bed." he whispered, wrapping his arm around your waist and sighing.

"don't remind me." you said, leaning your head into his chest and yawning.

"alright, mama, let's get you into bed."

you didn't sleep long though, because you had one final gift for your husband. since ivy had a full night's rest under your belt, she wasn't too cranky when you woke her up to help you.

after about an hour, everything was settled and you were exhausted all over again. jack's breakfast in bed was prepared along with the gifts.

"wake him up, vee. just jump on him." she giggled and hopped on top of her father's back.

jack groaned into his pillow, putting a hand behind him to feel ivy. when she rolled off to the bed beside him, she looked at him with a toothy grin.

"happy birthday, daddy!"

"oh, thank you, ivy!" he laughed, reaching a hand out towards the back of her neck and pulling her down to leave a kiss on her forehead. "did you get me something?"

she nodded, her bed head curls going everywhere as she nodded.

"you don't get anything until you sit up." you butted in and jack groaned.

"don't even get to sleep in on my birthday. can you believe this, vee?" he scoffed to the grinning toddler as he sat up. "all of this for me, babe?"

"i mean, me and ivy can share it if you want to sleep in on your birthday." you teased and jack shook his head, looking exactly like his daughter.

once he widened his legs just enough to allow ivy to settle, you placed the tray of breakfast food in front of him. ivy wasted no time in snagging a piece of bacon from the plate, which made jack growl playfully.

"damn, can i have a bite?" he giggled and ivy curled up into herself to prevent him from having so much as a piece. "stingy."

"okay, we have gifts!"

"i've got a great career, a fine ass wife, and a healthy daughter. what more can i ask for?" you couldn't help but lean over and kiss his cheek.

"ivy, let's give daddy his gift." you said, and she swallowed her bacon and you handed her the home made card she made.

"oh, this is beautiful, honey." he cooed to her.

you assisted in the cause of her card by adding, 'HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DADDY', on the front with her little scribbles. on the inside, she used her insane drawing talent to make three stick figures, one of them, however, wasn't very stick-like.

"baby, you approved this for press?" he chuckled, turning the card towards you and letting you see the figure on the outside with a circle around the tummy. "you'd kill me if-"

"sissy!" ivy squeaked happily, landing a pudgy finger on the circle and jack swallowed.

"huh?"

"we don't know if it's sissy or bubby, yet, but mommy's tummy will be getting big really soon, right?"

"mama tummy get bigger and bigger for baby." she explained to jack the same way you did to her and jack scoffed out as he looked at you.

"sweetheart, are you trying to tell me we're having another baby?"

the tears in your eyes beat you to the punch as you nodded. you pulled out the ultrasound picture and jack only glanced at it before putting the tray on the nightstand and grabbing you.

"thank you! thank you, thank you." he said, voice muffled by his mouth against your neck as you hugged him.

ivy, who was smushed between you two, whined loudly.

"happy birthday, j." you laughed, pulling back to allow ivy to crawl away from his lap.

"this is a really happy fucking birthday." he said, sniffling up tears as he placed a hand over your stomach and the other around ivy. "a really happy birthday."

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i wrote this a lot better in my head, but i hope it doesn't suck too bad