#i'm ngl this fic makes me super sad now

[cookies-over-yonder]

12

The dads take a rest at another inn after Darryl obtains his anchor, and Grant has a rough night.

ao3

Darryl wakes with a start. Something is wrong. He can feel it.

The sound of quick and staggered breaths beside him is enough to confirm that suspicion.

Despite the dark, Darryl can still make out Grant's shaking figure, turned away from him.

"Grant?"

Darryl hears a sharp inhale followed by silence.

His hand makes its way to the still shaking shoulder of the figure in front of him, and he gingerly shakes it. "Kid?"

Grant lets out a large sigh, only for it to be cut off by a sob.

"Kiddo, what's wrong?" Darryl asks, soft and sincere.

No response.

"Come on, talk to me."

After a moment, Grant sits up, frantically wiping his tears, and Darryl follows, sitting beside him.

The kid looks a lot less out of it, but a lot more distressed.

"Um—" he clears his throat. "You know—you know how I said, uh, Yeet told me about how he was, like, feeling—err, not feeling anything?"

Grant is breathing shakily.

"Yeah," Darryl says, pushing down the part of him that wants to immediately soothe his son. He needs to listen first.

"It—it—it's scary… and, um, he'd been having, uh, nightmares too, and even when he wasn't having those, he would still lay awake thinking about them, and thinking about the memories…" Grant pulls his knees up to his chest and clutches them, staring straight ahead. "And it… it wasn't… I don't know… I…"

Grant's eyes are wide, and the words are briefly stuck in his throat. "Just. Scared. For him."

And without a second to spare, Grant buries his head in his knees, with his arms gripping himself tightly.

He shakes his head.

"I—I'll be fine, Dad, don't worry about it," Grant mumbles into his knees.

Darryl wraps his arms around Grant, and he tenses up for a moment. While debating whether to let go, Darryl's decision is made when the grip Grant has on himself loosens a little.

Grant's arms make their way around Darryl, and his fingers clutch the fabric of his shirt. The kid is trembling violently against him.

"Of course I'm worried about you, kid. I love you."

"I—"

Rapid breaths cut off whatever Grant would have said, and all that comes out is a panicked squeak.

"Grant, hey," Darryl pulls away and looks at him, holding onto his arms to keep him grounded.

Another panicked squeak is all Grant can muster. His eyes are shut tight, and his cheeks are flushed and stained with tears. His breaths are quick and shallow and out of control, as far as Darryl can tell.

" Dad— " he forces out. It's so small, and so hurt, and so scared, and so broken. Then, he opens his eyes. They're wide, and locked straight ahead. Grant is fully hyperventilating now. Whatever mask of 'I'm okay, I'm fine' he had on before has completely shattered by now.

"Hey, hey, hey," Darryl brushes Grant's hair away from his eyes.The kid's forehead is wet with sweat. "I'm right here, it's okay, you're gonna be okay, kid… we're gonna do a breathing exercise, alright?"

Grant jerks his head in a gesture that Darryl understands as a nod of affirmation.

"Okay, okay, breathe in with me."

Darryl takes in a long, loud, and exaggerated breath.

He can see Grant struggle to obtain control over his lungs.

"God—I—sorry," Grant stutters, "I'm sorry, sorry, I—"

A sob wracks Grant's body, and the heels of his hands press into his eyes.

Darryl feels his own heart break. Grant is in front of him, muttering apologies through what looks like an anxiety attack.

It dawns on Darryl that Grant thinks this is something he should apologize for.

Grant's hands make their way up to his hair and he starts tugging at it until his knuckles turn white.

"Kiddo, don't do that," Darryl places his hands over Grant's and the tight grip he has on his hair goes slack—like a surrender. While pulling Grant's hands away from his hair and holding them in his own, Darryl looks him in the eyes."You'll hurt yourself."

For a second, Grant just stares back, wide-eyed. Darryl thinks he can briefly see Grant shift into the apathetic shell of himself he'd been for the past little while, but then he breaks down into sobs more hysterical than before.

Somehow, he thinks his words made this worse, but he doesn't want to think about why.

"Kid, kid, kid, hey, it's oka—"

"It's—it's not , Dad," Grant snaps. He's still gasping for air, but he is loud .

"It's not okay!" he shouts, gripping Darryl's hands hard. "I'm…"

He deflates. His voice is small and weak and devoid of any and all fervor it had a second ago.

" I'm not…" he trails off.

"Come here," Darryl says softly, slipping his hands out of Grant's grasp and wrapping his arms around the kid. He's still gasping for air as he melts into the hug.

"Breathe, just breathe. Follow me."

Grant presses himself against Darryl's chest. Darryl isn't sure whether it was to follow the rise and fall of his breathing or… another reason, but it warms his heart either way.

Eventually, he takes a slightly slower breath in.

"Now breathe out."

Darryl lets out a long exhale ending with a whistle.

Grant's exhale is more like a sigh from someone who'd just been rescued from drowning, taking in and letting out air like they thought they'd never see it again. Quick and shallow, but alive.

"We're gonna do it again now," Darryl scrambles to say when Grant's breathing picks up once more.

This time is still rough. Grant is still gasping, but he seems to be gaining a little more control.

Darryl finds himself quickly blinking away his own wave of fresh tears.

After a few more rounds of guided breathing, Grant finally calms a little.

He's gripping onto Darryl's shirt with his face pressed against it, breathing softer.

Darryl places one hand on his back and another on the back of his head, and he plants a small kiss on the top of it.

"It's gonna be okay, kiddo."

☆

Henry lightly knocks on the door to Darryl's room before opening it quietly.

"Darryl? Everything okay? I thought I heard something," he whispers, but then he lays his eyes on what appears to be Grant sleeping soundly against Darryl's chest. His face is red and blotchy, and his fingers are curled around the fabric of Darryl's shirt.

"Think he woke up and started panicking. That or he didn't sleep," Darryl whispers back. "Shaking, crying, and started breathing too fast. I, uh, did a breathing exercise with him, just like you would…"

Henry feels a warmth wash over him at the words. "I'm proud of you Darryl, that's great."

"Thanks, man," Darryl rubs circles into Grant's back as he sleeps, "I'm scared for him," he whispers, quieter than before.

"Well, we're all here to support him, aren't we? I'm sure he'll be alright."

"I think I messed up, Henry."

"What?"

"Kid's ashamed of himself. And, and he uh, I don't think he knows he can come to me."

"Well, you can make it known now, can't you?"

"Henry I… I'd never seen him break like that before. And, and, I got the feeling that it wasn't the first time."

[t-lostinworlds]

Competitively Stupid | Steve Harrington

》 PAIRING: steve harrington x female!reader

》 TROPE/GENRE: rivals-ish (since childhood) to lovers, some angst; fluff

》 SUMMARY: It was stupid, jumping off a cliff just to prove that you were better than Steve fucking Harrington. But you were competitive. You were not losing to him. But you know what was stupider? For it to take a near-death situation for you both to confess what you truly feel for each other.

》 WARNINGS: canon divergent (everyone is alive & well & happy thanks), pet names (sweetheart, baby), shitty parents (on both sides), competitiveness on all accounts, r is basically a counterpart of steve during high school (cheerleading captain, queen of hawkins high, swim team captain, etc.), peer pressure-ish, some stupid decisions & stupider actions, very irresponsible cliff jumping (which doesn't end well), drowning, CPR, injuries, an emotional moment™, love confessions, and a happy, sappy ending.

》 WORD COUNT: 5.3k+

A/N: hi! okay, well, it's been a while since i posted a steve fic so i'm kinda nervous ngl. also, not me making it a habit to include swimmer!steve in all my fics from here on out. this was meant to be short & sweet to dust off the cobwebs but lol. super random. i saw a video of someone cliff-jumping & boom, the idea was born. also, not me using the first aid training i learned in college.

📍 BLOG NAVIGATION ✩ STEVE H. MASTERLIST ✩ MAIN MASTERLIST ✩

⊱ ─────.⋅♚ *｡･ﾟ.★. *｡･ﾟ✫*.

This was stupid.

Absolutely idiotic.

You genuinely have no idea why you were even doing this in the first place.

"There's no way you can do it."

Right.

That's why.

The taunting voice of Steve fucking Harrington was the reason why you were standing on the edge of a cliff, looking down at a thirty-foot drop into the dark ocean.

This was supposed to be a relaxing trip with your new found family.

"You know you don't have to listen to him, right?" Robin sighed, so completely over the fact that her two best friends who never got along no matter what she tried, somehow came to an agreement to not listen to her right now.

Not that you could blame her.

You and Steve had been rivals ever since you were kids.

It was what you had always known.

What with narcissistic parents who used their children as pawns to one up each other, you had been conditioned to see him as an enemy from the second you step foot into their home.

Your family was invited into the Harrington residence for dinner as a way of welcoming you to the neighborhood. You recently just moved in, so you didn't know anyone else yet. When you heard that the next-door neighbor had a son who was your age, you had been really excited to gain a new friend.

All that changed when your dad sat you down an hour before, prepping you about how the Harringtons were a respected family in the town, and that you needed to show them you weren't any less than them, if not show them you were better. He drilled it in your brain to be on your best behavior, to be the best and the perfect daughter.

It only got worse when you finally sat down at that dinner table.

The comparisons were endless.

"See, my daughter here is a wonderful gymnast, quite amazing for someone her age."

"How wonderful. Steven here has swimming lessons every weekend. His coach said he might end up in the Olympic team once he's of age."

"Splendid. How about his academics? I'm sure he can take inspiration from my daughter's exemplary grades."

"He's the top of his class. Maybe if they study together, your daughter would be able to catch up in time."

It was harsh, pitting two seven-year-olds against each other—impressionable kids who only wanted to make their mom and dad proud.

But neither your parents nor his truly gave a shit. All they cared about was becoming the best family in the street, if not the whole town.

The sad thing was, those dinners became a regular thing, held alternately between your house and his.

It always looked like a preparation for battle whenever your mom would pull out the finest china in her collection along with the cookbook she only ever used for special occasions.

It was in the guise of cordiality when it was, in fact, an excuse to show off, to make a competition out of everything, a moment to compare who did what best. Those dinners were like monthly scoreboards, tallying up the respective families' recent achievements—and that included yours and Steve's.

Nobody was surprised that the competitiveness stuck with you both.

And it only got worse during high school.

Whether that was something as mundane as winning the popularity contest when running different circles—even going as far as getting crowned the King and Queen of Hawkins High—down to academics and extracurriculars.

Captain of the basketball team. Captain of the cheerleading squad. Prom Queen. Prom King. MVP of the season. Brightest student of the year. Beer pong Queen. Kegstand King. Best summer camp counselor. Lifeguard of the month and it went on and on and on and on.

When he got co-captain for the men's swim team, you rubbed it in his face that you were the captain of the women's team. When you got second place at the science fair, he made sure to rub his first place medal right in your face. When you became president of the student council, you ordered him around to do extra work whenever the basketball team was required to help with community service.

It was a constant back and forth.

There was always a competition between you and Steve Harrington.

And sure, since you graduated, it became subdued. But it was still very much there. Vying on who was the coolest babysitter in your band of ragtags, even fighting to have the title of Robin Buckley's ultimate best friend.

This thing between you and Steve was deeply rooted. So there really wasn't much Robin could do apart from getting in between your frequent squabbles before you started actually killing each other.

In Robin's words, something drastic had to happen for you both to finally wake up and see that this rivalry between you both wasn't what it seemed to be on the surface.

You had no idea what she was even implying.

Now, on a little getaway on the nearest beach you could drive to, the competition started with a race on who could get there first. It wasn't even fair seeing that you weren't the one driving.

The group had split into two, some were in Eddie's van—along with everyone's belongings since he had ample space in the back—while the others were in Steve's Beemer. Since you and Steve couldn't be in the same room together without an argument ensuing, it was a unanimous decision to have you two separated. Nobody wanted to deal with that for hours on the road.

Not that you could blame them, either.

And sure, it was the kids who suggested the race, but with Steve's smug smirk and that arrogant wink he threw once you got into Eddie's passenger seat, you knew it was game on between you too.

Yet despite the metal head being a fast—albeit slightly reckless—driver, he somehow took his sweet goddamn time getting to your destination.

Only when your group arrived at the beach last, did he say something about Steve threatening him to be extra careful with driving because there's important cargo in his van—whatever the hell that meant.

You lost to Steve on that one, but you would argue it was rigged from the start.

The next was a supposed friendly bout on who could build the biggest sandcastle that didn't topple over after a few minutes.

It was boys versus girls with you and him being team leaders. The girls won, obviously and El never used her powers. It was fair and square since the other team mostly argued over everything they could think of and had no teamwork at all. You made sure to point that out to Steve as you watched their sandcastle crumble into ruins.

Another one was beach volleyball. Same leaders as before, but you get to pick the members of your teams this time. Steve made it his mission to pick the tallest of the bunch. Still, it wasn't the advantage he thought it was because it ended up being one point too close.

Your team would've won if Steve wasn't such a dramatic asshole.

It was truly an accident. When you spiked that ball, you were not aiming for his face. He simply thought it was a good idea to catch the ball with it. Besides, he was distracted, flirting with some random girl in a bikini who was passing by, right in the middle of the game.

How was it your fault that he wasn't paying attention?

He made sure to oversell his injury after that, curled up on the sand as the girl fussed over him. But you saw that smirk on his face. You would've hit him again—definitely not by accident this time—if you weren't busy arguing with Robin about the point deduction. She said it was only fair since you hit the ball when she hadn't blown her imaginary whistle yet.

You decided to let it go when Steve commented on you being a whiny sore loser.

Unfortunately, the competition was ending with who could make jumping off a cliff and into the ocean look the coolest—adults only, despite the groans of protest from the mischievous bunch.

Eddie offered to stay behind and watch the rascals. When teased, he simply said he didn't want to test Death today.

His comment didn't help your nerves.

Robin said she was only coming purely as a voice of reason. She'd been saying nonstop how it was a horribly stupid idea, that there really was no need to be doing this in the first place.

But Steve wasn't backing down, so you weren't going to either.

So once again, it was only you and him.

As it always had been.

He volunteered to go first, throwing in a comment about rushing back up the cliff's edge before you could take your turn because he wanted a front-row seat for when you'd chicken out.

It only made you want to do it more.

His dive was smooth, almost flawless, you admit. He even showed off with a little flip near the end. It didn't take long for him to swim back to the shore, either. His years of training as a swimmer were obviously paying off.

But you trained just as much if not more than he had.

The only difference was, adrenaline didn't fuel you as much as it did Steve. So instead of getting all powered up looking down at a cliff's edge like he was, you were terrified.

But who wouldn’t get scared looking down at harsh waves crashing against sharp and jagged rocks? There was no margin for error here because one wrong slip and you'd be dead.

Still, if Steve could do it, you could do it better.

You weren't about to lose to his stupid ass.

"I'm not listening to him," you argued back, taking in a shaky breath as you took a step.

"He's doing reverse psychology!" she squeaked. "So you doing it is still listening to him!"

"I'm fine, Robs, I can do it," you mumbled, a slight questioning lilt at the end of your sentence.

"Look, sweetheart, it's okay to admit defeat," Steve said, cocky voice with an even cockier smile as he crossed his toned arms against his bare chest. His hair was still damp, quick to climb back up so he could get his front-row seat as he promised.

But you weren't chickening out.

Never.

"I mean, it wouldn't be the first time you lost to me so, it shouldn't sting as much."

You ignored him.

Instead, you took another step, the tips of your toes now hanging over the edge.

You can do this. Wipe that smug smirk off his face. You got this.

"Listen, you don't have to do—"

"Shut it, Harrington," you growled.

With a deep breath, you closed your eyes, counting from three, two, one…

You jumped.

-:-:-:-:-:-:-

This was stupid.

Absolutely idiotic.

He shouldn't have pressured you like that.

The jump wasn't deadly, per se, but it also wasn't exactly deemed the safest, especially if you weren't an expert in any sort of way.

And he didn't want to say it out loud because if he did, he knew it would only push you to do it more just to prove him wrong.

But Steve could see how scared you were.

He was already dropping the act, voice laced with concern as he started telling you that he wasn't worth all of this, that he was stupid and that you were always going to be better than him.

But, obviously, you didn't listen.

You simply jumped.

You and your stupidly competitive ass.

"Damn it," he cursed under his breath, rushing to the edge of the cliff, tensely watching your falling figure disappear into the water with a splash.

"You two are complete idiots."

"Shut up," Steve gritted, never looking away from the water. Yet any annoyance was quickly overpowered by sheer worry as he scanned the deep blue for anything.

There was no sign of you.

"Like seriously! It's like I'm the only one with a brain cell here!"

"Come on, come on, come on," Steve mumbled, completely ignoring Robin when you still hadn't emerged to the surface. "Come on, Y/N, don't scare me like this."

"Uh, Steve?" Robin asked after a moment, carefully looking over the cliff before shooting him a worried glance. "You look anxious and you being anxious is making me nervous."

"She hasn't come up," he grumbled, glancing at his watch.

It was nearing a minute.

"Maybe you didn't see her?"

"I haven't taken my eyes off the water, Buckley," he gritted, too harsh and uncalled for since Robin didn't do anything wrong.

But he was panicking.

A minute and thirty seconds.

"Come on, sweetheart, you can do it. You're an amazing swimmer," he whispered encouragingly, hoping some sort of magic would let you hear him underwater all while saying it aloud for his own sanity.

Two minutes.

You could never hold your breath any longer than that.

Steve knew because he always won that competition.

And that was in a calm pool.

"Shit, shit, shit!" he cursed, gearing up to dive after you. "I don't think she's coming up!"

"Okay! Okay," Robin rushed, panicking. "Maybe she's already on the shore. We should go down now and see—"

Steve didn't listen.

He jumped right after you.

The biting cold was awakening.

Still, it was the absolute fear of losing you that was keeping him alert.

He ignored the sting of the salty ocean water in his eyes as he frantically searched for you, his heart beating hard and fast, struggling for oxygen all while fearing for your safety.

Steve didn't know which came first, relief or dread when finally found you, aimlessly floating and unconscious under the deep blue.

He swam to you as fast he could, securely hooking his arm under your shoulder and dragging you up to the surface.

Steve always knew that adrenaline can give you a random boost of strength when needed. He simply didn't expect that to be proven true when he was carrying your unresponsive body in his arms as he brought you to the shore.

He gently placed you on your back on the sand, cupping your face as he checked for any injuries.

You were so cold.

"Hey, hey, wake up," he begged, grabbing your shoulders to try and shake you awake.

Nothing.

"You didn't have to make the jump, you idiot. Why do you always want to prove me wrong," he scolded with no ounce of anger, only worry. He started tapping your cheek frantically. "Come on, wake up!"

Still no response.

"Dammit, Y/N, why'd you have to be so fucking stubborn," he scolded, his voice shaking in fear, his chest tightening as he pressed two fingers against your pulse point.

His own heart stopped when he couldn't feel yours.

And you weren't breathing.

Steve tried to keep himself calm. If he panicked now, he wouldn't be able to give you the aid that you direly need.

"Come on, Harrington. You know what to do. You trained for this," he mumbled to himself, getting into the proper position to give you CPR.

He gently cupped your forehead with his left hand, his other two fingers under your chin as he tilted your head up.

"You're going to be okay," he whispered, pinching your nose before slotting his lips against yours.

Breathing into your mouth, one, two, he watched your chest rise as it filled up with air, only for it to settle back down without coming back up again. He quickly kneeled straighter, locking his fingers together and placing the heel of his left hand in the middle of your chest, pushing down with enough pressure to try and get your heart to start again.

"One, two, three, four, come on, sweetheart, breathe for me," he mumbled, easily finding the right rhythm, his first aid training as a lifeguard coming back to him like it was second nature.

Still, he never wanted to use this skill in a real-life situation, much less use it on you.

It was the longest thirty counts in his life.

Check for a pulse. Check for breathing.

Still nothing.

"Goddammit, Y/N, come on!" he growled, blinking back the tears as he pressed his mouth against yours again.

Two rescue breaths.

Thirty chest compressions.

Steve repeated the cycle over and over. His eyes were stinging with unshed tears, his knees were burning as the rough sand dug deeper into his skin, and his arms were starting to get sore, tiredness slowly covering his aching muscles.

But he'd rather die first than give up on you now.

"Steve—"

"Call for help, Robin!" he ordered, not taking his eyes off you for even a second. When he didn't hear any movement, he yelled, "Don't just stand there! Go!"

He was going to apologize for being an asshole later. For now, he needed you to fucking breathe.

"Come on, come on, please," he begged, leaning back down to give you two more rescue breaths. "Breathe for me, baby, please."

Thirty chest compressions.

"Trying to prove me wrong when I've always been wrong, you idiot."

Five, six, seven—

"Sweetheart, come on," he choked back a sob. "Who's going to call me out when I'm being stupid, huh? You know Robin can't do it alone."

Twelve, thirteen, fourteen—

"And you're really going to leave me alone to watch our kids?"

Twenty, twenty-one, twenty-two—

"Y/N, baby, please, I can't live without you," he whimpered.

Twenty-seven, twenty-eight, twenty-nine, thir—

Steve felt his breath leave his lungs when you finally gasped for air.

He quickly turned you to your side, rubbing your back as you choked out all the ocean water that got into your system.

"There you go, you're okay," he whispered, whether to reassure you or himself, he didn't even know anymore. All he was focused on was making sure you were going to be okay.

"S-Stevie?" you coughed out the nickname that was only ever used by you.

It was the equivalent to his nickname for you—sweetheart.

Names that started out to annoy each other but the more often it was used as time passed, it only managed to grow into an endearment that held something warm underneath it. You both were quick to realize that the nicknames you had for each other weren't out of spite anymore.

Neither of you simply addressed it.

"Steady, sweetheart, I'm right here," he reassured, hurriedly getting into your line of sight to stop you from trying to turn around to face him. He gently cupped your cheek, offering you a soft smile when your gaze found him. "I'm not going anywhere."

You nodded as best as you could, your eyes clinging onto his brown ones only for them to screw shut when a shiver ran through your whole body.

"C-Cold," you stammered.

"I know, I know, come here," he said softly, guiding you to sit up before quickly settling behind you. He gently pulled you closer between his legs, his chest pressed against your back as he blanketed his body over yours, rubbing your arms to keep you as warm as possible.

You turned to face him slightly, burying your face into his neck only for you to wince at the slight movement. He quickly tried to steady you again, checking over you twice to look for any visible injury. But he couldn't find any.

"Tell me what hurts," he asked, pressing his lips against your cold forehead as he fully wrapped his arms around you.

"A-Ankle," you whimpered in pain, your grip on his waist tightening and God he hated that sound so much.

You must've rolled it when you jumped, and having landed on it when you reached the water, it definitely made it worse.

"It's okay, you're okay," he murmured, littering kisses against the side of your head to try and keep your mind off it. "Robin already called for help, they should be on their way, alright?"

You gave him a small nod, inching even closer to him, seeking as much warmth from him as possible. Your cold breath was tickling his skin but he didn’t care. Hell, you could be breathing fucking ice and he still wouldn’t give a shit.

As long as you were breathing.

"I need you to stay awake for me, okay?"

"I-I'll try," you whispered.

"First to fall asleep is the biggest loser," he mumbled, squeezing you slightly when he felt your eyes flutter close. "And you wouldn't want me to win this, babe, because I'll be a little shit about it."

"Not f-fair," you choked out a laugh.

"It's plenty fair," Steve chuckled tearfully, ignoring the sudden wetness on his cheeks. He hugged you tighter instead. "So stay awake or you'll lose to me. Again."

"Right there! They're right over there!"

Steve had never been so grateful to hear Robin's voice.

-:-:-:-:-:-:-

"So are you finally going to tell her?"

"Tell her what?" Steve questioned back, unable to take his eyes off of you, soundly sleeping in a hospital bed with your foot now wrapped in a cast.

The doctor had already checked everything and thankfully, there weren't any further injuries apart from your twisted ankle.

Now, all you needed was to rest and recover.

"That you've been in love with her this whole time."

Steve sighed, squeezing your hand before turning to look at his best friend.

"I'm not in love with her, Robs."

"Right," she scoffed, raising a knowing brow. "Because jumping off a cliff with zero hesitation so you could save her is totally normal behavior for someone you claim you hate."

"I never said I hated her," he argued, and it was true. He couldn't think of a single moment where he hated you.

"Yeah, well, you two definitely don't act like you like each other."

"Does she annoy and frustrate the shit out of me? Yes. But I never hated her," he admitted.

Steve didn't know what it was exactly, maybe it was his tiredness muddling his brain, maybe it was from everything that happened in the last couple of hours finally catching up to him, or maybe it was the overwhelming need to confess everything into the open before it was too late—and it almost had been. Either way, he found himself suddenly spewing out all the things that he always just kept to himself.

"She's also been the most constant person in my life, you know? Hell, we basically grew up together. I can't just not care about her," he continued, memories flooding his system before he could even stop it. "She's been so ingrained in my life, her and the cute dresses she wore at those stupid dinners our parents always dragged us to. Her and her stupid competitions whenever our babysitters would bring us to the park together. Her and that stupid dance she always did whenever she won at anything even if it was my expense—she always does this cute little wiggle whenever she won, and that never left her even as we got older," Steve chuckled at the thought.

"And fuck, don't even get me started with how similar our parents are. She's the only one who will always get me when it comes to that," he continued. "And yeah, we compete a lot, but there was no hatred between us. Maybe at the start but all that went away when we learned that whatever our parents were feeding us was bullshit—that they were bullshit.

"And fine, did I sometimes get so annoyed whenever she got a new boyfriend? Yeah. But only because she always had this bad habit of dating fucking assholes. I don't know where she got those dickheads from but every time I see a glimpse of her crying by her window at night I swear to fucking God I would've killed every single one of those assholes if she asked," he gritted, slumping down in his seat with a sigh.

"She deserves to be treated right, you know? She's already experiencing so much shit at home, she doesn't need any more of that anywhere else. Sure, she irritates me to no end but that doesn't mean she's not a sweet girl who always cried whenever some random pet commercial came on the TV during the holidays. Does her competitiveness drive me up the wall? Absolutely. But that doesn't mean I don't feel so fucking proud of her whenever she wins another medal or achieves another milestone. And yeah, I wonder about how she's doing, if she's taking care of herself, if she's getting enough sleep between her work and classes. But that's only because I worry, you know?

"And maybe I do think about her a lot but that doesn't mean I'm in love with…"

Steve blinked.

Well fuck.

"Wow," Robin marveled. "You're stupider than I thought."

"He hit his head as a kid, cut him some slack."

Steve paled at the sound of your voice, swiftly turning red at the thought that you probably heard all the things he said.

He turned to face you, groaning in annoyance when he saw the smug smile on your lips. "You've been awake this whole time?"

"I'll leave you two love birds alone," Robin sang, quickly slipping out of the hospital room and closing the door behind her.

"How much of that did you hear?" Steve asked, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Enough to say you're stupid," you hummed.

He rolled his eyes, leaning back in his seat with crossed arms. "I'm not the one who jumped off the cliff and almost died just to prove a fucking point."

"Yeah, well, I guess we're both stupid then," you snorted.

He shrugged. "I guess we are."

"Jesus, you don't have to act so tense. I mean, you've already given me a mouth-to-mouth, we've practically made out already," you scoffed playfully. "I honestly thought I'd die first before swapping spit with you yet here we are."

It was your attempt at alleviating the tension, to throw in a funny quip. But with everything still so fresh in his mind, Steve simply couldn't take it well.

"Don't fucking joke about that will you?" he snapped, rubbing a frustrated hand over his face.

The silence that followed only made the tension worse.

"I'm sorry," you whispered.

Steve immediately felt bad.

"No, no, no. You didn't do anything wrong, don't apologize," he sighed, meeting your eyes with an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have snapped. It's just—"

He stopped himself, chewing on his bottom as he looked everywhere but at you when he felt the tears well up again.

"Will you come here?"

Steve took a calming breath and did as you asked, moving his chair closer but didn't attempt anything else than that.

"Stevie," you called when he still wouldn't look at you.

Harshly wiping his eyes with the back of his hand, he lifted his head. You smiled at him sweetly, wiggling your fingers to get him to come even closer.

"You scared me back there," he croaked, taking your hand with a squeeze.

"I didn't mean to," you softly said, remorseful and apologetic even though you didn't have to be.

"I know," he murmured, pressing your warm palm against his cheek as he shot you a glare. "Just don't do that again."

"Promise," you giggled, stroking his cheek with your thumb.

Steve leaned closer into your touch. "How are you feeling?"

"Better, thanks to you," you hummed, brows furrowing in thought. "When Marcus got that black eye, you said it was because he was playing dirty on one of your games." You tilted your head knowingly. "That wasn't true, wasn't it?"

Steve shrugged. "He hurt you."

"It was a small bruise on the arm, Steve," you reasoned.

"He shouldn't be giving you a fucking bruise in the first place," he growled, the memory bringing back the same anger he felt when he first saw that bruise. The soft tapping of your finger against his cheek calmed him down. "Sorry."

"Did you lose on purpose to get him expelled?"

"What? No!" he scoffed, offended, rolling his eyes when you giggled. "I tried so fucking hard to win that fight, you know, for you."

"You've always been protective of me," you hummed, taking his hand and interlacing your fingers together.

"Don't think I didn't know it was you who dyed that poor girl's hair green that one year in middle school summer camp," he retaliated.

It was a sharp and piercing scream that woke up the whole camp that morning. Everyone rushed out of bed to see what was going on only to find a girl who once was blonde was now sporting bright green hair in the middle of the crowd, crying her eyes out.

Steve would've thought it was only some silly prank if he didn't know who the girl was. But he did. Because the day before he tried to ask her to be his girlfriend, only for her to turn him down in the most embarrassing and humiliating way possible.

It wasn't difficult for him to find out who the culprit was since he immediately noticed how you kept hiding your hands in your pockets for the next few days after the incident.

The counselors quickly found out that the little menace—whoever she was—decided to use permanent dye on the poor girl's hair instead of something washable.

Your green palms colored you oh so guilty.

"She called you pathetic and gross in front of everyone!" you argued, pouting. "You looked like you were about to cry and I hated it."

Steve's heart warmed at that, a smile on his face despite rolling his eyes. "I wasn't about to cry."

"Yeah well," you shrugged, eyes trained on your intertwined fingers, your thumb playing with his. "I'm the only one who's supposed to be mean to you."

"Hmm," he agreed, bringing the back of your hand to his lips. "I guess we've always been there for each other, huh?"

"I guess so," you giggled, cupping his cheek and tugging him closer.

He stood up from his seat, following your lead until he was pressing his forehead against yours.

"Thank you for saving my life, Steve," you whispered, eyes turning glossy as so many emotions covered your irises, the weight of what almost happened catching up with you.

"You don't have to thank me for that," he said sincerely, brushing the tip of his nose against yours. "I'd do it over and over again in a heartbeat."

You nodded, sniffling, "Still, thank you."

Steve wasn't able to argue some more when you all but kissed him.

The first time Steve felt your mouth on his was a horrible experience considering he was trying to keep you alive.

Now, everything was the complete opposite.

A kiss that was careful but sweet, a hint of nervousness and excitement all the same, completely unhurried yet burning with passion as his lips molded against yours.

But still, it felt like that first gasp of air—a finally.

"I'm in love with you, too, by the way," you murmured as you pulled away, your warm breath tickling his lips.

"Thanks for clarifying," he chuckled, eyes laced with adoration, unable to stop his smile from growing wider, warmer. "I couldn't figure that out from the kiss."

"I mean, you are kinda stupid," you teased.

"We're on that same boat, sweetheart," he chuckled. "I'm sure Robin would remind us about that every single day now."

"Unfortunately," you groaned playfully. "God, she gets annoying when she's right."

"Tell me about it," he hummed, brushing his lips against yours, moving away when you chased it.

You whined.

Steve didn't hesitate to dive back in.

✫*ﾟ･ﾟ｡.★.*｡･ﾟ♛ *.

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[beloved-daydreams]

"My name is whatever you decide" a read-through (together?)

So I've wanted to read this fic series for a while now since its main characters are Taryn and The Ghost (very underrated in the fandom imo) It is written by the lovely and talented @maingh0st and you can read it here.

I've already read the first chapter on my side before this but I gotta say:

I imagine Taryn kind of looking like a fierce angel here! 🫣 If Jude has the horns, then Taryn always has the halos of flowers and lights of course.

Chapter 2 and 3 reactions/comments under the cut 👇

Me rn: *feeling super dumb because I'm not sure I get it*

Ngl one of my first thoughts was "he must be saying Locke's estate looks hella ugly like his personality" but that might just be the Locke hater in my heart, he might also mean that Taryn deserves more?? Listen idk I'm probably misunderstanding what's going on here cause am dumb but we'll get through this together 🤝

This is making me sad. Taryn clearly gave so much of herself into this relationship while Locke just wanted to have dumb fun. This is horrendous. The girl had her loyalty tested by having to give up on her twin sister's favor, she redecorated his whole ugly-ass half-abandoned estate, she filled the closets with brand new clothes, made herself as fun and pleasant as she could, entertained his guests and probably even ate faerie fruit every evening to build resistance so she wouldn't 100% lose herself in his revels and this is all he gave her: the bare-minimum promise of marrying her, allowing her to live in his house and organize parties with him. Bro should go seek failure management.

Idk why but this phrasing is so cute to me. Like, Taryn saying "call your ghost" is so girly pop of her 💅

100% done on purpose, she had him in his pocket from the beginning. Like "haha whoopsie ☺️ please don't forget that I have power over you so you better be pleasant with me 🌸" The Ghost was quaking in his boots.

The ghost is being very curious 🧐 I see you. I wonder how Taryn would react if he actually asked these questions, though this seems like the type of shit he'd ask only years and years into a relationship with her, like they'll be sitting in front of the fireplace and suddenly out of nowhere "how did you kill Locke by the way?" "hmm I don't remember, I just kind of acted on impulse" The Ghost better not piss her off, ever. 😂

Didn't see this coming but it is an interesting direction to take! Also, already loving their banter 📝

So basically she's doing Locke's job, but way better 😤 Keep turning in your grave bozo. Hope Nicasia found his corpse in the sea and she lowkey fears/respects Taryn now.

I love how smart and resourceful Taryn is in this, like in my HEART I already knew she was but this portrayal of her is so nice and matches the canon imo.

(Will be continued in a reblog because I've reached tumblr's 10 images limit 🤨)

[fkinavocado]

Hear me out

1. A large group of friends (4-5 friends lol) Harry and y/n are a part of it

2. They vex each other and are always arguing, can't have a civil conversation without a mediator

3. Forced to attend outings and stuff together because they have mutual friends

4. Him being extremely mean to her for no reason (probably because she is hot and he wants her but can't have her because duh she is annoying af)

5. She is very opinionated and never refrains from speaking up for others and herself

6. On one such outing their group plays truth and dare. She chose dare and is given the dare to make Harry hard, Harry boasted that it's impossible because he hates her but she gets offended and uses her liquid courage to strangle him and kiss his neck. He is taken aback and couldn't help but end up all flustered and hard. She gives a victorious smile and he excuses himself amidst hoots and whistles

7. This results in more sexual tension and angry glares between them

8. They have a pool day at one of their friends' place one weekend and they end up having a heavy makeout session but then he leaves without having a conversation.

I had this dream (from what I can recall) NOW IS IT SOME FIC? If yes please let me know and if this isn't then I need someone to write something like this 🥹 I am a sucker for spicy enemies to lovers fics.

🍟

yes hun this does sound familiar ngl but i couldn't tell you what fic it is! i think there's loads of stuff like this out there. i enjoy a good enemies to lovers myself and i don't care that it's repetitive I usually gobble it up if it's good writing!

also i got your other prompt and saving it! the DI one that is 96% finished still isn't ready to go yet so i'm not gonna even dream of attempting sth else til that's posted!

HOWEVER

can i just say smth? i'm a bit sad. people genuinely don't care for long fics anymore. and those are exactly the kinds i love. i'm not talking a 5 part series. that's not long. i mean LONG

even the writers who used to write these super immersive fics are downsizing because ppl obviously go for shorter fics. and it's breaking my heart

i'm not saying blurbs/one-shots aren't nice too, we all love a lil fun smutty piece every now and then but when those are the ones that get over 1k notes and the multi-parts only do well for the first chapter and then get stuck at around 300 notes going further, you gotta ask yourself what's the point of even trying to write smth complex if no one's gonna bother with it

sorry for hijaking your prompt but this was on my mind and just had to blurt it out😅 it's really been irking me lately

[zedif-y]

Fanfic ask meme!

C; D for BAYAB, vampire fic and fabriz fic; G; H; L; N; R; S; T; Z

Now suffer :3

Putting this under the cut because it's Long

C: What character do you identify with most?

As of rn? Fabian Seacaster LKJSDSDG Impulse wasn't really someone i identified with as much as i felt like i just really Got his character , but fabian.... hoo boy . he's not Me as in 'that's how i act' (that title would be given to Riz) but he's me because of experiences KLSHDGJ somewhat . anyway watch fantasy high /silly

D: Is there a song or a playlist to associate with [insert fic]?

All the songs they're titled after, basically .

BAYAB = Be by Hozier

vampire fic = Angel Of Small Death & The Codeine Scene by Hozier

fabriz fic = anything by Adrianne Lenker

G: Care to share a favorite crack fic?

Behold. the Impulse Dick Timer AU.

H: How would you describe your style?

Honestly? I'm not super sure ! I think i definitely lean towards dialogue and imagery though . I think of writing as a bit like painting, and i think it definitely colors my style of writing :0 like layering stuff w imagery and abstract prose . no idea if this makes sense LK:JHSDG

L: What’s the weirdest AU you’ve ever come up with?

Still the dick timer au ngl

N: Is there a fic you wish someone else would write (or finish) for you?

Hmmm... Probably the zedpulse thing i started for imptober? because like. yeah no i'm not finishing that LKSJHDG but actually maybe if someone could write my shapeshifter joel au fic series for me, thatd be awesome KLJSDHGSDG but . well. doubt that's happening anytime soon

R: Are there any writers (fanfic or otherwise) you consider an influence?

Yes, definitely! I've read a lot of fics that have made an impact on my writing, and I'm. so sorry to tag this writer on this long and somewhat cursed post but @milo-hypno's works have inspired my writing and was honestly one of my inspirations that made me start posting HC/mcyt writing in the first place :] you're awesome!

T: Any fandom tropes you can’t stand?

Hanahaki, i guess? i can't think of anything else off the top of my head, but this also just depends on the execution . generally i steer clear of those though, it just makes me feel Blegh as someone who's on the aro spectrum

Z: Major character death–do you ever write/read it? Is there a character whose death you can’t tolerate?

Hmm... Sometimes, maybe? It really depends, but it has to be something that specifically caters to My tastes because there's no way i'm just reading a hurt no comfort fic LKJHDSGJKDSG it's too sad for me !! i can't take it !!

Thanks for the ask, ref!! :D

[sanchoyo]

Hiiiiii, it is I again!! I just finished Cold Love and gosh!

The ending was just so nice, mostly when I thought SHIGGY WAS DYING FOR A MOMENT- 😭 Then they were just being super sweet at the beach and I ngl cried a little, they all deserved that happiness <3 I also still wanna cry (In a good way tho) BECAUSE I FINISHED THE WHOLE THING I wanna write a little note to myself, next to my bed, erase my memories about these 2 fics, then wake up next morning, read the note and reread the whole thing with as much joy as the first time! I'm gonna reread them FOR SURE, but not now as they're still fresh in my brain :3

And you know, Cold Love has opened my mind more than it already was I mean I already love heroes and villains, but you've put a lot more details that made me go: "Shit, I didn't think it was THAT much"

The way you wrote how the hero commission treats heroes made me think of what my parents always tell me about Actors and Models. "Their lives/bodies don't belong to them, it belongs to the company they work for" That sentence hit me even more when the chapters were Hawks centered. Poor guy, he was a literal lab rat. The worst is that he ISN'T THE ONLY ONE GOING THROUGH THAT

Villains, I already sympathized with a lot, in other medias and MHA too But your fic made me realize that, when they do those crimes, it's for them but mostly for OTHERS as well!! They're like heroes, in a way, because they want to make society BETTER. They do this because they know how it feels to be rejected, hated and they want to change it so NO ONE ELSE has to go through this. Also, we often see them not caring about dying if they do achieve their goal, because they know next gens will have better lives than they ever had. WHICH I THINK IS HELLA SAD BUT SO NICE OF THEM???

Though I DON'T agree with them taking lives of course, but I don't hate them anyways because, when they've been rejected by everyone and everything, how else are they supposed to get attention? Very unfortunately, crimes is often their answer…

I think, if I was in MHA, I'd also opt for the Vigilante route. Fuck the hero commission lmao

I won't tell why, but let's just say that I'm more compassionate about villains now <3

ON A MUCH LIGHTER NOTE!! Fanart for Warm Healer is on the way!! So keep an eye open? :3

Fun fact for Cold Love: When Bret asked why Dabi was in the closet, I blurted out: "BECAUSE HE'S GAY!!" Lmao

So yeah, just wanted to say your fics are great! They've inspired me into improving my own fics <3 I even started making my own Shiggy x Reader AND a Dabi x Reader too! Because most of them are smut centered and I don't want just NSFW ya kno?

Anyways, I'm done rambling lol Thanks for writing WH and CL, thanks for inspiring me, thanks for bringing me joy and sorry for rambling that much lmao

Hope you're doing well, lots of love, take care and keep being awesome!!

thank you so much for such a long, sweet message 💗💗💗

I really enjoy bnha fics where the writers closely examine the society and its problems because its SO interesting (and im kind of sad the way it went in canon, I wanted a lot more and found the school setting kind of restricting for it in general, but we'll always have fics haha) i'm glad you enjoyed me doing that just a little bit! (maybe it was kind of weird to include in a romance SI series, but also it would've felt like a huge disservice in my opinion because ALL of the villains stories are influenced by the society they live in and how heroes are treated...)

aaah again, don't feel obligated to do the fanart but if you do, definitely tag me/send it my way, I'd love to see!! 🥺 (also you're writing your own shigaraki/reader and dabi/reader!!! omg!! I hope you have fun making your own!!! they're so fun to write <3 I agree on the wanting more SFW SI fics, sometimes I just wanna go on silly adventures with my favs y'know? :"))

no need to apologize for rambling!! I'm so happy to hear you enjoyed it so much!!! your message made my day ^_^ I hope you have a good day too and your writing/art projects go well!!

[aristotels]

Thinking about art and fiction and concepts of ownership and honestly it's kinda fucked that collaborative and transformative storytelling is literally as old as time and one of the most basic human instincts that exists, but the only good word it we have right now is "fanfiction"

and when you tell people you write fanfiction they think you're some kind of cringe weirdo and possibly pervert and then the whole thing gets derailed by this bizarre side discussion into how "No it's not all porn, it's absolutely everything and anything imaginable, duh, but like, even if it were all porn, that would also be okay". Like I'm all for pointing out the double standards about how published authors who put sex into their stories don't lose any respectability (especially if they're men, and especially if the sex is cishet), but the second I, a fanfiction person, add a romantic arc into my plotty casefic suddenly I'm a fujoshi with shipper brainrot etc etc-

But it's tiring that this is even a focal point

My favourite funny and sad thing is watching people (usually dudes) who clearly either view themselves as above fanfiction or have simply never ever thought of themselves as "the type" to do creative writing discover The Fanfiction Urge, because the way they express it is like. An increasingly passionate and detailed video essay about how Movie should have gone instead, or, my favourite, a story about something cool that happened to them in XCOM or Darkest Dungeon or some other Difficult Game For Serious Gamers and by the end of the post they're legitimately just writing prose. Like look at this! LOOK! Damn if this person didn't speedrun the gamerbro-to-AO3 pipeline just for a sec. And not that there's anything wrong with those formats but it makes you wonder if that's something they'd be interested in exploring more if their wings got unclipped

Or DnD. Small wonder that TTRPGs are becoming so popular when they're one of the few increasingly non-cringe ways to do the extremely basic human urge of Tell Story Collaboratively

A friend of mine had this to say recently about his own struggles with this kind of internal bias:

i'd like to try out Thousand-Year-Old Vampire (a solo role-playing game with minimal rules to make you write your own narrative) and my toxic masculinity is getting in the way. discouraging thoughts include: i'm not creative enough; creative writing is for Floofy Humanities types and i am a Cold STEM type; it's not a real game unless it has Systems that you can Study and Master. would anyone like to say something encouraging?

and honestly that's incredibly illuminating innit isn't it. The splitting off of creative activity (not just fanfiction, either) into something only for Floofy Humanities Types but not Serious People and the way it's linked to whether or not you can make money off it... oof.

This became a long post thank you for your patience

ngl i just dont rly care that much for fandoms... i like fanfic, i read it and write it, but i dont rly see fandom as my identity or smth i particularly care about, to me all of it is just the same as me playing with barbie dolls.

i dont think its something special that can be compared to actual literature and i think there are certain problems w booktok people relying on tropes that come from fanfic mentality. its just not the same, and i do wish people who like fanfic would sometimes also read.......some actual books sometimes

i just generally dont see what youre describing as some huge thing or problem, i think anti-kink ppl doxxing artists is the major worrisome thing when it comes to fandoms, but i think the doxxers also take the whole fandom experience too seriously

and i say this as someone who also writes fanfic, so like, it rly isnt me going "fanfic authors/readers are stupid", i find fanfic super cool to explore yourself, fanart taught me sooo much as an artist, i even enjoy roleplaying; all of this serves a very real purpose of exploring things as a human in realms of fiction, and pre-existing characters make that easier. i think that can be very useful, we learn about ourselves through books and stories. i just think fandom should be treated the way it is - playtime with toys ✌️

[mistysharks]

20 questions for fic writers

tagged by @hilarychuff thank you! <3

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

11! For now:)

2. What’s your total AO3 word count?

75,643

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Just Stranger Things for now! I would love to branch out but the hyperfocus does what it wants and I am just along for the ride!

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

I'm Stupid (Do Me) Steddie/M/Getting together/first time (first one I wrote of them!)

All you have is your fire (and the place you need to reach) Hellcheerington/E/Sex Pollen

Five times Steve Walked in on Eddie and Chrissy (And one time they walked in on him) Hellcheer + Hellcheerington Pre-slash/M/Accidental Voyeurism

5 times Steve absolutely didn't have a bisexual meltdown (and one time he did) Hellcheer + Hellcheerington/M/Getting together

Some lonely night we can get together (and I'm gonna tie your wrists with leather) E/Hellcheerington/ final part of my Vampire Eddie and Chrissy series!

(I need to start doing shorter titles :') )

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

Yes! Almost always, though it might take me a while! I always appreciate them all <3

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

Ok so honestly? I don't do angst much haha, and literally never sad endings. Its all gonna be tied up with a neat little happy bow from me, baby! I think I left chapter 3 of Bardic Inspiration in a pretty sad state - does that count?

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

Orgasms cout, right? ;D Right now what comes to mind though is the only fix-it fic I've really written - (I only need) the working of my hands Where I give Hellcheer the happy, sexy ending they deserve (but make it Sapphic with a side of coming back wrong)

8. Do you get hate on fics?

Not yet! Fingers crossed it remains that way! I usually try and stay miles away from any fandom drama tbh

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

I am determined to! Like sure I would call some of what I've already written smut but I feel like I'm not quite fully there yet. I haven't fully realised the lengths of perversion/intimacy hyperfixation that sits in my mind! Its an ongoing process hehe

Regarding what flavour of smut I write, its always queer, soft, and a little gothic in the undertones... Would love to do some more genderqueer stuff in the future as well

10. Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written?

Not yet! I'm not against them, and I loove a good AU, but nothing has stuck so far. Maybe one day I'll write that Stranger Things Persona 4 AU. (look it would work so well!! Eddie as Kanji makes me feral ngl)

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen? Not that I'm aware of!

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

No, but I love that that is a thing people do <3

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

No but that would be super fun! I tried RP once couldn't get into it:( Sharing ideas and bouncing plot points is always fun though:)

14. What’s your all time favorite ship? Thats too hard! I'm just gonna do a current top 5 lol 1. Steddie 2. Hellcheerington 3. Hellcheer 4. Lan Zhan/Wei Ying (Untamed) 5. Kanji/Naoto(P4)

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will? I have 2 unpublished, lengthy chapters of a Steddie pirate AU that I love but I really don't know how to keep going with :(

16. What are your writing strengths?

I'm pretty proud of how I set the mood of a scene - the colours, the light, the sounds... just hinting at a feeling without describing the feeling itself.

17. What are your writing weaknesses? I can like, either do super dialogue heavy bits, or really descriptive bits, and its so hard to marry the two together!! ahh!

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic? Look english is hard enough lol

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Harry potter haha, wrote some truly terrible angsty self-insert when i was 14 (luckily that is gone forever!!)

20. Favorite fic you’ve written?

Honestly, I really love When I am done, its such a snap-shot kind of fic, and its got such a mood that I love. Keeping a one-shot simple and to the point is really difficult, and I think this one is my best attempt at it.

Thanks for tagging me as always, Hil! I'm tagging whoever reads this hehe - if you made it this far you should totally do it too (these are fun!)

[lightlycareless]

I keep thinking about your child au and I’m so curious to how Naoya’s b-day would go. I feel like if it’s a party at the Zen’in estate, Naoya would sneak Y/N away from the party to meet Toji(I don’t know if Toji would attend or if he was even invited). I’m curious to what Toji and Y/N would think of each other(I feel like she’d be a bit scared but that might be me projecting since I know I’d be a bit intimidated by Toji as a kid and ngl I’d still be intimidated as an adult 😂). I’m also curious to how Ranta will be when he finally meets the person that occupies Naoya’s mind. I feel like Ranta would be scheming for ways to help Naoya and Y/N spend time together but if her siblings are also coming to Naoya’s party then I can only assume Ranta would have his work cut out for him. Ahhh, now I’m feeling bad at the thought of Y/N’s siblings coming since I’d feel sad if they made Naoya’s b-day difficult for him.

If you do end up getting a chance to write for his birthday, I’m super excited to see how you would go about it. I hope you’re having a great day and are taking good care of yourself. You’re one of my favorite writers for x reader fics for Naoya.

Omg I really thought I was the only one that cared for the child!au 😭😭😭😭 klagkalgjkalg getting this ask filled me with hope ngl.

Well, I do plan on writing it eventually :> and you already got some things right! But to keep the hype going I won't reveal (much) of them.

Right now the plotline I have for Naoya's birthday is: the party is at the Zen'in estate, a bunch of relatives attend, and Y/N gets to meet most of them :) so yep, we will see Y/N's reactions to Toji and Ranta, and vice versa.

But now that you mention it, it would 100% suck if Hinata and Ren decided to be... you know how they are, with Naoya on his birthday, however, I feel like he wouldn't really care because he's going to be more centered in introducing Y/N to Toji, and getting his opinion of her.

ggkagkjlagakslg My main focus is totally going to be Toji-Naoya-Y/N, and perhaps some cameos from other characters :> unless I decide to do something else down the road, but I don't think so. Also, we might get to see a bit of Mai and Maki too!! But they're babies as of right now lol.

Either way, I'm for sure writing this!!! Just gotta write some other requests first ❤️❤️❤️ You don't know how happy this ask made me 🥺 as well as your lovely compliment!! I'm really flattered 😭❤️ I shall strive to keep making Naoya content, which I hope you'll enjoy too 🥺❤️

Thank you so much for this ask, really, it's... idk how to explain it, it really made me very happy. Thank you.

Take care, and hope to see you soon!!

[qprstobin]

i used to like steddie but tbh its just boring now. everyone writes the same tropes and now there's a/b/o flooding the tag and like fine whatever but it's just so boring. not to mention most fics are so out of character...and don't get me started on how they treat robin, she's completely sidelined it's annoying. they make steve this feminized uwu babygirl and robin into a mean lesbian that contantly berates hi its disgusting!

I'm ngl. Same. Ste/ddie is what got me into the fandom! I still really like the characters a lot but the way fandom has been handling them is just not my thing lol. I like both my Steve and my Eddie a little mean and rough around the edges but carrying and that's just... not what I am seeing at all lol. The fandom trends in this ship have been absolutely wild. Like I said last night, the fic that we were getting in October/November of last year is soooo different from the fic we are getting now.

I miss early days Ste/ddie, the relationship just felt much more balanced? Like both sides brought things to the table? But yeah, I'll admit I've gotten pretty bored with it too. I have a fic or two in my wips folders that I still want to write that have Ste/ddie in them, but I've sort of hit my limit with fandom consumption of it lol.

Omegaverse stuff can be fun on occasion but I'll admit aside from one or two fics I've seen so far, I don't super vibe with it. (Where is my alpha/alpha and omega/omega content!!) Omegaverse has always been a "my hormones are out of whack" fic time for me lmao. But this is one of those things I don't think is ST exclusive, a lot of fandoms I'm in have seen an influx of omegaverse and mpreg lately. I didn't even notice at first because Star Wars fandom is always a mess of kink, but it's legit everywhere now.

Gods yeah, the babygirl Steve was fun at first, I love me a pretty boy. (Anakin Skywalker fan here lmaooo) but yeah it's been taken to an extreme that feels less like oh this is just a little sexy thing on occasion or "yeah gender exploration!" thing, and more either fetishizing or heteronormativity. Like I was talking about yesterday I swear some people write tradwife Steve which is just wild to me. Love househusband Steve but tradwife Steve?? Where am I??

And yeah, even back when I liked the fanon characterization better, Robin so often got sidelined. Literally only there to be a supportive best friend without her own plot or to help further drive Steve into Eddie's arms, which is sad! This show is about friendship first and foremost and it feels like fandom doesn't appreciate that anymore.

(I will be fair though, pushing aside the best friend for the sake of romance is a tried and true shipping thing across many fandoms, but it did feel startling when so many post s3 fics about either of Stobin were about their friendship, and it just kind of all got taken over by shipping fics in s4.)

Like idk, I will say I still like the ship and Eddie but the fandom has definitely exhausted me a bit lol.

[oldassweeb]

YYH LA EP1 first watch thoughts

They are clearly not trying to make a 1 to 1 recreation. It feels more like an alternate universe. I suspect once people accept this and try to enjoy it as a new original piece of canon media they will have more fun with it. I have fully accepted this so I will not be nitpicking the details here.

!!!!!Spoilers Under Cut!!!!!

I love Yusuke's new death and the early "in your face" approach to the demon insects and Sakyo's plan/chapter black with the sink hole.

Yusuke smoking was more prominent in the manga I think. Glad they brought it back.

Smile Bomb playing on the radio has already made this whole series woth the watch. TY

Yusuke's wake photo is sending me. This poor little autistic boy.

The characters' personalities are very on brand despite minor appearance differences. Yusuke is my favorite performance this episode. Though Kuwabara was a very close second. I didn't think I was going to like the new Kazuma but he really does the old one justice.

Kinda sad Kazuma and Yusuke don't go to the same school anymore.

ALL OF THE GIRLS ARE SO PERFECT

The heaven and hell name drop yeeted me into a little wall ngl. Not sure if that's because I liked the original spirit world after death process more or because of my religious trauma though.

In regards to SW! I'm so glad we get to see Botan as the ferie man in the boat. Also it was way too pretty! How do I vacation there?

Who lives in all of those houses in sprit world!? I need to know. (And maybe make an OC)

So no spirit egg? I am going to miss Puu.

Keiko is the real MVP of this story, per usual.

I wonder if they are going to do Maze Castle with all of these insects or if they will chop up these round worms solely to Sakyo's efforts to destroy the barrier between worlds.

I love how much episode one feels like a zombie flick at some points. The grundy horror additions are really working for me. And these stunt performers look like they were having fun.

Sakyo really looks like the perfect Naraku.

I'm so fucking hyped that we got to see Kurama and Hiei fight in ep1. And the artifacts look super cool.

Wish the fight scenes (the whole show really) was a little more in focus, though.

I kinda want a multiverse crack fic where the anime and live action casts team up f9r a joint mission now

[bonesandthebees]

I know ive already talked about a dusty tomb but like BRO i need to talk about it again but this time more emotional bc like snfnfmdmsbmfsoehfkfkb [combusts]

It is my comfort fic

Like out of allll the fics i have saved as my comfort fic, it's honestly the most? Efficient? If that makes sense

I click my speeddial button, scroll to the end of the fic (or when sbi first meet, depends on my mood) and then BAM, instant serotonin

Often the fics i love for comfort are hurt comfort, which makes reading them when Im sad a risky move, and i end up making myself more sad than not 😭

And ofc, i have pure fluff fics too, but they never hit as hard as your writing does, i dunno

Also literally it's so quick too, i just read like 2 sentences and im like "damn okay, got my sandduo fix for the day. I am happ now"

A dusty tomb is so simple, yet so effective, and it's just honestly really cute without being super cheesy and aaaa i love it sm and tysm for writing it cause it's honestly like one of the things that helps me the most rn whenever im sad, besides yknow, healthy coping mechanisms LMAOO, dont worry i gen do those too, but sometimes u just need a quick read before bed. Which yeahhh the amount of times ive read it to help me sleep... it's not even that old of a fic 😭

Wait.

IT'S FROM FEBRUARY?@,#?$(@;$($(*#

.

I thought it came out in may WTF

What...

Okayyy, existential crisis about time aside, it's a good fic. A really good fic. Genuinely one of my fav fics ever (tho i feel like i wanna reread the clinic prequel ngl... that was my go to comfort fic before a dusty tomb came around. I havent read that one in awhile). I just love fantasy aus so much, more than any other au, and goshhh it has all the best tropes in it and and and and *dies*

I dont think I'll ever get bored of this fic, considering it's been out for 4 months, and it still feels fresh to me

Goddd, dust!sandduo u guys live rent free in my mind, twinsduo and emduo too. I love them all so much :( honestly that techno is sooo <33 can he give me a hug pls, i feel like he'd be a good hugger

Anyways im off to sleep now or well maybe reread the clinic prequel fic ehehehehe god i love that fic so much (u have no idea how many times ive reread that... too many times... it actually makes me Insane)

aaa this is so sweet!! tbh I loved writing dusty tomb so much. it was so out of the blue and unplanned, but it was so sweet and i had a ton of fun with the world itself too

I'm so glad it's your comfort fic. I have those fics too where I just open them up and go to a specific part to reread just to get all those fuzzy feelings whenever I need a pick me up. It makes me so happy to know my fic is that for you.

one of these days I'll write another one shot in that universe.... maybe... probably not tbh but the idea is there

(also i love dust!techno too he's so fun)

(and the clinic prequel aaaa underrated personal fav of mine)

[danpuff-ao3]

#2 from the questions designed to make u hate me list 👀

EXCELLENT QUESTION.

2.) Are there any popular fandom OTPs you only BroTP?

100,000% Drarry. I know I've said this before, but like...I'm overly in love with Snarry, so shipping them with other people makes me sad. 🤣 But I can at least feel a spark or a vibe from other ships, such as say Tomarry or Sirry (for Harry), or Snaco or Sneville (for Severus.) There's interest there, and sexiness, and even if it's not romance or longterm, I can envision there being something.

Drarry???? I just don't get it. 😭 0 spark. 0 spice. For me personally. Clearly there are plenty of people who do get those things! Or who don't need those things in a ship, idk. Drarry is huge and ngl I wish I could see it! Especially because Drarry has so many super talented people. 🥺 I admire all the art, and the fics I've read have been so stellar!!!! A+ writing. A+ art. Gorgeous, stunning, amazing. I envy Drarry folks, they have so many goods to enjoy!

Anyway. I can't really ship it romantically. And I can barely see a case for it sexually. 🧐 But platonic???? I LOVE IT. Just like begrudging buddies postwar. Like enemies to lovers only it's rivals to friends. I super dig it. Especially when it's all reluctant. (Like how I like my ships tbh.) Just Harry like helping Draco out postwar cuz he's a good boy, but he's like "I'll help you but I'm not gonna like it." And Draco being all bratty and proud about it all. Or or! Having to work together, be it rebuilding Hogwarts or being coworkers!!!! OR OR OR having to get along because their friend group is all hooking up. (Who doesn't love a good Gryffindor/Slytherin ship????)

A very sibling-like dynamic I think where they're at each other's throats and don't realize how far they've come until they're suddenly defending the other. "How dare you call Potter Scarhead! Only I'm allowed to mock his disfigurement!" 😂

Anyway. Drarry as a BrOTP???? I'm hella into it.

But ALSOOOOO. Okay idk how popular Snamione actually is, idk much about het ships. 😂 But it's not tiny or anything! (Please forgive my snamione ignorance 😅) But...Snamione as a BrOTP???????? I LOVE IT. PLEASE I NEED MORE.

Especially when they become buddies after Harry and Severus hook up!!!!!!!! Snarry with a side of Snamione BrOTP???? Yes yes yes. Two super smart folks being super smart together. Sharing book recommendations, having intellectual discussions, academic and political debates, etc. Maybe sharing projects???? Slowly over time of course cuz Severus is d i f f i c u l t. But they get there!!!! And suddenly Hermione is over for dinner and Harry feels like a third wheel cuz his husband and his bestie are talking nerd shit.

Okay okay okay but imagine: Married Snarry. Dron is a thing. Hermione is a single independent pringle. All having dinner cuz Golden Trio = family. Severus and Hermione get to chatting. Draco isn't actually interested but he's a jerk and smugly jumps in because Harry and Ron are clueless. Harry and Ron just sitting there like ???? Then excuse themselves to go fly around outside. But now Draco can't find his way out of a boring conversation he doesn't even want to be in and "Merlin help you, Ronald, if you leave me here --!" (At this point why am I answering an ask I might as well be writing a fic LOL.)

Anyway, the point is: Drarry and Snamione are excellent BrOTPs that I will platonically ship forever.

[surrealsunday]

helloo! wow it’s been a little while ngl! but when when chap10 was posted i was like “do i read it now or wait till the epilogue is posted? 🤔” and i ended up waiting for the epilogue, idk in my head it’s as logic sjsbdb. meanwhile i decided to rewatch stranger things + skamfr kinda at the same time bc it’s been way too long (for the latter). then the epilogue was posted and haven’t found the time or energy to settle and read the last two chapters (we love uni for that). till tonight!! so here’s my not so little review of the chap10 + the epilogue 😅

-> chap10

woaaah im at loss for words for how cute and beautiful that chapter was omg! the vulnerable moment right after the intensity of their love scene hit me right in the feels, lucas’ “please don’t hurt me (again)” and then eliott hugging him tight saying “i promise” 🥺MY HEART🥺

also these little acts had me giggling and kicking my feet

gosh i’m just so giddy when it comes to them like- THEY. ARE. IN. LOVE. 🥹

OH YEAH the moment when idriss came back home and said “I swear, if you fucked in the kitchen, Eliott -" made me think of that one scene in tempo (i think) when he discovers they did it on the counter and there was like evidences or sth and i just burst out laughing 😭 like i imagined him being so done already with them (/affectionate of course)

-> epilogue

MY HEEAART!! i know i’ve said it like a million times already but i’m so soft for theeem 🥺

i really loved how eliott reassured lucas during the moving, how they once more opened a little to one another. then lucas asking him to say something true abt himself, eliott’s little story was very cute despite starting kinda sad :(( but that little parallel to the minute par minute scene but this time it’s eliott calming lucas down ☹️

but goosh i’m in love with their love, in every universe istg 🥰 like i smiled SO BIG here!

now real thing: i cant believe it’s over now :/ i’m gonna miss them so much, these version of elu is definitely one of my favorite! i wanna thank you for writing this fic that, i’m sure, helped a lot of people (including me) escape their boring ass work/uni life ahah. every time it truly has been an amazing time, even when pain was dominent sometimes. but as always i’d say sjsbsb

wishing you a wonderful friday and weekend, i’m gonna spend mine mourning elu!10things and thinking of how much their love is incredible in every universe 😭💞

gosh i just realized i forgot about to say some more things in my previous message 😭 in my defense it’s 1am so- anyways

i’m also very thankful you listened to the little voice in your brain and wrote that little epilogue, the quote of kat is one of my favorite and it’s really well included! would have been such a waste not having lucas saying this tbh.

also the last pic of chap10, eliott’s post with the shadows…wow i literally stared at it for 10 good minutes it was so well done! especially lucas’ wild hair sbsjsb (also i see you have been generous for some parts 👀)

finally, i thanked you for the fic but i also wanna be grateful to your friend julie for pressing you making this fic alive ahah, bc yeah your elu fic are really one of the most emotionally amazing and still being able to read elu content in, now, 2023 is truly incredible ♥️

Oh my gosh I somehow completely missed the notification for these messages in my inbox. I'm so sorry! I was not ignoring you, I just am a useless human 😂

As always I absolutely love hearing your thoughts. I'm so glad you liked chapter 10 🥹. It was interesting pairing smexy times with some super raw emotional nakedness. I liked it tho. It felt right and natural in the moment.

Your memes btw aldfkjalsdfkja. They kill me 😂😂😂

I thought about Idriss in Tempo too at that moment! I truly don't know why I keep doing these things to poor Idriss lmao. But I make it up to him with Manon. So I don't feel too bad 😌.

Ok, so I very much got minute-by-minute vibes in that moment of the epilogue too, but it wasn't pre-planned that way. I kinda love that you had the same reaction. It just sort of happened and as I was writing it occurred to me that it very subtly nodded to that classic Skam moment. It seems they're determined to be that way in every universe.

Ahhhh the shadow pic! It's one of my faves! I get obsessive about most things (this is not news lmao) so it wasn't surprising that I obsessed over getting those shadows right, but in the end when it did look like them I was sooooo satisfied. And yes, satisfied with the very lovely booty on Lucas too 😌. It makes me so happy you liked it too!

Really it was my absolute pleasure to share this fic, most especially because I seriously do have the best readers in the world, and you all are so generous in leaving me your thoughts and feelings about the story (there is really nothing better than that as a writer). It's a big part of me coming back to Elu over and over, I think. I love reconnecting with all of you. And of course I'm more than happy to provide distraction from real life!

P.S. I told Julie what you said and lemme tell you... the way she got all proud and puffed up on herself 😂😂😂. I told her to take it down a notch but she's already kicking into high gear on harassing me for new stories lol.

Anyways, all the love to you. Thank you again so much for sending me your thoughts as you read the story. 💖💗💞💝

[foxgloveinspace]

pasted from my notes app:

okay i am compiling all my thoughts in a note as i watch lmao

1. love the dog. he’s adorable

2. journey!!!! separate ways- what a good fuckin song

3. now eurythmics?! this movie has a killer soundtrack. i did a jazz routine to sweet dreams once upon a time. it was so fun lol

4. the weird white robot-y ladies are giving me hardcore like, austin powers vibes lmao

5. hahahaaaaa mr orange guy… i like his helmet

6. oooooh there’s multiple orange guys. they both have cool masks/helmets. something about being unable to see the face and yet totally understand the emotion fuuuuuucks me up

7. omg this is going to get long i’m so sorry i’m like a quarter through the movie 😅

8. very good fight scene choreo, that always makes or breaks a show for me. poor choreo is painful to watch, but this is good! i like

9. umm. I’m guessing dad is the bad guy. he’s kinda shady lmao (oooooooh it’s a dad clone. love clones. they always throw wrenches in plans)

10. lmaoooooo dad so disappointed sam only has a dog and no gf 😭

11. haha is that a daft punk cameo? not my cup of tea in terms of music but that’s pretty neat

12. OH MY GOD MICHAEL SHEEN I LOVE HIM. he plays the most insane characters- and also the sweetest (aziraphale in good omens 🥺)

13. okay ngl i keep hearing “rinzler” and thinking of the rizzler and i can’t stop laughing about it 😂

14. LMAO HE JUST BONKED THE DUDE. i love percussive maintenance, that’s how i fix my car

15. oooooh i love a good “i was a good guy before i was evil and i remember” moment. Good shit

that was really good! i honestly didn’t remember any of it from whenever i watched it but that was dope. i can definitely see how you’re so invested in the story! now i’m pumped for your fic whenever it comes out 😂🥰

Answering all of your notes.... under a readmore so this isn't too too long, haha

1). Yes!!! Marv is so cute!!

2). I love that song so much.

3). yes!! the sound track is really good, but you won't find those two songs on it haha.

4).I've never seen that movie, so I'll take your word for it, haha. They are really interesting and I am intrigued by them lore wise, sad we don't get more about them in the movie (idk if theres more in the tv show? I haven't watch it yet cause it got canceled and ended on a clif hanger, but I should).

5/6. yes!! orange guys!! I love all of their designs, except for Jarvis (Clu's assistant), I know they where going for like.... hes weird and kinda cringe, but they could have done his design way better.

7. No worries!!

8. yes! the fights are good, and I think even tho Sam is like, a newbie to it, it still feels realistic? like the guy base jumps, I feel like him knowing how to fight is reasonable.

9. yeah that whole scene is so?? trippy haha. (I now, of course, only watch Rinzler doing his thing in the background when I watch this scene haha)

10. YESSSS ugh, I feel like he's more so disapointed that Sam isn't giving him much to go off of?? to Sam this is still the guy that abanonded him, but to Kevin this is his kid that he hasn't seen in so freaking long (time works differently on the grid, not to get super into it, but one year our time is 50 years grid time. So Kevin has been on the Grid for over 1k years.)

11. DAFT PUNK DOES THE WHOLE SOUNDTRACK hahaha. Sorry, they are my og masked band and I still love them so much <3 (Legit I've only been listening to sleep token and daft punk for the majority this month). So all the music in the movie? was them, and that's why they where in it! really cool to me haha.

12.YES!!! he's such a good actor, shape shiftier I swear. His design is so cool, and I like Zeus as a villain. He's so interesting and I want to know morrrre. But we'll never get it oof.

13. LMAO

14.Yes, Kevin bonking that guy is so freaking funny. I feel bad for the program, but like. i love that scene. It's such a callback to the first movie, when Kevin was a cocky little shit, and I love it so much.

15. Tron in that scene breaks my heart.

I'm so glad you enjoyed it!!!! Like, I just.... legitimately can't express how excited I am that you liked it??

and yes... my fic..... I was working on it when I got your ask.... Rinzler and Sam are interacting... and I am... LIVING. HAHA. So little has happened it feels like, and yet... 18k... whooooo boy. I wouldn't be surprised if this ends up being my longest fic ever oof.

[wooahaes]

Not "Layton anon," but "Take care! ❤ anon" here. But I almost cried real tears when the new Professor Layton game was shown in the Nintendo Direct. I was in the middle of class when I found out, and I'm still completely shook considering "Professor Layton and the Azran Legacy" came out on February 28, 2013. I was excited for some of the other games shown, but this took the cake for me immediately. What game(s) are you most excited about from the Direct? Also, hope you're doing well. Take care! ❤

omg hi lovely!!

aaa dont remind me that its been ten years since azran legacy 😭 i was so BABIE then… i should rly replay the series sometime. the layton series is so special to me since thats where i first started writing fanfic!! lol fun fact those fics are still up (from when i was 11 writing self insert first trilogu fanfic) somewhere but ill literally never tell where im taking tht info to the grave

im super excited for fantasy life!! the first game was special to me as something i used to play w former friends a lot so im honestly kinda hoping to get it and have fun hehe 💕 god am i hoping they maybe add romance options since i think it was sad the original game didnt let you do that 😭 straight up taunted u with it too…

i barely remember the rest of the direct so im googling to see if theres something else im missing lmao those were the standouts for me tho!

ooo pikmin 4 was exciting!! also kirby 👉👈 OOO ALSO the dontnod game!!

ive never played ghost trick but it honestly looks super up my alley so 🤔 maybe ill look into the game!! fashion dreamer also looks super cute hehe

ALSO RAIN CODE!! straight up thought we were getting a new dr game for a minute ngl lmaoo but im def interested. makes me wanna replay the dr series tho

theres so much now that im seeing it all in an article wow :0 !!

ty for asking! feel free to share what ur looking forward to as well 🥰