#unfortunately it’s just not something I have time for anymore :(

[tokyo-daaaamn-ji-gang]

even if it's late, I gotta request: Shinichiro as your boyfriend headcanons?? 🥹 any aspects you want, but I'd LOVE to see how his family and friends react and interact <33 have a great night/day!!

Here are some (Shinichiro definitely deserves to be a boyfriend)!

Both his friends and his family actually thinks he's joking or trying to trick them when he announces he's seeing someone. They've teased him about being rejected for so long that they're pretty surprised someone accepted his confession this time. Shinichiro has a hard time trying to convince them this is real (Mikey even suggests you're imaginary at first before meeting you). 

Begs his friends (and Manjiro) to not embarass him before he introduces you to them (of course they all ignore this and tell a bunch of embarrassing stories about him instead).

They're all pretty friendly towards you though they have a tonne of questions. Emma, Izana and Mikey (Mikey asks the most random ones like if you like taiyaki? and can you fight?)  They want to know everything about you (this has never happened before so they're pretty excited) and Shinichiro's friends want to know the details of him asking you out (they're still pretty surprised). 

Shinichiro can't stop saying my girlfriend/ my boyfriend. He just loves saying that he finally has a partner. 

And definitely brags about you to his friends a lot, he just loves talking about you, especially in this early stage. Everyone get's a bit sick of him going on and on about you eventually lmao. 

Shinichiro also get's a lot of random advice about you and how to be a good boyfriend in the early stages. 

Shinichiro makes sure he does basically every romantic gesture he can think of (especially seems to love bringing you flowers). He likes how happy it seems to make you.

He is a bit shy when it comes to getting physical, he badly wants to hold your hand, hug you, kiss you etc but get's a bit nervous to (he overthinks it a lot) ends up nervously laughing while asking you to. And yes this get's him teased by his friends.

He automatically grins everytime he sees you, he doesn't even seem to notice it but he get's so much happier when he spots you. 

His siblings love you and unfortunately for Shinichiro like to have your attention anytime you're altogether. You've been stolen away from Shinichiro a few times by his siblings when he planned to hang out with you.

Shinichiro offers to drive you around everywhere, likes the feeling of you being so close to him and wants you to see how much fun being on a bike is (or how much fun his bike is).

He's a very good listener, you can say you like something just once and he'll remember it.

Whenever you hug him, he always murmurs that being in your embrace is the best place in the world

He's a lot happier overall with you around too, not that he was exactly sad before but he has an extra spring in his step and smiles even more then before.

Also refuses to work late anymore, he used to stay late with the bikes if something needed doing but now wants to get back to you as soon as possible. Shinichiro actually doesn't even realise this though, it's Inui who points out that he's started doing this.

Has so many pet names for you, seems to use a different one every time. (He keeps a sort of draft list of them where he writes down new possible ideas)

Secretly plans to marry you (his friends already know because they were teasing him about it and he started blushing and not meeting their eyes)

He also daydreams a lot about you while away from you and apparently makes a certain face while doing it, the others call it his "boyfriend face".

And finally, even after the hardest days for him, coming home and seeing you and the way you look at him/ treat him always makes him smile.

[7975348473]

Hi, I love your fics. Could you write one where Lyra and Gray have a really big fight, break up, and then get back together after a while?

Breakups Don't Last.

------------------------------ Relationship/s:- Lyrason (Lyra x Grayson), The Hawthorne Brothers. Post- The Grandest Game

I recommend you read "The Rolex Chronicles" before this fanfic,in order to understand it better, but its not necessary.

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

LYRA

Grayson and Lyra hadn't been properly communicating for quite a while. It wasn't intentional, of course.

Half of Grayson's thoughts were still preoccupied with Lyra and half of Lyra's thoughts were still plagued by her asshole.

It was just that, between Grayson's work at the firm and Lyra's studies, they couldn't talk much.

So, apart from the occasional "How are you?", "Did you eat?", "I love you" and "I miss you", they weren't interacting. Of course, Lyra had noticed. And she hated it.

But she had figured that, once both of their lives calmed down, everything would return to normal. Return to just them.

Life had other plans, though.

Grayson was tired. Lyra was beyond exhausted. Yet they still took out time and decided to meet one another, that's what love did to a person. Unfortunately, though, their lack of communication over the past few weeks finally took its effect.

They ended up arguing.

“Lyra, I honestly don't remember??” Grayson said, sounding absolutely exasperated. Which only hurt Lyra more.

“I- Gray. You planned the event??” Lyra immediately shot back.

“And I forgot. I'm sorry, its just work has been-”

“Do not give me that excuse again, Gray, because I have been perfectly busy too, but I remembered.”

Grayson ran a hand down his face, his smile was completely gone now.

“I'm not giving you an excuse Lyra, its the truth and sadly inevitable.”

Lyra let out a frustrated groan, “Inevitable, Hawthorne? Really? You're the one that suggested we go out this weekend and then forgot. This was perfectly avoidable.”

Grayson's eyes bored into her, as if he was trying to read what was going through her mind.

“You're right. This was perfectly avoidable, I shouldn't have tried in the first place.” He sounded cold.

Lyra tried to remind herself that they were both just tired, that they were both lashing out for no reason, yet she couldn't get herself to stop.

Her scoff was cruel.

“Or you could have remembered?? Set a reminder or something. This is the third event of ours that's been cancelled-”

And so they went back and forth over and over again.

“Oh, my god. I cannot even with this right now.” Lyra said after they had argued for a good twenty minutes. She raised her hands in defeat and began to pace the room to keep her cool.

“With what?” Grayson pried, he wasn't masking his anger either.

“I don't know genius. The event? This? Us?”

When Grayson was angry, he didn't yell or scream or turn red. No, when he was angry, he put on his poker face. His cool, unbothered façade. He went so unbelievably still, seemed so unbelievably calm, that people were unnerved.

And that demeanor never faltered when he was in a bad mood.

At least that's what Lyra had thought up until then.

The moment the word “Us?” left her mouth, Grayson's expression changed. For one split second, he looked shocked, taken-aback, broken.

Lyra knew immediately where she had erred. She didn't mean that. Not one bit.

“Gray-”

“Then leave.”

Silence.

Lyra felt her world tilting on its axis as she repeated those words again in her head.

Then leave.

He wants you to leave. He wants you to leave.

A small part of Lyra whispered, He doesn't mean that.

Lyra took a deep breathe.

But what if he does?

She looked up to meet Grayson's gaze but he wasn't looking at her anymore. His head was turned to the side as he glared holes into the floor.

“Leave?” She asked, her voice sounded indifferent. A broken kind of indifferent.

A heavy silence followed, which answered the question for her.

“Alright then.” Lyra turned on her heels, walking fast towards the door. She needed to get out of there.

“This is the end, Hawthorne.”

Lyra grabbed her car keys and was about to snatch her coat from the stand when she realized that it wasn't hers.

The coat she had been using was her boyfriend's. Or, her now ex-boyfriend's

Lyra's hand retreated and she barged out the door. She didn't let the tears come, she had a long drive ahead of her.

But where am I going to go?

She decided on Miles End, making up her mind to drive for nearly a day and a half.

Lyra sprinted to the parking area and spotted a man standing in front of her car.

“Excuse me, can you please move? I need to drive.” She tried to sound as polite as she possibly could at that moment.

The man turned to her, “Actually, I have been assigned to drive you wherever you'd like.”

Lyra felt her heart tug.

Maybe Grayson didn't hate her?

She pushed the thought away. He had told her to leave, he didn't want her around anymore and she would respect that.

“I decline the offer, now please leave.” Lyra said, making her way to the drivers seat.

“M-miss! I insist-”

Lyra sent the man a levelled glare, ordering him to back off, “You are dismissed, sir.”

The man gave a small bow and left. Lyra almost felt bad, she hadn't meant to scare the poor guy, but she wasn't exactly emotionally stable at the moment.

Finally, sitting there alone in the car, her feelings bombarded her. A broken sob escaped her lips.

Lyra didn't think her life could have a lower moment than when the memory of her biological father began to haunt her. She had been wrong.

This was so, so much worse.

Because Lyra had a taste of what love felt like, what being whole felt like, what being with him felt like.

And she had screwed it all up. She had ruined it.

Lyra felt like somebody had ripped her heart out of her chest, threw it to the ground, stomped on it a hundred times and put it right back in her chest.

That would be better than this, actually. She thought.

Everything hurt.

And he wasn't there.

Lyra's entire body shook as she sat their in the car, crying her heart and soul out.

She had lost him. He hated her. They were over.

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

GRAYSON

Grayson's brain didn't process what had went down until she slammed the door shut behind her.

She left.

Lyra was gone.

And he had told her to leave.

Grayson's eyes widened slightly.

When they had started arguing, Grayson knew it wouldn't be a short 'scream and finish' argument. They both had been tired, they both had lashed out.

But he never expected for this to happen.

Grayson took a step back as the weight of the situation finally settled in.

Lyra left. She's gone. She isn't coming back. We broke up. She hates me. It's over.

He fell back on the sofa without meaning to, his legs had given out. Grayson had faced heartbreak before, this was something else. Because what was his life without Lyra? What was he without Lyra?

How did this happen? Why did this-

He took a shaky breathe. He tried to steady himself.

He failed.

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

LYRA

It was hard to keep her eyes open for nearly 29 hours after having an entire sob session, but Lyra was stubborn as hell.

She had drove. An entire 29 hours. No eating or breaks. Just driving

And she was now at Miles End.

Lyra stood at the front door staring at the door knob as she contemplated whether to tell her mom. What to tell her mom. She took a deep breathe and stepped in.

“Mom! I'm home!!” Lyra screamed as if her arrival was to be expected.

Her mom ran out of the kitchen, “Lyra?! Oh my goodness-”

She hugged her, Lyra let her.

“You came alone?? Where's my soon-to-be-son-in-law?” She asked, looking back to the door to make sure nobody was left behind. That he wasn't left behind.

When Lyra didn't reply, her mom turned back to her.

Lyra had decided before hand that she wouldn't tell her mom, she didn't want to worry her. She didn't want her mom to see her despair.

Her mom turned around and gazed over her entire body, toes-up. Her eyes lingered on her face. She didn't say a word.

She simply took Lyra's hand and led her to the living room.

Lyra followed like a lifeless corpse.

She took a seat on the sofa and signaled for Lyra to follow suit. She did. And then, her mother took her head and gently pried it onto her lap, Lyra was stunned for a moment.

But that's all it took.

She wrapped her hands around hers mother's waist, face towards her mother's stomach.

The tears came of their own violation.

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

GRAYSON

Grayson had dealt with heartbreak before. This was not the same.

He didn't know what to do. What to think.

It had been nearly a week since the argument, since the break up. Grayson hadn't so much as left his room. He didn't shower, didn't eat, didn't sleep.

Life felt bland, pointless, like nothing.

Suddenly Grayson heard voices coming from outside the door, his usually sharp ears, though, didn't process what they were saying until they entered his penthouse.

“Nope. We've given him enough time to sob. We cannot handle this gently anymore.” Jameson

“Agreed.” Said Xander and Nash heaved a heavy sigh.

They stepped into his room and froze.

Obviously, whatever it was they were expecting, it wasn't this.

Grayson, laying down on his bed, looking surreally pale- symbolizing a corpse. Judging by how disheveled his clothes looked, he obviously hadn't changed from his previous pair, leave alone bathed.

He looked miserable. Dead, almost.

His three brothers stood there, trying to process what they were seeing. It didn't feel right. Nothing about the scene said Grayson.

Jameson snapped out of it first.

“Grayson. What are you doing?” He practically screamed, Nash shot him a glare but he ignored it.

When Grayson didn't reply, didn't move, Jameson walked forward.

“Oi! Grayson-” Nothing.

“Gray! You can't stay like that for the rest of your life. Get up.”

Followed by, once again, nothing. Not a glare, not a scoff not even an eye twitch.

Jameson's eyes widened slightly. This was bad.

Nash and Xander stepped up beside him as they all looked down to Grayson's extremely still body-practically-corpse.

They were stumped.

“Okay!! Its obvious my dearest brother here is in need of some scones. And chaos. A lot of chaos.” Xander declared.

He produced a scone out of his pocket and handed it to Grayson, when he didn't move Xander began to wave the scone in front of his eyes.

“Brother! Earth to Brethren!! Hey, its a once in a lifetime moment that I share my scones, are you seriously going to miss out on this??” Nash and Jameson snorted, Grayson remained still.

Silence.

Xander looked slightly panicked and even Jameson was shook.

Nash then picked Grayson up and they all moved to the living room. No one had to say anything, because when a Hawthorne was down and depressed, only one thing helped them lighten up.

 “Karaoke Time!!” Jameson and Xander screamed simultaneously.

And the brothers did what they did best. They chaos-ed. They chaos-ed so hard that Xander had just about lost his voice, Nash had ditched his cowboy hat and Jameson's shirt had come undone. Yet, despite it all, Grayson had still not moved.

Finally, his brothers stopped.

They all shared a look, they needed to face this head on.

Nash sat down next to Grayson, who was just staring at the floor. He wore no expression but it wasn't what you could call his poker face.

His poker face only came up when he himself was in control, this expression was something else.

It was broken.

“Gray.”

Nothing.

“Look at me lil' brother.”

Grayson didn't. He didn't so much as move a muscle.

“I feel a tackle coming in~~” Xander tried. Still nothing.

Finally, Jameson stepped up.

He simply moved and sat down on the other side of Grayson and then, without warning, he smacked their wrists together.

A loud clinking sound was produced.

Nash and Xander looked confused, they looked to Jameson and Grayson's wrist and saw two Rolexes.

Two matching Rolexes. Bestie Bands.

Finally, Grayson looked to Jameson and Jameson met his faltering gaze.

“You alright, bro?”

Grayson shook his head slowly as his brain began to catch up with reality once again.

A broken sob escaped him, and then he couldn't stop. The sound kept coming, shattered and crushed.

Jameson was immediately there, wrapping his arms around his brother, Nash put his strong arms on Grayson's shoulder as he shook.

Xander's eyes looked slightly glassy, he was the youngest after all. He wiggled himself between Jameson and Grayson's bodies and wrapped his hands around Grayson's waist.

All four brothers stayed like that for a while and Grayson's brain finally formed one coherent thought.

What'd I do to deserve these three?

A/N: Everything. Gray, my child, ur the bestest.

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

LYRA

It had been a week and five days.

An entire 288 hours without Grayson, and Lyra was not coping well.

She would randomly explode during the day and cry herself to sleep at night. Things were not looking good.

Lyra's mom had told her that she needed to be stronger for herself and try to get over the entire situation.

But it was easier said than done.

Because getting over Grayson Davenport Hawthorne seemed to get more and more impossible with every passing hour. How were you supposed to get over somebody that perfect, somebody you didn't even want to get over??

Lyra had been trying though, to pull herself together for the sake of her family. She was miserably failing.

No matter what she did, her brain would always find a way to wander back to him. If she was cooking she'd think, "Grayson likes less spice in his food" Or if she was watching TV she'd catch herself thinking, "Grayson's favorite show comes on today."

And then reality would catch up with her, but that wasn't the worst part.

No, the worst part was the thought that came after.

You shouldn't be thinking about him anymore. You can't.

It was that thought, that thought that made her heart squeeze, that made it hard to breathe.

Thinking about Grayson had always come naturally to Lyra, as if he was always meant to live rent free in her mind. And Lyra had loved to think about him, her boyfriend.

Hell, she still loved thinking about him, and that's what anguished her.

Lyra still thought about him, still loved him but she had lost the right to do so. She had hurt him by saying she was tired of them, she had left.

It was all her fault.

"Lyra!! Get down here, you have a guest!!"

Lyra flinched awake. She had been trying to sleep off her heart wrenching reality for a little bit, but it seems her mom had other plans.

A guest?

No one knew Lyra was back in town, so who would have come to visit her?

"Quickly!!"

Lyra dragged herself out of bed unwillingly, she barely had the energy to stand. She walked over to the mirror and stopped, looking herself up and down.

God. I look terrible.

Lyra's eyes were brimmed red because of all the late-night-crying-sessions and her hair was all over the place, not to mention her tear stained cheeks.

She let out a heavy sigh and grabbed a scrunchie, putting her hair into a quick messy bun and then washed her face.

When she was done tidying up, she realized... she still looked like shit.

Screw it.

Lyra flew down the stairs, making up her mind to wrap this up quickly.

"Mom, who is i-"

Lyra reached the end of the stairs and paused upon seeing the guest, she was absolutely floored.

A tall man in his early twenties, equipped with a cowboy hat stood at the front door.

What''s Nash doing here??

Lyra proceeded to have a mini freak-out.

Oh no. He probably heard what happened from Gray. Does he hate me too? I would hate me if I were him.

Nash's voice reeled Lyra out of her trance.

He smiled and said, “Hey lil' darlin'.”

Lyra was, once again, floored. Why was he smiling at her??

“H-hi.” She replied. What were you supposed to say to your ex-boyfriend's eldest brother?? Lyra certainly didn't know.

“Can I get you anything, Nash?” Lyra's mom chimed in.

Nash turned his gaze from Lyra to her mom, “No, thank you though. I'd just like a few moments with my lil' sis' here.”

Lyra's eyes widened slightly at the endearment. Lil' sis?

She took a deep breathe, trying to calm her emotions which were brewing up a storm, internally. But why was he being so nice to her??

“Please come in.” Lyra said finally.

Nash walked into the living room, his eyes travelled around Miles End as if assessing and judging the house.

“Um- can I ask why you're here?” Lyra asked hesitantly.

He plopped himself down on the sofa, turning his gaze to her and that's when it hit her.

He's probably here to return the stuff I left.

When Lyra had left Grayson's pent house so abruptly, she had forgotten all of her belongings.

“I already told your mom didn't I? I just wanna talk with you for a little while.” Nash drawled, Lyra felt a comfortable warmth settle over her.

Why was he being so nice?

“Oh, I also needed to give you something your forgot.” He quickly added.

I knew it. She thought.

Unexpectedly, Nash reached into his pocket and pulled out a photograph. Lyra looked at him, slightly surprised, before taking hold of the picture.

Her breath hitched.

The picture had 5 smiling girls in it, Avery, Max, Gigi, Savannah and Lyra.

It had been no secret that Lyra loved the photo, she had framed it and kept it in her room and it seemed Nash had noticed.

But it wasn't the photo she loved exactly, it was the moment that had come with the picture, the photographer.

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

“Alright people, gather around!! Our photographer is ready to do his job!” Jameson yelled from across the park.

Grayson rolled his eyes. A habit he had picked up from his girlfriend.

The five girls, who had been screaming and messing around, ran on over to have their photo taken. Grayson was ready with his camera.

The girls posed, putting up two fingers to make the peace sign, grinning. Lyra had been smiling too, the same smile she always wore in all her photos. A practiced smile.

Grayson was adjusting his camera when he suddenly frowned. A frown so minute you could barely see it but Lyra knew it was there.

She was confused, 'why is he upset all of a sudden?'

Suddenly, Grayson looked up at her and their gazes met, the rest of the world seemed to tune out. Because, god, he was looking at her like that again. Like she was the world and the stars and everything else that came with it.

And then, Grayson Hawthorne- the beautiful asshole, smiled. He really smiled. The type of smile where his eyes softened and his eyes wrinkled slightly.

Lyra's breathe caught. How was he so unfairly beautiful??

But Grayson Hawthorne was contagious.

Lyra found herself returning the smile and then the camera sounded click, he had taken the picture.

And she had been smiling. A real smile. Meant for him.

The moment was incredibly private, but Lyra knew she'd cherish it forever.

They would be forever.

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

Lyra ignored the way her heart squeezed and her throat closed up. She smiled at Nash.

“Thanks, Nash.”

“So, what have you been up to?”

Lyra thought that over. Oh- the usual, crying, having mental break downs, etc.

She couldn't exactly say that, though.

“I've been trying to learn a new dance choreography I found online. Its pretty nice.” She settled for a half-truth.

Lyra had been trying to learn a new ballet choreography, true. But she had also been unsuccessful in doing so because even the slightest violin note reminded her of him and then she felt her eyes burning.

Nash's eyes bored into her, and suddenly Lyra was reminded of how crappy she looked.

“Max and Xander managed to almost burn down the entire house. Again.” Nash deadpanned.

Silence.

Why was he telling her this? Weren't they going to talk about Grayson?

“Oh.” She replied finally.

He adjusted his cowboy hat “Yeah. They were apparently trying to make scones with some sort of alchemy for science.”

Lyra snorted at that.

“Let me guess, Alisa had their head?”

Nash shot her a look, “Worse. Xander is banned from touching scones for two days and Maxine is not allowed to read any romance novels.”

Lyra couldn't help it, she giggled.

Leave it to Alisa to find the most perfect ways to punish people.

Lyra and Nash talked, discussing the stupid found-family that resided within the Hawthorne household. And for the first time in the past two-ish weeks, Lyra felt slightly happy. Slightly at ease.

“I can't believe him sometimes, honestly.” Nash said in reference to Jameson.

Lyra rolled her eyes, “That sounds like Jameson. Stupid half-british ass.”

Nash paused for a second, meeting her eyes before laughing. Lyra found herself joining in.

Finally Nash stood up, a smile still on his face, “I should get goin' now. A long trip ahead and everythin'.”

Lyra stood up too and walked with him slowly, towards the door. She wasn't sure why he came all the way to Miles End just to talk to her.

Once they reached the door, Lyra spoke.

“You can say it.”

She hadn't meant to open her mouth, but now that she had, she couldn't find it in herself to stop.

Nash turned to look at her.

“W-why,” She took a deep breathe, “why haven't said anything about Grayson? You have the right to be mad. You're his eldest brother.”

Nash didn't say a word as he continued to look at her.

Her vision began to blur, “I'm sorry. Its my fault. I got mad first and lashed out like an idiot. I-”

She tried to steady herself, ordering her tears not to fall, “Grayson, he- he deserves better than m-”

Lyra was cut off by Nash's strong arms wrapping around her upper back and pulling her close. Lyra was stumped.

And then a sob escaped her. Followed by another, and the she was breaking down again in Nash's embrace.

“Shhh, its okay lil' darlin'.”

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

GRAYSON

“For the last time, Jamie. No.”

It had been exactly two weeks since the break up.

And saying Grayson had not been taking it well was a major understatement, weren't these things supposed to get better with the passage of time?

How come he felt like dying then??

“C'monnnnnnn. What're you gonna do lazing around here, marinating in your depression?” Jameson retorted.

Grayson sent him a glare, “Do I look like I'm in the state to attend a social party, Jamie??”

He didn't. He looked terrible actually.

He hadn't had a proper meal in ages, which made him look skinnier than usual, his hair was disheveled and he wasn't even dressing properly anymore.

The Grayson Davenport Hawthorne, who always looked too perfect to be real, looked far too human at the moment to be considered even okay-adjacent.

"Heartbreak doesn't kill a man, and it certainly doesn't kill a Hawthorne." Tobias Hawthorne's words echoed in Grayson's mind.

And then he snorted. Then what the hell is happening to me right now, old man?

“Gray. Please. Why can't you try and move around a bit? Touch some grass?”

Grayson didn't deign that with a response.

Jameson muttered something incomprehensible, “You're gonna die at this rate.”

Then Grayson met his eyes, “Good.” Before turning his attention back to his phone.

Silence.

When Jameson didn't say anything Grayson looked back up at him, planning to tell him to leave.

His tongue caught when he saw Jameson's expression, though.

Jameson was a lot of things.

Reckless, stupid, a daredevil, whipped, narcissistic, perhaps even an egoist in the making. But that was mostly just a front. He, like all of his brothers, was taught to suppress his feelings, to never let his emotions catch up with him.

So when Grayson saw the expression Jameson was making, he was taken-aback to say the least.

Jameson's eyes were glassy and he was holding his breath, like if he let go then he'd come crashing down with it. His hands were balled up into tight fists and he was glaring holes into the floor.

He looked angry, helpless.

Scared.

Grayson thought the situation over again. To him, dying sounded perfectly fine, hell he already felt dead. But Jameson wasn't okay with that.

“Three hours. Then I will leave.” Grayson deadpanned.

The way Jameson's face lit up reminded Grayson of when they were kids, when they actually confided in one another. When it was just them.

He almost smiled.

“See you then, Gray.”

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

LYRA

“No.”

“Yes.”

“No.”

“Yes.”

“I hate you.”

“I love you too.”

Lyra groaned.

She had been trying to help her mom cook when her phone suddenly went off. She ignored it initially but then it rang again.

Lyra had stormed off, ready to snap at whoever dared call her a second time when it was obvious she didn't want and wasn't going to pick up.

She was slightly shocked when she read Avery's name. Pleasantly shocked.

“Avery. I. Am. Not. Coming.” Lyra paused after every word, trying make her point.

“Whyyyyyy??!!”

“I literally live 29 hours away?! I can't just show up for an over night, quote on quote, 'social party' and leave-”

“I'll just send a private jet to get you, please come.”

Lyra forgot she had rich friends.

But travelling wasn't the only problem. What if Grayson is there?

Lyra wouldn't mind seeing him, in fact, she wanted to. Really, really badly. But Grayson hated her. What if he got angry when he saw her? What if he ignored her?

She didn't want to think about it.

“Lyra. We haven't so much as talked in two weeks, I miss you. Just for a little while. Please.”

Lyra felt warmth wrap around her heart. She had missed Avery too. The two girls had talked all the time when Lyra was still dating him.

“... Alright.”

She heard Avery gasp and then squeal from the other side of the line.

“But only for a little while, okay?”

“Of course, darling.”

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

LYRA

Lyra had considered ditching the entire plan and running away a million times but she pushed the thought away every. Single. Time.

Yet, as she stood in front of the Hawthorne Gates, gazing at the huge crowd, she cursed herself for not escaping while she had the chance.

I am done for, aren't I? Welp. No turning back.

She walked in.

Lyra was, in a way, an introvert. She hated huge crowds and loud noises, so this party was not appealing in anyway.

Just find Avery, say hi, get out.

She walked through the crowd and spotted Avery.... with Jameson.

Yay. Off to a great start.

Lyra turned around and stalled for a little while, praying that Jameson left his girlfriend's orbit for just one god damned minute.

There was no way she was facing any of Grayson's brothers today.

Thankfully and surprisingly, Jameson did walk away. That was almost sketchy, Avery and Jameson were practically inseparable at events.

Lyra decided not to look into it and walked on over.

"OH MY GOD LYRA!!!" Avery screamed and immediately hugged her. Lyra laughed, returning the embrace.

She still couldn't believe that both Nash and Avery didn't hate her.

"Its been so long, girl. Where have you been?"

Lyra gave her a soft smile. There was something to Avery, something that allowed Lyra to open up and be herself.

"At Miles End. Dying, I think." She said it as a joke, but it was true.

Avery stared her down for a before they continued talking about the most random bull crap, laughing at terrible jokes.

Lyra turned around to grab a drink from a bartender and that's when her gaze fell on him.

About 10 feet from where Lyra stood, a man with beautiful blonde hair and shining grey eyes stood. His posture was perfect, one that said that he was a man of power and not afraid to use it.

Grayson Hawthorne. Gray.

He looked skinnier, his dark circles had grown slightly, too. No one else saw it, she did, though.

Lyra's heart beat picked up, she felt like a stupid girl with a crush again. She couldn't help but stare, forgetting that Avery was talking.

He looked immaculate as always, glorious as he smiled.

And he was talking to a girl.

Lyra tried to ignore the way her heart squeezed, he's not yours anymore, Lyra. Get a grip.

"Lyraaaaa, earth to my favorite kitty!"

She snapped out of it and turned back around to see Maxine Liu standing next to Avery.

Lyra couldn't help the smile that broke out on her face, Max was a force to be reckoned with and Lyra loved her for it.

The three girls went on yapping, when suddenly a very familiar song came on. One everybody knew.

Shape of you.

Max squealed, "Lyra."

Lyra didn't have to guess what Max was implying, "Max. No."

Avery smiled at the both of them, "Why not?"

Lyra sent her a withering glare, "I just don't want to."

Max rolled her eyes, "Who are you lying to? You always want to dance."

She had a point, Lyra did in fact want to dance. It'd help her get her mind off of Grayson smiling at another girl.

God Lyra, stop acting like you're still dating him. Her heart squeezed again.

But if she were to start dancing, chances of Grayson spotting her would be at an all time high. She couldn't risk that.

"C'mon pleaseeee, its been so long since we all danced together." Avery pleaded and Max joined in.

Lyra sighed, feigning exasperation as a smile broke out on her face.

Well, I suppose I could dance just a bit.

And the three girls walked on over.

Lyra looked to her two best friends as they began to dance, Lyra let the music come, felt it in every bone of her body and then she was swaying to the beat.

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

GRAYSON

Like every other event Grayson had ever attended, this party too, was extremely taxing.

People put on nice facades and talked to others only so that they could benefit themselves.

In fact, this party was much worse.

Not only was Grayson still trying to cope with the separation from Lyra, as it turns out, news of the break up had spread far and wide. People jumped at the opportunity.

In the one hour Grayson had been present at the party, he had been flirted with at least 50 different times and that was rounding it off.

His brother was not making that much better.

"Oh! Gray, here comes another one~" Jameson teased, signaling towards a girl whose clothes seemed far too suggestive for Grayson to feel comfortable.

Wrap this up quickly. You control the room. Grayson reminded himself.

He was wrong. This girl was demanding and stubborn.

"Hey there hottie~"

Grayson tried not to cringe as Jameson snorted.

"Yes, miss?" Grayson replied, ever-so formally.

"I hope you know CPR, because you just took my breathe away." She replied.

Jameson turned his head around, covering up his laugh with a cough. Grayson fought to remain polite.

"That's quite funny, miss."

"Oh please, drop the title, just call me mine." She said, adding a wink.

Grayson was dumbstruck, can this woman not take a hint?? Jameson was having far too much fun.

"I'm sorry, ma'am?" He said, emphasizing the new title. This woman was getting on his nerves.

"Hmm, maybe 'mine' is not to your liking?? Then what about girlfriend?" She said, sounding smug.

Jameson tried to cover up his grinning by sipping his drink.

Grayson was floored, "Um. No thank you."

"Aww, you wanna take it fast then? Alrighttttt, you can call me wife."

Jameson choked on his drink.

Grayson choked on air.

What in the world was going on??

"I'm not interested, so-" She cut Grayson off.

"Yet. You're not interested, yet."

Grayson blinked. What?

The lady spun on her heel, she shook her head, her hair falling down to her waist and she threw off her coat.

"My dance will enamor you." She declared.

Jameson was barely holding it together, she then boldly walked to the dance floor, never once breaking eye contact with Grayson.

Then she started dancing.

Grayson shot Jameson a withering glare as he laughed. Hard.

"OH MY GOD, THAT WAS PEAK. AHHAHA-" Jameson barked

Grayson was considering actually digging up a hole and just dying, the woman didn't even dance well for all her boasting. She looked like a robot was attempting to do ballet.

Grayson's gaze wandered over the dance floor before it landed on one girl. He'd recognize those moves anywhere.

Far left, Grayson's gaze rested on a girl with long dark hair which had been left open, her golden-tan skin seemed to shine in the disco light as she danced to the beat like the music had possessed her.

Lyra.

He noticed the way her moves seemed more dragged out, as if she was tired. Her smile was fake and her dark circles had increased.

Yet, she still looked breathtaking.

Grayson didn't bother hiding his stare.

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

LYRA

Lyra got carried away.

She knew it the moment she felt his gaze on her, unwavering as he stared.

Lyra didn't know whether she should hate herself for dancing in the first place or hate herself for liking the fact that she had caught his attention.

He's probably glaring. She thought.

I mean, his ex-girlfriend did quite literally just attend a party his family had hosted. Lyra groaned.

"You guys, I'm tired." She said, coming to a stop. Her body ached for more.

Avery and Max shared a look, "Alrighty, lets go chug some drinks!!" Max yelled.

Lyra shook her head as they began to walk off the dance floor, that's when two guys stepped in their path.

"Hi." One guy said, speaking to all three of them but his eyes rested on Lyra.

Lyra wanted to ball his eyes out.

"Hello." Lyra replied as Max and Avery spectated.

"I happened to see you dancing and I must say, you can groove." He said.

Lyra heard Max and Avery snort the moment the weird guy said groove. She shot them both a glare.

"Um... yeah. Thanks. Now please move aside." Lyra replied, trying to make her disinterest clear.

The man was stubborn.

"Actually! I was wondering if we could have a drink together?" He asked, sounding confident in his abilities to make a woman swoon.

Lyra raised a single dignified brow. She had learned that from Grayson. Her heart ached yet again and she immediately pushed the thought away.

"I'm sorry, but no." She said, crisp and firm.

That should do it. Lyra thought.

"Oh come on. you can spare a few seconds-" The man started.

"She said no." Avery stepped up along with Max, who was now glaring.

"Um... I don't remember including you in this conversation?" The man had the audacity to say.

Lyra thought about reaching for her heels and beating the living shit out of this guy, but she couldn't since that'd tarnish Avery's image.

"Really?? Well I remember Lyra telling you to back off and you not listening you motherfaxer!!" Max said.

"Look. Everyone knows she's single, so she doesn't have any real reason to reject me?? Why should I-" The man began.

"She's my sister-in-law and best friend." Said Avery and Max simulatenously.

Lyra whipped her head around to face them.

Sister-in-law?? She wasn't dating Grayson anymore, what were they on about??

Avery sent her a look. Lyra let out a breath and turned back towards the man.

"You heard her. I am married and taken. Walk away."

The man and his friend snorted.

"Who do you think you're lying too??"

Lyra was about to reach for her heels, when she felt a hand suddenly land on the small of her back. She froze.

She knew that hand, that touch. She knew it the way she knew her own body.

Grayson.

Lyra leaned into the touch out of pure habit, she relaxed into the intimacy.

Shit! Pull back. Lyra ordered herself.

But then Grayson's hand moved from her back and slithered over to the side of her waist. Everywhere he touched burned and Lyra felt her heart begin to race.

She blushed hard.

"Don't make her repeat herself."

The man looked up at Grayson with wide eyes, obviously, he wasn't expecting this. To be fair, Lyra hadn't either.

Grayson's voice turned dark, "Scram."

The man and his friend didn't need to be told twice, they ran like their life depended on it.

Avery and Max smirked at Grayson, knowing fully well where this was going, before they, too, took their leave.

Yet, Lyra couldn't focus on them.

Her focus was fully on the man behind her.

Grayson. Suddenly the party hall seemed too small and she couldn't breath properly.

Neither of them moved until Grayson retracted his hand. He made to move away but Lyra was faster.

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

GRAYSON

The guy with the death wish finally left.

Grayson had considered sending Oren after him or beating him up himself but his anger completely dissipated when his gaze landed on her again.

Lyra. Grayson's heart swelled yet he felt nervous.

Her eyes were downcast, her hair covering the side of her face. He saw the tiniest tinge of pink on her ears.

Grayson didn't let go at first. He couldn't.

Lyra was right here. Right in front of him. He wanted to pick her up, run away with her and apologize until she forgave him. But he wouldn't do that.

Not unless she wanted him to.

Grayson loosened his hold on her and then let go completely, he turned to move when her hand latched onto his.

He froze.

She wants me to stay. Grayson pushed the hopeful thought away. He turned around to face the goddess, that was Lyra.

She wouldn't meet his eyes as she stared down at where her hand held his arm.

"U-um. I- uh." She began.

Grayson's heart began to race, he had almost forgotten how much he liked her voice.

"Can we talk?" The words were out of his mouth before his brain had even processed it.

Lyra looked up at him then, eyes blown wide.

Shit. I screwed up.

"Yes." She said finally.

Grayson paused. then blinked once. Twice.

Yes?? She said- she said yes?! Yes!

He grabbed her hand and walked the both of them off the dance floor and towards the "Staff Only" area.

Once they got there Grayson let go of her hand and turned to face her properly. The Staff Only area was unfairly small.

They deserved better than one small square room??

Grayson noted to mention that later.

Grayson's gaze landed on Lyra and, this time, she was looking too, Grayson's breathe caught.

Suddenly the rest of the world didn't exist.

She's here.

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

LYRA

Lyra noticed the way Grayson's eyes travelled around the small staff room he had led them to.

She observed as his face went from stoic, to observant, to disappointed, to serious before his gaze landed on her and then all of his feature softened.

Lyra's heart swelled. Why was he looking at her like she was fragile? Like she meant something??

She had hurt him.

Lyra had made up her mind on the short walk to the room that she would apologize to Grayson and that, no matter the outcome, she would live with it.

No matter how upset it made her.

But, now, with her staring into his beautiful deep eyes, she couldn't seem to remember any of the points she was going to say.

"Lyra." Grayson broke the silence, he said her name like it was a secret. A promise.

Lyra didn't know what to say.

You're beautiful? I love you still, but I'm also a dumbass and hurt you?? Why are you looking at me like that?? Her mind ran through her options.

"Hi."

She slapped herself mentally.

hi? HI?? REALLY??

Grayson blinked, slightly taken a back, before a smile broke out on his face, Lyra's breathe was taken away.

How was it fair that he smiled like that and she was supposed to let him go?

"Hi, Lyra."

She looked down as she blushed slightly, god this is embarrassing.

A silence followed, but it wasn't suffocating or awkward. It was comfortable. As if the rest of the world had disappeared leaving just their slow breathing.

They both stood their, absorbing the others presence. It felt like coming home.

Lyra felt her eyes burn slightly at the familiarity of this situation. Grayson always gave her this sense of comfort. Did she really have to let it go?

You brought this upon yourself. Apologize.

Lyra took a deep breathe, "Grayson."

Grayson kept staring at her which made it hard for her to focus, "Yeah?"

She looked up and met his gaze, "I'm sorry."

Grayson's eyes widened slightly.

"I-," she took another deep breathe to try and calm herself, "I shouldn't have lashed out. That was stupid of me."

She tried to keep the tears at bay, but one fell anyway.

"If you hate me now, I completely understand. But I want you to know that when I said us-" her voice cracked, she kept going.

"When I said I was tired of our relationship. I-" She calmed herself. Lyra needed Grayson to know that she truly meant this.

Lyra's gaze steadied and she met his eyes.

"I didn't mean it. Not in the slightest."

Silence.

"I'm not telling you to forgive me or anything, I just need you to know I'm sorry and-"

"Stop." Grayson said finally, Lyra did.

His voice sounded deep, hoarse, guttural. As if it was taking everything in him to keep firm. He looked both confused and surprised.

"Lyra, why are you apologizing??" Grayson finally managed, his breathing was slightly shaky.

Lyra paused.

"Why-," he ran a hand through his hair and walked closer to Lyra, making her heart beat pick up again, "Don't apologize Lyra. Its not your fault."

Lyra stared at him, she couldn't process what he said at first.

Not my fault?

Lyra turned the phrase over in her head as her eyes widened, what did he mean?? It totally was her fault?

"Lyra, you weren't the only one who lashed out. I did too, and that was dumb. As hell." He let out a breath.

Lyra couldn't believe her ears, was Grayson blaming himself?

"And no matter what you might have said, Lyra, I was the one that told you to leave."

Lyra's breathe caught once again.

"I told you to leave like I wanted you gone, like I was tired of you. I acted like that freaking penthouse was mine alone."

Lyra gulped, "It is yours, though, Grayson."

"No. No its not. Its not just mine. Lyra, when I asked you to move in with me, the place became ours. Its yours just as much as its mine."

If Lyra wasn't crying before she certainly was now.

"I shouldn't have told you to- fuck. I-"

Lyra didn't let him finish, she threw her arms around his neck. Grayson went still for a moment before his arms wrapped around her waist tightly.

They stayed like that for a while, with nothing but the sounds of Lyra's sobs slowly dissolving into nothing but silence.

Just them

"I love you." Grayson said, finally.

Lyra thought she was done crying but she had been wrong.

"And you don't have to say it bac-"

Lyra pulled away from him, looking him dead in the eye, "I don't have to do anything Hawthorne. I chose to come to this party. I chose to follow you here. I chose to apologize to you and-"

Lyra smiled, "I choose to love you, Gray."

The wind sped up, making the room slightly chilly, but Lyra didn't care because, god, Grayson was looking at her like that again.

Like she was the entire universe and he didn't need anything but her.

Grayson closed the space between them first, taking her chin and prying it upwards. She closed her eyes and they were kissing.

It wasn't a slow kiss, not at all.

All of the pent up emotion- heartbreak, anguish, regret, lust and love- all of it spilled out in their intimacy.

Neither of them were holding back, Grayson picked her up with practiced ease and set her down on the singular table in the room, Lyra wrapped her legs around his waist as if they were always meant to be there.

They finally broke apart gasping for breathe. Lyra's head was on his shoulder and she could feel Grayson's breathing by her ear.

Butterflies flew around in her stomach.

Lyra lifted her head and met Grayson's eyes, he looked at her- his chest still moving up and down, trying to catch his breathe.

Her hands went to his face, she started from his forehead, moving down to his cheek bones to tracing his jawline. She committed the moment to memory.

"That girl was fucking annoying." She said finally.

Grayson paused before he burst out laughing, Lyra couldn't help but smile at the warm noise.

"I can sympathize with that, though, the guy was worse." Grayson said. Lyra groaned.

"God don't remind me." She said, exaggerating as she put her head back on his shoulder.

Grayson pulled her closer.

"We aren't going to get anywhere here." Lyra said.

"..what?"

Lyra pulled back again, her eyes alight with something new, "Well? Won't you give me the chance to make up for being away for so long??"

Grayson's entire demeanor changed. He grabbed her hand, "There's a short cut."

Lyra laughed. She couldn't believe it.

She looked at Grayson's beautiful face, his eyes taking on a bluer shade in the moonlight.

She had been sure that she had lost Grayson forever, that she didn't deserve him in the slightest, but she had been wrong.

Because in the end, Grayson chose her and she chose him.

Isn't that really all that mattered?

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

UM?? WOW- THIS IS MY LONGEST FIC YET. I AM BLOODY PROUD.

Personal belief that Lyra can be just as freaky as Grayson, try me.

I hope u enjoyed ahahah :DD (Grayson's POV was a challenge, pls don't come at me.)

Constructive Criticism: @lyrakanefanatic @musiwashere @inkstainsonmyfingertips @alwaysthefangirl @talahsaudiobooklibrary (newest author on the block <3)

[crushedsweets]

Okay, but like, realistically, how would the Creeps having a partner (who isn't a proxy or associated with Slender/The Operator) even work? I mean, they're serial killers, and the whole Slender Sickness stuff would probably make that even harder, right? I feel like a lot of people would be scared off once they found out their partner was actually a murderer. Would the Creeps even try to convince them to stay?

(I have no idea where I was going with this. I pray it makes sense.)

ok fine x reader work from me YOU GOT ME.

ok jk i might use 2nd person/"you" cos its easier. but this isnt purposefully x reader content cos thats not my niche + i struggle with writing romance LOL . and a lot of these r very unhealthy dynamics, cos im not writing for romance, just answering the prompt

im not covering laari, ben, sally, dina, ann, or lulu in this cos theyre either children or not fit for a relationship (well nobody in this damn au is but ykwim)

FOR THE PROXIES... im imagining you meet them cos they come into your job. maybe a diner or grocery store or something

tim would have to get a partner completely by accident. as in, he's a regular at a diner and keeps getting the same server - and the server would have to make the first moves. it's not that he doesn't notice if someone's attractive or kind or something, but he idea of romance sounds so...unfair to him? unfair to whoever he's inflicting his life on. fearful of infecting them, etc - so you'd have to be really persistent, or really phenomenal for him to push. LOL. he'd try everything in his power to prevent you getting involved with the forest - which unfortunately makes him a less than ideal partner. wont explain why he's gone for so long besides "work" (which, to be fair, he's a truck driver in my au so its true most of the time). wont explain why he only hangs out with brian. why he's stuck in a shoddy apartment rooming with the same guy from college. why he's stood you up on a few dates. he'll apologize and mean it, trying to make up for it in some gifts and late night drives.

if he somehow fucked up and let you in on his life, he'd try to lie and lie and lie. he doesn't want you to know. he'll blame others, or try to convince you you're seeing things, misunderstanding - and frankly, he'll leave you if he thinks there's no turning back. an apology and half-honest conversation telling you he cant do this anymore. for your safety, for his job, etc etc - he wont hold on. if you love something let it go he sayssss

brian is kinda similar, in the sense that he isn't purposefully seeking out a relationship, but if you were to keep bumping into him and flirting every time, he probably couldn't help himself much if he found you attractive. he'll give you his number and entertain you, but he doesn't have intentions to maintain a long-term, serious relationship - HOWEVER, if it got that far, he'd be a bit messier than tim. tim will gladly look like a shitty partner if it protects his s/o, but brian hates that idea. he feels like an asshole and just wants to make you happy and be with you, but fuuuuuck DUTY CaLLS I GUESS. the issue with this is that, while he might come see you more often, he's also coming disheveled. dirty jeans, mysterious gloves, weird red spots, a gun in his backseat - his response to that depends on your nosiness and persistence

and if your nosiness and persistence resulted in you finding out what happened (he'd keep lying until you completely trap him in his lies) then maybe. maybe he'd come clean. only if you two are VERY serious. and in a way, part of him just ... expects you to stay. he's been a good boyfriend, and if he can prove to you this is some supernatural entity destroying his life and he isn't maliciously hurting people, (plus he will downplay his kill count drastically, if he even admits to it), then why wouldnt you stick it out?

but if you were deadset on leaving? welp. he's not begging

toby is. interesting actually im not too sure. honestly i HC that he really does want the whole white-picket-fence family lifestyle, but its a VERY repressed desire. completely buried it. i also HC that he's kinda pathetic when it comes to romance, so he develops short, fleeting crushes and infatuations pretty easily. so dont flirt with him he will get too excited and itll be upsetting when he later drops it. and he's so insecure and drowning in self hatred + trust issues, it's really difficult to get anywhere with him romantically - cos one day he'll be texting nonstop, seem super interested, and the next he's ignoring you or completely dry cos he's convinced you're fucking with him. you gotta start as friends, probably, and just hope he's still interested in friendship if he had a dying crush on you. THEN you can prob progress into romance. LOL

anyhow, like brian, he messily hides his work - he'll lie about being a hunter and it helps out, but.. its just very suspicious that he wont let you come to his house. or that he keeps talking about his female roommate named kate and you cant help but raise a brow. or when he comes over with a black eye and gets really fidgety around cops. RED FLaGS. it's not like he's some hard badass player, but your mind will wander... but he tries to be a good boyfriend, even if his idea of it is warped or he's really forgetful or insecure or moody . he's not disloyal or purposefully mean

chances are you find out his job cos he has a breakdown in front of you. prob comes to you already disheveled, bloody, panicking, seeking comfort, begging you not to see him differently. he's the only proxy to completely expose himself - and unlike the others, he will beg you not to go. try to overexplain everything, dig his grave deeper, subtle threats, so on. if you accept him as is, he's elated - stuck to your hip even more than usual. if you tell him you cant, he's livid. he'll leave, but expect calls and him on your doorstep later, telling you to hear him out.

but he'll give up eventually. he can only handle so much humiliation and if he keeps getting rejected, he'll start to hate you - and he doesnt want to. he rather remember you well and hate himself

kate is difficult. getting into a relationship with her is virtually impossible because she just. . has like, no interest ? ok. not no interest. the idea of romance and love doesnt sound bad to her, but she genuinely cannot imagine herself in a relationship - she barely can comprehend she has friends. she cant really do anything for you besides awkwardly sit with you and pick at her nails. and she has a flip phone for calling the others, but she will not text - so unless youre willing to call 5 times before getting a tired "why are you calling me", youre very likely to give up on her.

even if she falls head over heels for someone and cant get them out of her head, she isnt going to call you first or reach out to spend time with you, completely convinced it would just be you doing "charity work" or something stupid she heard from toby's own self deprecation. SO GOOD LUCK. if you manage to make her your partner, she'll finally process that maybe she needs to start behaving differently LOL but be patient. its not that she doesnt love you or think about you, but she'll run through 30 reasons why calling is a bad idea before she settles on "i just wanna hear their voice"

regarding work, she doesnt know how to navigate it. asks toby for advice, but he just says "keep them from this stupid shit" and she doesnt ask for details. so she wont tell you where the cabin is, only briefly mentioning she lives with a lumberjack (panicked lie), etc. when you find out about everything (cos she's the only proxy where its a definite), she just kinda slumps. shrugs and waits for you to tell her what you want to do. if you're done, she'll feel sick to her stomach and MaYBE try to insist "but it makes it easier now that you know". ask you to not go for one night, at least, then she'll forget about you by tomorrow - so just one more night, nothings gonna happen, etc etc. up to you by that point, but it IS true, it is easier now that you know. you can meet everyone and come to the cabin now, which helps

FOR THE SUPER NaTURaL...

jack....GOOD FUCKING LUCK HE'S SWORN OFF LOVE FOREVER. im joking but like kate, he truly doesn't believe he can ever ever ever be in a relationship again - either from fear of betrayal or disgust with himself. plus, like...he can't even leave the forest. HOWEVER, if youre okay with tucking yourself away in a cabin forever, he'll be good. he makes solid money being a 'human remains disposer' on the dark web, even if 99% of it rots in a random crypto account LOL. he only does it for the meat, but ykw.

you would have to meet him through one of the other creeps or the dark web thing(but that implies ur not a normal civilian so ill skip that..). depending on who introduces you, it can change his approach - if its someone like toby or jeff, he wont think twice about you in a romantic sense. if its someone like nina or clocky, then he might silently listen to your voice and let his mind wander to a nice little life in the cabin with you - but like everyone else, youd have to be the one making advances. even if you confess, he'll gently let you down - regardless of his interest in you. "it just wouldnt work, you deserve good things, i couldnt do that to you" etc etc. but he wouldnt be able to coldly turn you away, every bit of rejection makes it clear he doesnt mean it - WHICH SUCKS. hurts to say n hurts to hear.

but by that point, if the relationship progresses, then youre good there. LOL. nothing else you can find out - to date jack, you need to know everything and be okay with it already. so yay :3

FOR THE INFECTED...

clocky. ok finally someone easier than the proxies or jack. but not easy... clocky isnt exactly against dating, but her standards are very high. one wrong sentence and shes not going to entertain you. her guard is up so , so , so very high and all she wants is to protect her peace, not entertain someone who wont make her life better - even though shes friends with a buncha weirdos who complicate it more, but whatever.

if its by time she's in her tattoo apprenticeship, she's not so opposed to just...getting lunch or coffee with someone. talking, going on a walk, buying them lunch, listening to their day. she sees beauty in the mundane, so she likes to observe mannerisms of someone if she's on a date(but she's prob not even sure its a date) and it would stress her out later on. LOL. she's so focused on her independence and building a life for herself, so it's stressful for her - but she wouldnt take it out on you. she's big on respect, and if you've been good enough to her to reach this point, then she's nver gonna disrespect you by ignoring you or speaking down on you or pretending you're unimportant.

its very easy for her to hide the whole proxy-slendy stuff, luckily. she's long been healed of O/S syndrome and since slendy didnt want her to be a proxy, she's just...living life. she comes to the proxy cabin, helps with hunting, the algoids, etc - so its very , very easy to hide that part of her life. but if it causes issues, and you're already dating, and you bring it up respectfully, she'll gently apologise and insist itll be different - and it will be, she doesnt make empty promises.

BUT if you somehow find out, then she. ok two paths. she'll break back into the scared girl she used to be and snap at you, getting aggressive, push you away, completely shut you out - somehow blame you for getting involved. or she'll just. let you go silently. no fighting, no begging, no lashing out. just let you go - but then she'd freak out to the proxies, esp toby. "you fucking assholes keep taking and taking and taking from me"

nina is easy to fall for and she's easy to fall in love. you could meet her in any situation, really , and either one of you could be the first to pursue eachother. and i. ok i cant say shes a good girlfriend. she's erratic, hypocrytical, jealous, clingy, etc - it sucks sometimes, but she can be really good provided the chance.

similar to clocky, very easy for her to hide everything - biggest issue would be her inability to keep a secret. she likes to brag and share parts of her life with everyone, so she's always talking about her "totatlly badass friends in the forest" and insisting she sees ghosts, demons, etc - which i mean. shes being honest. thats up to you if you believe her

if you find out everything, she completely expects you to be normal about it. cos why r u being weird she told you already, right?

which is why she'd freak if you took that as a reason to break up. like toby, she's gonna beg - and if she keeps begging, she'll start to hate you. it sucks and theres not much i can write abt her here cos its very straight forward - she wouldnt hide it very well, youd find out, and she expects you to stay and be normal.

jane ...doesnt interact much with the proxies. her biggest tie to the supernatural is sally, which is the only reason she has small agreements with them - so honestly. if you two were together long enough and serious enough, she'd sit you down and tell you everything. she isnt the type to lie

dating jane is difficult - this is assumign she never married mary, of course, and even in that timeline, i made mary a highschool friend of hers who took care of her after jeffs attack. if it werent for that bond, jane wouldve been so closed off - esp cos of how dedicated she is to her work.

but if you manage to get with her, she's lovely. takes good care of you, save for her workaholic habits

jeff um. ok. again, you cant date him unless youre already okay with his lifestyle, so there isnt rlly the whole "when they find out, will they leave?" but instead moreso.... "when it gets too much, will they leave?" which. ok. i think if jeff RLLY fell in love with you, like genuinely, he wouldnt kill you obviously. cos he loves you. but he's livid if you suddenly decide its too much. "the fuck you mean its too much? you put up with this bullshit for how long, and now youre giving up?" etc etc. doessnt understand why youd do that to him, especially cos he thinks hes doing really good

which. ok, good is subjective, and jeff isnt ever gonna be perfect to any extent, but again, regardless of his massive ego and other. issues. if he loves you, he's gonna try - he wants to be around you, wants to hear your laugh, etc. but it takes a lot of effort from him, even if it feels like bare minimum. which isnt good, but that explains why he gets so angry about it - and at the very least, even if he agrees to break up, he's not agreeing to letting go fully . still expects you to hang out, text, call, talk. not good

[theeoriginals]

hello hello!! happy holidays 💗 so this may be long and I apologise in advance. I was wondering if you could do something where there’s a dinner at Jenna’s house with Elijah who Jenna still thinks is a historian. Jenna invites her friend who also does history stuff and when she shows up she recognises Elijah bc they had brief sexy times for a few weeks when he was at snooping around the university she teaches at in another town sometimes, and the dinner is hilariously awkward with Elena, Stefan, Damon, etc. bc Jenna’s friend tells them Damon slept with Elijah and Damon is a menace. Also she knows when they first met that Elijah isn’t Elijah Smith bc she knows about vampire history and stuff. I know this is so crazy long but I live through your writing bc I can’t write myself!! Thank you thank you thank you

mutual interests | elijah mikaelson

pairing: elijah mikaelson x f!reader (no y/n) (reader has a nickname!)

author’s note: this is such a funny concept but I fear I didn’t execute it well enough… enjoy

warnings: tension between elijah & reader, elijah is Suffering, jenna is so so oblivious, alaric is so confused, this is mostly just fluff and ridiculousness. reader is a mastermind lowkey. there's like... slight tension between damon and reader, but it's more so in a 'I know what you are' kind of way and they are both kinda menaces to elijah! steamy moments are shared but nothing explicit. referenced past moments of adult activities, technically the brief mention of a professor/student relationship but it’s simply not that deep because everyone’s legal and we have fun here. also this is a universe where everyone kind of gets along because i do what i want

Jenna’s a really good friend, is the thing. It’s been years since they first met, and they don’t see one another as often as they used to since Jenna’s getting her Masters degree and raising her niece and nephew. She’s busy enough as is, and even though Jenna would say she can still have a life, she certainly doesn’t feel like she can when all of her hard work is so close to paying off.

She knows she can be a neglectful friend at times, and she’s certainly lost what could’ve been great friendships, and great relationships due to her inability to make time for people, but Jenna has always understood her priorities. Jenna is just great like that.

So when Jenna urges her to come down to Mystic Falls during the last spring break she’ll ever have should her thesis defense go well, both of them are somewhat surprised when she says yes. They don’t bother pretending that it’s not a shock, but they recover quickly and solidify the plans within 10 minutes.

Ten days later, she happily makes the 2 hour drive to Mystic Falls and pulls up to the curb outside of the address Jenna had texted her, a million little things on her mind. She leaves her things in the car, spare for her keys and phone, because the other cars in the driveway signal that some of the guests have already arrived and she doesn’t want to awkwardly lug in her duffle bag or her computer bag with her entire school career on it through a room full of people who don’t know her.

When Jenna had first told her that this first night would unfortunately be spent with a handful of strangers (to her, at least), she’d somewhat regretted her decision to come down, but she didn’t let it linger. This is something she’s going to have to get used to sooner or later, especially when she doesn’t have the excuse of school taking up her time anymore. Once she walks across that stage, PhD in hand and free from every burden except for student loans, she will have to start being a real, functional person again. A dinner party with Jenna and her boyfriend and a few of their friends is a great way to start that process.

So she makes her way to the front door, knocking firmly against it, and she’s quickly greeted by her grinning friend, whose strawberry blonde hair is leaning more red than normal, and whose cheeks are pink, which means she’s already had at least 2 glasses of wine. Jenna practically squeals at the sight of her, arms flinging open to wrap her up into a hug, and she knows instantly that coming here wasn’t a bad decision. She’s missed Jenna, and she knows that even in a house full of strangers, she’ll have a good time this week.

“Oh, my god, I’m so glad you’re here! You look so good, have you actually been going outside?”

The backhanded comment doesn’t sting, it just makes her laugh as she and Jenna part, the girl letting her step into the house and shut the door behind her. “Sorry to disappoint, but no, I think it’s just the tanning booth subscription you got me for Christmas hiding my critically low Vitamin D levels.”

Jenna snorts a laugh, shaking her head. “Jesus, Dex,”

She doesn’t hesitate in throwing her own jab back at Jenna. “Your hair is red, Jen, and you only ever let it get this red when you’re getting—”

Jenna slaps a hand over her mouth, eyes widening as Dex raises her brows knowingly. “Shut up! I don’t need you traumatizing anybody, or god forbid, giving Damon anymore ammo to tease Ric and I with.”

Jenna lowers her hand slowly and Dex jumps on the opening. “When do I get to meet this Ric, huh? I’ve heard plenty about him by now, I feel like I should be hearing wedding bells at this point. Also, who is Damon?”

“Trust me, I don’t think wedding bells are happening anytime soon— I’ll explain later— but Damon is Alaric’s best friend. He’s… a character. I would’ve given you more warning about him, but I have no doubt in my mind that you are more than capable of handling him.”

Dex smirks slightly, turning to follow Jenna as she leads them down the hallway towards the kitchen. “Who else is coming tonight?”

“Elena and her boyfriend, Stefan, are gonna be here soon. He’s Damon’s little brother, actually, but they’re very different. I tried to get Jeremy to stick around but he’s off doing whatever 16 year old boys do and I want no part of it,”

Dex snorts, silently agreeing. She looks around the kitchen, finding it ultimately empty spare for the things scattered around that show evidence of the meal currently in the oven, and the wine that she was right about Jenna already indulging in. “Where is everybody?”

“Oh, I think Ric and Damon are on the back porch with Elijah, and Elena and Stefan are gonna be late because they have some school stuff to finish up.”

“I’m sorry, who is Elijah?”

Jenna hesitates for the first time, lips pursing as she avoids her eyes.

Dex narrows her eyes suspiciously. “Jenna…”

“Don’t kill me!”

“Oh, my god, what have you done?”

Jenna throws her hands up, a pleading look in her eyes. “Look, he’s been in town for a couple of weeks and he’s really nice! He’s been working with the Historical Society, and he’s been hanging out with Ric and Damon. He was already coming tonight, and I just figured there was no harm in having my very intelligent, very sexy, history-PhD-having friend over at the same time!”

She groans lowly, pressing her hands into her eyes as Jenna grins apologetically at her. “Jenna, I do not need to be set up with anyone. Do we need to be reminded of what happened with my last relationship? He literally disappeared without a trace.”

“Exactly! So this might not even go anywhere!”

Dex gives her an incredulous look that has her wincing.

“Okay, that’s not what I meant. What I meant was that I was in the same boat, okay? Every guy I dated was worse than the last, until I met Alaric. And I tried to run away from it, because I didn’t think it was worth my time, but now look at us! I just want you to find something like that, too,”

The girls are silent for a moment, and Jenna hesitantly continues when Dex remains silent and contemplative.

“And… you know… he’s really cute. I’d never let you date an ugly guy, Dexter.”

She groans again, rolling her eyes even as her defensiveness falters at Jenna’s genuine expression. “Don’t call me that,”

“Habit, my bad,”

Dex sighs, unable to glare at Jenna. “I know you mean well, I just—”

“Don’t have time, I know,” Jenna fills in the blanks easily, grabbing a clean wine glass to pour her a drink. “But you’re almost done with school, and I think you need to get back in the swing of things. Even if it’s just for one night, if you know what I mean.”

“I think the entire world knows what you mean.”

Jenna shrugs innocently, sliding the stemmed glass over to her. Her eyes drift past her friend to the doors that go to the back porch and she lights up, smile growing. “Here they come! It’s gonna be great, I promise,”

“You are so lucky that I love you, Jenna,”

“Aw, you know I’d run away and marry you in a heartbeat, Dexter,”

“No offense, but I would hope not,” The male voice comes from behind her and Dex huffs a laugh, undoubtedly assuming that it’s Alaric. The man crosses the room, making his way to Jenna’s side and wrapping an arm around her waist, his face in a pleasant smile as he looks at Dex. “It’s nice to finally meet you, I’ve heard a lot about you.”

She leans forward onto the counter, shaking his hand briefly. “Same here, but it’s probably not a good first impression if you think I’m gonna steal Jenna and run away. I promise we haven’t been having a secret, sordid affair this entire time.”

Alaric laughs slightly as Jenna childishly sticks her tongue out at Dex and he jostles his girlfriend slightly with his arm. “I wouldn’t blame you if you did,”

Jenna flushes, muttering something embarrassed under her breath at the blatant flattery.

“Oh, Ric, such classic charm,” Another voice comes from the porch, and he plants himself a few feet away in the kitchen, blue eyes alight with deviousness as he looks towards Dex. “Is this our guest of honor? You could’ve mentioned something about how beautiful she is, Jenna, I would’ve cleaned up a bit more.”

Jenna shoots Damon a look that has equal parts humor and disdain in it. “I didn’t think you were capable of cleaning up that much, Damon.”

Damon takes the jab without flinching, keeping his devastating smirk on Dex. “She really does like me, I promise,”

“I think that’s debatable, but I’m excited to see if you’re right,” Dex says, offering him a hand to shake, too, along with her name. She runs her eyes over his frame, tilting her head slightly. “Damon Salvatore, right?“

“It’s nice to know my reputation precedes me,”

Something comical gleams in her eyes as she takes another sip of wine. “It certainly does.”

“Not that you don’t have a lovely name, but I have to ask— where does Dexter come from?”

Dex groans and rolls her eyes, shooting Jenna a scolding look that just has the girl laughing.

“I’m curious to know as well,” The accented voice startles Dex on a surface level, but as soon as the familiarity registers in her brain, she’s choking on the wine she’d just swallowed, nearly spluttering it back out onto the counter. “It’s a very unique nickname.”

She stifles the reaction with a single cough, pressing her hand over her mouth quickly as she snaps her head over to meet the entirely too familiar gaze of the man standing in the doorway. By the look on his face, there’s no doubt he knows exactly what she’s thinking.

“Oh, Dex, this is who I was telling you about, he’s been working with the Historical Society— Elijah Smith. Elijah, this is one of my best friends,”

Elijah remains where he stands, hands clasped neatly in front of him as a slight smirk pulls at his lips. “It’s very nice to meet you,”

Dex’s fingers clench around the stem of the wine glass as she stares Elijah down. “It’s nice to meet you, too, Mr. Smith.”

Elijah’s eyes burn with amusement and warning. She shifts in the chair she’d claimed at the bar, unwavering beneath the look.

“Elijah is perfectly fine. We’re all friends here, aren’t we?” He questions rhetorically, finally breaking their staring contest to glance at the other people standing around.

Dex blinks a few times at the loss of his direct attention, shaking it off as she reminds herself there is an audience.

“So, the nickname,” Jenna starts, looking to Damon as she recalls his question. “It started when I was a sophmore at Whitmore, Dex was the TA for my Sociology class. She was just starting out for her doctorate, and that professor was new, so she ended up doing like, all of the work. People thought that because she was our age, she’d be laid back and cool.”

Dex hums, teeth catching on the inside of her lip as Jenna continues her dramatic retelling. “By people, you mean Jonathan Walsh and his idiot friends. They just kept trying to get me to help them cheat.”

“But Dex here does not take school lightly,” Jenna smirks, her taunting tone full of fondness. “I very quickly learned that if she were actually a teacher, she’d be a dictator.”

“Well, obviously that was a good thing. There’s a reason that Jonathan dropped out and you didn’t,”

“I never said it was a bad thing,” Jenna holds her hands up in surrender, still smiling. “But one day in class, she gave that Jonathan guy a bad grade on a paper he’d written. Even though he definitely deserved it, he was already on academic probation and had to have a passing grade to keep playing football, so he was not happy to see that D minus. He picked a fight with her in the middle of class in front of everybody and he got so mad, but all she did was stare at him. He called her everything name under the sun trying to get a rise out of her. I guess he just got so flustered trying to piss her off that he ran out of insults and he was stuttering and he finally just blurted out, Poindexter!”

Dex chuckles lowly, recalling the moment. “Everybody was just watching me, I think they thought I was gonna freak out or something,”

“But she just started to laugh,” Jenna quickly picks the story back up, something close to excitement in her voice. “She barely flinched when he started yelling at her, but for some reason, Poindexter is what broke her. At some point, everybody else started laughing and he was so embarrassed that he just walked out of the room and like, a month later he dropped out of school. For whatever reason, we all just kept calling her Poindexter, and that was eventually shortened to Dexter, and then it became Dex. Even the professors call her Dexter— I won't be surprised if they've actually forgotten your name. You might end up with a doctorate that says Poindexter."

She laughs, shaking her head at Jenna. “It’s funny that out of everything he called me, Poindexter is what stuck as a nickname. I personally would've preferred my nickname be 'Frigid Bitch',"

"Oh, what was it he called you when he tried to imply you were the TA because you were sleeping with the professor?"

She swallows roughly, losing some of her humor as she sees the shape of Elijah’s body shift out of her peripheral. "I don't even remember everything he said, honestly. That–that professor left after the school year was over, he pretty much disappeared.”

"I don't blame him. He was entirely too beautiful to be hidden away at Whitmore for the rest of his life, teaching idiots like Jonathan. I honestly don't remember anything about him except for the fact that people definitely wanted to sleep with him."

Dex laughs breathlessly, taking a heavy drink out of her glass so she doesn’t speak. Damon's still sporting a smirk when she glances at him, and he's giving her an appreciative look that she thinks isn't completely rooted in the I’d sleep with anyone that breathes vibe he gives off.

"I don't think there's any argument to be made about who won that fight considering he dropped out of school because of it," Damon says, like he’s trying to get her to brag.

Elijah hums lowly at Damon's words. "Well, there's something deeply humiliating about a boy being so intimidated by a woman that he resorts to playground insults. I'd hope that your professor knew that, too,"

Dex looks him over, brows twitching together on her forehead, cataloguing everything he does, every word he says.

Damon is quick to yet again add onto the wordy compliment from Elijah. “That's quite the accomplishment, on top of the PhD,"

"I can't claim the PhD just yet," She says as she shifts to turn her attention back to Damon. "I've got two months and a thesis on the historical impact of mythical creatures to defend before I can start calling myself a doctor of anything."

Damon's eyes sparkle with something intrigued. "That's an interesting topic for a thesis. What inspired you to go down that route?"

"I was always interested in history, but I grew up reading fantasy novels, like Nosferatu and Van Helsing, and somewhere along the way I decided that there had to be a connection between some of the creatures that these stories were about and the way that history has been written and rewritten. I've spent my entire college career trying to prove that, so, I'm hoping it hasn't all been for nothing."

Her eyes shift from Damon back to Elijah, who tilts his head slightly, shifting where he's leaning against the wall, arms crossed over his chest. "What do you think? Since you're the historian in the room."

She dutifully pretends that the room hasn't grown somewhat tense, like she didn't see the look that Alaric shot Damon when he pressed her to talk about her thesis. Like he was fishing.

"I think that many people greatly underestimate just how much history affects fiction, and vice versa. Especially with those... fairytales. I mean, one of the many origins of mermaids and sirens comes from men who told stories about beautiful women who lured them to their deaths, when in reality, those men were just losing their minds from being at sea for too long and they couldn't properly identify a manatee."

Dex swirls her glass around, watching the red liquid slosh up the sides dangerously close to spilling out as she nodded along with Elijah's words. "Exactly. I don't think you can write history without a bit of fiction, and I don't think you can write fiction without a bit of history."

She holds Elijah's gaze for a moment too long to be considered normal, and the moment is only broken by Jenna's obliviousness.

"See, that is why you're the one getting a PhD. Who would ever think of stuff like that?"

Dex turns her head away from Elijah, forcibly tearing her gaze away from him. "I just happen to think there’s a bit more fantasy in reality than most people. I don't think it's anything special."

"I disagree," Damon says, making his way across the room to grab one of the bottles of wine and top off his glass. "I'd argue that we need more people like you to point out what's right in front of everyone's faces."

She offers Damon a knowing smile that's a bit more genuine than it would be if she wasn't so sure that Jenna wasn’t paying attention.

Damon tilts the bottle of wine towards her glass that doesn't really need a refill, but the unspoken offer is some sort of test, and she doesn't hesitate in offering her glass up to him. It's a heavy pour but she takes it and immediately drinks some, easing some of the weight out of the glass. She and Damon don't look away from one another throughout the entire exchange, and the oven timer going off is what seems to seal whatever he'd been thinking about her because he sets the bottle of wine down and goes about as normal.

Jenna pulls herself away from Alaric to go to the oven, Alaric spares Dex a look of suspicion that she blinks innocently at, and Damon quickly begins taunting Alaric for something that has the man groaning and rolling his eyes, similarly to how she was with Jenna a few minutes ago.

The trio's united distraction allows her the perfect opportunity to turn and look at Elijah again, and even though she's felt his gaze on her the entire time he's been in here, she is still shocked by the firmness behind it.

His eyes slowly drift from her to Damon, and then back to her, and she sees the way he presses the pads of his fingers into his arms, like he's clutching onto himself tighter to stop himself from doing anything reckless. She knows, after all, that reckless isn't really his style like it is his brother's.

Fluttering her lashes in a dramatic blink, she rolls her gaze back to Jenna, eyeing the pasta dish she'd pulled out of the oven. She taps a finger against the glass of wine in her hand and swirls it around again, this time not watching to see as it slides over the edge, directly onto her lap.

She blinks down at the stains, a deep red seeping through the fabric of her pants, appearing like a weeping wound on her thigh. She sighs and sets her glass back on the counter with a sudden gasp. "Oh, shit,"

The three bystanders in the kitchen all look to her at her exclamation. She grimaces, giving Jenna an apologetic look. "Sorry, I just spilled some wine on my pants. I totally knew this was gonna happen, I just didn’t have time to change after my meeting. Let me go get my stuff out of my car, I’ll be right back.”

Jenna waves her off, nodding. "Go, go, we still have plenty of time before dinner. You can use my bathroom to change, it's the furthest door on the left upstairs.”

She smiles as she stands from her chair, and she ignores the slightly uncomfortable wetness dampening her skin from the stain. She begins to reach for her keys on the table, but a hand comes out and grabs them before she can.

"I can go get your things for you, if you'd like," Elijah says, though he's already turning and walking down the hall.

"That'd be great," She says. "Thank you."

Where Elijah stalks out the front door, she turns sharply and walks up the stairs, forcing herself to keep a normal pace as she goes where Jenna had directed her.

She turns the light on and shuts the door behind her, immediately breathing out a quiet, humorless laugh in absolute disbelief. She untucks the pale blue button up shirt she had on, and then unbuttons the white slacks she was wearing, making sure to keep the fabric of her shirt from catching on the stain.

Before she can even reach for a wash cloth and pretend to salvage the pants she's undoubtedly ruined, the door creaks open and is shut just as quickly, and she finds herself meeting the reflection of the man in the mirror.

She's momentarily breathless at his proximity and she's glad that he kept his distance in the kitchen, because she doesn't think it would've gone unnoticed that he's already tilting his head towards her like he's going to drag his face along the slope of her neck.

"You are unbelievable,"

Elijah looks somewhat startled at her words, but he quickly recovers, dropping her bag on the floor carelessly. "So quick to blame me for a mere coincidence."

She plants her palms on the bathroom counter, scoffing. "No, this is not a coincidence. A coincidence is running into someone at the grocery store, not posing as a professor for a year, having an affair with your student, disappearing when you got the information you needed about your family, and then befriending a vampire and a vampire hunter, one of which is dating my best friend and your former student, which you knew.”

Elijah raises an eyebrow and doesn’t really bother to look ashamed at her listing of his actions.

She lets out a rough breath, the sound nearly a groan that’s full of exasperation. “Your handy little compulsion might’ve made Jenna forget what the hot sociology professor looked like, but you forgot to use it on me before you disappeared. Do you really think I’m stupid enough to believe you didn’t know exactly what you were doing by coming here?”

“Let’s agree that I remembered who Jenna was from my brief, uneventful career as a professor, spare for my very competent assistant. And perhaps my crafting of a relationship with Alaric and Damon hasn’t been entirely by fate. Other than that, do you really believe that I still think about you so often that I perfectly timed my life just so I could be in the same place at the same time as you?”

“Yes.”

“I’m one of the oldest vampire’s to ever walk the earth, I’ve met a million people and I’ll meet a million more in my lifetime. What makes you think you’re any different than the rest?”

She finally turns away from the reflection of him in the mirror, instead facing him head on, unwavering beneath his expectant gaze. He was such an imposing figure, but she never shied away from it. She never shied away from anything.

“Because you never left me alone,” She said, voice nearly a whisper, like they were trading secrets in a crowded room. “You disappeared, but you never left. You just thought I wouldn’t notice you were still there.”

There’s a brief, seconds-long gleam of surprise in Elijah’s eyes before it’s exchanged for something more serious and heated.

“I did, though,” She continues, stepping forward until her feet slot themselves with his, one of his long, firm legs between her thighs. “The shadow in the corner of my room, the books that were suddenly out of order on my shelf— you never really left me, Elijah. So, tell me, if I’m not different than all of the others, why would you do that?”

Elijah inhales sharply like he needs the breath. His weight shifts from foot to foot and the shift of her stained slacks against his fitted suit pants catches his attention, drawing his eyes downward.

He seems to remember the reason she was in here in the first place, red wine having long-since settled into the fabric of her pants. Then he registers the state of haphazard undress she’s in; shirt untucked and halfway unbuttoned from the bottom up to her midriff, pants unbuttoned and splayed open just enough for him to get a glimpse of skin & thin, nearly sheer blue fabric that sits seamlessly against her frame.

She immediately notices what’s caught his attention and it has her smiling to herself as his eyes stay locked on everything but hers.

“I never understood how you managed to play the gentleman so well when I can tell exactly what you’re thinking by the look in your eyes.”

Elijah groans like it’s been ripped out of him, full of exasperation and annoyance and uncontrollable lust. She’s braced for impact when his arms suddenly wrap around her, encasing her as he finally gives into his temptation and drags a razor sharp fang along the slope of her throat. He doesn’t tear her skin, doesn’t bite her, but he shudders like he did anyways.

She drops her head back with a breathless sigh, hands twisting into his suit jacket as he presses his nose into her neck and drags his head up, lips smearing a trail of spit up her jaw until he finally hovers his mouth over hers, doing little more than taking the air she’s breathing.

“Elijah,” She whispers his name, eyes fluttering heavily. “What are you doing?”

“You’re infuriating, do you know that?” He pants out, still not kissing her but not moving his lips any further away. “You have tormented me every day since I met you. I tried to move on, but it never worked. I watched you try to move on, and I had to resist the urge to rip out the heart of every person that ever touched you.”

She clutches at his suit tighter, jolting him slightly. “You could’ve just stayed,”

He hums lowly. “I had things to do. You knew that.”

“Doesn’t seem like you’re getting them done, though. Klaus is still awol and you’re obviously not willing to sacrifice anyone here to get his attention. So, really, Elijah— do you have a real excuse, or did you just want me to pretend none of it ever happened and fall back into your arms like some stupid little girl?”

Elijah shifts, then, one of his large hands that spans her back brushing up, wrinkling the fabric of her shirt carelessly as he brings his hand around to frame her jaw, tilting her head back just enough that she has no choice but to look him in the eye. “No,” He says, making her brows twitch for a moment, like she’d momentarily forgotten what she said beneath his touch. “If anyone has been stupid, I’d say it’s me.”

She remains silent and he raises a brow, lips quirking in amusement. “If you’re waiting for me to disagree, we’ll be here for a long time.”

“You and that smart mouth,” He mutters, fingers squeezing her chin in his grasp just once before he lets go and lets his hand drop back to her waist. “I don’t want to go back down there and watch that oaf stumble over himself to ogle at you.”

“Seems like I wasn’t the only one he ogled at,” She smirks, her words earning a slightly caught-out look before the Original simply shrugs and rolls his eyes.

“Well I had to entertain myself somehow before you got here,”

Before she can say anything else, a voice echoes from outside the door and startles them both into standing still. “Dex, come on! Food’s almost done and Elena’s on the way!”

Jenna’s echoing voice makes them remember where they are and they both sport a look like they’ve been caught with their hand in the cookie jar.

Clearing her throat, Dex turns her head towards the door. “I’m coming! Just give me a minute,”

Jenna’s footsteps descend back down the stairs audibly and she lets out a sigh of relief solely for the fact that Jenna at least didn’t burst into the room without warning. She isn’t sure Elijah could move fast enough to not get caught.

“We need to go— you need to go, you have no reason to not be down there right now, unlike me,” She gestures downwards at her stained pants she’s yet to actually take off and it seems to remind him of the circumstances that led them here.

He groans again and then adjusts his grasp on her, sliding his hands down to the waistline of her pants and yanking it down. The movement unexpected, her hips jolt towards him and he inhales sharply when he reveals all of the bare skin that awaits him beneath her fabric.

“This is counterproductive to you going back downstairs,” She breathes out, staring at him imploringly. “We’re guests.”

“I don’t really care,” He says lightly, fingers drawing goosebumps in their wake where he drags them up the inside of her thighs. “I could just have you for dinner.”

“Jesus,” She mutters, mostly to herself as her heart thumps particularly hard for a second. “Elijah,”

The sound of footsteps once again rushing up the stairs makes them both freeze, but Elijah seems to relax when he hears the muffled voice of the teenage girl and her boyfriend as they go to her room and shut the door behind them.

Catching her breath finally, she gathers up the strength to push him away from her, immediately drawing his attention back to her, a look of betrayal flashing in his eyes.

She pointedly turns and grabs the bag he’d carried in for her, and drops it onto the counter before she leans her weight from foot to foot, kicking her shoes off as she goes. Making eye contact with him through their reflections once more, she slides her thumbs beneath the twisted, stained fabric of her pants and lets them fall to the ground with a nearly silent swish.

Elijah rolls his eyes upwards to the ceiling, pointedly looking away with his hands on his hips like she’s inflicting eternal suffering onto him.

By the time he looks back down, she’s tucking her shirt into clean pants & slipping her shoes back on. She huffs, eyes shifting to the door. “Go fix your disappearing act. I’m not covering for you,”

He starts to say something and then stops himself, rerouting his path. “This isn’t over,”

She smiles then, wicked and smug, and damningly smitten. “It never is.”

──────

Moments later, when she’s sitting at the dining table and she’s been properly introduced to Elena and Stefan, and Jenna’s got the meal in front of them, she looks past Elijah like he’s a fly on the wall.

Her eyes catch on movement in her peripheral and she turns her head to see Damon setting a freshly poured glass of wine in front of her, taking his own to a seat across from her.

There’s something in his eyes that’s knowing, and she bites her tongue to keep her instinctive retort to herself.

Damon lifts his glass in a silent toast to her, smirking. “Elijah brought this one, so I figured I’d crack it open for you. Since you two have so much in common, what with your, uh, mutual studies.”

Laughing under her breath, she lifts the glass to her lips, feeling the weight of Elijah’s gaze shift between her and Damon both.

“I’m sure you and I have plenty of mutual studies, too.”

She drops her eye into a wink and sets her glass back down on the table, finally looking away from Damon to look at Elijah.

She can’t find it in herself to not laugh, even when it earns her confused looks from the other guests.

[miraculouslbcnreactions]

I both love and hate the s4 ladynoir conflict. It had so much potential, but the way they wrote it was so baffeling.

Personally I'm a big fan of interpersonal conflict in fiction where both sides have a point and is rooted in some real and presistent character flaws. And they absolutely could've had that with the conflict moments they had building up the arc.

Because all the conflicts they showed are ones where Adrien had legitimate complaints about Ladybug not treating him like the equal partner he's supposed to be and needlessly keeping him in the dark. But whenever anyone talked about the conflict it was made all about Adrien whining that Ladybug doesn't love him, which huh?????

Adrien complaining Ladybug didn't trust him was valid. Adrien complaining Ladybug didn't love him made him sound like a Nice GuyTM.

And the narrative keeps flipflopping about whether he's angry that he's not her partner or that he's not her lover in a way that feels like there were two writing teams who kept tugging the narrative between them.

In Hack-San Adrien complains to Alya about how no one keeps the cat in the loop, but when talking to Ladybug he says Ladybug did everything right and the only issue was that he would miss her if she was gone.

In Kuro Neko, Adrien is depressed because he feels like Ladybug doesn't need him and he's the same as any of the other sidekicks she picks and chooses at her convinence (a sentiment he echos in Wishmaker). The plot they set up, with Chat Noir being replaced with Catwalker, clasically should lead to the lesson of "Chat Noir really is irreplaceable in their dynamic, not just for his cataclysm but for who he is" and/or "Catwalker may be who Marinette wants but Chat Noir is the partner she needs". A plot which implicitly says Marinette is the one who needs to learn the lesson because she was devaluing Chat Noir contribution, at least if we go by the classical beats of the plot.

Instead, what we gets is Adrien learning a lesson about how he was wrong to complain and that he was simply too sensitive (also that Chat Noir is an inferior version of Catwalker and that's why he's better as Ladybug's partner). Which would fit the narrative of him being angry because he isn't Ladybug's lover but is an insane take for the narrative of him wanting to be treated like an equal partner. Except that in the finale, Ladybug tells him that he may not be her special partner anymore but he's still her favorite, which only makes sense in a narrative where he's angry about not being an equal partner and wrong for that.

(Also, don't get me started about how literally nothing in the episode built up to Adrien learning the lesson that he ended up expressing. I can't even point out to anything specific that would've logically made him change his mind that way. At least not anything that doesn't come with a whole lot of unfortunate implications.)

In Strikeback, the "conclusion" to the arc, it gets somehow even worse. I first thought that during the ladynoir argument, Adrien complained about how she gets to know all of the temporary holders' identities and he doesn't, but no. Apperently what he's actually angry about is that she knows everyone's identities and he wants her to know his too. Something which goes against the narrative of him being angry because he's not her partner because this would only make the imbalance between them worse.

Except, in the end of the episode, when Marinette has her breakdown after all the miraculous got stolen, she apologizes for pushing Chat away, keeping secrets, etc. All stuff that would make perfect sense in the narrative of Chat not being treating equally, but that the show never established because every time there was an instance where Ladybug treated Chat unfairly, the show refused to acknowledged it and said that the real issue is Adrien's crush. And once again, there was literally nothing in the episode that would lead her to learning the lesson that those parts of her behaviour are problematic. (Nevermind that she kept up the same behaviour in future seasons so she didn't really learn anything and develop as a character, but we're talking about s4).

And it would've been so easy to fix the finale so that it would've both adressed the season long arc they were (kinda) trying for, as well as made the loss of the miraculous rooted in an actual character mistake rather than simply bad luck. All it would take are two little changes.

Have Chat actually hear Ladybug calling Flairmidable "Adrien", instead of having him close by and listening for no reason and with no payoff.

Have Chat argue against Ladybug's order for him to detransform because he wants to keep an eye on Felix and prevent him from getting into shenanigans.

Keep everything else canonical, maybe insert a line or two where Chat tells Ladybug that he doesn't trust Flairmidable and her dismissing him so that by the end of the episode she would know not trusting Chat was a mistake, and bam! Now you have an episode that actually engages with the season long plotline rather than only playing lip service to it, gives an actual reason for Marinette to learn the lesson she expresses at the end and it makes the heroes' loss character driven rather than random happenstance.

Honestly, I think a lot of the conflict in the fandom over s4 comes for the shows indecision for which narrative it commits to. Both have grounding in the text, both are a complete mess that doesn't get a proper payoff, but in one Chat is in the right and Ladybug is in the wrong and in the other Chat is in the wrong and Ladybug is completely innocent. So people pick which narrative thet think the show was showing based on who their favorite character is.

I agree with everything you said, but I've covered my thoughts on most of it in various other posts, so I'll just link to my season four my beloathed tag in case anyone wants to read a bunch of rants on the topic. For this response, I'm just going to comment on a few things you brought up at the end because I don't think I've discussed them before.

Have Chat actually hear Ladybug calling Flairmidable "Adrien", instead of having him close by and listening for no reason and with no payoff.

I hated this scene so much! Ladybug was being so cute and sweet and giving an uplifting message that Adrien should have gotten to hear with the full context that it was meant for him! Instead the scene is focused on Chat Noir being pissy that Ladybug is being nice to another boy. What was the point of that? It's not like it pays off later! Adrien obviously learns that Flairmidable was supposed to be him, but we never see him process the fact that he spent a good chunk of the episode being jealous of himself or that all of those nice things Ladybug said were about him. You could cut the jealousy issue and the Flairmidable reveal would play exactly as it already does in canon because the jealousy was pointless! Why do they insist on undermining his character like this?

Obviously Adrien realizing that Flairmidable is Felix complicates the identity switch thing a bit since he could out Felix, but outing Felix is near impossible without an identity reveal, so it's easy write Adrien being cautious, but letting it happen once Ladybug insists that Flairmidable has been great. After all, Adrien has no reason to think that Felix is going to help the super villain. Plus the fact that he just saw Ladybug being so nice to "him" might make him want "Adrien" to stick around so that he can hear some more nice things.

This fix combined with nixing Chat Noir's worst behavior in the final would make the ending message work much better! As is, it makes no sense. Ladybug is apologizing for things that never really happened and Chat Noir was mad over things that weren't actually flaws on Ladybug's part even though this season was full of things that Ladybug did wrong. Of course, the rest of the season still undermines this fixed message, but at least this is better than what canon gave us! Cuter, too. I will always be annoyed that they finally took some time to let Ladybug assure Adrien that Desperada was a fluke only to never let us see him react to that statement. Many viewers probably even missed that she was talking about Desperada since it was subtle:

Ladybug: Awesome! Well done! You did what needed to be done on your first try.

[antiadvil]

Okay so I think one of the biggest reasons people don’t understand migraine or don’t get diagnosed with migraine or don’t realize they’re experiencing symptoms of migraine is because they don’t understand the difference between migraine and a migraine attack.

Migraine is an underlying condition, not a thing that only happens to you sometimes. Even if you get less than one migraine attack a year, you always have migraine, the underlying condition. Most people don’t get migraine attacks at all. Like, migraine is super common, and if you get a lot of bad headaches there’s a very high chance you have migraine, but most people don’t get headaches that impact their functioning like, almost ever. The majority of human beings on this planet could not experience a migraine attack if they tried— the majority of human beings on this planet can’t even experience a migraine attack if they’re injected with CGRP or PACAP, two molecules in the body that are some of the closest things to a migraine attack “cause” research has been able to find!

A migraine attack is a migraine flare-up. The classic comparison is that someone with asthma always has asthma, and then that asthma causes asthma attacks. Just like some people with more severe asthma deal with symptoms all the time, some people with more severe migraine deal with symptoms all the time (hi!) but the severity usually fluctuates.

The ICHD-3 does list diagnostic criteria for migraine attacks, and you need to experience 5 attacks meeting those criteria to be diagnosed with migraine, but that doesn’t mean every migraine attack/flare-up you experience will neatly fit into those criteria, or even that every bundle of migraine symptoms you have will be part of something you can clearly recognize as an “attack.” Many people with chronic migraine deal with persistent photophobia or nausea, or a lingering headache that doesn’t feel bad enough that they’d consider it part of a “migraine attack.”

I’ve had a lot of headaches that technically meet the diagnostic criteria for tension headaches, but almost all of them were symptoms of my migraine that have responded to migraine specific treatments, and my neurologist did not diagnose me with tension headaches— just chronic migraine and medication overuse headache (that one I don’t have anymore, the chronic migraine has unfortunately stuck). Since migraine attacks usually start fairly mild and then build up to more intense symptoms, the beginning of a migraine attack for many people will feel like “just a headache.” When I was a kid I didn’t even experience most of the symptoms I do now, as long as I could get some ibuprofen in me fast enough! But I still had migraine- it just presented a bit differently and was much better managed.

So anyways— if you get migraine attacks and also other headaches or migraine symptoms and have just been assuming those other symptoms are unrelated and there’s nothing you can do about them, maybe give your migraine rescue medication a try. I’ve had nurtec help more with fatigue than coffee. I’ve had mysterious nausea completely go away with a rizatriptan (though given how few of those I can take a month, I’d generally prefer to just take a zofran). Why does ibuprofen make me more clear headed!! What the fuck!! That sounds so fucking fake!!

And for the love of god don’t just tell your doctor about the headaches you think are “bad enough” to be migraine attacks. The other ones matter too.

[shadowwolfmemes]

Hey, if it isn't too much of a bother can you explain the how rainbow drama? I heard you had to block her? if anything this vaguely reminds me of the Haily situation where she got mad at you, don't wanna bring that up tho I'm just confused

Look, I said it multiple times and it's frankly getting tedious to repeat. I'm tired of people downplaying my feelings by saying I'm 'overreacting' yet I'M the apathetic one. This is starting to piss me off.

IT WAS MORE THAN JUST RAINBOW LYING ABOUT HER AGE.

That wasn't the sole reason I blocked her! I mean, yeah, it's absurd to lie about age just to fit in, but the root goes deeper than that.

Sundecline was in her community and so were a few other minors like @scally-wiggles716. She kept on saying her community is full of adults, but there were still minors inside of it. I knew something wasn't right, but I kept my mouth shut because I was still her loyal guard dog. If that isn't a red flag, then I don't know what is.

They were removed from the community specifically after proshippers tried to shit on Rainbow's name.

I don't agree that she's a groomer, I know that's not true. But that's not what I was upset about.

It seems like this person is trying to shit on Rainbow, but what they're saying is actually true. She DID go after people when she didn't have to. Rainbow shamelessly disregarded her DNI to argue with proshippers, which not gonna lie, is pretty hypocritical.

I know I disregarded my own DNI a few times, but I'm trying not to do that anymore because it's not doing me any favors. I got to admit I'm not proud of that and told myself I should NOT go down that path or else I'm a hypocrite.

Meanwhile, Rainbow does it for the sake of arguing. I tried giving her advice more than once so that her mental health doesn't get damaged even more, but it never worked. Rainbow herself admitted to being reckless.

Not only that, she put @altlololsstuff on blast because she accused them of being a proshipper. I don't know what led up to Rainbow doing that in the first place. When they tried to talk to her in the DM's about it, she screenshotted them to not only ridicule them, but twisted the narrative to make herself look like the hero with her mighty savior complex.

When I was still Rainbow's guard dog, I thought it was okay to make fun of them because I was blinded from loyalty and believed everything Rainbow said. It's like I was a puppet attached to strings, no thought of my own.

Don't know what I'm talking about? Take a good look at this screenshot.

[If you want more context, you can ask them, but don't be rude towards them.]

With that being said, I'm fucking tired, Dani. I want to move on already. I tried moving on, but people like forgotten-latte just had to bring it back.

She could've just asked like you did, but no, she doubled down and called me apathetic after ignoring EVERYTHING I covered in my post. She tried to do that with Sundecline and she did it to @syltheanti.

I guess she realized I'm no longer Rainbow's gullible guard dog, so I'm assuming she wanted to take that place willingly. When will she realize that she cannot force people to forgive Rainbow just like that? Unfortunately for her, it doesn't work that way. You don't just demand respect how you want and whenever you want.

Just like loyalty, it has to be earned. I don't give a rat's rotting ass how old someone is or how mistreated they are. I would definitely feel bad if I hurt Rainbow deeply, but we both know she did this to herself.

Of course, she makes mistakes like everyone else does.

Of course, mistakes make up for who we are.

Of course, I want her to learn and grow as a person.

This is just the consequence of repeating those same mistakes. Now I obviously don't agree with people harassing Rainbow for anything, she's still a human being behind the screen.

Just because I want nothing to do with her anymore doesn't mean I want her to get bullied into oblivion.

I know this is a long ass rant, but I really need to blow this frustration off. If you still think I shouldn't have blocked Rainbow for those reasons, block me if you want. I don't fucking care anymore.

Just please stop assuming I 'overreacted' over that...

[mysecret02]

Hello lovelies!

I have seen a post somewhere on Tumblr about RH!Jason meeting Robin!Jason and surprisingly liking him so I must comment on the idea.

So the batfamily trying to hide little Robin so he won't meet Red Hood but RH didn't tell them that he would be in the cave because he was there to steal supplies, which would have been given to him if he would do as much of asking, but he's still on and off with the bats so he just collects new antidotes and gadgets which were left outside- meaning weren't locked in impenetrable lockers- every month. Barbara was at the Clocktower as it became her place to lead the bats around from so the cave was free game to Jason.

The batmobile arrives and little Jay jumps out before anyone could stop him. He starts to look around and wander in awe of how much has changed and how much has stayed the same. I like to think the house got remodeled few years after him meeting his unfortunate and temporary end but the cave barely changed only got modernized and new rooms got added.

So he is in the back stealing a blanket he found comfortable- they have more anyways so it's not like B couldn't get a new one, just like he got a new kid- he thinks bitterly and starts to go back to the main area stuffing the blanket in his bag on the way when he hears the tires on the cave ground and just stops.

He sees the black haired little boy in a Robin costume and thinks he really needs to get Dick to talk to Bruce because it's getting out of hand. Damian was one thing but a new one and so soon, that's a lot messed up.

But then Robin!Damian gets out of the car and it doesn't make any sense anymore. The new kid didn't seem like a match to Damien in physich and the little demon didn't try to kill him so maybe another bastard?

Alfred appears and the new kid happily runs to him and yells about some time and universe twists? "Like that pastry you like to make on Sundays! Can I have it, can I have it pleese🥺?" and others start to gather around, parking their vehicles and fast walking towards the boy.

Spoiler gets to him first and ruffles his hair earning a yelp and an adorable blush as the boy fidgets with the seam of his cape, it's a familiar motion, he used to do it when he was still... Robin.

He just stands there, frozen in time, ice crawling in his veins, his ears are ringing and he holds the zip on the bag half-made, watching as his family loves him, that boy right in front of them and he wants to yell "But I am right here!" and "Why can't you love me if you can love me-him?!" but he can't, he is so mad yet he just stands there watching as Cass calls him her little brother and the kid lookes up at Damian with sparkling eyes of a kid who suddenly has a sibling his age so he won't ever need to play alone. Dick looks at him as if the world gave him hope after showing him everything bad in it. Steph just calls him cute continuously and he shouldn't be jealous of being called cute but he always liked when someone complimented him or just cared enough to say something nice, that's partially why he tried to get Batman to smile. It was his new dad and his greatest achievement was making his caretaker happy like he never could before because his mom was too deep in addiction and dad needed to work a lot for two-face so they could pay rent until B said he wasn't his son anymore, then everything went downhill.

He wants to back away, he can wait in the medical wing or sneak out through the cave systems. And as his boots scraped the ground little Jay looked straight at him. His mask wasn't on anymore, his blue eyes, a shade he can't see in the mirror anymore, looking curious, interest clearly peeked as everyone else noticed it too.

Worried and pale looks were switching between the faces. The voices died down, the silence was deafening, his breathing starting again but being too erratic.

Bruce tried to put his hand on little Jay's shoulder but he slipped away and walked closer to Red Hood. He wasn't wearing his helmet but he was wearing his full uniform sans the guns, he didn't like making Alfie mad, who was watching the scene unfold with shiny eyes.

They met in the middle and when did he start walking? He looked at the small child wearing his favourite Wonder Woman socks B always scolded them because a small seam was showing. His unruly black curls with barely showing red roots because he wanted to look like Dickie and no sign of white at the front. He still had a crooked teeth Barbara sat him down and explained how much it can make chewing painful in the future and made sure Alfie took him to the dentist's.

More and more little signs showing up on his small form, his little mannerisms, the way he played with his fingers and the seams of his costume and he couldn't be mad at this child, he was just a kid doing his best. And Red Hood notorious crime lord and protector of Crime Alley had a reputation for having a soft spot for kids.

He got down on his knees -and God the kid was small-not much bigger than him on his knees and hugged the kid. He cradled his hand through his thick curls like he rememberd his mom doing it and pulling him sideways on his lap, little Jay's head being on his armored jacket. He heard a tentative whisper: "You look big like dad...-he buried his face in his neck-but you love me..?"

It made him smile in a bitter but comfortable way as he hugged himself closer and somehow they got on the couch in the library with the blanket on little Jay's shoulder and partially on Jason's own, reading to himself on the voice of his dad he always hated after the pit and finding it not that bad anymore, he could bring comfort even looking like this, maybe being this way wasn't so bad, if only for little Jay. They stayed like that until the other universe's Batman came to collect his little bird and bring him home. Maybe it was enough to have changed things there. Maybe.

The family feltdumb folded and monitored the interactions between the two Jasons but there was nothing out of the ordinary, no long lasting physical damage to be seen. Just one soul and two stories interlining and mixing, maybe it can change the future here too." Maybe" thought Bruce and put the blanket on a sleeping Red Hood, his son.

[2015volkswagenbeetle]

Who wants to hear my random JonMartin headcanons? Nobody? Well to bad cause this is my tumblr and I have free will

• When Jon would stay late in archives I think Martin would sometimes like put a blanket over him, or vise versa

• I Definitely think Jon has reading glasses or at least had them, until the eye started taking over more in which he didn’t really need them anymore

• I saw an artist make a comic about how when Martin stayed at the archives Jon would occasionally bring him meals that’d he cook from home, and that one’s always stuck with me, it’s so simple but it’s something I can definitely see him doing, I unfortunately cannot find the artist but I’ll keep looking and I’ll make sure to tag them if I do

• Martin Defenitly has AuDHD no doubt in my mind, or maybe I’m just projecting idk. I think Jon might also have autism but not as sure bout that one

• in the S4 trailer there’s a moment of silence between when Martin says bye to Jon in his coma and when actually leaves, I like to think in that time he might’ve, brushed a loose piece of hair behind Jon’s ears, that or a little kiss on the forehead but I think that might be too much

• they would SOOO fuck with Mitski, especially Martin I think, they’d like go to a concert together and💔

• I feek like Jon and/or Martin knows how to crochet and they’d make eachother cute little things

• feel like Martin probably bakes a lot if not stress bakes and would bring in little goodies like cookies and what not, and for everyone not just Jon

Yeah that’s all I got but who knows I might have more later

[ivanhoe1820]

Hey so I just watched the last episode of season 2 of Good Omens last night and BOY do I have some thoughts! I actually live blogged the Final Fifteen because I knew I couldn't just watch it straight through! I'd just die! Unfortunately I couldn't post those thoughts in real time because my college dorms DON'T HAVE WIFI for whatever reason! I did save all my thoughts, however, so now, for the sadistic pleasure of the world, I will release my UNFILTERED thoughts about the Final Fifteen! Enjoy you little freaks!

Live blogging the Final Fifteen because I can’t handle this alone guys argh….

Crowley looks like he’s about to fricking explode when Aziraphale says “hold that thought”.

You can clearly see when Crowley starts to realize that something’s wrong oh the PAIN it’s COMING it’s INEVITABLE and I don’t think I can STAND IT!!!!

Why WHY did the Metatron dangle the ONE THING that would get Aziraphale on his side. I mean yes I understand why but WHY did it have to HAPPEN.

Fuck. FUCK. Aziraphale doesn’t know they’re planning another Apocalypse. CROWLEY DIDN’T TELL HIM. HE DOESN’T KNOW. ARGH!!!

Oh no it’s the confession bit oh no oh no it’s so painful oh it hurts so much I knew it hurt before but oh gosh it hurts so much more watching it for myself…

“Oh Crowley…nothing lasts forever…” oh gosh oh dear oh no it’s so fricking sad oh why why WHY. I’m gonna throw my computer out the window it’s so horrible it hurts so much it hurts SO SO MUCH.

“Listen. You hear that?” “I don’t hear anything.” “That’s the point. No nightingales.” It hurts SO MUCH. WHY WHY AM I DOING THIS TO MYSELF WHY WHY THE PAIN.

Why does this exist.

Why does the Final Fifteen exist.

It really shouldn’t exist.

Something this painful shouldn’t exist. It must be some kind of human rights violation.

Some kind of war crime.

Why was this allowed to stream on Amazon. What kind of executive watched this and deemed it wise to inflict this kind of emotional torture upon an unsuspecting world.

Why why why why.

Also I do not believe for one second that Aziraphale will spend more than five minutes and thirty-seven seconds in that Celestial Office Nightmare. Did you see his FACE when the Metatron was like “hey we’re doing the Apocalypse 2: Electric Boogaloo”? Did you SEE? He is TOTALLY going to rush right back down to Earth and back to Crowley and it’s all going to be OK guys it’s going to be OK.

Because…because…because I’m a bloody optimist and I still believe in love, OK?

Oh gosh why did I watch that I feel physically ILL I’m literally shaking and my stomach hurts and that was probably one of the worst things I’ve ever seen and I can’t deal with this anymore I simply can’t I am now going into deep and intense denial mode of everything I just saw in the last fifteen minutes.

[baphmochii]

Random Thought #3:

[Been a hot minute since I last wrote a random lil' thought onto my blog, ofc it's about our man Sal. This thought has been coming to mind.. A LOT lately and I'm kinda loving it, heh.]

. . .

What if.. Sal had chest hair?

➤ To get this out off my chest, I don't think Sal would have a beard considering it doesn't make sense nor is it.. possible for him. I can see Sal having slight stuble on the none-scared part of his face (left side) like if he's too lazy to shave, haha.

➤ Hear me out.. Sal with chest hair, preferably much older Sally - around his mid or late twenties and so on. It's obvious his father (Henry) seems to be quite the hairy guy so maybe Sal inherited some of those genetics from his pops.

➤ Sal isn't overly hairy on his chest, not like werewolf levels of hairy, lol but was thinking as an example: Brahms Heelshire (The Boy). If anyone can see my vision with this and get a good understanding of it as well, thank you. I am horrid at trying to properly explain I'd have to flat out draw Sal with his mighty chest hair, lmao.

➤ Hairy man Sal just.. awakens something inside of me, y'know? Obviously, I can see him with some arm, leg, and underarm hair but the happy trail on that man and just something about Sal having a hairy chest drives me up a wall. (I HAVE to draw it).

➤ At first, Sal didn't care much for his hairy chest, thinking about shaving it off to have that smooth feel again but once you had told him how much you loved it on him - he quit shaving his chest. Sal loves the way you feel him up too, he finds it arousing yet comforting, he loves when you touch him whether it be his face or hands - the man loves your touch.

➤ Sal also finds it incredibly adorable how you'll shove your face in his chest, he loves when the two of you are cuddling and of course you're lying on top of him - face buried in his furry chest slightly dozing off while your arms are wrapped around him. Every so often he'll glance down at you, a smile on his handsome scared face as he rubs your back before turning his attention back to whatever he's watching on the television in your guy's shared bedroom.

➤ Now, I do not see young adult Sal (18-19) having much of a hairy chest, for my vision around these ages he doesn't start growing chest hair until he's hitting his twenties like some hairs here and there, if that makes sense. By the time this man is 26-30 and so on.. the mans.. GROWN ASS MAN. Larry kind of gets jealous a bit from it, older bro jealous that younger bro's got hairs on his chest (and bigger muscles lol) thought that'd be funny.

➤ Sal doesn't really take his shirt off often whether he's indoors or outdoors, I feel like it's every once in awhile when it's too hot or something. I feel like Sal would wear (obviously) his icon long sleeve shirt or a regular shirt or some tank he has lying around his room, the times he doesn't wear a shirt you can't really take your eyes off your man. I'll leave whatever thoughts you'd have of him to the imagination, lol.

➤ Regardless of his body type whether it's muscular or dad bod Sally with a hairy chest you'd still be all over him in a heartbeat, you'd be on him so much he'll have to keep a crowbar on him at all times to get you off of him when needed, lmao.

. . .

[That's all I got unfortunately.. it isn't the best random ass thought for tonight but.. it's something I suppose and I hardly see any Sal stuff on here anymore which makes me sad.. I wanna have more fics of my darling husband.]

[max--phillips]

Hey, kid. Yeah. You. You want free movies and TV shows?

Well, first of all, Internet Archive. Yes, the Wayback Machine people. They have a lot of movies and shows 'n shit you're gonna have a hard time finding elsewhere. (Also, the Alien movies?????) So if you're looking for something weird or niche or old, you might wanna start your search there.

Second of all: In order to get free goodies ✨elsewhere✨, you need three (3) things.

A VPN (virtual private network)

qBittorrent (or some other torrent client, but this is really the go-to these days.)

Places to go, y'know, get stuff.

First: the VPN

This unfortunately is probably going to cost you money. Free VPNs typically collect data, are extremely slow, and/or don't even allow peer to peer downloading in the first place. Beyond that, they're more likely to turn tail and rat you out to your internet service provider (ISP) and get you in trouble. You then get a nice little DMCA letter in the mail threatening you. Get enough of those, and your ISP will kick you out of your plan with them. That's why you need the VPN in the first place--to avoid that.

Be careful to choose a VPN that won't sell your data, allows peer to peer downloading, and won't rat you out to your ISP. There are plenty of discussions about that, and recommendations you can find. Just don't blindly go for the ones you see advertised everywhere (NordVPN, for instance) as those are more likely to sell your data, which is like... antithetical to why you would be using a VPN anyway. Just read the ToS. Personally, I use Mozilla VPN, and I'm very happy with it.

Mozilla VPN, if you buy a full year, is $4.99/mo, billed annually for $59.88. As far as I can tell, this is pretty average as far as cost goes for VPNs. As opposed to spending two or three times that a month for one (1) streaming service... you're gonna save some money.

(Also, as a bonus, if you live in a state where porn websites have started requiring age verification or have completely stopped functioning, you can use this to get around that by making the website think you're in another state! Region locked youtube video? Not anymore! Nervous about being on a public network at the airport or in a coffee shop? Worry not my friend! There are many benefits to having a VPN. Just be aware that some websites and applications do not like VPNs and will flag as suspicious activity (i.e. your bank, paypal, Netflix...) and you're going to be filling out a LOT of captchas and Cloudflare might not like you. But it is what it is.)

You can also host your own VPN, but that's pretty technical, even for me, so... idk, do what you will with that information.

Second: qBittorrent

Idk man, it's qBittorrent. Just download it.

(for real tho, it's free, it's open source software (yay!) and it's not stealing your data or shoving ads down your throat. It's THE torrent client at this point.)

Third: Places to, y'know, get stuff

I gift unto you the r/Piracy megathread. Enjoy.

Frankly, most information you need, recommendations, etc. is gonna be on r/Piracy. They're a godsend. I also recommend this website for a more detailed guide on all the stuff I just put forward. I would tag the user here I got it from but it looks like they deactivated.

Also for the love of god just switch to Firefox and install ublock origin already. Trust me. Just do it. You'll be so much happier. I promise.

Okay thanks bye! Enjoy your free stuff!

[blueskittlesart]

Feel free to ignore this but as someone who also goes to art school, I find it really interesting how other art schools also have a “don’t date your peers” sort of faux pa. Like so many people I know (including me) refuse to date anyone else who goes to my college 😭

I wonder why that is tbh, small school thing maybe?

being so serious i didn't have anything against dating other art school peers when i first came here and i think most freshmen dont but once you have one or two art school relationships under your belt you realize why all the upperclassmen avoid dating each other like the plague

[moregraceful]

many things i have been keeping under wraps at work, such as pronouns, but also, very critically, age. bc i got that ageless mixed race asian swag where i am very clearly not an undergrad but also??? they just don't know. and it WHIPS and it is so funny to ME because all the managers and shift supervisors are like damn this girl in her mid-twenties is so easy to talk to, it's like talking to a peer. surprise bitch i'm older than you. and maybe this means i'm performing psychological experiments on cis men, but i am ngl if i hand you a two page resume that you don't read, it is simply none of MY business if you think i am in my mid-20s. they are going to be so mad when they find out lmao

[detectivecatsuitdrew]

I finally played through Mystery of the Seven Keys! Wanted to type out my initial thoughts and whatnot, spoilers below!

I managed to avoid spoilers for this game so I was able to go in completely blind. I tried to avoid reviews as well to try to come in with no expectations. Overall, I say it’s a decent game. Not my favorite, but definitely a massive improvement over MID.

In terms of gameplay and graphics, WOW. So so much better than MID. I really liked the environment and getting to roam around. Just like with MID, I did suffer some motion sickness at first, but it went away after a little bit. And I really appreciate that they offer the two different modes.

In terms of characters, it did kind of feel like a lot and I forgot about Oskar half of the time lol but again, better executed than MID. Love Patricie and Radek. I also hope we get to see Agent Zane again.

I think the balance between puzzles vs dialogue/character interaction in comparison to other games (like MID having way too much dialogue vs puzzles and RAN having way too many puzzles vs dialogue).

Speaking of puzzles, maybe it’s just me, but I thought a few of them were fairly difficult and not super intuitive. I really enjoyed the cyber block, puppet, and the alchemy puzzles. But like the puzzle to open the book in the cafe? Again, maybe it’s just me, but that did not make sense to me at all. I really struggled with the Zlaty safe puzzle too.

(I guess the captcha when trying to open the DEGAS file is a puzzle, and it wasn’t hard albeit a bit annoying, but that jumpscare GOT ME. I jumped lol)

In terms of mini games, I like the coffee making. It’s no snack shop boss but I enjoyed it more than Johnny cakes. It reminded me a lot of the tea remedy mini game in MID.

The story/plot was decent. If LIE and CUR had a baby, it would be KEY. Little splash of SPY in there too. I did figure Elka was behind the cyber portion of it pretty much immediately, especially when she took the laptop and Nancy’s phone to “wipe.” (Like come on Nancy you know better than that!!! Geez) and then doubled down on that suspicion when it’s revealed Elka lost her mom almost essentially the same way Nancy lost hers. I did feel it was a little too obvious, but I’m glad she wasn’t the sole culprit and I’m even more glad that the culprits had concrete motives that made sense. I was worried it was going to be Patricie or something 😂

I understand why they didn’t include more phone conversations, but I kind of missed them! Though tbh I know when I replay games, I don’t really call Nancy’s phone contacts all that much, so it’s not a huge deal for me.

I thought the final confrontation was pretty on par for a Nancy Drew game, but the final conclusion is lackluster. I miss the letter summaries with the photos/cut away to images to what’s happening. I think it’s more visually interesting/concise that way, but I do appreciate that the final conversation between Adela, Zane, Marek, and Radek is more diegetic/natural.

Idk if anybody else feels this way, but what is it with Ned??? Is it Nancy trying to be a better girlfriend??? Make her more relatable, fleshed out as a character? Idk It felt out of place to me. And I find it so odd that three consecutive games are hitting heavy on tension between them. In SEA, we have their anniversary drama, in MID there’s that weird jealousy of Frank Hardy/that random girl in the background of one of his phone calls, and now we have Nancy really emphasizing with him how much she misses him and whatnot. I swear, if HeR continues to make games, I really want Ned to make an appearance!!! I was really hoping he’d be in this one, but there was no place for him honestly so understandable.

Okay I think I’m done rambling. These are just some initial thoughts and I don’t really know anyone personally who cares about ND games, so figured I’d post here.

If you made it this far, thanks for reading~!

[tinyfantasminha]

👍