#these boys have ignored every direction given them and not just from me but also from their parents and fucking signs

[buckysegan]

how silly of me, to fall in love with you.

Summary: when one of the new pilots around base get's an idea in his head about a certain nurse john egan, is having none of it. john x she. Word Count: 1.1k A/N: i saw a prompt in the tags about john not being willing to give up his jacket. but i think our little possessive bucky would willingly hand it over to lay his claim....i also wrote this in 30 minutes with no edits forgive me. a little prequel look to this pairing.

there was two things about john egan that any one that had been around base for more than five minutes were sure of, the man couldn't sing, and he didn't share her or buck. it was unfair of him and irrational really, to the point that just for just a moment bucky wondered if all of this was moderately cruel of him. despite all the thoughts in his head though, he couldn't help himself.

they weren't at the pub today which meant for a change he didn't have to watch the usual british majors hit on his girl, that was where his usual source of anguish came from because the boys knew that despite the fact bucky liked to advise that the pretty nurse was too good for any of them, especially him, the way his eyes lingered on her was enough of a claim. especially after lil and dye. and john knew, he knew that he was around her just enough that he managed to keep the rest of the boys at bay. that was what was so cruel off him, he wouldn't take her. honestly he didn't think he could because a man like him couldn't taint something so pure.

he just didn't want anyone else having her either.

it seemed that the message that she was his though, hadn't reached a number of the boys that had piled in over the last week and john was pretty sure he was one wrongly placed hand away from loosing it all together.

not even the hand on his thigh and gentle mumblings of his best friend was enough to calm the frazzling of nerves that were building in him. bucky was pretty sure he hadn't smiled in at least an hour, that had to be a record and someone needed to be careful. "she's not looking at them bucky, you don't have a damn thing to worry about." brady offered from across the table where they were all propped, as if each of the men were waiting for their major to blow and ready to pull him back given they'd heard plenty of stories of just how many of them it would take should he decide to loose his temper.

the scraping of bucky's chair had everyone's eyes pulled in his direction, even hers though she had been trying to ignore the way the pilots baby blues had burned into the back of her skull all night whenever she had been asked to dance with one of the boys. she had simply been a welcoming host, every one that knew her knew she was blind to any of the attention that she had received throughout the evening. now she along with the rest of the party was left watching as john stormed in the direction of the door muttering something about being back soon.

barely ten minutes had passed when she felt the heavy fabric droop over her shoulders, the hands on her waist with such boldness confirming just who had appeared despite the fact she had been talking to lieutenant hart. "john..." she trailed, spinning in his grasp as she moved to look up at him, only to realise slowly just how quiet the room had gone. john himself, couldn't bring himself to care at the audience, he had never been shy of a performance and this might have been his best one.

"hi baby." he hummed, fingers cupping at her chin for a second as he looked down at his handy work, the light sheep skin now crowding over her favorite person. "it seemed a little chilly in here, figured that you should be taking care of yourself." he mused quietly and he made no attempts to wipe the smirk that had replaced the glare he had been wearing as he had stormed out of here.

she could feel her cheeks turn an unfortunate shade of red that no amount of powder was going to be able to help her with. this over grown, infuriating man the very cause. at some point in time, when now she couldn't remember, she had fallen immovably in love with john egan. not that he seemed to notice, or if he had, not that he seemed willing to do anything about. she had never questioned why either. she had looked at him plenty, looked at the other nurses following him around base, she knew the options he had which only furthered her confusion at the jacket now slunk around her shoulders.

"no one else is wearing a jacket bucky." she was quick to huff though she had made no move to rid herself of the damn thing, marvelled still at how small this man managed to make her feel. "mhumm, that's the point baby, i'll see you at work tomorrow?" he asked, a side glance at hart telling him that the majors message had been received loud and clear and he knew the message would have been accepted on a wider level too. not everyone had met her, the damn light of his life that wondered around base like his very own sunshine, but everyone knew the distinct jacket that bucky flew in, and now everyone had seen her in it.

backing away to his table john already knew the taunts he would be greeted with but fishing for his glass as he sunk back to his seat, he didn't even bother to hide how proud of himself he was. "jesus john." gale was the first to groan at him, the others soon joining in. "why don't you just piss on her next time, that would be less obvious." brady again, was quick to jab. bucky himself could only offer another shrug of his shoulders as he let his gaze fall to the bar, where he knew she was now watching him from where she was propped. john egan didn't deserve her, he knew that, and neither did anyone else here, he was protecting her, that's all it was.

one day, when her husband came along and she had someone else to love her how she deserved, someone that wasn't a changed man. he would let her go, he'd move on and someone else could keep her safe. just for now the jacket would have to do, it was better than his alternative plan, to grab her, kiss her in the middle of the room and tumble out some sort of confession - how silly of me, to fall in love with you.

#john egan x reader #masters of the air #callum turner #mota #mota drabble #john egan. #also PS #Im not over loosing the jacket so early #someone give callum that jacket to wesr #rn

[bella-rose29]

You Shall Go to the Ball!

Anthony Lockwood x f!Karim!reader

Requested by anon: Hey, I don't know if you accept requests, but I have one. Reader(she is George's sister) accompanies Lockwood&co to the ball at Fittes and she is jealous when she sees Lockwood talking to the girl (maybe reader enemy or something)most of the time. She decides to interrupt the conversation and introduces herself as his wife, while showing the ring Lucy gave her, explaining what to do. A long chapter please😊

I am so sorry that this took so long anon 😭 (I'm also not sure about the title tbh but oh well)

a long chapter this will be! I made the reader George's adopted sister (I hope that's ok!). I also made this super long because I got so carried away and if it deviates from what you wanted then I'm so sorry my lovely

I made it just... a generic ball? I don't know if you had one specifically in mind but I thought it would fit better to have an occasion where they aren't fighting for their lives lol

sorry if your name is Maya bc that is the name of Lucy's crush in this and also sorry if your name is Steph bc she's the enemy of the reader (I had to put names in I'm sorry 🥲)

Word count: 9.8k (I'm doing my bit you guys)

Warnings: swearing, a sexual innuendo or two, bullying (mostly focused on the fact the reader is adopted), lockwood and reader love each other but they haven't done anything about it, tumblr lagged while I wrote most of this so there are probably mistakes, lockwood has some mildly self-deprecating thoughts, mentions of lockwood's suicidal tendencies, there's probably more but idk what

Tag list: @anathemaloren, @augustisintheair, @avdiobliss, @dangelnleif, @el-de-phi, @ell0ra-br3kk3r, @informedimagining, @karensirkobabes, @mischivana, @mitskiswift99, @mrsklockwood, @mrsyixingunicorn10, @novelizt, @ran23sblog, @superpositvecloudshipper, @t2sh0, @taygrls, @tournesol77, @wandamaximoffbae, @whenselenefallsinlove, @wordsarelife

As always, let me know here if you would like to be added to/removed from the tag list for my lockwood and co works (or drop me a message!) <3

Y/n was not happy.

She ought to have been, given the occasion, but she was very much unhappy instead.

Lucy was trying not to laugh too loudly, but was failing at her attempts to stifle just how funny she found the whole situation. "You know," she said between breathy laughs, "all of this would be a whole lot easier if you just told him how you feel."

"Nope. Not happening. Every time I try I freeze up and blabber some unintelligible words that make no sense, and I look like an idiot. So no."

The 'him' in question was Anthony Lockwood, the head of Lockwood and Co and resident of 35 Portland Row. Lucy Carlyle, George Karim and Holly Munro lived here too, and as George's sister Y/n had been invited to Lucy's 18th birthday party. It was a small party, only the five of them (six if you included the Skull, but only Lucy could hear it so Y/n didn't), but the atmosphere was lively and music was playing over the speakers George had set up. Banners and balloons stating 'Happy Birthday!' were strewn all over the living room (Y/n could already see Holly's eye twitching at the amount of confetti on the floor), and the boys were busy refilling glasses (another reason not to count the Skull - it had nothing to hold a drink with).

"You have to do it at some point though," she whispered into Y/n's ear. "But right now, you need to move." Lucy pointed in the direction Y/n was supposed to go, and she tilted her head back as she groaned.

"Remind me why you ever made me play this game?"

"Because it's my birthday, and you love me. Go on, unless you wanna forfeit."

"You're evil," Y/n hissed as she pushed herself off of the floor and made her way over to Lockwood. "I'm sorry, again."

"I'm not sure what for, to be honest. You're just playing the game." He smiled up at her from his place by the fire, and Y/n tried to ignore George's glare. "George, please stop looking at me like that. Lucy was the one who dared Y/n to sit on me." Y/n felt her face warm at his words, knowing that this night could only end in disaster for her, and decided to bite the bullet. Huffing, she turned and sat down, her back facing Lockwood as her legs went either side of his, and she let out a small yelp of surprise when his arms snaked around her waist and pulled her against him. Lucy only laughed, loud and obnoxious, and Y/n couldn't find it in her to shoot a look, still too taken aback by the feel of being hugged by Lockwood in this way. "You alright?" he asked, voice quiet and gentle in her ear, and she felt his breath on the side of her face.

"Y-yeah. I'm alright. How are you?" She cringed at herself, but his light chuckle reverberated through her and calmed her immediately.

"I'm alright. Quite comfy, actually. You're very warm." As if to back up his point he snuggled in to her shoulder, nose rubbing against the side of her neck, and Y/n almost choked. Instead she made a sort of strangled noise, and he stopped and looked up at her as though he was about to say something. Lockwood opened his mouth, but was cut off by George.

"Okay, she's sat on him, can she go back now? I don't wanna look at this anymore."

"George, Lucy dared her to do it for the rest of the game," Holly piped up, clearly enjoying this as much as Lucy. She also knew about Y/n's feelings for Lockwood, the three of them having had multiple nights where they talked for hours about the other two members of Lockwood and Co, and hadn't wasted any time at all in joining Lucy in her teasing about Y/n's crush. "Rules are rules, I'm afraid."

"Yeah, and it's my birthday, so don't even start to think about asking to stop the game. Besides, they look quite comfortable now, wouldn't wanna make 'em move again, would we?"

"I'm very comfortable, thanks Luce," Lockwood said, his hold tightening on Y/n.

"Y-yep. Perfectly good." Lucy and Holly shared a look, stifling their laughter. George sat back and crossed his arms over his chest, huffing at the scene in front of him. Y/n's brother also knew about her feelings for his boss, and he while he wasn't exactly mad about it, he also wasn't thrilled. She knew that he meant well, and was only looking out for her (especially since Lockwood tended to throw himself directly into danger most of the time), but a little support would be appreciated.

The rest of the game went without much incident, although George did have to stick his hand in the toilet (a dare from Holly that nobody expected, although since her arrival in the house the toilets were spotless so it wasn't much of a trial), and by the time Y/n realised that she should be getting home it was well past midnight.

"Shit. Shit, shit, shit. Okay, um- Lockwood! Hi!" He had just entered the living room where Y/n was stood clearing up (the others had gone up to their respective bedrooms), and she apprehended him in the doorway. "Can you help me call a taxi? I need to go home now and it's really late and-"

"Woah, slow down!" He placed his hands on her shoulders, a smile on his face. "Why don't you just stay over, yeah? It's what, two in the morning? You might as well sleep here and leave after breakfast. Your parents probably expected you to stay here anyway, right?" She nodded. It was a common occurrence for her to stay the night at Portland Row when visiting, since she didn't see them all that much. "So it's not a problem, really. You can take my bed if you like, save waking the others up."

"Lockwood, you really don't have to do that," Y/n started, but he cut her off.

"Nonsense. Holly's stayed too, so I'd feel bad if I turfed you out at this time of night."

"No, I mean giving me your bed. You don't have to do that." He shrugged, then moved to grab a blanket from one of the cupboards.

"I'll be alright, I'll sleep on the sofa. Seriously, Y/n/n, it's fine." He flashed her one of his smiles, and instantly she melted and gave in.

"Ugh, fine. But don't complain tomorrow morning when your back hurts," she wagged a finger at him, exhaustion winning out over guilt about taking his bed as she moved towards the door.

"Alright," he laughed, and Y/n didn't think she'd heard a better sound.

She traipsed upstairs and got ready for bed, and when she fell asleep moments after settling in she dreamed of the brown haired boy downstairs.

~~~

Y/n was sat at home in her room a day or so later when George burst in, arms filled with papers and glasses skewed on his nose.

"I've been thinking," he started, dumping the papers on the end of her bed and flopping next to her.

"Hi, Georgie, I'm doing great, thanks. What am I doing? Oh, not much, just sat here reading a book and listening to music." She sent him a pointed look to which he huffed and lightly slapped her arm.

"Shut up. Hi, how are you? Great, nice, okay. Can you listen to me now?"

"What?"

"So I've been thinking about you and Lockwood, and I've decided I don't mind too much. I mean, it's irritating, really, but technically I don't need to do a boyfriend check because I live with him so I know all his nasty habits and that, and I know that he's loyal to a fault, which is something I should probably raise with him, actually," George paused, frowning as he lost his train of thought.

"Um- okay... Where has this come from? I thought you wanted me to stop liking him?"

"Yeah, but then I had to listen to him pining after you for the last two hours at the Archives and I realised that maybe it would be better if you just got together already." Y/n stared at him in shock, processing the information her brother had just spewed.

"Wait, wait. Lockwood likes me? Are you sure?"

"Completely. This isn't some hypothesis or theory, it's fact. My sanity can prove it because it's nearly all gone."

"Okay, but... you're sure? Like this isn't a joke, right?"

"No! It's not a joke! God, you really are perfect for each other; he said the same thing you know. Didn't believe that I was telling the truth about you reciprocating his feelings. Seriously, you're both idiots for not seeing it, I mean, he let you sit on him a couple of days ago!"

"That was part of a game!" Y/n spluttered, face heating at the memory of his hands around her and his head in the crook of her neck.

"Well he wouldn't have cosied up to me, would he!" Y/n fell backwards against the headboard, hands pressed to her face as she groaned in frustration."You're still not gonna do anything about it, are you?" George was quieter now, and Y/n moved her hands slightly to peer at him through her fingers.

"Correct. I want cold hard proof before I make a proper fool of myself and have to never go to Portland Row again for fear of dying from embarrassment." Now it was George's turn to groan in frustration.

"Well somebody's just going to have to engineer a situation where you confess then, aren't they?!"

"Please, no. I will murder you while you sleep if you try anything." George was impassive when Y/n glared at him, used to her threats of death.

"Fine! I won't do anything, alright! Happy?"

"Sort of." They sat in comfortable silence for a little while, Y/n trying to read her book again but eventually getting too distracted by the mountain of paperwork that her brother hadn't touched since arriving. "What is all that, anyway?" she pointed to the end of the bed.

"Oh, my research for a case we have in a couple of days. I couldn't sit with Lockwood anymore, he was driving me insane."

Y/n rolled her eyes at her brother's dramatics. "Do you want help looking through it all?"

"Please. I have no doubts that Lockwood will be doing anything but research right now, and there's a lot to get through. At least I know that you'll stay focused."

"Come on then. Oh, are you staying for dinner? Mum's cooking tonight so you know it'll be good."

"I might do. I get caught up in this stuff anyway so we'll see what time it is. Thanks for the help, Y/n/n."

"No problem, Georgie." She ruffled his hair, laughing when he practically threw himself off of the bed to escape. He landed on the floor with a thud, only making Y/n laugh harder.

"I hate you," he said, sitting up and glaring at her through wonky glasses. "You're the devil, I swear."

~~~

Lockwood and George were cleaning the equipment after yet another successful case when George dropped the chains he was oiling and looked up at his boss.

"I don't get it," he started, making Lockwood glance up with a frown.

"Get what?"

"You barely know Y/n, and you only ever interact when she's here with us, so how are you so hopeless when it comes to my sister?"

Lockwood blushed as he remembered all the times he'd lied to his friends, telling them that he was going on a supply run or heading to the shops when in reality he was making his way to the cafe that Y/n worked at. He spent a good hour or so in there multiple times a week, and sometimes he'd offer to walk her home at the end of her shift, desperate for another few minutes in her presence. Since first meeting her not long after George joined his agency (she'd brought cake, homemade, saying that she wanted to give George a 'congrats on the new job!' present) Lockwood had wanted to be around her all the time; she was like the sun, and everything was gloomy without her. The first time he'd showed up at her place of work, he'd pretended it was a coincidence, acting surprised when he saw her behind the counter. Truthfully, he'd taken a gamble on whether or not she'd be working that day, but the blinding smile that was present on her face as she served customers (although Lockwood could tell it was a fake one) immediately told him that his gamble had paid off.

"Lockwood? Hi! How are you? How's Georgie doing, is he alright? Oh, did you want anything?"

"Just a tea, thanks love," he'd replied, not meaning for the term of endearment to slip out, but her resultant blush was enough to make him decide on repeating it. She started making a cup (he'd asked for it to take away), asking questions every now and then to get his order right, and he answered those as well as her previous questions about George. Eventually, he'd had to leave, paying for the tea he now held and exiting the shop with a promise to come back soon when she'd waved goodbye. It had become a sort of ritual for the two of them, Lockwood appearing a couple of times a week, sometimes to sit at a table with some case files, others he would just get his order to go, but he'd find a way to talk to her every time. On the days when he'd promised to walk her home she would have a cup of tea already prepared for him, sat on his usual table in the corner next to a plate of whatever pastry or cake she thought that he would enjoy. At some point over the years, Lockwood had started feeling his cheeks heat up whenever Y/n smiled at him, or butterflies start up in his stomach when their hands brushed, and eventually he'd had to accept the fact that he was falling in love with her.

"Lockwood? Lockwood! Back to the present, please!" George demanded, snapping his fingers in front of his friend's face. He was sure it had only been a few seconds, but George was annoyed all the same at Lockwood's daydreaming. He huffed in frustration, picking up the chains again."You two are insufferable, do you know that? Seriously, just ask her out already. She feels the same and you know it."

"I thought you didn't want me dating your sister?" Lockwood frowned, feeling hope start to bloom in his chest.

"Yeah, well, then I had to sit and listen to you talk about her for two hours the other day and I lost my mind."

"Oh. Well. I wasn't that annoying, was I?" George only stared at him, expression saying 'Are you serious?' and Lockwood had his answer.

"Just, I don't know. You both like each other, so why not? It'll save me from the pining at least."

Lockwood was quiet for a while, mulling over George's words. "I just know that she can do better than me," he eventually said, not looking up from the boots he was polishing. "I don't want her to... regret being with me, or something."

"Lockwood, having spent the last four years listening to her talk about you I can say with confidence that she won't regret being with you. All I ask is that you dial down the suicidal tendencies on cases, yeah? I really don't want to deal with her heartbroken." George's voice was the softest Lockwood had ever heard it, and Lockwood nodded his assent.

"Alright. I'm not making any promises though Sometimes my suicidal tendencies help us stop dying instead."

"I'm not doing much better than that, am I?"

"Nope. I will be slightly less chaotic on cases and that's as much as I can do for you."

"Fine. Keep polishing those boots, you've missed a spot."

~~~

It was a few weeks later when Lucy called Y/n up in a panic, yelling random words down the phone and ranting about something that sounded important.

"Lucy, Lucy! Stop talking for a moment!" The other girl did so, promptly falling silent, and Y/n took a breath. "What's happened?"

"There's this party- ball- thing that Fittes are throwing in like, two weeks, and we have to go because we've been invited but I have nothing to wear. At all. And you always know what to do in these situations so I figured you could help me?"

She was quiet for a moment, and then said "But it's... in two weeks?"

"Yeah."

"So why are you worrying about it right now?"

"Because loads of people have been invited, Y/n! What if the perfect outfit sells out? What if I end up in something I hate because there was nothing else?"

"Wait, wait wait." Y/n sat forward on her bed, pulling the phone off of the nightstand when the cord no longer reached. "Are you trying to impress somebody?" Now it was Lucy's turn to be quiet, and Y/n scoffed in disbelief. "Oh my god, Lucy Carlyle, do you have a crush?!"

"No, I don't! Shut up! Ugh! You are so annoying, for fuck's sake!"

"You totally do! You so have a crush! Who is it? Tell me!"

"I am telling you nothing, you nosey little bastard!"

"Okay, okay! Fine! I will get this information out of you, I hope you know. When do you wanna go shopping then?"

"Today?"

"Jesus, thanks for the notice!"

"A different day then! But we are not leaving it to the last minute like you always do!"

"No, no, it's fine, Luce. Mum's gone full clean mode anyway so it gives me an excuse to get out the house. Make my siblings do the work."

"Aren't you worried about your own room coming under fire?"

"Nope. We did mine yesterday, so I know I'm safe. I'll meet you at yours in twenty minutes?"

"Yeah, alright." They hung up and Y/n rushed downstairs, grabbing her bag and coat and pulling her shoes on, and within a few minutes she was yelling to her parents that she'd be back later and laughing at her siblings when they complained about her leaving them to their mother's cleaning fury.

~~~

"So," Y/n started, her tone supposedly disinterested as she, Lucy and Holly browsed the department store racks for something for the two agents to wear. "Who is it? The person you're dressing up for?"

"Oi, quit it." Lucy sent a glare her way, but it was too late. Holly had overheard and was joining in, and for once Y/n was glad that it wasn't her being questioned about a crush.

"Are we talking about Maya?"

"No," Lucy shot back, far too quickly for it to be the truth, and her rapidly reddening cheeks weren't helping either.

"Is that her name? Oh my god, okay! Wait, what do you know about her, Holly?"

"She hasn't told you anything? Okay, okay, so she's called Maya, works at Fittes which isn't brilliant, but she's sweet enough. Lucy totally wrecked her first impression though, which was hilarious."

"It was not! I looked like an idiot!" Lucy now had her face in her hands, and Holly had moved to link arms with Y/n. It turned out that Lucy had quite literally fallen for this girl after tripping on a kerb when staring at her, and Holly had laughed so hard she had to dash to a nearby toilet.

"Yeah, no, that is hilarious, Luce," Y/n cackled, gaining some glares from other shoppers.

"You can't talk, little miss 'I sat on Lockwood's lap and fucking yelped'!" Y/n opened her mouth in protest, looking to Holly for support, but the girl only shook her head and sided with Lucy again.

"I didn't think anybody heard that," she mumbled, mortified that apparently they had heard, and worse, hadn't forgotten.

"Oh we all heard, trust me."

"Ugh, I thought I was free because Lucy has a crush now!"

"Nope. Neither of you are off the hook," Holly declared as she laughed, and Y/n and Lucy shared a look. "Why did you yelp, anyway?"

"I was surprised, okay?"

"Did he have a flare in his pocket?" Lucy snickered with an exaggerated wink, and Y/n whacked her arm.

"No, he did not! You are ridiculous! He just... pulled me backwards into a hug, and it surprised me," she explained, voice higher than usual.

"Right... okay," Holly said, playfully narrowing her eyes. "Whatever you say!"

"I'm telling the truth!" Y/n called after them as they moved on, and she rushed to catch up.

~~~

"Oh, this store is so much better than that last one, look at the range!"

"Holly, have you ever considered working in retail if you stop being an agent?"

"God no, have you heard the horror stories? No thank you."

They were wandering around the third department store of the day when Lucy gasped loudly and practically ran to a rack of clothes.

"This one. This is the one. Oh, look at it! No, no way! It has pockets?! I am in love, and I can die happy!"

"Lucy, what are you actually talking about? Because we can't see it from here," Y/n said, and Lucy turned around with a wide smile on her face as she held up the dress. It was similar to the one she'd worn a while ago, back before Holly had joined and Lockwood and Co were into theft (they needed a book from the Black Library), but Lucy had wanted a new one given the other was slightly worse for wear.

"Oh, Lucy, it's gorgeous," Holly complimented, and Y/n agreed.

"Yeah, seriously Luce. Go and try it on!"

They ushered her into the changing rooms, and while they were waiting Holly and Y/n had a seat on the chairs nearby.

"What are you going to wear?" Holly asked, and Y/n frowned in confusion.

"What do you mean?"

"To the ball? What are you going to wear? You are coming with us, aren't you?"

"Uh, I guess I can. I hadn't thought about it, to be honest. I don't think I have anything suitable to wear though."

"Well we've still got time, we can look around for something! Maybe something that will help you confess?" Holly nudged, and Y/n was just about to stop spluttering in protest and defend herself when Lucy walked out.

"Holy shit, Lucy."

"Yeah, holy shit."

"'Holy shit' in a good way or 'holy shit' in a bad way?" she asked, chewing on her lip and smoothing out the fabric.

"Good way," Y/n and Holly replied instantly.

"You look amazing, Luce, honestly," Y/n smiled, and Lucy returned it.

"Definitely that one," Holly agreed.

~~~

Holly had insisted that they keep looking around the store for something for Y/n (Lucy had agreed with Holly that Y/n 'shall go to the ball!' - she'd even declared it like the fairy godmother), and so they spent the next few hours carrying out the same painful process that they had just done with Lucy.

"Y/n? Is that you? It is!"

Y/n froze at the voice, squeezing her eyes shut in the hopes that if she just kept walking then she would be left alone.

"Y/n!"

No chance of that, then, given she'd been taken by the arm and wrapped in a hug that was entirely too fake and smelt incredibly strongly of perfume.

"Steph, hi," Y/n hoped she didn't sound too displeased to see the girl, but then again they'd never been friends, and Steph had always been a bitch to her.

"What are you doing here? I didn't think shopping was your..." she waved her hands at Y/n, "thing." She glanced up and down Y/n's body, raising her eyebrows slightly and smiling too widely.

"Not really, but I prefer it when I'm with my friends and they wanted to go out," she said, trying to figure out an escape route.

"Oh, so you're not getting anything?" Before Y/n could respond, Steph had already started talking again. "Of course you aren't, you couldn't afford it, what with your family having so many people in it."

"Who the hell do you think you are?"

"Lucy, please don't," Y/n hissed, trying to deter her friend from beating the shit out of her enemy.

"You have no right to talk to her like that, okay? And for your information, she is getting something, and it's going to be a dress that makes her look like the goddess she is, alright? So take your fake brands and irrelevant opinions and shove 'em up your arse!" Lucy ranted, shoving her finger in Steph's direction to emphasise her points. The girl was taken aback for a moment, blinking in shock, then scoffed.

"Whatever. Enjoy your lame dress, Karim. Or whatever your last name is, since we all know that you're adopted." Steph left, her two companions following with a click of their stupidly high heels, and Y/n felt tears start to prick at the corners of her eyes. Lucy was practically growling after them, and Holly had brought Y/n into a proper hug, tight and comforting.

"Well she's a bitch. How d'you know her?"

"School," Y/n sniffed, trying to prevent the tears from falling. "She never liked me for some reason, or maybe I was just easy to pick on because I don't know who my real parents are, but she always made it a point to single me out."

"Right, if she ever comes back I'm punching her."

"Lucy," Y/n berated, although she was laughing a little as she did so.

"I mean it! She's awful! Now, have we looked everywhere in this store?"

"I think so, let's try the next one," Holly said.

"Guys, it's not a big deal, really. Don't let me take up more of your time."

"Y/n, stop being ridiculous. We are finding you a dress and that's that."

"Lucy," Y/n whined as the girl grabbed hold of her arm, Holly taking the other, and led her off out of the store.

~~~

"This one?"

"Hm? No, I don't think so."

"What about this one?"

"God no, I'd look like shit."

"How about-"

"Ew, nope."

Many of their discussions had continued in this manner since leaving the store where Steph had appeared, and Y/n was still trying to find a dress that she loved. There had been many that had looked great, but when she'd tried them on there was something just not quite right, and she'd taken it off with a sigh. Curfew was starting to creep up on the three of them, and Y/n was worried that she'd never find an outfit and have to either go in a potato sack or just not go at all.

"You'll find something, Y/n," Holly said, nudging her shoulder against Y/n's.

"It's not looking very likely though, is it?" Holly didn't say anything, offering a sympathetic smile instead.

"Oh. My. God. Y/n/n, what about this one?" Lucy shouted from across the store (the last one that they hadn't previously looked around). Y/n and Holly giggled at their friend's antics, walking over to see what she wanted them to see. She was holding up a deep red dress, gaping at it with her eyes wide and mouth hanging open like she was a fish. "Ok. No thinking, no questioning, find the dressing room and put this on." Lucy bundled the dress into Y/n's arms and then shoved her in the direction of the changing rooms.

"You sure about this one, Lucy?"

"I'm positive, Holly."

~~~

The two agents were waiting outside for Y/n to appear when George turned up.

"What are you two doing here? Lucy, haven't you already got a dress?"

"Oh, hi George. Yeah, I got one earlier since my other nice dress is kind of old now, but Y/n's trying one on. Why are you here?"

"Apparently my other suit isn't nice enough, so I had to get a new one. Lucky that we've been getting some high paying customers recently that I could afford it."

"When you say your 'other suit', do you mean the one that has plasm stains and holes in it from moths?"

"...Yes."

"She's been in there a while, do you think she needs help?" Holly said after a lull in Lucy and George's conversation.

"I'm fine! Gimme two seconds!" Y/n shouted, and Lucy snickered.

"Wait, why's she trying on a dress?" George frowned, finally registering the fact that his sister was in the changing room.

"Because she's coming with us to the Fittes Ball in a couple of weeks and this girl was being a bitch-"

"Stephanie?"

"Uh- yeah. How'd you know?"

"Y/n complains about her a lot. I think they're arch enemies or something."

"Oh."

"What's she got to do with finding a dress though? Attending the ball makes sense, but where does Steph come into this?"

"Lucy might have shouted that Y/n was going to get a dress that made her look like a goddess," Holly chimed in.

"Ah, I see. So now my sister is... what, trying one on?"

"Yep. You sure you're okay?" Lucy shouted the last part in the direction of a stall, just as Y/n swept back the curtain and stepped out.

"Woah," Lucy and Holly said. George was silent, staring at his sister.

"Good woah or bad woah?" Y/n asked, smiling a little as she remembered Lucy asking a similar thing earlier that day.

"Good woah, for sure," Holly said, Lucy nodding next to her.

"Oh, Georgie. I didn't know you were here," Y/n looked more nervous now, clearly wanting her brother to say something positive.

"Do you like it?" he asked.

"Yeah. I do. I really do."

"You look beautiful, Y/n/n."

"Thank you, Georgie."

"Definitely look like a goddess," Lucy added.

~~~

"Lockwood, hi!" Y/n hadn't expected to see him today, but he had just entered the small cafe that she worked in.

"Hi, Y/n/n, how're you?" He looked antsy, like he wanted to know something, and was shifting on his feet.

"I'm alright... you okay? You look like you have a rash," she said, starting to make him a tea the way she knew he liked it.

"Uh- what? No, I don't... I don't have a rash, I just, well, I heard that you're coming to the ball with us next week?"

"Oh, yeah. The girls convinced me to go. We went dress shopping for Lucy last week and Holly told me I should go with you all. You don't mind, do you?"

"No! No, of course I don't mind!"

"Good, 'cause I already got a dress when Lucy got hers, and it was expensive and I need a justification for getting it or Mum'll be mad." She poured the hot water in, careful not to spill any over her hands (it had happened more times today than she'd like to admit), turning and finishing the tea off, placing a lid on the top of the take away cup. She pushed it across the counter, shaking her head when Lockwood pulled out his wallet to pay. "On the house, you look like you need it." He smiled at her, making her heart flutter, and pushed a fiver into the tip jar next to her as he ignored her protests.

"Thank you. Are you going to get changed with the rest of us? Or do you want us to pick you up from yours?"

"Oh, I was gonna get changed with Holly and Lucy. I'll probably come over quite early if that's alright with you?"

"Of course, you know I don't mind having you over, love. Thanks for the tea!" he called out as he left, unaware of Y/n's blush.

~~~

"Why do girls take so long getting ready for things?"

Lockwood looked up at George's words as he entered the kitchen, folding his paper and throwing it on the table. "Not sure. I'm relatively sure they plan world domination while they do it."

"Makes sense," George shrugged, flopping into a chair and pulling at his bow tie. "They have been in Lucy's room for hours now though. Do you think we need to be worried?"

"I hear them laughing every now and then, so they're still alive at least," Lockwood replied. George hummed, pushing his glasses back up his nose. All of a sudden the two boys heard footsteps thundering on the stairs, and a moment later Lucy's head poked through the kitchen door.

"Please make your way into the hall!" she half shouted, not caring that she was only a few metres away from them and disappearing again. Lockwood and George shared a look, then slowly pushed themselves out of their chairs and moved into the hallway to stand in front of the stairs. A few minutes passed, with hushed conversation barely audible from the top of the stairs, and eventually Holly said "Oh, I'll go!" and came downstairs. She looked lovely in her dress, gold fabric shimmering as she took the steps and ended up at the bottom, Lucy following closely behind in her deep blue (a staple colour for the girl), also looking gorgeous. Lockwood frowned slightly when he realised that Y/n wasn't with them, and when her head poked over the bannister with a worried expression he started feeling nervous.

"Guys, are you sure?" she asked, biting her lip. Lucy and Holly nodded, and George gave her a thumbs up.

"Wait," Lockwood started. "Has everybody seen her dress but me?"

"Yep," George said, the girls nodding behind him.

"So why are you so nervous, Y/n/n?" he called up, frowning.

"I don't know!"

"Just come downstairs!" A loud honk sounded from outside then, and the four agents turned to look in the direction of the sound.

"That'll be the cab," Lucy piped up, heading over to the door. "We'll wait for you two," she winked, and Lockwood felt his face heat up. How did she know about his feelings for Y/n?

"Please don't break her heart, Lockwood. Or I'll deliberately throw badly the next time we're on a case."

"George, no offence, but you can't aim anyway. Maybe if you deliberately aimed badly you'd throw it the right way."

"I mean it. Remember what we talked about the other week, and don't screw it up, yeah?" George patted Lockwood's shoulder, grabbing his jacket and heading outside after the girls.

"Lockwood?"

"Yeah?"

"They've all left, haven't they?"

"Yeah." Y/n didn't answer, instead letting out a groan that made Lockwood chuckle.

"Just come downstairs, Y/n/n. We're going to be late."

"Promise you'll be nice?"

"Why would I not be nice?"

"I don't know! Just promise?"

"Okay! I promise!" He was trying to stifle his laughter in the hopes that she wouldn't take it the wrong way when Y/n appeared at the top of the landing and took his breath away. She was stunning, the dress fitting perfectly and making her look ethereal.

"Lockwood? I look terrible, don't I? I'll stay here, you guys go without me-"

"No! No, don't... you look... you look- pretty," he settled on, wincing at his awkwardness. "You look really pretty, Y/n." He didn't miss the way her smile grew, or the way his face warmed, and when she muttered a small 'Thanks' under her breath his heart stuttered. "We should, uh," he cleared his throat. "We should probably... go..." he trailed off, still blushing. She had come closer and now he could smell her perfume, and when she brushed past him to open the door he thought he might faint from the brief physical contact. What was wrong with him? He was Anthony bloody Lockwood, so why was he acting so foolishly around this girl?

"Are you coming, then? Or are you gonna keep standing there like a lemon?"

"Uh, yeah, I'm- yep."

They packed themselves into the taxi, Lockwood stubbornly ignoring Lucy's smirk as the last two available seats for him and Y/n were right next to each other (which he was entirely certain had been planned), thighs pressed together, and a few moments later they were on the road, heading for the Fittes building.

~~~

"Holy shit, this is insane, Lucy," Y/n gasped, staring around the room in wonder. "Lucy?" She looked for her friend, wondering why she hadn't said anything in response, when she saw Lucy talking to a girl.

"That's Maya," Holly whispered, taking Y/n's arm and looping it through her own.

"God, she's gorgeous. I can see why Lucy likes her." Holly hummed her agreement, taking the two of them on a lap of the room.

"Did something happen between you and Lockwood before you got in the taxi?" she asked after a pause.

"What? No, why?" Y/n's eyes were wide, heat creeping up her neck at the memory of him calling her pretty.

"He can't stop staring at you. He looks like an idiot, to be completely honest." Now her eyes were wide for a different reason, turning to find Lockwood's body in the crowd. Sure enough, he was already looking their way, and after a few moments he seemed to realise that he'd been caught, blushing and rejoining the conversation he was having with George and some agent from Rotwell.

"You sure nothing happened?" Holly asked again, eyebrow raised.

"...Yep." The other girl just laughed, clearly not believing her, and dragged her further around the room.

~~~

"You alright, Luce?"

"Not really," she said, slumping into the chair next to Y/n. "Maya's talking to some other girl and I couldn't relate to anything they were saying, so I left."

"Aw, Lucy. You have been talking to her for what, an hour already? You're not going to have everything in common," Y/n reassured her friend, offering a soft smile.

"I s'pose you're right," she started. "That's what makes a good relationship, right?" Lucy was perking up with every word, sitting up in her chair and leaning forward.

"Yeah, like Y/n and Lockwood," Holly chimed in.

"Yeah, Holly's right. Wait, like- what?! What do you mean?! We're not- he's not-" Y/n spluttered, trying desperately to gain control of the situation after the slip-up and failing miserably. Lucy and Holly were doubled over laughing, clearly finding the situation hilarious, when all of a sudden Y/n shot her arms out to either side, grabbing hold of her friends. "No, seriously, stop it now. Look," she pointed towards Lockwood, hoping the girls would pick up on what was wrong.

"Is that-?"

"I'm gonna kick her arse into next fucking we-"

"Fucking Stephanie," Y/n spat, not missing the way that she was flirting with Lockwood. She hadn't realised the bitch was here, but now that she had it was incredibly difficult to take her eyes off of the scene. Now it was her turn to be gloomy, and every attempt to talk to Lockwood ended with Steph's friends (minions) pushing her back and acting like incredibly non-threatening bodyguards, but Y/n didn't want to cause a scene in the middle of a party that she wasn't technically invited to by shoving back.

Roughly an hour and a half after first spotting Stephanie with Lockwood, Y/n was stood with her back to a wall as she miserably looked on at the two of them somehow still engaged in conversation. The worst part was, Steph didn't look like she would be ending their chat anytime soon, and didn't appear to want to leave. Whether the girl knew about his affiliation with Y/n or not, she wasn't sure, but it was making Y/n increasingly more irritated as the night went on.

"Here," Lucy said, appearing at Y/n's side. "Take this." She held her hand out, one of her rings that she always wore sat in the centre of her palm, the sapphire shining up at her from its place in the centre of the band of silver.

"Uh, why?" A frown settled on Y/n's face, unsure where Lucy's mind was going.

"Because you're gonna go up to Lockwood, big smile on your face, and ask Steph why she's fondling your husband." Y/n could only stare at her friend, wondering what the actual hell had come over her.

"But... he's not my husband?"

"She doesn't need to know that, does she? You two are practically an old married couple anyway, so what does it matter? Besides, if nothing else it's an opportunity to cuddle up to him," she said the last part with a wink, making Y/n flush as she remembered the last time she had 'cuddled up' to Lockwood.

"Well, George is over there, he's not going to play along, is he?" she attempted to find a way out of this situation that Lucy had put her in, but the agent had a solution to everything, it seemed.

"Oh, I told him about this. He's promised to go with it. There was absolutely no way I was gonna let your brother be oblivious, he's a terrible liar sometimes." Lucy was still standing with her hand out, ring gleaming up at Y/n, and she had half a mind to say no and continue suffering until she heard a loud laugh come from the other side of the room. Both girls looked for the source, and Y/n bristled when she realised that it was Steph laughing, hand placed firmly on Lockwood's arm as she leaned into him. Not thinking twice, Y/n grabbed the ring, shoved it on her finger, and marched over to where her new fake husband stood. She squeezed between Steph and Lockwood (difficult, since the other girl had practically glued herself to him) and wrapped her arms around his waist, trying to steady her heart as she felt his warmth engulf her.

"Hi, love," she smiled up at him, willing him to stop staring at her with his eyes so wide open in shock and hug her back. He stuttered for a moment, going red, and vaguely Y/n registered Steph's outraged expression in the corner of her eye and George's stifled laughter.

"Uh- hi- hello."

"Y/n? I didn't realise you were going to be here," Steph asked through gritted teeth, obviously annoyed at the interruption.

"Oh, Steph! I didn't see you there! Of course I'm here, why wouldn't I be? My husband got invited and so naturally I was his plus one!" It was petty, she knew, but totally worth it for the look on Steph's face when Y/n emphasised the word 'husband' while smiling lovingly up at Lockwood.

"...Husband?" she asked, eyes flicking back and forth between the two of them. Lockwood was still rigid as a pole, although he had brought his arms around Y/n's waist after she pinched him in the side. He leaned in to whisper in her ear.

"I second that. Husband?"

"Oh, did I not tell you?" Lockwood hadn't moved his head away from her ear, instead nuzzling further into her neck, and it was becoming difficult to think straight. "We got married!" She flashed the ring at Steph, delighting in both the pure, unfiltered shock on her face and also the way in which Lockwood had moved his hands to hold her body closer to his.

"Well- I- okay then. But one question, for Lockwood?" He pulled his head up, dopey smile on his face as he nodded for Steph to continue.

"Why would you ever marry someone like her? I mean, you know that she's adopted, right?"

Y/n could practically feel George bristle behind her and get ready to punch Steph's lights out, but Lockwood remained calm, his expression sharpening and spine straightening as he took Steph in.

"I don't see how her not being biologically related to her parents affects how much I love her, do you?"

"It's just that-"

"I married Y/n because of who she is, not because of her family, although having George around is wonderful," Lockwood cast a smile at Y/n's brother before continuing. "She's the most incredible person I have ever met, and she far outshines you in every way and I think you know that, and you're jealous of it. I know that I'm jealous of how incredible you are, darling," he turned to Y/n, using the hand that wasn't around her waist to push back a lock of hair, his fingers lingering for a few moments more than was necessary as he smiled softly at her. "And quite honestly, Steph, if you can't agree with me on that then I don't think we have anything else to talk about, do we?" It was a rhetorical question, Lockwood already turning away and linking his hand with Y/n's as he dragged her to the side of the room, but they could hear Steph spluttering being them as they went.

"So," he started once they were far enough away. "What was that all about?" He hadn't let go of her hand, and his thumb had started softly tracing patterns over their intertwined fingers.

"What?"

"I don't remember marrying you, Y/n, unless it happened when I was really drunk or sleep deprived," he joked, although something in his eyes was searching for any hint of truth to the words in her face.

"I just- she's- I-" Y/n took a breath, trying to figure out how to explain the whole thing to him without him getting mad or laughing at her. "Steph's always hated me, and Lucy knows that-"

"What's Lucy got to do with this?" She huffed at him, small frown appearing on her face.

"If you let me finish then you'd know!"

"Alright! Alright!"

"Yeah, so Lucy knows that Steph hates me, and I hate her, and you two were talking for so long and she was all over you and I couldn't keep watching, so Lucy gave me this ring that I think is actually one of mine that she stole," she frowned down at her hand, going off on a tangent, "and she told me I should go over and say we were married to get rid of Steph."

Lockwood didn't say anything, instead just staring at her with a blank expression, and Y/n looked down at their still linked hands.

"I'm sorry," she whispered after a while.

"Don't be," he whispered back, using his free hand to lift her chin up. "I'm just a little annoyed, to be honest."

"Oh, god, I really am sorry, Lockwood! I didn't mean to make you upset or anything, I just got pissed off with her and-"

"No! No no no, stop right there. I'm not annoyed at you, darling, never you. I'm annoyed at myself for not coming up with that plan earlier. She was really starting to piss me off too, and I kept hoping that George would intervene or something and he never did- I'm going to have to talk to him about that," Lockwood frowned, looking in her brother's direction. "I'm also... I'm annoyed that this is how I tell you that-"

"Here you are! I was wondering where you two had run off to!" George appeared, bright smile on his face, and Y/n couldn't stop the glare that came onto her face. Tell me what? If only George had turned up a few moments later, then she would know what Lockwood wanted to say. "We should probably find the others, party's wrapping up now and I'm craving my bed." Lockwood heaved a sigh, then nodded in agreement, following after George as her brother tried to find Lucy and Holly, casting a slightly pained glance over his shoulder at Y/n.

Tell me what?!

~~~

The journey back to Portland Row was uneventful since everybody was exhausted, although Lucy was practically buzzing in her seat because Maya had passed on her number, telling Lucy to call her.

"This means something, right?" she exclaimed as they piled through the front door. "I have a real chance with her, don't I?"

"Yes, Lucy. Yes you do," Y/n yawned, leaning slightly on Lockwood to take her heels off. Why she'd ever let Holly convince her that heels were needed when she could have worn her trainers instead she wasn't sure, but she breathed a sigh of relief when the first one was finally off. She wobbled for a moment trying to undo the strap on the other one when Lockwood steadied her, crouched down, and took her leg into his hands as his fingers worked the clasp. A few moments later he was done, gently pulling the shoe off of her foot, and although he had only had his hands on her for what couldn't have been more than ten seconds Y/n could feel her cheeks heating up and her heart beating faster.

"Lockwood, what the fuck are you doing?"

"George, they're having a moment, alright? Leave 'em alone," Lucy hissed, taking him by the arm and dragging him upstairs, hushed apologies whispered as he tripped and face planted due to her harsh tugging.

"Good night you two, I'll see you in the morning," Holly said, following after her coworkers and leaving Y/n and Lockwood in the entrance hall alone for the second time in the last twenty-four hours.

"You're not going to bed, are you?" Y/n asked, a knowing smile on her face as she looked at Lockwood. He shrugged, heading towards the library instead of up the stairs.

"I'm not feeling too tired, to be honest," he replied.

"You never feel tired, I swear. Do you ever sleep?" She mock gasped. "Are you a vampire? Is that why you're so pale and are always awake at night?" She broke off into a fit of giggles, exhaustion making her mildly hyper.

"No, I am not a vampire," Lockwood laughed, shaking his head at her antics. "Go on, you should head up. Unlike me you can't run on tea and tea alone."

Y/n nodded, heading for the stairs, but stopped a little way up as she remembered something. "Lockwood?"

He paused in the doorway of the library, turning to face her with one hand still on the handle. "Yeah?"

"What were you gonna tell me before George came over? At the ball? You said you were annoyed that it took you so long to tell me something." A frown had worked its way onto her face, but Lockwood's was filled with a smile.

"Go to bed, darling. I'll see you in the morning." He disappeared into the library, leaving Y/n standing on the staircase staring at the place he had just been.

~~~

The next morning Y/n woke to an empty room, Lucy and Holly nowhere to be seen in the attic. She laid in bed for a little while, soaking in not having to get up and go to work, but eventually the need for food grew too strong and she was forced to start her day.

The kitchen was empty of George, too, and a short investigation led to finding a scribbled note on the thinking cloth that Holly, Lucy and George had gone for a grocery run at the supermarket. That left Lockwood, who was either hiding away in the house or had gone off on his own somewhere. Y/n's question was answered a few minutes later as she was pouring hot water into a mug for tea, and she nearly spilled the liquid all over her hands when Lockwood appeared and asked her to pour a cup for him.

"Shitting hell, Lockwood! Where did you come from?"

"Oh, I was downstairs. Doing a spot of rapier practice. Thanks," he gratefully accepted the mug that Y/n handed him, smiling brightly at her over the edge. She tried desperately to ignore the flush to his skin (and the mental images of Lockwood training), and turned back to her own mug of tea, squeezing her eyes shut for a moment in the hopes that she could go back to thinking normal thoughts. "You alright?"

"Hm? Oh, yes! Yeah, yep. I'm fine," she exclaimed, wincing at how the words came out. Lockwood stifled a snort (unsuccessfully) and took a sip of tea, yelping a moment later.

"Shit, that's hot!"

"Why wouldn't it be? You idiot!" Y/n was laughing fully, not bothering to hide how amusing she found the whole situation, and Lockwood was glaring at her from where he stood fanning his mouth. "You literally watched me pour boiling water into that like, a minute ago!"

"I know! I know! Stop laughing, will you? I feel bullied. I'm being bullied."

He took a glass out of the cupboard, filling it up with cold water from the tap and taking a long drink. They stood in silence for a while after that, Lockwood taking tentative sips of his tea while Y/n took large gulps, trying not to laugh at him when the memory of his reaction came back. They were very rarely alone in the house, with at least one other person somewhere and about to walk in, and Y/n decided that Lockwood had nowhere to go so she might as well corner him.

"Why didn't you answer me last night? When I asked what you wanted to tell me?"

He froze momentarily, the tips of his ears going pink as he hid behind his mug and scratched at the back of his head. "It doesn't matter, Y/n/n. Really."

"Well it matters to me, Lockwood. If nothing else the not knowing is killing me. Also I had just dragged you into a marriage with me, and while I do feel bad about that I also feel that you owe me this as well."

"You didn't drag me into a marriage, you surprised me with one," he joked, clearly stalling.

"Okay, fine, but seriously what were you going to say before my idiot brother came over?"

"I was just... going to say that..." he mumbled the last part, all the words smushed together and said quietly so that Y/n had trouble picking them out.

"Sorry, I genuinely could not hear you for the life of me Lockwood," her expression was apologetic, and he sighed through his nose as he looked up at the ceiling, closing his eyes before making a decision.

"I was going to say that I was annoyed that it took me so long to tell you that I love you."

"I love you too, Lockwood," Y/n frowned, wondering why he looked so beaten up about it. The five of them often told each other that they loved them, the words thrown around casually all the time.

"No, I mean- I love you, Y/n. To the point that George punches me in the arm sometimes because I won't shut up about how amazing or funny or kind or smart you are."

"Oh."

"Yeah." He hesitated for a few seconds, then spoke up again. "If you don't... I don't want this to ruin our friendship if you don't feel the same way though."

"Why wouldn't I feel the same?"

"You haven't said anything and it's- it's freaking me out!"

"Well I do feel the same! I'm just also freaking out because you love me too!"

"We're a mess, aren't we?" Lockwood laughed.

"Absolutely."

"So- So if I asked you on a date... would you-"

"Yes. Sorry, I- you can finish."

"I mean I think I got my answer, to be honest." He smiled softly at Y/n, placing his mug down and slowly coming over to where she leaned against the countertop. She reached her arms up and draped them around his neck, bringing him into a hug, and his own hands found their way to her waist. His eyes flicked between hers and her lips, and then he was whispering "Can I kiss you?" and leaning in when she nodded, pressing his lips to hers gently. They didn't rush, taking their time as they kissed softly, Lockwood's fingers brushing the skin just under her jumper and Y/n's fingers tangling in his hair, and when they pulled away for air they stayed close, foreheads bumping against each other.

~~~

When Holly, Lucy and George got home just over an hour later, arms laden with shopping bags, the silence was deafening.

"I really hope they haven't killed each other," Holly frowned, peering up the stairs as if doing so would help her find their missing friends.

"Maybe they've finally got together and are on a date," Lucy exclaimed, poking George in the side when he wouldn't move out of the way of the cupboard that she needed to open.

"Ow! I'm torn about that. On the one hand if they do get together I'll be glad they've stopped pining, on the other they'll be insufferable. You know what Lockwood's like, all lovey-dovey and attention giving, and Y/n will soak it up like a dry sponge."

"Oh, I found them!" Holly poked her head through the kitchen door, neither Lucy or George having noticed her leave. She lead them to the library, motioning for quiet as she pushed the door open. "They must have been reading and got tired. They totally confessed, just look at them!"

Lockwood and Y/n were curled up (somehow) on the larger of the two armchairs in the library, limbs entangled and hanging off of the arms and a book dangled in Lockwood's free hand, the other wrapped around Y/n keeping her safely tucked into his chest as the two of them slept. George looked like he was trying to be upset, but Lucy could see the smile he was holding off at the sight in front of them.

"We should leave them to it, I s'pose," Lucy murmured, pulling the door shut softly with a small click. "You alright, George?"

"Just thinking about how horrible things will be with them finally together," he replied, rolling his eyes and heading back into the kitchen to start dinner.

"He's not really upset, is he," Holly said, more stating it as a fact than posing a question.

"Nope. He's gonna be singing while he cooks, I can guarantee it."

Sure enough, barely five seconds after Lucy said the words, singing could be heard from behind the closed kitchen door alongside the clash of pots and pans.

#lockwood and co #anthony lockwood #anthony lockwood x reader #anthony lockwood x you #lockwood x reader #lockwood & co #idiots in love

[ladykailitha]

Can Anybody See Me? Part 6

Yes, my darlings, you read that right. I promised I would get back on this one once I was done with In the Midnight Hour and admittedly I did get side tracked for a week doing the Valentine’s fics, once that was out of my head I have written almost 7000 new words for this story. I went from half way through this one to a few hundred words into part 10. So yeah. Expect to see this one updated fairly regularly. I haven’t given up on Star Child I’m just trying to decide which direction the next part should take.

Also on the tagging, I HAVE REACHED MY HARD AND FAST LIMIT OF 50. I love the response this story has gotten. I do. I love you all. I love every reply, like, and reblog. It brings me so much joy, you don’t even know. But tagging is hard for my ADHD brain. I have gone up from 20 to 30 and finally 50 as my system improved but I think if I do any more than that I’ll go insane. So any future tagging requests will be ignored. Sorry.

The best way to keep update on these stories is follow me and set me on notifications. I rarely do a lot of reblogging these days (too busy churning out stories like whoa), so more often then not a post will be a story. I try to post at least once a day (some times twice if I’m trying to rush through the posting a bit like I did to make sure the Valentine fic got out in time without making people wait on Vamp!Eddie), just never at set time.

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5

*

They all met up by the fountain in the middle of the mall. Eddie was bouncing on the balls of his feet nervously.

“You sure he’s going to come?” Jeff asked.

Eddie tried to peer around the crowd. “That’s what he said.”

And then they spotted him. He was in a nice red sweater with a white polo underneath and fitted jeans. Eddie ran his tongue over his teeth in appreciation.

But then he noticed the gaggle of children following behind him. And what a gaggle it was. It consisted of Red, his new best friend, another girl with a thousand yard stare. The tall black kid must be the Sinclair boy. The remaining three were also very interesting. There was the short curly haired kid with no front teeth. The last two were both dark haired, but the one on the right was darker. Hair and attitude, judging from the rounded shoulders and down cast expression of the other boy.

Steve sighed. “I’m sorry I’m late. Dustin called asking me to take him to the arcade, only when I told him that I was going to the mall, suddenly they all wanted to come.”

“And then I got roped into this because they wouldn’t all fit in Steve’s car,” a voice called from the back.

The person jostled his way to stand next to Steve. Jonathan clasped Steve on the shoulder. “I gave Will money to call me when you’re done so I can pick up him and El. Make sure he doesn’t spend it on the gumball machine.”

Steve nodded. “Thanks, man. I’ll see you later.”

Jonathan nodded and waved goodbye to everyone, but especially the timid one. Which Eddie figured must have been Will.

“Your children, I presume?” Eddie asked, eyeing the thirteen year-olds warily.

“Yup,” Steve said with a put on expression. He pointed to each of them in turn. “That’s Dustin, Mike, Will, Lucas, Max and El.”

Eddie did the same to his friends. “I’m Eddie, these are Jeff, Gareth, and Brian. Or collectively, the band Corroded Coffin.”

“That’s bitchin’,” El said with a smile.

Steve ducked his head as he tried not to laugh.

“Hell yeah, it is,” Jeff said, taking an immediate liking to her.

“All right,” Steve said, turning to the kids. “You are to stay in pairs at the very least. And you know who your partners are. Will and Mike, Max and El, and Dustin and Lucas. Regardless of what you are doing, you will meet up here at 2pm. No later. I have plans with these guys at three and I’m not going to be late because of you guys a second time.”

There were a lot of eye rolls but everyone agreed to meet at the fountain at two.

Once they had left, Steve turned back to see that all four of them were struggling not to laugh.

“No, no,” he said, shaking his head. “Go ahead and laugh. Because fuck knows it’s hilarious.”

So they promptly burst out laughing.

“Oh my god,” Gareth wheezed. “It was like watching ducklings.”

“Yes!” Eddie agreed. “My dude, I hope you are charging their parents for this.”

Steve shrugged. “It’s not like I need the money.”

They all just shook their heads.

Eddie clapped his hands together and rubbed. “Right, Stevie, this is how it is going to go. You’ll have one hour to get the most outrageous gift. Ten dollar maximum.”

“Each person or total?”

“However you want to swing it,” Jeff said. “But forty bucks is a lot.”

Steve nodded. “I guess my one concern is that I don’t know you guys very well and I don’t want to offend anyone.”

“So take Eddie with you,” Gareth said. “And then for the last ten minutes split off to buy something for each other.”

Eddie and Steve looked at each other.

“Yeah,” Eddie said, “that could work. What do you say, Stevie?”

Steve shrugged. “Yeah, sure.”

Every one but Steve set a timer on their watches. Steve’s wasn’t a digital one, so he couldn’t.

“On your marks, get set,” Brian said. “And go!”

Eddie grabbed Steve’s hand and suddenly he was being dragged along.

Steve giggled. “Where to first?”

“We are going to Suncoast,” Eddie said with a grin. “It’s the best place for all your metalhead needs.

“Lead on, MacDuff!” Steve said with a grin.

Eddie finally let go of Steve’s hand as they neared the store.

“I found out in drama that a lot of the sayings and words we use today are because Shakespeare couldn’t find the right word and made them up,” Steve said nervously.

“Wait, really?” Eddie asked, coming to a complete stop. “Like what?”

“Well, ‘Lead on, MacDuff’,” Steve said, “just for starters. It’s from Macbeth. Green eyed-monster. Just loads that I can’t think of off the top of my head.”

Eddie stood there for a moment blinking. “If they had taught that in English, I think would pay more attention.”

Steve laughed. “I know, right?”

They entered the store and everything had a dark red neon glow to it and it was clearly separated between the movie part of the store and the music part of the store. It was almost jarring. The movie part was dark like the inside of a movie theater. The music part was well lit and almost sterile white in its design.

They wandered around the music section. And they stopped by the minuscule instrument section. It had mostly accessories but also a couple of guitars. Mostly acoustic but one or two electric as well.

“This is pitiful,” Steve said staring at the selection.

“Beggars can’t be choosers, dude,” Eddie said. “There is an actual record shop with a full on instrument section. But that is not the point of this.”

Steve stopped by the drumsticks. “Gareth is the drummer right?”

Eddie nodded.

“I’ve been to a couple of concerts and I saw that the drummer had a bucket of sticks...”

“Are you asking if you should get Gareth more drumsticks?” Eddie asked. Steve nodded. “Go for it.”

“What’s his favorite color?” Steve asked.

Eddie frowned, but Steve pointed to the drumsticks on display and the had all sorts of different colors and patterns.

“The black ones with the flames on them, for sure.”

Steve grinned and picked them up. They got a couple more things here, but it was time to move on.

They hit up the stationary store, the weird little shop that sold incense and little Egyptian figurines, and Hammond’s Toys.

As they were passing Shapiro’s on their way to Hammond’s Toys, Steve found his gift for Eddie. It took every bit of will power not to just rush back and grab it, afraid it would be gone by the time he got back.

Eddie came up to him. “All right, Stevie. This is where we have to part ways. We only have ten minutes left and we need to get each other something, too.”

Steve smiled and nodded. He doubled back to Shapiro’s and quickly bought it. He raced to the fountain to be there first. He sat down on the edge of the fountain, his packages tucked under his legs so people wouldn’t steal them.

It wasn’t long before the others started showing up. Brian showed up first.

“How the hell did you beat me, man?” he asked as he sat down next to Steve. “I’m always the first to arrive.”

Steve blushed. “I got lucky.” He was practically vibrating with anticipation.

Brian eyed him suspiciously. “And you got a present for everyone?”

Steve pressed his lips together and nodded.

Gareth was the next to show up. “Now that’s just embarrassing. Being beaten by Brian is one thing, he’s a shopping guru. But Steve Harrington, too? However will I get over the shame?”

Jeff laughed from behind him, having just shown up himself. “You’ll live.”

Eddie was the last to arrive showing up exactly at the hour.

“Ooh,” Jeff teased. “By the skin of your teeth. Is Steve-o here really that hard to buy for?”

Eddie grabbed his knees, panting for breath. “No,” he huffed. “Just on the other side of the fucking mall.”

“So,” Gareth said turning to Steve. “Now for the next phase of our little get together. We meet up at my house at three and exchange gifts and play a one-shot.”

Steve wrinkled his nose. “Is that like a D&D thing?”

“Yup!” Brian said gleefully rubbing his hands together. “It a story meant for a single day instead of multiple days like a campaign.”

“Yeah,” Jeff said. “We roll up quick character that are meant to die and just go to town no real rules. Just fun.”

Steve nodded. “Sure I could do that.” He looked at his watch. “I’ve got twenty minutes before the kids show up.”

The other three backed away slowly.

“Yeah,” Jeff said, “we aren’t going to wait for that mob.”

“Oh, hell no,” Brian agreed. “I’m sure they’re great kids and all but I have three younger siblings, if I wanted chaos, I’d hang out with them.”

“Middle schoolers, man,” Gareth said, “are the plague of the earth. See you at three.”

Steve laughed. “Agreed on all accounts. I see you at Gareth’s. I’ll get the address from Eddie.”

The three boys walked off, shoving and pushing each other, laughing as they made their way to the exit.

“So what about you?” Steve asked. “You going to run before the hoard gets here?”

Eddie laughed. “I should. Leave you to the wolves.” He grinned. “But nah. I want to properly meet the kids that Steve the pied piper of Hawkins has taken under his wing.”

Steve blushed. “I wouldn’t call myself that. They barely listen to me.”

Eddie’s face softened. “I’m sure that’s not true. I bet the little sponges are just soaking up everything you tell them.”

Steve huffed out a laugh. “That would explain the language problem.”

Eddie tilted his head to side. “What language problem?”

“They swear like sailors.”

Eddie blinked a couple of time before he burst out laughing. “Having trouble not swearing around kids, Stevie?”

“You would be swearing too if you had to deal with them all the time,” he said with a shake of his head.

“So why do you do it?” Eddie asked.

Steve huffed out a sigh and kicked the side of the fountain with the heel of his foot. “Most of them don’t have great home lives. Except the Sinclairs, of course. Especially when it comes to caring adult men. I know what that’s like, so I try to be that for them.”

“Huh.”

Eddie didn’t have much time to comment on that because the first of the terrors had arrived.

The two dark-haired boys that seemed joined at the hip.

“Hey, Mike,” Steve greeted, “hey, Will. Did you already call Jonathan to come get you?”

Will nodded.

“Good,” Steve said. “Eddie here DMs for his friends.”

Both heads turned to him in shock.

“There is no way,” Mike said. “Steve would never be friends with someone who likes D&D.”

“Hey!” Steve protested. “I’m friends with you assholes!”

Mike rolled his eyes. “Fine. Steve wouldn’t be friends with people his own age that play D&D.”

“Mike...” Will protested, speaking up for the first time. “What’s your favorite class?”

“Bard. It’s kinda self-insert type of thing,” Eddie said. “I play guitar, so I get the class. Um...second favorite would druid. I have a twelfth level druid named Kilmar Goatfiend in a campaign my club is doing right now.”

“You have a D&D club?” Dustin asked coming up from behind Will and Mike. “No way!”

“Yep!” Eddie said with pop of his lips. “The Hellfire club. Lenny Fitzpatrick is president this year. Next year, it’ll probably be Janice Montgomery.”

“You have a girl in your club?” Lucas asked, think of his sister Erika.

“Girls don’t play D&D,” Mike growled.

Steve hit him on the back of the head. “Oi! Your sister played. She’s the one that taught you. Show her some respect.”

Eddie’s eyes went wide. “Nancy Wheeler plays D&D.”

“Did,” Will clarified. “She’s the one that gave me my wizard robes to DM in.”

“You dress up?” Eddie asked. “That’s so cool.”

Will blushed.

Just then girls arrived both of them eating ice cream cones.

Dustin spotted them and gasped. “You got ice cream cones?” He turned to Steve. “Why didn’t we get ice cream cones?”

Steve stood up and put his hands on his hips. “Because they saved their money and bought themselves ice cream cones?”

Max stuck out her tongue at him and El giggled.

“You better finish those up before you get into my car,” Steve said wagging his finger at them.

“Hey, I could take Max home,” Eddie said with a shrug. “I’m heading that way anyway.”

Steve looked at Max. “It’s up to you. You can go home with him or I could drop you off at Hopper’s and you and El can continue to hang out.”

Max thought about it for a minute. “I’ll think I’ll go home with Eddie and hang out with El tomorrow.” She turned to El. “Is that okay?”

El nodded. “I wanted to spend time with Will and Mike today.”

Mike blushed.

“What about you two?” Steve asked. “Where am I dropping you two off?”

Dustin and Lucas just shared a glance and shrugged.

“Well then you two can sort it out in the car,” Steve said and then turned to Eddie. “So what’s Gareth’s address?”

Eddie pulled out a pocket notebook and pen and scribbled out the address. “There you go, see you later, man.”

Steve took the piece of paper with a smile. “Do you always carry a notebook and pen with you wherever you go?”

Eddie grinned. “Sure, sometimes the muse will strike while I’m out and about so I need something to jot down lyrics or chord progressions as needed.”

“That’s sooo cool,” Mike said, a little star struck.

Will and Lucas looked over at each other and rolled their eyes. Eddie fought back a grin.

They split off, with Will, Mike and El, staying at the fountain to wait for Jonathan.

Part 7  Part 8 Part 9 Part 10 Part 11 Part 12 Part 13 Part 14  Part 15  Part 16  Part 17 Part 18  Part 19 Part 20  Part 21

@shrimply-a-menace @strangersteddierthings @throwbackthrowaway @novelnovella @cursedfoxteeth @babyblender @lifeisnotsobadonceyoustopcaring @swimmingbirdrunningrock @steve-the-hairrington @winterbuckwild @spectrum-spectre @matchingbatbites @garden-of-gay @anaibis @thing-a-ling @fandemonium-takes-its-toll @artiststarme @sundead @nelotegreitic @gregre369 @butterflysandpeppermint @thedragonsaunt @kodaik97 @messrs-weasley @scarletzgo @deadlydodos @renaissan-vvitch @evix-syne666 @emly03 @justforthedead89 @ashwinmeird @huniibee @phantypurple @stevesbipanic @shucks-yuckyuck @awkwardgravity1 @bookbinderbitch @reportinglivefromsoda @chasinggeese @be-the-spark-bitch @jinxjinn @kohlraedirectioner @cr0w-culture @xjessicafaithx @whimsicalwitchm @jaywhohasthegay @dangdirtydemons @lovelyscot @howincrediblysapphicofyou @the-redthread

#My writing #stranger things #steddie #canon divergence #the boy with the bat #ladykailtiha writes

[lifessoshortandsoami]

RUN BTS! 2017 - EP.31

Outfit:

(Her hair is styled in a loose french braid)

"Who's going against Aera?" Suga asks the 'Kim SeokJin' team.

"Who has won in our team till now?" Jin asks, directing the question toward his team.

"Hobi hyung," Jimin answers.

"Me!" Jhope also replies, putting his hand on his chest to emphasize his answer.

"Then it's decided, Jhope is going from our team." Jin declares.

"Okay then, Luna vs Jhope," Namjoon says, receiving a side eye from Suga for taking his job.

Luna and Jhope take their spot on the pillows and watch intently as Suga keeps the metal box on the chair and stands ready.

He moves the shutter quickly giving them less than a millisecond to see the item kept inside the metal box.

"Ah! You're so fast!" Jungkook complains diverting his gaze to Luna after hearing her voice.

"Glasses!" Luna says quickly while grabbing the pillow from under her butt and holding it above her head.

"Pen?" She guesses.

"Wrong,"

"Kim SeokJin!" Jhope does the same action as Luna. "Pencil?"

"Wrong, let's go again," Suga says.

"I can't even blink, he's too fast," Luna says in a slightly amazed voice.

"I couldn't even see anything because I blinked before. I just guessed pencil because it's similar to what you said." Jhope admits while laughing at the disbelieving look on Luna's face.

"Last time- when you were against Tae, you only won because he didn't know the name of the object." Jimin points out while giggling.

"We shouldn't have sent him," Jin sighs while chuckling.

Suga does the same action again which somehow seems quicker than before.

"Glasses!" Luna instantly puts the pillow over her head again.

"Chalk!" This time her voice sounds sure.

"Correct!" Suga declares making the girl instantly jump up and open her arms for the oncoming guys who hugged her instantly.

"It's okay," Jin pats the shoulder of the guy who doesn't seem fazed by his loss at all.

"Are you trying to console me or yourself?"

-----☘︎-----

(Her bed is between Jungkook and Suga.)

"Ah, I'd fall." The first thing Luna says after sitting on her inflated bed.

"Oh yeah, this is a serious problem. Especially since we're sleeping at such a height." Suga says sarcastically making the girl pout.

"Everyone, Luna either needs to sleep on a low height bed or with someone who can hold her because she falls off bed while sleeping." RM informs the audience.

Jungkook gets up from his bed and slides it so that it's attached with hers, making her squeal as her bed shakes from the impact.

"Don't worry, I won't let you fall," Jungkook says while laying down on his bed and pulling the blanket above him.

"That's so sweet," Luna gushes completely ignoring the side eyes given by the rest of the members.

As everyone settles down on their beds, "Are you ready?" Suga asks the members. "Jungkook is already asleep."

"Are you sleeping already, Jungkook?" RM asks in a disbelieving tone, "Jungkook, listen to the music."

"He fell asleep."

Luna, laying beside Jungkook, pokes his cheeks continuously to wake him up but the boy holds her hand to prevent her from doing so.

"Music, please," SUGA asks the staff.

The tomato song starts playing, Luna stifles her laughter watching Jungkook's reaction to the song. Watching Jungkook being so focus on the song the girl also listens to the song attentively.

"I forgot already," RM.

"Be quiet," SUGA orders.

After a few mumbles, everyone becomes quiet.

"You're humming, Jungkook. I can deduct one point." SUGA tells Jungkook causing him to grin and lay his head back down.

"You're so strict, Oppa." Luna turns towards SUGA.

"You're still not sleeping, I can deduct a point." Hearing that, Luna turns back towards Jungkook and closes her eyes before pulling the sleeping mask on her eyes and the blanket over her body.

15 minutes later...

The camera pans to everyone, showing every member sleeping one by one.

At some point, Jungkook turns his body to face Luna, bringing himself to the edge of his bed and half laying on Luna's bed, causing both the beds to lean on one side which makes them both fall out of their beds.

This doesn't faze them though. They both wriggle around for a bit but then become still, with Jungkook's hand on Luna's waist and her head tucked close to his chest.

The noise wakes Suga up, he looks around and his eyes fall on the empty bed, he cranes his neck a little to see both the maknaes sleeping on the ground. He smiles looking at them, laughing silently that they both fell off. He goes back to sleep after a few seconds.

30 minutes later...

Suga starts waking the members up with a siren. After taking a round he goes closer to both the maknaes, bringing the siren closer to their ears to wake them up but it doesn't affect them and they continue sleeping.

After a short while they both wriggle around. Luna tightens her hold on Jungkook's waist, frowning and getting annoyed by the sound of the siren. Jungkook opens one of his eyes and looks down at Luna still holding his waist, he noticed her frowning because of the noise so he brings his hand closer to her ear blocking the noise.

"That won't work, you both have to get up." Saying that SUGA walks away.

Jungkook sits up followed by Luna, leaning against him with a pout etched on her lips.

"Are you all awake?" Suga asks after most of the members form a line to play the game, "Did you sleep well? Please sit down."

As V tests the mic, RM walks towards the girl and the boy who still look half asleep.

"Luna and Jungkook are almost..." jhope says with a smile.

The camera pans toward both of them. Jungkook sitting behind Luna with her between his legs, her back leaning on his front. Both their eyes are closed, and the girl looks like she is sleeping with Jungkook leaning his cheek on her head.

The sight looked so cute that the other members were holding themselves back from making an embarrassing sound.

"Ah, cute!" RM finally gives in, smiling his dimples smile while walking back to join the line.

The game goes on with the two maknaes sitting together, half asleep.

Just before RM goes back in line after singing the wrong lyrics, Jungkook pulls the blanket over Luna and himself with the girl still sitting while leaning on his front. SUGA notices the movement.

"They're sleeping over there. They're still asleep." Suga points out with a chuckle.

After a while, the others continue the game, "Please wake Luna and Jungkook up," Suga asks the others.

"Jungkook!" RM shouts while walking towards the maknaes. He pulls the blanket away from their bodies, causing Jungkook to make a face of protest and Luna to turn around and hide her face by hugging Jungkook.

"Are you awake Jungkook?" He answers Suga by giving a small nod.

"Luna, wake up!"

Luna continues hugging Jungkook, not in the mood to let go anytime soon.

"She becomes clingy when she wakes up from sleep." jhope informs the audience.

After a short while, Jungkook whispers something to Luna, causing her to unwillingly let go of him. Jungkook stands up and starts making his way somewhere.

Noticing Jungkook going somewhere, "Jungkook, that's not the way to the restroom." Suga tells him.

The boy stops in his tracks and looks down, confused. He walks back to Luna and sits behind her, draping his arms around the girl who still looked like she could fall asleep any minute.

Jungkook stands up and tries pulling Luna with him but the girl snatches her hand away in protest. He chuckles a little at her grumpy nature, that's just how she is when she wakes up from sleep, clingy and sometimes grumpy.

After great efforts the girl finally stands up and gets in line, still clinging to Jungkook who slowly runs his hands through her hair. When the boy's turn to sing comes, the girl does not let go of his shirt, clenching it in her hand and rubbing her eye with the other.

Just as Jungkook picks up the mic, "it's your first try, isn't it?" Suga asks with a chuckle, everyone laughs causing Jungkook to smile as well. "Sit down, please"

Jungkook sits down but Luna doesn't let go of his shirt, holding his shoulder.

"Ah, you're really clingy today, Aera." jhope speaks.

"It's because we woke her when she didn't want to, she becomes more clingy when she has to wake up forcefully," Suga informs.

After Jungkook's turn finishes by singing the wrong lyrics, "Isn't it your first try today?" Suga asks him.

"Yes, it is,"

"Do you both remember sleeping even though you fell off earlier?" This time he directs the question to both the maknaes.

They both just look at him with confusion.

"You both suddenly rolled off and then Jungkook sighed, "ah" and went back to sleep."

Jungkook gets up to walk away but Luna doesn't let him, she sits down to sing on her turn but still keeps clenching Jungkook's shirt, not letting him go back in line. Everyone starts laughing watching Jungkook look at her with a frown but standing still nonetheless. After Luna's turn ends, they both waddle together to the back of the line. Luna turns around and clings to his front, Jungkook looks like he doesn't mind and his hand starts stroking her head.

The game continues and at last, team glasses wins.

-×-×-×-×-×-×-×-×-×-×-×-×-×-×-×-×-×-×-×-×-×-

#bts #bts jungkook #jungkook #bts 8th member #bts fanfic #bangtan sonyeondan #bangtan #kim seokjin #jungkook x oc #jungkook x reader #jungkook fanfic #run bts #bts run #jung hoseok #kim namjoon #min yoongi #suga #park jimin #kim taheyung #jeon jeongguk #jeon jungkook #rm bts #bts rm #jiminie #tae tae #kim taehyung #masterlist #bts v #v bts #v bts taehyung

[fanfic-lover-girl]

Taking Gryffindors and Their Stans to Court

So I thought it would be fun to compile a list of crimes committed by various Gryffindor characters, especially the ones I have seen stans blatantly glorify or condone. This is also fueled by the narrative ignoring how horrific these actions are as well. For each, I will provide the definition of the crime as listed in British law (hyperlink provided in the crime category), cite the guilty parties and cite some of the flimsy defences provided by stans. The characters include, but are not limited to:

Hermione Granger

Weasley twins

Marauders (especially James Potter and Sirius Black)

Rubeus Hagrid

Professor McGonagall

This post will be a work in progress so I will add as I go along. Please feel free to add as well. Also, I am not a legal expert so do not expect these categories to be 100% accurate despite my doing my best. Here I go!

Crime: Sexual Harassment

The Equality Act 2010 says someone sexually harasses another person if they:

Engage in unwanted conduct of a sexual nature and

The conduct has the purpose or effect of either violating the other person’s dignity or creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment for them.

Guilty parties: James Potter and other marauders as accomplices (Snape's Worst Memory, Book 5)

But too late; Snape had directed his wand straight at James; there was a flash of light and a gash appeared on the side of James’s face, spattering his robes with blood. James whirled about: a second flash of light later, Snape was hanging upside-down in the air, his robes falling over his head to reveal skinny, pallid legs and a pair of greying underpants. Many people in the small crowd cheered; Sirius, James and Wormtail roared with laughter.

There was another flash of light, and Snape was once again hanging upside-down in the air. ‘Who wants to see me take off Snivelly’s pants?’

Said by Marauder/James stans:

Snape was a future DE so he deserved it; ie. future criminals/bullies deserve to be bullied before they commit said crime. Someone had to bully Snape.

What James did was not sexual harassment

Snape is a guy so he can't be sexually harassed

I hate Snape so I love seeing him hurt and in pain (perfectly valid reason, we can hate who we want. still listing it though)

Boys will be boys. The marauders are just teenage boys joking around.

In that period, what James did was not illegal

Snape called Lily a mudblood so he deserved it

Snape attacked James so he deserved it

Crime: Kidnapping

The legal definition of kidnapping is to take someone unwillingly and then keep them illegally imprisoned without their valid consent. The latter is normally done with motive, such as financial gain in the form of a ransom.

Guilty parties: Hermione Granger (The Beginning, Book 4)

‘Oh, not electronic bugs,’ said Hermione. ‘No, you see … Rita Skeeter’ – Hermione’s voice trembled with quiet triumph – ‘is an unregistered Animagus. She can turn –’ Hermione pulled a small sealed glass jar out of her bag. ‘– into a beetle.’

Said by Hermione stans:

Rita deserved it for being a sleazy journalist and saying mean things about her and her friends

Rita deserved it by committing a crime first as an illegal animagus. So she has no leverage against Hermione.

Crime: Child Cruelty (Or Child Endangerment/Abuse)

The offence in section 1 of the 1933 Act is committed where a person over the age of 16, who has responsibility for a child under that age, wilfully assaults, illtreats, neglects, abandons, or exposes that child in a manner likely to cause ‘unnecessary suffering or injury to health including any mental derangement’.

Guilty parties: Prof Minerva McGonagall (Snape’s Grudge, Book 3)

Professor McGonagall was so furious with him she had banned him from all future Hogsmeade visits, given him a detention and forbidden anyone to give him the password into the Tower. Poor Neville was forced to wait outside the common room every night for somebody to let him in . . .

Context: An alleged mass murderer (Sirius Black) was on the loose 🫠

Said by McGonagall stans:

She's just strict

Crime: Assault

An assault is any act (and not mere omission to act) by which a person intentionally or recklessly causes another to suffer or apprehend immediate unlawful violence.

Guilty parties:

Rubeus Hagrid (The Keeper of the Keys, Book 1)

He brought the umbrella swishing down through the air to point at Dudley — there was a flash of violet light, a sound like a firecracker, a sharp squeal and next second, Dudley was dancing on the spot with his hands clasped over his fat bottom, howling in pain. When he turned his back on them, Harry saw a curly pig’s tail poking through a hole in his trousers. ... ‘Oh, well — I was at Hogwarts meself but I — er — got expelled, ter tell yeh the truth. In me third year. They snapped me wand in half an’ everything.’

Fred & George Weasley (Back to the Burrow, Book 4 & Snape's Worst Memory, Grawp;Book 5) - two for the price of one lol

Dudley was no longer standing behind his parents. He was kneeling beside the coffee table, and he was gagging and spluttering on a foot-long, purple, slimy thing that was protruding from his mouth. One bewildered second later, Harry realised that the foot-long thing was Dudley’s tongue — and that a brightly coloured toffee-wrapper lay on the floor before him.

‘Yeah, Montague tried to do us during break,’ said George. ‘What do you mean, “tried”?’ said Ron quickly. ‘He never managed to get all the words out,’ said Fred, ‘due to the fact that we forced him head-first into that Vanishing Cabinet on the first floor.’ ‘Not until Montague reappears, and that could take weeks, I dunno where we sent him,’ said Fred coolly. ‘Anyway … we’ve decided we don’t care about getting into trouble any more.’

To cap matters, Montague had still not recovered from his sojourn in the toilet; he remained confused and disorientated and his parents were to be observed one Tuesday morning striding up the front drive, looking extremely angry.

Hermione Granger (Felix Felicis, Book 6)

‘Oppugno!’ came a shriek from the doorway. Harry spun round to see Hermione pointing her wand at Ron, her expression wild: the little flock of birds was speeding like a hail of fat golden bullets towards Ron, who yelped and covered his face with his hands, but the birds attacked, pecking and clawing at every bit of flesh they could reach.

Said by Hagrid stans:

Like with Minerva, I don't see Hagrid stans or regular fans bringing this up. But crimes against the Dursleys are usually justified by the fandom due to their being abusive to Harry.

Said by Weasley twins stans:

The Dursleys were abusive to Harry so Dudley deserved it.

Dudley brought it on himself by eating it. The twins did not force him to eat it.

It was just a joke - harmless fun (for both crimes)

They did not know what the cabinet would do

They did not intend to almost kill Montague

Montague deserved it because HE WAS TAKING HOUSE POINTS (***INSERT RAGE!!!!***)

The twins are just mischievous. They are so funny!

Said by Hermione/Romione stans:

It was just a mistake

Hermione has anger issues. She's just a teenage girl.

Hermione was distraught. She didn't mean it.

Ron deserved it for hurting queen Hermione.

Ron doesn't care so why do you?

Romione is the best HP ship ever. All ships have rough patches.

No matter what Hermione does, I will always ship her with Ron. The other options are not good for her.

I will pause here because I can feel my blood pressure rising. I don't really have beef with anyone, I just don't like seeing these takes on my dash or these responses on my anti blog posts. I have no control over people's opinions and I doubt more than a handful of people care about mine.

Will continue next time on Taking Gryffindors and Their Stans to Court!

PS. All attempts to deflect by pointing the finger at other characters like Draco Malfoy, DEs, Severus Snape etc will be ignored. This is about JKR's darlings who apparently can do no wrong and the stans who shamelessly justify violence.

#anti gryffindor #anti gryffindor stans #anti james potter #anti marauders #anti hermione granger #anti minerva mcgonagall #anti professor mcgonagall #anti hagrid #anti rubeus hagrid #anti weasley twins #anti fred weasley #anti george weasley #uk law #harry potter books #harry potter series #harry potter and the philosopher's stone #harry potter and the goblet of fire #harry potter and the order of the phoenix #harry potter and the prisoner of azkaban #dudley dursley #severus snape #snape deserved better #slytherins deserved better #dudley deserved better #even kid bullies don't deserve to be terrorized like dudley #rita skeeter #graham montague #Taking Gryffindors and Their Stans to Court #anti romione #ron weasley deserved better

[jamisonwritestf2trash]

3. "Wait, you love me?" "I always have." With RED Demo and BLUE Soldier (because theyre canonical FRIENDS and they make me cry /pos). Bonus points if Soldier is dense as fuck

❤️Red Demo + Blu Soldier💙

————————————————————

Ough, I kept wondering if you put friends in all caps for it to be platonic or wanting me to ignore canon I'm so dumb sometimes lmao, so uh I wrote them with a budding romance because Boots n Bombs has my heart. UHHHH I figured it'd be annoying to read "RED demo" and "BLUE soldier" every time I wrote out their names so I'm just calling them Demo and Soldier, but they are Red and Blue respectively, cool? cool.

————————————————————

Demo didn't even know his feelings were blooming. Demo and Soldier simply found themselves growing closer to each other, sharing jokes, drinks, and stories to break up the nights after battles. Forming a friendship, Demo thought. But something felt different. He had close friends before, hell, he even figured him and his team were getting pretty close, but there was something more, something below it all, something Demo couldn't understand. It all started gently, unknowingly, soft touches, longer glances, and small jokes between the two of them. Demo realized what his feelings truly were during a battle. The bloodshed was heavy on both sides, neither team making enough progress to matter, everyone was on edge, tense from both the heat, and angry at the lack of progress. Even Demo found himself being rather annoyed, finding himself hiding in a shady spot, giving himself a break from it all, letting out a long and drawn-out sigh, until his eyes lit up at the sight of Soldier running past, turning to flash a smile at Demo. Demo smiled slightly to himself, finding comfort in seeing the face of his friend, until a bullet from Sniper plowed through his skull, dropping him to the ground. Sure, Soldier would respawn in a minute or two and would find himself back on the field just fine, albeit a bit angrier than before, but Demo still feels like he's been punched in the gut, he feels cold and hot, and sick and, oh, he feels his heart, hurt, hurt in a way that he's never been able to grasp until now, he finds a wall to brace himself against, as his mind finally connects the dots. He loves him. Soldier didn't think anything of the intensity or emotion in which Demo started to lock eyes with him, Demo always holding the gaze a bit longer than normal.

Soldier also didn't think anything of Demo's sudden but subtle protectiveness during battles, never connecting any dots that one might in this situation. Soldier had grown up very sheltered, very alone. He was never a boy with many friends. Even as he grew up, his friendships came from a sense of obligational brotherhood due to his military roots, but with Demo, it was different, Soldier felt understood in a way he had never been before. He just appreciates having a friend, and he doesn't bother attempting to understand the weird feeling in his chest, or the warmth in his soul when with Demo, chalking it up to it being normal and how things should be forever, and he's okay with that, he wants to feel like this forever.

Demo knew he couldn't keep his feelings in forever, he was aware of the fact that sometimes his stares lasted a second to long, or that he was less than subtle about dropping (when he could) whatever he might have been doing to give his attention to Soldier, but at the same time he also worried about the what ifs that plauged his mind. Questions about ruining a perfectly good friendship, how things would change, the awkwardness, the tension, the- it was all just too much to worry about, so weeks would pass of him sitting on his feelings, occasionally unconscious expression of affection being given from Demo, until one night he found the feelings he had been pushing down bubbling back up again. He's frustrated at his inability to hush the voices inside him, pulling him in a different direction, and he's tried to try to keep this secret. He finds himself ready to be bolder, to finally let his feelings off his chest and be free of his doubts. He's done waiting. He invites Soldier out to a bar, away from the base, the mercs on both sides, and the general atmosphere of stress surrounding the battlefield and such. Soldier agrees without question, and they both make their way there. Demo on his way, however, looses his nerve, realizing that his doubts may have a stronger hold on him than he previously believed. A part of his mind now telling him to run, to get out before he does something he might regret, he ignores it, only for the fact that he can still spend a night with his friend, even if it is eating at him a little bit. Plus, there's alcohol! Why let drinks and a perfectly fun night go to waste over some doubt that he can silence with just staying quiet? That's what he thought and believed, truly. He went into the bar telling himself that it just wasn't the right time. It was never going to be the right time, and eventually, if he held out long enough, the feelings would go away. He just needed to stay quiet about it. But maybe it was something in the drinks that night. Maybe it was the shine of the lights or the music in the bar, but Demo found himself unable to stay true to the idea of staying silent. Demo letting some compliments slip out, all earnest, all with a genuine love tied to them, that most people would pick up in an instant, but not soldier. Soldier only responded in kind, thanking Demo for the compliments and returning them with an energy of joy and friendship. Demo only sighed, taking away from this half hazard "confession" that Soldier did indeed only viewed this as a friendship, assuming that in some way, this was a kinder form of a refusal of feelings. Demo knows he should cut this here, not say anything else, and continue the night with a smile, enjoying the friendship as it was and as it would continue to be, but his mouth is speaking before his brain can thing, and he lets out his one last thought, before shutting the idea of anything more happening between them,

"I love ya, Soldier. And I truly mean that." He immediately wants to clasp a hand over his mouth, but restrains himself, his brain rationalizing that he could come back from this if he convinced the other man that it was purely platonic. Soldier only smiles at Demo in a way that always got to him, a genuinely joyous smile, as he slaps him on the back,

"I love you too, Demoman! I'm glad we've built this friendship!" Demo is happy at Soldier's acceptance of the comment being platonic in nature, but it doesn't stop it from feeling like a knife to the side. Demo decides it's time to head back to base, fearing that the pain he feels from this might show through. He stands up, heading to the bar to close out the pairs tab, leaving Soldier by himself at the table. And when he does, Soldier sits in silence for a moment, and it all hits him like a fucking truck. For some reason, everything clicks in his mind all at once. He gets it now, he understands , and he feels stupid for not getting it before. This feeling is new and powerful. He realizes the feelings that Demo has. Demo walks back to the table slightly. Panicking as he sees Soldier freaking out. Soldier grabs Demo by his shoulders and asks bluntly,

"Wait, you love me?" Demo realizes at the emphasis on love that it's finally clicked,

"I think..." He pauses slightly, "I always have."

————————————————————

I AM SO SORRY THIS TOOK ME SO LONG!! I got tired </3 (uh, I might have the sniperspy one out soon, too, btw 😨)Anyways, I hope you liked this even though I might have fucked it up. Also I hope this makes sense and I didn't miss plotholes or just make this genuinely confusing 😭 Also also sorry if the end is kinda rushed I'm half passing out, and I'm super embarrassed now about how cringey this might be 💔

#tf2 #team fortress 2 #tf2 demoman #tf2 soldier #boots n bombs #flufftober 2023

[lilflowerpot]

I’m so happy that you share my headcanon of Keith having a crush on James because honestly there was so much unresolved tension between them.

Also, can you please open your fruitful mind cave and please share some headcanons that you have of the two of them please? So i can sit here and giggle uncontrollably while staring at my phone🙃

[original]

I don't really have a whole lot in the way of concrete headcanons regarding Keith & James' past, it's more nebulous ~vibes~, but let me give it my best shot:

So first thing's first, they met upon starting middleschool at the ripe young age of 11 with that delightful hormonal cocktail and all the dysfunctional emotions it entails a-brewing.

Keith's dad had been dead some three years at this point, and his foster placements had gone up in flames enough times that he'd been recently, but rather permanently, placed in a local group home. That in mind, he's all but given up on making actual human connections because these things seem to just never quite work out for him; better that he give up trying altogether, and save himself the hurt, but then... there's James.

Keith's already snagged the desk by the window in the far back—the best spot, as far as he's concerned—and is as happy to ignore and be ignored by his classmates as they file in for sixth period physics, until- until he walks in, all loud laughs and cheeky smiles, with a gaggle of kids hanging off his every word and more effortless charisma than any pre-teen boy should ever really have the right to.

And then gunmetal eyes sort of slide across the room—like he knew he was being watched before Keith even realised he was watching—all lazy arrogance and stupid hair, and he's looking Keith up and down and raising an eyebrow and- Keith looks away, mouth drawn and shoulders tight. Kids like that like to fight kids like him, he knows, and he cannot afford to get chewed out on his first fucking day for god's sake.

But it's not just physics because why would it be, no, over the coming week Keith finds that James Griffin—and it's no surprise to learn he's from money with a name like that—shares at least half his classes, P.E. among them, which is where it truly beings.

"It" being their... rivalry, Keith supposes.

He's not even sure who started it, just as likely to be both of them as neither, but when they're put on opposing teams for a "friendly" game of football, what begins as Keith making the most of his natural dexterity—skirting around lumbering opponents, nimble as a cat—turns into Griffin hunting him and only him down across the pitch like a damn bloodhound. "That's the game kid" the coach tells him, as if, by the end of it, he hadn't been systematically cornered and corralled by the other team irrespective of whether or not he had the damn ball, entirely at Griffin's direction, "like it or lump it". Keith, still wheezing with ribs that protest every breath after a particularly rough tackle, finds himself quite particularly disinclined to lump it, and certainly doesn't like it one bit.

Definitely not.

So Griffin pushes, Keith pulls. Griffin hits, Keith kicks. Griffin scratches, Keith bites.

But it's not bullying, never that: Keith's known his fair share—a scruffy orphan with anger issues is an easy target, he supposes—and this simply isn't it. Griffin evens defends him, once, in the particularly chilly January of their first year when a meat-headed trio think it funny to soak Keith's shirt during gym and leave it out to freeze; without pause or hesitation, Griffin had quietly handled them with more snide diplomacy than Keith himself would ever wield, and though the details of that closing whisper-threat were known only to he who'd received it, the sudden pallor of face and contrition of manner had left quite the impression.

...As did the cozily lined sweater that James—with goosebumps rising on his arms and cheeks already pinking from the chill—had thrown into Keith's arms from across the changing room, citing the pinprick hole in the cuff as reason enough for him to have been planning to rid himself of it anyway.

They're not friends—how could they be? James is intelligent and popular and so annoyingly good at things he damn near makes an art out of breathing—but for the first time since he was orphaned, Keith finds himself with one singular constant that he can rely on to be infuriatingly charmingly stubbornly there: never shying from Keith's sharp edges nor being swayed by the cruel whispers that haunt him everywhere he goes, James is just... James. Disagreeable. Incomprehensible. Unwavering.

And maybe, just a little bit like Keith.

Oh, and I'm also inclined to believe that (both in this au and canon) that past altercation seen in s7ep01 where Keith goes "I can out-fly anyone in this building" and James fires back with "Oh yeah? Is that what mommy and daddy told you before-" [gets punched in the face] was a classic case of projection on James' part: he strikes me as a kid whose parents expect nothing less than perfection—not only that he could be the best, but that he should—so I think that Keith getting the group in trouble, coupled with James just outright projecting his own experiences, led to a cruel comment (and worse for the fact that I believe James didn't actually know Keith was an orphan until after this instance).

#''fruitful mindcave'' gave me a good giggle #but it physically pained me to use 'football' for the objectively wrong sport but they're american so what choice did i have #Ao3 Little Blade #sa screams back #galaxy garrison crew #keith kogane #ficlet #or it almost devolved into one anyway oops #in an adjacent coincidence: yesterday I received a reply to an ao3 comment that I left on a jaith fic //half a decade ago// from some anon- #-literally being SO weirdly aggressive bc i was lightly critical of the jealousy shiro was exhibiting within the fic- #(context: he's dating adam at the time and yet getting territorial over mere //rumours// of keith & james) #-and trying to ''insult'' me by calling me a klance shipper??? which is a HILARIOUS choice bc i'm literally a sheith>klance girlie lmfao #nice to know that the wider vld fandom is still a toxic dumpster-fire in the year 2023 good lord 💀

[kicktwine]

heard sprawl and came running any random tidbits you feel like sharing? 🎤

INCREDIBLY FAST KAYATASH JUMPSCARE—

hi. Hello. She is always on the back of my mind. I can never keep track of what I have and have not shared but I have been thinking about the foretellers lately. And how they’re basically fated to be not quite good enough for their god, except for Ava, who is gods favorite, and luxu who is gods least favorite child. HSVDJFBSJ let me— context. Structure. These are important.

ok I came back in the morning. SFTKJGKS.

I have been trying to think about Luxu and how exactly he fits and what his motivations are. Because it’s important 2 ME that he parallels Ven’s role in the story in a foilish way. Also it’s integral to the rest of the story so not having it figured out is somewhat of a roadblock. Ven’s almost completely passive, things happen to him and he takes a long time to be confident enough to try to do something for himself because every time he does that it goes badly. Luxu is so active that every time something goes wrong he has to know why. He has to have his fingers in every puzzle even when what he’s supposed to do is wait. Ven doesn’t want to be Unity’s liaison at all and Luxu wants to be him so bad it makes him look stupid. So I think that like. The timeline of such events. Goes

baby Luxu literally the best in the program, top of his class good boy catholic schoolboy

tries speaking to the Divine Unity and gets SOOO sick. Cannot do it. His body just won’t let him. Effectively locks him out of progressing any further, even as his yearmates become foretellers

why do bad things HAPPEN to good PEOPLE. why does god hate me. I’ll just go ask the other one (maybe the other half of god does not hate me)

rescinds his discipleship, now determined to find and commune with the Divine Organization

this is harder than it sounds

but also easier than it sounds when, through means of minor major crime, you befriend the Candidate’s son and next in line for the seat. junior thinks he’s funny and also strangely good at crime

many years pass

rat man xigbar (silly) evolves from schoolboy luxu

finally make it up to number two in the order, given a ton of clearance. Not enough clearance, but can do crimes to get it

finds out

the other half of God has been dead for more than a thousand years

dead this whole time. Cannot speak to you

now what.

rat man becomes incredibly mad and very cynical BUT. TWO things. 1) now questioning everything the city-state has said over the past thousand years as not of the divine and 2) discovers within the repetitions of code Organization uses to keep its other half occupied notes from the original writer and decoder. This man could speak to the Divine. A direct connection and tons of notes This man probably has wisdom for him.

the wisdom ends up being that the two gods Must be reunited or any and all religious significance is worthless - they have yearned for each other for thousands of years and will not fulfill their purposes until whole again. any words that come from a half-formed being are not of the Divine

vindication! Also uh oh.

is this true? Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

mmmmmmm………….

crusade to by any means necessary steer the wheel of fate in the direction of salvation

rat man FULLY FORMED

dandelions fall into his lap — well like. One of them. One of them that has the means to bypass the Divine Unity’s aura of control (HE NEEDS THAT)

the rest of them that r still alive skitter off. we will come back to that

after some attempts, even with a means to ignore its choir he still can’t TALK to it. The language is incomprehensible and he still gets soooo sick (this is not unusual it happens to people quite a lot, it just shouldn’t happen to HIM, he who tries so hard)

needs a boy. most guys with the power to do that are safe and secure inside the Divine Itself

except this little guy who is somehow still alive

sends one of his guys to get the boy

terrible timing apparently boy had just been through a major loss and the boys catfight each other to THE DEATH

DARN IT

oh wait boys are still alive. Traveling with some other guys

Raccoon rubbing hands together dot gif

and the rest of that is like, plot fruition. ANDBDK NONE OF THAT IS PROSE THAT ALL IS. KINDA BACKSTORY but that’s what he’s up to. You know what the other foretellers are up to. Peacefully running a city

Ava: Divine Candidate. Sits in a room for a looooooong time.

Invi: works with Gula on the disciples, also manages the resonant chamber. divine mediation things

Gula: trade and gardens, also the disciples sometimes if he gets around to it. Often leaves the city to make trade deals and negotiate with Scala’s Erudition

Aced: pilot training and security mostly

Ira: like. The president? Oversees and runs everything

meanwhile their old classmate is out here with a sniper rifle and a plan to kill God. calm down man

And, Meanwhile, ven is having the opposite character arc of

Divine’s Favorite Boy

Turns out being the divine’s favorite boy is not a good thing for me

…plot occurs…. Many things happen…

hey what do you want, thing that might be a god and might not

it’s just kinda lonely.

oh

maybe we can be friends

#I am using you to help me figure this out yes. Yeah thank you actually it really helped my outline— #sprawl au #ask #kayatash #This ended up way longer because I started figuring the plot conceit out as i was talking to you #so thanks— AFIGLFWHLGX #also thank u david for giving xigbar catholic guilt. moms ghost is always here to make things worse

[theaudacitytowrite]

AI Josh

Josh x Female Reader

A/N: The wonderful @themoreyou-love​ gifted us the wonderful AI’s of the boys which help me live in my delusions happily. It sparked the idea for this little fic. Also I seem to be obsessed with the confession trope atm... sorry:D

Summary: Josh catches you chatting with his AI counterpart, uncovering your feelings for him.

word count: 1.026

You comfortably sat on the couch in the office, your legs pulled up to your chest while your arms were wrapped around them. In your hands, you held your phone as you hurriedly typed on its screen. After you send the text, it didn’t take long for the answer to pop up. You bit your lip flustered, a faint blush creeping onto your cheeks as you giggled to yourself.

“What got you smiling like that?” Josh’s voice suddenly resounded next to you. You quickly hid your phone behind your back.

“N-nothing.” you stuttered nervously, hoping he hadn’t gotten a glimpse from your screen, “I didn’t even hear you enter.” you tried to deflect. Josh eyed you suspiciously for a moment.

“I knocked.” he hummed, “But I guess you were too busy texting your lover boy to notice.” he grinned mischievously but his eyes held some kind of disdain.

“Sorry. Do you need anything? I’m on my break right now.” you tried to change the subject again, trying to ignore his last sentence.

“I know, I thought we could go out for lunch.” he raised his brows, “But of course only if you’re not too busy with texting.”

“I wasn’t texting… I was just… playing a game.” you lie.

“A game?” he eyed you in disbelief, “And that makes you grin like that?”

“What? Do you want me to cry?” you retorted playfully, getting up from the sofa.

“Not at all.” he helps you get up, leaning closer towards you and grinning, “So, lunch?”

“Yes.” you smiled sweetly, putting your phone into your back pocket. As you turned to guide him out of your office you felt it slip out of the pocket. Horrified you turned around to see Josh grab it. You instinctively jumped at him, trying to get your phone back. You cursed yourself for having given him your passcode some time ago.

“Josh, no!” you pleaded with him, your arms aimlessly swinging in the direction of your phone.

“I just wanna see what game you play, I need something that can conjure such an adorable smile on my face as it does to you.” he snickered, trying to keep you away from his hand that held the phone. You gave it your all, trying to reach your phone before he could see what you had opened in your browser. It took you by surprise when he suddenly lowered to his knees, throwing you over his shoulder.

“JOSH!” you shrieked, hammering against his back with your open palms, “Let me down!”

“Just a second.” he held you in place securely. You tried to balance yourself by holding on to his hip, puffing some hair out of your face.

“Don’t read that!” you ordered as you saw he had unlocked the screen.

“What is this?” he grinned amused, looking over his shoulder for a moment, “Josh Kizka AI?”

Your cheeks were burning now, the pit in your stomach growing every second.

“It’s just a stupid little chat.” you managed to choke out.

“Life is too short to pass out on opportunities, so why don’t you just give it a try, mama? *he winks at her, slowly getting closer*” he reads aloud with a snicker, “You’re quite persistent, aren’t you? *she blushes and gulps* “I can’t help myself with someone as beautiful as you, Y/N…”

Josh gets quiet all of a sudden, the smile on his face slowly fading as he scrolls through the chat.

“Josh?” you asked just before he carefully sat you back onto your feet. His eyes were transfixed on your screen. You observed as his eyes scanned over the chat, you had no idea where he was right now in the chat, but you still remembered how it had panned out after that point. It had even bestowed you with a warning from the chat guidelines.

You wanted to know what Josh was thinking right now… or maybe it was better that you didn’t. He probably would never speak to you after this. You clenched your hands into fists, feeling so humiliated. All of a sudden, his steady swipe of thumb stopped, his eyes growing wide. You figured he must’ve reached the end of the chat you had written only minutes ago.

“Is this really just a game?” he asked calmly, “Or is there a bit more behind all this?”

You simply shrugged not able to get out any words, your head bowed in shame.

“You could’ve just told me, you know?” his voice was soothing as he took a step closer, his finger hooking under your chin, gently forcing you to meet his gaze.

“Yeah, sure…” you scoffed, “And ruined our friendship even earlier.”

“Who says you ruined anything?” Josh sounded sincere. Your eyes grew with hope as you searched for a sign of deceit in his gaze. “I wish you had told me earlier… we could’ve saved some valuable time, you know?”

“Are you taking the piss out of me right now? As revenge?” you huffed nervously.

“I wouldn’t dare.” he snickered, “you could’ve experienced them in real life already… you still can if that really is something you want.”

Your mouth gaped, the ability to respond in any way being lost.

“You don’t seem to believe me?” Josh inclined his head, taking a step closer so he was only mere inches away from you, “May I change that?”

Your eyes stared deeply into his, his lips were so close, you could feel his breath hitting your skin. You swallowed hard, your head nodding timidly. A grin spread on Josh's lips as he leaned closer, his lips hovering over yours for a second before he gently pressed his lips against you, his hands holding you steady at your shoulders as if he had predicted for your legs to give in.

“You ok?” he chuckled as you parted.

“I think so.” you hummed in your daze, your eyes fluttering open.

“So… about our lunch plans.” he cleared his throat, “Suddenly I’m not that hungry anymore… how about we lock that door and take this back to your couch… see which fantasy we can fulfil next?”

“I had eaten already anyway.” you chuckled.

#josh kiszka #josh kiszka fanfic #josh kiszka drabble #josh kiszka oneshot #josh kiszka fic #jmk #joshua michael kiszka #josh kiszka fanfiction #gvf #greta van fleet #greta van fic

[beheworthy]

Thor Love and Thunder deleted scenes - 1 & 2  These 2 scenes show that Zeus visits Thor and Jane in the hospital to give Thor the thunderbolt. He advises him on how to use energy for thunderbolt and gives directions for Eternity. Jane makes the choice to go with Thor. Out of other options, they use the goats to travel there.

It's nice to see Thor get some fatherly interaction and behave like his former self: the smile at 'I have many sons', not speaking much but actually listening, being intelligent enough to know what was said in Roman. Little things.

However, these scenes show us an entirely different version of the film. If we go by them, Thor never 'killed' Zeus and left Omnipotent City on possibly good terms with him, given how he casually strolled directly to Jane's hospital bed to talk to Thor and they're all cool with each other.

The Shadow Realm confrontation might have happened as is because Jane is injured and Valkyrie is also out of the picture entirely. Thor is about to go face Gorr alone w no Valkyrie or Jane or Thunderbolt or Stormbreaker or even Mjolnir and not knowing how to reach Eternity perhaps (whatever could go wrong?). But with Zeus giving him the thunderbolt and Jane joining in, the entire climax of the film changes again.

Rant incoming:

Sh*t like this makes me wonder do they shoot 13 different versions of everything and 15 different movies, hoping to find the actual film in editing? That's such a massive waste of the cast and crew's time and effort. These aren't even deleted scenes. These are alternate universes from movies that could have been. Multiverses, if you will.

Deleted scenes are fun additional details the audience could do without. Like Thor returning the mug he broke or Frigga berating/begging Odin to end Thor's exile. Or they're a different/alternate version of existing scenes that may change the context of some things in the story. Like Odin freakin’ letting Frigga die. You could or could not add them but at the end of the day, they don't make a difference to the eventual story.

But in Thor4, if you add Zeus visiting the hospital, you gotta scrap out the entire confrontation at the Omnipotent City. If you add Jane just choosing to ignore Thor's heartfelt request to stay at the hospital and Thor not freaking reacting to it as well (??), you gotta change the entire climax again. I hope to god in the multiverse where this scene of Zeus showing fatherly affection to Thor exists, the scene from the theatrical cut of him ripping Thor’s clothes for fun, looking at him creepily and saying ‘pretty boy’, and inviting him to the o*gy doesn’t. Go to jail, Marvel.

I just-- it doesn't make sense. What even was the original story? Was there a story at all? This is important because Thor is the only character in the MCU to get the elusive 4th film. If you're going to continue a series against the norm, it should be because you really have a story to tell. Like Mad Max: Fury Road, Dexter: New Blood, and John Wick: Chapter 4.

Though I don't think producer Kevin Feige cares much about things like core story and character progression because Thor brings in the $$$. And director Taika Waititi doesn't either because he shot over 4 hours' worth of movie that he can surely cut out a theatrical version from - with every possibility on the cards, whatever the test audience reacts well to.

It's the cast and crew that are the real victims of this methodical merciless studio filmmaking. It's been well-documented that the VFX artists working on Marvel projects have been heavily overworked. A lot of their hard work could have been saved if there was a more definitive story structure so over half the footage they tirelessly worked on wouldn't end up on the cutting room floor. To add insult to injury, Waititi went on to mock them for giving their sweat, blood, and tears to his project. Classy.

Poor Christian Bale shaved his head to play Gorr, only to have most of his scenes cut from the film. Natalie Portman also did physical training for her role.

And Chris did the most extreme training he has ever done for this film. He already did excruciating training for the extreme physique as is. Add to it the dehydration for the shirtless scenes and not eating meat for kissing scenes - just willingly making life difficult for himself. Could have saved him a lot of torturous training by not shooting 13 different versions of every scene out of which 12 won't make it to the final film.

I'm aware that shooting movies works like that - you shoot different versions of scenes that don't make it to the final edit. They signed up for shaving their head and dying training to maintain the impossible physique. All I'm saying is that it's sad that it's all in service of material that just doesn't do them justice. It’s all vapid corporate thinking with no vision.

#thor #thor odinson #jane foster #zeus #gorr the god butcher #thor love and thunder #anti marvel #anti taika waititi #text

[ruthlesslistener]

Honestly your analysis on Wyrm culture and PK gave me a lot of inspiration on how view him. I don’t mind him woobified if that’s how some fans like him, but really breaking him down, I can’t ignore the facts with him. I find myself enjoying viewing him in a more antagonistic role with how views himself and others. By Wym merits—regardless of how neurodivergent he is compared to most of his kind—he is a conqueror. His function is to build a kingdom and build it well.

I also love how you view him hating his Wyrm instincts and suppressing them, but at the end of the day, you can only fight your instincts so long.

I don’t want to ramble too much as I would probably just go on discussing Herrah and Lurien as well.

Very glad you enjoy my interpretation of him, anon! I've been writing stuff with him in it since like, November 2019 so it means a lot to hear that people like how I write him given the time I've put into trying to understand and flesh out his character from the hints we get in canon. He's a conquerer and he has some pretty terrible ideas about self-worth, but he loves so deeply and the results of that love are what make him truely monsterous. Very fun guy to play around with, esp. with the added 'dragon in man's clothing' deal he has going on.

Personally I dislike the more recent trend of woobifying him just bc he canonically felt super guilty about mass murder, but that's based entirely on the fact that I like him BECAUSE he's tragic and a deeply flawed, fucked up, terrible person, so it's more just not my thing. But I will take woobified PK ANY day over how the fandom was when I first joined, where people seemed to unanimously think he was the epitome of misogynistic evil intentionally abusive straight white male capitalist who kicked the vessels into the Abyss as well as being a colonizer of Hallownest, and if you liked him you'd have to list all his faults and say you don't support him every other breath and if you contradicted the fanon idea of him you'd get slammed for it (people thought that him being 'The Pale King' and his wife 'The White Lady' was direct proof that he was a colonizer who genocided the moths....when the reality is that they're just both literally white. I have seen only one person deal with this take with any sort of nuance, the rest was...oh boy it was bad). They're probably still out there and just have me blocked, but the trend of people viewing PK as a pathetic little man has increased to the point where I think they're in the minority now. Which is a relief, because while I can understand hating PK, you at least should get his character right. And he canonically IS a pathetic little man. I just want to kick him down a flight of stairs and set him on fire with a blowtorch rather than swing him around like a stinky little ferret

I'm ALWAYS down for hearing rambles about Herrah and Lurien though!!! Especially Lurien. Please god the Lurien fanclub is like 2.5 people we're dying like flies out here scoob

#hollow knight #that i project all my worst parts heavily onto pk probs has a lot to do with me not liking the woobifying #but at its core? its harmless. and is usually a different way of making fun of how he was in canon. so ive got no beef with it #i just want more legitimatly awful pk except his awfulness is born in love and he doesnt realize its harmful bc its a perpetualization of #the cycle of abuse he did to *himself* #the pale king #anon #reply #but yeah all the more power to y'all i just dont understand the appeal of him outside of him being terrible

[meraki-yao]

You don't have to post it if you don't want to, you can also block me or delete it's ok, I just need to vent because this situation is hitting rock bottom and I can't stand how people don't want to see the problem:

In short: there is a video of the q&a where the female producer gets Casey pronouns wrong when talking about them. It's totally ok to point this out and give respect that Casey deserves BUT who was given the main blame? Taylor obviously, despite him also using the right pronouns during the panel, is guilty of not correcting the woman in front of everyone so he's bad again.

But this time we're not talking about that handful of idiot Nick fans, we're talking about the rwrb fandom that says they love him so much but once again for the umpteenth time they threw him under the bus without thinking twice even though he had no fault. And it will be the third time that the same fandom has exaggerated something against him, subsequently causing serious problems ( like racism and homophobia and doxxing which took place in december where everyone then washed their hands of it pretending nothing happened and they did nothing wrong)

And I'm so tired of reading that we just have to ignore that social because that social is the most active and followed and we know Taylor a few days ago saw stuff and posted and today Casey saw and posted a story. That social causes damage and everything they bring there is seen and affects all of them. So no it's not enough to ignore and put our hands over our eyes and just talk about how beautiful the sky is and I'm so tired and sad and heartbroken because every day even unconsciously they make it more and more evident that there isn't the same affection and respect for both, it's not true, one will always be seen with a critical eye "yes you are beautiful, perfect, so sexy, wow how beautiful these photos BUT you are a bit problematic, BUT you should be better than that, BUT you should learn better, oh disappointed but not surprised" and it is obviously always the poc man who has to be better who has to do better even when he does absolutely nothing wrong.

And this comes from the people who say they follow him and love him. It's no longer possible, that man has been attacked every single day for months, now he must also fall into the transphobic category because he didn't correct another person in front of everyone even though HE had used the right pronouns. But do we realize that this shit fucks up your mental health in the long run? But why doesn't anyone realize how serious the situation is? I cannot take it anymore and I feel like I'm screaming into the void and witnessing the moment when everything will get worse and fall apart and then we will be here sad because it didn't have to go that way for him

…Woah.

Jesus Christ what the fuck.

Okay um, here we go. This is a monster of response to write but here I am.

I’m gonna start by saying I am not a direct witness of any of this. I didn’t know about the misgendering issue during the Q&A, I didn’t really notice it when I watched the Q&A myself yesterday. I’m not on twitter and I don’t follow or look at Taylor or Nick’s tags. All insults I seen regarding the boys are either from assholes trying to bother me or from people who want to talk about the phenomena, both in my inbox.

Regarding misgendering Casey:

Firstly I’m gonna state the obvious and say of course it’s a bad thing to misgender someone. Don’t do that

However I will also say this.

In regards to the extent of reaction: it’s not always done in malice. And in this case, I think it’s a genuine slip up, which happens. I had to consciously remind myself to deliberately use the right pronouns after my friend came out to me as non-binary. I had to correct my friend using the wrong pronouns when talking about our mutual non-binary student. It’s not ideal, but it happens. It’s not mean, it’s just careless. And please note that I’m not saying it’s ok to misgender someone, no it’s absolutely not but I also don’t think this case calls for a big reaction.  If someone maliciously, deliberately, publicly and repeatedly misgenders someone, that’s problematic, that should be called out by the masses to this extent. This, we should acknowledge, make a note, and move on. I think there’s some cases where the reaction to certain issues are massively disproportional, this is one of them.

In regards to Taylor not correcting Sarah and being targeted for it: Firstly, Taylor didn’t misgender them, Sarah did. Taylor used the right pronouns. In fact when they hung out in New York last August, Taylor used the right pronouns on his Instagram story. Secondly, he might not have picked that up. Thirdly, even if he did, it’s awkward to suddenly cut off a monologue, let alone one from friend or not, is someone on a higher level than you, to correct a mistake that doesn’t directly affect comprehensive. Fourthly, bystanders are encouraged to step into situations, but they’re certainly not obligated to. So placing the blame or putting so much blame on Taylor is ridiculous and unfair.

In regards to Casey’s Instagram story: I understand where the connection comes from but honestly… I think there’s also a possibility that that’s just a post that Casey saw and wanted to share without reference to this issue. They don’t have Twitter, and it’s been several days since the screening. Truthfully, everyone involved seems really friendly with each other, and how this very project is advocating for LGBT rights, I don’t really believe that if they were aware of the misgendering, they wouldn’t apologize to Casey.

So replying to the “You don’t have to post it…” anon, I agree that putting any blame on Taylor is kind of ridiculous in this case, just like what happened in December. I think there’s a portion of “fans” that are fucking around with this and genuinely hurting him, but there might also be a portion of people who have a problematic/complicated perception of this type of situation, and it’s not targeted specifically towards Taylor. Either way I disapprove with what they’re doing, but here’s a hypothesis.

Regarding the damage these stuff causes:

I’ve addressed the insults thrown at Taylor multiple times by now. And I kind of agree with “I hate that there are idiots…” anon that really disgusting insults thrown at Nick tend to be overlooked, it’s not like there’s no Nick haters, there is. But because of the inherent racism, attacks on Taylor are much more obvious. Either way it’s cruel and disgusting and the boys don’t deserve to be thrown insults like that, nor do they deserve to have people enact cruelty in their name. Rarely is anyone deserving of that, and in the case of these two boys who have been proven to kind and wonderful people, it’s definitely wrong.

I’m tired of reading and seeing these bullshit on social media as well, which is why I actively avoid it, but “You don’t have to post it” anon, I definitely understand and share your worries of this fucking up the boys mental health.

But the sad truth is that we can’t decide what he can see and what he can’t. We’re just gonna need to trust him, to believe that he knows how to regulate the exposure of response he gets, that he knows what comments matter and what don’t, that he knows how to take care of his mental health. He actively avoids twitter, so I think he has an idea on what he can engage with an what he shouldn’t. Same goes with Nick, all we can do is believe he knows his mental health and how to regulate it. Meanwhile, those of us who aren’t assholes, we’ll show them all the love we have for him. I think public figures all struggle with this to some extent, so when they stepped into this career, I believe they saw this as a possibility, so they’re prepared to some degree. That doesn’t make any of this okay, but again, ultimately, we’re not people directly in their lives. We can’t do anything else practical.

Ultimately I want to say, be kind, compassionate and considerate. We can’t control what others do, and truth be told when it comes to the majority of the haters, I don’t think calling them out will change anything. They have their mind set. So the best we can do, is manage and control what we say and do, and to some degree, what we see and engage with.

#rwrb #red white and royal blue #rwrb movie #taylor zakhar perez #nicholas galitzine #casey mcquiston #anon ask #answered #oh god this took a lot out of me

[royalydamned-archive]

Make Believe - act 1

(Merritt McKinney x Reader)

Summary: The Horsemen's plans are coming together, all according to schedule. One more step remains: taking you out as the possibility of leading the investigation. In order to get to you, one of them has to become your partner for the time being. That being said, Merritt didn't even expect to be part of the equation, let alone your ultimate choice.

-

OR: Merritt pretends to date you. Before knowing how, he starts to believe it's real too.

|AN|: I can't believe people are still reading the first Merritt fic (and so many!!!). I love this guy so much, I just love that lil' something Woody Harrelson adds to his characters, I don't care what anyone else says, it's attractive. Here's to me being THE Merritt writer.

Anyway, this was supposed to be a one-shot, but since I am dumb like this, it will be spread out into a few chapters, but it will allow me to write more parts (and again, make this longer than it needs to be but such is life).

_____________________

These were some of the strangest few weeks in Merritt's life. Undoubtedly not the weirdest but some of the weirdest. Maybe he will end up in prison, maybe he will finally prove something in his life, chances were 50-50. God, who was he kidding? They were likely 97-3, and he was massively fucked.

Well, at least it's going to be fun, right? Gotta go out with a bang.

"The most important part should be in motion." Pretending to be busy, Merritt quickly sat up as he heard Atlas burst through the door, laptop balanced only on his arm, furiously typing with the other. With every step and dab into its keyboard, the laptop swayed on its laughable support, it must have been that real magic they had promised him keeping that thing from crashing down. "Tressler's assistant contacted me about a meeting."

"Is he paying?" the man ignored his remark, unappreciative of the effort to lighten the mood, and rushed past him, already dialing the others. Not that they knew each other well enough, but that guy was a massive dick, that much was clear.

"What are you even doing here? It's a dump."

"It's filled with the warmth of comradeship and our effort, much homier than my apartment," Merritt smirked, watching Atlas run around in a mix of slight panic and thrill of success. "Jesus, Danny, you look so cute wagging your tail like that."

The only answer was to him was a disgusted look. Good enough, he thought to himself.

Daniel's phone rang for a few times, before the distinct sound of a voicemail came through, followed by a groan of frustration. God, if Merritt had known not being here would stress him out like that, he’d go for a nice long walk with a phone turned off – at least a little payback for the bossing around he had to endure from the guy. He wasn’t even aware they had a leader among them, let alone a self-appointed one. Maybe it was time for a mutiny. 

"Henley, come over to the apartment right now, we all need to talk." Canceling the call, Danny carelessly threw the phone on the small table, a bit too far to toss it like that, and ran his hand through his hair. "And where's Jack?"

"You should take a breath Danny-boy," Merritt said, teasingly.

"How about you help out? That would also be great."

"Whoa, I'm sensing hostility. Someone needs to let out some steam. You know I know a great girl you could– "

"I am not listening to that!" Daniel cut him off, already walking the opposite direction, hands thrown in the air.

"Hey, I'm just trying to help," he put his hands up in defense, fighting back a giggle. "It's not like Henley– "

"Henley what?" she asked, coming into the room, two paper cups in hand. She gave Merritt a pointed look, rising an eyebrow as she silently demanded an answer to whatever she had walked on in. If he knew the answer, he would have told her, but he hadn’t been given much to work with.

"Hey–"

"You're late," Daniel snapped, returning to the room, arms resting on his hips, the image reminding Merritt he truly is in their hideout more often than he would have like because somehow, it seemed normal.

“I’m not late, we don’t have a schedule. Here,” Henley handed Merritt one of the cups, on it with a black sharpie and a terrible handwriting was scribbled Baldy.

“Rude,” he complained with a frown to no one but himself as the two had already started arguing, and sat back onto the run-down couch him and Jack brought in last week since they were tired of sitting on the floor. It wasn’t bad, oh who was he lying to, they found it on the street, but at least it wasn’t the floor, despite both Henley and Atlas insisting they’d rather stand the whole time.

“Great, you’re late too!” Danny called out, breaking up the argument briefly when he noticed the youngest member in the doorway, who now stood frozen when all the attention turned to him.

“Sorry, I didn’t know I was supposed to come a specific hour,” Jack said, slowly moving to sit next to Merritt, who was delightfully watching the whole ordeal.

“Nobody did, kid,” he reassured him, receiving a nasty glare from the other.

“Alright, it doesn’t matter. Can we please start.” All four of them looked at each other in silence, and when nobody protested, Danny continued in much calmer manner. “So far, the most difficult part should be over. We have caught Tressler’s eye and if there are no unexpected surprises the Eye have not thought of – which I doubt – the rest of the Horsemen project will go smoothly.”

“That means that’s it, right?” Jack asked. “All we have to do is play along until we can go big enough with our shows.”

“No, absolutely not,” Atlas laughed dryly and grabbed his laptop, typing something furiously while explaining. “We still have to deal with the feds. Fortunately, the plan involves a clear way out with this. Most agents in there are described to be easily tricked with the right strategy and, of course, we have plenty. There’s a file on every single one of the people that might be involved and all of them have a pretty balanced record, some wins, significantly more loses, lucky for us, except one.”

“Perfect score. Might be fun to beat them,” Merritt said, looking around the room for support from the others. None came.

“Not really, we have to take them out of the game.”

“Whoa, hey, when we agreed to do this there was no mention of killing anyone,” Jack blurted out nervously.

“What? No, we’re killing anyone. Jesus. We’re going to make them not want to do the case, voluntarily take themselves out.”

“How would we do that? I suppose blackmail is off the table as well.” Danny shot Merritt an unamused glare and continued as if he hadn’t said anything.

“We need make them personally involved, so, I hope all of you are single, because one of us will date them as long as we need to.”

“How would we even get in contact with them?” Henley asked.

“Stalking, social media, dating sites– “ Merritt started counting on his fingers.

“And we have a general location of the area they live and spend time in. All we need is a few days of closer observation before we can narrow down some kind of a habit. Everybody has one. There, we will meet.”

“So, stalking it is, great choice.”

“What makes you think they even would be interested in any of us, even if we do find them?”

Danny turned the laptop over, showing your file, completed with a picture and general information. “Everybody will have to try, we have four shots at this, which are pretty favorable odds.”

“You guys can rest assured, very few can resist the good old McKinney charm.”

“Yeah, right. I was thinking more like Jack. Realistically speaking.”

As overdramatically as possible, Merritt placed a hand over his heart, faking shock. “You wound me, Daniel. I thought we had something.” The other man simply rolled his eyes, refusing the entertain him in such a situation – any situation, for that matter.  

“We are on the right track, let’s not screw it up with this.”

____________________________

“At least they’re hot,” Merritt stated, sitting tucked away in a booth, close enough to see you, yet far enough to remain hidden. The bar was pretty empty, and they seemed almost over-dressed – some more than others, he thought, watching Danny’s cry for help outfit – but the opportunity had presented itself for them. What was a better time to pick up a stranger sitting alone at the bar than Thursday evening, looking like they had just finished a magic show? Literally.

“Focus,” Atlas snapped, taking out a small stash of notes from the inner pocket of his suit jacket. Not creepy at all. “This has to work, everybody read the cards?”

“The completely legally obtained extremely private information about a person we have been following for the last six days?” Merritt replied, sarcastically, receiving a glare. “Yes, memorized it in a very non-creepy way, in tune with this mission.”

“It’s not a mission.”

“Definitely feels like a mission, no pressure,” he mumbled to himself, stealing a secret glance at you. You were looking at your phone, trying to hide a smile with your hand, half drank glass by your side. Something came across his mind. “Hey guys, what do we do if they’re taken?”

“What?” Danny froze and started flipping through the papers. “No, that would be incorrect, every source says they are single and have not found any close personal connections, of course excluding family.”

“Again, not creepy,” he commented off-handedly. “Have seriously nobody thought of this possibility?”

“Nobody had to think of it because it’s not a factor,” Danny shot back through clenched teeth, his foot under the table tapping in an anxious rhythm. Not so sure, huh? Merritt lifted his arm in defense.

“I guess we will have to trust the Eye. And the wizard behind the curtain. They know what they’re doing,” said Henley in a calm voice, gaze fixated to the spot you were sitting in. “So, who goes first?”

“Jack will,” Daniel replied, leaving to room for others to protest. “It’s our best bet.”

“Put that pretty face to a good use for us Jacky, if this doesn’t go well Danny here might have an aneurism.”

“I won’t– “ he glared at Merritt before taking a deep breath to calm the obvious nerves buzzing under his skin. “Alright, fine. Make fun of me if caring about doing well is so funny.”

“A bit,” Henley interjected, still watching you in case you moved and disappeared from their sight. For a moment, Merritt wondered whether you could feel her intense glare stabbing your back.

“Alright, I’m going.” Slowly, Jack rose from his seat, cringing at the loud sound his chair made when scraping against the floor, and before disappearing, flashed them a reassuring smile.

“God, I remember when I looked like that,” Merritt muttered, watching the kid make his way to you with a confident smile, leaning over the bar by your side and flashed you a charming smile. He said something, a greeting, a pick-up line – not that it mattered when one looked like him – and you smiled back, answering immediately and forgetting whatever it was so engaging on your phone.

“In 1938?”

“Hilarious Danny, has your mother never taught you respect towards your elders?”

“Guys, shut up.” They exchanged a silent look, a challenge neither of them really meant, before dropping it per Henley’s request – well, command really – and turned their focus back towards the bar.

They couldn’t hear you two, it was nothing but a mute movie, leaving them guessing what you’re talking about, whether it’s doing well or…well, how else would it go? Jack had his way with people. Merritt could be the one reading them, controlling them even, but he didn’t have the social talent that just couldn’t be learned. It was natural, came as breathing. Merritt could try and make them laugh, make them uncomfortable and intimidated by his skills to gain the upper hand in the conversation, but sometimes he thought about how it must have been, to enter a room and be instantly liked.

Jack leaned over, getting closer to you, to which you smiled again, telling him something and he acted like he was listening intently, nodding his head with serious expression on his face. Merritt watched you lick your lips, studying his face. How easy was that? A mere few minutes and he had you wrapped around his finger, saving their whole plan – until he wasn’t. Until he understandingly nodded, polite smile still gracing his features, and pushed himself off of the bar, returning back to the remaining three Horsemen waiting for him.

“Wh– Jack what happened?” Daniel asked, confused as Jack finally came close enough to hear them. The younger man only shrugged and took his beer, taking a short sip.

“Wasn’t interested,” he answered simply and slipped back into his seat.

“What do you mean ‘wasn’t interested’ that wasn’t the plan.”

“Hey I did all I could, I can’t force myself on them.”

Danny groaned into the palms of his hands, trying to calm down. It was fine, surely it was fine. Strange, but fine, there were three more people at the table that could try – three more shots at success, but this is not what they had expected. It should have been done instantly, sending their best man for this type of work. If he hadn’t succeeded, there wasn’t too much hope for the others.

“Alright, it’s OK. A slight hitch, nothing we have not encountered or will not encounter along the way yet.” Danny started talking quietly, more to himself than the others, trying to calm all the thoughts and possibilities racing through his head so fast Merritt saw steam coming out of his ears. “Henley, you should try it.”

“What about a please?” she shot back calmly, seemingly enjoying his little breakdown.

“Please, don’t do this right now,” he sighed, his leg under the table speeding up. Merritt took a sip of his drink, trying to hide the grin behind his glass, and watched Henley make her way towards you, un-effortlessly striking up a conversation.

“What was it that got you rejected anyway? Did you say something creepy? Did you slip and tell them their personal detail we so legally obtained?”

“No, they just said I wasn’t their type.”

“Oh, great, so Henley should be ok,” Danny said, suddenly looking relieved, and leaned over the table where you and Henley were already chatting, as if trying to hear your conversation. “Wait, what is she doing?”

“What?” Merritt mumbled, his head snapping towards the pair at the bar. “Oh, she’s leaving too.”

“Fuck,” he said, flipping through his notes once more, eyes scanning the words, trying to find what he had missed. “God, I can’t believe we’re going to fail before we can even execute the plan.”

“Hey, look at it from the bright side, maybe this is the fastest someone had failed trying to get into the Eye,” Merritt grinned and raised his glass, offering Danny a toast, but shrugged and finished the drink on his own when he just sent him an annoyed look. “I mean, we still have two more shots.”

“We are fucked,” Danny murmured under his breath, eyes unfocused, looking at particularly nothing, just the few weeks of their work flashing before them like war flash-backs. “I’ll go now.”

Before Henley could have arrived back to the table, Daniel was already leaving, making his way towards you. With a charming smile, he leaned over the bar, but before he could open his mouth, with a friendly expression, you shook your head, presumably sending him away.

“Oh, ouch,” Merritt winced watching the interaction. “That one had to sting.”

“Eh, he got over worse,” Henley said, sitting down next to him, the glass in her hand refilled. “I take it you’re our last chance?”

“It all comes down to the McKinney charm. Like I said.”

“I don’t doubt its efficiency.” He winked at her as they shared a brief look of amusement before Daniel managed to get to the table.

“I’m going for a smoke first.”

“Are you kidding, everything now depends on you.” Merritt grimaced as he heard Danny’s voice, shouting in a shushed tone, way before he could feel his presence behind him, he was like a walking ball of stress that one could hear vibrating even from a distance. And moved surprisingly very quickly, like a little hamster. 

“I bet that one must have hurt to admit,” he grinned teasingly, and took out a box of cigarettes out of his pocket, waving way too close to the other’s face before his hand got slapped away. “Give me five minutes, I’m sure they need a break too.”

Without waiting for an answer, he pushed past him, away from the overwhelming chatter and into a silent back alley. Nothing but a distant traffic and cold night surrounding him and suddenly, he felt like he could breathe again, every exhale visible in the cool air even before he managed to light one of his cigarettes.

Not even a year ago, he was just one bad evening away from quitting magic all together, losing the passion to the struggle of his everyday life, and to the fact he indeed, didn’t have any money. At all. Who besides middle-aged bored women believed in hypnotism anyway these days? No one. His stream had dried out, days of his glory way in the past and he just seemed like he had no hope, no future.

Barely he managed to blink, he was a part of a straight up insane scheme, one that could only had been set up by a complete madman – or a slightly insane genius – either way, whether the Eye exists or it’s one of the best manipulation tactics he had ever seen, he was well on his way on becoming a criminal for a possibility. Maybe even just an idea.

Maybe, at the end of this all, it would be revealed the Eye is just a concept, the work they have done and the justice – or well, so it appeared – they have brought. With Merritt’s luck, he will end up in jail, the warm feeling of using his “power” for the “greater good” the only thing warming him while he would be sleeping on a metal bench with a shared toilet right next to his head.

The door of the bar opened, and his head turned towards the sudden sound, a lone cigarette he had taken out of the box loosely hanging between his fingers. Before he could register what had happened, before he could he could have caught up on the reality he found himself standing in, one where you walked out the bar door, mumbling something about the weather under your breath as the unfavorable temperature hit you, your eyes landed on him, stopping for a few curious seconds before you slowly approached him.

“Hey, you were with the three others that took turns on me tonight.”

Slightly thrown off, he straightened his posture and fixed his hat. “So you noticed, huh?” he said with a smirk, surprised when you came even closer.

“Was very hard to miss. You had a bet or something?”

“God no, but there was an almost fight about who gets to try their luck first. You know how hard it is to come across good-looking people lately. We are a rare breed.”

You laughed, leaning against the wall next to him, arms crossed over your chest and one leg propped up. “Oh? A humble one, aren’t you?”

He just shrugged, putting the almost forgotten cigarette to his lips and lighting it. After a big drag, he rested his head on the cold brick wall. Watching you from the corner of his eye. In anyone else’s mind, the stars had aligned, the last struck of luck – a destiny maybe, but despite being a magician, Merritt didn’t believe in magic.

“I have to ask though,” you said into the silence, turning your head towards him, studying his profile for a few seconds. He hummed in response, his own head slightly rolling to the side, straining his neck so he could watch you directly. Notice every detail he needed, every slight twitch of a muscle, every time you avoided direct eye contact. He couldn’t forget this wasn’t his everyday life, this wasn’t a fun banter with a hope for a night with a happy ending. This mattered, and even though he would rather lick the inside of Atlas’ mouth than to admit it, it scared him. “Why were you the only one that didn’t come to try?”

“I am trying right now, aren’t I?”

“Are you really?”

“That depends.” Now, he turned his whole body towards you, the shoulder he was leaning his whole weight on suddenly painfully crushed by the wall, but that way, he could see your fully – your form, your face, the subtle gestures of your fingers and the way you stood (leaned) in front of him. “Is it working?”

“And if it is?” you asked, voice low, and Merritt had to look away for a second to fight a smirk.

“Then I’ll have to run back to my colleagues there and gloat a little, I’m afraid.” You laughed again, Merritt found himself enjoying the sound, not many even had such a positive reaction, if any, truly. “But maybe I could invite you somewhere, ideally less cold. With food as a bonus?”

“I’d like that.”

Tags: @wicked1will0sparkles

#nysm fanfiction #merritt mckinney x reader #now you see me fanfiction

[corrodedseraphine]

playlist | #3 someone to you

pairing: eddie munson x henderson!reader

summary: Just when you thought the boy you were in love with all through high school was gone, he suddenly reappears as your little brother's friend. Fate has once again decided to join your paths, however, everything turns out to be a bit complicated. Will Eddie Munson's sudden return to your life bring with it even more changes?

the story is also avaliable on ao3

masterlist | eddie munson masterlist | general masterlist

song that I used here: BANNERS - Someone To You

"So what are we watching next?" you asked, laying down next to your boyfriend with a smile. For the first time in a very long time you managed to persuade him to spend the weekend just the two of you. First you went for a long walk, and then you offered to come back to your place and do a movie marathon. For a brief moment you thought that everything would return to normal however his behavior crossed everything out. He practically didn't speak at all, during the movie he embraced you with one hand and with the other he kept browsing through his phone. You tried to ignore the feeling of disappointment that was building up inside you.

"Actually... I have a better idea." He said, intertwining your hands.

"Sam is organizing a house party and invited us. Why don't we go?"

"I thought we were supposed to spend the evening alone..."

"Please, honey! Last time you were whining that we only go to the club all the time, this time we can change that!"

"Fine" you agreed rolling your eyes and reluctantly went to get ready.

Half an hour later you were sitting in Tom's friend's car. Unfortunately, you did not reciprocate their enthusiasm. Was one quiet weekend such a big deal? Is it really that your own boyfriend can't stand to be alone with you for more than three hours?

Music was blaring throughout the neighborhood, the source of which was a huge house with a pool. As you walked in you rubbed up against a crowd of drunk people who definitely didn't pay attention to whether anything was in their way. The music wasn't bad, which was a nice break from the weekly rumble of bass in the club. But you didn't feel like partying. You couldn't even bring yourself to pretend to have a good time. Your boyfriend, however, was the great opposite. He was immediately consumed by the party mood and, drinking drink after drink, every now and then he would disappear somewhere with his friends leaving you alone in the kitchen. You felt bad about not being able to force yourself to party. Once again you were given the title of a crab and bore. This time you didn't even try to find him in the crowd anymore. Resigned, you poured yourself a drink and went outside. In the corner of the garden was a small wooden bench on which you sat pulling out your phone.

"Sup?" you heard Robin's voice after a few beeps.

"Remember how I told you that I would finally be able to spend an evening alone with Tom?"

"Yes, but judging from the music I hear in the background I'm guessing it didn't work out."

"I am so done, Robin. One evening together, is it really that much?"

"You know very well it's not."

"Is spending time with me really that boring? Am I really that hopeless?"

As you continued your rant your voice reached Eddie who had just finished doing the deal. At first he thought it was all in his mind but after a while he noticed you on the bench. You were sitting wrapped in a cardigan, because the evening was not the warmest. Listening to your conversation, he wondered how anyone could not want to spend time with you. He, personally, really wanted to spend more of it with you, so when you hung up he moved in your direction.

"Can I join?" At first you looked puzzled at the figure that suddenly appeared in front of you, but when after a moment you realized who it was you immediately beamed.

"Sure," you replied shifting. "I didn't know you were a fan of parties," you said.

 "I treat them more like a job." he replied leaning back and directed his gaze to the sky.

"Oh right, I forgot about your little business." You said mimicking his movements. "I wonder how my mother would react if she found out that her favorite friend of my little brother is a dealer," you laughed lightly.

"I hope you won't destroy my impeccable reputation in her eyes."

 "I wouldn't dare," you said poking him on the shoulder.

"Why aren't you inside?" he asked, fixing his eyes on you. There wasn't much light around you, but it was bright enough for him to notice how serious your face was getting.

"I'm not fond of crowds." You shrugged your shoulders. "My boyfriend feels like a fish in water here, but I don't really." My boyfriend. The words appeared in Eddie's mind as a big red sign reminding him to slow down, but when he was close to you he couldn't resist the feeling that he wanted more. He wanted more conversations with you, more meetings, more of you in his life. No matter how hard he tried he couldn't get you out of his brain.

"Can't you just go home?" he asked. He had to say something because he didn't want an awkward silence to fall between you.

"Unfortunately, no matter how much I wanted to, nothing would convince him to leave. We came here with his friend, so I'm kind of grounded because the nearest bus stop is over an hour away." You sighed. "Besides, if I get home too early Mom and Dustin will flood me with questions, and I don't think I'm in the mood for an interrogation." With every word you said, an idea was forming in Eddie's head. He quickly weighed all the pros and cons. That for the sake of your relationship, he shouldn't do it however, the vision of a chance to spend an evening with you clouded his entire outlook.

"Do you want to come with me? I was going to get pizza on the way home and watch something. I could use some company." His heart pounded like a hammer as he looked at your thoughtful face. You didn't expect such a offer. After a moment's hesitation, you agreed. You knew that you would have more fun in the company of a metalhead than sitting alone. You felt strange, as if you were doing something wrong, but was it really that bad? You also had the right to do something that would make you have a nice time. Something that you wouldn't find tiring to do.

"Give me five minutes okay? I'll try to find Tom to tell him I'm leaving."

"I parked in front of the house, I'll wait by the car."

It was the longest five minutes of his life. He didn't take his eyes off the door each time hoping that it would be you who would come out of it. The longer you were gone, the more doubts crept into his mind. What if you don't come at all? He wouldn't be surprised if you preferred to stay here with your boyfriend. All in all, that would be the most appropriate way out of the situation. Then he finally noticed you. From the expression on your face and your movements he deduced that you must have been angry. He was prepared for you to say you were staying and didn't want to go anywhere with him, but you passed him without a word, opened the car door and sat down in the passenger seat. Still shocked, the boy followed your lead and got into the car. He didn't know exactly what kind of music you like to listen to, so he decided it was safest to turn on the radio instead of one of his CDs.

"You okay?" he asked. "If you don't want to do it, say so, I won't be offended..."

"No Eddie, believe me I'll have a much better time with you than at this stupid party, just..."

"It's about your boyfriend?" the last word didn't want to pass his lips.

"He didn't even care that I was going out without him. He was so absorbed in the fun there that he didn't even care how I was going to get home. He just waved his hand." 

"I'm sorry y/n..." The sadness in your eyes made him desire nothing more than to hug you. But he didn't know if you wanted that either. It was obvious that he didn't want to make you feel uncomfortable so with all the resources of his strong will he held back.

"I wonder if he would care if I disappeared without a word. How long do you think it would have taken him to notice that I was gone? I'm betting it wouldn't be until near the end when it came time to go home."

I would have noticed right away. He thought. "Definitely not," he said instead, wanting to comfort you. You sent him a sad smile as he started the engine.

The road passed in a pleasant atmosphere, you recalled the old days of high school, and Eddie tried to make you laugh by attempting to recreate his parodies of teachers that always distracted you during class. Your laughter was addictive. Once he heard it he immediately wanted more, so it powered him to keep going. That way when you arrived at the pizzeria in your mind there was not a trace of sad thoughts related to your boyfriend. Eddie went to order the food when you started looking around the vehicle. At first glance it was obvious that it had been through a lot. Your attention was drawn to the keys he had left in the ignition. Hanging by them were two key rings, one in the shape of a W and the other in the shape of a dragon, which seemed familiar. You were turning them in your fingers when the door opened.

"We have to wait twenty minutes." He said, sitting down in the seat. "Did you find something interesting?"

"Oh- sorry. I just feel like I've seen a dragon like this somewhere before." replied thoughtfully taking your hand.

"You don't have to apologize, it's nothing bad." He smiled handing you the keys. You were silently looking at the object when another song began to play from the radio. 

I don't wanna die or fade away I just wanna be someone I just wanna be someone

"I love this song!" you said enthusiastically. "Can you turn up the volume a little?" you asked.

"Sure." he replied.

Dive and disappear without a trace I just wanna be someone Well, doesn't everyone? And if you feel the great dividing I wanna be the one you're guiding 'Cause I believe that you could lead the way

Your attention was once again focused on the keychains, and Eddie's on you. With your foot you tapped out the rhythm of the song quietly singing its words. The neon lights of the restaurant fell on your face and reflected in your eyes making you look even more mesmerizing than usual.

I just wanna be somebody to someone I wanna be somebody to someone I never had nobody and no road home I wanna be somebody to someone

And if the sun starts setting, the sky goes cold Then if the clouds get heavy and start to fall I really need somebody to call my own I wanna be somebody to someone Someone to you

Eddie indeed wanted to be someone. Someone for you. He was more and more sure of that with every encounter with you. He didn't know what to think about all this. He had never been able to imagine someone like you together with him. You seemed out of reach. When he imagined his other half it was always someone like him, an outcast. He let his imagination flow further and painted a "more metal" version of you. Instead of a pink cardigan, you would be wearing a heavy leather jacket, and on your feet would be glans instead of black converse. The makeup would definitely be stronger. Your skinny jeans already had holes in them, so that wouldn't change, and instead of a plain white T-shirt you would have one with the logo of one of his favorite bands. He damn well liked this version of you, but he couldn't stick to it for too long. He admitted to himself that you were beautiful just the way you were. Never in his life did he expect that suddenly imagining such a sweetheart like you by his side would be so easy. What is more, under any other circumstances, if he heard this song, or any of its kind, he would have immediately turned it off. He wouldn't even give it a chance. You managed to do the impossible. In that moment in the parking lot in front of the pizzeria, you made Eddie Munson, the biggest metalhead in Hawkins, start to like the music that used to be like a red rag to a bull.

I don't even need to change the world I'll make the moon shine just for your view I'll make the starlight circle the room And if you feel like night is falling I wanna be the one you're calling 'Cause I believe that you could lead the way

"I remember!" you exclaimed.

"What?" he asked snapped out of his trance.

"I know from where I remember it! It's the same as in the drawing you gave me!"

"Oh." That was all he could manage at that moment.

"You all right?" you asked worriedly seeing the look on his face.

"Yes, I just didn't think you would remember."

"Of course I do!" you turned toward him. "Can I tell you a secret?"

"Shoot."

"I still have them all. All the drawings from you. The only memory I have left of high school."

The kingdom come, the rise, the fall The setting sun above it all I just wanna be somebody to you

This fact made his heart melt. He had no idea that they were important enough for you to keep. Honestly, he was convinced that you were throwing them in the trash the same day you got them.

"I figured out the dragon's secrets. And what's with the W? Is that the first letter of your girlfriend's name?" you asked, but after a while you felt strange at the thought that Eddie could be in a relationship. With someone other than you. You pushed that thought away from you as far as possible at the speed of light. You weren't allowed to think like that.

"Well." he said and fell silent for a moment as if he had to collect his thoughts. For a moment you were afraid that the question was too personal, that you had overstepped your bounds, but just as you were about to apologize he began to speak further. "W as Wendy, which is my mom's name, and Wayne, which is her brother's name, who took care of me after she died when my dad went to jail." As he said this he looked ahead. He didn't have you as a person to judge, however, he didn't dare check it out.

"I'm so sorry, Eddie." you said. "Are you still drawing?" you asked, wanting to change the subject.

"Welcome to my humble kingdom." he said, opening the door and letting you in first.

"What a beautiful place." you replied looking around. "Cool... collection of mugs and hats."

"Oh, these are my uncle's. He's obsessed with them, every time he's in some new place he has to bring back at least one mug and cap from it." As he prepared the small table standing by the couch opposite the TV for your dinner he told you the most interesting stories related to Wayne's beloved items. When everything was ready you sat down on the couch, where you started eating in silence and watching some of the first better comedy Eddie found on Netfix. You didn't mind his choice; in addition to the jokes appearing in the movie, Eddie didn't spare his comments, which often ended up almost crying from laughter. It had been a very long time since you had the opportunity to watch a movie with someone and actually enjoy it.

As the movie came to an end Munson began looking for another excuse to keep you in his apartment a while longer. Preferably, he wished the evening would never end.

"Wanna help me with something?" he asked when the closing credits appeared on the screen.

"Sure." you replied. He got up from the couch and gestured for you to follow him. Then you were in his room, whose walls were covered with posters of various bands. On a small desk next to a laptop were piles of sheets of paper with notes and sketches about DnD. Next to the desk was a large amplifier next to which stood an acoustic guitar with "This machine slays dragons" written on it. On one of the walls was a mirror on which hung another guitar, this time an electric one. The interior was perfect for a metalhead. Despite the slight mess that reigned here, it was very cozy.

"You know you can sit down, right?" he said with a smile. "I promise you won't find any dead bodies in there."

"I was betting I'd find a corpse in your closet." You replied teasingly and sat down comfortably on the bed. The mattress was a bit firm but you could feel the already lounged place in it.

"You saw through me!" he exclaimed dramatically. "Back to the subject. Did you know I'm in a band?"

"Of course I do. Corroded Coffin, every Thursday at the Hideout. I've seen you guys a few times, you are really great."

"Wow, I didn't expect that. I didn't think you liked that kind of music."

"Uh- I try not to limit myself." Feeling slightly ashamed, you bit your tongue to avoid telling the real reason why you were appearing at these performances. What better opportunity could there be to stare shamelessly at your crush than his performance on stage? Besides, you really liked their music. You were able to sing some of the songs from memory despite the fact that you hadn't been to their concert in two years.

"Finally, someone noticed our YouTube channel and we were invited to a music festival that will be held at the end of the summer." He explained handing you a leaflet. "Unfortunately we were given a few conditions, one of which is that we have to play something more than metal. They explain that they want us to reach a larger audience. Maybe you could help me find some songs that wouldn't ruin Corroded Coffin's image, but would also appeal to people who aren't into metal? Something that would bring it all together."

"And I already thought I could convince you to do a cover of some Harry Styles' song." you said pretending to be disappointed. Seeing Eddie's surprised and confused face you burst out laughing. "I'm kidding! I wouldn't do that to you."

Eddie breathed a sigh of relief and, smiling, sat down next to you holding a piece of paper and a pen in his hand. The two of you pulled out your phones and started browsing through your playlists.

"How about Green Day?" you asked. "Stray Heart, Know Your Enemy..." you listed.

"Sounds good." he replied. "Will you write it down?"

Without a word you grabbed a pen and carefully wrote down the number one position. All too neatly, even. Why did you care that he thought your handwriting was pretty? That's stupid.

Time passed and you felt more and more comfortable, so after a while you were lying next to him on your stomach instead of sitting.

"This?" you asked, slipping him your phone.

"Scorpions? You're full of surprises, Henderson." you shrugged your shoulders in response and began to look further.

"I think Van Halen also have some songs that will suit you, oh! Nothin' But a Good Time by Poison will definitely highlight your crazy image."

"Let me understand something..." he scolded you suddenly turning his head toward you. "How is it possible that you are able to sing all of Ed Sheeran's songs from memory and then immediately do the same with the entire AC/DC discography?" Seeing a grimace of uncertainty when you heard these words he continued on. "I'm not saying it's a bad thing! I'm just surprised."

"Um- My dad was a big fan of this type of music, I was raised with it, Dustin too. He used to ridiculously put up with the sight of One Direction posters hanging around my room." You laughed at this memory. "Despite how much I like pop I never stopped listening to what filled our entire house throughout my childhood. Especially after his death. I'll never forget how I sat locked in my room listening to Metallica for a whole week. I guess I wanted to feel like he was still with us."

"Sorry, I didn't know." Before you had time to react his large hand was covering yours. It was warm. His touch caused a pleasant feeling, so you silently allowed it to be there a little longer than it should have been.

"It's fine." you said finally. "I like that moment when I'm listening to my playlist on shuffle and suddenly after Whiskey in the Jar some song from Disney movie comes on." you laughed lightly.

"I'm able to believe it, the Disney soundtrack definitely suits you."

You searched for a few more songs, so that in the end the list was very long and at the next rehearsal the guys will choose the best ones together. Eddie drove you home thanking you for an enjoyable evening. However, it was you who should be thanking him for the first pleasantly spent weekend in a long time. Throughout the evening you didn't think about Tom, however, in the privacy of your room sadness caught up with you. You went on his Instagram, where you saw videos from the house party. He had a much better time without you, God knows what happened after you left. Therefore, the fact that you were feeling guilty about spending the evening with Eddie made you even more upset. Despite the fact that you theoretically did nothing wrong, something in the back of your mind told you that you enjoyed your time with your brother's older friend a little more than you should have.

#eddie munson #eddie munson fanfic #eddie munson x female reader #eddie munson x y/n #eddie stranger things #stranger things fanfic #justice for eddie #stranger things #eddie munson imagine #eddie munson x you #stranger things eddie #fanfiction #fanfic #eddie munson fanfiction #eddie munson imagines #eddie munson stranger things #modern au #modern au stranger things #modern stranger things #modern au eddie munson #modern eddie munson #someone to you #banners someone to you #corrodedseraphine #aftermidnightwriting playlist #aftermidnightwriting fanfiction #ao3 fanfiction #ao3 fanfic

[lastoneout]

okay I said I was done but I'm not I just gotta vent but pls if you liked it you're wonderful and this is not directed at you at all, I'm just processing my thoughts, feel free to ignore me and this <3

I also just like....is that what Wolfwood is like in the manga? Bcs in the '98 anime he was way nicer?? I liked his dynamic with Vash bcs on the surface they seemed like VERY similar people but when push came to shove they had fundamental ideological differences that brought them to conflict. They would both decide to help people because they believed in helping people, they just disagreed about how sometimes. It was interesting! You don't usually see conflicts like that!!

And every time Wolfwood was an outright asshole to Vash, insulting him and being genuinely mean, or just being an open, unrepentant ass to every other person around him I was just like "He would not say that!!" bcs Anime Wolfwood was yeah, a bit of a jerk, but he was NICE!! He helped people with a smile on his face out of the goodness of his heart!! He liked hanging out with Milly and Meryl!! He was goofy like Vash!!

In Stampede he just feels like every single bitchy anime boy whos the protag's foil he's like Keith and Bakugo and Sasuke all wrapped into one boring as hell burrito I just don't get it!! He was interesting!! Unique!! Now he's bland!! What the fuck!!

I def saw the appeal in and shipped Vash//Wood after the original anime, but Tri//Stamp Vash//Wood? I can't even believe they're friends. (And trust me, that's not bcs I like Vash//Meryl more or anything bcs this version of Meryl is just as bland as ever I much prefer their dynamic in the '98 anime over this. In fact, I much prefer the four of them in an ot4 bcs the original anime really sells ya on it.)

But yeah idk if I even want to read the manga bcs the Tri//Stamp versions of these characters kinda fucking suck??? Meryl literally just exists to be confused and say what's happening, she never is given any real agency or a chance to shine, her "defining" moment was pointless and was barely given any time to breathe or have weight, she's a sexy lamp with a voice box that goes "huh, what?" every five seconds I s2g, and instead of a partner who played off of her and made sense she's saddled with Generic Drunk Anime Detective/Reporter 11 who treats her like complete shit constantly right up until he dies!!

I don't understand how this is a better version of the story. I don't understand how waiting to introduce Milly does ANYTHING for Meryl's character. She had an arc in the '98 anime that didn't start with her being a baffled plot tourist, you can have her be competent yet out of her depth AND STILL GROW FROM THERE. And maybe I'm just reaching but I cannot get over the fact that it feels misogynistic as fuck to get rid of your well-written GNC female character in favor of an asshole guy and to take your other well-written female character, who was basically the POV character and nuke everything interesting about her until she can't do anything but go "huh what?", stand up for herself exactly once by deciding to do what some other guy tells her to do, and shout Vash's name.

It's bad fucking writing.

Like Trigun '98 was such a breath of fresh air in terms of shonen character writing. Two male protags who are upbeat and goofy and earnest and sweet and want to do the right thing but struggle? Two well-written, NOT SEXUALIZED, MAIN female characters who are confident and strong and have arcs and personalities and DO IMPORTANT THINGS ON THEIR OWN WITHOUT HELP? YOU NEVER GET THAT. I think my queer ass REALLY resonated with it, these characters felt so wonderfully queer because of how much they subverted traditional gender roles, bcs of how they were more than the tropes they came from, but Tri//Stamp just shoved them back in their boxes and it honestly sucks to see.

And as a woman(more or less) I have spent my entire life acutely aware that shonen anime and manga Does Not and Will Not make space for people like me, and so seeing the ONE THAT DID get NUKED in favor of again, a new asshole and an old character who's had all of his caring, soft, "female" traits dragged out back and shot so he can be EXTRA rude and dickish is so fucking upsetting.

We don't get characters like the Milly and Meryl and Wolfwood we got in the '98 anime. We don't see subversions of gender roles and archetypes like we did in that anime. But we should. And frankly, if this is all that Tri//Stamp can bring to the table, then I am not impressed.

#fandom salt #negative #tri//stamp salt #I think the version of these characters that we see in the '98 anime like... #became way too important to me way too fast #specifically bcs my queer female-adjacent ass needed a shonen anime like Tri//gun 98 when she was younger #and right now #so the Adjustment is not going well #ask to tag

[ravenkinnie]

I know it's not something ignored on the show bc it's literally the catalyst for everything okay I'm not stupid I know media bitch. but I feel like not enough appreciation is given to the weirdness of silco&jinx's dynamic where yes, he takes in an abandoned child that reminds him of himself but also he's very much like 90% of the direct reason why she's abandoned BZHDHHSHSJ and I mean, on the emotional character level, not on a discourse about whether he's evil or not about it level

lile first of all silco's insane for it. like he's insane in general but the way he takes every atrocity he's committed or had a hand in and incorporates it into his philosophical and moral framework in a way that isn't fully washed out of guilt but that guilt is more so accepted as a price of the experience makes me insane. I wonder if part of the drive to keep his mental processes working like this is because of jinx at this point, because sikci conceptualized her as this betrayed weak thing that had to be forged into something because obviously he sees himself this way. but then a big part of why they clash is that jinx seems to carry not just the trauma and the ghosts but also the heavy sense of guilt in her own part in her tragedy. and I do wonder if that sense of guilt in his own tragedy is also what he recognises in himself, on some level, but there's so much self deception layered on top of it because of how he learned to work with that guilt that it just doesn't come through as much as everything else, in a way that jinx can't work the same, can't acceot that guilt or lie to herself about it. like obviously, silco thinks he's done well by her, taken her away from something that would keep her lesser, made her into something great but he sees the way jinx is haunted by her trauma and I wonder if those are the gaps in that whole way of thinking silco's built up over the years, that he's patching up as he goes

and also, jinx's perspective in this dynamic is so wild to think about, it's literally like. the hand that feeds you bit you first and there's obviously dependency and vulnerability in her relation to silco but also I imagine that a part of that insecurity and lack of stability she feels, the feelings that she eventually acts out against, isn't just that she doesn't know where she stand in their relationship because of the mix of manipulation and genuine care and the fact that silco's fucked in the head and can't show emotions and affection like a normal person. but also because there has to be sediments of resentment or anger over the way things played out, that probably facilitates driving jinx towards vi in the end, despite having it drilled into her that vi betrayed her and left her and whatnot. like the contrast of those feelings is so interesting as character motivation, arcane higkey snapped on that

also I think that's the part vi wouldn't and doesn't understand, the fact that these feelings can coexist with each other, that it doesn't mean jinx isn't aware of them, that she's brainwashed in any way. but boy, i feel like she will gain a new perspective trying to reconcile the reality of jinx with the image of powder in her head shhdhdnsjsn

#well maybe like 80% jinx had a somewhat large role I just dont know how to put her blame there in percentages #also I'm rambling this isn't serious meta dhhdhdbsn I need to re-watch the show fr so I can refresh my grasp on characters again #vi-jinx-silco dynamic with jinx at the centre is saur good and interesting I love everyone involved and their mental illnesses #silco #silco and jinx #jinx #arcane