#need something to get the creative juices flowing again

[sesshy380]

I keep searching for another prompt piece that just 'jumps' at me, but all the ones I keep coming across are just too perfect for the slow burn enemies-to-lovers I am working on in the background of my longfic QQ

I now have a folder full of prompts that are geared towards Atem and Bakura, but somehow only work in the AU of my longfic. I know I'll never use all of them, but I can't force myself to see the prompts differently because what if I decide to use it in my longfic? How would I even incorporate it in a one-shot setting? Damn you brain. Why are you so mean?

[emily-mooon]

SCOTT PILGRIM CHARACTERS AS ALVVAYS SONGS PT 1: RAMONA FLOWERS + TILE BY TILE

‘Cause I’m still combing through missed connections/I shouldn’t have ever followed you up/I’m out here swimming in the wrong direction/ I shouldn’t have ever been calling it love

Song

NEXT ->

[automaticllamacycle]

If any of y’all want to send in concepts /blurbs I might try and do them over the weekend when I’m free of the shackles of chemistry class

[inga-don-studio]

The fact that three of my own creative projects are my top posts right now (even if one is a shitpost) makes me very happy. It’s been a looooooong time since any of my art has been up there.

[enchanted-day-dreams]

I hate having writer's block so bad that I can't even make a damn post about a fic idea I wanna share. I've made and deleted so many posts because the words fail me halfway through.

[starryserenade]

I become the most productive person ever in areas I hardly ever touch if you just put another important task in front of me to procrastinate from

[purplecoffee13]

NFWMB - part 4

Summary: “Y/N and Harry both attend Sophie’s party, and it doesn’t exactly pan out how Y/N thought it would.”

Wc: 5.6k

Tropes: boxer!harry x innocent!reader

Warnings: physical violence, verbal threats, angst, mention of SA, fluff, jealousy.

A/N: tell a friend to tell a friend… SHE’S BAAACCCKKK!!!! Hi guys, thank you for being so patient. I was literally unable to write for weeks and they were the worst weeks of my life, but I’m finally doing better and my creative juices are flowing! Pray with me that it’ll last🙏

Also THIS IS NOT PROOFREAD sorry I was just too excited to get this out🤭😋

P.S. I recommend you listen to ‘Ice Cream Man’ by RAYE. Not only does it apply to the sorry (warning: SA) but RAYE is also an incredible artist!!

General Masterlist

Series Masterlist

Y/N had never observed herself in the mirror for this long. She was certain that at one point she was going to start to look disfigured to herself, but she just needed to make sure that everything was right.

During her childhood, and especially her adolescent years, Y/N had always been told not to be too vain, but to always look good. There were contradictory balances that she's had to sit in the middle of for as long as she could remember, and she was good at it, until tonight.

For some reason, this burgundy dress she was wearing had to be matched perfectly with her shoes, bag and make-up, and right now she was absolutely sure that it didn't.

Instead of throwing her blow dryer at the mirror like she wanted to, Y/N took a deep breath and closed her eyes, hoping her mind would occupy her with a distraction good enough to give a refreshed perspective when she'd open her eyes again. Of course it was him that flashed through her mind the second her eyelids fluttered shut. She should not have been surprised, because wasn't that what this was all about?

Y/N hadn't been able to stop thinking about Harry since... well, actually she couldn't exactly remember since when because that's how long he's been floating around her head for. Seeing him multiple times a week wasn't helping much either, it gave her new material to think about whenever she had a second to spare. It was like a disease, spreading through her entire body, except she didn't mind and the symptoms made her feel more alive than ever.

Just the sole touch of fingers on her waist, or shoulders was worth replaying a million times in her head, as were all the times he'd say something that could even remotely be said in another, less appropriate context. Y/N felt like she had to visit a confessional or something, because it was getting out of hand. But she knew this wasn't bad, and the only thing she was doing by fighting this was stopping herself from getting something she—deep down—felt she didn't deserve.

Despite these pitiful revelations, Y/N still found herself nitpicking at every single aspect of her appearance as she got ready for Sophie's birthday party.

With only five minutes on the clock until her Uber driver would be outside, Y/N decided to accept the black heels she'd put on and the small shoulder bag she'd settled on. A final look in the mirror indeed gave her an epiphany: brown lip liner.

After darkening her lips with the pencil, at last it felt like everything had fallen into place— with the exception of the nerves dwarreling around her lower stomach of course. Even as she sat in the Uber with the nice woman who was talking about her kids as she drove her to the party didn't do one thing to take her mind off the excitement she was feeling.

Y/N tipped her driver before she got out of the car and made her way inside, where she was greeted by an elated—and perhaps already slightly intoxicated—Sophie. The long, dark green dress she wore complimented the blonde shade of her hair, and her make-up was out of this world. Y/N made sure to note that when she congratulated her friend.

It only took five seconds of scanning the room before she spotted him, standing by the bar as he—Y/N could only assume—waited to be served his drink. It felt much like being a magnet to a whiteboard, the way she was so drawn to him. Y/N knew she should've considered herself lucky that another couple came into greeting Sophie, because otherwise she wouldn't have been let off the hook so easily, but that gratefulness was far down on the list of things that took up her thoughts as she made her way to the man at the bar. And when he turned around, she may as well have punched herself then and there, because Harry looked breathtaking.

He always did, of course, but seeing him in a dark grey suit with a soft pink dress shirt, his hair pushed back and all clean shaven... it did something to her.

From the looks of it, Y/N took the guess that her appearance also threw Harry off in some kind of way, since the stutter in his greeting was too apparent to ignore.

"H— hi." He said, mouth slightly agape as his widened eyes took in Y/N. "You look beautiful."

She could have sworn her intestines were being swapped all around inside her because those nerves in her stomach tripled in size as she eyed the floor for a second while heat rose to her cheeks. Y/N had never been good at receiving compliments, mostly because she had been taught that not immediately accepting them was the only way to be worthy of them. Besides, it would make her conceited and rude to just agree.

And yet, all those rules on how to behave flew out the window the second those green eyes were on her, and she didn't care that she jeopardized her worthiness. She just wanted to soak in the words he deliberately told her, and feel good about them. So she didn't argue him on anything, and instead responded:

"Thank you. You clean up good yourself."

The lopsided smirk on Harry's face made Y/N want to jump up and down, for no other reason than that the sight of it just made her really happy. And for a moment she wondered if it couldn't just stay like this forever? Pure, sincere, and not strong enough to be soul crushingly destroyed by anyone, including her own self sabotaging tendencies.

"Oh, this old thing? Just threw it on." Harry shrugged, his eyes fixated on Y/N. She laughed at his ridiculous attempt to be cool. He leaned against the bar, his head tilting a bit. "What are you having?"

His head nodded towards the bar, and Y/N took it as an invitation to get closer to Harry. She stood next to him, just a little closer than necessary, as she hummed and thought about the hundreds of drinks she could possibly order, and totally didn't settle on the same one she always gets.

"I think I'm going to get a cosmopolitan." She answered, and surprised her smile as much as she could as she watched Harry flag down the waiter and order the drink for her. She quite liked this gentleman-like treatment.

"Very fitting, angel." He said lowly as the waiter put down the drink in front of her.

Y/N turned her head to him, a raised brow challenging him slightly. "And why is that?"

Harry moved to lean his entire back against the bar instead of just one side, and shrugged his shoulders as he observed the room before locking his eyes onto her again.

"Because you're just as sweet as that cocktail." The grin that his comment was accompanied by would have been enough to make Y/N's knees buckle right then and there, but the fact that she was holding onto a bar helped a great deal.

The sight of Oscar talking to some other colleagues of hers also helped with that. She could quite literally feel the color drain from her face as she took him in.

It wasn't like it was unexpected; she knew there was a big chance he'd be there. But between Harry, the amount of work she had to do, and all of her self-defense training, she hadn't had much time to think about hypothetical confrontations with Oscar.

"Are you okay?" Harry's gaze darted from the direction in which you were staring back to Y/N. Only when her eyes settled on him again, a part of the worry in his eyes slightly faded. She mustered a smile, nodding her head and hoping it would be enough to convince him. From the look on his face she knew that he wasn't convinced in even the slightest, but she was surprised to hear him switch the topic of the conversation.

"I want you to meet Greg." He said, and Y/N hummed in agreement, grabbing her glasses and following as Harry lead them to her colleague's boyfriend.

"I've already met Greg." She noted, still walking closely next to Harry, whose hand was ghosting over the small of her back.

"Yeah, but I want you to meet him as my best friend."

Y/N was sure that whatever was rattling in her stomach was doing cartwheels as she took in the determination on Harry's face. It didn't seem like he was shying away from what he was implying, and yet she wasn't certain. Because what if he didn't mean it like that at all? Y/N needed to be 100% sure that her suspicions were correct, because the weight of the humiliation that hung over the risk she could take was too great to bear. Besides, she didn't want to jeopardize the self-defense classes. It was a place of safety for her now, she couldn't lose it.

She didn't have much time to dwell on it given that she found herself in front of Greg. Quickly shoving her thoughts away, she conjured a smile and gave the man in front of her a hug.

"How have you been?" Greg asked, grinning widely as he waited on an answer. "Heard you've been taking self-defense classes."

The way he eyed his friend, and the manner in which Harry's eyes glared at Greg, caused a wave of of giddiness to flood over her. This had to mean something, right? Or was she just fishing now?

"Uh, yes, I have. It has helped me a lot." She  answered with rosy cheeks. Greg nodded his head.

"That's great, Y/N. I mean, Harold here is a great teacher, isn't he?"

She snickered, turning to Harry. "That's your full name?"

"No, Greg just likes to be an asshole from time to time." The agonizing smile on his face told her that Harry was a bit on edge, nervous almost? Y/N focused on Greg again.

"Yes, he's amazing." She said, and could feel the blood rush to her ears as she took in her own words. Instead of throwing out a bunch of excuses and rectifications on the construction of her sentence, she zipped her mouth shut, and let the compliment hang in the air. Her heart was racing, and she didn't dare look Harry in the eye, but from the small glance that Greg threw his way, she knew that he'd had some sort of reaction to the compliment.

"Well, stick around and soon you'll be strong enough to take out any man. My Sophie could knock me the fuck out of she needed to, and I'm glad she can." Greg beamed as he mentioned his girlfriend. Y/N was filled with a warm feeling in her chest as she observed Sophie's boyfriend. Her friend was a boss of a woman and to know she was getting the love she deserved was most heartwarming.

The moment was cut short, though, when another person entered the conversation. 

"Harry Styles?!" A joyous shriek—for lack of a more polite word—came from a short blonde woman to Y/N's left. The woman didn't pay any mind to Greg nor her as she headed for Harry, giving him a long, very very long hug. Y/N swallowed.

"Lindsay, I haven't seen you in ages." Harry's voice was kind, he sounded excited even. Maybe it was an old friend, or classmate, or—

"That's because the last time you saw me you broke my heart, hon." She giggled. Harry's brows raised ever so slightly.

An old girlfriend. Right, Y/N should've known that. That just made this entire situation a whole lot more awkward, and if there was one thing Y/N didn't care for it was unpleasantries like these.

So, she decided to do the one thing she was best at: escape. Downing her drink in one go, she wiggled her glass, catching Harry's attention.

"I'm gonna go to the bathroom and then get another drink, see you later." Y/N's smile was sweet and full of sincerity, but her legs were heavy as she made her way to the bathroom, as if carrying an invisible ball and chain around each leg. She didn't want to be away from Harry, she wanted to snarl at that ex-girlfriend of his and tell her to back off.

But it was irrational and petty, and not to mention totally inappropriate, so she distanced herself instead. Y/N felt a headache looming, her body fighting her mind for the cowardly attitude it encouraged. She spent way longer in the bathroom than she needed to, eventually only going back after a minute long silent peptalk that she performed to herself in the mirror.

When she returned to the room she saw Harry still talking to his ex, only Greg had now left them and was dancing with Sophie and some others. Y/N thought over her options, and decided to join her friend.

She tried her hardest not to look for Harry in the crowded room, letting the music capture all of her attention. Sophie and Greg were performing all kinds of dance moves that had Y/N throw her head back in laughter, and in that moment everything felt so good.

Simple and good, that was joy. She hadn’t felt that in a long time.

After countless of songs and dance battles on the lit up floor, Y/N decided to take a break and treat herself to another drink. Sauntering over to the bar, she waited her turn order another cosmopolitan, and took a step to the side to let other people order as well.

Y/N was still looking at her fidgeting hands, lost in deep thought, when a familiar scent roamed through her nostrils and stiffened her entire body.

"A Long Island ice tea, please." Oscar's voice sounded from beside her. Y/N didn't dare to look up and stayed focused on her hands instead. She could see his hands from the corner of her eyes, they were desperately clamping onto the bar, knuckles  white.

Without even touching her, Oscar had managed to put a tightening strain on Y/N's chest that felt too uncomfortable to make her move. She was glad to see her cosmopolitan arrive, and was quick to move to the other side of the bar. In the quick second that she glanced at Oscar, she noticed his eyes were following her.

When he started moving closer to where Y/N was standing, the tenseness in her body began to develop into a full-blown panic, and when a set of hands settled on her waist, she couldn't help the hasty gasp that left her mouth before she turned around.

Harry looked surprised when she met his eyes, and she let out a sigh of relief to see that it was only him. Y/N let out a breathy chuckle as she slowly shook her head.

"Gosh, you scared me." It was noticeable in the strain of her voice that the stress hadn't left her body entirely, and Harry seemed to notice that. He raised a brow.

"Are you okay?"

She nodded eagerly, not wanting to steer the conversation this way. "'M fine. What about you?"

"Frankly, I'm a bit disappointed." Harry admitted, and Y/N frowned at the confession. Her head tilted, she asked:

"Why?"

"You told me I wasn't going to get rid of you so easily the other day." He noted, the memory of your conversation brought a smile to your face. "And yet I lost you after about ten minutes."

Y/N chuckled. "I was giving you some space. I didn't want to be rude."

"Angel... in any case, when it comes to Lindsay Holloway, please be rude." The sincerity in Harry's voice made her burst out into giggle.

"I take it you weren't planning on rekindling old flames then." Y/N said, and when Harry confirmed it with a firm nod, she grimaced. "And here I thought I was being a good sport, leaving you alone with her."

"Trust me, angel. She is not the woman I would like be alone with." He leaned forward, his face way too close to Y/N for her to function normally because of it. The overwhelming urge to just— kiss him was almost too great to resist. The way his eyes took her in was so exhilarating, and it didn't make her insecure because she didn't need wonder what he was thinking; it was written all over his face.

"Oh." Was the only sound that Y/N could utter as she processed Harry's words. His eyes flicked from hers to her mouth as he softly pushed her back against the bar, grinning at how her doe-like eyes were observing his every move.

"Aren't you going to ask me who I would like to be alone with?" Harry asked, and it was clear that he was taunting her. But it didn't occur to Y/N to mind, as she immediately obeyed him.

"Who would you like to be alone with, Harry?" She posed the question, watching his jaw clench at his name falling from her lips.

"Y/N!"

Both Y/N and Harry's head whipped to the side where Sophie was standing with a slightly distressed look on her face. Almost out of instinct, it seemed, Harry took a step back. A pang boomed through Y/N's chest.

"I need to talk to you, now." She demanded, not even a hint of a questioning tone in her voice. She meant business. Y/N nodded and slid past Harry, grabbing Sophie's hand and letting her friend lead the both of them outside.

There were some other people outside, smoking cigarettes as they chatted with each other. Every person stopped to greet Sophie with a smile or another 'congratulations' as they walked more towards the alley, where there were less people. Y/N's heart was racing from both the encounter with Harry and the nervousness that had built up thinking of the possible ways that this talk with Sophie could go.

She hadn't expected Sophie to start squealing in excitement, but it was better than anything she could've imagined.

"Oh my god! You and Harry?! For how long has this been going on?" She asked, and Y/N swiftly shook her head.

"There is nothing going on." She replied, the monotony in her voice doing little to hide the frustrations about the truth of that sentence. "I mean, there might have been a start of something going on before we went outside."

Sophie winced. "I'm sorry, I cockblocked you. I just wanted to make sure you knew what you were doing."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that you don't seem like someone who is into casual hook-ups."

Y/N's face twisted in discomfort, and Sophie panicked at the sight of it.

"Not that Harry only does hook-ups! I didn't mean it like that. I just— I hadn't heard you mention him before and I didn't realize you were so close until last week." She instantly began to rant, and Y/N grew defense from her words.

"He offered me some extra training to build more muscle." She shrugged.

“Hmm, sure he is.” Sophie hummed playfully, wiggling her eyebrows and causing a snort to fall from Y/N’s lips. It took a few moments to control their schoolgirl-like giggles, but when they’d managed to pipe down, Sophie’s face turned a bit more serious.

“I just wanted to assure you that Harry is a good guy. You can trust him, you don’t have to hold yourself back.” Her eyes were soft as Sophie spoke, both her hands wrapped around Y/N’s right one. There was a stinging sensation in Y/N’s chest at the mention of the tendencies she thought she concealed quite well, but she was far from offended by it. On the contrary; she was relieved that Sophie could see right through her regarding this topic, because without this confirmation, Y/N would’ve doubted this situation for too long, probably causing Harry to grow bored and leave.

“Soph, we’ve been looking all over for you! We need to do the Photo Booth!” Stacy, another lawyer from the firm suddenly appeared and interrupted the conversation, shrieking in excitement as she hurried over to Sophie and grabbed her arm. She barely paid any mind to Y/N, at least not until Sophie gave her a guilty glance. Stacy conjured a confused smile of her own, her mind clearly battling about the fact that she seemed to recognize Y/N, only she had no idea where from.

“I’m going to borrow her for a little while.” She said, and it was only now that Y/N realized how nasal this Stacy sounded. Sophie had complained about it a dozen times, and now she finally understood the issue.

“Go ahead, have fun, I’ll find you later Soph.” Y/N said, smiling as she watched Stacy and Sophie walk back inside. She took the moment alone outside as an opportunity to clear her mind. To assure herself, that she had the confirmation that Harry liked her as well, and to just take the leap.

“Cigarette?”

Y/N’s head snapped towards Oscar, who was standing only standing a few feet away from her. She glanced at the other people smoking outside; at least she wasn’t alone. She turned her attention back to Oscar, and shook her head.

It stayed silent between the two, and since Y/N didn’t want anything to do with Oscar, she slowly started to walk away. But then, a sentence left Oscar’s mouth that had her frozen where she stood.

“Are you going to accuse him of assaulting you too?”

Y/N lost her breath. Did he really just say that? She pressed down the immense wave of nausea that threatened her to puke all over her pretty dress, and focused on her breathing before she turned around to face him.

“What did you just say to me?” Her tone was sharp, laced with a feeling of injustice. She tried to steady herself as much as she could, but she could feel her hands trembling from the adrenaline.

“I should probably warn him. Who knows what you’ll do to his life.” He sneered, his tone smothered in resentment. Y/N hadn’t even told anyone about what Oscar had done to her, and here he was, accusing her of ruining people’s lives.

“You need to leave me alone…” She growled, balling up her fists to channel her frustration into anything else than the wall or his face.

“Or what? You’re going to tell on me? Seriously, you don’t think that two men with a stellar reputation would make for a more believable story than a self-pitying gold digger?”

“Shut the fuck up.”

“What? Mad I’m right? You do only target successful men right, don’t you?” He asked. The amusement in his eyes was disgusting and it made Y/N take a step back. She was seething with rage over Oscar’s words.

“Stay the hell away from me, Oscar.” Y/N fumed, turning around to walk inside, and when she felt a hand around her wrist, she couldn’t help the instinct that caused her to plant her fist in Oscar’s face. Just the way she had been taught.

It was with way more force than she’d ever managed to do before, and she was pretty sure she heard something crack—although she couldn’t make out whether that was Oscar’s nose or his knees as he fell to the ground.

It was like she could finally breathe, seeing him lay on the floor, groaning in pain. She’d been strong enough to defend herself from danger. Pride filled her chest, although it was vague in comparison to the rage that had overtaken the rest of her body.

Y/N flinched when she felt a pair of hands on her shoulders, but calmed down at the sight of Lindsay, Harry’s old girlfriend, standing beside her. She looked quite worried as Y/N let her guide her to the rest of the people who were still smoking outside. They all began to ask variations of the same questions: ‘are you okay?’ ‘Did he hurt you?’. Y/N frowned upon noticing Lindsay hurry back inside, but she didn’t pay much mind to it anymore when the guy next to her offered a cigarette. She shook her head, a bit taken aback by the timing of the action, and was just about to answer the question of the woman in front of her, when the huddled up group opened up and Harry appeared in front of her.

Crouching down, his eyes roamed over her entire body before settling on her knuckles that had already begun to turn red. His gaze met Y/N’s.

“Are you okay?”

She nodded.

“What happened?”

It only then occurred to Y/N that Oscar was probably still laying there, and the quick glance she shot to her left was enough for Harry to know what was going on. He stood up and walked over to Oscar, who had gotten up himself and met him in the middle.

“What the fuck did you do to her?” Harry asked. His voice was stone cold, everything about him was, actually. Not one hint of emotion could be traced in his tone, posture or really anything else. It would’ve been scary, had Y/N had the ability to feel scared of Harry. But she just couldn’t; he made her feel safe.

“Listen man, you need to avoid that girl. She’s fucking crazy. She already tried to ruin my life, don’t let her threaten you to ruin yours.”

All the pent up anger that had seemed to subside slightly once having socked Oscar in the face raced back all at once as the words registered in Y/N’s brain. But before she could get back up to her feet, Harry struck a punch, bringing Oscar to the ground once again.

Leaning forward, he grabbed him by his collar and pulled him up far enough so he could hear him when he said:

“If I ever hear you talking about her like that— better yet, if you come near her again I swear to god I’ll kick out every last one of your teeth… to start with.” Harry warned before letting go of Oscar’s collar with a shove that made a couple of people take a physical step back, and even made one person behind her gasp. Harry didn’t seem to care about any of that as he turned around; he just headed straight for Y/N.

Nor did he didn’t even so much as acknowledge Lindsay, who thanked him, but Y/N made sure to send a grateful smile her way as Harry wrapped his arm around her and led her inside. He didn’t say a word as they entered the room again and walked towards Sophie and Greg.

At first, Sophie was smiling at the sight of Y/N and Harry, but upon spotting her friend’s pale face, the corners of her mouth lowered into a thin line.

“What’s going on? Are you okay?” Her hands were on Y/N immediately, fixing her hair and brushing her fingers against her pale cheek. Y/N knew that she probably looked like she had seen a ghost.

“I’m going to take her home.” Harry announced, and relief washed over Y/N because she didn’t really know what to say right now. Faking a smile, she tried to assure Sophie that it was alright, but her friend was already nodding before Harry had finished speaking.

Throwing her arms around her, Sophie hugged Y/N so tightly that she nearly lost her breath. When she finally let go, the look on her face was determined.

“I love you, have a good night. If you need anything, call me.” She said. Y/N nodded.

“I love you, have a great night.” She turned to Greg. “Watch her.”

The weak joke still managed to make the couple chuckle—probably out of pity—and Greg nodded dutifully, wishing her a good night with that playful wink of his. When Y/N turned back to Harry, he held out her jacket. Her face settled into a confused frown; how did he manage to get their coats so quickly. Was he a wizard or something?

Harry bid the couple farewell as well and soon they were on their way back to the car. Y/N was tense about going outside again, but her shoulders relaxed upon seeing an empty street. Oscar had left, thank god.

The car ride was mostly silent, aside from a few questions about the AC, and an attempt of Harry’s to casually ask for her address again, only to have it at the top of his search list on Google Maps. Y/N had to hold back her giggle.

The rest of it consisted of listening and moving their heads along to whatever song was on. It was mainly rap songs, and Harry knew them all, which was logical considering it was his playlist. There was something attractive about Harry knowing all these songs, it made him look a bit more… intimidating.

Y/N really needed to figure out what deep rooted issue caused her to like that.

She had to admit she was slightly disappointed when he pulled up in front of her apartment complex, so she took her time to turn her head to him, the hint of a smile on her face still. Y/N couldn’t help it; he just made her comfortable. She unbuckled her seatbelt and leaned towards the middle of the vehicle, closer to Harry.

“Thank you, for dropping me off.” She said in a near whisper. The corners of Harry’s mouth tugged up, and he—in turn—closed the distance between even more, their faces only a few inches apart now. Y/N’s hands began to sweat.

“Anything for you, angel.” His voice was raspy, and despite the cockiness he radiated, there was still concern behind it.

But it was over— for Y/N it was over. Her self-control, an entity of its own, seemed to exit her body leaving her with nothing but him. All that adrenaline had channeled into a pressing urge to put her lips on his, to touch him, feel him all around. It was over.

Nothing held her back, not even her own stubborn mind, as she leaped forward and kissed Harry.

While she had expected him to maybe be surprised about her action, the way his mouth welcomed her—invited her, even—was enough proof that he had been ready for her.

Kissing Harry was like jumping off a cliff and diving deeper into the ocean. For once, she didn’t feel like to love was to drown. No, she submerged herself into the water and felt more at home than she had ever felt at the surface. Was it possible to feel at home in someone’s arms?

With a hand on her jaw, Harry lured Y/N forward further, challenging her by pulling back a bit. Needing his lips like it was her own source of oxygen, Y/N didn’t hesitate to lean further, and in all her desperation, climbed right onto his lap.

The short dress didn’t leave much restrictions for her heat as she automatically began to grind her hips. Only when Harry let out a pained groan that shot straight to her core, she’d realized what she was doing— what they were doing.

Pulling away in a flash, a gasp left Y/N. Her lips felt all puffy, much like Harry’s looked.

“S— sorry, I didn’t know what came over me.” Y/N shot in her defensive mode, but Harry only shook his head.

“Don’t say sorry, angel. I—” he cut himself off, and met her eyes. “I don’t think we should do this right now, because—”

Shit, no, shit, shit!

“Oh, yeah, no of course, no problem. I mean, you’re right.” Y/N began to rant, cheeks heating up in embarrassment. How could she ever do such a stupid thing. She was quick to lean over and grab her bag. “But thank you, for bringing me home, and I’ll see you Tuesday.”

Before Harry could even get a word in, she opened the door on the driver’s seat and climbed out of the car, smashing the door shut harsher than she intended to. She winced at the sound, but kept walking. This rejection was humiliating enough as it was, she didn’t need Harry to elaborate on all the reasons he didn’t want her.

She heard the car door open, but by then, Y/N had already entered her building. In the chaos of it all, she decided to sprint up the stairs, wanting to get away from the situation as fast as possible, and in that process forgetting that she lived on the sixth floor.

She was out of breath when she finally reached her apartment, but not as out of breath as she would have been a month ago. Damn Harry, those classes were really working.

Once inside, Y/N leaned against the door, dramatically letting herself slip to the ground as she buried her head in her arms and let out a frustrated groan. Why was every next step she took on the aspect of love always destined to be her most embarrassing one yet?

She huffed, massaging her temples as she soaked in the shame and slowly felt it wither away. She knew the mortification would wane, but the sudden awareness of that ache between her legs, she knew that wouldn’t just go away. With a sigh, Y/N hoisted herself up and got ready for bed before lying down and digging into her nightstand’s drawer to grab the only thing that could cure the ache down there.

Her racing mind was a reminder that getting this out of her system wasn’t going to be done very easily…

Taglist: @meetmeatyourworst @mema10 @seafoamwhispers @namoreno @inkedskin @fangirl509east @mellamolayla @lizsogolden @prettydelilah @harry2121 @babegoals @hermionelove @kierramcduffie

[leconcombrerit]

This thing had been rotting in my files for a year (minus three weeks but that's basically a year). It was a redraw of one of my first ever pieces for this fandom, and I still find it quite okay if a little stiff in places, so I thought I might as well share it since I don't draw that much anymore.

And then I had second thoughts, which obviously led to me posting it anyway, as you can see, but I realized I've almost made it a point not to draw anything related to Sasi anymore. As in at all. I can't, and I don't want to, and even sharing old art feels a bit 'meh'. It's too directly linked to my long going art block.

What I mean by that is that if I took all the followers I have out there and asked them what they know me or initially followed me for, you might have a fair amount of Lis 2 and the occasional Desert Bluffs afficionados, but you'd get an overwhelming majority of Sanders Sides. Sanders Sides fashion posts even. I was by no means famous for it or anything, but at my small artist scale, it was the biggest success I had.

And it makes it much harder to go back to it at all now. One, because I don't give a damn about the show anymore. Two, because I haven't been properly obsessing over anything in a while (there was a series early this year but given the actual emotional distress I get thinking about it I'm ruling it out). I haven't had real engagement from my own brain, nor real engagement from a broad audience -which makes sense, I'm not posting for anything that will reach a broad audience. But it takes its toll regardless.

Even when I finally finished writing a long fic, I couldn't help but feel 'all this for what ? Ten people or so and two hundreds have dropped it ?'. Which is a bad way to think about stuff you write for your own enjoyment but, you know, the brain gets happy with external validation even if you pretend really hard you don't care.

And so it feels tempting to go back to the golden goose just the time to get the creative juice pumping back, and I try, and I always end up frustrated and angry and feeling even less like making art that before. I'm not having fun with Sasi. Like an old friend you have nothing to say to and yet you have so much to say otherwise, so you get a bit frustrated, you know ? Not sure I'm making much sense, but that's how it feels. I want to have something like that again, but it won't be with Sanders Sides, and I somehow just want if off my radar.

It was left hanging, then lost its spark, and then I stopped caring altogether and I most likely won't even watch the finale when it does come out. I'm over it. I wish I wasn't though, because it does feel like the artistic spark won't come back all on its own this time, and the buzzing community made it so much easier to bounce back and do shit when your brain got wired all wrong.

It sounds like I'm just bawling after love and likes and stuff, and I guess that's part of it, in a way ? Like I'm in no place to do things for myself, and seeing the one thing I used to use to get back in the flow giving me a bored sense of dread doesn't feel too great.

Yet this drawing is still good ! I find it good ! I don't remember everything, but I can tell from the looks of it that I spent a while on it ! It's nice ! I should celebrate that. So I'm sharing it. I think it will be the last piece of Sasi I ever share, though. I'm not watching the finale when it comes out. I don't care about it. I'll just keep doodling my OCs and characters from cool books every once in a while. I'll write little things.

I just really, really need to stop trying to go back to it when it's clearly not working and not even for good reasons. It was a fun ride though ! So yeah. Basically. A whole ass rant for a one year old piece of art. I'm in my bi-annual depresso mood, nothing too surprising there.

[art]

Creator Spotlight: @jijidraws

Jiji Knight is a latina pinup illustrator. Her work is overall geared toward thick ladies and dedicated to fat positivity out of a purely selfish need to create art she wished she had seen growing up. She often features sexy and soft macabre themes on vibrant or sweet colours and takes great joy in making folx feel good about themselves with her work. She holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Illustration and operates out of her very sunny hometown of Las Vegas.

Check out our interview with Jiji below!

Have you ever had an art block? If so, how did you overcome it?

Oh my gosh… I have art blocks all the time. My favorite way of overcoming it is by making fanart. Funnily enough, that’s something I don’t do in my own work anymore. But there are still IPs I return to that still bring joy to my heart. I love returning to drawing Sailor Moon like when I was in first grade. Or I’ll even look up the last fashion week and start drawing the fashion week outfits from the Paris or New York show. Stuff like that is what gets my creative juices flowing.

What medium have you always been intrigued by but would never use yourself?

Resin. Resin art is so stunning. People make the most amazing and beautiful sculptures using resin, and I don’t think I could ever bring myself to play with something so complicated. There are a lot of ways to cure it, and sometimes, it doesn’t cure properly…I already work with enough chaos as it is! I respect resin artists, but I don’t think I would ever touch it. I’ve admired it from a distance. There is an artist I follow who does these resin layer paintings. So they’ll paint a layer of resin, then cure it, and paint on top of the cured layer. They build up these amazing paintings using resin…I could never. Maybe one day!

What is one interaction you had with a fan of yours that has stuck with you over the years?

I still remember…It was my first and only Flame Con in New York. I had a fan come up to my booth. They didn’t say hello or that it was nice to meet me. They started to cry! They cried, and the first words out of their mouth were, “I’ve never seen myself in artwork before.” So, of course, I started to cry! So we were just crying across the table at each other. It was just one of the sweetest interactions, and it really sticks with me still to this day.

What is a recent creative project that you are proud of?

My latest collaboration with the artist Missupacey. We’ve been collaborating for two years now, and our last collaboration was for Midsummer Scream. It was two very cute clown girls, and I designed our T-shirt. It was one of the most fun projects we’ve done in a long time. We love doing collaborative work because it keeps working in the art industry fresh—being able to bounce ideas back and forth. So we do it where someone picks the color palette, and someone picks a theme. We’ll get references together, put them on a big board, and send each other sketches. It’s really nice to work with somebody else.

How has technology changed the way you approach your work?

Honestly, it changed everything. I mean, I used to draw for myself a lot. And while I still do that, I now predominantly draw for my Patrons. For a while, I was drawing for the internet. So I was drawing stuff people wanted to see in terms of plus-sized versions of characters—a plus-sized Poison Ivy or a plus-sized Sailor Moon. My Patrons have allowed me to start drawing for myself again. But technology, for a while, essentially dominated what direction I was taking with my art, so I’m grateful to take some of that power back.

If there is one thing that you want art enthusiasts to remember you by, what would it be?

Body positivity. I would love for them to remember that there is an artist making work that is making people feel good about themselves and about the way they look at themselves.

Top tips on setting up an Artist Alley booth?

Have a method of taking money, have a method of displaying your work, and have a way to take a break. I have a plastic picnic cover that costs like a dollar at any store. All I have to do is clip it to my display grates, and it covers up my entire display. I feel secure enough to take time for myself in a 10-hour workday to eat something, go to the restroom, or even take a moment to breathe and reorganize my inventory. So it’s so funny that this one-dollar piece of plastic is like the most life-saving item in my display of items.

Who on Tumblr inspires you and why?

@mayakern comes to mind. She is another body-positive artist who expanded into making body-positive clothing. She’s amazing, and just to see someone else out there promoting body positivity. Maya’s been doing it longer than I have, I believe. It feels good to know that I’m not alone. Her work is always stunning, and I love her body-positive DnD characters and the fact that she’s still plowing through the clothing industry. For example, she’s expanded from skirts to button-downs and even custom-wrap shirts. I love to see what she’s doing, and it inspires me to pursue different avenues with my own work.

Thank you so much for stopping by and sharing, Jiji! Be sure to check out their Tumblr blog over at @jijidraws.

[bunji-enthusiast]

Hope you're doing well!! Please take however long you need to get your creative juices flowing <333 may I order a Dogday recognizing Poppy's Angel is actually the former Playtime Co. employee he and many others came to love and cherish due to their kindness? The reader is THAT employee that others envy, many of the toys LOVES them and prefer to be taken care of by them.

Maybe the reader had found out the sinister nature of the company but is understandably afraid to speak up about it as they realized their old co-workers maybe weren't just fired or " quit " out of thin air after all... Perhaps something happened behind the scenes that made the reader " quits " ( Maybe they could be threatened but by a lot of pleading and bargaining, they're spared but has to keep their mouth shut and never come back, otherwise... )

The toys are devastated, angry and just lots of mixed emotions. The reader feeling more and more guilty as they venture through their once happy place and having to harm the ones they once swore to care for.

The rest is up to you! Please again, take care and take your time, all the best in everything <333

I'm So Sorry

Note || oh my hearttt the angstttt, lovely to write this as always. In the form of head canons if that is alright? ^^

WC || 1,035

Sypnosis || you knew otherwise, presumably what went on. You just didn’t mean to harm those around you.

Being aware of something most employees where not had dug you a thorough grave, you didn’t want to leave your beloved friends in the toy factory. A factory misconstrued on a basement of lies and futility you may as well be well over with, and bury it in the ground. Yet, bury in the ground they did. 

Your superiors had learned of your knowledge of these things, and began sending letters. Bit by bit, they had only started off by threatening you; telling you to keep quiet. They didn’t want their precious reputation to be ruined by the likes of you. Still, you continued to stay, you didn’t want to leave your loved ones. All the friends you’ve come to love, eventually becoming like family for you.

You weren’t deaf nor blind to what the superiors at Playtime Co. do, quite literally you’d have to bandage your eyes or plug your ears to ignore all that was happening behind the scenes, you didn’t let it fall on deaf ears however. Eventually soon enough it was eating away at you to actually just quit, just straight up disappear from Playtime Co.’s eyes. 

Among the many toys; Huggy, Kissy, Mommy, and Poppy, hell even CatNap began to wonder where you went. Why did you flat-out depart from working at the Factory so suddenly? One day you were visible and present, the next you had not shown up. Oddly enough they soon had gotten their answer when the Hour Of Joy had occurred, Huggy Wuggy had come across your paper of termination when he had taken upon himself in the act.

So long ago, that was a decade past you left that life behind. You really wished you would have granted them goodbyes before you had gone, yet it seemed you got that chance to do so when you received a paper in the mail that had appeared to be from your co-workers. Word for word you could remember reading, everyone thinks the staff disappeared ten years ago, we’re still here. Find the flower.

The only reason you even had to come back to the factory in the first place was because of the guilt easily overwhelming your logic, you needed answers. You needed to know what happened to your co-workers and all the toys you cared deeply for, yet you had an overwhelming suspicion you really knew what happened to all the staff in Playtime Co. you simply just weren’t present for it. Having technically already left. 

Seeing Huggy Wuggy on the pedestal again brought back some memories for you, he was certainly a hoot. In a way, you really liked him along with the rest of the toys. He was certainly a unique one out of the few–especially along with Kissy Missy. You thought they were a cute pair together, Kissy always managed to calm his murderous tendencies and Huggy was always someone you can count on for a good hug if you ever had a bad day.

Killing is not something you would ever dare think of doing, it was simply not in your mind or blood to do so. So why did you have to resort to killing Huggy? You silently wept, having no time to grieve for him properly as you had to trudge on along to the flower.

Poppy was the last person (or toy, ahem) you expected to find in that case you came across. Now you find yourself in the game station, seeing her get pulled away like that right after she offered to give the code to you had you on the steels of your nerves, you were immediately very close to being in an angry mood. 

Now you had to deal with Mommy’s antics, you felt for her, but you certainly wouldn’t want to go through the trouble of trying to get the code from Mommy. Least of all having to resort to killing her, as she would not listen to your words. Convincing her was impossible to do, trying to make her remember you was a whole different story.

Crap.

Why’d she have to go in a rage? Now she’s dead too, and what in the seven circles of hell did she mean by “HE’LL MAKE ME PART OF HIM! YOU CAN’T DO THIS TO ME!” You shudder when a mechanical hand comes to pull away Mommy’s corpse, you mentally make a note that is the Prototype. As you’ve come to learn the name after you had scavenged Elliot’s office. 

Soon you learn what Mommy had meant, arguably enough you were angry that Poppy had derailed your only train to get out of Playtime Co. but your heart had ached too much to not finish what you started. Now CatNap was hunting you while you ran around in Playcare, you just never expected to see such an untimely sight that nobody should be put in.

DogDay was hurt, real bad. His legs were severed, he wasn’t long and limber like you remember him to be. His life seemed to be completely drained and sucked away from him, you wince when he moved, movement appeared to be harsh to even put energy into. Your heart bleeds for him, yet you are surprised when he actually recognizes you from before, all those years ago. 

“Angel, you! Y-You're the one that cared for so many of us.” You nod, parental instinct already kicking in to free him from his belts from which he hung from. DogDay doesn’t deserve a fate like this, not then and especially not now. “You don’t need to, leave me here.”

“Oh hell no, you need to live.” You refute, shushing him before DogDay begins to protest. You sigh in relief once he finally is free, as selfish as it may be, he hadn’t ever attempted to kill you. You wanted someone with you that actually remembers you and doesn’t try to gun for you the moment you even step into the vicinity.

Gosh, you really hoped to get this over with. Guilt weighing heavily in mind as you had to kill so many toys, so many that you cared for. 

At Least it meant to be in the name of self defense.

Right?

[gunslingrr]

ALL NIGHT !

warnings/content - use of pet names (mama, lovely), shower sex, p in v, unprotective sex (please wrap it before whomp whomping🙏🏽), rough-ish (not really) sex, gojo eating you out // pairing - gojo satoru x fem!reader

summary - you and gojo having your usual passionate time in the shower but gojo can’t get enough of you

You and Gojo have been going at it in the shower for a while now. Usually you’d be complaining about how long it’s been but at this point you’re too fucked out to care.

“C’mon mama, we’re almost done just a little more…” Gojo huffed in your ear before speeding up his thrusting. One hand was gripping on Gojo’s hair with the other on his shoulder, the mix of the warm shower water and the passionate love making the pleasure too much to handle, Your moaning increasing as you felt Gojo abuse your sloppy cunt.

“Wai- wait Gojo! auh.. slow downnn!” You whined out but your pleads fell on deaf ears as Gojo’s cock continued to ram into you.

“Feels s’good and warm.. Fuck, you’re driving me crazy…” Gojo groaned before kissing your neck. You felt like you were seeing stars at this point. The way Gojo spoke to you, the pace he was fucking you in, the kisses he planted all over your neck, you felt like you were in complete heaven.

“I’m close..“ You moaned out, the grip you had on your boyfriend’s shoulder increased, your legs feeling like they were gonna give in any second.

“Yeah?” Gojo smirked at your fucked out expression before ramming into you in a harsh way again. You let out more lewd noises as your back arched off the shower wall, a mix of you and Gojo’s cum flowing out and dripping down on the shower floor.

“Let me clean that for you,” Gojo whispered before getting on his knees and licking at the mess both of you made, his tongue licking in between your soft folds. You moan, feeling your legs start to tremble and shake again due to the pure ecstasy you were getting. Gojo then started to flick his tongue around your clit, you letting out soft gasps and moans as a result.

“Tastes so fuckin’ good.. need more of this pussy,” He spoke into your crotch, the vibration of his voice against your clit sending you to cloud 9. Just as you know it, you felt yourself wanting to cum for a second time.

“Baby m’ cumming again..” You moaned out, your hands tangled in Gojo’s wet, white locks as he continued to lap at your juices.

“Go ahead, cum for me lovely.” Gojo started to move his tongue a bit faster than before, his blue eyes looking directly up at you to admire his work. Soon, you felt your climax reaching its peak. Your eyes fluttered shut as you let out soft gasps, cumming all over Gojo’s face and in his mouth.

——————

After you both got cleaned up and dried off, you both laid down in bed with Gojo resting his head on your chest. You picked up your phone, your eyes widening in surprise when you realized it was midnight already. You look down at Gojo, who’s already fast asleep with his arms wrapped around your waist. You took a deep breath before wrapping your arms around Gojo, the feeling of tiredness finally taking over as you fell asleep in each other’s arms.

a/n: first smut post lowkey kinda hate this but it’s whatever 😭 just a lil something before my creativity runs out again LMAO

© gunslingrr . do not copy, translate, modify, or reupload my work

[quixotical-lymbo]

You saw my post, you saw how I’m obsessed with Bee there’s literally no way of hiding it

Headcanons with bee with a gn or fem reader (whichever you want) who’s sick? Idk if transformers can get sick or not but uuuuuhhh let’s just pretend!

If this isn’t getting your creative juices flowing up there then no worries! Don’t feel pressured to write it!

Pairing: B-127/Bee x gn!sick!Reader Rating: SFW Summary: Getting sick isn't a breeze, but with your honeybee beside you it's easy.  A/N: More Bee content because a certain someone is a simp/j Warnings/Tags: Cybertronian reader, sick!reader, brief mentions of vomiting and general stuff involving sickness, happens after the movie, fluff.  Word Count: 850+ words

Feeling iffy 

🐝 For some reason, you've been feeling off ever since you got a cog

🐝 You worked in lower levels with your conjunx and eating enough energon to be half full was a rarity.  

🐝 Now with Iacon entering a new era, having a cog and having a conjunx 'working for the government' as he put it, you had all the energon you could ever want.

🐝 Of course, you weren't scarfing down on it, but it was definitely an improvement than before you left the mines.

🐝 Your symptoms ranged from overheating, sneezing, to even feeling nauseous to the point you couldn't walk straight. You couldn't even keep down the energon you'd consume in normal amounts. 

🐝 One thing was for sure, something was wrong.

Finding out 

🐝 You figured trying to deal with the issue by yourself before Bee found out would work.

🐝It didn't. 

🐝 Bee could tell something was wrong with you after a few cycles of your symptoms persisting. 

🐝 He cornered you in your shared home and that's when he found out you were sick.

🐝 Of course he was upset that you didn't tell him, but more so upset at the fact you were still trying to do daily tasks (whether that was doing your job or helping Elita-1 and Optimus along with him) despite being sick. 

Taking care of you 

🐝 He had to physically drag you to a med-bay to get checked out

🐝 Turns out your condition wasn't too serious, but you needed to get some rest so your body could get used to the fast transitions of having a cog + surplus of energon. 

🐝 Bee heard 'rest' and ran with it.

🐝 He plucked you up from where you sat and carried you out in his arms while yelling about getting you to bed quick. To say you were as blue as, well, energon was an understatement. 

🐝 Now in your shared berth, Bee has taken over the role of being your nurse. 

🐝 He servo feeds you, refuses to let you lift a single digit, and even began reading berthtime stories or what he and Optimus done for the day to get you to fall asleep faster (we all know how much he loves to talk). 

🐝 He could drone on for a longggg time and when you'd eventually drift off into recharge, he'll kiss your helm before he'd leave to give you the time to rest. Sometimes you held on too tight to his servo and he couldn't leave, comm'ing Optimus that his conjunx refused to let him go was a...interesting conversation.

🐝 As much as you appreciated his efforts, you had to remind him you could still function by yourself. 

🐝 He looked confused.

🐝 You offered to get out of the berth and moved to get up, but Bee coaxed you to lay back. 

🐝 You gave him a look. 

🐝 He returned it with his own smirk and a "...don't you dare." 

🐝 You jumped off of the berth and ran off laughing with Bee yelling behind you who gave chase. 

What he does to comfort you

🐝 When Bee is away and not there to 'tend' to you, it gives you a breather to do what you want, but still the symptoms make it harder to find enjoyment in anything

🐝 You could be enjoying a nice energon cube, hurling it back up again until you're pissed and exhausted. 

🐝 When Bee comes back to seeing you in this state, he'll help you back to the berth and cuddle you for the rest of the time he's free.

🐝 Expect to be sung to and him using cheesy nicknames (my sweetest of sparks, energon of my optic, the light of my spark, andddd you get the picture). 

 

🐝🐝🐝Drabble🐝🐝🐝

Your optics fluttered open and the first thing you noticed was a pede in your face. You blinked back the drowsiness and reeled your helm back. Lifting your gaze you noticed the haphazard position your conjunx was in, sleeping next to  you while the upper half of his frame hung off of the edge of the berth. 

You held back a giggle and used one digit to push the bottom of his pede away. Bee's snoring paused as he abruptly woke up and screamed as he fell off of the berth. 

"Huh?! Wha-?" Bee looked up to see your laughing face peeking from the berth. "Ha ha, you think you're very funny, huh?" 

"Oh, I know I am," You coyly retorted as you watched him rise to stand on his knees. He leaned close and stared into your optics, you raised an optic ridge wondering what he was going to do until he lowered his gaze to your dermas. 

"Ah, ah," You moved your helm to the side as he attempted to swoop in. "Not until I'm better." 

 "I know," Bee pouted as he reached over to cup the side of your face. "Can't blame a mech for trying." 

 

"You're adorable and stupid at the same time." 

"Hey!" 

"You're my adorable and stupid mech." 

"Now that's more like it….wait." 

😼 - I do not give permission for anyone to translate, copy, republish, or plagiarize any of my written works. I provide no permission for any of my literary works to be used in artificial intelligence. like my writing? consider buying me a kofi :)

honeycomb banner(s) by @thecutestgrotto!!

[mochie85]

To Remember You By

One Shot Masterlist | Complete Masterlist

Summary: You try your best to end the relationship. Pairing: Loki x Reader x Bucky Word Count: 319 Warnings: Nothing explicit, but does suggest it heavily.

You had enough. You didn’t think you could survive. A relationship with one man would’ve been extraordinary enough, but dealing with both Avengers simultaneously was taxing, to say the least.

“That’s why I think it would be best if we stop.” You said not looking at either of their eyes.

“I don’t get it, doll. Did we do something wrong?” Bucky asked you concerned.

“Is there something we didn’t do, darling?” Loki added soon after.

“No. no. It’s neither of you. Really!” you tried easing the pain. “It’s…”

“Don’t give me that line. Don’t you dare say it.” Bucky warned.

“What line?” Loki asked.

“The ‘it’s not you, it’s me’ line. I’ve used that line. Most of the time it most definitely is the other person! It’s us, isn’t it?!”

“No, no, no. Really!” you tried again.

“Is it one of us?” Loki asked conspiratorially.

“Hey, man! What are you trying to say?!” Bucky started. Both of them started arguing, listing out faults with the other.

“Guys, GUYS! STOP!” you yelled. You stood in between, separating them with your hands out to their torso.

Loki reached for your hand and held it tighter against his chest. “Is there anything we can do to change your mind?” He took your hand to his lips and kissed it gingerly. Loki’s lips on any part of your body always left you speechless. This time is no different as you tried to remember why you wanted to stop seeing them in the first place.

You tried to back away but you were blocked by Bucky’s hard chest. Bucky’s fingers traced your arm up to your shoulders. He gathered your hair together at the nape of your neck and moved it to one side. His lips grazed along your shoulder, up to just behind your ear. “If you’re gonna leave us, at least leave us with a really good memory to remember you by.”

A/N: I really needed to write something. I've been stuck on one fic and I wasn't getting anywhere. So, I decided to take a little detour. I miss writing and being creative in general. I went extra and made my own moodboard again 🤭. Hopefully, this will get the juices flowing.

🏷️ @peaches1958 @salempoe @thomase1 @kkdvkyya @a-witch-with-words @mischief2sarawr @sarawr-reads @vbecker10 @peachymallow @irishhappiness @cakesandtom @simplyholl @here4thefanfics @holdmytesseract @immersed-in-mischief @joyful-enchantress @lokisninerealms @kikster606 @glitterylokislut @loz-3 @slytherclaw1227 @chantsdemarins @the-lady-amphitrite @eleniblue @km-ffluv @lokidokieokie @n3rdybirdee @melsunshine @gigglingtiggerv2 @lokischambermaid @cjand10 @asgards-princess-of-mischief @chrisevansmaindish @capswife @dangertoozmanykids101 @shadycloudcollection @annoyingsweetsstranger @alyeskathewave @xxjust-a-kidxx @tallseaweed

[girlgrouptrash101]

Karina (Aespa) as Your Girlfriend

Requests:

"aespa’s karina as your gf please?"

"Can you do Karina from aespa as a girlfriend please?"

"I would like to request Aespa Karina as your girlfriend 😍"

"hi!! i hope your having a great day and i hope your doing well, can i request aespa’s karina as your gf? thank you~"

"Hello! Can I please request Aespa’s Karina as your girlfriend? Thank you!"

A/N: cannot believe it has been over 2 years since I've written anything lol. so here's a lil something to try get the creative juices flowing again wOO 🤭

- C

when 99% of the relationship is you just staring at karina and wondering how someone can be that beautiful. as you SHOULD

idk why but i feel like karina is the perfect person for the trope where she would make a habit of going to the same coffee shop every day even though she hates coffee,, just because you were the cute barista that worked there

despite her cool and composed aura, she unfortunately had no idea how to talk to you outside of ordering a drink; her brain would just fizzle out whenever she tried to strike up further conversation 🥲

so you had to be the one to take the first step, which took a hot minute because perhaps. miss yoo jimin had a sliiiiiightly threatening aura at first (you quickly learned she was really just a cutie patootie behind that stoic face she tended to wear. teehee)

after gaining enough courage, you ended up asking her out for coffee because you thought hm,, she comes here every day for coffee she must love it!

safe to say it was a little surprising when she responded with a very embarrassed "...i don't even like coffee"

with the tips of her ears flushing red as she had to explain her reasoning behind coming in every day

you decided instead to take her to the carnival that came to town every summer

[insert cliche top of the ferris wheel kiss here]

and every summer since then you've always gone to the carnival together, the two of you running around to go on all the rides like little kids, never getting tired of it even though you do the same thing every time it comes

she's the kind of girl to be super head over heels for you but never admit it until those times where you lay side by side in bed at night, your eyes doing your best to see each other's silhouettes in the dark

her hand coming up to rest on your cheek, thumb gently caressing your face as she reminds you of how much you mean to her

but don't bring it up the morning after unless you wanna get hit with the "idek what you're talking about i would never be so sappy 🤨"

fit checks!!!

refuses to leave the house in said fit unless you send a paragraph in all caps hyping her tf up (it's just what she deserves!)

queen of soft launching your relationship on social media 🥹

like IG stories of flowers you gave her, or your hands intertwined, but nothing too much more than that

because it's her relationship and she doesn't need the world to know about every little thing you two get up to,, that's for her to know and her only

well......... her and the aespa girlies who can't help but smile every time their leader comes home and launches herself face first into her pillow, gushing over how much she likes you and how nice your date was

(which she will NEVER admit happens. she's no softie, okay? okay. yes she is hehehehe)

ningning stealing karina's phone at the dorm and blowing your phone up with memes n sending off guard pics of Karina lol <3

Loves going for walks in the park nearby, no matter the weather or time, especially if there's something on her mind and she just wants to get some fresh air and chat it out with you

lives in your hoodies whether you like it or not, you have no choice cuz girlie just treats your wardrobe as hers

never brings PJs when she's staying at yours as an excuse for you to lend her even more clothes

brings a film camera everywhere,, her favourite thing is when the film fills up and she gets the pictures developed so she can bring them back to you and you can look back over the memories shared together

scrapbooking together !!! will even spend hours in the stationary shop looking for the perfect pen/washi tape to use for it hehe.

Can't stand it but also loves it when you compliment her as often as you do

(but it hurts ur heart a little when you feel she doesn't believe what you say is true, you wish she could feel the same love she has for you for herself too :[ )

so you pledge to always be there to lift her up and be her #1 fan!! in both day to day life and as a My of course

which meanssss first row seats to all the aespa concerts, practice nights, just generally supporting her through thick and thin, and she will no doubt do the same for you!

and that one day you came to an aespa fansign to surprise her 🥹 she had to hold back all the affection she wanted to give you :((((

gaming nights 🤓 and by gaming i mean gardenscapes....... god she's such a lil nerd

anime nights 🤓 her getting all excited when her faves come on screen, smacking you on the leg repeatedly with joy while she explains what's going on (because as much as you enjoy sitting down to watch her favourite shows w her, you really didn't understand half of it LOL)

loooooves late night arcade dates

especially so she can win plushies in the claw machines,,, or rather, you can win them for her (so chivalrous 😁)

her love for claw machine plushies gets so bad that your bed now has a mountain of them stacked up that you have to throw off before bed everyyyyy night omg

not to change the subject but like. Karina's morning cuddles 🥹

or for the mornings where you wake up late, your eyes opening to the sound of her padding back into the bedroom to check on you, a smile creeping onto your face as you feel the bed sink where she sits by your side

and when she leans over to kiss your forehead, her gorgeous locks framing her face while her cute glasses slip down her nose 🥹🥹🥹 IM GONNA CRY

tldr; the softest girl that just wants to be loved the way she loves you 😔

[zombiigrll]

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INSECURITIES. ⋆｡°✩ carl grimes x reader .ᐟ WORD COUNT .ᐟ ⭑ 1.1K ꩜ .ᐟ WARNINGS ⭑ hurt to comfort, use of y/n, spoilers for twd 6x9, carl and reader are already in a relationship .ᐟ SUMMARY .ᐟ ⭑ you help carl after he gets shot. ꩜ .ᐟ A/N .ᐟ ⭑ ive been rewatching the early seasons of the walking dead and seeing everything carl went through again makes me SOB HYSTERICALLY. so ofc i needed to write this and make you guys feel my pain 😈 my creative juices have also been flowing a little bit more recently... but its also a little short too......... hope u dont mind 🙏

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he never showed any of his insecurities to you before. he always made sure that you felt comfortable telling him things, but he would never fully open up to you.

you were aware of his mother passing, that his dads friend died, and just how he's experienced so much death. but he never told you how anybody died. he wouldn't tell you no matter what.

that was until the walkers flooded the streets of alexandria.

as always, you were by carls side. you held his right hand in line as you two along with rick, michonne, jessie, ron, and sam walked through the herd in gut-stained ponchos, attempting to lead them to the quarry nearby.

but everything went downhill. fast.

sam saw something in the herd. no one was sure what, but he freaked out. his cries were loud, and gave away his position.

the walkers killed him, then they made their way to jessie, who had refused to let go of sams hand.

and if it wasn't for you using your machete to cut her arm off, carl would've died, too.

you thought that was it, that you would just have to slash through some more walkers to get somewhere safe, but not yet.

you looked to the side and noticed ron pointing his gun right to you.

but right as he shot, michonne stabbed him.

you were supposed to get shot. but due to the timing...

"dad..?" you heard carl from your left.

you turned to face him, and you immediately noticed his eye.

it was gone. a trail of dark crimson leaking from his socket. you caught him before he could fully fall.

"no.. no, no!" you cried trembling as you held him.

rick runs over and picks carl up. you and michonne pull out your weapons and begin clearing a path with adrenaline coursing through the three of you.

you guys eventually make it to the infirmary.

rick places carl onto the bed. the rest of that night, a loud ringing played in your ears.

your mind raced wildly. thinking of all the possible outcomes, but you were sure he was going to die. i mean, he was shot in the face.

after the nurse helped patch him up the best she could, you sat on the opposite side of rick. rick held one of his hands, you held the other. you rested your head on top of his shoulder, sobbing.

rick was crying, too. praying for carl to be okay.

that's when you felt his hand hold yours back, tightly.

you lifted your hand up to look at rick, and he had the same expression. he was holding both of your guys' hands.

your sobs turned hopeful as you began to smile.

...

a few days had passed. carl was awake, thankfully. he tried to get you to leave the room, but you refused.

"i don't want you to see me like this." carl strenly spoke, his voice cracking slightly as he attempted to hide his face.

you walked over to his side, putting your hand up to his face to carefully cup his now scarred cheek. you turned his face so he could look at you. "i'm not going anywhere."

he sighed and closed his eye, knowing he wouldn't be able to make you go away. "i don't understand you."

"what?"

"after everything i've done.. you're still here with me." he lightly chuckled. "i'm really not a good person, y/n. theres so much you don't know about me."

"nothing you could tell me would make me believe that." you shook your head, moving your hand down to his and holding it tightly.

"you say that now.." he turns his head away. "if i told you what i've done, you'd think i'm a monster. you'd hate me."

"you're not a monster, carl. what are you talking about?"

"i've killed people. a kid i didn't know the name of, my dads friend.. my mom." he kept his eyes shut as he spoke, his voice and body trembling.

you held his hand tighter, looking at him softly. "i'm sure there were reasons to all of that. i don't believe you're a monster."

carl stayed silent.

you brought your other hand up, moving his hair behind his ear before holding his face.

"i love you. no matter what." you smiled at him with your eyebrows furrowed. "no matter who many people you've killed or hurt, no matter if you've done shitty things in the past, no matter how many scars, i don't care. because i love you."

he opened his eye to look at you, he quickly sat up and put his arms around you, putting his head in the crook of your neck.

"hey.. be careful for your eye." you put your arms around him carefully, your hand on the back of his head.

"i love you, too." he silently mumbled. "i don't understand how i got so lucky with you."

you laughed, kissing the top of his head. "i've done bad things too, carl. it's just something we can't avoid now. it doesn't make us monsters." you pushed away from the hug, leaving your hands on his shoulders. "i got lucky with you, too. in my eyes, you're an angel."

his eye moves all over your features. you knew he had been adjusting and learning how to see without his other eye, but seeing it happen right in front of you was a bit difficult to witness.

"i should've been the one that got shot. you saw me kill jessie." you sighed, your gaze turning down to the floor. "he was aiming at me."

carl shakes his head. "it's not your fault. it's no ones fault. if he had shot you, i think he would've really killed you. but i got shot, and i'm alive." he smiles at you, tilting his head as he continues taking you in. "i'm glad it was me."

you tilted your head, pursing your lips slightly. "i guess either way, no matter who got shot, no one would be okay with it." you laughed, trying to make light of the situation. "...you should get some rest."

"i know." he moves away and lays back down, looking back up at the ceiling.

you stand up, leaning down to give him a quick kiss on his forehead before turning back away to the door. "goodnight, carl."

"wait."

you turned back around. "hm?"

"...could you stay?" carl asked, his voice softened.

your lips curved up into a smile, walking back over to him. "of course." you sat back down next to him, holding his hand again, similarly to when he was first shot. "get some sleep, okay?"

he nodded, closing his eye. "alright. i love you."

"i love you too, carl. always."

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[wishing-on-a-staranise]

Ch 3: expanding horizons.

(s.h. x gn!reader)

from the river to the sea. (get in your daily clicks, read about it, donate if you can.)

Summary: you want to talk to Steve, but between your fights with hopper and looking after el and max, you just can't seem to get the time out but it's okay! you'll make the time to talk later... right?

Warnings: use of (y/n); no pronouns used (gn!reader); sad; arguments; flashbacks; injuries; a wild Eddie Munson appears; high school bullies

Word count: 8k

A/n: changed the chapter title but still feel like nothing fits for this one :{

also this was supposed to be out atleast a week or two ago but shit keeps coming up and I get very sleepy very early soz guys ;(

i know i asked for lil soft happy blurb ideas earlier unforch nothing got my creative juices flowing... well- there is one Nancy fic I've been wanting to write for a while now but I feel like I'm already working on so many different fics I don't wanna add another one but just know I'm thinking of Nancy wheeler and soon sapphic energy will strike upon me on a random weekday and I'll write her down

Masterlist

It was hard to breathe. Steve's vision is blurry as he walks through the woods towards his car. He feels ridiculous-- absolutely ridiculous, walking through woods in a stupid sailor uniform after being caught doing the deed with the person he is dating by said person's father. 

Walk of shame is an understatement.

But that isn't all that makes it all so ridiculous, so damn stupid. Steve knew he shouldn't have been eavesdropping on you two, it was a matter between you and Hopper, but he just couldn't help it– he was the topic of the argument after all.

He didn't know what to do when Hopper's voice got louder, when he started shouting. He wanted to barge in, to act as your shield. 

"No, you listen", Hopper’s voice comes loud even through the door, "You are fucking grounded. You can live your stupid paranoid fantasy and stay safe and stuck in this cabin”

“Hop–”

"And that means no tv–", the man interrupts you and Steve hates how much this whole thing reminds him of his own dad. 

"Dad–", he hears you whimper and it breaks his heart. Because you don't call Hopper ‘dad’, not yet anyway. You had once confided in the boy that the title felt too big. Too scary. You’d told him that Hopper didn’t mind. That he’d told you to take as long as you need, to say it if and when it feels right. But with the way he is shouting, it makes him wonder if gentle words like that could ever leave his mouth. 

Boots shuffle on the other side of the door, "No radio or cassettes, no more phone, no more tv– ", Steve hears the clatter and something falling on the floor. "What else are you hiding from me, huh?”

"Nothing, Hopper–", his feet stomp once again, "Hopper, stop–"

"No more fucking dating", his voice booms, followed by the sound of something tearing up.

Your voice cracks when you exclaim, "NO!!--" 

"And NO MORE FUCKING STEVE HARRINGTON", Steve can’t help but flinch a little at the large thump that follows. "D'YOU FUCKING UNDERSTAND?" He barely even heard the sniffle you let out. “Asked you a fucking question.”

This is it, Steve thinks, enough of this. He is stepping in, Hopper, respect and his dad be damned, he will not let the man shout at you like that and not do anything.

Just when Steve was about to swing open the door, he heard you speak up, "No."

"What'd you say?"

"I said, no."

"Why? You love that stupid idiot or something?"

The air is thick with tension, Hopper’s question lingers in it for a while. You don't say a word. Seconds pass and your voice finally comes out, all shaky and rough. “He’s my friend. He’s my only friend, Jim.”

Steve’s knuckles turn white around the door knob. He cant help the pit that starts forming in his stomach, the disappointment that settles in it.

Friend. Friend? That's it? 

Sure, you both had just been dating only for two weeks but they were one of the best two weeks of his life and you don't feel the same? 

His grip tightens. was Steve being irrational? Maybe. But he cant help that pit in his stomach to spread wider– not because you don't love him but because he realises that he does. The realisation hits him like a bag of bricks, sure to bruise.

He thinks back to the night at your old trailer, the night he realised he liked you. All those months spent sneaking in just to see your face and your smile, tell you stupid jokes, hear your laugh, and to just be around you— it meant nothing to you? 

And now, he loves you. He loves you and you don't. 

"Cut the bullshit, y/n", he hears Hopper mutter from the other side.

his jaw tightens, molars grinding. Steve felt like history was repeating itself but this time he won't let it kick him down. He won't let it happen.

He won't let it happen to him again— he couldn't. So he puts his shirt back on, blinks back the moisture in his eyes and leaves the cabin. 

Now, walking to his car, he dared not to look back where he had just left, he wished to not even think of what had just happened. This was stupid, he was stupid. And as he drives through Hawkins towards starcourt mall, all he could think of was how much he felt about you and how much you didn't.

Hopper was right, this was all just a bunch of bullshit.

Bullshit. He laughs to himself at it without finding any humour in it. its funny how much that one word has ruined things in his life. The two syllables, a running motif in his life that he just can't seem to escape.

When Steve walks into work, Robin Buckley notices the air around him is thick and stale, his shoulders slumped. He was missing his scoops ahoy hat, his hair in disarray which is an uncommon occurrence considering he always had it styled as it is his self proclaimed best feature. His eyes have a glazed look to them, Robin notices– not that she was going to investigate as to why. she doesn't care about him, they aren't friends, they are far from it.

Something else she notices, Steve was trying to hit on every girl that came to the counter. So much so that the girl had conjured up a tally scoreboard– five lines marked below the 'you suck' and zero below the 'you rule'.

Robin listens to Steve trying to flirt with another girl and doing so badly. She fights back a snicker as the curly haired girl rejects the boy. As the girl and her friend walk away giggling, she hears, ".... It's my first day here...", Steve's voice trails off before letting out a heavy sigh, his head hanging low.

"And another one bites the dust!" Robin announces, sliding the whiteboard so Steve could see it– marking another tally under the 'you suck' title. "You are O for six, Popeye"

He crosses his arms, turning around, "Yeah, I can count"

"You know that means you suck."

"Yep, I can read too."

"Since when?", She retorts quizzically, putting the board back where it had been before continuing, "Why exactly are you suddenly trying to flirt with every girl in Hawkins?"

His brows knit together before he looks away, shaking his head a little, "I'm not trying to... flirt with anyone”

"Yeah, you are. I thought you were already spoken for"

"I have no clue what you're talking about"

she squints her eyes, "Oh, really? what about--"

“I don't even want to talk to you right now”, he interrupts her, turning around, his eyes not meeting hers.

“Not too keen about it either”, she is quick to say it-- they arent friends after all. "i mean– Y'know", she rests her crossed arms on the counter, "it's a crazy idea but have you ever considered telling them the truth?" she shrugs towards where the two girls had just been.

"Oh, that I'm so stupid that I couldn't even get into tech and now my douchebag dad's trying to teach me a lesson? That I make three bucks an hour and that I– that I have no future?", That the one person I love never seems to love me back? "That truth?"

“Wow Harrington. A joy to be around, aren't you?”, she shakes her head, trying to rid her head of thoughts and questions about Steve Harrington's love life. “And where’s your hat? You’re supposed to have it on at all times, y’know, company policy”

“I– um, I forgot it at home”

“‘Course you did”, Robin sighs. Before she could say anything else, Robin's eyes land on a group of girls walking towards the ice cream store, "Hey, twelve o' clock", she tells him, gesturing towards the group.

Steve let out a breath, he goes to fix his hair, quirking a brow towards Robin as if to ask if he looked good.

“And he says he isnt flirting”

“I’m just trying to look presentable”, he defends, running his fingers through his hair one last time.

"oh my god you're a whole new man", she says all dry and sarcastic.

"I know right ooh–", the brown eyed boy shimmies his shoulders then quickly turns towards the counter, "ahoy there, ladies! Didn't see you there! Would you like to set sail on this ocean of flavour with me? I'll be your captain….", The sailor uniform clad boy announces rather loudly, "I'm Steve Harrington."

The group of girls look at the boy with wide eyes, holding in their giggles. Steve is still babbling about the many flavours they offered, his gaze flitting from one girl to another. Robin grimaces and turns to put another tally under 'you suck'.

…

There is a knock on your bedroom door, followed by a voice. "(Y/n)?", Jim calls out from the other side.

Your door is locked. Still hiding under your blankets, you'd spent the entire night tossing and turning, barely getting any sleep. Your back hurt from lying in the same position for so long, your eyelids droopy. And Hopper knocking on your door every ten minutes ever since he woke up wasn't helping.

"(Y/n)?", The man hollers again, "just... open the door, okay– I have breakfast", He is greeted with silence, once again.

"Listen," he sighs, "I just want to talk...", he pauses and after it was indicative that he wasn't getting a response, he bangs his balled-up fist against the door.

"Go away", he finally hears your voice out loud. You did not want to see him, you couldn't. Yesterday's fight still fresh in your mind, you couldn't bear to look at him or the things he'd broken during said fight. the aftermath of his lash-out lied shoved in a lonesome corner of your cramped room. You wanted him to leave you alone, to go to work like he always does so you could call Steve and maybe apologise for all that Hopper might've said to the boy. so that things could go back to the way they were.

There is silence and for a minute you think he actually listened to you. But then the muffled sound of his sigh reaches your ears. "Hey, I know that…", he breaths in, "yesterday– I might have said too much… and I– I just wanna talk it out and maybe–"

Suddenly, the door flies open and he is met with your face. Your red rimmed eyes filled with anger, nostrils flared and hair a mess. "I told you to go away. So, just leave me alone", you say through gritted teeth, voice cold before slamming the door on Jim's face.

"HEY, don't you fucking slam doors!", His palm went for the knob, locked. "Open this door, (y/n)."

"No", he barely hears you over the blood rushing in his ears.

"Where the hell have you gotten this attitude from lately, huh? From your little friend? You think you're being real cool? being a rebel?"

"Oh, you think you're being real father-like?"

it only makes him angrier, he clenches his jaw, "(Y/n)... open this door", he says it almost like a warning.

"No."

"Fine!", he throws his hands up before holding up a angry finger at the door like an angry father does, "Just know that I tried to have an adult and mature conversation with you, but since you're such a reckless, immature child, I'll let you fucking be!", He turns away from the door, stomping his feet rather purposely.

The door swings open behind him. he turns around and you're there all furious and mad.

"Ah, look who it is!", The man exclaims, sarcasm evident in his tone, "Finally gracing us peasants!"

"You're the one who broke all my stuff and acted like a man-child", You hiss, pointing an accusatory finger towards the man, "And I'm the reckless and immature one?"

"Not only are you that but you're also stupid and irresponsible– breaking a rule, with that jackass Steve Harrington, no less!”

“Don't say that about him, he’s my–”

“Your friend? Yeah, I heard that, I saw it all too. I'm sure you guys are great friends!" Jim speaks with mockery in his words, "D'you kiss and fornicate with all your friends?"

With a scowl he continues, “you are immature and irresponsible, sneaking him in past my alarms like that–"

“They’re shit anyway!” you shout to interrupt him but he keeps talking, voice only getting louder.

"Not only did you put yourself in danger but El as well."

"How the hell did that put us in danger? you know Steve he–"

"Don't you talk back to me!” there's that tone again, the one that makes you scared, “you put us all at risk for this stupid boy. So yeah, you are irresponsible"

"God, why do you hate me so much??", You blurt out– its frustrated, tired and angry. You don't realise what you'd said until it was already out. Tears line your red eyes, and you look so tired, you want to go back to sleep.

all his irritation and rage are gone, his face falls, "What–", Hopper starts but gets interrupted by a familiar voice.

"(Y/n)? Hopper? What's happening?", El, who had been presumably waiting for Mike outside inquires with furrowed brows as she comes back in, concern etched into her features.

Both you and hooper say that it was, "nothing". You turn your face away so the girl couldn't see your distraught state and unfallen tears, trying to discreetly wipe them away. Jim rubs his palms over his face to collect himself, himself also not meeting the young girl's eyes.

She looks between the two of you before moving towards the phone, “is everything okay?” Hopper asks after clearing his throat. you glare at him.

“Yes.” she answers. You and Hopper stand silently as she asks for Mike on the phone. She then goes to her room to continue the conversation with the boy.

He clears his throat once again, and when you catch him looking at you, you cast him a glare full of indignation that makes him avert his gaze away. "I'm– I should get going...", Jim mumbles more to himself before taking his hat, wallet and keys and then heading out while you turn to usher yourself into your room, wallowing in self pity, once again.

Your room was dark, none of the lights on and somehow it was colder in there. Within moments you hid yourself under the blankets, ignoring the ever-present headache you'd had for a few days now.

1980.

You got detention, again.

You are used to it at this point. It is the same old– you wouldn't know how to react in a social situation, a classmate would make fun of you, and you'd get mad. Anger would boil in your blood as you would walk up to the person and punch them square in the face. Their parents would complain, you'd get detention and then a lecture in the principal's office with Hopper. The same old.

This time it is Tony Reed who was graced with a split lip and a bruised cheek. The blonde boy had decided it was very cool and funny to trip you in the lunch cafeteria and then proceed to spill his chocolate milk over you, calling you something that you didn't know the meaning of but assumed it was bad considering how his group was laughing and sneering. Your limbs had worked faster than your brain and here you are sitting outside the principal's office, picking your nails and waiting for Hopper to come out.

It has been almost close to a year since you escaped the lab. Almost a year of hiding. Almost a year of running. Almost a year of trying to fit in and failing ever so graciously at it. Almost a year since you'd met Jim Hopper.

Seldom do you two talk now, the man is always busy with his work. You also had your own job, school and the overall goal to not be caught by the lab again. The man doesn't know about your past. He is unaware of all of the secrets the small town of Hawkins holds, so does everyone else.

The creak of the door alerts you that it is Hopper coming out of the office. He picks up the hat he'd placed on the seat next to you, a silent gesture to tell you that he is ready to leave. You follow him out the doors, quick steps catching up to him. You sit in his car, slamming the doors behind you.

There is a silence, your gaze fixed on hands resting in your lap. Jim reaches for the cigarette pack in his pocket, he lights it up, blowing out a puff of smoke– making the car smell like strong tobacco.

He lets out a long, heavy sigh, "(y/n), we've talked about this", he continues once he notices you aren't going to interrupt him, "you can't keep doing this. This is the second time this month"

"(Y/n)", he says tenderly when you don't answer, "Hey... look at me when I'm talking to you" You look up from your lap, gaze connecting with his. "You cant keep doing this. If someone says something, we've discussed how to deal with it– you talk to your friends, teachers, or me"

"I don't have friends, teachers don't believe, and you are busy….. always", when Hopper doesn't say anything you continue, "I have not seen you since the last time I got in trouble. you are never there at the PTAs or–"

"Yeah, that's because I am not your damn parent, (y/n)", Jim interrupts you.

Your gaze is back to your hands in your lap, picking at the skin near the nails. The man beside you lets out a soft sigh, rubbing his temple. "Hey, hey", he whispers, "How about you promise and try not to kill another kid, I'll get you a new shirt and treat you with some Benny's, hmm? How's that sound?"

…

You heard a knock at your door, a softer and quieter one as compared to Hopper's, "(Y/n)? Can I come in?" El asks.

"Yeah, sure". The door opens, the hinges creaking slightly– light pooling into the dark room. Eleven lets herself in, sitting by the foot of your bed.

"What happened with Hopper?"

"You heard it all didn't you?" The girl nods. "I'm sorry…" that I shouted? That he shouted? That you heard it?

"So, Hopper knows about Steve?" Eleven inquires.

"Yeah, he does", you sigh before asking, "Hopper's gone right?"

You sister nods. You get up from your place, feet padding towards the phone hung by the kitchen wall– dialing up Steve's house number. When the line goes to the voicemail, you opt to try for his workplace number. You were greeted with the raspy voice of a girl.

You immediately hang up. El looks at you quizzically, “it wasn't him" Its always Steve who picks up the phone. Normally, at this time, Steve would always be there to pick up your calls. And Steve never ignores your calls.

You let out a forlorn sigh, putting the phone back on the receiver. Eleven standing by your side ready with a bowl of cereal for you and herself. You thank the girl before going to take a seat on the couch– she follows you closely then sits beside you. The girl twiddles her thumbs, clearly wishing to say something, "I wanted to ask you something", she speaks up after a while of eating silently.

"Yeah?"

"Mike... is being strange.. he is lying, I think" The girl explains to you all the details of everything that occurred between her and Mike. The way the girl explained everything, it seemed like your sister was asking for advice but considering you know jack shit about relationships, you were stumped.

After you both were done breakfast, she suddenly grabs your wrist and pulls you off the couch only stopping for you to put on your shoes and then pulling you through the door.

"El, what– where are you going?"

"To get advice."

"From who?"

Eleven tells you she was taking you to Max's home. You aren't sure that roaming in the neighbourhood was a good idea yet you let her lead you. The houses almost all look the same, surrounded by well mowed lawns and next to no one. Except for one person with bright red hair. Max is practising skateboarding and in the process the board slips from under her feet, rolling towards you and your sister.

The short haired girl beside you stops the board with her feet, picks it up and walks towards the redhead.

"Hi", Eleven greets.

"...Hi?" Max echoes in confusion, glancing between you and Eleven. You gave a wave of your hand towards the girl.

"Can we... talk?"

....

"... And then he said, he missed me", your sister explains to Max who is pacing around her room, furrows of lines on her forehead. You are leaning against the wall by the door, eyes following the redhead's movement. "And then he just... hung up"

"He's a piece of shit", Max says matter-of-factly.

“That seems... harsh?” you speak up a little unsure.

“Are you seriously defending Mike right now?” Max looks at you pointedly.

“You know what? You’re right", you hold your hands up in surrender, "my bad.”

"What?" El says, looking between you two and suddenly it makes you feel bad about shitting on her boyfriend so openly.

"El think about it", Max says, now stopping infront of the girl to get her full attention, "Mike doesn't have jack shit to do today– his Nana obviously isn't sick. I guarantee you, him and Lucas are playing Atari right now."

"But friends don't lie", El states naively.

"Yeah, but boyfriends lie." She said it like it was the obvious thing, "All. The. Time."

Huh.

"What do I do?" Eleven queries.

"Listen, you're going to stop calling him– you're going to ignore his calls. As far as you're concerned, he doesn't exist"

"Doesn't exist?" Both you and El say at the same time, words pour out of your mouth before you even realise-- clearly more invested in Max's advice that you might have wanted. Max and El look at you, you clear your throat awkwardly before murmuring a little "sorry".

"Yeah," Max turns back to face El, "he treated you like garbage! You're gonna treat him like garbage– give him a taste of his own medicine"

"Give him the... medicine", El repeats the phrase a little wrong yet Max doesn't correct her and instead hums in acknowledgement.

"And if he doesn't fix this and explain himself– dump his ass", both your and your sister's eyes widened.

"C'mon", Max said, pulling Eleven off of the bed.

"Where are we going exactly?" You spoke up.

“We? You're coming too?” Max asks, the question directed towards El more so than you.

“Yes, (y/n) is coming”, she answers immediately, nodding.

"Okay we are going to have some fun, there's more to life than stupid boys, y'know."

....

You aren't sure why you are here. In a crowded bus— way too many strangers, you think– headed towards the talk of the town, the starcourt mall. You know you are breaking a rule, but you keep reminding yourself that you are there to take care of El.

When the three of you step out of the bus you are hit across the face with the fact that there are even more people. Way too many strangers. The short haired girl beside you says, almost as if voicing your concerns, "too many people… against the rules."

"Seriously? You have superpowers! What's the worst that could happen?"

…

It has been almost a month since you punched Tony Reed.

You haven't seen Hopper ever since that lunch at Benny's. Despite him having promised you to meet you more as long as you avoided fights. That was the verdict.

So far, you'd still managed to stay out of it for a month despite the bullying and sneers having increased tenfold.

It is a Wednesday morning in the middle of July, it had rained the previous night so the air is immensely humid– you are sweating your ass off. There are sweat spots on your gym t-shirt. Your shoes slip on the wet grass, you fall with a thud against the ground. A boisterous echo of laughs sounds behind you and as you turn, you see Tony Reed, with his group of friends which included Tommy Hagan, Carol Perkins, and many more who you haven't bothered to memorise the name of— Hawkins was full of bullies.

"Hey, you okay?"

You turn around and are met with a mop of frizzy black hair and an extended hand to help you up.

"Yeah. Fine", you mutter under your breath, not taking his helping hand.

"Hey, Munson!! That your co-freak?" Tommy shouts from across the field.

"Match made in hell!!", Tony added, and the rest of the group bursts out into an obnoxious fit of laughter. Before you know it, your hands that were just hanging by your side curl up into fists and almost involuntarily, you start walking forward towards the group of bullies.

Ever since that last fight, they have been on your ass. from spilling stuff on you to locking you in empty classrooms so you miss classes. the entire group reminds you of your brothers and sisters back at the lab. Your Papa-- Martin. Martin would make them fight you, despite knowing full well you'd lose. the lab infirmary had always been your second room more so than the rainbow room.

There is a fight. somehow, you aren't sure how though, Eddie gets involved as well.

By the time some teacher stopped it, you had bruised knuckles and a split lip, Eddie had one too and a bruise spread across his cheek. Tony had a black eye and a broken elbow. Maybe you and Eddie made a good team.

You are then called to the principal's office and are ordered to call Hopper once. The threat of being suspended from school hanging in front of you like a sword.

You call Hopper. He doesn't pick up. You call the station. Flo, the lady at the desk, tells you that he was busy but that she would convey the message as soon as she could.

You wait five hours. And then some more. The sun has already set. The sky is filled with clouds of different shades and hues of lilacs and oranges and pinks. The road is close to barren.

The principal has suspended you and Eddie for a week. His uncle had talked to the principal– the old man had offered to drop you off, the two of you did live in the same trailer park afterall. you had refused but now you wholeheartedly regret it as you look at your watch and realise how long you had been sitting on the dirty, concrete pavement. The gravel was uncomfortable, the air still humid.

But you and your stubborn ass are here waiting for Jim Hopper. At this point, you aren't even sure if he was coming. Your rusty bike stands abandoned in the stands.

As the sky was starting to get darker, you realised that you should probably get going, you shouldn't sit out in the open like this all alone. Then there was the stubborn part of you. You didn't want to move; everything was too much yet nothing at all.

Several Minutes pass. That's when you hear the sound of tires against gravel and engine revving. You look up to see the all too familiar Blazer along with the all too familiar face.

The car stops in front of you, "Hey, kid–", he tries starting while cranking the window down.

"You are six hours late", you interrupt him.

he lets out, "I'm sorry.." his fingers rub over the steering wheel, "C'mon I'll drop you off", he says with a jerk of his head towards the passenger seat.

You walk around the car to get in the passengers side, slumping down in the seat. Jim shifts the gear, driving through the streets of hawkins.

"You got in another fight?" Jim finally breaks the silence of the car, "What happened this time?" He asks before you could tell him. You almost want to be mad at him for being so oblivious to the details but you are tired and your injuries hurt– the school nurse was awful at her job. You are exhausted so you settle on explaining.

"I got suspended…", Jim's eyes flit to your face before quickly turning back onto the road, "...for a week."

The man lets out a deep sigh, "You promised that wouldn't happen"

"And you promised that you'd visit me", you can't help but add a little venom to your words.

"...ah, thats what this is about", he says, almost a mumble to himself. 

Jim doesn't say anything for the rest of the car ride. Neither do you. The air is thick with tension and you don't want to be the first one to cut it. You don't say anything when Hopper doesn't turn at the intersection he is supposed to. After a few minutes, the car stops in front of the video store and Jim finally speaks up .

"Alright kid, What's your favourite movie?" You look at him, confused, before shrugging. "What about your favourite snack?" You shrug again.

You wonder why his features soften for a second, "Okay, we need to fix that", he says turning the car off, "You need to develop some taste, kid. Expand your horizons. That make sense?"

You nod before he mutters a 'c'mon' while getting out of the car. You follow suit. You and Hopper pick out a random movie and some snacks and popcorn. Then he drives you to your trailer where you watch the movie and enjoy the sweet and salty snacks to your heart's delight.

Somewhere near the halfway mark of the movie, you fell asleep– the exhaustion of the day finally taking over. When Hopper looks back from the screen to look at you to see how much you were enjoying the movie, he notices your closed eyes, the steady rise and fall of your chest as your head was lolled to the side.

Jim immediately pauses the movie. When he looks at the time, the clock reads 9:30 p.m., he decides it was pretty late. The man moves to pick you up and carry you to your bedroom, the movement wakes you up. It isn't until he finally put you on the mattress, that you speak up.

"Hopper?" Jim hums in acknowledgement. "Is the movie over?"

"No but you need to sleep, it's getting late", he smoothens your blanket over you. "We will finish it... later?"

"Later", you echo. Jim was getting up to leave when you call out again, "Are you... leaving?"

"Yeah, kid. I'm sorry"

"You can stay", you try to bargain.

"I can't. But you'll see me later this week I promise", he turns to leave again before he notices the teddy bear sitting by the shelves. "You still got this bear?"

"Mr. Arnold", you correct him through a yawn.

"Right, right. Mr. Arnold Bearenbearer– I remember." He chuckles to himself, a smile creeping onto his face at the name he made up when he gave it to a younger scared you. the toy is old, the blue ribbon around its neck is fraying, tattered-- well-loved. it was one of Sarah's favourites, "You take good care of him?" You nod in response.

"Good, because if you take care of him..."

"he will take good care of me."

".. yeah, its like a superpower– I’ve said this all before, haven't I?”

You nod with a sleepy shy smile.

“Yeah, well I'm an old man, kid. Can't keep up.” Jim smiles and you mirror it before your features contort into another yawn. "Good night kid. Sleep tight"

"Good night."

…

You have a headache, similar to the one you'd have back when you had powers, it had subsided earlier in the day but increased again when you got to the mall. There are too many people, you ascertain as you walk behind Max and El, weaving through the crowd. Max takes El and inadvertently you, to various shops in the mall. Giggles from the two girls fill the air as they try the various things from dresses to hats and even shoes. Trying to find the super-powered girl her style, something she could call her own.

El had a grin pasted on her face and so did Max and you knew that this was going to be the start of an amazing friendship.

You are glad El was starting to find who she is– finding out what she loves and what she doesn't. and Max is the perfect person to encourage and empower her without being patronising to the girl.

In the shoe store, El is trying on a pair of high heels. Her legs wobble as she tries to strut in the shoes, losing her balance almost immediately, the girl falls to the ground. You and Max are quick to help her get up. When you look up, you see a group of girls, with a judgemental look painted upon their faces.

Your nostrils flare, fists clench and you are about to say something to the strangers. But before you can do so, the girls beside you do something that you would never have expected— they laugh. They brush it off and unapologetically laugh.

Max leads El and you towards the food court. Your ears perk at the mention of scoops ahoy. You know that Steve would probably be there, maybe you could apologise for whatever Jim had said to him. Maybe get an answer for why you couldn't get ahold of him earlier.

As you walk through the herd of people with a slight pep in your step, you try your best to follow the two girls to the ice cream parlour.

Suddenly, your shoulders knock against someone, when you turn to see who it was, you are met with a man in a security uniform.

For the split second you both look at each other, annoyance and irritation flashes on his features along with a hint of what seems to be recognition; but you don't recognise the man, you are sure of it.

Confusion in your mind is quickly swept under the rug as the two girls quickly lead you towards scoops ahoy. Thoughts of the stranger long gone.

There on the counter is Steve Harrington, who had just finished serving two young boys.

"Hey, Harrington", Max greets.

"Hey", you mouth, shyly waving towards him from behind the two girls.

"What do you guys want?", The boy gestures towards the ice cream tubs, completely ignoring your greeting and skipping all pleasantries.

The girls gave in their orders, the boy starts to scoop the strawberry and vanilla ice cream, not even sparing a glance towards you.

"What about you (y/n)?" Eleven questions.

you blink a little dumbly, "Huh?"

"Which one d'you want?", Max asks.

"I…", your voice trails off when your gaze finally met Steve's– his jaw clenches and he had an unreadable expression on his face, "I don't know... I'll take any"

Suddenly, the window slides open behind Steve, revealing a girl with short blonde hair, headphones around her neck. She whispers something to Steve and the boy says something back. The girl smiles, and she looks pretty and you couldn't help but feel a tinge of jealousy.

He goes scooping one for you too– the same flavour which he'd gotten for you the day before. The boy turns around with two cones of ice cream in his hands, handing them to the girls and giving you yours without even looking at you. Your fingers brush together, the boy quickly retracts his hands and turns back towards the two girls. The girls mutter a "thanks" before starting to eat the sweet goodness.

"Wait a second," for a split second his gaze flicks towards you before going back to El, "are you even allowed to be here?" He knows the answer to his own question, you aren't allowed. You know the question is directed towards you, despite him saying it to El. Yet he dares not to look at you.

Your sister and Max fall into a fit of giggles before turning to leave. Your eyes are still locked onto Steve's, the expression on his face that you couldn't decode, one you'd never seen on his face– you didn't know what it meant and oh, did you want to stay and find out. But the two girls were already almost out of the store and you were supposed to look after them.

You mutter a little "bye" before turning to leave too– almost sprinting towards the girls. The boy doesn't return your salutation and instead just looks at the direction from where you'd left.

"Hey, dingus"

"Jesus, Christ. What?" Steve flinches at the sudden appearance of Robin beside him

"I would appreciate if you tried not to burn holes into our customers", Robin says leaning against the counter, "Also I got the second sentence"

"Great."

"Okay, you know what? I'm done with this"

"With what?"

"You! You've been acting this way for two days now. What the hell is happening?"

"Nothing is happening"

"Oh, really? 'cause you look like a kicked puppy right now"

"No I don't."

"Who was that?", she quirks her brow, jerking her chin towards where you had just been, "The person you just served?"

"They were Dustin's friends", he answers as nonchalantly as he could, shrugging,

"No, dingus, the older one."

"Also, Dustin's friend"

"So why the hell did you look at 'Dustin's friend' with such a dejected look?"

"That's just how my face looks and why do you care anyway?"

His coworker sighs before turning towards the backroom once again, mumbling a raspy "whatever". She does know now that Steve's demeanour had something to do with you. She could probably discern if she investigated a bit more. But at that moment she had bigger things to decipher like a super-secret Russian code.

…

"Why did Steve look like he was mad at you?" Eleven whispers to you– ever observant.

"I don't know", you whisper back to her.

"Oh, you've gotta be shitting me", the redhead who is walking ahead of you spoke up. Your gaze follows her eyeline and you see the boy's of the party by the bike stands. "Isn't this a nice surprise!" Max exclaims sarcastically.

Mike drops his bike, stunned, "What're you doing here?" He interrogates, pointing towards El.

"Shopping." Your sister states.

"This is her new style.. what d'you think?"

"What's wrong with you? You know she's not supposed to be here", he then turns to you and points an accusatory finger towards you, "You know she's not supposed to be here"

"What is she, your pet?"

"Yeah, am I your pet?"

"What? No!"

"Why do you treat me like garbage?"

"What?"

"You said Nana was sick"

"She is!"

"Yeah, she's so sick", Lucas speaks up from behind mike.

"Which is why we're here– to shop for Nana and also we're here to get something for you but it's hard 'cause I only have three dollars and fifty cents"

"It's Super hard", Lucas backs Mike up.

You notice Will, who stands behind them, not participating in the interaction. The young boy's gaze jumping from one person to another before it finally lands on Mike.

"You lie..", Eleven starts, "Why do you lie?"

When she gets no response from Mike, she walks closer to the boy. she looks at him for a second before her head turns at the sound of the bus arriving.

"I dump your ass."

Max's, Will's and lucas' eyes go wide at your sister's declaration. Max's mouth hangs open before Eleven grabs her and you by your wrists and pulls you to the bus.

Good for her, you think.

…

It is a Saturday. It is about to be seven days since Hopper promised to finish the movie with you. You stopped wondering when his later would come.

Since you are suspended from school you offered to do more shifts at the gift shop.

Every now and then teenagers from Hawkins high and middle school come in through the doors of the shop and they give you wary looks. Of course, word travels in a small town like Hawkins like wildfire.

The day the fight happened, everyone and their mother came to know that (Y/n), who doesn't seem to have a last name, and Eddie Munson had gotten in a fight with Tony Reed.

Tony Reed was a bully, not the harmless kind either. The older boy is the type to torment someone for days on end just for his entertainment but still never face the consequences for any of his actions.

Word started travelling around: Tony Reed was moving out of Hawkins.

Maybe you should've broken his elbow sooner.

You, your coworker and your boss close up the store at around 8 in the night. The older lady offered to give you a drive home, but you, however, refused. Despite how sweet the lady seemed, you still couldn't trust anyone. So you bicycle through the empty streets under the yellow streetlights– back to the trailer-van that you call home.

When you enter the trailer park, passing the Munson's trailer, you see a very familiar vehicle standing infront of your home. Your feet peddle faster, when you finally reach the car, you leave your bicycle behind and go to the slightly open driver's window. The person's face covered with the familiar hat.

You knock on the window, the man jolts awake– a groan audible through the cracked window. He removes his hat and as soon as he meets your eyes, his face softens– a smile appearing on his face.

You step back as he opens the door. Before Jim could shut the door behind him, you run to tackle his torso.

"You came!" You hug Jim, your arms barely reaching around and touching around his frame. The man lets out an oomf at the impact.

"Of course I did. I promised, didn't I?" he says while holding the back of your head, gently patting your hair– it has grown out a lot since he first met you.

You nod against his chest, not letting go of the grasp you had on him.

"Okay, kid. I think that's enough affection for the day. How bout we get inside, finish that movie huh? I bought some of those snacks you liked", you only hug him tighter in response. Hopper chuckles, continuing to hold and caress the back of your head.

…

There is the rev of an engine, the telltale sign of the arrival of Jim Hopper.

The door flings open, then closes harshly behind the tall man. You watch him from the couch as you were browsing through channels on the TV. Jim looks at you but immediately averts his gaze, he walks a little further in the house, his movements loopy and rocky. He is drunk, extremely so– the mostly empty bottle in his hand backing up your conclusion.

Jim stops in his tracks again. "Hey!" He shouts with a little gravel in his voice, "Hey!" He repeats again, walking towards El's room where your sister and her friend are. "When I say three inches, three–"

When the door flings open, he expects to be met with the sight of El and Mike but instead he is met with her and Max reading comic books on the bedroom floor.

"Do you knock? jeez"

"Yeah, jeez!" Eleven repeats.

"Oh, hey", Jim, who seemed to be unable to respond, slurs out, "I'm sorry… I thought that you–"

"Mike's not here", Max interrupts his rambling as if reading his mind.

"Max wanted to have a… sleepover. Is that okay?"

"Yeah." Hopper nods while repeatedly saying, "Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah", he awkwardly looks between the two girls and then asks the redhead, "Your parents know about this?"

"Yup."

"Yeah, that's cool. That– that's really cool." The man just keeps looking at the two girls, almost spacing out in his drunken state.

"Did you need something?"

"No, no", he shakes his head, his palm reaching for the door knob. "I'll let you– I'll leave"

He stands outside the now closed door. His drunken features morph into a smirk as he grabs yet another beer can and settled himself on the armchair in front of the tv.

"'sup." You sit down on the couch beside him with a plop.

He looks over at you. "You're talking to me now?"

"Don't worry, I'm still pissed off at you but", you say, not looking at him. "I think we need to discuss some things. Have a talk"

"Great", he takes a big gulp of the beer in his hand.

"So let's start easy", you say stretching your arms. "How was work? I mean... that's where you were, right?", you say, eyes gesturing towards the most colorful shirt you'd ever seen on Hopper.

"Yeah", he slurs out.

"I'm a human lie detector, remember? I can tell when you're lying. It was the one thing I was good at, So, try and give me the truth", you assert dryly, "Were you at work?"

You barely hear it when he says, "...no"

"Where were you?"

"At a friend's…"

"Friend's what? Birthday?"

"Ye– no"

"Who was this friend?" you interrogate with narrow eyes.

"They never came"

"That wasn't my question but okay", you pause, eyes trained on him, trying to read his expression, "Even though they didn't come, who was it you were expecting?"

He takes another big swig from the can before he says all hesitant, "...Powell and... Callaghan?"

"Lie."

"Godamnit, Joyce– it was Joyce,'' he finally admits, frustrated.

"So, you were just going on a dinner with your friend Joyce"

"Like I said, she never came"

"Yeah but you were going to go on dinner with Joyce, if she'd come"

"But she didn't"

"But you wanted her to", you pause before asking, "Was this a date?"

"No!"

You both know it is lie, you don't even need to state that it is a lie, so you just look at the drunk man beside you while he takes a swig of the beer can in his hand.

"Next question", you state, folding your legs onto the sofa, "What did you say to Steve?"

"What–" Jim almost seems startled by the sudden subject change.

"Yesterday. What did you tell Steve"

"I didn't tell him anything", you look at him a little more, but this wasn't a lie. You can tell he is telling the truth. "I mean, that the boy wasn't there when I left", he further clarifies, when you don't say anything.

"Oh." is all that comes out.

"Where did you get that shirt?" The man beside you suddenly asks while you're in your thoughts.

"I've always had this", you lie. Max and El had convinced you to buy some clothes back at the mall as well.

"No– it's brand new", Hopper insists.

"So is yours Hopper–", you once again gesture towards his bright coloured shirt, "but I guess you wanted to look good for your friend Joyce, right?"

its tense, he takes another sip from his beer. after a few seconds, you sigh before getting up, "anyway, think I'm gonna teach El a new word later– hypocrite. She needs to be familiar. how does that sound?"

You don't wait for his answer to come, you get up, walk away and slam the door behind you.

...