#okay boy maybe i'll believe it if you ask me again sometime. but for now. all i remember is you making yourself very scarce that night

[mirainawen]

went to an escape room with the boy and a friend's partner (she's out of town). the final puzzle required we all hold hands to activate the lock. had to hold his hand for like. a solid 30-45 seconds because the other guy was trying to rally his toddler.

...hands are a major problem for me (there's something about a man with nice hands, and he has very nice hands, ugh). how am i supposed to be normal about this dumbass fanfic level trope happening in real life. 😒

[kumasakka]

.𖥔 ݁ ˖ ❝ 𝐔𝐍𝐈𝐓𝐄 𝐆𝐀𝐍𝐆𝐁𝐔𝐊 ! ❞

⋆.˚ 𝐏𝐀𝐈𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐆. johan seong x reader .

⋆.˚ 𝐒𝐔𝐌𝐌𝐀𝐑𝐘. what are you seeing right now? is johan bullying kids right now — oh never mind those kids were asking him to lend a hand.

⋆.˚ 𝐖𝐎𝐑𝐃𝐂𝐎𝐔𝐍𝐓. ~0.7k words .

⋆.˚ 𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐍𝐓. lowkey plantonic. f!readers. established relationship. lookism x questism crossover. safe for minors! crappy writing. johan may seem ooc. I have no plan what this is.

　“—I'M begging you, so please help us one more time! At this rate Gangbuk will fall into Choyun's hands!"

The boy who stood infront of Johan and shut his eyes tightly. But you completely misunderstood — in your eyes, you watched how Johan was bullying a kid who seemed to be around your age, maybe even younger. Or maybe Johan was giving them a lesson. But it still looked wrong from where you stood and you probably weren't the only one who thought wrong.

You didn't hesitate to take action, stomping towards their direction. And with that volume of your loud stomping, their heads turned to you. Two confused, one troubled. "[name]..." Johan muttered, taking some steps back as he sweatdropped. Your expression already said everything — you were giving him an earful for something he did. But he doesn't even know what he did wrong.

And he wouldn't dare to ask since that would result in your earful getting dragged into the length. So no, Johan will not ask what he do wrong even though he knows you couldn't stay mad at him for a long time. He will not take advantage of this fact. Okay sometimes he does, but only if he really needed it. "What are you doing here?" he asked, a sweat bullet formed on his cheek

"Mister, I need to ask you! What are you doing to these poor kids?!" you huffed, accusingly drilling you finger against his chest. Hard chest.

As soon as you turned your head to the other two, they flinched a bit, only relaxing after seeing your gaze soften. "Hey, you good? Did he bully you or was he being mean? Just tell me and don't worry about him." you said, worrying a little that they wouldn't tell you the truth for his sake. "Don't need to lie, I will beat him up for you. Really, I don't look that strong but I am."

"You misunderstood—"

"Lies." you glanced at your boyfriend next to you, your glare sealed his lips.

"I-It's alright, noona." the girl spoke up first — noona? Was it a he or she?

"Yes..! We were actually asking Johan hyung to help us!" the boy added.

Silence took over you four.

"Help you?" you raised an eyebrow. "He and help? With what."

"Erm... It's a long story." he sweatdropped.

"Long story short, we want to unite Gangbuk or else someone else will! And that someone else is the definition of evil." the girl, or boy? explained.

You blinked. "Oh..." you blinked again, closing your mouth before a laugh escaped your lips, "you're joking, right?" You shook your head with a small grin. But the silence proved otherwise. "Wow. Unite Gangbuk. Haha... Haven't heard those two words for a while. Erm, you weren't joking? You two are being serious?" you commented, just to get nods from them. "Sorry for interrupting..."

"Please help us one last time." the boy bowed down again. "I can't explain, but it'll be dangerous for everyone if I lose! I want to protect everyone dear to me!"

Your eyes went to your boyfriend next to you, your elbow nudging him. "Come one, help him. He seems to really need it." you whispered. "Even though I don't know them. They deserve it, don't they?" you smiled innocently as your eyes met and you knew he was still annoyed because you didn't believe him. It wasn't your fault anyway. It's not like it's his first time bullying — beating some people up.

"It doesn't matter what happens to me! However, I can't let the people around me get hurt!"

"...just this once?" your eyes lit up as Johan questioned this.

　　　　　　　　─ ⊹ ⊱ ☆ ⊰ ⊹ ─

"I'm sorry okay?" you apologized, trailing close behind Johan. "I'll believe you from now on, okay? I'm sorry!"

"Yeah sure..."

"Sorry, okay?! Johan!"

Haru and Suhyeon watched from afar as you two walked away after Johan agreed to lend them a hand for one last time. "He had a girlfriend?" Haru muttered under her breath, blinking several times. Well it was kind of hard to believe to be honest. "A pretty one at that." Suhyeon added with no shame, his eyes lowered and lowered — "ow! Hey, what was that for?!" he cried out, just to see how Haru was furrowing her eyebrows.

"Sorry!"

"Please refrain yourself from letting your eyes wander..."

"I couldn't help myself!" Suhyeon whined before turning to the lone figures again, "do you think she was strong?"

"Based on her looks no. But never judge a book by it's cover I guess." Haru answered and followed his gaze.

"I believe she could've helped us too to be honest..." he mumbled.

"Really?"

"Mhm."

After all, her stats were unmeasurable.

© 2024 kumasakka — do not plagiarize , copy , modify , translate our work !

a/n's note — ngl I have no idea what I just wrote. this is so random, I just wanted to read a little oneshot where yn appears in questism too alongside johan.

[plutocisms]

Jean x Reader, Oneshot || Drunk at a party w/ his crush

nsfw content warning <33 mdni

You’re at a party and the house is packed. You can barely make your way through the crowd and you came here all by yourself. You were invited by Armin one day while you two were catching up on some work at a cafe. 

You scan the room to find any familiar faces and you spot Eren and Armin grabbing drinks from the fridge. You’re just a little too sober for this scene so you make your way through to crowd to them, you grab Armin’s arm and ask, 

“what’s the strongest thing you have in there?”

He turn’s to face you, you can tell he’s already had a a few drinks by his reaction and because he has a light shade of red across his nose and cheeks. 

“Hey! Look who’s here everybody.” He pulls you in for a hug and passes you a bottle of tequila from the counter top. 

“I hope this is okay, you’ve met Eren right?” 

Eren tilts his head back from the fridge, also a little visibly buzzed and says,

“Of course we’ve met, you haven’t had that much Armin.”

You chuckle to yourself.

Armin throws his hand back behind his head and laughs it off, “Oops, well just in case you hadn’t.”

“It’s good to see you again.” You tell Eren.

You set the Tequila down on the counter and start looking through the cupboards for shot glasses. You notice that they’re on the top shelf. You get on your tiptoes in attempt to reach them but they’re a little out of your range. As you come down you feel a tall figure standing behind you and a hand on the small of your back, causing you to let out a small gasp.

“Hey, didn’t mean to scare you. Let me grab those for you.”

You turn around taking your gaze up to notice, It was Jean. You had only met him a few times in settings like these, but you were hoping you’d run into him again.  He reaches above you, forcing you to the lean back on the counter just a bit and the scent of his cologne overtakes you. 

“Here.” He hand’s you the shot glass. “So…you’re a fan of tequila?”

“It’s just what Armin handed me.” you reply.

“I see.” He makes his way past you towards Connie and Marco having a drinking competition on the back patio and he joins them.

If you hadn’t known any better, you’dve thought maybe you said something to upset him. You pour yourself a double shot and catch back up with Eren and Armin who are halfway across the room at this point. 

“What’s going on by the patio?” You ask them.

They both turn their heads to catch a glimpse. 

“Looks like they’re at it again” Armin responds nudging Eren’s arm.

“Oh boy, Horseface thinks he can just outdrink anyone.” He says making his way to the sliding patio doors.

“Horseface?” You say confusedly.

“Jean, he means, they have this ridiculous rivalry that is annoying but sometimes fairly amusing for the rest of us.”

You watch as Eren walks out the door and throws his hand up saying something that is barely audible with the all the loud music playing.

“We should probably head out there.” You and Armin walk outside together and your eyes meet Jean’s. He looks away before you do, refocsuing on the drinks in front of him.

“Y/n!” 

You hear your name shouted excitedly from your left side, you feel arms hanging around you. 

“Hey Sasha! You answer. Hugging her back

“Can you believe these boneheads? So barbaric. Did you get some of the buffalo chicken dip? It was amazing.”

“I ate before I got here, thank you though.” 

“That’s too bad, I’m gonna grab some more.”

“Could you bring me two shots back pl-?”

She was already inside before you could finish your sentence.

“Two shots?” Armin hands you two shot glasses filled to the brim. “There’s a bar right next to you ya know?”

You grab the two shots from Armin and just as you do, Eren makes his way towards you, "I'll be taking one of those." as he reaches for either glass. You turn around blocking his reach, your backside flush against his front as he's reaching over you for the drink you're now covering.

"I think not" you shouted. His arms now squeezing you from behind.

"Agh you're no fun." Eren remarks ,finally letting you go and getting back to the table.

You down your second, technically third shot for the night.

“Alright guys I’m good for right now.” Marco says backing away from the drinks. “I’ll leave it to you Jean.”

Armin takes it upon himself to step in as the ref for this little competition “Connie are you still in this?” 

“Nah man” He hiccups between his words. “Imma..gonna catch up with S-Sasha” he says stumbling his way inside”

You watch as Eren and Armin giggle watching Connie fumble around making his way towards Sasha devouring another bowl of buffalo chicken dip. You then notice Jean who’s not laughing. He looks over at you and it feels as if his amber eyes are burning a hole right through you and you break your gaze first.

“Alright well that just leaves-“ Armin starts.

“I think I’ve proven myself here. I’m gonna find a bathroom.” Jean interrupts. Wiping off the little bit of drink left on his chin

He makes his way inside almost slamming the screen door.

“The fucks up with him?” Eren murmurs.

“Just…you and me I guess” Armin finishes. They both look at each other and bust out laughing.

You make your way inside still babysitting that one shot you still have in hand. Jean makes his way upstairs. His pace hard to keep up with. You swim your way through the crowd with your drink in the air careful not to spill it. You pick up the pace and when your foot hits the last step you hear a door shut. You knock on the bathroom door twice.

“Occupied” Jean growls.

“It’s y/n.”

You hear his large footsteps make his way towards the door. He opens it and leans on the door frame with his arms raised towering over you.

“Can I help you with something?” He asks, seemingly annoyed.

“I- I just wanted to check on you.”

He kind of rolls his eyes and begins to shut the door. “Thanks, I’m great.”

You pop your foot in the crack of the door preventing it from closing all the way and tilt your head

“You don’t seem so great.”

 He looks down at your foot. 

“Move it.”

You keep your foot right where it is, looking straight at him.

“Move your foot y/n.”

“No, Je-“

He steps out of the door frame, and snatches you up by your arm, his grip so tight it almost hurts, making you spill your drink on your top. You gasp, catching your breath startled by the quick movement. 

He looks you directly and desperately in your eyes and in an angry low voice mutters,

“Do you think I wanna watch you parade around with Eren and Armin all fucking night?”

His face is so close to yours, your noses are almost touching. He notices your drink dripping from your chest collecting drops in the crease of your cleavage. He steps back in the bathroom slamming the door in your face leaving you speechless. You had no idea he felt that way. The tequila covering your chest had soaked the top of your shirt leaving you a bit overexposed.

The door opened back up quickly. Avoiding looking down at your tequila soaked chest, Jean  was standing there in a black tank top, and holding out the shirt he had on before in his hand. “Cover yourself up.”

Admiring his frame you slowly put your hand out reaching for his shirt. He looks over to see you, biting your bottom lip noticing your eyes slightly shifting up and down.

“No, don’t. Don’t do that”

“Don’t do what?” You’ve finally found some words.

“Don’t look at me like that y/n.”

“Like what?” You breathed.

He drops the shirt before it meets your grasp, running his hand through his hair letting out a frustrated sigh. He throws his hands in his pockets and takes a slight bend so his mouth is level with your ear and whispers,

“Don’t look at me like you want me to fuck you.”

You felt a tingling sensation shoot all the way through you.

He bends over to pick up the shirt and lightly shoves it on your chest, just a few layers of fabric separating his bare hand from your breasts. 

“I’m not gonna say it again, cover yourself up.” He grunts, back to avoiding your gaze.

You place your hand on top of his causing him to look over to you. His amber eyes are a hanging a little low from the alcohol.

“What if..” You hesitate

“What if I want you to?” You say warmly.

He doesn’t waste a second, scooping you up and throwing you over his shoulder. His hand gripping your thighs as you hang over his broad frame. He carries you to a nearby room and tosses you on the bed almost carelessly. He hovers over you, strands of his hair tickling your cheek

“Don’t tease me y/n”

You close the distance with a passionate kiss.

“It was never Eren or Armin I was interested in, it was always y-“ 

He cuts you off meeting his lips wet lips with yours, cupping your cheek. You could feel him smiling slightly between kisses. He guides your hand to his bulge that’s been poking you since he climbed on top. He hums at your touch. He then slips his hand onto your clothed clit, rubbing lightly over your jeans. You let out a moan causing him to tense up slightly. 

“Damn y/n. You’re gonna ruin me.”

You begin undoing your jeans and he slides them off of you, tossing them with no care where they end up. He looks down admiring all that’s in front of him and notices a damp spot on your panties.

“I’ve barely touched you and you’re already this wet?” He smirks,  shifting your panties to the side to slip a finger in. Your body shudders at his touch and how his finger glides its way past your folds. He looks down seeing his finger glistening with you all around it and you can see his bulge growing bigger. His arm reaches overhead, taking his tank top off and he hungrily tugs at you panties discarding them along with his top.

He gently spreads open your thighs and lands warm wet kisses on each repeatedly. Your hips jolt and you bite back a moan, taken aback by the feelings he’s been hiding. Those kisses work there way down to your entrance, his warm breath down there making your back arch slightly until finally you feel his tongue graze your already soaking cunt. He continues to lick as your wetness coats his tongue, poking it in your opening.

“Goddamn, you taste so good.” He purred.

You tighten your grip on his hair guiding his tongue deeper into you.

 He groans as his hips are making a small grinding motions in the bed. He starts gently sucking your clit, sending you into a spiral, causing you to buck your hips forward. His grip on your thigh tightens in one hand and he hums with pleasure while the other reaches up caressing your breasts. His suckling of your clit  getting more intense. Your breath hitches, you toss your head back and your legs tense up. 

“J-jean…” you choke out.

He raises his head up.  “Un-uh” he teases. “I’ve waited quite a while for this, so you’re gonna have to hold out a little bit longer for me m’kay princess.”

His words causing you to whimper.

He stands at the foot of the bed, shimmying his pants off, gazing intensely upon you lying there helpless. He slowly pulls down his waistband. Your eyes trail from his abs to his happy trail just before his cock springs out. Your eyes widen at his size which causes him the chuckle just a little bit. He kneels down on the bed, sliding his shaft between your sopping wet folds and tapping his oh-so-hard length on your entrance, toying with you. He hovers above you, giving you a sensual kiss you can taste yourself on, causing you to melt. 

Inching closer to your ear, “hold on to me if you need to.” He rasped just before sinking into you. 

You inhale sharply feeling him penetrate your core. He lets out a strangled moan at the way your pussy is gripping him. 

“Oh s-shit” he huffs, thrusting in and out of your velvet walls as you’re clenching on to his arms, dizzy with pleasure. He reaches his thumb to his mouth, wetting it before reaching down for your already sensitive clit, now ramming his hips into you, one thing’s very clear, if he wasn’t drunk before he’s drunk with pleasure from your pussy now. 

“You’re so damn tight and taking me so well baby.” 

He groans, with your entire body jolting underneath him with every thrust. You feel a familiar coil build up in your stomach as you inch closer and closer to your release, your breath hitching again. 

“G-god Jean I-“ you cry out

“That’s right baby, cum all over this dick”

Your back arches as you reach your release feeling him twitch inside you, your whole face gets a little warm from being flushed after taking in so much. 

The sight of you experiencing such euphoria from his doing coupled with the intense tightening of your walls delivered him his own high as he stroked his cock painting a picture on your stomach panting and biting back moans with sweat glistening on his forehead. 

“Fuck, you are so hot.” Jean trembles, looking for something to help clean you up before collapsing down next to you.

Your exhales breathy and spread out. You smile at him,

“You really thought me and--“ you can’t help but laugh

He’s pulls you in, wrapping his arms around you, “Whatever I thought, you’re all mine now.” He says gently, kissing your shoulder.

If you like this please give me a little feedback hehe it's my first one! also, open to taking prompts/requests

[iplayguitarbutshesintodrummers]

Love is not a real thing | Calum Hood x Reader (she/her)

Autor note: I wrote this based in something i read on the 5sos wikipedia when i started to stan them that said that calum didn't believed in love

Also, sorry if there's any grammatical error, english Is not my first lenguage.

summary: you were friends with 5sos even before they started the band, Calum Is your best friend and to be honest you always had a tiny crush on him, until some time ago where your feelings started to grow stronger.

The problem here Is that calum wasn't a love believer, he would always complain about how hard relationships and love in general Is, just because he had some failed relationships for dating mean ass people.

But maybe..

Just maybe

You could make him think otherwise

Warning: dramatic confession, fluff too much fluff lol

Pov Y/N:

I would be lying if i say that i didn't felt anything for Calum, i've been having this weird feelings since we met, not so long ago i realized that i was in love with him.

But it was late now, we already have a strong friendship, telling him about my feelings would be like throw me off a cliff and im not willing to risk my treasured friendship for just some silly feelings that probably are just something that i would forget about as soon as i met someone else, right?

But i couldn't help it.

Sometimes i would just watch him exist when we hang out with the boys, getting lost in his eyes or just admiring his features, fantasizing about pressing my lips against his or whisper into his ear how much i loved him

A voice took me out of my thoughts

"Y/N, you okay? You have been dissociating for 20 minutes now"

Ashton said with a confused and worried expression

"yeah, everything's okay"

I took a sip of my drink and tried to catch up with everything the boys have been talking about, remembering the old times and getting nostalgic since the other day i was going to move to Nashville

calum was a little more quiet tonight, i tried not to make eye contact with him since i sweared that he was almost staring into my soul.

Luke turned towards Calum

"what's up with your love life, cal pal?"

"nothing new, mate, you already know how i feel about the whole love thing"

"what about you, Y/N?"

Luke asked me making me get out of my thoughts once again

"what about me...?"

"do you have a partner?"

Calum asked being straight forward

"uhm.. no i don't"

The topic stayed there and we didn't touched it again for the whole night.

It was past midnight when we decided that we should leave the bar.

Mostly because Luke and Michael were getting a little bit too tipsy.

Ashton offered to take them home, leaving Calum and me alone.

"i'll text you when i get home"

I was planning on walking back home, i needed some fresh air and a little walk won't hurt anyone.

"where are you going?"

Calum said with his arms crossed sightly raising his brow

"to my house..?"

"without me?"

Calum said sightly teasing before wrapping one of his arms around my shoulders as we started walking

"thanks for coming with me"

"whenever you want, rockstar"

as we walked towards my place we talked about a lot of random topics, sometimes we were even stopping our tracks to just talk

Like if we never wanted to arrive my place and end this night.

However, sooner or later that was going to happen.

we arrived to the front door of my house.

I unlocked it and turned to look at Calum.

"thanks for the walk"

"no worries, mate"

He waved at me and turned around as he started walking away.

It was now or never

"Calum!"

He stopped his tracks and looked at me

"hm?"

"..."

I took a deep breath trying to find the correct words

"i.."

"i love you"

His eyes widened sightly and then he smiled kindly

"love you too"

He turned around and kept walking away.

What the hell have just happend..?

He thought i said it in a friendly meanor..?

I noticed that it started to drizzle, i just hoped he would get home safe and dry at least.

Pov Calum:

I left Y/N's house as soon as i could, even if i didn't meant to but i just felt like i needed to leave running out of there.

I felt my breath heavier, a huge weight over my shoulders and how my heart was beating like if it was going to get out of my chest at any moment.

It was just a simple, friendly "I love you" right?

I shouldn't be overthinking it that much, but i couldn't help it.

There was something in they way she said it that it made it have so much power over me.

I arrived to my place and just lied on my couch looking at the ceiling just trying to think of something else, but my thoughts always leaded to her, to Y/N.

The question flooded my mind "what did she meant by that?" Was she just being friendly? Or was she flirting with me?

I started to get frustrated because i had so many questions and not a single answer

I would be lying if i say i haven't been some kind of attracted to Y/N lately, but i feel like she's completely out of my reach, not only because she's one of my best friends since forever but because i feel like she's too much for me, i wouldn't be able to give her what she deserves, and i would end up messing everything up like i always do in my relationships

However

I needed to get it out of my chest, we hated having secrets between us, after all, she was moving to Nashville tomorrow and it was my last chance.

I stood up, took my car keys and opened the door to leave my house and go to look for Y/N

What i didn't expected was to find her there right in front of me under the rain

"Y/N?"

She interrupted me

"when i told you that i love you"

"i was being serious"

"Cal, if im going to leave i think you deserve to know what has been through my mind lately"

"i.. i think i developed feelings for you"

My eyes widened, the hell we actually shared braincells..

"Y/N-"

"don't say anything i don't want answers, i just want to get this out of my chest"

"i really like you Cal."

"im not saying we could be something like boyfriend and girlfriend because i don't know how you feel about this and also the fact that you say "you always mess up" in relationships and that you don't believe in love"

"and that's what i wanted to talk to you about"

"you sticked to the idea that you are not worth of love and that you always mess up your relationships and it ends up happening just because you are constantly thinking about it. And i hate seeing you torturing yourself like that. You are worth of love Cal, you are a good partner, you are everything anyone would wish in a relationship"

"and im sick of you not believing me, you think you always mess up because you think you are "too boring" or "too simple"

"When in reality you are not anything of that, and your exes just couldn't actually see who you really are and what you actually worth"

"you are the most talented, kindest, funniest, and romantic person i know and i can't stand you not believing that because some bullshit people made you think otherwise"

Her voice started to break

'i just-"

"i wished you could see yourself like I see you so you could understand why i like you so much"

"i wish you could see that love Is a real thing, that love Is not really what you think it Is"

"i wished you could give me a chance to prove to you that you never were the problem and that you just needed to find the correct person.."

I felt a knot in my throat i just needed to hug her and cry in her arms, i needed to hear that so bad.

I just didn't thought that hearing it from her could be so relieving

There was a long silence between us while i was trying to find the correct words to say.

Suddenly she took a step closer

"Calum.."

I looked at her

"promise me that when you fall in love again.. you'll think about what i told you

And promise me that, in that case, you would be positive enough to make things work"

"Y/N.."

My voice breaking

"i promise i would be positive enough to make things work between us"

"wait wha-?"

I didn't wanted to hear anything more, I cupped her face with my hands and kissed her without warning.

At first i felt her tense, she didn't expected me to do that, but then she gave in and kissed me back.

some seconds after we both pulled away and i pressed my forehead against her's

"am i being too dramatic if i say you might be my end game?"

I said with a silly little grin in my face

"kind of, but that's what i like about you"

Pls reblog if you liked this, you would help me a lot

The fics requests are open btw! Tysm for reading <3

[himbosandhardwear]

Steddie I 2.3k words I Angst I Hurt/Comfort I Idiots to Lovers I SFW

The phone rings at a quarter to six, not an unheard of time for someone to call on a Friday evening, but he's not expecting anyone, so he lets it ring out until the machine gets it. Screening phone calls has become the new normal in the Munson abode. 

“Hey, Eddie, it's me.” There's a weird pause and then he gives unnecessary clarification. “Steve. It's Steve. You there?”

Eddie's already heading toward the phone, so he's still laughing when he picks up. “I can't believe it took me six years to figure out what a huge dork you are.”

“Me? Why am I a dork?”

“Because you just talked to my machine as though you've never called here before. It was weird. You're weird.”

Eddie hopes this comes across like the compliment that it is. Sometimes he says things to Steve and he's not sure if they land the way he wants. This time does land, thankfully, as Steve chuckles softly. 

“So what's up?” He asks, hoping he doesn't sound too eager, like he's desperate for a hangout.

“Oh. Um. So, I was wondering if you're free tonight?” 

Eddie punches the air a few times. “Sure am. What’d you have in mind?”

“Movie? The Hawk is playing some disgusting horror flick I assume you'd be into. And, uh, maybe food. Burgers or something.”

“Or something,” Eddie teases. He's practically floating on air, which is embarrassing, but Steve doesn't know that. “Sounds like a date,” he says, stupidly. 

Steve doesn't respond right away, the seconds stretching to infinity before he clears his throat. “Well, yeah. I hope so.”

Static fizzles through Eddie's brain. “What.”

“I hope it sounds like a date. Cause. You know.”

“I don't know,” Eddie manages, brain still skipping gears. 

“Because I'm trying to take you out. On a date.”

Okay, yes, Steve has become one of his closest friends over the last five months, and yes, sometimes Eddie flirts with him because he's a red blooded American faggot and Steve is smoking hot, but never in ten thousand years would Eddie predict this happening. It doesn't make sense. 

“Date?” He chokes out. 

“Is that okay?” Steve asks, soft, nervous. 

It's so okay Eddie can't fathom it. “Uh huh.” 

“Cool. I'll swing by at eight?”

“Cool.”

“Awesome. See you in a bit.”

And then, just before Steve hangs up, he hears it, the thing that makes everything that came before it suddenly make sense. 

Laughter. Robin's donkey braying laughter, coupled with cheers from at least three other people. 

So yeah. That checks out. It hasn't happened in years, not since middle school, before Eddie got too scary for girls to fuck with, but it's not the first time someone got dared to ask Eddie out. 

He slips down the wall and lands with a thud on the linoleum, cold water seeping through his veins as the implications become clear. The people he thought were his friends got together, without him, and thought it would be hilarious to dare Steve to ask him out. And he did it. He actually did it. And Robin! Her being in on it is almost worse. He really thought better of her, queer geek solidarity and all that. 

Has every interaction with these people been fake? Why bother? It doesn't make sense, but then again, he'd only recently let his guard down, started to believe they really liked him, wanted him around. It never made any sense that they liked him in the first place, Steve especially, he'd been wondering when the other shoe would drop and now here it is. Sort of wishes they'd just left him alone after everything and not gotten him attached like he is. It hurts. Logically, he knows he'll be fine, he has Wayne and the CC boys and some casual friends in Indy, he'll be okay, but it still hurts. 

What if this forces Dustin and the other kids to pick sides? He doesn't want that. Maybe he should just bite the bullet and move away, make the decision easier for them. It's about time anyway. He'll need to borrow some money from somewhere to fund the move but-

A knock on the door startles him out of his spiral and he jumps up on instinct. The clock on the stove says it's 7:55. He's been staring at the wall for two hours. A second knock snaps him out of another spiral.

“Jesus Christ,” he snaps upon seeing Steve Harrington at his door, dressed to kill. What a waste.

Steve's still lovely face drops as he takes in Eddie's ire. “What's wrong?”

“What's wrong?” His voice grates. “How fucking far were you planning on taking this bit? Bucket of pigs blood rigged at the diner? Maybe you drive me thirty miles outside of town and leave me there? What?”

Steve looks equal parts confused and horrified. Caught out too early to satisfy the parameters of the bet no doubt. “Eddie…”

“Save it. Take your gas station flowers and fuck off.” He slams the door behind him, it gives a satisfying crash, much better than the trailer's old door. 

He stands on the other side of it, not sure what to do with himself, when he hears a pathetic, “No, no, no, no,” and, “I don't understand,” and, “Eddie. Please.”

“Fuck! Off!” He yells at the door. If he has to endure any more manipulation he might actually get violent. Wouldn't be the first time he thought about attacking Steve Harrington. The anger is good, he needs it. As long as he's angry he isn't thinking about how bad it hurts. 

A minute goes by without a peep from Steve, but he also hasn't heard a car door slam or start up or drive away. Eddie slinks over to the porch window and peeks out. Steve is just sitting bent over on the top step, both hands in his hair, stupid bouquet of flowers at his side. The sight twinges in Eddie's guts, something like guilt squirming around inside. He doesn't want to acknowledge it but it gets harder to ignore the longer he watches Steve, alone and practically curled up on the stoop. What would be the purpose of that if he only came as a joke? He assumes maybe Steve is just upset that he didn't get to pull off his probable months in the making scheme but…the longer he watches the harder it gets to convince himself that's what's happening. 

Steve is crying. He can tell by the uneven breaths he's taking. The odds are getting slimmer that this is some manipulative tactic. If Steve is genuinely upset Eddie can't just ignore it. 

He opens the door. 

Steve immediately scrambles to wipe the evidence off his face, which is gut wrenching. If he's still faking he deserves an Oscar. 

He doesn't turn when Eddie approaches and sits gingerly at his side. He doesn't try to provocate, just sniffs as quietly as he can with his face turned away.

Eddie, for his part, doesn't know what to do next. His anger has left him, which was the only thing keeping him afloat. He suddenly wishes he hadn't left his cigs on the coffee table.

“I'm not sure what happened between when I called and now but I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset you.” He turns toward Eddie but doesn't make eye contact. “If you changed your mind, that's…fine, I guess. But please don't be mad at me. I don't think I can take that right now.”

Guess we're hashing this out.

“What happened was I heard everyone at your place having a laugh at my expense. Did you think I wouldn't figure out what that meant? You're not the first person to ask me out as a joke. Amy Johnston asked me to the Snow Ball as a dare in the 8th grade.”

There's that horrified look again. He reaches out like he wants to touch Eddie's knee but Eddie startles so badly he wrenches his hand back. 

“You can't think I would do that.”

“I can and I do.” His fingers are itching for that cigarette.

“Eddie. Please look at me.” 

He does but only because Steve sounds like he's on the verge of a nervous breakdown. His wet, puppy dog eyes are going to be the last thing Eddie's sees before he dies, he just knows it.

“They weren't laughing at you. They were laughing at me. That wasn't a prank at your expense, it was a fucking intervention, for me to pull my head out of my ass.” He stares at Eddie with his wide, imploring eyes. “I swear to you. On Dustin's mom.”

Eddie's cheek twitches. “If Claudia drops dead you've gotta raise Henderson yourself, you know that, right?”

“Gladly.” He gives one big sniff, done with hiding how fucked up this has made him. “Rob was laughing because she was happy, and everyone else was cheering because they were proud of me, that's literally it. ‘Finally ask Eddie on a date’ mission was a success. Until, you know, this part. I'm sorry you thought we would do something like that to you. Did we…or did I maybe, do something to make you think we weren't friends?”

Now Eddie is crying. He should just dig a hole and lay down in it. 

“Hey,” Steve scoots over and timidly places a hand over Eddie's clenching fingers, “it's okay. You don't have to tell me. I just want to make sure you know we love you. I don't want you to ever think otherwise.”

Okay, not helping with the waterworks.

“It's not your fault,” he manages to convey between hiccups. ��I'm just an asshole who assumes the worst in people.”

Steve's thumb rubs gently over Eddie's wrist bone. “For good reason. I get it, you haven't had a lot of people in your corner, huh?”

He shakes his head, hyper aware that he's dribbling snot.

“Hey,” he pats Eddie's arm, pulling away slowly, “why don't we just stay in, order a pizza?”

Eddie sniffs, nods. Date canceled then. Good job, Munson. 

“I'll dump these,” Steve picks up the flowers, “don't know what I was thinking. Dating mode autopilot I guess.”

Eddie, feeling hysterical, lunges for them. “No! They're mine!” He crushes the bouquet to his chest. He's imprinted on them. If they disappear, any chance he has of going back to date mode will disappear with them. 

Steve stares at him, eyes ping-ponging up and down from the flowers to Eddie's face. He probably thinks Eddie has gone mental, and he'd be right. He hides his face in the purple and orange petals, destroying them irreparably no doubt. One would think he would be all cried out but he's been mainlining mountain dew all day so he must be extra hydrated.

“Eds. What's wrong?”

“Besides the obvious?!” He screeches, still hiding. 

“Yeah.”

“I fucked it up. You actually wanted to date me and I fucked it up.” 

Without warning, Steve has him bundled up against his chest, flowers crushed even more between them. “You didn't fuck it up. I just didn't think you'd want to go out tonight, after all this. It can still be a date if you want. An inside date.”

“If I want? You are certifiable, of course I want,” he mumbles into Steve's perfect tits. “I can't believe you want. You were really brave and I yelled at you.”

“Already forgiven.”

“You look really nice and I look like a hobo.”

“No more than usual.”

That startles a laugh out of Eddie. He smacks Steve on one of his perfect tits. His face is probably a lost cause but he does attempt to mop it up. “Sorry I made you cry.”

“Pfft,” he waves that off as though it were nothing, “for about three minutes I thought I'd let my friends talk me into blowing up one of my favorite relationships, that's all I cared about, really. If you're not mad at me I'm good as new.” He gets all sheepish for a second. “Also I've been crying off and on all day. Those assholes showed up at my door at ten am. I sobbed for forty five minutes over that time I called Johnathan a queer.”

“You said what?” King Steve shit, Eddie imagines.

“Yeah, and a lot worse than that too, if you can imagine. Don't worry, he beat my ass good over it. And he says we're square since he banged Nancy while we were technically still together.”

Eddie boggles at the ease with which all of this is said. Killing monsters really puts some shit into perspective, he supposes.

He glances up when Steve stands, brushing his hands off on his skin tight jeans before holding one out for Eddie to take. 

“C'mon. Inside date. We'll do a redo of outside date next weekend.”

He lets Steve pull him up. “Okay. You gotta let me get the pizza though.”

He beams at Eddie, sunshine incarnate. “Deal.” 

It occurs to Eddie, as he pulls a huge plastic Pacers cup out of the cupboard to put his flowers in, that Steve Harrington actually likes him. Romantically. Even though Eddie is a big dumbass. 

“Hey,” he drawls.

Steve glances over from where he's artfully posed at the opposite counter. “Mmm?”

“We should probably make out.”

Steve matches Eddie's casual statement, only failing where his cheeks are going red. “Oh yeah?” 

“Yeah. I'd hate to waste all this time and money just to find out on the third date we're not compatible. Sexually.” 

Steve, who has never been shy about flirting, slinks over to him, fingers travel lightly over the cut collar of his Megadeath T-shirt, sending Eddie's heart into overdrive. “You're so right. Couch or bed?”

They never do manage to call for pizza.

[kairiscorner]

CONGRATS ON 1.5K POOKIE ‼️❤️😼😼

if u have time i wanna like request a 42!miles x reader where reader hears some girls shit talking miles about random stuff u pick !! and then she gets like super mad at confronts them and it turns into like this bigass fight a crowd forms and everything and maybe it could be like outside the building where miles is and him and ganke are eating and they hear the noises and stuff and miles is like “wtf is that.. 🌚” and ganke looks out the window and he’s just like “bro it’s ur girl what the fuck.. ⁉️⁉️😨⁉️” and miles is just like 🏃‍♀️💨 and pushes the big ass crowd away n sees his girlfriend beating the shit out of the person and he like breaks it up and takes her out of the area and she explains the whole thing ab how it was ab him and he’s jus like “you don’t even know how much i love you what the hell. ⁉️⁉️😣” and it’s just fluffy in the end ????

HELP WHY DID I MAKE THIS SO SPECIFIC.. if this is like too long don’t even worry about it pookie you already feed me enough w all ur fics im in LOOVVVEVEVE !! anyways congrats again 😼😼

say that again to my face. — miles 42 x fem!reader

summary: sometimes, people forget that they should be minding their own business instead of giving their unsolicited opinions on matters they have nothing good to say about—and especially not to offend a guy's girlfriend by shit talking her boy when she's not taking any of your shit. pairing: miles 42 x fem!reader genre: slight angst and comfort word count: 1,519 author's note: AWW POOKIE, THANKIES !! man ngl, i like the thought of reader being the type of person to not take your shit and be the defender this time instead of miles, HE DESERVES SOMEBODY WHO'S WILLING TO GET HURT FOR HIM, TOO, OKAY !!! omg i hope you like this 💖💖💖

(reblogs are greatly appreciated, it helps get my content out there! if you guys like what you see, please reblog it too <:D)

the shuffling of feet and excited, worried clamoring of other students as they drew more attention to the occurrence outside of the school building was creating more and more tension as nearly everyone exited the cafeteria and went outside to the school grounds. "what's... going on?" miles asked ganke as they exited the cafeteria, with ganke's eyes widening as he got a good look of what was going on and who exactly was the center of attention right now for a not-so good reason. he grabbed miles by the shoulders and dragged him to a spot where he could view the chaos a little better. "dude, it's your girl, she's going crazy on this other girl!" he exclaimed with a rushed voice, worried for you as much as miles should've been, had he known it was you all along being gathered around and filmed as chaos ensued.

as soon as miles heard that his girl was getting some unwanted attention–having a whole crowd surround her–he had to get her out of there immediately. he wove his way through the people filming, cheering and chanting, and merely watching as you throttled this girl you were fighting the best you could–repeating to her as she exclaimed and tried fighting you back: 'what, too scared to say it again? huh? i'll show you who you're messing with this time, bitch!' the crowd went wild hearing you cuss, it wasn't rare for you to cuss since practically everyone was aware you weren't the most innocent person around—but you were definitely a sweetheart, to the right people; no one could believe you were capable of hurting someone this badly, not even miles could believe you were saying all these awful things that sounded so uncharacteristic of you. as miles made his way towards you, his eyes widened, his heart sinking in his stomach as he watched you wrestle with this other girl and screaming at her–hurling insults and taunts at her through teary eyes, yelling out in pain as she pulled at your hair and tried scratching at your face.

"mi cielo, enough!" he exclaimed as he dashed over to you, nearly tripping over as he got in between you two and took the other girl's hits for you. ganke had made his way through the crowd and helped you up, with miles telling everyone the fight was over, there was nothing left to watch, as he jogged off to see you by the infirmary as the crowd gathered around the girl fighting with you just earlier. after you got patched up, ganke left you and miles to have a talk together. miles founs it very out of character for you to have done what you did–after all, you hated violence; there was no way you would've fought that girl for no reason, not unless it was a good reason. "babe, please... what happened?" miles asked you in a soft, worried tone as he placed his hand on your arm and gently caressed you, rubbing your arm slowly up and down, hoping you'd answer when you were ready.

you took in a deep breath and pulled out your phone. "i know this isn't the most justified reason, but, miles... watch this." you told him as you unlocked your phone, scrolled over to your gallery and clicked on a recently taken video of you on the thumbnail. miles obliged and took the phone from your hands, watching the video as it played out. the video started off as a sweet little video message you were gonna send miles, a cute little short of showing him the dance moves you were practicing for fun and ask him what he thought–you were filming this by the sinks at the girl's comfort room, with nobody else there–until midway in the video, a couple of popular kids that used to bully you had entered, and you soon took your phone away, forgetting to pause the recording.

you remained silent and pretended to wash your hands, propping your phone down as you washed your hands to cover up anything else you were doing earlier, not wanting to attract these girls' attention. they were in deep conversation about such shallow things–boys, clothes, victims of their bullying escapades and laughing at their poor, pitiful faces–and you were getting all the more disgusted the longer you heard them. one of the girls then mentioned a name you were quite familiar with, it was, of course, your boyfriend's name.

"oh, yeah, that morales kid... he's kinda weird, not gonna lie." said the girl, causing you to involuntarily look their way. the other girls agreed, stating that he seemed too quiet or too cringy in his outfits, in his shoes, in his choice of friends–or in their eyes, his lack thereof. they cackled to themselves how, for a cute boy from middle school, he ended up seeming like a real 'weirdo'. "it's such a shame... i honestly found his whole little sweetheart act in middle school so adorable, now he's just a killjoy. guess his dad not being around taught him how to turn girls away from him instead of making him even a bit likeable." "what did you say?" you butt in, drying your hands, the camera still rolling and you not noticing.

the girls looked your way with quizzical looks in their eyes, they don't remember you since you had quite the difference in your appearance from when they bullied you a few years ago, but nonetheless, you seemed like a bug to them–a pest–like every other kid at this school that was at their disposal. the girl rolled her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest, eyeing you up and down. "who are you?" "not important. now, what did you say again?" you asked her, your eyes narrowing at her, with her eyes narrowing down at yours. the girl chuckled and sauntered over to you, her face in the frame now–looking completely different than the beaten and battered girl from earlier. she smirked at you and neared her face to yours, which was still scowling at her. "i get it... you like him, don't you? figures, a little... nobody like you with a little freak like him, acting like little weirdos that think they're more than muck in gutters, thinking they're hot shit for standing up to me–" and with that, your nostrils flared as you fumed, and grabbed at her hair; furious that she had the gall to talk to you that way.

miles watched incredulously as you kept pulling the girl's hair, practically screaming at her to say what she said again as the girl retaliated and slapped at your hands, yelling for the girls with her to get you off her–but those girls did nothing to help. they walked out of the comfort room and presumably ran off out the halls to avoid your wrath. and after some roughhousing... you two ended up at the school grounds, where that all went down. after watching, miles looked at you with pain in his eyes; guilty tears soon filling his eyes as shameful tears filled yours as you clung on to miles' sleeve.

"babe, i'm sorry... nothing will ever make this better, but i... i never meant to hurt her, i never meant to hurt you, i never meant to cause a scene, i... i just couldn't bear to have them say that to you..." you mumbled out in choked sobs as you began to cry. miles shushed you and wiped the tears from your eyes, cupping your face and holding you close to him as he set your phone away. "mi amor... i'm sorry, i'm sorry you... oh, i can't even... you didn't have to do that for me. i... i'm okay with being labelled as a weirdo, a freak–just as long as you don't get hurt. that's all i want... i love you more than you could ever know, you don't even... i love you, mi vida..." he whispered as he kissed your forehead, eliciting more tears to fall down your cheeks as you wrapped your arms around his shoulders and held him tightly.

if he was gonna be honest, if someone else said the same things about you, miles would not hesitate to have done as you did–confront those assholes and show them what's what; but having that fone for him felt so... different. he felt guilty, somehow, that you got hurt and hurt someone for him–risked getting disciplinary action for him and getting a lot of people against you for him. he wants to make it up to you, but all he can do now is be here in the moment and reassure you that, no matter what other people may think of him, nothing matters to him as long as he has you by his side to be his strength to keep fighting every day and live. he'd gladly wear the title of 'freaky little weirdo' while hand-in-hand with you–because as long as you'd be safe, as long as you'd be okay, that's all that matters to him–nothing else, just you and him together.

tags !! @ii01vq @luvstarrstruck @maxoloqy @k4tsu3 @solecitoszn @toneystank-3000 @popeheywardssecretgf @lovefrominaya @onginlove @meowmoraless @euphovlq

[mrsfrecklesmarauders]

"It was so nice meeting you, James"

"I say the same thing, Mrs. Evans. Thank you for inviting me"

"It was a pleasure and please just call me Violet"

"Violet... Right, you look too young for a Mrs. Anyway"

Only James Potter could make Lily's mum laugh and blush like that. He was truly an idiot. But this time it was in a good way.

Lily hadn't stopped smiling all night. It was a nice evening, Petunia had married the love of her life (according to her), and Lily had a good time with James. James...

When Lily had first met him at eleven she had sworn to loathe that wanker forever. He used to be mean, selfish, cocky and arrogant. He used to be everything Lily despised on people. And as they grew up and James started to show interest in her, Lily's feelings didn't change. She just became indifferent to Potter. Never even considered the possibility of having something with him.

It was until that night when Lily saw James in a different light. None of his friends were around to show off. None of Lily's friends were around to have an opinion. They were just themselves.

Lily had to admit it felt nice to let her family and Petunia's friends believe James was her boyfriend. Tuney had been the one to bring boyfriends to family gatherings. Not Lily. Never Lily. Sometimes she felt jugded. Like they were thinking there must've been something wrong for not dating anyone in her seventeen years of life.

Lily remembered last New Years when she invited Severus over and how nobody had liked him, nobody had even paid him attention.

Now James was easy going, funny and talkative. It made Lily proud when her Aunties said: "That is a nice boy you got for yourself, darling". It made her proud somehow. Even if it was silly. Even if James wasn't even her boyfriend.

But it hadn't been only that. She had genuinely had fun with James. They had danced, drank, talked and laughed. Lily had liked the connection they had tonight. Lily felt light and with a lot of adrenaline. Maybe James positive energy had made her like that.

All of that was making Lily see James in a different light. Could he be a good first boyfriend for her? Could they be good together? Was Lily blind not to notice Potter before?

James was not perfect. He was not the most handsome bloke. He was good looking and fit. He was kind of popular. He was a good friend. He was a good listener. He was intelligent. He could be a gentleman with her and get along with her family. He was already friends with her friends. Everything looked great.

"Lily?"

Lily had been too focused thinking about that that she didn't hear when James and her mum had asked her something.

"Ha?"

Violet laughed "She is daydreaming again" she said "I hope you are not responsible"

"Mum!" Lily could feel her cheeks on fire.

"Honestly, Violet. I would love to provoke that on your daughter"

As Lily blushed again and hid a smile, she thought about how easy was for James to say things. His confidence was kind of sexy... Wait what?

Lily's mum was laughing "Okay, I'll let you say goodbye. Please James, drive home safely"

"Yes, ma'am. Always responsible behind the wheel"

Lily smiled and shook her head. Her mother was happy as she walked away. Not before whispering in her daughter's ear: "I like this one"

"Mum, we're just friends" Lily went red as she whispered it.

"I'm just saying, you can be good together" Violet whispered back, then she said louder for James to hear "I will be chatting with your aunties in the kitchen"

Then she winked at James as if Lily hadn't noticed. Lily blushed again. She understood that her mum was happy that Lily had "found someone nice". She remembered the many times mother and daughter watched romcoms wishing something like that for Lily. "A nice boy, Lily" she used to say "Not a perfect one".

James kept smiling and staring at her without discretion. Sometimes it was hard to maintain eye contact with James Potter.

"So..."

"So..."

When they both laughed at the same time, Lily was dreaming.

"Are you drunk?" Lily asked suddenly.

"What?" James looked up "No!"

"Good" Lily smiled "I wasn't letting you drive with alcohol in your system"

James raised an eyebrow "Aaw Evans, you care about me?"

Lily couldn't believe she kept blushing like this. It was so embarrassing. But she kind of liked it.

"If you die out there I will be responsible and everyone will blame me. I don't want to carry blood on my hands"

"Selfish reasons?" James laughed "I promise not to die then"

"Good" Lily chuckled. She wanted to say it would be a horrible world without him but contained herself.

Lily had flirted a little over the evening. Which was odd for her, especially with Potter. But it had felt good. Although everytime she was thinking about who she was flirting with, she just couldn't believe it. It was more about pride.

James pushed his glasses up, his cheeks slightly pink when he dared to grab Lily's hand. His skin was warm.

"I had a good time with you tonight" he said, looking into her eyes "Thank you for inviting me"

"Thank you for coming" Lily swallowed "I had a good time as well"

They smiled shyly. James didn’t let go of her hand. She let him. They even played with them swinging them a little. Lily's heart was beating fast. It felt nice to be this close with someone. With a boy.

Although when James leaned in, Lily knew he was going to kiss her. And she panicked. She was a little scared of saying yes to James. To finally giving in and that the magic will go away. That he would no longer like her. Or maybe that she would be another conquer for him. Lily was looking for something more. She wanted so much more. Would James be the right boy for that?

"See you at school, Potter" Lily looked away. Now her whole face was burning.

James looked disappointed but he wasn't angry or anything. He kept smiling at her even if his smile was smaller.

"See you at school, Evans" he replied.

As James put his hands on his pockets, leaving Lily's suddenly cold, and he walked to the door, Lily thought about what would happen with their relationship.

They weren't friends. They weren't strangers. Lately they had gotten along better than before but they still kept bickering. Except for tonight. It seemed like something had changed between them. But it was weird. It wasn't like characters fell in love in the books she read, when there were sparks and romantic music around. Actually Lily didn't know what she actually felt. Maybe desire to start something new.

Lily watched as James walked through the porch and the little patio in front of Lily's house. He turned many times and waved. Lily waved as well. She was still smiling. It was a nice sensation she had inside.

As James reached the street, Lily began closing the door seeing James's figure disappear.

Then Lily felt stupid. She felt a cold shiver on her body. As if something was suddenly missing.

"Come on, Lily" a voice said inside her brain "It is not too late. Do something"

The fact that she was single, that nothing happened to her was because she didn't dare. It happened the same with Luke months ago. She didn't dare. Though now somehow with James she felt braver.

Lily's heart started beating even faster, practically jumping on her chest. She felt a rush of adrenaline as she realized what she wanted to do.

"Fuck it" she murmured to herself and turned quickly to open the door. Lily didn't see James around, and tried not to feel too disappointed as she ran.

She spotted him down the street, hands in pockets and now in the silence of the night, she could hear him happily whistling a random tune. James had to park his Chevy over a bit far because of the amount of guests. But Lily thanked her luck. She could catch him.

Lily smiled thinking she had gone insane and how much she liked it.

"JAMES!" she screamed before he could open the car's door.

James turned with a curious expression. Lily's sudden adrenaline gave her an impulsive to run. Even if her heels were killing her feet at this point.

Lily didn't think as she cut the distance between her and James. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him for a kiss.

It was kind of messy at first because they bumped their mouths. But their lips found a way to tangle together easily. That's when Lily started to enjoy it.

Lily had to pull away for a second just to let out a laugh and catch her breath. James was in shock but he pulled her for another kiss. This was delicate and slow. James touched her waist pulling her closer and she ran her fingers through his hair because she had always wanted to do that. It was so soft. And all hers, all hers, all hers.

When they were out of breath, Lily smiled feeling her face burning. In a good way.

Then she said "Okay, bye" and ran away back to her house before James could say anything else.

She was happy fantasizing about James's reaction to her kiss but didn't dare to look back. She only stopped when she was safe inside her house. She leaned on the door trying to catch some breath and she laughed. Lily was so happy she couldn't hide it.

What she didn't see was James beaming like a little child putting his fists up and jumping as he screamed.

Their first kiss was magical. One on their own. And they would never forget it.

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

I'm. crying. I didn't realize the Leona parallels... I'm so leonapilled I accidentally alude to him in random places (/jjjjj) 😭😭😭😭😭 but now that you say it... Yeah that's exactly how savanaclaw students see him, huh... I hadn't thought about it that way... I mean I don't think you're as intimidating as he could be but I guess it does fit in a way.... PARALLELS EVERYWHERE 😭😭😭

thank you for stating your boundaries clearly too !! now I'll try to keep them even more in mind 🙂‍↕️ from the things u listed I think I may have sent an ask once asking smth that could've possibly made u uncomfy but I kind of realized just after I had hit send 😭 I was like "wait maybe she wouldn't be comfortable answering this"... And ever since I always read my asks 73829193 times before sending them 😭😭😭 I deeply apologize for that... I think I've never asked smth like that again tho so I hope I can keep our interactions (on anon and outside anonymity) as comfortable as possible for you ᕙ⁠(⁠⇀⁠‸⁠↼⁠‶⁠)⁠ᕗ I'll try my best for it not to happen again !!

Ew 💀 You see Him everywhere now… My condolences… YElxnsksbwjGaxxaga But yeah, I’m not a muscular tattooed cat boy, not by a long shot 😂 Best I can hope for to intimidate people is to make my best whimpering bird noise.

I don’t think I’ve ever been compared to… Him before, so that’s an interesting observation. I believe the characters I most frequently get compared to are Lilia (by the public/readers) and Jamil (by my friends). I guess Lilia because I’ve been told it’s hard to discern my age because of how I bounce between serious analysis/advice and half legible brain rot?? And Jamil because I tend to be pragmatic and dry in private but still end up playing the part of older sibling to others.

To the comment about the income thing, it was in the context of fandom and not asking for actual financial advice. I believe the gist of the (now deleted) ask was that someone was under the impression I was frequently commissioning artwork and wondered how I afforded it. This happened a while ago so I don't remember exactly why they might have come to that conclusion. The ask wasn't phrased rudely or anything, I just found it uncomfortable because I'm not okay with telling online strangers about money, finances, my spending, etc. I think most people would be uncomfortable with that, honestly.

While I do have a tag for advice, it's reserved for like... gameplay tips and reminders on fandom etiquette. It's NOT meant to encourage people to actually come to me actively seeking counsel. (In hindsight, perhaps a poor choice of word on my part 💦) If those advice posts ended up helping you out in some way, that's great! I'm happy for you. Please just remember to not impose on me too much. (Not sure if it's the turn of season or recent fandom news, but I've been getting a lot of spam or really lengthy asks lately.) I'm not here to be the unpaid therapist that the Twst fandom so often jokes that Yuu is. I'm not here to change the world and teach everyone to get along (which Yuu is voluntold to do www), either. I'm here to do my own thing, and that's it.

I appreciate that most people that interact with me are mindful about my boundaries 😅 Sometimes I do feel like I need to remind my audience of what those are, but thankfully I haven't really gotten flack for it.

[froggerland]

For the cold boys ask please tell me how you feel about Ned Little ❤️❤️❤️ Thank You!

THANK YOU FOR ASKING!!!

I am so normal about him you can't imagine how normal I am about that man.

Anyways:

First Impression: I think almost everyone has the same experience with this one: when you first watch the show you don't really register him for the first five episodes or so and then you either love him or are very much neutral about him. I vaguely remember the scene where he's standing next to Jopson looking like a kicked dog while Crozier yells at him and I think that's when I took note of him like "ohh poor boy let me give you a hug :(" I really fell for him in the second half of the season (first mainly bc hes pretty. Im a simple woman sometimes and im not afraid to admit it) and I cannot stress this enough how much the last scene where Crozier finds him half frozen with the chains on his face has altered my brain chemistry. That was the fr the point where I was like "okay so I'll never be normal again EVER huh"

Impression Now: I love him. I love him so so much on so many layers. For one I need him biblically bc I believe I can fix his ass and his sad energy and big cow eyes have bewitched me body and soul. Matthew McNulty was born to sport mutton chops and look increasingly disheveled while on a death march in the canadian arctic. But I can't put into words how much I relate to him. I am him, he is me. Genuinely if I was put on that stupid expedition in his place I would've made all the same (bad) decisions. I can literally name two other characters in media I relate to and those are Kat from Euphoria (only the first season version and I think if I watched the show now I would throw her off this list) and Connel from Normal People (him just,, big time). They just don't make characters that messy, pathetic and sad very often!! Or I'm not watching enough tv to find them but when I saw Ned throughout the season I was like "wow I relate to him so much and idk what that says about me". I feel like I went on a tangent there but I love him he is such a dear. He tried so so hard to do right and keep things under control bc he hates chaos but he was just so overwhelmed and had to deal with Croziers shit for way too long (I'm trying to sound smart rn bc people have very nuanced but sometimes also kinda weird takes on his character. Believe me I see him as more than sad wet puppy man but I don't have the words in the english language to express that)

Favorite Moment: Any scene he's in ever? Duh?? No but if I had to pick one I'd say the dundy intervention when he finally tries to put a foot down to rescue Crozier but they all just dismiss him. The way his eyes water. I. Mmh. I think I'm obligated to name his last scene as well bc that one makes me cry everytime even if I just see a gif of it, it's just so haunting and so so sad

Idea For A Story: Oh. Uhmmmmm. I'm really not a writer so I can't come up with anything cool on top of my head except let Ned be happy and comfy and warm. Tuck him into bed and give him soup. That's all

Unpopular Opinion: I can't really tell what's an unpopular opinion bc I've seen basically every take ever on him from "he is a pushover how did he even get his job" to "he's actually a meanie with big time anger issues" so. Maybe that I think he would've been a good lieutenant with a different captain on a more chill cruise. He'd do very well keeping order and the respect of the crew if he didn't have to be the doormat and errands boy for his alcoholic captain while starving in the arctic. I'd dare say 99.9% of life on a ship was more chill than the franklin expedition so maybe he wasn't the best lieutenant ever but he would've done a good job if the stakes weren't THAT high

Favorite Relationship: Started as a Joplittle stan, became a Sojoplittle truther and now my favorite is Solittle. I love my two dog boys, I love how they parallel each other (they were narrative foils your honor). But honestly anything goes, everyone deserves a bite out of nedward <3

Favorite Headcanon: That animals love him. Saw that on my feed a few days ago and yeah, agreed. He's definitely a cat person and they just flock towards him (extended hc that jirv loves animals so so much but they just hate him for some reason. So when the ships cat sneaks in during meetings jirv tries to get her to come towards him but the cat's like "ew no church boy" and jumps into Ned's lap who pets her but also prays he won't get yelled at by Crozier for this)

[writtenjewels]

Voice part 2

Part One

Over the next few days, Salim listened to his meditation tape whenever he needed to relax. Sometimes it was only once, sometimes twice a day. His favorite time to do it was just as he was getting into bed. Listening to that charming Southern voice talk him through a massage usually eased him into sleep. He tried going to a real massage parlor, but he couldn't find one that employed Americans with Southern accents. Even if such a person existed, Salim doubted they would be willing to call him “darlin'.”

So he stuck to the tape. Sometimes when the voice spoke to him, he answered, and again he would get the sense the words were shifting to accommodate him. It was hard to know for sure because when the thought came to him, he was usually close to drifting off to sleep. He put it aside for later and by the time he woke up, he decided it wasn't really that important to worry about.

Zain came over to visit. The two of them spent as much time together as they could. Salim loved hearing about his son's success at college. There wasn't as much to say concerning Salim's own life.

[Baba, it's okay if you want to go out and find someone,] Zain told him.

[I know, son. Thank you.]

He thought about the prospect after Zain left. His boy was probably right: it was past time for Salim to put himself out there. But the idea made him nervous. His courtship with Maysa was all arranged, their outings together supervised. He put in his meditation tape, knowing it could put him at ease.

“Hey, darlin',” the Southern voice greeted him. “Been a while. You all right?”

“Yes, I'm fine. I'm thinking to start dating again.” Saying the words out loud made it feel more real.

“That so.” There was silence for a moment. “You ready for it?”

“I don't really know,” Salim sighed. “I've only ever been with my wife, and we didn't date in the way Americans do. I don't know why I'm telling you that,” he added.

“It's 'cause I'm such a good listener.” Salim laughed; he couldn't help picturing a face smirking at him playfully while saying those words. It was obvious now that this tape was not normal: its words were too specific. Unlike his son, Salim never believed in the supernatural before. He didn't know what was at work here, but it was clearly beyond the ordinary.

And he realized it didn't bother him. He liked listening to this strange tape, and its charming Southern speaker.

“Will you help me?” he asked.

“Name it,” the voice responded immediately. Salim smiled, feeling a little flutter in his chest.

“Your massages relax me.” He hesitated, feeling ridiculous as he said, “Though if you can give me any tips on what to say, I would appreciate it.”

“Fuck, I donno. Your looks will probably do most of the work.”

“Don't be ridiculous,” Salim snorted. There was silence again, and he started to get undressed for bed.

“Start with a joke,” the voice advised. “Puts 'em at ease. Then maybe a compliment.”

“All right.” Salim stretched out on his bed. “I'll try that.” He waited, but the voice was silent. “What's wrong?” he asked.

“Nothin',” the voice assured him. “Nothin's wrong, darlin'.” The massage description proceeded as usual. Though Salim found it soothing, his mind was occupied and he couldn't fall asleep easily.

He couldn't shake this feeling that the voice on the tape just lied to him.

[factcheckingmclennon]

Can you fact check This One being about John? It's an interpretation that really annoys me because I think it just comes from one rambling answer about relationships in general where he vaguely connects John and George's relationship to the song and not one where he's saying anything meaningful about his and John's relationship. I love the song and it's so outside of my interaction with it that I find the way it's accepted as McLennon fact really hard. But maybe there's a source out there I'm not aware of

oh i can answer this one immediately bc i am one of those believers (sorry anon, sob) & probably one of the folks who has annoyed you w this over on my main

but my answer is the same as it will be with pretty much Any lyric interpretation (unless it's a song that's like obviously and blatantly and said a million times to be about the other, like "here today" or "how do you sleep?") which is...

bc ultimately, as fans, we are all going to have our own interpretations of songs and that's fine! i mean, people shouldn't be repeating it as hard fact, but at the same time sometimes u just gotta breathe out & let people interpret how they will. (like i, for one, don't think "dear boy" is about john, but it's not my business if someone thinks it is)

so i will say now (& it is in my pinned, a bit), unless there's some definitive answer on a lyrics based fact-check (like, again, "here today" or "how do you sleep?"), my answer is pretty much Always gonna be neutral. but i will do on any of these types of questions is try & find both sides of the interpretation as well as any quotes from john/paul/others on the song.

so let's get into it ! i'll present both sides & try to remain as unbiased as possible but do know i Am one of the people that thinks it's about john and it's okay that you're not and it's fine that i am. we are all living in peace and harmony and mclennon here lmao

so here's the quote in question (which i'm sure you know, but for everyone else):

Interviewer: Let me ask you about one of your new songs, ‘This One’. About a marriage? Paul: A relationship, yeah. Interviewer: And about not expressing emotions and feelings.  Paul: You get those moments where you always think; "I’m saving it up. I’ll tell him one day." And you know what happens. A lot of people, John for instance, getting back to that subject. He died. Um.. I was lucky. The last few we- months that he was alive we’d managed to get our relationship back on track. We were talking, having real good conversations. Real, nice and friendly. George, actually, didn’t get get his relationship right. I think they were arguing ‘till the end, which I’m sure is a source of great sadness to him. And I’m sure in the feeling of this song that George was always planning to tell John he loved him, but time ran out. That’s what the song’s about. Like, there could never be a better moment than this one. Y’ know now. Take this moment to say… "I love you."

(source) (again, an archived blog, but it's audio so i'm using it as a legit source)

argument for it being about john

well, to start with, paul immediately answers with "i'll tell him one day" which, regardless of if it's about john, is a very blatantly queer answer. maybe a slip of the tongue, who knows, but there's not much question at the least that this song is romantic. so paul saying it's about a "him" is very interesting, even if it's not john. (edit: given the youtube video linked below, it can also be heard as "them". i still don't hear "them" or think it's continuous, but that is one interpretation & hearing of this interview and it's a valid one!)

second, he does connect it to george and john's relationship, but he does it in a way that's just again connecting the song to him and john. he says "i'm sure in the feeling of this song that george (...etc)" which is just him saying he thinks george can relate to the feeling of the song.

and ofc back to the beginning of the quote, right after saying "i'll tell him one day" he says "a lot of people, john for instance (...)" which is just connecting that sentence to john. he goes on to say they got their relationship right, but then at the end loops back around to saying the song is about regretting not saying "i love you", which we know from "here today" and other paul quotes he does deeply regret not saying to john. so an Entire Song about that regret is not like. unfeasible to be about john.

i will say, i at least think this song is about more than one thing. he says here it's about that type of relationship he had with john (or the nebulous "him" who i mean. who else would that be? tara?) and then he does also talk about how he had fun w the storytelling w the word play on "this swan" and the hindu imagery. (edit: also with the full context of the youtube video below, this is even more relevant, because paul also talks about family and a "her". imo, it's more than likely a song about many people/relationships. some people think that one of those is john, myself included!)

argument for it not being about john

like you said, it is a bit of a rambling answer! and saying it's about john IS just an interpretation. paul saying "him" could've been a slip of the tongue, or maybe he had some other romantic relationship with a man we're not privy to, or maybe he did completely mean all those lines platonically and it's about various men he's been friends with or even john in a platonic way.

he does also connect the song to george and john, so it could be about that. i've also seen someone posit that here he is trying to reach out to george in his own way- thinking george must have the same regrets as him with john & thus this is his attempt to repair that relationship before they have those regrets with each other too.

and ofc, it could just be a totally hypothetical song. he never says it's about his own life, and he does include a lot of fictional imagery about a swan in this song. he could just be telling a story he doesn't necessarily relate to.

edit: there is also a full youtube video (time mark for part of this interview comes at 59:51). in the video, paul also mentions parents as someone you might regret not telling how you feel. following another edited clip, he says the "I’m saving it up. I’ll tell him/them one day," line, which can also be read as a "them" referring to parents rather than a "him". he also mentions a "her" in this interview as well, which adds credence to the fact that this song is about many types of relationships/people and this doesn't necessarily mean it's about john at all. or that if it is, it's romantic, since he mentions parents as well.

[folkwhore1998]

I just don't understand...

how you don't miss me in the black dog

I had no idea what to expect with this album. Taylor's brand is "never let them know your next move"

So, was it going to be more of a folklore/evermore/red vibe? Or was it going to be pop in the way midnights was? I did not think it was going to be straight up pop, but you just never know. I don't have cable so it can be really hard for me to watch award shows in real time, so I pulled a few strings so I could stream the grammys and thank god I did. I could not believe the album announcement and I was honestly gagged about the whole thing.

Now... This is a devastatingly beautiful album and is so vulnerable and raw.

The Prophecy... she literally said "I will go bankrupt. I will give up everything because I am hurting so much I need someone to tell me things are going to be okay and I don't care what I have to do to get this confirmation/assurance. I just want someone to love me the way I love them and I don't care about the superficial things." and she was so real for that.

The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived... the first time I listened to it was like 12:30 AM on album release night/day, and I was yaknow, chilling, listening. and then we hit the bridge... my jaw hit the floor. I literally shot up in bed and was like "holy fuck." when i thought the song was wrapping up, it just kept going. Obviously I had to listen to it again right after it ended. (and I am NOT mad about it. I feel this song in my bones) ((My fiance was also dead asleep during all of this and I made him listen to it at like 10 AM the following day))

(peace: i'll die for you in secret ➜ TSMWEL: i would have died for your sins) ((actually screaming crying vomiting idk))

My favorite part of when she sings this on the eras tour is when she says "hey.. give this message to the smallest man who ever lived" and then turns to the audience and starts singing the bridge. She's like "Yup- heres this message, and another thing- fuck you!" literally incredible. i have an emotional attachment to this song. I could write an essay and honestly, maybe I will.

It's so funny to me because every time Taylor puts out a new album, there are some songs that I hear where i'm like "WOW. This is it. This is the song. She summed up my entire experience in a way I never could. I don't know how much more accurate she could get." And then she comes out with some insane song that keeps the cycle going.

(it's the cycle that keeps on giving and the cycle that keeps me alive! no, seriously. when i was in the hospital at one point in my life, i was asked everyday "and what is something you want to live for?" my answer: my cat and taylor swift's music")

All of this to say... I am so happy I was/am medicated when this album came out.

Here is my ranking of the Tortured Poets Department! (This was incredibly difficult because all of the songs are just so good. Noting that I don't think that any song is a bad song.)

The Black Dog

The Smallest Man

The Prophecy

How Did It End?

Guilty As Sin

My Boy Only Breaks His Favorite Toys

loml (but sometimes it changes places- just depends on the day, but it never goes lower)

Fresh Out The Slammer

But, Daddy I Love Him

Who's Afraid of Little Old Me?

So Long, London

Down Bad

I Can Do It With A Broken Heart

So High School

I Hate It Here

TTPD

Fortnight

Chloe or Sam or Sophia or Marcus

Peter

Cassandra

Flordia!!!

The Alchemy

The Bolter

thanK you aIMee (thank You aimEe)

Clara Bow

The Albatross

The Manuscript

imgonnagetyouback

I Look In People's Windows

Robin

I Can Fix Him (no really I can)

Honorable mentions:

CHILLS

I was so shocked (I watched on a grainy livestream)

When I say I sobbed, I'm not joking. I texted my sister and said "You need to get on this livestream RIGHT NOW.

Check out these small businesses:

Here is the link to a down bad t-shirt: So good for the gym and its a comfort colors t-shirt!

Direct link to the storefront: They have so many cool items!

Check out the link: It's a TTPD vinyl/cd holder and it is actually the coolest thing I've ever seen (I will be purchasing)

Direct link to the storefront: There are a few different options! Check them out!

@taylorswift @taylornation @taylorswift @taylornation

[tia-amorosa]

Episode 17: Inner Fire

Pascal went into his room. Cassandra was having a conversation with little Tycho there. “Well, you two, are you getting on well?"/ ”Oh, of course. I didn't know he was so, so…"/ ‘Exceptional?’/ ‘Yes, I mean, he's learning at breakneck speed, especially when it comes to language’/ ”Yes, he loves that. He just struggles a bit with learn walking”.

“Well, with one it's quicker, with the other it takes longer. How did the conversation go?“/”Well, Friedbert wouldn't mind if we took Alecia in. But since nothing is ever done here alone, we still have to talk to Lazlo. Just not today,“/”could he have something against it?“/”No, not so much. I think he's just in a bit of a hormonal overdrive at the moment and that puts him in a bad mood from time to time, hehe”.

“hey, my boy, that's enough storytelling for today, do you hear me?“/”It's stupid to always go to bed so early“/”believe me, time will pass so quickly, then you'll be grown up and can stay awake until dawn, as far as I'm concerned. You'll outlive me anyway, for a very long time“/”Doesn't that make you sad, Pascal?“/”Oh nonsense, he'll see things that I could only dream of so far”.

8:39 pm. It's still daylight outside and Lazlo is in his room at the computer. “Why didn't I look at your profile much earlier? Pascal has been praising you to the skies all this time. I thought, what's an old scarecrowr coming? And then it's… An angel”.

A little later. ”,Oh, hey…“/,,Hi…”/,,Sorry about this afternoon…“/”No, I should have just… Never mind. You've only been here for 24 hours. Actually, I don't even know you and you don't know me“”/ “Yes, that's right.”/ “Maybe that can be changed while you're here?”"/ ‘Yes, that would be nice, I know the least about you so far…’.

“yes, I don't know about you either, so far I've always been totally bored when Pascal talked about you, so I haven't bothered to do much research on you"/ ”aah chuckle. If you want to find out something about me, just ask…"/ ”I will. Are you going to bed?“/”Yes, well… Good night, Lazlo“/”Good night… Cassandra”.

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

The next morning. Cassandra had slept longer again. Good morning, everyone. So, I thought, if you can all walk around here in your pyjamas, then I can too. That's okay, isn't it?“/ ,,uh, yeah, sure…”/ “fff, fine by me”/ “Fine… Tell me, can you actually have fun here? is there something like a meeting place or something?”/ “Well, we have a small casino. But it's nothing special"/ ‘really? I like casinos’.

“Have you ever been to a casino?"/ ”No, but I've seen a lot about them. And you?“/”yes, only I haven't just won the jackpot“/”keep at it, you'll get it one day“/”believe me… Sometimes you're so close to a jackpot…and then someone else gets it“/”how unfair, hn-hn“/”yeah… Totally unfair”. At that moment, Lazlo was quite happy that she didn't notice the irony behind it. He could hardly take his eyes off her. The thought of someone else being allowed to touch and kiss her made his stomach ache… somehow.

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

After breakfast, “Nice of you to show up for breakfast, you missed dinner”/ “No, I'd already eaten and didn't want to bring my mood to the table”/ “Are you in a better mood now? We need to talk about something soon, the four of us"/ ‘with Cassandra?’/ ‘No, with Alecia’/ ‘Oh, the little doll, has she done something bad?’/ ‘No’.

“What about her then?” / “hh, okay, not to make it too complicated: she doesn't have parents anymore and lives in a orphanage where the circumstances are more than not fair for her. She needs a stable environment and…“/,,Should she move in here?”/ ,,Well, that's primarily up to you, whether you agree to it and whether the youth welfare office will allow us to take care of her”… Short silence…” I'll think about it”.

Cassandra cleared away the rest of the dishes. And she noticed it… Every glance he gave her, no matter how fleeting, felt like a tiny little drill bit penetrating her and triggering a strange feeling in her. But she ignored it and concentrated on something else. Washing the dishes. And she mentally prepared herself for the next few hours in the lab.

A little later. The boys want to set off with Cassandra. Pascal wanted to talk to Alecia first. “Why did you call me today, I thought you didn't need me anymore?"/ ‘That's nonsense, I need you and Tycho too’/ ‘And what about the woman outside?’ she asked him almost indifferently. “That's a colleague and she doesn't stay here for long.”

“A colleague? Also in science?"/Yes, she's here because we have to help her with something important. And she has her own room. My… My sweetie, you really don't have to worry, okay?"/ ”All right. When do you have time again… for me?“/”Well, if we can get some formalities through, then maybe a lot soon“/”,what… what does that mean exactly?”.

“Well, it hasn't been decided at all yet, but… We want to try to get a guardianship for you so that you can get out of the orphanage"/ ‘r-really, I can live with you?’/ ”Well, me and Friedbert think that's a good thing, Lazlo still has to give his consent. And then we still have to deal with the authorities“/”oh man, that would be so great”. Her voice sounded expectant, which made him smile. “Mmm. But I have to go now.” Pascal reached the car in which the others were about to leave just in time. And Alecia took care of the little alien boy as usual. But this time with more tummy tingling.

@greenplumbboblover , @solorisims , @plumbobgothica 🙂

[jjmbbg]

Father-son's Day

(Disclaimer: John is fourteen years-old)

It had been a while since John joined them, and while the brat —as arthur sometimes called him, to annoy him— didn't really get along with the rest at first, there was something special between him and Hosea.

Maybe it was because he was the first to feed him, or the first to offer him a change of clean, dry clothes after taking him to the town to take a hot shower (something John never had to tell the truth), or because he was the first in going to him when he was hurt or looked noticeably sad.

Whatever it was, John had a certainly different affection for Matthews, and the truth is that neither Arthur, nor Dutch saw themselves capable of discussing it.

Now, on a day like any other, while Arthur was wandering through the forest trying to hunt some animal and Dutch was in the town nearby doing whatever God knows, John was frowning trying to write very long words without spelling mistakes (Hosea scolded him for writing an "E" backwards).

Next to him, the adult was reading a book while he occasionally leafed through what Marston wrote down to corroborate his progress.

— It's with "b", not with "v" —he corrected him, pointing out the third word.

— Shit —John huffed, frowning again.

— Hey, vocabulary, John. Where did you hear those words?

— From Arthur —he murmured, crossing out the word and writing it correctly next to it.— I'm getting bored. Can't we do something else?

— Finish the other words and we'll do something else, okay?

— 'Kay.

John continued writing, and uttering the occasional insult, being scolded for the latter.

— I'll tell Arthur to stop swearing in front of you —Hosea said, or maybe to himself, John wasn't sure, sometimes the older man talked to himself.

— I finished! —he exclaimed happily.

— Well, first I must see if you wrote correctly.

John snorted and crossed his arms, watching every facial expression on Hosea at every word. A few seconds later a smile formed on his lips.

— Just one spelling mistake, you're improving, son —he congratulated him. John smiled too, not believing it.— Well, you said you wanna do something fun? —the young man nodded.— Go get the rods, we will bring the most enormous fish you have ever seen in your life.

If John's smile could get bigger, here it is. Excited, he got up from the chair and ran in search of the canes, even colliding with Arthur, who arrived with some rabbits in his hand.

— I'm sorry! —the minor apologized.

— And what's wrong with the brat now? —Morgan asked him, raising an eyebrow.

— We'll go fishing. And don't call him that.

— The brat's gonna drown.

— From the shore, Arthur. And don't make fun of him, you didn't know how to swim either at his age.

Something that was never lacking in Hosea is that he was always going to defend John from Arthur and vice versa, sometimes they attacked each other and Hosea was the mediator. And with strangers I don't even explain it, even someone gives one of those two a dirty look and that someone would already be dead.

Hosea would do anything for them, for his sons.

— I have them! Come on! —he yelled from the other side of the camp.

Hosea stood up and said goodbye to Morgan with a soft, short nod. He climbed onto his horse and helped John get on, beginning the journey towards the river that was half an hour from the camp.

— Do you think we'll catch something huge?

— We are in good times, surely yes.

— And will we catch many?

— That's the idea —Hosea answered looking at the trees.— Maybe tomorrow we could try to cut down a tree.

— Oh really? —the emotion in Marston's voice was noticeable.— That would be great.

When they reached the river, they positioned themselves to the side with the reeds.

— Hosea... can I ask you something?

— You know you can —he smiled at him.

— Does Arthur hate me?

— He doesn't hate you, John. His way of showing affection is like that.

— He's not mean with you —the boy murmured.— Only with me... and I understand that he doesn't love me, but I don't know... it's different when he makes it clear to me.

— He loves you.

— Has he told you? —he questioned angrily. The silence was enough.— Of course not. I want him to like me, but I don't know how to do it.

— He is a tough nut to crack.

— Arthur is not a nut...

Matthews laughed, he had forgotten that John didn't fully understand metaphors.

— It's a way of saying, I mean it's difficult to get into his heart, but that doesn't make it impossible. Keep insisting.

— It's just... I'm getting tired of insisting —he admitted.

— You'll find out the way, I assure you.

— Okay- Oh! Look! —he shouted when something seemed to grab the bait from his rod.— What do I do?!

— Keep calm first —Hosea said, pulling his rod out of the water. He approached John.— Now, spin the reel slowly... like this... very good John, and now a little faster. Excellent!

— It's huge! —Marston shouted excitedly.— Are we going to take it?

— Sure.

After catching that one, John wanted to stay for hours doing it, catching too many and letting the little ones go. When the sky began to darken, they decided to make the return trip.

While Hosea was telling the horse where to go, he felt John heavier than usual, he turned his head to look over his shoulder and saw him asleep, leaning on his back.

An involuntary smile decorated his lips.

— You had a busy day, mhm —he murmured, more to himself than to John.

[bjfinn]

TRUTH OR DARE

"BJ, honey -- what's wrong?" Delia asked. "You haven't been your usual -- energetic self lately."

Beej shrugged. "I don't know," he said. "Something's going on with Lydia -- she's been acting weird around me. Like she's ... scared of me. But why would she be scared of me? She's my BFFFF."

"Are you sure it's about you?" Delia suggested. "Maybe it's something else."

The demon shook his head. "No, it's about me -- every time she sees me she gets nervous -- she tries to cover it up, but I can tell."

"Have you asked her?"

"Every time I try, she manages to sidestep the question -- either she says that she just has something on her mind, or she doesn't have time to talk right now but maybe later. I'm starting to wonder if she doesn't wanna be my friend any more.

"If I lose her friendship, I'll hafta leave," he said, wiping a tear from his eye. "I'll lose everybody, and I'll be alone again. But if she doesn't tell me what's wrong, how can I make it better?"

Delia gathered him in her arms. "You're not going to lose anybody," she told him. "You're family -- I promise.

"Look," she said, holding him by the shoulders, "sometimes even the best relationships go through a ... a rough patch. But you have to believe that the two of you will get through it. Tell you what -- I'll see if I can get Lydia to talk about what's going on. Until then, just believe in your friendship. Okay?"

"Okay, I'll try," Beej said with a sniff. "Thanks, Mom."

"That's my boy," Delia said, trying her best to smooth the purple out of his hair with her hands. "Now, how about some art therapy?"

*****

"What's going on with our daughter and, uh ... son?" Charles asked, still not quite used to referring to the demon with that term.

"I'm sure it's nothing," Delia replied. "Lydia's been acting strange around BJ, and he thinks she's suddenly become afraid of him."

"Well, he is a demon."

"But he's making such wonderful progress! I know he's 'evil' and all that --" she rolled her eyes dramatically "-- but inside he's just a very lonely, traumatised person who hasn't been properly socialised. He's like a ... a puppy that's been abused and neglected all his life."

"Unlife," Charles corrected.

"And Lydia has been through a lot this past year -- losing her mother, adjusting to a new home, a new school -- not to mention me, two ghosts and a demon joining the family! And then Emily coming back ... It's no wonder she's been different lately."

Charles looked at his wife and sighed. "I know you have a plan to fix this."

"Not just yet," she said. "But I'm working on it."

*****

Lydia knew she was hurting Beej -- it was the last thing she wanted to do, but she couldn't help it. Ever since she'd had that dream, she couldn't stop wondering what he was actually capable of. Could he really be powerful enough to destroy the entire universe? He was a demon, after all.

But he was also her friend -- her big brother. And he loved her. But could that mean that he'd rather destroy everything than let her be disappointed?

She flopped down on her bed with a sigh.

"I wish I knew what to do," she said aloud. "I can't ask him -- how would I know if he was telling the truth, or just trying to make me feel better?" I wonder if there's a spell or something that could let me know when he's lying ...

She went over to her bookcase and pulled out a couple of volumes on the occult that she'd bought in the second-hand shop in town. Gotta love New England's fascination with demons and witchcraft, she thought, chuckling to herself, as she opened the first one.

There was a knock on her door. "Lydia?"

Delia opened the door and stepped inside. "Lydia? I think we should talk."

"Look, I know I've been acting kinda weird lately," the girl said defensively. "I just have some ... stuff I gotta figure out."

"BJ thinks you don't want to be his friend any more."

Lydia bit her lip, her eyes glistening with sudden tears. "Of course I do! He's my best friend -- my big brother! I love him! I just -- I ..." Her lower lip began to tremble.

Delia went over to her and put her arms around her step-daughter. "What is it? What's wrong, honey?"

Lydia shook her head. "I-it's ... it's stupid."

"What is it?" Delia asked. "Tell me -- maybe I can help."

"I ... I had a dream," Lydia began. "I ... I dreamt that Beej went to the Netherworld to bring my mom back for good, but when he couldn't, he got so angry that he destroyed the universe."

"Oh, dear!" Delia said. "Well, I can see why that upset you. How did he do it?"

"You know how he can't say his own name? Because of the geis Juno put on him? In the dream he broke the curse and said it."

"And that destroyed the universe? I thought if he said it it would only exorcise him."

"I thought so, too -- but what if that's not true? What if he's not just a low-level demon like he says? What if ... what if he's powerful enough to end everything?" She wiped her eyes with the heel of her hand. "What if one day ... I'm the reason he does?"

*****

After Delia left, Lydia returned to her books -- she had to find some way to ensure that Beej would tell her the truth.

"There's gotta be something ..." she muttered.

She went through book after book, but found nothing -- the closest she got was a spell that would reveal whether or not the object of one's affections felt the same way.

Stifling a scream of frustration, she flopped back down on her bed. She knew that, without some kind of truth-binding spell, Beej would be inclined to lie just to ease her mind.

"I know he would," she said to herself. "That's how much he loves me."

She began to cry. She hated the idea of using a spell to force him to be honest -- it felt like a betrayal -- but she couldn't think of any other way.

*****

"Are you sure he'd lie?" Adam asked when Lydia went to the Maitlands for advice.

"This is Beej we're talking about, remember?"

"I just meant that it seems like something he'd wanna brag about."

"Not if it makes Lydia -- or the rest of us -- scared of him," Barbara pointed out. "He likes having everyone think of him as this evil creature from Hell, but we all know it's just an act. What he really wants is to be loved."

"Exactly," Lydia agreed. "Even if he is powerful enough to destroy the entire universe, he'd never admit it -- it'd ruin everything for him."

"Good point," Adam conceded.

"I checked every book I have about witchcraft and demonology looking for a spell that would make him tell the truth, but there's nothing. I was hoping maybe you guys could come up with some idea?"

"Well, we know threats and intimidation won't work," Barbara said wryly.

"Sex might, but ..." Adam shuddered at the thought. "I mean, I love the guy, but he's really, uh ... grody."

"Grody?" Lydia said, giving Adam a pointed look. "Okay, boomer."

"Ouch."

"What about ... a game?" Barbara suggested. "We all know how competitive he is -- what about a game of Truth or Dare?"

"That's a great idea, Bunny!" Adam exclaimed. "If he doesn't tell the truth, he forfeits the game!"

Lydia sighed and shrugged. "I guess it's worth a shot."

*****

"Okay," Beej said. "Now it's your turn -- truth or dare?"

"Dare -- no, truth! Okay, no, make it a dare."

"You sure?" Beej said.

Lydia nodded. "I'm sure. Just -- nothing too bad, okay?"

Beej bit his lip, thinking. Then his eyes widened and he grinned. "Got it!" he said. "You're always sayin' I'm gross for eating bugs, so ..." He held out his hand -- in his palm were two large black ants with swollen abdomens the colour of gold.

Lydia gulped nervously. "You want me to ... eat them?"

"Nah," Beej said. "I need one for demonstration purposes!" And with his other hand he picked up one of the ants by the thorax, brought it to his mouth and bit down on the swollen back part.

"Now you."

Lydia gingerly picked up the remaining ant and bit off the abdomen like the demon had shown her. She winced at the taste of formic acid, but then her eyes flew open as her mouth filled with --

"Honey! " she gasped.

Beej nodded, grinning. "They're called honeypot ants," he told her. "They're from Australia. The aborigines love 'em!"

"Okay, your turn -- truth or dare?"

"Dare," Beej said.

Lydia was a bit disappointed -- she'd hoped he'd pick truth. What could she dare a demon to do? "Hmmm -- let's see ... oh, I know! You have to sing the song."

"What song?"

"The song -- the one you hate."

"Ah, come on!" he protested. "You're kidding me, right?"

"Nope," she said. "That's the dare -- do it, or forfeit the game."

"Okay, okay," he grumbled. He cleared his throat, rolled his eyes and began to sing:

You are my sunshine, my only sunshine

You make me happy when skies are grey

You'll never know, dear, how much I love you

Please don't take my sunshine away

He grimaced and retched comically. He glared at Lydia as she applauded.

"So -- truth or dare?" he asked.

"Truth," Lydia replied.

"You gotta talk to me," he said. "You gotta tell me what's wrong. Why don't you wanna hang out with me any more? Did I do something? What did I do? Please tell me so I can fix it." His lower lip was trembling, and hot tears spilled down his cheeks as he looked at her.

Lydia scooted over and sat beside him, putting an arm around his shoulders. "Hey," she said. "Hey! You're still my friend, okay?"

"Then why are you avoiding me?"

She lowered her gaze. "Yeah, I-I'm sorry about that. I've just had a lot of stuff on my mind."

"Stuff about me."

"No! Well, okay -- yeah. But you didn't do anything wrong, I promise." She sighed. "It's just ... when my mom came back, and then she died again, you said that nothing was gonna stop you from bringing her back for good."

"And I meant it," he told her. "I still do -- I just haven't figured out how yet. Is that why you're acting different? Because I haven't brought your mom back yet? 'Cause I will -- I swear."

"No, that's not why," Lydia said. "Truth is, I ... I don't really want you to. I mean, yeah, I want you to, but that's not the way things are supposed to be. I've already had two chances to see her again, right? That's two more than anybody else gets."

She sighed again. "The thing is ... a couple of weeks ago I had a dream."

"A dream?"

"Yeah," she said with a nod. "I dreamt that you went to the Netherworld to find her -- you were so angry, threatening everybody in Processing, and then you went outside and you were wandering the streets, trying to think of something. And then you met a demon -- his name was Arjit -- and he said he could take you to someone who could help."

"Arjit?" Beej shook his head. "Don't know anyone by that name. What kind of demon was he?"

"A ... rashasha, I think? Is that a thing?"

Beej nodded. "Rakshasa? Yeah," he said. "They're Hindu demons. Most of 'em are bad news, but some are decent."

Lydia continued recounting the details of her dream, and when she finished, neither of them said anything for a long moment.

"I know it was just a dream, but -- I don't know ... maybe my visit to the Netherworld made me able to tune in to ... something." She laughed nervously. "But that's crazy, right? I can't really have prophetic dreams -- can I?"

Beej scoffed. "Pfft! What? You? A prophet??? No way, José!"

"Okay, but ... just how powerful are you?"

"Powerful enough to do this!" he replied, and began tickling her.

Lydia shrieked with laughter, trying her best to get away, but it was no use -- the demon was merciless in his attack, having sprouted two extra arms for the job. "Stop! STOP!!! I ... I ... can't ... breathe ..."

Beej stopped then, his extra limbs receding, and grinned at his best friend. "Feel better?" he asked.

"You're a monster!" she replied, but the bright smile on her face told him that she was okay. That they were okay.

"Look," he said, "most dreams are bullshit -- your mind telling itself fucked-up stories while you sleep. You had a dream about the Netherworld and you got a couple of things right about it because you've been there. And me destroying the universe? Hey, I'm a big, scary demon, right? Naturally there's some part of you that wonders if I could. Or would. But I can't break the geis. And I promise that I wouldn't destroy everything even if I could," he added solemnly.

"Yeah," she conceded. "I guess you're right -- it was just a dream." She looked at him and smiled. "But you're wrong about one thing," she said.

"What's that?"

"You're not big and scary," she told him.

"Whaddya mean I'm not big and scary???" Beej scowled comically in mock indignation. "I'll show you big and scary!" And he lunged at her for another tickle attack.

Lydia, however, was prepared for it this time -- she leapt to her feet and fled, laughing, out the door. Beej chased her down the stairs and stopped on the bottom step, where he leaned forward, hands on his knees, panting heavily. He held up a finger as he tried to catch his breath. "Just ... just give me ... give me a moment ..."

Lydia giggled. "Yeah, you're right," she said. "You couldn't destroy the universe -- you're too out of shape!"

"I'm in shape!" he countered. "Round is a shape!"

"Round is a nice shape for a big brother," she agreed, and hugged him.

"So we're okay?" the demon asked.

"We're okay," Lydia told him, squeezing him tightly before letting him go. "Hey, how 'bout we spend the day together, just the two of us?"

"Really?"

"Yeah," Lydia said. "It's been a while -- I think it's time we reconnect. Grab your camera -- let's go down to the river."

"I'd like that," he replied, grinning.

[stubz]

House of Gold

They were playing heroes or as Mark called it "training" for when he would inherit Nolan's powers. Secretly she was hoping that he wouldn't get them for quite some time, she knew Nolan wouldn't ever make him do anything, he was 6 for crying out loud! But Cecil was another story.

She was attacked by the evil Doctor Pain, Nolan's face at being dragged into this would make her laugh for weeks, and was just rescued by Omni-Boy.

Now the evil Doctor Pain was inside making lunch as punishment for kidnapping Omni-Boy's mom while the two of them were sitting in the backyard.

"Mom?"

"Yes hon?"

"Do you think I'll be as strong as Dad when I get my powers?"

"I don't know," she truly didn't. From what Nolan said there was a chance that he wouldn't get any powers. "But what I do know is that you'll be just as brave as him. And kind, and gentle, and-"

"And famous!" She laughed, pulling him into a hug. "I'll be so famous I'll have my own action figure and movie! And I'll be rich!"

"Well then. Omni-boy, will you buy me a house of gold? And when your famous will you still take care of me when I grow old?" she teased.

"Yeah! No, even better! I'll make you queen everything so that you'll also be famous." he sounded so sure that she believed him for a moment.

"Queen of everything?"

"Yeah, you can rule the world and make everyone nice so that no one will ever be evil ever again. But if they do then I'll beat them up and throw them to outer space! I'll protect you."

"And what about me?" Nolan hovered over them holding a tray of sandwhiches.

"You can also be mom's bodyguard!"

"Why not king?"

"But mom's the boss."

She laughed and they ate their lunch on the grass. She smiled as she watched Nolan trying to wipe Mark's face clean of the mayonnaise and mustard on his face. Mark whined and squirmed but she could see the smile he was fighting off.

Maybe she didn't need a house of gold or be the Queen of everything. All she really needed was her husband and son.

She knew that something was going on with Mark but no matter how much hinting and prodding she did he wouldn't talk to her. Hopefully Nolan was doing better.

"Mom?" he poked his head in. She hated how small and quiet he sounded, like he was 6 again and had a nightmare rather than 14.

"Come here." She hated how weak she sounded. Hated how sad he looked whenever he saw her. Hated that she wished it was anyone else who was in her position. Goddamn you cancer. God-f*cking-damn you.

For a while they just stayed quiet. Mark holding her as gently as he could, Debbie holding him as tightly as she could.

"...how's training with dad?"

"...good, I can land now."

"Well thank god for that, I don't have to worry about my garden anymore now." his ghost of a smile is small victory for her.

"Yeah...I, its...good."

"Honey, what's wrong?"

"Nothing." she lets go of his back to hold his face in her hands. Thumbs rubbing up and down under his eyes, right hand smooths back his hair, eyes looking down at him nothing but all the love she has for him. Just like when he was little.

Just like he was little he crumples and gives in to her silent ask of trust.

"I just, its just, how can I be a hero when I can't even save you," at last the first tear falls and his last attempt of staying strong breaks. "I have these powers a-and so does dad but, but what good are they if you can't be saved." he buries is face in her chest. Wet with tears that just won't stop.

"Oh, Mark, oh sweetheart."

"I said I'd protect you! Your supposed to be with me, your supposed to embarrass me with dad when I get a girlfriend! Your supposed to teach me how to drive! Your supposed to live!" she's crying now too.

"I'm sorry. I know its not fair honey, God I know. But, but sometimes that's just life...I wish I could tell you that I know everything is gonna be alright but I can't. I can't but I can tell you this. I'm not giving up, okay? You look at me when I'm talking Mark Grayson."

She forces his face up and looks at him. 14 years old and he's learning how to fly. 14 years old and he's training to be the next Omni-Man. 14 years old and his mom is dying. At 14 years old he should be learning about algebra, training for soccer, with a mom who's not dying.

"I'm not giving up and your not either. Your not allowed to give up. Even when I'm gone your not allowed to."

" . . . I won't. I'll save you, I'll cure you of disease."

Neither of them notice Nolan standing outside the hospital room listening in. And not anyone, Nolan included, noticed the way his fists clench nor the red of his eyes.

The last thing Debbie Grayson saw was her son and husband standing over her crying.

The last thought going through her head wasn't her love for them. Nor was it regret. And most certainly not fear of what would happen next.

It was the thought that this was the first time she's ever seen her husband cry.

The first thing Debbie saw was her son and husband hovering over her crying.

The first thought going through her head was how heavy Mark had gotten.

The second thought was a sense of deja-vu. The third thought was to register what Mark was saying.

"I did it mom, I did it. I saved you. I cured you of disease."

"Wha." she really needed some water.

Nolan helped prop her up and handed her some water. He kept his hand on her lap.

"My people, the Viltrumites, saved you. We now have the power to cure any disease, you and Earth will never be sick again."

The days after were strange but happy. Apparently she couldn't receive the cure for quite some time, 5 years to be exact, and had to be frozen.

Mark and Nolan visited her everyday for as long as they could but as per an agreement with Grand Regent Thragg they must aid them with their enemies. Enemies that Nolan vaguely talks about and Mark waves off as nothing.

She asks where Cecil is as well as the Guardians of the Globe. Nolan says they've been relocated. She asks Mark about William and any other friends he has. He says William is good and he sees them everyday and briefly talks about a group of people he's trying to bring over their side.

Finally she's discharged and is brought to a mansion with staff and nurses. Nolan refuses to let her stay anywhere else, she deserves the best. Mark smiles, teasing her about how would she prefer a house of gold.

There are things she still finds odd. How the staff freeze up and quiver whenever someone makes a mistake. How they never touch her more than they have to and never make eye-contact with her. How they bow to Nolan, Mark, and the people wearing white bodysuits.

How she can't watch the news or anything that came out after 2021.

She confronts her family about it and wishes she didn't as she looks at the screens showing the state of world. Their city in ruins. People lying dead in the streets. Ships sinking in the Atlantic Ocean. The world burning and it's all because of her.

"After you...died Dad told me more the Viltrumites and how they could cure you. At first I didn't want to do it but I told you I wouldn't give up and so I didn't.

I know it looks bad but its not really. We make it as painless as possible for those who refuse to join and treat those who do with kindness and respect.

We never kill anyone under 18 or pregnant and take in the kids we find and...hey, don't cry mom. Look at Melissa."

Melissa, her cook, the only one brave enough to talk to her.

"She was hurt by one of our patrols and as an apology we took her in, we gave her food, shelter, medical aide, a home. And now she has an income, wife, and two beautiful children. All because of us."

She's sobbing now and would be on the floor if not for Nolan holding her. Holding her so gently and lovingly with the same hands that have killed millions.

Her son, her baby boy, with a head count in the thousands kneels before her and takes her hands into his. She used to be able to cover both of his with her own.

He smiles her a bright cheery grin that has his eyes twinkle.

"You asked me to buy you a house of gold, I got you one. You asked me if I'll take care of you when you grow old, I will protect you and care for you forever. I said I'd cure you of disease and now I say I'll cure you of your mortality. I said I'd make you Queen of everything and I meant it," he stands as Nolan gently places a fur shawl on her shoulders. "You can make everything here even better and you, me, and dad can live ever after happily."

They hold her close. Both of them smiling and feeling content while utterly oblivious to the turmoil of guilt and fear Debbie Grayson feels towards her husband and son.