#while my dad is more on the stoic side but he is REALLY good at telling stories in the funniest fucking way possible

[thatgirlwithasquid]

letters that i can never send

words: 25,571

Chrissy/Tina | Teen and Up Audiences | POV Tina | Ghost Chrissy Cunningham | Letters | Right Person Wrong Time | Unhappy Ending

beyond excited to get to share my fic for @sapphicstevents' stranger things sapphic mini bang!! writing it definitely fought me for a while but i'm really proud of this fic.

so here's the first chapter and a cover i threw together to post it with! the whole fic is up on ao3 here, and @hullomoon has been amazing and created a podfic of the work for anyone interested in listening <3

---

Chapter 1 : A Pack Of Green Scrunchies

words: 5,739

June 20th, 1986

Dear Chrissy,

I wish I had known you before everything went mad. 

I think I told you that before, but I mean it now more than I meant it then. It feels so crazy to think that we went through school walking past each other in the halls and not even glancing in each other’s direction. I know that I did the same thing to other kids but it still feels impossible.

My mom took me out to the mall the other day—there’s a mall in this town, not like the destroyed one in Hawkins. It’s full of people and stores and it's loud. I didn’t like it. I always used to find it annoying how quiet Hawkins was sometimes, but I hate how loud it is here. There’s too many people talking and smiling and I can’t see them without thinking about how oblivious I was before I met you.

They were selling scrunchies in one of the stores. My mom was looking for a new purse but I stopped to look at them instead. I bought a pack of green ones because they made me think of you. I wonder if that’s what you would smell like; cotton fabric and lingering perfume from my wrist.

I miss you. 

Tina.

—

The lights in the hospital waiting room hum with an electric static. Even under all the anxious chatter and background noise of the hospital, it’s the only thing Tina can hear. Well, that and the fading ringing in her ears.

Her hands clench and unclench around the hem of her shirt as she watches the minutes tick by. Beside her, her dad’s leg bounces up and down. She’s not sure if he’s aware of her watching him. The man stares ahead down the crowded hall through the chaos as if her mother will suddenly appear there, good as new.

Tina doesn’t say anything, just reaches out and entwines their fingers, letting out a sigh of relief as her father squeezes her hand back. She needs his strength to lean on. It doesn’t matter that, rationally, Tina knows her mother’s injuries from the earthquake were far from the most severe that came through those hospital doors today.

She’s never been more scared than she was when her dad came stumbling out of the rubble, shirt bloodied and with her mom’s arm over his shoulder to support her weight. Tina had been so frantic that she can’t even remember if her mother had been conscious at that point. She was out cold during the drive to the hospital, though; the sounds of ambulances and firetrucks and police cars responding to the destruction weren’t even enough to break her from her state. Her father had somehow remained stoic then, too.

Thankfully, it’s not too much longer before a nurse lets them visit her mom. After hours of waiting, they’re more than ready to see how she’s doing. 

With all the trouble caused during the disaster, her mom is crammed into a room with other people, separated only by a flimsy curtain. Around them, the relieved reconciliation of other patients and their families fade into the background as Tina reaches her mother’s side and grasps at her hand where it lays atop her blankets. 

IVs poke into her skin and wires trail off to monitors she doesn’t even begin to want to look at. Instead, Tina focuses her gaze on her mom’s weary face. She looks tired, eyes rimmed with dark circles that are only accentuated by the pale colouring of her skin. But she seems okay, all things considered, and Tina sighs out in a relieved whoosh of breath.

The nurse goes over her mom’s condition with her dad, but Tina hardly takes in a word—the moment the nurse confirms that her mom will be okay, she tunes her out entirely. Instead, Tina drinks in the sight of her mom, brushing a careful thumb over her scraped knuckles and almost tearing up when her mom gives her a small smile in return.

Eventually, the nurse hurries off again and Tina’s dad slumps into a chair beside the bed. Tina barely glances his way, too scared to look away from her mom, convinced that if she so much as takes her eyes off her, something terrible will happen again.

“Tina,” her mom sighs. “I’m okay. You don’t need to look so worried.”

Tina shakes her head.

“I was so scared,” she manages, voice cracking under the tears she spent so long suppressing. They finally rush down her face in a flood of emotion, tasting salty where they converge in the corners of her mouth.

“Oh, baby,” her mom says, voice softening. “It’s going to be okay now, okay? Why don’t you go and get some rest, you look exhausted.”

Tina can’t help but laugh at that, an ironic, choking thing. “I look exhausted?”

“Well,” her mom smiles before shifting slightly and doing her best to smother a wince. “I’m already laying down and getting rest. I’m more worried about you.”

Guilt stabs Tina’s heart like a blade. Her mom’s the one in a hospital bed, with doctors and nurses hovering around outside to help if needed, and yet Tina’s the one acting like the world’s weighing down on her shoulders. It’s shameful in its own way. 

Tina always thought she was strong enough to be her parents’ equal. She did well enough in school and had plenty of friends; her parents saw how grown up she was and even helped her plan her Halloween parties; her mom told her everything—every annoying thing someone at work said, every snippy little complaint about her dad forgetting to hang the washing out…

And here she is now. Comforting Tina like she’s a little kid in need of a nap and not a seventeen-year-old who should be better than this. So, she shakes her head, plastering on a smile even as her eyes sting with another wave of tears and, admittedly, exhaustion.

Before she can put up much protest, her dad pipes up to agree with her mom. It doesn’t leave enough room for anything more than Tina going along with what they want. Her dad almost follows before he hesitates, catching her mom’s eye. She nods back at him.

“Why don’t you see about finding some dinner for us two? I won’t be far behind you, I just need to have a talk with your mom.”

What is Tina supposed to do about that other than leave? She’s obligated to listen to her parents, even if she wants to stay. Besides, she’s sure she’ll be visiting her mom as often as she can until she’s discharged. 

So, it’s fine. All this is fine.

When she gets to the door, Tina turns and looks back at her parents one last time. With all the other people talking in the room, she can’t make out what her parents are discussing. What she can make out is the way her father’s face pinches into a concerned frown. 

Whatever it is they wanted to talk over without her must be serious. Resigned, Tina sets off in search of the cafeteria. It feels strange, pushing on through crowds of the distraught and the injured. Against her better judgement, her eyes catch and linger on the horror around her. 

Nothing will ever be the same after this, not in Hawkins at least. Too much bad has happened, too much to even let herself think about.

By the time her dad finds her in the cafeteria that evening, the dinner that Tina bought them has long since gone cold.

—

School doesn’t reopen until a week later—a week filled with funerals and clean up and searching for anyone still buried under the rubble. During that time, Tina recovers what she can from her trashed house to cram into some other girl’s bedroom. She should probably count her lucky stars that its usual inhabitant left for college a year ago, otherwise she would be knocking elbows in this little space—seemingly so much smaller than her own room was.

She longs for home: for her corkboard of polaroids of herself and her friends, for each marker line creeping up her door frame dedicated to a year of her life, for her fuzzy blue blanket, and for so many more little comforts that she had taken for granted. Staying here, in someone else’s bedroom while her dad stays on the pull-out downstairs, makes her feel strangely like a jigsaw piece jammed into the wrong puzzle.

There’s nothing to be done about that, with the roof of her house half-collapsed it’s not like they have much choice other than this. She is grateful that her dad’s work friend—Mr. Daniels—took them in, but that doesn’t stop her longing for what she’s lost.

Returning to class brings back none of the normality she longs for, either. Sure, the cracks in the road outside have been hastily paved over for the most part and the classrooms have been deemed safe to return to despite whatever state the earthquake had left them in, but everything has so clearly shifted…

All Tina sees, everywhere she looks, are the empty seats. The ones from kids whose families fled the town are one thing, one type of grief for the friends she’s not sure she’ll ever see again. The rest are something else entirely, vacant seats that will never be filled; those seats offer no question to their absence in Tina’s life.

So far, she has been to eight funerals. Three of them were some of her best friends. She didn’t sleep the nights after any of those. After the last one, she hasn’t been able to bring herself to attend any more; it turns out that there’s only so many bodies you can handle saying goodbye to within such a short period of time.

Mr. Clarke clears his throat, trying to recapture the forlorn attention of the room. Even he can’t seem to muster a genuine smile so Tina doesn’t know how he expects the students to care about any of this. Honestly, she’s surprised the school has even bothered swapping teachers to fill in for staff absences with how little chance they have at passing their exams after all this. If their grief wasn’t enough, having a teacher so clearly unprepared to deal with older kids isn’t going to help them learn at all.

She remembers Mr. Clarke from middle school and almost, very briefly, feels bad for thinking poorly of him. He’d been a nice enough teacher. She’s sure he’s still nice enough, but she just doesn’t have it in her to care about stuff like that anymore. Not after everything. She’s not sure how she fits into this new, broken version of Hawkins; how the hell should she be able to care about how everyone else fits in?

Slowly, the eyes of the class do raise to the man where he stands, squirming at the front of the room, backdropped by the chalkboard covered in scrawled science Tina hasn’t understood a word of. She can’t help but think that their usual teacher would have explained it in a way that made so much more sense to her.

She doesn’t know if that teacher is one of the leavers or worse.

Everyone sits quietly as Mr. Clarke stumbles his way through telling them about the commemorative assembly that is going to be held in the gym. Both schools will be coming together in a few days time to remember their lost friends, or at least that’s the plan.

Silence hangs in the air for another excruciating moment. Then the whispering finally begins. Names get thrown around, ones Tina is sure must belong to the dead.

“Jason,” someone whispers.

“Carol,” says another.

“Nicole—”

The whispering gets cut off abruptly by the scraping of a chair as it’s shoved out from under its desk. Some kid launches himself to his feet and stalks out of the room, eyes red-rimmed. Behind him, the classroom door slams shut on a spluttering Mr. Clarke.

Whispers start up again in the wake of his sudden departure. This time, Tina tunes them out. Instead, she sets her thoughts adrift, steering away from anything too dour to think on. She doesn’t want to deal with this today. They’ve only been back at school for a day. 

She isn’t ready for this yet. It doesn’t feel like there has been nearly enough time for any of them to come to terms with this. How the hell are they going to get through these last two months of school and—

“Tina!”

Blinking back to her senses, Tina looks up, across the lunch table and to whoever called her name. It’s Vicki, looking at her with wide, concerned eyes. She probably should be concerned, Tina can only vaguely recall walking to the cafeteria, she’d been so trapped in her own mind.

“Sorry, what did you say?” she asks.

It’s just the two of them, perched on the edge of a sparsely populated table. Their group used to be a lot bigger.

“I—” Vicki starts, hesitates, and then leverages a painfully forced smile onto her face. “I asked if you figured out what you wanted to do at college yet.”

She wants to wince, to cringe away from the inane topic. It makes her feel sick to pretend that everything is normal. People died, other people got hurt, the town is a mess. Why would they be worrying about stuff like this as if it means anything at all anymore?

“I don’t know. With my mom in the hospital everything’s changed. I haven’t had time to think about it.”

Vicki squirms uncomfortably at her confrontational tone, looking chastised. It makes her deflate a little, feeling suddenly very cruel. Just because Tina doesn’t know how to play at being normal, doesn’t mean she has to be such an ass to her friend over it. She still cares about her and being a bitch is only going to drive a wedge between them. It’s not like she has many friends left after everything, either.

Her hands tremble in her lap and she shakes them out as if that might banish some of her simmering nerves. It doesn’t. With a tense kind of control, Tina pushes up to her feet. Vicki’s eyes swivel up to her, surprised by the abrupt shift.

“Bathroom,” Tina chokes out, trying to tamper down the frustration in her voice.

“Tina…” Vicki starts but Tina is already walking away.

The lighting in the bathroom is dingy and off-putting, and yet the electric buzzing of those fluorescents still puts her in mind of sterile hospital walls. Her mom’s been making a great recovery, she reminds herself. She’ll be home before she knows it. Maybe then everything will start going back to normal.

The porcelain basin of the sink stares, glaringly white up at her as she leans over, splashing her face with metallic-tasting water from the old taps. Her ragged breaths send speckles of water back into it as it drips in trails down her face. She’s probably smudged her makeup now, and it didn’t even help at all.

With a choked sob, Tina turns her face upwards, meeting the paled expression of her reflection; eyes wide, droplets of water clinging to mascara-tinted lashes. But that’s not all she sees.

A sick feeling of horror settles deep in her stomach as she notices something from the corner of her eye—something hovering behind her, in the corner of the bathroom. The room had been empty when she came in. Heart hammering, startled by being snuck up on, Tina whirls around to see—

Nothing.

Just an empty, dingy, school bathroom. The green doors of toilet stalls stare back at her impassively as she clutches a hand to her chest, willing her racing pulse to settle.

It was nothing. It was her mind playing tricks on her. It had to be nothing. Because if not, how could she explain that fleeting glimpse of the ghost of Chrissy Cunningham?

—

Tina’s pen taps restlessly against the Daniels’ kitchen table, the only sound in the eerily silent house.

Sharing a living space with another family comes with all the chaos one would expect, with each of their routines clashing loudly and incompatibly as they stumble around each other each morning and night. And yet the quiet moments like this are almost worse, when everyone is out working or visiting the hospital or whatever else it is these people do. Aside from Tina, it’s empty. Abandoned, almost, like the rest of this god-forsaken ghost town.

She scratches a frustrated line through her pitiful homework attempt and pushes it away across the table, out of sight and out of mind as she stares distractedly out the window. The chair she sits on creaks as she leans to the side, trying to look out into the street. Usually at this time of the evening, kids would be running around, excited and playing in the warm spring air. Usually parents would be seen and heard, trying to cajole their kids inside for whatever they had cooked up or ordered in for dinner.

Tonight, there is nothing but a creeping sunset that paints the sky a dull pink, like drops of blood diluted in a lake of blue. There is no one finding time to play, and no one enjoying a peaceful evening, and Tina’s parents aren’t here. It’s just her, alone with her anxious mind.

She should be at the hospital, trying her best to be there for her dad and checking in on her mom. But going there again and again felt like poisoning herself, losing herself in worry that would set her heart pounding and mind spiralling. It doesn’t matter to her scared brain that she knows her mom is doing much better, she still can’t help but feel sick with worry.

And she’s so tired. It makes visiting her mom so difficult because her mom gives her this pitiful, concerned look whenever she sees her like this. Tina just can’t take that; being a burden to her parents instead of a place of support. They have nothing to be worried about, really. It— She’s just tired…

She can’t sleep with worrying about if something happened to her mom in the night, or if another earthquake might come to completely level this damn town. And what’s more, her mind hasn’t been able to stray far from the thought of what she saw—or what she thinks she saw—in that damn bathroom. Any time her mind has a chance to wander, her thoughts get inevitably dragged back to that sight.

She had only glimpsed her for a fleeting moment but that had been enough. Enough to see the shape of blood splatters on her cheer uniform and the inhuman pallor of her skin… Now, every sound—every creaking shift of this unfamiliar house, every car driving by, every sudden noise—leaves her jumping, expecting to see something horrific around her as if she’s being tormented by some twisted apparition. She hates it.

She should know better than this, she doesn’t even believe in ghosts! Whatever she saw must just be a trick of the mind. And yet.

With a frustrated groan, Tina pushes her chair out from the table and stands. Sitting around like this is doing her no good, either. It’s like she can’t escape any of this worry for even a second. Or, at least, she can’t when crammed into too-small rooms that have no space for the shape of her grief.

Her loaned keys chime against each other as she snatches them from the countertop. She just needs to get out of the house, walk around and clear her head. Maybe then all this anxiety can start to dissipate and the memory of that hallucination will fade.

Locking the door behind her, Tina wanders off in whatever direction her feet decide to take her. 

The air is clear outside and she hopes that might ease some of the tension that she has been holding, coiled and aching, within her. It’s hard to remember that she doesn’t need to be prepared for something awful to happen, because chances are nothing will.

She wishes she believed that.

Every time she blinks back to awareness, she finds herself on a different stretch of road that she can’t recall making the conscious choice to head to. This walk clearly isn’t doing anything for her. Clear her mind? What a ridiculous idea. How the hell could a place as fucked up as Hawkins bring her any relief, no matter where she might go or what she might do? It’s like the only thing her body knows how to do here anymore is to run on autopilot—to keep her body moving as her thoughts keep on spiralling.

She stills, taking a frustrated breath and at least trying to keep track of where she’s ended up. Her eyes scan her surroundings, taking note of how the efforts to fix up the town haven't reached this far yet, great deep cracks still clear and precariously crisscrossing the roads, splitting the asphalt open to reveal the exposed bowels of the earth.

It’s not something she’s that surprised by. Ahead of her, the road turns off into the trailer park. It makes sense that no one has prioritised fixing up things around here. With the abandoned yellow streamers of police tape, catching and glinting in the golden hour, it’s only too easy to remember what happened here all too recently.

Tina cringes at the sight of them, dancing in the gentle breeze like they don’t know what they mean. Like they don’t know a girl was massacred inside that place. Still, she can’t quite tear her eyes away. For a long, breathless moment, she just stares, caught in the bone-deep wrongness of that place. And then, like ice slithering down her spine, a stomach-churning feeling of horror settles upon her. It takes a hold in her chest before she even realises the cause of it.

Just barely visible from this far away, lingering in the window of the Munson’s trailer, is the shape of a person, standing stock-still. The longer she stares, breaths shallow and fast under the weight of that settling dread, the more the distant shape seems to resemble a girl, its silhouette becoming more convincingly feminine as that agonising second draws out longer and longer, running on forever as her gaze refuses to budge from the sight.

It’s like time has stopped. 

Tina doesn’t realise she’s stepping away until her feet scuff against the uneven ground and she nearly loses her balance. That, at least, is enough to break her out of her trance even if the terror sinking into her stomach refuses to dissipate; she rips her gaze away from the trailer as if burned. It feels like the shape of that figure is scorched into her retina now.

Unwilling to look back at that window, Tina runs.

—

Sitting through the commemorative assembly in the school’s gymnasium is like pulling teeth. Every word jars her, striking through with pained awareness of how overcrowded the room is playing host to two schools and yet not nearly as crowded as it should be.

She feels like an exposed nerve, too vulnerable for this. Her eyes burn with exhaustion and the threat of tears.

At some point she stops listening entirely, too mentally overwhelmed as she tries not to think about anything at all if it will get the ringing in her ears to stop. As she looks down at her hands, the shadows cast by the lines of her palms form a dark echo of the blood and grime she remembers from that day. She had to trim her nails as short as she could to get rid of the last traces of it.

When they’re finally dismissed, the end of the speeches coinciding with the end of the school day, Tina lingers behind at a shout of her name.

Waving over at her from through the dispersing crowd is Vicki. There are strained creases around the corners of her eyes as she weaves her way to meet Tina but she valiantly keeps a smile in place, something more than Tina can say for herself.

“You want to tag along with me? I’m heading to meet Samantha, she snuck some of her parents' booze in all the confusion so we’re going to meet up and let off some steam.”

“Samantha Stone?” Tina clarifies. “Since when do you hang around with Samantha?”

Vicki scoffs. “Since almost everyone else is gone.”

Tina presses her lips together to keep the sudden roll of nausea at that blasé statement at bay. Vicki seems to pick up on it, her expression dimming marginally with her concern, but she chooses not to question it. Instead, she strides on, head held high.

“Anyway, we all have people’s memories to drink to. I cannot deal with the aftermath of that stupid assembly while sober. So, you coming or what?”

Tina takes a steadying breath and follows. After all, it’s not like she’s got any better ideas. 

The crowd that gathers at the edge of the school’s field is a mishmash of different people, most of whom Tina has only ever seen around each other in the classroom or at her own parties. They seem to clump together uncertainly, stilted conversations offered between each other about inane topics that Tina doesn’t have the energy to entertain.

Regardless, she loiters around with the group, accepting whatever drinks get thrust into her hand and taking great gulps to avoid joining any conversations. Listening is more than enough, if you can even class what she’s doing as listening. 

Everyone else, at least, seems on the same page about getting shit-faced. As the hours creep by, shoulders finally start to slump and the group gets rowdier the drunker they get. Bottles are uncapped with grandiose claims of them being in honour of someone who couldn’t be there with them.

Silently, Tina raises her own drink, the faces of her friends flashing in her minds’ eye. 

At some point, Vicki leaves her place at Tina’s side. She looks up to see her, arms interlocked, with Samantha and laughing the way she only does when she’s really tipsy. For a second, Tina considers going over to talk to them, but when she gets up from her spot on the bench her body feels clumsy and uncoordinated. It’s probably better that she stays here, leaning against the seat for support.

There’s another kid who could probably benefit from the same. He’s pale aside from a splotchy flush to his cheeks as he stumbles ungainly out from the tree line.

“Didn’t get lost taking a piss then?” his friend taunts as he wobbles his way back over to their side.

“I think I just saw a ghost,” he says in a daze.

Everyone laughs at that. Tina tries not to think at all.

The sun is creeping towards the horizon and Tina is far too many drinks in when the nausea finally hits her. It feels like a physical thing, crawling its way up her throat.

“Shit,” she gasps, floundering up onto her feet at last and heading blindly into the trees. At least there she might have just a smidge more privacy in her shame.

Her sneakers shuffle over uneven earth, hesitant at first until the need to puke becomes too much and she hurries further along, with all the uncoordinated grace she can muster. Knees meet the ground and an arm braces against a tree as she sucks in deep breaths. They slowly soothe the sickness away. In the end, she’s not sure if it’s better or worse that she didn’t actually vomit.

Head still hazy, she looks up and widens her awareness back to her surroundings.

“You have got to be kidding me,” she says, clambering back to her feet, as she spots them.

It’s a girl. It’s too far away to be sure but she looks to be dressed in a cheer uniform, at least from what Tina can see. The girl is curled around herself, sitting with her back against a tree and her head in her hands.

This could be it. This could be that same hallucination. 

Tina should just go—whether or not this is real, she just needs to leave it alone. If this is just some other student from their drunken group, then her crying is none of Tina’s business. Hell, she’s had to step away for private moments herself and it’s not the sort of thing you want to be walked in on. And if this is Chrissy, then… Well, then that doesn't bode well to think about.

Leaves and twigs crunch underfoot, stealing any stealth she might have managed, as Tina approaches. Not like it matters, the girl doesn’t react at all, as if she can’t even hear her.

The closer she gets the less she can deny it. That strawberry-blonde hair, held back from her face by a green scrunchie; that small stature; the familiar cheer uniform, speckled with somehow still-red blood… She may not have known Chrissy personally, but Tina had certainly seen her around enough to be able to recognise her.

She slows to a stop, looking down at the figure of her. From here she can see that her head isn’t actually in her hands. She’s covering her ears, muttering something under her breath that Tina can’t quite make out without getting closer.

Tina’s mouth opens to speak but she finds it suddenly dry, her throat barren. She clears her throat, the sound perversely loud in the atmosphere around her.

“Chrissy?” she manages finally, voice little more than a whisper.

Chrissy’s head snaps up to look at her, eyes wide and frantic. Her whole body tenses, posture coiling and shifting as if she’s preparing to bolt, and for a moment Tina feels that same need to flee echoed in herself. Neither of them do.

Tearful, blue eyes take in Tina’s face before some of the fight seems to drain from her, slumping infinitesimally against the tree behind her. Tina, though, doesn’t relax and her alcohol slowed mind fumbles to come to grips with the sight before her.

Chrissy, where she sits in the leaves and dirt and forest debris, is so pale. Every so often, the very vision of her seems to flicker in Tina’s sight, as if the girl herself were not fully corporeal… trapped between this world and the next.

“Are… Are you real?” Chrissy breathes, voice small and broken.

The irony of that startles a laugh from Tina before she can help it. 

Shouldn’t she be the one asking that? Chrissy is the dead girl out of the two of them. If either of them should be mistrusting their minds right now, it should be Tina. Because if ghosts aren’t real, as Tina had always believed so strongly, then how can Tina be facing this right now?

“Am I real?” she scoffs, voice bordering on hysterical. “You’re the dead girl here.”

“What?” Chrissy asks in that same crushed tone.

“You’re dead,” Tina tells her, because what else is there to say?

Somehow, Chrissy seems to pale further, as if blood was rushing away from her non-existent face.

“No. N-no. I’m not, I can’t be. What are you talking about?”

“You died. In the Munsons’ trailer.”

“You’re lying. I’m right here—I can’t be—” Chrissy’s voice becomes shrill and stricken with panic before an anger steals over her features. “This isn’t funny. What kind of joke is that? I just—I need to get home.”

Tina scoffs, almost disbelieving, and steadies her swaying against a low-hanging branch.

“I went to your funeral. You’re dead. And I must be going crazy…”

The last part comes out half as a laugh, half as a sigh. It’s a fact she’s resigned herself to uncomfortably quickly, but what other explanation could there be? People don’t just see visions of dead girls sitting around and telling them they can’t be dead if they’re not mad.

Chrissy’s expression glazes over, seeming to be lost in her own mind as a fresh wave of tears give a new shine to those mournful eyes.

“You’re lying,” she says again, but this time she sounds more defeated than accusing, like it makes sense to her even if she doesn’t want it to be true.

Or Tina’s mind thinks Chrissy shouldn’t want it to be true—if Chrissy’s ghost actually was in front of her, that is. But she isn’t, because that would be preposterous. She’s just had too much to drink, and she’s been feeling paranoid, and it’s not as if she’s been able to rest since all of this began.

She doesn’t know why she’s indulging this in the first place. 

Her mouth opens to say something to that effect. Surely she has some smartass comment about it all, but all that remains in her mind are the wispy impressions of the thought as she tries her best to reorient herself. In the end, she gets nothing out before a voice calls out for her. 

Damn, she’s been out here for too long. She’s not even really sure how much time has slipped away without her notice between her leaving the gathering and ending up where she stands now.

Right, that decides it, she’s leaving. This—all of this—is something she doesn’t want any part in. Not ghosts, or hallucinations, or whatever any of this is and certainly not while she’s drunk. There are a thousand more important things she could be worrying about, she chides herself as she turns on her heel and sets her eyes on the way back. In fact, she’s mid-step when a feeble voice calls out for her.

“Please, don’t go. I’m scared to be alone…”

Tina pauses, her heart pounding.

“I need to get back,” she says; to herself, because there is no one else there. 

For a moment, Chrissy is quiet. Tina almost thinks the hallucination has finally dissipated when she speaks up again.

“Will you come back?”

Tina’s heart stutters in her chest. This isn’t real. None of this is real. She turns to look behind her and Chrissy is gone, not even a trace of her to be seen. 

“Tina!”

“Yeah,” Tina replies, the words mumbled to herself, as she finally unsticks her feet from the ground to return to the group. 

---

chapter 2

[tibli]

im glad i grew up w funny, clearly neurodivergent parents bc i like to think my humor is one of my best qualities

[be4chywritez]

family | luke hughes

luke hughes x fem!reader

you feel happy that your boyfriend’s brothers like you

my masterlist!

prompt list!

You stood in front of the mirror, carefully applying the final touches of your makeup. The room was filled with the sounds of Luke humming a tune and Jack’s playful teasing. Luke was sprawled out on the bed, flipping through channels on the TV while Jack lounged on the other bed, tossing a hacky sack with his good arm.

“You almost ready?” Luke asked, watching you with such love.

“Almost,”you replied, glancing at him through the mirror with a smile. “Just need to fix my hair.”

Jack smirked and chimed in. “Come on, Y/N, it’s just a game. You don’t need to impress anyone.”

You rolled her eyes good-naturedly. “It’s family night, Jack. I want to look nice.”

Luke sat up and moved behind you, gently brushing a stray strand of hair from your face. “You always look beautiful,” he said softly, pressing a kiss to your temple.

“Ugh, you two are so gross,” Jack groaned, adjusting the sling that held his arm. “Get a room!”

“We have one, and you’re in it,” Luke shot back with a grin, catching the pillow Jack threw at him and tossing it back.

-

Family nights at games were always a highlight for the Hughes clan. Tensions buzzed in the air as you arrived at the Rogers Stadium.

you felt slightly uncomfortable going, but Ellen insisted saying that you’re “practically family” at this point with how long you’ve been with Luke.

Ellen helped you onto the ice while Luke tied his skates. Quinn skated over toward Ellen, giving her a hug, then Jack, Jim, Luke, and finally, you. He pulled you into a hug, which was rare for Quinn but made you feel giddy knowing that your boyfriend’s brother liked you.

Quinn pulled away, giving you a small but genuine smile. “Good to see you, Y/N.”

You returned the smile, feeling warmth spread through you. “Good to see you too, Quinn. Excited for the game?”

Quinn nodded, glancing around at his family. “Yeah, it’s always better with everyone here.”

Luke skated over, slipping his arm around your waist. “You wanna skate around with Dad and me?” he asked. You looked over at Luke. Quinn watched how much warmth radiated from you when you were with Luke; it made him happy.

You nodded, grabbing Luke’s outstretched hand. He gave Quinn a nod and you smiled at Quinn. “Hey, be careful out there,” Quinn called out, knowing how reckless his younger brother could be.

Jim helped you stay steady on the ice when Luke decided it would be funny to pick up the pace, Jim tighten his hold on you as you scolded Luke to slow down.

eventually the family hour was coming to a close and the game getting closer, photographers swarming to get photos of players and their families.

A photographer approached. “Can we get a Hughes family photo?” he asked, camera at the ready.

You instinctively stepped back, giving the Hughes family space for their moment. You watched as Luke, Jack, Ellen, and Jim gathered together, a perfect picture of familial love and support.

Just as the photographer was about to take the picture, Quinn looked up and noticed you standing off to the side. His usual stoic expression softened. “Y/N, get in here,” he called out, his voice carrying a tone of insistence that left no room for argument.

You face scrunched in confusion, he waved you over once more, quickly skating to Luke’s side. Luke wrapped an arm around your shoulders, pulling you close. The photographer snapped the picture.

after the photo was taken Quinn hugged all of you before y’all were guided off the ice and into your seats.

-

Later, as you left the arena, you felt a warm hand slip into yours. You looked up to see Luke smiling down at you, his eyes filled with love.

Luke cleared his throat . “Quinn doesn’t usually do things like that. He really cares about you.”

you looked up, cheeks heated, “Yeah, I’m really happy. I’m just kinda bummed he just started liking me,” you said, half-joking, half-not.

Jack, walking behind you, snorted. “Quinn liked you since the very first time he met you. He kept on saying, ‘I like how Luke’s girl doesn’t post only when she’s with us. Luke’s girl this and that.’” Jack mocked him in a teasing tone.

“Shut up, dude,” Luke said, laughing. “But as he was saying, Quinn really likes you.” He smiled, kissing your cheek.

Jack obnoxiously gagged. “Alright, lovebirds, let’s get to the car.”

[thetriumphantpanda]

i've got my love to keep me warm | joel miller

Summary | Joel agrees to spend Christmas with your family, away from the warmth of Texas, and it takes him a little while to warm up to the idea.

Pairing | Joel Miller x F!reader

Word Count | 1.4K

Warnings | Grumpy x Sunshine vibes, some sweetness, some suggestive thoughts but nothing explicit, mentions of consuming food and alcohol.

Authors note | For @yeollie-plz- It's your @pedrostories secret santa!! I really hope you love this because it was good fun to put together! Happy Christmas to you!

“You know, you could at least pretend to be happy?” You tease, nudging your elbow into Joel’s side.

With the way he’s bundled up in his big coat, you’re not sure he actually feels you do it, but he grumbles all the same. Whatever he says in incoherent, but you can discern the meaning perfectly. What’s the point in being here as grown adults? What’s the point in wandering around, looking at lights and getting excited about Christmas, when, for the first time in years, there won’t be any children around?

“Come on,” You beam, taking his gloved hand in yours, “Maybe a drink with a little something in would make you happier?”

“What would make me happier would be sat indoors outta this snow.”

You roll your eyes, pulling on his hand to get him to follow you. He walks by your side, gloved hand sitting in yours as you weave through the crowds of people. Joel had wanted to stay in Texas for Christmas, something about the familiarity of it, not wanting to spend too much money on travelling at this time of year, but knowing it was his first Christmas without Sarah, now that she was all grown up with her own family, you knew that he’d be miserable, no matter that you’d be there with him, so you’d put your foot down, told him the two of you would spend Christmas with your parents up north, somewhere cooler, more festive.

He’d met them plenty of times before, they loved him, thought the sensible, stoic man was good for you. He had his head on his shoulders, a home of his own - settled, is what they’d called him. A far cry from the other boys you’d chosen in the past few years, and they were overjoyed to have a house full of people this year - your brother and his wife, you and Joel, a real family affair.

The centre of town always reminded you of being a child when you came back at this time of year. The streets filled with small stalls - some selling food, some filled with little trinkets from small businesses, all set around the main square, with its big tree, lit up and sparkling.

There’s one stall you zero in on, a small line that you stand in, still gripping at Joel’s hand as you step further towards the front each time someone walks away. You remember the first time you’d stood in this line - you were eight, and your dad had passed you a cup full of warm hot chocolate, a towering swirl of whipped cream on top. You’d sipped it so slowly, savouring the cream and the sweetness of the chocolate, and anytime you’re here, you have to get it, it’s just that these days, it’s always spiked with something.

Joel, of course, orders an Irish coffee - black, bitter coffee, split with cream and his favourite whiskey. You watch closely as he pulls one of his gloves off with his teeth, slipping it in his pocket so he can feel the warmth of it in his palm. He’s watching you just as closely as the lady hands you the cup of hot chocolate, mixed with Bailey’s, still with that tower of whipped cream too.

You both step away, standing off to the side as Joel takes the first sip of his drink. You can see the slight softening of his expression as he goes in for another sip, this one bigger than the first. He’s watching you as you dart your tongue out, taking some of the sweet cream into your mouth before you sip the drink, hissing when it burns your tongue a little.

“That’ll be hot, baby.” He teases, earning a little glare from you as he drinks his again, seemingly unaffected by the steam that rises from his own cup.

“It’s good,” You muse, holding it out to him, “Try it.”

“I don’t want none a’that,” He shakes his head, “Too sweet.”

“Joel Miller,” You chastise, pushing the cup closer to his face, “It’s Christmas, for the love of God, try the hot chocolate.”

He sighs, shakes his head in that way he always does when he knows he can’t win the battle. He hands you his drink, laughs a little when you wrinkle your nose at how strong it smells, takes yours from you and brings it to his mouth, taking a big sip, and when he pulls it away to hand back to you, you can’t stifle the giggle that falls from your mouth.

“What?” He asks, as your giggle falls into proper laughter, “What the hell’s the matter with you?” He snatches his own drink back sinking his neck down into his coat to keep the biting wind from his skin.

“Y-you’ve,” You choke out, pointing at your own nose, “You’ve g-got something here.”

You bring your hand up to his face, running the pad of your thumb over the tip of his nose, swiping the cream from his face. You go to pull it away, to wipe it away on the leg of your jeans, but Joel has other ideas, gripping your wrist to still you. He brings your hand to his mouth, enveloping your thumb into the heat of his mouth. You suck in a breath, feeling the tip of his tongue dart out against the skin, licking the cream off, before he drags your thumb from his mouth with a soft pop.

He drops your wrist from his hold, but you’re stuck, staring right at him, with the familiar throb of want settling across you.

“Thought it was too sweet for you?” You raise an eyebrow when you’ve composed yourself enough to speak.

He shrugs, takes hold of your hand and starts walking you back towards the tree, “If you’re gonna laugh at me, I ain’t gonna make it easy on you.” That familiar tone of grump is back, but you know he doesn’t mind really as he walks slowly, guiding you both to a bench that looks directly at the tree, dressed in red and gold, icy lights casting that familiar festive glow across everything.

He wipes the snow from the bench, makes sure it dry enough for you both to sit on, draping his arm across the back of it, encouraging you to curl into his side. The two of you sit for a while, watching the people come and go - young children excited to stand in line for the chance to meet Santa in his grotto, men on their own going from stall-to-stall, clearly shopping for last minute gifts, and couples, just like the two of you, wrapped up in nothing but each other as they hold hands, point things out to eat other.

“Thank you for coming,” You speak softly into his shoulder, looking up at him as he looks down at you, “I know it’s not really what you wanted, but I like that you’re here.”

“Of course it’s what I wanted,” He speaks just as softly, leaning down to press a featherlight kiss to the tip of your nose, “I only ever want to be where you are baby,” He motions his head to the scene in front of you, “Even if it is in the freezing cold, surrounded by too many people, wherever I’m with you, I’m happy, okay?”

You smile at him, tilt your head slightly, as his lips come down onto yours, cold and chapped from the winter air, but oh-so familiar as they slant across your own. You open your mouth against his, let your tongue meld with his own, the bitter of his coffee mixing with the sweet of your own drink. It’s soft, gentle, and over far too quickly. He pulls away, places two more soft pecks against your mouth, and then settles back against the bench, his hand now resting on your shoulder.

A shiver settles across your bones, something to do with the fact that even a few years into your relationship, he still sets you on fire without even trying, but mainly because it’s fucking freezing. Leant against Joel’s body, you feel him shiver a little too.

“Home?” You ask.

He looks back down at you, smiling a little with a nod, “Home.”

[lcandothisallday]

Court Side Butterflies Part 1 - Jack Harlow x f!reader

this actually SUCKS but oh well. Might make a part 2

photo credit to @a-moment-captured !!

You walk under the tunnel with your best friend, making your way through the swarms of people to get your court side seat. Your best friend was dating a player on the Boston Celtics—Jaylen Brown to be exact, which warranted the both of you sitting court side to support her man.

With it being a game 7, you knew this game was going to be tense and you only hoped the Celtics would win so that your best friend could celebrate with her boyfriend. If it were up to you, you didn’t really care who wins—only wishing for an exciting game.

“I’m gonna go speak with Jaylen real quick,” your friend mused. “Wish him luck and all.” You nod and smirk at your love sick friend. “Wish him luck for me too!” you exclaim as she walks away.

There was still about 15 minutes until the game officially started so you decided to take your seat and chill on your phone in the meantime.

While you’re scrolling through Instagram, two quite large people walk in front of you—one of them nearly stepping on your toes.

“Oh sweetheart I’m sorry!” the man exclaimed. “Did I step on your toes?—”

You look up at the bald man and shake your head with a laugh. “No no you’re good,” you reassure. Your line of sight trails to see the man going to take a seat next to him, your eyes going slightly wide when you realize it was Jack Harlow.

Jack’s dad sits next you, prompting him to make small talk. “Routing for the Celtics?”

“Yeah,” you confirm with a nod. “Here with my best friend—she’s dating Jaylen so I guess I gotta be supportive of the both of them,” you joke.

“Oh—are you not a basketball fan?” he chuckled in question.

“I am! It’s just been a long day,” you laugh.

“Jeez Dad—leave the poor girl alone. Probably doesn’t wanna talk to you all night,” Jack teased, causing his Dad to scoff playfully and for you to giggle.

“Jack,” he introduced, extending his hand towards you. “Y/N. It’s nice to meet you…and your Dad ” you reply with a smile.

Jack’s Dad smiled at the interaction before he leaned in close to his son, his voice low. “Wanna sit next to her?” he whispered in question. “She’s pretty—maybe you could get her number,” he mused, playing wingman.

Jack’s face heated up, his cheeks blushing with a tint of red. “Uh…not now. It’ll be too obvious. Plus she’s a model…to many eyes on us,” he whispered back a bit bashfully. He couldn’t deny that you were indeed beautiful and he would’ve loved the opportunity to talk more and get to know you— but there were simply too many eyes and cameras around to risk any annoying rumours that frankly he didn’t wanna deal with.

Soon enough, your friend makes her way back to her seat, leaning in close with a knowing smirk. “Jayson asked about youuuu,” she hummed matter of factly which Jack couldn’t help but overhear. While he loved Jayson and considered him a friend, the jealousy still bubbled within him. He knew it wasn't warranted--after all he barely knew you but it didn't stop his feelings.

He was still intrigued to hear your response so he sat quietly, his dad also unknowingly doing the same.

You scoff at your friends remark. “He's too hot and cold with me...until he wants to commit then I'm not doing anything," you shrug.

You friend groaned, “oh come on y/n! He likes you—you like him—the sex is great apparently—”

“Oh my god!” you interrupt exclaiming. “Shut up! Just please shut up,” you groan, shaking your head in embarrassment. “That’s not something you can say in public with media and fans everywhere,” you mutter lowly.

Your friend shrugged. “I just want you to be happy.”

“How about I worry about that and you worry about cheering on your boyfriend,” you deadpan.

“Suite yourself.”

You sit quietly for the remainder of quarter, your arms crossed as you stared ahead with a stoic expression. You loved your friend but she can be a bit much at times.

When half time finally came around, your friend got up to comfort Jaylen for being down a couple points. “You coming?”she asked, more so wanting to know if you were going to talk to Jayson.

“Nah—I’m gonna stick here.” She simply nodded and headed off.

“Your friend seems like a handful,” Brian spoke to you with a chuckle, causing Jack’s eyes to widen. “Dad!” he scolded.

You however thought it was funny and began laughing. “She…she really is. I’m sorry you guys had to um…hear that,” you breath out shyly.

Jack licked his lips with a kind smile. “Don’t worry about it…my best friend Urban would’ve said worse,” he mused, trying to lighten the mood.

“Ok good to know it’s a universal experience,” you hum.

Brian smirked. “Hm—why don’t you two kiddos go grab us some drinks?” he suggested. Jack’s head snapped towards his dad, glaring at him while his cheeks turned red.

“Yeah why not,” you replied.

You and Jack walked side by side to the concession stand, him walking with his hands awkwardly in his pocket. “Your dad is very nice,” you began.

Jack scoffed playfully. “Nah—he’s tryna play matchmaker,” he laughed, shaking his head shamefully.

“Ohhhh I see,” you hum teasingly. “I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t working,” you confess, your cheeks burning up.

Jack grinned. “Damn—might need to have him work his magic more often,” he hummed.

You scoff in feigned offence. “Only if it works in my favour. Wouldn’t want him helping you get other girls.”

“Oh so you’re territorial huh?”

“What if I am?” you taunt in question.

“Fuuuck,” he laughed, his dimple appearing as he ran his hand through his hair. “I cant lie—that’s hot.”

“So tell me…if I ask you out,” Jack began nervously as he scratching the back of his neck. “Am I gonna have to worry about Jayson and his ‘great sex?’”

“I’m not seeing him anymore.”

Jack shook his head. “That’s not what you implied back there…if he committed…are you gonna commit back?” he asked, reiterating what you said to your friend earlier.

You sighed. “I’m sure I could ask you the same thing—with all the girls around you,” you point out.

“Nahhh—don’t do that. Don’t gaslight me and twist it back on me,” Jack laughed while shaking his head. “When you figure it out—I really would love to take you out…maybe even show you what great sex really is,” he smirked.

“Deal.”

[jokeringcutio]

Reader & Stepbrother Stu Macher & Stepfather William Afton “Suspicious Ads” 👀

Fandoms: FFNAF & Scream.

Implied Reader x Stepdad William Afton, Implied Reader x Stepbrother Stu Macher.

Mature due to themes. No explicit Smut. Contains Humor.

[ for More x ] [ Follow me ]

The living room was quiet except for the sound of William's pencil scratching against paper as he worked on a blueprint at the table. You were slouched on the couch, scrolling through fanfiction on your phone, the blue of the screen lightening up your face.

"Seriously, Dad?” Stu's voice cut through the silence like the jarring chime of an unwelcome notification. He sounded way too excited. The door had barely clicked shut behind him before he was at William's side, his phone thrust accusingly toward the older man.

"Isn't her mom enough for you?" Now this caught your attention and you carefully glanced up from your phone to see the encounter play out in front of you.

Stu stood tall next to his father, William, who was still hunched over the blueprint. Despite the accusing tone of Stu’s words, you could see that he was carrying a smirk. As if he were enjoying this. Which was never a good sign. "Or are you still a horny beast in your old age?"

Ah. Too much information.

You quickly pretended to cast your attention back to your phone, but continuing the story seemed to have become impossible now. What had Stu come across that would prompt him to say such a thing? You were still listening in. Not that you wanted to.

"I don’t want to know what you’re up to that give me these specific ads," Stu continued, swiping a finger past his phone. “But I am not interested in finding older women in my area to bang.”

You flinched.

Inwardly, you complimented your stepdad for his lack of reaction to his son’s words. William's face remained stoic, his eyes never leaving the blueprint. He took the accusations without flinching. While Stu leaned in, a sultry smile on his face.

"I bet you're browsing things online again."

Finally, William’s blue eyes darted from the paper and slowly traced up his son. But still, no answer came.

You were holding your breath at this point, feeling the tension in the room.

“I know,” Stu said, shrugging as he deliberately added more oil to the fire. “Old pussy’s better than no pussy at all, they say. But you really need to get your searches in check before any of the ladies in our household get to see these. We’re all on the same IP and man… These ads. They’re brutal.”

William just watched him stoically, not rising to the bait. But you could see a flicker of annoyance in his eyes. It was unnerving, the way he silently absorbed the jab, the corners of his mouth betraying neither smile nor scowl.

Focus on your fic again. Come on now, you told yourself, forcing your eyes away from the scene.

"I think you’ll find these are basic ads. They’re provided when you block all cookies and won't allow them to keep track of your browser history. Internet will automatically assume you are a male interested in sex."

"Stu."

You jumped when your stepdad suddenly spoke. It came so unexpectedly. His voice was even, his blue eyes sternly fixed upon his son.

That shut your stepbrother up. You saw the gleam in Stu’s eyes as he tried to think of something witty to say, but nothing came. Nothing that could beat his father’s reasoning anyway.

“Sure, Dad,” Stu finally said with a wink, trying to save his grace. He finally lowered his phone, putting it inside his pocket as he stepped away from his father. William turned back to his paper, eyes already cast on the drawing he was working on while he leaned on his exposed elbows – the sleeves pushed up while he worked.

“At least, I take it you switched your search history off…” You had to suppress a chuckle when you heard your stepdad say that so casually to Stu. The jab was obvious. As expected, your stepbrother flushed a bright red. He probably hadn’t blocked any cookies or adjusted any settings to stop his data collecting at all.

“Are you chuckling?” you heard, and looked up in surprise to find Stu was suddenly next to the couch, looking down at you.

Fuck. He’d caught onto your eavesdropping.

“Just reading a funny story,” you swiftly replied, silently patting your shoulder for the way you quickly composed yourself.

That mental pat suddenly became a lot more real.

A warm hand surprised you as Stu leaned over you to glance at your phone. His fingers were on your shoulder, gently digging into your skin, while his breath was hot upon you as he leaned over you to catch a glimpse of your screen. The small letters were thankfully not too explicit, so you didn’t have to feel too ashamed.

He was silent for a moment, clearly reading along. Then you heard him chuckle softly.

"Careful not to fall into that screen," he teased, voice low, a whisper meant for your ears alone. “Apparently, there are older women there. And they only want one thing.”

You barely lifted your gaze from the glow of your phone, but you couldn't ignore the warmth spreading where his hand rested firmly on your shoulder. A tingling teased your core.

"Wouldn't dream of it," you murmured, your response automatic, heart betraying you with a traitorous skip. The faint pressure of his fingers imprinted on your skin, an invisible brand. Then his touch was gone.

He chuckled, walking away, the sound receding with each step until the front door sealed his departure with a soft click.

But you had felt the soft squeeze he gave you before he had let go. And wasn’t that something?

Why did it make your heart beat so loudly in your chest?

Your eyes flitted up to the now-closed door, but of course, he was no longer there. Stu had left. Behind you, you heard your stepdad shift. The rustling of the paper between his fingers, the way his shoes moved against the wooden floorboards. You turned your head to see what he was up to.

William expelled a deep sigh. His chair scraped against the wood floor, the sound abrasive, as he stood and turned toward you.

"Those ads," he began, voice a low rumble, "I assure you that I have never looked something like that up."

How sweet, you thought, that he tried to assure you he wouldn’t go around your mom’s back like that. You sat up on the couch, no longer slouching, and gave him your full attention.

"Really?" you asked, feigning nonchalance.

His footsteps approached, measured and certain. The distance between you shrank with an almost indecent intimacy. Now that was… different. You blinked up at him as he towered over you. Your pulse hammered in your throat, a frantic drummer setting the pace for this dangerous dance.

"Indeed." His silhouette loomed over you, casting you in a cool shadow. "My tastes run...”

Here he paused, his blue eyes deliberately raking over you until you felt it deep in your core. The implication. But surely not? Surely, he wouldn’t even consider…

“Younger." The words slithered through the air, filled with intent. His eyes locked onto yours, blue ice that seared straight through to your womb, leaving a trail of goosebumps in their wake.

"I’m fetching something to drink," the switch to such a casual comment came so unexpectedly, that you sat there, shaken to the core. Had you misinterpreted him?

“Can I get you something?” he asked, a thread of politeness woven into his husky tone.

"Water," you managed to say, voice barely above a whisper. "Water would be nice."

And damn the flames that worked between your legs, setting your entire body on fire. How did both men manage to do such things to you? To play you like a puppet?

He nodded once, a subtle acknowledgment, before striding away.

Alone now, your hands trembled as you fumbled with your phone. A few taps, a swipe and your search history stared back at you, a guilty confession in pixels and light.

Your eyes slid past the many variations of your searches for ‘Older man x younger woman' content.

Shame and arousal coiled within you, tightening around your chest.

Delete. Delete. Delete.

How could you have been so stupid to assume no one would notice when everyone shared the same internet access? Your heart pounded, a relentless echo of your fractured calm. You knew that the illusion of your innocence was just that – an illusion, as fragile as your resolve.

You silently thanked the Internet Gods for always assuming their users to be male-gendered.

Let your stepbrother and stepfather browse their older women. You could feign your innocence for a little while longer.

Right?

[the-guilty-writer]

Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

Request from @steveharringtonsgirl04: Hey! I have a request you can totally say not to it but it just keeps coming back in my head lol  soo dad hotch x teen reader where she just wants her dad to hold her :( like all the hotch hugs so he takes her to the BAU and nobody knows he has a daughter btw I absolutely adore your writing it’s literally my favorite!

Aaron Hotchner x daughter!reader

Summary: Hard days are always made better by Hotchner hugs.

A/N: I fully admit that I am lacking in creativity at the moment and I don’t love the “secret family” trope, so this is just short and fluffy Hotch being the best dad

CW: reader gets her period, mentions of vomiting, suggestion that reader’s mother is Haley but could always be adopted or from another relationship

---

“Everyone has his day and some last longer than others.”

Well, you were having your day. And it was bad. Before the lunch bell rang for the day you’d already gotten a terrible night sleep, had Jack spill juice on your favorite top, been late for class, gotten locked out of your locker, tripped over your own feet causing you to face plant in front of the upperclassmen, and gotten your period.

It was safe to say that you were having a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day.

You riffled through your backpack, looking for the bottle of Advil to ease the cramps, but when you found it, it was empty. You cursed under your breath.

Terrible. Horrible. No Good. Very Very Bad Day.

With the knowledge that you’d be unable to get through the rest of the day without being in pain, you swallowed your pride and went to the nurse’s office.

“I’m going to have to call a parent or guardian to bring you something,” the older lady told you. “It’s against school policy for me to give students medication without a doctor's note. Is there someone I can call?”

Usually the answer would have been Jessica, but for once she was the guardian who was out of town.

“Yeah, um, my dad,” you said.

The nurse gave you a sympathetic look and left. She came back a few minutes later. “He’s on his way,” she informed you.

Feeling exhausted and uncomfortable, all you could do was nod.

---

When Hotch walked into the nurse’s office an hour later, he thought you might be on the verge of vomiting. While you tried to look as stoic as him, the paleness of your face gave away how you were actually feeling, and the guilt that he couldn’t get there sooner made his heart sink.

“Hey, sweetheart,” he greeted you, sitting next to you on the cot. He pulled a bottle of Advil from his pocket and handed it to you.

“Thanks.” Your hands were slow but your voice was grateful. “Sorry you had to drive all the way here.”

“No need to apologize.” He kissed your forehead before you downed the pills. You leaned into him slightly and he wrapped his arms around you. “I’m sorry I couldn’t get here sooner.”

“‘S not your fault,” your voice was muffled by his suit. You leaned into him and he held you gladly. Just like your mom, you’d always liked hugs, even more so when you hurt.

“Do you want to come to work with me?” he asked. “You can come lay on the couch in my office for the rest of the day.”

You didn’t even question it. “Yes, please."

He signed you out at the front desk. You got a few funny looks, probably doubts that your cramps were really bad enough that you needed the rest of the day off school, but nobody was going to question the glock on your dad's hip or the ID on his shirt.

He helped you into the car, always showing you how any future partner you have should treat you. By the time he climbed into the drivers side, you were already slumped against the door, fast asleep. A gentle smile crept over Hotch’s face as he tucked a loose strand of hair behind your ear, careful not to wake you, and then began driving to the office at Quantico.

---

“Do you need anything?” Your dad asked before he sat down at his desk.

You were curled up on the couch in his office, a warm cup of tea on the small table in front of you and a fuzzy blanket. Halfway through the drive, your dad had stopped to get your favorite food. You had your laptop out so you could relax and watch your favorite movies. Really, you had everything.

“A hug?” you requested. That was the one thing he’d never say no to. He sat beside you on the couch and pulled you into a hug- the safest feeling in the world. As he let go, he kissed your forehead and then pulled the blanket tighter around your shoulders.

You put the headphones on and turned on the movie. Your dad began his paperwork.

It was no longer a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day.

[nijisanji-brain-rot-fics]

xsoleil boys x reader || wedding day

a/n: im bored as hell now guys 😭 im just gonna like post a bunch of headcanon stuff LOL i might post like fanfics, but thats a maybe wwww ALSO ALSO starting to reaaally like the later waves of niji, so ill prob focus on mainly xsoleil, noctyx, iluna, etc. ill dribble in some luxiem from time to time, but like the other waves need attention too 🙌 i might do some of the fem waves, but im not sure how to write those LOL

HEX HAYWIRE

bro this man's voice makes my brain go haywire

anyways uh

would definitely just be like very happy and stoic during yalls wedding

he'd treat you like his pretty princess/prince

anyways uhhh he would be that kind of romantic person to like take your hand and kiss it once you go to the front

oh my lord, im struggling to find his green flags when all i listen to from his asmrs are the yandere ones

UHM...... i mean like reception would be cute, like he'd dance with you

like beauty and the beast vibes ykkk

help im genuinely struggling w anything thats positive about marrying him 💀

DOPPIO DROPSCYTHE

AWWW HED BE SMILING AND LIKE EXCITED

LIKE HE WOULD BE WAITING FOR YOU EXCITEDLY AT THE FRONT

i feel like doppio would just be generally so excited and happy hes finally marrying the person he loves so much

he would fix his hair JUST FOR THIS

this is also the only event he will never be late to

oh god he would be so nervous when the ceremony actually starts

like hes worried he'll mess up his parts or someone will object

BUT it probably wont happen and itll be a great wedding!!

reception!doppio would be fucking lit

HE WOULD BE THE LIFE OF THE PARTY

he'd already be making dad jokes even if he isnt a dad yet

i swear, he would be kissing your forehead or cheek every few minutes

oh my goodness, drunk doppio would be so sweet

like i can just imagine him getting tipsy while like the maid of honor and the groomsman doing their little speech things and him getting really emotional

VER VERMILLION

honestly, i think he would cry at yalls wedding

like, he just screams 'emotionally fragile man on occasion'

the second he sees you in your wedding dress/suit/wtv, he'll start tearing up knowing that yall r gonna be married

and he loves you ya know

he'd hide the fact he was tearing up when you get to the front www

five bucks, doppio would be stifling his laughter when he sees ver crying

reception would be wholesome

ver would be whispering things to you while you guys dance

and not just random things

like i mean in korean

yeah his cute ass voice when he talks in korean

the voice where you want to keel over and throw up because it's really goddamn adorable and kind of attractive because people who speak more than one language is always somewhat attractive

tipsy ver is something to live for

it doesn't always happen but when it does its either hilarious as fuck or really cute and wholesome

like when he gets drunk, there's a 50% chance he starts to emote on the dance floor with an equally drunk doppio

or he could be holding your hand the whole time and staying by your side

a/n: WWWW im sorry i half assed hex's hcs LMAO i just genuinely cant see something that isnt overly explicit or kinky that wouldnt happen on ur wedding so thats why his is like the shortest lmao 💀 errhmm yeah, also ver is my #1 oshi thats why he has like the uh longest one LMAO UHHM yeah whatever lols have a good timezone

[kate-m-art]

Gosh sorry that took me so long but! Dad Link, his little girl, and his Zelda too as a treat (little thing based on Edmund Leighton's painting "The Accolade".)

And for his story, decided to put what I have for now below the cut, it all may be tweaked a bit later but yknow

For Link, I think I mentioned before that he has Sheikah ancestry in a timeline where their people are pretty scattered. The guy still feels a certain loyalty to the crown even though Sheikah looking after and working the for the royals isn't a thing so far down the timeline. Link's fighting style is less "heroic knight" with broadsword and more lightfooted assassin, prefers bow/arrow + knifes over any kind of heavy weaponry and armor. Before meeting his wife and having their daughter, pretty sure he was involved in- don't want to say "shady" work but uh- he has a certain skill set and has been in a few fights.

Had some of the best years of his life, but lost his wife to an illness too soon, making a promise to her that he would take care of their little one and she'd never have to be alone. At the point we'd meet him, its just he and his daughter, Adelyna. They're very close and mean the world to each other.

For Zelda, she's the kingdom's queen at this point in her life. She comes across somewhat cold and stoic, but she's a compassionate person under it all. When she was younger, Zelda loved to travel, seeing both her kingdom and places beyond it, but eventually her hand was forced and she had to step up and take the throne.

My thought was that at the point we meet our heroes, theres deep political unrest in the kingdom, rumors of the cycle recurring soon, and whispers of threats against the queen. After an assasination attempt, the castle is put on lockdown and leaves Zelda feeling like a caged bird. Link catches wind of what's happening and feels a deep obligation to offer his service to her because of his heritage, but with tension so high it's unlikely they'd knowingly let a kid stay in the castle (even though with it on lockdown it's arguably one of the safest places to be.) Guy is pretty torn, he can't bring himself to leave his daughter somewhere where she cant reach him if she needs, she's already lost her mama, but it's also hard to sleep at night knowing the kingdom is being held together by a thread and his skills could make a difference (especially if, debating on it, but if he already has the triforce on his hand and *knows* things won't end well without him.) Since Adelyna already has an affinity for the fairy spell (her name means small winged one on purpose ajdjfk) he makes the decision to ask her to use it so she can come with him without too many questions (hero with a fairy companion is a tale as old as time and woven into many of the legends.)

Link works quickly and quietly, it's not long before he's accepted into the castle and assigned as a sort of personal bodyguard to the queen (think triforce helps with that, although he keeps it quiet as possible and theres few people there who know who he really is.) In a room with the queen, he lacks the intimidation factor of an armored knight and classic hero, but its a bit unsettling how good he is at watching from and moving in the shadows. In his time shadowing the queen, he starts to notice tiny oddities in some interactions she has and begins to piece together an inside plot and like gosh it's scary how good he is at taking people out without anyone knowing.

Then on personal side of his story, Adelyna uses her fairy form anytime she leaves their room, only dropping the spell when she and her dad are alone. It works for a while, but the crisis lasted longer than Link ever planned on. Muffled conversations coming from his room can only be ignored for so long though, but tbh i think what finally gave him away was singing his daughter to sleep quietly. I kind of think that the queen herself was coming to request something of him but paused to listen, the guys voice sounded much different than she'd ever heard it. Whether it was her old spark of curiosity getting the better of her or suspicion, I'm not sure, but she was pretty taken aback walking in to find Link's girl there w him.

He had been pretty quiet about himself, its his nature to not say more that needed, but the lady truly had no idea he had a family at all, much less that he was a widower and single father. Think when she gave him the chance to explain himself, it was the first time he saw the softer side of her, like she had of him not long earlier, and to his surprise she allowed both to stay as long as needed. With the secret out and forced proximity queen and bodyguard have, eventually the two are able to really open up and become close friends.

(I mean, friends at the very least, I haven't decided yet, but they may be more someday- both still have a lot of healing to go through before that someday comes. And ofc, little Adelyna grows on Zelda too. The fact the little reminds the queen of her younger, spunkier self (before Life happened and she was forced to be the pretty closed off person she is now) isn't the only reason, but it definitely doesn't hurt.)

And if you made it this far, a few extra sketches as a treat and a thank you <333

RIP the guys been found out

[savemeafruitjuice]

TMNT 2012 Headcannons Because I Can't Function Well Enough to Make a Fic

yeah I'm sorry for not being able to write super well rn,,, but I'll make headcannons to make up for it!

TMNT 2012 HCS! (Slight spoilers! Don't read if you haven't finished season 4!)

TW!: Some Swearing! (my bad)

why does he look like that- /j

Leo

Lee:

I feel like he's decently ticklish but hides it most of the time because of his "I want to look super professional and ninja-y" persona, but there are times when he can't help it.

Worst spot is probably his sides (I've seen this around and it just suits him)

Second worst is likely tied between his feet and underarms

After the battle with Shredder and his vocal cords were trashed, his laugh is much more raspy and doesn't get very loud. Shrieky giggles at most.

Hasn't effected his sensitivity though.

Will squirm like his life depends on it, but generally is sapped of his strength after a few seconds.

Splinter would tickle them as tots, but as they got older it became less and less common.

However, when Leo became more edgy and stoic, his dad came around to make sure he kept smiling.

Gets tickled the most by Splinter and Raph

If asked, won't downright admit to being ticklish, but definitely won't deny it if it's with someone he's comfortable with.

Karai had to do some serious coaxing to get him to let her, but after that she continuously pokes at him to catch him off guard, sometimes even full on tickling him until he can't remember his own name.

All ideas for attack and protection go out the window as soon as he's tickled

Just flops around a bunch

Can't take multiple lers at a time unless it's light tickling- he almost instantly crumbles

Gets really flustered hearing "the t-word"

He'll blush and stutter, looking all taken-aback

Will literally always get his ler back

Unless it's Splinter, he only tried that once as a tot- never again.

Ler

Big brother privileges galore

If Leo's in a good mood, he'll take any and every opportunity he can to wreck his siblings

Tickles all of his brothers equally, but it's really just a matter of who needs it the most, as well as who happens to fall into his sight.

Likes using cheer-up tickles- and needs to. (These poor children are so traumatized)

Tickles vary between scribbling and poking, to squeezing and wiggling his fingers.

Isn't suuuper ruthless, but his brothers still fear him.

Especially if they've made him mad.

If so, it's game over.

Is also very teasy.

Will avoid saying the word because it flusters him as well, but still makes sure to embarrass his little siblings to no end.

I feel like he'd laugh along with his lee, making notes on the silly faces and noises they make.

The most common reason of being forced to take his wrath is refusing to move from in front of the tv while he watches Space Heroes.

Likely a ler-leaning switch

Donnie

Lee:

Donatello looks like he's super ticklish.

And absolutely is.

Worst spots are underarms, thighs, and general stomach-area, but he's definitely ticklish everywhere

Screeches and flails when tickled no matter how light

Laugh is pretty loud, but his giggles are very light and airy.

Will beg the entire time, but doesn't actually mind being tickled all that much.

There was a time when April found out he was ticklish (she walked in on Mikey wrecking his shit) and joined in.

Let's just say his face had never been as red as it was then.

Is tickled the most for not sleeping for literal days straight, or for freaking out, but there are times when his brothers (+ April and sometimes Casey) just tickle him to mess with him.

If multiple people are tickling him, he just completely loses himself.

Don isn't able to formulate words, his face goes beet red, and will go limp after a while.

If April is tickling him, he is so terrified of accidentally hurting her that he just stops moving- complete bodily shut down.

He still laughs and pleads with her, but refuses to move an inch, barely even pulling him arms down to protect himself. He gets teased about it so much too.

That completely flips if it's his brothers though, slapping and punching and kicking so much that it's the main priority to pin him down, rather than actually tickle him.

Actually cries very easily when being tickled

Gave his fam a big scare the first time it happened

Cannot take teasing.

He will hide in his shell until he either feels safe again or is forced out.

Such forcing is done by giving him raspberries on his shell. (The method was discovered by Mikey, and was passed down to everyone they know)

Ler

I don't see him as much of a ler, but let's give it a shot anyways.

Isn't very teasy per se, but there are lots of little things he does that fluster his lee regardless.

Things like creeping his hands close to a tickle spot before actually getting it, pausing every once in a while, things like that.

Doesn't really say much, and kinda just stares at whoever he's tickling. Especially April.

After everyone started noticing this, he switched to giving compliments sometimes so it was less awkward.

Tickles Mikey and April the most, but it's still pretty rare.

Has pretty light tickles

Spidering, soft scratching, and tracing are his go to.

Has only tickled April a couple of times, but it didn't go on for very long because 1) He got too shy, 2) He didn't want to hurt her, and 3) She turns the tables every time.

In all the times he's tickled people, there was only a time or two that they didn't get him back.

Almost completely a lee.

Raph

Lee:

I'm not sure where his worst spot would be, but for sure has a really ticklish torso and neck. Also Underarms.

I love that he's canonically ticklish- it's just so wonderful.

Gets tickled the most by Mikey (much to his embarrassment), but Leo is a close second, followed by Mona.

His laugh is surprisingly high-pitched, making a prime topic for lighthearted bullying.

Attempts to hide his reactions, and does so fairly well, although there are certain things that absolutely make him crumble.

Fights and fights and fights until he's too tired to move.

Absolutely will not hesitate to knock a tooth loose or beat anyone who tries to tickle him, but there are two instances where he will restrain himself.

One of these instances is when it comes to Mona Lisa.

If she is tickling him, he'll wiggle around, but composes himself enough to not accidentally hurt her.

Both of them know there's no way he'd actually do any substantial damage, but better safe than sorry.

The other instance is if he really pisses Leo off.

This has only happened a couple of times, but it is extremely scary.

Raph pretty much accepts his fate.

There's still a struggle, but there is a significant decrease in the amount of effort he puts in to stop his older brother from tickling him.

Still stubborn af though.

Mikey was the one who found out he was ticklish and has been using it against him ever since, almost always resulting in Raph absolutely getting him.

Ler:

Despite the ler energy I've seen him with, I feel like he doesn't tickle people a whole lot.

Doesn't mean he isn't the scariest ler in the Hamato household.

When the tickle monster that is Raph is unleashed, all of his brothers cower.

Has a much rougher approach to tickling, leaving his lee a breathless mess on the floor

He's also extremely teasy, though it's more so sarcastic comments the entire time.

Running from this turtle is not an option. He can and will catch you every single time.

Donnie has learned this the hard way, very many times.

There's a pretty even balance as to who Raph tickles the most, but the most common to see tickly-interactions with is Casey.

Those two have tickle fights all the time.

Leo has rushed into the lair multiple times because of Casey's unholy screeching.

Tickles people the most for getting on his nerves or to get them to be quiet. (Mikey)

Has tried and failed to tickle Mona, and is still unsure to this day if she isn't ticklish, or just hides her reactions well.

Switch-leaning ler

stopp what is this gif 😳

Mikey

Lee:

Very ticklish boy.

Worst spots are neck, knees, and ribs

His laugh is loud enough to make his ler retract and cover their ears for a moment before continuing.

I think he absolutely loves using tickling as a way to mess with his bros or just have fun.

Is mainly tickled for being obnoxious, but April and Casey will get him more casually, exchanging pokes and squeezes every now and then.

That said, his main lers are April and Casey, followed by Raph.

Squirms around a bit, and tries to hide in his shell half of the time.

Isn't as stubborn as his brothers, but he has his moments.

Is more sensitive to physical teasing, such as wiggling fingers, etc.

Needs some kind of affection after being tickled, such as a hug, head-pats, even just some water will do.

If caught off-gaurd, he may accidentally punch his ler in the face. (It has happened on multiple occasions)

Is generally open to being tickled, but will get a little flustered if asked about it directly.

Ler:

Pesters his brothers All. The. Time.

Loves to sneak up behind them when they're not paying attention and poke them or wiggle his fingers into their side.

Is the only one of the four to incorporate tickling into every day life.

Seriously, he'll sneak it into training to gain the upper hand, (it never works for long but A for effort) cheer-up tickles after a tough mission, even declares tickle fights sometimes!

A very quick tickler, rapidly changing spots and moving his fingers at terrifying speeds.

Gets extremely full of himself when he takes someone down, teasing and laughing galore, though this is usually his downfall.

Tickles Raph and Donnie the most often, Raph just to annoy him, and Donnie to initiate a tickle fight, or to make him relax.

Casey is slightly rarer to see, but that's because he mostly hangs around Raph and Donnie.

Loves playing chase before getting his lee.

Also will tag-team with April to get his nerd brother, secretly being a wingman to up his ego in April's eyes.

Makes goofy noises when tickling people to make them laugh more, and it works a lot of the time.

A full switch

Geez, I apologize for not responding very much, my mental health is seriously kicking my butt, but I'm still holding things together so far! Next on my to-do list is lee 2012 Raph, so I'll see what story I can put together for you all. I hope you all are doing well and have a wonderful day/night!

[buterccup]

"O sol e a lua."

Summary: You've been talking to Alejandro, Rudy and the rest of 141 recently about your 'small' crush on a certain skull balaclava-wearing lieutenant and they (mostly Alejandro) decide to help you talk to the stoic man.

Warnings: Fluff, Mistakes and possibly ooc, my bad Spanish, intrusive thoughts (only for a bit)

Character(s): Simon "Ghost" Riley x Gn!reader

Song: o sol e a lua - pequeno cidadão

Codename: Seraph (May change suddenly because I have no good ideas)

You never thought that you would feel this way for someone you usually never talked to. Even since you first joined task force 141 you always felt nervous around your Lieutenant. Maybe it was because of his mask and how it covered his face from showing you whatever he was thinking, or maybe it was because of his anti-social nature and always staying in the shadows.

You only ever spoke to him if needed to. But recently you both have been talking more and now with all of this drama with Hassan and now this sudden betrayal from Shepard and Graves you noticed you see your Lieutenant as more than a friend. But you hardly ever got the courage to tell him anything about it.

Until today.

You've started to talk about your feelings for a certain skull mask-wearing Lieutenant to the rest of 141 along with Alejandro and Rudy. Each member of 141 tried to get you to talk to Ghost about your feelings but it always ends up failing. Now it was Alejandro's turn, and if he was completely honest he cringed at the sad excuse of plans the task force made up.

"Vamos amigo now's your chance." Alejandro's voice would encourage you as you stood at the opposite side of the room of the safehouse from Ghost.

"I don't know..." you muttered as you look over to him, your lips tugging down into a frown. What if he laughs at you? What if he doesn't want to talk to you again? What if he only talked to you because he felt bad for your ass?

"If you don't do it now ¿cuándo lo harás?" Alejandro's voice grabs your attention, his hands on your shoulders as he talked to you. His voice was soft as he looked into your eyes. He was right, this might be the only time you will get to talk to him about this.

To think this was making your knees feel weak considering your job...

"Okay, I'll do it." taking in a deep breath and puffed up your chest as you felt a hard slam on your back from Alejandro.

"You can do it, sol!" he would cheer you on once again, the little nickname making you smile as you slowly made your way to Ghost. This little scene grabbing the attention of Soap, Price, Rudy and Gaz.

"proyecto lua"

"Is it happen-"

"SHH"

here we go!...

"Ghost!" your voice would call out to the tall man making him look over at your shorter form, a bright smile on your face but your eyes said something different.

"Seraph." The man would reply with a small smile tugging on his lips from under his mask.

"I want to tell you something." you could feel your heart pound in your chest but also feel like you were going to throw up at the moment, "Do tell." Ghost would say as you took in deep breath to calm down your nerves.

"you remind me of the moon" you quickly reply, a laugh leaving you once you finished your sentence, leaving a curious Ghost to guess why you thought so. "Really?"

This is when you started to feel you hands get clammy and the butterflies in your stomach, you are doing so well you can do it!

Meanwhile, Alejandro and the rest of 141 were watching intently, encouraging you on in their own ways. Soap and Gaz were making hand gestures not being able to wait any longer while Alejandro was smiling. Proud he got you this far while Rudy cheered you on quietly as Price nodded his head like a proud dad and tried to get the boys to leave with him.

"Yup! I find the moon amazing, I love it, plus I like how mysterious it is...that is why..." you could feel your hands start to shake as you looked up into Ghost's eyes, beautiful dark brown, "You remind me of the moon..."

And in return, you received a grunt from Ghost.

"I like you too, sun."

Requests: Open

[sotwk]

Got any headcanon about how Oropher gave Thranduil his blessing to marry the future queen of Mirkwood?

Hi Nessa!

In my SotWK AU, Oropher and Thranduil had a somewhat challenging relationship. Oropher was a good father and Thranduil was a dutiful son (for the most part), but they had opposing personalities, and as a result, they clashed often. And I love Thranduil, but I would have to say he was a *bit* too much of a rebel in his Elven youth, and his dad was just trying his best at single parenting while setting up and running a fledging kingdom.

SotWK AU Headcanon: About Oropher and Thranduil

While the father and son disagreed over many things, the only thing that actually caused a temporary yet lengthy estrangement between them was Thranduil's choice of wife. This happens in the SotWK AU because that choice of wife happened to be a Noldor of Fëanorian descent: Lady Maereth, the granddaughter of Maglor.

Oropher dislikes, perhaps even hates, the Noldor, and definitely with good reason. His wife was killed in the (Second) Sacking of Doriath, so when Oropher screamed, "have you lost your *bleeping* mind??" when Thranduil said he wished to propose marriage to Maereth, he was well within his rights. Okay, Oropher might not have said it in those exact words, but it was quite a dramatic scene.

And it's true--it's an insane thought! The Sons of Fëanor caused Lady Meluiel's (oc, Thranduil's mother) death and Thranduil wants to marry the granddaughter of one of them?!

So. Blessing to marry the Elvenqueen? Did not come for a very, very long time. Like, about 1,400 years from first time Thranduil asked for the blessing, to the time Oropher finally gave it. (And their estrangement lasted that long.)

What finally changed Oropher's mind? The same thing that allowed Thranduil to fall in love with someone whose parentage should have prevented him from doing so: he gave her a chance. After spending enough time with her, Oropher got to know Maereth for her own self, not for who her grandfather was. (Meanwhile, her parents were actually really good people.) And what Maereth was, was a wise, kind-hearted, gentle lady whose love inspired Thranduil to be a better prince and future king.

Finally, when it became clear that Thranduil was not going to change his mind about pursuing Maereth, Oropher decided to support his son's controversial choice instead of fighting him over it. But there remained the bigger obstacle of getting the King's Council, the other powerful nobles of the realm, to accept a Noldor as future Queen.

Oropher had a keen political mind, and he knew that if Thranduil were to inherit the throne one day, he needed as much support and goodwill from the other lords (many of them Sindar who came from Doriath) of the realm as possible. Prince Thranduil of the Second Age was brash and hasty and not as politically savvy as his father, and so Oropher needed to guide him at this stage to prevent the fallout from taking Maereth as the Crown Princess.

Before Oropher finally gave Thranduil his blessing to marry Maereth (fun fact, Thranduil had already asked Maereth twice without waiting to be blessed--but she turned him down, and Oropher's opposition was a big reason why), he persuaded his son to accept certain terms negotiated by the King's Council. These terms (mentioned in my fic, "The Crown") set explicit limits on the powers that Maereth might have as the future Queen of the realm. Thranduil was certainly not pleased by this, but Oropher managed to convince him to make the compromise, advising him that Maereth could later win the people to her side and force a change to those terms.

Ultimately, Oropher would be proven right. Upon his father's death, Thranduil grieves that he may not have appreciated him more. It becomes clear that the stern and stoic Oropher always looked out for and protected his son in less obvious ways, and did everything out of a desire to see Thranduil safe and happy.

SotWK Fancast: Jason Isaacs as Oropher

Elves HC Tag List: @a-world-of-whimsy-5 @achromaticerebus @acornsandoaktrees @aduialel @asianbutnotjapanese @auttumnsayshi @blueberryrock @conversacomsmaug @elan-ho-detto-elan-15 @entishramblings @freshalmondpandadonut @fizzyxcustard @friendofthefellowshipsnerdblog @glassgulls @heilith @heranintomyknife23times @ladyweaslette @laneynoir @lathalea @lemonivall @LiliDurin @quickslvxrr @ratsys @spacecluster @stormchaser819 @talkdifferently6 @tamryniel @tamurilofrivendell @warriormirkwood

Other useful links:

Introduction to SotWK

Fanfiction Masterlist

Fanfiction Request Guidelines

[regular-lord-reckoner]

Today’s definitely a rough one. This is the first time I haven’t gotten my dad something for Father’s Day. Something I used to worry over because he would rarely tell you anything he wanted or needed, but it never seemed to matter in the end because he always loved whatever I would come up with and I always got to give him a big hug. I miss him so goddamn much.

I‘ve been thinking about him a lot lately and how grateful I feel to have had him as a father. He accepted me in a way few people can and like my mom always said, he let us be us.

He loved sharing in other people’s joy and congratulating them on their success, but he also gave grace and understanding during the hard times. He also taught me a lot about boundaries and what you will and won’t tolerate from others, even those you love the most or who say they love you.

He taught me a lot about people and the world and even when I disagreed with him or pushed back he made room for my perspective (and, like most children, I suppose, I’m realizing more and more every day how right he was about some things…not all, though! And I hope one day we get to continue our debates).

He was a man of integrity and honesty and I feel incredibly fortunate to have spent the time that I did with him. I’ve been thinking a lot of the trips we went on, especially the one to Chicago for one of my mom’s work trips.

While she had to go to lectures my dad and I took on the city and had so much fun just wandering around while he told me about all the architecture and we visited museums and the aquarium together.

I miss those moments. I miss him messaging me with things like, “Breakfast?! It’s here!!” and our Panera trips. I miss taking him to his appointments and sharing our music with each other during our travels. I miss him calling me over to his laptop so I could read some article he’d just found and he’d say, “Now, what do you think about that?” and I’d usually have a take that made him laugh real big.

He was a warm, gentle presence always there by my side all throughout my life and I like to think he’s still that even now.

He loved yellow flowers the best, especially sunflowers, and I feel like everywhere I go now I see yellow flowers and especially sunflowers. They’ve probably always been there, but it’s like the first time I’m really seeing them and always right when I need reassurance I’ll spot one.

I’ve always been big on the butterfly thing as well and have felt like Ashley’s paid me a visit like that many times, but this year I’ve noticed a big yellow butterfly that meets me often now whenever I’m outside and I like to think that’s him.

There are also two butterflies that like to hang out by the pool. One that’s pretty stoic and calm and the other that dances all around and is full of energy. I always say hi and thank them for coming to visit and they always just hang out for a good while before fluttering off to some new adventure.

It is hell on earth to lose people you love, especially this early on in life, but I want to do more to keep both of them alive in my memory and so I thank you for letting me ramble a while about my dad, aka Full Cup also known as Poppy.

The last thing he said to me was that I was going to have a good life and he said it with so much conviction that I believe him and it’s something I hold on to during my hardest days. Through that and all of his lessons and time he spent with me I still have him by my side and that’s a very precious gift. Thank you, Dad. This is our first Father’s Day apart but I hope Ashley’s got you something going on y’all’s end and I hope it’s spectacular!! Happy Father’s Day, Full Cup. I love you to the moon and back 💚🌙✨🌻🦋

[abbatoirablaze]

Out Of Time, Steve Rogers

Word Count:  2.3k

Warnings:  angst, mentions of miscarriages

“Bucky, I’m tired...can’t we do this another day?  I’m so tired...and I just want to be home and in my bed!” you whined as you leaned against the passenger’s side window.  Bucky chuckled, and your brow lifted as you gave him the side-eye, “What are you laughing at, Barnes?”

“Nothing...you just reminded me of the good ole days, doll...back when my dad and my ma would take me and my siblings upstate camping in the summertime when we were little...and my sisters would always complain about the long drive...or like when the one time me and Steve went to Rockaway Beach and we had to hide in the back of a freezer truck to get home...god he was miserable...and beyond mad at me because I met this red-head and I was trying to impress her...so I blew through our money on some games trying to win her a stuffed animal,” he mused, “oh, and the one time we used our train money to buy  hot dogs instead, because of...it’s not important...why are you smiling at me, doll?”

“Since when did you start calling me doll?” you teased, leaning on the center console to look at the man who was driving.  You ignored the slight twinge in your stomach as you gazed wondrously at the normally stoic man that was your boyfriend’s best friend.

“Why are you looking at me like that, doll?” he repeated once more.

“You know, you never talk about your life with me...I mean, I’ve heard stories from Steve, but...it’s nice that you’re opening up...you know, after how long we’ve known each other.”

“I’ve been alive a long time...we haven’t known each other that long!”

“Well it’s a long time to me...” you admitted, “I don’t know how much Steve’s told you, but I’m not really used to people sticking around...”

“He’s mentioned it.”

“I guess it’s just nice that you’re kind of opening up and talking to me with a smile on your face instead of a babysitting job when Steve’s on a mission.”

He gave a solemn huff, “don’t get used to it, doll.”

“Like I shouldn’t get used to you calling me doll?” you asked.  He looked at you momentarily while the two of you came to a halt at a red light, and you stared right back, trying to read through his almost impenetrable gaze.  He fought off the smile that wanted to come forward.  You were just as hard-headed and brazen as Steve was...only you never had a best friend like him.  You made your way through the world alone, “you know, Steve told me that you would end up doing this...that you’d open up to me eventually.”

“That punk doesn’t know what he’s talking about!” Bucky chuckled, unable to stop the smile from spreading across his face this time, “you and him are like two peas in a pod though, I’ll give you that.”

“Because we can both crack through that hard-ass exterior?”

“Because you’re both stubborn idiots!” he retorted.

There was a slow silence that built up in the car as he started back up once more.  You sighed, and turned back towards the window; the cool glass doing very little to soothe the warmth you were feeling.  Your own body heat began to fog up the glass once more, and you found yourself drawing little patterns on the fog while your other hand absentmindedly went to your stomach. 

“I miss him, you know...”

“He’ll be home soon, doll...he’s just on a mission.” Bucky answered calmly, his heart breaking ever so slightly as he glanced at you through his peripherals, “you know what it’s like to see one of us at any given time...Steve’s really protective of you and-“

“You didn’t have to go on that mission...”

“People aren’t always keen on the former winter soldier going into their country...” he frowned, his gaze returning back to the road as he looked away from you, “and this is one of those countries.  So, Steve is with Sam...and Yelena...”

You gave him a sad look, before returning your attention to the strings of your sweatpants, “thanks for coming with me today...I-I know that you don’t agree with mine and Steve’s relationship, but-“

“You’re his dame, doll...and he’s my best friend,” he shrugged, trying not to make a big deal of coming to get you, “And Dr. Cho said that it was important.  And I never said that I didn’t agree with you and Steve...doing whatever that it is that you’re doing...”

“D-did Steve tell you what it was about?”

He nodded, “not that it’s any of my business...but I think it’s a very...considerate thing of you to be doing something like that...you and Steve have only been together for a short time...and-“

“Bucky, Steve and I have been together for five years,” you reminded him, “that’s not a short time.”

“It is when you’re over a hundred,” he pointed out, “but regardless, I think you choosing to undergo these procedures is difficult.  Sweet, but difficult.  Most people wouldn’t ever consider something like this.  I mean...when they gave Walker the serum, he went through a lot of changes...and your body is going to go through a lot too...and you’re only in the beginning stages of it...honestly, I’m surprised Steve was okay with it.”

“If this is anything like the birds and the bees talk, you can just stop it right now.”

He cracked another smile, and his hand fell to your thigh.  You watched it for a moment, feeling the heat tickle your flesh even through the sweats. 

Just the simple touch of his hand felt like an additional pressure on your skin, one that you didn’t know how to process.

“Bucky...”

Your head felt even lighter as he looked at you, his steely blue orbs seeming somehow lighter, more playful. 

“Yeah, doll?”

“I-I don’t feel so good,” you muttered softly, admitting to how you felt much more different than you did when you first got into the car.  Bucky frowned, his brows furrowing as his hand left your thigh and travelled up to your forehead.  You went to push his hand away, “stop.  What are you doing?”

“Feeling for your temp,” he muttered softly, “stop moving around, doll.  This is important.  Cho said to watch out for a fever.  If-”

“You’re too warm,” you whimpered softly, feeling the heat practically radiating off of him, “Bucky, why do you feel too warm?”

“Cho did give you a small injection of the serum...but you-you didn’t have a reaction...Walker had a reaction when-“

“Bucky...I’m scared,” you admitted softly, looking into his eyes as you cut him off.  The light, playful air had faded from between the two of you, and he had gone into a stern, stoic look once more.  You reached out and took his hand against yours.  It felt like his touch was searing itself into your flesh, but you needed the comfort more than you cared about the pain, “why does everything feel too warm?  What’s happening to me?”

“Don’t worry doll,” he said quickly, “I’m turning around and we’re going back to the tower.  We’ll get this figured out.”

“Do-don’t leave me,” you begged, nuzzling into his hand.  He frowned when he felt your tears hitting his hand, “Bucky, I can’t be alone...I-I don’t want to be alone back there.”

“I won’t leave you doll,” he promised softly, “I’ll be with you every step...and you’ll be okay.  I promise.”

Steve looked at his best friend, sitting beside his girlfriend’s bed.  His heart ached as he heard the machines, beeping in a steady rhythm. 

You hadn’t moved since the night that Bucky brought you back in. 

Tony had admitted to him that something had gone wrong the second he was on board the quinjet.  And he’d felt too many emotions all at once while he raced to put in the coordinates to get him back to you.

“What the hell do you mean, ‘there was an accident?’  What happened to Bunny?”

“Steve, calm dow-“

“Don’t tell me to calm down, Sam,” Steve growled, looking at Sam momentarily before he turned his attention back to the monitor, “Tony’s telling me that my girlfriend is in some sort of coma, and has been for the better part of two weeks!   That’s not something I can be calm about!”

“She didn’t have an initial reaction, so Cho let Barnes take her back to her apartment,” he frowned across the video call, “it was during the ride back to her place that-“

“Didn’t have a reaction?” Steve hissed, “didn’t have a reaction to what?  What the hell was she seeing Cho for?”

Tony’s brows furrowed.  He opened his mouth to speak, but his words failed him.

“Spit it out, Stark!”

“Steve...your girlfriend agreed to undergo taking the super soldier serum...she was given an introductory dose, as well as some high-level frequen-“

“SHE WHAT?”

Bucky nearly jumped out of his seat when he heard Steve opening the door. 

He dropped your hand. 

Steve looked over his best friend.

Bucky clearly hadn’t left her bedside in the better part of the week and had to have been sitting in clothes that were aged at least a few days beyond what they should have been at.  A soft scruff covered his jaw, and his eyes looked bloodshot and sad. 

“I tried to protect her, Steve...”

“You let her take the serum.”

“She said that you knew,” he frowned, “she said that...”

“She said what, Buck?” he growled, the look passing over to his friend.

“She told me about the miscarriages, Steve,” Bucky frowned, looking back over to your unconscious body, “how Cho figured out that the two of you couldn’t conceive because her body couldn’t carry a baby to term...because of what you are.  She told me that you knew...it wasn’t until she-it wasn’t until after she seized and Cho said she had to be put under that she blurted out that she never really told you she was going to do the procedure.”

Steve took a sharp breath in.

He hadn’t told a soul about the miscarriages.

“She told you?”

Bucky nodded, a tear slipping down his cheek, “she told me that you and her have been trying for a few years...that you guys can’t ever get past the first trimester because her body rejects the pregnancy...that the baby grows too quickly for her body to sustain it and it just...she loses it.”

Steve sniffled, tears welling up in his own eyes as he took a few steps towards your bed.  A tear slipped down his cheek as his hands grazed over the blanket.  He was gentle in how his hand touched yours, acting as though the slightest connection would somehow hurt you further, “Cho suggested it when we went to her the last time...said that it could help...but I never wanted her to have to deal with this sort of life, Buck...look at what we are.  She’d have to see it all too...they’d want to use her too!”

“She loves you, Steve...”

Steve shook his head, “she’ll watch every member of her family die, Buck...she’ll outlive her siblings’ children...and maybe even their children...even if she could give birth to our children, there’s nothing saying that those genes would be dominant...and she might outlive them.  You know how the serum is unpredictable, Buck.  I was on ice for seventy years and it looks like I barely aged...in the twenty plus years we’ve been out...Buck...Sam looks older than us now.  Tony’s daughter is a teenager and he’s already passed on his Iron Man mantle...Natasha is gone...and Yelena is in her place.  Kate took over for Clint.  Things aren’t what they once were when we woke up, Buck.  We’re men taken out of time itself...I don’t want her to have to deal with that.”

“She wanted to...for you, punk!” he scoffed, slightly angered by how he didn’t seem to consider your feelings, “and as far as her family...we’re her family.  You know that they don’t care about her.  In your five years together have you ever met them more than once?”

“Well I didn’t want that for her, Buck!” he growled, ignoring his best friend’s question.

“Well then, it’s a good thing it was her decision,” Bucky growled, shaking his head, “you know how much she wanted to do this for you, Steve?  What she had to consider before she agreed to it?  I was there when Cho went over everything that could happen to her when she received the initial and full doses...she knows of the risks.  She knows of-“

“AND HOW DID THAT WORK OUT, BUCK?” Steve yelled at his best friend, cutting him off while he pointed to the hospital bed where you lay, “THE WOMAN I LOVE, THE WOMAN OF MY DREAMS IS UNCONSCIOUS IN A BED AND MIGHT NEVER WAKE UP.”

“She thought it was better than dying on you one day, Steve.  She wanted to see the rest of her life...with you.  And she wanted you to see the rest of your life, with her!”

“AND YET HER LAST MOMENTS WERE WITH YOU!” Steve spat, “she was so worried about our future, and giving me what she thought that I wanted, she didn’t consider that the serum could also take it all away.  I had Erskine’s formula.  He perfected it.  You had Hydras.  Walker was the only other person who had Shield’s version...it was a combination of both of us, Buck...and it destroyed him!”

“She was willing to take that risk...”

“And look where it got her?” he sobbed.  He walked past his friend and sat in the chair, grabbing onto your hand.  His body wracked with sobs as he leaned against it, his head hitting the soft mattress, “why did you do this, Bunny?  Why did you have to go and do this?”

[gingerjunhan]

hii gjh !!

hope you've been taking care of yourself, and taking your delulu pills (cuz I certainly haven't been)

I neeeed to know your thoughts on XDH OT6 with a energetic partner? I don't wanna say they give off total folder retriever puppy vibes, but just like a extroverted bubbly partner?

heart eyes for them, much love

🎲 anon

☆彡 hiiii 🎲anon! Thank you for sending this request in! This is both for you can for my lovely 🧈anon, since you both requested something similar! I hope you both enjoy, and sorry it took so long

word count: 964 | pronouns used: none | genre: fluff, established relationship | cws: (fake) proposal w/ Jiseok, not proofread, lmk if I missed something!

goo gunil

I think Gunil would LOVE an energetic, bubbly partner 🥹

he’s constantly cracking jokes and trying to make people laugh so when you two are together you’re basically laughing nonstop!!

I also do think that since he’s the oldest of the group, having a really bubbly partner would probably put him into Dad Mode™️ sometimes?

yes he loves laughing and goofing off with you but maybe sometimes he feels the need to take the reigns as the “responsible” one

that’s not a bad thing!

it sets up a really good dynamic between the two of you

if he’s in a more “serious” mood you can easily get him out of it

he just loves how bright your personality is :(

you never ever fail to cheer him up when he’s upset, and the same goes for you too!

Gunil and a really giggly partner would have SUCH a good dynamic together- there would never be a dull moment!

kim jungsu

Jungsu strikes me as the opposite of Gunil

while Gunil is typically silly with serious moments, Jungsu is often serious with some silly moments sprinkled throughout

he’s Mom Mode™️, if I may

so I think having an energetic partner would be great for Jungsu!

I mean, c’mon… look at his dynamic with Jiseok…

you would remind him that it’s okay to take a breather and have some fun once in a while!

to me Jungsu is very stoic, and you would definitely be able to crack that facade

I think an energetic partner would bring out a side of Jungsu that not many people would get to see

he definitely lets loose when he’s with you

he would probably be a little more talkative and outgoing!

your bubbly energy would definitely bring out the bubbly energy in him as well

kwak jiseok

you and Jiseok together would be unstoppable in my opinion

once one of you gets going with the jokes it would be hard to stop

truly the happiest couple I’ve ever seen

everything you do is hilarious

never a moment to catch your breath because you will always be laughing

late nights spent between the two of you laughing at literally nothing

the inside jokes the two of you would share would be so intricate and weird that absolutely nobody else would get them

if one of you suggests doing something the other would automatically be down to do it, no questions asked

oh? what’s that? you want to go thrift old, fancy clothes and wear them into a really nice restaurant, maybe even faking a proposal or a birthday to try and con from free dessert out of the chefs? Jiseok is literally running to put on his shoes

you would constantly be there to support one another

you are each other's number one fan

you + Jiseok = the sunniest relationship I’ve ever seen

oh seungmin

Seungmin my love

I feel like you could get him into some trouble

you would be so happy and down to do anything all the time

and I feel like, with a little persuading, Seungmin could be the same way

“I’m sorry, baby, I have work to do.” :(

five minutes later he’s putting his shoes on, ready for an adventure

you just seemed too excited when suggesting going out that he couldn’t say no!!

he would be the black cat to your golden retriever I’ll say it 🤞🏻

he would just be so chill next to you while you’re bouncing off the walls with excitement

but at the end of the day you’re just two nerds /pos

I also think, much like Jungsu, you could bring out a more energetic side of Seungmin!

you work together nicely; you energize him and he kinda chills you out

(until you get excited about something again and he can’t help but to stop and listen because he loves you)

han hyeongjun

I think Hyeongjun could be a little intimidated by an energetic partner at first!

he gives me the vibe that he would be very shy at the start of a relationship

so seeing how bubbly you are he would almost feel the need to try and keep up?

(just give him time okay he’ll get there)

I feel like you would be dragging him by the hand to go out and do ANYTHING but he will happily comply because look at you! you’re just so excited!

once he finally warms up to you and your bubbly antics I think you guys would have a great dynamic!

every now and then he would hit you with one really good comment or joke and you would just light up

I’m sorry but imagine him practicing and you just start shredding on the air guitar to make him laugh

“I’m just like you!”

“You should keep practicing.”

it would probably be more of a teasing relationship, but it’s all in good fun :)

lee jooyeon

oh boy

Jooyeon

you two together would be the relationship that would make the others cower in fear

you are both. so. LOUD.

laughing at inappropriate times 💀

having a very niche sense of humor

too much energy 🤝🏻 too much energy

constantly picking on and teasing the others

you basically live in each other’s heads

you swear you can communicate telepathically

granted, Jooyeon can have serious moments, but with you around they are short lived

you make long, elaborate plans with each other constantly

even if you never execute the plans, you still make them

you have planned many cross country trips or made up strange stories together

you would probably have all the same interests because once one of you gets excited about something you instantly have to tell the other all about it, and then they get excited too

not only would you and Jooyeon be partners, but you would also be best friends!! 🫶🏻

taglist: @dazzlingligth , @mini-mews , @mxlly143 , comment to be added!⁎⁺˳✧༚

[sparklyslug]

I've never watched the mandalorian but your past dinluke reblogs have got me Very Interested. Obviously they never meet in the show (or am i really out of the loop?) so like what's the deal with the pairing? where does it come from?

ANON! I am happy to tell you that they DO IN FACT MEET IN THE SHOW! Short version (possibly full of inaccuracies because I watched it a while ago): season 2 of the mandalorian ends with baby yoda putting out a magical force call for other Jedi—a call answered by one badass Jedi master Luke Skywalker, who arrives just in the nick of time to fuck up a bunch of bad guys and save baby yoda and Mando from almost certain death and defeat. Luke offers to take baby yoda away to train him in the ways of the force, and Mando (VERY EMOTIONALLY) removes his helmet so that BY can get one last look at his dad’s face.

In the show the Book of Boba Fett (which honestly about halfway through became the Mandalorian season 2.5, kinda disrespectful to Boba but there you go) we see Luke and BY training, and BY’s ultimate decision to go back to his dad, with Luke’s blessing (something along the lines of how Luke would give anything for more time with his father, I got v emotional about it honestly EDIT SORRY that wasn’t in the show that was commentary but still wow my heart). I haven’t watched Mando s3 yet so I don’t know if that’s it for Luke or not, from my descent into madness of literally the last 48 hours I gather he doesn’t show up again.

SO YEAH that’s the canon context. I think there’s also much made of the old enmity between Jedi and the Mandalorians, the respective attitudes towards foundlings/younglings, and the mandalorian tendency to get horned up over great warriors who are also passionate defenders of their family and young. And they’re both adherents to a creed, both with some complexity and dysfunction and the need to decide what adhering to that creed means for each of them personally, which is fascinating. And the good ol single dads sharing custody dynamic, with a heaping side of “the apparently grouchy stoic one is actually a sweetheart and the seemingly sunshine cheerful one is actually a huge bitch” which is SUPER DUPER MY FAVE.