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hvreticz · 11 months

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VIRGINS PARTY (ethan landry x fem!reader)

WARNINGS : MINORS DNI, drunk sex, first time, ethan and reader are virgins (they both are bold), mutual masturbation, p in v, protected sex (ALWAYS), kind of dirty talk, smut with plot, hair pulling, it’s like soft smut it’s their first time but ethan is whipped (lmk if there’s something i missed)

NOT PROOFREAD

words count :

summary : You’re at a party playing truth or dare while drunk and things turns out unexpectedly hot.

a/n : virgin!ethan gives me butterflies (+sub!ethan)

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The music was extremely loud when you entered that frat party, you weren’t the type to go out a lot but when you did, it was always awkward at first. You scanned the crowd of drunk people in hope of recognizing one of your friends -who invited you- and saw chad at the other side of the room, talking with a guy who appeared as awkward as you.

You quickly walked to them and greeted them

“hi guys!” you screamed so both of the boys could hear you, chad screamed hi in return and the other boy looked at you, doing a shy hi from his hand. Now that you were looking at him, you recognized that it was the guy from your econ class, who’s like 2 seats in front of you. Not knowing what to say, that’s the only subject of conversation that came to your mind.

“You have econ right ? i saw you yesterday!” you said and chad gave you the biggest side eye and left, he wasn’t there to talk about school

“what ?” said the boy, frowning his eyebrows, he couldn’t hear shit with that loud music and bended forward to hear you. The proximity made your heart skip a beat. why was that hot ? you thought. You cleared your throat and spoke louder “i asked if you had econ ! i think we’re in the same class !”

“oh…yeah !” the boy looked at you, as if he was searching in his memory if he saw you before, the proximity of your faces made him blush slightly. “yeah i recognize you, saw you a couple of times!” the boy added without saying anything else and the two of you just kept looking at each other, nodding your head while listening to the music -which was awful by the way- and you quickly changed the conversation before the feeling of awkwardness could creep under your skin.

“want a drink ?” you asked, and Ethan looked at you with big round puppy eyes, eyebrows furrowed in a shocked expression. He wasn’t the type to drink but being asked so gently, he felt like refusing would make things weirder “sure ?” he said in a tone, and you didn’t know if he was asking or confirming but you grabbed two red cups anyways, bringing it to him but before you could sip on your cup, chad come beside you and got an arm around your shoulder while his other hand grabbed the boy shoulder.

“we are playing a game of truth or dare, you guys should play, would loosen y’all up.” and with that, he both grabbed you and manhandled the both of you into a room. There was some other people you never saw and some from his friend group. You all sat in a circle and the pretty boy sat next to you, softly smiling and chad spoke

“okay so i’ll start, Tara” he spoke and the girl raised her head “truth or dare?” the girl faked thought about it “dare” she said and you looked at the people around you, it was all the type to ask some dumb shit about running naked or things like that, that game could go wrong very quickly, you thought. “Kiss the hottest person from the room” chad said and the boy next to you rolled his eyes “don’t roll you eyes ethan, we all know you couldn’t do this.”

so his name was ethan…you thought to yourself and he whispered a faint ‘whatever’ and without the music, his voice was ten times more attractive than before, this was going to be hard. While you were lost in your thoughts, some rounds had already passed ans some people left the room, wanting to go back to the party.

A girl waved her hand towards you. “what’s your name pretty girl?” the girl asked, think her name was anika, as you could remember the names quickly now since you weren’t that much anymore ; just chad and his friends, plus you.

“truth or dare?”fuck, you weren’t prepared to be asked so soon and drank a sip of your cup to calm your nerves as everyone looked at you. “dare?” you said with the same hesitation as the boy earlier, not really super if it was a great choice. “oooh she’s bold” said chad and anika have him a slap on the back of his head before continuing “i dare you….” she said as she looked at the people in the room “to kiss ethan!” she said proudly and ethan chocked on his drink, already burning his face in his cup before making even bigger eyes and looking at you.

“you don’t, you don’t have to do it if you don’t want to” said the boy and it made your heart melt, kinda. “Do you?” you asked and ethan cheeks grew redder as a laugh escaped chas lips “we’re just, gonna leave you guys do it, ethan’s a little virg—“ chad couldn’t finish his sentence before the sore closed, leaving you both in the room.

alone

You could faintly hear the music that was played from downstairs : the Weeknd.

you looked at ethan who was already looking at you, his heart pounding in his chest. he almost wondered if you were able to hear it. you slowly got to him, straddling him but not touching any part of his body, looking in his eyes. “Can i?” you asked softly and put your hands on his cheeks and ethan couldn’t even speak, he just nodded and you guys kissed. It was sloppy at first, ethan didn’t know what to do with his hands and just put them on your waist, squeezing slightly as you both deepened the kiss, his tongue brushing against your lips and you let him enter, releasing a soft sight as you closed the space between your bodies, your covered ass on his front while your hands were in his hair, slowly pulling.

Ethan let out a groan and you pulled away “did i do something bad?” you asked and ethan looked at you, pupils blown “no ! no no- i really enjoy this, really.” he said before closing the gap between you guys lips again, feeling his pants tighten while he slowly reverse the position, you being laid on the floor, your arms supporting you as ethan was on top of you, kissing you deeper and his kiss got down to your neck, you were growing absolutely red and it was so sensual you thought it wasn’t humanly possible to be that hot.

“it’s my first time” ethan babbled in between kiss and your stomach made a knot, not of fear ; that information made you even more aroused. “me too” you slowly whispered and you both looked at each other “maybe doing it on the floor isn’t the best idea…” you said while laughing and ethan laughed back before getting up, helping you get on your feet. For your chance, the bed wasn’t far away and you both literally jumped on it and jumped on each other, more eager than before. “i need you” was all ethan whispered before you sat him on the bed and sat on top of him, kissing him and throwing your shirt away, as ethan did the same with his. You both started to dry hump each other while kissing to release some tension and the sound ethan made literally made your stomach turns.

You quickly got rid of his pants and yours before you hands went straight to his dick while his went for your covered clit, rubbing circles on it as you stroked his dick. Both moans escapes your lips and you looked at each other, no being able to break eye contact. The sounds were almost pornographic as he got under you underwear, dipping a finger into your throbbing cunt. “fuck you’re so hot…and so wet, woah” he genuinely looked shocked and turned on and you kissed him and he kept thrusting in and out of you while moans escaped your lips. You couldn’t wait anymore and pulled his boxer down before grabbing a condom that was on in your pants and he helped you by shifting his hips up, collapsing onto you

“oh fuck, oh my god” one of your hand clenched on his shoulder, digging your nails onto his skin as you slowly get down on him and you both moaned loudly, before staying like that for some time.

“you have condoms on you?” he said? chucking and you chuckled back “you never know, always be protected” was all you said before moving up and down slowly, clenching your cunt as ethan throw his head back, moans filling the room and you both fucked each other for the first time. Ethan thrusted his hips up and it hit a spot you never knew existed, which made you gasp and ethan stopped “fuck, did i hurt you?”

“no keep doing that, it felt so good” you babbled before both of you moved up and down on each other, skin against skin, pace quickening as you felt a knot forming into your lower stomach. Ethan’s name rolled on your tongue like a prayer, and so did he with yours. He grabbed your hips and smacked hard, he was close.

“m’close, fuck, fuck me longer” he started to whimper and let what sounded like a high pitched moan and you slowed down your rhythm before a thousand of ‘please’ and ‘yes’ left his mouth, making you reach you climax “m’gonna cum, fuck, oh my god” you said and Ethan nodded vigorously, kissing you again as you both came at the same time, fucking you through your orgasm.

When you both looked et each other, your faces where red, your breathing was fast and you were totally dick drunk while he was totally whipped by your pussy, it was made for him to fuck into.

You got up and gasped slightly at the emptiness now. You got to pee and ethan cleaned himself before you put back your pantie and he put back on his boxer before you both cuddled a bit. He kissed you on the forehead and looked at you. “Chad is probably wondering was is taking us so long.” he said “probably think we couldn’t kiss and just talked” you shrugged and ethan smiled before you both got dressed.

Before leaving the room, ethan grabbed you by the arm “so…i’ll see you in econ ?” you smiled and kissed him “keep me a seat next to you then” you both smiled and left the room hands in hands and reunited with your friends.

taglist : @1h3artjah @shrekscrustybudassy @monkeyp0x-blog @rafelvr @gemilee @qrminsbabe @sicbaby

#sub! ethan landry #ethan landry smut #scream #scream smut #scream 6 #ethan kirsch #scream 6 smut #smut #smut masterlist #ethan x reader #ethan landry imagine #scream iv #scream movie

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kira-fluff · 3 months

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I saw the “Sleeping with no pants on” headcanon and was wondering if you could do a pretty setter squad containing Atsumu, Kageyama and Akaashi please- ☁️

sleeping with no pants on | fem!reader x haikyuu!! [pt. 5]

a/n: i was not expecting everyone to be so obsessed with this prompt but I am LIVING for it. I love you guys so much 🩷 p.s. my lovely, atsumu is actually in pt. 1, but I'm going to switch for twinnie osamu, okay? 💕 also I'm so sorry i was gone for so long. busy busy busy working 3 jobs with college. forgive me if I'm a bit rusty. tw: sorta spicy idk

pt 1 pt 2 pt 3 pt 4

osamu miya "hey, 'samu, 'samu." "hm." he replied in a grunt. "'m tired." the two of you had stayed up the entire night trying out new recipes that osamu had thought of when he was supposed to be paying attention in class. so, now here you were at midnight, sprawled out on the couch, exhausted. "'n go 't sleep." "don' wanna drive home." "'n stay." you murmured an acknowledgement, then began slipping off your pants. osamu immediately sobered from his tiredness. "wait, the hell are ya doin'?!" "'m goin' to bed, obviously." "ya can't just take yer pants off with a man in the house!" you let out a little scoff, "oh, get over it." but osamu's mind was already racing. he tried to act cool on the outside, but you were just in your fucking panties and acting like it was no big deal? why were you always so clueless around him??? did you really not see him as romantic material??? osamu couldn't help but stare at the round shape of your ass even as your long shirt covered you. he had scarcely time to begin devouring the sight of your legs when you cleared your throat. "are you.....staring... at me?" he cleared his throat and looked away. "...s-sorry.." you leaned in close, just below his ear. "ya know... if you really wanted it that badly, you could've said something.." you smirked, taking a blanket and covering up your lower half with a conceited smirk, walking away. "h-hey wait! the fuck did ya mean by that?!" he trailed behind eagerly. the rest of the night? well... "just friends" was no longer in either of your vocabulary anymore.

kageyama tobio you friends, after all, nothing more. and you didn't want to make it weird. weirder than it already felt having hidden feelings for your best friend. it getting late after a particularly long study session which involved you trying to drill basic math facts into a brain that only understood volleyball. it was a hopeless endeavor, but you took him getting anything above a "50" as a win. so, you continued to attempt to help him improve his grades. you supposed "attempt" wasn't necessarily the right word, as his scores were generally improving, but sometimes you found yourself wondering if there was really a point to it all after you spent the whole lesson trying to help him relearn everything he misunderstood in the lesson from that day. so here you were, exhausted, with your head down on your table at home, tobio sitting across from you. "hey, kageyama, let's just call it a night." he paused for a moment, then spoke. "....do you want to sleep with me?" if you had any liquid in your mouth, you're certain you would've had a comical spit take. "ah, um, WHAT?" you sputtered, trying to make sense out of what he said. he didn't mean it that way, did he? no, of course not. "it's... late." yep. just offering a place to stay. "it is. but there are still trains. i can take a late one." "just get in my bed." your eyebrows raised. "hey, tobio, a normal person would misunderstand what you just said..." he ignored you. "just sleep with me." your face took on a reddish hue the more times he said it... and he just didn't get it? why was he messing with your heart like this!?!? "um... there are different ways to say that. like... 'want to spend the night?'" "then, spend the night." "why are you being so pushy?" "because i like you." as a friend. yeah. we've been over this. "ok, ok, you've convinced me with the power of friendship. but I'm sleeping on the couch." "no." "yes." "no. my bed has enough room." "not for me!!" you laughed nervously. does this guy even have hormones? like, what the fuck? "....I'm going to go shower. I'll see you in my bedroom." does this guy not understand the meaning of no? still, you found yourself begrudgingly trudging over to his bed, especially after you saw his couch was made with the comfort of a burlap sack. I mean, if he offered, might as well take advantage right? what could go wrong? spoiler: everything goes wrong. you thought he was fast asleep. so, in the stealth of 1000 ninjas, you slid off your sweatpants for the sake of comfort. it wasn't weird, right? oh well. you were tired and damn did he like his room hot. you jumped when you felt him arms wrap around you. then, he stiffened. "...are you not wearing any pants?" "um... maybe..." he sighed. "are you trying to seduce me?" "n-no it's just more comfortable!" he turned you around so you were facing him. "well, whatever you're trying to do, it's working. I don't think I'm going to be able to sleep." "wait, is it because I'm making you uncomfortable?" he went silent for a moment. ".... you could say that." "I'll... just put them back on then. sorry. it's just that your room is really hot and-" "can I kiss you?" you blinked in disbelief. "can you what?" "kiss you" he answered without a beat. you spluttered some more as he slowly leaned it, asking for permission, silently this time. you nodded and closed your eyes. sparks flew as his lips moved against your own and you finally understood what he'd meant when he said "I like you". kageyama tobio was head over heels in love with you, and you hadn't a clue. until now. the two of you broke apart. "...can we... do that again?" he asked brazenly. you leaned forward again in reply.

akaashi keiji akaashi would rather die than confess to you the things he woke up at night fantasizing about. you'd likely be especially mortified if you discovered that one of your most embarrassing mishaps was on a frequent replay in akaashi's brain when he fell asleep. he was supposed to be a gentleman, not some gross pervert that looked at one of his best friends like... that. but since it was all in his dreams, it was impossible to "turn off" no matter how many times he tried to think about something else before he went to sleep. and so, let's recall The Incident shall we? he had come to your house late at night and knocked at the door, fully expecting to see you up and awake as it was the early evening. to his surprise, however, you answered the door groggily, eyes still bleary from exhaustion and sleep. the way you looked would be forever ingrained in his mind. you were blinking back the remnants of sleep, wearing one of his shirts. it hung low on you, but not low enough to cover your supple legs and the white panties that peeked out below the hem line of his shirt. you hadn't noticed yet, either. "... what d' ya need...?" you asked tiredly, rubbing your eye. akaashi swallowed harshly, his brain turned into complete mush. "uhh.. uhh...." goddamnit, MOVE YOUR EYES BACK UP TO HER FACE. were her legs always that long? STOP. when he still hadn't answered, you followed his gaze down to your lower half. he still remembers the succession of events as follows: you blushed, stammered, and then slammed the door in his face. you didn't talk to him for a week. after, you finally awkwardly explained that you sleep without your pants on and that you didn't realize you hadn't put anything on when you answered the door because you were so tired. it sucked that you ignored him. and even that you explained yourself. because all it did was bring those... memories... right back to the forefront of his mind. whenever he saw you in the hall and you'd flush and look away, he was immediately brought back to the sight of your bare legs. when you stumbled through your explanation, his mind reeled back to those white panties. and he hated it. what kind of friend looks at their friend that way? but he knew in his heart that what he was feeling for you was beyond sexual attraction when, in his dreams, you smiled at him. and told him you loved him. and so, what if he dreamt a little longer? hopefully you'd forgive him. and maybe someday he could tell you how you made him feel...

#haikyuu!!#kageyama tobio #kageyama x reader #kageyama tobio x reader #akaashi keiji #akaashi x reader #haikyuu akaashi #akaashi fluff #Akaashi keiji x reader #hq osamu #miya osamu x reader #haikyuu osamu #osamu miya x reader #osamu x reader #haikyuu headcanons #haikyuu imagines #haikyuu x reader

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probably-writing-x · 1 year

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Armour - Chapter Two

Rafe!AU x Reader

Summary: Having your heart broken was one thing. But Rafe watching somebody break your heart? That was something nobody could prepare for.

Warnings: Cursing, mentions/hints of a toxic relationship

Word Count: 3K

Author’s Note: I LOVE writing this series and this whole concept, I feel like I could carry it on forever - once again, this chapter was inspired by this gif so I feel like this might be an ongoing theme for this series <3 Thank you for the love y’all.

After that night, you hadn’t thought of James. You and Rafe had returned home and, when Sarah asked how your night was, you’d told her you’d slept better than you had done in days. She’d probably tell you that you were crazy for going round to the house, and tell Rafe he was stupid for getting himself involved. She’d tell him this was too much like the old Rafe, the one that craved the power and the fights, and that he wasn’t like that anymore. But you knew that little spark in Rafe would always stay - for the few people that he cared enough about to make sure that nothing bad happened to them. And you’d seen that last night, the way he’d spoken about you; someone fighting your corner.

“Good morning,” Rafe groans as he walks through to the kitchen, dragging a hand over his face.

He’s wearing a pair of joggers that hang low on his hips, accentuating the V-lines around the bottom of his abs, his torso visible for the few seconds as he struggles to pull a hoodie over his head.

“Is it even still morning?” Sarah laughs, pouring out another cup of coffee and handing it over to him.

“I had a busy day yesterday,” He rolls his eyes, “You know, travelling and all that.”

He sits down at the kitchen island beside you and offers you a small smile just before his lips touch the coffee mug, his eyes warm in the steam coming from the cup.

“Did you get up in the night, Rafe?” Sarah asks, settling a hand over her growing bump and leaning back against the kitchen counter.

He frowns over his coffee and shakes his head, “Nope, slept like a baby.”

“That’s weird,” Sarah frowns too, “I could’ve sworn I heard the door open.”

“Probably just baby brain,” He clears his throat, “I’m going to hop in the shower.”

Sarah watches with a suspicious squint in her eyes as he disappears, “I swear he gets weirder every time I see him.”

You laugh and look down as you feel a smile spread onto your face, you’d have to thank him later for last night.

Sarah comes over and takes the seat that Rafe had been sat in, shifting herself so that she’s facing you, “So, I need you to be honest with me, how are you feeling?”

You turn so that you’re facing her too and Sarah stretches out her hands for you to take, both of you squeezing into the contact, “I’m okay, so much better than I was. It’s just weird, you know? For nine years he was the person I told everything to. Even when we weren’t living together or anything, I’d wake up and send him a text or call him before I went to sleep. I keep getting this weird instinct to just reach for my phone because I feel like I haven’t heard from him and then I realise that… I don’t know, I won’t.”

She nods reassuringly but doesn’t say anything else, letting you continue.

“I just want to know why,” You laugh a little, “Not in a weird ‘what’s wrong with me’ kind of way. But just… it was nine years of my life, you know?”

“Okay, I maybe shouldn’t be suggesting this because I think, as the best friend, I’m meant to tell you to stay far away from him, but maybe it would do you some good to meet up with James and talk it all through. Do you think?”

After last night? You weren’t sure he’d ever want to see you again, especially if he thought Rafe would be with you again.

“Yeah, maybe, we’ll have to talk about everything at some point, I guess I-“

You’re cut off as your phone pings on the counter and a message notification comes up from James again.

I think we need to talk after yesterday. I’ll pick you up and we can go for coffee if you’re free?

Sarah eyes the message too, “After yesterday?”

“Right, yeah, with the box and stuff, I thought that was his final straw or something,” You look down so that she can’t realise that you’re lying, “Um, I better go and get ready, tell him that I’ll be free.”

You squeeze Sarah’s hand as you leave, hurrying up the stairs as if running from the conversation. She probably wouldn’t be too mad if you told her about last night, but she’d almost definitely tell you that it was a bad idea, that Rafe is a bad influence even all these years later. It was the same way you didn’t tell her about the night at the beach with Rafe, or the countless other nights like that - she’d tell you Rafe was her brother but it wasn’t a good idea. And you weren’t exactly ready to hear that.

You go into the bedroom that had become your own and close the door behind you, just as there is the sound of the ensuite door opening. Rafe steps out, a towel wrapped around his waist, beads of water dripping around his shoulders, dipping down from his soaked hair.

“Oh shit sorry I-“ Rafe comes to a halt, glancing up from his phone in his hand, “The shower in the other bathroom is terrible so I just… I thought you were downstairs so I-“

“Rafe, it’s fine,” You laugh, “Not anything I haven’t seen before.”

He fakes a gasp, “You’ll embarrass me, (Y/L/N).”

You roll your eyes, “I don’t think anything embarrasses you, Cameron.”

He chuckles and drags a hand through his wet hair, “So, I was thinking we should get out of the house today. I miss the beach when I’m in New York, one of the few things to miss about this place.”

“I actually,” You clear your throat, “I have something to do today.”

Rafe frowns for a second, “Ooh, mysterious,” He stretches out a hand and pokes at your side, “What are you doing?”

“I just,” You shake your head, “I have a meeting, you know, to sort out the house and stuff.”

“Oh, okay, cool,” He nods, “Well, be back by sunset and we can go for a swim. Sound good?”

“Sounds good,” You return, “Now please go and get some clothes on.”

“Keep it in your pants, (Y/N), you know you love me,” He wiggles his brows, exaggeratively swaying his hips as he walks out of the room, closing the door behind him.

Your eyes settle over the room, landing on the box still sat beside your bed. The rest of it was closed away now, but the shot glass and now your toy giraffe, sat on your nightstand. You smile a little at the sight, thinking only to yourself. It felt like a couple of brightened moments in a week you were sure wasn’t going to get any sense of light. Today would likely be another darkness, but you’d be coming home to another bright place.

~~~

Within the hour, you’re showered, changed and ready to leave, sat on the edge of your bed waiting for James to text. Twelve minutes after he’d said he’d be there, he texts to say he’s outside. You grab your jacket and hurry down the stairs, glancing back to see Rafe and John B stood outside in the garden. John B is pointing something out and he’s holding a plank of wood in one hand as if he’s preparing to build something. Rafe nods along and seemingly agrees, laughing at something John B says that seems to brighten up his eyes. Your heart sinks a little at the guilt that comes with the view, knowing he would hate to think of where you were going right now. But you open the front door and close it quickly behind you, hurrying down to the car waiting with the engine still running.

You open the door and climb in quietly, feeling oddly far when you don’t have to lean over to kiss him in greeting.

“Hey,” You breathe out when he doesn’t make any move to say it first.

“Hi,” James glances at you, “Where do you want to go?”

“Are there really many options?” You frown, settling your hands into your lap and picking at the skin beside your thumb to give you something to focus on.

James chuckles a little and moves to reverse out of the driveway, “Fair point, let’s go.”

He drives you the short distance across the island to the one coffee shop that anyone actually used here. It’s near enough empty as you step through, thanking James for holding the door open for you. You order your regular and he orders his, sitting at a table in the far corner as if sheltering yourself from the world.

“So, I would ask how you’ve been but that feels weird when I saw you yesterday,” James comments, dragging his finger around the rim of the coffee cup on the table, “But how have you been?”

You swallow down a sip of your drink, too hot so it scratches your throat as it goes, “I’m okay, and I’m sorry about last night.”

He shakes his head, “Look, it’s your house too (Y/N), at least until we sort everything out. I just don’t know why you didn’t text me. And why you thought you should just show up in the middle of the night with Rafe?”

You nod as if you’re being told off, “No, I know. It was stupid. It was late and we were just planning on getting in and leaving, I didn’t plan on you seeing him, and I especially didn’t want the two of you to argue, you know that.”

He’s silent in his agreement, pausing for enough time for it to settle before he says, “So why is he here?”

“He’s back from New York for a few days, just coming to see Sarah,” You explain, taking another sip of your drink and wincing as it burns at your tongue.

“Perfect timing,” James raises his brows momentarily as if being sarcastic, “I’m sure he was happy to see you.”

“Wha-“ You pause, reconsidering the idea of starting up an argument that he’s already ignited, “What is that supposed to mean?”

“Come on, (Y/N),” James rolls his eyes, “I know the way he used to be with you.”

“We’re friends, we’ve always been friends.”

Perhaps that wasn’t so true, just maybe. Before you and James got together, you’d been so sure that you and Rafe would be inevitable. There was the night you kissed at the party, there was the night on the beach with far too much alcohol, there were countless days and countless nights. Just as you were losing hope of him ever reciprocating your feelings, you’d seen him kiss a girl at another party, and you’d used that as confirmation enough. Two weeks later, you’d gone on your first date with James. Nine years later, you’d still never told Rafe how you’d felt before that - especially since the two of you had started living such different lives.

“I knew how he felt about you, it was obvious. God, the first time I met those guys he acted like I was the worst person he’d ever met,” James scoffs, “I thought he was going to rip my head off when I said we’d be moving away for college. He could’ve done the same last night, too.”

“You know, you don’t get to talk like that anymore. You split up with me. So it shouldn’t matter to you how anyone feels about me, whether or not that’s true,” You defend, tucking your arms around yourself as if closing yourself away from him.

“I don’t think I noticed it when we were in college, it was just me and you in our own little world and for a long time I thought that’s what would make us last. But we moved back here and it’s like everywhere you turn there’s another memory of you two - another piece of him that you’re holding onto even years later.”

“We’re friends. He means a lot to me. That’s what friends are.”

You let the silence fall.

He’s silent too and it surprises you. Normally, he would find any way to keep an argument going if he’d started it, he’d argue back and forth constantly until you agreed - he didn’t just let arguments end.

“I didn’t come here to argue with you,” He takes a deep breath, “I’m sorry for the way I ended things. I know I probably didn’t go about things in the right way, but I think if I’d have tried to do anything else I… well, I don’t think I’d have been able to do it.”

You feel the lump grow in your throat, the way it seems to constrict your words just a little too much as you say, “Then why did you?”

He breaks eye contact then and looks down at his cup, his finger still swirling around the edge in continuous circles, “Do you remember the first time we went out?”

“Our first date?”

“I picked you up from your house and I had to wait down the road because your parents might see me. And we went out, and I knew then that this was it for me, like within one date I’d just already decided,” He doesn’t meet your eyes, “And then I walked you home and I stopped around the corner again so that your parents wouldn’t see me. And you walked up to your house and Rafe was sat on the steps up to your porch, just waiting for you to get home.”

Your heart sinks at his words, like a weird feeling of not knowing the inevitable.

“And I guess for the past nine years that’s how it’s always felt; like Rafe was just waiting for you to go back home to him.”

“You’re blaming this on Rafe?” You raise your brows, your words feeling coarse and dry as you speak, “We were together for nine years. I chose you for nine years, every fucking day I chose you, and you want to tell me that you blame this on Rafe? That Rafe’s the reason you broke my heart?”

“Broke your heart,” James repeats, nodding slowly, “Your heart didn’t seem too broken last night.”

You let out a scoff and bite down just a little on the tip of your tongue as if trying to calm the anger bubbling out of you, “Right, yeah. I had one night where I felt a little bit fucking human again, after not sleeping, not eating, crying until I thought I’d be sick. After asking myself over and over and over again - what did I do? what should I have done? what’s wrong with me? And this whole thing you’re just going to blame on Rafe?”

“Where is he right now (Y/N)?”

You stop in your tracks, your hand clenching around the heat of your coffee mug, your words seeming to sink in the air between you.

James takes a long pause, his eyes scanning your face as if waiting for you to find the answer, “Waiting for you to come home.”

~~~

It’s an uncomfortable drive back. Neither of you speak a word. So much so that the tyres suddenly seem to make too much noise on the road, and you feel like you can hear the sound of the wheel turning under his grip. There’s a welcome relief when you watch the car turn into the driveway towards Sarah’s house, and an overwhelming dread when you catch the sight you know that James has seen too.

Rafe is sat on the steps in front of their house, the copy of To Kill A Mockingbird in his hands, a third of the way through the pages. He glances up at the sound of the car, a slight drop in his features as he recognises the face behind the wheel. He sets the book down on the side of the steps and stands up, his jaw clenching as you watch him.

James doesn’t say a word, but there’s the slightest tiniest hint of a smirk on his lips as if he’s been proven right about everything.

You wait until he cuts the engine and pull your seatbelt off, pausing before you push open the door, “I didn’t know that he’d be-“

James opens his own door and pushes himself out before you have a chance to say anything else. You follow suit quickly, scrambling out like the car’s on fire.

“Couldn’t wait to jump on her could you, buddy?” James bellows, storming over to Rafe.

“Excuse me?” Rafe looks taken aback, glancing at you as your eyes catch, “This is the house meeting you were talking about?”

“House meeting?” James looks at you, “So you couldn’t even tell him you were seeing me?”

“I just- I didn’t-“

“So what is it? You’re trying to come crawling back to her?” Rafe interjects and you flick your eyes to him as if a warning, though now he is only focused on James.

“You want to talk about crawling back? It seems pretty fucking convenient that you show your face around here the minute (Y/N)’s not got a boyfriend anymore.”

“Right, yeah, that’s why I’m here. Maybe it’s a good thing I came home, to pick up the pieces of the shit you left her in.”

In a conversation about yourself, you’ve never felt smaller. It’s like you’re shrinking into the space around them, disappearing when all of their anger is fuelled by you and focused on themselves. You’re sure you could disappear and they’d remain - hot headed in their hatred.

“Pick up the pieces? That’s what you think you’re doing?” James laughs, both of them practically steaming in their anger, “You’re not doing fuck all to help when you’re trying to get into her pants two seconds after she’s singl-“

“Enough!” You yell, sounding like the word has come from someone other than yourself as you feel your hands start to tremble.

Both of the boys silence, finally looking away from each other to focus on you, their anger sinking into the same pool as your disapproval. Rafe’s eyes seem to settle back into himself, like a realisation of how he’d been acting - he’d been doing the exact thing that he hated seeing in James, the way he ignored you in favor of his own focus. He looks like his younger self when you watch him. That anger, that hatred, the kind that he’d had before he moved away. That kind that gave him a million more problems. He’s that boy again.

“Just stop doing this, okay?” You drag a hand through your hair, “Neither of you get to talk on my behalf. Neither of you get to choose what’s best for me, or force this narrative of what you think is going on in my life. I’m sick of it. Have this masculinity battle some other time but god do it when I’m not here.”

With that, you disappear around the side of the house, shortcutting through the garden gate and finally letting yourself breathe, the tension in your chest seeming to return.

Rafe looks at James as if he could go again but in that moment all he can think of is you. The disappointment in your face as you’d walked away, the way you looked at him like you didn’t really know him. He drags a hand through his hair and all he can think of is how you tell him you’re sure he could suit any hairstyle. He stops himself from smiling, the urge fading when he looks at James again.

“So, what? Maybe a week or so and you’ll ask her on a date?” James folds his arms over his chest, “Or is a week just too long to wait? Hell, maybe you’ll be engaged within the month.”

“You know what, James,” Rafe clenches and unclenches his jaw, “Just go,” He waves his hand in the boys direction, his body turning away from him as if it’s gravitating back to you.

And with only the thought of you, he backs away from the fight.

~~~

You’re sat on the half-made dock at the end of Sarah and John B’s lawn, your feet pushing through the surface of the water aimlessly, eyes focused on the way the water curves around your ankles. Your chest has seemingly settled now but if you let yourself think of everything for too long it seems to flurry in anxiety again.

“Can I sit? Or should I put myself in time out?” The words come with the sound of footsteps creaking along the wooden planks, pausing as if they’re sure they are a safe distance from you.

You don’t turn around, “Sit, as long as you promise to be quiet.”

Rafe mumbles a ‘yes ma’am’ and takes his spot on the edge of the dock beside you. You feel him looking at you, his eyes burning into you as they scan your face. You weren’t crying and it seems to relieve the tiniest bit of worry within him. But you looked drained. Not tired in the way you were when he first saw you - but drained in the way that life seems to have been just slightly pulled away from you.

He opens his mouth to speak but stops as you lean back, fingers linking between your hands over your stomach as you lay against the dock. The sun hangs bright above you and you close your eyes, a deep breath forcing a rise and fall in your chest. Rafe watches you, the innocence in your features. He’d relied on those exact features for a lot of moments in his life. Your smile when he needed reminding of a good memory, the way your jaw clenches when you’re angry when he needed reminding of when he was in the wrong. Your eyes when he needed to come back home.

After a moment, he leans himself back too, his shirt wrinkling against the wood as he lays down, one arm tucking underneath his head. He turns his face towards you, observing.

You poke one eye open and squint in his direction, “Stop staring, weirdo.”

Rafe smiles, “So you’re not completely ignoring me,” He nods his head a little against his arm, “Does that mean I’m at like a six on the scale?”

“The scale?”

“The scale. How mad you are at something, you don’t remember?”

Of course you remember. When the two of you had been at school, he’d used that ‘scale’ as a way of you telling him how bad your day was - on the days when you had exams, and your friends were being shitty, and your parents were having problems at home, you’d say you were closer to a 10. It applied to everything - when he annoyed you, when you and Sarah had argued over something silly, everything.

“I’m a seven.”

He laughs a little and it seems to sit welcomingly in the space between you, easing the clench in your chest just enough.

The two of you stay in silence for a while after that, watching the sun disappear momentarily behind a cloud, casting a welcome shade over the water. You focus on the rise and fall of your chest, breathing in and out deeply to avoid the discomfort coming from laying on the dock. Rafe stays still beside you for a while, before his leg slightly shifts to the side so that his knee knocks against yours. You fight back a smile and turn around to look at him;

“Yes?” You raise your brows.

He pushes himself up so he’s leaning over you on his elbows, his head blocking the sun out so you can look at him without completely squinting against the light.

“I’m sorry,” He nods, “I really did have no idea you were with him, I was just waiting until you got back. And I don’t know, as soon as he said that I just felt like I lost it. It was weird, I don’t think I’ve felt angry like that in years.”

You nod in response, watching the guilt cast a darkness over his features.

“How did it go with you two today?”

You push yourself to lean up on your elbows too, matching his stance as he settles back to his side of the dock.

“Well, he’s not your biggest fan,” You laugh a little, staring out on the stillness of the water, “I don’t know, it just seems like he wants to think our relationship was doomed from the start, like we were just putting off the inevitable.”

“Well, did you ever feel like that?”

You take a deep breath, “I don’t think so. I don’t know, I just thought we’d stay together. God, I think after our third anniversary I was pretty certain that this would be it. But after what he said today it just feels like the two of us had been in two different relationships for all this time. And now I’m thinking, why didn’t he ever propose? Why did he want to move back here when I had my whole life at college? I mean, shit, Sarah’s having a kid and I was still just a girlfriend after nine years.”

Rafe nods, “Yeah I know what you mean. He was crazy for not wanting to marry you after all that time.”

You turn your head to look at him but he stays looking out over the water dismissively.

“God, who wouldn’t want to marry you?”

You feel your heart swell for just a second and turn your head away from him to look back over the water, both of you letting the silence fill in the empty gaps of the conversation you hadn’t yet had, that you didn’t need to have just yet.

“So, the sun is about an hour from setting,” Rafe points out, “How about that swim?”

~~~

You make your way back downstairs with your swimsuit on, a towel held under one arm, your flip-flops slapping against the wooden steps.

“Hey! I feel like I haven’t seen you today, how did it go with James?” Sarah stands up from the couch as you come downstairs, “Are you going out?”

You glance out at the garden, Rafe not visible along the stretch of the lawn, “Yeah, I’m just going for a swim. And it went well with James, a little bit of closure at least. Still feels weird.”

“It’s bound to,” Sarah nods, reaching out a hand to squeeze your arm, “Did you tell Rafe that you saw him?”

“Um, yeah, yeah, he knows,” You scratch at the back of your neck.

“God, I’m surprised he didn’t flip. I don’t think there’s anyone he hates as much as he hates James,” Sarah shakes her head.

You’re about to speak again but are cut off by the sound of the garden door sliding open. Rafe appears on the other side, poking his head through the created gap between the door and the wall.

“You ready to go (Y/L/N)?” He looks at you, a soft smile on his lips, a sort of calm resting in his features.

“I’ll be there in a minute,” You return softly and he nods, disappearing again.

“He’s so different when he sees you,” Sarah shakes her head, glancing over at the spot where her brother had just been.

“Different how?” You frown, letting your eyes trail back to her.

She shrugs her shoulders and rests a hand over her bump, running her fingers over the skin, “Just like he’s grounded, like he’s home.”

You feel the lump form in your throat, the way it once again makes it feel impossible to think of anything to say.

“Go on, he might be grounded but he’s still impatient,” Sarah jokes, gesturing her head in the direction of the door.

You laugh and follow her instruction, closing the glass door behind you as you walk down to the dock. Rafe is sat on the edge, his legs dangling over into the water. In only his swim-shorts, you can see the contortions of his muscles across his shoulders, the way they dip in his skin and seem to make him look bigger than he ever seemed normally. His skin isn’t as tanned as you remember him being but you suppose he doesn’t get as much sun when he’s in New York - not the kind he got here, anyway. And part of you seems to remember just how distant he was nowadays, his return feeling all the more temporary.

You hang your towel over the edge of the dock next to his and pull off your flip flops, leaving them at the edge too before breaking into a sprint straight past him. Your arms outstretch in front of you and break the surface of the water first, submerging your underneath until your toes feel the cold of the still water too.

Your head breaks the surface and you drag your hands up to draw your hair way from your face, now slick against your scalp.

“Very graceful,” Rafe smirks, “How on earth do I follow that?”

You watch him stand from the dock, stretching upwards before taking a few steps back. Within a split second, he catapults himself into the air, drawing his knees upwards so that he lands in a cannonball into the water, spray dispersing into the air and all over you.

“Well, I wouldn’t call that graceful,” You laugh, blinking away the water from your eyes.

From where Sarah and John B’s house was, you could see the sunset through a clearing in the trees if you swam around to the right angle. And you and Rafe knew the islands well enough to know exactly where to go.

By the time you swim around, the sky is painted with a yellow hue, sun lowering down seemingly a few feet from the horizon.

“I’m sorry about today,” Rafe breaks the silence, turning himself in the water to face you.

You kick forward so that your body tilts back, head hanging into the surface water, “You already said that.”

“I know, I just hate when I feel like I’ve disappointed you,” He comments, watching the way your body floats in the water.

You smile a little to the sky, “You didn’t disappoint me.”

He pauses for a moment, “So, I didn’t ask you earlier but, did he tell you the reason why he ended things?”

Your body tilts to turn you upright once again in the water, hands pushing through either side of you to maintain your position, eyes locking onto him. His hair is slick against his head and there are small beads of water trailing down either side of his cheeks, looping around under his jawline. He’s home. For the first time in years, he’s back here and it feels like it’s actually him - not some replaced or changed version. You’re both back to being sixteen again, sneaking liquor out of your houses, staying up until the sun called you home, misfit ways of surviving life in this isolated haven. And you realise it then, for a fleeting moment where you let yourself accept it - it’s Rafe that makes this place home.

“He…” Your voice trails off then, considering every possible outcome that would come in return for telling Rafe exactly what had been said earlier, exactly what you’d come to learn.

But the moment is fleeting. And you’re back in seconds to a reality. To a broken heart and a broken home, to New York, to your future, to James, to Sarah just a matter of metres away, to everything and everyone that you didn’t want to lose. To Rafe.

“He couldn’t give me a reason,” You swallow the lump in your throat, your eyes not breaking away from Rafe.

“The guy’s an idiot,” Rafe shakes his head, turning away from you and towards the sun.

You watch as he does, watching the glow that radiates from his skin, the way it seems to warm the air around him.

James might be an idiot, but maybe he was right.

———

Taglist: @viianey

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dameronology · 2 years

Text

buckingham fucking palace (e.m)

a.k.a the one where steve harrington gets sick of you and eddie fighting so he locks you in a room til you make up

warnings: language

hope u enjoy. this has not been proof read lol

-jazz

Steve Harrington was a meddler.

He couldn’t deny it - even though he vehemently tried to do so, with red-tinged cheeks and his brow furrowed deep. It was just natural for him to want to be involved with everyone else’s business. It came from a good place, and almost always a caring one, but minding his business was simply not an option. It was a fact that had been proven multiple times; his forever ongoing involvement in every single one of Robin’s relationships was a testament to that. He had no success stories on that front so far but he bragged to anyone who would listen about how he was single-handedly responsible for the love affair between you and a one Edward Munson.

Ah yes, Eddie Munson. The love of your life; the apple of your eye; the biggest pain in your ass. He was your heart and your soul and everything in between and you were certain you would have ended up with him, with or without Harrington's help. Maybe he had been the catalyst, that one fateful day in senior year science class, but gone were the days of young, stupid love. You were committed now, existing solely with Eddie in the little bubble you'd built for yourself. It consisted mostly of smoking weed and watching films in the trailer - Wayne worked upstate now, so it was essentially yours - but it was the escape you needed from the dull life that Hawkins brought. You were both muddling through community college, trying to make a life for yourselves: any life. Your dreams were a little bit more ambitious than Eddie's, though you were determined to drag him by the ear, probably kicking and screaming, to bigger and better things.

That had been the cause of your latest fight. You didn't often argue - not over serious things, anyway - but what had started over a bicker on the subject of Halloween costumes had turned into a heated debate about the future. It wasn't like you had proposed any ideas of illusions of grandeur; just mentioned something about moving out of the trailer someday. Maybe going to a state college instead of community college.

It had ended in you leaving - not without flipping Eddie off and throwing a chain of swear words his way - and neither of you deciding on a Halloween costume.

The day of the party rolled round and things still weren't sorted. That wasn't a surprise to anyone: you were both stubborn, fiery individuals. Most of the time it was a bonding point but god only knew it could be your weakness as well. The five days of silence had been suffocating but you certainly weren't going to crack first - just as long as Robin was okay with you crashing on her sofa.

It felt weird not being home. It felt even weirder not waking up beside Eddie - your lives and routines were so deeply intertwined that it felt like half of you was missing. Even brushing your teeth in the morning without him beside you was an odd feeling. Still, that didn't stop you from standing on either side of Steve's living room, giving each other the most loving evils ever as The Monster Mash played in the background.

"When are you two going to make up?" Robin asks. She was dressed, perhaps unironically, as Robin Hood.

"When he apologies," you muttered. "I haven't done anything wrong. I just asked like...one mildly vague question about the future. Not my fucking fault that he had to freak out and run off. We've been together since we were fucking freshman, Robin. Fuck this. Fuck that. Fuck him-"

"- okay, you are being loud. And sweary," she cut you off, pulling the solo cup from your hand. "You guys are the best couple I know."

"Exactly!" you exclaimed. "We're great together and we're both really hot."

"And stubborn," Robin muttered. "So I assume that you're not going to apologise to him?"

"Not in a million years."

"Right, brilliant," she couldn't help but roll her eyes. "C'mon, let's get another drink."

Linking her arms with yours, Robin led you over to the drinks table. Your other half - who you considered right now to be your worst half - was no where to be seen. The inflatable guitar that was part of his Ozzy Osbourne costume was abandoned in the corner, which meant he can't have been that far.

"Aw, damn," Robin muttered. "We're out of lemonade."

"That sucks. Just have coke instead-"

"- no, I really specifically wanted lemonade," she over-dramatically sighed. "Do you mind grabbing some from the basement? Please?"

"Are you really that lazy?"

"Yeah."

"Eugh, fine."

Rolling your eyes, you turned on your heel and made your way through the drunk crowds and towards the basement. You weren't even entirely convinced that Steve knew half the people here - after all, like eighty percent of his friends were still in high school. That was the price that came with being Hawkins designated babysitter.

You opened the door to the basement and hopped down the steps, turning the corner towards the fridge at the back. As you did, you crashed straight into someone, letting out an oof!

"Eddie, what the fuck are you doing down here?"

"Steve sent me down for lemonade," he replied. "Why are you-"

You both froze when the click of the lock came from the door. As in the lock on the outside, that neither of you could get to. Your initial reaction was to panic, but it wasn't until you heard the dulcet tones of Harrington that you realised what was going on.

"You can come out when you two make up!" he called. "There is a whole fridge of food and a toilet down there so no excuses, guys!"

"You are a MEDDLER, Steve Harrington!" you called. "I will make you pay for this!"

"Bit rich considering I have the key, don't you think?"

You spun around to face Eddie, who held up his hands in defence. It was clear that he was a little tipsy - definitely not drunk, but definitely not sober - from the way his eyes were glazed over. Also from the way that he didn't start on you as soon as you were alone in the same room. Alcohol normally mellowed him a little.

Your heart hurt a little to see him. You should have been in matching costumes - Jareth and Sarah from Labyrinth, if you were wondering - but instead, he was Ozzy and you were in a half-arsed Stevie Nicks costume. He'd noted as soon as he'd seen you earlier that you looked hot as hell, but his anger had quickly subsided any horniness.

"Ozzy Osbourne and Stevie Nicks, huh?" Eddie was the first to break the silence. "That would be the scandal of the century."

"Yeah, biggest thing since the time you were an ass and-"

"- here we go," he muttered. "Why am I always the ass? Why can't you be the ass? Why can't we both be asses?!"

"Because you were an ass, Eddie!" you shot back. "I can't even talk to you about the near future without you freaking the fuck out. Do you even want to be with me?"

"Are you stupid?" he asked. It was a serious question, but one that came from a place of love. "Of course I want to be with you! I just worry that you don't want to be with me."

You frowned. "I'm confused."

"You have all these...ideas," Eddie began. "About college, and moving away, and getting out of Hawkins. I want that more than anything, even if I'm just tagging along for the ride, but I just..."

"You just what, Eds?"

"I worry that I'm not enough for you," he quietly admitted. "We're perfect where we are - in a trailer park, in Hawkins, just as we are. What if that changes and you realise that your love for me is just...y'know. In a trailer park, in Hawkins, as we are."

"Eddie, I'm gonna love you whether we live in a cardboard box or Buckingham fucking Palace, okay?" you couldn't help but let out a soft laugh. "I just want to be with you. I don't care where it is."

He took a step forward, taking your face in his hands and softly pressing a kiss to your lips. As always, he tasted a little of cigarettes and ever so slightly of the cheap spiced rum that Steve had supplied. Whatever tension had been between you was melting away now by the second.

"I love you," Eddie said. "So let's just stop being scared and start being together, yeah?"

You smiled. "Yeah."

#eddie munson x reader #eddie munson imagine #eddie munson imagines #eddie munson fluff #eddie munson angst #eddie munson reader insert #eddie munson x you #eddie munson fan fic #eddie munson fan fiction #eddie munson fic #eddie munson blurb #eddie munson headcanons #stranger things x reader #stranger things imagines #stranger things fluff #stranger things reader insert #stranger things imagine #stranger things #eddie munson

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captainkirkk · 1 year

Text

✩ WEEKLY FIC ROUND-UP ✩

All the fics I’ve read and really enjoyed in the past week-ish. Reminder: This list features any and all ratings and themes. Please look at tags and warnings on ao3 before reading.

my dearly departed by redrobin1989

Kon heard the stories about how Tim had fallen apart after he died. He couldn’t imagine what Tim had gone through, what he’d been feeling. Even now, with the shoe now on the other foot, Conner doesn’t know how to cope. Especially when he needs to keep his boyfriend’s collapsing family together.

Exit Strategy by smilebackwards

Batman needs a Robin and Batman has a Robin. Tim is just extraneous now, vestigial. He’s a bandage over a healed wound. He doesn’t know what he’s hanging on to.

Or: Tim didn’t expect his exit strategy from the Batfamily to involve quite so much bonding time with Damian over Wayne Enterprises bureaucracy.

the capillaries in my eyes are bursting by Scarlet_Ribbons

Bruce grunts, standing up. “Jenkins said the same. What about what you weren’t told?”

And without dissembling, Jason says, “I think they fucked that kid up, B.”

[Jack and Janet die. As things get weirder and weirder, it feels like Tim might be at the center of the unfolding conspiracy.]

Stranger Things

and i know that you don’t, but if i ask you if you love me— by fakecharliebrown

Once, only a few weeks before his parents decide he’s too old to be tucked into bed at night, Steve grabs his mother by the wrist and asks, “Does Father love me?”

“Of course he does,” she says immediately, smoothing the blanket where it rests over his chest.

Steve blinks up at her. “Then how come he never says it?”

She purses her lips. “He shouldn’t have to, sweetheart. You should just know.”

(It isn’t until years down the line that Steve realizes she’d somehow turned that into being his fault.)

or; Steve Harrington through the years, on loving and being loved.

Percy Jackson

percy jackson and the scrutiny of his coworkers by pqrker

Jim turned back to the tank and looked at Marcie the seal, who was now staring at the spot his coworker had been standing just moments before with that same strange look of reverence in her eyes.

Percy Jackson truly was the oddest person Jim Elpool had ever worked with.

Or: 5 times percy's coworkers were confounded by his fish magic, plus 1 time they try to figure it out.

Star Wars

Bounty by smilebackwards

"You took a puck for Luke Skywalker?”

Din looks up at the tenseness in Cara’s voice.

“Yes?” The puck for Skywalker had been passed over by half a dozen hunters, surprising considering the price on his head, but Din had assumed that was because his last known location was Coruscant. The Core is a dangerous place to hunt bounties.

“If I didn’t consider you a friend,” Cara says, with a tone that sounds like she’s reconsidering it, “I’d shoot you where you stand for admitting that."

SVSSS

What Is Seen by CaveteDracones

....is not [always] the real truth.

Truth-compelling artifacts in the hands of an enemy to one side, SYSTEM-mandated silence on the other, and Shen Qingqiu caught between the two. Is it too late to go back to the Water Prison?

and judgment is just like a cup that we share by Kieron_ODuibhir

The blob finished rotating into place in a way that wasn’t quite compatible with geometry as Shen Qingqiu understood it, and cleared a throat it didn’t seem to have.

“Greetings,” it said, somehow clearly addressing him in particular more than the room as a whole despite its total lack of features other than blueness and translucency. “I’m here on behalf of the Hyper-Celestial Peace and Order Enforcement Bureau. Crime scene secure, proceeding to interviews. Beginning with Subject One: You are Shen Qingqiu, formerly Shen Yuan, also known as Peerless Cucumber?"

#happy monday everyone #i'm so exhausted i made this list with my eyes half closed #my posts #weekly fic round up #fic recs #svsss recs #sw recs #pjo recs #dc recs #stranger things recs

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steddieas-shegoes · 1 year

Note

For the requested writing: Jancy apologizing to Steve for the things they did; Jonathan for taking the photos without consent & Nancy for the harshness of her words at Tina's party. And Steve realizing that someone (you can choose however you want but for some reason I really want it to be Mike) gave them a reality check on how inappropriate their actions were.

MY HEART MY LOVE LIGHT OF MY LIFE!!! This was really intriguing, and I wanted to give Mike a little redemption that he deserves and the Duffer brothers better give him or I will riot. I didn't quite make Steve have the realization because I don't think he would get there within the time span of a conversation (bless his heart he isn't always keeping up with the people around him), but I hope this works for you :) - Mickala ❤️

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

Steve was hallucinating. He had to be.

The concussions had finally caught up to him.

Jonathan had only been back in town for a day, there was no reason for him to be standing on his doorstep, especially not with a nervous looking Nancy next to him.

There was too much chaos still happening in the wake of Vecna, too many things left unknown. They were all supposed to be resting so they could get back together as a group, come up with a plan as a group, win as a group.

But he hadn’t gotten any rest. He didn’t think any of them had.

But he still didn’t expect to see these two at his door.

He looked behind them to see if any of the kids were with them, suddenly more nervous when he realized they were alone.

Had something else happened?

“Can we come in?”

“Uh, sure.”

Steve opened the door to let them in.

Dustin promised to radio if there were any changes with Eddie at the hospital, so it couldn’t be that. Hopper was doing near-constant rounds, already driving by Steve’s house three times in the last 24 hours to ensure he was safe. If a message needed to get to him, he would have told him on one of those stops.

He closed the door when they were inside, nodding for them to continue to the living room to sit on the couch.

He didn’t remember the last time either of them had been inside his house. Even when Nancy dropped off Mike for hangouts with the kids, she didn’t usually hang around to chat.

He preferred it that way.

And after the way they had sort of awkwardly flirted against his best judgment in the Upside Down, he definitely didn’t want whatever this is.

He told Nancy after that it was just a heat of the moment thing, that she was kind of just there, that he was past that point of his life and had feelings for someone else.

That someone else being the guy currently still suspected of murder in a coma in the hospital.

They sat on the couch while Steve took the armchair.

They stared at him.

He stared back.

“So we came here to say something.”

“...okay?”

“We both wanted to apologize,” Nancy said on an exhale.

Jonathan nodded along.

Steve was confused.

They hadn’t done anything. At least not that he was aware of. Now he was worried they’d hid something from him.

Was Eddie dead?

“Steve? Hey, it’s okay man,” Jonathan said, starting to stand up from his spot.

“I’m sorry for what I said at the party!” Nancy said quickly.

Now, Steve was even more confused, if that were possible.

He hadn’t been to a party in ages, not since…

“When I said we were bullshit, I didn’t mean that. I shouldn’t have put my pain on you like that when you just wanted to try to get through your own pain. I knew you were doing your best and I chose what would hurt you the most and I’m sorry.”

Steve felt like he was probably making a hell of a face right now. Couldn’t even begin to know what it was doing.

And then it got weirder when Jonathan spoke.

“And I’m sorry for playing a huge role in all of that. I shouldn’t have taken the pictures, I shouldn’t have fought you, I shouldn’t have tried to make a move on Nance when she was still with you. I’m so sorry.”

“Um.”

Steve didn’t really know what to say or do. Sure, it was nice hearing an apology from them, especially because he still hated hearing the word bullshit and anytime he thought about how quickly Nancy moved on to be with Jonathan he wanted to cry.

But he kind of didn’t know what to do with it? It’d been long enough and he’d moved on mostly.

He thought he had anyway.

“Mike told us you still seemed kind of stuck on it?”

“Mike did what?”

“Don’t be upset with him. He just said that it seemed like you couldn’t find happiness with Robin because of being stuck on everything that happened with us. He was just looking out for you.”

Mike didn’t even like Steve. He practically hated him. And he definitely didn’t care if he was upset about something his sister did.

Did he?

“He’s been worried about you for a while. Said you seemed off for the last few months.”

Once the kids settled into their first year of high school, he hadn’t seen them very often. They were busy with school of course, but they also found their groups and extracurriculars. The only one who visited on his own was Dustin and that became rarer the more time he spent at Hellfire.

“Mike was worried about me?”

Nancy and Jonathan gave each other a look, then turned back to Steve.

“Yeah. Should he be?”

“No. No. Just surprised is all. He’s never liked me much.”

Nancy smiled.

“He doesn’t really like anyone. He’s the moodiest teenager I’ve ever met,” Nancy replied, fondness in her voice. “But he knows how to care about people he loves. I guess you made it on the list.”

“Huh. Weird.”

“So are we good? You think you can let it go enough to be with Robin?” Jonathan asked, hopeful smile pointed at Steve.

“I can promise you nothing will get me to be with Robin.”

They clearly weren’t expecting that response.

“What? But you guys are perfect for each other!”

Nancy was standing now, pacing back and forth like she was going to explode if she stood still.

“I mean, we’re definitely perfect friends for each other. But nothing more. Not ever.”

“Does she not feel the same for you?”

“Neither of us feel that way about each other.”

“No way!” Jonathan exclaimed. “You guys are always together.”

“We work together. I’m her ride everywhere. We’re best friends.”

“But…”

“Plus, I’m currently working on some feelings for someone else. Someone I never thought I’d even be friends with, let alone like.”

“Who?”

Nancy was a naturally curious person and it would kill her not to know.

But Steve wasn’t quite ready for anyone to know. He would tell Eddie if, no, when, he woke up. Then he’d tell a few others.

Maybe.

“I’ll tell you when I can talk to them first.”

Nancy’s brows furrowed as she considered who that could possibly be, but Jonathan just nodded, accepting Steve’s answer for what it was.

The radio went off from the coffee table, making Steve jump out of the chair.

“Steve! Come in Steve! Over.”

“I’m here! What?”

“He’s awake! Over.”

Shit.

“Be there in 10!”

“You gotta say over man. Over.”

“Sure. Over.”

He looked up to see Nancy and Jonathan looking at him with knowing smirks.

“Guess you better go see Eddie.”

“Probably should talk to him, too.”

Steve blushed but nodded.

“I will.” He leaned in to give them both quick hugs. “Um. Thank you guys. I accept the apologies.”

They followed him out the door and got in Jonathan’s car, probably heading back to check in with Hopper.

Steve got in his car, buckled his seatbelt, and took a deep breath.

Time to move forward.

#steddie #steve harrington #eddie munson #stranger things #jonathan byers #nancy wheeler #mike wheeler #requests #ficlet #apologies well deserved #mike wheeler redemption

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wyrmswears · 10 days

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>calls himself the biggest athena cykes fan

>probably hasn't drawn her in ages

WYRM IS A FRAUD!!! UNFOLLOW HIM NOW!!!

WHY ARE YOU COMING INTO MY HOUSE JUST TO BULLY ME,,, MAYBE IVE BEEN WRITING ATHENA, HUH!? ATHENA IS ARRESTED AU SNIPPET BE UPON YOU!!!

As they approached, Cykes slipped the round metallic object into her trouser pocket.

Apollo eyed where it had disappeared and considered asking her about it, but with her fingers already reaching for her moon charm he decided it wasn’t worth stressing her about. Besides, there was something more on his mind.

“You knew all along, didn’t you? That Mayor Tenma was the Amazing Ninetales?” It was partly a bluff, but he was well enough versed in them to know that he had a good chance of being right here. Apollo had reached more than a dead end trying to figure out how L’Belle could have disguised himself well enough that Mayor Tenma’s own daughter would’ve fallen for it; it was only when the prosecution pointed out her reluctance to admit of a possible disguise that the pieces had truly clicked, and Apollo was starting to wonder if Prosecutor Blackquill was truly bragging out of his own confidence or if he himself had been a victim to the power of suggestion.

She fiddled with her ponytail, fingers combing through the ginger strands. “I had a suspicion. You were the ones to really figure it out though.”

“Thank you, Miss Cykes.” Apollo relented. He was starting to realise that perhaps he had been too harsh on her, making dangerous assumptions from too little information. It seemed that he had reached the point in the case that it was time to turn around his thinking. “I mean it.” He added, wanting to assure her of his newfound sincerity while wondering how much of his distrust she had picked up of his over the last couple days. If you had asked him before this case, he would have never thought that he would be so scared of a psychologist.

Miss Cykes paused, and studied him for a moment. It was almost enough to make him wonder if that was how his witnesses felt under his perception; the creeping feeling of being seen straight through was beginning to establish itself as omni-present when around her. After a moment, she shook her head. “Athena”, she stated, her voice oddly serious. “Please, I prefer to be called Athena.”

“Oh.” Apollo paused, trying to think of what to say, but Trucy broke the lull in conversation as she swung an arm around his neck (almost toppling him over in the process) and leant towards Miss Cy- Athena with a wide grin.

“Well then, it’s nice to meet you, Athena!” She hummed, swinging on her feet.

Athena paused for a moment and stared blankly at them both, in the same thoughtful way she always does. Then, her shoulders relaxed. “It’s nice to meet you too, Trucy. Apollo.”

And at that moment, she smiled in front of them for the first time.

It was not a cruel smile, not like Apollo would have suspected of her when he first heard of her status as an inmate; instead it’s gentle and shy, but it’s the kind that Trucy relishes in most when she finally extracts it from her audience, and Apollo can tell by the way she straightened at his side that she was taking it in with even more satisfaction than he was.

And if Trucy looked like the only thing keeping her from inviting Athena to Eldoon’s noodles was the detective waiting to escort her away… well, Apollo thought to himself, they’ve had weirder allies.

#this will make very little sense to you whom had only watched the anime (exposing you on main)#but this one is for all the athena truthers out there #cant wait to drop this fic in like one million years. the three athena fans will love it im sure #athena cykes #ace attorney #athena is arrested au #dual destinies #dual destinies spoilers #aa5 #aa5 spoilers #wyrm answers #wyrm writes #im not tagging apollo or trucy this isnt about them!!!!#hate mail so cruel youve got me dropping fic snippets (this is to hide the fact that you are right and i havent drawn thena in a hot minute

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trailerparkmusings · 8 months

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Drabble about Eddie trying on a jockstrap for the first time. Steve put an outfit out for him that he really wants to see his husband wear, and those leatherpants will not work with his usual boxers.

Inspo:

CW: Daddy used as a pet name for Eddie, suggestive, mentions of dicks, mentions of fucking but nothing explicit. Future fic. 40 year old Steddie.

With every passing second it becomes more and more obvious to Eddie that it's been a while since he's worn anything but comfortably worn out bandshirts and his trusty tanks and overalls.

Putting on a jockstrap of all things feels so profoundly wrong that Eddie can't help but giggle as the pulls them up over his hips and nestles his dick safe and sound into the pouch of it.

Steve's gotten him a black one, because he's a sweetheart like that, so at least Eddie doesn't have to watch the pale skin around his groin be swallowed up by the starchy white of Steve's straps - A small mercy, that doesn't make that the black, skimpy fabric great, though.

It feels weird seeing the bulge of his dick so contained, and when he turns around to look over his shoulder it feels even weirder to see his ass framed by two cotton straps.

On Steve a jockstrap looks like lingerie - Pretty bulging dick, dark curly pubes and white, broad cotton lifting his ass higher, framing it as if in invitation for Eddie to look and touch.

On Eddie, however, they remind him of the leather harness he bought when he was younger. Ill fitting and too dark against his skin, accentuating the flatness of his body and wearing him rather than having him wear it.

Well, he snorts at the mental image of his past self compared to him now, at flat might not be the right word for him anymore nowadays.

His stomach has rounded out, his shoulders are heavier than when he was a kid. His ass - He frowns again, giving it a light smack and pulling at the bottom of his cheeks. - It's rounder than it was 20 years ago, he supposes. Some of his weight managed to finally settle around his hips and ass, but he never quite managed to get rid of the permanent clenched look that's been his staple for decades.

It's nothing that ever bothered him, he has always been comfortable in his own body. And the only person who had to be into it definitely was, so he feels a bit pissed about how weird it is to have it framed like this.

It's just fabric. He's worn skirts, and dresses before. Panties, a few times, because Steve's still sometimes hung up about gender and Eddie likes helping him, showing him how little rules matter in the end.

So it's bullshit, really, how weird he feels right now. He groans, rubs his face.

Seems like he needs some words of affirmation, or at least a check in to see whether he's uncomfortable or just unsure.

He shuffles to the bedroom door and knocks, loudly. The chatter in the living room stops, and after a few seconds of silence the doorknob lowers and Steve presses himself through the doorframe.

"You okay, Teddy? You don't need to hurry, I know I've sprung the outfit on you last second -"

He sounds worried, but not enough to keep talking once his eyes actually find Eddie.

It's ridiculous, the way he raises his brows and bites his lip. How he gives him a double once over and an appreciative whistle that has Eddie roll his eyes, but jut his chest out just a tiny bit.

Sue him, he's a sucker for the way Steve looks at him.

"Hello, handsome," his husband purrs, "Why don't you give me a little twirl, daddy?"

"For what? I'm basically naked, Steve. You know what I look like."

Steve shrugs, takes his glasses off to clean them with the hem of his shirt as if he's about to try and read one of Robin's letters that she's lately been obsessed with sending.

When he puts them back on he squints down at Eddie's jockstrap, then up at him.

"Hmh, no. No, to me it looks like you are wearing something. Something I picked out for you, which means," his hands find Eddie's hips, and he presses closer until their lips are meeting in a chaste little kiss, "that I've got every right to see if I picked the right size. So, scram. Twirl. Gimme a show, daddy."

He slaps Eddie's ass, a gentle tap that has Eddie's eyes close in a moment of possessive bliss, and then he steps back.

Eddie is helpless to do as he asked, turns around and immediately gets stopped before he can finish showing off.

A hot body presses against his back, fingers snap the straps on his ass and soft lips trail kisses up his neck.

It startles a laugh out of him, too loud given that they've got guests sitting a few feet away behind their bedroom door, but Steve just grins.

"You didn't even look properly," Eddie mumbles into the palm of his hand. It was the wrong - right - thing to say, because Steve hums and presses between his shoulder blades until Eddie stumbles forward against the wall.

"Am I being arrested, officer?"

He's joking, staying still and spreading his legs just a bit because he knows that Steve will appreciate it.

"Maybe for public indecency, yeah. Eddie, God, you look so good. I wish I could stay. You could put me on my knees, maybe..." HD trails off, fingers ghosting over Eddie's ass, "Yeah, this was a great idea."

Eddie snorts at the awe in his husband's voice, tries not to react to the image of his pup on his knees.

A hand finds its way back to Eddie's hip, gentler fingers stroking along the crack of his butt, joining the dark straps in framing it.

Eddie let's him play for a minute longer, and then he slowly turns around.

"Hands off, cowboy," Steve's hands immediately leave a cold emptiness behind, and Eddie pulls at them until they're resting back on his hips as soon as he's leaning back against the wall. This time he gets to look at Steve.

At his wireframe glasses, and his short sleeved polo that's biting into his biceps like a prelude to what Eddie will do to them later. The first buttons are popped open, exposing tantalizing slivers of thick chest hair that Eddie has to forcefully cover with his own hand to be able to make eye contact.

"I was going to ask you if you'd be very disappointed of I went commando after all ," he admits. His free hand trails up Steve's neck, thumb pressing into the short beard he's started to grow lately, and then traveling back, back, until he's cradling his head. With a smile he notes that Steve's put his earring in, silver, simple, tantalizing like everything else about him.

Steve frowns at his words, but stays still. Leans into Eddie's palm with clear distaste at the idea of Eddie taking off the jockstrap.

Pervert.

He grins, leans forward for a quick peck against pouty, pink lips.

"But," another kiss, because he's an addict for the sweet sigh it gets him, "with how much this is driving you wild I suppose I can suffer a few hours in mock jockness."

"Thank God."

The utter honesty with which Steve says it has Eddie cackle, and soon he's joined by Steve's little snorts.

it's nice, he thinks, laughing chest to chest. Maybe we don't have to go out, maybe we can stay in and -

"Steve, you two better aren't fucking in there after I spend money on coming back home to see you."

Robin's distraught voice is loud, the banging of her flat palm against the door louder. In the background he can hear laughter - Jeff's booming laugh, and Freak's weird creepy giggles being enough to set Steve and Eddie off again.

"Not fucking!" Steve yells back with a smile, "Just had to help the hubby feel confident in his new clothes."

"That sounds a lot like fucking to me."

Robin's frown is loud enough to have Steve burry his face in Eddie's neck in laughter.

Eddie pats him, calmingly, despite his own grin, and then - because he's a great husband and an amazing friend - he slowly pushes Steve toward the door.

"Go take care of our guests, ma'am," Steve rolls his eyes, sticks his tongue out as if he were 20 and not 41, "and I'll finish playing dress up. 15 minutes, okay? And then I'll be all yours."

"15 minutes and like, 5 hours." Steve corrects him, but he smiles and opens the bedroom door.

"You better be wearing all of what I got you later. I'm not ashamed to check in the bathroom stall of whatever club Rob is driving us to."

The door closes in it's hinges, but Eddie can still hear the disgusted groans coming from their living room.

He grins, takes another look into the mirror. Maybe the jockstrap isn't so bad, he muses, it will certainly make wearing the fucking leather pants, that he's been trying to ignore for the past 20 minutes now, much easier.

#tp writing #steddie #CW daddy kink #older Steddie means they're both bears but in different fonts :)

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flock-from-the-void · 8 months

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Writeblr Battle Royale: Erin vs Tuan Tangyuan

WC: 1823, TW: death, blood, suicide

interlude ♦ Erin's fight ♦ Tangyuan's fight ♦ @writeblrbattleroyale

I had the pleasure to write this with @the-arigen! Their way with words is just immaculate.

Tuan Tangyuan could not remember when the last time he had a nightmare that devastating was. When he woke up, he was even relieved that he was still in the arena and had an opponent right before his eyes. Dealing with some killing sounded much nicer than dwelling in his emotional issues.

Looking from a corner of an eye on the opponent, he was figuring out how long it will take him to cut her throat. But he couldn't focus. That woman - she looked intriguing. Or actually, her gadgets looked intriguing. Tuan Tangyuan’s hands itched to touch them, to test them out and see what they did. He took a step towards her, then stopped. Something was a bit weird, weirder than the arena... maybe just as weird as a sentient teddy bear from the first round. Her scent. Under a coat of human stench, there was something else... Smell of a deciduous woodland, maybe an ash tree? No, an oak tree. Interesting...

He presented a bow, just deep enough for it to own its name. "My name is Tuan Tangyuan." He paused, trying to calm down his excitement. "I am but a simple wanderer. Still, may I have your name?"

Erin stared ahead for a moment, then shook herself back to awareness as her opponent spoke. The nightmare was an old one, the memory intentionally preserved just like all the others, crystallized in the form it had taken just moments after the experience. Across this time, a young man. With...

"Not to keep, of course, but you may call me Erin Duchesne. It has been quite a while since I've seen a cat-person. Are you natural or acquired?"

That was the first time he heard about acquiring magical powers, which made him even more curious. At this point his puffy tail was already wiggling, making his emotions more obvious than he’d like.

"I was born a demon. Can I ask you a question?"

Erin nodded, pulling herself together more. "Of course."

Should he ask about the gadgets, the smell or power? The gadgets, the smell, the power? He went with what he thought was the safest option. "You... have a curious scent. Why do you smell like an oak tree? Are you a... tree-person...?" he tried to guess.

Erin froze in place, the sound of her own stuttered breathing too loud in her ears, heartbeat tearing under her skin like it was attempting to escape her body. The wound was not always so fresh, but the nightmare had brought it directly to the surface, just waiting for the right moment to strike her again. With a voice more fragile than she preferred, Erin started her response. "It... My wife is. She... well. Rightfully doesn't talk to me much, anymore. But some years ago, she lent me her power, and has not taken it back. It makes me part... tree-person, in many ways."

Part of her wanted to cry, but Erin had had far too much experience with that to allow it to affect her that much. A reaction could be excused. A reaction that blurred her vision, slowed her response time? That could be lethal.

That... wasn't expected. Tuan Tangyuan approached her slowly and silently. There was something in how she was acting, what she was saying, that he couldn't ignore. She had a wife. A wife that left her. And yet, she still loved her. He knew that feeling of becoming stray again all too well, yet he knew no way of making the pain bearable.

"I'm sorry," he murmured. "It is also... It is a beautiful aroma. It probably reminds... I also have things like this. Things that make me remember about abandonment and people... I still... still love."

Erin laughed, the tears unshed but present all the same. "In some ways, it's lucky. In others... unbearably painful. But... we aren't in the best situation for that at the moment, unfortunately. And there's someone here who's planning to spread it. But... you. What are you going to be doing when you get out of here? And what's your plan for killing that power-tripping maniac who dragged us into this mess?"

The sudden change in her tone caught Tuan Tangyuan off guard. "I don't know yet," he blurted out. "I mean... after getting out of there I will be celebrating my triumph, I guess. I have no plan or intention of killing M, why would I?" He looked at her just as suspiciously as surprised. "Do you have one? Why the hell?"

"This is hardly my first time. Trapped away from the world, in a place that doesn't make sense, given an impossible situation by something akin to a god with no physical form and less moral integrity for the entertainment of beings I neither know nor understand. I may not manage it, but-" she changed to a yell, flaring her wings out to their full extent, flickering off the enchantment that dulled their glamour and letting the wave of iridescence crash over the entire arena. "I hope you understand, audience, but I will make sure someone kills him, whether I die in the process or no."

She turned back to Tangyuan, summoning her focus to her hand and flickering through the options and summoning two swords into existence, then dropped the focus, picked up the swords, and tossed one to him. "First rule of killing gods. Follow the rules." As soon as he looked prepared, Erin ran at him, making a show of her attack so that he knew what was coming. His skill level would be important in what was to come.

Tuan Tangyuan had barely enough time to pick up a sword, shove it under his belt and duck. He jumped back to get some distance. His claws went out, sharp and shiny. If she wanted a fight, he was more than happy to give her a fight - especially since she gave him something as precious as a sword! Tuan Tangyuan leaped again, this time to attack.

The return strike was fast, well-aimed... He knew how to fight at least. Erin could tell that she would be able to completely avoid it, though.

She didn't. Tuan Tangyuan's strike drew a trickle of blood from her left arm as it grazed her, and she launched into an offensive series of wide, showy strikes intended to keep her opponent away. "Conceptual beings must follow rules. If you break them, they can often retaliate, but they won't hit first."

She paused in her strikes, pulling to a defensive position to catch her breath more effectively, staring him down. "Rule two."

Tuan Tangyuan gripped her intentions - to present the fanciest, not the most effective moves. He didn't know many of those but tried his best, using his agility to the maximum. He dove under her arm and wing, left hand landing on the ground. He turned on it and aimed at her lower back, his legs high up for extra flare.

The catlike strike from behind would have been difficult to respond to at the best of times, and as distracted as she was Erin barely managed to dismiss her wings and shift over to the side, letting Tangyuan's kick spin her around partway before she brought the wings back to slow her spin, stabbing down at him. "Anything the rules don't cover, exploit to the breaking point. Change them, and never let your enemy be on their home turf."

As she said that, Erin swept low, presenting a jump into the air as the evasion of choice.

His attention was shifted to the wings - they amazed him. He had to touch them. "The theory sounds firm, but do you have any practical ideas?" he asked, running towards the wall. He jumped straight at it, leaping back to fly towards her wings.

Noting his direction, Erin leaned forward to swing her wing at him, trusting the enchantments on it to keep it whole even in combat. "There's a curse involved here. Every curse has a counter, though sometimes nigh-impossible to manage. But that just means we cheat."

He got swept by the wing but managed to land on two feet. Tuan Tangyuan smiled despite himself. "Just cheat," he repeated. His fingers caressed the hilt of the sword with no intention of grabbing it. He knew nothing about curses, about magic. He couldn't even come up with an idea for cheating! His old habits were holding him on a leash, not allowing him to disobey the higher power of other people. While he was pathetic like this, Erin tried to cooperate with him on an equal footing. To triumph, to stay alive, to feed the audience? What kind of wishes were those? Erin wanted to rescue others, so her life... Her life meant more than his.

Tuan Tangyuan stepped back a bit. His eyebrows met in a frown while his body was trembling. He was so determined and so unsure at the same time.

Erin readied herself again. Tuan Tangyuan was holding back now, and she watched him carefully, ready for any attack she could think of. "Rule three. Always let them know you're coming. Never let them know how. Let them know that terrible mortal experience of being afraid of the wrong thing."

There was a single feather in his ponytail. He took it out. A face of his closest friend... former friend flashed before his eyes. He said both to the friend and to Erin: "I was ungrateful for your teachings, let me thank you now." Using only tips of his fingers, he laid the feather before him on the ground and touched the floor with his forehead. After a moment of silence, he got up to sitting on his legs.

He was no longer scared. Tuan Tangyuan looked Erin straight in the eye and asked in unusually decisive voice: "I do not want to doubt it even a bit so tell me, do you wish to rescue everyone? Even me?"

Erin thought for a moment, but the answer had not been in question since the moment she'd married Aileen. "Were I able, nothing less would be acceptable."

"Then you will need time to come up with a plan. Do not throw your life away too easily, it is valuable jade."

His claws disappeared again. He gripped the sword so tightly, his fingers turned white. The blade sung as he removed it from its place on the belt, weighing the balance point in his hand. It was farther from him than was comfortable. Tuan Tangyuan grabbed the base of the blade with his left hand, tainting it with blood.

"Please, my friend, take that feather and forget neither me, nor your wife. I beg you, remember." The sword touched his throat, gently as the sea surf - but he asked to be drowned. Then there was nothing but the scent of the ocean, home of the dead.

#quill for writing #writeblr #writing #writeblr battle royale

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hangingslothcentral · 4 months

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this right here is a screenshot of the end of the first novel i ever finished. it was a version of Clockwork Bird, which would go on to become my first ever audio drama in 2020, 6 years after i finished wriitng the novel. it has been a whole TEN YEARS since i finished the first version of this story.

this makes me emotional for a bunch of reasons. firstly, i can't believe it's been an ENTIRE DECADE since i started finishing novel-length projects, what the actual FUCK.

it's kind of sobering because around July/August this year will mark 10 whole years of trying to get published.

since writing Clockwork Bird, I've written seven other novel length pieces, two of which I've attempted to run for publication. I've also rewritten and re-polished three of those stories, including Clockwork Bird, to give a second shot to. Two of those projects are currently making the rounds of literary agents.

I'm feeling hopeful that I'll be able to cross the finishline at some point in the next couple of years. I have wanted to be a writer for my whole life, and I know it's one of those things where all you really need to do to be the thing is to do the thing, and that's magic, and i also know that on top of all those prose writing projects, I've written three audio dramas and numerous other projects, too. the audio dramas have been pretty successful! I'm very proud of them.

one thing that's hard about looking at other people's creative careers is that, sort of by necessity, it all ends up getting flattened and smoothed out as part of the storytelling of who that person is as a creative. we tell rags-to-riches tales or spin another sort of narrative of who this person is and where they're from. the only commonality in all of those stories is that they make it all sound much more straightforward and much more understandable than the reality.

this is okay; it's important we do this in order to stay sane. we cannot reasonably conceive of every up and down in every author's trajectory. and it's kind of a consequence of the way we inevitably end up telling these stories because we start at the end. we know when we think about Charles Dickens, for example, that he ends up to be a celebrated novelist, even as we're talking about his difficult childhood and horrible relationship with his wife. all of his struggles and personal failings are a part of a story whose ending is 'and he was a famous, successful novelist'.

when we're living our lives, we don't know the end, because that's not how it works. you can hope and believe and plan and work extremely hard towards your goals and you still aren't going to know the outcome.

when i finished Clockwork Bird i had NO idea it would be an audio drama 90,000 people would listen to. i didn't know it would be another ten years MINIMUM before i even found a literary agent, let alone saw my work professsionally published. i didn't know i'd spend years barely writing a word of prose because i felt so disenfranchised. i had no idea.

there isn't a big thesis statement to this post, i'm just having a lot of feelings. they say we overestimate what we can achieve in a year, and underestimate what we can achieve in ten. remember you're hearing the stories of other people's lives with the benefit of hindsight; that's why yours always feels much weirder and messier than theirs when you think about it. keep going. u got this. ily. xxx

#eira speaks

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princematcha · 1 year

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shouto todoroki x reader || wc: 2k

cw: no pronouns for reader but in a dress, 1 mention of drugs (a joint), alcohol, everyone’s a little tipsy, sfw

pls no minors or ageless blogs

You’ve kissed Shouto, once.

If anyone asked, you would say no. That they’re wrong, he’s been one of your closest friends for forever. You’ve never thought about him like that when your other friends want to hear something “hot,” oh my god, he’s your friend.

You’ve never looked a little too long at the skin of his abdomen that peeks out when he takes off a sweater and his shirt rides up. Never woken up before him after falling asleep next to each other, and just admire him.

(You’ve gotten used to not looking at his face too much. He once adjusted his hair over his left eye when you were smoking together and you were staring at him. You asked him what was wrong and he asked if he had anything on his face as he took the joint from your hand. Shouto swallowed hard when you told him he was heartbreakingly pretty, his adam’s apple bobbing as he glanced around your face.

Sober you apologized.

Shouto still angles himself in his interviews, right side facing the cameras.)

Never known the feeling of his chest to yours as you breathe heavy breaths into each other’s mouths.

–it was New Year’s Eve.

//cut//

Your head hurt. You couldn’t remember if you hit it, or if it was because you smoked half a cigarette on the balcony with your friends after quitting cold turkey half a year earlier. Standing in your and Shouto’s kitchen in the way too nice apartment, you filled a glass at the sink. There’s a pitcher in the fridge, but you just downed two shots and there was already a glass rim down by the sink.

You turned around as Shouto rounded the corner to see you gulping water.

“Hello.”

You lifted a hand off of the counter to wave to him. He watched in silence as you finished the cup. You teetered back and forth on the heated marble floors, then slouched against the crowded counter.

Shouto was wearing a dark grey suit, blazer thrown over his arm. The off-white button-up underneath was rumpled by the collar and around his waist, partially untucked from his pants. Cufflinks you helped him choose and put on: gone; his sleeves rolled up to his elbows.

“What are you doing here?” You asked.

He shrugged and leaned onto the archway next to the fridge. Messing with a picture of the two from a purikura on a boardwalk, “Why? Need me gone?”

You smiled and shook your head, “No, always want you here.”

He glanced at you.

Sliding your glass across the counter until it hits a cheese platter one of your friends brought, you looked down at his mismatched socks, “I thought you had a hero thing. Fancy party with,” you picked up an empty bottle of overly sweet wine with a celebrity printed across the front, “fancy food.”

Shouto huffed, a small dimple on his left cheek showing itself, “Who needs fancy food when I’ve got this at home.” He ran his eyes back and forth the counter as he stepped closer, getting stuck on you twice. “They didn’t have any konbini mochi there.”

You laughed when he shook the room-temperature sakura mochi at you, Shouto giving a small smile at yours.

“What about your friends? People you actually like?” You joked. When you asked him if you could host a small get-together for New Years and told him who would be coming, his face stayed purposely flat. Your friends were a lot when you were able to wrangle them into one place.

His head tilted, “I like you.”

“I know you do.” His smile dropped a touch, goosebumps rose up your bare legs, a chill suddenly in the air, “It would be weirder if you didn’t.”

Shouto stared into you like the time you came home with tears in your eyes after your partner broke up with you and suddenly you felt as if you said something wrong.

“You know because– we, uh, live together.” Words fell out of your mouth like water between your teeth. “And we’re-”

The glass door to the balcony slid open and one of your friends came ambling through, yelling Shouto’s last name the minute she saw him, inviting him out for a drink.

You smiled up at him, ready to be free from that look.

“You comin'?”

Making Shouto play drinking games was much easier than you anticipated, though no one was prepared for how horribly good he was at every single one of them.

After the third game of beer pong with the other side of the table left with one solo cup, and your shared side missing just one cup, you hip-bumped him out of the way when it was his turn.

“This is ridiculous. You’re ridiculous.”

You saw him look down at you in your peripheral vision as you aimed your throw, the world shifted and wobbled before you.

“You asked me to come out here,” Shouto says.

Your friend loosely ushered you back telepathically, her quirk tired and unfocused. “Too close,” she muttered, “Rules.”

“I thought we were going to play a game, not demolish my friends with no mercy.” You threw the ping-pong ball.

It bounces once on the table and then rolls off to the side. Your friends cheered, hugging each other in great celebration.

“Are you not having fun?” Shouto’s mouth is much closer to your ear than you were prepared for, warm breath running over your ear and neck. You find yourself staring as he stands back up to his full height.

Your eyes dashed between his. “I’m, yeah, of course.”

He nodded and opened his mouth to say more, but a door slammed open, shouts of how the countdown is soon.

You gazed out over the balcony, Tokyo feeling crackly and alive. People in the streets with their heads pointed up to see the fireworks that would shortly fill the night sky.

“Do you remember when I spent a few months in the States?” Shouto asks after all of your friends shuffle inside.

You stared at your hand as your eyes unfocused, half of it disappearing for the glowing building behind it. “I don’t think I could forget Shou, could’ve bought out half of Japan with the international phone bills.” You smiled at him to show you were joking.

He blinked at you slowly like a sleepy cat.

“You celebrated with your family that year.” You nodded as he spoke.

Shouto celebrated in the States; alone. “I meant to call you back the next-”

“You were there when it mattered.”

You turned to him, your back to the city. He was staring at you, but you weren’t sure if he ever really looked away from you. There’s a serene look on his face that makes you want to ask him anything, everything. Questions you’ve already asked, questions that roll into your brain when you’re bored, questions you can only ask in dreams.

Why he texted you every morning and every night when he was across the world. Why he shares an apartment with you that he could afford a dozen of. Why he was standing right in front of you looking like he could-

“There’s a, ah, tradition they have,” he rubbed his palm on his slacks, “Back there. In the states.”

He stares at the air over your head as you wait for him to continue, you like hearing about his travels, his thoughts. “At the end of the countdown. They kiss someone.”

Your thoughts stalled, “Oh.”

“For good luck.”

“Ah.” Your eyes betrayed you as your focus darted down to his mouth. Lips parted, a small cut running over his bottom lip from a fight he was in the other day. The cold always makes them a tint darker, you suspected he wore lipstick for a bit in high school. “Did you-?”

Shouto watched your gaze bounce down and up. “No.”

“Cool.” You found yourself interested in a hair that fell on his shoulder. “Sorry.” What? Is going on.

“Your dress.” He suddenly said, walking towards you with determination in his eye.

You glanced down and saw a strap was falling, moving to push it up and thank him, but his hand met your shoulder before you could. “I’ve got you.”

“Thank you.” You whispered.

Shouto’s palm didn’t leave your shoulder, warm fingers playing with the fabric of the thin strap. Skin soft on yours.

He smelt like mint. And tea. You accidentally took too deep of a breath, head dizzy with the smell of him; you leaned against his chest. Shouto didn’t say anything, his heartbeat raced against your head, his firm chest stilled.

“I thought about you every day.”

“Me too,” you spoke into his shirt.

“I, still, think about you every day.”

You looked up at him. “You see me every day?”

“Not enough.” He gazed directly into your eyes, and the feeling dripped over you like warmed honey. You wrapped a finger around one of his belt loops, readying a question in your mind.

“Ten!”

The shout of your friends inside made you jump, Shouto smiled as he slid his hand from your shoulder over your neck and onto your cheek.

“I’ve thought about this-”

“Nine!”

“About you,”

“Eight!”

“For so long.”

“Seven!”

“About what?” You asked. You knew, you think. You always knew, but you just- you just need to hear it.

“Six!”

His thumb traced your bottom lip, eyes shamelessly glued to your mouth.

“Five!”

“This.” He said. And brought his nose to yours, pressing them together.

“Four!”

His breath was cold as he breathed into your mouth, the air sticking to your tongue.

“Three!”

“Can I,” Shouto’s top lip brushed yours as he asked, “kiss you?”

“Two!”

You nodded against his cheek, your hand against the buttons of his shirt, “Yes.”

“One!”

“Please.”

“Happy New Year!”

His mouth melded against yours like that was where he was supposed to be his whole life, so, so softly. Your eyes fluttered close as fireworks littered the sky, the loud popping nowhere to be in your mind.

Shouto tasted like the strawberry soju you keep in a high cabinet as his tongue ran over yours, one of his hands gripping your waist for life. You met each other at every breath, slow and heated movement. Not wanting to be apart longer than necessary.

His chest pressed against yours as he walked you back towards the balcony railing, your back pressed against the cold stone. It didn’t matter as Shouto ran a hot hand over your collarbone, a warm feeling sizzling in your gut.

The sound of glass breaking woke you though. An ice bath for your warm gooey mind.

You pushed him back suddenly, eyes wild and looking everywhere but him. What were you thinking? He’s drunk. He probably doesn’t know what he’s doing.

You were drunk too, but why would you think about yourself?

You don’t know what face he was making. You don’t want to know what face Shouto was making.

“Sorry.” You turned to help your friend with the champagne glass she dropped.

//cut//

(When you woke up, it was with another brutal headache. Shouto brought you a hot drink in bed and asked if you remembered last night. You said yes.

For a moment he looked mortified.

You were embarrassed.

You told him you remembered that he came back, but not much after that. You’re not sure if he could tell if you were lying. You’re not sure if it matters.)

You glance at your phone for any new messages.

Just a text from your boss about a deadline on friday.

“I just can’t believe it.”

“Hmm?” You look up at Ayame sitting across from you. Your friend wanted a recovery brunch from the drinking this weekend.

“I mean you live with him, you’re telling me you didn’t know?”

You shrug, glancing at the gossip paper sitting on the table next to yours. “I try not to pry.”

“You never saw her come over?”

Reading over the headline, you feel tears building at the back of your eyes but you hold your breath. “I don’t know. Maybe just, like-”

10 January 20XX

New Beau for Top 30 under 30 Pro-Hero Shouto?

“I don’t know.”

A cover photo of Shouto leaving a restaurant with a woman, smiling down at her; the ink buries itself into your mind.

Ayame sighs, “Damn, I could’ve sworn I saw something between you at the party. You sure nothing happened?”

You rub your eye and stare at the bubbles fizzing up in your drink, “No. Nothing happened.”

#shouto x reader #shouto todoroki x reader #todoroki shouto x reader #shoto x reader #tw alcohol #tw drugs mention #light angst #not edited bc why would i #u either have freak nasty segs rlly soon after this or in 5 years or never #if u can’t handle the heat;;; get out of the kitchen #kidding…….. kinda.. it’s just funny imagining letting tension build bc ur too stupid

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birdbutt · 25 days

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personal tma episode today woohoo I suppose (uh.... cw for rotten/scary ?food? I guess)

I work in mail sorting. In one of The Big mail sorting plants, the kind of building lined with conveyor belts that take things across the building, up and down different floors, just wherever it needs to get to so it can leave in the right direction to the local stations and parcel carriers. A big mechanical nervous system. Filled with packages or letters instead of flesh or blood.

You find a lot of weird things in the mail. You just have to learn to ignore it. It gets weirder even on the overnight shift. Not just drugs or other illegal oddities, but those truly bizarre sights you know you'll have no way of describing later. If you even remember them after a long night.

8pm to 5am is when I'm there. We even sort on Sundays. Have to get the mail to your station by Monday you know? I usually like to listen to podcasts while I work. I mean, I'm just standing in place, waiting for that labyrinth of moving belts and conveyors to drop the next round of mail into my chute so I can start sorting the zip codes. I'll put each package on another conveyor belt, key in a code on a small number console, then watch the package get taken away and dropped into another cart or chute somewhere. There's four other drop chutes just like mine, lined up along the main belt behind me, with another equally bored or just plain tired plant worker waiting for the next round of endless deliveries to sort. All listening to their own music or books or even having a late night phone conversation. Today I was playing The Magnus Archives. It really didn't feel like it would matter what I listened to at the time. I was in the middle of episode 36 - Taken Ill, and as the narrator started describing the sickly horror of the scripted week a package at the top of my chute broke open and a slimy, pale yellow, almost gray fluid starts pouring out... well oozing out. It seemed slow, but happened so fast that I couldn't have done anything to help minimize it even if I wanted to get close enough to do that. It got over everything. The belt, the chute, the other packages, even the floor. It didn't just get my area either. When it broke it was still close enough to the main conveyor belt that it spread to the other four chutes after me too. The smell was so strong I almost couldn't move at first. Almost sweet. Before the strench of almost tangible rot slammed it's way so hard into my brain my legs nearly gave out.

Well the stench obviously traveled all over. Farther than normal I guess. Everyone on our floor level could smell it and was coming over to find out what happened. I mean everyone too which is impressive. This is not a small building, it takes about five minutes for someone fit to speed walk from one end of our floor to the other. So it was kind of a joke everytime we caught another brave soul wandering over from so far to try and figure out just what the hell they were being forced to smell.

We get people trying to mail cooked foods or meals all the time, it always turns rotten before the package even makes it to a sorting plant. Always. It's so stupid, but also so common you hardly notice it after a couple months there. A turkey sandwich in a manilla envelope, ham with mashed potatoes on a ceramic plate, a plastic baggy of homemade pickles. Almost makes me chuckle sometimes. Well, almost chuckle AFTER, the slime and smell of what used to be something consumable gets mopped up. So that full bodied stench of old organic rot isn't foreign to us in the plants by any means. Nobody could say for sure what had rotted though, but we all agreed it was definitely familiar. When we removed the box from the top of the chute we still couldn't figure out what it was. Usually when one of these busts we get to see what ever moldy, decomposed chunk meat or produce someone tried to mail ooze out of the soggy cardboard when picked up. This was somehow just slime. A molded pale yellow that almost seemed gray. There wasn't anything else. It looked like someone had packaged up only the decay while leaving out what originally fed it. If there had ever been anything else it seemed to have already completely liquefied. And it filled the entire box and more. It seemed to be too much for the package that broke. We all tried to joke about how long the package must have been lost in the twisted turns of the never ending veins of sorting machinery to get /that/ rancid, but we couldn't bare to keep our mouth open too long around it. Thinking back I don't remember anyone actually complaining about the SMELL, just how it was stronger than normal, strong enough to taste. All from a square box barely 7 inches long. A box that hadn't even smelled until it spilled open. Or we thought it had spilled, we couldn't see what might have been the tape holding it closed anywhere in the soggy mess.

Because it was just so... wet we almost forgot to check if the mailing info was still intact any any way before we binned it for another crew to inspect and clean. No chance of saving it at this point. The address had melted away into that yellowish sick of spoiled matter, but the postage mark was still dry. Pristine even. A bright unmarked spot of bright dry paper on a sea of decomposing filth where there sat a single fly. That lonely insect drawing my attention to the smallest bit of information that I would have never noticed, or thought to check, without the dance it seemed to do right on top. Pointing me to the punchline of a joke I never wanted to know.

It had been sent locally that same day.

You find a lot of weird things in the mail. You just have to learn to ignore it.

#The Magnus Archives #a true horrible coincidence #gross story sorrrrryyyyy (think ep 36)#didn't mean for this to become such a sTaTEmeNT but like..... hell no I noped outta there the second I saw the fly #there's always flies when food gets mailed but like.... iykyk. I was not hanging around for this coincidence after THAT tma ep #I belong to the eternal slumbering titan that is the ancient building where I am employed.#I am a symbiotic postal parasite that will sadly live to sort the life blood of usps for another day #most I've written in years. I don't even talk this much. who would I even talk to???

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smolghostbot · 10 months

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GT July: Enchanted

I was originally going to post this, but decided it was maybe too much for a first post. But... since I posted Melancholy early, why not just swap them? I am a sucker for "fantasy species has different standards of attraction than humans do", and had to do something with that since I've been developing sprites as a species.

Word Count: 500 Character bios in my pinned post CWs: Spicy vibes, though subtle. Otherwise, uh… mention of appropriation, I guess? Yeah there's not much.

========

"Wow, these do not do a great job staying on… but it's good enough! What do you think, Patch? Tara said we could dress up at work today for the holiday, but I wanted to keep it low-key… I feel like Grant will probably put no effort in as always and I don't want to be the only one dressed up, you know? I mean-"

As Melody went on about her coworkers, Patch tried to avoid staring. Mel said she was dressing as a fairy for “Halloween”, and Patch had actually seen the outfit before. It was a green dress that looked as if it was made of giant leaves, with some translucent, human-sized butterfly wings on the back. On Mel's forearms and ankles were some green bands, and the outfit was complimented by a simple flower crown on their head and some plain white flats. According to Mel, this outfit was what humans thought that tiny people would wear, which got a laugh from Patch. Making an outfit out of leaves? Ridiculous, it would dry up in a week. If a sprite tried to wear that ridiculous getup they'd be vulnerable to literally everything.

However, the inaccuracy was far from the reason that Patch found themself staring. One detail Melody hadn't included in the outfit test was her ears. The human's freakish, round ears were… pointed. They were clearly fake, the color was slightly off from their skin color… but… wow. Their face shape was… different, with them. More balanced. Did… did her eyes always glimmer like that? Patch had been in the presence of Melody for almost a year now, but this was the first time they've… seen her. And oh no, was it about to make their time as this human's roommate a lot weirder.

"... Ground control to Major Patch? Are you… you okay, dude? Why are you staring at me… and red?"

Focus, Patch, Focus! Don't be weird!

They gave Mel a smile and a thumbs-up, but the human wasn't about to let it go that easily.

"... psh, you suck at lying, Patch. What is it, is the dress too high? Oh my gods wait, is it… is it the ears? Oh shit, is this like, appropriation? I swear, I thought it would just be a cute little nod to your ears, you know… Sorry, I can take 'em off… They don't even fit me that well…"

Patch started shaking their head and their hands no, to reassure the human that their outfit wasn't offensive. Partially to reassure the human, but a selfish part of them also just wanted Mel to keep the ears on for at least a little bit longer. Not… not in a weird way, though. Obviously.

As Mel breathed a sigh of relief, glad that she didn't once again offend her little roommate, Patch had a single thought as they looked away, using a hand to hide their rapidly reddening face.

… Oh no… They fit her perfectly.

#patch has been through so much. they are allowed to be little a spicy. as a treat. and they would never be disrespectful about it.#also somehow this is the first post where mel swears? that is NOT the case in the actual story draft lol #oc tag: patch #oc tag: mel #patchwork melody #g/t #giant/tiny #g/t writing #g/t ocs #gtjuly

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itisaterriblelove · 2 months

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GIVING ELLE SPACE WAS PROBABLY a better idea than spending any one on one time with her. But the fucking truth was that it probably wasn’t Elle who needed the fucking space—the opposite, actually, considering the whole damn fight was about me ditching her for Tyler—it was me. Maybe I just needed to get my head on straight, because it was starting to feel like everything was turning upside down and I was helpless to do anything but watch it spin.

I don’t know what the fuck happened.

Elle and I had always had a dynamic friendship, pretty much since grade school. She’d been one of the weirder kids, and a lot of the others had made fun of her for it. But I’d thought she was fucking fascinating, even then, and not much had changed since.

It was never a sexual thing, not with Elvis. Some people were just too fucking awesome to complicate shit with sex. She was special to me, and I’d never made any qualms about admitting that. Not to her and not to anybody else, either. After years of the same, everybody seemed to understand that about us.

We’d been fine. We’d been perfect. Elle and I had been coasting on a perfectly functional relationship for years. Until recently.

I liked girls. I liked hooking up. I even liked relationships. It was fun to see how two people gelled together and what stupid shit we managed to get bent out of shape about with each other in the process. What shit eventually ended it. But the thing all of my relationships had in common? Yeah… They all fucking ended. Mostly on good terms, but me and the girl were sure as shit not best friends before or after it. And it was okay when those girls came and went. When things changed… As long as the big things stayed the fucking same. And Elvis Hirsche was one of those big things.

Which was why—without ever really talking about it—Elle and I had decided to avoid that whole fucking messy minefield. It had never needed a conversation before.

So why the fuck did I feel like it needed one now?

Maybe it was just me? Maybe I was making a bigger deal where there wasn’t one. I couldn’t be sure. It suddenly felt like I couldn’t be sure of anything where Elle was concerned.

“Gavin?” The sound of my name on her lips let me know that she’d said my name more than once while I lost myself in thought about her. Elle’s impatient face confirmed that assumption. “Am I playing this right? It sounds off?”

I tried to listen as Elle strummed on my guitar, but all I could hear was the rushing sound of blood in my veins as I watched her bite down on her bottom lip in concentration. And it was mother-fucking distracting, to say the least.

I cleared my throat and forced my eyes away from her cute little body, bent over my guitar on the sofa in my living room. Today’s lesson had been longer than anticipated, and it was all my fault, I knew it.

“Sorry baby, do that one more time for me.”

I had to clear my head if it was the last thing that I did. There was something off track in me when I couldn’t seem to stop thinking about how it felt to wake up with Elle curled up in my arms, with the scent of her hair pressed against my nose.

I liked my girlfriend—a lot. And I didn’t see that changing any time soon. So I really couldn’t understand where the frustration had snuck in from.

Elle strummed the series of chords again without complaint, effectively pulling me out of myself long enough to concentrate on the music. It was a rare fucking day where music didn’t have my full attention, but apparently I was going a bit against the grain today.

She was right, actually, about something being off. But it wasn’t because she’d done what I showed her wrong. Quickly, I realized my own mistake. I was supposed to be teaching her a new song, but my mind was so off topic that I hadn’t even played it right for her to learn from me.

“It seems like it should go more like this…” She played in a way that better rounded the music, creating a more complete tune with barely a mistake. For a moment I could only sit in stunned silence as I processed what had just happened. It wasn’t like Elle was playing by ear—not exactly—because I was teaching her something that I wrote. And so she’d taken my mistake and fixed it, then somehow managed to make it sound even better without my input.

“Gavin?” She prodded me with her foot, lifting her face from the guitar to stare at me. One of her eyebrows arched and I realized that I had been silent for too long. “Where is your mind today?”

“I only just taught you those chords last month!” I knew it sounded like a complaint, but I really couldn’t help myself. “Fuck, Elle! Maybe I should stop teaching you, before you become a better guitarist than me.”

She beamed at me, all the smugness splayed across her expression, and shrugged. “Better watch your back, Gavin Porter.” Elle tapped my guitar gently and shot me a warning look. “I might be taking your spot in the band soon!”

“Hey, hey!” I cupped my heart in mock-offense. “That’s so fucking rude.” I shook my head at her. “I thought we were starting our own band. What happened to that?”

“Oh, yeah!” Elle actually wiggled on the sofa with my guitar in her lap, she was so excited by the thought. “I could play the bongos and we could travel in one of those campers.”

“Now that’s the life.” I laughed at the genuine gleam of excitement in her eyes; it was hard not to take her seriously when she said outrageous things like that. I suspected she actually meant them all.

“We could live off love and a tip jar,” she announced with a sage nod of her head.

My smile softened as I agreed with her. “Sounds good to me, baby. Sign me up.”

She shifted, settling my guitar down next to the sofa, propped up against the end table. “What do you think we should name our band? And can I finish my fashion design degree first?”

Yeah, okay. She was probably fucking serious. I shrugged. “You should definitely finish your degree first. Garrett and Amy would never let me hear the fucking end of it if I ran off with you and didn’t let you finish school. You know, they think I’m a bad influence on you?!”

Elle scoffed. “It’s like your parents have never met my parents before…” She shook her head, but the smile on her face gave away her actual appreciation of my parents’ assessment of our friendship. She snapped her fingers at me in the way people do when someone’s being too slow about something. “Names, bucko!”

I blinked at her. “Uh-uh.” I shook my head. “You’re better at that stuff than me. You pick.”

She squirmed again, and I could practically see the wheels turning in her head. “I’ll have to think about it, then. And you’re not allowed to veto anything that I pick! Since you’re not contributing.”

“Those are some steep terms, Elle.” I regarded her seriously but she didn’t even flinch. “All right, fine. But no boy band references!” I had to at least have that much assurance. “Non-negotiable.”

She pouted at me. An honest to god, serious fucking pout that had me nervous all over again. Fuck. Everything. “Non-negotiable, baby.” I repeated, refusing to be swayed.

I shouldn’t have been surprised when she threw herself in my lap. I mean, fucking honestly. I should have seen it coming, because this was Elle, and this was just the shit that we did. But damn.

I was on the floor, a notebook opened on the coffee table in front of me, and literally at Elle’s feet from where she sat on the sofa. And one second she was there, pouting, and the next she had launched herself onto my lap like it was no big deal.

It shouldn’t have been—it wasn’t always—but it really fucking was.

It wasn’t a sexy thing that she did. I mean, it wasn’t supposed to be… She was in some regular jeans and a hoodie and nothing fucking special, and I had held her in my arms a hundred thousand times. So it should have been run of the mill.

Except it was Elle, all warm and soft, and smelling like vanilla for some fucking reason. And when she wrapped her arms around me, all I could think about was sliding my tongue up the curve of her neck, and it was really fucking me up.

My heart started going a hundred miles an hour, which was just so fucking dumb. But I was a hundred and fucking ten percent sure she tasted better than she smelled, and all I could think about was finding out for sure.

“I’m sorry we fought last night.” Her breath and her hair tickled along my neck, as I carefully wrapped my arms around her. “It was stupid. I hate fighting with you. I’m sorry I ruined your date.”

I tried to tell my heart to calm the fuck down but it just wouldn’t listen. I breathed, slowly in and slowly out, before even trying to respond to her. “I’m sorry I ditched you, baby. It was my fault.”

It wasn’t.

Elle had been less than gracious about Tyler from the start, and I had been pretending not to notice all along. But shit, I was noticing now.

“What's your problem with Tyler?” Elle shrugged and I felt, more than saw, her shoulders rising with it.

“I don’t know. I don’t have a problem with her?” She tipped her head back so that she could look at me. Which was a horrible fucking thing for her to do, because it just put her face that much closer to mine. If we shifted, I could have her on her back in a few seconds. Out of the hoodie, out of the shirt, just my hands on her skin. My mouth.

It was soft—Elle’s skin—and smooth and tan and taut. She’d probably let me do it, too. I thought she might.

Un-fucking-believable. I couldn’t focus for three seconds.

I swallowed and leaned my head just slightly back. It took a moment for me to get my thoughts back on track, to reorient myself to the topic of conversation. Girlfriend, right. One that Elle did not like. “I think you kind of do, Elle.” My tone wasn’t as light as I expected it to be, because my tone was usually always light. Soft, uncommitted. But at the moment everything was heavy and filled with tension. Even my vocal chords.

Elle sighed. “I guess I’m just… jealous.” I could see the word was hard for her to push out, and it was even harder for me to hear. It caused a tightness in my chest that I wasn’t entirely sure what to do with. And I must have looked like something—I don’t fucking know what—but my face was telling Elle something that she apparently did not want to hear. I knew this when she pulled away from me and scooted onto the open space on the floor beside me. She pulled in to herself, drawing her knees up, and rested her chin against them.

I’d been uncomfortable with her right up on me, but I was fucking hating the space that she’d created once she moved.

“I mean… You have someone and I don’t.” She sort of shrugged without looking at me, and her voice had gotten smaller. That tightness in my chest increased, but I couldn’t understand exactly why.

“I think I just need a boyfriend.” At that word—boyfriend—all of my muscles tensed. Like a coiled spring, every part of me clenched together. I was fucking speechless, and breathless too.

For some reason, the idea of Elle needing a boyfriend sucked all of the air out of the room.

“I mean…” she blinked, and her big eyes zeroed back in on my cornered expression. “I spend almost all of my free time with you. And I’m practically graduated college and yet I’m still a virgin! That’s crazy, right?!”

I couldn’t have answered her if I’d wanted to… Every fucking word in the English language had just erased from my mind.

I must have been quiet for too long, because Elle twisted her body to look at me and arched one eyebrow again. “Gavin?” She prodded my kneecap with her pointer finger. I caught her finger and tugged, encouraging her to come back to me. This time her legs straddled me on either side, and we sat there, face to face for a moment where I really wasn’t sure what I was going to do next.

I settled my hands on her hips and let out the breath that I’d been holding. “Don’t have sex with some asshole just to say you did it, Elle.” There was my voice, and it wasn’t even shaky. It was some kind of fucking miracle. “I would hate that.” The longer I looked at her—this close to my face—the surer I was that I was going to kiss her. Just fuck the consequences, I was practically desperate to feel her lips on my skin. I wasn’t proud of the realization, but I knew for sure that I wanted my tongue in her mouth.

If she moved, if she even breathed hard enough.

“You should make sure it’s the right asshole, okay?” There was no reason for me to be whispering, except the obvious… That I was still thinking about kissing her, still deciding if I was going to do it. She nodded and it was almost my fucking breaking point.

I could push her hips to my hips, I could slide my hands underneath her shirt. She would definitely let me. I couldn’t even feel my heart, it was beating so fast.

“And you’re not allowed to spend less time with me. I’d miss you too much.” It was meant to be a joke, meant to lighten the mood and create that bit of space I really needed to break this fucking hold she had on me at the moment. But it didn’t work. When I said it, it sounded too much like flirting. And, fuck me, it sort of felt too much like flirting, too.

“Relax, Gavin,” Elle patted my shoulder reassuringly. She leaned back, so I shifted and she stood. Thank fucking God. She ran her fingers through her hair and rolled her shoulders. “It’s not like I’m going to do the next jerk I go on a blind date with or something. I just mean maybe I should date.”

She shrugged like it was no big deal, and maybe she was right with that. Maybe it wasn’t.

But I still felt like something invisible had wrapped me up in a vice-grip and I couldn’t get free.

#my writing #my art #artists on tumblr #fng #fng ch09 #gavin x elle #ummm...#tw excessive swearing #bc gavin #didn't this man already have a cold shower??#i think he did.#didn't help.#smh

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holly-louisexox · 2 months

Text

Ribcage X Andy Biersack- Part 14

Masterlist

"There's one thing you should know about me Delia Vincent, I don't date. Got no heart to break and emptiness is safe, keep it that way."

He was adamant in his choices…

…But then things changed.

"Okay, I must admit, being in a New York venue is really fucking cool!" Delia grins taking in the sight around her. She had always wanted to visit New York and see a show on Broadway, sadly finance never allowed it.

"Well it's the city that never sleeps Delia, get ready for a wild one!" Jake laughs patting the shorter girl on the back. "Let's get this show on the road lads!"

"D, wait until tomorrow, me and you will go explore the shit out of the city, you'll love it!" Shevy hypes. "But for now, we need to get this soundcheck done, the traffic set us back a bit but let's go!"

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Watching the guys perform felt different this time round. Delia hated that she was attracted to Andy, he was everything she should hate, yet she couldn't bring herself to dislike him. Instead, it's almost as if there was something drawing her to him.

"I built these walls to watch 'em crumbling down. I said, then I lost it all, and who can save me now?"

Lost it all had easily become one of Delia's favourite songs this tour, the lyrics were so vulnerable and Andy always managed to have such a raw edge to his voice, it was almost as if Andy was fighting with himself during the song. It was as if he did not want anyone seeing the truly vulnerable side of him, especially after he had built the whole persona of not caring. Wait a second, Andy was staring right at Delia, surely he wasn't though? Letting out small smile, Andy then continued the rest of the song whilst breaking away the eye contact.

"I stood above another war, another jewel above the crown."

This was just getting weirder and weirder. Delia did not want to be attracted to Andy, she couldn't allow herself to be. She had to try and find a way to get over him...

... But how?

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

New York City baby! This is going to be a good show tonight boys!" CC hypes the band up.

Currently they had half an hour before VIP began so that band, Shevy and Delia were just relaxing backstage after having some food.

"It's crazy to be in New York, I've always dreamed of visiting here. I would do anything to see a live Broadway show." Delia explains with a slight thrill to her voice.

"A Broadway show? Really?" Andy speaks up looking at her- it was the same monotone voice as always but this time he actually seemed as if he was interested in what she had to say for once, he wasn't harsh or unkind about his comment.

"Yeah, I've always dreamed about seeing The Phantom of The Opera live on Broadway as it's my favourite musical. Even just having you guys play the opening overture at the beginning of the set gets me super hyped." At this point Delia was geeking out a little and she was not ashamed at all. "Whoever came up with that idea I applaud you." This brought a grin to Andy's face.

"It was actually my idea." Andy grins- the rest of the band (including Shevy) were looking between the two in shock. Shock that Andy was genuinely smiling for the first time in years and shocked at how the two people who seemed to clash a lot could have such a big common interest. They all could tell something had happened or will happen, even if Delia and Andy would not admit it. Of course Shevy knew more than the others and this just added fuel to her fire. Andy was changing and for the better; it was all because of Delia even if the two of them did not want to admit it.

"Really?" Delia asks in shock. "Sorry I just did not take you for a theatre fan."

"I love Phantom of The Opera, it's one of my favourites alongside Sweeney Todd." Andy continues to grin whilst getting excited. "Dude we should totally go see Phantom, we have a few days in New York before the next show."

"What?" Delia freezes, she could feel the rest of the room holding their breath in anticipation as to what was going to happen between the two.

"Yeah, you're right, it's stupid." Andy coughs going back to his monotone voice. "It's not like we're friends or anything anyway. I couldn't think of anything worst than sitting next to you for 2 and a half hours."

Just like that, Andy was back to his cold ways. To say it hurt was an understatement, Delia had a feeling of remorse about Andy's sudden coldness. She knew that she should not have been surprised by this, but somewhere deep down, she thought she was finally getting through to him.

"Yeah, of course." Delia felt her smile falter slightly, but she refused to give him the satisfaction of seeing her hurt and embarrassed in front of everyone.

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

"Where is the spark that won't fade away? And where is the queen to my king of pain?"

Andy was doing it again, he was singing in Delia's direction again. To say she didn't feel the cliche of butterflies would be a lie, instead, she felt as if she could live in that one short moment forever and she'd be happy.

"Wait, is it just me or was Andy totally staring you down just then?" Shevy squeals; she had popped over to the sound booth to check in with Delia and ended up staying a little longer than planned.

"He did it earlier." Delia muttered without thinking about what she was saying.

"He what? When? This same song?" Shevy asks in shock whilst smirking. "I mean, I can't say king of pain is the most romantic song but I guess the gesture is cute, the guy is definitely thinking about you."

"It was during lost it all." Delia states simply.

"Okay I was not expecting that one." Shevy is now genuinely shocked. "I know you don't want to believe it, but this is the most vulnerable I have seen Andy in 2 years, D. Maybe he isn't completely in love with you like I keep joking about but you have changed something inside of him."

"Shevy, please, do not start this. It's bad enough I felt completely embarrassed by him earlier. I can tell he wears a mask, especially to be the star. When he went so cold on me after showing his true self and being genuinely normal, that hurt and it was so humiliating that it happened in front of everyone. The rest of the band definitely suspect something now if they didn't already." Delia focuses on the tech in front of her to try to hide the hurt on her face; she was close to tears but of course she would not admit this nor did she want Shevy seeing her like that.

"Yeah, that was so uncalled for of him, but I wouldn't be embarrassed by it, D. Maybe you just need to try to get some one on one time with him. Maybe grab coffee or something so that you can try to discuss these things with him. Yes, I know he can be difficult to talk to but you will never get this stuff sorted if you don't try." For once Shevy had ditched her joking side and was actually being serious; Delia could tell this by her tone alone. It was very rare Shevy was serious like this, normally she was full of fun and bubbles, when Shevy turned serious you knew she meant business.

Maybe Shevy was right. Maybe the only way to sort this out was to try to talk to Andy. After all, Delia did not want to like Andy but here she was. Maybe if she were to lie to herself and try to let him down easy, it would help her get over him. But at the same time, if Delia and Shevy were reading all of the signs wrong, it would result in major embarrassment. Equally, there was only 2 weeks left of the tour, just over, she did not have to avoid him completely but they could go back to being civil and after the tour she simply never sees him again. Although, is that what she really wanted? Of course not...

... But she knew for her own sanity and to protect herself, she had to get over Andy Biersack and leave him behind.

#andy biersack #andy black #andy bvb #cc bvb #jake pitts #jake bvb #jinxx bvb #lonny bvb #lonny eagleton #black veil brides #bvb #black veil brides fanfic #bvb fanfic

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