#i tried to avoid the sun when i could. so the closest i got to a tan beforehand was a sunburn

[justanotherescapism]

After all this time

Homelander x Super!Fem!Reader

Word count: 684

Spoilers for season 4

“C’mon dig in before it melts.” Homelander put the ice cream cake down on the table. He laughed, everyone around him was silent. Their eyes flicked back between the cake and the supe. They were shocked to see him, he hadn’t been back since he first left, they had hidden behind the safety of it. He walked around the lab, pointing and laughing with nostalgia. He may not like to think about it but he remembers every moment from his childhood. It was why he had to return today.

“You know what day it is today?” He looked around, no-one spoke up. “Today is the day when you sent her away.” 

“Joh-”

“Homelander.” He sneered. “Call me Homelander.”

“Homelander, you know why we had to send her away,” Marty tried to reason.

“Yeah, you said. You told me over and over again. But let me hear you say it, one more time.” Marty looked to his other colleagues, scared of what he had to say and how he would react. 

“She was a distraction.” Marty looked down, avoiding Homelander’s steel eyes. 

“Yes, a distraction, from what? The pain? The suffering? Yes, I guess she was.”

“Homelander, sh-”

“Oh don’t worry, I get it. I do.”

He looked at the rooms at the back of the lab. They weren’t allowed to be in the same room but they both had super hearing so they talked through the walls. Something had grown from that, something that even now Homelander craved. He thought he could get it from Vought but the company did nothing for him anymore. His son came closest, but he didn’t understand, Homelander suffered in a way Ryan couldn’t understand. When he looked at the rooms, he realized her door was closed. The tiny window was covered. He walked across to the door, his manic mood shifting. 

“Homelan-”

“Shut up, Marty.” He chuckled but gritted his teeth, staring at Marty, who looked terrified. Homelander grabbed the handle on the door, pulling it slowly. Inside was just how he remembered. The walls were stark white brick, the floor a cold concrete with no room for comfort. It was no bigger than a broom cupboard. 

But on the floor was a figure he recongised instantly. She was still here. 

“John?” 

“You’re here.” He quickly dropped to her side. She looked healthy - super healing and all - but her eyes were hollow, how long has she been down here? 

“After all this time, you came back.” She weakly smiled at him, tears flooding her eyes. 

“I’m sorry.” He dropped to his knees beside her, wrapping his arms around her. She hugged him back. He looked different but the same. She could still see the pain behind his eyes that others so easily missed. Tears fell from her eyes, as he shuddered, both in pain and excited. 

“Why?” He asked this not really knowing what the answer would be. He couldn’t understand why they’d keep her down here all these years, and lie to him about it. 

“Finding a way to destroy you. A safety protocol.” She fell more into his arms, her strength waning. Homelander’s jaw clenched. To find a way to destroy him, they needed to destroy her first. Torture for years and years. 

“I’m going to destroy them.”

“Make it painful.”

All she could hear was screaming and the sound of Homelander’s laser eyes. She smiled, she always knew some day he would come back, even if it took everything in her not to give up. All of them would die and she’d leave with the man she had loved since she was a child. 

“They’re dead. We can leave now.” He looked down at her. He was covered in blood from the people who had tortured them. She smiled, tears falling down her face. When she stood, she fell into his arms, hugged him tightly. He hugged her back, just as tight. The hole he had was filling and he felt her look up at him. 

They got into the elevator, holding hands. She shut her eyes, waiting to feel the sun on her face.

[armysantiny]

-[txt; finding out you’re a vampire

P: txt x gn reader (seperately) | G: fluff, reaction | Inc: roommate au, vampire reader, finding out y/n's secret, a bit of overthinking of Soobin's part, Soobin finding blood on y/n's clothes, second pov, non-idol au, nothing too graphic | Wc: 770 | W: blood, vampires | R: G

Min's notes: Just in time for spooky season! Lmao jk, I had this reaction written down in my notebook for like a year or so, but now felt like a good time to post it. Unofficial hiatus over?

Choi Yeonjun | 최연준

He walks in on you restocking that one mini fridge in your room, drinking through a blood bag and just freezes. You’ve never told him what the mini fridge was for, and he just assumed it was for drinks, or snacks, or whatever else someone would normally keep in them.

Sue him for not coming to the conclusion that he was living with a supernatural being.

Immediately gives you the sheepiest of smiles and backs out of the room, only a little scared of the notion that one of his closest friends is a vampire. And could drain him like a capri-sun if they so wished. Which, now that he thinks about it…

“Hey, y/n? Would you ever—”

“No, Yeonjun. I’m not biting you, so don’t even think about it.”

“Okay, okay~ not thinking about it…but if you had to—”

“Choi Yeonjun!”

Choi Soobin | 최수빈

Poor thing, he panics when he spots blood over the clothes in your laundry as he’s passing by your room. That’s clearly too much to be normal, right? Right? But he’s home alone, leaving him with nothing else to do but overthink about it until you come home from your afternoon shift.

You walk back inside, the tiniest hint of blood on your sleeve and Soobin zeroes in on it immediately.

“What’s this? What’s been happening, y/n? Are you okay?” There’s no room to avoid his questioning, physically or metaphorically and Soobin’s clearly not going to relent. Not when he’s this worried about you. So you begin your explanation, sitting him down and telling him that you are, in fact, a vampire. And he takes the news rather well.

Or as well as an overthinking but well-meaning roommate can.

Choi Beomgyu | 취범규

He spots something strange outside, and simply refuses to believe that that was you. It just couldn’t possibly be you, right? But the thought haunts him for weeks; everything’s suspicious now. You like walks at night? He wonders if you’re out to find blood. You put on a little more sunscreen than the average person? That’s it, you have to be something that isn’t human.

You’re the one who notices and calls him out on his behaviour, ambushing him in the kitchen and prodding at him to tell him what’s up.

“I think you’re a vampire!” He blurts out, and Beomgyu thinks he’s fucked up when you’re just silent for a few seconds.

Because he is right, you just have no idea how he got to that conclusion in the first place. So you nod, confirming his suspicions and ask him how on earth he even figured it out. Which prompts an entire retelling of Beomgyu’s month-long freak out.

Kang Taehyun | 강태현

He’s not the kind of person to make a big deal out of it, especially when being a vampire is just what you are and nothing more. Though he does pay more attention to your more nocturnal lifestyle, but he pins it down initially to you just being a night owl and enjoying being out at night more.

Plenty of people function better at night, after all.

When he sees you taking a sip out of a flask, he asks what it is and your hesitation to answer gives him reason to think. Are you drinking something out of the ordinary? He tries not to look too nosy, because again, it’s not really his business.  Unless you’re hurt, you’re free to drink whatever you want.

Until you take it upon yourself to make it his business.

You’re the one to initiate the conversation, letting Taehyun know that yes, you’re a vampire, and that you’re more than okay with him asking questions. Frankly you were surprised he hadn’t been asking you at all, though a little grateful.

Huening Kai | 휴닝카이

Bless him, it’s Kai’s curiosity that makes him pick up on the smallest details. He catches sight of your fangs, at throws an off-hand comment about having a vampire for a best friend. Oh how right he is, and it takes everything you have to surprise him with the truth behind his words.

You might as well tell him at this point, he’s so unbelievably close yet somehow still has no idea. Likely because he, like Taehyun, also enjoys the peace that comes with minding your own damn business.

“So… I was right?” He asks when you finally take it upon yourself to tell him the truth after far too long of watching him be none the wiser. “Vampires are real, and you’re a vampire?”

You nod. “Simple as that. Not so curious anymore?”

“Not really?” He shrugs, “unless I find something to ask you about.”

You’re sure he will, soon enough.

© copyright work of armysantiny 2024-2025

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[maximwtf]

“I’m sorry all the same”

Astarion x Reader

Words: 2600

Google Docs Pages: 4

Warnings: Haarlep’s deal’s effects, yk how it goes so I won’t have to tag it all :”D Some spoilers from act 3, such as quotes and a tiny bit of lore. Guilt, emotional hurt/comfort, after graveyard scene Astarion

Opening: Haarlep held onto his promise. Using your body, your form, to do as he pleased. And you were foolish enough to believe that you could ignore it. But perhaps you should have considered that at the very least someone would notice a change in your behaviour. 

AN// So wtf I write for bg3 now? I guess so :”D Mainly interested in writing for Astarion, Jaheira and Zevlor. But we’ll see how I’ll manage c: OH, GN reader. Yall also I’ll open requests again once I finish the last Legolas one I have :3

“I’m sorry all the same”

After the battle with Raphiel, everyone had been so worn out and in need of a breather that you hadn’t even had the time to truly consider what you’d lost. Or even truly notice the price of what had been lost in exchange for information. Or what that could possibly mean for the future or the people around you. And if any of those thoughts had had the chance to cross your mind, it would have only been the latter. What would the others think? How would it affect them? How would the exchange you’d had with Haarlep affect the people closest to you?

And it usually came to the same conclusion. Even if the bother from it would be minor, you’d chosen to try and avert the others from paying their mind to it. To let the incubus do as he pleased, as long as you could lead the party onward without slowing it down. But even the strongest of leaders had to fall in due time, that was fate set for those who chose what you had. Which in this case referred to the facade you’d built, shattering, cracking at the seams at times. And no amount of laughing it off could shake away certain people when they at last noticed what was wrong. 

And so had fate decided once more. The feelings of phantom touches trailed here and there. And as he had promised, you knew exactly what was being done and when. And there was no way of stopping it. Only the thought of this being what you chose lingered in your mind as the touches travelled that evening. Making you shut down of the usual glow you held when talking to others, hope of no one noticing your state still somewhere at the back of your mind. 

And it did work, for most of that evening. Fluently talking to the town’s folk and the people by your side. At times the feelings even faded, disappeared into thin air. Giving you hope that the incubus had stopped for the day, freeing you from the locked state as it felt. But what use was it, if even within those free moments it spiralled at the back of your mind. Reminding you of its existence and the chance of it all returning. On the edge of hoping that it would come back, so you wouldn’t have to suffer so with the thoughts. Because at times, it felt like those empty moments were the ones most pained. 

You tried to soothe the feeling of a never ending hell by telling yourself that this was momentary. The form was new and the creature knew exactly what it was doing. But as time passed, he’d surely get tired of the repeating game and move on to something else. And even if this truly was an infinite infernal road, you had chosen to walk it for a reason. You’d avoided a battle and gotten important information out of the man, which in truth cost a great deal. But if it meant that no one got physically hurt, it did seem like the right thing in the end. 

Inevitably, the time passed as it always had. The sun set, which led you along with the rest back to Elfsong. And for once, there was time in the late evening to sit around and talk. There was nowhere to go, no tasks to run and nothing so important that it couldn’t be left to be dealt by tomorrow. The morning was always smarter than the night, anyway. 

But there was something that wouldn’t allow itself to be left alone, to linger until the sun rose once more. The now more intense phantom touches, the caresses that haunted you. Had ruined most of the day and seemed to plan on continuing to do so. 

As it made itself more known, demanding your every bit of attention, it slowly reached your limit. The top of which when it hit, would at last shatter that rather fragile facade. The facade that at times felt like it was being held together by whatever cheap adhesive children held the glitter on the cards they brought to their parents. Weak. 

The fireplace flickered calmly as the few people in the middle of the room sat on the couches and chatted. You tried your best to throw in a few comments but from your perspective they all sounded the same, forced. It was no use, after being driven to a corner as you’d been. So in order to save face, you stood up and informed the others that you’d be heading to bed to catch up on those countless hours of disregarded sleep. And most seemed to have believed that, wishing you a good night as you slowly walked to the comfort of your bed. 

Though, there was one who’d joined in on the others, wishing you a good night. But they didn’t hesitate to stand up and follow along after you’d left. And they didn’t exactly make the noise of their steps unknown either. Never sneaking up on you, especially at moments such as these. Which was a hint enough to make the conclusion that he knew what was going on. You’d feared for that earlier. Earlier when a pair of eyes had followed your movements and interactions with the others. 

So of course you knew who it was, who it always was. It gave you enough peace of mind to sit down calmly before turning around to face him, attempting to keep up the nonchalant facade of an expression. He stared down at you, the expression on his face awaiting. Like he expected you to tell him something. Making it almost feel as if this was frequent enough to make you expect him and tell him you knew why he was there. And that sadly was the truth. How awful that he’d started to care now that you’d gotten yourself into a mess. But there was a way to dodge this bullet. “You can feed on me tonight if you’d like?” And all you could do was watch his expression fall for a moment, taken aback by the response to his knowing look. But the fun of that didn’t last for very long, he was serious. “Darling, no. This isn’t the time, and you know that yourself.” He answered. Boring, you thought. But regretted the rebellion in your mind straight after. “Well in that case, I’ll get some rest,” you informed him before tucking yourself under the familiar blanket. You knew the vampire couldn’t say much else, nor do anything. He didn’t wish to start any commotion. So the only option left was to drop the topic, there was no use in trying to force anything out of you. And he knew that, respected the choice and left for his own bed. 

But the sleep you’d told yourself would eventually come, never did. The touches never relented, at times becoming more faint but at that point it meant nothing. The sound of the others slowly drifting to their beds and the chatter quieting down got your attention for a moment. But after that it all fell back into the same old silence, in which the condition you were in felt the worst. Because breaking the silence at times like these with any of the sounds you’d held back would have shattered whatever crumbs of self respect you were holding on to. 

Saying that hours had passed since the others had fallen asleep sounded like an overestimate, but then again it wouldn’t have been a surprise. This wasn’t the first time the incubus had done this, you wouldn’t have been oh so familiar with all of this if it had been so. And just like any other time, you laid awake. And to truly follow the usual protocol, the decision to leave and get a breather was the next obvious choice. 

With careful steps, which through thorough practise had learned which plank didn’t squeak, you escaped the pestering silence. Then again, this time of night it seemed just as quiet anywhere you went. A lucky catch if you heard commotion somewhere nearby when entering the terrace outside. Which is where you’d headed, sat down on one of the chairs that sat lonely in a corner. 

It wasn’t necessarily the fresh air that helped, the night air was always so cold anyway. But it was the feeling of not being a bother, not letting absolutely everyone around you have to listen and worry. Worst of all, feel bad. 

A shaky sigh mixed with something like a whine escaped as you leaned back against the wall behind the chair. Eyes closed, there was finally a moment of something that resembled peace. Peace, if you fully excluded the plaguing touches and caresses. A sound dangerously close by got your attention though, getting your eyes to snap open. Nothing but the endless hell with the incubus seemed to last that night. 

In the faint light of the terrace it took you an embarrassing amount of time to even make out a shape. Nevertheless, figure out who it was. But maybe you could blame it on the feelings you were experiencing, later on. Just to save face. 

The figure, now determined to be who you should have expected. Astarion, made his way over. He sat down rather calmly and stayed quiet before drawing in a breath and talking. “Assuming you won’t tell me otherwise, I hope there's nothing troubling you my dear?” You always hoped that his arrival would have been more of a fifty fifty in the usual protocol, but it never was. Neither were the things he said, or how he treated you when it came to this. “Perfectly fine.” You glanced at him, another hitched sigh making its escape, tired of being held back. “That’d be funnier if it was anyone but you,” he said while shifting his chair a little closer. The silence he gave you after was plaguing enough in the cold of the night that it forced you to say something. “It’s all the same, no matter what I do. If only I’d be strong enough to completely ignore it.” You shook your head before turning to look at him, expecting a certain answer from him. Knowing he wasn’t very happy per say about your recent approach to this. Yet, never angry. He took a fast breath but the words he’d prepared never came out. Hoping that the pleading look you’d given him had softened some of the words he’d originally thought of. “I know what it’s like, to lose control of what you have. But you of all people shouldn’t have to.” The rest of the words he’d held back escaped with an exhale at the end, left unspoken. But in truth, you wouldn’t have heard them anyway. The other questions so often filling your mind had appeared back the second he’d come after you. And as per usual, there was no holding them back as they escaped your lips. “Were you ever angry with me for the choice I made?” The exchange of yourself for a piece of information. And as often as you found yourself rewording these same questions, he took the time to answer them. Each time so swiftly that you had to believe he was telling you the truth, “Of course not, dear. More so at the creature itself.” But he couldn’t possibly leave it there. “The control you had was not complete. You don’t have to blame yourself.” 

Awful how he cared, making it harder to keep yourself together. “I’m not sure if I blame myself exactly. I’m not sure if it was worth it. I wonder if it ever made anyone, you, angry.” A shudder ran along your spine, shaking your head slightly to get rid of it before continuing. Not daring to look at the man next to you for longer. “But maybe he’ll get tired of the form eventually. In due time, I’d be mostly free. It’s just…he’s been..active today.” You rambled, eyes resting on the comfort of your lap. But even then, you could almost feel the pair of red eyes piercing through you in the dark. Filled with an emotion you didn’t dare to name, not to even look in fear that it would confirm the care for you he’d formed. 

He stayed quiet, the sound of his and your breathing keeping the silence at bay. Even the breath he drew sounded loud, but his words never seemed to be. As per protocol. “Come inside. I’ll be with you, however you want for me to,” he offered so kindly it almost caused you to cringe. Maybe there was still some getting used to you had to do before this would become more comfortable. But you knew he was trying to fix something within himself as well by doing this. He was trying to offer you something he was never given. So maybe taking a hold of his hand and accepting the offer wasn’t for your sake, but for his. 

His steps were as careful as yours has been, as he led the both of you to his bed. You sat down first, flush against the headboard, wishing it would have provided some sort of comfort from the touches. Astarion stood beside the bed for a moment, holding back on a question before it slipped from him, “what would you like to do, darling?” He asked, making you wonder what it was you wanted. To have the peace of mind you had before. Well, what had been left of it after the tadpole had nestled itself somewhere back there. The shiver that ran along your spine interrupted that train of thought. The only thing you could still achieve and wished to have was rest.  “To sleep,” you answered while observing the man sit down and lean against the headboard. He’d left space for you to come over if you so pleased, a silent invitation. 

You knew he probably wasn’t the most ideal person to comfort someone, but also could see that he felt a form of compassion when it came to this. And knowing that he saw a fragment of himself within you hurt deeper than any deal with an incubus ever could. 

You climbed up to him, leaning your back against his chest before kicking the blanket to a comfortable position. The space was so silent, but hearing Astarion breathe removed any thoughts of that. Keeping your attention on how his chest rose and fell in a familiar rhythm. 

His arms snaked their way carefully around your waist, careful as if there was a chance you’d tell him to back off. But you would never, not when he’d finally allowed someone to care for him and come close. He leaned forward just enough to be able to talk quietly. “It won’t last forever. But I’m sorry all the same.” He said, leaning his head back to rest. And there was an ounce of truth in his words, even if he had meant that this time wasn’t going to last forever. Most likely not even until the next morning. But that the deal wouldn’t last forever either. Astarion himself had assumed the same of his fate, but had gotten the chance to change that path in the end. And the thought of that gave you some form of peace of mind, at last. 

And at last the rest you’d been craving for came, slowly and late. But it didn’t matter anymore. The knowledge of not having to be alone and having someone to care for you was hard to accept but maybe you’d get used to it someday. 

[musicalmoritz]

Can you analyze Aoikane? Like does aoi really like Akane? Is Akane a good person to her? Doesn’t he just treat her like everyone else? Even after the severance arc?

I’m glad you asked this! I’ve written a lot about Aoi and Akane as separate characters but I haven’t really gotten to go in depth explaining their relationship. This won’t cover everything but I’ll try to address all your questions. Just a heads up, I incorporated a mix of canon evidence and personal interpretation here. I tried to address each time I was purely stating my perspective but be aware that this is very opinionated

So to answer your first question, “Does Aoi really like Akane?” the answer is no…Aoi LOVES Akane. Aoi is love with Akane to an embarrassing degree, dare I say more embarrassing than the time Mitsuba said “yes sir” to Kou

On a more serious note, Aoi loving Akane is a core part of their development. If Aoi didn’t love Akane, Akane never would have fallen in love with Aoi

This right here is the key moment, the moment when Akane realizes what he means to Aoi. He offhandedly tells her he hates her, and it makes her cry. At that age, nothing made Aoi cry, not even bullies. But she felt so strongly about Akane that the mere thought of him hating her was enough to bring her to tears

Akane’s character arc centers largely around coming to understand, empathize with, and help the people around him, so when he sees someone who needs him he goes all in offering his help. When he saw that Aoi loved him, that she would cry if he hated her, all he wanted to do was make her happy and make her feel loved. This is what he dedicated his life to, judging by everything we know about his relationship with Aoi after this event

Another way we know Aoi loves Akane is because she tells us this herself! She asks Hanako to talk about love and then explains her past with Akane. Before this, when Aoi got left behind leaving Hakubo’s boundary, she confessed to the audience that she loves Akane (“I never got to tell him I like him”). That line has clear romantic connotations, especially for a series that places so much emphasis on confession scenes. But on the train, we learn why Aoi loves Akane

To Aoi, Akane is everything she is not. He is naturally liked by people, hard-working, and kind. Aoi seems to view Akane as the epitome of a good person, and herself as the opposite. Think of it as a sun/moon dynamic, we see this with many ships in the series. Hanako seems to think similarly about Nene, considering himself a murderer and then viewing Nene as this ball of sweetness. When asked what he likes about her, he simply says “Everything.” Even Aoi was shocked lol (but this ain’t about them)

It confuses me that a lot of fans ask why Aoi likes Akane when she’s outright stated it herself. It could be that some of them haven’t finished the manga (not saying that’s you btw that wasn’t one of your questions), and hey there’s no shame in that. I just wish they would either admit they haven’t read it or look up the chapters they need to read because their arguments are lacking some pretty key information😭 Guys, step one of analyzing is to READ. But I digress

I think another explanation would be that fans don’t understand Aoi’s character, they still subconsciously view her as Nene’s popular best friend. They may not think they do, because they think the extent of her facade is pretending to be perfect. They don’t understand how she looks down on people, how she only thought about herself when Nene and Akane started acting different, and how she gets emotionally dependent on the people closest to her. There’s a reason for that too, many fans don’t like that side of Aoi. They see her express an unhealthy attachment style and decide the problem is AoiAoi rather than Aoi as a character, so they completely erase her flawed management of relationships when they write her

Aoi displays an avoidant attachment style, she pushes away the people she wants to be close with. She also arguably shows signs of BPD, and though I won’t get into that today, one of the defining symptoms is intense and unstable relationships. The sad truth is that people really hate people with avoidant attachment styles, and they really hate people with BPD (and any Cluster B personality disorder in general), so when they see Aoi expressing these traits they erase them rather than admitting they don’t like that side of her. Which is sad because you rarely see people doing that with male characters. Teru and Hanako are loved for the aspects of their personalities that are unlikable to the fanbase, whereas Aoi’s toxicity is ignored because it doesn’t fit the image fans have of her. Aoi is misunderstood by the fandom the same way she’s misunderstood by the characters in the manga

One last note on this, if you dislike Aoi just say that (again this is aimed at the general fandom, not you specifically). Don’t erase her obvious signs of mental illness, that representation is important to a lot of fans. When I wrote my TikTok essay on Aoi having BPD, I had people with BPD in the comments telling me how much they related to her. On other posts about Aoi, I’ve had people tell me how much it means to them to see a character realistically portray an avoidant attachment style. Mental illness is rarely portrayed correctly in media, and it is highly offensive to those who have it irl to erase those traits in a character just because they don’t fit your cookie-cutter image of them. And yes, I know Aoi doesn’t canonically have BPD but slandering her for traits that strongly relate to BPD is also weird (this is the opinionated part I warned you guys about lol, but yk a psych student is gonna have to lecture you on ableism)

Aoi’s feelings for Akane have also been teased since the beginning of the manga, through jealousy. She claims not to like him back, but she completely shuts down whenever he shows interest in someone else (or when someone else shows interest in him). Again, this is not a healthy response by any means but I personally think it’s an interesting character flaw, you are welcome to think otherwise🤷🏼‍♀️

She actively encourages his confessions with her point system, if she didn’t enjoy his confessions she would have turned him down from the get go. This connects back to the avoidant attachment style thing, Aoi wants Akane’s attention but she maintains distance for fear of letting him in. She keeps walls up to protect herself, because while Akane is the sun she basks in, she doesn’t really believe he likes her

This is because Akane puts her on a pedestal just like the rest of the school does. Some fans overlook this because they’re focused on post-development AoiAoi but at one point Akane made Aoi feel very isolated. It must have hurt extra since he’s her childhood friend. She thought Akane was only in love with the perfect version of her, which I don’t believe to be true. Akane loved Aoi, flaws and all, and that’s why he saw her as perfect. Most of the information we learn about Aoi is given to us through Akane, so it wouldn’t add up for him to not know her real personality. During their fight scene, he lists all her worst qualities and proceeds to kiss her hand and tell her he loves her

My conclusion is that Akane’s love for Aoi was so intense, he saw her through a rose colored glass. He knew the real her, but he loved her so much that her flaws didn’t bother him. He only focused on the good parts, and thus ended up putting her on a pedestal. He didn’t realize his behavior was hurting her up until the truth came out in chapter 69, and to answer that one part of your question, yes his behavior did change after that

He encourages Aoi to talk about herself, offering to do all of her favorite hobbies with her. He gives her free reign and support here, letting her talk and then offering solutions to her worries. He reassures her that she can fix things with Nene, which is like!! A major step in the right direction!! Akane is usually very possessive of Aoi, even when it comes to her friendships, but here he is encouraging healthy communication between her and Nene. He doesn’t deny her bad actions, but he gives her room to resolve them

After that, we see him start to treat her normally. He acts like himself around her, the same version of him we see around Teru and Nene. None of that lovestruck, over exaggerated worship we’re used to seeing him show towards Aoi. Even during the Severance, he took time to work with Nene and Teru rather than obsessively focusing on Aoi. He gave Teru motivation when he felt like quitting, even felt comfortable using their mutual love for a Aoi to fuel their rivalry. He formed an alliance with Nene even though he initially felt bitter towards her for Aoi’s disappearance. He learned to look past his own feelings enough to be there for his friends, likely because Aoi taught him to remove those rose-colored glasses. He saw that only focusing on what he wants (only focusing on Aoi) was hurting the people around him, including Aoi herself. Post chapter 69, Akane becomes much more down to earth. He still loves Aoi deeply and puts her first, but he treats her like a normal human being. This allows him to treat other people normally too

A lot of people use this chapter as evidence that Akane hasn’t changed but guys, he’s allowed to be jealous over the girl he loves. He panics here, but he doesn’t try to get violent with Teru the way we used to see him do when guys would express interest in Aoi. He doesn’t look possessive or angry here at all, just sad. He’s genuinely devastated that he’s in a world where he can’t be with the girl he loves. This is bad news for both him and Aoi, judging by the sad look she gives him as she leaves and the events of last chapter, it’s clear that this Aoi is still in love with Akane. Our Akane knows how dependent Aoi is on him, he knows that he’s the reason she’s started taking steps towards healing. Without him, all of her development gets erased, and there’s the simpler sad fact that she can’t be with the man she loves. Akane wants happiness for both of them, there’s nothing wrong with that

Even when he confesses to her, it looks so much more genuine than the old scenes of his confessions. It gets a full page, they’re both blushing and their eyes are full of light. His words are so genuine too, he doesn’t wax on about how perfect and delicate she is, all he does is promise to love her forever. For someone with such severe abandonment issues like Aoi has, those words are all she’s ever wanted to hear. Her father left when she was young, then the two people closest to her started to pull away from her (not in this universe but still). She’s terrified that people will hate her, that everyone will leave her if she reveals her true self. And here Akane is, promising to love her and only her for as long as they both shall live (and beyond that)

So, yes, I truly do believe Akane’s behavior towards Aoi has changed. And keep in mind, the manga isn’t over yet, they will have more development. We just learned Aoi’s backstory with her father leaving and her mommy issues, there’s still so much we don’t know about the characters. They still have a long way to go, so if they haven’t grown as much as you’d like then give them some time!! But they have made a lot of progress already, and I wish more fans recognized that

As for the question of whether or not he’s a good person to her, that’s very subjective!! Some fans don’t like any level of toxicity in their ships, so chapter 69 was enough for them to write off AoiAoi entirely. That’s perfectly fine, no one should feel forced to like a ship that makes them uncomfortable. Some love toxic ships, some only love toxic ships if they have development, and others love ships with extreme toxicity (I finished Interview with the Vampire season 1 today so that is where I’m at right now lol)

Let me ask you a few questions though. Is Kou a good person to Mitsuba, for mimicking the actions of his abuser and force-feeding him?? Is Hanako a good person to Nene for attempting to trap her in a fake world and kill her best friend? Is Hakubo a good person to Sumire for eating her alive? Is Natsuhiko a good person to Sakura for letting them destroy the world? Are any of these characters good people to each other???

All of those situations have nuance, and so does AoiAoi. Yes, Akane choked Aoi, but only because she was about to kill herself. She was in a shinigami’s boundary, talking about wanting to “go somewhere far away” and never return. If he hadn’t done something, she never would have returned from the far shore. That doesn’t excuse his actions, but it provides some perspective. Akane wouldn’t choke Aoi under normal circumstances, just like Kou wouldn’t force-feed Mitsuba under normal circumstances. However, both of them would go to those extremes if it meant protecting the ones they love. I personally believe it’s toxic, but some fans insist it’s completely justified because they were doing it for the greater good. Again, it all comes down to perspective

Their dynamic also largely relies on the yandere!Akane gag, which is very hit or miss for some people. Although it’s for comedic purposes, those scenes did happen in canon and they happen a lot. They can be very distracting and cause fans to feel confused once they’re introduced to the deeper side of AoiAoi, which is understandable. Part of peoples’ interpretation on AoiAoi’s level of toxicity comes down to how serious they take the yandere jokes, and how much they like yandere characters. If you hate yandere characters but don’t take the gag too seriously, you’ll be able to overlook it. However, if you hate yandere characters AND you take the gag seriously…AoiAoi might be a difficult ship to accept

Otherwise, Akane does look out for Aoi a lot. He beats up guys who harass her, he asks her how her talk with Nene went, he checks on her injured hand, he will stop at nothing to save her when she’s in danger and, well…the list goes on. There’s no denying Akane cares about Aoi, though some fans may argue he cares about her to a toxic extent. I find that attitude a little hypocritical when they like every other toxic canon ship, but every ship has different appeals so I get it. I’m very biased tho so every argument I see against AoiAoi is just words, words, words

Keep in mind that the TBHK characters and their relationships are all meant to be flawed. This is an imperfect cast of characters who all want to be loved, who have their own goals and try desperately to save each other even though they’re doomed to fail. I wouldn’t call every character morally gray, but they’re realistically flawed. Akane and Aoi want to be together, but they have a lot of individual issues to work through first. They’re undoubtedly better together though, seeing as the progress they make is because of each other (I gave Akane credit for Aoi’s development earlier but it goes both ways!!). If they were separated, we wouldn’t see them grow as much as they have. That doesn’t have to be romantic ofc but I do believe that Aoi and Akane make each other better, they just have to go through the process of making each other worse first in order to get there

I am a person who LOVES flawed characters and relationships. If the ship doesn’t have a splash of codependency, I don’t want it. I incorporate sadomasochism into almost every fic I write. My view of AoiAoi is going to be different from that of someone that isn’t interested in flawed characters/ships (yes, you’re allowed to prefer characters that are “morally pure”). If you’re looking for something that’s pure fluff then AoiAoi most likely isn’t for you, very few TBHK ships are unless you’re heavily fanonizing them. That’s simply the nature of this manga, there’s a reason we’ve seen every canon couple hit each other at some point. It’s not as bad as some fans suggest, but it’s still messy. I want to reiterate that this isn’t aimed at you specifically but I feel it’s something the fandom as a whole needs to hear. Of course, there are toxic ship enjoyers who may not find AoiAoi interesting, but every complaint I’ve heard about them so far has been about their toxicity so that’s what I’m addressing. I personally find it to be tame compared to the other ships but not everyone is going to interpret it the same way

Thank you very much for this ask, I got a little carried away with the yapping lol. I’m a bit worried I’m gonna get hate for this one since it’s kinda controversial and I got very opinionated at times…please know that I didn’t mean to offend anyone or invalidate any other opinions. If you feel that I did that then feel free to block me. I hope everyone reading this has a nice day <3

[stardustsides]

Love is a Beach

Chapter 2

Chapter 1

Patton and Janus broke up months ago. The problem? They still haven’t told their friends, and their annual beach trip is looming. Not wanting to break the news and ruin the vacation, they come to an…unconventional agreement.

Pairings: Moceit, background Prinxiety

Content Warnings: Drinking/flashback to underage drinking, drunkenness, breakups, lmk if i missed anything!!

Word Count: ~2100

Author’s Note: The second chapter is here!! Writing the flashback in this chapter made me miss freshman year of college so bad actually i need to go back i fear.

~

Janus stood in the emptiness of the master bedroom and stared at the space where Patton had been. The late afternoon sun spilled across the polished hardwood floor, painting the room in a hazy gold. Muffled from downstairs, he could hear him telling Virgil that he would cook after all tonight, which didn’t surprise him in the slightest. He knew from six years of being in a relationship with the man that he cooked under stress. Memories of coming home to their apartment to find Patton in the kitchen surrounded by trays upon trays of cookies came flooding back to him, and his heart gave a painful tug.

He blew out a careful, measured breath and sat on the corner of the bed. He hadn’t been lying—Patton really was a terrible actor, which provided two massive problems for Janus: one, because they had to keep the charade up all week, and two, because Janus secretly found Patton’s complete inability to lie one of his most endearing qualities.

Really, this had been a terrible idea to begin with, but when he had come over to the apartment to pick up his things, he couldn’t help but notice the deep circles under Patton’s puffy red eyes, his unkempt hair, his rumpled shirt. No matter how upset with each other they still were, when Patton had turned to look at him, the only thing that he wanted to do was close the space between them, take him into his arms, and smooth down his hair. Even now, he hated seeing him so upset. And so, he did the only thing that he could think to do:

Propose the world’s worst plan.

They still hadn’t told the others about the breakup yet. It was getting to the point where it was starting to worry Janus, so he could only imagine how much it was destroying Patton. If the bags under his eyes were any indication, he had been turning the question of how to tell them over and over in that worrywart way of his. And so, the plan was concocted: by keeping the act up until after their vacation, they both got to enjoy one final week of normalcy with their friends, and it gave them time to cool down enough that when they did break the news, they could at least present a united front.

And, though he wouldn’t admit it, the selfish part of him wanted to avoid the crushing finality of telling everyone for as long as possible.

It seemed like a good idea at the time, but then again, his brain had always seemed to turn to mush when it came to Patton.

The bastard was impossible not to adore.

And so, here he was, sitting on the edge of the bed that he would be sharing with his ex-boyfriend for the next week, in a lovely little house that he could so clearly picture the two of them sharing a life in, surrounded by all of their closest friends.

One week. That was all he had to get through.

One week, and then everything would change.

~

Dinner was, of course, delicious.

Janus twirled his spaghetti around his fork and tried to look as nonchalant as possible, situated directly next to Patton. He cut a sidelong glance at him—at the very least, he seemed a fraction less tense than a few hours ago, which he supposed was an improvement. He had been white-knuckling the steering wheel on the ride over.

His face was also prettily flushed, the way it always was after a few glasses of wine, which Janus was valiantly trying to ignore.

“This is wonderful, dear,” Janus said as naturally as he could. Patton started a little.

“Thank you!” He responded, the flush creeping down to his neck and beneath the collar of his shirt. A small, traitorous part of Janus’s brain wondered how far down it went. “…honey.”

“I was thinking we could all head down to the beach at around ten tomorrow?” Roman cut in brightly. “Make some sandwiches, bring a cooler?”

“Sounds good to me,” said Virgil, picking at his salad. In spite of himself, Janus had to fight back a smile. Roman could have suggested they all walk over hot coals at six AM sharp, and Virgil would have readily agreed.

“Everyone good for margaritas after dinner?” Roman asked. He had worked as a bartender in college, and as such, always took it upon himself to make drinks for the group at large. Not that Janus complained. Roman knew exactly how Janus liked his drinks–syrupy sweet, the alcohol nearly undetectable–and scarcely teased him for it.

Patton nodded so emphatically that a bit of white wine from the glass that he was holding nearly sloshed over the side, and understanding hit Janus like a stone sinking in water. He’s planning on getting drunk.

Janus could hardly blame him–the thought had crossed his mind too, as a way to cope with the comically uncomfortable situation the two of them had found themselves in–but Patton was a notoriously chatty drunk.

The first time they had all drank together as a group was in freshman year, sitting in a cramped circle around Roman and Patton’s shared dorm room, playing some drinking game that Roman had found online and nursing some truly disgusting vodka mixers with whatever beverages they could scavenge from the vending machines. It had been two years before he and Patton had started dating, and at the time, Janus had been determinedly ignoring the way his stomach swooped at the sound of his laugh like a bird dipping and gliding in the air. He knew fully well from his older sister what happened to friend groups when two of the members started dating. Despite having only met in August, these were some of the closest friends that Janus had ever had, and he wasn’t willing to give it up on the off chance that Patton liked him back.

On his left, Logan took a shot of New Amsterdam, his face scrunching up in disgust as the others cheered. On his right, Patton, leaning against his dresser and eyes slightly unfocused, shushed them halfheartedly, mumbling something about keeping quiet for the RA. Remus reached to the deck of cards in the center of their lopsided circle, and drew the top one, crowing, “Queen!”

“Whaddoes that one do again?” Virgil asked, readjusting the weighted dinosaur from Patton’s bed he was holding in his lap. He hadn’t relinquished it all night.

“I gotta ask someone a question, then that person asks someone else a question, and so on. First person who doesn’t want to answer drinks. Logan–what’s the worst grade you’ve ever gotten in a class?”

Logan blushed beet red and glared down into his red solo cup, as if trying to divine the answer from his rancid blue Gatorade mixer. At last, he mumbled, “A B. Plus. In junior year English.”

They all roundly booed him.

Logan straightened up and cast his gaze around the circle. “Um…Patton. What is the worst thing you’ve done in the past week?”

Patton’s eyes immediately widened, and he looked guiltily down at the floor. “Yes’trday, I…killed a spider.”

“The horror,” said Remus.

“I didn’ mean to, it jus’ startled me!” Patton said, the alcohol slurring his words together. They had never gotten drunk together as a group before, and Janus suspected that this may be Patton’s first time getting drunk at all.

“‘S alright, Pat,” Virgil snorted, not much more sober than Patton was. “‘S your turn.”

Patton immediately perked up. “So I ask a question?”

“Yep!” Roman said from Patton’s other side.

“Can be anything,” Remus added.

Patton thought for a moment, then turned to Janus so suddenly he startled. Patton’s face was inches away from his, eyes glittering, a pretty flush on his cheeks. ”Janus!” he chirped, and nearly tipped forward into Janus’ lap. “Do you like me?”

The reaction was immediate. Remus choked on his drink, and Roman made a noise that was somewhere between a hysterical laugh and a delighted gasp. Logan’s mouth fell open as he gaped at Patton, and Virgil, despite his inebriation, tugged at Patton’s hand firmly and gave him a pointed glare, hissing, “Pat.”

Janus sat rooted to the spot, the world seeming to tip beneath him. He couldn’t tear his gaze away from Patton, looking at him so earnestly with those melted chocolate eyes, his lips slightly parted. He was so close that Janus could count the freckles on his face.

He could feel the response on his tongue; could feel the shape of the words, the weight of them. He opened his mouth, and managed a humiliating sound that was something like a frog croaking, which made the twins laugh even harder.

Yes, his brain screamed at him. Yes, I do, and if you keep looking at me like that, I might fall in love with you, too.

Instead, he took a sip of his drink.

~

Now he sat on the couch, margarita in hand and trying his best to ignore the way his nerve endings lit up at every square inch of Patton’s body pressed against his side.

They were all a few drinks deep by now; the twins had insisted on playing drinking games, despite the fact that they were certainly getting too old for such things. Still, it was a welcome distraction: facing off against Roman and Virgil with Remus in a game of pong as Logan and Patton watched bemusedly from the couch was a welcome distraction. At some point, though, he had tapped out, swapping places with Logan, and now he found himself on the couch with Patton.

The room had gone pleasantly fuzzy around the edges; Janus closed his eyes, allowing himself to savor the feeling. His friends were together, the house was quaint and cozy, and Patton was leaning against him, his warmth as comforting as Janus remembered. He could almost pretend that everything was as it should be; that he and Patton were still together, and that they could sit like this again, curled up on each other, not having to worry about jumping back as if the other had burned them.

Janus shoved the thought away; it wasn’t fair to Patton to let himself pretend. They had broken up, and Patton had probably moved on by now. Regardless of whatever lingering feelings Janus still had for him, he needed to respect that.

Patton shifted, and his head lolled gently against Janus’ shoulder. He had been strangely quiet all night—at least he was keeping his lips sealed about the agreement—but Janus was being very much reminded what a cuddly drunk Patton was.

He supposed he should be grateful; if Patton hadn’t decided to sit next to him, it might have seemed suspicious. But him sitting here brought on a new host of problems, chief of which is that Janus would have given anything for the two of them to stay there forever.

He blinked rapidly, trying to clear his mind. The breakup was his own fault, after all; if he had wanted this forever, then he should have stepped up when he had the chance. But still, that wouldn’t have been fair to Patton.

Things are better this way, he told himself firmly. He had been repeating the words over and over again for the past few months, hoping that one day, he’d believe them.

He shifted, and found himself nose-to-nose with Patton, who was blearily blinking up at him through long eyelashes. Janus didn’t know how long he had been staring at him like that.

“Hello,” Janus said, hoping that the flush in his cheeks could be chalked up to the alcohol. “Enjoying the party?”

“Mmmhm,” Patton mumbled sleepily. “Dr’nk too much.”

“I can see that.”

Patton’s brow furrowed, face scrunched up in a pout. “Mean.”

“Honest.” He could feel Patton’s soft curls tickling his chin. “Perhaps we should get you to bed.”

“No,” he whined. “‘M comfy.”

“You won’t be when you wake up on the couch tomorrow with a terrible hangover.”

He poked Janus in the arm. “You’re comfy.”

“Patton,” Janus said, sterner this time. This—whatever this was—couldn’t happen. “Come on, let’s get up.”

“You going to bed?” Roman asked from the pong table, wincing as Logan sank a shot into one of his cups.

“Mhm,” Janus said, looping an arm around a very reluctant Patton. “Someone had a bit too much to drink.”

“‘M fine,” Patton insisted, an argument that was made less convincing by the way he started hiccuping.

“Bed, Patton.”

Remus snorted. “Don’t let him trip up the stairs!” He called after them.

“Wouldn’t dream of it,” Janus said back easily, even as Patton stumbled over his own feet.

They were almost to the landing, Patton tucked against Janus’ side, when Janus heard him mumble, almost too quietly for him to hear it, “I wish you din’ break up with me.”

If Janus hadn’t been so focused on getting him safely to bed, he might have accidentally dropped him. A million emotions clawed their way through his body, filling up his heart: guilt, longing, anger towards himself.

He pushed them all down and readjusted Patton under his arm. “I promise, Patton. It’s better this way.”

TAGLIST: @bluejay-of-the-west @scare-amor @harmonialcollisions @emoprincey @dragonboots @just-my-interpretation @spicycreativity @infawrit10 @emophoenixreborn @6-paris-6 @thedeadandthedecaying @moceit @lily-janus @instantromannoodles @betamash @nandysparadox @halfhissandwich @sanderssidesthehouse @littlerat2 @giraffeboat

[eddiemunsonw]

Your presence is a gift

Eddie Munson x Fem!Reader

Summary: After announcing your engagement to your boyfriend at Steve's birthday party, Eddie quite literally vanishes from your life. Just yours, though. You miss him terribly and when you run into him again two years later yet again at Steve's birthday party, you ask him for clarity.

CW/Disclaimer: A bit of angst with a happy ending I suppose?

Author's note: This fic came to life after seeing a silly text. I've put the image at the end. :)

Words: 4209

Time flies when you’re having fun, right? That’s what they say. Well, time also flies when you’re not having fun. Unless you’re in an excruciatingly painful disaster, then it’ll feel like you can feel every second painfully ticking by. For you, it felt like a combination of both. 

Every day, he was on your mind. Eddie Munson. Someone you used to consider one of your closest friends. Up until two years ago, you used to hang out several days a week, a little less once you got a boyfriend but you never thought it would change this drastically. To think you hadn’t seen his face in so long felt impossible to you. 

The last time you had seen him had been at Steve’s birthday party two years ago. Since you were sitting on the same stool you sat back then, you couldn’t help but think of him. Honestly, the whole environment reminded you of him. After all, you spent many nights with him, Steve and others here. Playing games, watching movies, talking until the sun came peeking through the trees again. You watched absentmindedly as Steve busied himself with entertaining his guests, occasionally glancing at you with mild concern. You told him you were fine, he just didn’t buy it. Oh well.

You knew it had been quick when you announced your engagement, you had only been dating Trent for about… four months? But he went down on one knee and you were always bad at saying no. Trent insisted on sharing it at Steve’s birthday party. You didn’t exactly want to take the attention away from Steve, but Trent… Well, sometimes it was just easier to agree than not to. Steve had been shocked, but happy for you. Eddie had been… Eddie. And yet he had been nothing like him at all. From being the life of the party he had gone instantly silent, gazing into his glass that he never ended up finishing. He congratulated you eventually, after asking you if you loved him, Trent. And you told him yes. Because who would marry someone who they didn’t love, right? Right.

The year after that, Eddie hadn’t attended Steve’s birthday. Supposedly he was sick but you knew he was simply avoiding you. Steve’s face never held many secrets from you and you could tell that the reason he gave you wasn’t a real one. Your husband had been sitting next to you, indifferent to it all. He frankly found it a little annoying that you were still so hung up over Eddie no longer being your… friend? Was that what it was? It felt like you had lost much more than a friend. 

And that was that. No sign of Eddie since. He canceled on your get togethers, even the group ones, always claimed he was busy with the band which, for some time, seemed like a valid reason considering they were doing pretty well nowadays. However, all of that belief went out the window when you discovered that he did in fact still meet up with his friends. With Steve. Just not with you. Steve didn’t want to meddle, told you that you two should probably talk but Eddie made it impossible. Even when Steve tried to create an ‘accidental run-in’ between you two, Eddie figured it out before you even could arrive and had already bolted. 

You forced yourself to accept that Eddie, for whatever reason, had decided he didn’t want to see you anymore. Maybe he needed time… or something. You couldn’t fathom why, not even when Trent exclaimed that ‘that weirdo’ had probably been waiting to get into your pants and when he realized he couldn’t, he had no more interest in being your ‘friend’. That remark had probably resulted in the biggest fight between you and Trent. Things had felt different after. Though looking back on it, things had never felt good in the first place. It had all just felt… expected and how it should be.

Despite everything, despite Trent’s obvious annoyance, you still sent Eddie a wedding invite. You missed him, you missed your friend more than you thought you could ever miss him. Sometimes, when you had a little too much to drink, you wondered whether there had been more. What if Eddie in fact did have… a desire to get into your pants. What if it wasn’t just a sexual desire. What if Eddie…

It never went much further than that. Eddie being in love with you was such a foreign concept to your brain that you couldn’t even entertain the thought. Not after dealing with your one-sided feelings for him for years. Not after seeing him kiss and take home whoever he felt like over and over and never once looking in your direction. Surely he would have considered you an option if it had been like that.

So, you had invited your friend. Asked Steve whether Eddie had brought it up with him or not. To which Steve responded that Eddie no longer wanted to talk about you. Yet you couldn’t help but hold on to hope. 

It drove Trent insane when you insisted on adding banana flavored ice cream to the dessert options. He told you no one liked banana ice cream because it was rank and that it didn’t even taste like banana. Of course, he figured out who in your social circle did like it. Trent had gotten angry about a lot of trivial things and somehow Eddie was often wedged into the subject. If you were honest, you hadn’t really known Trent all that well before you said yes to his proposal. It was as if the moment he knew he had you, he slowly started to change or rather, be more himself.

Eddie never came to the wedding. No one ordered banana ice cream for dessert.

“Y/N, refill?” Steve interrupted your thoughts. You blinked and quickly propped a smile on your face before meeting his gaze.

“Oh, yes, thank you,” you handed your glass to him and moments later he handed it back to you containing an orange-red liquid. You gazed at it for a moment before addressing him. “Sex on the beach?”

Steve smirked. “That’s the one.” His hand squeezed your shoulder kindly before he joined the others again. He knew it was futile to ask if you wanted to join them, knew you sometimes preferred to just listen along from a distance far enough where you wouldn’t be expected to engage. 

You never could have expected that about an hour later, you would be sharing the balcony space with no other than Eddie Munson. In silence. You went there for some fresh air, he went there to pollute it with his smoke filled exhales. Neither of you acknowledged the other. When you heard the door open you hadn’t even turned around. You had been there a while, so lost in thought that you barely registered it. It hadn’t even occurred to you that he was at the party, that’s how long you had been there. You had never seen him arrive.

However, you didn’t even have to look as much in his direction to know it was him. It was the mix of Old Spice, cigarettes and mint and something entirely Eddie that gave it away. A combination of scents that had quickly become your favorite when you first started to hang out with him. You felt it when he rested his arms on the railing just like you were. You wondered if his heartbeat felt as deafening to him as yours did to you. He could have said something. After everything that you tried, it felt painful to be ignored like that even when you were right next to him. As you were working up the courage to say something, your brain decided to take a plunge into your memory and skip all the polite small talk, instead going for the one thing that had been bothering you for a long time now.

“Why didn’t you come to the wedding?”

Eddie took the slowest drag of his cigarette mankind had ever taken, sighed and lazily inspected the ashes while he flicked them off into the wind. You still weren’t looking at him when he shrugged indifferently.

“Your invitation wasn’t really an invitation.”

An overwhelming surge of emotions clutched and clawed at your chest, begging to be let in or let out, it was hard to tell. You had missed his voice so much. It took you a moment to realize that what he said made no sense at all.

“What do you mean?” Slowly, you dared to look in his direction from the corner of your eye. He was still focused on his cigarette, watching it burn.

“Well,” Eddie started to cite it perfectly, as if he had just held your invite two seconds ago and it was still at the forefront of his mind. “Your presence itself is a gift. We don’t want you to bring any gifts to the wedding.”

For a moment you could only stare at him. Surely he didn’t mean…

“You can’t be serious.”

Eddie’s eyes followed the railing until they landed on your hands and the sublest frown etched into his forehead when he couldn’t spot a wedding ring, or any ring for that matter, on your fingers. Perhaps you were scared of losing it or something. Where was Trent anyway?

“It said I am a gift and to not bring gifts. It’s simple math.”

The indifference in his voice ignites a burning frustration in you. How could he act so casually about this when you had in fact cried (of course not in the presence of Trent) over his absence? How could he act like your years of friendship meant nothing to him, from one day to the other? Eddie, who always fantasized out loud about how you’d still get drunk enough together to think dancing on rooftops was a good idea at the age of 85.

“Everyone got that invitation and they were there,” you gritted out.

Another shrug.

“I’m sorry about that. Maybe they didn’t get it.”

“No, you didn’t get it,” you retorted, your frustration becoming more difficult to contain and be limited to just your thoughts.

“No, Y/N, you didn’t get it. You still don’t,” he mumbled.

You didn’t get it?! Your body was fully turned to him now and Eddie still refused to look at you. It drove you insane.

“Then please, explain to me why you ditched one of your best friends at her wedding after refusing to meet up with her anymore out of the fucking blue?”

“Oh you really don’t think there was something specific that went down that could have possibly caused all of this?” Eddie bit back, his eyes finally meeting yours. You were a little taken aback by the blazing fire they held, though. The hurt within them. As if all of this had somehow been your fault.

“Am I supposed to believe that you were so opposed to the idea of me being happy that you decided you no longer wanted to be anywhere near me, ever again? Is that it? Was it the engagement?”

“Yes. I couldn’t bear watching you throw away the life you had to get with some selfish prick that couldn’t even be bothered to see if you were okay when you tripped because ‘you should watch where you walk’. Who was so fucking different from you he kept wanting to change you, push you into boxes you weren’t. So yes when I heard you were willingly getting into that boat with him forever, I stepped back. What of it?”

He stood facing you directly now, arms crossed tightly over his chest, stance wide. His nostrils flared as he breathed out heavily, eyes wide as saucers as he tried to contain what seemed to be anger, built up frustration.

“Which life?! The one where I just had to miserably watch how everyone around me got settled and slowly slipped into a domestic-white-pickett-fence-with-two-children kind of life?”

���You had us! You had me!” Eddie unknowingly raised his voice, his hands pushed tightly against his chest to stop them from shaking.

“I had friends, yes! Such a crime for me to want something more, huh? Don’t get me wrong, Eddie, but it was only a matter of time before one of those bimbos you hooked up with after gigs became a long-term partner. I’m sure you’ve…” You vaguely gestured at him, his hands, something, because surely he had a great girlfriend by now. Someone that fit him like you never would.

Eddie shook his head vigorously, his wild hair following the movement. He revealed his hands, pointing at his empty ring finger.

“See? Nothing. I’m not like you. I don’t just settle for whoever.” 

You scoffed and revealed your hands.

“No you’re not like me indeed. I got divorced. Guess you win again, congrats.”

For the first time, his hostility faded a little. It was almost as if he wanted to approach you but instead he crossed his arms again, not meeting your eyes.

“Sorry about that, I guess. I didn’t know. Steve never told me.”

“Steve told me you didn’t want to talk about me, so. Not surprised that he didn’t.”

Eddie groaned impatiently, his hands flying up to his hair to run through as he looked inside, where he spotted Steve quickly turning his head away. Fucker.

“He knows why I didn’t want to talk about you though. He should have, I could have— But now instead I’ve been— Fuck!”

“You’re… not making a lot of sense right now, bud,” you remarked dryly.

Another groan, though a bit more whiny.

“Don’t fucking— I’m not your bud alright?”

You rolled your eyes, fed up with him by now. It was as if he had taken four knives to stab you simultaneously with, twisting them occasionally.

“You’re right. You’re nothing to me, apparently. As you wish.”

Both of you were so lost in your own world that you didn’t even notice how Steve had closed off the view to the balcony doors by drawing the curtains to prevent anyone else from coming up. Neither had you noticed that he had in fact locked the doors as well.

“You’re a real bitch, you know that?” Eddie seethed through his teeth, taking a small step closer towards you with his eyes blazing. It was the last straw you needed after this agonizing build up of two years. You had had enough. 

“Oh I’m a bitch?! You literally gave me the cold fucking shoulder from one day to the next, ignored all my calls, all my messages, you literally pretended like I didn’t fucking exist, Eddie! Why would you do something like that, knowing how much it would hurt me? Call me a bitch all you want, but you’re heartless.”

“I’ve been fucking heartless since the goddamn day you stole it, Y/N.”

What? Stunned, you looked up at him to witness the panic that flared up in his eyes and he quickly made a beeline towards the balcony doors.

“Eddie, wait—” 

Eddie shook his head and tried to pry the door open with all his might. He was desperate to get away from you as far as possible.

“Why the fuck can’t I— Steve. Steve! Open the goddamn thing now!”

It didn’t take long for Steve to appear when Eddie started banging loudly on the window. He pulled the curtains around his head, making it look like it was floating amidst the black curtains and promptly shook his head.

“No. Fix it, Munson. Until then, enjoy your stay on the balcony,” Steve told him through the window, right before disappearing again.

“Fuck!”

He kicked against a heavy plant pot for good measure, causing him to swear some more before he meekly faced you again. You had quietly been following the whole ordeal and were still struggling to find the words to respond to any of it.

“So… What was that about me stealing your heart?” you asked softly and you had half the mind to be amused by the expression Eddie had on his face. There was no world where you wouldn’t find him and his panicky expressions at least slightly adorable.

“It sounds even more ridiculous when you say it,” Eddie sighed, slumping down against the door until he sat on the floor.

“Since when?”

“Since forever, man. How could I not?” He gestured at you as if he hated to admit it, arm dropping back down a little too harsh causing him to curse softly.

“How?”

“What do you mean how? It just happens, and I’m not gonna apologize for how I feel about y—”

“No, I mean,” you interrupted him, “you were always… You never gave me the idea that you even considered me that way.” 

Eddie frowned and rested his head against the door as he let go of a long sigh.

“I literally said you were like Arwen to me. And that Aragorn was my favorite.” His pout was a little childlike, as if it had been something that had bothered him for years on end. In fact, it had. You groaned in disbelief.

“I hadn’t read it by then! You wouldn’t tell me why you thought I was like Arwen and told me to just read the book. Which I never did because I was always hanging with you doing other stuff in my free time. And once I did have the time, you were always hooking up with random girls so I didn’t really feel like it anymore.”

“Why would you not want to read Lord of the Rings because I was making out with random chicks?” he asked, clear confusion on his face. He almost looked a little insulted.

“Because I was jealous, you idiot! I wasn’t gonna read a thick book that I was going to read for you when you were busy exploring other people’s throats.”

“I’m afraid I’m not following, Y/N, what do you mean you were jealous? You always shot me those god awful finger guns with a huge grin whenever I went backstage with one of them.” 

“Oh, was I supposed to pull them back by their hair and say something like ‘He’s mine, you bimbo!’ and stick my tongue down your throat instead?” you asked him with a dead panned expression, causing him to chuckle unexpectedly.

“Uh, yeah?! That’s exactly how I imagined it would go, but instead you were all supportive and nice about it so I figured you didn’t give two shits. I even tried two on one night and… nothing! Not even a jealous eyebrow twitch that I know you can do, the way you do when someone gets the best part of a cake with the extra chocolates on it. I was desperate, Y/N.”

You debated sitting across from him but figured the door would be more comfortable against your back, so instead you hesitantly sat down next to him. Eddie didn’t seem to mind, to your relief.

“Ever thought of just… I don’t know, walking up to me and saying you liked me or something?” you asked with a quip of your brow and a soft smile.

“Uh, right back at you.” Eddie rolled his eyes, though he wore the hint of a smile on his face.

“No but, seriously. You kissed random girls during your shows. All you had to do was pick me instead, no?”

Eddie shook his head.

“With them it didn’t matter. With you… if you rejected me, you’d break my heart.”

The silence settled between you again. Heavy, yet not uncomfortable. Eddie exhaled slowly, his shoulder touching yours so light you could have imagined it.

“And then suddenly you introduced Trent to us. I thought, this prick isn’t gonna last a month. You and him? Nah, not in a million years. But then he did. And another, and another, and another. And then… you were engaged. I was convinced it was all just a horrible nightmare. An awful trick played on me. But I just had to accept that I was some random side character in your life and that I had wasted my chance to become anything more.”

He played with the frayed ends of one of the holes in his jeans and exhaled shakily, his fingers trembling slightly. 

“It’s why I asked if you loved him, you know? I thought… maybe. But you said yes, so I had to back away. I wasn’t going to act fair towards you if I didn’t. I— I was a mess, ask Steve. He got fed up with me so many times but he- he’s a good one, y’know. Of course you know. So yeah, I couldn’t. I just couldn’t. The only reason I’m even here is because Steve promised that you weren’t gonna come. And then suddenly…”

“Here I was,” you finished for him. He nodded.

“There you were.” A sigh, a shy glance in your direction. “As beautiful as ever, if not more. I was so shocked to see you that I forgot to leave.”

“I’m glad you didn’t,” you told him softly. “I hope you never will.”

You reached for his trembling fingers and covered them with your own, slowly pushing them apart. Eddie swallowed audibly, his eyes flicking from your hands to your face.

“I’ve missed you,” he confessed in a whisper, his eyes wide and sincere. His thumb softly caressed your pinky.

“I’ve missed you too.” A beat of silence. “I put banana ice cream on the menu, you know.”

Eddie turned his head and smiled in disbelief. “You did?”

“Mhm,” you chuckled softly. “No one ordered.”

“What a waste. I would’ve eaten it all.”

You shared a smile and rested your heads against one another.

“Sorry I wasn’t there,” he said eventually. You shrugged. 

“It’s fine, you didn’t miss anything anyway. Apart from the ice cream, of course.”

“You looked beautiful. Steve has— I’m sure you know but, he had the photo of you and him framed. He wanted to put it up but wanted to wait until he had more things to put up so he could arrange it all at once. But I guess… it’s a bit weird now.”

Steve. Always such a sweetheart.

“I didn’t know, actually. But yeah, a little weird I guess.” 

You both listened to the music coming from inside, your fingers gently drumming along. Eddie’s head too, you noticed vaguely as he moved against your head. At least, that’s what you assumed until you felt his lips on your cheek. You could feel he was holding onto his breath, waiting for your reaction. Hesitantly, he kissed your cheek again, his trembling lips giving away how nervous he was. You turned your head slowly. His breath hitched a little when your lips brushed his, unsure whether to move away or not. Gently, you added the lightest pressure onto his lips with your own and pressed them together into a kiss. You didn’t care that his fingers squished yours a little painfully as he tightly grasped his knee in response. He leaned back shakily, just enough to break apart only so he could press your lips together again. Sweeter, more intentional, more mutual. He shifted slightly, his leg resting on your crossed legged ones a little as his other hand came up to cup your cheek, deepening the kiss he had desired to give you for years. Your lips danced together without a fight for dominance, instead it was all about unity, in the perfect alignment of your faces together. The softest giggle escaped his lips when his nose bumped into yours as you changed angles. He gasped when your fingers threaded into his hair.

The both of you were so lost in the kiss that you didn’t notice Steve peeking through the curtains, needing a moment to discover you were in fact making out against the door. You didn’t notice him closing them again either, however…

“YES!! FINALLY!”

Eddie bumped his head against the door in shock and you quickly broke apart, but only after gazing into each other’s eyes lazily with the dopiest smiles on your faces.

“Was that Steve?” you asked.

“Sure was. Steve!” Eddie knocked on the door before getting up and extending his hand to help you as well. Steve was quick to show up in front of the balcony doors again and removed the curtains before opening them.

“Shit, you saw me didn’t you?” Steve asked guiltily, bummed that he interrupted your moment. Eddie snorted and shook his head.

“No dude, it was your high pitched scream that gave us a near heart attack.” 

“Oh. Well. I’m glad you guys uh… made up. Sorry for locking you out, but I had to do something. You can come back in now.”

As Steve stepped aside, Eddie chuckled and reached for the black curtains to pull them back closed again.

“Thank you, but uhm, maybe later? We’ve got some catching up to do.” 

Eddie grinned down at you as he closed the balcony doors again and wasted no second to wrap his arms around your waist. You beamed up at him, eyes sparkling with delight.

“Where were we, sweetheart?”

Here's the image I mentioned earlier. Funny how a whole short fic can come out of it, right? :)

[imagining-in-the-margins]

Home (E.P.)

Summary: Emily wants to go home, but she doesn’t know how. In her search, she stumbles upon her ex’s doorstep. Request: Emily shows up at Reader's door, begging for comfort. A/N: I hope you all enjoy my first Emily fic! I cried the whole time. Couple: Emily Prentiss/GN!Reader Category: Comfort Content Warning: Self-hatred, exes, crying, kissing Word Count: 2.4k

MASTERLIST

Why is it always snowing at times like this?

Emily pondered the question quietly. Her lips fought the bitterness to try to smile.

A bit cliche, isn’t it?

But it’s beautiful.

The nighttime snow blanketed the district with a rare kind of serenity. Soft, fluffy flakes hung in the air, lazily traversing between the skyscrapers to find a place to rest.

The woman, however, felt hopelessly lost. The streetlights attempted to keep her company in the cold but flickering bulbs were still shy. The gentle beams were hesitant to touch her.

The snowflakes were not. They lingered on her skin, maintaining their sharp crystalline patterns. How long had she been wandering for a place to find rest? Long enough for pink cheeks to turn cold.

But the sting of the occasional wind was almost welcome. Its cruel kisses reminded her that she was still alive.

Alive… and alone.

It was a familiar feeling. At one time, she might have dared to call it comfortable. On nights like this, though, she was acutely aware of the heaviness of her heart. She wanted to stop, to fall to her knees and feel the peace the others always spoke about.

But her treacherous feet would march on. They would lead her through untouched snow, leaving a violent mark on the otherwise pure.

She was relieved when her feet stopped at your doorstep, albeit terrified by the reason why. She stared up at the apartment building and shivered for the first time since the cold started.

She shivered not from the wind, but from the memory of warmth.

It had been months since you last spoke. It had been her decision to leave.

Yet it had also been her decision to press the series of buttons to ensure your answer. She had decided to stand there, steadily growing heavier from the weight of weary snowflakes until something changed.

The buzzer was loud and harsh, but the latch was quiet when it clicked open.

After a moment of shock at the sound, Emily made another series of decisions.

She pried open heavy metal doors and stepped into the light. She trudged through the building with the company of soot-polluted snow on her shoulders. She didn’t even bother to brush it off when she got to your door.

That was how you would find her.

As beautiful as the day she’d left.

You said nothing. You stared at her, instead. You bit down on your tongue so that it wouldn’t give away any clues of what you might want to have said.

You waited, the same as the snow. You waited for her to explain away her unexpected visit. You tried your hardest to hide the fondness behind a veil of false rage.

You are so happy to see her, but you are devastated by the state in which she came.

“I didn’t have anywhere else to go,” she whispers.

The sound is small but sharp. Like the expert marksman she’d always been, her words struck you with the force of three bullets to the heart.

You shook off the pain. It was a familiar feeling.

“Why did you come here?” you asked.

You knew that she wouldn’t answer it unless you asked.

“Because….”

She didn’t answer it, anyway. The words rose in her throat just to be swallowed. She bit down on her lip the same way you cursed your tongue.

Because are the closest I’ve ever been to home, is the simple truth she wouldn’t give.

“God, why is this so terrifying?” she choked.

You watched her. Your eyes traced trembling lips the way you wished your fingers could.

Eventually, you move back to her eyes. From that angle, on that doorstep, you find no warmth in the brown. But there is a longing; a faint memory of a time when her eyes shone like bittersweet molasses in the sun.

“I swear I’m not trying to avoid answering the question it’s just… I look at you, and I realize I don’t know the answer,” she whispered.

Your eyes begged her to continue. Your heart begged her to stop hurting you like this. To stop being so pitiful when she had been the one who left.

But then she spoke, with her voice crackling like a dry fire, and your heart set aflame alongside it.

“I don’t know what to tell you except that… I’m really scared.”

Your mouth opened at the sight of tears pooling in the corners of her eyes. Your hands shook as they turned to fists to try and stop yourself from doing what you knew to be inevitable.

“I’m terrified that who I am, who I’ve always been, is something broken. Something that can’t be fixed,” she spat.

Each word laced with the self-hatred that had always stood between you.

“But then you look at me and…”

For the briefest moment, just when red-rimmed eyes met yours, the hatred stepped aside. Behind it, you saw the shivering, terrified teenage girl inside her who’d never stopped begging someone to show her mercy for not having all the answers.

She allowed herself to keep crying because at least then she could remember what it felt like to be embraced.

The tears streaming down her face were the warmest thing to have touched her all night until you.

You reached out a hesitant hand.

She winced.

You paused.

It took her a moment to remember that you had been the only person to hold her without hurting her. Not like the others, anyway.

Your hurt came from the tenderness with which you held her. It was the sweetest torture to feel a warm palm against frozen cheeks. Her nerves fired wildly; her mind rioted against reality.

You were not going to hurt her like the others.

Your fingers were gentle as they swept tears away. That kindness only made them fall faster.

“I think I just really wanted you to look at me,” she said, finally finishing the forgotten thought.

“Oh, Emily,” you sighed through a lopsided smile. “Come in. You’re freezing.”

She accepted the offer. Although she moved slowly and was careful not to brush against you or the doorframe, she moved with purpose. She stepped into your home and allowed herself to bathe in the warmth.

Her eyes were closed when you passed her by. She listened to the soft shuffling of your feet as you walked towards the kitchen.

She stayed there, just past the entrance, the whole time that you prepared warm beverages. From there, she could still smell the familiar scent of domesticity.

Old memories resurfaced. The hissing of the faucet and the crinkling of packages called to her the same way it had when she slept in too late.

She joined you in the kitchen just in time for you to leave. Still, you appreciated a second set of hands. As you handed her the warm mug, you wondered whether it would burn frozen fingers. You knew she wouldn’t move it even if it did.

Emily required guidance back to the couch, no matter how many nights she spent there. You provided it happily. Your hand rested against the damp back of her jacket and, eventually, helped remove it.

Without the weight of soaked wool fabric, she collapsed.

Words started flowing faster than you could capture. She told you about her life since she left. She never spoke about the heartbreak of you—only the ones that followed.

Thankfully, she spared you the graphic details of violence when she spoke about work. The same couldn’t be said about her personal life. But those ghosts were familiar to you.

Yet… the rage you felt had never changed. The fury at the world that hurt her never waned. It burned as strongly as it always had.

Emily had always loved your fearlessness in the face of evil. She had always assumed it was why you weren’t afraid of her.

When she had properly broken herself, the night’s silence returned. You looked at hair now dripping with melted crystals and wondered, as you always did, why she never wore it like it was.

‘It looks like a mess,’ she would say.

‘But it’s beautiful,’ you would answer.

“Can I be blunt with you?” you asked.

Emily’s attention turned up at the question.

“Of course.”

“Even if they’re nice words?”

That time, she needed time before she could answer. Hesitantly, though, she nodded. Tears that had dried up welled anew at the thought of what you might have to say.

You knew that cruelty would be kinder to her. You were still unwilling to wield it.

“The world isn’t out to get you, Emily,” you sighed.

She laughed. The sad noise sputtered from her lips while she tried to stymy insistent tears.

“These are the nice words?” she croaked sarcastically.

“Just wait,” you laughed.

That time, she sat up straighter in anticipation. Like the proud scapegoat she had always served as, she steeled her features and appeared stoic in the face of criticism.

But the tears still came. One at a time, sprinting like falling stars over the night sky of her.

“The world isn’t out to get you… You are.”

Her features fell at the thought. Her shoulders faltered and her hands gripped tighter to the mug in her hands.

“You’re so resigned to the feeling that you’ll never be enough that you just refuse to believe anyone who says otherwise.”

You knew because she’d never believed you.

“You’ve always seen the beauty in everyone. Even people with very little to love.”

Your mind ran through every one of her memories that you’d had the honor to hear about. You thought about—and cursed—every iteration of evil that had helped itself to a part of her.

Her heart, her empathy, the core of who she was, must have felt so dwarfed by their lies. The untruths they had to cling to in order to justify the horrors they inflicted on a young woman, a lover, a girl.

A girl who just wanted to be good.

A girl who had always been good.

“I just… I wish you could give yourself the same grace,” you said quietly in the hope she would listen harder than she ever had before.

Her mug hit the table without any sign of grace. She steadied it with both hands, holding tighter for a few seconds to steal just a little more of its warmth before she turned back to you.

Her arms wrapped around herself first. She bit down on her lip and looked at you just to look away again.

She couldn’t face you as she tried to ask for something she’d convinced herself she didn’t deserve.

“Can I…” she tried.

You set down your mug. Your trembling hands were also unsteady. Yet that didn’t stop you from pressing them against her face. They were weak and gentle, but sure when they made her face you once more.

She fought the heaviness and tried to smile. She almost made it, but the effort was thwarted when she spoke through a resistant throat.

“Can I hold you?” she whispered, “Just… just for a minute.”

Implicit in the words was the hope that you weren’t going to count.

Of course, you wouldn’t. Of course, you wrapped your arms around her and held her tightly against your chest.

Again, she collapsed. She scrambled to get closer, to fall into your arms and steal the warmth from you the same way she had the mug.

You gave it to her freely. You held her the same way a mother might hold a crying child. Not out of pity or obligation, but because she was scared, and she was human.

And she was beautiful. Beautiful in the way that others might never see if they are willing to stop looking where it is convenient.

Her vulnerability, rarely offered and almost never earned, would stoke the fire to ensure that neither of you succumbed to the cold.

Her tears were still warm. Inside her, there was still a heart beating, begging her to accept shelter. It sought out every reminder that she was not dead.

She was alive. She didn’t have to be alone.

That was why she had come to you.

“I miss you so much,” she sobbed.

“I miss you, too, Emily.”

Her arm curled between you, clutching her chest while she fought herself for air.

“I don’t understand why love has to hurt like this,” she whispered under struggling breath.

As you pulled away at the thought, she let you go. She practically pushed herself off you with a palpable regret.

You looked at her, both horrified and enraged at the thought.

“Emily, love isn’t supposed to hurt.”

You stopped yourself. Biting down hard on your lip, you looked away so that the anger in your eyes wouldn’t scald her in its search for the ghosts in her head.

“It can be confusing or exhausting o-or frustrating, but…”

You wiped your own tears. She watched with morbid curiosity as your own mask cracked and fell away.

You let her see it. You ran a hand over your face and took a deep breath. Then, when you were composed in your broken pieces, your hand held her face again. You imparted the healing warmth of compassion into now rosy cheeks.

She didn’t wince that time when you touched her.

“Love is never supposed to hurt, sweetheart,” you whispered back.

Her eyes closed and released a few more tears. She took a deep breath, basking in the warmth of your grace before she found that her quiet complacence wasn’t enough.

Her fingers were barely cold when they pressed against your face. They were only shaking and shy as they pulled you forward.

When your trembling lips met, they tasted the same as they always had. The bittersweet softness, the cruelest kindness one could give.

You kissed her back. The harder she pushed, the more that you gave. Her insistence, innocent and stumbling, bred laughter in tired lungs.

She was so soft, so warm, so endlessly human.

The two of you nearly toppled off the couch before she was willing to part. When she did, she laughed along with you. You fixed her hair, brushing it aside wherever it had fallen to hide the beautiful, messy state of her.

She leaned into your palm. Her cheeks felt warm.

“Thank you,” she said.

For always showing me what it means to be loved.

For letting me believe, even just for a moment, that I could do it, too.

“You don’t have to thank me,” you assured her, “I’m so happy you came home.”

(Tell me what you thought about this fic here!)

Looking for more Emily Prentiss fics? Check out my friend @foxy-eva's Masterlist for CM Women, including Emily Prentiss, Tara Lewis, and Alex Blake!

Complete Taglist (All Works): @cynbx , @emsma11 , @mediocre-writerrr , @fightingdragonswithwho , @andiebeaword , @jayyeahthatsme 

[itjazzbicch]

Believer

Pairing:  Shinji Hirako x Fem Reader 

First time writing for Shinji so I hope I did well!

Summary: With the fight with Aizen soon approaching, the reader can't help but wonder and fear thinking about all the bad things that could happen. When Shinji, her closest friend, tries to clear those thoughts from her, she admits something thinking that this may be their last peaceful moment together, but Shinji makes her a believer...

Warnings:  SMUT! (18+ ONLY! MINORS AND AGELESS BLOGS DNI! YOU WILL BE BLOCKED!) Nicknames, (Baby & Buttercup. I thought it was cute okay? Lol) Unprotected sex, slight swearing, kinda public sex? (It's on a rooftop lol)

Word Count: 1.7k 

The sunset was beautiful considering all the crazy things going on right now.

Aizen was going to be making his move soon and sitting on the roof, watching the sunset was the only thing keeping me calm.

My zanpakuto was in my lap and staring at it, I realized how long it’s been since I’ve had to wield in a serious battle. The last time I tried is when we all became hollowfied and that’s a memory I didn’t feel like crossing by at the moment.

I just closed my eyes, letting the wind soothe past me, taking in the last bit of warmth that the setting sun gave off, but one eye peaking open as I heard behind me:

“What are you doing up here all by yourself?”

Shinji joined my side, sitting back and propping himself with his hand, gazing at my zanpakuto and reading my mind easily. His eyes showed that he already understood my feelings.

“Just want to enjoy some peace and quiet is all,” I whispered, gazing back to the sun, listening to him:

“Got anything you want to get off your chest?”

Shinji and I have been through so much and he was one person I could talk to about anything.

“It’s been a hundred years already,” I sighed, gripping my zanpakuto, “I’m just trying to stay calm because I know when I see his face-“

“Hey,” Knowing that I was referencing Aizen, he sat up and wrapped an arm around me, “You know there’s no way in hell any of us are going to let him succeed.”

“And you know I worry a lot,” That was something I couldn’t avoid, it was how I was, “Today could be the last peaceful day we have.”

“Look at me,” He insisted, tilting my chin so I was facing him, staring deeply into my eyes, “It might get crazy out there, but we can defeat him.”

His tone and the look in his eyes did give me some comfort, smiling softly at him because even though he would never admit it, he could never stand to see me upset and always tried to fix it.

“You know we’re no pushovers and he only got lucky all those years ago,” He wanted to defeat Aizen more than any of us I felt, and his determination was admirable.

Not wanting to think about it anymore and with his words being somewhat assuring, I sat my zanpakuto down, leaning into him:

“Can we just watch the sunset? I’d rather not think too much about it any more than I have.”

“Sure, buttercup,” He pulled me closer, my head resting on his chest and I couldn’t help but giggle at his comment, “What's so funny?”

“Buttercup? Really?” I only giggled more but grew silent and felt butterflies in my tummy as he whispered down to me:

“What’s wrong with calling you, buttercup? You’re sweet like one.”

Gazing up at him, my cheeks grew hot like a fire, hearing his humming as he placed a kiss on my cheek:

“And what would you know? Taste sweet like one too.”

“Staaaph,” I had to look away, curling up and giggling more as he pulled me back, knowing my tickle spot, making me laugh more even while I threatened him, “Don’t make me hit you!”

“Oh, don’t be like that!” He laughed along, pointing out, “Besides, you’re more of a lover than a fighter.”

“How would you know?” Swatting his hand so he’d stop tickling, and again, he proved how well he knew me:

“I’ve known you long enough. Besides, you would be kicking my ass every day if you weren’t like that.”

The one thought that wouldn’t stop circling my mind was, what if this is the last day we can ever have together?

My silence made him look at me concerned till I whispered softly:

“You’re right, Shinji. I am a lover.”

“See?” He had to keep teasing me, poking my cheek, “I know you best, buttercup-“

As he finished his sentence, I took a big leap, picking my head up and kissing him softly.

It took both of us a moment to register that I was kissing him, but soon, our lips melted together, tenderly kissing, only pulling back an inch, nuzzling my nose against his as I admitted:

“I love you, Shinji.”

Looking into his eyes again, I never felt such a deep connection between us and he knew that I said that in fear that we wouldn’t live to see another day.

“Do you not believe me?” He whispered, caressing my cheek and admitting back, “I love you too and this isn’t our last moments together, I promise.”

The swelled-up tears in my eyes couldn’t help but leak out, wanting to believe him, but still fighting the fear in the back of my mind.

“You know what?” He hummed, rubbing my cheek, thumb grazing over my lower lip, “I’m gonna give you something so good that you’ll be determined to see more days with me. Something that’ll take that fear away.”

“And what will that be?” Sometimes I was so oblivious, but his smirk said it all, bringing me into another kiss that I graciously returned.

The butterflies in my tummy multiplied when I felt him guiding my back to the floor, hovering above me and nipping along my jaw softly.

“Shinji-“ I said softly, knowing what he was leading to.

“What’s the matter? It’s just the two of us.” Gosh, the glowing orange sky behind those eyes and blonde hair made his aurora even more irresistible, his smile growing with a kiss, “I know you’re so innocent, buttercup. But it’s alright, really.”

“I can’t help it,” I went to hide my face shyly but was met with another kiss, heating filling my thighs as his hands slide up my knees and under my skirt.

“I know, buttercup and it’s okay. I think it’s cute,” He chuckled, fingertips toying with my panties, his whisper making goosebumps form on my skin, “Don’t you worry and just let me make you feel good, hm?”

Only nodding and kissing, my hands found his tie, loosening it and unbuttoning his shirt while he swiped away my panties, unbuckling his pants next.

I was getting lost in my own thoughts, feeling his chest, finally opening my eyes, and seeing his length made me a little anxious.

He couldn’t help but chuckle at my reaction, unbuttoning my shirt and smiling more once he learned that I wasn’t wearing a bra.

“You just relax and enjoy yourself, buttercup,” He cooed, leaning down to take a breast into his mouth, also guiding the tip of his cock through my slicked folds, earning sweet, praiseworthy moans from me already.

“My, oh my. You’re soaked. I already know you’re gonna feel so good.” Smiling and nibbling on my nipple, I took a deep breath, eyes closing softly and gasping at the stretch I felt from his tip, slowly working his cock into me inch by inch.

“God, Shinji,” I whispered, trying to hold back my volume, especially when our hips met and he rolled his hips smoothly, tip nudging my sweet spot already.

It had been a very long since I’d been intimate, relearning all the feelings as if I were a virgin.

“You like that?” He kissed up my neck as my head dipped back as far as it could, rolling his hips a bit quicker.

“Mhm,” I hummed, gasping at the gust of wind that flew past us, gripping the edges of his shirt with clenched fists, letting my moans run free into the sky, “I don’t think I’ve ever felt so good!”

“That’s what I love to hear,” I could feel his smile against my steaming skin, his hips burning against mine as he sat up to throw his shirt off, wrapping my arms around his neck when he returned to me, gripping my thighs and goes faster now that I was adjusted.

“S-Shinji!” My hand roamed through his golden hair, the other digging into his shoulder, whining at the heat that made my entire body feel so tight, the wind intensifying the feeling.

“I have you, baby,” Palming the arch forming in my back and lifting my hips some, he continuously bottomed me out, forehead against mine.

My vision was blurred when I opened my eyes, only seeing the outline of his hair and the purple golden sky above.

It wasn’t dark yet, but I was positive I was seeing stars, going to take deep breaths, but breathless moans were the only thing coming out of me.

Senseless babbles when my hips started jerking towards him, clenched so hard around his cock I was sure I could feel a vein, soaked, gummy walls pulsating and pulling him deeper.

“Damn, buttercup,” He huffed, keeping his head against mine and letting out some moans of his own, hands finding my hips and sinking his fingertips in with his tight grip, “Gonna let me feel you? Gonna cum for me, baby?”

Just like me, he was in an endless sky of dirty thoughts that were yet so passionate, holding my head as I nodded frantically, whining against his lips:

“Yes, Shinji! I’m so close!”

All I could hear was wet skin and my lewd moans, looking to the sky briefly again, the gold and purple clouds swirling together before my vision went blurry white, choking on air and gushing around his cock, l clinging to his back for dear life.

“My goodness,” He panted, letting out a rumbling moan as he buried himself inside me, laying softly against me while we both needed the time to breathe.

After blinking a few times, I could see normally again, seeing his eyes looking up at me through his bangs, silence between us but smiles on our faces.

“If I didn’t love you enough already,” He chuckled playfully, bringing me into a warm embrace as the sky was now dark, a little more chilly since the sun was down.

“Took my words right from my mouth,” I giggled back, growing quietly to listen and think about his question:

“Not so worried anymore? You didn’t answer my question before.”

The longer I stared into his eyes, the more I believed his words, this moment between us giving me that motivation and determination to win, to keep having more days at his side.

“I believe you, Shinji,” I smiled softly, hugging his head and cooing, “We’re gonna win and neither of us are going anywhere.”

Hearing my confidence made him smile like I’d never seen before, kissing and rooting along with me, “Damn right, buttercup.” 

[surveillance-0011]

I recently got to the HOTD fandom and I saw @hollybluberry's and others devil concept and I had a question which is

what are your headcanons on @hollybluberry's and the other devil concepts people made?

ah oops sorry im getting to this late!!

i don't really have too many head canons for other people's devil concepts,, but off the top of my head

@hollybluberry devil:

friendly but takes no shit

spends a lot of time preening their wings.

Enjoys the sun (odd since many creatures who are more nocturnal) but also fond of clear nights and looking at stars

Points out constellations and the like while stargazing. Holds up Tower to the sky and points to Ophiuchus and is like "look it's you!!" It's like holding up a cat to the Sphinx

Has tried to point out Lacerta to Heirophant with even less success.

gets upset/disappointed seeing the other bosses fight (ive always headcanoned that all together the bosses usually don't get along too well with only the handful of factions/little groups getting along... better??) and often has to break things up. I assume they'd listen to her.

As Blu mentioned Magician and Hangedman have seen her angry and consequentially they're a Bit Scared. Magician isn't visibly frightened but treats them with a lot of respect and is uncharacteristically agreeable+polite with them. Hangedman has started to avoid her, on the other hand, immediately stopping what he's doing if he looks over to see her looking peeved. He's like. actually fucking terrified of her and he's not someone who really gets scared all that much. So it's a bit strange and he won't elaborate on why he's so scared of them.

Most creatures are intimidated by her but none are actively hostile towards her. Some of the bosses don't always approve but it's hard to stay mad at her because she's much more gentle/lax and levelheaded relative to the others.

Likes sweet snacks with fruit.

hates thornheart and pities curien/wheel of fate, though she's not gentle with him either. WOF isn't intimidated by her at all though, though whether or not he's seen her angry or not is hard to say.

Moon, on the other hand, thinks all the eyes are cute. I mean, moon's self preservation skills are dogshit and he's biased since he's got three eyes, but hey.

Assuming that a boss fight with her, knowing how she'd let them win, would maybe have a phase where she fights out of fear or being hijacked by Thornheart?

Generally full of whimsy and curiosity for the world around them and wishes to see more of the world, and how it was before humanity fell.

@pixelcoin devil:

aggro towards most humans. Cool with creatures and other lab grown undead etc as long as they don't show aggression first

Still, anyone who could prove their worth may be shown mercy...

Kind and polite to their few closest allies

also annoyed by any fights between the bosses. much more... assertive in their ways of breaking up any discourse (read:mauling)

they get injured in the antics just as frequently though, so it balances stuff out.

a little silly. we stay silly

finds zeal and other smaller creatures cute, much to their chagrin. Especially zeal's chagrin, but he does appreciate being seen as endearing and doted upon rather than treated like some pest.

Wasn't like that at first, though. There was not a good first impression. Devil still calls him out on his bullshit now too, but he's forgiven a bit easier than most.

Also i am sure zeal is getting the (metaphorically speaking here hopefully) Webkinz Milk Plush Treatment. to be loved is to be changed.

Kuarl is not amused by this.

Strength kind of is.

Belligerent and high energy. Also a bitch to deal with when they get mad. much more violent than Blu's Devil, I assume.

A total powerhouse, often unaware of their full strength. Many an accidental energy beam shot through a wall....

Their eyes get stuck outta their head a lot. Magician is skeeved out to hell and back every time this happens but tries (and fails) not to show it as Devil often goes to him for help

Devil is a sort of tentative leader? They're treated as one of the big men on campus, yknow, but I think with their youth they may have some power struggles or find themself pushed around by the more domineering ones like Emperor or Moon.

Goatlike mannerisms but only really eats meat.

Hangedman isn't as put off by this one...for... don't know actually. Then again this Devil is more like the baby of the curien-thornheart-goldman fucked up family of all time so?? idk??

i think both the devils would manage to kind of sort of get along. hopefully. i would like them to :3c

[wild-ride-to-headcanons]

Here’s some random stuff that I have for my rewrite AU, it’s kind of all over the place.

Raf hates and avoids eye contact as much as he can, while Miko ends up staring into your soul

UltraMagnus, while not understating emotional things, will create a basic “how to handle and internet with humans” guide for any Cybertronian that comes to Earth.

When UltraMagnus was just a rookie Heatwave was actually one of his superiors before he got transferred to the Rescue Force.

Despite being the youngest on the Sigma-17 team, Blades has been a RescueBot longer than the others

Boulder is younger than Ratchet but older than Optimus, Heatwave is the same but his and Primes gaps are smaller

Blades is older than Bulkhead, but younger than Arcee. Chase is older than Arcee, but younger than UltraMagnus.

Jack, when he was little loved looking up at the stars, he still does but pushes his interest back to make sure his mom is happy.

Miko loves all kinds of music especially if it has a good beat, but her favorite will always be rock and metal.

Sigma-17 used to a be primarily on planet team, though before they got trapped in stasis, they were transferred to a space faring team.

Even though he dislikes fighting, Blades is quite good when it comes to organizing the team for a fight, he does his best to make sure it goes smoothly and quickly with little injuries.

In this universe that I’m creating stasis doesn’t exactly trap someone in time, it just sends them into a really deep sleep with their bodies kind of frozen but they still age. The type of stasis that would trap someone in time has been lost to the ages. So if a bot was in there long enough, they could end up dying of old age without even living their life.

Blades and his brothers were from Kaon, before they joined the Rescue force. During this time, despite all being the same age, Blades and HotSpot took care of their three other brothers due to them being bigger and stronger. HotSpot would stay at their “home” while Blades would run out and get them food, almost everyday. They were from the part considered the underbelly of Kaon, so he would often run into trouble.

One time on his search, Blades, got into really bad trouble, like “uh oh, I’m going to get killed” trouble. Thankfully he was saved before that happened. And who saved him, you may ask. Well it was good old Megatronus ( Megatron in his early gladiatorial days). Strangely enough, the protection of Megatronus felt kind of…..Nice….. Blades doesn’t know if he should be concerned about this or not.

Chase is from Iacon.

Boulder and Heatwave are from the same city (one that will be made up in my universe)

Blades and First Aid knew Knockout, they attended the same medical school

Heatwave is extremely fireproof, like he can handle so much more than any normal Cybertronian. He could bathe in lava, he could bathe in the sun if he tried.

Boulder’s armor is so strong that it impresses not only gladiators, but most bots he will meet after and during the war (most find it too bad that he’s a pacifist.

Chase has a better tolerance of electricity compared to most others of his kind.

Only Chase knows of Blades violent younger self.

Bulkhead is the closest on team Prime to come even close to understanding what lower caste went through, and even then he was considered a high rank laborer

Arcee is probably the least understanding of the lower caste and will be very vocal about it (it will probably take a fight with Blades and a talking with Optimus for her to realize how toxic that is and how great in life has had it, well before the war at least.)

Ratchet has seen the after affects of what happens to those in lower caste, and is second most understanding of them.

Optimus of course has read about all the atrocities and stuff, making him around third most understanding. Though he was born and raised in the high caste and has never witnessed the before and after low caste.

Bumblebee, Smokescreen, WheelJack, and UltraMagnus all are of the higher caste and have never witnessed what happens to lower caste so they are of a similar opinion to Arcee, but they are neither as vocal or rude about it.

The rest of the Rescuebots are considered high caste but they understand well what the lower caste go through as most of their emergencies have been in lower caste areas and the Rescue force does it’s best on helping lower caste. So they have seen the atrocities that happen to lower caste.

Team Prime humans don’t fully understand the Decepticons too well, or the war. Thanks to the Autobots never explaining it. So for the longest time they will perceive the Decepticons as just evil people who do this without reason. I wanna write a chapter where Blades has to come to the base (Ratchet is down I guess) and since he understands best about the lower caste, finally explains the war cause and Decepticons to them, even if he wasn’t involved with the war.

That’s all I have for now, there may be more post like this in the future. Sorry for so much Blades, I have been writing something for him, and so have been on a Blades kick recently.

[behindthewanderlust]

Noodle’s Gift

Characters - Noodle, Murdoc, Russel, 2D

Summary - It’s Murdoc’s birthday and all he wants is to get the day over with. It’s a good thing Noodle’s a good kid

Word Count - 1,284

Warnings - Everyone is OOC (sorry), Murdoc wallowing in his own sadness, this is ooold

A/N - A really bad fic I wrote last year😭 I gladly welcome constructive criticism! Anything that’ll help me improve :)

——————————————————————————

The sun shining through the window awoke Murdoc. He did his best to avoid it by rolling over, but the stubborn sunlight kept invading his room. Accepting defeat, he grumbled as he kicked his sheets off and got out of bed. Murdoc started to make his way to the bathroom, each step reminding him of what day it was.

Step.

June

Step.

Sixth

Step.

2005

Step.

Your

Step.

39th

Step.

Birthday.

His face naturally twisted into the usual scowl it always carries. Birthdays had never been great for Murdoc. As a kid, all he wanted was a nice birthday party. As an adult, he couldn’t care less about the day.

His scowl grew deeper as he remembered the pencil his father got him for his eleventh birthday.

Fucking Sebastian, he thought, couldn’t have at least pretended to care for a second and get me something I didn’t already have.

Sharp rattles were suddenly heard on the door and Russel’s deep voice was heard. “‘D and I made breakfast, you should come eat.”

“Fine,” Murdoc grumbled, “I’ll be down in a minute.”

Russel’s feet shuffled away while Murdoc quickly put his pants on and made his way to the kitchen, wanting to get breakfast over with so he could come back to his room and be miserable.

Breakfast was quiet. 2D and Russ tried to celebrate Murdoc’s birthday back in ‘98, but were met with his shouts and curses, so they never uttered a word about his birthday since. Russel had shared what had happened to Noodle, who never mentioned his birthday, heeding Russel’s warning. This year was different. Noodle was stubborn. Some may say she was too stubborn.

Noodle scarfed down her breakfast despite multiple warnings from Russel and 2D. She didn’t bother listening though. She was excited! She took another bite of food and prepared to speak with her mouth full before she was interrupted by heavy coughs.

Russel, who was closest to her, immediately began patting her back to get her to stop choking.

“Now I don’t know how many times we told you to slow down while you eat,” Russel gently scolded once she stopped choking, “slow down and stop eating like an animal!”

“Sorry, Russ!” she began, “I just-”

“We don’t know what we’d do if this turned into something serious!” 2D jokes, not meaning to interrupt.

“Sorry, I just-“ interrupted again.

“I don’t know any of that CPR stuff, love, Dents here would’ve had to revive ya, and I don’t think any of us would like that,” Murdoc half joked.

“Sorry-“

“You gotta start listening to us when we tell you things! We don’t nag just to nag, y’know,” Russel continued.

Noodle internally groaned. Today is her day to make Murdoc feel nice! And here they are, fussing over her.

“Sorry,” she finally managed to say, “I’m just excited.”

2D was the first to speak up, “about what?”

“You’ll see!”

Breakfast continued to be uneventful, with the boys sneaking glances at Noodle to make sure she ate slowly.

2D had offered to wash the dishes, and began collecting them to put in the sink. Noodle beamed, she could finally do what she wanted to do! With a quick, be right back!, she darted to her room. She gently collected her gifts for Murdoc and walked back to the kitchen.

“Surprise! Happy birthday!” she shrieked, setting her gifts on the table in front of Murdoc, who looked at her in shock. A small red velvet cake, a birthday card with crudely drawn art of the members on the front, and a green balloon sat in front of him. He sat there in shock, not knowing what to do with himself. He had never seen that many birthday gifts before, and he never thought he’d see so many presents addressed to him.

“…do you like it?” she squeaked out.

Murdoc had gone quiet since she walked back in the kitchen. Noodle began to second guess this decision, but a soft hug from Murdoc killed those thoughts.

“…I appreciate this, Noodle,” he managed to get out. He ruffled her hair and frowned, “didn’t have to get me anything, though.”

“I wanted to! I’ve never gotten you anything before,” she smiled.

At first, Russel and 2D were quiet. They were both worried Murdoc would react poorly to the gifts. Russel, relieved to see Murdoc hugging Noodle, broke his silence.

“Happy birthday, Murdoc. Hope it’s a good one.”

2D quietly stood and started to walk over the counter. Murdoc glanced over, suddenly remembering how he yelled at him and Russ the last time he tried to celebrate his birthday. Murdoc began to speak before 2D cut him off.

“I brought plates for the cake,” 2D began to nervously say, “happy birthday, Mudz.”

“Thanks Dents, you too, Russ.”

Noodle clasped her hands together, glad that her gift had been so well received. She quickly grabbed the knife to cut the cake, the fact that she should probably sing the ‘happy birthday’ song slipping her mind. She gave the first piece to the birthday boy, then Russel, 2D, and finally herself. The band enjoyed a nice and quiet moment while happily munching on their slices. Noodle occasionally looked up at Murdoc, curious to see if he was enjoying the cake as much as she was.

On the other end, Murdoc snuck glances at his bandmates (mostly Noodle). He’d never had a birthday celebration, he didn’t exactly know what to do. Still, he felt content. Something he hasn’t felt in a long time.

While eating their last bites, Noodle asked, “how do you feel?”

“The same as always, love.”

“But it’s your 39th! You really don’t feel anything? I’m gonna feel so grown-up when I turn 15 later this year! 15 is so different from 14, which feels even more different from 13.”

Her bandmates shared a laugh, much to her confusion.

“Once you get older, kid, each day feels like the last. 38 and 39 aren’t too different compared to 15 and 14,” Murdoc replied. Noodle nodded, not exactly liking the answer she got.

Finishing his slice of cake, Murdoc placed his plate in the sink.

“Right, I’m off to the showers,” he stated. 2D and Russel shared their plans while placing their plates in the sink. Noodle wasn’t finished though, and wanted to spend more time with everyone.

“Wanna watch a movie?” she asked, giving the three her best puppy dog eyes.

“I’ve got nothin’ better to do,” 2D shrugged, before turning his attention to dishes.

Russel smiled, “of course, Noodle, I’m always down to watch movies with you.”

Murdoc ruffled her hair once again. “I’ll be down once I finish showering, alright?”

Noodle nodded before rushing off to pick a movie.

Murdoc began the walk back to his room, balloon and birthday card clutched in hand. He slammed the door and locked it before collapsing on the floor. Broken sobs escaped his mouth, unable to stop the sounds by covering his mouth. He tried to wipe his tears but his eyes were like waterworks - no use at all. He stared at the balloon in his hand. He always wanted one as a kid. His father never let him have any normal kid things.

Murdoc remembered seeing a bunch of balloons at birthday parties on TV, and how his dad slapped him when he asked for one. All that didn’t matter though, he finally had one of his own! And it was all thanks to the kid he at first thought nothing of.

Murdoc glanced and the card Noodle gifted him. He didn’t know what he would do with that girl, but he did know one thing:

She would have the best 15th birthday ever.

[highwaytothedangerzone502]

Foxtrot Alpha Alpha - Chapter 14

Pairing: Hangman x Female OC

Word Count: 2903

Warnings: None

Summary: Hangman learned his lesson a long time ago to never show his true feelings when someone's words or actions hurt him. To do so showed weakness that could be exploited, and Seresin men couldn't show weakness. Of course, there was an exception to every rule, and Jake's always came in the form of women, three in particular: his mom, Juliette Kazansky, and the girl whose name he could no longer bring himself to speak. She was the girl that got away; she was his biggest 'what if' and his biggest regret; she would forever be the ghost that haunted his dreams. Jake believed that's where she'd stay, for he would surely never see her again after what he did.

Or so he thought.

Notes: This is the sequel to India Lima Yankee; I'm using the same callsign for the Female OC as in Ghost Story because I just really like it, but they are different characters; chapters in italics are flashbacks. Also, sorry it's taken so long - this chapter was really hard for me to get the motivation to write and I don't know why :(

Chapter Songs: The Bitch is Back Wolves

****

Hangman

"Good morning, aviators. This is your Captain speaking," Maverick greeted jovially. "Today's demonstration begins as a free-for-all. Man against man. Your goal is to be the last pilot standing."

"What's the prize if we win?" Fanboy asked cheerfully as Payback fell into line with Phoenix.

"That depends."

"On what?"

Hangman could practically see the mischievous smile gracing the Captain's face when Maverick said, "You'll see. I'll be watching from the outskirts. Good luck out there."

Hangman clipped on his mask and pulled up high into the sky, using the sun to hide his position. Rooster and Phoenix seemingly had the same idea.  

"Looks like the band is almost back together, lady and gentlemen," Hangman quipped, grinning. "What do you say we take care of these guys and put on a real show for the people below?"

"Are you calling us second-rate pilots, Seresin?" Omaha asked, choosing Yale as his target. 

"No, of course not. I'm just calling you second to us."

"Let's get 'em boys!" Harvard declared, banking to the right when Coyote chased after him. Hangman dove down to help his friend, aiming from above. Phoenix and Rooster followed suit, but rather than going after Hangman, they surprisingly went after others. Rooster assisted Omaha in taking out Yale, who nearly escaped if Harvard hadn't accidentally cut him off, giving Omaha the shot. To the shock of Hangman, Payback lost next, but only because Phoenix had it out for him since he owed her money.

"Gonna get you back for that!" Payback declared while he left the area to circle and watch the remainder of the dogfight.

Phoenix chuckled. "Should've paid up when you had the chance."

"No, I shouldn't have played against you and Princess in pool."

"That was your first mistake. Your second was thinking you could beat us after we won three rounds prior."

"She's got us there," Fanboy admitted. While they continued to bicker with Phoenix, Hangman scanned the area and zeroed in on the closest enemy to him: Harvard. With the aviator wholly distracted by trying to knock out Omaha as revenge for getting Yale, Hangman saw the opportunity and took it, coming at him from above. Harvard narrowly escaped being locked onto but swerved directly into the path of Rooster, who held nothing back and got a lock on him immediately. Annoyed that Rooster had taken his "kill," Hangman thought about going for him next, but Fritz tried beating him to it. Rooster desperately tried to evade, and Hangman, not going to let another person get his kill, decided to go for Fritz instead. Rooster must've noticed because he appeared to strategically fly a pattern that helped him avoid being shot down but gave Hangman the perfect aim. He didn't hesitate.

"That's a kill!" Jake declared happily, feeling a little too much joy at the sound of the lock alert.

"Make that two; you're out, Omaha," Phoenix said.

"And then there were four," Coyote remarked.

"Speak for yourself. Bradshaw, your ass is-"

"Ladies and gentlemen, this is your Princess speaking," Juliette interrupted coolly. "There's been a change in plans."

Rooster groaned. "Jules, for the love of God, tell me you're not flying with Maverick right now."

"I wouldn't let her if she tried," Maverick chimed in, "but no, she's not with me."

Juliette scoffed, but Hangman could hear her amusement. "First of all, rude. I love going up in jets, but even I have my limits. Besides, I can barely keep food down while sitting down on a stationary object. I don't want to know what it would be like in a jet. Second, I'm not putting the twins in danger. Third, like I said, there's been a change in plans. Rooster, Hangman, Phoenix, Coyote, you're the last four standing. You are now a team. Your mission is to take out the enemy, who currently resides in an F-35. Fourth gen against fifth gen. Time to prove it's not the plane but the pilot that wins battles. Anyone want to make bets?"

"I knew Mav wasn't up here for no reason! And sure, what the hell? It's the four of us against him," Coyote said, falling into attack position as number four with Rooster leading the way. 

"Let's say a hundred push-ups? Or do we want to do two hundred for old times' sake?"

"Because it's Mav, I think I might actually go with the hundred."

"Hundred it is. Good luck aviators. You're going to need it."

"Why do I feel like she knows something we don't?" Coyote mused.

"Because it's Princess, and she probably does," Hangman replied, searching the horizon and radar for the Captain. It took another thirty seconds before he spotted him. "Straight ahead!"

"Why is he cruising like that? He's going awfully slow," Phoenix observed from her position as Dagger Three.

"Should we be worried about him?"

"Not sure I'm the one you should be worried about right now."

"Jules, cue the music," a new but all-too-familiar voice instructed, followed by the crackled audio of Elton John's "The Bitch is Back." Hangman's heart nearly stopped, and it had nothing to do with the F-35- not Maverick's- that blew fast and furious between him and Rooster from below. The latter, along with Phoenix and Coyote, scattered, but all Hangman could do was look up and watch as the newcomer shot to 9,000 feet, flipped the plane over in one fluid motion, and locked onto Coyote, who had made the unfortunate mistake of flying underneath her.

"That's a kill!" Ghost chirped, zipping down toward her next closest target, which happened to be Rooster. "Bradshaw, you're next. This is for all the times you woke me up at Top Gun."

"I told you I was sorry! Multiple times!" Rooster protested, swerving from side to side to avoid her. Phoenix tried coming to his rescue, but by then, Maverick had arrived on the scene and foiled her plans. Unless she wanted to get taken down herself, she had to evade. With Phoenix being closer, Hangman chose to assist her. Rooster could handle himself for the time being.

"Hurry up, Hangman!" Phoenix barked, rolling to the left to get Maverick in Jake's sights. 

"Don't worry, I'm gonna take Pops out."

"I'm coming too! Hang on!" Rooster announced, suddenly coming head-on with Ghost still hot on his heels. "Phoenix, on the count of three, break left. One... two... three!"

Phoenix banked left, and Rooster locked onto Maverick at the same time the Captain managed to latch onto Phoenix. Then, in the blink of an eye, Ghost got Rooster. In the span of five seconds, three pilots had been knocked out of the competition. Now, it was only Ghost and Hangman, and for the first time, the Texan found himself genuinely concerned about winning the battle. Ghost had a bone to pick with him, and she was in a superior aircraft. Not to mention that while she may have come second at Top Gun, it was only because she'd broken some rules during the hops, from what he'd heard. When it came to flying ability and strategy, few could beat her. Hangman even questioned his ability. Of course, he wouldn't let Ghost see that.

They blasted past each other, their canopies a mere foot and a half away. Hangman swung around, scrambling after Ghost, who was rapidly gaining speed as she raced toward the hard deck. He started to lose distance between them. If that happened, it'd be impossible to get a lock on her, not to mention it'd give her the space to strategize a way to maneuver behind him. Hangman couldn't allow that. If Ghost landed on his six, he was toast.

"Come on, Ghost, stop running from me," Hangman jested. 

"Ghosts don't run," she countered. 

"Right, right, you just disappear." And leave the person wondering what the hell happened... Hangman wanted to add that last part but opted against it. He didn't mind getting under people's skin normally, but Ghost remained a different story. Her treatment of him was warranted. Of that, he had no doubt. However, Ghost hated him enough; he didn't want to add to it with his snarky comment in the air either with a competition and multi-million dollar jets at stake.

"Guys, you're getting close to the hard deck," Maverick warned, a statement Hangman found ironic coming from the Captain, considering Mav had broken it on numerous occasions.

Ghost ignored him, though, leveling out mere feet above it. Not to be outdone, Hangman followed, staying on her like a hunter to its prey. Hangman started to gain on her again, and within a few seconds, he was within range to get a lock. Ghost dodged him easily, though, almost like she was toying with him. Hangman drew closer and closer to the point Coyote asked Ghost why she was slowing down. The comment took a moment to register with Hangman, but by the time he did, it was too late. Ghost hit the brakes, went up, drifted overhead, and tried to land behind him. Thankfully, Hangman's lightning-quick reflexes kicked in, and he diverted his course to the right in an attempt to circle around her again.

"Nice try, Seresin," Ghost said, flying above him upside down. Hangman looked up at her, trying to find an escape route, but found himself hopelessly trapped between the mountains on each side of him, Ghost above him, and the hard deck below him. He braked suddenly to try and throw Ghost in front of him, but her reflexes were too quick, and she braked along with him, staying above her opponent. 

"Lieutenants, pull up! You're too close to the hard deck!" Maverick ordered, but Ghost did not relent on her position, continuing to lower her jet toward Hangman's, pushing him closer to the hard deck. Hangman realized Ghost intended to keep doing this. This is how she would knock him out of the game and win the battle.

"Ghost, I know we've had our problems but is running me into the ground really the answer?" Hangman asked with mock playfulness in a desperate attempt to transition her focus from the mission to the conversation.

It didn't work. Ghost remained directly above him and continued lowering her jet towards his, forcing him down, down, down until-

"You've hit the hard deck, Hangman. You're out," Maverick informed, causing the aviator to shake his head and angrily unclip his mask. "Everyone, head back to base. For those of us who lost, we have some push-ups to do."

"I'm going to get you for this, Ghost." Although Hangman was half-joking, he was also infuriated he'd lost. He knew the moment Ghost flew onto the scene that she'd do whatever it took to win, including pulling some dirty moves, like pressing into Hangman from above until he had nowhere to go but below the hard deck. 

"You'll have to find me first," she responded. Hangman glanced above him, then his direct surroundings, but the female pilot and her F-35 were nowhere to be seen. She definitely lived up to her callsign...

When he landed and disembarked from his jet, he dropped to the ground and began his push-ups. Not long after, Ghost strode by. She paid no attention to the line of aviators doing push-ups under the shades of their craft's wings. Instead, Ghost kept her head down. Maverick joined the group a few seconds later, but not before glancing over his shoulder at the disappearing aviator. He dropped down next to Hangman to begin his push-ups. When he hit fifty, Mav asked, "What can you tell me about Ghost?"

Hangman thought about their time at the Academy, during their training to be a pilot, their deployments, and the most recent dogfight; he couldn't help himself when he replied, "She's possessed."

"Don't you mean possessive?" Maverick grunted, lowering himself down for the sixtieth push-up.

"I know what I said."

Unless Hagnman imagined things, Mav chuckled quietly. "So, what's the story with you two?"

"I caused her backseater's death and her near death. She hasn't forgiven me for it, and I don't blame her." With most people, Hangman would've told them it was none of their business and moved on, but this was Maverick. He had too much respect for the man to do anything but tell the truth. Still, Jake didn't want to continue the discussion about it. Finishing his push-ups, he stood and abruptly changed the course of conversation, not wanting to go down memory lane with the other Daggers around. "Can we expect you at the Hard Deck tonight?"

"I'll be there."

"Good. You can meet the other Blackwood."

Maverick hovered in place and glanced up. "Charlotte's going to be there?"

How does Mav know Charlie? "No, Jackie. Ghost's older sister. Polar opposite of her sister. It's funny; she used to be the wildcard in the family, always breaking the rules. Now it's Ghost."

"When did that shift happen?"

Hangman shrugged. "She always took risks when flying, but something changed in her after the accident. Just what, I don't know. She's barely spoken to me since it happened. Listen, I'm going to head home and take a break before hitting the Hard Deck, but I'll see you there, Pops."

Before Maverick could ask any further questions about Hangman's relationship with Ghost, the Texan high-tailed it out of there, keeping a carefully controlled expression of calm and collectedness in the event he ran into anyone he knew. Luckily, he didn't, and he arrived at his truck without incident. Hangman drove back to his place and shuffled inside to shower and freshen up, not wanting to smell like jet fuel and the sweaty inside of a flight suit. He took his time since he had a few hours to kill before the meet-up. The events of the day replayed over and over in his head, and the more they did, the more a heaviness settled on his shoulders. The last time he'd flown with Ghost was the day of the accident. Flying with her today suddenly forced that awful memory to the forefront of his mind in a way he hadn't experienced in years. 

Hangman numbly shut off the water and dried off before throwing on some casual clothes and collapsing onto his bed. He pulled out his phone and opened his pictures, scrolling far, far back until he arrived at the first photo he'd been seeking: Ghost and Ghoul. It'd been of the two girls the first day they met as roommates. They'd hit it off instantly, and Ghoul- a.k.a. Lydia O'Donohue- insisted the two girls take a photo to commemorate the day. Ghost had forwarded it to Hangman, and he remembered her adding the comment: Hope your roommate is as awesome as mine!

The following photo containing the two girls was taken on Ghost's birthday. They'd convinced some senior cadets to take them off base over the weekend and milked it for everything they could. It was freezing cold out, but Ghost and Ghoul apparently felt nothing in their cute little dresses and heels. 

The next photo showed the girls staring in exasperated boredom as someone opposite them rambled on about who knows what. Hangman couldn't recall who'd been sitting with them during that moment, but he had taken the picture to commemorate their priceless, judgemental expressions. 

He flicked through some more, landing on one of the girls in black dresses beaming at the camera. It'd been their junior year, and they'd been able to leave for the long weekend to head to the lavish Jefferson Hotel, where they went to celebrate Jackie's upcoming graduation. The following two photos were from their senior year, where they attended a fancy graduation dinner at a seaside restaurant and the afterparty.

Coyote, having been Hangman's roommate, was in a lot of photos, too. He either beamed at the camera or stared longingly at Ghoul, whom he'd been in love with from the moment he'd been introduced to her. They hadn't become a couple until their senior year, though, namely because Ghoul was the female equivalent of Hangman: outgoing and unwilling to settle down. Where Hangman had slept with most of the girls at the Academy except for Annalise and Lydia, Ghoul had slept with most of the guys, save for Hangman and Coyote. 

"I respect y'all too much," Lydia had declared in her thick and sweet Georgian drawl. Still, all it took for her to drop the habits was for Coyote to drunkenly admit his feelings; the rest was history. The memory of it all still made Hangman smile, but it would always swiftly be replaced by heartache. He missed Ghoul, but he knew his pain was nothing compared to Ghost and Coyote: the former, who had clung onto her backseater's limp body in the crashing waves while waiting for the rescue chopper, and the latter, who had planned on proposing to her when they returned home.

Hangman shut off his phone and squeezed his eyes shut, hating going down memory lane like this. It's why he kept himself so busy all the time. If he kept himself occupied, his brain couldn't travel back to the dark memories and dark thoughts.

"Get it together, man," Hangman grumbled, sitting up and pushing himself off the couch. He ambled to the bathroom to make himself presentable, determined to have a good night at the Hard Deck, repeating in his head: What's past is past.

****

Tags: @lgg5989 @shanimallina87 @polikszena @summ3rlotus @icemansgirl1999 @supernaturaldawning @thedarkinmansfield @lyannaforpresident @lapilark @getmyprettynameoutofyourmouth @simpofthecentury @shadeops21 @pansexualwitchwhoneedstherapy @double-j @bradshawsandbridgetons @catsandgeekyandnerd @peachiicherries @multifandomcnova @fandomsstolemylife00 @bookloverhorses @mak-32 @midnightmagpiemama @luckyladycreator2 @ellamae021 @kmc1989

Chapters: Chp 1 Chp 2 Chp 3 Chp 4 Chp 5 Chp 6 Chp 7 Chp 8 Chp 9 Chp 10 Chp 11 Chp 12 Chp 13 Chp 14

If you're not on the tag list and want to be, just let me know :)

[claudeng80]

Caught (Childhood Friends/Pokemon AU)

The sun is just coming up, the castle spires of Tanbarun casting long shadows across the river. Nanaki yawns, because it was not his idea to be up this early, but Cubone has enough energy for the both of them. He chases Oddish in circles, over and under a fallen log in a game Nanaki is far too sleepy to make sense of.

There’s a flat spot on the log just big enough for him, and there’s plenty of time for a nap- 

“Are you going to help me or not?” The princess is too buried in a plant to put her hands on her hips, but the position is implied in the tone. He's heard it more than enough, before and after he left home, to mistake it for any other.

“You said I didn’t have to dig in the dirt, but you didn’t tell me what to do,” he says. “Guess that means I get to take a nap…” He pretends to close his eyes, watching her through his lashes as she wriggles back out of the bush.

“Please!” It’s not often she begs for help, and it startles his eyes right back open, gold meeting green for just a second before her gaze skitters away. He gets a great view of the stick tangled in her hair, more dirt than red at the moment, and Shirayuki points up into a tree. “The fruit. Up there. I need some for this recipe.”

“Potions aren’t that expensive at the store. I don’t see why you don’t like them.”

“It’s not that I don’t like them-” She avoids his eyes again. “It’s just good to have options and save money for emergencies. And maybe if I keep studying, I can make something even better-”

“Like a max-potion?”

“Nanaki…” He tries not to grin, but she is too cute when she whines. “Will you get me the fruit already?”

The tree’s barely even a challenge. He swings up to the first branch, easy as climbing stairs, and sticks the first one he can reach into his pocket. “You could have just climbed up here yourself. You’re taller than you were when you got here.”

Her voice is a little muffled as she dives back into her plant, looking for something underground. “Um, I don’t know how to climb trees.”

***

The night is quiet, not even the rustle of a leaf breaking the stillness. Obi adjusts the scarf around his face and watches the light from the fire die down to nothing. If the redheaded girl doesn’t get her gym badge, she’s going to stay here when the others move on. She’s stubborn; nobody who makes it this far isn’t.

But without her pokemon, there won’t be much she can do.

The prince, the source of all the problems, sleeps closest to the fire. He’s got a sword laid across the grass at his fingertips; it would bring a pretty penny too, if Obi had enough hands for it. But he’s here for a particular job, and sum he’s owed for it will cover that and more.

The older grass-haired boy and the blonde girl don’t twitch as Obi sneaks past them. The noble who hired him insisted they were guards, keeping harm from coming to the prince, but so far he’s not very impressed with their vigilance. He can’t resist a little dance step, right there in the middle of their camp, and nobody is awake to notice.

Immediately he feels a bit silly. He should get this over with and get out of here. He’ll drop off her pokemon at some center where she’ll never think to look. They’ll be taken care of, then either get adopted or released, whatever’s best for them. Nobody’s going to get hurt and he’s going to be rich.

The girl might have gone to sleep holding the strap of her bag, but her hand’s drifted away to the edge of her blanket. He just needs to support the bag so the balls don’t rattle and that will be that, she can’t possibly go on without any of her companions. Silently he pulls on the strap to slide the bag away from her grip, then gently starts to lift it from the grass-

“ODD!” Beyond the first circle of light, a tiny patch of leaves waggles in alarm. He’s been careless not to check, because of course the four of them could only sleep with a nocturnal pokemon left on night watch.

Her eyes fly open with alarm, and he has to wonder if her Oddish hit him with a Charm without him noticing. Surely he would have known all along if it were her. If he’d known-

No, he doesn’t lie to himself. perhaps he suspected all along, but hunger is a powerful persuasion. He could never forget her. But he has to eat. He tightens his hand on the strap and yanks the whole bag up, no longer worrying about the noise. With Oddish shouting its leaves off, all he has left in his favor is their confusion. He’s got to run for it.

“Wait!” she shouts and flails, missing his fleeing heels by a mile. She never was fast, trailing along behind him. She’d get there long after he did, but she never gave up. It doesn’t help her here. “Oddish! Use Sweet Scent!”

He was always much better at the catching than at the training, himself. He’s still several steps from the cover of the forest before there’s a giant blow to his back, sending him tumbling into the leaves. Pokeballs fly everywhere.

Down in the leaves, Obi’s held down, then forcibly flipped. He’s outnumbered, there’s no getting around that, and they’re far better prepared than he was counting on. He lets himself go limp, and a hand tears off his scarf. A pale face snarls down at him, the prince too eager to let his guards do his dirty work. “Who are you?”

Obi doesn’t answer right away. He watches Shirayuki’s face, waiting for the moment she realizes what depths he’s sunk to, how her childhood friend she’d looked up to once is a fraud at heart. But she looks at him with no more than curiosity, and he doesn’t know whether to be relieved or disappointed that a few inches of height and a few years of hunger are enough to make him someone new. Apparently never intending to quit lasted her no longer than it did him.

Or perhaps he never meant as much to her as she did to him. “Nobody important,” he says, forcing a grin onto his face.

[jekyll2life]

Not sure if any other doll collectors do this, but I came up with backstories for most of my dolls. I'm planning on writing fic for them later. But just in case I don’t get around to it, I wanted to share what I had anyway. 

There’s a bit of a fantasy element imbued into it (obviously, because dolls aren’t sentient), but this is just what I like to imagine. 

We’ll start with Jackson, Holt, and Frankie first. Because if I do my entire collection straight out of the gate, this post will get way too long. XD

Anyway, writing under the cut. 

Disclaimer just in case: Most of the human names are ones I made up for the sake of storytelling. 

Jackson Jekyll:

Jackson was given to a child named Lacey for Christmas, amongst a few other toys. He was neither the favorite nor least favorite toy of the collection, and he spent a fair amount of time both being played with and being left in the toybox. Lacey was a gentle child when it came to their toys, so there wasn’t much he needed to worry about in terms of treatment. As Lacey grew into adulthood, Jackson was moved to a shelf. He sat at the top of the shelf, content with living a quiet life of just watching the sun rise and set from a nearby window. Occasionally, he might steal some of Lacey’s books to read, but otherwise his life was pretty uneventful. He never went outside and Lacey hardly interacted with him anymore (Not that he really minded that. He was perfectly content being alone really). He didn’t question it when she picked him up one day and took some pictures of him, only to put him back on the shelf later. 

A few weeks pass, Jackson is taken from his spot on the shelf, shoved into a packing envelope, and is mailed across the country. In that moment, his life changed forever. 

When Jackson first arrived in Jester’s home (Jester is me btw), he was at first dazed, frightened, and confused. Unlike Lacey, Jester was loud and overexcited. Instead of being left alone on a shelf, Jackson was now being brought place to place alongside the new human. He was now seeing and experiencing the outside world, rather than just observing it from a distance. Over time, Jackson came to enjoy his new, more adventurous life. Still, he has moments where he would like to return to the quiet and just stay inside, watching sunrises and sunsets from the window. 

Holt Hyde:

Holt once belonged to a fellow collector, Agnes. Agnes was very particular about how she wanted her dolls to be kept. She had several completed sets, all kept in glass cases in a room with no windows so as to avoid sun damage. Most of the other dolls in the collection were fine with this. They were well taken care of and Agnes visited them on a frequent basis. However, Holt was a troublemaker by nature. He longed to see the world outside the doll room, and being cooped up in one place forever was not the way he wanted to live (even if leaving the doll room meant his lifespan would be dramatically shorter). 

Holt attempted to break out of the doll room on multiple occasions, including opening the glass case from the inside and jumping out. He once got so close as to opening the front door of the house and nearly stepping outside. But before he could really feel the rays of the sun, Agnes found him and dragged him back inside. She scolded him, not understanding why he would want to ruin his good condition just to go outside. Being somewhat of an old doll, Holt was more fragile than he preferred to think himself to be. Still, he tried to explain to her that in his mind, a life with no experience was no life at all. 

Holt was put back into the glass case after that, but Agnes thought over his wishes. After some time, she decided that perhaps it would be best to let him go. After saying goodbye to his closest friends in the collection, Agnes packaged Holt up carefully in a box and sent him away to Jester’s home. 

Now, Holt’s had the chance to experience the sun, the moon, and all the wonders of the world outside. He’s quite sociable, so he’s made good friends with the other dolls in the collection. At times, however, he gets jealous of the favoritism Jester expresses towards Jackson. He also gets fed up if kept in one place for too long. 

G3 Frankie Stein

Frankie was bought brand-new, straight from the original packaging. Jester told Jackson and Holt ahead of time that Frankie would be coming home, but also warned them that this Frankie would be different from the one they knew in their memories. Still, they were very excited to see them. 

In my mind, when dolls are in their box, they enter something of a sleep mode. So when Frankie first woke up, the first faces they saw were Jackson and Holt. They introduced themselves enthusiastically, and that’s when Jackson and Holt found out that this Frankie had no memories of them (because as of the day I’m writing this, Jackson and Holt don’t exist in G3 yet). Jackson and Holt were a little disappointed, since they both remembered Frankie. But this Frankie had the same sweet earnestness that the Frankie they remember had, so they couldn’t be too mad. 

Frankie is very wide-eyed and curious, and was very excited about getting to explore the world. So Jackson and Holt accompanied Frankie on their first ever trip outside. It just so happened at that time that the sun was going down as they were going out. And so Frankie’s first experience outside was watching the sunset. 

Jackson, Frankie, and Holt took a little extra time getting to know each other. But over time, Jackson and Holt fell in love just as hard for this new Frankie as the one in their memories. And Frankie loved both of them just as much. 

[sunbathingleaves]

[Fic] First meeting

Yay, Cookie Clicker fic! I'm still trying to iron out the Baker's personality as a kid, so I'll write multiple fics with him interacting with his classmates and teachers.

Moving sucks, Harold thought. He doubled checked his backpack to make sure he had everything he needed, he didn't want to embarrass himself on his first day. He hoped he'll remember his way to his new school; he was still new to the neighbourhood and his mom won't have time to drive him anymore due to her new job. "It's a big neighbourhood, you'll have plenty of space to play outside. You'll make tons of friends, you'll see!" she tried to reassure him last night. Well, he packed everything, his new uniform looked presentable, it was time to go. Harold picked his keys and went downstairs. It was weird to be the one responsible with locking the house when leaving, his mom was the one usually doing this.

The weather outside was nice, the autumn sun still warming up the air. My mom was right, this is a pretty nice place, he thought while looking around the street through the thin morning mist. The houses had more space between them than he was used with and there was a surprising amount of vegetation there. He could even see some patches of trees in the distance. He didn't pay much attention when they first drove through the streets to their new home, so this was the first time he was really seeing the place he'll live in from now on.

After a few backtrackings he managed to reach his new school. The kids in the yard didn't pay him any attention as he was walking among them. Most were gathered in small groups, talking and laughing, with a few rushing through the front gates to find their friends.

***

As he was waiting for the teacher to call him, Harold looked out of the window at the now empty courtyard. He hoped things will be better here than they were at his old school. Just as he was about to ruin his mood with bitter memories the teacher called him to enter the classroom. He took a deep breath and went to meet his new classmates.

Most kids seemed curious or at worst disinterested as he introduced himself, but one in particular got his attention. One black haired student at the middle of the class was looking intently at him, with a slight smile on his face and a cruel and sardonic glint in his pitch-black eyes. Without knowing why, Harold felt a shiver when their eyes met and immediately averted his gaze, looking at the teacher who was just finishing speaking with the class. The teacher then instructed him to sit down in an empty chair towards the back of the class. As he was walking towards his assigned seat he noticed the strange student lean over and lightly punch the back of the boy in white shirt in front of him while whispering something in his ear. That's a person I need to avoid, Harold thought. There is something deeply unsettling about him.

Just as he reached his seat the white shirted boy turned around and smirked at him. "So, you moved here from Minetown? Was your mom fired after that corruption scandal?". Harold froze, how did he know about that already? He looked around the class quickly. Most students didn't seem to know what he was talking about, but they still watched them curiously and a few were already whispering among themselves.

In the front desk on the row closest to the window was a sandy haired boy who looked worried and almost scared, eyes darting between him and the other student. Was someone from his family involved in the scandal too? No, Harold suddenly realized, it wasn't the white shirt guy the cause of that fear, it was him. Harold tried to meet those dark eyes again, but the strange boy wasn't turned around like his friend was. He was facing the front of the class, opening his notebook and searching through his pencil case, seemingly uninterested in the commotion.

"Michael, what did I tell you about starting arguments in class?" the teacher finally decided to interfere. "Sorry ma'am", the boy in the white shirt muttered before giving his friend an annoyed glance and slapping him on the shoulder. Then he finally turned towards the teacher, ignoring her glares.

The class fell silent as the lesson started, but every now and then one kid would turn their head slightly to look at him. Michael too would occasionally glance towards him, studying him like he wasn't sure what to think of him. Or rather trying to figure out if I'd be a good victim, Harold thought bitterly. He knows that look well, especially after his mother got caught in that scandal. He sunk further in his chair, trying to avoid making accidental eye contact with anyone. Great, this year might be just as difficult as the last one.

He, on the other hand never once tried to look at him. Even after the class ended he just gathered his things and left without a single glance in his direction, with Michael quickly following him out of the door.

---

Harold will be the catalyst that will eventually give the Baker the final push to start making cookies, so I hope I'll be able to present their bully-victim relationship properly.

Also, trying to write about the Baker before he becomes The Baker without actually giving him a name wasn't easy.

[hazmatazz]

why hollow moon by arlington reminds me of byler/will byers soo much

long post + i accidentally posted a draft of this early so if you saw that...no you didn't

[lyrics] [youtube] [spotify]

i need to qualify: i love death of the author + this song has no actual connection to stranger things this is all just me brainrotting

first:

this just reminds me of the scenes were Mike is inraptured by Will in the sun. exmaple, the van scene: (gif stealing <3)

next:

a LOT of thoughts about this chunk so i'm going to go rapid fire

"And I won't let you step away"

Mike won't let Will rip the band-aid off

"Your lipstick's melting in the shade"

the closest thing i can come to putting something to this line is will's painting (lipstick) and how he doesn't give it until it's at a point something bad happens (melting in the shade)

(clarifying: if will had given the painting earlier i don't think he would have felt the need to say it was from el. but because he waited so long he was put in a situation where he thought lying was the best option. meaning that because he waited so long, his gifting process resulted in something he didn't want originally)

"Imagine every day

You'll drift and float and fade away

Crashed into the men involved"

while it wasn't on purpose (in fact he probably tried to avoid it), Will drifted away from Mike

i'm a "Mike tried to call Will after they moved" truther so i'm imagining mike being so crushed over Will not calling him

ALSO "crashed into" implies that both parties were harmed in the process which.. yeah??

"And now you're doing what you're told"

so in S3, Will kinda obviously didn't like Mike and El being together (see the rain fight)

but in S4, when Mike goes to Will for help, he seems to support their relationship and try to help it. "now you're doing what you're told" now he's supporting their relationship (even if he doesn't like it)

(adding on, i think this is a negative thing and that mike was wishing for a S3 will reaction telling him to break up)

"This light has got to go"

See the first chunk of this post about Will being a sun

"They stripped you naked head to toe

You never made enough in time

To live a better life"

OUGH ok. i heavily associate this with the day Will went missing

the Demogorgon goes after Will when he's alone, stripping him of any safety brought from his friends or family. In the next scene we see of Will, he doesn't have that shotgun. Not having that weapon, again, strips him of his safety

2nd part. he rolled a 7, which was not enough to save him from the demogorgon. and he ran out of time (Karen calling them to leave) to possibly find a way to make more to be safe

3rd part if Will hadn't been kidnapped he would have avoided a lottt of trauma

also for that last part. if will had been safe the party wouldn't have found el. now i'm SO glad they found el, but if el and mike never met they wouldn't have dated and it's possible will would be happier (again, i'm still happy they know el. just something to point out for this)

"Your broken heart means everything

To me, alright? Alright?"

ignore how they used the wrong your

Will's heart has been through a lot of shit. upside down trauma, "unrequited" love, bullying and abuse for being gay, etc

but Mike still adores him

also i imagine, even sketched, mike saying this to will. so. brainrot

Next!

"Cause I'm still beating like a drum"

either could be because they're still alive through everything or how despite the distance they had, they still have feelings

"Two roses in the sun

And now it's swiftly coming down

Yeah can't you hear the sound

That thunderous sound"

ok. let's get the flower part over w because we've all seen these

now the sun in this situation?

bright? check. will and henry parallels? check. "swiftly coming down"? he'll get there eventually, check. thunderous sound? fucking duh? check

next!

this mostly is giving s2 possession

"Twisty little renegade"

"renegade" is someone who deserts or betrays an organization, country, or set of principles. and sure, Will was possessed, but it was still betraying who he was and betraying The Party in some form.

"Only worth what you've been paid"

kinda off topic but the closest i have is Mike having self worth issues

"Your life is gonna change

You'll make it work, you'll be ok"

through all the negatives, Will has been able to get through them. expect the best for s5, he deserves for his life to change

also imagining mike telling will that

"Knocked into the bitter cold

And now you're thinking on your own

This fire's bound to glow"

when Will was possessed he was cold because the Mindflayer/Vecna liked it cold

After he got away from the possession, he started thinking on his own

Fire's bound to glow = Nancy burning the Mindflayer out of Will

"And keep your children from the road"

I think Joyce learned to be extra cautious with leaving Will alone :)

Also S1 when Karen wouldn't let Mike and Nancy out of the house when Will went missing

"They never had to raise a family

Entire lives"

something something Mike's family is mediocre, Will's dad mostly didn't raise him (thank god), the victims not having a life to raise a family. do whatever

"And their bleeding hearts mean everything

To me, that's right, that's right"

first thoughts were always about how Mike (and Will) care about the party and how they all have issues. you would also go down "pity for the victins" route again

lastly (because the rest of the song is repeating)

here's where the least of my thoughts went to so sorry if this is bullshit

"Do away now with words"

you know how byler often communicates without words

"You've had enough"

they fight...a lot. i'm specifically looking at the rain fight where the summer bubbles over

last lines either about the night will got kidnapped or about the rain fight/other fights. shit y'know

so sorry if this is jumbled, i don't do this offen (done only one thing similar to this before)