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#that everyone i know is seemingly actually having things to look forward to and a life to live
tardis--dreams · 1 year
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I have. Lost my mind; just to let you know- My brain short-circuited and made a ✨️bad decision✨️
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Left at the Altar - Hangman
Pairing: Hangman / (Ex-Girlfriend) Fem!Reader
Word Count: 2.2k
Warnings: Light Angst; Drama; Getting Left at the Altar (Not by Hangman); Asshole Ex (Not Hangman); Second Person POV ("You"), No Y/N, No Physical Description for the Reader
This work, all of my other works, and my entire blog are 18+ Only.
Summary: When you get left at the altar, a familiar face swoops in to save the day.
Edit: Part 2 Part 3 Epilogue
Master List
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Ever hit rock bottom? Well, you thought you did. And then you got stood up at your own wedding.
Staring up at the altar, you slowly sat down in the front pew. You sat your bouquet down beside you and reached up to pull out the pins holding your veil in place. You definitely weren’t going to need them. Not after the text message that you received from your ex-fiancé.
That’s right. You got dumped on your wedding day through a text message.
And frankly, the part about the whole situation that annoyed you the most was the fact that you should have been the one to dump him. You were the one who threatened to call the wedding off months ago when you found some suspicious text messages between your fiancé and a woman labelled as ‘Domino’s’ in his phone.
As if anyone texted Domino’s about their secluded lake house.
You should have just pulled the plug on the whole thing when you had the chance. Instead, you let him dump and humiliate you publicly.
Taking a deep breath, you glanced around the small church. Most of the guests filed out when it became apparent that there was a runaway groom. All of the people that remained in the church were a few close friends and immediate family members.
Your ex-fiancé’s family stood awkwardly in the corner, not really sure what to do. There wasn’t a really good or efficient way to apologize for their cowardly bastard of a son without suffering some rather intense glares from your family and friends. You already gave the engagement ring back to your ex-fiancé’s mom, since it was supposedly a family heirloom.
Maybe you should have just flushed it down the toilet instead.
You looked forward again when your mom walked over to you. She gave you a small, comforting smile as she pushed your veil and bouquet to the side and sat down beside you. Your mom stared up at the altar for a moment, seemingly walking through what she was going to say to you. She reached out and grabbed your hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze.
“It’ll be okay, sweetie,” she whispered to you. “You’ll get past this.”
“I know,” you replied, nodding slowly. “I know, Mom.”
“Do you need anything?”
“No,” you replied softly, shaking your head. Letting out a breath, you turned back to your mom with a composed expression. “Why don’t you and everyone else go and eat at the venue? It’d be stupid to let all of that food go to waste. We already paid for it.”
“Actually, his family offered to pay for everything. Even your dress,” your mom explained, glancing over at your supposed-to-be in laws. “They were extremely embarrassed.”
“Can’t imagine why,” you drawled sarcastically, shaking your head. You let out a breath before you turned back to your mom. “Has Dad calmed down?”
“Somewhat. He calmed down a lot when they offered to pay for everything. But I worry for your ex if he ever crosses paths with your father again.”
“If he’s smart—which he’s not—he’ll avoid the entire county,” you replied, pursing your lips together. “He’s probably sitting at his lake house with ‘Domino’s’ right now.”
“That’s unfortunate for him,” your mom told you, causing you to nod in return.
“Damn straight.”
You and your mom shared a small smile before you sobered up for a moment. Glancing around the church, you leaned back in your pew. You turned to your mom and suddenly felt like you were a teenager again and needed her to help you with a situation that you got yourself in.
“Do you think that I could be alone for a bit?” you asked softly, folding your arms across your lap.
“Are you sure? I don’t think that you should be alone right now, sweetheart,” your mom replied, grabbing your hand. “Why don’t you just come to the venue with the rest of us? You can burn the dress if you want to, but just come with us.”
“I will, Mom, but I just need some time by myself for a little bit.”
Albeit reluctantly, your mom got up and ushered everyone else out of the church to give you some time alone. The venue was only ten minutes down the road, so your mom told you to just text her when you wanted to be picked up. You thanked her again for all of her help and support before she left with everyone else.
You slowly got to your feet after you thought that everyone else was gone. You let out a breath to calm yourself down and simply worked through some thoughts. Eventually turning for the aisle, you paused when you spotted a familiar figure walking through the church doorway.
Jake Seresin. Or Jacob Michael Seresin III, if you were going by his birth name. Or Hangman, as he supposedly went by these days. Lieutenant Jake “Hangman” Seresin.
The boy that you fell in love with when you were fifteen. Your high school boyfriend, your first love, your first everything, really. The man that, had he stayed in Texas and taken over his family’s business like he was expected to do, you probably would have already married.
But life wasn’t a fairytale. And certainly not your life.
Jake slowly walked further into the church, pulling off his dress white cap as he stepped forward. He tucked it under his arm and offered you a small smile as he stopped in front of you. His hair was perfectly gelled and styled and his dress whites were absolutely pristine. And that genuine smile, the one that he seemed to use less and less as he aged, was just like you remembered.
He looked like he stepped straight out of a dream. Out of your dream.
“I’m not too late, am I?” he asked, looking around the otherwise empty church.
“No,” you scoffed, shaking your head. You glanced up at the rafters before turning back to him. “I got left at the altar.”
Instantly, the kind, genuine smile dropped from Jake’s face. His whole demeanor changed in an instant. He frowned and opened his mouth before pausing, most likely trying to not just blurt out the first words that came to mind in a church. But his entire stance looked like he was ready to storm out of the church to drag your fiancé out of whatever hole he was hiding in.
“He didn’t show up?” Jake asked with his voice dangerously low.
“No, he sent me a text,” you explained quietly. Letting out a laugh that was meant to be humorous, but was really rather pathetic in reality, you looked away from Jake for a moment. “I mean, at least I didn’t marry him. It could be worse.”
“Where is he then?”
“Somewhere, anywhere,” you replied honestly, pursing your lips together. “Frankly, I never want to see him or hear his name ever again, so I could care less.”
“Still, he shouldn’t get away with doing this to you,” Jake stated seriously.
It had a level of force behind it that you knew wasn’t directed towards you. More like on your behalf than anything else.
Hell, Jake had always been protective over you and more than willing to fight for you. He wasn’t someone who kept a lot of close friends, but when anyone was within Jake Seresin’s inner circle, he would fight for them with everything that he had. And you knew that the state of your relationship didn’t impact that.
“He’s not worth the trouble,” you stated, waving your hand to the side. “And besides, I’d really just like to move on from all of this. If I can.”
“Of course, you can,” Jake spoke softly, reaching out to take your hand. “He’s just a . . . I can’t say the word that I want to say because we’re standing in a church.” You laughed and shook your head at Jake. “But either way, it’s his loss.”
“Thanks Jake.”
“I’m serious. I mean, any guy who looks at you, especially when you’re in that dress . . .” Jake trailed off, letting his eyes rake over your form, “. . . and doesn’t hope to be the guy standing there, waiting for you at the altar . . . he’s not worth your time.”
You felt your heart flutter in your chest, just like it used to whenever he would wave to you in the hallway between classes when you two were teenagers. And staring into Jake’s bright green eyes, you knew that he meant every word that he spoke. Rocking your joined hands back and forth, you tried to settle the wobble in your lips.
“I didn’t want it to be him,” you stated honestly, causing Jake to noticeably pick his head up. “He . . . I gave into the pressure that I should be married and moving into that stage of my life by now and . . . I should have never agreed to marry him in the first place.”
Jake nodded slowly and turned to look at the ground. A moment passed where he seemed to be trying to compose himself before he slowly picked his head up again.
“Who did you want it to be?” Jake asked softly, so softly that you didn’t hear it the first time.
“What?”
“Who did you want it to be?” he repeated, picking his head up and staring deeply into your eyes. “Waiting for you at the altar, I mean.”
Your breathing subtly picked up and your lips parted a bit at Jake’s question. And the intensity of his stare that made your entire body feel like it was on fire. Slowly and tentatively reaching out, you gently cupped Jake’s cheek with your hand and rubbed your thumb across his soft skin.
“My answer hasn’t changed,” you stated quietly as emotion started to clog your throat. “It never has.”
The two of you naturally leaned towards each other. Your bodies seemed to naturally fit together as you pressed up together. The two of you slowly leaned in until your foreheads rested together. And when he was standing this close, you could pick out all of the different colors in his eyes, which were staring down at your lips.
Gently cupping the back of your neck, Jake pulled you in for a soft kiss. Your lips moved together like they had never been parted in the first place. Not by school or deployments or life in general. For much of your adult lives, the issue was never your feelings for each other but everything else getting in the way. But right there, in that small little church in rural Texas, life wasn’t in the way.
Nothing and no one were in the way. Not anymore.
Jake dropped his hat and wrapped an arm around your waist to pull you closer. You wrapped your arms around his broad shoulders and cupped his cheek once again, guiding your lips together. It probably would have gotten you disapproving looks if anyone else was around, but for that perfect little moment, it was just the two of you.
Pulling away a few moments later, you rested your foreheads against each other’s and smiled to yourselves. Breathing a bit heavily, you trailed your fingers down Jake’s cheeks as he brushed his nose against your own.
“When do you have to leave?” you asked quietly.
“Tomorrow morning,” Jake sighed, clearly sounding disappointed. “I could barely get any time off. I actually owe Coyote a laundry list of things because he covered for me.”
“Then we shouldn’t waste any time,” you replied, trying to look on the positive side.
About ten seconds later, you and Jake hurried out of the church hand-in-hand. Jake’s rented truck was the only car in the parking lot and you both quickly made a beeline for it. Jake unlocked and opened the door for you to climb inside. You sat down and Jake hurried to push the rest of your dress inside before shutting the door.
You pulled him in for another excited kiss as he slid into the driver’s seat before Jake started his rented truck to drive the two of you to the hotel. As Jake backed out of the parking lot, you sent your mom a quick text, which was just a simple photo of Jake.
“Do you have the directions to the hotel?” Jake asked, turning back around and heading for the road.
“Yeah and the confirmation, so we can actually check in,” you mused, smiling over at him.
As Jake pulled out onto the road, you got a text back from your mom. You let out an amused noise and shook your head when you read her message.
Don’t forget protection. Or do. I wouldn’t mind a grandbaby if you two agreed on one. Love you!
You sent your mom a quick ‘love you’ text back before turning off your notifications. Jake reached out and grabbed your hand, threading your fingers together. Jake pulled your hand up to his lips and pressed a kiss to the back of your hand.
And even though this wasn’t how you expected your wedding day to go, you had to admit that this outcome was actually far better than the one you that had in mind.
Part 2 Part 3 Epilogue
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unclewaynemunson · 1 year
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Okay so @willowworkswithwords sent me this fucking perfect prompt about Steve casually mentioning how much of an asshole his dad is is during a movie night at the Munsons and Wayne immediately shifting into Concerned mode, and I almost finished the thing but then tumblr glitched and i lost it to the void forever. I learned my lesson to never save anything to tumblr without backup ever again, buuut here it finally is:
Wayne first met Steve Harrington long before Eddie officially started dating the boy. He figured out that his nephew was head over heels before Eddie himself did. He hadn't been too thrilled about it, at first. In his experience, boys like Steve Harrington, with his big car and neatly ironed polo shirts, could only want two things from boys like his Eddie: drugs and secret encounters in the dark before he'd finally follow the path that was perfectly mapped out for him by his parents. But it didn't take him too long before he admitted that he had misjudged the boy. He noticed it even before Eddie himself did: Steve Harrington had fallen like a brick for his nephew, and he was in it for the long run.
He mostly met the boy in passing, whenever he'd come home from his night shift while Steve was just leaving the trailer park, or when he'd be heading out to get to work at the same time as Steve came by to pick up Eddie for a date or to hang out with that group of freshmen that Eddie would never stop talking about. The boy was always perfectly polite to him, calling him things like Sir and Mister, apologizing for being in his space and thanking him for the most ridiculous little things. Wayne thought it was a bit much, but he supposed that it was just how the boy had been raised, all formal and uptight. There was something behind it, however, a certain guarded look in his eyes, that always gave Wayne this uncomfortable feeling in his gut. He didn't quite understand what that was all about – until the three of them were having a movie night in the trailer on one of Wayne's nights off.
The two boys were all over each other on the couch, their legs entangled and their fingers intertwined, with their heads as close together as if they'd die if they wouldn't be breathing the exact same air. It made Wayne wish he had a camera on him; instead, he tried to imprint the picture into his memory.
He didn't care too much for the movie, which was about some rich teenage girl trying to break free from the restrictive uptown life that was suffocating her by getting herself some no-good boyfriend in a leather jacket – who Steve and Eddie enthusiastically agreed was a “hot piece of ass.” The main bad guy was the girl's dad, a character who checked off all the rich asshole dad stereotypes: suit that made him look bigger than he actually was, wife who let herself be bossed around by him at all times, and that kind of undefinable charisma, which made everyone else feel like all the air had left the room whenever he'd walk in.
'He kinda reminds me of my dad,' said Steve while leaning forward to get himself a handful of popcorn. It was just an innocent, offhand remark, and sounded perfectly nonchalant – but as he said it, the camera zoomed in on the girl's face to convey one single emotion: fear.
Steve leaned back into the couch and stuffed his mouth full of popcorn, getting crumbs all over his shirt and seemingly not noticing how both Wayne and Eddie had frozen by his remark.
Wayne met his nephew's wide-eyed gaze over the top of Steve's big hair. Wayne wasn't exactly a talkative person, and over the years in which Eddie had been living with him, they had perfected the art of silent communication, not needing more than some looks and gestures to have complete conversations with each other.
Wayne raised an eyebrow at Eddie, which meant something along the lines of Did you know about this?
Eddie responded with a barely-visible nod.
Wayne made a sideways movement with his head. Why didn't you tell me?
Eddie shrugged. It wasn't my place to tell, that meant.
Wayne nodded at him and turned his gaze back to the screen, but he was too preoccupied with other thoughts to properly shift his attention back to the plot.
'You wanna stay over?' Eddie asked Steve when the movie was finished.
Steve's eyes immediately flashed to Wayne's corner, that familiar guarded look in them. 'Um... Would you – would it be okay if I stayed the night, sir?'
'You can stay whenever you like, son,' said Wayne. 'And stop calling me sir, alright?'
'Alright, yeah, okay, sorry sir,' Steve stammered, which made Eddie burst into loud laughter. Wayne merely shook his head and got up from his chair.
He never sat Steve down for some official talk about his asshole dad – that wasn't his style anyway. He preferred conveying the message by little gestures: calling him “son” whenever he had the chance, refusing to be called “sir” ever again, giving him a key to the trailer, inviting him over to watch basketball together, taking him fishing when they both had a day off work... After a while, that guarded look finally disappeared from the boy's face. But it returned a couple months later, when Steve accidentally called Wayne “dad” in a distracted moment. Wayne didn't say anything about it; he merely gave the boy a pat on his shoulder to let him know it was okay. He didn't mind getting called “dad” by Steve Harrington for one bit.
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starniolosposts · 30 days
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invite (1)
part one, part two
pairing: chris sturniolo x reader
summary: the popular frat boy, chris sturniolo, unexpectedly invites you, the shy and quiet girl, to his frat party.
warnings: shy/unpopular reader, confident/frat boy chris (but he’s still sweet), chris defends you 🤩, pretty long and will have a part two which is the final part
notes: SMUT IS IN THE NEXT PART (you could just read the next part for the smut but this one has all the tension leading up to it hehe;) )
not proofread/edited
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“hey.”
you practically jump out of your seat from the voice in front of you, interrupting your study time in the silent library. you shrink into yourself in embarrassment at your reaction, and are even more mortified when its chris sturniolo standing in front of you.
chris grins and leans over the table, hair falling into his face as he scans the study page your on. “seems hard. whats your major again?”
you gulp, throat suddenly turning dry. you don’t answer, honestly kind of scared of saying the wrong or humiliating thing to the one boy you’ve been admiring from afar since college started.
he tilts his head and locks eyes with you, “so you don’t really speak, do you? i’ve never heard you talk before.” he observes, and you bit your lip.
“…i do talk.” you finally manage to say, avoiding anymore eye contact.
chris chuckles before pulling out the chair across from you and sitting down.
your heart rate picks up and you pray that he wont be staying for long. not because of him, but because then you have less of a chance of embarrassing yourself in front of him.
“so, whats your major?” he asks again, and he actually seems interested.
“oh, its animal science. i also minor in biology.” you whisper, seeing the librarian glance over at you both. chris obviously doesn’t care if he’s loud, since he responds with his normal volume.
“oh shit, so you’re smart smart.”
you blush and shrug, tapping your pencil on your notebook. “not really.”
chris smirks. “how humble of you. anyway, i have another question. what are you doing this saturday?”
your eyes widen as you glance up at him, stomach tingling with butterflies. why did that sound like he was asking you out? you bit the inside of your cheek in thought. you should study for an upcoming exam… you shake your head, “i don’t have anything on saturday.”
“perfect. i have a frat party that starts at 7 pm, but show up whenever you want.” chris exclaims, seemingly very pleased as he leans back in his chair.
you blink and then feel a sense of dread in your stomach instead of butterflies. “oh—uhm… i don’t really do parties.” you sheepishly mutter. what you didn’t want to admit was how you have never even gone to a party, nor have been invited to one.
chris smiles charmingly as he looks at you, and you feel so exposed and flustered. “i can tell. its alright if you don’t want to go, i just thought it’d invite you. you seem to study to much, your big brain needs a break.” he taps your study book as he tries to act unbothered.
you think for a moment, then blush blossoms your cheeks. “if i go, uhm, will i be able to stick by you then? i know i won’t really know anyone there.”
chris stares at you with an unreadable expression, his jaw squared and his eyes gleam. he finally nods. “of course. you can follow me around.”
you sigh through your nose and nod, the nerves already flowing through you. “okay.”
“you’ll go?”
“yeah, i think.”
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saturday comes faster than normal, the anticipation of the frat party buzzing through you, and it even floats around the lectures you have. apparently a lot of people were going and it was going to be a huge party, everyone was looking forward to it.
while people were excited, you were kind of dreading it. what if chris abandons you and you’re left alone in a group of strangers? what if you trip and face-plant and everyone laughs at you? you shake your head, knowing you were overthinking.
you take a deep breath as you look at yourself in the mirror. this is the most you’ve ever dressed up, and you thought you looked okay. you wore a short, sparkly, black dress and your hair was curly down your back. no one had ever seen you with your hair down, so this was a big step. in the back of your mind you knew you were just trying to capture chris’ attention at least a little bit.
gathering up the courage, you grab your phone and make your way across campus and to the frat house. you can hear the music from a mile away and the flashing lights are prominent the more you get closer.
you glance at the time on your phone, 8 pm. you thought it was weird to show up exactly when the party started at 7, so you waited around for a while.
you tried not to think about how skin tight your dress was, or how short it was, or how your makeup looked. you pushed down your anxiety and tried to convince yourself you would have a good night. you walked inside, wincing slightly as the music was now clear and blaring in your ears.
your number one objective was to find chris, and fast. you looked around swiftly, dodging drunk people and catty girls side-eyeing you.
“y/n!”
you spun around and nervously wrung your wrists behind you, staring at chris as he walked up to you. “hi.”
chris’ jaw clenched as his eyes darted all over you. your hair, your face, your body. he blinked, wondering how you were the same person at the library a couple days ago. “you look great.” he finally says.
you smile shyly and look at his outfit. he wears baggy camo pants with a black long sleeve, a chain, and doesn’t wear his signature hat, so his hair is out and fluffy. he looks handsome as always, but you cant say that. “you too.” you meek out.
“i thought you skipped out, i was worried i would have to go to your dorm and drag you here.” he jokes and smiles, gesturing you to follow him.
you laugh softly and nod, following him into the kitchen with less people and muffled music. he grabs two red solo cups and fills both of them with something. he hands you one, then takes a sip of his.
you look at the contents inside the cup suspiciously, hesitate to try it.
chris looks down at you staring into your cup and chuckles. “don’t worry, i figured you don’t drink so its just lemonade.” he reassured, and you sigh in relief as you sip on it.
“thank you.”
“mhm. what made you agree to come?” chris asks suddenly, leaning against the counter, arms crossed with his cup still in his hand.
you gulp nervously, flustered as you stare at him. “can i be honest?” you ask, doing the same thing as him beside him.
he grins down at you and nods, “yeah.”
you fidget with your cup. “i’ve never been to a party, or invited to one. so when you asked i was nervous, but knowing i had you i was okay.” you blurt out, and you mentally slap yourself for saying so much.
chris is silent for a moment, and you want to run away and go back to your dorm, but then he nudges your shoulder with his elbow.
you look up at him and he smiles warmly. “hey, now that we talked and you came to my party, we’re best friends now. no need to be nervous when i’m here.”
you both stare at each other, and you swore he was leaning closer and glancing at your lips. unfortunately, a voice spoke up.
“chris, i love this party! beer pong was so much fun!” a girl strides in, b-lining straight towards him. she then looks at you weirdly, glancing at how close you were standing next to him.
chris nods at her and looks a little irritated, “good, it’s supposed to be fun.”
you awkwardly look down at your aching feet as they continue talking, this was your first time wearing heals for a long period of time.
the girl glances at you and then looks at chris with a look. “so, who’s she?” she asks as if your not there and she can ask you.
chris sighs and puts an arm around your back and his hand on your arm, making your eyes widen as heat filled you and goosebumps rise on your exposed skin. his hands are rough, but they are gentle with you. “this is y/n l/n, shes in our biology lecture. i convinced her to come.” your face feels hot as he says your full name, did you ever even tell him your last name? how did he know?
the girl hums and looks at you with a confused expression, “oh, i don’t remember ever seeing her. anywhere. but alright, i’m tory.” she smiles concededly. you try and smile back and nod at her in acknowledgment, “nice to meet you, tory. i like your dress.” you say. socializing and making friends is a little difficult for you, but you try your hardest. it didn’t seem to work as she looks you up and down and doesn’t say anything.
chris clears his throat and recognizes the tense situation and dislike from tory towards you, “tory, maybe we could ease off of her, yeah?” his eyes narrow at her, and you see his hand gripping onto his cup harder. you feel embarrassed, but at the same time you feel grateful and appreciated by chris, and its nice.
tory stares at chris in shock before scoffing under her breath, “whatever.” she walks away after that, going into the living room where the party is at.
chris finally takes his hand off of your arm, and you both don’t realize it but you think the same thing.
i miss his touch.
i miss touching her.
“…thanks for that.” you mutter, swirling your lemonade in your cup. chris nods and glares in the direction that tory walked off in. “i never liked her.” he explains, “in high school she dated my brother, matt. totally broke his heart and was so mentally draining towards everyone.”
you furrow your brows and frown, now wishing you weren’t nice to her in the first place. “i’m sorry.”
chris shakes his head and smirks down at you, making you slightly flush. “oh, don’t you worry. we got her back. pranked her for years on end and held blackmail against her.”
your eyes widen and then you laugh, an actual belly laugh. chris stares at you and then starts laughing as well. its just easy when it comes to you.
“its so bad, but i love it.” you giggle, then you ask, “you have a brother? does he go here?”
chris is ecstatic and proud, since he can tell your coming out of your shell around him. he likes it… he likes you. “kind of, i’m a triplet. both of them chose different colleges though.”
you tilt your head in shock, “really? thats so cool, are you all identical?”
his heart skips a beat at the sparkle in your eye and the curiosity in your voice. “sure are. they look exactly like me, but we all have our differences.”
you nod, “i understand.”
suddenly a guy shouts into the kitchen, “hey chris! come play a game with us!”
chris looks at you, and you shrug even if your freaking out inside. you liked hanging out and talking with chris, but with a huge group of people? not your thing.
chris scrutinizes you and states, “you don’t want to, i can tell.”
you silently nod but then shrug again, “i’m fine with playing, only if its with you though.” you look away from him to hide your blush.
he grins and nods before pushing off of the counter, setting his cup down. you do the same and closely follow behind him into the living room. the music is low now, and a group of people are in a circle on the ground or sitting in chairs/couches.
chris dabs people up and nods in acknowledgment at others, and you feel like everyone is staring at you as you follow him like a lost puppy. no one says hi to you.
you sit down next to chris on a loveseat, scooting down your dress uncomfortably. chris notices and swiftly gets up, goes to the front door, grabs his jacket off the hook, and then walks back over. you look at him confused until he laid his jacket over your legs and sat back down like he didn’t just do the nicest thing ever for you.
you feel your heart pumping fast and your veins turn hot. the little gesture made your thighs clench underneath the jacket that smelled like his cologne. glancing over at chris, it only makes you more aware of your attraction towards him. his arm is over the back of the loveseat, his legs spread slightly open as he leans back comfortably.
you feel dirty and flustered thinking about him like this, then snap out of it when someone speaks up from the group.
“alright, lets play the classic truth or dare.” a guy grins. everyone agrees and they start going around in a circle, asking random people. some of them do dares, but they aren’t regular dares, they are sexual. there was a three way kiss, stripping, and licking whip cream off of someones stomach.
your lower stomach only got hotter, the undeniable ache between your legs getting stronger. your mind always went back to chris for some reason, wondering what kissing him felt like, or how his tongue would feel licking whip cream off your skin. you shift, and your thankful for the jacket covering your legs since it blocked the view of your thighs clenching.
chris notices though . he always notices the little things about you. believe or not, he had been admiring you from afar as well. he couldn’t help it, he was drawn to you, the quiet girl in the back of the class. whenever he was in lecture, his eyes would drift to you and observe. he knows you bite your lip when your nervous or thinking, and he knows your leg bounces when your anxious. he knows that you secretly laugh at his jokes behind your hand and that you feed the stray cat that roams around campus. yeah, it was safe to say he liked you a lot, and he notices you.
“the girl beside chris.”
your head snaps up and you gulp nervously. its a blonde guy that smirks at you. “y-yeah?”
“truth or dare?”
“uhm, truth?” you say, but its more like a question. you really prayed it wasn’t anything embarrassing.
he thinks for a moment. “whats the worst thing that has happened to you during sex.”
chris clenched his jaw at the thought of you having sex with someone. its a weird thought, thinking of you with someone else other than himself.
your face immediately is red as you look down at chris’ jacket. you pick at the thread on it and clear your throat. “u-uhm… thats a little personal?”
“come on, don’t be a buzzkill!”
chris glared at the guy, “cut it out, clayton. if she doesn’t feel comfortable saying then don’t pressure her.” he glowers slightly, making clayton raise his eyebrows.
“its truth or dare, man. no outs. she has to answer.”
chris furrows his eyebrows and opens his mouth, but you cut him off. “i’ve never had sex, so i can’t answer.” your eyes are squeezed shut in embarrassment as you grip onto the jacket for comfort. everyone goes silent and you think this is the moment you want the ground to swallow you whole.
chris blinks at you with wide eyes then his jaw is set and his eyes turn dark. his pants are starting to get tighter than before and his hand clutches onto the back of the loveseat. “fuck.” he hisses out, but he made sure he was quiet.
“wait, so you’re a virgin in college? have you even had your first kiss?” tory asks, crossing her arms in amusement. she was milking your humiliation for all its worth.
you tilt your head down and dont answer, which makes her laugh slightly. “wow, so your really inexperienced. how are you even here at this party?”
“tory, stop. i’m serious. i still have those screenshots in my hard drive.” chris speaks up and threatens, looking her straight in the eyes. it makes you peak your eyes open to look over at him. he smiled reassuringly at you, and it makes you feel a lot better, and a lot more needy.
“…lets just move on.” a random girl says, chuckling nervously.
the game continues, and chris lowers his voice to speak to you with no one listening. “are you okay? im sorry that was pressured out of you, ill kill clayton.”
you shake your head, “its fine.” you whisper.
“no, its not. especially with what tory said.” he grunts out then sighs. “i’m sorry.”
you hesitate, but scoot closer to him and smile gently. “its alright. thank you for defending me, not a lot of people do.” you hadn’t meant for it to come out so sad and lonely sounding.
chris bites his lip before nodding, “yeah, of course.” he breaths out.
your eyes dart to his, and you catch a glimpse of desire you had been looking for. your chest heaves slightly harder, your stomach burns, and your eyes glance to his lips.
“…follow me.” he abruptly stands and holds out his hand for you. you knew what would happen if you took his hand and followed him, but you wanted it too happen. you’ve never felt such an easy and instant connection as you have with him, so you don’t hesitate to grab his hand and leave his jacket behind.
some people stare in shock as he takes you up the stairs, but you can only stare at him.
chris quickly takes you to a bedroom and closed/locks the door behind the both of you. he backs you into the wall, hands coming up to slowly grip onto your hips. you nervously look up at him, not knowing what to say or do. you’ve never been touched like this by someone you liked, and it was building up a fire in you that burned your core. the desire for him was too much, you wanted him now.
he gazes down at you with dark eyes. “i’m so glad you came to this party.” he sighs out, his hands slithering around to rest on your lower back, sinfully close to your ass.
your breathing heavily, your hands clenching onto his biceps as you lean into his touch. “me too.” you whisper, your head tilted back onto the wall to look up at him.
it silent for a moment, letting you feel his hands travel over your dress and to your waist. "i really like you, you know?" he whispers, and for the first time you see him slightly bashful but still confident, and your stomach tingles in the best way.
your heart jumps to your throat at his confession and your legs tremble, a shaky but content smile reaches your lips, "really?"
chris nods slightly before leaning into your neck and lowly muttering into your skin, "and i really want to fuck you, too." his lips come into contact with your neck, pressing feather light kisses onto your sensitive spots. he moved closer to you, caging you against the wall.
your heavy gasps and panting mixed together, and the bedroom got hotter by the second. then, he hiked your dress up to your hips and traced his fingertips on the lace of your panties, getting closer and closer to where you were desperate for him.
you gasped and clung onto him, whimpering as his fingers lightly brushed your clothed clit, but then teasingly moved back to tracing the edge of your panties. “chris…”
“hm? what is it, baby?” chris smirked into your neck, his tone teasing and amused. he loved your needy little gasp and wanton whimpers flowing from your lips. his cock was pressing against his jeans at how sensitive you were, knowing that you were this way because he was the first to ever touch you like this.
“i’m nervous.” you murmur, shivering as hands go to your hips to softly grip them. you look up at him and bite your lip.
chris glances at your plump, wet lips and wishes he could ravish them. but then he reminds himself that he has to go slow and teach you some things. “no need to be nervous, i’m right here.” his thumbs massage right beneath your lace on your hips.
you gulp and look to the side, contemplating what you were about to do. “…are you just saying all of this so you can have sex with me?” you blurt out your insecure thoughts, and frown at the silence heavy in the air. did you ruin the mood?
“hey, look at me.” chris demands gently, hooking your chin and making you lock eyes with him. “i never say anything i don’t mean. i know we only met a couple days ago, but i’ve always noticed you.”
your face flushes even more than it already was, your hands hesitantly running up his stomach to his chest. “i noticed you too.” you whisper. he shivers at your touch and words before sighing contently, “i know, i see you staring.” he teases, chuckling as you look away in embarrassment once again.
“on a serious note, we don’t have to do anything you don’t want to. but if you want to continue, i wanna set a rule first.”
your eyes dart to him, searching for any sign on him lying about anything. there is none, only lust and fondness in his blue eyes as he looks at you. you nod, “alright, what is the rule?” you ask curiously, getting more bold and sliding your hands up his shoulders and around to his nape. you play with his hair slightly and see that he holds back a groan, which you save for later use.
“if you say yes, you’re mine.” his tone is serious and low, it makes your thighs clench and the burning in your stomach feelings like molten. “no dating, fucking, or seeing other guys. we would be exclusively only seeing each other, i don’t just do random hookups on a saturday night.”
you softly smile and nod, “me neither, obviously.” you mutter with slight embarrassment. he laughs and grins at you, “so, do you want to continue, baby?” he asks teasingly, leaning down closer to your lips.
you lick your lips and nod shyly, “yeah. i really do.”
chris hums and one of his rough hands travels to the top of your panties. his fingertips dip into the fabric, trailing across your lower stomach slowly. his eyes stare into yours, savoring your reactions and small noises.
your pussy clenched as his lips suddenly grazed your ear and he lowly whispered, “do you want my fingers, y/n?”
you whine shamelessly and nod, too worked up from a simple whisper and some light touching.
“yeah? then beg.”
holy fuck.
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to be continued with actual smut… sorry its so long! i cant help but like the tension leading up to it
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cosmal · 1 year
Text
𝐋𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐑𝐨𝐜𝐤 — 𝐑𝐞𝐦𝐮𝐬 𝐋𝐮𝐩𝐢𝐧
summary — you and remus lupin have become really good at stealing each other away from parties.
or but if you're too drunk to drive and the music is right, she might let you stay but just for the night....she might want a kiss before the end of this song.
warnings/tags — fem!afab!reader, she/her pronouns, modern!au, friends to lovers, absolute idiots in love, mutual pining, oblivious!reader, oblivious!remus, drunk!reader, drunk!remus, alcohol consumption
note — this is inspired by lovers rock by tv girl!!! i think this is the longest thing i've ever written. I do very much like it as of right now. that'll probably change in a week.
word count — 12.4k
“Thank Godric, you’re here,” Mary groans from her position on the front porch, Marlene leaning into her side. Both are clearly enjoying a cigarette away from the din of the party. You can tell what type of night it’s going to be already. Not that you’ve arrived two hours late anyway.
“I’ve never seen you so happy to see me, Mary,” you giggle, crossing the threshold of Sirius’s front lawn, careful not to trip on his collection of stolen garden gnomes.
“I’m always happy to see you, lovely.” She extends her hand, the cigarette between her lovely red nails on offer. 
“You know who’s going to be even happier?” Marlene coughs, as you take the smoke thankfully, taking a few calming puffs. 
You pretend like you have any idea who she’s referring to, “Jamie? Haven’t seen him in a while. Miss that boy,” you laugh, voice strained through the thick smoke you exhale. 
“No, you idiot.” Mary pipes up and you hand the smoke back, “Remus. He hasn’t shut up about you all night.”
“That’s if he’s sober enough to even notice you’re here,” Marlene laughs and so does Mary. You smile, small enough to not show how happy you actually are that you get to see him. It’s been too long. 
“He’s drinking?” 
“Absolutely hammered. We were hoping you’d get here earlier so he wouldn’t drink too much. Please go look after him.” Mary throws her arm around Marlene and she snuggles in closer. They both look content enough to fall asleep right there in the cool summer breeze. 
“I’m sure he’s doing okay.” 
“I’m sure he will be when you get inside.” 
You move to toe your shoes off at the front mat, kicking them away so they’re not a tripping hazard. 
“When has Sirius ever done that at your house, Y/N?” Mary laughs, looking down at your socked feet
“Oh, no. This is for me. Don’t want to get my shoes dirty.” You laugh when you grab the handle of the flyscreen, swinging the door open. 
The girls’ laughter becomes a distant murmur when you enter the kitchen, met with mostly everyone sitting around the dining table. A deal of cards in everyone’s hands, and piles of coins and sweets sat in the middle. 
James and Lily laughing and glowing under the downcast of the orange lighting, appearing to seemingly be winning. Sirius and Frank having their own side bets, throwing coins around before both calling tails. Then, there's Remus. You try to ignore the hitch in your breath when your eyes land on the sandy-haired boy.
He really does look drunk, eyes droopy but still bright when he hiccups a laugh at something James says. A quiet, airy chuckle that has his mouth creasing and eyelashes kissing his cheeks. A smile so pretty, you have to fight your own.
His head is propped up on the table by an elbow that looks like it’s about to slip off the edge, so you sneak up behind him and place your hand against his arm to stop him from falling face-first into the wood.
He looks up at you, a little startled for a second, and you can see the moment it clicks in his head when he realises who he’s looking at. He smiles, all surprised but content and you melt. The last time you had seen him was only for the third time ever at another one of Sirius’s parties. You hate to admit that the only thing you look forward to now is when you receive an invite from your workmate and you have another excuse to see his lanky best friend.
“Y/N! When did you get here?” Sirius chants, flicking his last remaining coin at Frank. He shoots him a well-deserved glare.
“About thirty seconds ago,” you smile.
Sirius looks down at your socked feet and frowns, “You took your shoes off again. How many times do I have to tell you, you don’t have to do that.”
You roll your eyes, “You’re gross, Sirius.”
Remus looks down too, the top of his head pressing into your side, a crush of his curls tickling the bare skin of your arm and you almost shiver. “Cool socks.” Is the first thing he says to you. You giggle.
They’re a dark cornflower shade, moons scattered across the material at random. They crease when you wriggle your toes, “Thanks. Got them from mum for my birthday.”
“She has good taste.” He moves off of you, slouching down in his chair until his knees are pressing Lily’s legs. 
His head lolls backwards, neck bared under the warm light. You think you feel dizzier than he does. Even when he squeezes his eyes shut. 
“What have you done to him?” you laugh, hand flat against his forehead to brush away his loose hair. He keens, sighing deeply under a hiccup. 
“He’s very awful at poker,” James laughs, flicking a pastille across the table. You look at his high pile, and then Sirius and Franks’ which are almost of equal height. Then you look in front of Remus, the table almost bare. You laugh. 
“We like to play a little differently,” Franks states over the rim of his bottle. 
“Basically, you take a shot every time you lose,” James says, sober as ever. You think maybe he hasn’t lost yet. 
“And Remus has lost every hand,” Sirius adds to the chime of details. 
“Have not!” Remus finally pipes up, finger pointed at James instead of Sirius, too distracted staring at the ceiling. “Frank lost the first.” 
“Anyways, Moons. You just lost and I think you owe us another.” 
Remus groans, but sits up to reach for the bottle of Sambuca sitting in the middle of the table. You gently swat his hand and push him back into his chair. 
“I think you’ve had enough,” you say, turning to place the bottle on the kitchen bench, along with the empty bottles. 
“C’mon, one more,” Remus giggles, making hands for the bottle in the air. A child, you think. 
“Yeah, Y/N! One more!” Sirius agrees, smiling boyishly. 
“You’ll make yourself sick,” you chide with a small frown. Remus slumps against you, much defeated. He might fall asleep on you if you stand there any longer. You poke his cheek where it’s pressed into your clothes. 
“He already is sick.” Sirius is smug when he speaks and you fret about what else he’s about to say, “Sick in love.” 
You laugh. Could’ve been worse. But it still has your heart skipping in your chest. You really do hope Remus shares the feelings you hold for him. But then again, Remus is drunk and Sirius, is well, he’s Sirius. Despite the name, he hardly ever is. 
“Boo. Awful.” You frown in faux offence, ignoring him when he winks at you. Sickening, really. 
You lean down so your mouth is in line with Remus’s ear, “You wanna go lay down?” You realise you’re in quite a predicament. Coming over to parties to see Sirius’s best friend. Looking after him when he’s drunk. You’d hoped he would do the same. 
“Please, no sex in my house,” Sirius states, standing to grab another drink. James guffaws. 
You roll your eyes, “He’s drunk.”
“So, you do want to have sex with him?” he adds. 
You almost choke on your tongue, “No, it’s just. He- Stop it.” You have to stop yourself from saying something wrong. It wasn’t a lie, you did want to. But you wanted much more than that. 
“Leave her alone,” Remus chides, leaning back off your stomach. “You’ll scare her off and I’ll never see her again,” 
He was right, his friends did intimidate you. But you’d hoped it would take more than not yet warming up to them to get you to never see Remus again. 
Remus stands and you’re surprised he doesn’t stumble when he takes your hand to lead you away from the table and out into the lounge room. You poke your tongue out over your shoulder when you hear James make some sort of crude comment to Frank. Lily smiles warmly at you as an apology. 
He sits down with all the gracefulness of a baby elephant and you have to bite back a laugh. He looks up at you, pretty eyes all droopy and a lopsided smile, and you feel like you’ll never come back from these feelings ever. 
Before you can overly admire him for too long, he’s patting the space next to him with a floppy hand. “C’mon.” 
You oblige probably too willingly, flopping yourself down next to him with a small oomph, your thigh pressing into his. He shuffles down the lounge to rest his head atop your shoulder, neck craned a little to reach it. You can’t find it in yourself to mind. His face is warm and it presses into your collarbone that’s peeking from out the top of your shirt. His light stubble tickles your skin and it’s weirdly soothing. God, you know you’re in deep. 
“You smell good.” 
You breathe in subconsciously, “You do, too.” 
Under the strong scent of stale beer and sambuca, you can think you can discern a hint of his cologne. Woody and something like cinnamon. Mixed in with the light scent of his laundry detergent, like fresh linen and lavender. He's dizzying. 
“I smell like beer,” he groans, hand finding its way between both of your thighs, your skirt tangled in his fingers. 
“You smell nice,” you laugh. 
You watch the doorway where James gets up to turn the dial on the vinyl player. The current song now loud enough to be heard where you’re sitting.
Humming along, you say, “I love this song.”
Remus gawps, “Me too. S’my favourite, actually.”
Remus having the exact same favourite song as you makes your head spin. “No way.”
“Yes way.” he smiles. If he were soberer, you’d gush to him over this. It’d have to wait.
He shifts his head from your shoulder and startles for a moment, eyebrows raised, “I didn’t even ask if you wanted a drink.” You get whiplash from the change of subject. 
You sigh, very amused at his intent to be nice to you, despite being half-cut, “I’m okay. I wasn’t really planning on drinking tonight.” 
He frowns, wrinkles his nose and you want to kiss it. God. “Why did you come, then?” The fact he thinks you came to get drunk and not just to see him makes you want to laugh. 
The smile you’re still trying to fight every time he speaks makes your cheeks ache, “To see Sirius.” 
He frowns even more and you think he wants to shift away from you. He roughly scratches at his face and you almost regret messing with him. 
“Sirius?” He hiccups. 
“I’m kidding.” You poke his bicep, “I came to see you.” 
There’s a silence and then Remus is breaking out into one of the biggest grins you’d ever seen. You’d have the decency in you to blame it on being drunk. Nothing else. 
“Me?” He hiccups, again. You place your hand atop his thigh and trace the thick seam of his pants. 
“Yes, you.”
His smile dials back but doesn’t fade and his face relaxes. He leans down to place his head back against your shoulder, cheek all smooshed.  
“Oh.” 
“Oh?” 
“Thank you.” he hums, hooking his elbow behind yours, completely squished against you. He thinks you must be cold in a skirt and a small T-shirt. “I like it when you’re here. You make it bearable.” 
You want to accept his compliment, but when he hiccups for the third time, you remember he’s drunk. “That’s a bit mean, Remus. Will I tell your friends you can’t bear them?” 
Remus stiffens and you stop rubbing his leg. Drunk Remus is very gullible. Sweet, but gullible all the same. 
“Stop it. You know what I mean.” He pushes further into your shoulder and you feel yourself dip down against him, head almost falling against his. You wouldn’t mind if it did, but it wouldn’t be very comfortable, you assume. 
“I don’t think I do,” you tease and Remus pinches your side, which results in a stifled yelp. 
“Don’t be cruel.” He strains.
“I would never.”
When you shiver in your spot, Remus wonders what your answer would be if he offered you his jacket. He thinks he should test his theory. 
“Are you cold?” he asks but doesn’t move his head from your shoulder.
“A little,” you yawn. Which then causes Remus to yawn. You laugh animatedly. 
“Do you,” Remus blinks slowly, eyelashes kissing his cheeks as he attempts to keep his eyes open. “do you want my jacket?” 
You’re glad Remus’ head is still propped on your shoulder lest he sees the blush creeping across your cheeks. Drunk Remus is gullible. But drunk Remus is still just as kind as he is when he’s sober. 
“Then you’ll be cold,” you reply, giving his thigh a squeeze. You crane your neck to look at him. He looks tired. 
“Better me than you.” He moves to take it off and before he can even get one arm out, you sit forward and place your hands on his chest. Fingers twisted in his cotton shirt, your turned knee pressing into his. 
“Remus, I’m okay.” You give him your most reassuring smile. Being cold is no one’s fault but your own. You don’t want to be an annoyance. 
“You sure?” 
“Positive.” 
Remus sits back, albeit begrudgingly, hands wrapped around the zipper of his jacket. The further he pushes back into the lounge, the more he looks like he’s about to fall asleep. 
“Remus?” you murmur. Voice quiet under the din of the party. Sirius is a loud drunk, his laughter roaring at something stupid James is doing. 
His head begins to dip into the edge of the cushion, headed for the arm of the chair. If he kept this up, he’d have a crick in his neck in no time. 
He hums and you pat his cheek to encourage him to sit up. It’s bemusing how quickly he can drift off. You’re very envious. Maybe it’s just the alcohol. 
“What’s up?” he murmurs in return, peeking from one eye, the other scrunched up. He’s adorable and you’re in too deep. 
“You seem tired.” You poke his face this time and he beams, all warm and dozey under the mellow light of Sirius’s living room. A line of curls falling into his eyes and the apples of his cheeks a tinge of peach. 
He hums again, much thicker than last. “M’not.” 
You hold out your hand, all five fingers spread. “How many fingers am I holding up?” 
He struggles, but pulls his hand from his lap and holds it up to yours, tangling your fingers. Palm flush against yours and much warmer in comparison. “Feels like five.” He pulls your entwined hands back down and you laugh. 
You try not to shy from his actions, pretending like it doesn’t make your heart skip, and then almost stop completely when his thumb rubs circles into the top of your hand. You can feel the warmth seeping from his into your own and your fingertips tingle. 
“Do you want to go home?” You twist so you’re completely on the edge of the lounge, hand still wrapped in his. You stop, “Or are you staying here tonight?” 
He brings his arm up - with yours still tangled - and rubs his face with the back of his hand. Dragging you up and down. You giggle at his tired actions before pouting. 
“I think.'' You can tell he’s trying to stay alert enough to hold a conversation with you.
When he wakes up in the morning he won’t remember being so tired here and will think you both had the best conversation. You’ll be okay with this. “I think Sirius was supposed to take me home, but he’s too drunk now.” 
“You’ll sleep on the couch?” You frown and he blinks. 
“I think I might have to.” He throws his head back and sighs. Strained and raspy. 
You look at the size of Sirius’s two-seater and then Remus’s stupidly long legs. It wouldn’t work, and he’d end up with either a sore back or a worse-off neck than whatever it was he was doing right now. You don’t even really think before you say, “I can walk you home.” 
Remus looks a little more alert, “You can’t sleep on this.” You prod the squeaky leather and it bounces back with absolutely no recoil. You’ll be sure to scold Sirius next time for having a horrendous couch, though enough money to buy everyone in the room ten of them. You know he won’t appreciate the exaggeration. But it’s for the sake of his friends’ backs. 
“You don’t have to do that.” He sits up properly now and tries to situate himself to look convincingly comfortable. “I’ll make do.” 
“It’s no big deal.” You shrug. “I’m walking home anyways.”
Now he’s sitting forward, his knees pushing into your leg and you almost stumble off the seat, grabbing his arm for purchase. “You just got here.” He almost frets and then coughs to hide his worry. He’s not very good at achieving a smooth, cool demeanour when half-cut. Not that he ever achieves it sober, he thinks. 
“No, but I think you need to go home and sleep.” You look out into the kitchen that’s now surprisingly quieter. Lily looks like she’s about to fall asleep, leaning on James’s shoulder, who’s trying to play a horrible game of go fish with Sirius and Frank. Absolute party animals.
“I live too far away, anyways,” he says, leaning down to tie his shoelaces. “You’ll have to walk me home and then walk back, you’ll be walking for at least an hour and a half.” Why Remus is so afraid to suggest you can stay the night at his, he doesn’t know.
You squeeze his shoulder as he struggles to loop his lace through his fingers. He decides to go for the simpler, bunny-ear option. “That’s okay. You can stay at mine. I only live ten minutes away.”
When Remus sits back up after tying his laces too tight, his face is pink.
-
Remus Lupin has never been one for sitting comfortably, ever. With long, lanky limbs, he always has his legs sprawled out and his arms thrown over something. Anything he can take up comfortably, with enough space to spread, he’ll sit willingly. 
On one hand, he’s thankful you convinced him not to sleep on Sirius’s couch. He didn’t need a repeat of New Year’s. Though, on the other hand, he could’ve made do. 
Nothing was like sitting in your bedroom. He wouldn’t say he was uncomfortable, though deep down he was a little, a pit of anxiety creeping up his chest. He felt like he had little room to move - despite you owning a double bed - because he didn’t want to look stupid. He could take up space and not notice it.  
Remus has trouble not taking in every detail he can in your room. Like your little trinket dishes filled with miscellaneous items, signet rings and seashells. The stuffed rhino toy in the middle of your pillows that you had told him - shyly at that - was named Clarence. Not before giggling at the poster of Twilight that you swore had been there since you were young. Your current read splayed open on the end of your bed, along with the stack of records in a blue milk crate in the corner, were things he promised himself he would ask you about when he wasn’t half tipsy and could hold a proper conversation. 
In his admiration, one that was making his anxiety spread into warmth that seemed to be seeping from his bones. He’s too busy pretending like he isn’t taking in every small detail one shouldn’t when they’ve only known someone for only a month, and doesn’t notice that you’ve changed. 
He looks over at you, in a pair of shorts littered with tiny daisies and a shirt that almost eats said shorts. Your hair pulled back and your face still sort of wet from where you obviously washed off the day's grime, causing the hairs around your face to curl. He doesn’t know if it’s the fading alcohol that’s causing him to hiccup even more, or if it’s seeing you all fresh and content from being at home that has his breath catching. 
Remus Lupin is still a little drunk but he is also quite clearly growing to like you even more. That doesn’t change. He thinks he's done everything backwards. Meeting you, then seeing you now but too inebriated to say something redeeming, and then seeing you in the comfort of your own home before he even gets to ask you on a date. He also thinks he wouldn’t have it any other way. 
“Remus?” Your voice is as calm as you look when you speak and he melts. 
“Hm?” He blinks, shaking his head. 
“You okay?” Warm light washes over you and paints you amber as you patter across the room, the moon socks that are still on your feet pressing into the white fabric of your rug. “You’re not feeling sick?” He thinks he should blame his daze on a fake sickness, but he doesn’t want you to worry even more, so he decides against it. 
When you press the back of your hand to his cheek, that’s only warm because he’s a little overwhelmed, not because he’s feeling poorly, he can’t find it in himself to hold your gaze. “I’m okay.” 
“I was saying I don’t think I have any clothes for you to change into.” You remind him after it felt like you were talking to a brick wall a minute earlier. 
Remus pushes his hands into the rough material of his black jeans. He doesn’t see himself sleeping in anything else. “That’s okay.” 
“You’re not going to sleep in those are you?” 
What else would he sleep in if you have no other clothes? “Uh.” 
“You wear boxers?” you grin. 
“Yeah. Yeah, I do.” He wishes he was still a little drunker so he could blame his bumbling words on the effects of downing half a bottle of sambuca. Now he’s realising that’s just how he sounds when he’s overwhelmed by you. 
“Sleep in those. I don’t mind.” 
Your confidence, and your confidence only, is how he ends up pantless and under the covers of your bed. He doesn’t feel uncomfortable at all. You have a lovely way of making him feel at ease. He thinks that’s why he likes you so much. 
You smell different than earlier in the night when your shirt tickles his arm. Like fresh face wash and night creams, and maybe even roses. He’d hate to think of what he smelt like in comparison to you. Probably still like beer, and maybe like sweat. He should’ve asked if he could’ve showered. That might’ve been too much, he’s definitely overthinking. 
“You’re very quiet,” you say into the dimness of your room. He’s lucky your bedside lamp is so muted, lest you see the goosebumps raised over his skin and how his cheeks haven’t returned to their normal colour since he crossed the threshold of your room. 
“M’thinking,” he returns, just as quiet. It feels wrong to disturb the calmness blanketing the room. 
“I can tell.” He can hear you grin, “What about?” 
He swallows and he wouldn’t be surprised if you heard it, “You.” 
You huff a small laugh and push down into the pillow behind you, “Me?” Your voice is a little strained, and not louder than before. Maybe even quieter. 
“Yeah. Thinking about the next time I’ll get to see you.” 
“You haven’t even left yet and you’re thinking ahead to the next time we’ll see each other,” you tease, getting comfortable underneath your plush quilt and sheets. Probably too much for a summer night but there’s still a chill in the air, flowing through your open window. 
“I’m just hoping I won’t be so drunk,” he admits, hating how he still actually does sound drunk. 
“Hopefully,” you smile, “But that’s okay, we can blame it on James.” 
“If only I wasn’t so shit at poker,” he laughs in a strained and animated voice, trying to hold back a yawn. 
He finally gets comfortable, hands fisting the sheets around his body and head balancing restfully against the plush of your ivory pillows. 
You can see his eyes flutter in an attempt to stay awake. You think it’s endearing but you also think he needs to sleep. “Remus,” you say, firm but caring at once. 
“Hmm?” he mumbles, eyebrows pinched. 
“You should sleep.” You push itchy locks away from his forehead and he sighs at the caring touch of your fingers. 
“Don’t wanna.” He scrunches his nose, “I think I’m finally sobering up. Wanna talk t’you.” 
You smile at his absolute urgency and think he’s adorable. Truly. “Please, sleep. We’ll talk in the morning.” 
“You’ll be here?” This, you actually laugh at. 
“Of course, Remus. You’re in my room.” 
He closes his eyes, eyelashes kissing the freckles of his cheeks and his tired, darkened skin, “M’kay.”
When you wake up in the morning, almost midday, Remus plagued by the effects of alcohol, you too content to wake whilst being next to him, you both have separate texts from Sirius. 
Your own chat log reads, aren’t U glad you came out? You don’t reply, not wanting to encourage him in any way. 
Remus’s phone, on the other hand, reads, 
uncle pads has a ring to it don’t you think? xxxx
He does in fact reply, too used to Sirius being a twat. 
Nothing happened. Ur disgusting and I hate you. 
what do U mean nothing happened? 
I was drunk. She helped me basically stumble home. 
U both stumbled. in her sheets. 
Fuck off. Idiot. 
Neither of you mention any of Sirius’s messages to each other the entire morning. Too busy enjoying each other's company. 
-
The week spent after Remus had drunkenly stayed the night, you could pleasantly, though maybe even with a smidge of embarrassment, admit that he was all you thought about since. 
It was a new feeling. You’d never felt it before. The endearment, but also the nerves, of realising you actually like someone. Some days it made your cheeks ache from smiling, and filled your chest with warmth. On other days, the warmth cracked your chest open, an aching chasm pleading to be filled and a head clouded with apprehension.
You were eager and scared all at once. But you were happy either way because Remus made you feel things. Good things. 
You had spent the morning, forcing him to eat something, telling him it would make his hangover feel much better. He’d argued for no longer than two minutes before agreeing. Saying, who am I to argue with a girl like you?
“Like me?” you’d replied, mouth full of half-eaten pancake, pushing his own plate across the marble of your kitchen bar. 
“Smart,” he smiled, picking at a blueberry, “Pretty.” 
And after it was your turn to babble like a fool, he’d eased you open. Asked you about the record collection in your room (he was proud of himself for remembering). You’d rambled off your favourite artists, a lot similar, and he knew he’d be an idiot if he didn’t give you his number before he left. 
And he did. Wrote his number on your hand as you stood at your doorway and he thanked you for breakfast. And for walking him home, drunk. You kissed his cheek and watched him press his fingers into his skin until he rounded the corner. 
You wrote the number down on a piece of paper, magnetising it to your fridge as soon as you shut the door. Though your hands were sweaty - obviously because you were around Remus - and the last number had smudged. Was it a 3? Or an 8? Or a weird looking 5? You couldn’t tell and told yourself that was a problem you could deal with later.
It was later. A whole week later and you still hadn’t called him. If it was due to your nerves or the fact you had a missing number, that was your business only. You left the last space blank, the empty spot a blinding reminder of your stupidity. You’d just have to try every number until you found Remus. It would take no more than ten attempts.
Numbers zero through four were all wrong numbers. You were only met with a piercing tone before the line went dead. When you got to five, you were met with, what sounded like, a grumpy old lady. You tried to hang up straight away, well aware it wasn’t him, but she screeched and persisted that if she had a prank call one more time, she would phone the police!
Turns out, it was a 6 after all. The lovely tone of Remus’s voice rings down the line and you sigh in relief.
“It’s you.” Your voice is airy and Remus isn't sure he knows who it is. 
There are only a handful of people who have his number. His friends, most of them called and checked in regularly, except Mary, who's always one to stop by instead. His parents and his neighbour had it too. But he seriously doubted the latter, unless his flat had been ransacked. 
And then he remembers he'd given it to you and he laughs. All these thoughts happen within the span of two seconds. He hopes it's you, he's been anticipating a call all week. He was beginning to maybe think you didn’t actually want to hear from him. That he'd embarrassed himself in his drunken stupor. But then he remembered how nice you were to him.
You’ll make yourself sick.
“It is?” he laughs, still hoping it is in fact you. The image of his flat turned upside down, the spot on his mantle where his small TV is, now empty, flashes across his mind.
“Remus. It’s me!” you chirp and he pushes his phone closer to his ear as if it’ll make him hear your pretty voice even clearer.
”Me? I don’t think I know any me’s” he teases, fighting back an eager smile. Teasing you could be fun. Could become a constant. He’s imagining the warmth of your cheeks, and hopefully a small smile.
“Y/N,” you correct and he can almost hear the roll of your eyes. 
“Oh. I know an Y/N,” he smiles, leaning against the lip of his kitchen bench. “She’s very pretty,” he pauses, wanting to drag it out, “and she’s super-”
“Remus,” you plead. Half wanting him to continue, half wanting him to stop to save your phone splitting in half where you’re holding it too hard. “Stop.”
Hearing your smile isn’t enough for him, “Super cool. Actually probably way too cool for me and…”
Remus sighs, very happy with himself.
“You done?” you ask. 
“Maybe.”
“You’re a nuisance.”
Remus decides to not argue, you’re half right anyways. “I’m sorry. What’s up?”
You pause, thinking. You’ve forgotten why you called him for a moment. Too happy with just listening to him talk. You think you could do it all day if he let you. “I was wondering if you were coming out tonight? Drinks?” You feel silly asking now. It was drinks for James, he’d gotten a promotion, but of course, Remus is coming, they're best friends.
“Are you?”
You grin, “Yes. Yeah, I am.”
“Great. Me too.”
The excitement you feel when you know you’ll be seeing him again is palpable. Giddiness mixed with a number of nerves is always there whenever you think of him. He makes you feel like a schoolgirl again and you know he’ll be the cause of your undoing.
“Great.” 
A face-splitting smile erupts across Remus’s features. If only you could see each other.
-
The amount of time you spend getting ready in the afternoon for James’s get-together is silly. After what's an almost stupid amount of time rustling through your closet to find something, the final thing you settle on you hope isn’t stupid. A red skirt that ends mid-thigh, a white tee and a leather jacket. Boots that you hope actually do your legs justice, not just how they look in the mirror.
You know exactly why you're making such a fuss with your appearance. Spending an extra amount of time making sure loose hairs are sprayed down and a fresh coat of nail polish that's applied probably a little too late before you make your way out your front door.
You think that maybe if you didn’t know if Remus was attending or not it'd be a lot easier on you. Or maybe worse. God, you're a mess. You just really want to make him like you.
Arriving at the pub a little early is probably a bad idea in the long run. You greet James and Lily with equal delight. You hadn’t seen them since his shindig at least two weeks ago. Sirius, pint in hand, greets you loud enough to let the entire pub know of your arrival. Frank and Alice are absent. In-laws. You feel as though you had finally found the perfect group of friends.
James had told you that Remus was probably going to be late.
Which gives you too much time to down an inappropriate number of vodka-cranberries, much to Sirius’s delight. Pressed into a corner booth, settled next to James and Sirius who have now also transitioned to fruity drinks.
When Remus finally arrives, the sun now set, you're at least five cocktails deep. The pub is a little loud now, though you’d never struggle to hear any of your rambunctious friends. They're probably half the noise. You're a giggling mess, warm from the effects of alcohol. You feel ridiculously happy like you expected to, but you haven’t even seen Remus yet.
When you sip back the last dregs of your drink, the rim pressed into your nose, determined not to waste a single drop, your eyes finally settle on Remus who's selfishly been admiring you from afar. Your eyes light up like a delighted puppy and he has to bite his tongue to stop himself from smiling like an idiot.
He walks to the edge of the table, wet and sticky wood pressing into his jeans and he grimaces. “Finally he arrives,” James cheers, mojito raised in the air.
“Moony! Looking as ravishing as ever, my boy!” Sirius cheers with equal flare.
Remus ignores both of them with a tiny smile, too used to their words it’s like second nature to ignore them. “Sweetheart,” he smiles at you and you light up even more.
“Remus! You’re here.”
Sirius gets up and slides along the wall to make room for Remus next to you, “He looks ravishing, wouldn’t you say, Y/N? Good enough to eat,” he repeats
“I am hungry,” you admit with a giggle as Remus settles down next to you, only enough room for a sheet of paper to fit between your thighs.
“Having a good time, lovely?” Remus gestures to the empty glasses taking up the table in front of you. Your lips are stained red and he has to lick his own.
“Amazing!” You lean into his side and your hair tickles his neck. Your warmth seeps through Remus’s skin and he doesn’t have a single problem with how close the two of you are sitting. He’d be kidding himself if he said he did.
“I’m glad,” he says, hands settling atop the table.
“Are you?” You blink, eyes bright and welcoming. He has to avert his attention to your nose instead. Feeling as if you’d swallow him whole.
“I am now,” he grins.
Distracted, the half-empty glass in your hands spills when you twist its stem a little too quickly. A puddle of cosmo seeps into the half-polished tabletop and you cringe.
“Oops.” Quick to act, despite how sapped you feel from the cocktails, you grab a too-big handful of napkins from the dispenser in front of you.
With little to no flare, you push the entire pile of paper into the split drink and probably make it worse. The napkins almost turn to pink sludge and you only spread the drink further. A cold, sticky mess.
Remus laughs and grabs your wrists, pulling them up from the mess, “What have you done, hmm?” He puts your hands in your lap and you slouch, defeated.
“Accident,” you huff. You watch Remus’s hands swipe across the table, much better at cleaning up your mess. Like it wasn’t even there in the first place. 
Upset that your drink is now empty, when Sirius isn’t looking, too distracted talking quidditch with James, you reach forward and snatch his mojito. Cheering internally, too happy with yourself, you sip slowly.
“He won’t be too happy with that,” Remus laughs, pushing the serviettes to the side. 
You shrug, pushing further into the leather of the booth seat, “Accident.” you repeat.
Remus chuckles. You scull back the last of Sirius’s drink and Remus braces his hand on the skin between your shoulder blades, with a gentle “Take it easy,” 
You turn to him and wipe the line of drink from your chin with the back of your hand. Smiling before gently slamming the now-empty glass back to the table, a ring of condensation splashes across your palm. 
You wipe it across Remus’s leg unthinkingly and he wrinkles his nose. A dark stripe up his thigh. He takes your hand by the wrist again and grabs another napkin. Dabbing your palm gently and you act unaffected by his attentions when you trace the water on the table with your free hand.
“Am I the one who’s going to be doing the babysitting, tonight?” Remus counts the glasses that hadn’t been collected yet. Five. Six, now counting the one you stole.
You nod, gleefully.
“Saves me, then.” Lily takes another swig from her Pimm's, very happy. James presses into her side and throws his head back. 
“Merlin, I’m tired.” he huffs.
“Boo. No fun,” you pout, eyeing only his third drink that he hadn’t touched in way too long, “You drink too slowly, that’s your problem.” 
He snorts, “I don’t have the drinking problems, lovely.” 
You gasp, hand to your chest, sticky fingers pressing into your skin, “Just because I’m having fun!” 
You notice the beginnings of a frown across Sirius’s face, clocking the glass in front of you, green to your past pink drinks, “You little sneak.”
You pout, “Okay, I’m sorry, let me get the next round.” You move to stand and when you’re upright, the room spins. You grab Remus’s shoulder for purchase and he grabs your forearm. His grip is grounding, flesh between his slender fingers.
“Okay, let me get the drinks,” he says, standing. The love-hate relationship you have with his height hurts sometimes.
“No, let me.” You rummage through the purse over your shoulder, through sickles and spare tampons, and pull out a measly fiver. You hold it up to him with a frown, paper crumpled in your hand.
Remus chuckles and places his hands on your shoulders, “Sit.”
You do what he says and ignore the warmth in the pit of your belly.
As Remus stands at the bar to wait for the drinks, he turns to watch you with a content smile on his face and a warmth spreading up his chest until it begs to swatch his cheeks. He watches as you cover your face with your hands, giggling madly at something James is telling you. 
He thinks his heart is messing with him when it skips in his chest. When you throw your head back, neck bared and your eyes squinted, your shoulders raise like it’s the funniest thing you’ve ever heard (it could be but he doubts it), he thinks his heart has an actual fault. Almost halting completely when your eyes meet his and he thinks he’s been caught, but you smile contently and he has to look away before it jumps out his throat. 
He knows he’s truly done for.
He returns with a tray of drinks, mojito’s for his friends and a pint for himself, a packet of crisps pinched between his teeth. If he doesn’t choose to drink cocktails with everyone else because he wants to be sober to keep his eye on you, that’s completely his business. 
He places the drinks down, a hum of thank yous and cheers follow, he opens his mouth to let the crisps fall into your lap. You startle and look up at him, bemused.
“You said you were hungry.” He smiles.
You beam, hiccuping what he thinks is thanks.
“Where’s my fuckin food?” Sirius calls, voice very clear above the din of the pub. He throws a cube of ice at Remus and misses.
“Up your ass.” 
Sirius goes to reach for a crisp and you clutch the foil bag close to your chest. He doesn’t try again, thinking you might bite him. “Fuck, I need a cig.” 
He stands and stops Remus from sitting as he climbs over you. Squeezing past with almost zero care. You laugh, he seems hangry.
When he almost steps on your toe, “Look out, you prat.” Remus scolds.
“C’mon. Outside.” Sirius drags him away before he can even protest.
-
“You gonna ask her out, or what?” Sirus leans against the wall of the smoking area and flicks his ash.
Remus groans, “Don’t say it like it's easy or some shit.”
“Is it not?” Sirius laughs like it’s obvious. Remus envies his natural charm some days. He wished it came easy to him.
“No. She doesn’t like me like that.” Remus toes the gravel beneath his boot with a crunch. Watches as it skips across the ground and to the firepit. A distraction from the scolding that he’s expecting he’s about to get from Sirius.
Sirius coughs on a thick exhale of smoke, pushes himself off the wall. “You’re fucking with me, right?”
“What? No.” In some delusional, fucked up way, no, Remus is fucking with Sirius. Not since 7th year, anyways.
“She's mad about you,” Sirius laughs around the filter of his cigarette, “It’s sickening really. I mean she’s gotta be half dumb or something.” After another exhale he flicks more ash to the ground.
“Fuck up.”
“Whatever.”
There’s a beat before Remus says, “She doesn’t feel that way about me.” His head rests against the red brick behind him and wishes it would swallow him up. He wishes this was easier.
“What, you think she wears her best red skirt for people she doesn’t love?”
He lifts his head and glares at Sirius, “You really are a fucking twat, you know?” He steals the cigarette from between Sirius’s fingers and ignores his grunt as he inhales deeply. As deep as he can until Sirius swats his hand.
“I’m fucking kidding.” He takes it back, grimacing at the butt of what’s left.
“Still a twat,” Remus grunts.
Sirius flicks the orange filter to the ground and squashes it under his leather boot. “Seriously, Moons. Make a move already, it’s starting to get sad.”
He sighs, and Sirius almost wants to slap some sense into him. He doesn’t, remembering how he’d reacted last time he did. “I can’t. I’m not ruining anything.”
He decides to pat his shoulder instead, a gentler approach, “You’re a miserable sap.” He squeezes his sad friend, “She likes you, a lot, and she’s really good for you, y’know?”
“She is, isn’t she?” Remus sighs, lovelorn and dizzy, “Fuck, she’s so amazing. I don’t know what I’m gonna do. Have you seen her when she laughs? Fuck sakes.” He has to stop himself before he rants too much.
The both of them start to make their way back into the pub. “Alright, put your fucking cock away.”
Remus opens the door to the bar, “Get inside,” he laughs.
“If you don’t make a move soon, fuck I might.” Remus’s face goes slack and he pushes his dickhead of a friend towards their table with a little too much force. He stumbles with a hearty chuckle.
Left alone in the middle of the bar, a little incensed, he turns to look around and spots what looks like your aforementioned red skirt, standing in front of the claw machine. 
Bemused, but more intrigued, he beelines for you with slow strides. When he stands behind you he places his hand to your shoulder. You turn around and smile warmly. You’re standing, more like swaying, with both hands inside your purse.
“What are you doing, dove?” he asks and squeezes your shoulder. You push back into him, probably for the stability you lack. He braces you with his thigh behind yours.
“You smell like a chimney.” You wrinkle your nose and he laughs. It reverberates through your chest and you have to blink away the way it makes you feel. Sleepy.
“Sirius is a horrible influence,” he says with an equally wrinkled nose. 
“I’m looking for a coin,” you answer his question, looking back down into your purse. “Want to win you something.” Remus’s heart swells tenfold.
Before he can pull one from his pocket as an offering, you bend over and tip your entire purse to the paisley carpet, contents spilling everywhere. Wizard money, bright pink tampons, chapsticks and gum wrappers sit in a pile and Remus steps back with a disgruntled sigh.
You turn and crouch down to sort through everything, Remus looks down and gawps for a second. Half amused, half displeased. He bends down with you and helps as well.
“Do you think it'll take sickles?” you question, moving bandaids to the side. It’s looking like a lost cause.
Remus shakes his head with a laugh, “I don’t think so, honey.” 
You frown. 
“Here,” He handles a few items and places them in your purse, “I’ll help you clean this up and I’ll win you something, hm?” Remus thinks you’re a bit like Mary Poppins with how much stuff you have. He’d say this to you because you probably would understand the muggle reference, but you seem too upset over your lack of coins. 
“Was gonna win you some chocolate,” you laugh, picking up more stuff. 
The last few items fall back in with little organisation and he stands. You take his outstretched hands and let him gently tug you back up with a ruffle of your hair.
He pulls a coin from his pocket and slots it into the machine. You stand around to the side with your hands pressed to the glass like a little kid. The flow of colours washes you fluorescent as you point to a cherry ripe in a perfect spot.
He grips the joystick and moves it to where he thinks it hovers right above it.
“More to the left,” you say with your finger smooshed against the machine.
“You’re drunk,” he says before he pushes the red button on top of the stick, not moving it to where you’d said.
You laugh as it doesn’t even graze the chocolate. Claw coming back up with nothing. “Whatever.” He has two more chances at grabbing it and he’s determined.
The second time he does listen to you but still misses by the width of a hair. You both hold your breath as the claw gets lowered for the final time. You bend over to get a better view and watch as it gets picked up, not cheering until it gets dropped in the chute.
You clap as Remus cheers, taking the chocolate thankfully, opening it immediately with a crinkle of red foil. “Thank you, Remus.”
“Anytime.”
You break the chocolate in half and offer him the bigger portion. You both stand there, chewing on cherry and coconut and chocolate. You look at your sticky fingers and the worst of the after-effects of six cocktails suddenly hits you in a wave of nausea. Not enough to make you want to throw up, but enough for you to groan and grab your stomach.
“I think I should go home,” you whine, placing your half of the chocolate back into the wrapper and into your purse, probably just to melt and make a mess. A later problem, you think.
“Feeling okay?” he asks, turning to check you over. Etebrows pinched in concern already.
“I think I had too many cocktails,” you laugh, weakly at that.
“How are you getting home?” he asks.
You laugh, having flashbacks to your last encounter. “That’s my line.” 
“It’s a good one.”
“I don’t know how I’m getting home,” you say.
“I’ll call you a taxi.”
You sigh, “That’d be lovely.”
-
After saying goodbye to the rest of the group, after they’d moaned about your fifteen-minute disappearance with Remus, Thought you’d gotten stuck in the cubicle! James had laughed. Drunkenly, you’d missed the joke. Remus had smacked him up the back of the head. But now, the both of you were making your way to the front entrance.
Remus has to drag you out the door, holding you upright as you stammer and trip on things that aren't there.
“Be careful,” he tuts, holding you closer under his arm. 
“There was a frog!” you explain, very much exasperated.
“No there wasn’t,” he laughs.
“Was so!” you strain, fisting his shirt behind his back, sure to stretch the cotton.
“You just want me to hold you tighter.” He’s smug when he says it and can’t really help it. He has Sirius’s words ringing in the back of his head. 
You stop at the gutter and kick a stone with your boot, “Maybe.”
Your knees ache, wanting nothing more than to crouch down to the ground. You think it would probably be a bad idea. Though with sore knees and a spinning head, bad ideas turned to the best. 
You pull yourself from Remus' hold and bend your legs to crouch in the gutter. Remus’s eyes blow wide and he looks down at you. Not again, he thinks.
Before he can ask what you’re doing, thinking you've passed out, you look up, “Head rush,” you giggle with a huff of air. He sits down next to you, knees almost pressed into his chin. 
Remus tugs your knee so you turn towards him, legs pressed together. He keeps his large palm over your thigh because being crouched in a gutter leaves little to the imagination to the drunks walking past and he’s not going to ask you to get up if you’re dizzy. 
“You okay?” he murmurs. 
You rest your head on his shoulder much like he had the last time you saw him. He hopes he had more care than you do with your cheek cruelly smooshed into his skin. “I’m just a little drunk.” 
Lucky for Remus, before he thinks you’re about to fall asleep on his shoulder, your taxi is pulling up. He helps you stand, opens the back door and ushers you in. 
Listening to your murmur of thanks Remus before he clicks you in. 
“What’s your address, dove? So I can tell the driver.” You give him your address and he passes it off. 
Before he can close the door for you, you grab his wrist. 
“When can I see you next?” you ask brightly. Hopefully. 
“Call me when you’re not hungover,” he laughs, brushing his fingers across your arm. Your grip hardens. 
“You’ll answer?” He almost laughs again at how drunk you sound. Of course, he’ll answer. 
“Of course, sweetheart.” 
You lean across your seat, seatbelt pulling taut as you press a kiss to his cheek. Warm and buttery-soft just like last time, but maybe even worse now that his feelings for you are stronger. It burns. 
“Thank you, Remus.” 
“That’s okay, lovely.” 
-
You in fact did call Remus, a couple of days after your night out. Expected, you were hungover so you waited a day after to talk. 
Remus hadn’t really been expecting you to call him, despite how eager you seemed, he had talked himself out of believing you had any feelings for him. Like he’d imagined it or something. 
So, when his phone rings, he’s not expecting it to be you at all. He answers with a sigh, thinking it’s James or Sirius. 
“What do you want?” His voice is void of any excitement or joy you’d been selfishly expecting. You were also expecting a more welcoming greeting. 
“Remus?” you say, and his hand stills in his cupboard where he’s distractedly putting clean dishes away. 
He shuts the cupboard’s door a little too abruptly and cringes, clears his throat so he can speak, “Y/N! Shit, sorry. Hey.” He cringes even more at his stupidity. 
“Expecting someone else?” you laugh. 
He nods like you can see him, “Yeah, sorry.” He swallows and tries to fix himself, “How are you?” 
“I’m good,” you say with a little sigh, “Really, really good.” 
“That’s great!” 
“Yeah, how are you?” you question. 
Remus’s voice goes quieter, “Amazing.” Then there’s a small beat like you’re both thinking, “So, what’s up? Everything okay?” 
In his mind, his stupid, paranoid mind, there’s a possibility that all you’ve done is pocket-dialled him. Or, accidentally pressed his name in your contacts, maybe mistaken the name Moony for Mum. 
Is his name Moony in your phone? Or is it just Sirius’s friend? God, he wants his thoughts to shut up. 
“I wanted to ask you something!” When it sounds like you actually want to talk to him, what almost feels like relief washes over him. Paints him bright as he settles on his sofa, beaming like a schoolboy when he says, 
“Oh, yeah?” 
“Yeah!” Your excitement is dizzying. “Are you free this weekend?” 
He has to swallow before he speaks, eagerness bleeds through his skin. His foot taps and he picks at a loose thread on his battered shirt.  “Yeah, I am.” 
You chirp a happy noise, “Awesome! Cool. Um, there’s that gig on at The Red Lion if you wanted to come?”
Remus doesn’t see himself as a cool person and it definitely doesn’t show when he says, “Yeah! I’d love to.” in a tone pitched higher than normal. 
“Great. I think Sirius is coming too, I told him about it the other day and said he should invite the others. I wasn’t sure if he had asked you yet.” 
Oh. 
Remus feels like the biggest idiot ever. You weren’t asking him out, why would you? 
He leans down between his legs until all the air is forced from his lungs, he covers the receiver with his hand and groans, long and suffering in self-pity. 
Is coughing to clear your throat and hide your disappointment a good thing? Because his voice is a little squeaky when he replies. When he sits back up his head spins. “Sounds great.” 
He hears some shuffling on the end of your line before you say, “Amazing. I’ll see you then. Sorry, gotta go. Bye Remus!” 
“Bye, sweetheart.” 
Remus has about thirty seconds of wallowing in self-pity before his phone is ringing again. He wants to shove it in between his sofa cushions and forget about everything. But he sees Sirius' name flash up on the screen so he answers. 
“Moony!” Sirius’s voice pierces the phone line and Remus cringes. “Remus, my good friend.”
“Did you just get lucky or something?” Remus gruffs. 
“Huh?” 
“You’re too happy. Calm it down.” 
Sirius groans, “You’re so content with being miserable, Remus. Just because you can’t get your dick wet.” 
Remus wished his stupid friend could see the displeasure on his face, “What do you want?” 
“You’re free this weekend, aren’t you?” He questions and Remus hums a yes, expecting to hear the exact same question you had just asked him only three minutes ago. 
“Well, you, me, the gang, and a few pints at The Red Lion. Sounds like a plan?” Remus detests his friend's happiness. Or envies it. He feels miserable and doesn’t think Sirius is deserving of his lack of enthusiasm just because you didn’t ask him out. 
“Yeah, Y/N already asked me,” he replies. 
“Well, don’t get too excited.” Sirius huffs a laugh. 
“No, sorry. It’s just I thought she- never mind. Sounds good.” 
“Awesome. I’ll send you the deets.” 
Remus almost laughs, “The deets? Wait until I tell Marls you talk like that.” 
“Shut up.” 
“Bye, Sirius.” 
Sirius hangs up before he can. 
-
Remus spots you before you do, again. Watches where you lean against the bar on your tip-toes, talking to the bartender about something. He’s making you laugh and he feels the stupid need that it should be him instead. 
He does what he always does; walks up behind you and presses his shoulder into your back. You chirp and turn around. Then, your eyes do that thing that they always do that makes him bite the inside of his cheek. They squint, confused, and then light up when you realise who you’re looking at. Remus could swear that they sparkle, but that’s just something he imagines in his lovesick head. 
“Remus!” You smile, mouth upturning until the apples of your cheeks swell. You wrap your fingers around his bicep and pull him into your side. He lets you, willingly. 
“Y/N,” he says probably a little too quietly for the setting. The pub is starting to fill quickly while the band does sound check, the general hubbub of the patrons mixes in with the strumming of guitars and the feedback from the mics. 
“You’re all wet,” you giggle, pressing your fingers into the underside of his arm. 
“Yeah, it’s starting to rain out there,” he says. 
“You walked?” You frown, pulling your hands from his arm. He can still feel where your fingers were wrapped. A burn against his wet skin. 
“From the bus stop.” 
“You know there’s this thing wizards can do, I’m not sure if you heard of it. It’s called disapparition,” you quirk, mouth upturning into a teasing smile.
Amused, Remus says, “I don’t usually like muggles to watch someone appear out of thin air.”
You reach forward to grab some napkins from the dispenser on the bar, probably too many. “I would’ve picked you up,” you say matter-of-factly.
He doesn’t reply, just stops still when you reach up to brush away the damp hair from his eyes. There’s water bunching in his hair and falling in tiny beads down his face, over his top lip. You laugh when he licks it away before you dab across his forehead and then his cheeks. 
“I missed you,” you say, bunching the paper into a ball. 
Remus smiles, too hard he thinks. “You saw me last weekend.” 
You think he might be teasing you, though you’re not sure. You feel like you’ve overstepped. Demure, your eyes widen at your error. “Sorry,” you laugh, airy and quiet. 
Remus pokes you in your side, “I missed you too,” he laughs. 
You nod your head and bite your lip. You feel eased. But embarrassed in the first place. Scrunching the ball of damp napkins in your hands until it pinches. Still, you’re overjoyed. 
“What are you drinking?” you ask, splaying your hands over the bar, leaning where it comes up to your chest. You try to ignore everything. The way Remus is making you feel, the busy pub that’s teeming with rowdy people. 
“Not sure,” he quirks, eyeing the taps at the end of the bar. “What about you?” 
“I think I might just stick to squash,” you laugh knowingly. 
“You’re on it tonight,” Remus laughs, splaying his fingers around your shoulder. 
“I’m not having any repeats of last week.” 
“Damn,” he pouts, “Drunk Y/N is cute.” 
You warm, “Drunk Y/N is messy.” 
He squeezes you, a funny pinch. “I think you can be both.” 
You lean into his side while he orders your drinks. His hand doesn’t move and you don’t want it to. It’s warm and grounding and feels too good to be true. How touchy he is and how you love it. You imagine a world where he doesn’t just touch your shoulder. Imagining what he’d do if you were together. How ruining he would be. 
Distracted by his grip on your arm, before you can even reach into your purse to grab your money, he’s paid. 
“Remus,” you scold, pushing yourself off the bar. 
“Dove,” he smiles, placating. He grabs both of your drinks, in one hand, fingers twisting. The other snakes down to grab your hand to guide you through the crowd of people. 
“Stop paying for my drinks.” Someone bumps into you and Remus digs his elbow into your side to stop you from tripping. You smile thankfully. 
You let him weave you through patrons, your hand flexing around his until you get to your table. Once you've sat down, he says, “Sorry, didn’t think a fiver would cover it.” 
Faux scolding, you shove his arm. “I have more money on me this time.” 
“Good,” Sirius pipes up, “you can buy me that cocktail you owe me.” 
“I’m sorry, Sirius.” You act like it genuinely does upset you. Though the thought of how you acted when you were drunk last week, is worse. “I’m a really annoying drunk.”
“Sirius is being dramatic,” Remus sighs, leaning back against the booth. He throws an arm behind you, pressing it up against the wall. You stay sitting forward, not sure if it’d be too much to lean into him. Despite him making the first move. “You got your cocktail.”
“Yeah, you bought it,” Sirius faux scoffs. It’s hard to believe that he actually cares about a stolen mojito, easier to believe he’s determined to tease you until you die. “Doesn’t count.”
“I’ll buy you a cocktail if you really want me to, Sirius,” you lilt, happy to get him to shut up. It works when Remus shoots him a look you don’t understand. Sirius bites his tongue and sits back in his seat. 
By the time James and Lily get back from the bar, the band has started their set and you’ve had enough time to think too much on whether or not you should lean into Remus’s side. His weight behind you feels like a magnet. The more you want to pull away the stronger the urge is to just give up and fall against him. 
Much like everything is with Remus. The more you allow yourself to think you really do like him, the harder it is to keep to your regular ways. You’ve never allowed yourself to be so openly affectionate and loving towards someone without second-guessing every single thing you do.
Not that you don’t. Every time you speak to him, touch his arm for too long or allow yourself to wrap your own arm around his back, there’s that voice in the back of your head that’s screaming at you. Telling you that you’ve let your guard down too much for a boy you’re not even sure likes you as much as you do him and you’ve embarrassed yourself.
It’s totally overwhelming and constantly feels like a back-and-forth battle. Because, sure, it's no secret anymore to anyone who isn't Remus, that you like him. You just wished it were easier.
As if he can hear your head reeling, or he’s just noticed how quiet you’ve suddenly become, he nudges your leg where it’s crossed with his own jean-clad one.
“You okay?” he asks. His face is soft. Too soft for your dismissive and relentless thoughts to ebb. It’s suddenly painful to even be looking at him and you’ve only been around him for no less than twenty minutes. He’s always had that ability.
The nod you give him is unconvincing and your smile is even worse. His eyes flicker and you open your mouth to speak before he can, “Yeah, jus’ thinking.”
“I can tell.” 
“You can?”
You chance another look back at him and regret it instantly when he’s smiling like he knows something you don’t. “Yeah.” He nods, “You’re making that face you always do when something’s eating at you.”
Hating being read for filth, you turn to take a sip from your drink, filling your mouth with your straw lest you say something stupid. You drink it too quickly, and once it’s down to its last dregs, your head aches. Brain freeze. You squeeze your eyes shut and try to distract yourself when you say, “What face?”
“Your lips part and your eyebrows pinch. Sometimes I have to double-check you’re not crying.” Remus is a lovely, horribly attentive boy. And if he keeps saying things like that, things that let you know he does actually pay attention to you, you’re not going to last. When you said you wondered how ruining he would be, this isn’t what you had in mind.
Remus says something to you again, but you don’t catch it. The band transitions into a much louder song and his words fall on deaf ears. You do, however, catch the look he shares with Sirius again over your shoulder. 
Confused, you suddenly think fresh air would be better than to pain yourself through whatever’s happening around you. “I’ll go get that mojito,” you mumble.
You weave yourself over Remus’s lap, careful where your shoes and hands land, careful to also ignore where he stables you with his own hand on the back of your knee. You try to make it discrete as you beeline for the bar, taking a small turn to head for the back doors.
The warm air cast from the setting sun slowly dwindles away and you cross your arms over your body, leaning against the railing to the left of the smoking area. When the door shuts behind you, the music from inside slowly dies down and you’re grateful to be the only one out here. 
The fear you have been feeling throughout your entire friendship with Remus does its best to claw its way up your throat. Makes your breathing staggered and your palms itch. You suspect if you spent any more time with him inside you would’ve only embarrassed yourself more than you feel like you already have. Best you do it out here instead.
The muffled music slowly grows louder when you hear the door open and you pay it no mind. Not until there’s a hand on your shoulder. You flinch and turn around, pushing yourself against the railing.
“Shit, sorry. Just me,” Remus smiles, pulling his hand from your shoulder.
“Remus,” you breathe, hand to your chest, “You scared me.”
“Sorry,” he frowns.
You pause. Trust him to notice your departure. You hope he doesn’t ask you any questions, you don’t expect yourself to hold anything in anymore if he soothes you over.
“You okay?”
Fuck sakes.
“Um, yeah.” You nod. Remus moves to your side, arm pressed up against the railing and you follow him. Turning so you’re face to face.
“You sure? You just kind of up and left.” he laughs weakly, stopping when he notices you don’t join in.
“Sorry,” you apologise.
“What for?” he asks kindly. You once more detest his kindness and his ability to get you to open up.
“I don’t know,” you sigh, leaning further into the railing and it rattles, “I’m being weird.” You’re not opening up like you’d expected, though the words you want to say to him are at the back of your mind, where they were once pushed away, slowly crawling forward. If he keeps looking at you like that, they might spill.
“You’re not.”
“I am. I’m thinking too much and it,” you heave a calming breath. You want to tell him how you feel, not ramble, “it hurts.”
“Hey,” He traces a line over the hinge of your elbow, “what’s going on in that head of yours, hm? Care to let me in?”
You swallow, “That’s the problem. I can’t find the words.”
“That’s okay.” He squeezes your arm, “Take your time.”
His gaze is soft though it still burns where it’s settled over your face, his grip on your arm is worse. Still, it’s grounding. You blink and take a few calming breaths.
The door opens up again and the band’s music spews back outside. It’s the same song that was playing the night you sat on Sirius's couch and you’d freaked about how it was both your favourite. In some cheesy, cliche way, you take it as a sign.
“I’ve never been one for showing, let alone telling someone how I feel about them,” you begin, “I’m not sure if that’s the most obvious thing ever, or if I’ve gotten really good at hiding it but…”
Remus is smiling widely, more smug than anything. It makes you nervous and you advert your gaze to the ground. Over the ash-strained brick tile under your sneakers, “Stop looking at me like that or I won’t be able to finish what I’m trying to tell you,” you sigh.
“Like what?” he asks like he’s oblivious. Like his mouth isn’t now upturned into the slyest smile.
“That!’’ Your face grows warm and you have to press the backs of your hands into them. You can feel the thrumming of your heart in your fingertips.
“Sorry, you were saying,” he chuckles. 
“God, where did you get all this confidence from, Remus?” you ask, a little dazed. Maybe it’s the setting or the fact you’re both finally sober together that brings out a different side of him, though you can’t be sure.
Remus shakes his head, “I’m sorry, you just look so cute when you get flustered.”
Your mouth parts, a shocked, demure gasp slips past them. Gawping, you say, “You’re not drunk, are you?” It’s not the first time he’s said it, but it's the first time it feels different.
“Not this time. For once,” he laughs knowingly.
“Right,” you pause. Taking in a shuddered breath. In what world you would ever expect this to be easy, you’re not sure. You’re also not sure that doing this with Remus makes it easier. Easier, because he makes you feel secure and appropriately worked down to tell him anything; harder because it’s him you have to let your emotions go with. It’s him you have to let know of your heartachingly, sore feelings you have. He can’t just be there on the sidelines guiding you through it.
Remus watches you slip away into your shy, quiet self again. He can almost hear your thoughts reeling, “God, you’re worse than me.”
You giggle nervously, all pitched up and light, “You make me nervous,”
He steps forward and if your eyes weren’t stuck on the ground, you wouldn’t have noticed it. He’s smooth. “Do I now?” He hooks a knuckle under your downwardly pointed chin and gives it a tap.
You look back up, catching his gaze, “I hate you,”
“No you don’t,” he says matter of factly. Like its the most obvious thing ever. You’re sure it is.
“I don’t?” You blink slowly.
He closes the gap between you some more and suddenly you’re overwhelmed by him. The smell of his laundry detergent, something familiar and heady, mixed in with the cologne that you swear follows you home. Where the toe of his boot almost touches your sneaker and where the sleeve of his sweater catches on your bracelet because he’s as close as possible. Though you still think he’s not close enough. 
His voice mixes in with the same song that’s playing inside and you can barely hear him when it builds to a crescendo and he says, “You weren’t about to go on some rant about how you love me?”
“Remus…” you murmur, quieter than the thumping of your heart in your chest,
“No?”
You bite your tongue, but it does nothing to stop you from saying, “God, yes. Just- kiss me, please.”
“What?” he asks, more shocked than you’ve been this entire interaction.
“Kiss me, Remus. Before the song ends.” You lean into him, up on the balls of your feet and pull your hands between your bodies.
Face to face, lips hovering over yours, he murmurs, “You sure?”
“Completely,”
It’s the last thing you say before Remus kisses you so hard, so deep, that you forget how it was even possible to form words in his presence before now. Snakes his arms around your back and holds you so close your shirt rides up until your skin presses into the soft material of his sweater. 
He tastes of stout, a weird mixture against the lemon on your tongue. You can’t find it in you to mind when he hums into your mouth. A desperate, pleading sound that has you squeezing the flesh of his hips. Compared to the reserved and diffident relationship you’ve held with Remus up until now, the kiss you share is nothing alike. It’s passionate and heated. Longing.
The song ends and with a final tug of your bottom lip, he pulls away panting. Eyes skipping over your face, a little glassy and bouncy. “Fuck,” he murmurs.
Tugging on the hem of his sweater, you say, “What?’' with a light chuckle.
“If I…” Remus has to compose himself lest he says something embarrassing. Completely forward. “If I knew kissing you would’ve been like that…I would’ve done it ages ago.”
“I think I’ve wanted you to kiss me for a really long time,” you confess, giddily rocking back and forth on your feet. Canvas sneakers crushing into the ground.
“Yeah?” he hums. Smugness still ever present.
“Yeah.”
“Thoughts on me kissing you again?” he asks, still not letting you go where you’re held against his torso.
You look over his shoulder, “I think if you kiss me again, Sirius’s jaw might fall to the floor.”
Remus turns and spots Sirius and James almost pressed to the glass window. James doesn’t look as pleased, shoving a crumpled note into Sirius's palm. Turning back to face you, he rolls his eyes, “I think they had a bet going.”
“Should we give Sirius his money’s worth?” you giggle.
“I’m going to kiss you. But, not for Sirius.” Remus says, “Only because you look insanely beautiful right now and if I don’t do it again, my brain might go numb.”
“What are you waiting for then?”
“Nothing.”
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running-with-kn1ves · 11 months
Note
Hi! Could you write something about a yan!best friend but this time he's the one who's the virgin instead of reader and reader is the one who is teasing him etc. Like your other yanbsf fic but the roles are flipped. Maybe he's flirty and teasing so reader assumed he got around but he's actually only that way around them and a huge dick to everyone else. And as they're having sex, he's rough because he hates that reader slept with other people before. Thinking of it now, this prompt also fits yan!bf because of the insecurity but I'll leave it to you. Thanks! Your writing always helps me get though a tough week :)
A/N: this prompt got me too interested for me to pass it up; I'm so glad my writing is helpful to you anon, and i hope this was what you were looking for:)
TW: Literally just smut, hardly proofread, possessive behavior, experienced! reader, virgin! Yandere, handjob,
“Don’t start.” Your best friend threatens, giving you a “i'm done with your shit” glare. 
His seemingly upset gaze passed back and forth from your eyes, to your hand. But despite his disagreeable tone, his hands stay limp at his sides, and his legs are still open at a leisurely position. 
“Why? I thought you were so confident in your… skills.” You scoff at the end of your sentence, watching your friend writhe uncomfortably as your hand caresses him. “Don’t tell me you’ve been lying this whole time….?”
You grin at seeing him frown, seeing his unhappy glare that really seems to hold a hidden bit of excitement, especially as you feel something begin to grow more shapely within your palm. 
“I haven’t lied about anything!” He blurts out suddenly, “I just-- I didn’t, say that I’ve actually.. DONE anything…” 
“Don’t tell me--” You begin to cackle, unable to hold back your laughter as you watch his face morph into an expression of sheer embarrassment. 
“Don’t laugh at me!” He shouts, grabbing the hand that thats been touching him so intimately.
“Why not, you’re a virgin who’s lied about sleeping with more than half of everyone we know!” You snicker, laughing into your opposite palm while your other has ceased its sensual movements. 
Forcing your hand back down, your best friend jerks you close. 
“If I’m really just some loser, why don’t you see how well your so-called “experience” works on me, huh? Or are you too much of a wuss to try,” He watches you try to hold back another laugh, angrily frowning.  “Maybe you’re not as good as you think; not as good compared to a virgin, anyway.”
“Oh, is that a challenge?” You ask grinning, reading his nervousness as he licks his lips in anticipation. 
“Its.. its whatever you want to take it as.” He says stubbornly, looking away. “And I haven’t lied about anything, I just… stretched the extent of things I may have done… with some people….” 
You try to hold back another laugh, resuming your experimental touches on the front of his jeans. You’ve noticed how increasingly hard he’s gotten since you started, how tight his pants have gotten around his thickness; though its not like it took very much to get him excited, having only ever received the touch of his own hand. 
Your best friend licked his lips again, letting out a huffed breath through his nostrils as you cupped his crotch. 
“So a liar and a virgin… Turns out you’ve been hiding quite a few things from me.” You cut him off before he tries to refute you again. “But that doesn’t really matter now, does it? Because you won’t be either, once we’re finished. 
“But I-I,” He stutters, watching you look him up and down, seeing how his hips have begun to lift forward in an attempt to meet your hand.
“You’ve bragged about so little… I’m sure we can manage to bring some truth to your fabrications.”
You get close, watching his desperate lips part in an attempt to call in yours. You lean in just close enough to keep him trying to close the gap, creating a bit of distance each time. You almost catch him in a kiss but lean upward, brushing your nose against his as he pants in frustration. 
“Stop-- teasing me..” He grunts, trying to keep his mouth shut. You pull away from his grinding hips, tip-toeing your fingers up to his pants buttons. You try to open them slowly, unzipping his pants zipper as he watches you. But your best friend doesn’t have the patience that you hoped. He unbuttons himself before you can, the bulge in his boxers coming to rise and push against his pants. 
“So needy for being an untouched virgin, are we? I thought you were more patient than that.” 
He looks away in embarassment, hiding behind his forearm. Your hand slides from his soft, warm tummy to the thickness in his boxers. The moment you grab it, he lets out a guttural moan, pushing his lips in his arm to avoid from getting too loud. 
You reach for his jaw with your free hand, pulling him away from his hiding spot. He looks at you with a parted, heaving mouth, watching as if you had the key to everything he could ever want. You give him a sweet kiss, one that he easily accepts, pressing up against your mouth with an insatiable fervor, gently bringing his hand down to push yours under his boxers. 
You pull away his hand from yours,pushing it against the backside of the couch with your free hand.
“Rule one you have to learn, don’t touch the master while they’re working.” You grin, giving a slow pump to his delicate, untouched cock. 
But instead of the submissive, lust-hazed look you were expecting, your bestfriend hardens his gaze. Pulling you by your hips, he forces you from your knees on the couch to his lap, letting them straddle him and keeping your hand down his pants. 
“Its not fair,” He murmurs, gripping the fabric around your thighs. “T’s not fair someone else got you fuck you first…”
He ruts up against your clothed crotch, allowing your hand to slide against his member. His thrusts into your hand grow harder, rougher as he watches you through hazy eyes and fallen hair strands. 
“You're as desperate as any virgin…” You smirk, watching him lean his head back after you brush your thumb against his tip. “But you’re as stubborn as a mule.”
 That action and your confident words only seems to spur him on, his heavy thrusts growing violent as his hand moves to grip the back of your shirt, the other coming up to meet your crotch. 
“I only learn from the best.” He says, gritting his teeth and trying his best to unbutton your shorts. “Now, I thought you said you’d teach me everything that I “fabricated”?” 
You lift an eyebrow, hearing him let out another groaning huff, getting close to his release. 
You lean in to satisfy his need to kiss you again, watching as bites his lip at a thought.
“Besides, I need to fuck you hard enough that you forget about those before me.”
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rootsofdread · 1 year
Note
May I request general hc for Ghostface, Michael Myers and the Trickster falling in love with a survivor (preferably one that doesn't seem to reciprocate their feelings)?
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Danny Johnson / The Ghostface:
Danny is not very forward with his feelings, not at first. He spends a lot of time watching you in and out of trials, learning everything that he can about you. He knows he won’t be able to win you over unless he knows how your brain works, what you like and don’t like, who your friends are. It’s not stalking as long as you don’t know he’s there.
He uses his information to try to get to know you in a more normal way next. He thinks you’ll be amazed by his “people reading” skills, and thinks you’ll be more inclined to share more with him, feel more comfortable. He’s shocked to find you still seemingly uninterested in him.
He always slips in compliments when the two of you happen to talk along with his skillfully-gained information. You’re stunning, you’re so smart, you’re great in chases. Anything he thinks will earn him your favor, but it’s all true, of course. Danny is many things, but a liar isn’t one of them.
His next course of action is trying to impress you with his more practical skills in trials. He always makes sure you’re watching when he marks and skillfully downs someone, looking over his shoulder at you before taking them to a hook. He’s a lot more productive during trials when you’re around.
He enjoys seeing your reaction when he sneaks up on your teammates in front of you, the shock of realizing you didn’t even know he was there until it was too late. He knows that’s a surefire way to impress you, if all else fails. His Night Shroud works wonders.
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Michael Myers / The Shape:
Michael never thought he would even love someone. Honestly, he just didn’t think he’d have it in him. So you can imagine his frustration when he falls for someone who doesn’t seem to share his feelings, who ignores all of his advances, which get increasingly aggressive. If he makes sure you know how he feels, maybe then you'll return his feelings.
You may think your apparent disinterest in him would end up discouraging him…But if you know Michael, you know it doesn’t. His drive to kill Laurie has kept him going for years. A lot of years. He’ll get you, too, eventually. He knows he will.
If he knows he has you in a trial, you’re his first target. He stalks you first, following you around, watching you behind corners or from higher places. He can never tell if you purposefully hold still out in the open, though.
He picks off the rest of your team one by one to get to you easier. He leaves their bodies where you can see them and waits for you to come to him. It's…His very twisted way of showing you his affection. He always hopes you like it, and has a little hope that you’re impressed by it.
He always lets you escape, either through the hatch or forcing you to go through the gates if he’s feeling “playful.” The latter may seem a little cruel, but it’s just his way of having a little fun with you. He doesn’t have a very well-adjusted sense of fun. But he knows you’re glad to at least be left alive, and that’s really all that matters.
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Ji-Woon Hak / The Trickster:
Ji-Woon is the most romantically-inclined, and actually tries to win your favor in less frightening ways. That’s not to say he isn’t without his…Issues, but he is a romantic at heart and enjoys trying to woo you, even if it usually ends up being fruitless. He’s convinced that his good looks and charm will do most of his work for him.
He’s always following you around, trying to chat you up, mostly by bragging about his accomplishments both before and during his time in the fog. It impresses everyone else and makes them swoon, so he figures it’ll do the same to you. Your disinterest in his achievements doesn’t seem to bother him much. He’ll also tail you without your knowledge occasionally, to find things out about you, like things you like to do or talk about.
In addition to this, he’s always bringing you gifts, too. Typically items he’s looted off of dead survivors, because he knows even if you’re not interested in him, you’ll be interested in items you can actually use. He can get a little smug about it. He does also enjoy bringing you flowers, he knows it’s less creepy and you may be a bit more inclined to like them for that reason.
If you’re in a trial together, you’ll find little love notes pinned to trees or walls with his throwing knives. The tone of these notes may be a little off-putting or ominous, but Ji-Woon insists that that’s just how he writes. And if you’ve heard his music, you know that’s not a lie. He just expresses himself and his affections in strange ways.
He’ll also avoid going after you in trials, like a gentleman. He’ll let you work on generators and unhook your teammates so long as there are others still alive that he can go after. He prefers to not kill you, but he seems to have a lot of fun chasing you down and hauling you to a hook just to tell you he loves you.
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ghostlynachopanda · 1 year
Text
Like a charm
a/n: in honor of demon slayer AND aot coming out on Friday I wrote this. I think it sucks but I wrote it at 4am. I didn't read over it or anything so tell me if it's good or if it sucks. thanks, pals, here's this one.
Pairing: Wednesday Addams x reader
words: 2.1k
~~~
Enid learned, pretty quick, the best way to get Wednesday out of a foul mood was by getting you. You worked like a charm, pulling her out of any and all bad moods she might be in. Enid didn't waste time in telling almost everyone Wednesday came in contact with, aiming to keep heads on people's shoulders. The amount of times you've been dragged to a murderous Wednesday is laughable. Well, it would be if it wasn't as effective as it actually is.
Wednesday is vexed, furious, miffed. Everything and everyone is testing her patience today. Enid woke up being extra preppy, not being able to find her preferred sweater, and Bianca thinking she's smarter than she actually is, trying to one-up her. Wednesday's thoughts consisted of only the murder of her classmates and destroying anything that gets in her way. The aura Wednesday emitted made everyone steer clear of her. Unfortunately, for everyone around Wednesday, you were nowhere to be found. It wasn't even lunch yet, and this day could not get any worse. But somehow it did.
Wednesday sat in her usual spot in the classroom, an empty seat for you to her right. It's the first class of the day she had with you, as ashamed as she is to admit it, she looked forward to seeing you. Wednesday looked forward to the gentle touches under the table, the small smiles you sent her, the small doodles in her notebook that she swears she'll get rid of but never does. She sat waiting for you, looking at the door expectantly. Her attention is diverted when the chair next to her scrapes unpleasantly against the floor, something you never did. Wednesday tenses, it's not you.
She turned to look at whoever was brave enough to not only sit next to her, but also take your spot, and found Xavier. Her eyes narrowed at him before she spoke, "What are you doing?" her voice sharp.
"Taking an open seat, what’s it look like?" he shoots back, seemingly also in a broody mood.
Before she could tell him to move the bell rang, and she saw a small victory smirk on his face causing her grip on her pencil to tighten. Wednesday was going to kill him. She turned to scan the room, hoping to find a glimpse of you. She didn't see you, nothing in the room resembled you.
Wednesday turned to Enid, who sat across the room, and stared at her until she understood what the question was. Enid responded with a shrug and mouthing 'I don't know' before turning her attention to the teacher. Where are you?
Wednesday couldn't focus. Xavier's pencil was scraping against his sketchbook too loud, he kept trying to talk to her, and her hands felt cold. You aren't there to absentmindedly draw figures on the back of her hands, she didn't think before she whispered, "Xavier, I'm going to cut out your tongue and feed it to vultures if you don't shut up."
That managed to get him to stop talking to her, instead mumbling to himself about her attitude. The sound of his pencil moving along his sketchbook sounded like nails on a chalkboard, something she would normally ignore, but the sound is too loud for Wednesday. She was on the verge of breaking every single one of his fingers, burning his 'precious' sketchbook, and snapping all of his pencils in half. Now that Xavier stopped talking to her she could hear everyone else, whispering like their conversations are a secret. It made Wednesday clench her jaw and ball her hands into fists, she was mere moments away from cutting everyone's tongue out so she could have some silence.
The bell rang sometime later, signaling the time for her free period. Wednesday immediately gathered her things and stood up, she needed to find you. She was out the door before anyone else, walking swiftly through the halls to where you frequented during your free period. Maybe you're already there. Maybe you're waiting for her.
Her thoughts and strides are cut short when someone calls her name and puts a hand on her shoulder. Yes, Wednesday is going to kill someone today. She turns to find Xavier again, "You must have a death wish," she told him, voice wrapped in displeasure.
"Very funny, Wednesday. Where are you off to in such a hurry?" he inquired, unintentionally antagonizing her.
"That's none of your concern," she replied through gritted teeth, her fingers twitching to wrap around his neck and squeeze the life out of him.
"It kind of is when you ran off before you answered my question," he replies, eyebrows pinched and voice taut with anger.
"Xavier, I do not care about any of your brainless questions. I have somewhere I need to be." She retorts voice laced with venom. She turns and starts walking again only to be stopped again,
"Seriously dude? I just need you to answer one question. What's got you in such a bad mood today, jeez." he's even more irritated now.
The hall is deserted, Wednesday noted. She could kill him now and dispose of the body before anyone noticed either of them are gone. Xavier hardly contributes anything to the school, no one would notice he's missing. Nevermore would be better off without his 'tortured artist' act anyway. If anyone says anything I can just kill them too. I just need to grab my knife and I can dispose of him. If I kidnap him, I could torture him for as long as I want. Try out those torture techniques I learned.
She fixes him with her deadliest glare and in a most threatening voice, "Listen to me carefully, I'm going to make your death the most painful one imaginable and you're going to wish-" she pauses when she feels a familiar weight on her shoulder.
A warmth graces the left side of her body, one that she's grown fond of over a short period. It seems her body just knows it's you without having to look. Wednesday relaxes under your touch almost immediately, all thoughts of murder and Xavier leave her head.
She turns to find your hand resting comfortably on her shoulder, a small smile on your lips. Parts of your face are covered in dirt and you have some small scratches. You're close enough to be in her personal space, but it's still not close enough; not when she's been without you practically all day, but she won't tell you that. In lieu, she'll act angry.
She steps closer to you, eyes losing their murderous gleam, "Where have you been?"
"oh, haha, just around," you reply vaguely, voice soft and tired.
It's not enough, Wednesday decides. Grabbing your hand and dragging you somewhere you're unaware of. You two could hear Xavier yelling something in the background but neither of you care enough to listen to what he had to say.
The only thing on either of your minds is the warmth of the others hand. Neither of you would say anything, but it's pleasant.
Both of you end up in Wednesday's dorm, it's empty since Enid is probably hanging out with some of her friends and Thing is probably trying to steal lotion from the nurses. She sits you down at her desk and grabs her first aid kit, a bottle of water, and some napkins.
"Why weren't you in class earlier?" she asks, breaking the comfortable silence while gently wiping the dirt from your face.
"I was running around in the woods," you reply.
"Why is that a reason to not attend class?" she inquired, wanting to know what was more important than sitting next to her in class.
You don’t reply, there wasn't a specific reason why you were out there. Just wanting to enjoy the nice weather before it got ridiculously cold again.
Wednesday sighs, somewhat miffed by your lack of response, before kneeling down between your legs and taking a dirtied hand in hers. Reaching for the antiseptic,
"How you manage to get so many cuts and bruises is astounding," she says softly as if she's actually amazed.
"you think so?" you ask just as softly.
She merely hums in response, focusing back on your hands. She's thinking about what to say to you. She wants to lecture you about missing class and leaving her by herself with those heathens she calls classmates. Still, you look content. She doesn't want to be the reason that look is ripped from your face.
You don’t flinch when the antiseptic is applied, too focused on Wednesday's face. She appears to be lost in thought, you can't blame her. You hadn't seen her since dinner yesterday, you just wanted to be with her.
It slightly startled you when her eyes met yours, looking down at your hands to realize their clean and patched up. Wednesday is taking in every detail of your face, now all cleaned and patched up by her hands; the thought makes a smile ghost over her face.
The close proximity and the way she's looking at you make your cheeks heat up. Her eyes burning trails on your skin, she's not shy about it either. The heat is spreading all over your body, unconfined to just your cheeks and the tips of your ears. You want to look away, but you can't tear your eyes from her either.
"Don't skip the classes we share," she said, breaking the silence but not breaking eye contact.
"I'm sorry?" your brain is still slightly distracted by her.
"You and I share a couple of classes. Do not skip them again," she said evenly.
"It bothered you that much?" you ask innocently.
"If you want to leave me with those brainless imbeciles, I don’t blame you. I don’t want to be in the same general area as them either. However, it's not a good idea to skip class—"
You stopped listening, your brain is too occupied by how pretty she looks and how close she is. You're aware she's going on a rant and it probably would be a good idea to listen, even if she's just saying unkind things about your classmates, but she hasn't stood up. She's still kneeling between your legs, your hands are still interlocked and your brain is short-circuiting.
You can't help yourself, you lean forward and connect your lips. It's soft and something you wish you could feel every waking moment. This kiss is just as memorable as the first. You pull away quickly, realizing you cut her off. You blink rapidly, trying to regain composure and some coherent thoughts, she does the same. Wednesday forgot what she was scolding you for. Her thoughts are now completely on you.
"Sorry, I didn’t mean to-"
"Again." she cuts you off. You blink owlishly at her, still not completely caught up with everything. She repeats,
"Do that again," you comply this time. Lips moving graciously against one another as if they were made to do this. Your hands find their place on her jaw and the back of her neck, pulling her closer to you. Her hands lightly grab your arms, forbidding you from pulling them away.
Neither of you is sure what time it is, not that either of you cares. Not wanting to leave the others to embrace, no longer caring for class. You pull away after a couple minutes, not wanting things to get too heated when Enid or Thing could come back at any moment. You connect your foreheads and close your eyes, trying to gain control of your breathing.
She looks at you fondly, eyes soft in a way no one but you will get to see. Her admiring is cut short by you, "Take a nap with me?" you ask.
Wednesday mumbles rejections while standing to grab you clean and comfortable clothes. You smile at her, knowing she could never say no to you. After changing she all but pulls you into her bed. She links your pinkies together and covers both of you with her black sheet. Wednesday doesn't have time to think about how her day went before sleep takes over.
------
Enid walks in an hour later to find you two in bed together. She feels brave enough to snap a quick picture to send to you later. She sees your eyes open and looks at her, she mouths a 'thank you' with a large bowing motion. You sleepily smile at her and give her a thumbs up before she quietly rushes out of the room, hoping not to wake her roommate. Yeah, you really do work like a charm.
tags:@alexkolax @rainbow-love4ever @o638
940 notes · View notes
fishcat480 · 5 months
Text
Go Timberwolves!
Fandom: The Vampire Diaries
Pairing: Elijah Mikaelson x Plus size! cheerleader!reader
Description: You're a cheerleader and Elijah is in the stands. Your friend Jessica notices him first.
Warnings: none
____________________________________________________________
“Who is that?”
Jessica was looking over at the stands and toward a group of guys, all sitting next to each other. They looked hilariously out of place, all seemingly dressed for different events. The one with reddish hair and kiss-me lips was wearing a velvet jacket over a v-neck, three necklaces dangling over his heart. You’d seen him hanging around before, and recognized him as Rebekah’s brother Klaus. How many times had he been watching Caroline from the sidelines during a game or desperately offering to walk her to her car? Doubtful that Jessica didn’t know who that was, or that he was clearly obsessed with everyone’s favorite blonde.
Then there was the youngest of the three. He was dressed pretty normally for a high school football game in a t-shirt and jeans. He spoke animatedly to Klaus, who looked about as thrilled to listen as he would have been to get struck by lightning. His name was escaping your memory, but it was another K name, you were sure of it. Kyle! No…Kal?
All thoughts of K names were stripped from your thoughts the second your eyes landed on Jessica’s mystery man. 
His hair was dark, and his eyes were darker. His features were angular, practically Grecian. He was wearing a suit, which was ridiculous because who wore a suit in Mystic Falls unless they were a realtor or attending a Lockwood party? Somehow, though, he pulled it off so perfectly that there was no question that he should be wearing it. 
Never had you been so struck by a stranger. His eyes scanned over the crowd, and across the field, before landing squarely on you.
You blushed and turned away, heart thundering in your chest.
Elena and Bonnie had followed Jessica’s gaze too, and gave each other knowing looks. You were friendly with Elena but not close. You and Bonnie had been good friends since middle school, though, so you felt no shame sidling up to her and joining her conversation.
“Info on Jessica’s mystery man?” you asked, spreading your legs as you sat next to Bonnie, beginning to stretch. She laughed and gave you a stern look. “He’s Klaus’ older brother. No mystery.”
You bent forward, stretching out your back and Bonnie followed suit. “Off limits?” you ask, trying to seem curious but not invested. 
“Yes.” she said quickly. Elena smacked Bonnie’s thigh. 
“Elijah is not off limits.” she said. “He’s actually the only one out of the three of them I’d say is pretty on…limits…”
Elijah....you tried the name out in your head. Yes, you decided, that was a good name.
You all giggled. “I mean, Klaus is just too in love with Caroline.” you shrugged. “I wouldn’t dream of going anywhere near him.” 
You sat up and bent your neck to the side, eyeing the rest of the cheerleaders. “Hey, where is Caroline?”
“Tyler drama.” Bonnie said conspiratorially. She sat upright, finished with her stretching. “He’s leaving again.”
“Shit.” you said, finishing up yourself. “I don’t really know what she sees in him anyway. He’s always been kind of an asshole. And Klaus seems to really like her.”
“Well Klaus needs to earn her.” Elena said hastily, turning away slightly. You weren’t sure what that was supposed to mean, but if Bonnie’s similarly agitated face was any indication, there was something going on that you weren’t in on. It wasn’t really any of your business anyway, you conceded, so you didn’t harp on it. Boy drama was so not your thing.
There was a fanfare suddenly, as the marching band began playing the introduction music for the Timberwolves. Rebekah stood and called you and the other cheerleaders into formation. 
Once the players began coming out, you’d go right into the classic Timberwolves fighting cheer. 
Just as the first player was making his entrance, a blonde head appeared next to you, startling you. It was as if she'd appeared out of thin air.
“Caroline!” you said, throwing a hand on your chest. “You scared the shit out of me.”
She smiled nervously. “Did I?”
You just laughed and joined the rest of the girls in the Timberwolves fighting chant, shaking your pom-poms and kicking your legs up. 
The game didn’t start out super well for the Timberwolves, so you didn’t have a ton to do for awhile. You spoke to Caroline briefly about Tyler, but she didn’t want to say much, and she seemed genuinely upset about something. You weren’t close enough with her to give her emotional support, so you instead distracted her with a quick game of fuck, marry, kill between the three handsome Mikaelson boys. 
“Kill Kol, Marry Klaus, Fuck Elijah.” Caroline said confidently. Kol! That was his name.
She was speaking a bit loudly, like she wanted someone to hear her. Probably Jessica. 
You glanced up at the stands and noticed Klaus and Kol with their heads bent together. Elijah looked completely nonplussed. 
“What about you?” she asked. 
You glanced up at the brothers again. Elijah was looking in your direction now, almost as if he was listening to your conversation. He was probably just looking at the cheerleaders. He definitely wasn’t admiring you - you were the only girl on the squad who wore a uniform above a size large. 
Still, you couldn’t help but fantasize about the idea of the three of them. Kol wasn’t really your type, so he was an easy kill. Klaus was gorgeous, to be sure, but something about Elijah was still singing through your veins after laying eyes on him that first time. 
“Kill Kol, fuck Klaus, marry Elijah.”
Caroline gave you a wicked smile. “Elijah, huh?”
You shrugged. “He’s incredibly good looking.”
“Poor Kol.” Caroline said, her lip pouting. 
“Rejection builds character.”
You glanced up again, and Elijah looked as if he might be laughing - Klaus too. Kol had his arms crossed against his chest. Weird….
Rebekah shrieked all of a sudden, breaking you out of your thoughts, as the Timberwolves finally scored, and the squad got on their feet to cheer. 
The game ended with a Timberwolves win which you were thankful for - every win meant half price burgers at the grill. You and a few other girls planned to go there after, and you grabbed your stuff from the locker room, hoping to get to your car and beat them there - you were not going to be the fat girl in a mini skirt sliding into a booth full of people. 
Bonnie, Elena and Caroline were all leaving together, huddled in conversation. 
“Half price burgers, ladies?” you asked, walking backwards in front of them. “A Timberwolves win is a win for all of us.” you joked, quoting your incredibly cringy gym coach.
The girls laughed, but shook their heads. 
“Homework.”
“Boy drama.”
“Tired.”
They’d all spoken at the same time, and you gave them all an incredulous look. “Ladies, I’m heartbroken. Next time if you’re going to break my heart, do it one at a time.”
You gave them a winning smile, and they returned it easily, thankful you hadn’t been upset.
“Next time I’m making you guys go!” you called, still walking backwards as you exited the hallway out of the locker room. You backed into the double doors leading to the parking lot and called a goodbye to them, turning around.
And slamming right into someone.
“Oh!” you cried, toppling towards the asphalt. The ground never came, though, because a pair of hands was holding you steady, and lifted you slowly upwards until you were staring Elijah Mikaelson in the face.
“My apologies.”he said, in a voice that hit that your ears and sent shivers straight to the apex of your thighs. Your jaw dropped, suddenly faced with his nearness. 
“Not at all!” you cried. “I wasn’t looking.” 
Not too far away stood Kol and Klaus. The former was watching you and Elijah, looking like he was trying very hard not to laugh. Klaus, of course, had become distracted the moment Caroline had appeared. He was stalking towards her, and to your surprise, Caroline looked like she might be walking towards him too. Normally she brushed him off completely. 
You focused your attention back on Elijah. 
“Excellent job tonight.” he said, his eyes locked on yours. You felt flushed from the unbroken eye contact, but didn’t dare break it. 
“Thanks. It makes our job a bit easier when the team actually manages to score.”
He laughed, full and bright, and it made your heart soar to hear it. 
“I’m Y/N.” you said, introducing yourself. 
“Elijah. Mikaelson.”
“Nice to meet you Elijah.” 
You offered your hand and he took it firmly in yours, but rather than shake it, he brought it up to his lips and kissed the back of it. Ok, you were officially a puddle on the ground and people were going to have to step in you to get to their cars.
“Hi!” came a bubbly voice, and you glanced over seeing Jessica. Of course she was going to try and stake her claim. 
“I’m Jessica.” she said, sidling up next to you. “I saw you in the stands earlier. You’re a Mikaelson, aren’t you?”
Elijah nodded politely. “My reputation precedes me.”
Jessica smiled her flirty smile and pushed her chest out. “Rebekah and I are good friends. I make a point to know my friends’ families. It’s only good manners.”
You rolled your eyes involuntarily from behind Jessica, who had stepped into your space. When had she ever spent time with Rebekah outside of practice? She was clearly making her claim known, and you huffed, backing off. 
A guy like Elijah wouldn’t be interested in you, anyway. It would have been nice to at least been given a chance, though, before perfect little Jessica had to come in and do her thing. 
You sighed to yourself. That wasn’t nice. Jessica was your friend. It just sucked, sometimes, being the only bigger girl in a group of girls. Things were different for you. 
“Well, I’ll let you two get acquainted.” you said, and Jessica quickly told you not to wait up for her at the Grill. You smiled encouragingly at her, even though you would have rather eaten nails. Jessica did technically see Elijah first, though, so regardless, the rule of dibs was firmly in place. Elijah’s eyes met yours and he looked…disappointed? It was probably nothing. 
As you turned to go to your car, Matt Donovan brushed past you, walking fast. “Sorry, Y/N!” he called, power walking to his truck. You shook your head, laughing. You’d never seen Matt move that fast for anything, not even out on the field.
The other girls had made their way out now, and you caught up with them briefly to let them know you'd be going home instead of out. You weren't really in the mood for celebration any more. They gave you tight hugs and told you to call them in the morning, and you gave them all the finger just to get a laugh out of them.
Bonnie was leaning against her car when you made your way to yours. 
“Why’d you do that?” she asked, giving you a curious look.
“Why’d I do what?” you said, tossing your duffle into the backseat. 
“You just let Jessica take over. You were talking to Elijah first.”
“Yeah, but Jessica saw him first. Besides, I bumped into him. It’s not like we talked about anything profound.”
Bonnie sighed. “You wanted to talk to him though.”
You crossed your arms. “Yeah, so?”
“So!” she cried, placing her hands on your shoulders. “So you’re the funniest girl on the planet, and you're beautiful and talented and you deserve to be happy.”
You rolled your eyes. “Shut up.”
“It’s true! You’re amazing.”
“I know, I just wanted you to say more.”
Bonnie shoved at you playfully. “See? Your wit is unmatched.”
“And you’re kind.” you said seriously. “And a really, really good friend.”
Bonnie looked down, her mouth quirked to the side. “Thank you.”
A laugh echoed from across the parking lot, and you stared at Caroline and Klaus standing by Caroline’s car. They were standing close together and laughing, and Klaus’ finger was twirled around a strand of Caroline’s hair.
You hit Bonnie in the shoulder and pointed. 
“Ummmmmm?” You gave her an incredulous look.
“I know!” Bonnie said, coming to lean against your car. “She said she broke up with Tyler. She said she’s done with wishy-washy.”
You smiled happily as the two continued flirting. “I’ve been dying for them to get together.”
“No, literally!” She threw her hands up in the air. “The tension was incredibly cuttable.”
You snorted. “Like, thick enough I think I’d need a chainsaw.”
Bonnie hid her giggle behind her hand. You watched Klaus and Caroline as Bonnie began asking you if you were still going to the grill.  You wished you had a guy to flirt with against your car.
“I’m kind of hungry all of a -”
Bonnie’s voice trailed off, and you tore your eyes away from the happy couple to stare at your friend. 
“Bon?”
Her eyes were trained behind you, a small smile on her lips. You followed her eyes, and there was Elijah. His nearness startled you, and you jumped a foot in the air.
“My apologies.” he said, amusement in his eyes. 
“We have got to stop meeting like that.” you responded.
“I’ll see you tomorrow!” Bonnie called, already on the other side of her car and hopping in the front seat. You gave her an incredulous look. 
“Traitor!” you called, as she began to pull out. She looked completely self righteous as she pulled out of the parking lot, Britney blasting on her speakers.
“Well..” you breathed, turning back to Elijah. “Twice in one night? To what do I owe my great fortune?”
He shrugged. “I have a thing for cheerleaders.”
Your jaw dropped. “Wait, are you serious?”
He laughed. “No, not at all. But I saw you from the stands and wanted to get to know you better. So here I am.”
You couldn’t help the huge smile overtaking your face. Elijah Mikaelson wanted to get to know you? 
“What about Jessica?”
He shrugged. “She’s a nice girl. Not really my type.”
“And I am?”
He huffed. “Am I not making myself clear? Shall I fetch a plane and spell it out in the sky for you?”
I shook my head, faux serious. “It’s nighttime Elijah. I’d never be able to see that.”
He snorted - actually snorted. It was the most adorable thing you might have ever heard. 
“You’re a minx, and you know it. Now agree to go to dinner with me.”
“Half price burgers at the grill?”
He smiled wryly. “No, that won’t do. I’m a full price kind of guy. I need candles, roses, the whole chair pulling out thing. Carlo’s. Friday night. Eight o’ clock.”
Carlo’s was like, ridiculously nice. And expensive. “But that’s-”
“It’s what?” he challenged. “Because if you’re suggesting I can’t afford it…”
You shook your head. “No, of course not. I’m sure you can. But I can’t!”
Faster than you could even fathom, Elijah was backing you up into the side of your car, his hands locked on either side of you, face inches away from your own. His eyes were dark and bore into you, making your palms begin to sweat.
“I’m not in the habit of taking women out on dates and having them pay.” His breath fanned across your face. Your eyes flickered down to his lips, and you shivered. His presence was intoxicating. 
“Have I made myself clear?” he asked, and damn if that question didn’t excite you. You nodded, your breath hitching, and he leaned even closer to you for a moment before pushing himself away.
“Good!” he declared, and once he backed off, he took a moment to rake his gaze across your body. Your uniform did little for the imagination, and you were kind of thankful.
“See you soon, Y/N.” He called sweetly, shifting from domineering to polite so quick you had whiplash. You watched him go, a dopey smile on your face.
“Wait!” you called. “Do you want my phone number?”
He paused, then reached into his pocket for his phone. He typed for a moment, then locked the screen and placed it back in his pocket.
Your phone dinged.
Tell Bonnie I said thank you.
You smirked. Of course Bonnie had given him your number. You'd have to remember to get her a thank you gift.
As you started your car and got ready to go, movement from the car behind you caught your attention in your mirror. You struggled to see clearly what it was, but when you did, you were shocked.
There, in the pickup truck Rebekah Mikaelson had gifted him, was Matt Donovan making out with her brother Kol. 
You laughed all the way home, imagining the look on Rebekah’s face when she finds out.
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kyouka-supremacy · 6 months
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The thing about how Atsushi deals with Akutagawa is. Atsushi has always been terrified of retailing against his oppressors: to him, his oppressors were always in positions of power that he found impossible to rebel against. Akutagawa, on the other hand, was the first person Atsushi met who was socially accepted to fight back against. Akutagawa was presented to him as the big bad guy, everyone's evil enemy. Atsushi's got personal beef with him for how he treated Kyouka (which is very important for Atsushi, because if he never had it within him to stand for himself, at least he can stand for others). The person Atsushi looks up to the most repeatedly and unapologetically mistreats Akutagawa. Then mistreating Akutagawa must be allowed, right?
It's truly remarkable how despite the guess one would take judging from their good side / evil side affilations, more often than not it's Atsushi going for Akutagawa's throat than the other way round. Sure, Akutagawa threatens to kill Atsushi all the time– but that's exactly the point‚ he never actually follows through‚ and his real actions actually end up telling us his intentions are quite the opposite (re: “I won't kill you today because you look miserable” *saves Atsushi's life* *saves Atsushi's life* *dies to save Atsushi's life*). On the contrary, Atsushi's ALWAYS trying to attack Akutagawa both verbally and physically. Remember that time in chapter 51 when Dazai was keeping them separate? Back then, Akutagawa very much wasn't the one actively trying to attack the other. Not to mention the “You fight 'cos you want to be feared– that's far more worthless in my book” and of course the “It's no wonder Dazai-san chose to abandon you and disappear”. There's even the “if a fight is what you want, then I'll take you on” like lmao, of course you will. The thing is, Atsushi has always found it socially acceptable to retail against, loathe, fight and hurt Akutagawa no-guilt-attached like he never had the chance to with any other abuser. Please keep in mind how thanks to Dead Apple we know that the only other time Atsushi ever fought back someone who was hurting him, it was a most instinctive and involuntary reaction that ended up with him killing them and which gave him several trauma and unresolved self-hatred and feeling of guilt for life.
But hurting Akutagawa, that's peer approved. And it sounds quite cruel, and Atsushi is a fundamentally selfish character, yet it must have come off as so refreshing and even liberating for him to finally have someone he can openly hate, someone he could drop the facade of the polite, harmless guy in front of. That's why I can actually find it believable that Atsushi would, very subconsciously, look forward to fight against Akutagawa; as a way to let off steam, you know? A chance to finally stop acting and start behaving like his true self, determined, brave, protective, a bit of a prick. Not to mention, fights against Akutagawa seemingly always end up as a self-esteem boosts for Atsushi in a way or the other. That's why I wonder: if Akutagawa is the only person Atsushi can be himself with, if he's the only one he can act natural around without feeling he has to put up a front for; what about when Atsushi will stop hating him? Which doesn't sound that unlikely, I mean, after chapter 88 and everything. I'm not saying he's going to forgive Akutagawa for everything he's ever done but like... The perception Atsushi has of him must have changed to an extent, his judgement shifted at least a tiny bit. Then, Atsushi will be left with only one person he can freely be himself with, and he doesn't even hate him that much anymore. Just thinking about that.
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wosoluver · 4 days
Text
Trying hard
TW: suggestive content
Andrea x Teammate!reader
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"Why are the both of you fighting so hard to hate eachother?" - Asked Lola.
No one on the team understood where all that came from. And seemingly not even you or Andrea seemed to know.
"She started it."
You were all doing warm ups in training
"Literally when?" - Lola insisted knowing her friend very well. And Andrea just huffed at her.
You were new on the team, arrived in the beginning of the season. You were a forward, she was a defender, you naturally clashed a lot during trainings.
But still there was never an event to cause your constant bickering at each other.
"Everyone dividing into teams." - Yelled the coach.
As usual the two of you were in opposite sides. But twenty minutes in Medina started to get frustrated. She couldn't manage to stop your attacks, that led her to commit a bunch of fouls, this one had been particularly hard.
"What the fuck is wrong with you!" - you screamed out as you got up. You were in pain but in the moment you saw red. And you pushed her back. - "You aways pull this shit! Try to learn how to manage your anger issues. It's not my fault you suck at your job."
And that's all it took for her to stand up and try to start a physical fight.
But thankfully you were separated by your teammates.
"You two are staying late as punishment." - That's the only thing coach said before starting the game once again. You stayed on the sidelines trying to cool down.
You couldn't help but watch her every move. How the sweat glistened over her muscles as she gave her all on the pitch.
"Alright we're done for the day. Not you, Medina and Y/L/N, you two are working on your 1 v 1 and if you start another fight we'll have a problem."
"Fuck!" - You let out under your breath.
You grabbed the ball closest to you.
You two did some drills, but when you tried to pass her once again she pulled you down, but you managed to trip her with your legs, and soon she was on the ground too.
"Your not gonna yell at me?" - she asked.
"I'm too tired for that." -
"Why do you do it?"
"You're the one who keeps attacking me! But I apologize for saying your not good at your job. You're actually pretty skilled."
"Yeah, just not enough to stop you."
You looked over at her watching how the sun made her eyes look, their prettiest.
"Sorry for being harsh, I just- it's frustrating."
You got up and offered her a hand up in the process, which she took.
"Let's go."
You both went into the locker room, and went straight to shower. But she accidentally slipped on the wet floor right in front of you, taking you down with her.
"This one was not intentional I swear!"
"I'm so going to get bruised." - you said trying to help each other up. But failing miserably. But taking the situation in comically.
When you two finally managed getting up, you finished showing and getting changed.
"Can you give me a ride home? I came with Lola this morning."
"You'll owe me one."
"Fine."
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Next day everyone was shocked when the two of you started joking around.
"Oye, I'll go easy on you today!"
"No, you can't!"
You left for the gym, as Andrea stayed behind.
"I knew it!" - Said Lola.
"Knew what?"
"You two liked each other deep down."
The younger girl only rolled back her eyes. Leaving the room. She didn't want to admit to anything.
She stared at you the whole day. Now that she couldn't blame it on the hate, she realized that maybe those feelings she had, were more than frustration. It was a mix of admiration and longing. It felt somewhat like a crush. And the realization made her cheeks red.
"Y/N! Can you stay and train with me for a little longer?"
"Yeah of course."
Lola simply looked suspiciously at her friend. - "Don't you need me to give you a ride home?"
"Y/N can take me."
"Okay." - She didn't want to insist too much. But she knew something was up.
After spending another hour training you decided to call it a day. Heading inside.
"You're doing better at blocking me."
"You're still winning though."
"Give it some time, you'll get there."
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That week during the derby, between the team and Real Madrid. You were being ferociously taken down. Probably for the same reason as aways. But that was working you up, and Andrea as well. Even if she wasn't personally getting hurt.
But when they took Wifi down, as she was about to enter the penalty area, Andrea was so annoyed, she started running from the other side of the pitch to start a fight with Oihane. But before she could you intercepted her, pulling her away the best you could.
"Hey, stop if you get another card, you're out of the game."
"I don't care!"
"Well, I'm not letting you."
"You can't boss me around like you do to everyone else!"
You thought you were past this stage of fighting for no reason. She thought so too, but right now she couldn't deal with the pressure of the game, her hot headed need to bite back and the way your arms held her back with force against yourself.
Once the game was over and you were ready to leave, you walked towards the car without saying goodbye to anyone.
But unfortunately Andrea was able to catch up with you.
"I'm really sorry."
"I thought we were on good terms!"
"I can explain, can we please get into the car?"
"I'm not giving you a ride."
"I'm not asking for one. I just want to talk privately."
You huffed as you unlocked the doors.
You both sat respectively in your seats. You waited for her to start talking.
"My head was spinning out of control. The way they were making so many fouls, and we were struggling to keep up, was getting to me and when you held me back in your arms, I just exploded."
"You keep throwing your frustrations on me again and again."
"I know, but I've been trying to fix it, since I realized where they came from."
"Which is what? Your anger issues?"
"I don't have anger issues, it's you!"
"I don't have any anger issues!"
"No, I mean I have a crush on you.
That's what has bothered me from the start!"
By now you just stared at her, mouth agape.
"You're not going to say anything?"
But before she had barely ended her sentence, you kissed her passionately. This led her to pull you from the driver's seat to seat on her lap. And when you pulled away to breathe, she decided to pull you to the backseat to blow off all the steam you had build up during the game.
And you thanked god you were parked so far from everyone else that day.
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septembercfawkes · 13 days
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How to Write Stakes that Aren't Life vs. Death
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Writing strong stakes is critical for any story. But a question that often comes up for newer writers is, "How do I create stakes other than life vs. death?" Or essentially, "How do I write stakes that aren't life or death, yet are still effective?"
"Stakes" refer to what your character has to lose, what is at risk in the story. And obviously, potentially losing one's life, is a pretty big risk.
To address the questions, let's first look at why life vs. death stakes are so effective. 
I know, it sounds obvious, like common sense even, and you may be rolling your eyes. 
But understanding why they almost always work, will help you see how to create other similar stakes.
The thing about death is, it has a finality to it that almost nothing else has. 
No one can come back from the dead.
That's it.
Death is the end of the road.
Done.
Gone.
Game over.
. . . Except that unlike "Game over," you can't restart the game.
In storytelling, this is one of the main reasons many of us want to grab life vs. death stakes. Everyone reading the book innately understands this. Death is final, you can't come back from that. It's a "point of no return." It can't be undone.
Great stakes will create a similar effect. 
It's not literally life or death. But to some degree, there exists a figurative life-or-death situation.
For example, in The Office, after Michael accidentally hits Meredith with his car, he organizes a fun run on her behalf. Michael is driven by the desire to be liked by others. And after he hits Meredith, people don't like him. (I am simplifying the actual story just a bit.) With the fun run, he's hoping to redeem himself. He wants to be liked (or even admired) by others. To Michael, that hinges on his success with the fun run. If it's a success, people will like him again. If it's a failure, they won't (or they will dislike him even more).
There are seemingly only two outcomes: Success = liked. Failure = (forever) disliked.
From Michael's perspective, he can't have both.
Whichever path the fun run takes, the other path "dies." 
You can't go back in time and change the outcome of the fun run. 
It's final. 
End of the road. 
Done. 
Gone.
The situation also, to some degree, feels like figurative life or death to Michael. He's driven to be liked, and that makes him feel alive. If he's disliked, it feels like "death." It mars him psychologically, and he feels like he can't come back from that. It feels like the end of the road.
The Office is not a high-stakes story (which is one of the reasons I'm using it), but it still has effective stakes that convey why what's happening (the fun run) matters (liked vs. disliked), which is something all good stakes do.
This example also shows two components related to crafting effective stakes: plot and character.
Let's dig a bit deeper into each.
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One of Two Paths Forward
If you've been following me for a while, you may know that I like to define stakes as potential consequences. It's what could happen, if a condition is met. As such, any stake should be able to fit into an "If . . . then . . ." sentence.
If the fun run is a success, then Michael will be liked.
If the fun run is a failure, then Michael will be disliked.
Others may argue the stake is only what is at risk in the story--and that's fair.
But notice when we lay out potential consequences, they convey (directly or indirectly) what is at risk. In the example sentences above, we see that Michael's popularity (or the lack thereof) is what is at risk.
Potential consequences convey what will happen if a specific outcome is reached. And this lays out at least two possible paths forward.
If X happens, then Y happens.
Which also implies, if X doesn't happen, then Y doesn't happen.
Or, we may be more specific and say, if X doesn't happen, then Z happens.
In any case, by laying out the potential consequences, we lay out two paths forward.
I like to imagine it as laying down railroad tracks, which shows the paths the train could go. 
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But notice the train can't travel down two paths at the same time.
It's an either-or situation.
That's what we want to set up in our stories, when it comes to stakes.
Covering every aspect of this topic is beyond the scope of this article, but at the basic level, it works like this.
The character has a goal (of which there are three types). Something opposes that goal (antagonist). And this creates conflict, which escalates.
There should be consequences tied to getting or not getting the goal.
If the character gets the goal, Y happens.
For example, if Harry successfully stops Voldemort from getting the Sorcerer's Stone, the Wizarding World will be saved.
If the character doesn't get the goal, then Z happens.
For example, if Harry fails to stop Voldemort from getting the Sorcerer's Stone, then Voldemort will return to power and the Wizarding World won't be saved.
These are potential consequences that the writer should convey before, or at least near the start of, the conflict.
Notice they also convey what's at risk (the Wizarding World's safety).
So these are the pathways the story could go.
But we can only travel down one.
We can't go two directions at once.
This creates a sense of either-or, similar to life or death. (Although admittedly, in my example, if Voldemort returns to power, there will eventually be death involved, but, generally speaking . . . )
This will also create a sense of finality, in the same way death does.
Figuratively speaking, the path we don't travel on "dies," because it is no longer an option. We can't go back and get on that train track. We've passed it. (We now have to deal with the consequences.)
When we hit an outcome--a condition--the pathway is selected.
Harry successfully stops Voldemort, so the Wizarding World is saved.
Harry successfully stopping Voldemort is also a turning point (a.k.a. a plot turn). It turns the direction of the story, it turns the story onto the path we laid out (since its condition was met).
With this, I like to think of the turning point as being the track that switches the direction of the train.
This switch also creates what some in the community call a "point of no return." (We can't go back and go down a different path. It's done. We are on a different trajectory now. (And yes, I am simplifying a bit.))
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Stakes don't literally have to be life or death. But you need to set them up so that the pathways the story could go, look like either-or pathways. You need to set them up, so that outcomes can't be easily, foreseeably undone.
So let's look at a less dramatic example.
Your character needs to deliver an invitation to a royal wedding (goal). This isn't a life-or-death situation. In fact, it arguably sounds a little boring.
But when we tie potential consequences to it, not only does it become more interesting, but whether or not the character successfully does this, matters, because it changes the path, the trajectory of the story.
So, maybe we say . . . 
If Melinda successfully delivers the invitation, then she'll be able to go to the royal wedding as well, which is where she'll have the chance to meet her hero.
I would need to communicate more contextual info to make this more effective. I would need to explain more about the stakes. Let's say her aunt said she'd take Melinda as her +1, if Melinda does this task for her (because the aunt really doesn't want to, because she has some high-priority things she needs to get done). Melinda's hero is from another continent, and she'll likely never have the opportunity to meet this person again. We could build it out more, so that she wants to get feedback on a project from her hero, and doing that could change Melinda's career path for the better.
We could even make her vocational situation more dire. If her current project isn't a success, then she'll be doomed to work for her father as his secretary (which she'd hate).
Now a lot hinges on successfully delivering this invitation.
If she successfully delivers the invitation, then Melinda can go to the wedding and get feedback from her hero, which will result in her not having to work for her father.
If she fails to deliver the invitation, not only will she not get to meet her hero at the wedding, but she'll have to work a job she can't stand.
Two paths forward.
She can't travel down both.
Now, we give her a lot of obstacles (antagonists) in the way of her delivering this invitation, so we have conflict (which should escalate).
Whether or not she delivers the invitation, is a turning point, because it turns the direction of the story, it turns her pathway. (Simplistically speaking, I could get more complex.) It's in some sense "a point of no return."
You can make almost any goal work, even a boring one, if you tie proper stakes to it.
The goal to survive (life vs. death stakes) is innately immediately effective, because we already understand it holds a "point of no return." If you die, you don't come back from that. There will also eventually be a point where, if you reach your goal, you won't be at risk of dying (at least, simplistically speaking, you won't die right at that moment.) 
For other situations, you often need to build out and explain the stakes, for them to feel meaningful. You may need to provide contextual information, and you may need to walk the potential consequences out further so the audience understands everything that is at risk.
Let's talk about this from a character angle though . . . 
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Putting the Right Thing at Risk
One of the reasons the fun run Office example works, is because the writers put at risk what Michael cares about most: being liked. It's what motivates the majority of his actions on the show. It's what drives him. It's the want that he holds closest to his heart, his deepest personal desire.
Because it matters so much to him, the personal risk feels greater.
Michael feels, on some level, he will "die" psychologically, if he isn't liked or admired. (Which is also why he feels he will "die" if he is alone. (Even if he, himself, isn't fully conscious of either of these points.))
When the character cares about something that deeply, whether or not the character gets it, matters more.
Main characters should have at least one major want that drives them--something they want desperately, something they keep close to their hearts and deep in their psyches. It's often their most defining motivator. Michael wants to be liked. Harry wants to be where he belongs and is loved (the Wizarding World). Katniss wants to survive. Barbie wants to maintain a perfect life. Luke wants to become something great. Shrek wants to be alone so he can avoid judgment. 
When we put any of those at risk, it raises the stakes.
. . . Because the characters not getting their deepest, heartfelt desires, has big personal ramifications on their psyches.
If what matters most to Shrek in his world is to be alone, and other fairytale creatures are being sent to his swamp, then the potential consequences are threatening what he holds most dear to his heart. Life as he knows it will figuratively "die" if he doesn't put a stop to it. (Of course, in order to complete his character arc, he has to be willing to let that part of him "die" so he can become something greater, someone more "whole.") It feels figuratively like "life or death" to him.
Ironically, putting the character's deepest desire at risk, can often be more effective than life or death stakes, because if you handled this right, you made sure to give the character a want that he will do almost anything to try to fulfill--even risk death for. Harry is willing to risk death to save the place where he is loved. Barbie is willing to risk death (well, at least her "life") in the real world to get her perfect life back. Luke is willing to risk death to become or be part of something great. Shrek is willing to risk death to get his swamp back (facing a dragon). 
Recently I saw another great example of this while rewatching The Umbrella Academy. Hazel and Cha Cha kidnap Klaus and torture and threaten to kill him (to try to get information from him). But the torture and threats have no effect on him. In fact, Klaus gets off on it. Hazel and Cha Cha are at a loss as to how to break him.
While this is going on, Klaus eventually comes down from a drug-induced high. His superpower is that he can see and talk to the dead, but he hates that he has this ability--in fact, he's been traumatized by it (in a literal "ghost" story). It's actually the reason he's a drug addict to begin with. When he's high, he can't see or hear ghosts. Avoiding them is his deepest desire.
Torture and death don't break Klaus. What breaks Klaus is being unable to get away from the ghosts. It's only when Hazel discovers his stash of drugs and starts destroying it, that Klaus gets desperate. Not only are the drugs expensive (and he's broke), but worse, without them, Klaus has to face his greatest fear. He has to be surrounded by the dead. This is the exact opposite of his deepest desire.
In fact, to Klaus, this is something worse than death.
Some things are worse than death. And often, those things include your character's deepest desire, the want he holds closest to his heart.
Now sometimes, those things may overlap (like with Katniss being driven to survive), but most of the time, they will be different things. If you think about yourself, there are probably some things you would risk death for. Your first thought is probably your loved ones, and that is another risk you could consider for your characters, but I also bet, if we took that away as an option, you could think of a few other things, like a belief or way of life. Something you would uphold or defend when it's threatened. Something that would get you to do what you wouldn't ordinarily do, if it was at risk.
From there we create pathways again. Barbie can choose to risk the real world to get her perfect life back, or she can choose to remain in Barbieland and have her perfect life continue to deteriorate. She can't have both. Klaus can give up any information he has to try to save his remaining drugs, or he can resist and suffer a plague of ghosts. Shrek can let the fairytale creatures "kill off" his way of life, or he can go on a quest that could get rid of them.
This is still simplistically speaking, but the point is, you've put what the character cares deeply about at risk, and have laid out two paths forward, and the character can only choose one. She can't go in two directions at once.
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Stakes don't literally need to be life vs. death to be effective, and in fact, as I've pointed out, some things are worse than death. One of those things is whatever the character wants most.
The idea is to lay out potential consequences--different pathways that appear as either-or trajectories. Either the story goes down path Y or it goes down path Z. The character then has to deal with the consequences of the path; she can't travel in reverse. She can try to diminish or compensate for the consequences (if they are undesirable), but she can't go back and change the track her train is on.
For most stakes that aren't life vs. death, you will need to convey to the audience what those potential pathways are, because they won't be built in like they are for life-or-death situations. One way to do this, is to literally write "If . . . then . . . " sentences into the story ("If X happens, then Y happens"), but you can convey them indirectly as well. The point is that you do communicate them to the audience, because if you don't, the audience won't see or feel the stakes, and so they won't be effective. And in that case, they will never be as impactful as life vs. death stakes.
Also, if you're interested in learning more about my take on stakes, I'm teaching a class on it at the Storymakers conference this May (virtual tickets are available for those who can't attend in person). I also get more into stakes (and plot) in my online writing course, The Triarchy Method (though the course is currently full, I'll offer it again in the future, so I still wanted to mention it. 😉).
Happy Writing!
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thisoneblackjacket · 22 days
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🎬 NOW IT'S TIME FOR...
Eddie's notes hour!
I just wanted to take a closer look into all of the notes that we see on Eddie's desk within the hidden video + some input/speculation on them
...
1. Starting with the gift list:
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I went into it a bit in a previous post, but I think(?) I now have the full list down (w/some help from others from that post) :
Julie - Chimney Cozy
Frank - Bug Catching Net (?)
Wally - Apple
Howdy - Calculator
Poppy - Doilies (still unsure about that one)
Barnaby - Bones (?)
Sally - Mirror
I will say that these gifts seem very fitting for everyone, but between the few questions marks next to some of the gifts, along with Eddie's doubts about Julie's and Frank's gift in the vid:
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Sounds like Eddie HIMSELF is unsure if these gifts will work. It has the same vibes as trying to shop for someone that you sort of know the interests of, but not much else
Which sort of amplifies that he isn't the closest to any of the neighbors (seemingly he only gets to interact with them when they need something from him), so this might play more into the theme of Eddie being alienated from the rest of the neighborhood
...
2. Moving on to the grocery list:
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Okay so I'm still struggling w/a few words, but I think it goes as follows:
Grocery (I think?)
Envelopes
Pencil
Construction Paper
Paper {Lined} (I think?)
Eggs
Milk
I don't have too much to say here, but it is a bit interesting that Eddie has to buy supplies for his own business from Howdy. I always figured that another reason why Howdy disliked Eddie was because he might have sold his own paper/stationary items at the post office, hence competition, but maybe not
...
3. It's TIC TAC TOE time!! ❌⭕
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Now I am not about to begin to try to count how many games he played through that you can see on the screen (you can't make me!)
BUT, given the scoreboard:
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Eddie (his left, I'm guessing the ⭕s): 4...?
Eddie (his right, I'm guessing the ❌s): 14
That's at least 18 games by itself, can you imagine how many if you included the draws ?!
Poor Eddie...
But listen - I'll end this post with something that has been scratching at me - Tic Tac Toe as a potential symbol in the story
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Now I don't know HOW significant Tic Tac Toe is to WH, but I think it is significant.
Does anyone remember this post back in October, during the Halloween update? The one where OP had put this one tic tac toe game over the map? (go check it out)
I really do think that's a solid lead towards something big, and it was actually one of the first things that popped in my head when thinking back to this.
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But even if it turns out it isn't, Tic Tac Toe has been showing up from time to time via drawings/surroundings, which is already enough to at least consider it moving forward
So here, while it makes sense in context as to why Eddie is playing the game a bunch in the video (waiting around for someone to show up with nothing better to do), and all this can honestly be a stretch, but to have him specifically play THAT game, after its been shown to pop up that often...makes me suspicious for sure...
...
Either way, this has been...
Eddie's notes hour!
(seriously, I'm not good at making title names)
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ominoose · 7 months
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𝐈𝐧 𝐌𝐲 𝐕𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐬
Pairing: Vampire!Jake Lockley x Afab!Reader
Prompt: CNC & Sharp Teeth
Summary: You're at a shitty Halloween party, drinking some punch next to a stranger in a vampire costume. Then you're trapped in a cab, realising far too late the punch was spiked with more than alcohol.
Warnings: Extremely dubious consent, aphrodisiac, alcohol, blood, smut.
WC: 2.2K
Kinktober Masterlist
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The party had gotten off to a good start. There was alcohol aplenty, bowls of sweets and spiked juice, someone was in a corner handing out skeletal spliffs and the DJ was playing banger after banger. It had the makings to be a great party, except everyone attending seemed to be as dead as a corpse.
"I'll be back in a minute, just going to talk to a friend real quick!" And there went the one person you actually knew at the party, leaving you alone in the living room while everyone else milled around, not really dancing, just ghosting from person to person. Safe to say, the Halloween party wasn't very lively.
With a heavy sigh you force yourself up from the musty couch, heading to the kitchen for whatever concoction someone brewed in the punch bowl.
Someone was already there, leaning over the bowl to dip their cup in. They wore a long black cape, which hinted at a wide variety of costumes, from Zoro to Batman. As you rounded next to them, it was neither of your earlier guesses. Next to you was a man in a white shirt and tie, crisp black trousers, black leather gloves and sharp, pointed teeth.
The moment you're next to him, red eyes snap over to you. A single dark curl ghosts over his forehead, the rest of his hair hidden under a black flat cap. Altogether it was a pretty lazy closet vampire costume, but you weren't going to begrudge anyone for not dressing to the nines to attend a party. At least he went to the effort of adding a few specks of blood to the corners of his smirk.
Leaning forward to scoop your own cup in, he makes no attempt to move back and give you space, almost pressing against you. When you straighten yourself, his eyes are still on you, and oddly bright despite using only contact lenses.
"You look as lively as the guy I killed on the way here." The voice had a Spanish rumble to it, laced with amusement and casualness.
You sip the punch, hiding a chuckle at the line. It tasted different from the last time you'd been drinking it, the fruity flavour now underlined with something bitter. Before you're able to properly put your finger on the change your eyelids rapidly become heavy, and no amount of blinking seems to orientate you better as the room spins and becomes a blur. Alarm bells barely have time to go off in your mind before everything turns black, a faint array of screams being the last thing your conscious of.
A dull yet pulsating pain rolls over your shoulders and arms. You sit up, head and heart both throbbing in pain and terror as a sleek, black taxi interior unblurrs around you. Your mind was empty of any memories after the punch table, the only thing that stuck was the deep red eyes of the strange man in the vampire costume and the knowing smirk that curled at the very edge of his blood-stained lips.
Immediately you try to open the car doors to no avail, both are locked from the inside and no amount of thumping against the cold glass will attract help. The cab was parked in an empty, dingy ally, with only one light flickering at the far end, leaving you to strain your eyes through shadows. Its out of those shadows the stoic man emerges, a glowing red ember puffing between his curled lips, almost matching the red eyes pointed right at you.
The man slowly approached, seemingly enjoying the look of confusion and fear marring your face as you backed away from the glass, only to end up bumping against the other door. He stopped beside the car, staring a moment longer as he dropped his cigarette to the ground and stomped it out, eyes never once leaving you. The taxi door opened quietly as he stepped in, the flat cap on his head skimming the car roof as he lounges onto the back seat, thighs spread.
“Don’t look so scared, quierdo. If I wanted you dead, I’d have ripped out your throat with the rest of those lowlives.” The casual wave of his hand does nothing to quell your racing heart, thudding against your chest so heavily you can feel it in your throat. 
He leans forward, arms resting on his knees, close enough to smell the faint whiskey and tobacco on his breath.
“You know, you were the only one at that party, if I can even call it that, that seemed… real.” 
The words caught you off guard by how odd they were, the general bizarre nature of the situation only adding to your anxiety. Despite the fear clouding your mind, your eyes didn’t miss the sharp fangs that peaked out from his lip ever so slightly when he spoke, the dark red stains that speckled his previously crisp white collar, the red line that rolled from his jaw to his adams apple, glistening slightly under the yellow interior cab light.
“You weren’t entertained by the mindless chattering, not impressed by the countless pendejos trying to get their dicks wet, no. You sat on that ugly little couch like it was your throne, like it was all beneath you.” He had leaned closer as he spoke, towering over you as he spoke.
Closer still, he moved until he was by your ear, warm breath huffing over your neck and sending goosebumps blooming across your skin.
“You were beautiful.”
The deep, gravelly cadence made your beating heart stutter. Your quick breaths caught in your throat. The closer he got, the more a strange heat slithered just under your skin. You’d attributed it to the alcohol or the now obviously spiked punch, but it was unnatural the extent it was reaching when he was near. The smirk grew as he licked his lips, nose nuzzling faintly just behind your ear.
Out of instinct you gasp, inching away only for a strong, gloved hand to grab your jaw and pull you towards the mans lips. His kiss was seering. Slow yet forceful, his tongue moulded into your mouth, exploring it all whilst sharp teeth caught against your bottom lip and left pearls of blood rolling down your chin. 
The man pulls back, red eyes glowing as he sensually sucks the blood from your lip, lapping the dribbles of it from your chin. The groan from the back of his throat was almost a growl as he locked eyes with you, his gloved thumb smearing crimson stains over your chin. 
“Draining you would be such a waste, hermosa. Such beauty shouldn’t be fleeting. It’s been far too long since a human has piqued my interest. Why don’t we see exactly how special you are, hm?”
As if to answer his own question the vampire tugs you securely into his lap as if you were a frail doll, grinding you into his crotch with a satisfied sigh. The movement caused your underwear to slide and pinch against you, somehow you’d become soaking wet with slick without realising. The strange heat from before was growing and now pooling in your abdomen. 
The man returned back to your neck, now nibbling your damp skin in between kisses, sucking at the droplets of blood that tried to escape him. Bruises and pinpricks quickly littered over your tender throat, but it was barely noticeable when he continued grinding up into you with increasing fervor, rutting like he was already fucking you. Two hands roamed and groped your sides, but you weren’t caged in by any means. 
The taxi door was still slightly ajar, the cool midnight air stoking more goosebumps over you, and in the back of your mind you knew if you acted quick enough you could jerk out of his grip and out of the door. How far would you get though, how long would you manage to run before he caught up to you? What else was this man, this vampire capable of? Any answers never surfaced, because your mind clouded any further thoughts. The arousal pulsing between your legs kept you rooted firmly in his lap, arching into his chest and hardness. Any alarms, warning thoughts or remnants of your fight or flight reaction became muddled with the growing need keeping you glued to him, although whether it was your own or the result of whatever concoction he brewed in the punch you couldn’t know.
In the midst of your muddled thoughts and heat, he’d carelessly ripped off your underwear in one clean tug before sliding his gloved fingers between your folds, curling the tips into your keen hole. A breathy moan escaped your throat that was still being marred by his fangs, accompanied by a low moan of his own.
“So wet for me, bebita.” His accented drawl was hypnotic, and his words were true. Never before had your body reacted in such a way for anyone, never ached with such primal need for another. His fingers spread the warm slick over your clit, rubbing in circles, causing you to whine and moan shamelessly into the night. You were putty in his hands, unable to think clearly beyond his touch.
With his right hand busy teasing your clit you didn’t notice when his left hand ceased its bruising grip on your ass and reached to his own crotch, unbuckling his belt and pressing his cock into you without warning. 
The air left your lungs, curling into him as much as you could, pressing against his chest, using his tie to secure him to you. Your cunt needed no time to adjust, already wet and loose and pulsating with pure need, allowing him in with frighteningly little fight. The ease seemed to please him, the deep moan he let out morphed into a chuckle that vibrated in his chest. 
Both hands came under your thighs, squeezing the soft cellulite as he leaned forward, smiling devilishly at your ear.
“Hold on tight mi amor.”
Those five whispered words were all the warning you were given as he lifted you up by the bottom, his cock sliding out of you with a wet pop, the tip just prodding at your hole before he slammed you down hard, his hips angling up to meet your descent half way. 
The first harsh thrust set the pace as he maintained his powerful assault, fucking the air out of your lungs with a barely restrained ferocity. Any moans or gasps you managed to get out were marred with garbled words, the sounds constantly being cut off from the force of his cock. It was unnatural how even without your clit being stimulated, the pleasure of his thrusts had every nerve tingling, every ring of muscle inside of you squeezing against him, trying to keep him there eternally. 
As your mind became more and more a slave to the blissful and supernatural fuck, your body was overwhelmed, like a toy being wound and wound to the breaking point, you were becoming undone. Stars were flashing over your vision, air was becoming harder to coax back into your lungs and your thighs were becoming a searing red from being slapped against his lap over and over. He was at your ear murmuring softly, yet his words were vulgar, spoken like vicious curses. Most of it you couldn’t make out in your disorientated, dick-drunk state, but one repeated phrase stuck out.
“Cum for me.”
Your body reacted on command, as if given an activation phrase. The effect was immediate, your legs filling with cotton, tongue tingling and toes curling. Your vision and mind went blank while the orgasm rocked you to your core and nearly gave you an out of body experience. His cock continued to pound into you and your pussy clamped around him for dear life whilst your thighs trembled, anchoring around the man for stability.
You weren’t aware that he’d came, only vaguely aware of his fangs piercing you one final time, his entire jaw clamping shut over your shoulder as he spilled into you. When the orgasm slowly faded and the air graced your lungs, only then did those repressed alarms pierce the fog clouding your mind. The reality of being confined in the cab with a supernatural being whom admitted to slaughtering everyone at the party dawned on you. The faces of your friend and acquaintances appeared with clarity, and your heart began racing. 
He stirred from your neck, fangs retracting at the feeling of your chest thudding alarmingly against his. As your breathing picked up his tongue traced over a vein as it curled under your jaw. 
“I knew you were special. You’re nothing like the rest of those vermin.” The vampire mused into your bruised and blood stained skin, seemingly indifferent to your rising fear.
“You’re mine.” 
His jaw clamped over your neck, teeth piercing your flesh once again. However, in place of his usual nips and kisses, his fangs encased themselves in your throat causing blood to gush down your chest in warm, wet waves. You barely had a chance to ball your hands into fist against his chest and push him off as the fog of heat clouded your brain and sapped your strength, the same heat that flooded your veins when he first approached you. This time something else laced too, something foreign and acidic.
“You’re mine, now and forever, mi vida.”
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mageknight14 · 3 months
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Dissecting the Femme Fatale Archetype: A Dive into Kanon Tachibana's Character
Kanon Tachibana is one of my favorite TWEWY supporting cast members. Probably not a truly unique opinion, as she's one of the more positively-received characters I've seen when it comes to online opinions on the game, but she's one of my favorites because she’s a perfect example of NEO’s more subtle character writing and gets the perspective flipped on her twice when you initially play through the game and then replay it. So, with that, let's get into her character and what makes her tick in particular.
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When we first meet her, she doesn’t make the best first impression, what with her stealing the hard-earned victory pin from Rindo/Fret’s noses and sweet-talking them into letting her keep it (I also love how she glares at Shiba’s announcement, having seen this old song and dance).
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Combine this with what the Social Network says about her leading other teams to their doom thanks to her honeyed words and sweet disposition and what we seemingly have is a classic case of the femme fatale character, someone who’s NOT to be trusted.
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However, as we progress through the game, we can see that there’s actually a lot more to her than meets the eye. Even after point-sniping them, she still comes forward to give the Twisters advice from time-to-time when it comes to matters regarding the Game. Encouraging them to take on more team members, warning against going up to fight the Ruinbringers (Susukichi in particular), all that jazz.
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At the same time, however, she also takes care to reaffirm that she’s also suspicious of the Twisters and their capabilities, often showing surprising amounts of protectiveness when it comes to the other team leaders. These switches between friendly teasing and hard-hitting accusations understandably unnerve the team a bit.
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On top of that, throughout the weeks, she also shows a talent for picking apart Fret's surface-level compliments/attempts at flattery, herself being an expert when it comes to that sort of thing as noted by her Social Network profile.
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While she is mainly looking out for herself and the Variabeauties, she also does have a sense of honor/fair-play when it comes to be able to fight on an even playing field, which she showcases in her alliance proposal to the Twisters on W2D3.
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In the span of one convo, she was able to:
-Pick out that the Twisters are the biggest wild cards in the structure of the Game and note them as such, giving them incentive to look into their own capabilities and find her offer more appealing when weighing their options.
-Play into their doubts regarding the Game and reaffirm to them that this is really the only option they have left at this point if they want to have any hope of actually escaping.
-Blow away Fret’s preconceptions that she’s just as ingenuine as he is as shown by his nervous laughter
-Emphasize that if they’re able to pull it off, it’s a win-win for everyone involved.
It’s made apparent that Kanon is an incredibly skilled negotiator, though understandably Rindo still has her doubts about her because she’s been equal parts threatening and supportive, which sends a mixed message. Who’s to say where her allegiance truly lies?
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However, a surprisingly strong affirmation on her convictions comes from no one other than Motoi himself, who actually vouches for Kanon’s intentions and belief in the Twisters being genuine on her part. This along with Swallow’s prodding later on gets Rindo to change his tune. Now, there’s a dozen different interpretations on why Motoi would go out of his way to vouch for Kanon’s character but the fact that he was actually right on the money is a pretty subtle hint that they know about each other and how they tick more than people realize…
Then we go into W2D7, where Kanon’s recounting of the Ruinbringers’ activities and her muted reaction towards Motoi’s erasure emphasizing that she’s been at this for a long, LONG, horrifying while, becoming practically numb to it all.
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And when Sudden Death in Week 3 comes around, she starts to kick up her critique of Fret and his issues into overdrive, wanting to see him grow for the better knowing full well that she and the Variabeauties might not make it at the end of the week. And unfortunately for her, Fret, and the Beauties, that fear ends up becoming a reality.
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The following day, Fret flat out tells the others about how he felt about Kanon: that he wanted to BE like her, finding her genuine nature and confidence in who she is as something to aspire to, and wanted her to see him reach that level.
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By then, our perspective on Kanon has flipped: a scheming femme fatale who turns out to be an intelligent, real, and loyal soul. Someone who starts off cold towards the Twisters before coming around to genuinely like and appreciate them (note the little smile in image 2!)
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However, this is only half of the real Kanon we get to know and when we take a look back at some of convos within the game, the Reports, and see past Fret’s idealized image of her, we get to see a much more deeper side to Kanon than what was already there.
First, we need to talk about two aspects of Kanon; her hidden resentment of the Twisters/the system she’s trapped in and her trust issues. As noted above, Kanon is quite curiously protective in regards to the other Player teams, even accusing the Twisters of sabotaging them at some points, and this is for one particular reason: she and the rest of the Beauties are in an unspoken alliance with both teams. One where the top 3 teams (besides the Ruinbringers of course) keep their footing by sending new players and other teams to last place. This is something that’s actually alluded to on W2D3, with the Beauties and Purehearts corroborating together to take down the Twisters.
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I also want to draw your attention again to these scenes here, where in the second timeline Rindo has Replayed to, Kanon already knows about Fuya challenging the Ruinbringers whereas before in the first timeline she didn’t, hence why she’s a bit more antsy this time around.
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The reason for this is because, due to the Wicked Twisters screwing up the balance of powers between the teams with their sheer existence and sending the DRS plummeting to last place on W1D5, Fuya has become more daring/reckless, desperate to etch out a win against Susukichi. While Fuya is noted by in the Social Network to have surprisingly strong Imagination, there's a reason why he and the the DRS are mainly in dead last.
Kanon and Motoi are the most powerful of the (non-Ruinbringers) teams solely because of their ability to manipulate things in their favour despite both being weak in psych/Imagination. In that regard they’re the most "successful" within the constraints of the rigged game. Fuya, on the other hand, while having strong psychic powers, isn't as wily as the other two in regards to their social prowess and failed to keep his team properly motivated and prevent them from feeling demoralized, which is shown most prominently on W1D5 where Rindo uses his time travel to reroute them from fulfilling their duties by playing on their desires in their moments of weaknesses.
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With this in mind, it's no wonder that Fuya became so desperate to risk it all against Susukichi. And while the Twisters do almost bring about change by beating the Ruinbringers, it ultimately doesn’t matter in the long-run due to how incredibly rigged the Shinjuku game is and as a result, the DRS are eliminated, getting rid of the Beauties’ and Purehearts’ safety net.
This kind of stuff is what I mean by Kanon being a perfect example of NEO's subtle character writing. At first glance, Rindo's nonchalant note of her behavior in the second timeline isn't anything to write home about, but it's when you look at all these individual pieces and start lining them up all together, a clear picture starts to be formed. It's what makes NEO so fascinating as a work to explore everytime I replay it.
The Reports make it especially clear that the teams have been through this experience for 30 LOOPS, which has left them teetering on the brink of despair and coping with the situation in anyway they can, with W1D5 (as noted before) and W2D4, as well as other segments, exploring this in more detail.
Imagine going through what is essentially a never-ending hell for weeks on end with no opportunity for rest so you come up with a system to at least stall the inevitable before a couple of kids come around to throw that system out of wack but it all ends up amounting to nothing. With this in mind, it’s honestly no wonder that a part of Kanon resents the Twisters for what happened, with her Dive on W3D3 bringing up all of these lingering feelings to the surface.
However, Kanon knows that the Twisters realistically wouldn’t know about any of that. How could they, after all? She knows that they’re fundamentally good kids at their core and knows that her feelings towards them aren’t fair so she keeps them buried to focus more on her tasks. She tries to take all of the responsibility upon herself and not let anyone else get caught up in the crossfire but this leads into one of her fatal flaws: her inability to trust in the capabilities of her team.
Throughout the game, it’s made pretty apparent that both the Twisters (Fret in particular) and the Beauties idolize her, with the latter propping her up as their Kween. And to their credit, Kanon IS a genuinely good leader, one worth looking up to. However, with all of those expectations comes a sense of isolation, a feeling that you HAVE to take on all of the burdens because if you don’t, who else will? This is shown when she splits up the Beauties when the threat of the Plague Noise comes around, not trusting their capabilities. However, all this did was leave the Beauties as slim pickings for the Noise, including Kanon herself. This is actually foreshadowed all the way back in Week 1, where she declines potentially recruiting Nagi because she doesn’t want to ruin the dynamic she and the Beauties have going.
This is also a reflection of how Rindo himself initially acts, not wanting recruit more team members because he’s afraid of getting dragged down into failure and having no faith in his or his teammates’ capability to achieve things for themselves. What’s interesting is that Kanon does it because she wants to shoulder the burden/responsibility by herself whereas with Rindo, he does so because he wants to AVOID having to take responsibility for any potential fallout, relying on someone else to do it for him. However, as the game progresses, Rindo gets better about this, learning to let his barriers down, reach out to others more, and trust in himself and his friends’ capabilities.
In fact, when trying to save Kanon, Rindo nearly makes the same mistake as her by asking Fret to split up, but when Fret shows up, Rindo and co. are down to support him. And although they didn’t succeed in saving her, they were able to grant her the opportunity to die as herself and gain valuable information on combining Fret and Nagi’s powers to combat Shibuya Syndrome that helps them out in the following days.
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Overall, Kanon is an incredibly interesting character with a lot going on underneath the surface (in a way, she’s basically Fret’s Hanekoma) and I hope that this analysis on her was able to at least shine some light on her various nuances.
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ravenrune · 1 year
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A little Luis x F!reader thing I've been working on for the past few days. I enjoy writing the reader meeting a character for the first time, so here is one for Luis. I went for she/her pronouns this time. I'm sorry I didn't go for gender-neutral. I will again next time! <3
No warnings. Fanfic. Not beta-read. Around 900 words.
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The first step
Under any other circumstances, Luis loved to attend parties. The wedding he was at right now, however, had killed his joy very early on. Luis barely knew the couple and didn’t understand why they’d invited him. Politeness, he figured. He used to work with the man, and they had kept in touch after he’d left Umbrella, but to call them friends would be a massive overstatement. Vague acquaintances seemed much more fitting.
Except for this time, anyway.
Initially, Luis had looked forward to the wedding. Not because he cared much about the wedding couple, but because he always wanted to meet new people. This wedding, however, was boring with a capital B. It seemed as if everyone present was in a relationship and didn’t feel like interacting with strangers.
Luis himself had come alone. He’d tried to get a friend to join him, but nobody had been interested. Luis didn’t have any women in his life that he was romantically involved with, so he hadn’t been able to score a date, either. Didn’t matter much, though, because normally, he was pretty good at keeping himself, and strangers, entertained.
Bored and annoyed, he got up from the table, seemingly invisible to the people around him. He’d go out for a smoke, have another drink, and maybe then it would finally feel appropriate to leave. He didn’t think he’d ever be home before eleven after a party, but he really wasn’t feeling it this time.
“Ai, ai, ai,” he muttered, stepping out into the rain. He was pretty sure the weather forecast had promised clear skies, but apparently they’d been wrong again. “How hard can it be to predict the weather?”
“Surprisingly difficult, actually,” came a female voice from behind him. “Want to stay under my umbrella?”
Luis turned around and saw a woman standing there. Relatively young. Nice dress. It was too dark to see the colour of her eyes or hair. She was holding a big umbrella and gestured to him to come over.
“Don’t mind if I do.” Luis flashed her a big smile and stood next to her. “You mind if I light one up?” He held up his pack of cigarettes.
She shrugged. “Nah, go ahead.”
Luis lit his cigarette and placed the pack and the lighter back in his pocket. “Why are you outside? It’s a bit cold, no?”
“Cold doesn’t bother me much,” she replied. “It’s a bit too… crowded inside.”
Luis glanced at her. She had nice features, but he still couldn’t tell what colour her eyes or her hair were. “Is it too crowded, or is it just too boring?” He asked, only half joking.
She laughed and looked around to ensure nobody was close enough to hear her. “It really is very boring,” she groaned. “I kinda regret coming here. I could’ve stayed home and watched a movie. Would’ve cost me less money, too.”
“Yeah… I don’t even know why I was invited,” Luis muttered. “They don’t seem that interested in their guests.”
“Money, probably. They just want gifts. Isn’t that why people get married in the first place?”
Luis nearly choked on some smoke. “People get married for money? Where’s the romance in that, amiga?”
“Romance is dead,” she stated matter-of-factly, “everything is just a financial transaction nowadays.”
Wow. Luis wasn’t sure about what to say. How could someone think that way? He wondered if perhaps something had happened in her past, that someone had hurt her badly enough to turn her away from romantic interactions.
It was hard to imagine, and the thought made him feel a bit sad. His first instinct was to see this as a challenge. A challenge to try and conquer her heart. Then again, he also knew very well that that could end badly. He may consider himself quite the ladies’ man, but he wasn’t in it to hurt people. He didn’t hop from woman to man to woman just to satisfy his needs and move on. Not anymore, anyway. Not like when he was younger.
Luis had gotten so lost in thought, his cigarette started to burn his finger. “Agh!” He threw the thing on the ground and stomped it out. “That hurt!”
“Not the smartest thing I’ve ever seen,” she joked. “Do you need a plaster?”
Luis smiled. “Nah,” he muttered. “I just gotta pay attention.”
He liked hearing her laugh, he thought to himself. He wouldn’t mind hearing it more often.
“You eh… you got a name, amiga?” He asked.
“Y/N,” she replied.
“Good name. I’m Luis Serra.” He extended his hand, which she shook. “Encantado.”
“Same… I think?” She smirked. “How about we go back inside and get something to drink? I’m sick of the rain.”
Going inside for a drink. That seemed like a very nice first step for Luis. “Yeah, why not. I’ll buy you one.”
“Eh?” She frowned at him. “Drinks are free tonight.”
“Oh yes, of course.” Luis laughed. “Well, I’m sure that after tonight you’ll want nothing more than for me to take you out and buy you one elsewhere!”
“I doubt it,” she muttered while folding her umbrella. “But hey… surprise me, I guess.”
Now that was definitely a challenge, and Luis wasn’t the type to say no to one.
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