#sometimes I like to think the foundation is like some messed up high school or something

[blartboy29]

When ur a teenager in school instead of a grown man working for a secret foundation that contains anomalous entities.

[lucero-is-here]

As you play the camera footage, you see a recording of a room. the walls are half painted and doodles are everywhere…the floors were made of hard, polished wood that seemed to shine under the warm yellow lighting. Before anything else could be said, a cloud of smoke flooded the room. When the smoke disappeared, standing in front of the camera was a young man.

“Good evening Ladies, gentlemen and folks! I am your host! And today we have the long waited headcanon post!”

requested by:

“Due to certain reasons, all of the headcanons will shoved in one post! so be sure to scroll down for any of these characters!”

“Presenting…Vickey Lopez!”

- She’s a straight ally. she’s very supportive of the LGBTQ+, but she knows she is straight and will politely reject girls who confess to her.

- she has issues with stress. I like to think Vicky used to be a gifted child, but as she grew up she became more burnt out. her mom still had relatively high expectations for her, and she is unable to cope with the stress.

- she loves chewing gum! her favourite flavour would always be strawberry, but she’s fine with any.

- she is really flexible. She is in fact a cheerleader, and she is quite flexible. She uses her flexibility to her advantage, and makes quite the performance.

- she was extremely popular in school. People likes her because she was pretty, and was relatively nice to people as long as you didn’t mess with her.

- she can be really sassy.

- she’s really straightforward and blunt at times. sometimes when she says really mean things, she means it, but also forgets that people actually get hurt by her comments and apologises to late-

- she wear highs heels or sneakers most of the time. she only wears high heels when she wants to look really pretty, but she finds sneakers more convenient, and it’s easier to do her every day tasks in them.

- a boy asked her out once, and she rejected him, since it was her best friend and she saw him as a brother and only as a brother.

- she’s usually wearing earphones or headphones all day. She is constantly listening to music, and it’s rare to find her without earpiece.

- she has really pretty hands. She takes a lot of care of her hands and makes sure they look nice.

- she takes a lot of pride in her appearance. She wants to look pretty, and she knows she looks pretty, so she’s quite happy about that.

- she dyed her hair once, she dyed the ends purple, before growing it out and cutting her hair. She liked the style, but she also realised the dye damaged the ends of her hair, so she decided to stop dying her hair.

- she gets very little sleep- like at most 7 hours, and she pulls all nights a lot. So she has eyebags.

- she does a minimum amount of makeup. most of the time, she uses some foundation to cover up her eyebags, and also some mascara.

- she’s scared to express her emotions sometimes. She’s scared people will judge her if she acts to happy or if she cries in front of people, so she stays as neutral as possible to avoid getting judged.

- she has a cute cat plushie in her bedroom that she hugs to sleep every night. She called it Kibby and she really likes Kibby. Kibby is a black cat plushie and he is adorable.

- she can do an oversplit, and it’s really impressive when she does it

- she used to do ballet at one point of time, and she looked really pretty doing it. But she lost interest in ballet and went to do something else she liked!

- she likes embroidery, and she does embroidery every now and then. She makes these really pretty 3D roses, and they always look really pretty.

- sometimes she sews small little designs into her outfits so they look nicer. Sometimes, she sews little hearts or roses onto her stuff, and also offers to sew cute little designs onto her friends’ items as well!

- Her favourite colour is purple and black! She thinks both colours are really really pretty!

- she writes in cursive, and her handwriting is really pretty.

- she takes really good care of her hair, so it’s silky smooth and is really easy to brush through.

- terrified of insects and bugs.

- relatively okay spice tolerance.

That’s it for Vicky Lopez!

Up next is Gregory Lynn!

- bisexual man.

- he has really messy handwriting.

- he likes pulling pranks on people, but he stopped for a while after one of his pranks had gone wrong and upset someone a lot.

- his hair is very messy and gets tangled a lot- it doesn’t help that he forgets to brush it a lot of the time.

- he won’t admit it, but he’s a bit scared of the dark. It’s especially when he thinks he sees something in the corner of his room staring down at him, and he almost wants to cry every time that happens.

- he sleeps with a teddy bear, who he smartly named Ted. He really likes Ted, and he takes very good care of Ted.

- he likes candy, a lot. He has a massive sweet tooth, and he tends to eat too much candy sometimes. One time he gorged a lot of skittles, and turned his tongue rainbow from the sheer amount of skittles he ate.

- he loves sour candy. Yes I said he likes candy, but if he had to choose anything, he’s going with sour candy. He thinks it’s the best thing ever.

- he binged watched an entire series in the span of two days and pulled an all nighter, only to be disappointed by the ending.

- he gets no sleep. He stays up majority of the time and refuses to sleep, because sleep is apparently for the week, and he’s to stubborn to sleep. So people have found him asleep on a chair, standing, or even in the most uncomfortable position ever.

- he usually wears loafers or boots, he thinks they are very comfortable and he finds it easy to move around and do his daily activities in them.

- he tries out cosplaying one time, and he didn’t really like it for some reason. He doesn’t know why, but people treated him like the actual character and he felt weirded out to an extent.

- he loves listening to music, and he’s usually listening to music in his free time!

- his spice tolerance is shit. he can’t handle spice at all-

- if he has an outfit he likes, he’ll buy it different colours, so his entire wardrobe is just of similar outfits with different colour schemes.

- he drinks way to much coffee to be okay- Caffeine is one of the major reasons he doesn’t sleep, sugar also plays a role-

- he collects old game consoles sometimes. He has a tamagotchi, a Nintendo 64, etc…He really likes them, and he used them every now and then!

- he fell down a staircase once by accident- he went to his friends and said: I can jump down the staircase! And he ended up falling down and breaking a leg.

- he likes photography. He loves taking photos, and takes photos of beautiful scenery wherever he goes. He keeps the photos as memory, and he really likes them.

- he is not flexible at all. He tried doing a split once but gave up because he just couldn’t.

- he’s really interested in sports. He watches football and basketball and what not with his brother. They are usually on opposite teams and they sometimes bet who they think will win. So far, Gregory has lost more money.

- people see him as a bit arrogant sometimes unfortunately-

okay that’s it for Gregory Lynn…

presentingggg…MIA LOUKAS!

- BISEXUAL!

- her hair gets tangled a lot unfortunately- she cares for her hair a lot, yet it still gets tangled a lot of the time.

- she likes pearls, cause she thinks they are really pretty and aren’t to extravagant. She likes how simple they are and really appreciated where they come from.

- she cannot cook, she bas burnt down the kitchen once and has been banned from cooking ever since.

- when she was a kid, she was really shy and often kept to herself. She didn’t know how to talk to people and was extremely socially awkward.

- she likes to write and draw sometimes! She finds it really enjoyable, even though her drawings and writing may not be the best at times.

- she is pretty soft spoken most of the time- she sometimes has issues expressing how she feels and her opinions on certain things cause she’s scared people will get offended by her words, so she finds it easier to keep to herself then to tell other people her thoughts at times.

- Mia is either to quiet or to reckless. She’s either never speaking up about anything, or she goes a but overboard. What I mean by overboard is that she becomes overly blunt and she sometimes becomes really harsh. Usually, this harshness is necessary, but she occasionally caused some misunderstandings due to her tone.

- neat handwriting.

- she’s very scared of snakes-

- she really liked to read as a child. Her favourite book was Hansel and Gretel for some reason.

- She doesn’t know how to spell “necessary”, she often spells it wrong.

- She is acquainted with all her coworkers, but she doesn’t consider them close friends. Friends, but not really that close.

- she used to be really scared of foxes, wolves and snakes, especially since she was told foxes, wolves and snakes could eat farm animals.

- She had a pet pig at one point of time, but it got eaten by a fox. So she is forever traumatised and scarred/j

- She usually wears loafers. She hates how high heels feel, and she prefers the feeling loafers have, especially since they are much more comfortable to walk and run in.

- She tried dying her hair once, but she ended up regretting it- She looked nice but she didn’t like how the dye made her hair feel.

- she paints her nails sometimes. She likes sparkly nail polish, cause it’s usually simple and doesn’t stand out that much, but it’s still really pretty.

- She loves flowers a lot. She likes purple flowers the most. She also has a book about flowers and what they mean.

- She cannot cook, but she can bake. She bakes cookies every now and then- and they’re really good somehow.

“Okay that’s it! My apologies for doing this request so late!”

With that, the recording came to an end.

[hislittleraincloud]

I think your (y/n or x reader) statement is really good, it definitely made me think. I only have tumblr again since last year and had last used it in 2016. At first I was totally overwhelmed because everything had changed so much. Fanfictios? Y/n's? Readers? Everything I saw here was something completely different from what I knew from Wattpad. Also back then I had tumblr only for gifs, lol. I thought I'd try this Y/N thing and I understand what's good and bad about it. I have rewritten so many of my fanfictions and ideas to y/n and have noticed how much potential is getting lost. Thank you for this insight! I will definitely write classic fanfiction again with characters I invented myself. But being actually able and write about those characters we like is really hard, cause after all we will never be able to know what they would actually be like.

As always I apologize for my grammar and stuff, sometimes I need to use a translator. I hope it’s not that messed up and hard to read. So thank you again for giving that insight. It really changed my sight on all of that. But I think we should also try to see both sides. For some is that writing style an escape, something that helps them to deal with life, keeps them going as well I guess. Not everyone is a good writer but everyone can be. After all we write for ourselves. We should write for ourselves and help each other if we can.

Greetings Kat ✌🏻

Glad you could find something useful in my rant. Your grammar is fine, don't sweat it in Asks.

One thing I'll point out though: "I will definitely write classic fanfiction again with characters I invented myself. But being actually able and write about those characters we like is really hard, cause after all we will never be able to know what they would actually be like. "

That's where that imagination that I mentioned comes in. As humans we were gifted with the ability to imagine scenarios that we would 'never be able to know' what they would actually be like. Authors (good ones) create well-written universal characters that their readers respond to; they can either love them or hate them. Sometimes authors create poorly written characters in their canon *cough*CairoSweet*cough* that serve as the foundation for better character development in fandom.

If you're writing your own character, you should probably write up a character profile and get to know your own character before unleashing them on others...if you don't have a sense of who they are, neither will your readers.

It is very hard for some people to write like writers and not Tumblrinas. That's why we also have that dialogue garbage that isn't 'writing fan fic', it's tapping out dialogue (usually bad, or unoriginal/been done elsewhere/usually a decade or decades before the author hit their teens dialogue). They can't write a scene between people beyond the dialogue. (That's where 100 word drabble practice comes in.)

None of it I can understand, since Millennials and Gen Z have been given the tools to become fantastic writers. They have a whole world of dictionaries, thesauruses, and FREE BOOKS to read and emulate. Writing in the style of your favorite author--exactly the assignment Mr. Miller gives in Miller's Girl--is actually a very great way to actually practice your writing. It's how I went from o.k. writer who could write dated Walt Whitman-like poetry to 'great' writer who could write timeless Ginsberg and cummings-like poetry in high school. I went from getting my poems rejected and ridiculed (it was all blind critique) to owning more than 1/4 of the published submissions (and the cover artwork) in my senior year.

But that's poetry. Before that I was writing just regular ol' smut, my style an amalgamation of the various authors I've read over the years. We are all amalgamations of what has come before us; except when there's 🗑️ out there and that's all you read, you become the amalgamation of 🗑️. So...let's follow your lead and not put out such vapid garbage. Amalgamate! But do it better.

Thanks for the Ask & good luck. 🫴🏽💕✨

[izukista]

My little journey on Purposive Communication

Honestly this is my first time doing this kind of blog and I actually started liking it because you are into like writing stuffs. When I was a kid I found reading books are fun it's one of my hobbies when i'm just a little kid well when I grew up a little I found these kind of blogs in the internet I happened reading a lot and actually burned my free time literally reading random amazing and get my attention kind of stories across these vast wide of news and interesting wandering in the internet, I used mostly of my time reading these kind of stuffs. Well here we go so let's start with what I learned in these subject well it first introduced me when I was in senior high school well its quite fun literally learning about stuffs like this because when i am in my junior highschool i am part of the journalism group competing to other school well that's the foundation to learn the sentence kind of stuffs well I there's still a vast of lesson I need to adapt and learn and when purpo comm introduced in senior high school I'm somehow get serious about the lessons because I knew it'll help me a lot in the future and that is one of the perks I got and the fast forward in my fresh man year this is like a whole roller coaster ride well I happened to be more productive now comparing to my younger days, Because I am so stubborn, always do procrastinating stuffs, and also not paying attention to lessons, In other words I am super lazy about doing stuffs both in life and academically. Now this year the lessons really helped me especially talking formally with kind of respect and as well getting good at making a good responses. I learned what, where, when I can use those words example the past tense, present tense, I know it's already you will say "they already though you this when you were in grade school right?" well it is just some kind of rewind of your junior year as well getting more further at making kind of stuffs, well I know some of it are not new to us but when you get in your adult days finding a job as a grown up you'll see what you learn in your early years of life can help you find a job, as you can see I still strive to being good at stuffs because I know when I am old enough i'll get a job and will stuck in an endless loop which is not fun but I know all the lessons I learned will help me some sort of things or challenges that I will face someday I knew that the other stuffs is like miraculously turn the tables for me and get the achievements I always dreamed of. Well you see there are a lot of stuffs you will face especially sometimes you need to proof read again and again because sometimes you'll make a noticeable and questionable errors or mistakes that can give yourself a big headache because what you you do turned out to be a big headache, But sometimes its quite fun learning from your mistake I think this is more like a Book thing and not a blog anymore. I really happened to learn a lot in some few sessions of the subject well I somehow I think I adapted to things it's fun and amusing that I am more fluent and confident on making quick statements as well getting more good at responding in few discussions with my foreigner friends, Well it escalated quickly I met some friends that is not Filipino's well its fun talking to them but sometimes i stuttered and also lag in real life because I forgot what i wanted to say. I know its normal to make mistakes but you the feeling of embarrassment I faced talking to them because I somehow messed things up to some serious conversations I faced each day.

[discrunkled-twog]

Haircut

She ran her fingers through my hair. It feels nice, and calming. I've already decided what I want done, so when she asks, I say "To my ears, thinned out and layered."

She pulls my hair back behind my ears, leaving the front strands to hang out on their own. She pushes it up into something like a bob.

"Like… here?" She gestures to the bottom of my ear.

"Yeah." I nod.

"So, you want it layered in the back too?"

"Uhh…" I really have no idea what she's talking about, and I'm trying to remember from past hair cutting experiences. "I think I usually got it layered all the way around. It's been a while since I've cut it."

Still carding through my hair, she nods. "Yeah, it's really grown out. So all the way around?"

"Um, yeah, I think so."

"I have this thing, it's kind of like a razor, that I can use to thin it out. It'll cut it in the back." I can feel her toying with the hair at the back of my head. Still feels funny.

"Umm… maybe? I don't know, I just know I want it shorter." I smile and look down. I put my glasses down before we started so that they wouldn't get in the way. I didn't want to see myself in the mirror, and I felt awkward looking at her.

"Maybe I could play around with it, see how it looks?" Her tone is strange. Like she's talking about her own hair.

"Well, I assume you know what you're doing better than I do." I chuckle. She chuckles back and starts to make her way around the chair.

"Good girl."

Good girl.

Wait.

Alarms start going off in my head. Either I look young enough to where she thought that was an appropriate thing to say, I look old enough to where that was a flirty thing to say, or I'm overthinking it and it was actually very normal.

Even if I was young, it felt like something inappropriate. I keep looking down.

"So I just play around with it, and you can do something with it?" She's still messing with my hair, starting to comb through it.

I hum in response. I'm stuck on it now. Good girl.

Like a dog, oddly. But my mind goes to sex because that's what people associate it with. It's joked about a lot with people my age, so my mind automatically goes there. It's strange but it's normal at this point.

"I-I'll find something to do with it."

I am not attracted to this woman. I've been attracted to women before and taken things the wrong way, even if it's a fantasy, because I'm a teenager and that's what teenagers do. It's normal, probably, so I no longer chastise myself too much for it.

Still, my mind wanders. It's not exciting and flowing, but kind of cold. Flat. Not really enjoyable, but still where my mind goes.

Good girl.

Excuse me? Maybe I should be offended that she had the audacity to say such a thing, and maybe that'd be pretentious. I'm still quiet, and she's spraying water in my hair and combing it. My hair goes flat and I look at my father, who's waiting for his turn. It's like she doesn't even care that he's here; like she can't tell I'm a child.

Maybe something should happen, so I'd have a real story to tell, I think.

"So. What do you do? School? Do you work somewhere?" Finally, she starts cutting. Nope, still spraying.

"Oh, I'm still in school." I hope I'm speaking normally. 

"Oh, yeah? High school?"

"Yeah, I haven't graduated yet."

She nods.

"Homeschooled, actually."

"Ah." Snip. "Makes sense why your hair's so grown out. Don't get out much."

Presumptuous, probably. I mean, I do go out. Somewhat. I get defensive over this, even though I have no idea what I'm defending.

"I mean, I guess so. I… do stuff. Sometimes. It's…" And then my speech trails off into odd mumbling like I'm nervous. Flustered, maybe. She doesn't care.

"Not out on your own yet?"

"Not yet," I say like I just can't wait to move out. Not true. I laugh. For some reason.

Why am I flustered? I probably shouldn't be, and I'm weirder than this lady at this point.

I catch a glance of myself in the mirror. I'm wearing lipstick that's much brighter than anything I've ever worn— as if I usually wear make-up and foundation that's the wrong color and I don't have my glasses hiding my bushy eyebrows and I feel so terribly ugly at the moment. My hair is wet and flat and isn't helping. I should've gotten dressed better before leaving the house, I think.

She keeps cutting and I keep thinking. About her comment, and how it might or might not have been inappropriate, and about how I'm going to write about it later as if it's an important event. My thoughts spiral into something frantic and hormonal, if you'll pardon my French, but it's not something fun and it's stressing me out.

I avoid the mirror, and she's stopped talking. I glance over to my father, who's getting his hair cut at this point. The lady cutting his hair is talking about normal hair things, and I'm wishing that this woman would say something that would make anything make more sense. Or at least something noteworthy.

She's singing along to a country song. She keeps recognizing the ones that play on the radio, but this one is something about buying a boat. It's in the chorus and it's repeated, but I keep thinking.

Good girl.

Seriously, what the fuck?

She talks to the other lady from time to time, and eventually she's done. She puts her weird scissors down and turns me around to face myself. I feel so deeply unattractive, which probably isn't the right feeling to be having at the moment.

"Look, it's cute."

It kind of is. It falls around the bottom of my ears, but it's shorter than I've ever had it. It makes me worry a bit, but I still feel inappropriately nervous. I smile and agree. She hands me a mirror to look at the back, and that's it. It's done.

I stand up. I feel awkward and heavy. What the hell even are my shoes. 

My father's been done for a bit now, but his hair looks pretty much the same. Mine is drastically different, but it's not the mullet that my mother says would've kept me inside the house for the next four to six weeks. It's fine.

Apparently I look like a lesbian now, so whatever.

[rynne311]

The Gun

Summary:  There are far too many ways for the meet the family date to go wrong, especially when there are lost guns and misunderstandings involved.

Word Count: 1136

You had desperately wanted to make a good impression.  You'd never really made it to the 'meet the family' phase of the relationship before and you didn't want to mess this up.  It was intimidating enough sitting in the expansive drawing room with all eyes on you.  The idea that just by opening your mouth you'd probably end up putting your foot in there was daunting.

Dinner had seemed to go well enough.  None of the potential fights Jason had warned you about had actually happened, which you couldn't tell if that was a good sign or not.  If they had fully welcomed you into the family, they would let their guard down and let stupid fights break out, but you tried to remind yourself that this was only a first meeting and that evenuality would come along before you knew it.  

You didn't have time to over think it before your phone started ringing, and knowing that work didn't call unless it was important, you excused yourself from the room to answer.  Jason studied your face as you excused yourself, trying to gauge if this was going to be a 'we get to leave' kind of work call.

"What do you mean you lost the gun?" You questioned as you rounded the corner out of the doorway.

"And you're sure someone didn't just leave it on a shelf?"  Your voice carried no matter how much you tried to hush.

Jason could sense Bruce's eyes narrowing in your direction. It didn't take much for him to know what the man was thinking.  Jason had already heard enough of it with his own track record.  

"You're just going to bring someone here who apparently has such a blasé attitude about deadly weapons that they appear to be routinely left around for anyone to find and discharge," Bruce lectured.  "It's bad enough that you disregard my feelings on the matter, but it is another thing entirely to bring strangers here who obviously do the same thing."

It seemed the writing was on the wall, and judgements already made.  He was disappointed, but not surprised.  The night had gone far too well, and it was only fitting in his mind that Bruce would take something good in his life and twist it into something terrible.

"And you wonder why I've been in this relationship for well over two years, and this is only the first time I've brought Y/N here. So definitely not just a stranger," Jason countered.  He could feel the anger rising, and as much as he was trying to keep things relatively sane in the manor for your visit, he couldn't help as his voice kept growing. "You just love to take things out of context and villainize them, especially if it has anything to do with me and anything I love. I mean, c'mon Bruce, you really live to the expectation on this, I just can't tell if it's living up to it or down to it."

Jason's bellowing had you abruptly hanging up the phone running back into the drawing room.  You'd only seen him this angry a couple of times, but this time was different, you could see the pain it was stemming from standing right in front of him.  There was always a distance to it, something he only had to prove to and remind himself, but this time was different.  This time the manifestation of his personal shortcomings stood chest to chest to him in icy judgement.

"I think there may have been a misunderstanding," you hurried to begin to explain. Your voice grew progressively more stern, more protective. "I manage a store, and sometimes I or some of my associates accidentally leave our scanner gun on a shelf while changing stock around or checking inventory.  I make sure the entire store takes safety very seriously."

Jason knew what was going to happen next if he didn't intervene.  It was a self-fulfilling prophecy he supposed.  He had warned you of the high probability of a fight breaking out during your visit, but he had been sure it would have been between his brothers, not you going toe to toe with Bruce.  Without interrupting you, he started guiding you to the door.  His hands on your shoulders only served to embolden you.

"You should know part of the reason I wanted to come here and meet you tonight was to thank you for the generous Wayne Foundation scholarship I was awarded for college. I only got through two years before my mom got sick, and because it was just the two of us, I left school and started working in a store, the one I manage now, to help keep everything going. But yes, thank you for the opportunity, however ultimately unfulfilled it may be."  You couldn't veil the sarcasm in your voice anymore.  If you were to be judged, you were going to play into it.  You weren't necessarily proud that you were willing to stoop that low, but here you were taking satisfaction in the way Bruce's face fell slack as you got the last word in.

It was quiet as the car passed through the long driveway from the manor back to the main road.  You both needed to cool off and put some distance between yourselves and the house before breaking the silence.  You were more than a little surprised to look over to the driver's seat and see that Jason wasn't brooding. 

"He's probably still standing there dumbfounded," he speculated in awe. "Nobody ever has the nerve to stand up to him like that."

"You were holding your own when I walked back in," you countered.

"Okay, no one who hasn't had to endure living with him has ever had the nerve to stand up to him like that," he corrected himself.  "Once he's over the shock, he's going to respect the hell out of you.  You might even end up with a job offer."

You didn't hide the small smile as you turned to watch the passing streetlights.  It had been a long time since you had impressed someone like that, or at least a long time since you felt that you impressed someone, Jason is the first to tell you how you impress him every day.  You glanced back to him and rebutted, "I actually like my job. There's no way I'm leaving just because I made a rich man feel like an ass."

"I know all of that, and that's what'll make you turning it down so much better," he mused.

You didn't miss how he chuckled and smiled to himself at the thought.  There was a complicated relationship there you only hoped to one day understand. In the meantime, you had no doubt you and Jason could be enough for each other. 

Tag List: Everything: @societiesholyskittle @pickyblue12 @icycoldbeanieweanies @thoughtfullychaoticdreamer @bloatedandlonly @sakurafille @jason-todd-squad @childofposeidonforlife @webcraft4eveh @bookish-and-shy @dnarez @thirstiestpotato

Jason: @jason-todd-rh @princessowly1234 @manymanyenvelopes @drarrylov3r @axa-vega 

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[blushingcookie]

Finished Amphibia season 1 and on the bus to work my brain lit up and i feverishly wrote down my thoughts about the themes of the season and i am too lazy to turn that into an eloquent text so here is my obsessive improvised bus-TedTalk lolol:

been reflecting more on the writing of season 1 and i cracked the CODE pfjfkfkdkd,, idk if this is for the whole show but season 1 to me seems to be about fighting for acceptance and a sense of belonging. the core of this is of course the friendship between anne and sasha, with sasha clearly being manipulative and abusive of annes desire to feel loved and accepted by her, a friend she's had since kindergarten (and also we never see her mention any other friend other than marcy, but we do see her getting bullied for bringing non-american food to school, so that hits even harder with her wanting to "belong" and be accepted). Since Marcy had zero lines idk what their relationship is like yet, but from what ive seen annes foundation of "belonging" is "be the person sasha wants you to be", and of course that gets her in the amphibia mess in the first place. ok so they end up there and while watching i didn't rly notice just how much of the episodes revolve around this same concept of wanting to belong and be accepted, especially between two difficult cultures. One of the first mirrors to her is Sprig, who is an outsider among the kids so he rly quickly wants to be friends with anne, and it's so interesting how anne sometimes adapts sasha's methods of being a friend. It's not as blatant as it is with sasha, with the most obvious example being in episode 1 where she literally tells sprig that's what friends have to do to stay friends, but it keeps happening a few times throughout the season, like with her pushing him to confess his love TWICE for purely entertainment despite him being uncomfortable with it. Tho when moments like these happen and she gets called out on it, unlike sasha, she feels very bad and apologizes and works to be better. She also embraces the culture of amphibia more and more as the season goes on, with the first few eps her always being like "ew" and fighting with hop pop over it, but working to understand their world better and feeling more and more comfortable with their way of living (something that sasha doesn't do). The town also is weirded out by anne at first, making assumptions about her and making fun of her, but slowly they learn to accept and be kind to her. I think it's rly important that anne does NOT do things she's uncomfortable with to be accepted by them, but is just being herself, and often addresses the things she messed up openly. That openness and honesty is what brings her a true sense of belonging in the town, especially after standing up for them in the tax-collectors episode. Everyone can understand at one point that anne is not perfect, but she cares for others and is genuine about it. They all become really fond of her and she is even elected as frog of the year, which hits really hard because that's one of the few times where anne feels like she has to live up to rly high expectations, but in the end they didn't vote for her because she's some superhero or perfect person. She is just herself, and they accept and appreciate her for that. I think the Wally episode is also really important for this. He talks about a nice way to look at the stressful situation of being in an unfamiliar environment with people who don't know or understand you: you don't have to keep up any appearances.

I think it's also interesting that the planter family are kind of outsiders and looked down upon themselves, with a bunch of episodes about them trying to belong more (the food competition, the groundhog day stuff). As such they are the first who can accept anne and sympathize with her, and along with anne they find more belonging and love from the townspeople as the season goes on.

Ok so ALL of that stuff is going on but then we get sashas episode and its like the reverse situation: all the toads at the tower feel like they don't belong, like they're not accepted. Sasha immediately takes advantage of that and showers them in a false sense of acceptance and love. Unlike Anne, we know that she doesn't care for or wants to understand their culture, and doesn't even see them as conscious people, just "gross frogs". But the toads find that acceptance they were longing for, even Grimes, who felt unseen as a leader, gets to have what he felt was missing. So while for sasha it's all just a strategy to get home, i think grimes genuinely feels thankful and belonging with her, which is why he gets so pissed in the season finale when she almost dies.

AND YEAH THE SEASON FINALE,, it's like the culmination of these two opposing storylines clashing, with anne now finally able to understand how harmful sashas way of friendship was to her, and communicating that to her. And it seems like it got through to sasha as well, seeing as she was willing to cut herself off from her for anne's own good at the end. It's such a good finale because of all the thematic buildup, and because it highlights that when people are not able to understand one another and each others perspectives, the most important thing they need to do is to just communicate that to each other, openly and genuinely, without putting on a facade.

i talked mostly about how this applies to different cultures cus that seems to be most fitting for the show so far but these themes of belonging and acceptance of course are also a great fit for lgbt and neurodivergent stuff lolol, figured out why i'm so obsessed rn at last

[hey-hamlet]

The SCP AU has only been mentioned ONCE but I’m already thinking about it! AU where sometimes, children have anomalous abilities and attributes. They may be showing it of to their classmates. They may be desperately hiding. They may not be of this world. They might not even notice it. But there is a foundation that calls them SCPs, and it wants to steal them away to a place of cold cells, calculating researchers, and containment. Where they will never see the light of day again. That is, if they don’t succumb to their own powers or get killed by some other SCP. But if they are careful, and brave, and in need… a door will open.

those doors lead to UA! And UA isn’t just a high school. It’s also a research center, a college, a middle school, an elementary, AND a preschool. Anything a lost child could need while they learn who (what) they are and what they can do. SCPs get a basic curriculum for whatever dimension they plan to live in, plus the skills (if possible) needed to blend in- the courses offered are varied. Most move to a more accepting place (three Portlands is a popular destination). They can also choose to live permanently in UA, as staff. Adults… can SOMETIMES get in. If they’re lucky. And Nedzu is looking for new employees. (parents of young anomalies might get an exception)

UA is… if a place could be the definition of “reinforced”, that would be it. The main building gets, well, destroyed or blown up every now and then, but it always puts itself back together by sundown. Reality benders find the locally reality to be unusually… stiff. Unbendable. It has separate buildings for each school level, student dorms, staff apartments, Several massive underground bunkers, all the regular stuff. A few gyms open up into seemingly indefinite planes of grass, for especially dangerous SCPs to practice.

As for where UA is… nobody can tell if it’s a pocket dimension or a parallel world, but across the wall is a view of regular Japan. Getting close to the walls is impossible- you simply find yourself on the other side of the property, or right where you started. Students have attempted to cross reference the view of “regular” Japan to events happening in REAL Japan, and things don’t quite match up! Some swear they’ve seen Nedzu exit the front gates and return with a little bag of groceries, but he’s probably just messing with them. Maybe.

As for the price… Nedzu is a little fey-like when it comes to the price. A student can pay back tuition as a no-interest loan, but most are encouraged to instead become alumni- basically pledging to protect UA and its students in any time of need. Protecting can mean many things, from obtaining critical resources to infiltrating oppositional groups to straight up serving as Nedzus own private (hero!) army. (1/3)

Random character backstories:

Eraserhead has the ability to drag halt abnormal things. But if he stares for long enough, he will bring ALL things back to normalcy- a grimoire becomes a book. a teleporter is forced to walk. A god becomes a man.

Of course, living in normal society, he had no idea. But one day his friend came to school nervous and excited and pulled off his hat and his hair was made of mist!! And he could make little clouds!!! And Shouta thought it was some crazy prank, but he went along with it. Until lunch time when a bunch of strange men in black robes with guns and tattoos all over their faces broke into school! They demanded to have “the missing link”, and then they blew up a hallway and people were screaming, and then black ooze was dripping from the walls and blood was dripping out of their eyes and they killed someone. and then helicopters were landing outside and different men in white were running in and shooting back and the cafeteria ceiling collapsed and the sky was RED and someone grabbed Shirakumo and tried to drag him away but Yamada started yelling except he was SCREAMING and the ground was shaking with his voice and his mouth was too wide and the building started to collapse and this is all TOO MUCH and this is ILLOGICAL and WRONG and Shouta grabbed his friends and ran for an exit but Shirakumo turned around to throw a cloud over a kid under a falling wall and Shouta and Yamada fell forward and the door shut and there was a little white mouse in a tuxedo and Shouta.

Blacked out.

Tokoyami bought a fake grimoire on eBay and accidentally summoned a real demon to his soul

Recovery girl wasn’t hired by Nedzu, she just showed up one day on UA grounds to heal. Sometimes she mentions ancient history like it was yesterday.

Ectoplasm is a ghost. Like, a dead guy. Nedzu had his grave, dirt and all, moved to one of the apartments so he could “haunt” (teach) at UA.

Shoto is the son of a high ranking manager in the SCP foundation. Endeavor very much does not believe in sympathy for SCPs, and he made that clear when Shoto was locked up.

Hawks is a first responder to attacks on UA, due to his ability to “fly” between dimensions. He is also somewhat overworked.

Iida didn’t need rescuing- his parents are well respected alumni so he and his brother got in free. Having practically grown up there, he is among the few who NEVER get lost no matter how many times the school rearranges itself. Some kids joke that he is one of the many robots that keep UA functional.

Ashido ate an entire packet of Wondertainment® ExTrA sOuR gummy worms.

(2/3)

A bonus Crack backstory- the SCP UA is situated right in the regular BNHA world. Nedzu grew up in a lab like normal, but he never escaped. He just… popped out of existence one day. Twenty years later he returned, older, wiser, impossibly powerful. He sniffed the air, wandered Japan like a little cryptid, and finally found a nice hill in the woods. The next day… UA sprouted like a sunflower fell from the sky unfolded from the wrong dimension materialized from nothing APPEARED, and everyone aptly freaked out. Heroes stood guard as scientists and researchers poked and prodded at the walls, but nobody could get through the barrier. The people inside are weird and wrong but don’t seem to notice them, or even the occasional nearby villain battle. Even all might tried to break through, decades later, when he spotted a little girl get decapitated (she’s fine), but UA simply isn’t of this world. The main cast goes to Ketsubutsu, I guess. And if there are rumors of doppelgängers, of heroes swearing up and down that they saw themselves (but WRONG) inside The School, well. Those are just rumors.

!! Everyone read this this is so good!!

[toxicityriot]

Shishigumi Family AU Drabble:

Summary: Ibuki is up late at night, trying to wrap his head around the recent events of his (formerly) missing boss. Louis is awake too dealing with his own struggles and the lion comes to grip that he doesn't just see the young and stubborn buck as his boss or friend but as something more: family

Disclaimer: I've only seen the anime once and skimmed a few random manga pages to try and learn about characters (currently making slow progress on reading the whole thing online). I'm sorry if I butchered personalities and/or backstories in canon so I guess anything messed up would just be part of the AU lol.

Things were beginning to look like they were heading in the right direction. It only took about two months for things to start moving slow once more. Tensions have fallen and eased back into the normal casual lifestyle of the Shishigumi-or whatever the ‘norm’ for a ragtag group of lions keeping a rather taboo location in check. It was their norm anyway and they frankly did not care if anyone thought different. 

Despite the feeling of calmness washing over the rundown tower of a mansion, Ibuki could sense the underlying troubles that shook the members of the Pride down to its foundations. Even though the future was looking pretty good as of now, it had only just started to calm down after a rather devastating event that had even him sick to his stomach. He did not allow this feeling to really present itself publicly but he was still a bit shaken from the events that had unfolded a couple of months ago. 

It had started when the Shishigumi boss had run off, ordering his lion followers to stay behind. That it was his duty to help a friend. Normally, the lions would not care to meddle with high school drama or fighting students but with one of their own running straight into the snarling jaws of carnivores, it had them all worried. Ibuki could recall the sheer power and determination that blazed like orange flames in his boss’ copper colored eyes, mingled with the heavy scent of fear that radiated off his body like a furnace. A few of the lions almost broke their ‘promise’ to try and give their boss bacup after hearing about what this fight was about. But in the end, it was not their fight and they respected their boss too much to go against his orders. 

It had been a nerve wracking waiting game as the sun had slowly risen over the streets of the Market. They patiently waited for a sign. 

No calls, no texts, no check ins, and not a single letter. 

The Shishigumi boss had gone off the radar. Being an herbivore thrusting himself into a fight between two apex predators and had not returned, hope was slowly fading. By night three, the lions began to schedule patrols to keep an eye out for their horned friend, just in case. They kept their eyes and ears open in the market as well tracking any shipments of deer meat in the market just in case. 

By the end of the second week, there was still no sign of their missing boss and Ibuki had taken the role as the new leader of the Pride. It was heavily suspected that their friend had gotten too close to the deadly fight and had been devoured. It sickened Ibuki. He had grown fond of the deer and it devastated him to think of the outcome of that fight. 

Ibuki removed his glasses from his face with a sigh. It had only been about a week since Louis’ return and reassignment as boss once more. He could tell that whatever happened at that fight was troubling the boy. He never spoke of the full story in detail and that was his choice. He would respect that. The others did as well when they haute their poking and prodding but Ibuki had noticed that their were more changes to the former high school student than just physical. He noticed that he had slowly started to take better care of himself and was a lot more open on his thoughts and feelings than before. Even though these changes were not necessarily bad, it still left him in questions as to why. Louis had even halted his newfound carnivorous diet in favor of the much healthier greens he was supposed to be eating and gained a couple of pounds back in the process. He was still poorly underweight and underdeveloped for his age and species but Ibuki was proud to see the small glimmers of improvement in the field of self care. 

Small tap like thuds drew the old lion out of his thoughts as he redirected his attention to the flight of stairs. He had been so lost in his own head that he failed to realize that Louis was almost at the bottom of the staircase. He watched calmly as the deer slowly inched his way down, step by step with a hand on the wall for support, occasionally whispering small mutters to himself. Quite possibly cursing the terrible night vision he had as an herbivore. It was also good to see that Louis did not seem on edge at this hour of night as he seemed to have full trust in the Pride to not attack him when he was basically blind. A louder tap and a metallic thump let the deer know that he had made it safely down the stairs and with a flick of an ear, he adjusted his loosely fitted white shirt. Ibuki decided to make his presence known as he slowly strode towards the deer, making sure his footsteps were not light so as to not startle him. Wide unseeing copper eyes looked up and his head turned to the general direction of the footsteps. “Hey,” he greeted softly. 

Ibuki noticed the tiredness in the young buck’s voice and gave a small nod of his head. “Louis,” he returned the greeting warmly. “What are you doing up? With all due respect, i thought you would be asleep.”

Louis strugged a shoulder, not caring that the hem of the shirt has slipped over his shoulder. The lion could see the small white spots dotting the brown fur. He frowned slightly. He had only seen the fawn spots once before. Being brought up in the Market did its damage on the boy in more ways than one. “Couldn't sleep.” Louis slowly limped towards the kitchen, keeping one hand slightly away from his body to feel around his surroundings. “I could ask you the same thing.” The lion followed, impressed by the boy’s navigation skills. Even though he was relying on the sense of touch and his memory of the mansion’s layout, he seemed to be doing quite well in the dark. 

Being an herbivore living with a group of lions certainly had some of its perks. 

Ibuki observed the way Louis tended to keep most of his weight into his left leg with each step, putting only a small amount of pressure onto his prosthetic while he limped. He could tell the deer was trying to hide the limp but his efforts were not working well. He hung back a bit as he opened the fridge, squinting his eyes a bit to adjust his eyes to the sudden brightness that flooded the kitchen with a white glow, just standing there as if debating what his next move would be. The lion glanced down and noted how his left leg hovered about an inch from the ground and how he gripped onto the fridge for support. His ears twitched and his tail swayed slowly. "Does it hurt, boss?"

Louis did not reply. In fact, he made no indication that he heard the question but it seemed to snap him out of his trance when he grabbed a bottle of water. He closed the fridge and leaned his back against the door, twisting the cap off and taking a drink. Ibuki wondered if he hit a nerve. 

"Yeah." Louis responded after another sip. He sighed and looked down, slowly moving his right leg as if observing it. "Sometimes it's like I can still feel my hooves on the ground. Sometimes it burns. Sometimes its just numb. Sometimes it's a little bit of all." Pushing himself off the fridge, he screwed the lid back on the now empty bottle and placed it back in the fridge in a drawer that held his own personal food items and drinks. "I try not to think about it too often. Thinking about it only makes the pain worse." 

There was a long silence that fell between carnivore and herbivore. Ibuki, just standing near the doorway of the kitchen and Louis, leaning against the fridge with his head down, antlers making soft scraping noises as they accidentally brushed against the fridge door. He could see the boy's ears were drooping, his tail low, and his eyes nearly closed with a sorrowful expression on his face. So many thoughts must be lurking in his head, so many questions about life in general. It was one of the many things that had changed since Louis’ return. He seemed to be more readable than ever yet so unpredictable. In fact, he was always unpredictable, especially from the start when he took the first bite of meat at the table, asserting his growing authority over the lions who had watched his every move with wonder and some disbelief. 

Ibuki ran his hand through his mane as Louis straightened himself a bit. The deer came closer, keeping his eyes downcasted as he seemed to follow the sound of the lion’s breath. Ibuki watched with concern that melted into confusion as Louis hesitantly leaned his head against his chest, careful not to accidentally impale him with the sharp ends of his antlers. He stood there, immensely unsure about the gesture. It wasn't until Louis’ smaller arms held onto him that he realized he was seeking comfort from whatever was plaguing his brain. Inuki slowly lowered himself to kneel on his knees to reduce the massive height difference and returned the embrace gently, hoping that his act of affection and care would sooth the boy. It was just another thing that made its way onto the unpredictable things to come from the smaller animal. Hell, he never would've thought that he even liked hugs but this interaction proved him wrong, 

“I'm sorry,” Louis had whispered as he moved his head to rest his chin on Ibuki’s shoulder. “I was harsh on you guys. All you wanted to do was help and I turned your offers down. I should have let told you that i was still alive and-”

“With all due respect boss, i'm going to stop you right there.” Ibuki gently pulled Louis off on him and laid his hands on his shoulders, a soft look from his eyes even if he couldn't see it. “You don't need to apologize for anything. You were loyal to your wolf friend and helped him out when things got ugly. You put the ones you cared about first before your own needs and that says something about a person.” The lion smiled, gently scratching the fur behind the deer’s left ear. “You might have antlers instead of a mane, hooves for claws, and flat teeth in place of fangs but you damn well have the heart and soul of a lion. I dont think ive ever heard or witnessed another herbivore like yourself doing what you did back there. I know you made a remark about me not being your father but Louis...im proud of you, as if…” he trailed off, studying Louis' expression for a sign to continue. He could not see any negative thoughts or maybe even a furrowed brow of disgust. Hell, if anything, his expression was completely unreadable. 

He could not bring himself to say it, at least not yet. He just simply gave a small nod and a smile. “All that I'm trying to say is that I'm glad to have you back with us, Louis. You're always welcome here as our Boss, friend, and a part of our family.” Ibuki slowly raised himself back to his feet, giving Louis a playful rub between his antlers. “It was nice talking with you, son,” he added. He saw Louis’ ears perk up straight at the nickname. “ I'll let you get back to whatever you were wanting to do. I'll see you in the morning. Try not to stay up too late. You need your sleep.” As Ibuki made his way out of the kitchen, he could still feel the deer’s eyes on his back, following the movement of his departure as he made his way up the stairs for the night.

    Night had fallen and the morning had come. Ibuki was greeted to a rokous in the dubbed ‘recreational room’ as he watched the lions chat amongst themselves as they played a video game. He could pick out Agata and Free sitting on the floor in front of the television, Dope behind Free, Dolph a few steps away, Hino and Jinma watching every now and then as they spoke about their own thing, and Sabu crouched near Dope. Between Free and Agata sat Louis, the three of them going head to head in a heated game of Claws Of Duty on the TV. Ibuki did not exactly have the same interest in the video game but he took amusement in the younger members competing on who can score the most kills or who slaughters who first. He faintly heard Dope exclaim “kick his ass, boss” just before one of the sections of the screen displayed a kill animation for a round of bullets to an avatar's head, followed by Free’s groan of defeat in his loss and Agata’s laugh before he looped an arm around Louis’ neck in a celebratory semi embrace. 

    The eldest of the lions smiled. Things were indeed looking good for the Shishigumi, the band of mischievous lions and a theater performer of a young buck. He could not ask for anything better. 

[speechlessxx]

Call It What You Want (Ransom Drysdale x Reader)

Summary: There’s an unspoken bond between the Reader and Ransom.

Warnings: poorly written SMUT (18+ MINORS DNI), unprotected sex, oral sex (fem receiving), soft Ransom (because i love him idc), bad relationship with parents. This fic was honestly so self-indulgent because I love this song. 

Word Count: 3.7k

Loosely inspired by Call It What You Want by (the Queen) Taylor Swift.

Sometimes life felt as if you were playing a Jenga game alone on a table with uneven legs.

For brief moments, everything was normal. Your movements were delicate as you built the tower. Higher and higher it would go, but then you’d stop to admire your work. You would rest your elbows against the surface and accidentally cause the table to shift. The tower would collapse, and you would have to rebuild it again.

However, you never had a stable foundation to begin with. The table was always wobbly. So, time and time again that tower fell. And you’ll have to start over alone.

That was your life.

Your parents were wealthy workaholics. You don’t remember being held or cuddled by your mother or father. You had a revolving door of nannies. None stayed too long so you could form any connection. Your mother would catch them in bed with her husband and terminate their employment. Even through your father’s infidelity, your mother refused to leave him. You remembered her drunkenly admit to you, her 7-year-old, that she stayed because she was afraid of what others would think.

When they weren’t working, they were fighting. You spent nights crying alone in your bedroom as you overheard endless arguments throughout the night. Your parents’ voices would echo through the large house and you’d hear every single insult, threat, and slur.

Your family was sitting upon a tense string that refused to break.  

You had no stability – no constancy. You had no siblings either. Your school friends – whether they were from grade school or high school, it didn’t matter. They were all the same – were too self-involved to pay you any mind. You had no shoulder to cry on. No one to kiss the bruises and the scars away. No one to lean on when your life itself felt like it collapsed.

You only had your parents who both resented you because you were the result of a love that they no longer had.

Perhaps, that’s why you and Ransom Drysdale got along so well. Trust-fund brats who were neglected by their wealthy parents. Maybe it was a good thing that you at least had each other.

The closeness between you was surreal. You read one another like an open book whereas others had difficulty even pronouncing your titles. You were each other’s confidant, best friend, and rock. You found in comfort in each other’s mess.

It would be easy to mistake you two as a couple.

Both of you were once touch starved children, so you couldn’t keep your hands off each other. It was in the grazes of your fingertips and the tight embraces where you would snuggle your face in the crook of his neck, and he’d bury his into your hair. Ransom often kissed your wrists and fingers as he toyed with your hand in his. Every time you sat down next to each other, your knees were touching, or you’d be playing an unconscious game of footsies. It didn’t matter what your bodies were doing or where you were – you were always touching.

Strangers, and even those who knew you, often did think that you two were together. And when confronted, both of you would always scoff and say no. You were just friends. Nothing more, nothing less.

But behind closed doors, there was something. Something more that ignited your skin and set your body on fire. Something more that left Ransom – the talkative asshole – speechless and panting as he tried to catch his breath.

You both agreed only to have sex when it was absolutely necessary.

“It helps us blow off some steam,” Ransom had explained to you while you just nodded in agreement. You couldn’t find your words. Your wits had been fucked to silence and your brain felt like jelly.

You have your shared struggles and frustrations. Sometimes a simple lay was all you needed to let out your bottled-up emotions. It made sense when you established the agreement in your late college years.

“It doesn’t mean anything,” you agreed breathlessly.

You didn’t do it often. It would ruin the friendship. You even established a “no kissing on the lips” rule. You said it made everything all too real.

But as the years went by, something else began to blossom. Something else established itself. But neither of you would ever dare speak of it.

It would ruin the friendship after all.

-=+=-

You hated coming back to your childhood home. Haunting memories were the only keepsakes you had there. You had moved out right after college and would only return for holidays – upon your mother’s demand. You always felt as if it were empty. The house was massive and for many years was only home to three people, excluding the help.

You sat at the table alone as you anxiously fumbled with the initial necklace Ransom had given you for your birthday. The dainty gold ‘R’ charm was between your thumb and index finger as your leg bounced while you stared at the untouched feast.

Your father had excused himself, saying he had an emergency video conference for work. You and your mother rolled your eyes as he rushed off. You both knew it wasn’t for work. Enraged, your mother stalked off, glass full of chardonnay in one hand, the bottle in the other.

You didn’t know what you expected. It was like this every holiday – your parents made no exception. You stared at the turkey before you. Your parents didn’t even last to meal itself.

Frustrated, you decided to wrap everything up and packed them into take-home bags. You knew your parents probably wouldn’t eat the leftovers, so you thought about donating the feast to the foodbank. You could drop it off on your way home.

Your phone buzzed in your pocket. You dug it out and smiled upon seeing Ransom’s name.

Surviving? Because I’m not.

You chuckled. Suck it up, Drysdale. It’s Thanksgiving.

If I have to spend one more minute with these assholes, I’m going to throw myself down the stairs.

No exaggeration.

Before you could respond, you heard your mother call for you. Her glass was empty, and she was staggering into the kitchen, clearly drunk. You wondered if she drank the whole bottle.

“What the hell are you doing? Where’s the food?” She slurred.

You gestured to the packed meals. “I was wrapping them up because no one was eating.” You decided not to tell her about donating them. Lord forbid that you tried to be a decent human and help those less fortunate than you.

Your phone buzzed again. You gave it a quick glance.

Heading home now. They’re gonna give me an aneurysm.

How’s dinner?

“Why would you do that?” Her brows furrowed, but with her Botox, it made no wrinkles appear on her aging face. She put her hands on her his, the glass nearly slipping from her loose fingers. She was an angry drunk. She always was.

You wanted to say that she and your father ruined Thanksgiving. If they’d only just sit down and eat and pretend they were normal for thirty god damn minutes. But every year, that was never the case. You were always disappointed. “I can unpack it if you want.”

“Your father is an asshole.”

“You could’ve left him years ago,” you muttered.

She didn’t hear you. “How’s the job?”

“Good.” You said as you began to unpack some stuffing. Get some food in her since she was already full of alcohol.

“I don’t know why you decided business was for you,” she let out a long sigh. “Just like your father.”

“I don’t like setting up events. PR’s not my thing,” you tried to joke, topping it off with a forced laugh.

She set down her empty glass and flicked her hair off her shoulder. “Could always work for me, sweetheart. I need a new assistant.”

“I’m fine. Thanks, ma.”

“No, for real, sweetie,” she insisted. “I’d love for you to work for me. That’s every girl’s dream. Work for their mother.” You frowned. I don’t think that’s it, you thought.

“I’d rather not be tied to this family any more than I am,” you muttered. This time she heard you.

An exaggerated offended noise came from her lips as she stared at you with her jaw dropped. “Don’t be an ungrateful little bitch.” She spat. “That’s why you never do anything right and that’s why you’re unmarried, unloved, and unhappy.”

“I’m unhappy?” You laughed mockingly. “I’m not the one trapped in a marriage to man that constantly cheats on me. In fact, I’m ecstatic that I’m nothing like you or dad. I’m buzzing with jubilation.” You couldn’t stop yourself. You knew you were worsening the situation.

“You’re a vile bitch that’s gonna end up alone.” They were drunken words. You knew that. But it didn’t stop it from hurting.

You didn’t bother to respond. You chewed on the flesh inside your cheek before turning away and rushing out to your car. You cursed yourself for leaving the food. It would be trash tomorrow. Wasted. Stray tears rolled down your face and you wiped them away aggressively as you drove.

Being alone was something you should’ve been accustomed to already. In fact, you were. You were an only child, had friends that never bothered to ask if you were okay, nannies that cared more about your dad than taking care of you, parents who didn’t even remember your birthday unless they were reminded by their assistants. You knew how to be alone. You were so good at it.

And that frightened you.

You didn’t want to be alone. You craved affection, companionship, love. You wanted that for yourself. But despite all the luxuries you were granted throughout your life, that was one luxury that you desperately wanted but seemingly would never receive.

You felt your anger bubbling inside of you. A pressure started building in your head – steam that needed to be released.

Luckily, you knew where to go.

-=+=-

The holidays were a particularly hard time for both of you and Ransom. Your families demanded your attendances at events, so you both were always forced to come see the very people you loathe the most. Throughout the years of your friendship, it became a tradition to check up on each other as you spent time with your … “loved” ones.

It was a sanity check – something to keep you both grounded. He had a big family, so he could talk shit about them for hours. You loved to read the messages he’d send you.

But this time, he had sent you several messages that you hadn’t responded to. He began to worry until he heard a car door slam in his driveway. You let yourself in. You had a spare key.

“Ransom!” You called out.

“Bedroom!” He responded. He paused the movie he was watching just as you walked through his already open door.

There was something wrong. It was written all over your face. He didn’t need to ask you if you were alright. He knew you weren’t. So, instead he patted the empty side of his bed, inviting you to come lay down with him. But you had a different type of lay in mind.

“How hard is your dick right now?” You asked, bluntly, as you shrugged off your jacket and tossed it to the floor.

A smirk crept its way to Ransom’s face. “Come here and find out.”

You kicked off your shoes and shimmied out of your skinny jeans, leaving your legs exposed in only your plain, black panties. You climbed onto his bed and straddled his lap. You began to grind yourself to his growing erection. The friction stimulating both of you.

Ransom groaned as he watched you. His hands searched his sheets until he found the remote. With clumsy fingers, he managed to turn the TV off and toss the remote to the edge of the bed. He heard it fall, but he was too preoccupied with the gorgeous woman grinding her pussy on his slacks to even care.

“Let’s take this off, hm?” Ransom asked, fiddling with the hem of your blouse.

“Show me yours and I’ll show you mine,” you teased, stopping your movements.

“You’re childish,” Ransom chuckled, his tongue grazed the back of his teeth. He gave your ass a sharp slap. “I didn’t tell you to stop.”

“You aren’t the boss of me, Drysdale.”

He quirked up an amused eyebrow as if to say we’ll see before he pulled your top off your body. You were now sitting on top of him almost nude in your matching bra and underwear. You returned the favor, pulling off the hole-ridden baby blue sweater and exposing his body to you.

Your hands explored his chiseled chest and stomach. Hard as marble, but not nearly as hard as his cock beneath you, begging to be released from its confinements. You shifted down a bit so that you could undo his belt, but his hands stopped you. He grabbed your wrists and you frowned at him.

“What?” You snapped with furrowed brows.

“We’re on the same page?” Ransom asked you. He was concerned. Sure, this almost friends-with-benefits arrangement was years old at this point, but he still wanted to make sure you wanted this. He always asked before anything got too far.

“Please, Ranson…” your voice nearly cracked. He stared into your eyes and despite the lust being evident in your blown-out pupils – he was sure his mirrored the look – he saw the light red lines, an indicator that you were crying. “I need it.”

“Okay,” he nodded and let go of your wrists. Without hesitation, you began to expertly undo the belt and unbutton his pants. With his help, you were able to successfully pull down his slacks and left him in his boxer briefs. The tent inviting. Before you could reach into his underwear and pull out his friend, he flipped you over. You squealed in surprise as your back was pressed into his bed. “You need it, baby?” You nodded. “Okay… I’ll think about being nice.”

“Ransom,” you whined.

His fingers lightly traced the sides of your body. You shivered at his touch. You took it upon yourself to arch your back so that you could unclasp your bra. You threw it away, exposing your chest to your best friend who groaned.

“God, I love these.” He muttered.

His hands cupped your breasts, toying with them. His fingertips tweaking at the nipples as he ground his desire to yours. Ransom leaned down and latched his mouth onto one of your nipples. His tongue swirling around the skin as he sucked it until it pebbled. He then switched to the other. He’d also take a break from your nipples just to leave stray hickeys all over your chest, collarbones, and neck. He loved marking you up. Whilst his mouth continued its assault on your chest, one of his hands slipped into your panties and began to explore your wet folds.

And slowly, Ransom started to make his way down your body, leaving wet kisses on your skin. He kissed right on top of your underwear before slowing pulling the black fabric down your legs. You lifted your hips to assist. Once they were off, you instinctively bent your knees as Ransom pulled them apart and leaned down to give your pussy a broad tongued lick.

You used to be insecure of the stretchmarks on your thighs. When you and Ransom first started having sex, you were afraid he would find them unappealing – that it would turn him off. But your best friend assured you that every part of your body – including the flaws – were beautiful. “Nothing about you could ever turn me off, (Y/N),” a younger Ransom scoffed. The present Ransom, the one who was about to eat you out like a Thanksgiving meal, couldn’t agree more. (He’d often joke and say you ruined other women for him).

You were a moaning mess as Ransom’s fingers pulled your lips open to expose your clit to his tongue. He looked up at you from his position and the sight of you with your eyes closed in a blissful trance alone could’ve made him cum on the spot. His tongue swirled around your button in tiny, circular motions before slipping his tongue into your slickening channel.

“Oh my god,” you moaned. “Ransom, Ransom!” It was music to his ears.

He ate you out slowly, relishing in your taste. Ransom took pride in your reactions. You had one hand clasping the ‘R’ charm around your neck and the other lost in his hair. He smirked into you as he watched you wither in pleasure as he used his fingers to tease your opening. When you began to buck into his face, he used his other hand to hold down your waist, keeping your hips still for his assault.

You clenched around his fingers. “Ransom… I’m close… oh, my god,” you warned. Ransom grunted, taking great pleasure from eating you out. “Don’t stop, don’t stop,” you begged. He pressed two fingers deep inside of you, curling them and stroking your walls. He buried his face deeper into your dripping cunt and stared up as you came. He wished he could have your reactions of video. The sounds you made were porn worthy and he would’ve loved to have his own private collection.

He stroked you as you rode out your high. You were breathless as your eyes slowly fluttered open, staring up onto the ceiling. “You with me?” Ransom smirked as he stripped his underwear and stroked his hard cock. You nodded. You reached out for him and he gladly leaned down to let you wrap your arms around his broad shoulders.

“I want you to fuck me until I’m stupid,” you whispered. “Only thing I wanna remember is your name.”

Ransom almost frowned. Your parents must’ve really done a number on you this time. In the years that this arrangement had been established, Ransom would – 9 times out of 10 – be the one to initiate the stress relieving sex. But he was more than happy to oblige.

“Your wish is my command, baby,” he muttered, nipping at the skin of your neck before pushing into you.

In one hard thrust, he pushed his entire length into you. You winced when you felt him brush against your cervix. His thrusts were sharp and hard. You’ve had enough sex with each other to know the various spots that made one another tick. Ransom was eager to give you another orgasm – he got off on it.

The shifts of his hips were deliberate, bringing your legs up to drape over his shoulders. He hit spots deep inside of you that you never knew existed before you had sex with him. Your hands were searching for something to hold, something to occupy themselves with. Ransom leaned over, folding you in half, as he took your hands in his, interlacing your fingers while he pounded into you.

You gushed around his thick cock, another orgasm being pulled from you unexpectedly. You moaned his name over and over. “Yeah, baby? Only I make you feel like this, huh?” he grunted. “You take my dick so well. Only you do that, baby.”

You moaned in response, no tangible sentences could even form. His name was the only thing you could say. Your brain effectively melting as you requested.

“I’m gonna make you cum over and over for me.”

He made good on that promise. You lost count of how many times Ransom had made you cum. You had no idea where he got the stamina. But he fucked you through orgasm after orgasm. You fell apart so many times only for him to put you back together.

The obscene sounds that came from your heated core were accompanied by a symphony of moans and the slapping of skin.

“Ugh,” you moaned after what felt like your 6th orgasm of the night. “I love you, Ransom,” you moaned out, and it was the truth. In your fucked-out state, you confessed the three words that you both were too afraid to tell each other. But Ransom smiled, his thrusts becoming less rhythmic. He was about to cum.

He leaned down and captured your lips, groaning into you as he found his release inside of you. The warm feeling spreading throughout your body as you kissed back. Your lips melting into each other, eager and hungry. It was years in the making.

Ransom pulled away first and pulled out of you. You winced and whimpered upon feeling the emptiness. Your mixed fluids slowly trickled out of you and onto the bed, but neither of you minded. You were both too tired.

Ransom slumped beside and you naturally snuggled into his side. By this time Ransom would’ve offered to help clean you, knowing your legs would be like jelly, he’d walk you to the bathroom. But he wanted to enjoy your shared afterglow as he pulled you over his body so that you were resting on his chest. Both of you were panting, lungs trying to pace themselves.

You slowly began to feel the fear settle in.

Ransom was your best friend. The one constant thing in your life. The only stability you had. Your place of comfort. And you’ve ruined it. You said it. The three words. The feeling that’s been building up for years. You scolded yourself for saying it so recklessly.

You’ve done it. You’ve toppled your tower again. Your fingers played with the ‘R’ charm on your necklace again. A nervous habit it seemed.

“I love you, (Y/N),” he whispered in the darkness. He kissed the top of your head as he wrapped his arms tighter around you.

And then a feeling of ease settled upon you. A smile on your face as you realized the tower didn’t fall… not yet. But even if it did, Ransom would be there to help you rebuild. You weren’t alone.

[mcwriting]

The Marriage Project (7)

IT’S FINALLY HERE! MY FAVORITE CHAPTER OF THIS SERIES!!! Consider it a little Christmas gift from me to y’all :) there’s plenty more to come, but I loveee the vibes of this one so much

Story Masterlist

Word Count: 3491

Warnings: Some language but I’m pretty sure that’s it

% approximately the end of the 2nd week of October %

You stood on the Holland’s front porch Sunday afternoon holding a rust red jumpsuit over one shoulder and your volleyball bag on the other. 

It was nippy out, probably 50-something fahrenheit, but you’d tucked your long sleeved jersey into some black sweats and tossed on your letterman. You had decided to wear your favorite jersey, which was black except for the stripe down each sleeve in your school colors and the white words and number on the torso.

Since you were taking pictures, you straightened your hair again and put on some light makeup to complete the look.

Paddy opened the front door, looking star struck.

“Oh, hey Paddy. How are you?”

He stared up at you, flustered.

“I, um. Good?”

You gave a big smile.

“Good to hear. Mind if I come in? It’s kinda cold out.”

“Oh, yeah. Sure.”

He stepped out of the way and shut the door behind you. Inside, Tom was running around frantically, grabbing various clothing items and stuffing them in a bag. He noticed you as he passed by.

“Hey, y/n. Sorry, just trying to get all my football stuff together. It just came out of the dryer.”

You watched in amusement as he rushed back and forth. Nikki came and stood next to you.

“I love my sons, but they can be a real mess sometimes,” she joked. “Let's go put your things in the car while he gets himself together.”

You set the bag in the back of her SUV and hung the jumpsuit hanger on a loop to prevent it from wrinkling. You were talking in the garage when Tom burst through the door, a duffel bag on his shoulder.

“Okay, sorry. I couldn’t find one of my cleats,” he explained, tossing his own bag in the back. He didn’t yet put on his uniform since the pads would get uncomfortable, so Tom just wore some jeans and a tee for the ride.

“Y/n, do you want to hop in front? I’m sure Tom wouldn’t mind,” Nikki said, raising her eyebrows at her son.

“Are you sure? I don’t mind either way.”

“It’s fine. We can just switch on the way home,” Tom replied. You found it odd that he didn’t press but assumed it had something to do with his mom standing nearby.

With that, you loaded up and started the hour long drive. The time passed quickly as you conversed with Nikki, telling her about your plans for after high school. In the backseat, Tom dabbed a little bit of his mom's foundation over the still-discolored parts of his cheek.

Eventually, you got to a small neighborhood and pulled up to a cute cabin. As you and Tom retrieved your things from the trunk, an elderly couple appeared on the front porch.

“Hey, mom. Hey, dad,” Nikki began, hugging them. She gestured to you, “This is y/n. You might recognize her from Tom’s soccer games and some academic things, she’s on the girls team and very smart.”

You blushed at the compliments.

“Why, yes, I have seen you. It’s nice to meet you, dear. Just call us grandma and grandpa,” Nikki’s mother said as you were shaking hands with her husband. 

She walked up and enveloped you in a hug. As you awkwardly wrapped your own arms around her, you looked over her shoulder to find Tom shrugging sheepishly at you.

She pulled away, holding you at an arm's length.

“Well you are just the prettiest thing, aren’t you?” You blushed at her kindness and thanked her. “Now what are we all doing standing around out here? Come on in! I made cookies while you were on the way so they’re still warm.”

She ushered everyone in, Tom holding open the screen door for the group. Tom directed you to a spare room to set down your bags and hang your jumpsuit while Nikki got her camera things together.

You were sat around the dining room eating cookies discussing the afternoon’s timeline. You and Tom would take your sports pictures, then everyone would eat around five, and then you’d go back out in regular clothes for golden hour at around six.

After a few minutes, Nikki finished getting her lens ready.

“Okay. Tom, why don’t you go put on your football uniform and meet us down at the dock. Y/n, do you need to get anything else for your volleyball pictures?”

You answered yes, walking with Tom to the room to grab your volleyball shoes and ball. You were waiting to take off your sweatpants until you got outside for two reasons: it was cold, and you felt weird about walking around his grandparents’ house in only spandex shorts.

The dock wasn’t far, you could see it from the top of the wooden staircase built into the side of the hill the cabin sat on.

You and Nikki conversed as you walked down, discussing ideas of poses and where you’d stand.

You shimmied out of your sweats once you got to the dock, draping them over a metal chair covered in dead leaves. The cold air gave your legs goosebumps, but you sucked it up. You were just glad you’d remembered to shave your legs above anything else. 

Nikki directed you around some trees, had you toss your hair over your shoulder, and took a few pictures with you in your letterman. It had been about 15 minutes when Tom came down in his football gear, helmet and ball in hand.

“Oh, perfect. Tom, would you mind tossing some leaves for me? I have a neat idea for a shot.”

She had you stand in front of the water and palm the volleyball as Tom sent a handful of leaves in the air around you. You tried a few with a serious expression and some while laughing. After a few more shots that included you sitting on the dock, she had Tom jump in next to you.

“Okay, y/n, I want you to stand with the ball on your right side like that, and then Tom, get on her left and hold the helmet by the facemask,” she pointed around, guiding you. “Good! Okay now y/n, put your weight on your left leg and Tom, raise your chin. Serious faces people!” 

There were clicks and flashes as she continued to direct you in slightly different poses. One cool shot had each of you palming your respective sports balls in front of you.

“Okay, are you good with those, y/n? Is there anything else you want in your jersey before I start working on Tom’s?” 

You shook your head and gestured for her to move on with Tom’s pictures. By now your legs were used to the cold, so you refrained from putting your sweats back on, instead just standing behind Nikki watching Tom model like he’d been doing it his whole life.

Oh right… he has

His mom and he worked together well, as if they were reading each other’s minds. 

You studied the way Tom looked. After all these years, you’d never really looked at him intently enough to see the way he filled out his uniform so well. 

His biceps bulged when he moved his arms to flex for a couple shots, and the tight pants and pads around his legs gave the illusion of massive thigh muscles. As you looked back up, his necklace caught your eye. 

He hadn’t tucked it in completely, instead letting it dangle over his jersey, the red “ruby” glinting in the afternoon sunlight. You smiled at the fact he’d left it on, then looked down at your own hand. You’d forgotten to take yours off, too.

Would it be noticeable in the pictures? Was there a possibility family members would start asking if you’d secretly gotten engaged when you eventually shared the shots online? Maybe, but you decided it wasn’t a big enough deal to worry about. Some had already pestered you Friday at dinner.

You didn’t realize how long you’d been out there when a cowbell began ringing from above you. 

“Oh! That’s mom. Dinner must be about ready. Let’s head back up. I think we got enough, Tom,” Nikki explained.

She started heading up the stairs as you grabbed your ball and sweats, and Tom was waiting for you at the bottom, holding his jersey and pads so he was only left in a compression shirt on top. He started up a few steps ahead of you. 

Woah. His ass looks really nice in those pants was the first thought that popped into your head when you looked up. Oh wait. Shit, what am I saying?

You tried to avoid looking as you continued up the hill. By the time you reached the top, Nikki was already entering the house and Tom was again waiting for you. You passed right by him when he spoke up.

“You’re really gonna go in the house like that?”

You stopped and turned back to face him.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, you really want to walk into the home of my elderly grandparents with your ass hanging out?”

Right. The whole point of the sweats.

You set the volleyball down while you pulled them on.

“Now I’m not going to say that I minded the view or anything but-” you slapped him in the chest before you tugged on the waistband, hopping a little to make them sit just right and tightening the strings, then picked your ball off the ground.

“Don’t be talking about my ass that way! Nasty.”

“Sorry, sorry, I had to say it.” He put his hands up in mock surrender.

“Well if you’re gonna say that, then I’m allowed to do this,” you said, right before giving him a light slap on his own butt and darting to the house.

“Ohhh, I’ll get you for that!” he cried, following you in.

You were both chattering as you entered the dining room, where Nikki and her parents were setting up the tableware.

“Alrighty, we have some roast chicken and potatoes and green beans tonight. Hope you all enjoy!” the older woman said before sitting down. The smell made your stomach growl quietly.

You all made up plates and chowed down. Tom’s grandpa sat at the head of the table, with his wife and daughter on his left, and Tom and you on the right.

You and Tom were talking about school things when his grandma addressed you.

“So, y/n. How long have you and Tom been dating?” 

You furrowed your brows, then looked between Tom and her, an awkward tension filling the room.

“Um, grandma… she isn’t my girlfriend,” Tom said for you. You gave him a light squeeze on the thigh to signify thanks.

“Oh! Oh my goodness I had no idea! You two just seemed so close that I just assumed you were together. Sorry about that!”

You talked a little bit longer as you finished dinner, but now things felt a little uncomfortable. 

What were we doing that seemed couple-y? Could they see our little spat outside?

You took your plates to the kitchen before heading back with Tom to change into your other clothes. Since it was already almost six, you both just changed in the room, backs to each other.

You slid out of your sweats and tugged off the jersey, leaving on the spandex shorts under your jumpsuit since they didn’t show through. It was sleeveless, so you needed to change into a different bra. You glanced behind you quickly to make sure Tom was still turned around.

He was, but he was butt ass naked. You turned back towards the wall quickly, eyes wide. You assumed it had to do with the fact he wore a jockstrap under his uniform, but dear God did he have to take off everything at once?

You were scarred to say the least.

You ripped off one bra and fumbled to put the other one on before sliding the shoulder straps of your outfit on all the way. By the time you were done, Tom was at least wearing jeans and tugging on a white tee.

You finally slipped on some wedges and refixed your hair in the mirror. 

“Ready to head down?” you asked.

“Why don’t you go on without me. I’ll be down here in a few. I need to restyle my hair,” he explained, sliding his own letterman jacket on. 

You accepted that and headed back outside and down the steps where Nikki was waiting, shooting pictures of the lake.

“Oh, I love that color on you, it compliments the autumn theme well,” Nikki said as you began taking pictures. Eventually Tom appeared, too. He had another shirt in hand for when he was done with his letter jacket.

You let them take those pictures real quick, and then Tom changed, buttoning up a flannel that’s colors matched your own outfit. You were sitting on the dock balcony posing when Tom appeared next to his mother, who noticed the coordination immediately.

“This is amazing! Tom, go stand in front of y/n and cross your arms, and y/n, drape an arm over his shoulder… uh huh just like that… yes that’s good!” she directed you.

Tom helped you hop down after a few different shots and you went to stand with Nikki as she took more photos of her son.

The sun was setting quickly, so she was about to call it a night.

“Okay, you two, I just need you to get together for a couple final pictures. Act like you like each other for at least a few minutes.”

You couldn’t help but snort as you stepped up next to Tom, him putting an arm over your shoulder as your arm snaked around his waist. She was taking pictures when Tom muttered out the corner of his mouth,

“Your hand’s a little close there.”

Knowing exactly what he meant, you slid your hand down his back, resting it on top of his butt.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” you feigned innocence. 

He gave you a look that said “I’m onto you,” so you did what any rational person would do in that scenario. 

You squeezed his buttcheek. 

It must have scared him or tickled or something, because he about jumped from his skin, jaw dropped.

“Oh I’ll get you for that now!” he exclaimed, picking you up and tossing you over his shoulder.

You squealed and laughed and kicked your legs as one hand traveled along your waist tickling you. In the chaos, you didn’t notice the rapid clicks of the camera shutter. He kept you off the ground for a few more seconds before finally setting you down carefully.

“Rethinking that now?” he asked, eyebrows raised in amusement as you stared up at him, pouting. 

“I’d do it again just to see your jaw hit the floor honestly.”

He rolled his eyes when some lights around the deck kicked on, not adding much brightness to the darkening sky.

“Well that looks like our cue to wrap things up. The lights going up the stairs won’t be much better, and I don’t want anyone to fall,” Nikki explained.

Once again, she headed up first, leaving the two of you somewhat alone. Now that it was dark, the air made you grab your upper arms and shiver.

“Here, put this on,” Tom said, holding up his letter jacket.

“Oh, I’m fine. It’ll only take a minute to get to the house.”

“No seriously, you look like you’re freezing. Plus, I won’t have to carry it,” he joked.

You rolled your eyes and snatched it from his hand, sliding your bare arms into the sleeves. His jacket was at least a size bigger than yours, so it basically swallowed you. He chuckled.

“Come on. I don’t want you getting lost up the stairs since you’ve practically disappeared under my jacket.”

He put his hand between your shoulder blades, guiding you to step ahead of him as the darkness began to set in.

% 

You’d changed back into your sweats and put on a tee and your own letter jacket and were now loading up Nikki’s car to head back home. 

After walking back to the house, you had all sat around and visited a bit longer until realizing it was half past nine and there was an hour’s drive ahead of you.

“Come back anytime, dear. You were a real delight,” Nikki’s mom said, squeezing you into another hug. 

“Thank you, grandma. I’ll keep that in mind.”

“Will you be at Tom’s senior night here in a few weeks? I’d love to see you there,” she said, holding your hands in hers.

“Yeah, I always try to go to the games. I’m hoping to be on homecoming court this year, too, so fingers crossed.”

“Oh, sweetie, if they don’t vote you queen, I’ll personally come count the votes myself,” she joked, shaking her head. 

You laughed and after final goodbyes, climbed into the back seat, expecting Tom to go up front. Instead, he slid into the other side of the back row.

“You can sit up front, Tom. I’m happy to stay back here,” you explained, showing that you’d already buckled in.

“Oh it’s alright. I’ve already sat down, we can both stay.”

You again found it odd that he was willing to do so, but didn’t push the matter.

Having spent most of the afternoon with Tom’s family, you hadn’t looked at your phone much as not to seem rude, so you immediately began responding to snaps and scrolling through social media.

Tom, on the other hand, was watching Tiktoks. 

“Hey, watch this,” he said, unbuckling his seat belt and sliding into the middle spot next to you, refastening himself in.

“You could have just given me your phone,” you said, eyebrows raised.

“Like I could trust you with that.”

He handed over an AirPod and you watched together, laughing. He continued to scroll through his for you page while you looked on. 

After a while, your neck became strained, so you resorted to leaning your head on his shoulder. He didn’t say anything, instead only tilting his cheek to rest on your head as you continued in silence. 

A little bit later, he left the app and went to Spotify, turning on a playlist containing songs with soft beats that made you sleepy. 

You didn’t realize how tired you really were until you were being shaken awake by your nemesis, sitting up straight in realization of what happened. 

“Hey, we’re about to pull into my neighborhood,” he whispered. You just nodded in response, trying to compose yourself.

Nikki pulled into the garage and you began collecting your things from the back.

“Y/n, would you like to stay in the guest room tonight? It’s almost eleven and I wouldn’t want you to feel unsafe going home.”

You thought about it for a moment before realizing you had no extra clothes and well… Tom.

“Oh that’s alright, my house is only 10 minutes away. Thank you though,” you told her as the three of you entered the home. 

Nikki said her goodbyes and disappeared up the stairs for the third time that day, once again leaving you and Tom alone.

“Why don’t I walk you to your car?” Tom offered, opening the front door. You unlocked the car and Tom opened the back door for you to set your things in it. You were about to leave when something popped into your mind.

“Thanks again for clarifying to your grandma earlier. I didn’t want to break her heart but I wasn’t sure how to let her down nicely. She seemed so excited,” you explained.

“Don’t worry about it. I’m pretty sure she would have asked any girl the same question. But she really did like you, grandpa too. He doesn’t quite show it like her.”

“That’s sweet. I enjoyed hanging out with them this evening, and the food was incredible.”

“She does make some of the best food you’ll ever eat, but you should taste grandpa’s grilled steaks. Those are a real treat.”

“Well, you’ll have to bring me again some time. Oh, and thanks for letting me use you as a pillow in the car. I didn’t mean to fall asleep.”

You knew your face had turned pink, but you could see Tom’s redden as well.

“Don’t mention it. I actually ended up sleeping for a little bit, too.”

A silence fell around you, so you eventually said your goodbyes and hopped into your driver’s seat. 

You watched in your rearview mirror as Tom stayed standing on his sidewalk until you had driven a few yards off, eventually meandering back to the house.

There was a familiar flutter in your stomach as your lips turned up into a smile.

Maybe he’s not as bad as I always thought.

%

A/N: omg I’m so happy to finally post this y’all have no idea. Hope you enjoyed! As always, feel free to send asks about anything or just say hi!

Send a message or ask if you’d like to be added to my permanent or series taglists so I can verify you’ve been added!

Story tag list: @jackiehollanderr, @one-big-fangirl, @l0lmk, @primadonnasdream, @bookworm06, @thenoddingbunny-blog, @agentnataliahofferson, @spider-babe, @stxfxniexreads,

[chilling-in-the-dark]

The Batboys Growing Up as Yandere’s Part 5: Damian Wayne

This is a yandere story; it mentions elements of obsession, possessiveness, death, murder, and kidnapping. If any of this is triggering for you, I understand, and you don’t have to read it.

As always, feedback is welcomed.

Tim had moved out by the time Bruce found out about Damian; in fact, Tim had left as soon as his girlfriend returned his affections.

When Damian Wayne was still Damian Al Ghul, he’d always been told that caring too much for anyone was a weakness, that it would get him killed. So, he couldn’t understand why his father, the great Batman held on so tightly to his wife. Damian doubted that the woman whom he refused to call a Wayne, because that right should have been reserved for his mother, could even defend herself properly. Damian would have killed her in the early days if he thought he could have gotten away with it.

Though Mrs. Wayne’s patience and constant care slowly wore down his walls, and then he started to envy his father. Yet at the same time, Damian didn’t think he deserved someone; he was a demon who’d killed people. Yet, at the same time, he craved love, Damian yearned for soft touches and sweet smiles.

It was the summer before his freshman year of high school when he’d made a dumb mistake, one his mother would have killed him for, and when the villain he’d been fighting used it to their advantage, he’d barely managed to get away with his life.

It had surprised you to find Robin bleeding out on your fire escape. Against your better judgment, you took him inside and tended to his wounds as best you could, glad your mother was rarely home since her and your stepfather’s messy divorce, you think after six of them she’d learn to cope better.

Damian woke several hours later to find an angel leaning over him; for half a second, he wondered if he’d died. Damian corrected himself; if he died, he certainly wasn’t going to meet an angel. Also, he probably wouldn’t feel like he’d just been given the beating of a lifetime.

“Oh, thank god your alive,” you spoke, relief flooding your voice. You’d done your best to stop the bleeding, but a lot of his wounds looked like they needed stitches, something you weren’t capable of.

Once Damian came to as much as his blood loss would let him, he felt his face, relieved to find his angel had left the mask in place. Robin didn’t speak much until Batman arrived, but then as he was carried out by his father, you could have sworn you heard, “Thank you,” fall faintly from the boy’s lips.

You didn’t know it, but you’d come to regret the night you’d saved a Robin from certain death.

It wasn’t a month later your mother came into your bedroom, demanding to know why you had a letter from Gotham Academy. “So, help me, you better not have applied I told you we can’t afford this and don’t you dare bring up scholarships, those don’t cover uniforms or books.” She’d spent the better part of an hour yelling, not letting you get a word in edgewise, so you couldn’t tell her that you hadn’t applied. Finally, she thrust the envelope onto your dresser and left.

You knew it was probably a scam, but you opened the envelope anyway, only to find a letter about being awarded a full Martha Wayne Foundation scholarship, it supposedly covered every expense necessary to attend. You decided that you’d look up the school’s number and call them in the morning. At worst, you’d end up embarrassed, but if this letter was real, you might have a shot at a future.

It had taken more strength then Damian thought he possessed, to keep him from killing your mother, as he watched the live feed from the security camera he’d installed in your bedroom. Damian had only put them in there because he wanted to keep you safe, but sometimes he couldn’t help himself; he wanted to see how his beloved was doing.

He’d been happy to see you on the first day of school. Actually, he’d gotten to see you before class even started. Your bike tires being several years older than you, had finally given out, and of course, it had started raining of all things.

You’d been cautious when the town car came to a stop beside you, even more so when you saw the back window rolled down to reveal Damian Wayne, but the boy had somehow managed to get you into the car with him. While he’d been rough around the edges, Damian had managed to come off as sweet and charming. It hadn’t been hard something about your presence soothed him, made it easy to let out emotions he usually kept bottled up.

He’d spent the day by your side, and for the first time in a long time, Damian felt at peace; in his eyes, you truly were an angel sent down to save his soul. Damian was convinced that meeting you was fate, that some higher being was giving him a chance, someone to love and that maybe if he did it right and kept you safe, it might make up for his sins.

You were sixteen when Damian had finally asked you out, you’d been happy, how could you not be, your crush liked you back, You’d gushed on the phone to your friends for hours afterword, they were dumbfounded that you hadn’t realized how in love with you the boy was, “He calls you Beloved for peat’s sake, of course, he’s in love with you.”

To you, this was a new relationship, but to Damian, it had been formalizing what he already knew to be true. You were his, and that class ring on your finger would prove it until a wedding ring could take its place.

That time would come on your graduation day when Damian had just finished his valedictorian speech when he knelt in front of you and pulled out a small black box. You knew what was in it before he’d even had a chance to open it and reveal his family’s heirloom engagement ring. Mrs. Wayne must have given it to him.

You’d cried happy tears as he put the ring on your finger, once that was done Damian leaned in to kiss you while ignoring the clicking of cameras. Despite what many think, Damian loved PDA because it let the entire world know whose protection you were under. You wanted the wedding to wait until after college, much to Damian’s dismay, but he’d begrudgingly accepted your choice. Though to Damian’s satisfaction, the wedding came a lot sooner than you’d planned.

You’d been attending Gotham university for a few months now and had been loving it, that is until you spent longer then you’d planned in the library. You knew Damian would want you to call him so he could come and get you, but you knew he was on patrol, and while you didn’t like the idea of walking in Gotham after dark, you’d walked home at night before and never had an issue.

Tonight though, a mugger had pulled you into a dark alley and pointed a gun at your face demanding all your valuables. You’d relented giving the man everything you had on you, but you’d forgotten to give him your ring. You loved the ring, and it was a Wayne family heirloom, but you knew it wasn’t worth your life, so when the man slapped you and demanded you give it up. You instantly started working the ring off your finger.

Just as you’d slipped it from your hand, Robin showed up and started whaling on the guy. You’d never seen Damian so vicious before, but he’d refrained from killing the man in your presence, not wanting you to see death. An angel should never have to see such darkness, no that was reserved for a demon like him, so Damian slipped a tracker on the unconscious man and took you to the manor. Once he’d managed to calm you down enough to sleep, he’d go back out and finish the job.

Damian had used the incident to convince you to marry him sooner, playing up how short life could be and asking you what the point in waiting was. The next day the two of you applied for a marriage license, and during New Jersey’s mandatory three-day waiting period Alfred and the other Wayne wives planned and organized the whole wedding. It was a small and intimate affair, but lovely none the less, everything had been perfect.

Until the next day, that is, when you woke up and found yourself in a locked room, you definitely hadn’t gone to sleep in. Damian was also noticeably absent. Your heart was in your throat, had you been kidnaped, if so how did they get into Wayne manor and why didn’t Damian wake up, your husband was a light sleeper.

There was no way anyone could have taken you without waking him up even if, by some improbability, you hadn’t woken up yourself. You’d never felt so relieved as you did when Damian walked through the door breakfast tray in his hands. Maybe this was some sort of staycation to make up for not being able to go on a honeymoon.

“Dami, why is the door locked?” You asked anyways, not expecting the answer that you were going to get.

“To make sure you can’t leave the safety of this room beloved,” He said, and your blood froze because Damian’s tone made it sound as if he believed it was completely normal to lock his wife in a room. You tried to explain to him how messed up that was, but he ignored your arguments. Your husband wasn’t the man you thought he was.

You weren’t dumb enough to think you could take Damian in a fight, so you waited until he left for patrol to start looking for an exit. All that got you was a bruised shoulder because, apparently, the window was freaking bulletproof glass.

You’d decided that tactic was useless because all it got you was Damian fussing over you, and right now, the last thing you wanted was your kidnaper anywhere near you. So, you stopped eating and made it clear to him that you weren’t going to unless he let you go. Part of you still loved him, so it broke your heart to see such a proud man beg, but no matter how much he cried and pleaded, you held firm.

You kept it up for about a week before you woke up tied to the bed, Damian making it clear that if you weren’t going to eat willingly, he’d force-feed you, after all, he’d vowed to keep you safe, even if it was from yourself.

Tags

@yanderepeterparker​

@idkmanicantenglish​

@prettyafghan

Grow up as only

@neon-phosphorecsent​

@foggyturtleknightangel​

[im-a-simp1]

More Than Meets The Eye: Part 1: Esmeray

Summary: Y/n goes to Midtown Tech for her first day of school but that is not the only first that happens to her

Word Count: 5k

Warnings: Cute awkward teenagers, there are some subtle hints of male dominance(no abuse actually happens but there could be some triggering to people so please beware of that)

*I know I haven’t posted this part in awhile, I just finished finals which were a pain in the butt

Series Materlist

Masterlist

Y/n POV

I take a final look at my outfit for my first day of school at Midtown Tech. It’s been weird that I haven’t been at school for about 5 to 6 months, well my dad says it’s because of my powers. He said that after curing me, it gave me powers as a side effect. I had the ability to poison anything at the touch of my hand. Before I could go anywhere, I needed to learn to control it. I had to learn how to touch things without poisoning them. After months of practicing controlling it, I finally got it under wraps, for the most part. As I looked at the mirror, putting the final touches to my outfit, I was ready. I had my hair curled, wore my favorite oversized crew neck that was a basic dark green crew neck but it was super comfy. I wore my ripped jeans to match with it. With just a light makeup look of some foundation and mascara, I was set. I grabbed my backpack and started making my way down the stairs, my dad meets me at the bottom.

“Are you excited for your first day of school?” He asks

“I am. More importantly I’m ready to get out of the house. I feel myself going crazy looking at the same walls.”

“I know you have been patient and have been working really hard on controlling your powers” I look down at my hands, I am praying that they don’t fail me today. If I mess up, I am most likely never leaving the house ever again.

“Oh speaking of I got something for you” he turns around and grabs a pair of black gloves and hands them to me.

“You're joking right?”

“I’m sorry Y/n but you have to wear them. They are designed to help control your powers. It’s just for safety precautions”

“But dad, no one wears gloves. Everyone is going to think I’m weird and that’s not really the reputation I am going for”

“And no one else else has powers like you do so you are going to wear them even if they aren’t cool” he put air quotations at the last word there.

I groaned at him. I get that he is trying to protect me but this is going to be a problem at school, people are going to ask questions.

“How long do I have to wear gloves for”

“It is just till when I think it is safe enough”. Wait hold on. Um how will he know when he isn’t even there to see if it is “safe”.

“And what will I say if people ask why I wear gloves? Because people will definitely will be asking”

“Just come up with something like oh I don’t know, maybe you burnt your hands recently I don’t know and I don’t care and all I know is that you are wearing the gloves. End of discussion” He said the last part more sterningly. I knew that I wasn’t going to win this argument.

I rolled my eyes and put on the gloves. Thankfully they were actually pretty comfortable, hopefully they stay that way for the rest of the school day. I get them on and my dad and I walk to the car.

“Hey where’s Harry?” I asked Dad

“He is going to a boarding school this year”

“Why?”

“Don’t worry about it kiddo”

It was odd that Harry was going to boarding school, he is a nice well behaved teen, well it seemed like it, I didn’t really know to be honest. Harry and I barely even talked, Harry didn’t seem like he was a big fan of me. Every time he saw me enter the same room as him he would roll his eyes and walk out of the room and times where he is forced to be in the same room as me, he barely looked or spoke to me. Did I do something that offended him? I know I’m adopted and that I’m not his sister biologically but he acts like he disgusts me. Even if I had done anything to him I wouldn't have remembered. Dad said that when he cured me, apparently one of the side effects was that I don’t have any recollection of my long term memory before waking up in a chamber. Another side effect was that when I touch things, they die. I hate it so much, I couldn’t touch anything for the longest time. When I touched a plant, it died. When a butterfly landed on my hand when it flew into my room, it died. I even almost killed someone because I forgot about it and went to shake someone’s hand once but thankfully my dad stopped me. After months of learning how to control my powers, I got it under control, for the most part. Sometimes I lose my focus and slip up. I hate when slip up happens. Not only do I get mad at myself but my father gets mad at me too, which is ten times worse. Maybe it is a good thing to wear these gloves, I don't want people to think that I am going to kill them with the touch of my hands. Dad’s chauffeur, George, met us at the car. He opened the door for my dad and I and we got in. I was fortunate to live in a home that was wealthy enough to help me save from my sickness and have resources to help me control my powers. We were silent the majority of the time as Geroge was driving us to my school.

“Hey Dad, you talk about how I had this sickness when you cured me, which I am grateful for but what was my sickness again”

He turns his head slowly towards me and looks at me for a moment. I can see the deliberation in his eyes.

“It was a rare disease that they had recently discovered. With it being recently discovered, the doctors had no cure for it, that is when I took on the challenge. I created the cure but it came with some big sacrifices.” He took my hands into his. I knew what the sacrifices were, he didn’t need to tell me.

“Thank you, for telling me and saving me”

“Of course, anything for you” He leans and kisses me on my temple. We pull up to the front of the school. As I was about to get out of the car, my dad grabbed my arm stopping me before I could get out.

“Oh and Y/n, one more thing”

“Yeah what is it?”

“People can’t know that I am your father”

“And why is that?”

“Let’s just say that kids would treat you very differently if they found out that you were my daughter”

“But I have always been your daughter, won’t people have already known that? I know I may not remember but they will. I mean didn’t do junior high with them?”

“Y/n we moved here not too long before you got sick. So no one who you are because you didn’t grow up with them or that you are my daughter.”

“So no one knows that I am a daughter of a multi millionaire?”

“Nope” he said with a little too much joy from what I saw. “Your new last name is y/l/n. I have already taken care of your records at the schools office. Trust me you don’t want people knowing I’m your dad. It’s for the best.”

“And why is that?” I questioned him, wanting a more specific answer. I have always gotten vague answers from him whenever I ask questions and I am getting sick of it.

“Someday you will know why but for now people can’t know okay?” His grip on my arm gets a little bit more strong.

“Okay fine. I won’t” I rip my arm out from him. I exit the car before he can tell me anything else I can or can not do, the do’s and don’ts list keeps becoming bigger and bigger.

“Have a good day!” He shouts as the car leaves.

I turn around to face the school. All of a sudden my nerves kick in all at once. I am going into this big new school. Knowing that I will be the new girl that has no friends, no guidance. I hoped that Harry could give me, obviously that didn’t work out. Even if he was here I don’t know if he would help me. He would have been nice enough to at least tell me where the office was but no he wasn’t here. I entered the school and was immediately overwhelmed with how many students there were. It seemed that people were constantly bumping into each other as they passed people in the hallway. I looked around to see any kind of guidance of where to go and saw a sign that said office with an arrow sign right next to it. Well that’s a good start.

Peter’s POV

I was walking with Ned through the crowded hallways on our way to our first class.

“How was your weekend” Ned asked

“It was alright, didn’t do a whole lot. Just homework and stopping criminals” I smiled. Even though Ned accidentally found out about my secret, it has been nice to talk to someone about it.

“I heard, the robbery you saved was all over the news.”

He replied as we were stepping into our class. I didn’t even get 3 steps into the class when Mr. Harrington stopped me.

“Peter I need you to go to the office for me. There is a new student today and you have been asked to guide them today.”

“Isn’t that like an ASB president job or something? ”Mr. Harrington looked at Peter confused, with the comment that was so not like Peter.

“It’s not that I am trying to be rude or anything I really not but I’m not the best person to show people around the school.” Plus I really don’t need someone to tagging along with me watching my every move, I am fearful enough that someone else is going to figure out my secret.

“Well that is true, about the ASB part, and maybe a little on you not being the best guide but they have most of their classes with you and I have already volunteered you so you have to do it” Mr. Harrington replied.

Great.

I walked out of the classroom and made my way down to the office, the hallway was getting less crowded with people slowly entering their classrooms. As I was making my way down, I realized that Mr. Harrington said the new student had most of my classes, not all. As long as we don’t have chemistry together, we will be okay. I needed to make web shooters today and that wasn’t going to happen if the new student was nearby, watching my every move. As I entered the office, I was greeted by the receptionist.

“What brings you in here today?” The lady said with a very monotone voice not even looking up at me.

“Um hi, I am here to show the new student-“

“Peter!” The principal came around the corner, catching me a little off guard.

“Principal Morita! You scared me there for a second.”

“Oh sorry about that Peter. Anyway I wanted to introduce you to our new student y/n y/l/n.”

Oh. My. God.

I was speechless. Noises around me were drained out as I stared at her. She is one if not the most beautiful girl I have ever seen. She has the most beautiful y/e/c, they literally sparkle and y/h/l y/h/c is gorgeous soft looking hair I have ever seen. I couldn’t take my eyes off of her. I started to hear faint noises that were trying to catch my attention.

“Peter… Peter are you with us” was I heard from Principal Morita that caused me to snap back to reality.

“Um yeah I um I’m here” looking at the principal to clarify that he was with them. I can feel the redness growing on my cheeks. Great.

“Good I thought we lost you there for a second” he chuckled as I felt my face turn even more red than before. I realized I haven’t even talked to her yet.

“Um yeah sorry I haven’t introduced myself I’m Peter Parker” as I reach my hand out to shake her hand.

“Hi Peter, I’m y/n. It’s nice to meet you” as she reaches for my hand, she seemed a little hesitant at first but once we made our hands touch she seemed to be relieved. I noticed that she was wearing gloves which I thought were old but it seemed inappropriate to ask her about it right now.

“It’s nice to meet you t-too” he starts to stubble on his words. This usually happens when he gets nervous.

“So um shall we get to class? I think classes may have started” she more asked then stated.

“Oh yes you two go on, don’t want to be more last then you already are” Principal Morita says as he is shooing is out of his office.

“I g-guess we shall,” I replied as we start walking to class.

“So um y/n what classes do you have?” I asked

“Um let’s see” as she pulls out her class schedule. I looked over to see what her schedule looks like to see that we don’t have chemistry together.

Well that’s good.

“So it looks like we have every class but chemistry together”

“Oh okay. So we have calculus right now with Mr. Harrington?”

“Yes you are correct”

“How is he, you know, as a person and a teacher”

“He’s um, a nice guy. I little oblivious but he’s nice”

“How so?”

“Well one time we decided to pull a prank on him and we changed his computer screensaver to a Bernie Sanders meme where he was sitting on the bench and apparently Mr. Harrington didn’t even notice it till the next day.” I guess it was pretty funny to her because I see her start laughing about it. She has the cutest laugh.

“Oh my god that is so funny. He didn’t notice till the next day?!” She says as she is laughing even more.

“Yep. Told you he is oblivious”

“Yeah sounds like it”

We arrived at our first class and all of the eyes of the class shifted to us as we entered the room.

“Ah welcome! Everyone this is our new student…” he waits for her to say her name. She realizes what the teacher was doing after a couple of awkward moments.

“Oh it’s y/n, y/n y/l/n”

“Welcome y/n, go ahead and take a seat”. Unfortunately the last two spots in the class were not next to each other so you guys couldn’t sit next to each other. I sat at the desk that was more towards the back where she sat more towards the middle of the room, then I realized she was sitting in the middle of the room, rightfully so. She has this appearance of her that makes her glow. It wasn’t necessary her looks, well she was gorgeous, but it was more about the way she carried herself. She was confident, happy, and seemed to be joyful all round. Peter really hoped to get to know her more. Even if this stupid little crush didn’t go anywhere he still wanted to be her friend. He found himself looking at you more than paying attention to what Mr. Harrington was saying. With that said he realized that looking at you this long was probably creepy but he was just caught up on how beautiful you are. He was snapped back to reality when the bell rang ending the class. He grabbed his things and walked over to y/n who just finished collecting her things and putting them into her backpack.

“Ready for our next class?” I asked her

“Yeah, what’s next again?”

“Spanish” I replied as we started to class

“Peter! Wait up!” Peter hears a familiar voice behind him. He honestly forgot that Ned was in their last class.

“Oh hey Ned! Ned, this is y/n and y/n this is Ned. He’s my best friend”

“Nice to meet you Ned” y/n shook Ned’s hand

“You too! I’m sorry if I sound rude but why are you wearing gloves?” Peter looked at Y/n’s hands to see what Ned was talking about. Peter took another look at her gloves and found them rather odd. They weren’t your average cotton gloves, they seemed to be custom made, expensive gloves.

“Oh yeah um I was in a house fire and my hands got burned really bad. That’s kinda why my dad, my brother, and I moved. Though my brother is at boarding school so it is just my dad and I now. My hands are currently healing right now from it but I have to wear there’s gloves till they are fully healed”

“Well I’m glad you are okay. What’s your next class?”

“Spanish”

“Oh cool okay I got to go to English but I will meet up with you guys at lunch” Ned’s tone was more of a question than a statement.

“Yeah sounds great Ned” I replied to him. I wasn’t going to force y/n to sit with us at lunch so I answered more for myself. She might make some friends before then and would rather sit with them than us.

“See you at lunch Ned!” She shouted at him as he was heading to English

Not too long afterward we started to walk to class and she spoke, “Ned seems really nice”

“Yeah he is. He can’t keep a secret to keep his life but yeah he is a great guy”

“You both seem like nice guys” I smiled with a slight chuckle.

“Thanks,” I reply. It was nice to talk to someone who wasn’t Ned and didn’t call me ‘penis parker’. I really do hope y/n and I become good friends.

It was lunchtime and y/n, Ned, and I were sitting at the cafeteria getting to know each other well more of Ned and I getting to know Y/n and Y/n getting to know us. She was kinda vague about her background, just that she was in a house fire and that her family moved here recently but I didn’t press onto it, I didn’t want to push a subject that she seemed she didn’t want to talk about. She also talked about how she got really sick and how her father was able to cure her before doctors could, apparently her doctors gave up on trying to cure her but her dad didn’t and was able to. Which is quite impressive for a new disease that was just discovered.

“Wow that’s amazing! How was he able to do it?”

“Well um he never really told me what he gave me but it worked and I didn’t question it. If it works it works.”

“And what was it actually? How did the disease affect you?” I asked.

“Well um, I kinda really don’t know, I lost some memory during that time which was one of the side effects of the cure. My dad didn’t really say to be honest. I think he just likes to forget how painful it was for him”. This just seemed weird. Her dad seemed very vague with her.

“Well enough about me, what about you guys? What do you guys like to do for fun?” You could tell she was done talking about herself

“Well we-” I started out, trying to think of something cool.

“We do a lot of Star Wars stuff,” Ned said confidently, interrupting me.

“Dude, come on” I turned to Ned in disbelief he just said that to a girl he wanted to impress. Most girls run the other direction when they start talking about Star Wars.

“I... love... Star Wars”

We turned to look at her in awe. We never encountered a girl who liked Star Wars. To my surprise, it seemed that she looked surprised with herself. I don’t know what she was confused about.

“You like Star Wars?” I wanted a clarification that I heard her right.

“Yeah...Yeah I do like Star Wars” she sounded like she was giving herself clarification.

“Hey well if you want to you don’t have to but do you want to come over and build the millennial falcon together? I just got it for Christmas and haven’t built it yet”

“Peter what about the Stark internship?” Ned bogging me in the gut, causing me to release a small groan from him just elbowing me in the side. Ned loons I’ve to me and tries to whisper to me under his breath so that only I could hear him. I reassured Ned of my plan.

“Do have that today but afterward, maybe around 6:30ish? Y/n would you be down for that?”

“Um yeah I would. Would you guys give me a second I need to go to the bathroom” she got up before we could say anything to her. I hope she is okay, I could tell her heart was beating a little faster then before.

Y/n POV

I just needed to get away for a moment, I just had the weirdest moment of my life happen to me. I have never heard of let alone talk about Star Wars till today. When Ned mentioned Star Wars, I had this rush of memories come back to my head of Star Wars and what it was about. And not only my knowledge of it but the emotions I had for it. It all rushed to me. I have never had this happen to me before. I just knew I felt overwhelmed and just needed to get away for a moment to take it all in. Was my long term memory coming back? If that is what this is, which is what I am hoping for, I will get my long term memories back which will be great, I would get to feel like me again. Not remembering my past has made me feel like I just appeared out of nowhere. It made me feel like I was a robot, with no background. But after this gave me hope of getting back to the way things used to be. I headed back to the cafeteria where Peter and Ned still were, you were glad you got lucky to meet Peter and Ned on your first day here. You knew you would be grey friends with them from here on out. Plus Peter wasn’t too bad to look at. He gets so cute when he gets nervous. I don’t know how I got so lucky to have him as my guide for school today. All of a sudden, your hands felt the urge to touch something, with your bare hands. You had to push this feeling down for now. The powers like to have a mind of their own but I had better control than that. Taking deep breaths and focusing on anything besides your hands was the way to settle the urge. I started to think about how I had plans with my new friends that invited me to go build a ship from a franchise that you all of sudden fell in love with. You were excited to have friends in general. Dad has always kept me from others so I didn’t really talk to a whole lot of people, really him and Harry, well only if Harry takes to me. But I was glad to have friends who liked me, at least I thought they liked me. No had had to think positive thoughts and only positive thoughts to keep the urge away. Yes they do like me or they would have not invited me over, they do like me, they do like me, they do like me. It was what I told myself as the urge started to go away, for now. Thankfully I got rid of it in time once I was fully returned to the urge. The bell rang for lunch to be over.

“Well I will see you guys tonight?” Ned asked. Again clarifying if we were on the same page.

“Yes see you tonight at Peters!”

-

The school day was officially done. I had gotten Peter’s number after last class together for him to text me the address to his apartment. The last class of the day, the only class I didn’t have with Peter, was lonely. Just with me being so nervous and being my first day, Peter just brought this comfort essence that made me feel okay. But now without him, it wasn’t the same. No one was as welcoming as him, this girl in the corner drew a picture of me saying that she draws people who look like they don’t belong, which was weird but kinda oddly charming at the same time but it was weird. Once the day was done I checked my phone to see if my dad texted saying if he was here to pick me up, to be honest I didn’t know if he was going to text me. Fortunately he texted me, unfortunately he said I had to walk home. I groaned at the text message. Thankfully it was only a 20-30 minute walk from the school to the apartment but still you really weren’t in the mood for walking. Eventually arriving at the apartment you walk in and see my dad cutting up lettuce, from the looks of it getting dinner ready. Wait why couldn’t he pick me up? But I knew better than to ask. You didn’t feel like getting into an argument right now.

“Hey dad”

“Hey honey how was school?”

“It was good, I made some friends!” I said with a little bit more excitement than before.

“Oh that’s great honey” although he didn’t seem to really mean it. He hasn’t even looked up at you since you walked in and his tone was dull. He didn’t really seem like he cared.

“I’m going to my room to do some homework”

“Alright dinner will be around 5:00”

Once dinner time rolled around, we were quiet for the most part. We made some small talk but never turned into a conversation. I was going to tell him about the weird emotional moment I had today but after the way he was acting today I didn’t really want to tell him. Around 6I started to get ready to go to Peter’s. I figured I would leave around 6:30 to go to his place seeing that it would take me about 30 minutes to get there. 6:30 rolls around and I start to head out. My dad was on the couch when I was heading toward the door.

“Bye dad I’m off to my friends?”

“Excuse me what?!” He looked up from his newspaper to look at me.

“My friend invited me to go over and hangout. Don’t worry I will be back before 10”

“Y/n it is a school night”

“But I will be back around 10, having me plenty of sleep for school tomorrow”

“You are not going”

“Why not?” Getting frustrated at this point. You have never really had friends before and now that you have and you want to hangout with them, you dad decides to say no, after not letting me see people for months!

“Because I said so” he said with his firm dad voice. But you weren’t going down without a fight this time.

“No you need to give me a reason”

“I don’t need to give you anything”

“For the first time in months I found people who like me and want to be around me and you say I can’t see them just because you said so? Yeah no I’m sorry I will see you at 10 then you can ground me” I turned to the door and as I grab the handle I feel this electricity go through me. Then I felt nothing, everything went silent, and everything went black.

3rd POV

“Raise Esmeray” Norman spoke once Y/n body was still. As Y/n’s alter ego was turned on by his simple words, her eyes opened and she stood up from where she had fallen. Once she was standing she was standing tall there, waiting for her commands to be given from her master.

“I am ready for further instruction sir”

“Good. Now the real reason why I couldn’t let you go was that I need you for tonight, I need you to hit a target for me tonight. Tonight I need you to visit an old friend of mine that owes me money. If he does not have it” he stopped as he removed Esmeray’s gloves “touch his throat with your hands. If he does have it, make sure he gives it to you and then touch his throat with your hands. Do not leave the target till he has died”

“Yes sir” had been Esmeray’s response. It didn’t even sound like Y/n at this point. It sounded like a robot that took over her.

“Now go get ready, once you are I will give you the name”

Esmeray just nodded and went to go change for her mission.

-

-

-

- Thank you so much for waiting so patiently. I was finishing up finals this week and I plan to post part 2 later in the week!

- In the future chapters when y/n is in their alter ego stage where Norman has control over, I’m going to reference them as Esmeray.

Esmeray means dark moon btw🌑

-Thanks for reading 😊💖

[stxphxn-strange]

human error/i don’t expect perfection

a/n: i started writing this, before 9am and my day was already not going to plan. my solution as always is to write hurt/comfort for my college au, so here we are. ily and i’m sending y’all well wishes♡

Stephen was hit with overwhelming relief when he finally got home, the clock singing her melodic chimes to announce the changing of the hour. It was 2 in the goddamn morning, and Stephen was just so sad and exhausted. He almost felt like a chain was tugging at his head and heart, leading him towards self loathing no matter how much he tried to resist. Stephen’s entire night consisted of trying to put on a smile, trying not to berate himself in front of others because he made a mistake. That was the problem. Stephen made a mistake, a really small error during a simulated surgery that he and Christine were using to study. It was a mistake so small and so easily corrected, but Stephen wanted to be perfect. The sheer presence of the mistake was unacceptable to him and his insatiable need to be flawless. 

Some of his classmates thought Stephen was an arrogant and haughty kissass who would trample anyone in his quest to prove that he was better, smarter, and more innovative than his peers. That wasn’t true, but Stephen let them think that. It was simpler than explaining that he’d internalized every bit of criticism he’d ever received and that he was just trying to be good enough for himself. It was easier than telling people that he felt the need to prove his worth to his mother in the hope that she might accept and understand him better. That was none of their fucking business. They could think Stephen worked himself to exhaustion so he could flex about what a hard worker he was, he didn’t care. 

He just wanted to be good enough. 

But first, he wanted to sleep. 

Stephen took his water bottle out of the fridge and made a steaming mug of tea, holding fire and ice as he headed towards his bedroom. He was hoping to find Anthony asleep and relaxed in bed, a sight that could always make Stephen smile. He wanted to take a hot shower and curl up in bed next to his boyfriend, and he wanted a lazy morning after a restful night. There were no classes tomorrow, which meant they could maybe catch up on sleep, or just spend time lounging around together with no pressure from the outside world. 

But Anthony wasn’t in bed. He was pacing around in the bathroom, brushing his teeth restlessly. He’d had a shit day and was still clearly quite upset, his eyes red and puffy from crying in the shower. After harshly washing his face in an unsuccessful attempt to hide the fact that he was crying, Anthony sighed deeply. 

Stephen, eager to get ready for bed, softly knocked on the door. “Hey, I’m home.” 

“Oh hi, I’ll be out of your way in a minute,” Anthony replied. He pulled the door open and walked across the room to pick up a towel that had fallen. Scowling at it, he hung it back up where it belonged. 

“You okay?” Stephen asked, leaning against the wall. 

“I’ve been better,” Anthony said. “You?” 

“About the same,” Stephen replied. 

These kinds of greeting conversations were much shorter when they were tired or upset. There was an understanding that they weren’t upset with each other, but down about something. 

Anthony reached out to silently ask for a hug, relaxing a little bit in Stephen’s arms. “Today wasn’t good.” 

Stephen hummed and drew him close. “It really wasn’t.” 

Anthony yawned, exhausted and swaying in Stephen’s safe embrace. He felt like he was going to fall, both from physical and mental exhaustion, but trusted Stephen to catch him every time. 

Sure enough, he did. Stephen hugged Anthony tighter and kissed the top of his head, holding him close to his heart. 

“Go to sleep, Ant,” he murmured. “I’ll be there in a minute.” 

“Okay,” Anthony replied. He yawned again, begrudgingly letting go of Stephen and stumbling into bed. 

He wanted to sleep and had every intention of doing so, but then he started thinking about his day. Not by choice, because Anthony could happily forget today if his mind would only let him. He replayed every conversation, memory, and action that caused him to feel as hollow and worthless as he did right now, not realizing that he was shaking as he tried not to cry. Stephen’s tiredness disappeared when he stepped out of the bathroom and was affronted with the sight of Anthony sobbing into a throw pillow. He crossed the room in long strides, laying beside his partner and hugging him close.

“What’s wrong?” Stephen asked, tracing circles on Anthony’s back.

Anthony just sighed. “It doesn’t matter.”

“Of course it does,” Stephen replied. “Even if it’s the smallest thing in the world, if something is important to you then I’m going to listen. I’ll want to listen.”

“I’ll tell you later... can we just stay like this for a bit?” Anthony asked. His tone was so soft and passive, indicating that he’d trip over himself to redact the request if needed. He hated asking for things, always feeling imposing and undeserving of the time and attention he received.

But Stephen was already shifting into a better cuddling position, pulling Anthony into a strong hug and giving him gentle, loving kisses. Stephen was grateful for these moments where Anthony allowed himself to be vulnerable, grateful for any chance to show him the love he deserved.

They were both instinctively caring and fiercely loyal to the people they were close to, but awful at taking moments to show themselves the same kind of love and care. They both felt like they hadn’t earned love, like they couldn’t exist without owing something to someone. There weren’t enough ways to show supportive people how appreciated they are in the same way that nothing would ever be powerful enough for the couple to prove their worth to any naysayers. Stephen generally didn’t listen to criticism, he didn’t care what most people thought of him. A select few, his mother for example, could make him feel like shit 13 seconds into a conversation and leave him rattled. Sometimes when Stephen failed, he heard her voice and the negative things she’d told him. He usually dealt with these thoughts by thinking about encouraging memories or things Anthony told him, which helped to recenter him. That strategy didn’t work all the time, but enough to help Stephen get through the day.

Anthony was extremely sensitive to criticism, but great at hiding his emotions. He’d had to from a young age, Howard Stark being himself, so it wasn’t easy to tell when something upset him unless you knew what to look for. Sometimes he built a barrier to keep his emotions to the side, throwing one feeling on top of another until the foundation broke and emotions overwhelmed him. Today was one of those days, where something he thought was insignificant was the hump that broke the camel’s back. He wasn’t good at letting himself be upset and had a hard time surrendering to his emotions right now. Even as Stephen reassured him that it was okay, that he was safe, it was still hard for Anthony to let himself talk about what was wrong. That often led to nights like these, with the weary couple holding themselves and each other together with the threads of love and understanding and years of knowing each other.

Despite exhausting himself from crying, Anthony could still see that Stephen was upset. “You okay?” He whispered, caressing Stephen’s cheek with his hand.

“Just frustrated. The practice Christine and I were doing didn’t go according to plan,” Stephen replied. “It was so close to perfect, but I fucked up one little thing.”

“Did you try your best?”

“Yes, but—”

“Did you fix the mistake?”

“As fast as I could, yeah.”

“And I assume you wrote everything down in that absurdly neat way you take notes?”

Stephen rolled his eyes. “Absurd is a bit of an extreme descriptor, don’t you think?”

“Hmm... no,” Anthony mumbled. “It’s absurd but shows how careful and dedicated you are to doing well. You have an immensely strong work ethic, you always do as much as you can, and you try as hard as you can. We’re still learning, we’re still in school. It’s okay to mess up, and it’s okay for you to mess up.”

Stephen nodded, his eyes fluttering shut as Anthony continued to caress his cheek. “You need to take your own advice, my love. You don’t have to hold yourself to impossibly high standards either.”

They tended to say the same thing in different words, ranging from delicate and sweet to extremely blunt.

Anthony smiled sadly, leaning in for a kiss. “I love you.”

“I love you too,” Stephen murmured against his lips. “Do you want to talk about what’s bothering you?”

Stephen always phrased his questions carefully. His intentions were always clear, showing that he was inviting Anthony to talk with him rather than insisting and forcing him into a vulnerable state. Too many people had done that to both of them.

There was no consequence if Anthony didn’t want to talk, and tonight he didn’t.

“In the morning?” He suggested, still a bit too timid to directly say no.

Stephen nodded. “In the morning.”

“I still just want to be close to you, in your arms,” Anthony whispered.

Stephen smiled and gave him a feather light kiss. “Stay as long as you like, I’m always here for you.”

tags: @stark-strange-love2 @h3mmy @kiwidino @chocopiggy @maya-custodios-dionach @majesticnerdynerd @ocforeverything @spooky-n-spunky @doctorstephenvincentstarkstrange @thespacecryptid

[oboevallis]

nostalgia pt 3

“Auntie Amelia!” Zola smiled as she walked into her aunts room holding a box that Amelia had never seen before. “Look what I found.” She plopped the box onto the bed and crawled to the space next to her aunt.

“What’s this?” The neurosurgeon asked curiously as she adjusted her shirt allowing her son to eat.

“I think they’re some of my moms things.” The girl answered pulling out a multi slot dvd holder. “Could these be my mom and dads dvds?”

“I think they are.” Amelia smiled as she flipped and looked at the dates that were written on the discs. “How about we have dinner and then we can watch this. How does that sound?”

“Can’t we watch them now?” Zola begged.

“I want to make sure you eat first. I pinky promise once we’re done with dinner we can watch as many as you want.” Amelia held out her pinky and waited for her niece to interlock with hers.

“Deal.” Zola smiled jumping off the bed; running out of the room quickly to assist her uncle with the cooking so they could get to watching the dvds faster. Amelia chuckled to herself at her nieces enthusiasm, she couldn’t remember the last time she had seen Zola so excited. She skillfully wrapped her son across her chest and made her way downstairs; to assure the kitchen didn’t turn into a complete mess. Once she entered the kitchen she was surprised to find organized chaos orchestrated by her boyfriend; usually when he was put in charge of dinner the kitchen was a war zone.

“What are we making?” The neurosurgeon smiled as she took in the scene around her. Zola was trying to speed Link along, Ellis was distracting herself with her IPad, and Bailey was following Link around the kitchen like a dog.

“Spaghetti and meatballs!” Ellis cheered looking up from her IPad, long enough for her aunt to take it and put it on the charger, resulting in a pout from her youngest niece. All the kids knew the rule about their IPads. No using them during the school day, in the kitchen with the family, or before doing to bed. “Hey!”

“You know the rules sweetheart.” Lately she felt bad for being so strict on the children especially during such a stressful time, and it didn’t help that it wasn’t what she normally did with them, she was the fun aunt. Hence the pandemic, her and Link were responsible for the kids making sure they put into place all of Merediths rules to make sure everything was as normal as possible for the kids and on top of that navigating their own journey of new parenthood.

“Can you go aaaaaaany slower?” Zola whined as leaning against the counter.

“What’s the rush?” Link laughed at the eldest girls impatience. “There’s no where for us to go, we’re stuck here.”

“I found my moms and dads home videos, I can’t wait to watch them!” Zola exclaimed; the happiness radiating across the room.

“Then, I guess we’ll have to hurry up.” Link agreed, with his signature smile.

_______________________________________

“That’s aunt Lexie.” Zola pointed out to siblings who never got the opportunity to meet her. She didn’t remember much about the woman, but she’d heard stories and seen pictures of them together. “Oh! And that’s Cristina!”

“I remember her.” Bailey smiled, on the screen it showed their mother, Cristina, and Lexie in the residents lounge laughing with one another. It was suspected that Derek was filming the moment between the friends. It then panned to Meredith holding up her eldest daughters hands as she was attempting to walk. “Zola, look! You were so little!” Bailey stated, shock tainting his voice, in his mind Zola was always his big sister he couldn’t fathom the fact she used to be little. After Zola’s failed attempt at walking panned off the screen, it then showed a smiley Derek showing the foundation of their Dream House. The former neurosurgeon explained what each room was going to be with such enthusiasm, and he showed the view from the side in the mountain overlooking the city.

“Where’s that?” Ellis asked, pointing to the screen.

“That was the house your dad built.” Amelia silently reminisced on the phone calls she had with her brother, where he raved excitedly about the house he was building for his family. He had been dreaming about it since he moved to Seattle, and then he was able to build it with the person he was supposed to spend a lifetime with.

“He built a house? All by himself?” Ellis asked impressed, it was a piece of information she never knew. “Why don’t we live there?”

“We live in grandmas house now.” Zola answered. She had vague memories in the house, she had one in particular she would replay, her and her parents were sat near the living room having a tea party with cat ears. Sometimes she wished they still lived there, but she remembered her mother telling her it was better to be here. “It’s easier.”

“There’s Mark again.” Bailey pointed out, as the man stepped into view carrying what seemed to be Sofia, bundled up in warm clothes because of the cold air in the mountains. “He’s in a lot of these.”

“Yeah, he was your dads very best friend.” Throughout everything that happened between the two, they always found their way back to one another. She specifically remembered a conversation she had with Mark when her brother had left for Seattle, Mark knew what he did was unforgivable and had given up hope on getting his best friend back, that was until Amelia kicked his ass to Seattle and informed him that his tennis partner had figured out about the affair he was having with his wife and had purchased himself a gun. The next time she looked up at the tv the screen was black indicating that it was over.

“Do you have a best friend Auntie Amelia?” Ellis asked her aunt directing her attention off of the now blank tv screen.

“I’ve gotta say Link.” She locked eyes with him and smiled lovingly.

“Nope, that doesn’t count.”

“Why doesn’t that count?”

“He’s your boyfriend, that’s a different kind of friend. Who’s your best friend? Mines Bailey.” She high fives her brother, while Zola rolled her eyes.

“The probably my friend Charlotte.”

“Is that the one who lives in LA?” Zola asked.

“Yep that’s the one, I haven’t seen her in awhile, we still talk though.”

“Is she a surgeon?” Bailey asked, almost all the adults he was associated with were surgeons.

“No but she is a doctor.”

“What type?” Zola asked, her mother had told her about the different specialties and the personalities associated with them.

“S-she, she’s a doctor. Actually one of her jobs is kind of what Dr Bailey does, run the staff and make sure everyone’s doing the right thing.”

“Can we watch another?” Bailey asked changing the subject.

“It’s getting pretty late, and Miss Zola has a test tomorrow.” Link informed, causing a round of boos to flood the room. “We’ll watch more tomorrow after dinner. But now we’ve gotta get ready for bed, and I think I promised Bailey and Ellis an extra story tonight so we’ve gotta get going.” After this the kids reluctantly trudged up the stairs to get prepared for the night.

“Have I ever told you how hot you are when your being all parent-y?” Amelia smirked as she walked over to where he was sitting and situated herself on his lap.

“I didn’t know parent-y was a word.”

“Is now.” The neurosurgeon announced before kissing him passionately, only to be pushed away.

“Wait, what speciality does this Charlotte do that you couldn’t tell the kids?” Link raised his eyebrow curious to hear the answer.

“She’s a sexologist.”

“Really?”

“Mmh Hmm.”

“Wow, that’s kinda hot.”

“Hotter than me?” His girlfriend batted her eyelashes in the way that always drove him crazy.

“Nothing could be hotter than you Amelia Shepherd.” Link affirmed before he quickly kissed his girlfriend, he allowed for them to fall into a rhythm before pushing her off of his lap.

“Hey!”

“Hey? You were the one who started it, I’ve got stories to read to children.” Link smiled once he saw the angered look on his girlfriends face, it was his divine payback for the other night when she paused because a tv show she’d become obsessed with during what time was about to come on.

[caffernnn]

All the awful ones for makoharu because i wanna hear your thoughts oops: 7, 14, 16, 17, 19 and 24 👁👄👁

These hurt my feelings thanks 😩

7.. What annoys them the most about their partner? Would they change it if they could?

Even though there are little things that they’ll bicker about from time to time (Makoto making a mess of the kitchen, Haru doing anything but rushing to leave in the mornings, etc.), the biggest things tend to do with a lack of communication. For example, Makoto knows that Haru hardly using his phone or never sending calls/texts first when he’s away doesn’t mean that he doesn’t care, but it certainly doesn’t help with his insecurities. He’s been better about openly showing Makoto appreciation/affection since they’ve been in Tokyo, so he forgives Haru for the phone thing for now. On the other end, Haru gets annoyed with how Makoto will still run himself into the ground before asking for help. It’s such an ingrained behavior for Makoto that he doesn’t seem to realize he’s bottling things up most of the time, but there are times where he will consciously try not to “burden” Haru with his issues and Haru hates it when he catches him. Part of the reason Haru loves Makoto so much is because of his boundless kindness, but he still wishes Makoto would also extend that care to himself more often.

14.. Anything they both dread?

Makoto’s anxiety skyrockets when he has to go see a doctor/dentist/etc. in Tokyo (he’d finally gotten comfortable with his regulars in Iwatobi right before moving) so Haru will try to go with him when he can. They both dread those days because Makoto will psych himself out to the point of exhaustion until the appointment is over with, and Haru can only do so much to calm him down along the way. They’re both ready for a nap by the time they get back home.

16.. Do they keep secrets? Lie? Cheat?

They really try to not keep secrets from each other anymore since the whole fireworks mess, but they still will sometimes if they think it’ll somehow “spare” the other (mainly lies of omission). It’s hard to break out of their old habits of constantly trying to protect each other, but good intentions only go so far and they’re trying to do better. They’re learning that truly trusting and understanding each other means actually talking rather than making their best educated guess on what the other wants/needs. Also I don’t see either of them cheating and I resent the idea of it THANKS

17.. What would make them break up? Would it be permanent?

I don’t ~like~ this question because I don’t see them breaking up, especially with how much they’ve both grown in Tokyo. However, if I have to give an answer, it would probably be due to major communication issues. Part of the reason they’re able to be so happy and casually/comfortably domestic in Tokyo is because they made a conscious decision after the fireworks fight to be more open with each other. If they didn’t learn to grow after that, I don’t know if they would’ve stayed all that close after high school. They’re no longer neighbors or classmates that have ample opportunity to spend almost everyday together, so being together and being happy means both of them need to make conscious efforts to stay close. If either of them stopped trying, stopped reaching out, stopped reassuring the other, then that foundation of trust would start to crumble. As far as a break-up being permanent or not, it would really depend. They might have a dramatic “break” here or there (and Rin or one of their friends might have to step in ~again~) but it would take a pile-up of missteps for it to be permanent, I think.

19.. What do they fight about? What are their arguments like? How do they make up?

I feel like their fights/arguments are often small at best, usually from one of them reacting to one of the other’s aforementioned “annoying habits” after a long day. Haru can get snippy when his social battery has run out and he can’t find a nice way to talk to Makoto about taking care of himself/his apartment. Makoto gets self-deprecating and will start saying “it’s fine, don’t worry about it” in a way that makes Haru’s blood boil, but they usually cool off and work through whatever’s going on pretty fast. Even if they just need some time apart to process things and cool off, they usually know things are fine when they hug it out before bed or before leaving the apartment. Hugs are good.

24.. Any doubts about the relationship?

I feel like any doubts they have about the relationship at this point go back to their own abandonment issues. Part of Haru is worried one day Makoto will decide he isn’t worth sticking around for anymore because he’s too much to deal with, and part of Makoto is worried one day Haru’s dream will put him so far out of reach that he won’t be good enough to keep around. They both reassure the other that that isn’t the case (still losing my mind over the mook), but those deeply-rooted insecurities are hard to tackle sometimes.

I thought about this with the break-up question as well, but I feel like they both have taken on the mindsets of “I want what’s best for you even if that isn’t me anymore” at one point or another, and that sort of thought process paired with their whole habit of guessing each other’s needs could get messy. OH the angst.