#i was focus on his young siblings i forgot him a bit

[gloryride]

Enzo Sarto

his smile on the last pic is because he saw Jay coming ♥

[trees-be-drawing]

Soooo… my sister managed to find a way for both of us to watch Moominvalley Season 4, so I shall now provide my honest thoughts on each episode.

It will be a bit chaotic in terms of thoughts cuz there’s a lot to say and think about but I hope it’s alright.

SPOILERS AHEAD:

Episode 1:

A few seconds in and me and my sister already want to get away from Brisk just as much as Little My. We never liked him -3-. Misabel is strong af too, and Snork’s friendship with her is really really sweet! I actually don’t mind her being the focus but I thought with her strength being the focus, she would use it in the final act. Instead she was shot from the cannon. Which still gives her recognition with her being the top of the pyramid, but originally I thought she was gonna pick up the final act by literally picking them all up (which she has shown she can pick up the entire circus). But instead it was saved for her to properly show Brisk how strong she is when it was displayed almost the entire time…

I also felt Moomin was forced into a role once again. Simply cuz it was considered “destiny” since his parents once were in the circus (acts a backstory to Moominpapa’s hat, and also just shows how chaotic the Moominparents past is. It’s always funny to me) but also it makes sense he’d want the leader role, and he’s very good at it as he’s able to recognize the good qualities in his friends and family.

Edit: I forgot about the crocodile… LITTLE MY BEFRIENDS A CORCODILE!!! Good to know she has that “freedom” ideal in her too. And honesty, out of all the pets she’d want, a corcodile is definitely the most suitable, and letting it go in the end made me sad too but… it had to be done.. I loved her and her connection with Moominmama at the end at least. It parallels really well to what happens in episode 6.

Episode 2:

On to the episode where that one scene gave the Snufmin fans (including me and my sister) hope in the trailer. I couldn’t help but laugh at how angry Snufkin looked cuz normally, his eyebrows would be covered by his fringe (people weren’t lying about his eyebrows having a workout). He’s just a smol and angy boi this episode. My sister also said the way Moomin calls for Snufkin sounds like him calling for his girlfriend.

It actually interested me when Fillijoink got involved in the operation against the railroad. I originally thought she’d be all for it. But it’s nice to see that she does appreciate and love the Moomins despite how chaotic they are against her strict nature. It’s also nice the Antolín gets mentioned, though if they really wanted to find it, they should’ve gone to the beach or find a hole that he might’ve dug up.

It was a pretty chaotic episode seeing everyone come up with absurd ideas to stop the railway from being made, along with the solution being found within the rules. Cuz some rules do contradict each other.

Episode 3:

A Sniff centre-episode…. That’s it. That’s all I thought.

Other than Moomin being a supportive friend, and Little My and Snufkin being the best siblings ever, I genuinely did not have much thoughts.

It also just confirms how bad of a mom and guest Mymble is. She just basically lets her kids run around and break things she “borrows”, along with give away those things she “borrows”. I felt like I was on Fillyjoink’s side on this, but I was also Moominmama where I would’ve just left Fillyjoink and Mymble to work it out for themselves.

Edit: looking back at the previous seasons, Mymble has usually been pretty inconsiderate when it came to her children. Also, in regards to Sniff, I actually didn’t mind him this episode and he was pretty fun.

Episode 4:

Snorkmaiden episode! It’s also where the seahorses come back… joy. I actually always liked how the seahorses looked, but damn they were bitches this episode.

The episode is basically that “young kid wants to be like the older kid, but turns out the older kid is a bad influence”

It also references the wooden lady from the books in the beginning, which technically was the arc this episode but it was mainly focused on Snorkmaiden and recognizing that she was going against her morals for people who don’t actually care about her or her friends.

Heck, Snorkmaiden wasn’t even jealous of the figurehead this episode. She actually wanted to return it to its ship, and was more upset that Moomin claimed that “they” found it, when it was all her. All the admiration for the figurehead all went into the seashorses, and they didn’t give a shit about him!

I actually liked this episode, even though the image of snorkhorse is now forever a curse to my memory.

Episode 5:

Stinky is an inspector, and trying to find the culprit to Moominpapa’s manuscript being stolen. I didn’t have too many thoughts on this one, but I was mostly just thinking how nice it is to see Snork more involved in the episodes, he definitely slowly became a favorite of mine in this series. I didn’t mind Stinky too much either but I already knew he wouldn’t be the one to steal the manuscript and Moomin not believing him is fair to me considering how much of a thief Stinky is.

I also really loved how Moominpapa started to love hearing his wife’s tales of adventure, even if it sounded far fetched at first. I always really loved their relationship with how chaotic and supportive it is.

Episode 6:

Romance is in the air!! Mostly for Fillyjoink and Sniff. I actually did find the inspector and Fillyjoink to be cute, but 90’s nostalgia still makes me think of Mymble Jr. I also liked Fillyjoink this episode, mostly cuz I appreciate a Queen who knows her worth.

I also did like the bits with Mymble and Little My. Little My suffering with “older child being a parent to her siblings and mother” Is honestly tragic. I felt bad for her, and even appreciated that she didn’t reciprocate with Mymble reaching out to her, cuz honestly, she really doesn’t deserve it. I’m wondering if this was why Mymble Jr. isn’t present, cuz honestly, I love Little My in this series, and seeing how she was treated by Mymble made me sad, but also made me smile knowing it didn’t waver her from pointing out when something sounds stupid to her.

I always liked Little My and Sniff’s friendship as well. Her and Sniff having fun after dealing with the mushiness of love that day honestly made me smile and laugh at the end. It reminded me of their friendship in the 90’s series.

Sniff also got hit with a “love potion” and Sniff really doesn’t care for whatever gender he thought he was in love with. He truly is a bi/pan icon. I didn’t get the bit where Sniff and Stinky are canon or… really understood it?? Idk maybe I wasn’t understanding the context correctly. But looking back at the 90’s version, there were moments with them trying to find riches together so I think I can understand why it’s a ship. A pretty underrated ship but I don’t mind it.

Episode 7:

Moominmama takes place in the art competition. I’m still on 90’s nostalgia so it’s baiscally just that art competition with Moominpapa but this time it’s with Moominmama. We have seen her paint before so it makes sense, but it’s honestly really fun seeing Moominpapa want to be her muse, and even getting it at the end of the episode.

It’s mainly Moominmama learning to stick with what makes her happy, along with Little My “helping” because it’s rewarding.

Also, the Hemulen who collects stamps is here! His purple dress gown, is truly iconic. I recognised it immediately. I remember this moment is in the Hobgoblin arc in the books, but it’s interesting it’s a separate arc here. And instead of flowers, he’s taken to photography of local wildlife, which isn’t too far fetched from the real thing.

Also Moomin keeps all the letters Snufkin gave him in a neat pile tied in string under his bed… and remembered the stamp used on them… so… 🤭

Episode 8:

Snufkin comes to Moominvalley in the winter! Mostly due to the winter being so fierce. And Moomin, of course, is god damn excited by this. It reminds me of this one fanfic I read, but besides that, I kept hoping Moomin would take a moment to fully listen to Snufkin about why he came over, but hey, Snufkin loves Moomin too much to upset him and honestly, him and Moomin were very cute when they hung out. Snufkin’s probably the only one who laughs at Moomin’s bad jokes so that’s pretty silly.

Sniff took the place of Sorry-O where he thinks he’s the ancestor of wolves which…. Buddy you look nothing like a wolf, but feed your ego I guess. But he also ended up being the annoyance (along with the woodies) that led Snufkin to leave, which… I never liked how Sniff was done in this adaptation. I don’t like to hate Sniff really, cuz he’s honestly pretty lovable in the 90’s version. I only got the impression he’s just not good at reading the room cuz of how prideful he is, that’s all.

Too-Ticky is here too, and honestly her and Little My hanging out is pretty cute!! They’ve hung out before in the 90’s, and I’ve always loved Too-Ticky’s added warmth in the series. She’s wonderful. I don’t think she ever interacted with Snufkin this episode though… it feels like a missed opportunity.

Episode 9:

It’s still winter, but hey, who doesn’t like a winter episode, and even better, it’s JOXTER!!!

I still think his voice is deeper than I thought. (I will forever still have John Chancer as his voice in my head) He just sounds like a hardcore stoner, and honestly, I love how chill and goofy he is. And his song at the end was absolutely beautiful. My sister pointed out that there was even a harmonica in the song…. I wish this meant it was a reunion song for Snufkin and Joxter but I already know that’s not the case.

Besides that, I do like Moominpapa and Moomintroll’s time together. It’s nice seeing Moomin continue to build up his father. Cuz genuinely, he is pretty extraordinary and a really fun guy.

Little My and Moominmama hanging out is cute too. Mama’s commentary at the end where she wishes someone also talks about the warmth provided at the end of a journey is also sad but touching. I think I’d like to do that if I write anything.

Episode 10:

Basically the vampire episode from the 90’s.

And the Groke is there too… but it’s mostly Little My and Snorkmaiden hanging out to find her. It did lead to a very sweet understanding between Little My and the Groke. I always loved the tragedy of the Groke, and how misunderstood she is.

Also my sister headcanoned the reason Joxter can speak to animals was because he was absolutely baked when he started talking to one.

Episode 11:

Aunt Jane!! And bad words become tiny creatures when spoken :0

Aunt Jane, though strict, does love Moominpapa, and at least is aware of the fact she can be stern at times. My sister also commented, we never understand our caregivers/parents actions until we’re older, and that’s honestly a great thing to take from that episode.

Joxter also fleeing the scene at uncomfortable situations is truly a Snufkin move. He truly is Snufkin’s father…. Too bad THEY DONT MEET!! At least Little My and Snufkin have fun sibling moments. I love them honestly. They’re so chaotic together. And the fact they took the punishment from Aunt Jane even when they didn’t have to is funny to me.

Episode 12:

COMET IN MOOMINVALLEY!!! The intro sounds and looks different too, and it’s a longer episode.

I personally haven’t read Comet in Moominland/Moominvalley, but I’ve been given context and I believe it’s supposed to be a tale of environmental destruction, or the negative emotions regarding it… I could be wrong though, someone please correct me if I’m wrong.

Honestly, it’s hard to believe in the idea that Season 4 is a prequel. Because from Snufkin’s remarks, it seems Moomin already knows what they’d encounter on the way to the observatory. So from the sound of it, the comet is essentially arriving a second time. But at the same time, it could be Snufkin knows this simply cuz he’s travelled there a few times, but Moomin knows what they are so it’s oddly confusing.

Snufkin also feels more… closer? To Moomintroll? He was supposed to go alone, but Snufkin seems to want to make sure he doesn’t, and my sister pointed out he looked more devastated at the idea of Moomin going alone than Snorkmaiden in that regard.

They also act like some of their adventures are actually a build up to this moment, such as the sun oil from the Fire Spirit episode, and Little My’s relationship with the Groke. It’s not bad but… for me it felt weirdly wrong… and I don’t understand why I felt that way.

The Comet in the episode, isn’t considered a threat either.. it originally was thought to just be a spectacle worth a party. It’s only when the plants start withering and the water starts evaporating and it turns out that it may actually hit the valley that they’d take it seriously.. or, not as seriously as most hoped. I understand they want to try have a positive outlook on a catastrophic situation but… it’s supposed to be a melancholic tale.. it’s also supposed to be the origins of how Moomin met all his friends, and it was rumored to be a movie after the series, not a season finale… their despair towards the situation felt really brief because they tried to find a silver lining to it all, and thus the tone of the entire episode feels… off. We’re not given time to join in on the emotions the characters we’re feeling, and though we know it will work out, we can’t really join them on that feeling either because how can we, when the feeling of despair is constantly being thwarted by unwabing positivity in a dire situation? Moomintroll felt like the only one taking it seriously but unfortunately still suffers from his panic being killed off by hope and happiness.

I also now understand the “Groke sacrificed herself” part. Considering the Comet is a beautiful, warm light she can reach for… but now I’m wondering how the heck she managed to stop the comet like that??? Or better yet, it’s implied she still lives but… what exactly happened to the comet? Did it just fall into the ocean as the Groke freezed it over? Did the impact of the comet colliding with the Groke make it explode? And in the end you’re just left with this bitterness… like there was something you were supposed to be feeling but you can’t feel it.

Overall, the season in my opinion, did have a okay start, then got pretty good, and then fell on its face at the end. It did have some good episodes, but the beginning didn’t make me too excited at first for the rest of the season, and end to me felt like we should expect something new, but if anything, I’d rather have something more instead of something new. Unless that new thing adds to the more I want, it just felt flat.

In terms of Snufmin content as well, I can see why people thinks it’s lacking… I’ll argue that I think the reason for this is because… well, that Snufmin arc finished back in Season 3. They’ve grown to understand each other now. And I think from the dialogue in episode 8, they’ve already learned to give each other what they want, and manage their time together. Cuz as much as Snufkin wants to be alone, he also didn’t stop Moomintroll from spending time with him, and Moomin understands that he needs that alone time, and thus wanted to have time to just… be silent together. Just the two of them. It’s only because it got interrupted by the Woodies and Sniff that Snufkin left.

Heck, Snufkin was the one who suggested to the others to go with Moomintroll to the observatory, and never left his side.

I will agree there was definitely more Moomin and Snorkmaiden hangouts than there was of Snufkin and Moomin, but as much as I am an avid fan of Snufmin and wished they hung out more, the moments with Moomin and Snorkmaiden felt more friendly than couple-like until the finale. More platonic. That could just be me though.

To anyone who decided to read this entire thing, I hope your eyes aren’t burning. Rest your eyelids. And maybe give me your own thoughts on some of these. I’d love to read them all.

[angeat]

@arcvmonth day 18

"an earnest unrequited love, wanting to make it bear a little happiness" reference

i have posted about my au a couple of times, it's not specific to arc v though it involves yuya and yuri so i shall take this chance to ramble

to introduce. an excerpt of a ramble about my au: "i have my focus sort of split between yuri and yuya's yanhomo weirdness pov v.s. bakura trying to not kill punch beat the shit out of worship marry johan while anzu takes an irritated drag from her cigarette pov" so it's a whole Every Yugioh Crossover and a part of the premise is everyone is at least mildly to severely out of character johan and mokuba are quite different for instance. there aren't relevant arc v characters aside from the aforementioned two but i can mention some. also little extra designs

yugo is yuya's older half brother on yoko's side (likes motorcycles per her influence), they don’t visit each other often but they do talk regularly, yugo tries supporting yuya and being a proper big brother as much as he can. yuto is yuri's estranged older brother but yuri has no memory of him because he was too young when they were separated and yuri was adopted by leo (yes reiji and reira are his siblings. the akabas continue to be the most dysfunctional family ever) yuzu and gongenzaka are yuya's best friends per usual. yuri ran away with yuya for their survival since it's no good to stay in the same spot with a billionaire ceo guy (seto kaiba) tracking them and a jail escapee (kyosuke kiryu) but also just because he wants to have yuya alone

(yuzu and gongenzaka look about the same so just the yu’s and yo)

i frame my au yuri with a lot of yandere shit just because i think it's fun and he does stalk yuya + sometimes treats him like something of a boyfriend but he isn't really in love with yuya? yuri loves and admires himself above all but he sees himself in yuya. literally physically because he thinks they have similar faces and yuri has always unconsciously wanted something of a normal life and family so seeing yuya have that meant projecting on yuya became his favorite hobby. and now because of their situation they're in he uses this new forced closeness with someone for the first time to act out everything he's never experienced (a friend, a parent, a lover)

despite how much yuya might be creeped out or uncomfortable, since yuri has been the real reason he's been able to survive, he feels like he doesn't really have the right to reject yuri in any sense, by all means he's dependent on him in this situation and he can't just leave and go to anyone else unless he wants to put them in danger. also helps that he's scared shitless of him both because yuri is armed, merciless, and he would hurt yuya himself if he wanted to as he only needs yuya alive beyond that yuri doesn't really care how he is physically or mentally. the arrangement is a bit of a nightmare though coming to understand the way he thinks and acts, yuya genuinely pities yuri for the way that he is so he wants to help him be more normal and genuinely befriend him in return for everything he's done to protect him and starts to treats this as something of an obligation but yuri makes it hard to do anything nice for him

(since yuri is a solider baby and views socialization through a power hierarchy he sees these attempts of being kind and friendly as yuya acting above yuri, which he obviously doesn't take very well since he refuses to be below anyone except for leo, his dad. the only reason yuri acts the familiar way he does with yuya is because he sees them on equal footing since in his perspective yuya is essentially an extension him but he still by default treats yuya as someone below him, so yuya can't reciprocate acts of familiarity without yuri being the one to initiate them)

also the au is a future diary au. forgot to mention. yuya and yuri are two of twelve people trying to kill each other and have diaries that tell the future. it follows nothing about future diary outside of that basic premise, yuya and yuri are not the main characters.

clothes concept + notes + etc because you know. i might as well while i’m at it i doubt i’m sharing these any other time

this is test thing of a noncanon scene i had in my head there's the rest of it in script because i could not be damned

[liri-sims]

Test of Time summary, part 2: Brigid, agent of chaos

When I left off, Brigid Moss had moved into the Pond home to raise the orphaned daughters of Lir and Limat. She gave birth to a son while there, then I sent him back to live with his dad and siblings; Brigid had nothing to do but focus on the Pond daughters, the Pond crops, and practicing her basket-weaving, because I'd downloaded the Sun&Moon set for that.

Oh, and she did finally woohoo Geb and bear a daughter named Inanna. Inanna's story gets interesting much later, in adulthood, but before that, Brigid and the Pond girls had more hell to raise.

Brigid, in particular. She and Esus were actually still married, and he was a bit of an emotional mess about the whole ordeal; he'd have a want panel like "talk to Brigid, give Brigid a backrub, woohoo in bed," and I'd be like, okay, I get the hint, so I'd have one of the kids invite her over, or hail her when she walked by. He'd heartfart her and then slap her.

This was really upsetting for their kids, especially their sensitive second son, Grannus:

Grannus and his older brother Pan rolled virtually identical personalities that displayed differently - throughout their lives, Pan would react to their melodrama with rage and frustration while Grannus would run away, cry, or hide his eyes when there was a fight.

Brigid and Esus eventually reconciled, around the time Luna Pond reached adolescence, and Brigid moved back in with her husband. This may have been traumatic for Luna, because she ended up being a major troublemaker later in life.

But not as much as her foster mom.

Another one of my "photos taken moments after disaster" shots. I was controlling Luna Pond here. In the background, you see Esus slapping Brigid again, because once again she decided it was a good idea to slow-dance with Geb in front of the entire village. In the foreground, you see the sunburned young man that Luna was about to smooch - Grannus Moss, Brigid's son - hiding his eyes and about to cry because once again his family is falling apart. In the middle of his first date.

(Also, his would-be girlfriend is doing the "damn he fine" thing about the eldest son of the Stone family, totally ignoring the fact his life is crashing down around him, but that's a romance sim for you. He did get his first kiss in the end!)

Esus and Brigid were not on the best of terms after this.

Really, really not on the best of terms. You can see Pan (sunburnt, with slightly shorter hair) cheering for his dad, while Grannus, once again, is having a meltdown over all the drama and conflict.

It did not end well for Esus. He made it to old age, but only just, and then got killed by Brigid, who at this point has looped back around from "why are you LIKE THIS" to being one of my favorites just for her sheer audacity.

But I don't think she was a very good influence.

Her foster-daughter, Luna, had dated Grannus and actually agreed to go steady with him (his want, not hers.) I kind of forgot about this when I was next playing the Stone household, where the eldest son, Amon, had also rolled romance. So I sent Amon off to the springs to look for ladies, and he found Luna, and Luna was very happy about that. One person who wasn't so happy about it was Grannus's little sister, Egeria.

She kept poking and slapping Luna while Amon tried to romance her, and I couldn't figure out why until I was back at the Moss house later.

I had to go back to the Moss house because Luna attacked her, and won the fight, and I needed to kill Egeria.

So now Luna, too, had developed a taste for blood and cheating, just like her role model.

And her little sister Lethe, not to be outdone, decided to channel her own trauma into rage. This was also my fault; Lir and Limat's graves went missing, so I created a crypt-keeper sim to handle the process of relocating the graves, and I ended up resurrecting and re-killing them. Lethe, a family sim, went into an aspiration tailspin, and ended up fighting and killing the Burn family's eldest son. I lost all my screencaps of it because, again, it happened while she wasn't playable and I didn't even see what brought the fight on.

So at this point, five sims have died by violence, including three of my 10 founders. I wasn't worried about population, just marveling at the death toll. Things did calm down a bit after that, at least until everyone reached adulthood - but I'll get to that part, where people not connected to Brigid start having affairs and murders, in my next post.

[snowbellewells]

"Carolina Moon" update {Chapter Two}

Hello Friends! Here we are at last with the next chapter of my @cssns23 fic!! I sincerely never meant to keep everyone waiting so long; real life got really hectic there for a bit, and I had to focus on the job that pays the bills in the few hours that were left over! Anyway, I hope that you'll forgive me and enjoy this update. If it's any sort of consolation, it nearly doubles the length of the story so far...

Also, this story is now moving into M-rated territory. After talking with a few fandom friends and readers, this seems like the way to go to be on the safe side and let everyone know what they're reading upfront. I don't know that I find my love scenes half as spicy as others I've read, but there is one for sure in this chapter, and it will not be the last before all is said and done. I hope that doesn't turn anyone away from reading, but I would rather someone know before starting than be bothered by it after the fact.

**As always, thank you SO MUCH to @eastwesthomeisbest for this beautiful cover art to go along with the story, and to @xarandomdreamx for her thoughtful beta reading comments, suggestions, and encouragement.**

Can be read from the beginning HERE on Tumblr or HERE on AO3

Summary: Emma Swan has returned to the town she grew up in, and the past that has haunted her no matter where she has run. She seeks answers and peace at last. Despite the years that have passed, some things haven't changed very much in Storybrooke, South Carolina, and one of those things is Killian Jones. He never forgot the gangly girl with the world on her shoulders and pain in her eyes, but will he finally be able to slip past her defenses and help her find the answers she seeks?

Chapter Two: Secrets Beneath the Surface

By the time Killian got back home to the family home that afternoon, he could already hear their housekeeper Johanna scolding Ruby from the kitchen, as soon as he crossed the threshold. “Well, what else was you expectin’ Miss Sassy Britches, sashayin’ all over town the way you do? Didja think that would make you a lot of friends ‘mongst the other young ladies?”

Killian kicked off his shoes in the mud room, well aware that the older woman who had practically raised he and Ruby - more so than either of their parents had done - would turn on him next if he tracked up her clean floors. Making his way quietly along the well-worn path to the kitchen at the back of the house, he could practically hear his sister huff and sputter indignantly at Johanna’s rebuke and picture all too well the way she’d roll her eyes and pout, before grumpily going to Johanna’s side and taking up whatever chore the woman had no doubt bid her to help with before their little spat had begun.

It was a rhythm as old as Killian could remember, since almost the first afternoon Johanna Bishop had appeared in their kitchen - cooking, cleaning, puttering and tending to all the essential but seemingly unworthy, household chores his mother simply couldn’t be bothered with. If - as the Jones children had grown - those chores also came to include bandaging scraped knees, soothing hurt feelings, listening to whispered wishes, and cuddling and correcting where needed, well, that had fallen naturally under her purview as well. Even more so when the three children had become just two.

Stopping in the open doorway, Killian leaned against the jamb for a moment, trying to keep his chuckling to himself as he watched his tall, leggy sibling with brilliant red streaks running through her dark hair frowning in deep concentration next to the short, rather round Johanna, trying diligently to match the rosy-cheeked, twinkling-eyed matron’s deft and graceful speed at coring and slicing apples, and failing miserably. He must have made some involuntary noise, however, because both women looked up at him in surprise.

Johanna’s bright eyes smiled at him as her cheeks crinkled with the welcoming grin he could always look forward to, no matter how long he had been gone, whenever he returned. Ruby stuck her tongue out at him when he smirked at her efforts, arching an eyebrow as if to question what in the world she was trying to do.

“Oh? Think you can do better, do you?” she challenged, flipping a discarded peel his way, before Johanna hushed her, not about to have food flying on her watch, just before Mrs. Jones’ formal dinner was expected in the dining room; as formally as it had been expected every night for years.

They all quieted for a moment at that remembrance, none of them necessarily wanting to summon the lady of the house any sooner than necessary - though that feeling went unspoken. Johanna’s nimble fingers flew over her task, the knife flashing with ease, and Killian noticed that Ruby’s movements gained confidence as well the longer she worked at it.

Giving a bit of a playful bow in flirtatious chivalry, he greeted them with, “How can I help, Miss Johanna?” and his most charming grin.

“Oh Sugar,” she demurred, “you don’t need to do nothin’ but pull up a chair and tell me ‘bout your day. Things are almost ready in here.”

Pausing to put a hand on her hip, Ruby mock glared at him, before turning to the older woman in challenge. “And why are you always nagging me, and then turning around and acting just sweet as sugar to Killian? I suppose he’s your favorite now, too?”

Ruby’s question was largely put-on sass, that melted into an unconvinced, “Uh huh, sure,” when Johanna blithely assured her that “Sweetness is as sweetness does.” All the same, Killian could see the doubt underneath her churlishness, and the longing in his sister’s expression, not wanting this one person she depended on, no matter how much they snipe at each other, to dismiss her as everyone else did. Honestly, Killian thought to himself with a guilty pang, he had written her off and disregarded her many times himself over the years. He hadn’t done it to be cruel, more out of his own survival instincts and desire to avoid conflict. Where he had withdrawn into his own thoughts, focused on achieving goals, meeting the standards set for him, making up for what had been lost, even if he ran himself ragged in the attempt, Ruby had instead completely cut herself free from all boundaries and expectations, going wild, or at least appearing so to the untrained eye. The moment she had gotten the chance, she’d fled Storybrooke on the back of her boyfriend’s Harley - eloping and not returning to Storybrooke until she had seen her fill of everywhere else. She played at nonchalance - as if nothing bothered her or could even penetrate the perfectly painted-on armor their mother had taught her to apply so well long ago.

She hadn’t really been back home that long, but Killian found himself wanting to get to know Ruby all over again, to bridge the gap that had grown between them over the years while they each attempted to weather the hurt and neglect in their own ways. The simplest method for doing that seemed to be in joining the easy banter between Ruby and Johanna, so he waggled both eyebrows at her, both in playful challenge and as an annoyance to his ‘little’ sister, then he circled the island easily to pull Johanna into a side-hug and plant a smacking kiss on the older woman’s cheek before nettling Ruby with, “Hear that? I’m sweetness itself. Maybe you should try a little sweetness sometimes and see how far it gets you.”

Johanna’s softly weathered cheeks crinkled with well-worn laugh lines, even as she rolled her eyes and shooed him away - but not before he snatched a sugar and cinnamon-dusted slice of apple from the pie crust she was crimping, causing Ruby’s eyes to narrow at him further in playful indignation. “You just hush now with all that, Killian Jones,” their housekeeper scolded. “Your sister has more than enough sweetness to share when she takes the notion - you just don’t give her any more reasons to be sour.” And though the woman who had been with their family for as long as Killian could remember, imbuing their kitchen with a warmth and comfort that the rest of the pristine, stately old home notably lacked, was warning him with her words, she also winked at him slyly - letting him know that she was glad he’d joined their fun, and that she was still nettling Ruby a bit herself.

Shaking out her mane of dark hair with a dramatic flounce, and planting her red-lacquer nailed hands on her hips, Ruby fixed them both with a fiery look. “Just the two of you know, plenty of people find me a delight to be around. Maybe I should take myself off somewhere I’m appreciated.” Turning on her heel with all the precision and purpose of a high fashion runway model rather than the demure Southern debutante their mother had hoped for, she stalked toward the doorway which led from the kitchen back into the hall, only to turn around before she left with a retort on her tongue when Johanna called after her.

“You tell that nice Dr. Hunter hello for me, Ruby Jean. You should bring him round here for a nice, home cooked meal sometime. That sweet young man needs a little meat on his bones.”

“But - I didn’t - why do you think- ?” Ruby spluttered indignantly, never finishing any of the attempted comebacks and finally just snapping her mouth closed and shaking her head with vigorous agitation.

Killian would have been laughing at her plight if he hadn’t been so wide-eyed and flummoxed himself by their housekeeper’s words. Oh, he’d known alright that his best friend since grade school had been nursing a painfully awkward silent crush on his remaining sibling, pretty much since puberty. What he’d never realized or noticed as Ruby had chewed up and spit out a first husband and teased and strung along countless other men since, was that maybe she was aware of Graham’s feelings - possibly even returned them.

“And you,” she turned from squinting at Johanna as if sizing her up to point an accusing finger at Killian, “don’t just think you can come in here and take over the one room in this place where I can actually breathe, just because you’re the family’s perfect prince and entitled to whatever you want.”

Killian jerked back at the sharp edge to her voice until he looked for a moment at the tensed pain of her features behind the dangerously flashing brown eyes. She was hurting - aching, in fact - at the idea that her one ally in her own home might also turn to the heir, her big brother, as well.

He had always known she snapped and hissed partly out of pain; he felt it too. They all did. He missed Rose awfully - more than he would have ever imagined - but to have shared the womb with her? To have been joined with her from birth and then suddenly find her gone? He couldn’t imagine that. And maybe he hadn’t really wanted to see just how much turmoil hid beneath his sister’s vexing habit of picking fights and pretending he drove her crazy, or how much loneliness was painted over with her vivacious bombshell facade. At any rate, he didn’t pick an angle and fight back at her as he normally would have, instead he raised his hands in a gesture of surrender, giving a slight dip of the chin and a tentative smile. “Aye, Ru… Well do I know you and Johanna are the undisputed queens of this domain. I only wanted to join you for a moment.”

She huffed as if not knowing quite what to make of his earnest admission, then with a shrug of her shoulders and one more toss of her head, she merely replied, “Whatever you say,” and was gone. But he hadn’t missed that small half smile tilting up one corner of her mouth, or the spark of hope in her eyes. Maybe they weren’t as far removed from each other as he had feared.

Johanna turned and tilted her head up to look at him knowingly before patting him on the cheek and affirming, “You’re a good boy, Killian. You always have been. And you’ve grown into a fine man. Just don’t you give up on that sassy sister of yours, you hear? She needs us more than she’d like to own. Much like Miss Emma, I’ll wager.”

Killian smiled at the older woman warmly before nodding in agreement and scoffing lightly at her uncanny prediction, knowing she had him there and he couldn’t even argue. “You’ve always seen a lot more than we realize, haven’t you?”

She was the one to wink knowingly at him this time. “You’d better believe it,” she retorted. “That’s part of my charm.”

Chuckling and shaking his head, Killian wasn’t about to challenge her.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Not half an hour later, at Hunter Veterinary Clinic on the outskirts of town, Graham was closing up for the evening when he heard the bell on the door jangle, signaling someone’s arrival. He was puttering around in the back, making sure that the surgery was cleaned and sterilized for the following morning, and that the mother golden retriever and her unexpected litter of mixed breed pups he’d delivered in a tense, last minute c-section that afternoon were settled in the kennel area for the night, and he had been certain they (he and the dogs) were the only ones still there. He knew that Grace, his summer assistant while she was home from college, was normally careful to be sure the sign was off and the door closed and locked when she left, but maybe she’d forgotten something.

“I’m in back!” he called out distractedly, still running over his mental checklist of closing chores to accomplish as he awaited an answer. “But we’re closed for the evening. Is this an emergenc– “

The door from the waiting room and lobby swung open while he was still speaking, only to reveal a vision that made him choke on the end of his words and nearly swallow his own tongue as well. Graham knew he had flushed all over almost instantaneously at the sight before him, a sweat that was part embarrassment and part lustful attraction breaking out across his skin. His eyes were wide as he shook his head in stunned disbelief, drinking in the temptation of Ruby Jones posing seductively where she leaned against the doorframe and watched him knowingly.

When several silent moments had ticked by, the heat and tension in the room between them only climbing higher, Ruby finally quirked a dark, artfully sculpted brow and smirked at him, those full red lips glistening in a lure so effective Graham could think of nothing but grabbing her, pulling her close, and capturing them with his own until his need was sated. And she knew it too - she always had. Pushing off from the wall and slinking toward him purposefully on blood red kitten heels, she began to unknot the belt of the trench coat cinched at her waist as she fairly purred her response. “Well, you see, Doctor Hunter, it is an emergency. I’m burning up with fever - one only you can break.”

By then, she stood directly in front of him, where he had backed up against the stainless steel surgical table and was clenching and releasing his hands into tight fists, straining mightily to keep himself from grabbing her and clutching much too tightly. Ruby Jones was nothing if not untamed; a wild bird that ventured close, playfully allowing the observer to think he could hold her. But he knew she would flit off and leave him behind again if he made the wrong move. Instead, Graham watched her intently, muscle working in his jaw as her graceful fingers danced across his chest and shoulders, tracing over muscle and skin, inflaming him with her touch as she went. Tilting her head to one side, Ruby shamelessly licked her lip before grinning broadly. “What’s the matter, Hunter? Cat got your tongue?” She snorted at her own little joke. “You haven’t seen anything yet.”

Bringing her hands to the lapels of the coat she wore, now loosened and unbelted, Ruby parted the fabric on either side and allowed the garment to fall to the floor at their feet. Pleased amusement flooded her veins at Graham’s bulging eyes and gaping mouth. Completely bare beneath the thin jacket, she’d felt a thrill running through her since leaving the house in search of him, and the power sizzling along her nerve endings, where she usually felt as though she were careening out of control, was genuinely intoxicating.

Poor Graham couldn’t seem to move and managed only to hoarsely croak out, “Ruby, w-what are you…?  Someone could… could walk in here and see…  This is a place of business! You can’t just…” He swallowed hard, and her eyes tracked the reflexive movement of his Adam’s apple with ravenous intent.

“Are you sure about that, Doc?” she teased seductively, clicking the ‘c’ with her tongue exaggeratedly, despite his eyes already being glued to her lips - and every other part of her on display before him. Voice low and throaty, cajoling him to take what he very clearly wanted - what she wanted too - she added, “I’m pretty sure I can actually. I’m standing right here waiting. What are you going to do about it?”

His handsome face reflected his inner conflict for several long moments, and Ruby fought not to hold her breath in worried anticipation. She didn’t care that much if he accepted her offer, she tried to tell herself, but deep down she was well aware of how much of a lie that was. Brow furrowed, Graham struggled to resist her manfully, but it was a lost battle even before he began. He had never been able to deny her; they both knew it, and today would not be any different. At last, with a growl of mingled frustration and lust, he lurched forward, his dexterous, long-fingered hands gripped her hips and pulled them into his own roughly before practically devouring her mouth with an almost maddened groan of arousal.

Sinking into his clutches, Ruby thrilled at his loss of control, all synapses firing and the blood boiling in her arteries as he finally gave her exactly what she wanted. Clinging to his bicep to stay upright as her knees went weak, Ruby plunged her other hand into his hair, mussing the honey-coloured curls he’d never outgrown between her fingers and pulling them tightly in response to his ardent desire and how he was further igniting her own.

Desperate by then, Graham was long past caring who might have seen her walk in past closing, what small town rumors might get started, whether or not Ruby was simply using him again to have a little fun and forget the past that nipped at her heels, and how he knew it would chip away another small piece of his soul when they finished and she wouldn’t stay in his arms. Whirling to push her back against the exam table in the center of the room, earning him an enthusiastic moan from deep in Ruby’s throat, even muffled by his own lips over hers.  Sweeping a hand over the cool, hard surface with reckless abandon, Graham cleared it to easily lift her onto the tabletop and soon had her spread out on it, frantically working to strip out of his lab coat and remove his shirt, even as her grasping hands fumbled for the button and zipper of of his pants to free him to her touch.

Writhing against him, Ruby grinned up at him wolfishly, her cheeks flushed, eyes sparkling, every bit the goddess he’d never been able to deny a thing: the dessert from his sack lunch, the use of his first car, and every inch of his body and corner of his heart. She wrapped her long legs around his trim hips, demandingly pulling him closer still, before he thrust forward and finally sunk into her willing body, welcomed home once more.

Leaning over her as he moved, Graham captured her nipple between his teeth, his scruff abrading the sensitive skin around it as he did and stealing her breath when he bit down just at the edge of too much. He captured both her hands, twining their fingers together and pressing them to the steel surface on either side of her head. Setting the rhythm they both craved, feeling the rightness of what he had missed echoing through his body as they moved together, Graham forced himself to take the moment he had; enjoy it, love her enough so that she would feel it, despite refusing to see what they could have always, and not let himself think of what came after.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Killian had just left the kitchen, still contemplating his relationship with his sister and the things Johanna had told him, when he was brought up short by the regal, silent appearance of his mother, Cora Jones, the once-belle of Storybrooke, in the hall nearby, studying him with an icy assessment which made him feel distinctly like she had heard all they had said and could read his mind beside. Forcing himself not to startle or recoil physically like some teenager caught sneaking out past curfew (he had actually never been caught at that in his youth, though by the time he’d had a license and places to run, the dangers parents fear for their children at night had long since struck and the damage been done) Killian gave his mother a nod of respectful deference, smiling at her carefully and waited, knowing there must be something she intended to say.

Cora’s bearing was still poised and correct, standing straight enough to appear taller than her actual height, her chin tilted rather haughtily. Even in the comfort of her own home, before no one but her eldest child, her skirt and jacket ensemble was impeccably tailored and she had not a hair out of place, her makeup flawless. Her eyes had lost none of their shrewdness as she moved nearer to her golden years. And Killian couldn’t help wondering with a blend of bitter sadness if she would allow anything about them to be golden or fulfilling. His mother retained all of the clout and reputation she had held in her prime, but her sharp edges had only grown harder and more jagged with the loss of, first her favored child, and then her husband, to his own grief and poor choices.

He was right of course. A moment later Cora’s clear, measured voice reached his ears with unmistakable authority; as always, she meant what she said and expected to be obeyed. Though his mother had never been especially warm or effusive, Killian had always known she was pleased with him, proud that he was living up to the Jones family name as she saw fit. Things he really had no power or control over - his natural good looks, athleticism, intellect, and so on - were only to be expected, and so, when he excelled in school, made the papers and the Homecoming court, and earned a college scholarship, or when the other mothers in her social circle all enviously wanted their daughters to catch his eye, well then Killian was merely behaving as he ought and garnering just the sort of attention she had hoped he would. He had grown up following in his father’s footsteps, learning all he could about running their small shipping business and how to manage all that would one day be his.

Killian had never rebelled or railed against the expectations, the assumption that he would blindly follow along on the path laid out for him, until recently. He had made several changes to modernize and streamline the business - almost two years ago now - and things had been tense between he and his mother as a result. Cora did not welcome change in any arena, not unless it was on her orders, and though she deeply resented her husband’s gradual decline and eventual abandonment at his death, she did not see why Killian needed to upgrade what had always worked well for Brennan. She had gone as far as threatening to withdraw her shares from the operation until Killian’s changes had doubled - then tripled - their profits, word of mouth bringing in a steady stream of new clients and renewed raves from established ones at their company’s efficiency and success. There was no arguing with such hard evidence, and so Cora had grudgingly relented, but she had not forgotten.

However, even at a glance, Killian could see that the bone she meant to pick with him would not be resolved with patience and time. He gritted his teeth against offering a harsh warning for her to save her breath. He knew before she spoke a word what she wanted to discuss, but this time she would find him every bit as unyielding as she was herself.

Without further preamble, Cora leveled her accusation. “You’re renting that cabin on the marsh to her, aren’t you? Despite what she’s done, and knowing how it would displease me, you’ve let that Swan girl waltz right back into our lives and invited her to make herself at home. I simply cannot understand it, Killian.” Her words were clipped out distinctly, but as cold and pointed as chips of ice. “Do you not remember what associating with the likes of her cost your sister? Or are you looking for a reason to spite me? I hardly think I have done anything to merit such hurtful defiance.”

She waited, seeming to have all the time in the world for her son’s reply, but Killian was still tempted to stare back, challenging her silently, waiting to speak until he discovered whether the pristine veneer she presented to her family right along with the rest of the world would crack and show some human feeling underneath. In the end though, Killian couldn’t hold out forever; she was still his mother, and despite his frustration, the manners she had pressed into him from birth would not allow it. Not only that, but he knew what she had suffered, the pain and loss she had endured - just as he had. It might have made her brittle and untouchable, but he always had the hope somehow that things might thaw between them yet.

With a sigh, he released the answer on a low breath, still meeting her eyes to let her know both his resolve and that he was hardly ashamed of his choices. “You clearly already know that I am, Mother. Though you might not believe this, it was not a decision made to hurt anyone - least of all you. Emma Swan is moving back into town. She needed a place to stay, and ours was available to rent. Honestly, I was glad to have it, to do something to help her out after how horribly we treated her years ago.”

He meant every word, but, as he had expected, her eyes widened with indignance, her voice finally losing its polished control. “What we did to her?!” Cora Jones spluttered, clearly appalled and faintly trembling in her righteous anger. “It was she who took our sweet angel from us. If we had kept Rose away from her… If she hadn’t crept out to meet that vagabond child…. Rose would still be here!”

Killian had heard this argument many times, yet the unfairness of it never ceased to stoke his own temper. Fighting to remain calm, he tried to reason with his mother, to speak in a tone that still remained civil - tightly wound as it was and on the knife’s edge of tipping over. “You know as well as I do that Ms. Swan is not Rose’s killer. There was never any chance of that. She was thirteen years old, still a child just like Rose, and Rose was her only friend in the world. She was as devastated as we were.”

Cora could not have appeared any more injured or insulted if he had drawn back his hand to strike her. “No one has suffered as we have,” she hissed, eyes flashing dangerously, “certainly not that little she-devil! How dare you even suggest it?” She took a seething step closer, appearing as taken by emotion as Killian had seen her through the smooth, proper mask in years. “You mark my words, Killian,” she continued distinctly, eyes boring into him like pinpricks through his skin, “you may have control of this family’s land, the business, all the executive decisions your father left to you as intended, but I do not condone you allowing that woman to live on our property. Not even for a second, do you hear me? There is something not right about her - always has been - and you will live to regret letting her back into our world. Rose must be rolling over in her grave at the very thought - “

Flinching away so abruptly that his mother’s words were cut off and they both stood, breathing harshly in the horrible silence, Killian finally shook his head sadly and broke eye contact. He turned to leave, at last seeing with regrettable finality that Cora Jones would never change her mind, not for anyone or anything, no matter how much time passed. At the door, he looked back at her, his eyes betraying the strange mix of pity and bitterness she had stirred up in him anew. “You’re the one who should feel regret. Rose was good and kind, the best of us all. It would break her heart to know you’ve spent all these years holding a grudge and nurturing hatred against the person she considered another sister. I am finally thinking about what Rose would have wanted. Then maybe we can all let her rest in peace.”

That final admonition voiced, Killian was out the door in the next instant, letting it slam behind him exactly as he had been reprimanded against all his life. Even as one part of him cringed, he also felt a thrill of petty satisfaction too, knowing it made Cora crazy for such noisy outward shows of temper and bad breeding to be on display. Hurrying down the wide front steps to his truck, Killian gripped his keys in hand tightly, not at all sure where he was going, only that any place seemed preferable at that moment.

His cell went off, just as he reached the driver’s side door. Fishing it out as he settled into his seat, Killian pulled the door closed behind him and answered to find Graham on the other end of the line. Too relieved to turn his energy to something - anything - else but the argument he had left behind, Killian didn’t dwell long on why Graham sounded out of breath, cagey, and awkward as he explained how he had planned to meet Emma at the end of the work day, take her to dinner, and then go with her out to the cabin and help her make sure she at least had enough unpacking done to settle in there for the night. It turned out something had come up, and would Killian mind going to meet Emma instead?

While a part of him wasn’t at all sure how fond Emma would be of the development, he couldn’t deny the way his insides leapt at the opportunity to see Emma Swan again and spend some more time with her. Especially if it kept him away from the lit powder keg his home had just become.

“Not sure how Emma’s going to feel about that,” Killian quipped to his buddy lightly, “but I’ll do it. I’m heading her way right now.”

Graham’s relieved thanks made Killian smile as they said goodbye, wondering vaguely what had his friend all tangled up in knots, but he couldn’t dwell on it long. What almost felt like happy anticipation was creeping up on him, and whatever else might be pressing on him, Killian was simply glad to have an excuse to be near Emma Swan.

*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*

Some three hours later, Killian’s arms and back ached from lifting heavy boxes and moving them around to various counters and display tables for unpacking, his cheeks ached from grinning and laughing like he hadn’t done in ages, and he knew his eyes must look a bit dazed, mesmerized in Emma’s presence as she breathed some sort of magic into the air around her and onto him, bringing the previously empty and nondescript space to life. She didn’t seem to keep much of the warmth and humor for herself, however, Killian noted painfully, but it was easily felt standing next to her, and his fingers itched to grasp her, to pull her in and hold her tight, give back to her some of the warmth he had felt since he’d walked into her new little shop - particularly welcome after the chill of his encounters with his own family just before he’d arrived.

Thankfully, Emma hadn’t seemed averse to his visit and offer of help, to be followed by dinner in his friend’s stead. She was possibly a little hesitant and uncertain of why he wanted to help out and spend time with her, but it did his conscience good to see that she seemed willing to at least see how the evening went.

After the initial bit of awkwardness upon his arrival, Killian had assured Emma that she should put him to work. Once she had done so, they’d had their hands full and the conversation had begun to flow between them. She was incredibly knowledgeable - not that Killian was surprised, she had always been smart and eager to learn, one of many things she and Rose had shared in common - but he’d never been able to hear her really speak unabashedly about something she loved. Not only did she have an engaging and eclectic collection of art and photography by several known artists, but she also had numerous pieces of her own photography available for purchase as well. When Emma began talking about how she had captured some of the shots, and what she hoped they conveyed, Killian simply couldn’t look away from her features that had come to life with enthusiasm, her eyes alight. It was enchanting; he could think of no other word for it. His lips curved upward irresistibly, without his really even noticing it until she paused, cocking her head curiously before asking, “What? Why are you looking at me like that?”

Startling from the reverie he’d slipped into on the rise and fall of her words, Killian smiled back at her, shaking his head slowly in amazement. “Just marveling at you, honestly. You’re brilliant, Emma.”

“Hardly,” she retorted, making a dismissive noise and waving off his praise, though the pleased blush on her cheeks unmistakably belied her words.

“No, truly… You’ve got a real gift.”

Emma shrugged noncommittally, but didn’t argue with him further, instead she merely studied the photograph on the countertop in front of her, matted but still in need of framing. A wry, wistful tone slipped into her voice as she spoke then, more quietly than she had before, “Well, that’s at least one instance when my added sight is a pleasant benefit.”

Killian’s eyes widened, his attention even more fully captured than it had been, curious as to what she might say next. Emma rarely - if ever - offered to comment on her visions and the things she knew because of them voluntarily. He bit his lip to keep from speaking, from verbally nudging her to continue. Instead he watched, waiting hopefully, breath held, for her to do so if she chose.

Looking up, Emma caught his eyes, but the soul-searching expression pierced right through his chest. “It’s as if the person or animal or place in front of the camera tells me the story it wants to share.” Shaking her head helplessly after that admission, she chuckled at herself before adding, “Yeah, I know that sounds completely crazy.”

“Not at all, Swan,” he breathes, the nickname sliding from his lips naturally and without thought, neither of them reacting to it - almost as if he had never called her anything else. “It’s just like I said… amazing.”

For several minutes, no more words were spoken, the quiet stretching comfortably between them as the shadows of evening lengthened outside the big front window. It was nearly seven-thirty, well past time for dinner, and they both laughed when his stomach rumbled loudly, breaking the spell between them. “What say you, Swan? Time to find some sustenance?”

Eyes glimmering with a mysterious sort of humor, she hedged, “Would you be willing to take a rain check? It’s been a packed couple of days, and I’m hoping to open in a couple more. I’m exhausted, and really just need to make it an early night.”

Considering her words for a moment, Killian studied her before acquiescing, hoping she wasn’t putting him off when it felt like they’d gotten so much closer over the course of the evening. “Fair enough,” he assented before playfully adding, “but I’ll hold you to that rain check. Unless you’re afraid of finding me even more irresistible after a few libations.” He waggled his heavy dark brows at her devilishly until Emma was laughing out loud at his antics.

Only a few minutes later they were ready to go, Emma locking the door of her shop behind them and Killian following her gallantly to her VW. Turning to look up at him where they stood facing each other on the sidewalk, Emma added, “I really would be glad to go to dinner another time, Killian. It’s been a nice evening, and - to be blunt - I could use a few friends. Just so we’re clear that’s all it is.”

Killian felt a tightening in his chest at her proclamation, disappointment clenching in his gut and alerting him that he had already allowed himself to want so much more. “You’ve already decided that, have you?” he responded, fighting to keep his voice light. 

She held his gaze, expression mournful, knowing, and more than a little haunted. “It’s for the best really. Trust me on that. You don’t want to get too close to me. Eventually, I’m too much for anyone to deal with. It gets messy. I’m just sparing us both a lot of hurt in the long run.”

He hummed low in his throat, the deep vibration of the sound almost physically palpable to her as he leaned closer, gauging her reaction with a knowing glimmer in his eye. “You say that now, Swan. And that’s fine, I can be incredibly patient. But I see that there could be so much more between us.”

“Do you indeed?” she queried in an equally teasing measure, his response allowing her to drop the wary seriousness she had spoken with before and banter back with him in return, almost irresistibly.

“Have a gander for yourself if you doubt me,” he offered, holding her gaze, an open expression seeming to lay himself bare before her. “I am an open book to you… just as you are to me.”

Emma caught her breath, helpless but to stare back into his eyes as he asked. Guard down, walls lowered, there was a flash behind her eyes of bare limbs moving in unison, heavy pants of exertion, whispered endearments in a familiar timbre, and a shattered cry of completion in a voice sounding much like her own. 

Blinking free and pulling away with a gasp, she knew what she’d seen, and flushed from the roots of her hair outward. “What was that?” she whispered, almost to herself, even as she knew exactly what she had witnessed. Never had she experienced such a glimpse of something so pleasurable it left her quivering with unquenched need.

“I think you know,” Killian replied with a roguish smirk, though his voice was gentle, almost hiding the slight hurt that swam in the crystal blue of his eyes at the distance she still tried to keep between them. “Possibly the dessert we could enjoy if you let a nice dinner for us progress to its natural conclusion?”

Nodding, she regained her equilibrium at last and reached out to pat him on the shoulder with a sort of playful camaraderie. “Hmm… well, maybe you’d better keep those thoughts to yourself for now,” she taunted. Still, as she settled into the driver’s seat and waved to him while backing away from the curb and pulling onto the street, Killian could see a deep and fragile longing behind her practical nonchalance. She wanted, just as he did; that closeness and heat and belonging, but she wouldn’t allow it for herself. She didn’t trust that anything good could last - and why would she, after all that she had survived already? Possibly she had waited so long to be loved, to feel wanted, that when it was placed before her, she denied what was being offered. While that might have worked for most, he wasn’t going to stay at a careful distance. Not when he could see the loneliness and yearning in her, as clearly as he could see it in his own mirror each morning. He would keep coming back, closer and closer each time, until maybe they could both find what they had been living without for so long.

Tagging: @cssns @kmomof4 @jennjenn615 @searchingwardrobes @laschatzi @whimsicallyenchantedrose @jrob64 @apiratewhopines @stahlop @teamhook @revanmeetra87 @bluewildcatfanatic @wefoundloveunderthelight @eastwesthomeisbest @xarandomdreamx @sotangledupinit @justanother-unluckysoul @booksteaandtoomuchtv @kazoosandfannypacks @anmylica @motherkatereloyshipper @jonesfandomfanatic @elizabeethan @the-darkdragonfly @donteattheappleshook @xsajx @lfh1226-linda @winterbaby89 @hollyethecurious @darkcolinodonorgasm @resident-of-storybrooke @drowned-dreamer @optomisticgirl @tiganasummertree @spartanguard @therooksshiningknight @gingerchangeling @gingerpolyglot @blackwidownat2814 @blowmiakisscolin @let-it-raines @bdevereaux @caught-in-the-filter

[ligmaballsbaby]

(⁠☆I love writing and I'm not feeling good : 3☆⁠)

_____________________

Present day.... After the 1984 incident... How are you feeling Jennifer?

_____________________

After Joseph died... I didn't know what to feel... I mean of course I was devastated and furious.... But.... After everything that happened I don't know... I kind of just felt numb and sad at the same time... I don't know how to explain it ...

Someone (Jean) tried to blame the murder on me but it didn't make any sense because there was no evidence, and why would I kill him? I was engaged to him...

But I became famous afterwards... Not because of his death obviously because the studio wiped out his whole existence off the planet...it was because I was struggling with money and I signed up for auditions and I was hot enough and good enough for the parts so this and that happened and I became a famous actor... I was mostly in lesbian or murder or drama TV shows and movies... It was pretty fun I made more friends... And Jesse and Julia (her older and younger sibling) forgive me for everything and we made peace... So I wasn't completely alone...

I couldn't date anyone after that though... I was scared of even thinking about dating someone new... I felt like I was cheating in some way.... I mean who could blame me... I knew Joseph since I was 7... Plus every time I would try to date someone new I would end up having terrible nightmares and panic attacks... Or chicken out...

When I got a bit older I realized... I could never love anyone as much as I loved Joseph... I got that love when I was young and stupid... Of course I would never get it again... And I've tried to get into new relationships... Believe me I've tried... But it never worked... I don't even think I wanted a new relationship... So I gave up...I had to focus on raising our kid by myself and my career and trying to make new friends...

And I adopted a kid named Nicole... She was one of my friends kids but she died so I had to adopt Nicole so she didn't have to go to an orphanage it wasn't much of a problem I've known Nicole since she was born... Plus I was her godparent... I haven't seen or talked to her in months though... Ever since her and her boyfriend Ian broke up, I'm planning on visiting her soon just to see if she's all right... She hasn't been answering any of my calls or texts... I'm really worried...

And about Joseph and the studio basically wiping out him and the whole show's existence, of course I was pissed!, they didn't even allow me to fucking grieve! No one was!, we couldn't even have a proper funeral for him that is not fair... and it still isn't... But I couldn't do anything about it... I tried... But I couldn't do anything... At all... Everyone forgot about him... I hate that... The only people that remember he ever existed... Are his crew members... And me...

... I still remember him clearly... And I still love him... I know it sounds silly... But... I don't know... I can't forget him... Not even if I try... Everyone is always saying "move on" but I literally can't!... It's like he's always around like he's haunting me or something!... Every night I dream about some memory we had even the bad ones!... And then when I wake up he's not there next to me... And I cry...

...

I fucking cry...

[metamorphosisff]

|Interlude| I. Time on the Couch

[Author’s note: Interludes are not in chronological order as they are scenes that were deleted from chapters.]

Coffee in hand, I made my way into the ten story building that housed Dr. Mitchell’s practice. He had been my therapist for the last two years. While I didn’t come on a weekly basis, I came consistently enough to feel comfortable laying my burdens down in front of him. As a Black man, twenty years my senior, he was old enough to offer advice from life experience and young enough to relate to my current experience. Stepping off of the elevator once it reached the eighth floor, I signed in with his receptionist before being allowed to head straight back. Walking in the office with the floor length windows always brought me a sense of peace. For the next fifty minutes I got the chance to not be supportive or helpful. I could be angry, frustrated, sad, happy, whatever really, and without judgment. It was freeing. 

Dr. Mitchell rounded the large oak desk that was tucked into the right corner of the room to greet me. We dapped one another up before walking over to the open seating area that consisted of an Italian Brown leather couch and two accenting arm chairs. As usual, I took a seat on the couch while he sat beside me on one of the chairs. 

“Xavier, it's good to see you. I was looking over my notes and realized it’s been almost eight weeks,” Dr. Mitchell said. 

“It’s good to see you too,” I said, meaning it. As much as I loved my father, there was only so much that I could say to him. Sometimes he thought lecturing me would solve all of my problems when sometimes all I needed was for him to listen. “And yeah man, I didn’t even mean for that to happen. The last session I had to cancel was because Grandad had been wilding out. He’s usually good with me so my grandma asked for me to come over and in the meantime, I forgot to reschedule.”

Nodding his head he said, “Life does happen, I get it. I take it that the dementia is progressing a bit more.”

A bit was putting it lightly. Granddad got lost in time, couldn’t tell today from the Nixon era. Technology like phones and computers confused him though he worked as an engineer for his whole military career. Easily agitated when he realized he could not recall the names to places, people or things. 

“It’s progressing a lot and making him angry. A part of him, the real him, knows he is losing himself and is trying to fight it the best way he knows how,” I sighed, placing my coffee down so that I could wring out my fingers. 

“I imagine it must be frightening for him, frightening for you all really. How are you dealing with this change?” Dr. Mitchell asked.

I shrugged my shoulders as I eased back onto the couch but he shook his head. “Man, you know I need more than that.”

“I know but it’s like…I haven’t had the time to absorb how I actually feel. Everyone else around me feels so much that they lose focus. I can’t afford to feel because then nothing would get done,” I said. 

“What are the things you have taken on since the diagnosis? I know we touched on you visiting your grandparents home more and running errands for them,” Dr. Mitchell said.

“I had to create a rotating schedule for me and my cousins so someone is always at the house with them. My dad and his siblings sometimes jump in when we can’t but they don’t like to be hands on really. It’s hard for them so they put the onus on us. I deal with the doctors, scheduling appointments, trying to get him into different programs that are funded by the state. Remember, I found a really great living facility he qualified for as a veteran but the whole family pushed back against that idea,” I said with a shake of my head. 

“Yes, your father in particular was really upset as well as a few others,” Dr. Mitchell noted correctly. 

“Yeah, no one was happy, their reactions were some bullshit really. It’s hard for us to be the only ones to deal with Granddad especially when he gets physical. Lately, we haven’t even had our girl cousins around because he bulldozes right over them. When it’s the rest of us, he treats us as a threat. They think I want him to go to the facility so I don’t have to take care of him but it’s like I’m the only one who is. Outside of my grandmother, my cousins will come and go, not sticking to the schedule we all agreed upon. It’s like I’m forced to pick up the slack for so many other grown ass people and still be vigilant enough to look after him. I work two jobs already, I don’t know how much longer I can continue on as one of his main caretakers without growing resentful.”

“It sounds like you might be already and understandably so. That is a lot of responsibility for only one or two people to handle. It truly takes a team effort. Have you tried explaining it again to them from that perspective?” Dr. Mitchell.

Sighing, I shook my head. “I didn’t even get the chance to explain it at all. It turned into a dog pile until I said to forget I ever mentioned it. I’m not a person who likes to argue,” I said.

“I recall from your previous relationship with Mariah but as I reminded you then, being confrontational isn’t always a bad thing. It’s how we protect ourselves, how we establish boundaries, and even how we gain understanding,” Dr. Mitchell said.

Looking out the window, the sun was shining over the city as millions bustled below. I focused on the sound of the moving traffic outside as I mulled over Dr. Mitchell’s words. “I tell my students that,” I chuckled.

“It’s harder to apply when we have to look inward at ourselves,” Dr. Mitchell said. 

“Ain’t that the truth,” I said, as I turned my gaze back to Dr. Mitchell. “It’s not that I can’t be confrontational but when I think that I’m making sense, I don’t feel the need to go out of my way to convince someone else. Especially when they don’t try to hear me out. Open dialogue goes both ways.”

“That it does but in order for dialogue to be open, it has to be effective. If you stop short every time you attempt to get your message out then that’s not open dialogue. It’s stunted dialogue which leaves room for assumption,” Dr. Mitchell said. 

A bar.

He just dropped one with that because I let what my family assumed I wanted override the rest of the conversation. I never got a chance to explain all of the benefits the facility would have for Granddad and us. How it would offer us a lifeline if we were brave enough to reach out and grab it. How maybe whatever time Granddad had with us could be filled with more good memories versus bad ones. 

“You got me with that one,” I said nodding my head as my eyes glanced over to the clock that hung on the wall. “I will consider broaching the subject again with them but since I only have twenty minutes left I need to tell you about this girl I met.”

“I can tell she has to be quite the lady for your eyes to animate the way they just did,” Dr. Mitchell said.

“She’s different. She’s smart. She’s electricity,” I said, as I tried to capture Mila in words. 

We had just got on common ground but the pull I felt towards her was magnetic. Something worth exploring with a clear mind and open heart. 

“Electricity…expound on that for me,” Dr. Mitchell said.

I heard the faint click of his pen as I gathered my thoughts around Mila. “She is bright, yet elusive, always running but never captured. Kind of like lightning if I’m going to continue with this metaphor,” I chuckled, running my hands over my knees. “She can illuminate the darkest of skies, give energy to those around her, and leave one hell of an impression. If you get close enough she’ll either power you or kill you, with her tongue that is. She wields her tongue like a hammer. So maybe she’s Natalie Portman’s Thor if I had to wrap this up.”

Dr. Mitchell had a good laugh and I couldn’t help but join in because I tried my best to explain it but I knew my excitement about her had gotten across all the same. 

“I get what you mean Xavier. She sounds like quite the young lady as well. I’m glad you’ve found someone who has piqued your interest since it has been almost a year since the break up with Mariah. It sounds like you're ready to put yourself back out there.”

“I don’t know about all of that,” I said truthfully, with a shake of my head. “I’m still sorting through my shit with Mariah. It wouldn’t be fair to try and do that while pursuing Jamila romantically. I think I want to be her friend more than anything.”

“That’s fair but don’t close yourself off to the idea of something more. The way you talk about Jamila sounds like there can be room for endless possibilities,” Dr. Mitchell said. 

He was right but I knew in my bones that leading romantically wasn’t what I needed to do or wanted to do when it came to Mila. I wanted to explore her mind, understand how she thought, and appreciate her company.

“I’m not, it’s just not my approach this time around. I feel like I’m supposed to learn something from her,” I said.

“I hope you do. Life is about the connections we make with one another and growing together,” Dr. Mitchell said.

“That’s my philosophy exactly.”

[dragongutsixofficial]

You mentioned that you tend to work through a Nobody Dies lens. Does that apply to Dimitri, and what is his relationship with the Hresvelg siblings?

Thanks for the ask !! ^^ It took quite some time for me to make up my mind about this specific thing and yes, that lens does apply to Dimitri. There's a few reasons to this decision, which I need to recontextualize a bit in regards to the Hresvelg siblings:

I'll start by this: Aline and Adel do not consider Dimitri as their sibling at all. This isn't due to the fact that they are not related by blood (they both have different mothers than Patricia), but rather because they have basically never met before the Academy nor developed a meaningful relationship during their time there. Both of them always had in mind that they would end up betraying and declaring war on everyone in Garreg Mach, and that Dimitri would end up being one of their fiercest enemies as King. Moreover, Adel has never liked him because they are both faced with very similar mental health issues and he has some internalized trauma that he doesn't like to see reflected in someone else. As such, if it had only been for the two of them and Edelgard, Dimitri's death, although incredibly sad and unfortunate, could have been a logical conclusion to his arc in Crimson Flower.

The real issue here is Loki. For some context (although I just linked his character sheet), he is Patricia and Lambert's kid and since their couple was already Going To Shit™ by the time he was a toddler, he mostly stuck to his older brother's side. However, during the events of the tragedy of Duscur, during which he travelled with his mother, TWSTID decided to abduct him rather than kill him, and raise him to be a puppet with a legitimate claim to rule Fodlan in case Edelgard ever decided to rebel against them. And although he got brainwashed by his uncle Thales/Arundel, he never forgot about Dimitri and deeply wished to reunite with him; this also means that when he first got to meet with and learn about the existence of the rest of the Hresvelg siblings thanks to Kronya (I'll go over this in a later post) as a young teenager, his whole world was completely shattered. Long story short, that led him to join the Hresvelg siblings and get to be part of a family again. However, Loki never once forgets about Dimitri, on the contrary: realizing that Edelgard and him are on their merry way to fight each other to the death only amplifies his wish to see him again after all those years and convince him to make peace with her, because he just wants to have his whole family back and alive. As such, seeing any of his siblings die would absolutely destroy him.

That means that Dimitri could survive in Crimson Flower. and if he doesn't Loki might never recover. But then, how so ?

Sadly, it is in my own opinion unlikely that Edelgard and Dimitri could ever see eye-to-eye and become allies, even with Loki as a middle ground. Especially since Loki doesn't care for the Kingdom per see and feels a lot closer to his Agarthan culture of adoption and his focus is on bringing TWSTID down. Any attempt at discussion would just end up being a repeat of their Azure Moon talk at best, because their world visions are just too different.

This entails that any of Loki's attempts at convincing Dimitri to make peace with his sister would be unfruitful. First, because Dimitri would've thought Loki had died a long time ago, and finding out his little brother is alive would be a pretty big blow: but you know what would be an even bigger blow ? Finding out that he was raised by and thus, helped TWSTID, the same people who are responsible for the genocide of Duscur and their parents' death. And that he is still technically helping them by standing at Edelgard's side, the very person who betrayed all of them. The only way they could rebuild a stronger relationship would be if Loki decided to join his side, something that he is unwilling to do since A) he has three siblings on the imperial side and B) all four of them are planning to take down TWSTID. Unfortunately, this means that all of Loki and Dimitri's interactions post-timeskip end up in disaster- although none of them ever physically hurts the other in battle. This depresses Loki quite a bit, and enrages Adel, but he eventually accepts that he cannot take responsibility for his older siblings' actions and settles on one goal: keeping them from beating each other to death.

However, Loki brings something new to the table regarding Edelgard and Dimitri's relationships: memories. At his contact, El makes the connection and remembers the time she spent in Faerghus with the prince, which does make her take a step back. Although that is definitely not enough to make her negociate, it is to make her consider sparing him in battle- a bit like how in-game, Claude can be spared. Her unwillingness to back down from her ideals, though, makes it absolutely necessary that Dimitri is removed from any position of authority, else he could always rally support against the Empire. The Kingdom of Faerghus as a geopolitical entity may survive, but the Blaiddyd monarchy needs to go.

So... Where does that lead us ? To a rather bleak solution which is far from perfect, but has to make-do in their complicated circumstances where both sides can't meet in the middle. Edelgard agrees to spare Dimitri in the battle of Tailtean, and lets him go- letting Loki take the lead on this one. This means that Loki has to accept that he might never see him again, and that he might never forgive him. This can turn one of two ways:

I do believe that if Dedue survives and hasn't turned into a demonic beast yet, he can convince Dimitri to go without pulling a stunt similar to the one Edelgard pulls with the dagger in Azure Moon in a last desperate attempt to kill the Empress, because he still has him to cling to.

Otherwise, Dimitri truly loses everything and everyone: in which case convincing him to seize the opportunity to stay alive would be pointless. In that eventuality, Loki forces his hand and just teleports him out- making it impossible for him to make it back to the battlefield before all is lost. Which... is an even bleaker alternative.

In any case, that means that the Hresvelg siblings and Dimitri have to cut contact, at least for a good number of years. Maybe someday, when Fodlan (and especially Faerghus) is rebuilt, they might get in contact again- once both Loki and him can have some time to heal. Maybe slowly rebuild a semblance of a relationship, who knows ?

... Well damn. That was a BUMMER and incredibly angsty. Sadly, not all things can have the best ending for everyone involved. =(

=D Thankfully, Claude and Edelgard's relationship would be a lot better- no fucking thanks to Aline !

[made-ofmemories]

When Life Tears You Asunder, But You’re Not Alone

(Chapter 18/19)

General Warnings/tags: Found family, implied Wayne/Susan in future chapters, Max & Eddie have a sibling like relationship, fluff, hurt/comfort, Lumax and Steddie make appearances throughout the chapters but the primary focus is on the familial bonds between characters

Chapter specific warnings/tags: This is very much a lumax and steddie focused chapter, lots of fluff! A tiny bit of period typical homophobia but it isn’t particularly directed at any of the characters it’s just an acknowledgement of it existing.

Word count: 3569

Summary: Billy was a pretty shitty brother, there was no denying it, but Max still finds herself mourning for the sibling relationship they never got to have. With him gone she thinks so are her chances of ever having the big brother figure she’s always wanted. Then in a turn of events that she never saw coming, Eddie Munson waltzes into her life. Or more like, almost runs her over.

Notes: Co-written with the wonderful @ladydorian05 and crossposted on AO3.

Series masterlist

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

“I see Steve’s car, park over there,” Max says, slapping Eddie’s arm to get his attention as she points at the car in question. They’re 15 minutes late, even with Eddie’s questionable approach to speed limits and Max has been stressed about missing the beginning of the movie she and Lucas are meant to be watching for the entire journey. 

The van has barely come to a halt when she hops out, “Max! Wait, you-” Eddie sighs when the only response he gets is the slam of the passenger door closing, and hops out of the van to follow her. 

“What’re you doing?” Max whisper-hisses when she hears him call for her and turns to see that he's following her to Steve’s car.

“You forgot your glasses.” He explains, holding them out for her to take.

“I know. I did it on purpose.” She says as if the thought of any other explanation is utterly ridiculous. 

“You’ll get a headache.”

“Aw, I didn’t think you cared.”

“I care when I’m the one who’ll have to endure your grumpiness the whole way home.” He narrows his eyes at her, still insistently holding out the pair of glasses between them. 

“He’s right.” It’s Steve, he’s barely out of the car, clearly not planning on sticking around, leaning with one arm braced on the roof of the car and the door still open, “Besides, they’re not so bad once you get used to them.” He shrugs. He’s wearing his own glasses, he’s been wearing them more frequently ever since that day in Family video when Eddie saw them for the first time.

Her gaze flickers to Lucas who nods with a soft expression on his face usually reserved for Max, “You should wear them.”

“Alright, fine.” She huffs, holding her hands up in surrender before she takes the glasses from Eddie and slides them on, “Ok, we’re going now.”

“I’ll pick you up at 9, Lucas!” Steve calls out to the pair of retreating forms heading for the mall entrance.

“10.” Max bargains, turning to look at Steve without slowing down.

Steve looks to Eddie who shrugs one shoulder in response, who is he to stand in the way of young love? 

“Alright, 9:30,” Steve calls back once he realizes Eddie is going to be of no help.

“Deal.”

“They’re adorable,” Steve comments, they’re both hanging around watching to make sure the pair make it into the mall when Max slips her hand into Lucas’.

“Almost enough to warm this cold dead heart.” Eddie jokes, crossing both hands over his chest and leaning against the other side of Steve’s car for a brief moment before he pushes himself away, “Well, see you around, Stevie.” He says, turning to leave once he sees Lucas and Max disappearing behind the sliding glass doors of the mall.

“Actually,” Steve calls and Eddie stops in his tracks, “I was wondering if you wanted to hang out until we have to pick them up?”

“It’s Valentine’s day.” Eddie states, confusion furrowing his brow, “You don’t have a date to get to?”

“Nope, I’m free all day. So? What’d’ya say? I mean, unless you have a date or something?”

“Um no, no date.” Eddie assures him. He might be of the opinion that this entire day is one giant capitalistic nightmare, but if he had to spend it with anyone he’d choose Steve over anyone, “Hanging out sounds good.”

“Alright, let's go.” 

They take Steve’s car, it’s clean and it smells like the little pine tree air freshener hanging from the rearview mirror rather than the greasy smell of old fast food cartons and the faint scent of weed that seems to linger in Eddie’s van. 

“So,” Eddie starts, letting his head loll to the side as he looks over to Steve who is concentrating on the road, his hair looks nice today, even nicer than usual, “How come Steve Harrington doesn’t have plans on valentines day? You practically have girls lining up at your door waiting to go on a date with you and instead, you’ve ended up playing chauffeur and hanging out with me. It doesn’t add up, man.”

“I like hanging out with you.”

“You’re avoiding the question.”

“I don’t know,” Steve sighs and drags a hand over his face whilst keeping the other on the wheel, “I guess I just realized there isn’t much point unless you’ve got someone who makes it worth making a big deal of.”

“No one special then?”

He shrugs, “There’s someone, but I don’t know if he feels the same way.”

He.

Steve glances over, taking his eyes off the road for just a fraction of a second, he’s trying to judge Eddie’s reaction most likely. Eddie almost misses the gesture entirely, his brain working overtime trying to process the new information. He’d had his suspicions after Robin had refused to tell him whether Steve was into guys or not, but it wasn’t like he could just walk up to him and ask the question outright.

“Well, you’ll never know unless you tell him how you feel,” Eddie blurts out, truthfully he isn’t sure what he’s meant to say in the situation but staying silent feels wrong.

“I guess, I just don’t want to lose him as a friend, y’know?”

Eddie hums affirmatively, he knows that feeling all too well.

There’s some cheesy pop hit playing on the radio that Steve keeps humming along to as he drives. It’s endearing and the only reason Eddie doesn’t kick up a fuss about the music choice. Eddie has never heard him sing and it’s difficult to judge just from the low humming mingling with the sound of the radio, but he thinks he’d have a nice singing voice.

He realizes halfway into their journey that he doesn’t actually know where they’re going. The roads look familiar, but he doesn’t fully put all the pieces together until they’re parked outside of a local pizza place that Eddie knows well, as it turns out there aren’t all that many restaurant choices in small town Hawkins.

Steve insists on buying, Eddie doesn’t put up much of a fight. 

“We’re not eating here?” Eddie asks when Steve grabs the box of pizza and 2 sodas from the counter and gestures towards the door with a nod of his head.

“No, come on,” Steve says, leaving Eddie scrambling to get up from the seat he had taken whilst they waited. 

The next time Steve stops the car they’re overlooking Sattlers quarry. Steve hops out first, grabbing the food from the back seat. Eddie follows. 

“I used to bring Max out here all the time,” Eddie explains as he follows Steve around to the back of the car. Steve perches himself on the trunk and Eddie copies the action, letting his feet rest on the bumper, “We usually sit down by the water.” He adds, gesturing down to the pool of water at the bottom of the steep drop in front of them.

“Yeah?” Steve flips open the cardboard lid of the box revealing a pizza covered in all of Eddie’s favorite toppings. They’d ordered pizza once a few days after Eddie had gotten out of the hospital and it surprises him a little that Steve had paid enough attention to be able to recall his pie of choice, “It’s nice out here… quiet.”

Eddie lets out a noncommittal hum in acknowledgment, “Bet you bring all your dates out here.” He teases.

“Actually, you’re the first.”

The sincerity of it shocks him, Steve is full of surprises today so it seems, and Eddie crams half a slice of pizza into his mouth as an excuse to delay his response.

“Well, consider me honored, my liege.”

“On the contrary, I’m the one honored by your presence, my good sir.” God help him, he swears he won’t be responsible for his actions if Steve starts talking nerdy to him. “How was your last campaign with the kids?” Jesus Christ! Eddie is torn between wanting to leave immediately before he does something he might regret, like kissing Steve’s pretty lips,  and wanting to live in this moment forever.

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

“Damn, everything on the listing is either a romcom or we’ve seen it with the others,” Lucas says looking at the list of movie titles and showing times. 

“I wouldn’t mind rewatching something.” Max shrugs.

“Didn’t you say you wanted to watch something new?”

“Yeah, but it’s better than Mannequin which is our only other option.” She pulls a face of mild disgust, they’d seen the trailer for it last time they were at the cinema with the rest of the party.

Sure she’d sat through all of those romcoms El loved so much, maybe even enjoyed one or two more than she’d like to admit, but they still weren’t going to be her first choice… nor her second, third, or fourth. 

 “The closest showings for the ones we both like are in like an hour or two and if we consider the time Steve and Eddie are picking us up, we shouldn’t go for those.” 

“What about Dead of winter?” Lucas suggests. They’re standing to the side of the ticket line, not wanting to jump in until they know what they’re going to be watching, “We haven’t seen that one and I heard it’s a thriller.”

“Sure, dead of winter it is,” Max agrees, letting Lucas link their hands together as they head for the ticket booth, “If each pays their ticket, we can split the cost for the popcorn and sodas.” 

“Umm, actually I was planning on paying for both of us, I’ve been saving so I’m sure I have more than enough,” Lucas says. 

Max knows that it's common and even expected for the guy to pay, and normally she wouldn't refuse someone offering to pay for her. It’s cute that he wants to be chivalrous, but she knows that it wasn't just that Lucas has saved up his allowance, she knows he's been doing odd jobs around his neighborhood again. She likes him, she cares about him a lot, and she doesn't want him to spend all his money on this date when she can contribute.

She's not sure if she can really call her feelings for him love, not yet at least. But, if they're in for the long run, she wants to make sure he knows that they're a team, that they can do these kinds of things together, that burdens and responsibilities can and will be shared between them.

“Lucas, it’s fine, I can cover it. You don't have to pay for everything. Besides, Wayne’s been asking me to help him fix his car, Eddie’s van, and my mom’s car. He always slips me a few bucks after.”

“Wait, Eddie’s uncle is teaching you how to fix cars and paying you after?” She hadn’t thought it was a big deal, but he sounds impressed. 

“Pretty much. I refused at first, but he’d slip it in my jacket pocket or inside my backpack when I wasn’t watching so I just gave up.” 

She still remembers the first time he slipped the bill into the pocket of her denim vest, the thing got shredded when she washed it. It hadn't been fun picking all the little paper bits from that load. Even if she now accepts them when he hands them to her, she developed the habit of checking every single pocket of every piece of clothing that she places in the washer. 

“Eddie also lets me keep his loose change sometimes, when I have enough I take it to Family video, and Steve exchanges it for bills, he's always complaining about never having enough change.”

“That’s awesome.” Lucas muses as they advance a spot in the long line for the tickets. It seems that just about every couple in Hawkins had the same idea for today.

“Yup.”

“Hey, now that you mentioned Eddie, what’s up with him and Steve?” Lucas asks, turning to look at her with a raised eyebrow.

“What do you mean?” Shit, she needs to tread carefully. This could be about anything, from just them hanging out a lot to him noticing Eddie’s crush. She would hate to accidentally out Eddie.

“Well, you can’t tell me you haven’t noticed the stares, the longing looks, I had to watch Eddie staring at Steve’s lips for an entire conversation the other day,” Lucas explains, “I’m pretty sure Gareth has noticed too he keeps making these weird vague comments during D&D.”

Oh Gareth has definitely noticed, that she’s sure of. 

“ Hell, one of the reasons I asked Steve to drive me here today was because you mentioned Eddie was dropping you off. I just, don’t know, hoped that maybe they could have their own little date or whatever.”

“One of the reasons? What’s another reason?” Max asks. So, it seems like he has noticed the ‘something’ between them.

“I would have gotten all sweaty if I biked here. But don’t change the topic. ”

“You… would be okay if they got together like that?” She needs to know that she didn’t misunderstand his words, that he’d be really okay with Eddie liking guys. She thinks that he is okay with it, but one can never be too cautious, especially in a small town like Hawkins. Would she really be outing her brother if her boyfriend already figured out that he’s into guys?

“Sure! They’re both our friends, I want them to be happy. Wouldn’t you?” He squeezes her hand. Oh, shit, now he’s the one thinking that she might not be okay with it.

“Of course I would. It would at least put an end to Eddie’s pining. Don’t tell him I told you this, and I’m serious, you can’t tell anyone.”

“I’m sworn to secrecy, I promise.”

 “He actually bought Berlin’s ‘Take my breath away’ single.” 

“What!? Eddie buying something not metal? No way, when?”

“I’m not exactly sure when, but I’m sure it happened after he watched Top gun with Steve, he kinda told me after I spent a whole week bugging him about the tape.” Max laughs.

“Holy shit, he’s whipped,” Lucas comments amused.

“I know. It’s a bit sad to watch the yearning on his face when he listens to it.”

“He really can’t see that Steve might… I don’t know. Let him down gently or even give him a chance if not because he reciprocates his feelings then because he cares?”

“I actually have a feeling that Steve might also be into him. But I don’t think either of them know how to go about it. Anyways, enough about them, this is our date. No more talking about other people’s relationships at least until 9:30.”

“Okay.” Without noticing they had gotten to the front of the line. After getting their tickets the line for the popcorn is less crowded, they get 2 medium sodas, popcorn and make a compromise on a box of Whoppers.

Their theater isn’t that full. The other couples probably went for the romcoms. The movie is quite good, even if they missed some of the plot when they began to throw the crunchy chocolate balls and popcorn for the other to catch it with their mouth making a bit of a mess around them.

“I actually liked the movie, even if it was frustrating how you could clearly see how she could have saved herself sooner,” Max says, helping Lucas to gather their trash on the way out of the theater.

“Oh but she did so well in the end.” He comments.

“They had it coming.”

“We still have time, what do you want to do?” Lucas asks, checking his watch once they’ve located the nearest trash can and his hands are no longer occupied by the empty soda cups.

“Let’s go to the record store, I want to find more patches for my vest.”

Lucas manages to find a Gremlins patch, it’s circular with a black background featuring ‘Stripe’ from the movie and the word troublemaker embroidered at the top. Max smiles when he shows her it and he insists on buying it for her. Meanwhile, Max gets a skateboard one and one in the shape of a hand making the rock 'n roll sign adorned with a black spiked wristband. Once the patch bin has been thoroughly scouted, they move on to the tapes section.

They still have a little more than half an hour before Steve and Eddie pick them up, even after they finish browsing the record store. They’re wandering aimlessly around the various storefronts when Max spots the unfamiliar bubblegum-pink exterior of one of the restaurants in the small food court.

"I didn't know there was a place that sells milkshakes."

“Must be new,” Lucas comments, following her gaze, “Do you want one?”

"Yeah, sure. But not from here. I'm loyal to one place and one place only."

"The diner." He rolls his eyes with fondness.

"Damn right!"

"I'll radio Steve. Maybe he can take us both and if Eddie went home, we can call him from the diner."

Eddie and Steve turn up 10 minutes later. Max and Lucas are waiting in the parking lot for them and share a knowing look when they see Eddie already seated in the passenger seat, talking animatedly and smiling broadly when Steve pulls up. Max had suspected they were together when Eddie’s van was still in the parking lot and Steve’s car was nowhere to be seen, but that didn’t mean anything Eddie could have headed inside whilst they were busy watching the movie or taken a walk. 

Steve holds the door open for them all and Max and Eddie head in first. She picks their usual booth and glares at Eddie when he tries to join her.

“Dude,” She says pointedly, both eyebrows raised as she tries to not so subtly gesture towards one of the other tables.

“What?”

“Sit somewhere else, I don’t want my brother crashing my date.” She explains.

“May I remind you that your brother is the one who drove you all the way out to the mall on Valentines day?”

“First of all, it’s not like you had plans anyway. Secondly, you got a date with Steve out of it so you can’t complain.” He doesn’t deny it, which is interesting. She’ll be sure to grill him for all of the details later, well maybe not all the details, there are some things she does not need to know. 

Eddie sighs dramatically, but listens to her and goes over to Steve who is standing by the counter making their order. They’re too far away for her to hear their conversation but she sees Eddie tap Steve’s bicep to get his attention and the way he uses his head to gesture to one of the tables on the opposite side of the room.

She gets a strawberry milkshake and lets Lucas pay this time, he pushes it across the table towards her and takes a sip of his own chocolate-banana one. Her glasses slip down her nose when she leans forward to reach the straw in her glass and she pushes them up with the tip of her index finger.

“I like your glasses,” Lucas blurts, it’s a little out of the blue but she appreciates the compliment, “they suit you.”

“Thanks.” She’s smiling bashfully, taking another sip of her milkshake as an excuse to avoid eye contact.

“I don’t think I could pull them off.”

“Hmmm, I don’t know about that,” she muses, “I think you could.”

“Yeah?” He reaches across the table taking the corners of the frames in hand, he hesitates for a second, only sliding them off her face when she doesn’t make any effort to stop him and then slides them onto his own face, “What do you think?”

A laugh bubbles out of her at the sight, he’s posing with an exaggerated pout on his face, “Yeah, you’re right they look much better on me,” She tells him in a joking tone. She lets him place them carefully back onto her face rather than just handing them back. 

There’s a moment of comfortable silence whilst they both enjoy their milkshakes, listening to the pop music playing over the radio and the chatter surrounding them. It’s busy, probably the busiest Max has ever seen the place but that’s not exactly unexpected given the day.

“Do you think your plan worked?” She asks, jerking her head back in the direction of Steve and Eddie’s table. 

She has her back turned to them so she can’t see them without making it obvious that she’s looking and they’re too far away to eavesdrop on their conversations, that one’s her own fault.

“I’m pretty sure they’re holding hands under the table,” Lucas informs her, craning his neck subtly to try to get a better view, “So I’d say it was a success.”

Risky, but the staff are busy fulfilling the rush of orders and most of the customers are busy paying attention to their own conversations and dates. It’s unlikely anyone is looking at Steve and Eddie tucked away in the corner. Besides, even if someone did say something, who would believe them? Eddie ‘the freak’ Munson and Steve ‘the king’ Harrington, holding hands? No way. Yeah, she thinks giving into her curiosity and turning in her seat to look at them, they’ll be just fine. 

[ghoulishdude]

Hi, everyone! Been a while since I wrote one of these but I really need to let it out somehow...warning for somewhat (?) unbalanced personal situatiob, also excuse any typos I'm just trying to get it all out at once

So, for context my mom grew up in the 80's , youngest daughter of 6 siblings, basically helping run the household since she was about 8, cooking cleaning gardening washing...you name it (this is a fact she constantly brings up btw)

The thing is, she continued the cycle with me, which I'm thankful for cause honestly life skills ™, having me do my laundry and ironing since I got my first period (9 years old) as well as do the dishes and put them away, aside from other things.

Well, I have an older brother...and guess what, this was not the case for him. Sure, he'll wash his own dish and take out the trash every once in a while but that's it. Ask him to fold his socks and he'll look at you like all confused.

Now the issue for me has always been the expectation of having to do everything for everyone else, and my brother not getting the same treatment. Like, if my mother's reasoning is that we need to know these things for when are independent, why am I the only one receiving these 'lessons'? (Note: a few years ago I actually asked her and she told me, a bit jokingly but still concerning, that my brother would just move in with me when she passes away, and then find a wife to do those chores for him, which...wow)

It's also annoying that, since he won't do the chores in question, whenever I'm doing something of my own, I'm asked to get up leave it and go do that chore. Some examples: having to get up to take the laundry out of the dryer while I'm trying to meet a deadline for a class I'm taking, despite being told that my sole focus should be my academic growth (ok contradictions), having to pause my workout routine (that I started because she subtly told me I was getting chubby) because I had to help her find something in the kitchen and today's incident...

Basically what happened over this weekend is that my best friend of over ten years invited me to her sister's dance competition and then to sleepover at her house (this is a yearly occurrence so you know). I'm always reluctant to attend not because of them, I love them they've always made me feel like part of their home, but because of my mom's reaction when I get back home the day after.

When I was younger I understood as her looking after her teenage daughter and being worried about her staying the night at a different house...fine, understandable. Now, having the same reactions when I'm a young adult (literally 22) and staying at a house where I've stayed hundreds of times, and being promised to be driven over before sundown? Weird If you ask me.

Anyways, everything was going well the morning after the competition, Sunday morning, she texted me and asked when I was going to be home, I told her that after lunch and that my bestie's mom was driving me, she said ok. We had lunch at about 4:30/5pm (again, it's a Sunday and also we woke up super late), she texts me super insistently asking where I was, I told her that still at the house, she asked why I didn't take a taki, I reminder that my friend's mom was giving me a ride, why spend money at all? Well, she basically told me to do whatever i wanted then. I expected that but it still hurt.

I came back home at around 6:10, the sunset hadn't even begun, and what did I get home to? Passive aggression and the cold shoulder, who would've known? Part of me wonders if it's bitterness at not getting to have the same experiences (at my age she already had my brother and been married to my dad for 3 years) or it's the lack of control over having me near at all times?

Oh, yeah, I forgot, I came home and noticed that all the laundry was tended out to dry and hadn't been put away, so all the insisting I get home was to fold the laundry and put it away in everybody's closets. Fun.

Which brings me to my previous point...all the frustration I feel about my brother and I not having the same responsibilities or duties. Like, if I'm not home or I'm busy, couldn't my brother, you know just thinking out loud, do the frickin laundry? And then when I try to bring it up she shuts me down with how it doesn't bother her to cook and clean for everybody so why does it bother me, and how I'm so selfish, cold hearted and I'm going to die alone if I keep acting that way (honest to God)

By the way, it's the same with cooking, everytime she wants to show me a new trick or dish I tell her to get my brother and she tells me that it's no point because I'll be the one cooking at the end (yeah, because you never bothered to teach him anything, like you did me) Also I was nine years old with you making me cry over not knowing to fold underwear. Maybe a twenty seven year old man will learn faster? But idk

That's all for now. I'd appreciate any advice, quote, moment, new perspective...over all I just needed to express my feelings and this has helped before.

If you've made it this far tell me what's your favorite book! I've been trying to get back into reading.

Thank you and good night <3

[dxrknessembr8ced]

5:35 P.M.

Rei-Rei was scared out of his mind that his mother didn't return back but he heard the footsteps which at first would made him panic but then he catch that sweet scent of blood and feel the footsteps scaring away all other predators that got near the nest, she's coming his mother is coming but she seem to bring home someone that the boy does not recognize, his mother's older sister who finally got close to the next and stare at her new nephew while Rei stared back at those emerald eyes. Then he moved his away a bit noticing his mother now carrying his young sibling asleep in her arms, his focus shifts back at Mei-Ling. He trusted her, and now have accepted her as his aunt.

Mei-Ling moved closer and simply smiles at the boy, she's happy to see her beloved sister has two children in her life now as she softly placed her arms made from flesh and bluish flames on his head softly patting him.

" A nephew and a niece my word I feel old. "

" Precious isn't he sis? Rei and junior are just perfect... "

" Indeed ! Now where is the father? "

" I have no clue, but I'm sure he'll be back. I'm just here doing all the work. "

" Hmph where is this boys clothing sister? "

" Doesn't have any. But I plan on making clothes... "

Rei tugged onto on her aunt's cloth.

" .....Hungry. "

Seeing her son hungry she forgotten to feed him. She would feed his son some leftover fruit but they rotted.

" Ahhh shoot! I forgot to feed you... "

" God damn it sister... "

[l-eternity-l]

-Loving You

summary. - when a young lady has a little bit too much to drink, a certain singer comes to her rescue.

pairing. - Elvis x Black OC

warnings. - age gap, alcohol, creepy dude

word count. - 3k

author's note. - ahhh okay guys this is my first fic. I'm honestly thinking about turning this into a long series because I already have an idea for a few more chapters. The only thing is I don't know what name to give the character so I literally just named her after me, but I really want to change it. I hope you guys enjoy!!! (also feel free to send request!!)

 ═══════ ≪ °❈° ≫ ═══════ ═══════ ≪ °❈° ≫ ═══════ 

MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE 1957 The Country Club

    MERCEDES clapped her hands together as her brothers finished rehearsing their new hit song.

  "You guys sound great," she tells her brothers as people walk onto the little stage at the front of the building, fixing the boy's microphones and retuning instruments.

  "We did just as expected" Luther breathed out "everyone was off-key, not to mention Raymond forgot the damn words" he takes a quick sip of his water before handing it to Mercedes.

"Oh, can it Luther!" Raymond speaks up "why don't you focus on whatever the hell you need to do and stay the hell outta my business" Luther sends him a harsh glare.

  "This is my business Raymond, fuck it's all of our business. These people pay us to put on a good show".

"Okay, so what!" Raymond becomes more frustrated by the second "all you ever wanna do is please some white man by dancing and singing like a damn fool, you ever realize I don't put effort into this shit because I don't care!" he throws his water onto the ground before storming off the stage. Mercedes sighs.

  "Why do you guys always have to do this" before her brother can respond she keeps going "always doin' something right before you have to perform. you know he may not be coming back" Luther shrugs.

  As far as everyone was concerned, Luther cared more about the music industry than anyone in the world-- blasting music and putting his all into everything the band did.

  He played the instruments, mixed the records, and wrote most of the lyrics. people may say that he takes some things too seriously but Luther never cared--he was going to be a star and no one would hold him back from that. not even his own family.

  "As if we need him, if push comes to shove we pull you up here and make Jerome a back up".

  "Hey" Jerome yells out "don't punish me for what ray did" Luther just shrugs him off, walking over to his brother Ronnie "Raymond just needs a second to calm down, he’ll come back after he's had a smoke" The boy tries his best to reason with his angry brother.

  Jerome and Mercedes were less than a year apart, their parents not being able to wait another second to try for a girl.

  Even though he's one of the lead singers, people still tend to forget about him, especially his mother.

  Jerome has no interest in being famous--by the time he was born his brother had already started their carer singing outside of their father's barbershop to bring attention to it. Jerome's real dream is to become a pilot --singing is just a small hobby to him.

  "I don't know why you ain't performing now Sadie" Ronnie speaks up causing the young girl to roll her eyes and lean up against the stage with her arms crossed.

  "Because the women specifically asked for a male quartet. those poor girls have a hard enough time keeping their men from cheating under their own roof, much less outside of it" she picks at the skin around her nails in boredom.

  Mercedes has always been the most outspoken of the siblings, the exact opposite of what her mother wants from her. The only one their mother actually likes is Ronnie.

  Ronnie is the quiet sibling, he does whatever his mother says--doesn't matter if it's something small as bringing her the TV remote that's right next to her, or big as donating a kidney, Ronnie would do it in a heartbeat.

  Even though he does all of this for his mother, it doesn't save him from being called ungrateful and useless--but that's just how things went in the Estelle household.

  "If it were up to me you'd replace Raymond right now, he's sloppy and he doesn't care about anything or anyone," Ronnie says fixing his bow tie in the reflection of a mirror.

  In the boys' defense, Raymond has been causing issues lately. if he's not showing up to rehearse late then he's off with some girl, it drives their mom crazy, which only causes her to snap at the rest of them.

  Raymond wasn't always like this. As a child, he was charming and loved to sing and dance when company came over. it wasn't until his mom and dad started fighting, he came a little devil.

  Raymond has gone through more than the other siblings--having to be the one who dealt with their mom and her outburst when dad had got done beating on her. When their dad had just died and their mom left, Raymond was the one to take care of everyone.

  After all these years, Raymond's care for anyone but himself faded, and so did his relationship with his family.

  "You know mama wouldn't let that happen. He has a great voice, he just doesn't like to perform. Thinks it's silly" Mercedes reminds her brother "besides, he's just angry because it's gettin' late and he ain't had dinner yet".

  "Well, he needs to get over it because people are gonna start showin' up soon. We've only got a few minutes of rehearsal time left" the girl pushes off of the stage.

  "I'll go try and find him, you guys just keep practicing".

...

  Mercedes wanders around the expensive country club in an attempt to find her oldest brother.

  After what felt like hours but was only a couple of minutes, she found him leaning against their car with a freshly lit cigarette between his lips.

  "I ain't goin' back in there" Raymond starts before his sister even gets the chance to speak "I ain't gonna make a fool of myself for all of those people. singin' bout love and rainbows and girls all while swayin' back and forth and dancin'".

   He takes a long drag of smoke before continuing "I'm gonna quit and tell momma to go get somebody else to do it. I ain't doin' this shit no more!".

  "Are you done," Mercedes ask, unamused by his outburst "because you have a show to do and all of your brothers are waiting on you to stop throwing yourself a pity party" he shakes his head.

  "You're just as bad as the rest of them Sadie. if you think doing dumb shit like this is what's gonna help us be famous then you go and do it. I know father wouldn't have wanted this for us, he wanted us to be stars, not clowns" he take another long drag "and I ain't gonna be a clown no more".

  "I don't care what you wanna do or what you don't wanna do, it's about what you gotta do. Fathers gone and Mommas crazy, we gotta make ends meet somehow" the boy tosses his cigarette on the ground and crushes it with his heel.

  "I can't keep on doin' this stuff Sadie. I wanna be able to do what I want with my life, not what momma wants." Much as Mercedes wanted to tell her brother he could do that, she also didn't want to lie to him.

  "Look I don't like the way momma does stuff around here either, but as long as we live under her roof, we have to do what she says." he runs his hand through his thick hair "We need you ray" she places his hand on his arm "Only for a few more years, then we can stop doing shows and just make music" he lets out a long sigh.

  "Let's just head back," he slides his hands in his pockets and starts to walk away from the car, Mercedes next to him "Mamas gonna be here in a few minutes and if I'm not there she'll just take it out on y'all".

"See now you're using your brain" his large hand forcefully shoves her away from him "Oww, what the hell-".

"Go find somethin' to do while we rehearse, you look like you wanna put a pistol in your mouth just sitting there".

If Mercedes was being completely honest, her brother wasn't wrong. they've all performed together since childhood, her and Jerome switching who'd lead, often doing duets. Any time Mercedes didn't get the chance to perform she felt an extreme sense of jealousy. Her mother only ever took her out saying it looked better with the boys singing, the boys are too tall and she doesn't fit in, and that four people on stage looked better than five. All this did was make Mercedes want to perform more.

  Mercedes and her mother didn't have the most loving relationship. After Luther was born, all Her dad ever talked about was having a girl-- after begging for years she agreed but they had another boy. This only fueled his want for a little girl more and they immediately had another child, even though Grace never wanted more than 3 kids. Soon after Mercedes was born, her father passed away from an unknown illness-- leaving her mother alone with 5 kids. Because of this Grace had resented her youngest child for years. Mercedes being unruly and never taking no for answer, only made this situation worse.  

She walked around the country club for a few minutes, trying to find something to cure her growing boredom. She feels an arm brush against her and quickly moves over to give the person more room, only they don't walk away. Mercedes glances up at the culprit. The man was older, maybe 25-35, with jet-black hair that was combed over and slicked down. you could see the gel glistening from the lights. He held a cigarette in his hand and sported a kind yet devious smirk.

"I'm sorry sir" Mercedes voices, quick to apologize in an attempt to avoid conflict. he waves his hand as if to dismiss her apology.

"Don't worry honey, it was my fault. What are you doin' here anyways" his gentle voice surprised Mercedes. Though the girl has never had a bad interaction with a white person before, she had heard many war stories of what her people go through on a daily basis-- this lead her to avoid them as much as humanly possible. "don't seem like the kind of place you'd find a nice young lady such as yourself," thought every cell in Mercedes's body told her to run away from the man, something else was begging her to stay--to figure out what it was this man wanted.

"I'm here with my brothers, they're performing tonight" he slowly nods his head.

"And they left you all alone out here, all by yourself" he sets his hand on her arm, a gesture that would normally make her pull away with fear, but the kind smile on his face seemed to soothe the thoughts that ran through her head.

"What? don't think I can take of myself" she says dripping with fake innocence. his smile grows.

"Oh the exact opposite," he moves his arm around to the small of her back, leading her away from where they stood "Why don't you come sit with me and my friends while you wait for your brothers, they're right over here," thought the situation feels off, Mercedes doesn't really have anything else to do at this party-- Not to mention, she loves the thrill of a little danger.

...

  Surprisingly, she ends up having a good time, talking to the men along with some of their girlfriends. They talk about music and performing while they sip on their expensive drinks. the night was going well and her brothers were putting on a good show, even though Raymond looked like he wanted to die the entire time. She sat beside the man she had met earlier, James. He had his arm resting on the back of her chair as he bragged about his yacht club and how much his soap company makes in a month. Even though Mercedes couldn't give a shit about his boat and his money, she did enjoy the drinks that the man kept handing her, Loving the burn of her stomach as she sipped on the fruity cocktails. One of the boy's songs comes to an end as Mercedes laughs at another one James' corny jokes. normally she wouldn't have, but her intoxication could make her laugh at a blank wall.

  "So," he pulls the drink away from her lips "why don't we get out of here" he runs his course hand up and down her knee, going a bit further each time "we should head someplace a bit more private". though Mercedes was so out of it she could barely form a sentence, she knew when something sounded sketchy. and in that very moment, she realized just how close he was to her. she clears her throat, sliding her chair a bit further away.

  "Yeah," she pushes his hand off of her leg, "I think I'm gonna have to pass on that" She lets out a nervous giggle as she takes another sip of her drink.

  "Don't be like that, I bought you all of these drinks and you're not gonna give me something in return" he leans to place a kiss on her cheek before whispering in her ear "Come on baby, I'll take you to my boat."

  "Sorry Captian, guess I'm not the girl you took me for" the man plasters on a fake smile, sliding his hand back onto her knee.

  "Why don't you have another drink, maybe then you'll change your mind" she pushes him off again, the chair letting out a loud cry as she stands with haste.

  "I've gotta go check on my brothers, I'll be back later" Mercedes says in an attempt to remove herself from the situation. She shoots the others at the table a quick smile before she quickly maneuvers her way through the crowd with unsteady feet, using the wall as a crutch. A sea of various people occupied the dance floor as she tries her best to make it to a less crowded area. The girl spots some public restrooms not too far away and makes her way toward them, stumbling with every step. Once she's there she lies against the side of the building before sinking to the plush grass, resting her head against the smooth concrete wall, a nauseating feeling overcoming her. Mercedes knew that people got drunk, hell she had to carry Raymond back into the house several times, but what she didn't know was how it felt. Her vision was clouded and her head was pounding. it felt as though her world was spinning. For a second, she even wondered if the man had slipped something inside her drink. The distant sounds of toilets flushing could be heard as she tried her best to regain her composure.

  "You okay there?" a southern voice draws her out of her dazed state. Mercedes looks up to yet another white man with slicked-back hair, only this time it was a bit longer and more in his face. though she felt like she really shouldn't be talking to him, the alcohol had clouded her judgment.

  "Umm... no. I don't know" Mercedes drops her head into her hands "I drank," she tells him.

  He lets out a slight chuckle "Well I can see that" he sits down next to her, lighting the cigarette between his lips. "What's a pretty girl like you doin' out here all alone?" he asks. Mercedes knows this trick all too well--in fact, she had experienced this trick less than two hours ago.

"I ain't gonna leave with you" her words slurred together, getting to the point as soon as possible.

"I ain't tryna take you anywhere honey, just wanted to make sure you aren't here alone. My name is Elvis, what's yours?".

"Sadie, and I'm not alone, 'm here with my mom and my brothers. There performing tonight." he hums.

"Your brothers are the Estelle's" the girl nods "I used to play basketball with them. I remember when you were just a baby. Your momma let you drink at this age?" he asked tilting his head. she shakes no.

  "No, she doesn't. But what she doesn't know won't hurt her" he raises his brows, amused at the girl's response.

  "Guess no one can tell you anything huh?" Elvis's voice was laced with sarcasm. Mercedes- not finding his little joke too funny, rolls her eyes.

  "What do you want" you'd swear you could see the annoyance radiating from the girl's body.

  "As I said before, I just wanna make sure you're okay" The girl scoffs as she tries to push herself back to her feet, failing miserably. Luckily Elvis helped her before she slid back down the wall.

  "Well, you can go find some other dame to save because I'm fine" The amusing thing is that Mercedes is definitely not fine, seeing as the only thing holding her up is Elvis.

  "I'll believe that when hell freezes over." he moves her arm around his shoulder for support before he leads begins to lead her away from the restrooms "Don't worry little girl, I'm gonna take you to your momma" she immediately starts to resist against his attempts to move.

  "No!" she says franticly "Are you crazy? If she finds out she'll beat me 'till I'm black and blue" Elvis stops for a moment, trying to think of a better option.

  "Okay, then I'll go get your brothers. How 'bout that?" Elvis offers.

  "No they'll kill me too " she argues "If they find out I was talking to a man they'd...they'd...oh, I don't know what they'd do but I know it wouldn't be pretty."

  "Look I gotta tell somebody, I can't just leave you sitting here drunk outta your mind!" Mercedes lets out a frustrated sigh "I don't care how mad it makes you you've gotta chose somebody. So who will it be? Your brothers or your mom?" Though both options sounded like a death wish, she knew that her brothers wouldn't lay a hand on her-- the most they would do is yell at her for a few hours and act distant for a day or two.

  "My brothers have an intermission in a few minutes, they usually smoke by the car." Mercedes reluctantly tells him, slightly pissed at the fact he's so hell-bent on getting her in trouble today.

PART TWO IS POSTED!!

[happytodorokifamilyau]

Hi...So I took a break from the fandom for a bit and kind of forgot this blog existed. BUT I've returned and so has my obsession with the Todoroki family!

So as an apology for my inactivity on this blog, I present to you...

20 htfau Headcanons!

Enjoy!

Touya was a terrible student in school. He was smart and got good grades when he actually studied, but he didn't have any interest or motivation to do anything other than hero training. His teachers at UA had to threaten expulsion to get him to focus on his studies more. He wasn't happy about it, but at least he graduated with high grades.

Enji doesn't have the best relationship with his parents. They were quite neglectful and really only cared about him making it in the hero world. They weren't very supportive of his choice to become a hero, rather they wanted him to take over the family business. They didn't have much faith in him and Enji thinks that's why he's so ambitious. He wanted to prove them wrong, which he did. Of course, after he made it to the higher ranks, his parents tried to reconcile but he's still hesitant with them. It's always tense between them why they visit, but Enji tries not to let it affect their relationship with his kids because they are their grandchildren after all. And Enji has to admit that they are much better grandparents than they were parents.

Rei's side of the family is much more involved in their lives. She has a good relationship with her parents and they were very supportive of her marriage to Enji. Ironically, Enji feels much more comfortable around them than he does his own parents. They treat him like their own son. They're close to their grandchildren too. They joined the rest of the family at the Sports Festivals to watch Touya and later Shouto.

Natsuo is a very social person, which confuses Enji and Rei because he did not get it from them. He was that kid in school who was friends with everyone. The rest of the family gets shocked when they see how many contacts he has in his phone. Everywhere he goes, he sees someone he knows from somewhere.

They are very wealthy. Not only does Enji make a ton of money from his hero work, but he also comes from a very wealthy family himself. Rei's family is pretty well off too, though not to the same extent. Enji and Rei never really put limits on their kids' spending, which may have spoiled them a bit. They all have access to their parents' bank accounts and would never think twice about taking from it.

Out of all of them, Touya's the biggest spender. He mostly buys clothes (he's also the most fashion-conscious), he's into designer brands. He also owns a motorcycle. That purchase really made Enji and Rei question their limits.

Fuyumi doesn't buy a lot of clothes, she spends more on outings with her friends. She'll usually offer to pay just because she can. She likes buying her friends expensive birthday presents too.

Natsuo spends on a variety of things- video games, takeout, tickets to concerts and sporting events, the latest technology, you name it. Recently, he's been spending a lot on dates with his girlfriend.

Shouto is an avid manga reader and collecter and will not hesitate to buy a new one. He was very excited when he found out that Sero shared his interest. They often stay up late in the dorms reading through Shouto's collection.

Touya has always entertained the idea of one day taking over his father's agency after he retires. Enji's never said anything about the future of his agency, simply because he hasn't thought that far ahead yet, but he wouldn't be entirely opposed to the idea. Touya hasn't brought it up though, it's merely a fantasy for now.

Natsuo was the only unplanned child, Touya was the smallest when born, Fuyumi came a bit late, and Shouto came about a month early.

They have a family groupchat and a siblings groupchat (where they mostly just complain about their parents).

When they were young, one of Fuyumi's favorite games was playing house. Convincing Shouto and Natsuo to play along as the kids was never difficult- Shouto was too young to care what the game was, he just wanted to be involved, and Natsuo could easily be bribed with as little as a cookie. Convincing Touya to roleplay as the dad took a lot more effort on Fuyumi's part, but someway or another she always managed to succeed (usually through means of blackmail- Touya could never keep his secrets from her). Rei still has some home videos she secretly took of the kids playing and showed them to Enji. He almost melted from the cuteness of it.

The kids have never seen those videos and are unaware of their existence. Touya would die if he found out about them.

Shouto was an avid sleepwalker as a kid. He still does it sometimes, but only when he's really stressed or tired.

Enji is a bit of a workaholic. He's slowed down since the kids came along, but every now and then he'll need a reminder to stop focusing on work so much. This usually comes in the form of Rei hiding his laptop so he can't work from home.

Touya has an obsession with spicy food. He claims he can handle it, even though everyone knows he can't. Despite his obvious intolerance though, he keeps torturing himself by always making his food unnecessarily spicy or ordering the spiciest dish on the menu when eating out. No one understands why he does this to himself. Enji keeps saying it's just a phase (even though it's been like ten years) and Rei just thinks her son is crazy (she's probably right).

Speaking of spicy food, no Todoroki can tolerate it, not even Enji. It's like genetic or something.

Rei and Fuyumi have a very close relationship. They often go on outings together like shopping or coffee dates. Rei even visited Fuyumi at work once and Fuyumi introduced her to her class.

The Todoroki kids are the type of siblings who can go from being on the verge of killing each other one minute to forgetting all about in order to team up to harass their parents the next minute.

[thebluesideofmyworld]

A Good Guy - A Solangelo One-Shot

Summary: Will might be a lot of things. And among those things, Will would dare to say that he’s a good guy. But when it came to Nico di Angelo, would he ever be good enough, though?

Word count: 3900 words || Rating: Teenage and Up Audiences || Read on AO3

Notes:

1. Based on the song "good guys" by LANY 2. My contribution for @after-everything-pjo-zine project. Check out other fics (each fic is accompanied by great fanart so you just HAVE to check it out) in the zine here.

***

Will might be a lot of things. And among those things, Will would dare to say that he’s a good guy. And he would proudly say that it’s because his family raised him to be one. His Mama made sure that he never forgot to say please, sorry and thank you, and his grandma taught him to respect people. Even though Apollo wasn’t around to be an ideal father as Will was growing up in Tennessee, his grandpa showed him how to be a Southern gentleman.

So yeah, he might come across as a young man who with a sassy attitude. But heck, Will knew that he was a good guy. And he’s proud of that.

But here’s the thing. Here’s a thing about being a good guy. Being a good guy might sound like it’s a good thing to do. But being a good guy also sometimes meant that you’re almost as invisible as a wallflower. Because even though you’re good, there were always be better guys. And one thing that Will learned about being a good guy? Good guys never win.

***

“It’s been almost two weeks, you know,” Will said as he kept his eyes at the monthly medical report that he (pretended) to be reading.

“Two weeks since what?” Kayla asked, but didn't bother to pretend that she's actually interested.

“Since Nico went for that quest, remember? Something about Persephone’s parrot or something?” Will said, still trying to keep his eyes at the notes. Because he knew that Kayla might still see the worry in Will’s eyes. (Sometimes it’s almost scary, how his siblings knew him too well).

“Oh? Really? Has it been two weeks yet?”

“Almost,” Will said, decided to leave the detail that it’s actually has been 11 days and since Nico had left the camp early in the morning and now it was almost dinner, it’s been almost twelve freaking days since Nico left the camp for that stupid quest.

“I mean, of course, it might be nothing but well, I thought it was supposed to be a short, simple quest?” Will continued. “Usually if it’s just this small quest, it never took him this long before. Usually it would just be like, three days, five, at the most, and like, a week if he took a detour to impulsively do something unnecessary, but never this long.”

Will lifted his head and turned to look at Kayla, who didn’t seem to share the same worry as Will. Her eyes were still fixed on the glossy pictures of the magazine that she was looking at. A non-committal hum coming from her was the only sign that she was (kind of) listening.

Will tried to focus on the lines of writing in front of him, but the letters were all jumbled and he couldn’t make himself try to read anything. His mind was too busy thinking about different reasons and scenarios of why Nico wasn’t back yet from the quest.

“Do you think I should ask Chiron about it? Probably he’s heard from Nico, y’know. Like, maybe something came up and I don’t know, maybe Chiron knew or maybe even Rachel got a vision or something, or-“

“Or you could have just contacted me, Solace. Pretty sure that it doesn't hurt to try IM me”

Will stood up and spun to face the direction where the voice was coming from. He did it so fast, he got dizzy because of it. It took him two seconds before his eyes could fully focus on Nico di Angelo, who was staring at him. His face looked nonchalant, but his eyes glinted with amusement.

“Uh, hey,” Will greeted, gripping the desk as he suddenly needed to get a hold of himself. “You’re back.”

Nico gave him a single nod, brushing away some strands of hair from covering his eyes. “Yep. I just got back.” He shrugged his shoulders before continuing. “Thought I’d drop by here before I report to Chiron.”

Will tightened his grip on the desk, trying his best to hold himself from closing the distance between him and Nico just to pull Nico into his arms.

“And uh… What brings you here?”

The emotional part of him wished that he was the reason why Nico came straight to the infirmary after the quest. But the rational part of him shushed him. That damned rational part of him told him that hey, it was him who wanted to see Nico, not the other way around.

Nico kept his eyes at Will and there was something in those dark eyes that Will couldn’t really put his fingers on.

“I thought you wanted me to have a check-up every time I got back from a quest?”

Of course.

Will tried to ease the dull pain in his heart by giving Nico a small smile. “Yeah. Of course. Need to make sure that you won’t fade into the shadows again, huh?” Will let out a nervous chuckle. “I mean, I am your doctor, and a doctor only wants the best for his patients.”

This time Nico stayed silent as he nodded. Will gestured to a nearby cot with his chin.

“Now, if you could just sit down over there, please?”

Still saying nothing, Nico strode to the cot and quickly sat there. Will took a deep breath, mentally telling himself to be professional, and let it out in a long exhale. He made his way to where Nico was waiting for him.

The check-up was a regular one. And there was nothing new about how touching Nico made stupid butterflies do some stupid dancing in his stomach. He ached to ask Nico questions about what happened in the quest and why it took so long. He wanted to know whether Nico ever thought of him while he was on the quest the way Will kept on thinking about him while he was away. He wanted to listen to Nico talk to him, with that slight accent that made his voice so melodious, almost like he was singing.

But it would only scare Nico away.

So he kept his eyes at the board where he jotted down the notes about Nico’s vitals.

“So, uhm… This quest was a bit longer than usual, huh?” Will asked, almost proud of himself that his voice sounded normal.

Nico hummed as he put his jacket back on. “Yeah, we had an unexpected encounter with some empousai. Luckily, David is unexpectedly good at fighting.”

At the mention of the name, Will lifted his head up. “David? You mean the new camper? That Athena kid?”

Nico nodded. “Yeah. For someone who never held a sword before, I have to say that I’m impressed.”

A strange, nauseating heat flared inside Will’s stomach. “Really?”

“Yup. In fact, I promised to give him an extra lesson in sword-fighting tomorrow.”

That strange heat swirled even more inside Will. He stretched his lips into a lame attempt to smile at Nico.

“Oh,” Will said. “Nice.”

“In one way, he strangely reminded me of Percy, you know? The way he held his sword.” And Nico continued talking for a while about that stupid new guy. Will listened, humming every now and then just to show Nico that he’s listening.

Half of his mind wished that the harpies would find that David kid to be a nice target for their dinner. The other half of his mind scowled at him for having that kind of evil wish.

“Okay. Everything looks good. Just make sure that you drink enough water,” Will said as he wrote the date and signed his name on the bottom part of the report.

“So I can go now?”

Will nodded. “Yeah, you’re free to go now,” he answered as he walked back to his desk to put the record in the folder.

“And you’re not even offering to walk me back to my Cabin like a good Southern gentleman?”

Will spun on his heel quickly. He stared at Nico with wide eyes, thinking that he might have been hallucinating.

“What?”

Nico snorted and slid down from the cot. “Never mind. I need to report to Chiron first anyway.”

Will blinked, and it took him a full two seconds before he had his voice again.

“Nico-“

But Nico was already one step away from the door. He stopped and looked at Will over his shoulder. The left tip of his lips curled up, just slightly, forming a ghost of a smile. He gave a two-finger salute to Will.

“I’ll see you around, Solace.”

Not waiting for Will to answer him, Nico stepped away. And just like that, he’s out of sight.

Will stared at the open door. There is this hollowness inside his heart that he couldn't explain. Like he just missed a chance.

He always thought that he’s a good guy. Or at least, he’s trying to.

But would he ever be good enough, though?

***

“What are you doing here?”

Lou Ellen’s voice startled Will.

“Me? Uh…” Will scrambled to pick up the book that he just dropped and showed it to Lou, like he was trying to prove something. “I was reading!”

Lou Ellen stared at him with a glint of amusement in her eyes as she gave Will the Look. The ‘don’t-give-me-bullshit’ Look.

“What, am I not allowed to read in peace?” Will said, a bit defensively.

“Hey, it’s cool dude,” Lou said. “In fact, it was nice to see you somewhere else aside from the infirmary,” she added.

Will relaxed a bit, going back to lean his back on the tree.

“I can see why you choose this spot. It’s much quieter than the infirmary on your busy days,” Lou said.

Will hummed.  His eyes flickered to the far left, to the clearing a few yards away, just for a split second before he opened his book.

“And the view from here is also… decent.”

Lou Ellen’s tone made Will quickly look up again at the daughter of Hecate. She’s now grinning at him, like she just figured something out.

“How long have you been spying on those two?” Lou asked, gesturing with her chin to two demigods in the clearing who seemed to just finished sparring.

Will gaped at her. He blinked and quickly shook his head. “What? No! I’ve told you, I was reading here!”

But Lou Ellen didn’t seem to care about Will’s reaction as she waved at the demigods in the clearing.

“Hey, Nico! David!”

Will’s eyes widened in horror this time as he turned his head around, only to see that Nico and the new Athena kid walked towards them.

“Lou!” he hissed in annoyance.

Lou Ellen just gave him a teasing smirk. “What?”

Will groaned and quickly stood up, his book abandoned on the grass as he unconsciously ran a hand over his wild locks.

“Hey,” Nico greeted. “What’s up?”

Nothing’s up aside from his heartbeat, Will would like to answer. But of course, he kept it to himself as he tried his best to school his face into a relaxed, nonchalant, I’m-just-chilling-here expression.

“Nothing much,” Lou Ellen shrugged her shoulders. “You two are sparring together here? Why? Is the arena too mainstream for you?”

The new Athena kid gave a half-smile as he brushed off some hair from covering his eyes. “It was my request, actually,” he said. “I just want to have a...” he waved his right in a vague circular motion, like trying to find the exact word to say. “A more… realistic view when fighting a monster?”

That didn’t really make sense to Will. But it seemed to be an acceptable reason for Lou Ellen as she nodded at him.

“And has Nico been a good teacher for you?” Lou Ellen asked.

Will didn’t miss the way Lou gave him a quick glance.

David’s half-smile turned into a full one. “He is!” He turned his head to Nico and smiled at him, like he was pleased at Nico. “Thanks for teaching me, Nico. You are very good at sword-fighting.”

Nico returned David’s smile with one of his small smiles. A smile that could have filled Will’s chest with warm air. But since he’s not at the receiving end of that smile, it turned Will’s chest into lead instead.

“Anytime. It was a pleasure.”

“You will teach me more, yes? And ah… We also need to talk more. About football.”

This was the first time for Will to really listen to David talking, and he couldn’t help but notice how David’s voice had quite an accent. Especially when he pronounced football, the way he stretched some syllables.

Nico’s face lit up. “Yeah! We should! I know that Cecil played football! Right?” His eyes darted from Will to Lou Ellen, like asking for confirmation.

“Cecil? He does. I can take you to talk to him. Come on,” Lou Ellen quickly pulled the sleeve of David’s shirt and led him away from the other two demigods.

Will watched the backs of Lou Ellen and David who were walking away from them. He could feel nervousness starting to creep in on him as their voices slowly faded away, as he realized that he’s now alone with Nico.

Not that he hated to be with Nico. It’s just… this wasn’t his plan. He wasn’t prepared. And Will hated it when things didn’t go as he planned. He hated it when he was unprepared.

“David played football,” Nico said just when David and Lou Ellen disappeared from their sight.

Will angled his neck to look at Nico. “And when you said football, did you mean soccer?”

“I mean football,” Nico answered, turning on his heels a little so now he was facing Will. “The real football.”

Will snorted and slid down to sit on the grass. “They’re the same,” he said, leaning his back on the tree.

Nico followed Will, sitting on the grass. “It will always be football for me,” he said. There was a melancholic tone lacing his voice. And it made Will wonder, maybe it’s something that Nico used to play. In the streets in Venice, when he was just a kid who had no idea that Greek gods and goddesses were real.

“We, David and I, we were talking about playing here. I mean, it would be great, you know? David said he played midfield. I’m usually,” Nico paused, but quickly continued. “I mean, I used to play as a striker. If we can connect well, that would be really cool.”

Will closed his eyes while his stomach churned with a strange, unpleasant feeling. So, not only was this David kid good in sword-fighting, he’s good in soccer too?

“Do you play too? I mean, you can be the goal keeper. I guess you would be great. I mean, you’re tall and it would be a great asset for a goalkeeper.”

Will huffed. Stuck between the goalposts while watching Nico and David scoring goals? Yeah. No, thank you.

“We’ll see about that,” Will said, still with his eyes closed.

For a while, none of them said anything. Will opened his eyes when he heard Nico sighed. He turned his head, watching Nico stand up. Nico brushed his pants, and gave Will a small smile.

“I’ll see you around, Solace.”

Will wondered why that smile looked a bit strained, but returned it anyway. “Yeah. I’ll see you around.”

He watched as Nico walked away.

Someone would be a good guy for Nico, he thought. And even though Will was a good guy, maybe he just wasn’t good enough. So of course, someone would be a good guy for Nico. Someone else. Not Will.

***

Will didn’t even know why he was here, standing awkwardly near the table where the food and drinks were.

Oh, yes. Because Cecil and Lou Ellen practically dragged him here, to this stupid Halloween party organized by the Aphrodite Cabin.

It’s not that Will disliked Halloween. And it wasn’t like he hated Halloween parties either. What he didn’t like, was seeing Nico talking with David at the other corner of the room. Just looking at the sight made a strange, nauseating fire flame inside of him.

“Pining over di Angelo again?” Lou Ellen nudged him on his shoulder.

“Yeah. How long are you going to act like this Will? Playing it cool while we all know how you wish you’re the one talking to di Angelo instead of David?” Cecil joined Lou Ellen in interrogating Will.

Will only rolled his eyes. “I don’t know what you guys are talking about,” he mumbled, and took another sip of Coke from his cup. He tried to watch the campers who were dancing in the middle of the floor. Some kids from the Hermes cabin somehow got a hold of speakers. And of course, with a little help from the Hephaestus kids, the party had a cool sound system that was now playing pop music.

Lou Ellen sighed. Will stole another glance at where Nico was standing. David was leaning a little to whisper something at Nico. The proximity between those two made it a little bit harder for Will to breathe. He wondered what it was that David was telling Nico. But then Nico turned his head to Will. And no matter how cliché it might sound, Will’s heart skipped a beat when their eyes met. Will quickly looked down to the floor.

Next to him, Lou Ellen clicked her tongue.

“You know what? I can’t take this anymore. It’s been MONTHS. This has got to end tonight,” she said. Ignoring Will’s protest, she grabbed Will’s wrist and pulled him along with her, walking towards Nico and David.

A few seconds later, Will was standing with a flustered face in front of Nico and David.

“Hey, Nico, David! You guys enjoying the party?”

David gave that half-smile again. “Ah, yes. The party is nice.” He angled his neck just a bit so now he was looking right at Will. The half-smile subtly transformed into a knowing smirk. “And you? You… You are the healer, yes? Will?”

Will forced himself to smile politely at David. “Yeah. That’s me.”

David gave a single nod. “Nico talked a lot about you. A lot of good things.”

Will blinked. His eyes darted to Nico, but the raven-haired boy looked away from him. Still, his cheeks were a dark shade of red.

“Is that Cecil over there? I think I want to talk to him,” David suddenly said as he pointed at Cecil with his chin. “Lou Ellen? Come with me?”

Lou Ellen grinned as she nodded and made a 90-degree turn on her heels. “Yeah, come on, David. Let's leave these two idiots.”

And just like that, they left Will again, standing awkwardly less than two feet away from Nico.

“Uh… I didn’t expect to see you here,” Will said.

Nico turned his head at Will, an eyebrow slightly raised up. “Oh? I thought you were the one saying that I need to work on my social skill.”

Will gave Nico a small smile. “Yeah. So. Good to see you here, then. I mean, for your social skills and all.”

Nico stared at Will. And there was just something behind those dark eyes. Something that Will couldn’t put into words. Something that made him unable to look away.

“Aren’t you going to ask me to dance, Solace?”

The question got Will off-guard. Of all the questions in the world, it’s probably the most unexpected one.

“Huh?”

Nico held his eyes at Will’s for another second, but then he looked away. “Never mind,” he said, half-mumbling. His cheeks blushed again into dark cherry color.

“But… do you want to, though?”

Nico’s head turned back to Will. “Want to do what?”

“Dance? Do you…want to?”

Nico bit his lower lip and he looked down for a second. When he looked up back at Will, his charcoal eyes were soft.

“Depends.”

“On what?”

“On who’s asking me to.”

Will’s heart started to jump around in his chest.

“What if it’s me asking you?”

The eyes that were staring back at him were now smiling.

“Then I guess, it depends on the song, then.”

Will’s heart was probably doing some crazy somersaults right now, but his lips curled up without him even thinking about it.

“Well, it’s my favorite song that they’re playing right now. I hope it suits you?” he asked, carefully offering his hand.

Nico’s smile was as soft as the look in his eyes. And the moment their fingertips touched, Will’s heart soared high and suddenly his chest was filled with warm, light air.

As Will led Nico to the floor, he thought about how long he has been wanting to do this, to hold Nico’s hand in his.

They swayed along with the music. Nico’s left hand felt perfect in his right hand. Will’s left hand rested on Nico’s hip and Will couldn’t care less about the other people dancing around them.

“Your dancing is better than your singing,” Nico said, a playful smile on his lips.

Will chuckled. “My grandma said a real Southern gentleman must know how to dance. And I remember my Mama dancing with me when I was a kid.”

“Your Mam raised you well, I have to say.”

Will hummed. “I’m a good mama’s boy, I can promise you that.”

“I can see that, Will. Everyone can see that.”

“See what?”

“That you’re a good guy.”

This time Will held his eyes at Nico. “I try to be,” he said. “But… Would I ever be good enough for you?”

Nico huffed. “And you said I was the dense one.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean…” Nico stopped, but his feet kept on moving. He sighed. “Gods, do I really have to spell it out to you?” He asked, sounding exasperated as he looked away from Will.

Hope bloomed inside of Will and he grinned and oh, how he wanted to shout and laugh. He took his hand off Nico’s hip so he could gently cup Nico’s cheek, guiding him to face him back.

“Do you mean you like me?” Will asked.

“Well, do you like me?”

Will chuckled and he could feel a stupid smile creeping in. “Why do you even have to ask?”

Nico shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t know. Because you’re nice to me but you’re also nice to everyone? Because you don’t seem to care even if I talk about someone else? Because you…” Nico stopped again and shook his head. “I don’t know. Maybe because I just…don’t know?”

Will squeezed Nico’s hand just a bit tighter. “I was just… I was just afraid that I’m not good enough for you.”

Nico rolled his eyes. But his lips twitched, like he tried to hold back a smile.

“You’re a good guy, Will. You’re a good guy to everyone. But sometimes I hope that you can be my good guy.”

It’s like a thousand birds were singing inside of Will now as he felt like he was floating in this bubble of happiness.

“Then I’ll be yours, Death Boy.”

Will wrapped his arms around Nico, and pulled him into his embrace.

“I’ll be your good guy, then. I’ll be your everything.”

Nico pulled himself a little away from Will. He looked up at Will and the light in his eyes was like the most beautiful star in a dark night.

“Everything?”

“Everything. Anything you need.”

***

Additional Author's Notes: Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed it :). Reblogs, replies or any other feedbacks are much appreciated. Also please don't forget to check out the zine!!!

[link-alou]

@bitt-better (realized I forgot to fix it, so finally did that) HELLO HI. YOUR MIND /POS

Thank you for your interest!!! Genuinely, I haven’t thought too into the au. Though I do feel that Damian may be more prone to bullying? But also another part says not so much because, if we all had animal traits, wouldn’t you be interested if there was someone with a scorpion tail. But also, on my first point, you could technically call him an ‘early bloomer’, since it’s only bad bad situations that cause a person to gain the traits, it’s the body’s last defense mechanism. And some kids are more like to go “lol you’re probably so used to daddy’s money that something mildly inconvenient was your biggest threat ever”. I’d also say adults would be more prone to worry, since, “hey why does the very rich man have a child with animal traits despite him being so young”, though I’m sure the bats could come up with some sort of story as to why.

And the League of Assassins absolutely do try to manipulate what animals are nearby when they have the chance. Though it does get a bit tricky because most adults and teenagers in it have already gained their respective traits. So Damian, and anyone born in the League around that time, were sort of the first test? To see if the body would even accept a controlled variable, simply reach out to whatever seemed fit, or not react at all to a purposeful endangerment. Atm, I’ve been playing with the idea of Damian’s animal being an accident. Perhaps something happened during a spar that put him in genuine danger, and a scorpion was around. Though the idea of Ras wondering if a kid could harbor some kind of poison or stun is rather interesting. I’m playing with all sorts of ideas :3

I’m thinking maybe maybe animal traits can be hidden, though it takes constant focus to keep them away. It’s not something many people practice, no normal person’s going to teach their kid how to balance focusing on looking entirely human and focusing on everyday life. But the League of Assassins may, because what’s more trusting than someone that most defiantly hasn’t been in a risky situation yet. Though Damian wouldn’t hide his traits when meeting Bruce or his siblings, because he’ll feel threatened and in turn want to look threatening. No one wants to mess with a snappy kid that could actually harm you with his tail. So maybe I don’t need to brainstorm anything and Damian just makes himself look ‘normal’ when he goes to school and such. Maybe Bruce asked him because god is that man emotionally constipated and he doesn’t truly realize the weight of his words or what it could cause, or because there really won’t be many scorpion people in Gotham, so if his newest ward is one, and so is the newest Robin, he’ll be pretty easy to trace

In my opinion, I don’t think there’ll be much discrimination. Partially because I just don’t want to write it, and because it’s literally a source of trauma for every person. Sure there’ll always be someone willing to pick fun and push boundaries, but that’ll probably be as far as I’ll ever allow it to go. But if you really want, maybe people with prey animal traits are more wary towards those with predators and/or vice versa. Like someone with bird traits will get a little fidgety around, say, someone with dog or lion traits. It’s because there’s a little thing in their brain, pretty much a small replica of the respective animals slapped into a humans, telling them “danger danger danger” and the rest of the brain pays it very little mind.

You’re welcome to draw or write anything for this! I really love your thoughts and ideas, buddy. Tag me if you want but I might also stalk your page for dc content so I’ll prolly see stuff regardless.

This is all just me babbling, though. Again thanks for the interest, really got the brain juices flowing ₍^. ̫.^₎

Hello I am also in the DC fandom (you can probably tell from my page’s header). Take a quick doodle for a batfam au :3

I don’t remember if I dreamt the fic or if it actually exists, but the gist is: when a person is put in grave danger for the first time, they get the traits of whatever animal is closest to them. It only happens once, and sometimes people try to manipulate what animal another person gets the traits of, though it won’t always work.

Damian is a scorpion. What kind? I dunno! I just wanted to give him a stabby tail.

The art is when he was still getting used to Wayne Manor. Perhaps not violence-prone every second anymore, but still ready to lunge and stab. Due to him still being integrated into the family, there aren’t a whole bunch of clothes for him to wear yet; so I put the guy in an oversized red shirt that I’m pretending is a hand-me-down from Tim (I just want them to be brothers ok ☹️)

[quirklessidiot]

title : cigarettes and parfaits [3] pairing : older!nanami kento x younger!reader [13 year age gap, ft toji fushiguro] Genre: romance, fluff, slice of life, josei, angst, comedy, strangers to lovers au

Summary: you’re pretty sure you’d remember marrying a man 13 years older than you, right?

Warnings: alcohol, smoking, mild smut, y/n making stupid decisions, everyones a human-au so yeh non-canon stuff and everyone’s happy (periODT) i keep forgeting to add that this isnt beta-rread..all of my stories arent so yeah shshs Notes: ah, i feel like this story will be lengthen more than 8-10 chapters shshshs i wanted to add a little spice anyways thanks for all the comments uwu ily all!

Masterlist || taglist || [prev ; next] [updates; every saturday!]

“Y/N-chan!!!”

You cringe in embarrassment as soon as you hear that awfully familiar and cheerful voice, you could barely remember this man and the events that transpired the night before but here he was, acting like your new best friend. You weren’t even sure if you wanted to go here but you needed clarity. Surely you didn’t just legally marry a man at an Izakaya out of all places last night?

“Oh, you actually did marry him.” Gojo Satoru proclaims as soon as you take a seat across him, he gestures around his face, “I could tell by your whole, ‘I hope this guy is messing with me’ face. You have it, signed and sealed. Even got the cute matchy rings that I had one of my assistants delivered.”

You pale at the thought of his assistant coming in with a silver ring. Wasn’t he sober? How could he not have stopped you two from doing something as reckless and stupid as this? Weren’t older men supposed to be more responsible than this?

“Why the hell didn’t you stop us?” You groaned, burying your face in your hands, embarrassment painted all over your features.

“I was just as drunk as you two.” He confessed, scratching his head, “probably even more drunk but anyways back to the topic in hand, I only remembered it when the same assistant came in and congratulated me about it. It’s good I had your number on my phone before you two bailed.”

“So you don’t really remember?”

“Bits and pieces.” Gojo grinned, this guy was a maniac, how did the serious man you met just this morning have friends like this? You probably wouldn’t even last long, “I did call Nanami-”

He’s cut off by the rough sound of someone pulling a chair out, you immediately jump on your seat when you realize it’s Nanami Kento, the guy from this morning. The man you had recklessly married!

“This better be some prank you’re pulling, Satoru.” His voice was anything but kind that you almost wanted to hide behind Gojo’s back.

“Hey, hey.” Gojo raises his hands, “Don’t look at me. I didn’t force you into anything and stop scaring your poor little partner.”

Nanami snaps his gaze towards you and you notice how his eyes soften just a bit when he sees your red ears and your eyes looking away from him, “You better call Geto and fucking fix this, I refuse to bother this young-”

“It’s fine.” You cut him off, still shy and red, “It’s...fine...I just…Please don’t think I’m burdened by it. It was technically my fault for even agreeing immediately.”

Nanami clenches his jaw and turns away, “Nevertheless. L/N-san’s young. I hope to not be such an uncouth man like you.” he retorts, voice sharp as he eyes the white-haired businessman up and down. Gojo, seemingly used to it, rolls his eyes behind his dark shades.

“Maybe you guys should try it out.”

The blonde man looks like he’s about to smite the white-haired man out of existence yet Satoru remains oblivious to his friend’s gaze, “Don’t ya think so? It will take a while for those divorce papers to settle in so why don’t you two go out and get to know each other? Who knows…” he sing-songs the last part and Nanami is so close to chunking his briefcase towards the tall businessman, not even caring 

“Ah, he’s not exactly wrong, Nanami-san.” you try to calm him down, placing a small hand on his broad shoulder.

“Don’t tell me you’re actually listening to this idiot’s idea.” Nanami replied, gaze narrowing.

“Not really but you have some problems I can help you out on and I have problems that you can help me out on...Of course, the last say is on you...”

“Told you I actually had a brain.” Satoru piped in.

“Shut up, Satoru.” he quips, then turns to you, “I’m thirteen years older than you, L/N-san. I have two high school kids that could pass off as your siblings, and-”

“Well, I technically did marry you.”

“You were drunk.”

“Doesn’t exactly really excuse it.” You laugh nervously, “The whole divorce process usually lasts up to a few months, some even takes a whole year. I could help you out with the boys and I can use you to ward my family off from moving back home.”

Nanami is quiet for a moment, actually thinking about it. Weighing the pros and the cons, not only would you be able to help him out but you’d also be able to get Gojo and blind-dating out of his back.

There really wasn’t anything he could loose, really.

“Or you two might fall in love.” Satoru teases, making Nanami throw him another side-eye, as if saying ‘I dare you to say another word.’

It’s a Thursday today and Sukuna absolutely loathed Thursdays     apparently because it reminded him of Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays. They all were far from the weekend     Everyone seems to be happier than usual though. Maybe it was because you were there teaching some basic shit at the board or something.

“...and if we transfer this here and change the positive to a negative, you’ll end up having five as your answer.” You smile, placing your chalk down, “Does anyone have any questions?”

Echoes of no’s resonated throughout the room.

“Alright then, let’s end the lesson here so you guys can have an early lunch. I don’t think an assignment is in order since many of you were able to get a perfect score in the activity awhile ago.” You winked. A couple of whoops resonated throughout the whole class right after. 

As the kids shuffle out of the room of the class, Sukuna remains behind. The ojisan had cooked them something delicious this morning and he wanted to eat it in peace without that pesky Nobara grabbing a share from his bento and Yuuji’s annoying babbles about horror movies with his best friend Junpei (the only one who was really bearable was Megumi, really)

“Sukuna-kun?” you called out, snapping him out of his small trance,  “Are you alright?”

He notices a glint of worry in your eyes, he had to admit since his transfer here last Monday, you were the least annoying teacher in the academy     the blue-haired professor in Japanese literature was absolute shit since he loved to tease him a lot and that bald-headed teacher in science who looked a lot like Mike Wazowski was an annoying twerp who loved dawdling in him and Yuuji’s business     and you were kind of good at your job. Not only did his idiot of a brother stop coming to him and their ojisan for help in math but he could actually do the worksheets right and get an actual decent grade at it.

“Yeah.” he roughly replies.

“That’s good.” You smiled, he watched as you bind their worksheets together and clip them in utmost delicacy, “You should head to the cafeteria now, I heard they’re serving milk bread today.”

Without saying anything more, you left the room, leaving him there in the silence.

Well, the Christmas tree idiot was right.

You kind of had a motherly aura on you and it didn’t even look forced.

No wonder, everyone in this room was whipped for you despite your subject being a pain in the ass.

“You look like an idiot.” You mumbled as you slapped Mahito’s hand away in annoyance, your workmate wiggling his eyebrows like the little shit he is.

You completely forgot you did have someone like Gojo Satoru in your life and it was one of your co-workers, Mahito, a Japanese literature teacher who was too nosy for his own good.

“You’ve got a ring on your ring finger and a mailman comes in and gives you an invite for Zen’in Toji’s fortieth birthday.” he whistles, “Even Jogo-sensei gossiped by the water cooler awhile ago, saying that you had eloped with the man. Not that I’m judging you or anything...”

You choke on your saliva, clearly thrown off by the backhanded comment. That darn bald-headed fool that looked like the green eyed monster from the DreamWorks cartoon, he sure needed to lay off the gossip and actually focus on his job as the head of the science department, “You’re not denying it.” Mahito stated, narrowing his eyes in suspicion, “Why aren’t you denying it?”

“I’m not dating Megumi-kun’s father.” You grumbled, finishing up your paperwork, “That man is off limits.”

“Right,” he drawls on sarcastically, “...because you have a strict rule against dating hot older men with money.”

“I also teach his kids and his cousin…” You deadpan.

“We don’t even have a rule against that.” He retorts, rolling his eyes, “If we did, Hanami-sensei would’ve been fired a long time ago.”

“You’re an asshole.”

“And you’re so secretive. If it isn’t Toji Zen’in, who’d ask you out?”

“Hey, I do have a man.” You huffed, “and he’s very kind and considerate...”

The image of the tall and lean man sleeping next to you slowly wormed its way back from your memory and you feel your cheeks start to flush. Good god, what were you? twelve? How embarrassing.

You needed to get that image off of your head, it wasn’t right.

It was all temporary, anyways and he doesn’t even see you in that sort of way-

“Yes, I’m Sukuna and Yuuji Itadori’s guardian…” a very familiar stoic voice could be heard from the nearby table, cutting your thoughts short. Wait, were you so head over heels for the man that you started imagining him here? Yuuji and Sukuna’s guardian? Wait a minute.

All color drained from your face as you snap your head behind you to find the same man you were imagining.

Oh no.

Oh no, indeed.

There stood Nanami Kento in all his glory;  crisp suit, stoic face, and eyes laced with mild worry.

“...L/N-sensei is Sukuna-kun’s adviser, by the way. It would be best to discuss this with them.” Akari somberly informed the man, turning to your direction. You don’t miss the shift of expressions when he sees you standing there.

Your mouth parts and you know you look like gawking fish trapped in a small aquarium.

“Akari-sensei’s looking at you with the new hot daddy.” Mahito mumbles next to you, eyeing him up and down, “Definitely wonder where all these old men come from these days.”

You were only half-listening to your co-worker because your head was all over the place, just what were the odds that he was the guardian of the new transferee’s? Just how awkward would everything be? Why did it even have to be at this school out of all places?

Never ending questions pop out of your head as you approached them, “Good afternoon, Nanami-san.” Your smile comes out very stiff and awkward while you hold your hand out for him to shake, clearly there was no memo on how you were suppose to act around your sort-of-fake-husband-whos-kids-you-actually-taught.

Nanami reverts back to his stoic expression as he clears his throat, “Yes, good afternoon to you too, L/N-sensei.” he greets, maintaining a straight-laced tone.

“Akari-sensei says that Sukuna has been quite...rude...in class…” you try to rack your brains up to describe his kid.

“Your son literally pointed out that the history lesson I was teaching was fake and that I should study again so he could get his tuition’s worth.” Akari looks clearly perplexed and ready to throttle the boy if it was legal. You had to admit, Sukuna went overboard with that insult.

You knew how passionate Nitta was about her job and what Sukuna just said to her was like a big ‘fuck you, you suck.’ to her.

“I’ll be sure to talk to him about this,” he sighs, bowing down, “I’d like to ask for forgiveness for that, the boy is a good and smart student-”

“Nanami-san, the school not only cares about grades but character as well.” Akari Nitta sighed, cutting him off, “I’ll let this slide once, if he does that again, it goes on the record.”

You internally bit your cheek, still trying to process everything that was going on.

“I understand. Thank you for that.”

“I’ll walk him out, sensei.” You immediately say soon after, wanting to have some alone time with him, “Let’s go, Nanami-san.”

You walk right next to him silently, some students peerlessly glancing at the tall blonde next to you but you were too immersed in thought to notice the stares, “Nanami-san?” you ask softly as soon as you reach the exit.

Nanami Kento looks at you, his eyes still laced with a bit of worry, “It’s okay.” you silently comforted him, “Just talk to him calmly.”

“That’s not the problem.” he sighed, “I just didn’t expect that the person I married would be the boy’s teacher.”

You sweat drop, “Aren’t you worried about talking to Sukuna? I mean, he literally just disrespected a teacher and you said that he and you weren’t in good-”

“It’s easier to talk to him about that rather than…” he paused, showing his ring, “this.”

You blinked.

Seemed like Nanami knew what to say about the little attitude problem his son had, “So you must be used to this?” you asked, “Him disrespecting the teacher?”

You notice the shift of expressions on his face, you had only known this man for a few days so far but he was starting to get easier to read. His eyes shed more emotion than his face, no wonder he likes wearing those funny sunglasses a lot.

“It’s something I’ve scolded him over a couple of times,” he gruffed, trying to dance around the subject, it seemed like he had such a soft spot to the point where he had a problem with disciplining them, “At times I believe it’s just because he’s way too smart for his age. The boy has read history books for fun when he was a kid and solved quadratic equations to prove that he’s better than me when he was ten.”

“It still doesn’t give him the free pass to say things like that to a teacher”

“I know,” he acknowledged, “I’ll be sure to give him a better scolding-”

“No, you see. This is why he thinks he can get away with it. He isn’t afraid of you. You’ll only probably tell him that you can’t do that.” you frown, crossing your arms, “You do know that not all sensei’s are as nice as Akari-sensei and he could get in trouble for that even more in the future, right?”

Silence lingered between you two for a moment and suddenly you realize that you must’ve said something way off the rails.

“I..” you turn red, embarrassed by the sudden outburst, “That was too much, wasn’t it?”

You look at him directly in the eye, the worry-filled ones are now replaced with a softer gaze. God, he really needed to stop looking at you like a kid. It would only make this set-up more awkward!

“No,” he mumbles, “It...It wasn't too much…”

“Oh.” you cleared your throat, flustered and looking away from his face, “Well, okay then goodbye then Nanami-sa-”

You needed to get out of this conversation quick.

“Kento.”

Your gaze snaps directly towards him, clearly taken aback by the correction.

“What?”

“We’re technically married now, right?” he softly corrected, “Call me Kento.”

“Oh,” You uttered again, this time softly. You looked down on your shoes, it seemed like the floor looked really interesting now, “Then bye-bye, Kento.”

“Bye Y/N.”

He leaves you standing there, cursing yourself because of your erratic heartbeat at the way he says your name in that voice. First name basis? okay, totally normal for sort-of lovers, right?

taglist [if crossed out, i can’t tag u ; - ;]

; @coldbookworm  ; @frankenstein852  ;  @neavil  ; @shephard17895  @kristineyoshaii ; @airybnb ; @okachansenpai ; @amortentiaxo ; @rinvtaro ; @franko-pop ; @kozutenshi ; @kaldoesthings ; @moonlitdabi ; @chococroissant ; @bleepop ; @kaldoesthings ; @moonlitdabi ; @chococroissant ; @pettybroccoli ; @nixxona ; @kiyoo-omi ; @omibaby ; @bokkunto ; @peccobagnaia​ ; @sangwoahbigbussy​ ; 

@Kurok1717 ;  @hcn421 ;  @shinhiromi ;  @airybnb ; @katshuya ; ​@atsuhaya