#relationship rewrite

[disventure-rewrite-takes]

As a Jake kinnie and supporter, an Aiden enjoyer, and Jakeden shipper- deadass the story would be more exciting if they dated.

Hear me out- Tom x Jake? It’s cute, but it honestly feels a little empty. If ONC wanted to focus on the Jam ship, they should’ve added more. The stupid “will they won’t they” should not be in my indie gay show!!

James x Aiden- nothing. No seasoning. No spice. No chemistry. Just fanservice. In my opinion, it doesn’t help that the first kiss they ever had was a little non-consensual. Aiden agreed to kiss him for like 2 seconds- not 10. Aiden was probably really uncomfortable considering that he didn’t like James at the time. Plus James’ entire personality is “Aiden” and “Social media” it feels like he’s an NPC.

So what if in DCAS Aiden used to love James, he really did. But recently, every kiss feels fake, every hug feels fabricated. James still loves Aiden, but Aiden doesn’t feel the same anymore. Getting back into the show was perfect! Maybe he could have the privacy to talk to Lake, maybe the spark between him and James would relight! But as soon as Aiden walks onto the plane, he spots Jake. Aiden LOVED Jake in season one- so he has a little fanboy crush as is. James gets voted off, and Aiden doesn’t really feel that upset, if anything he’s a little glad he won’t have to act super lovey dovey. He had a conversation with Lake before she gets voted off, and she basically tells him “It’s okay to not be in love anymore. Things happen, you should just be honest with him and break things off when the show is over.”

Jake on the other hand gets jealous of Tom and Aiden hanging out- but this time.. it’s not because of Tom. Jake is jealous that Tom is hanging out with this cute boy. Jake tells himself that he’s jealous of Aiden, as Jake has slowly begun to realize that him and Tom just might not be meant to be and he needs to move the fuck on. Eventually, Jake starts to realize that he’s thinking more and more about Aiden and tells this to Ashley- and she basically says “Well it sounds like you got a crush on Aiden, not Tom.” Jake understands this now- but because he’s bad with his feelings, he still acts kinda passive aggressive with Aiden. Yet he can’t help but joke around with him sometimes. When the merge happens and Connor gives everyone the speech, Jake realizes that he should be more honest with Aiden. So Jake and Aiden start to develop a friendship! Episode 13- the superhero one! At the end of the challenge! Make Aiden kiss Jake in the moment!! Because over the course of the show- Aiden was like “God Jake is so pretty” and then their friendship arc made him go “God Jake is so cool” then after the challenge- Jake and Aiden talk to each other- and become a couple.

This adds more to Jake’s character! He’s finally in a relationship that isn’t based off looks, they have chemistry, they have a genuine relationship arc and not that “will they won’t they” bullcrap. Then when Aiden gets voted off! Jake is like “I need to win this for me, AND Aiden!”

Also the moment when Jake finds out James is his helper in the final challenge? That “James.. oh g o d” is so much funnier because Jake and Aiden are dating now. And Jake has no idea about how James feels about that. (Don’t worry they establish that James and Aiden break up in the motel episode- James is sad but he understands)

hey hey hey as a big jakeden fan i am NODDINGGGGGGG

this is my own personal bias but i'd love to add james to their relationship anyways, jajames enemies to lovers is SO FUNNY - but i can totally get behind just jakeden. seriously they had so much chemistry.

i think i would change the kiss though, i'd let them get a kiss just maybe in the finale, granted that jake is in it. just so everything is consensual and sorted out, so we don't have to bear with 'cheating' drama with jaiden. they can still have those nice, awkward & romantic moments, like the hug in the lie detector episode (my god was that peak jakeden. that whole episode was spectacular for them)

i fw this hard

[atmonayano]

Relationship Rewrite

Relationship Rewrite is a book designed by renowned relationship expert James Bauer, this program offers a fresh perspective on strengthening and transforming your love life. In this post, we will delve into the key features, bonuses, and the insightful author behind Relationship Rewrite.

Read more in my blog: https://atmonayano.online/relationship-rewrite-review/

See you in there, tks

[dangerbizz]

🔪🩸

A creepier Jeff the Killer in event of the pastra rewrite (with a dumb doodle of him too)

[thalthanmadanus]

Draco is THE antagonist of the story and I'm lowkey sick of people diminishing his character's importance in the story and to Harry's character development. so I'm writing an essay about how Draco as a character is fucking important especially his antagonistic arc

💅

1. The crumbs:

First of all, and this doesn't get mentioned often, Draco is the first magical kid Harry meets his age.

Not only that, he is our first glimpse at two major upcoming conflicts in the series: Blood Supremacy, and Hogwarts houses.

Draco plays the important role of the narrative foil to Harry. (even wikipedia references them in the "foil" page)

Draco's main function as a character is to showcase Harry's best traits, through being his most worst. Unlike, Snape and Voldemort, Draco is more concerned with creating internal conflicts for Harry than external ones.

He is the character that says mudblood the most, with the frequency decreasing every book. He is the character that plays with/teases/bullies the psychological vulnerabilities of the trio (specifically Ron and Harry). He is one of the few characters that give rational criticism (against Hagrid, calling out the trio dynamic..) that, taken outside the keyframe imposed by the author, can showcase the flaws in Harry's views and his bias. He is also the only character that shows moral self-reflection that isn't motivated by either a reward or "love", which not only serves as character development for Draco but for Harry too who grows to sympathize with Draco, a small breakup from his fixed binary morality.

Draco is also a very active character. His actions and choices affect the plot. The majority of the first book literally happens because of his dumbass. In the second book, he is our first introduction to the word mudblood, he's also the main suspect to the two main mysteries. If Draco wasn't such a bitchass, would buckbeak gave been in said place for Harry to use him to save Sirius?

He is important narratively but what interests me is his importance to Harry's arc.

What separates Draco from other antagonists is that he creates internal conflicts that stem from his personal conflicts with Harry, because of Harry as a person. Not because Harry's the chosen one standing in his way, not because Harry's lily or James's son. Because Harry's Harry. and this exchange is mutual.

Their personal dynamic is set up in their first meeting. Harry, upon hearing two sentences from Draco, reacts negatively because of deeply personal issues (Dudley). I don't think Harry reacts personally to any other characters the way he did with Draco? Considering that Draco wasn't even hostile in his first sentences.

While Draco targets both Harry and Ron, there's a clear difference in how Draco bullies them both but also how Harry and Ron perceive Draco.

Draco is crueler on Ron. And his bullying doesn't feel personal, just apathetic, humiliating and mean. It feels like Draco is more cruel on Ron because Harry chose Ron over him and it shows by Draco coming back every now and then searching for Harry's compartment, trying to egg him, to look for a way that will make Harry regret rejecting Draco.

About Harry & Ron perception about Draco, it's showcased in the second book by the two main major events Draco was suspected in

1. Opening CoS. It was Ron who suspected Draco for this, not Harry. Ron suspects Draco for an action that affects everyone in the school.

2. Sending Dobby. Harry suspects that it was Draco that sent Dobby to prevent Harry from coming to school. Harry suspects Draco of an action that targets him specifically, and his reason of suspect? "because Malfoy hates me". It's personal.

Another instance of Harry making every issue personal with Draco: In the fifth book, after the sorting hat's song about houses unity

'And it wants all the houses to be friends?' said Harry, looking over at the Slytherin table,where Draco Malfoy was holding court. 'Fat chance. '

I'm also pretty sure the reason why Harry chooses not to be in Slytherin was 50% because Draco got sorted into Slytherin. the other 50% being Hagrid telling him that Slythering are eviiil. Btw a conversation that wouldn't have happened if Draco hadn't brought up houses in their first meeting.

Like I said, most of the plot in the first book goes back to Draco.

My main point is that the relationship between Harry and Draco as characters is beyond goals, motives, obstacles, moral causes bla bal bla, and is on the spectrum of "I took that personally".

2. the main plate:

Draco transitioned in the sixth book from an antagonist to a "side character" with a life. His role as character no longer functioned by his connection to Harry.

and this is where a flip of dynamic happened, where Harry became the antagonist to Draco's arc.

He's the one following him. He's the one egging him on (in the first 5 books,it was always Draco starting conversations with Harry, but in the sixth book, it's mostly Harry who started conversations with Draco) He's the one hurting him (Sectumsempra) (even on accident). He's the one trying to create obstacles to Draco's goal.

and why is that? why was Harry so obsessed with Draco?

If it were because of a moral righteousness, then why not focusing on Snape who's probably more suspicious? like who cares about Draco.. yeah he's sus but Dumbledore says it's not important..

This line of thought is more Ron and Hermione because they don't share the kind of deep personal issues towards Draco like Harry does.

so why is harry so obsessed?

"Harry, knowing and loathing Malfoy, was sure the reason could not be innocent."

This line in the sixth book explains it. Harry knows and loathes Draco with more emphasis on *knowing*.

Harry admits that he knows Malfoy, of course the fruit of labor of staring at Draco for five years, but why does he even stare in the first place? Because Harry is curious about Draco.

In comparison with Snape and Voldemort, our other antagonists,  Harry doesn't show the same enthusiastic curiosity for them. At least not the same way he does with Draco. Most of what we know about Snape and Voldemort are shown through external ways. Either their memories of memories of other people about them. Their character arcs happen outside Harry's vision,  either in the past or in a memory. It's not Harry who seeks those information. They come to him.

Draco, on the hand, most if not all of his character development happens in front of Harry. From his bullshit in the five years to him crying in the bathroom, him lowering his wand, him lying in the Manor. even the visions that Harry sees through Voldemort about Draco torturing Rowle, are happening in the present. Draco's character development is laid bare in front of Harry. 

but back to his obsession in the sixth book, it's because Harry knows Draco so well that not only he's right about him being a DE, but "Malfoy being up to something" is not something new to Harry, it's actually a normal thing that kept happening for 5 years of his life. Malfoy was always up to smtg. It's this idea of a normality that fuels like a new purpose in life for Harry after being wrecked by Sirius' death. Not only the mystery tingles his detective neurons, he knows he's right about Draco which only fuels his persistence. Draco being a person he hates also downplays the guilt/shame Harry could feel while stalking him. like I'm sorry but Harry was shameless and embarassing the whole year. The way Hermione and Ron looked at him sometimes so funny, also Hermione distancing herself from Harry when he talked to McG about Draco like "idk this person". Harry was kinda giving pre-HBP Draco vibes lowkey.

This shows that Harry himself is motivated by personal feelings (though negative) as an antagonist to Draco's arc himself.

And the important point here is the flip of dynamics. Draco is not just a mere side character in Harry's life. If anything, the moment he tries to become a side character with his is own arc, Harry is forcing himself in it. Because they're both foils to each other. It doesn't work on just one side.

The dessert:

The dynamic completely evolves again with the end of HBP as Draco gains a moral sense and Harry watching Draco's character development unfolding gains a more nuanced view than his old black/white one.

In DH, Draco and Harry are not antagonists anymore to each other. Draco and Harry are kind of heroes to each other?? as they both try to save each other like two times.

A lot of people downplay Draco's lie in the Manor, comparing it to Dudley's "You're not a waste of space" as "character development" moment.

bruh.

Dudley said that after Harry saved him. Draco literally was the one who took the initiative to lie, expecting no reward, literally had more to lose by lying, he was literally acting against his own interests, his family's life was in danger!!! Harry saved Draco after Draco saved him.

also Draco's character development started with him lowering his wand.

but back to being each other heroes. Our other comparison is Ron who is in both situations where Harry saves Draco but he's the one reacting negatively and complainig about them saving Draco, not Harry. Which is funny because Ron says "we saved you" but in both cases it's Harry who's doing the saving and Ron is  just there witnessing, and again I don't think he still realizes what was happening since the sixth year. He thinks his hostile feelings towards Draco are the same ones Harry has. That they're similar. Ron.. Harry literally almost risked your life to save Draco.

It also speaks of character development from Harry that he's not reacting negatively anymore towards Draco. He grew out of it. Like Draco also was starting to grow out of his toxic ideologies.

They're both growing up simultaneously.

And Draco was The first wizard kid Harry talked to (with no precognition or insidious motive)

Draco was the first character who he flew with

Draco was the first character who he dueled with

and so in DH,

Draco was the first character who tried to help Harry with no selfish motive

Draco was the first character that flew with Harry on the same broom (at least I think so?)

Draco was the first and only character whose wand Harry dueled with against Voldemort and won.

I wish I could write more. About Sectumsempra. About wand connection. but I'm tired.

[alyslittlehaven]

In What We Keep Chapter 1 - A Fires Warmth.

DragonBorne!Reader X Azriel Shadowsinger.

One fateful night after a mission, the three bat brothers need to seek refuge from the cruel winds past the mountains of Illyria, after a little debating, Azriel decides to take his brothers to the slice of life he took for himself

Warnings: Self Made Fae Race, swearing, talks of sex/sexual interactions, lewd jokes and or conversations, Pregnancy, Pre-established Relationship, mates, fated, Soft Azriel, secret relationships and more ACOTAR IS NOT MY BOOK, NEITHER ARE THE CHARACTERS

(This is short due to my writer's block hitting hard, also- ignore my horrible writing in this I don't have the greatest imagination right now lol.)

“This storm isn’t going anywhere, Az.”

Cassian’s voice strained as he squinted through the heavy snowfall. Their footsteps behind them quickly being covered up as they continued on through the cold. Cassian groaned, his body shivering harshly.

 Azriel grunted as he tightened the fur that hung around his body. The black dire wolf pelt kept out the wind just for a little longer as the snow picked up around them all. Azriel looked over his shoulder, his hair swaying lightly in the wind as his brothers stopped behind him. There was no way they could continue on like this. Flying in this weather would be a death wish and the creatures that they were hunting were extremely sensitive to magic. Their noses picked up the slightest bit of arcane and followed it like it was food. 

The snow continued to whip around them. Azriels wings shifting as the wind blew in between the membrane and his back. The cold slowly seeps into his bones as the three of them pick up the pace once again. Rhysand let out a huff, looking around slowly and yelling over the blizzard. “There is no way we can get to RoseHall like this, let alone the camps! We need to find shelter!” Cassian nodded, looking at Azriel with a pleading look. Rhysand was right, there was no way the storm was going to let up, and if anything was just getting worse the longer they walked. Rosehall was nowhere on the other side of the mountain and the winds of Illyria were unforgiving to travellers during the summer months. What would happen to the three of them if they continued to trudge through the snow?

Cassian crossed his arms, his lips turning blue as they stood still huddled together. His wings spanned out and fluttered to get the snow off of them. The weight on his shoulders now dispersed as her shook himself off. Azriel looked around, looking for any kind of landmark that could tell him where they stood on the mountain. His eyes locked into a bundle of lights in the distance. A relieved breath left him as he saw the small, broken sign with a carved dragon egg on it. 

His brows furrowed as he thought, his arms wrapping around himself as he took a couple of steps. Dread slowly made its way to his stomach as he realized where they were heading.

He could bring them into his home. The small cabin he had built with his own hands inside of the heart of the hearth. The home that his mate was in while he stood out in the cold with his brothers. Her body probably curled up on the couch with that ugly knitted blanket she made draped over her as a book remained under her nose. The fire probably roaring in the fireplace and leaving the room in a nice orange glow.

Azriel sighed, quickly pulling up his hood before beginning to move in the direction of the light,. His voice hoarse as he spoke. "I have somewhere we can stay. if you don't mind walking for a bit more, that is." Cassian rolled his eyes, his feet moving without him having to think about saying yes or no as he followed his brothers closely. 

“Azriel…where are we going?” Rhysands teeth chatters, his breaths coming out as fog due to the cold. His whole body nearly froze at the question. He had worked so hard to keep this part of his life a secret from his family. The relaxing life he came to every night and woke up the day after next to. The happy cabin he filled with love and work that he made sure he separated his work life from his mate. His wonderful, beautiful mate pressed kisses to his hand when he came home from work and tried out new Illyrian recipes so he would feel at home in the hearth. The best woman he had met, and the calmest. They had spoken about it a few times, introducing her to his family and the inner circle, and despite her wanting to meet them he just didn’t want to yet. Wanting to keep her to himself just for a little longer.

“To…a friend's house. She lives right up here in this cabin.”

Rhysand and Cassian looked at each other, a small shrug was all Cassian responded with as they walked up the stairs of the porch. Azriel quickly opened the door, the wood creaking under his weight as he ushered the two in. A frown on his face as he shut the door behind them. “Y/n?” Azriels voice carried through the small cabin, some shuffling in the distance going dead silent.

“I’ll be there in a second love!” A couple of pans knocked together before she walked into the hallway, a small pep in her step now that she saw who was in her home. Cassian, ever the gossip, repeatedly hit Rhysands arm like a teenage girl. A smirk on his face as he raised an eyebrow at Azriel.

Rhysands jaw dropped as she untied her apron, the large and evident bump now on full display as she put down the fabric and pressed a hand to her stomach. Her eyes raked over the two unfamiliar men with a gentle smile. "You must be Azriels brothers...welcome to the Hearth. Come- Sit down, please."

[urayuli]

funny interactions posting

[blushweddinggowns]

Jonathan didn’t know how else to say it but…Steve Harrington was weird. Like really, really weird. And he wasn’t even talking about Steve and Eddie. He thought Harrington was plenty weird all on his own. 

Jonathan really didn’t understand why Eddie was always marked as the strange one in the duo. To him, Eddie made perfect sense. Poor background, unique interests, drug dealer, loud and obnoxious as a coping mechanism, but still managing to be a pretty good guy all around. It was normal for a guy like that to be a little out there. 

But Steve didn’t make any sense to him. Zero. Zilch. 

Because he was rich, handsome, athletic, a total jock in every sense of the word. Half the school wanted to get in his pants, while the other half desperately tried to figure out how he got so many girls. By all accounts, he should be an asshole. Someone who basked in his own popularity, not someone who literally shunned it. Steve was the only person he’d ever met who had it all, and didn’t care. 

All he seemed to care about was freaking Eddie Munson of all people. They had been attached at the hip since grade school and even with Eddie disappearing for two years, Steve was right back at his side nearly the moment he got back. 

He didn’t go to parties, never bragged about his conquests unless someone asked, and even then he was always incredibly vague, and from what he’d heard from Nancy, he didn’t even sleep��at his own house 90 percent of the time. If you were looking for Steve Harrington, all you really had to do was track down Eddie Munson.

Jonathan had only purchased weed a handful of times in his young life, but every single time Steve had been there. Either in the van waiting when Eddie dropped something off, or sitting right next to him on the park bench, popping gum and reading a comic book while Eddie did his business. 

And he was…intensely protective over him. Which was weird considering how Munson was scary enough in his own right, at least on the outside. Like getting into multiple fights, protective. Making girls cry who had the audacity to say anything about Eddie’s antics, protective. Like cursing out an actual teacher, protective. 

Like comforting your best friend after a near death experience instead of your literal girlfriend protective. Who did that? And maybe it hadn’t been official back then, but still. You’d think you’d spend time cuddling your crush in your lap instead of your childhood buddy. And there was also the weird hair smelling thing they kept doing. He hadn’t looked too closely at the time, but Steve had turned to bury his face in Eddie’s hair every few minutes after the 83 showdown. He hadn’t seen a repeat of that since, though. Maybe…maybe Eddie had gotten demon guts in his hair? And Steve had been trying to find the source?

He didn’t fucking know. He just…didn’t get him. And now he got him even less. The guy pulled freaking Nancy Wheeler as his girlfriend, and he didn't spend every possible waking moment with her? 

But it wasn’t just him prioritizing Eddie over Nancy. It was the fact that he didn’t care that Nancy was with him more often than her actual boyfriend. Which was fantastic for Jonathan, even if it was a bit of a double edged sword. Because Nancy was gorgeous and so fucking smart and cool and…and Jonathan liked her so much he kind of wanted to die.

And he couldn’t do a damn thing about it. Even if he’d come close, way more than once. There were probably a dozen times where he’d almost kissed her. And the last one would have happened if they hadn’t been interrupted. They had been talking next to his car during lunch, Jonathan couldn’t even remember what it had been about. He just remembered that he had said something to make her laugh. And she looked so freaking beautiful when she laughed. She looked pretty all the time, but something about seeing her happy made her jump from a 10/10 to a 15. 

The sun was in her hair, and her eyes crinkled in that cute way that he loved, and Jonathan had been leaning in before he knew it was happening. And if Steve and Eddie hadn’t walked by right in that moment, it would have happened. He had jumped nearly ten feet in the air when he spotted him out of the corner of his eye, fully expecting Steve to start tearing into him for being so close to his girlfriend. 

But he just smiled and waved when he saw them, and went right back to their conversation before walking off. 

See? Weird.

He didn’t know why it didn’t bother Nancy more, how little he cared about what the two of them were up to. Part of him was praying it was because she was falling out of love with him, and all of the romantic tension they had together wasn’t in his head. 

But he just couldn’t bring himself to make that final step. Mostly because he was busy trying to take care of Will most of the time. Even if he got his way he wasn’t exactly in a position to be a good boyfriend. His little brother came first, especially after everything he had been through. And he was struggling, Jonathan could see it. And he spent most of his spare moments trying his damndest to get Will to open up. It hadn’t worked. But he kept trying.

But there was another part to it too. He…he didn’t want to be that guy. The kind of guy to make moves on a taken girl. Especially Steve’s girl. Both him and Eddie had risked their lives last year helping them out, and what? He was going to thank them by breaking Steve’s heart? He couldn’t bring himself to do it. 

Even if Eddie wanted him to. Which was just one more thing he didn’t get, the weird encouragement Eddie would give him when it came to his best friend’s girlfriend. If Jonathan mentioned a movie he wanted to see, preferably with her, Eddie would always be sure to keep Steve busy on friday nights for her to be free. If Jonathan had his mom’s car for a week and really wanted to be the one to pick her up in the morning, Eddie would conveniently find a reason that Steve couldn’t. 

It was weird, and kind of fucked up, but Jonathan had at least a small idea on why he was doing it. It was pretty obvious, after you got a little closer to the two of them. Eddie was in love with Steve. But Steve wasn’t in love with Eddie, not when he had Nancy on his arm. It explained why he monopolized all of his time, why he hung around them on their dates, why he was so open to letting another guy swoop in on her. 

He never actually asked him about it. It felt like a fucked up thing to say, especially if he was wrong. But Jonathan couldn’t think of any other explanation. So he kind of just…went with it. At this point it felt like he was Eddie’s co-conspirator to break them up, even if it was never explicitly said.

Which was fucked up, on both their ends. Yeah Steve was weird, and kind of a bitch, but he was a good guy all in all. He was Eddie’s best friend for a reason. 

So Jonathan held back his feelings. Or at least he did for as long as he could. But then Nancy came to him for help to expose the Hawkins lab. And they ended up on this crazy fucking adventure together. And he just fell more and more in love with every wild stunt she did. 

And then they kissed at Murray’s and Jonathan didn’t have the strength to say no. How could he? It just…happened. And okay yes. He feels bad for Steve. But he doesn’t regret it. Not even slightly. And maybe that made him the biggest asshole in the world, but it was hard to care when Nancy freaking Wheeler wanted him of all people. 

It was pretty easy to shove the guilt right out of his mind. That was until they saw Steve and Eddie next, right in front of the Hawkins lab. Steve had instantly brightened at the sight of her, immediately sweeping her up into a big hug. 

And Jonathan couldn’t bring himself to watch it. He just couldn’t. Because that was probably going to be the last time they hugged like that. He was already in too deep and there was no way in hell that he was going to let last night be a one night stand. He hadn’t exactly asked Nancy to break up with him yet, but he was going to. 

Because he was a dick like that, apparently. But maybe they could find a way to do it…kindly? If that was even possible. And if there was anyone who would be able to help soften the blow for Steve, it would be Eddie Munson. 

Jonathan walked up to him as the other two started talking. He jerked his head to the side, “Hey can I talk to you for a second?”

Eddie nodded, following him over to a safe distance from the car. He didn’t really think Eddie would be mad at him for what he did. But he was still a little nervous to say it out loud. 

He avoided saying what he truly wanted, deflecting with a question, “So um, Steve and Nancy, how uh, serious are they?”

Eddie stared at him like he’d magically grown a second head, “Huh?”

“They’ve almost been together for like a year now right?” Jonathan pressed, “Is he…y’know. In love with her?”

But Eddie was still looking at him like he’d asked something insane. He narrowed his eyes at him, “Are…are you kidding me right now?”

“What?” Jonathan asked, almost as equally confused as Eddie, “Why would I be kidding?”

Eddie raised a brow at him, “You think Steve and Nancy are dating? For like, real? After all this time? After last year. That’s what you think?”

Jonathan really wished Eddie would just tell him what the hell he was talking about instead of emphasizing every other word. He crossed his arms over his chest, feeling oddly defensive when he asked, “What else am I supposed to think?”

He hadn’t expected Eddie to bark out a laugh at the question. It took a second for him to compose himself to talk again while Jonathan looked on, more confused than ever. 

Eddie eventually straightened, holding a fist in front of his mouth while he struggled for the words, “Jonathan, dude, last year you saw me in his lap. With my arms around his neck. While he kissed me to make me feel better.”

Jonathan blinked at him, “Huh?”

He hadn’t remembered the kissing part. And in his defense he had been a bit distracted with the news that his brother was alive. But the hair smelling thing…had…had Steve been kissing the top of his head that whole time? Right in front of him? 

Eddie looked way too amused at Jonathan’s shock, “So what do you think that means bud? Is that something you do with your friends?”

“But Nancy! And all the other girls-”

“Fake, fake, fake and fake,” Eddie said with a grin, “That boy’s all mine. And has been for years. Him and Nance are just friends. Really good friends but that’s it.”

Eddie put a hand on his shoulder, voice softening a little but still a little too tickled for Jonathan’s liking, “We all kind of thought you knew man. I guess I underestimated our own acting skills there.”

Jonathan slowly nodded, even though his brain was still struggling to catch up with everything he’d said. But it made sense. It actually made perfect sense. That’s why Steve didn’t care that he was all over her, that’s why Eddie had been so encouraging, that’s why Steve was so fucking weird. The guy had been basically married since he was in third grade. 

“Holy shit,” Jonathan finally breathed out, “That makes so much sense.”

But then a realization hit him, “Wait, so all of this time Nancy has been single?”

“And ready to mingle,” Eddie added with a wink, “Though if it helps, you’re the only one she’s set her sights on. That and Tom Cruise but I think you still have good odds.”

As wonderful as that revelation was, it kind of also made him want to smash his head into a wall. How could he have been so blind? 

“Don’t worry about it,” Eddie said, like he could read his mind, “We do actually try to hide it most of the time. It’s not completely your fault for not seeing the hints.”

He only had one more question, a stupid one but he still wanted to be sure, “So um, hypothetically. If I, uh, slept with his fake girlfriend, he wouldn’t be mad about it?”

Eddie laughed, “He’d be ecstatic. Half the time those two talk is about you. He’s been waiting for you to make a move as long as Nancy has. And he will definitely get a kick out of this conversation when I tell him, that’s for damn sure.”

Jonathan nodded. That was…some pretty fantastic news. Besides the sting that he could have had her weeks or even months ago, it was a good fucking feeling to know that they hadn’t done anything wrong. It was kind of weird, knowing that Steve Harrington of all people was gay. But he didn’t care. That might have been how his dad tried to raise him, but his mom had stopped all the homophobic shit the second he ditched.

He was raised better than to judge two people for being happy together. And the fact that they trusted him with something so big made him feel…kind of special. Definitely not like an asshole. The two of them wandered back to Steve and Nancy and Eddie didn’t hesitate to pull him into his arms. 

Jonathan watched as he whispered something to him before kissing his cheek, like it was the most natural thing in the world. And for them it probably was. He saddled next to Nancy. He didn’t exactly have the confidence to be that affectionate in public like those two did, but he’d like to work his way up to it. He gently took her hand in his, blushing at the way it made her smile. 

She squeezed his hand back before shuffling a little closer to lean into him. He didn’t have much time to indulge in it, not when the lights all suddenly came back on. But as they all hurried inside, he couldn’t help but think that maybe, just maybe, everything would be okay.

From the latest chapter of this fic

[bugstung]

I love your disabled Adrien! I'd love to hear more about him, if you have the time!

Thank you!

I'm still currently figuring out his injury but I can tell you about the other things I got so far

So first of all I want to explore Adrien's relationship with others way more as I thought it was lacking in the show. I want Adrien and Nino to feel closer; the two got to know each others when they were paired to make a power point together and went at Nino's house to work. Nino wasn't the type to try to befriend Adrien day one beacuse of his status, and Adrien liked that. Adrien didn't get to play much video games growing up, and Nino gets to "nerdify" him a little

I also want Adrien and Rose to bond. I made that Rose had Ehlers Danlos Syndrome and uses mobility aids as well. They get to know each others as both of them are exempted from sports a,d so they hang out during those hours at the foyer. Rose is quite infantilized, and people tend to pity her way more than they do for Adrien because she's not popular (while for Adrien kids usually see as him being "brave" and all that). She doesn't try to hide her disabilities, she's pretty open to talk about it and customizes her mobility aids to fit her aesthetic. Adrien on the other side doesn't like to draw attention to his disabilities and will most of the time let comments on it slide. (something that will change overtime)

I got really inspired by skip and loafers so Marinette and Adrien personalities and relationship will be somewhat similar to Mitsumi and Shima. I want them to become friends and not have the awkward show typical Marinette stuff.

I also want a "crush switch" to happen later on. Marinette will try to move on when she realizes she cannot make Adrien's mask slip, and slowly fall for Chat Noir (I need to develop the super hero side of things more because so far I'm way more interested in slice of life lmao), and Adrien realizes his love for Ladybug was more of an admiration, and falls for Marinette

Also while Adrien is completly human, Felix is still a sentimonster. Haven't fully figured him out but there will be an interesting dynamic to explore there. Kagami is also getting a serious rewrite because I just do not like her lore. Same for Lila. Adrien will get to bond more with Luka as well. I've not thought too much about the other characters yet though.

Gabriel is more down to earth, and does genuinely care for Adrien (in still a very fucked up way). He sheltered him because of the accident and still dictates a lot of his life. Some change may happen to Adrien's mom lore since he's not a sentimonster but idk exactly what yet

Anyway if you have questions don't hesitate to ask! I still got a lot to figure out and asking stuff will also help me to think lol

[disventure-rewrite-takes]

I just wanna live in a world where Tom is canonically autistic and his entire arc in All Stars would have been to learn that yes, you can unmask and some people will still like you for who you are. Maybe he did work on himself after season 1, maybe he got a diagnosis as an adult after feeling weird and out of place his entire life. It would have been fun to see him unmask, both literally and metaphorically. I don't know if I would have made him a cop tho, but that's on me. I think he would do much more good as a park ranger or something. He always loved nature, but befriending Gabby is what made him realize his true potential. Tree huggers besties for the win

I think it would have been lovely to see an autistic adult connecting with others despise his inner struggles and showing his strenghts (making plans, great memory, a natural leader, literal body strenght) as much as flaws (scared to show his real emotions, overstimulation, clumsiness and not fully understanding social clues).

Of course Tom wouldn't have ghosted Jake for two years, but maybe he's been acting distant on text/video-calls for some time now. Oh boy if I hc him as scared af of Jake discovering his real self. He's so convinced that Jake fell in love with his "normal" version and now whatever he actually is now- is not worthy of his love. Or maybe he thinks that Jake would treat him differently if he discovered his diagnosis. I could see Tom trying to mask too much around him, to the point that even Jake can tell he's hiding something from him. Maybe I would have kept the silly Jake/Tom/Aiden drama for two episodes, because Jake would have still jumped to the worst conclusion first. But James isn't booted first for this reason, dear god. Jake would grow suspicious of Aiden after some time, because Tom doesn't bound with Aiden THAT fast to the point of being an enemy in Jake's eyes in a single day. Let some episodes pass, let this drama being a background issue in the big schemes of things, until Jake sees Aiden and Tom holding hands and cuddling or something from afar. It does look very suspicious when your maybe-boyfriend-maybe-not acts weird around you and gets intimate with someone else. Now that's when Jake acts like he did in the original series, let's say around the musical episode. Tom and Aiden do NOT kiss on stage, anyway. But he gets reminded of what he saw in the woods earlier and that memory haunts him. But you know what? Jake decides to do better than his past self and tries to confront Aiden, first. He can't stand traitors, but since Tom keeps avoiding him, what else is there to do? Aiden, of course, acts like a mature person and doesn't out Tom to Jake directly. But he does says that what Jake saw earlier was Tom feeling so overwealmed that he couldn't even breath properly and he needed someone to calm him down. He tells Jake that Tom is scared of being treated like a big baby and doesn't want to show that to anyone else- besides himself. Why is that? Aiden says that he "gets it". He could be neurodivergent himself, or maybe James is or maybe he's got a close relative or friend who is. He just gets it, but Jake doesn't get what "it" is.

AIDEN: "Why don't you ask him for yourself?"

JAKE: "TSK! As if, he keeps avoiding me and acts like a weirdo whenever I want to talk"

AIDEN: "Then don't. Be there for him without talking. You'd be surprised how much that helps him"

Aand that's how this silly drama ends and Tom and Jake finally sort things out and you get to see their relationship blossom again. If Aiden-Tom-Jake make it to the merge, they'd be a cool alliance until something happens and one of them gets eventually voted out.

THIS IS SO GOOD???? HELLO this ask single-handedly make me like tomjake like. 2% like it. that is CRAZY the power that you hold

i think this would be even better if aiden himself (or james as you said) was also autistic, and yk what, pairing this with some other anons that have said this, make jake also have BPD and that makes tomjake bond even more. they're a gay4gay nd4nd couple and i feel like that would be such a better exploration of their relationship and characters than the utter bullshit we got

this is genuinely one of my favorite asks i have ever gotten on this page. thank you so much for this

[clouvu]

*wheezes* Okay so Hear Me Out-

[crossthread]

No jokes here. The Navy’s best pilot and the Navy’s best admiral. Between them, eight air-to-air combat kills and five stars. These were men who commanded respect with or without your approval. This was the picture of ruthless competence.

Debriefing (& Other Stories) • part 2 of Easier Done Than Said by @compacflt

[ganondoodle]

rough beast ganondorf design + sketches + notes design combines the typical boar form (dark beast + cloud form from botw), the oni one (demon king gan) hint at the draconic one to come but keep part of his humanity with his clothing being mostly intact

as the battle with Demon King Ganondorf comes to an end, the sages previously knocked out start to wake up again, he is cornered and hurt and as fear of being imprisoned, tortured and exploited overwhelms him he transforms into the Beast form, breaking the arena you were fighting him in and him going for Zelda as she is the biggest threat (he remembers her destroying dark beast gan and she reminds him of sonia, who is the one you sealed his human body back in the day)

you and zelda flee through the cracks of the earth as more earthquakes happen with a beast at your heels thats now truly only out to kill as fast as possible as he burrows after you (first sketch)

the path takes you both just below the surface and as you are trapped in a dead end zelda shields herself and link with her light shield ability, which protects you both from immediate damage but cant soften the impact from gan charging at you, the impact of which breaks you all three to the surface and the battle takes place in the same spot as botws dark beast fight-

fight is very challenging as gan is smaller than the dark best version, jumping and charging at you while still able to cast spells, now truly throwing everything he can at you in the hopes of ending you both

fight ends with you shooting an arrow at zelda, her deflecting it at the right angle and it shooting off the enigma stone on gans forehead; he falls seemingly defeated and as zelda runs to take the stone away gan through sheer panic lunges for the stone triggering his dragon transformation and making way for the final fight

(summary of the end: in the final fight gan snatches up both link and zelda once he transformed into the black dragon and takes flight toward the sky, zelda falls from between his teeth and knowing that she cant get to link and help him in any way from the ground she, while falling, takes out the enigma stone she has kept in a save container in her backpack all this time and swallows it for her own transformation, in her white dragon form she takes active action and charges at gans head so link is freed, then supports him in the fight itself; at the end link plunges into dragon-gans mouth to reach the stone on the inside where he makes use of the 'medicine' previously made using the moonbloom taked from kogas secret lab, link and the stone are spit out and as gan reverses into a human and falls link is caught by zelda and he uses the second charge of it on her to bring her back as well; as all three fall from the skies as the sages have made their way through the tunnel that beast gan made earlier, they help link and zelda getting to the ground safely while the yiga do the same for gan - final end end isnt determined yet but this is waht i got so far and even if i have written this once before i felt it was fitting to do it again and no you cant tell me this is too much of a wishfulfillment thing bc it literally is just that as i cant actualyl change whats in the game, so even if im trying to make it all fit well together i can still do what i want nhakjdbgshdbhsjka)

(totk rewritten project)

[dukeofthomas]

Honestly the thing about Jason&Bruce for me is that I don't think they can reconsile.

Like even outside of the different moralities and vengeance and the Joker and all of that. Once your father has split your throat open with a knife, that's it. You can't come back from that. There is no reconciliation or forgiveness after something like that is done.

[nabi-unveiled]

Where on the "White Knight" spectrum is Sung-hyun?

Note: There's multiple spellings of these characters' names. I just chose the ones that would cause the least confusion for me and went with it.

I really am enjoying this show, but I had begun overthinking everything and questioning Sung-hyun. It was time to revisit the facts (of ep 1 - 3). The first version of this deep dive went scene by scene and got about three miles long. So here's the condensed version (which is still too long) organized by the questions I was asking myself while watching. I still haven't watched episode 4, and I'm avoiding the tags until then so other people have likely pointed out many of these things.

It's also important to note as we go through these - Da-on is no meek mouse character. He will and DOES stand up for himself. He comes across more gentle in some ways because he is the only one mostly respecting everybody's boundaries (so far).

Side note - My re-watch made my appreciation of Da-on go through the roof. I may be questioning everyone in this show’s motives for wanting Da-on on a meta level, but I probably shouldn’t. Honestly, I’d be down bad for him too. That's a different post though.

Question #1: What attracted Sung-hyun to Da-on?

This was probably the most important question to me in terms of Sung-hyun's characterization. Was it because Da-on was vulnerable?

The answer is no. It's physical attraction first. We're actually already swooning before Da-on's father ever shows up.

Sung-hyun first shows attraction when Da-on fixes his tie. It's before Dad shows up, before Su-hyeon shows up, and before he recognizes that Da-on has any problems at all. We go straight from this to him trying to please Da-on...which brings us to the next question.

Question #2: Does Sung-hyun derive pleasure from playing the "White Knight"?

We are introduced to Sung-hyun when he's "saved" Da-on and is a bit peeved that Da-on is upset at him for saving him. He initially sees Da-on as rude. Fair. We know why Da-on is so upset, but it makes sense that Sung-hyun doesn’t get why the watch was such a big deal. Especially if he doesn't deal with those kind of $$$ watches often.

He does change his tune about this when he realizes how expensive the watch is.

Sung-hyun does do A LOT of things to help Da-on. However, none of it is malicious (seemingly) or because he wants to be the savior of the weak and vulnerable. What does the man want? Praise.

He puts it in his rules, and he directly asks for it the next day.

This is followed by him undoing the tie when Da-on doesn't really praise him about it. My current thinking - man has something akin to a praise kink rather than true white knight syndrome.

Particularly telling is that he didn't step in initially when Su-hyeon grabs Da-on in the office. He was more concerned by what it meant that Da-on had spent the night at another man's house.

He doesn't ALWAYS feel the need to rescue Da-on. In re-watching, he actually seems to delay just a bit in stepping in most times before deciding he needs to do so. He always apologizes for interfering, and Da-on consistently tells him that it's ok if he does.

Question #3: How much does Sung-hyun actually know about Da-on's situation?

Not a lot. He's heard Jae-min's name and only knows that Da-on spent the night there. He knows Da-on has problems with his dad, but he has no idea what they are at this point. Sung-hyun does tell Da-on to cry it out. That means he HAS picked up on the fact that there’s more going on that just being sick. He is also VERY well aware that Su-hyeon is a problem and potentially dangerous. (Note: Using that info to get Da-on to stay at his house can be interpreted in multiple ways - one sweet & caring, one taking advantage).

However, he has only seen small glimpses of Su-hyeon's rage. The man really has no idea just HOW much of a shitstorm Da-on is in at this point. He has bare bones information.

Question #4: Is Sung-hyun controlling Da-on?

We're now getting into the scenes that initially sent me on my spiral of overthinking.

First up - the negotiation of working together

Da-on asks for him to please let them work together. AKA - please don’t fuck with my job. Sung-hyun lays out his rules which includes daily meals, getting to know each other outside of work, sharing private information, and praising each other. Way beyond normal coworker stuff. It could seem sweet. He just wants to get to know Da-on right? But it could also seem invasive.

Except, remember he’s just been doing everything he can to piss Da-on off. He knows Da-on won’t like this. Da-on lays out his own rules, but Sung-hyun says he’ll just tell the manager they won’t work together. There’s no attempt at compromise. My way or else. Sung-hyun is the one with the power here. Da-on wants the project. In the end, Da-on capitulates. Poor boy gives up.

That said - it’s not exactly controlling behavior. He didn’t expect Da-on to agree. Sung-hyun has no way of knowing just how important the project is to Da-on, and he doesn’t know the company culture yet. He’s actually pleasantly surprised when Da-on gives in. All signs point to the fact that he was trying to get out of working with Da-on (just like he had been when it was first announced).

Once Da-on agrees, he immediately changes his tone and behavior back to Friendly Joe. If Da-on is going to try and get along, then he’ll try too. That’s the generous interpretation of that tone switch-up. There ARE other interpretations. I'm still pondering to some extent.

Second questionable scene - the movie theater hand grab

I actually don't mind Sung-hyun proposing they go to the movie. Da-on was actually the one that made the horror movie conversation go deeper at the restaurant anyways. He knew Da-on needed a distraction. Da-on still could've said no. This is where Da-on not being a meek mouse is important. Da-on DOES tell people no. Sung-hyun was obviously on a fishing expedition to find out if Da-on was dating. Fair. You need to know if your crush is taken.

However, him going straight for asking to hold Da-on's hand after the scene with Su-hyeon bothered me. Especially since Da-on didn't say yes before he grabbed his hand.

However, upon re-watching, it bothered me less. Why?

Sung-hyun is a physical person in general. He cages. Which is definitely an invasion of physical space, but....some of us actually find it very hot. 😏 Kabedon exists for a reason. The important thing here is that Da-on is not bothered by it AT ALL.

Da-on has already told him to let go of his hand before, and he did. (Him letting go is supposed to contrast Su-hyeon who DOESN'T ever let go when Da-on asks.) Da-on feels comfortable telling Sung-hyun to back off or let go. Da-on doesn't push his hand away at the movie theater.

Plus, Da-on is JUST as physical with Sung-hyun. He's the one that got physical first (tying the tie), and he's physical at other moments too PRIOR to the movie theater.

So crossing physical boundaries? Yes. (But they both do it.) Maneuvering to get his crush to notice him and get time with his crush? Yes. Controlling his crush? No. Not really. He also doesn't ALWAYS push the boundary. He drops off the congee/meds and leaves for example. Many examples (like taking him to the doctor) are just care. The man is not playing a 4D chess game unlike someone else....

Question #5: Does the series KNOW that Sung-hyun is crossing (or at least pushing) boundaries?

Short answer - No. It doesn't. He gets to be adorable with his grandma. He gets the rom-com music. He's in the light. We're supposed to be charmed that he lets go when asked since the other two do not and overlook the fact that Da-on didn't say yes. In fact, the show is really characterizing Sung-hyun's behavior as energetic puppy. It even symbolizes that he's a puppy.

When he was ignored in episode 1, he caused chaos (the petty office shenanigans) but they were largely harmless shenanigans. It's brat behavior. Annoying, but not malicious. It should be noted once again that Da-on is our actual green flag. He didn't reciprocate in the office shenanigans.

Now that he's pursuing Da-on, that puppy energy has turned into trying to please (back to praise...lol) and care for Da-on.

What the show does know? Sung-hyun is supposed to parallel Jae-min.

They both meet Da-on in the street and offer to help him.

They both "help" him.

They are both very physical and frequently touch Da-on.

They have VERY similar dialogue on MULTIPLE occasions.

They have him sleep in their bed.

They both make him toast and eggs for breakfast. (However, they only eat together at one of these homes.)

There's a mirror after he spends the night at both of their houses. Not that it will matter to most, but the mirror at Sung-hyun's house shows his FEET. IYKYK.

There's several other parallels, but basically Sung-hyun and Jae-min parallel each other in how they approach Da-on. The difference is in how they respond to Da-on when he makes a move. Both men have different motivations and they want different things for/from Da-on. For example, we see it in that Sung-hyun WILL let Da-on treat him. Sung-hyun is supposed to show what the “good”/pure-hearted version of these actions actually looks like.

Sung-hyun's confession is also meant to contrast how Da-on didn’t confess (until recently) or that Su-hyeon never confessed at all. Just like the visuals convey in that scene, it’s about being open vs being in the shadows. They are framing him as a man who takes action in the open rather than in secret.

It’ll be interesting to see if some of the themes they are alluding to — being on the same level, when is help not actually help, etc. get addressed in future episodes.

Which brings us to the choice you have to make with Sung-hyun's character.

Do you let his boundary crossing (because he does cross them) and his general physicality bother you?

Or accept that this is a 2000s makjang throwback complete with nosebleeds? He’s not unlike most male leads in earlier kdramas.

Your choice is yours alone. Personally, I’ll frame this as a throwback makjang in my mind moving forward. I'll notice the boundary crossing I'm sure. I expect that WILL continue. But... Da-on is precious. Jae-min is delicious. The set-up is fun. I'm just going to enjoy the shenanigans.

It's time to find out how this confession turned out.

[andreafmn]

Collision | Chapter 27

Word Count: 3.2K

Story Description: (Y/N) Uley is back home after being away for four years. Her life is at its first standstill and she is taking this time to find out who she is without school. But she never thought that coming back to the reservation would turn her whole life around. In the midst of secrets and mystery, a man crashes into (Y/N)’s and her life will never be the same.

A/N: omg, this one is also coming to an end very soon 🫣🫣

<- Previous | Next ->

The longer (Y/N) remained in the Cullen house, the more she felt the walls closing in on her. For a moment, she couldn't distinguish the difference between dreams and reality. It all seemed like a horrible nightmare she couldn't shock herself awake from.

As soon as the tickets were bought and a plan was laid out, the girl ran outside. The smell of pine and wet dirt filled her nose, and for the first time in hours, she felt like she could breathe. The house taunted her as she leaned against her truck, trying to fill her lungs with air, tears burning the back of her eyes.

(Y/N) wanted to be strong. She wanted the vampires in the house to believe nothing they had done had affected her. Her heart had been shattered, but she had persevered. In fact, she had come out of the other end better than she had been left.

But she had been strong for long enough. She had swallowed her tears, and she had slipped on a mask. She had been pretending to be strong long before she knew that's what she was doing. Pretending to be okay had become her second nature.

Yet, everything breaks at some point. All the pressure—years and years of suppression—is bound to make even the strongest diamond break.

A tightness spread through (Y/N)'s chest, stopping her lungs from receiving oxygen. It had her gasping for air, taking as many breaths as her body allowed her. But it hazed her sight and numbed her limbs, pulling her to the ground as she tried to regain her composure. Still, try as she might, her body betrayed her. It raced her heart and forced tears to fall from her eyes, making her ache for air like a fish out of water.

"Hey, hey, (Y/N)," she heard distantly. "You need to focus on your breathing, okay?"

"I-I-I c-can't," the girl stammered.

"Yes, you can, (Y/N)," Theo said as she placed her cold hand on her cheeks, snapping her eyes to the vampire. "Focus on me. Copy what I'm doing."

Though she didn't need it, Theo took in deep breaths through her nose and exhaled through her mouth, keeping her gaze firmly on (Y/N). She took her friend's hands in hers and tried her best to keep her focus. She spoke slowly and calmly, instructing the girl's breaths and pulling her attention from the attack.

It was almost a play-by-play of the day the two had met.

(Y/N) hadn't realized just how scary it would be to find herself alone in a new school with faces she didn't recognize. The moment Sam and her mother moved her into her room, she found herself so alone. Her roommate had not shown up, and she'd been informed moments after that she had been unenrolled from the school. Without a roommate and without her family for the first time, the girl felt truly and completely alone.

She had been able to go on for almost a month. Classes kept her distracted enough during the day, and all students were forced to eat breakfast together, but at night, she still had to go back to an empty room, and she still sat by herself every lunchtime and dinnertime. The only thing that kept her sane was the picture of Sam and Allison on her last birthday by her bed. She didn't want to call and worry them. She'd already written to them every two weeks like she had promised, and even then, she felt she was bothering them too much.

The girl had just finished an English class when suddenly, her books flew everywhere, and her knees scraped against the hardwood floor. People around her laughed at their teenage insensitivity, but it was the words of one particular girl that struck her the hardest.

"I think it's better that you go back where you came from," she had spat. "Although I guess some scholarship girl should be used to being at our feet."

(Y/N) hadn't been able to look into the girl's eyes before she felt her chest wrenching from lack of air. Students lost interest in her seconds later, leaving her to scramble for her things as she fought against her own body. One more minute, and she was left alone in the seemingly never-ending hallway.

The lockers around inched closer to her as the seconds ticked by, taking over the little air that remained for her. Her eyes blurred, and her skin pebbled with sweat, all while her lungs screamed at her to breathe.

The tingling started at the tops of her fingers, like ants eating at her veins, and spread to her legs. She was numb and oversensitive all at once, yet she had no control over it. Her body was going crazy, and she had no control over it.

"Hey, hey," she heard a voice call out from a distance. "You need to focus on your breathing, okay? You're having a panic attack."

(Y/N) felt cold hands against her arms, and her eyes snapped back into focus. Before her stood a black-haired girl with striking blue eyes. She wore a burgundy polo, letting her know she was a junior.

"I-I-I c-can't b-breathe."

"I know, honey," the girl said. "Just do what I do, alright? Focus on me."

The older girl took deep breaths through her nose and exhaled through her mouth, telling (Y/N) to do the same. She didn't let go of her hands at any moment, instead keeping her centered with her touch and soft words. Her voice lulled her into a rare sense of calm she had not felt in a while and helped even out her racing heartbeat.

(Y/N) couldn't understand how this girl who knew nothing about her had stopped to help her, even after the tardy bell had rung. Unlike the peers she had shared for four weeks who had laughed at her and walked away without sparing her a second glance.

What she hadn't known was that those few minutes had been excruciating for the girl helping her. (Y/N)'s knees had been spilling small droplets of blood and had been testing the vampire's resolve. It had taken everything in her not to pounce on the girl's neck and expose her identity. But for some reason, she hadn't been able to just walk away.

"How're you feeling now?" the girl asked as (Y/N)'s breathing evened out. "Any better?"

"Y-yes," (Y/N) croaked. "Thank you."

"No need to thank me. Some kids here don't understand common decency," she chuckled. "I'm Theo, by the way. Well, Theodora, but my friends call me Theo."

"I'm (Y/N)," the young girl responded.

"Well, nice to meet you, (Y/N)," Theo smiled. "How are you finding Greenfield?"

"Lonelier than I was expecting," she admitted with a dry chuckle. "I don't even have a roommate, and clearly, I'm not doing good at making friends."

"Then consider me your first official friend."

"Don't take this in a bad way, but why?" (Y/N)questioned. "I mean, you're a junior. I'm just a freshman."

"Eh, I don't really care about those things," she shrugged. "We all need someone, (Y/N). I'm good with being someone for you."

Theo had become the someone (Y/N) had needed for the next two years. She'd encouraged her to meet new people, she guided her in the direction of a few internships. Theo had even been the one to guide her through a dual-enrollment and started her on her path to medicine. She had been everything she had ever wanted in a friend. Except honest.

As the girl calmed, that realization dawned upon her. The Theo she had met in Greenfield had only been the vampire's mask. The girl that was standing before her was the real one, all golden eyes and perfect skin. She had pretended to be her friend for years, but she had disappeared the moment she needed her the most.

Everyone needs someone. That much she knew was true. However, Theo clearly was not the right person for (Y/N).

"How are you feeling?" Theo asked. "Any better?"

"I'm fine," she croaked, pulling her hand from the girl's grasp. "I can handle things by myself."

"I don't doubt that, (Y/N)," the vampire said. "But we all need someone, (Y/N)."

"Why do you care?" she spat. "After all this time of silence and no contact, why do you care now?"

Theo's expression twisted in confusion, clearly unaware of what the Uley girl spoke of. "What do you mean, (Y/N)?" she questioned. "Did you not get my letters?"

"What letters?"

"I've been sending letters to your home since I left for New York, (Y/N). Since I never heard back, I assumed you just didn't want to talk to me anymore," Theo confessed. "I stopped for some time, trying to give you some space. But when I saw what you were going through after... well, you know, I couldn't help but reach out. And yet again, I never got a response."

"I... I've never gotten a letter from you, Theo," the girl muttered. "Are you sure you sent them to the correct address?"

"I didn't break into the school and look at your personal file to get things wrong," she chuckled. "I'm a hundred percent sure I sent them to your mom's house. And I never got a return to sender post, so I just assumed you threw them away."

Suddenly, a thought popped into (Y/N)'s head. "Sam always gets the mail for mom and I," she mumbled under her breath. "And when he didn't, Paul was the one that got it. But... no. They wouldn't..."

"I don't know what they would or wouldn't do, but I did send those letters," Theo said. "I wished there was more that I could have done for you, but I couldn't without revealing what I really am and crossing into enemy territory. I tried to reach out the only way I thought I could."

"I just thought you'd forgotten about me after you left for New York," she muttered. "I even tried to email you, but the school deactivated your school email after you graduated. I felt like an idiot for trying to contact you when I thought you didn't want anything to do with me. I mean, you were a college student, and I was just a junior in high school."

"Well, a junior in high school and college," Theo teased as she bumped her shoulder softly into (Y/N)'s. "I didn't want to lose contact with you, (Y/N). But I always knew it was something that had to happen at some point—back when you didn't know everything, of course. Humans and vampires, it's just something that isn't meant to last."

"Yeah," (Y/N) scoffed defeatedly. "That's something I learned the hard way."

Theo remained quiet for a second, pondering over her next words carefully. "Would you have allowed him to turn you, then?" she asked tentatively. "Would you really have become one of us?"

"If he had asked me, I think I would have," (Y/N) admitted. "Now, I'm not even sure I want to be in the same state as him."

"You still love him, don't you?"

"I don't want to."

"But you do," Theo stated. "Which is why you agreed to get him home. Which is why you're helping him and his family even after all they did. But you must know you don't have to do this if you don't want to."

"W-what?" (Y/N) questioned in disbelief. "After all that begging, you're telling me there's another way?"

"Not exactly another way, but Esme and I will find a way to get him back," she said. "I didn't want to mention anything in front of her because she's already so distraught from losing her best friend, but you have a choice here, (Y/N). You don't owe them anything, okay? Not even me."

(Y/N) took a moment to ruminate on Theo's words. She'd known deep inside that she could deny them help, but she hadn't felt like it was a real option. The guilt alone would have consumed her, taking her body hostage from the inside out. Even if Carlisle couldn't die, he was doing the closest thing to it. "No, I want to help," she replied. "Regardless of everything that has happened, I want to help."

"Only if you're sure, (Y/N)."

"I am," she smiled. "I'll see you tonight, Theo."

"(Y/N)..."

"I'm okay, Theo," she said. "I'll see you soon."

The ride back home filled (Y/N) with anger and uncertainty. She had carried some buried resentment toward Theo since the girl had left the boarding school. The one girl that had gone out of her way to build her up into who she was had disappeared as quickly as she had come to her life. And she never got a reason why.

She had spent years thinking she was disposable, that she had lost the only friend she had made at school to distance and disinterest. Instead, someone had decided to try their hand at playing god and had believed they knew more than the universe's will. The only culprits he could think that would do that were the very ones who had been tasked to keep others like Theo away from their land. But she couldn't believe they would do something like that for years. Not to her.

Still, she had no time to ponder over the betrayal as she searched her room for a duffel bag to fill with the first clothes she could find. The girl ran from corner to corner, packing essentials and some non-essentials as well. It was her first time flying across the country to save her vampire ex-boyfriend from eternal hunger and punishment after he had shattered her heart—she didn't know what to pack.

All she knew was that she had very little time before she had to drive all the way back to the Cullen's land.

"What are you doing?" Paul's voice suddenly filled her room. "You smell like them."

"I'm going to New York with Esme and a friend to save Carlisle," she responded without taking her gaze off the clothes she was folding. "We leave as soon as I'm done here."

"So you decided to help," Sam interjected. "I thought seeing the bloodsuckers again would make you hate them. Serves me right for believing their charms wouldn't work again on my sister."

The spite in her brother's voice pierced her heart with calculated precision. He had only spoken with kind and supportive words while the vampires were away, and there was no sign they would come back. He had stood by his sister's side and told her what she wanted to hear, except when she needed him the most—except when she had finally made a decision he did not like. "You always knew there was a possibility I would go," she said through gritted teeth. "And they didn't work any charms on me. My mind had been made up before I even got there."

"We have enough with the ones that came back," Sam said. "Why do you have to bring another one?"

"Because his family deserves to have him here. He's not just your enemy, Sam. He's also a father and a friend, and they miss him. It is not my place to keep him away."

"After all we did to keep them from you," Paul mumbled under his breath, thinking she couldn't hear him.

But she did. "Oh, I know all about what you've done," (Y/N) spat. "Like keeping letters from me sent by the only friend I had in school. Where are they, huh, Sam? Did you chase the mailman until you got them?"

"How did you...?"

"That friend I'm going to New York with? Turns out she's a vampire, and she's the one that had sent those letters," she said. "Letters I didn't even catch a glance of since you and Paul had always been so kind to bring our mail in."

"I was trying to protect you, (Y/N)," her brother argued. "Those things have no place here."

"They are your enemies, Sam! Not mine," she exclaimed. "I thought she hated me. I thought the one friend I had made outside of the reservation hated me because she hadn't reached out. Come to find out, it was you that had been keeping her away."

"Those letters reeked of leech," he scoffed. "I was doing you a favor. Those things are poison, (Y/N)."

"That should be my decision to make! You took that from me, Sam. Both of you," she fumed. "People have always looked down on me. Whether it be for where I was born, how much money I have, or who my father is. I can count on one hand the people who wanted to be my friends without you intervening. Theo was the only person in that school who saw me as a person. I wasn't Sam's little sister or the smartest person in class. I was simply a person. And you made me think all of that had been a lie. You made me feel unlovable, replaceable."

"She's a vampire."

"She's my friend!" (Y/N) yelled. "Look, I don't need to explain why or why those letters mattered to me. What I care about is that you took away my choice to decide on the matter. I'm not a child anymore, Sam. I do not need you to make decisions for me."

"Are you sure about that, (Y/N)?" Sam fumed. "You fall for one leech, he breaks your heart, and you turn into a depressed alcoholic. I missed one delivery from those bloodsuckers on your birthday, and it sent you down a spiral that had you in bed for days. From where I'm standing, I did you a favor by burning those letters."

Tears threatened to spill from the girl's eyes as anger bubbled inside her. She wanted to believe her brother's ire was misdirected, that his poignant words were jabbing at marble skin. But it was her he was speaking them to, and she wasn't made of impenetrable skin. "If that's what you believe," she said in a scary and calm tone. "But we'll need to table discussion for later. I can't be late."

(Y/N) walked past her brother and her friend, her bag in tow and her anger boiling in her veins. She knew the longer she stayed, the more likely she'd say something she regretted. Unlike the wolves, she couldn't let her ire consume her—there was no telling when she'd come out once she allowed the darkness to take over.

She was in her truck and ready to go when a knock at her side startled her. "What do you want, Paul?"

"Don't go, (Y/N)," he said. "He's not good for you."

"No one will ever be. Not to you. Not to Sam," she scoffed. "But it doesn't matter because I'm not getting back together with him. I'm only returning him where he belongs—to his family."

"We have enough leeches across the pond. We don't need one more."

"This is not about you or the wolves, Paul," she argued. "This is about a family that is shattered."

"They didn't care when you were the one that was broken."

"Lucky I'm not them," she said. "Now, go away unless you want me to run you over."

Next ->

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[ganxiously]

my main problem with the 'relapsed' thing is that it's telling me Buck has still not thought things through. Bobby is the one who compared it to addiction and Buck just took that and ran with it like come on, man. Why all the plagiarism? What the fuck do you feel about this relationship? I don't want other people's words and other people's advice from your mouth. I want you to say what you think and what you feel for once. because like every fucking thing else, his actions give away the truth that he seems to be simply incapable of perceiving.