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#anyway if you like these kinds of tropes you should watch this show!!!
timeisacephalopod · 1 year
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Weird that people treat amateur writing as inherently bad and absolutely worse than published stuff because in my experience if you want good horror amateur horror is actually way better than anything published be it movies or books. Not that there's zero good horror writers, I'm no Stephen king fan but his work is undeniably popular for a reason and I enjoy the movie adaptations of a lot of his stuff. But most horror is 5 tropes in a trenchcoat with half a plot and zero characters that are memorable or likable- a symptom of the genre killing off most of the characters in the story I think but my guys I still need to like them before they get brutally murdered.
Still, amateur writing isn't inherently bad just because Jeff the Killer exists when that amateur writing also has stories like The Russian Sleep Experiment. And god knows just because someone gave a horror flick a budget of 15 million dollars (not go mention marketing budget, which usually costs about as much as the movie) doesn't mean it's good.
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m0llygunn · 9 months
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Apologies and Promises (eddie munson x fem!reader)
Part 3 to Same Old Song and Dance 01 / 02 Summary: Hurt feelings hidden under the shallow guise of anger and indifference, in an inebriated state there’s no choice but to face the layers of truth.
Tropes: enemies to lovers (kind of), mean stubborn idiots in love, honestly idk at this point. Warnings: 18+! mature language, ‘bullying’, forcible wrist holding, pet names (princess, sweetheart, angel, baby), mentions of oral (m receiving), angst, alcohol consumption, vomit mention. Author’s note: I am resisting the urge to over explain why theres no smut and this chapter was needed to progress feelings (i know smut is a selling point IM SORRY... but soon i swear it'll be back). wc: 7.2k+
tags: @needylilgal022 @tlclick73 @ropickle @suethh @jd-johndeacon-or-jackdaniels @emma77645 @yujyujj
───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────
You didn’t wait around for him to show but you also didn’t expect to have to wait around for him to show.
You’re not disappointed. Why should you be? You didn’t want him to pick you up anyways. 
If anything, you’re pissed. 
He relentlessly badgered you last night about it. Wouldn’t leave until you agreed to let him drive you to school. He was so insistent, that he nearly slept on your floor using that stupid notebook as a pillow.
You’re not disappointed. 
───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────
“Want me to knock him out?” Steve offers and you can’t help but laugh. 
Steve was dropping off his coworker-turned-best friend, Robin, when you were walking into school. He’s a close family friend— and Nancy’s on-again-off-again boyfriend, so you happily stopped for a chat. 
“Steve. I hate to break it to you but Munson’s a veteran school fighter. He might not win every fight but he’s definitely been in more fights than you.” You say, patting Steve on the cheek as he comically deflates before you.
“Hey! I won the last fight I was in and I’ve been working on my biceps, can’t you tell?” He says, flexing his arms. 
“Yeah, yeah.” You smile, watching Steve flex his unnoticeably larger arms until he rounds up his antics and leans back against his car. “Your dad at that work conference thing too?” You ask, curiously wondering if it really is a work trip your dad’s on right now. 
“Absolutely. Any chance to get away, right?” Steve says with a somber laugh. 
“I know the feeling...any chance.” You reply, nodding your head in agreement.
“Yeah, well.” Steve shrugs. “Might throw a party, might not.” He says indifferently. You perk up at the idea of a party. It’s always the same crowds that show, you know the list of attendees like the back of your hand.
“You should, I can get Nance to come along, maybe you can rekindle.” You say, hitting Steve’s arm. This could be to his benefit too, Nancy has been bringing him up again recently and that’s always the catalyst to the ‘on again’ portion of their relationship.
“You got some kind of insight?” Steve replies, eyes studying you.
You purse your lips, choosing your words wisely. “Can't say. Bad enough I already told you my business, can’t tell you her business too, Stevie.” 
Steve smiles, shaking his head, accepting your answer because he knows that’s as close as he’ll get to you spilling Nancy's secrets. 
He knows all about your rivalry with Munson, and as much as he doesn’t like the guy, he was actually the first one who suggested sleeping with him quite some time ago. It was a joke of course… yet here you are. You figured he deserved to know that he was some sort of prophet, so you filled him in. Not in as much detail as you did with Nancy, but you told him the gist of it. 
Your conversation with Steve simmers to a lull, both of you watching over the crowd of students funnelling from the parking lot into the school. You’re not explicitly looking for it, but you can’t help but notice the lack of a certain obnoxiously loud van. 
“You’re good, right?” Steve asks, shoulder bumping your own.
“Yeah.” You sigh.
“You sure?” He asks again, turning towards you enough to gauge your reaction. You shrug your shoulders.
“Maybe a little embarrassed.” You say, shifting back and forth on your feet, eyes still flickering over the bustling parking lot. 
“Don’t be. Fuck him.” He says making you snort a laugh.
“Fuck him?” You question, smirk playing on your lips.
“No! I mean, unless you want to. But he did stand you up so…” Steve says trailing off. You try to laugh it off but it sounds more like a scoff. 
“Yup. Eddie Munson stood me up.” You say, words rolling off your tongue in a confusing cross between regret and hurt even when you meant for it to be a joke. A laughable comment between two friends who know how you and Eddie interact, who know he’s nothing more than a nuisance to you, nothing more than an incessant house fly that just won’t quit circling you. 
You never thought you’d be saying that in this lifetime. You never thought he’d have the opportunity to stand you up. 
You tell yourself you’re not disappointed, but the words sure do taste like it. 
You shrug your shoulders, shaking off your thoughts. “I should go, bell’s about to ring.”
───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────
It was during your second period math quiz. A timid, curly headed freshman knocked on the door interrupting the silence of the room. 
Mrs. Rotman stood from her desk, crossing the room, engaging in a whispered conversation with the boy. She turned to look around the room, eyes flitting over the students before landing on you. She turned back to the boy, whispered something to him and sent him on his way. 
You tried to pretend you were busy doing your quiz but it was hard with her eyes focused on you as she walked in your direction.
“Honey, your fathers in the office for you. Something about a family emergency. Don’t worry about the quiz, sweetie.” She whispered, leaning down to your level with sullen eyes that made your heart rate pick up.
“Family emergency?” You questioned anxiously. 
“Yes dear, go on and head down to the office.” She said, patting your back. 
Leaving behind your quiz that you barely had a chance to start on, you quietly let yourself out of the class. 
Speed walking down the hall, opening the door to the stairwell with enough force for the sound to echo against the cement walls and linoleum floors, you hurry to descend the stairs. With your mind busy, rifling through what potential family emergency would bring your father back to town, you didn’t even notice him standing by the stairwell exit until you stepped down onto the landing. 
There’s a moment before he looks at you. A moment where your heart beats faster. A moment where you’re flooded with scary feelings. A moment were you remember last night. And a moment were you remember this morning.
“Oh for god's sake.” You groan, leaving that moment behind, churning everything into a genuine annoyance because you fell for such a stupid trick. 
“Princess, funny seeing you here. Daddy’s been waiting.” Eddie says, smirk plastered on his face, waiting with his back against the wall, trying to exude some sort of coolness that he doesn’t possess. 
“Are you fucking kidding me?” You spit, burning hot from the inside out. Eddie deflates in front of you, smirk dropping as he steps away from the wall towards you.
“No?” He says, almost like he’s asking you. 
“Why the fuck would you think this was okay?” You sneer, voice raising in volume. He shrinks further.
“Just wanted to see you.” He shrugs, eyes falling to the ground.
If he 'wanted to see you', he wouldn’t have stood you up. 
“You wanted to see me?” You scoff bewilderedly.
“Yeah, and apologize for this morning.” He says, eyes flickering up to you.
You spin on your heels, ready to explain the situation to Mrs. Rotman and go back to finishing your quiz. You don't want to hear an apology for that.
“Shit— Princess, come back!” He calls after you. You hear feet clambering, catching up to you just as you clear the first set of stairs. His grasp captures your wrist and you get the eeriest sense of deja vu.
“Princess, c’mon, let me apologize.” He says, voice pleading as you try to tug yourself free.
“No. You can apologize to Mrs. Rotman’s math class for interrupting everyone during the quiz.” You huff, using all your weight to try and free yourself. 
“No, let me apologize to you.” He insists. You feel your heart rate pick up and in an instant you spin, startling Eddie with your fast movement. 
“Do you think this is funny, Eddie?” You spit, brows furrowed, face flushing hot in anger.
With his mouth pulled in a flat line, he shrugs. 
You know he's hardly phased by your spitfire and you step closer to up the ante. 
“No, seriously? Are you having fun, Eddie? Answer the question.” You say, burning your gaze into his. 
He doesn't indulge you in an answer, he just looks at you with round eyes. He doesn't cower, he doesn’t spit heated words back, he just remains looking at you with his stupidly big eyes. You're not even sure if his disposition is meant to soothe you, but it does and you hate it. It irons out nearly every wrinkle of anger and you hate it. 
“I know none of this matters to you, Eddie, but it matters to me.” You say, mustering up every blazing emotion you have left in you but it comes out too gentle to be anger.
“What matters to you?” He asks quietly, his face softening, eyes getting impossibly rounder. His grip on your wrist loosens as he steps closer to you. 
You press your lips closed, breathing deeply to compose yourself. Your sentiment is ambiguous, you recognize that. Whether is was purposeful or not is a mystery to even you. You wouldn't admit this matters, whatever this is between you and Eddie, never. You couldn't.
Even if you didn't leave space for ambiguity, you know what he's asking right now. Does he matter to you, does this matter to you?
“School, idiot.” You say quietly. You cover ambiguity by shutting him down and embellishing it with an insult. It's a lie, you both know it. It’s an orchestrated move at this point; he steps right, you step left.
He moves in closer to you, toe to toe, his chest less than arm's length away. His grip on your wrist slides down, stopping just before your palm, inches away from being a hand hold.
“You're only upset because I took you away from your quiz?” He asks quietly, amusement hinting in his tone. His eyes flicker to your lips.
“Yes.” You reply flatly. You lick your lips instinctively and you mentally scold yourself.
“No, you're not.” He laughs softly, eyes only watching your lips now. “You're really that desperate to finish a math quiz?” He asks, amusement becoming forthright.
He does think this is funny and it makes your blood boil. 
“Stop doing that.” You sneer but it comes out weak.
“Stop doing what?” He asks, eyes still unmeeting of yours.
His overconfidence and arrogance buzzes around in your head, spurring on your anger. You feel cornered by him calling your bluff and nothing good has ever come from that, especially when your heart is beating so fast you can't hear your own thoughts.
“Assuming you know me, Eddie. You don’t.” You snap, hammering your words into him like nails in a coffin, punctuating your words with a tug of your wrist but his grasp hardens, not letting you go.
He finally looks up at you, eyes meeting your gaze and you can tell your words stung by the mirrored reflection of hurt. He looks taken aback. Whatever he thought was about to happen, you pulled it out from under him like a mean trick and hurt switches to anger.
“So you’re really only upset because you’re here?” He scoffs, brows pinching.
“I just fucking said that.” You spit back.
“And you’re not at all upset because I didn’t pick you up this morning?” And that's all he has to say to send you into a flighty panic. You won't look truth in the eye, you can't.
“Eddie. Let go.” You seethe, tugging your wrist harshly. You bring your other hand to his in an attempt to pry his fingers off. His grip isn’t enough to hurt you, it’s simply unrelenting, a desperate attempt to finish this conversation.
"Princess—" He starts but you interrupt him, not wanting to hear anymore, not wanting to give him another opportunity to throw your own feelings in your face.
"Let go." You say, your volume raising out of desperation.
“Fine. Just fucking relax for a minute, Jesus Christ.” He groans, when you start swatting at his forearm. His own annoyance rises and it pisses you off because what does he have to be annoyed about? He’s not the one that got stood up. 
“I am relaxed!” You shriek, squeezing your eyes shut and stamping your foot. 
Eyes still closed, you listen to your own voice echoing off the walls, forcing you to hear yourself. It sounds like a reverb of hurt between the two of you. Despite the meaningless message your words attempt to convey, it sounds like a slip of honesty, a slip of your true feelings and how he’s affected them. It sounds tears short of being an angered cry.
A beat passes before the echoes subside, leaving the two of you in silence.
“Princess.” Eddie whispers softly. His voice isn’t loud like yours, it doesn’t vibrate off the walls but it still echoes in your consciousness, occupying a space hugged tightly next to your heartbeat. 
You feel fingertips ghost over your cheeks, delicate in nature despite residing in the antagonistic warland that you and Eddie have fostered together. Your heart catches in your throat and you hate it. 
Your face pinches in its default anger. You ready yourself to scold him, but when you open your eyes and all you see is soft, warm brown staring back at you, it doesn’t come. You hate it. 
He closes his grasps on your face, both hands holding you gently by the jaw. Both hands.
Your wrist set free, you pull away, storming back down the stairs. He steps forward, you run away— another orchestrated move.
Hearing yourself is too much, you need air. You need somewhere where your own thoughts can't reverb like your words against cement and linoleum. You need something to get you thinking straight.
Scuffing sneakers echo behind you as you clear the staircase, cross the foyer, and push open the door to the parking lot. You expect a hand around your wrist again but it doesn’t come. 
You slow to a walk and so does he, his steps crunching on the pebble covered pavement as he trails behind you quietly.
You round the corner of the building before leaning against the wall, expectant hand held out towards Eddie.
He tentatively raises his arm, fingers grazing yours, palm just barely ghosting your own, before you smack him away.
“No you idiot, cigarette.” You say, exhaling deeply. 
He mumbles an embarrassed apology before digging through his pocket.
“Here.” He says quietly, passing over his carton of camels.
You pull one out, placing it between your lips, Eddie’s eyes watching your every move. Flickering the lighter that was tucked into the empty space of the box, you light it up, smoke pluming from the corners of your lips as you take your first drag. Eddie swallows harshly, lost in thought.
“Well?” You snap, his eyes fleeting back to yours. 
“R-right. I’m sorry I didn’t pick you up this morning, princess. I’m really really sorry.” He says softly, strumming the chords of your heart with his words. You hate it.
“Why should you be sorry about that, I didn’t want you to anyways.” You say, trying to sound indifferent. You don’t though. You hear your own voice just like you did in the stairwell and you sound like a little kid who hasn’t quite mastered the art of fibbing. It’s a jejune lie, not even a good one.
“I said I would though, and I didn’t. I’m sorry.” He says, round eyes set on you.
The sun glimmers against his hair making the wavy brown strands look golden, a perfect match to the gold in the eyes staring at you right now.
He’s genuinely sorry, you believe him, and you hate it.
Continuing on your juvenile streak, you pocket his lighter before handing back his carton. You know he sees you do it but he doesn’t say anything. 
“Whatever, Eddie.” You mumble, taking a drag from your cigarette. 
You let your head fall against the brick behind you, eyes scanning thoughtlessly over the surrounding thick tree line. Eddie takes a step, his shoulder hitting the wall as he leans against it, still facing you. 
“Don't you wanna know where I was?” He asks carefully, a testing tease lingering around his words.
“Not really, but I have a feeling you’re gonna tell me anyway.” You retort, folding your arms over your chest, your burning cigarette skillfully held out to not get ash on yourself. Eddie exhales a light laugh before leaning into you. 
“Well, princess.” He starts, leaning in even closer. “I accidentally slept in because I was too busy staying up all night thinking about this girl who gave me the best head of my life.”
“Gross.” You scoff, hiding your smile by taking another drag.
“Fuck yeah. It was certified sloppy toppy. I think I was reborn yesterday, died and got as close to heaven as I ever will.” He says, body twisting so his head knocks against the brick wall dramatically. 
“Now you're just sucking up.” You grimace, taking another drag.
He laughs softly before the both of you fall into a quiet lull. You partially expected him to make some kind of joke out of ‘sucking up’ but he doesn’t. Only the sound of trees blowing in the wind can be heard, along with scattered chirps of birds in the distance.
“Are you still mad at me?” He asks, breaking the silence. You let your eyes flicker to him before focusing back on your barely burnt cigarette. You drop it, stomping it out under your shoe. It was a waste of a cigarette, but Eddie doesn’t say anything.
“I wasn’t mad at you.” You reply, facing towards the tree line again. 
“Okay, princess.” He sings, clearly not believing you. “But everything aside… we’re good?” He asks, watching you carefully.
“Eddie.” You exhale. That’s a big thing for him to ask of you and he doesn’t even realize it. How can you say that everything between the two of you is good when… What even is there between the two of you? Are you even friends? It's another truth you're not willing to face.
“Princess, tell me we’re okay or else you’ll keep me up another night.” He says, slouching his shoulders. 
“You’re being dramatic.” You laugh. He steps closer to you, hand raising and grasping a piece of your hair. You watch in your periphery as he swirls it between his fingers.
“I’ll never get another wink of sleep, I’m begging you. Tell me we’re okay or tell me how to fix it.” He says, tiptoeing even closer to you.
“Eddie.” You laugh again, shaking your head. The hair between his fingers falls but he’s quick to reach for the strands that fell into your face, skillfully tucking it behind your ear.
“All I’m asking for is your forgiveness. What d’you say, angel?” He whispers. You turn your head, looking at him skeptically with raised brows. 
“Angel? I think that’s hardly a fitting name.” You scoff.
“Trust me, it’s fitting. After last night.” He says, hand retreating from you to grab his heart dramatically, throwing his body back against the brick wall in a swoon. 
“Suck up.” You say trying to hide your amusement. You watch him as he continues his antics, biting your lip to hide your smile. 
He turns to you, looking up through his lashes, feigning a faux innocence.
“So what d’ya say, princess?" He questions, quirking a brow at you. "Want me to kiss it better?” He asks with a deep grin, eyes amusedly awaiting your response. 
You pause, not necessarily thinking about his offer but more so distracted by the way the sun reflects off of his eyes making them glow golden again.
He takes your pause as a yes, stepping into you, hands grabbing behind your ears, cradling your neck. He presses sloppy kisses all over your cheeks and up to your forehead, all while you protest through giggles. It’s sickeningly sweet. Truly sickening. You hate it.
───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────
“Why’d you ask my friends where I was yesterday, princess? Are you, like, obsessed with me?” Eddie mocks into your ear startling you.
“Oh no.” You groan to yourself, flashing Nancy a preemptive apologetic look. 
“Princess, d’ya happen to have a lighter? Mine seems to have gone missing.” He says, moving on from his original remark, a mischievous smile playing on his lips. 
“No, sorry. I don’t smoke, it’s a dirty habit.” You say flatly, keeping your focus on your lunch and Nancy sitting across from you.
“Oh, that’s crazy I could have sworn I saw you hanging out in the back of the school with some guy smoking earlier? I must have been mistaken.” He says, arm wrapping around your shoulder as he throws one leg over the cafeteria bench, straddling it. 
“We weren’t ‘hanging out’.” You scoff.
“Right, right. I was groveling, my bad, princess.” He laughs. 
You look up at Nancy and she’s shaking her head, lips pursed tightly, holding back her ‘I-told-you-so’ smile. Eddie doesn't typically bother you at lunch, so to Nancy, this very much looks like him 'getting worse'.
“Eddie, don't you have somewhere else to sit?” You say, shrugging his arm off your shoulder. 
“What? Can’t come have lunch with my girl?” He teases, scooting closer to you, his knee pushing against your thigh, your shoulder practically resting against his chest. 
“I just barely forgot about the stunt you pulled earlier, you’re pushing your luck, Munson.” You warn.
“Don’t call me that.” He says flatly.
“Munson? That’s your name, isn’t it?” You laugh.
“Nope, not to you it isn’t.” He replies flatly, grabbing a grape off your lunch tray before you can stop him. 
“Is there a reason you’re here?” You say, his arrogance pinching at your agitation.
“Lighter.” He sings, eyes sparkling with amusement meeting yours, stealing another grape in the process. Turning his head, he focuses on Nancy. “Wheeler, how’s it going?”
“Good.” She laughs, still shaking her head. 
“Heard you tattled on me to Princess.” He says, eyebrows raised, a smile playing on his face.
“Eddie, leave her alone.” You huff. You feel his hand raise up your back, settling slowly, before rubbing back and forth. He leans in closer to you, face brushing against your hair.
“Gotta share the attention sometimes, princess.” He whispers just loud enough for you to hear. His breath tickles the shell of your ear and you feel your heart rate pick up.
You sit up straighter, Eddie’s chin knocking into your shoulder as you reach into your front pants pocket.
“Lighter. There. Leave.” You say, finding his free hand to push it into his hold. 
“Good girl.” He teases, quickly pulling you closer to him with a hand on your waist, pressing a kiss to your cheek. 
You feel yourself burning hot and it takes everything in you not to hit him back with some sort of insult but you know if you do he’ll just stick around for longer. 
He gets up from the bench with a coy wave of his fingers and a polite nod to Nancy, disappearing into the crowd of the lunch room.
“Nancy, if you say ‘I told you so’, I swear to god.” You say, holding back your smile as you watch your friend’s eyes burst with amusement. 
“I wasn’t going to say I told you so!” She laughs. 
“I can see it in your eyes Nancy, I know you’re dying to say it.” You reply.
“I won’t say it… but I will say that you’re blushing pretty hard right now.”
“Out of embarrassment! That was embarrassing, Nancy.”
“People aren’t usually that smiley after being embarrassed.”
───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────
Eddie kept his eyes on the prize all night. Not in a creepy way, just to make sure you were okay… and because he just liked looking at you. You were making it awfully hard though, the way you kept disappearing between the groups of people occupying Harrington’s infamous Saturday night party. 
His goal was to sell what he needed to sell, then he could have his fun. So when he sold his last eighth, his heart rate picked up as he bounded through the waves of people to find you. 
He would be lying if he said he didn’t get a pang of nerves when he finally found you, all alone in the kitchen, getting yourself a drink. 
Steve decided late Friday night that the party was on. He called you up and from there you called Nancy. It’s a practiced drill at this point, Steve calls a few people, who call a few more people, and the word gets around pretty quickly. Eddie got news that night, and it was a given he would sell. He always sells at Harrington parties, similar to how you’re always drinking at them. 
“All your friends scurry off on you, Princess?” An all too familiar voice says right into your ear.
“No.” You say flatly, turning to see Eddie at your side. 
“That’s funny, I only see you.” He says, eyes teasingly looking around you before settling back to meet your gaze.
“You should get your eyes checked, there’s like 20 other people in here.” You say, motioning to all the other bodies occupying the room. 
“You know what I mean.” Eddie says, hip bumping yours gently as you pour from a bottle of something highly alcoholic into your cup. 
“Do I?” You laugh before quickly shooting back your drink. 
“Look at her, she’s a professional.” Eddie teases as you scrunch your face through the burning sensation in your throat, some of the liquid spilling down the corners of your lips from your overzealous tilt of the cup. Without as much as a second though, Eddie’s hand raises to you, wiping your chin dry. 
“Why are you so nice now?” You ask, leaning closer to him so he can hear you over the music. 
“I’m not.” He smiles, eyes leaving yours to watch as you set the empty cup down on the counter. He knows he’s lying, you both do. 
“Is it because I sucked your dick?” You giggle.
You take another step closer to him where he leans against the counter. His eyes meet yours again with a mixture of amusement and shock looming on the surface of his gaze.
“You’re more drunk than you look, princess” He holds your gaze, amusement taking the reigns until his eyes lower to the short distance you’ve created between the two of you. 
“I’m not drunk.” You scoff, rolling your eyes. Eddie watches you, you can tell he’s smiling and you’re not even looking at him. 
“Where’s Wheeler gone? You were with her all night.” He asks, changing the subject. You turn your head, meeting his gaze, lifting your eyebrows as you decipher his question. 
“You were watching me all night?” You ask teasingly, a smile playing on your lips. 
“Princess.” He exhales, rolling his own eyes jokingly. The way his little nickname for you rolls off his tongue makes your already dizzy head spin. 
“She went upstairs with Steve.” You answer, letting your hand rest on the counter, pinky brushing the material of his jeans where he leans against the marble countertop. 
“I hope she’s not as drunk as you are.” He replies, eyes on your fingers as you continue to brush them against him. You shake your head. You could tell him that their rendezvous was premeditated, and a recurring pattern between the two, but you don’t want to talk about them. 
“Aren’t you just the sweetest? First you took care of me when I was sick, now you’re looking out for my friends. Such a sweet boy.” You coo, leaning into Eddie, removing your hand from the countertop and placing it flat on his chest to stabilize yourself. 
“Baby, I think you're too drunk, look at you being sweet.” He laughs and you dip your head, hiding the way his words affect you. You’re always ‘princess’, never ‘baby’. It makes your heart beat faster and your skin prickle.
You can’t help but notice how he doesn’t touch you though. He’s always poking and prodding at you in one way or another. Last time you saw him, he was all hands and kisses to your cheeks, but now, nothing.
“Did you make a lot of money tonight?” You ask, stepping in closer to him, your thigh pressing into his as you stand beside him.
“I did good enough.” He shrugs, arms staying closely to his sides and it almost makes you want to pout. He should be grabbing your hand or twirling your hair, doing what he always does. 
“You were busy all night.” You mumble, your head down, watching as you kick at his shoe before stepping over it with one foot. Still leaning against the counter, he shifts, arms moving at his side and you almost get excited before you realize he's just crossing them over his chest. You lower your hand, sitting it closer to his hip as you move to stand directly in front of him. 
“You were watching me all night?” He mocks, copying your same lilt.
“I set myself up for that one didn’t I?” You whisper, head down. He’s still not touching you.
“You did.” He replies, exhaling a laugh. You rest your other hand on his crossed arms, hoping he’ll get the hint but he doesn’t and you sigh, slouching into yourself. 
“What’s wrong, princess?” He asks, quietly.
“You.” You reply flatly. 
“Yeah, but you’re all pouty. You don’t pout. You scowl. Yell. Threaten violence.” He teases gently, dipping his face enough to meet your gaze. 
“You’re not touching me.” You mumble, words so quiet you can barely hear them yourself over the blaring music.
“What was that, sweetheart?” Eddie asks, leaning his ear closer to you. You step in closer to him, pushing your way between his legs.
“I said, you’re not touching me.” You grumble, annoyed that you have to repeat yourself. Even more annoyed when he hears you and still doesn’t touch you. You huff, pushing your body flat against his, but he stops you, hands on your shoulders holding you away from him.
“Princess, I can’t. You’re drunk.” He says firmly, serious eyes meeting yours. Your knee shakes as you try to stop yourself from stomping your foot. 
“You can. You just want to piss me off.” You say, funnelling all of your emotions and forcing them into a short lived anger. 
“Trust me, that’s not why.” He says softly, thumbs rubbing gentle circles on your shoulders. You happily focus on his simple caresses on your bare skin, but the feeling it gives you just leaves you wanting more.
“You're touching me right now, Eddie. Just keep doing that.” You whine, giving him your best pout paired with doe-eyes. His gaze soften, eyes fluttering over your features.
“You’re trouble, you know that?” He says, flashing you a small smile.
“You like it though, that’s why you keep coming back.” You whisper. Eddie’s mouth pulls in a flat line and you think you might have said something wrong. His grip on your shoulders falls and you’re sure you did.
You’re sure you did until you feel his hands meet your waist, pulling you towards him. Your hands slip up his chest and around his neck and you hug yourself to him tightly. You absorb every ounce of him you can, every inebriated sense of yours captivated and buzzing with feelings and flutters. Even through the thump of the bass vibrating throughout the kitchen, you swear you hear his heart, or maybe it’s yours, either way it doesn’t matter because Eddie Munson is holding you just like you wanted him to. 
“I was waiting for you to come find me.” You whisper into the skin peeking out of the collar of his shirt as you press your head to his shoulder.  
In the bustling of the party, you stand chest to chest, arms wrapped around each other like this was the only way things were meant to be. He responds to you through the movement of his hands, rubbing up and down your back, touching you, just like you asked. Soothing you like you didn’t know he could. 
───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────
“Eddie, you’re not doing it right, you’re supposed to just come in. I’m not supposed to have to ask you.” You whine. 
“Princess, I can’t.” He says, smiling as you try to tug him through the front door of your house. 
“You can, you did it before, remember?” You say, giving him your best pout.
“You were sick.” He says, amusement twinkling in his eyes as he stands firmly outside, your tugs not making him budge in the slightest. 
“I'm going to be sick right now, if you don’t come inside.” You whine, punctuating your words with little stomps of your feet.
You may have taken a few more shots after Eddie broke up your hug earlier. You knew you had him at that point so maybe you took them just to spite him. It made sense at the time and as the night progressed, you were right. He was by your side the whole time, never more than an arm's length away. And when it was time to go home, you didn’t even have to ask, he was already offering you a ride and guiding you to his van.
“Princess, you’re killing me.” He says exasperatedly through a smile before stepping into the doorway. 
───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────
“Jesus, just drink the water, princess.” Eddie laughs. 
“I’ll do it if you lay down with me.” You say stubbornly. He shakes his head and you drop yourself down onto your pillow. “Please, Eddie. Please.” You plead, your eyes catching the dizzy image of him in the lowlight of your room.
“Drink the water and I’ll think about it.” He says sternly.
“Lay down and I’ll think about it.” You mock, copying his tone.
“You are so…” He laughs, trailing off.
“Good at giving blowjobs?” You giggle, filling in his sentiment. His gaze drops to the floor as he sits on the edge of your bed, shaking his head in disbelief of the moment. 
“I was gonna say ‘impossible’.” He corrects with a laugh. 
You furrow your brows. In attempts to prove him wrong you sit up, taking the water from him and silently finish it small swallow by small swallow until your belly feels impossibly full of water. 
“Done.” You huff, falling back to your pillow dramatically. 
“Good.” He says, hand patting your calf that’s sprawled against the comforter next to him. 
“No. Good girl.” You say, correcting him through giggles. He squeezes your calf, before sitting up enough to put the glass down on your bedside table. 
“Good girl.” He says to appease you, smirk heavy in his features. 
“Was I good enough for you to lay down?” You ask, flashing him innocent eyes. He exhales deeply and even in your spinning state, you know he’s weighing his options. His eyes track the span of the bed before looking back at you, seriousness written across his features.
“No funny business.” He says firmly, making sure to make eye contact so you know he’s serious.
“No funny business.” You agree, nodding your head waiting for him to give in. 
“Only for a few minutes. Sober you wouldn’t want me here.” He says, removing his jacket and tossing it to the floor.
“Yes she would.” You mumble with a pout but quickly get excited when Eddie starts shuffling to lay down. You prop yourself up ready to cozy into him but he stops you.
“Nuh-uh. On your side of the bed, princess.” He says, motioning for you to lay back down. You throw yourself to the mattress with a whined cry. 
“You’re no fun.” You huff, whine building in your chest.
“I’m not here to have fun, princess. This is serious business.” He laughs. 
You continue pouting on your side of the bed, turning enough to watch as Eddie settles into your mattress. His hair sprawls over your pillow, just like before, his throat bobbing as he swallows before turning his head to you.
“Go to sleep.” He says and your jaw drops. His lips curl into a smile, eyes dancing in amusement. 
“You’re mean, you couldn’t even say goodnight? Just go to sleep?” You shrill, trying to focus your gaze on Eddie to get your glare across. 
“Go to sleep.” He repeats, smirking as he reaches his arm to your bedside table, switching the light off, leaving you both in the low glow of the moonlight that sweeps in through your half open curtains. 
“Eddie, I can’t unless you say it nicely.” You argue.
“Princess. Please go to sleep.” He says with teasing lilt.
“No.” You giggle.
“I said it nicely, c’mon princess.” He groans.
“Eddie.” You whine, hearing the annoyance in his voice.
“Princess.” He mocks.
You scan your eyes over him, the low light helping you find where his hand lays at his side. Quietly, you tiptoe your fingers across the mattress until you brush against his hand. Before you can close your grasp, he rips it away with a tut. 
“Eddie, I held your hand when you wanted me to.” You whine.
“That was different.” He replies.
“No it wasn’t! Just hold my hand.” You say, pushing yourself up to try and grab his hand where it lies on his stomach now.
“Lay back down.” He laughs pulling himself further away from you. You drop yourself to the bed, your bottom lip quivering. It’s not for dramatics though, you know Eddie wouldn’t be able to see it.
“No. I’m tired of doing this, I just want you to hold my hand.” You whisper back. Eddie says some kind of teasing response but you ignore it, feeling too lost in the spinning of your head. 
In your current state, you feel a lot of things. Most importantly, you’re confused. These nights usually end with Nancy and Steve. Eddie's existence would have never even crossed your mind, but now, all you want is to be close to him. It doesn’t help that he’s been making you practically beg for his attention all night. It might seem sudden, but it doesn’t come as a surprise to you when you feel your eyes grow wet. Your breathing starts to come out in harsh whines from your stomach that get caught in your throat.
When the first tear falls it feels catastrophic. It feels destructive, disastrous even. It feels like a break in your guard and you aren’t quick enough to catch it. There’s no snark left in the world that could patch this up right now. So you hide.
Pushing your face into your pillow, your tears free fall.
You feel shifting on the bed and you push your face further into the pillow.
“Are you crying?” Eddie asks softly, sounding closer to you now.
You don’t offer a response, your throat feels too tight to speak. You feel like you’re drowning in more than just tears.
“Princess, don’t cry.” He replies gently, all teasing gone from his voice. “I’ll hold your hand, here.” He finds your hand, taking it in his but it’s too late. The floodgates are open, set on their path of destruction, open to exposing damage.
His hand wraps around yours and you feel small. Not because of the size difference but because there’s a reason you don’t show these feelings. There’s a reason it’s easier for you to scowl and yell. This side feels too bare, too soft, too uncomfortable. It’s unfamiliar and scary. It feels like offering yourself up to impending disappointment. It feels like waiting for someone to pick you up and they don’t. 
He pulls your hair, you pull his back. He stands you up, what can you do besides pretend it didn’t hurt?
You should yell, you should scold, you should threaten violence. You should tear your hand away, kick him out.
But you don’t. You couldn’t, not anymore. Not right now.
You just want Eddie, all games aside. You want him in the silence of the night, not through the bass of the music where one of you has to move left while the other moves right. You don’t want to dance the line of whatever this is anymore. 
You pull his hand, willing him to come closer, a silent plea through your tears, and he does. He shifts closer until you're pressed to him, your intertwined hands hugged between your chests as his other hand wraps around you, resting against your back. He soothes you with quiet promises of everything being okay intermixed with his own apologies that only make you cry harder. 
Maybe you’re not the whole reason that you two have ended up here, but you’re half of it, and it takes two to play this game. If you tap out, you’re half of the way to it being over.
If you walk away and he follows, isn’t that just the game changing again? A game of cat and mouse?
Maybe all these metaphors are stupid. Maybe they’re all a figment of your imagination that blossomed as a child from the first time he pulled your hair. Maybe you’re too old for these playground antics. Maybe you’re too old to not say how you feel. 
“I was sad when you didn’t come to pick me up.” You whisper, your sob-filled secret sailing into the darkness of the room as if his chest wasn’t there to catch your secret. 
Your words are as much for you as they are for him, you couldn’t admit your hurt before, but now you do. 
Truth tastes soft in your mouth, not at all like the burn of alcohol you’ve drowned yourself in. It’s not sweet, it doesn’t fix everything, it just creates a storm in your belly. A fight between everything you know, everything you’ve done, and something new. It’s unnatural, it makes you feel sick. 
“I know, princess. I’m sorry.” He whispers in return, his hand rubbing against your back. You imagine with every pass of his hand on your back he’s helping you fight the furries of the storm rising inside of you, but with the storm rising, there is nowhere else for these feelings to go but up. 
“I don’t want you to say sorry, I just don’t want you to do it again.” You cry.
Your throat constricts as you feel bile rising. 
“I won’t. I promise, okay?” He says softly. His words would have eased every metaphorical storm inside you, but this storm has turned literal, you’re about to vomit.
“Eddie, I'm gonna be sick.”
It’s a rush of limbs and a dash down the hall. Everything pours from you, every uncried tear, every burn, every furry, every roar of the storm. Everything you know, everything you’ve done, it all leaves you. And in its wake all you have left is Eddie’s hand rubbing your back, telling you it’s okay. It’s soft and unnatural but you let it absorb you entirely. It burrows into you, finding a place you never knew existed, a place where softness thrives and doesn’t need to be hidden by the guise of anger and indifference.
Eddie brings you back to your bed and in the silence of the night, apologies and promises lay side by side, holding hands. 
───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────
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nnight-dances · 3 months
Text
SWEET BOY
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PAIRING: lee seokmin x f!reader (ft. choi vernon)
GENRE: fluff, angst
TROPES: older brother figure to lover, childhood friends to lovers, coworkers to lovers, jealousy, skinship, dk being a blushy idiot and you being a plain idiot.
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lines are funny when it comes to your life. lines drawn from one point to another, lines forced to keep your work life and your personal life, but most important the big daunting line between you and your crush of nearly two years now, dokyeom. 
it's funny, it really is, given how much time you've spent riling yourself up over him, telling yourself that he should retain the role he always had in your life: the older brother figure. because dokyeom's heart-warmingly kind, no even more so– blood-curdingly kind, painfully nice to everyone he meets, patient beyond imagination. he's worse than any nice guys you've met, simply because he fits the archetype too well to be real. 
"don't you get tired?" you ask him, when he shows up at your door, clutching bags of take-out food, no doubt after hearing from your mom how you haven't had a chance to eat. yet, you'd emphasized to her after you'd made the mistake of letting her know you were too busy to cook. 
"shouldn't i be asking you that?" dokyeom grunts as he lets himself into your house, familiar with the place like the back of his hand. "i know mr. ko called you in and gave you an earful for missing the last deadline, but that's no excuse to skip meals."
okay, worth mentioning is the fact that while you knew dokyeom since childhood thanks to the fact that you grew up in the same household, you'd also ended up moving to the city to sign a contract with the publishing company where he worked at, as an editor. it was half a coincidence, because you can't say you sought out the company simply on its merits. 
you sigh as you stretch out a crick in your neck, "i'm not doing this because mr. ko told me to. i'm fine, i'm just trying to clear up my schedule before the end of the year. god knows i don't want to be working on new year's eve."
"and you won't," dokyeom takes off his coat, revealing a light blue sweater underneath, one that you've grown fond of. it's a sweet sweater, for a sweet man. 
"well, thanks, anyway. for the food. sorry if my mom pestered you into doing this."
"i don't want to hear a word out of you till you've eaten."
you obey him silently, taking out the lukewarm bánh mì from its bag and starting to eat. dokyeom watches with a slight smile, noting how your hair was in a ponytail, a rare occurrence. just another indication that you were forcing yourself to work too hard. 
"what am i going to with you…" he muses to himself, slowly tidying up the mess on your writing corner. the little wooden table you'd spent hours studying and testing before buying, is crowded with stationery and a few notebooks. your laptop sits blank, screen indicating that it was close to dying. dokyeom brushes off the stray balls of napkins off and into the small trashcan next to the chair, followed by all the tiny eraser dust particles. he's just plugged in your laptop when he hears you call out his name softly. 
"hmm?" he calls back. "you want some coffee?" you ask and when dokyeom arches a brow at you, you wave your empty hands, "i'm done eating! can a girl not want a warm liquid post-meal?"
"fine, fine. i'll have some, thanks." he laughs as you glare at him, mumbling incoherencies about him. 
"oh, right, i almost forgot to tell you," dokyeom pulls out his phone, ten minutes later when the two of you are settled on the couch, waiting for your steaming mugs to settle down a little. "there's a department-wide party this sunday, an end of year gathering or something. you should come, i hear the budget this year's crazy. it's at a fancy hotel and everything."
you narrow your eyes at dokyeom, "i don't know about that. work parties are a slog, dude. i can't stand to get drunk with the people who literally torture the creativity out of me."
"that's harsh, y/n. and an exaggeration."
"whatever…" you fiddle with the sleeves of your sweatshirt, "i… i don't even have a date. it's kind of a short notice to find someone anyway–"
"i'll be your date," dokyeom offers, faster than either of you could comprehend his response. his ears flush, "um, i mean, i'll go with you, if you don't… mind."
"why would i mind? i just thought you'd have someone to go with already," you say and when you catch the shy look on your friend's face, "unless of course, nobody's asked you. which i totally understand."
"hey! i don't want to take names but i've had to tell some people no already. so don't–"
"oh? so you rejected the people who did ask you? i thought you were too nice to do that. "
"yeah, i did. i didn't want to go with them. i don't know them well enough to guarantee they'll be fun for the entire night. plus, it's messy going with someone from work. you agree once, who's to say they'll keep asking you for life?"
"i'm someone from work, too," you point out, averting your gaze to the coffee, watching the evaporation swirl around. 
"you're different, silly," dokyeom chuckles out, arm hitting yours, "we're already messy. i knew you before work, and i'll know you long after. we're more than that, you know?"
that? whatever he meant, you find your heart soaring ever so much, "hm, i suppose you're not wrong. fine, i'll come to the party." if it's with you. 
that night you find yourself obsessing over this conversation. what did dk mean we're already messy? you were messy? you knew he didn't mean that like a bad thing but the word unsettled you anyway. your feelings for him only made it harder to listen to him objectively, especially when he says stuff like we're more than that. more than what, exactly?
– 
dokyeom's having a hell of a day, carrying around a headache he's had since this morning and a heavy to-do list that doesn't seem to be going anywhere despite the fact that he's been at his desk for about five hours now. he sits back with a grunt, taking his eyes off his screen for a moment to take a break. 
as soon as he tunes back into the physical world around him, he overhears his coworkers chatting near his desk, instant coffeee in hand. 
"yo, you're kidding! how'd you get her number finally?" ren, a newbie, elbows the man next to him. vernon, the man in question, is grinning too wide for his own good. 
"i just asked her for it. i told her i had some important doubts about her new manuscript."
"that didn't annoy her?"
"nah, y/n's chill like that. she was super nice about it, too, telling me she would love to hear from me."
ren gasps dramatically, "no way, do you think she–"
dokyeom clears his throat with a start, having had enough as an eavesdropper for the day. he stands up, making eye-contact with vernon who shoots him a nonchalant smile. it pisses dokyeom off, how wasn't he bothered? 
his headache's only getting worse so he decides to get himself something to eat while he's at it. some fresh air might help him. he shoots the pair a stiff smile as he leaves the office, hand clutching his phone a little too hard. as he gets into the elevator, he's alerted of a message.
speak of the devil, he thinks when your name pops up on his screen. am i expected to dress formal for this party? you ask. 
only if u want to :) he shoots back.
… what kind of an answer is that. 
an honest one. expectations are only as high as you want them to be.
you know i hate you right 
enough to ask me to be ur date? <3 <3 
you're befuddled on the other side of the chat, "who asked who?" you mumble, choosing to not respond to dokyeom's frustrating reply to your very genuine question. 
dokyeom, on the other hand, is feeling much better now that he's had a chance to talk to you. where you're reserved about your feelings for him, dokyeom really couldn't be more transparent about them. or so he thinks. but really, he's convinced he couldn't be clearer about how he feels about you– instantaneous responses to your texts, making sure you eat on time, corresponding with your mom to reassure her of your good health, careful attention to what you're into at the time so he can buy you the things you refuse to splurge on. 
to dokyeom, this was the clearest confession of his love for you. the only reason he hasn't vocalized it in person is because he doubts any good would come out of it. he's more than happy with the relationship he has with you, a safe enough distance but a warm closeness anyway. besides, he's pretty certain you think of him as more of a brother than anything. an older brother figure you've known since you were children. better to keep things the way they were. right?
– 
dokyeom's increasily unsure about his convictions to keep things the same. maybe it had something to do with the fact that you look breathtaking tonight. you're adorned in the prettiest pink dress, eyes sparkling more than usual thanks to the glitter you'd dabbed on and hair cascading down to your shoulders in curls that has him a little weak in the knees.
he does visibly gape at you when you greet him at the door with a small smile. he's flustered enough to be out of words so you're left speaking to a shell of him. "hey, you're a little earlier than i imagined. i'm almost ready. come in though." 
when he stands still despite your invitation, you frown. "dokyeom?" he bites his lip as he comes to and nods, walking in after you. "you good?"
"yeah, just a little nervous."
"nervous?" 
"you look really pretty," he musters, reddening when your eyes widen at his honest confession, "i'm a little dizzy." the two statements are correlated but you don't pick up on that, instead becomes concerned. you take his arm and your cold touch on his arm only sends him further down his dazed condition.
"dizzy? that's no good. come sit," you pull him to the couch, making him take a seat. god, dokyeom thinks he's dreaming when you touch his cheek, "do you need medicine? warm tea? water?"
he clears his throat, "n-no, i'm fine," he lets himself fall against the cushions, closing his eyes against the rush in his veins. "just– you should go get ready. i'll be back to normal soon."
you look at him in confusion for a prolonged few seconds before giving up and doing as he said. when you come back, you have a lip gloss and heels on. "okay," you announce to the back of dokyeom's head, "i'm ready, dk."
he sits up quickly, head clearing up now. he turns around to you and smiles a cheerful smile that is much more like him. "alright! let's go!" 
you watch him warily anyway, all the way to his car. "ah, your hair–" you reach out to the back of his head where some hair stuck out from his earlier meltdown. gently, you brush the disturbances away, fingers swift in their adminstrations. dokyeom thinks he might break down again, the gesture making him feel giddy all over again. it doesn't help when he feels your warm breath on his neck when you sigh, returning to your seat. "ok, no more hair casualities, we are set to go."
dokyeom can't afford to look up at you so he simply starts the car, keeping his head straight so he can drive the both of you to the venue safely. 
being in a room bustling with people he knows really helps dokyeom, for as soon as you reach the hall, he takes off in a rush, something about having to greet everyone that's important. you don't know to feel about his flight but you manage to shrug it off, trusting him enough to know he'll be back before long. 
you station yourself near the refreshments, finding yourself a flute of champagne and some hors d'oeuvres to keep you company while dokyeom does what he does. you find yourself mildly enjoying yourself, people-watching all sorts of groups and downing your second serving of champagne, when you're joined by someone. 
it's kitty, a coworker you're less than fond of, thanks to her loud mouth and overwhelming beauty. she's dressed in an immaculate white dress, face glowing even in the harsh light as she smiles at you. "y/n!"
"kitty," you acknowledge her with a cordial nod of your own, hoping this wouldn't take too long.
"how've you been? you look much better than the last time i saw, so not too bad i hope!"
your smile sours, "i'm fine, kitty. nice to see you're feeling as chatty as usual." 
"i am! what better ocassion than a party to be social," she remarks pointedly and you contain a sigh. kitty was an important coworker, unfortunately for you, with her in charge for your public image and general likeability. it really should be criminal how little she likes you for someone who has to make sure you appeal to the masses. 
"i didn't even think i'd see you around. you have a date?"
"i'm here with dokyeom, yeah." 
this seems to startle kitty, because she's speechless for a moment. "dokyeom? he said yes to you?"
ignoring whatever undertones of disbelief kitty's giving off, you roll your eyes, "it was more that he forced me to come with him, but yeah, sure, however you wanna say it." 
"wow, dokyeom's really kind to do that. he even turned me down. he must really treasure your friendship."
now you've had enough of her insinuations, so you cut the chat short. "sorry, kitty, i need to use the bathroom. excuse me." 
you break away from her, feeling the weight of her glare at your aloofness. you really don't care for her snarky remarks usual, long-accustomed to the kind of gossip she likes to generate. but tonight, your tolerance was low. you didn't want to think about why dokyeom asked you to come to the party, and you certainly didn't want kitty's suggestions marinate in your mind. but it's too late, you feel your chest tighten at the thought of dokyeom feeling pity for you, asking you to come because that's just how kind he was, and you, his best charity case. 
dokyeom spots you from across the room where he's eventually recovered from his weak condition. he feels guilt spike through his veins when he sees you storm away from kitty, who's no doubt spewed some obnoxious nonsense to make you leave the room with that tense expression of yours.
he excuses himself from his conversation to run off after you, managing to catch you as you leave the hall. 
"y/n!" he calls out, catching ahold of your shoulder. "where are you going?" 
you stop, startled by dokyeom's interception. you slowly turn around, trying your best to neutralize your expression. "um, just using the bathroom. i drank that champagne a little too fast." 
"oh, you sure you're okay? i saw you talking to kitty earlier and i know how frustrating she can be."
you laugh mirthlessly, "i'll be okay as long as i don't run into her in the next five months or so." you turn away, presumably toward the washroom. you'd hoped your explanation would be enough to soothe dokyeom's curiosity but then you hear him follow after you. 
"dk?"
"i'll go with you."
"to the washroom?" 
"uh, yeah. i'll walk you in case you can't find your way back."
"they have signs everywhere and the party's in the biggest hall here– i– whatever, i need to pee too bad to argue with you right now." 
from thereon, dokyeom doesn't leave your side for a second. you don't know what to think of it but you don't complain because your mood's much better when you spend your time by his side, shitting on the ocassional passerby and laughing at each other's jokes. 
dokyeom regrets leaving you by yourself in the first place, especially because he's almost too certain that kitty had told you he'd turned her invitation down. it was awkward to even look at her, let alone talk to her. but then again, she's never been one to care about other people's comfort because about halfway into the night, you spot her trailing back to your table with a few people following her. 
the group crowds your table and you find yourself pressed against a stranger who no doubt works with kitty. he shoots you a sleazy smile and you're grateful when you feel dokyeom subtly pull you closer toward him with a hand around your waist. what you don't expect is him to leave him arm there, draped down your back, finger resting against the small of lower back, sending chills up your spine.
"hey, you two! what're you upto, you've been stuck to this table for the entire night," kitty laughs. 
dokyeom notices vernon among the group, much to his chagrin, smiling at you boyishly. you wave back at vernon with a soft chuckle, thankful that not everyone in this crowd was a snoozefest. 
"just talking," is dokyeom's curt response. "are y'all enjoying the party?" he adresses the larger group, making it a point to not look at kitty. 
"i wish there was more real food," someones pipes in with a grunt and people laugh in agreement. 
"the wine's really good though. expensive stuff," vernon points out, looking at the wine glass propped between you and dokyeom. 
"yeah, it's maybe the best thing about this party," you chime in with a smile. before dokyeom can somehow bring up the fact that he'd been drinking out of the same glass as you, ren gasps out loud, "oh my god, guys, the mistletoe man's back!"
you look around in confusion and find a man dressed in green overalls walking around with some mistletoe stuck his chest, neatly tied with a red ribbon stuck to his chest. "the fuck?" you mumble out and dokyeom laughs at your bewilderment. "it's a stupid tradition," dokyeom says softly to you, "heard someone say it's to foster closer connections between workers."
"by forcing them to kiss?" you whisper back with a grimace as you watch a pair break away from their kiss with bitter expressions. it's fine though because they look at each other's disgust and break into laughter, their table cheering them on. 
"i think it's cute!" kitty remarks, watching the man as he turns around from a few tables over.
"shit, i think he's coming over here," ren curses. "why's that a bad thing?" kitty questions, smiling, eyes glued to the side of dokyeom's face. you might gouge your eyes out one of these days. you're too busy ignoring the ruckus kitty's causing with her frantic giggles as the mistetoe man approaches her. but then he goes past her and she goes silent, eyes coming to still behind you. that's when you realize the mistletoe man's standing square between you and dokyeom. 
you turn around to the man with wide eyes but he simply smiles, "the mistletoe man knows when he sees two lovers!" you don't know what he means till you become aware of dokyeom's arm around you. he pulls away in surprise and his face is red when you look up at dokyeom. 
"this is stupid," you murmur, hoping he'll agree and you wouldn't have to participate in this tradition.
"kiss! kiss! kiss!" ren starts a chant and everyone but kitty and vernon is quick to join in. dokyeom looks bewildered at the unison, and he looks at you, then down at your lips. "we don't have to do this," he comforts you.
"do you want to?" you ask him under your breath. you feel yourself flushing. 
"i'll do it if you want to."
you hate how agreeable dokyeom is sometimes, wishing he would decide for you, for this once. you don't want to think about all the eyes on you, the whispering that's no doubt been reignited. everyone knows you and dokyeom have been friends and maybe something more for years now, but to witness conclusive proof is thrilling to them. 
you feel frozen with the weight of the decision upon you. but then kitty opens her stupid mouth, "ah, dokyeomie, you don't have to do something you don't want to–" 
that spurs you on, you find yourself pressing yourself against dokyeom, raising yourself to his height so you can press your lips to his. he meets you halfway, as if he'd been waiting for you to do exactly this, his large hand finding your cheek so he can seal the deal. 
this goes without saying, you've never kissed dokyeom before, but the way it feels so natural has you questioning if this really was the first time. his lips are pillowy against yourself, his breath hitting your face sweetly when you finally pull away. his eyes are hooded like you've never seen them and you really wish you could memorize this feeling, ingrain it into your mind for later. 
but the moment breaks when you hear the table around you erupt with all kinds of reactions. you don't care to look though, too busy with your own reaction to handle. your heart's fluttering but your eyes feel watery when you pull away from dokyeom. you don't know what to think of all the lines you've been worrying about, the line between you and dokyeom cracking the moment you leaned into his lips. 
dokyeom's scared for his life right now. after the chaos around you settled a little, you'd looked at him and quietly asked if he could drive you home right now. he'd been quick to agree, following you out of the door without bidding anyone goodbye. but you're silent the entire walk to his car, not answering him when he asks if you're okay. 
now that you're settled in the car, he pauses before starting the engine. "y/n," he starts softly. you focus on your breathing, staring down at your hands blankly. "i'm sorry."
this makes you look up at him, mouth slightly ajar. "...why are you sorry?" you ask quietly, lips set in a narrow line.
"i– that must have made you uncomfortable. i didn't know what else to–"
"i was the one who kissed you," you comment, looking away and out the window, hands now fists in your lap. dokyeom watches as you tuck some stray strands of hair behind your ear, "i should be sorry."
should be, because you weren't a bit sorry about the kiss. the circumstances that caused it? sure. but the kiss itself wasn't something you would undo. 
dokyeom doesn't know what to say because there's so much to say. where does he even start? "i thought you always saw me as a… brother." 
"what?" your eyes hold a sea of disbelief in them but then as you blink back at a solemn dokyeom, you think it's not that crazy for him to think that after all. "well, i used to. how could i not? mom had drilled it into my system to rely on you like you were family."
dokyeom hums, "...and?"
"i mean, i clearly don't think… i don't have the feelings of a sister toward you," you mumble, your cheeks on fire when you hear your poor phrasing. "if i did, it would be a problem that i wanted to kiss back there."
"you did?" dokyeom gapes and you look at him with a slight tilt of your head. "i– obviously!" you tell him. 
he swallows, "wow. i don't even know what to think–" it's his turn to look at his hands that are trembling, "honest to god, i've never harboured anything but romantic feelings for you, y/n." he says this, head lowered as if in shame, ears revealing how embarassed he was. "i love your mother, but i swear she wanted to kill me the way she encouraged you to call me your brother when you were out with me." 
you grimace, holding back a chuckle, "i'm sorry…" 
"don't be," dokyeom sounds truly defeated, as if the work of hiding his feelings from you had finally caught up with him. "i'm sorry i didn't make myself clearer sooner. never imagined we'd talk about this because we got bullied into our first kiss."
you sigh, nodding as you mutter an agreement. dokyeom rises from his slouch slowly, coming to lock eyes with you. one of his hands comes to rest atop your own fist, prying it open so that you were holding his. you feel warm beyond imagination, feeling like you might burst open with the intensity of your feelings for dokyeom, wondering how you'd ever managed to keep them secret. 
"can…" you stop, voice hoarse, licking your lips nervously, "will you kiss me? for real this time?"
it doesn't take dokyeom a moment's hesitation to close the distance betwen you, his soft lips back on yours, not soon enough for you to get used to the gentle saccharine daze that overcame you. your unoccupied hand card through his hair, similar to a few hours ago when you'd been fixing it, but this time dokyeom lets out the mewl he'd been contatining last time.
he pulls away with a somewhat grunt, eyes starry, "there's no way you didn't know what your were doing." you look back at him, a little breathless with a look of complete confusion. 
he sighs, giving in and rest his head against yours, "when you were fixing my hair earlier, i thought i'd die of a heart attack. finally give up and move on from you, if only in death."
"don't say that, dk," you scold him, hands around him in concern, "and i don't understand why– i mean i feel like we've touched… in other ways before so–"
"i don't know either!" he exclaims, "i just– you looked so fucking gorgeous tonight and then you kept being oblivious to how obviously down bad i am for you– i just couldn't."
"hey, you weren't obvious if i didn't know! that's unfair…" you mumble, looking away with flushed cheeks. it didn't make sense to you.  but dokyeom simply laughs into your shoulder, pulling you into a hug, not much of a change for your dynamic. you'd hugged dokyeom countless times before but now you feel unimaginably closer to him, like you were actually holding him, the entirety of him in your arms. it was incredible, the warmth that blossomed inside you in the silence that surrounded you. it was love.
love shows up even in the early mornings when you're with dokyeom. he'd slept over after your date last night, when you'd insisted you would be too lonely to sleep if he promptly took off (like a gentleman, he commented). you'd laid in bed till 2 am, kissing and talking the night away, his hands finding their indents underneath your worn-out tee. 
you wake up to his nose snuggled in your neck, breathing softly in slumber, hair sticking out every which way. you can't help the loving giggle that leaves you, making him stir in his sleep, arm coming to sit atop your bare stomach. 
"sweet boy," you mumble, placing a kiss atop his forehead and watching in awe as his brown eyes come to life at the action. "you awake?" you jokingly ask but dokyeom responds with a groggy grunt, smiling with fluttering eyes. 
you run a finger through his hair. he groans, "don't wake up yet." you laugh, stroking a strand behind his ear, "but i'm already–" 
he cuts you off with a pout, "no, don't wake up, love. please, want to sleep some more." 
you sigh and shift impossibly closer to him. "all right, then. can't argue with that logic." 
with that, you doze off again. how you manage to fall right back asleep is beyond you, though it might have something to do with the fact that dokyeom's presence brings you a serenity you didn't know you could feel, a feeling that's better than the soft comforter that he himself had picked out for your bed. his arms hold you close, the sweetness melting your heart the whole time you dream, dreaming of dokyeom and of love.
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runningfrom2am · 2 months
Text
cold nights // part fifteen
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summary: you showed him colours he knows he can't see with anyone else.
pairing: coriolanus snow x fem!reader
wc: 3.1k
masterlists / nav / requests
tags/warnings: tribute!reader and mentor!coriolanus, r is very sweet (too kind for this world. literally.), sunshine x grumpy trope kinda, he falls first, violence typical for the source material, r is very smart (as she should), district twelve!reader.
a/n: another happy birthday post for @that-veela-girl bc i love her and thank you so so much for supporting me and reading my stuff and helping me with it too AH it just means so much to me!!
my asks are also open to talk about this series! (i do have emoji anons open now too!)
send me any and all of your thoughts! here!
series masterlist // playlist
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You didn't talk about a single important thing in the hour that followed. You had changed into more comfortable day clothes, something Coryo instantly thought made you look more like yourself, and somehow made your way outside onto the back porch swing.
"Did you win your prize?" You ask, staring out over the meadow behind your home as you gently rock the bench back and forth with one foot on the ground.
"I did." He smiles, unable to take his eyes off of you. You catch him staring as you turn to look at him, an excited smile on your face.
"Did you really?" You grin, excitedly reaching out and placing your hands on his thigh, hoping that it wasn't a joke.
"I did, yeah." He confirms, chuckling. "Highbottom was very against it, but the odds weighed against him." Coryo shrugs.
"Oh, Coryo, that's wonderful. Congratulations." You pat his leg before removing your hands, retreating them to your own lap.
"I owe it all to you."
"Why is that, anyway?" You ask, eyes once again focussed on the wind forcing the grass this way and that. "I knew you needed people to like me, but you never told me why."
He lets out a breath while he delays his response. "Well... The task they gave us was to turn the tributes into something people could get attached to- something people wanted to watch." He explains. "You made it easy. I just needed to get people to see you for who you were. To see that you were worth watching. That you were special." He shrugs, looking down at his lap and picking at his nails. "It helped that Sejanus's family paid out the prize, I think." He chuckles.
"Ah." You nod, not wanting to think about it anymore but still glad you got answers. "Is he upset with me?"
"Sejanus?" Coryo asks and you hum. "No, not one bit." He promises.
"I-I mean..." You stammer, taking a deep breath. "About Marcus?"
"No." Coryo repeats, shaking his head. "He left before the games started, he didn't see what happened. I explained it to him before we even left the arena, though. He felt bad for even thinking for a moment you had done something wrong."
"You're sure?" You ask quietly, eyes brimming red as you look over at him. He nods. He wants to reach out and touch you, hold your hand, but he's unsure if that's even okay. Even after what happened the night before the games, now you were treating him very much as a friend. He didn't want to overwhelm you, so he would leave those questions for another day.
"Positive."
"You don't speak of your Dean favourably." You comment, wanting to change the subject. "Why? He was very good to me."
"You met him?"
"He saw me off at the train station." You nod. "Gave me some cash, promised me that compact would make it back to you."
"Oh..." He mumbles. "He just has some vendetta against me. I don't know why."
"I see." You nod. "That makes sense... He told me that I was lucky I survived you. It was odd."
Coryo chews the inside of his cheek, and it was his turn to look out over the scenery while you watched him. "He's always hated me. I've done nothing to him."
"I did not think you would." You defend quickly, the air becoming thick around you. You answered too promptly- he would know that you were afraid. Maybe think you were lying. Even as he sat next to you, smiling more than you had ever seen him do it before, you couldn't look at him the same.
Coryo can sense that you still don't want to talk about the games in any major capacity, and it was in his best interest to not bring up Bobbin, so he changes the subject. "Your cat is adorable, by the way." He can tell that makes you comfortable enough to relax again. He missed you looking at him.
"Isn't he?" You smile, shifting your gaze from him to the back door, hoping to catch a glimpse of your pet in the small window. "He's a sweetheart."
"I'm just glad he didn't attack me." Coryo jokes.
"What?" You laugh. "Why would he?"
"I don't know! I've never had a pet. They scare me a little."
"Oh, Coriolanus Snow is afraid of a cat?" You tease him. "I didn't know that about you."
"Y/N! Lucy Gray is here!" Your mother calls from inside the house and you're quickly distracted, clumsily standing up from the bench, leaving it swinging unsteadily underneath him.
"Coming!" You call out, grabbing his hand to pull him up with you. "You must meet her, she's my best friend. If you think I'm good company you'll see she's all the better."
"I've met her." He replies, allowing you to pull him up from the bench anyway.
"You have?" You ask, brow furrowed.
"Yeah, she helped Sejanus and I find you."
"Sejanus is here?" You smile wide and he nods, a little confused.
"Yeah, he came with-" He doesn't even finish his sentence before you're moving quickly into the house and to the living room where your mother had let them in, leaving the door swinging open behind you.
"Sejanus!" You call out as you see him, almost tackling him in a hug- armed with the confidence in Coryo's honesty that he didn't hate you.
He laughs, catching you in his arms. "Y/N, it's so good to see you..."
Coryo chews on the inside of his cheek as he follows you in. He wasn't met with a hug, or near the same amount of excitement. Maybe he underestimated how close you and Sejanus had become while he was stuck in the hospital ward after the bombing.
He can see the three, evenly distributed scars on the back of your leg. Healing, but still bruised all this time later. He wonders if it still hurts.
"How I have missed you- how are you doing?" You grin, pulling away from the hug and running your hands up and down Sejanus's arms.
"I'm pretty good! I've always wanted to see Twelve, so now I finally had a good excuse." He jokes, looking down at you. "How are you, though? That's much more important."
Coryo takes a moment to notice Lucy Gray staring at him. "I take it your hello didn't look like that?" She whispers, forcing him to relax his facial expression to hide any disdain.
"It did." He lies.
"Oh! My mistake then." She replies, clearly not buying it.
He thought you were treating him like a friend, but if this is how you treated friends, he obviously did not meet the mark.
"We found you guys a place to stay." Lucy Gray continues, watching you and Sejanus chat.
"Thank you." Coryo nods at her, but he's still watching you, eyes taking up and down your body, your hair, your skin- but always finding a home on your injured calf.
"Yeah, of course." She hums, arms crossed over her chest. "She'll come around, you know."
You turn, finally ready to greet Lucy Gray. "I'm sorry, I didn't even say hello to you." You giggle, giving her a gentle, less urgent hug.
"That's quite alright, Y/N/N. You see me every day." She laughs, gently rubbing your back.
"And it still doesn't feel like enough." You respond.
"I agree." She hums, pulling away and holding onto your shoulders as you smile at her. Lucy Gray is the only one who knows what you're going through, the only one besides Lennox who knows what your nightmares are like, to have you cry with your head in her lap in her backyard or even at the lake where you used to share the best days of your lives. You felt like you ruined it all, but you felt seen with her. Always.
"Lucy Gray found us a place to stay for the month." Sejanus tells his friend.
"I heard." He mumbles, fighting back the green monster bellowing behind his eyes.
"Yes! Right, I'll get you guys there and settled. I'm sure Y/N is just dying for her afternoon nap." Lucy Gray says, gently squeezing your shoulders. You nod. Even though your visit with Coryo was pleasant, it still placed a weight just behind your ribs you couldn't describe. You needed a break, and your best friend could see it.
"Yes, well, can't get enough of my bed these days..." You joke, but it doesn't come out as lighthearted as you intended, all context considered. You clear your throat. "We are such stuff as dreams are made on; and our little life is rounded with a sleep."
"Certainly." Lucy Gray smiles, pulling you into a quick side hug.
Coryo watches, avoiding reacting to what he saw happening in front of him. With your mother, and now with Lucy Gray. No one here, apparently, just hums in confusion or looks at you funny when you say something that hardly makes sense. They know you. They understand every word; or at least they pretend they do. They answer accordingly, like it was just a normal bit of conversation. There was no one else quite like you, and he was lucky to get to hear it. He knew that, but they knew it first. By the time the games had started, by the time you won and left, Coriolanus had started picking up the habit as well. You weren't entertainment, leaving something to question after every conversation, it was you. All you. And he loved you for it.
"How long will you be here?" You ask, returning your attention to him now. Finally.
"A month." Coryo answers promptly, smiling at you. At first, he thought a month was a long time until the next train left, but now, it didn't feel like nearly enough.
"Wonderful!" You smile, clapping excitedly. "So I will most definitely see you again."
"It's you I'm here to see." He grins, a pink flush spreading on his cheeks.
It matches yours almost perfectly. "Good." You nod. "I'm glad." You almost choke over the words and hope he doesn't notice.
"That reminds me! Lucy Gray's show tonight, are you going?" Sejanus asks you and you glance nervously over at her. It seems to Coryo that his friend was too eager to engulf himself in local culture, when they were supposed to be there to see you.
"Oh, you guys are certainly welcome but..." She looks back at you as she speaks, silently communicating with you on the best way to say this. You just nod. You trust her to speak for you. "Y/N typically doesn't come. It's nothin' new to her, any of my music she wants to hear I can sing for her anytime." She smiles.
"Coryo?" Sejanus asks him now, and he looks at you the same way you looked at Lucy Gray.
You sense his hesitation. Clearly, he will only go if you do. "You know what? I wasted time, and now doth time waste me. I'll come."
Lucy Gray looks surprised, but very pleased. "You will?"
"Sure, why not." She knows why not, but she won't dig any deeper into it in front of the boys.
"Alrighty then! We better get going, I've left rehearsals for long enough. The Covey is probably out searchin' by now." Lucy Gray says, waving the boys to pass her to get to the door.
"Are you sure?" She whispers to you once they cannot hear. "Don't feel pressured."
"I want to spend time with them." You whisper back. "I'll be fine."
She nods, a look of worry in her eyes as she hugs you again.
"Coryo?" You call as you pull away, walking past her to get to the front entrance of your small home.
His head whips up at your voice calling his name, looking at you expectantly. "Will you..." You start, and Coryo watches closely as you begin wringing your hands together in front of yourself.
Yes. Whatever you need, yes.
"If it's not too much trouble, can you come get me before you go? I don't like to walk at night..."
"Of course." He answers without hesitation. "I'll be back later, then."
"Thank you." You smile, cheeks red from the embarrassing question. "I'll see you guys tonight."
You had your so desired afternoon nap after that. Your mom came and laid in bed with you, gushing over how Coriolanus was such a good guest. A kind soul, she said. She could see it in his eyes, apparently, and hear it in the way he spoke about you. You wanted to believe her, but you really weren't sure.
You couldn't help but see him differently after he killed Bobbin. It wasn't necessarily that he killed him, it was the overkill that really haunted you. That last swing after the threat was so clearly subdued. He didn't look like himself anymore. It kept you up at night- and when it didn't, it was a frequent event in your nightmares.
You woke with a jolt from your nap, picturing your mentor standing over you with his blond curls falling over his eyes. You had a hand out to try protect yourself as you slid back across the cold, cemented ground of the arena. This was a common nightmare you had since you returned.
So when you got home from work only to see him standing in your living room, with your mother who knew nothing but the good things about him, you could have cried. Screamed. You thought for a moment that maybe you were sleeping and the dreams had adapted into something worse, but no. He was there. And he was kind, and so happy to see you that the boy you spent most nights remembering seemed incredibly unlikely to exist. When you looked into his eyes, as he silently begged you not to run, he was just Coryo.
Quick footsteps in the hallway turn your attention to the door. "You alright?" Your brother asks, hand braced on the frame to stop himself as if he had been moving too quickly to do it on his own.
"I'm fine." You nod, taking a deep breath and swallowing back your fear again.
Worried, Lennox looks back down the hall before coming into your room, closing the door behind himself. You move over in your shared bed, giving him his spot back as he slides in next to you.
"Nightmare?" He asks quietly, laying on his side to face you.
You just nod.
"Was it... about him?"
You want to lie. Tell him that no, it was just the games in general, but you knew he wouldn't buy it. Not after answering the door to see the boy whose name you mumbled in your sleep, begging for mercy standing in front of him.
That was the reason you had to tell your brother in the first place.
"No, I- Coryo, please..." Your brother hears you shifting under the blanket next to him, watching as Tybalt's ears perk up from your feet. "Please... Don't!"
"Y/N?" He mumbles, rolling over. "You okay?"
Then he realizes as he sees your eyes scrunched shut that you're still asleep. Nightmares he had dealt with for almost a week now, but tonight was the first night your mother didn't insist on sleeping in the room with you, leaving him on the floor while she took his spot. He had a suspicion that your dad was doing the same, just outside the door. But this was the first time you spoke.
"Y/N." He sits up, grabbing your shoulder to try and shake you awake. "Wake up. It's just a nightmare."
You sit up so fast it makes him jump back, the scream that fell from your lips made his heart race even faster. "Y/N?" He asks, quickly crawling back into the bed and trying to touch you, help you, but you're pushing yourself back against the wall, grasping at the sheets as you looked around. It takes you a moment to realize where you are- home. Safe.
Your brother turns his head as your parents come rushing in to comfort you. He doesn't say anything about you talking until you finally settle them enough with your calming smile, assuring them that you're fine and they should go back to bed. That they needed their sleep, while your own cheeks were still red and stained with tears.
He doesn't say a word until he's sure he's heard them go back to bed, staring at you as you lay back down under your quilt and your chest is still rising and falling so fast he's wondering how you're even getting any oxygen to your blood.
"You were talking to him." Lennox whispers, and you just turn your head to look at him.
"I'm sorry." You whisper, voice still hoarse from the scream.
"What did he do to you?" By now, Coriolanus Snow or "Coryo", was a common name in your household. You only spoke of him favourably this last week you'd been home and even before that. That he helped you, saved you.
"Nothing, bud. It was just a dream." Now you're hushing him, reaching over and pulling the blanket up over his shoulder.
You can tell your brother doesn't believe you, but he doesn't know how to ask. What to ask, how to go about it without setting you off or hearing an answer that makes his blood boil so intensely that he jumps on the next Capitol bound freight train to do something you would never forgive him for.
"He didn't hurt me. I promise." You whisper again, sensing his fear. "I just..." You cut yourself off with a sigh. "Can you keep a secret?"
"You know I can." He promises.
You nod, small smile falling on your lips that's illuminated only by the moonlight streaming through the window. "Do you remember that boy from District Eight? Bobbin?" You whisper and he nods, hanging on every word.
"I watched Coriolanus kill him." You continue, assessing his reaction; confusion and shock settling in all at once. "And it was... Scary. He was already dead, but he hit him again and the look in his eyes I-..." You slightly shake your head. "It wasn't him. That was the last time I saw him. Coryo, I mean."
"How'd he get in?" Your brother whispers. "What was he doing?" It's all he could think to ask. Maybe he had gone to try and save you- to break you out. If you had told him that an hour ago, he would have believed it based on how you spoke about him.
"Sejanus, my other friend, snuck in. He brought bread to scatter over his tribute, and Coryo had to get him out safe." You explain. "He did, but not until after..." You sniff, wiping your eyes with the sheet.
"It's like you didn't know him." Your brother says, fully understanding.
"Yeah." You reply quietly. Lennox had always understood you. "I don't know if he was ever really my friend. If he's not the person I thought he was."
"I'm sorry." Your brother settles on.
"Nature teaches beasts to know their friends."
"You are not a beast." He whispers, brow furrowed.
You smile sadly at him. "You should get back to sleep."
"Yeah." You whisper, looking away and out the window at the sun beginning to set. Coryo would be here soon, and suddenly you were regretting agreeing to go out at all. "It was about him."
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taglist: @soulessjourney , @that-veela-girl ,  @dreamyysouls, @rockstarbfs , @maysileeewrites , @baybieruth , @kitscutie ,  @fratboyharrysgf0201 , @totallynotkaibiased , @stelleduarte , @secretsicanthideanymore , @bejeweledreverie , @drewsandsebastianswife , @niicole-87 , @queenofshinigamis , @innercreationflower , @nallasstuff , @scorpiolystoned , @iovemoonyy , @thatmarvelchick19 , @wearemadeofstardust0 , @regulusblackcore , @puredreamagination , @fantasticchaosthing , @becauseseaotters , @secretsicanthideanymore
okay suddenly tumblr isn't letting me tag more people than this so i just made some cuts unfortunately :') i just left the max amount of people i could whose users i recognized and see in my notifs all the time :) if you're not on here and you should be i'm so sorry!
also this taglist is closed now!! if you’d like to get a notification when i update, turn on my post notifications!! i promise i won’t spam y'all :,)
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shima-draws · 23 days
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OK, so thinking about a Sanlu au where Luffy is a Pirate King who gets so many marriage requests but does not want to get married. And so he instead insists that he gets to choose his partner through a contest where all the princes and princesses of like the countries around them or other pirates can like bring him a meal and if he likes it, you get married. The problem is that whenever people bring him food he'll just eat it and move on.
And so obviously the vinsmokes are like. Oh s***, we should get in on that. New Ally? And so they try with some of Sanji's others brothers, but none of them like work because they just made their cooks make their meals and everything.
Then eventually sanji, who wants to escape hears about this. And he knows that he can cook so he makes this amazing meat dish He is ready to present his meal towards the Prince in hopes of like maybe escaping his country and living there with Luffy. But like as he's on the way there, there's like this little girl who's starving, and so he gives her the meal instead. It was a one in a million shot anyway.
Anyway, either Luffy sees him doing this or if this was like the true test for kindness for all his partners, and sanji passes the test. Luffy's like get bring this man to me! So sanji goes before him, and luffy asks if he has a meal for him. All sanji has is like, this old sandwhich that he made for himself for the journey here, and sanji tells luffy that. Luffy tells him to bring it to him anyway, and after a lot of protests, he does. Luffy finally eats it and says that its delicious. He and sanji definitely get married.
Sorry for dumping this on you, but your artwork made me literally fall in love with sanlu so I wanted to share this middle of the night idea with you lol.
SCREAMING CRYING THROWING UP ANON THIS IS EVERYTHING.......I'm a SUCKER for AUs like this, ones that kinda give off that Cinderella vibe? The whole 'Well if I have to get married to a random stranger I'm gonna do it my way' trope is always so fun to explore
Luffy's one requirement for a spouse being that they have to cook well is SO on brand for him tbh. I feel like that's something that would be canon too. (Thinks about a situation like that in canon where Luffy's like well nobody can cook better than Sanji so I'll just marry Sanji! And Sanji double takes like wait what hold on a second--)
Even funnier would be if Luffy just met Sanji's brothers and was like. I don't like their vibes they seem mean. And all three of them being SO offended at that lmao
SANJI GIVING HIS DISH TO A STARVING GIRL THO AAAHGFHFHF THAT'S SO. CLENCHES MY TEETH he's so selfless and giving he would absolutely give up all of his dreams just to make sure someone doesn't go hungry I am GOING to cry. And Luffy immediately noticing that, pointing at Sanji and going "Him. I want that one" AGHHH 😭😭😭
ALSO YES THE CALLBACK TO WCI with Sanji's little lunch basket...the food is a total mess it's been rained on and dropped and looks awful but Luffy eats it anyway and says it's delicious...and Sanji's like oh oh oh I think I'm in love with him. Uh-oh.
DON'T APOLOGIZE THIS IS SOOO ADORABLE I'm so glad I got you hooked on Sanlu they are so underrated!!! Going slightly off topic here but I think it's really funny how predictable I am when it comes to getting into new media. Step 1 I watch a show and slowly discover who my Favorites are. Step 2 I end up shipping those favorites together. Step 3 I make that everybody else's problem. Also that ship almost always ends up being the less popular one for some reason?? Which is SO funny to me. Looks at Trustedpartner/Diode, Yujikiri and Tododeku as the most obvious examples of this along with Sanlu
ANYWAY anon I really want to write this can I write this. No guarantees to me actually finishing a full blown fic but oh my godddd this is such a cute idea and is so in character for both of them I'm weeping real tears
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natsuyuki-w · 8 months
Text
Not one of the boys
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Twisted wonderland cast realizes that (Yuu) is a girl.
Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3 - Part 4 Featuring: Idia and Ortho - Sebek and Silver
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The dark figure in our dorm's yard was unmistakable, and like in his prior appearances, I jogged to him as soon as I noticed.
- VDC you say? Are you actually trying to invite me to this?- - Why yes...The boys have been working hard, I assure you, it's stunning! And well... As fun, as it is following your "Will-o'-the-wisp", I would like to be around you more. - and then backed - Only if you want to of course! -
Much as his Fae companion, Tsunotarou laughed at my expenses leaving me with my lingering smile and owlish confused eyes. - You really seem to know no fear. - he smiled broadly - Very well. I humbly accept your invitation.- and I smiled back, hoping that he would not just bully me after.
- Will you be going on stage? - - Ah no! I'm their "manager", as Vil likes to call me. - - mmm a shame...- I chuckled flustered - Crowley didn't want to risk other schools finding out I am a girl. You never know what accident can happen. Ha ha ha - - Mm yes I can see that. Lilia told me he discovered it accidentally as well. -
I thought back to each event. Practically everyone was surprised, and I started feeling a little insecure - ...Tsunotaro, you think...Am I perhaps not feminine enough? - And he threw me a weird look - I mean, nobody ever noticed till seeing my... More prominent features. And is not like I'm going so much out of my way to hide it! So you know...- and I scratched the back of my head.
He hummed and smiled beautifully - No, I think you're plenty. - his words without an inch of tease - I think the beauty of your femininity is enhanced by your boyish charm.- ... - Wai..what!? - - I'm looking forward to the day of the show Goodnight Yuu.- *puff* and he left me standing in a blushing mess.
- Tsunotaro thinks I am beautiful...- I sighed dreamily - and he looked happy, I'm glad.-
Trope
A couple of days before the culture fair I made my way to Mr. S's Mystery Shop - Gooood morning Sam! How is it going? - - Hello (Yuu), very well thank you. Radiant as always are you? hahaha. - - Of course! My delivery has arrived yet? - I scanned the shelves. - The pile is right there next to the Grimoire. - he pointed. - You almost caught them this time. -
- Uff... I don't understand why they're so... slippery. They've been so kind to sell all those manga for such a low price. I would really like to thank them face to face no? - - They are elusive indeed. - commented Sam - Sorry, but he begged me multiple times not to say a word. - and winked. He wasn't sorry at all, he just enjoyed seeing my frustration. - Yeah yeah... I'm not here just for those; we need to refill our team. - and I handed him the list of ingredients.
---
- Another pile? - Commented Grim. - I know right?- completely missing his point. - And for like 500 Madol??? - - Shopping again Trickster? - I nodded happily to Rook - Have you seen them this time? - - Nah. Again, they ran away immediately. - I climbed the stairs to pose my new collection - And it's... so frustrating? Like sometimes they go for an hour via chat, talking about what I should watch or read, his thoughts and theories... but then they shut down completely "Sry I'm such an otaku lmao bye.'" and avoid me for days. -
- Would you like me to do a little research? - asked the hunter with a sharp smile. -...no...tho, thank you for...the thought. I guess. - I patted his shoulder awkwardly. What I didn't know then was that he already discovered the identity of my seller. - But why give away all those books anyway? - pondered Grim. - Apparently bought a stock of Mangas and he owned already some of the series. They're "sharing the words of those artworks for the greater good". Something like that. -
---
On the day of the festival, me and Grim joined the booth check team. Entered the boardgames club exhibit we found a tall boy with long hair like flames sulking in a corner of the class. - Ahh, two hours left until the research presentation...- -... Idia, what are you doing at a place like that? - frowned Riddle. - It's called anxiety. - I mumbled.
- Uwah!!! Riddle master!!! Why are you here? - he jumped. - M-master? - - Fist of steal even outside the dorm eh? - I nudged the redhead on the side. He frowned at me and taking advantage of his distraction I saw the awkward boy nodding profusely. - Are you ready for the research presentation?- turned back the little tyrant. - Y-you don't have to worry. Just wait and see. - responded the other.
I stared for a moment in thought, making him even more fidgety than before - Are you perhaps... Ortho's brother? - - Sigh... *Eh-hem Y-yes. - he exhaled relieved. - 'Knew it I saw somewhere that blue hair! I have to say, after seeing him "draw a sword" defending your honor at the VCD auditions, I was very curious about meeting you. - - I-well-there's n-nothing i-i-interesting aab-b-bout m-me...I CAUGHT THE INTEREST OF A NORMIE IKEMEN????? - he mumbled hiding from my view.
- Riddle Roseharts, Trey Clover, Grim, hello! Of course, I'll always be there for Nii-san, he's a genius, (Yuu) (Wander)! - appeared the brother in question before I could protest the title of normie. - (YUU) (WANDER)??? - Idia jumped back but quickly covered his mouth and his back faced us all for a second time. He sneaked a look from his shoulder, caught my eyes, and the flames on his head turned pink. My companions looked me over questioningly, but seeing my expression just as confused, they searched for answers in his most trusted subject.
*Blank stare.* - W-well...*eh-hem Hi Ortho! I'm sure you speak the truth about your brother, I'm looking forward to hearing the...- - ...(Yuu) (Wander) - interrupted me once more in a softer tone. The four of us stared back and forth at the pair in search of answers.
- But it's great! - suddenly quipped Ortho. - Nii-san don't you understand? Is like in that Shojo where the girl in disguise in the boy academy becomes friends with her crush and...- - W-W-WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT ORTHO??? - The floating boy started to chant robotically. - (Yuu) (Wander) has sent at 09:45 a.m., Friday 2...- - I KNOW WHO HE IS BUT WHAT GIRL ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT??? - - (Yuu) (Wander), student at Night Raven College, is a non-magical human being. Gender Female, height...-
- Stooop - I interrupted the chaotic theatric playing before our eyes. - 1, How was I unaware of sending messages to...you... - but the teenager was no longer with us, his soul probably left his body, and the now empty shell lay on the ground stiff...- ...and 2, when did you find out about me, Ortho? Being a girl that is. - I got closer to check on the dorm's leader's well-being. Tho, sensing my nearby presence he recovered immediately and ran out in a string of apologies. His hair turned a Barbie pink.
- I... Hope his presentation goes well. The magic, engineering that he specialized in has a lot of interesting articles about modern magic. So let's hope this...predicament hasn't caused too much brain damage. - pondered Riddle. - I'm a bit worried, but I'm sure he is going to recover. - and the little Sheoud turned back to us.
- So... What just happened exactly? - trailed off Grim. - You asked: 1, how were you unaware of sending messages to my brother? Nii-san has been chatting with (Yuu)San under the nickname of "Gloomy Samurai" in the second-hand shopping app: Twyst. - *GASP! I reacted dramatically - He was my generous dealer!!!! - - What was he dealing to you??? - Riddle panicked already picturing me falling into the drug club. - One launched Man, flexible cover edition from 01 to volume 23, Junior High attack, redesigned edition, flexible cover, complete... - - Mangas Riddle, Mangas. - I reassured.
- And for number 2: I scanned and stored your physical information when we met the first time. - he confessed nonchalantly. - That's... Fascinating intimidating. - I commented, eyes wide open. - And what was that Shojo girl in a boy academy... - teased Trey. - Please Ortho, don't answer that.- I flashed the green-haired boy a sharp gaze.
I had the impression Gloomy Samurai would've shut me down completely from this day on, and if before there was little possibility of him wanting to meet up in RL, now... stupid to even take it into consideration. - Say Ortho, what's your brother's favorite food? - If I couldn't thank him with me present physically or digitally, a gift would've sufficed.
Title
- TSUNOTARO????? - Sebek was in a tantrum.
- You too? - I murmured in disbelief once they finished their back and forth - Tsunotaro, can I confirm a suspicion of mine? - he smiled and nodded curious about what was going on in that small brain of mine. - This is just a stretch... But is it perhaps that you are searching gazes different from "Mighty prince" or "Terrifying magic user"? I mean why come to a public school otherwise right? -
His faithful knight threw again insults, but the subject himself stayed quiet. Silence needed to be fulfilled for my brain to function so I rumbled even more, in search of an understandable response from the boy - You know,...People can be so focused on What we are, instead of the Who. I mean I thought of it because I saw in us some similarities...Of course, is totally on a different level and type,...but, you know,... I can see a behavior change when my friends discover I'm a girl. And it's...- - WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT??? - Sebek screamed and became a blushing mess.
Silver widened his eyes in realization. - The infirmary, it wasn't a dream...- and pink gradually made its way on his face. I flew a hand on my mouth. - I got lost in my thoughts. - Malleus petted my hair chuckling while Grim clapped his paws with a flat face - It could've gone worse - I enquired to the cat - It could've rained...- I joked nervously.
- NOW EVERYTHING IS CLEAR! You have been luring our master! - screamed Sebek - That's why he has permitted you so much! For sure, under that innocent cute look, you're hiding some secret spell, seducing him you little witch. And grumble, grumble, grumble... - - I would take this as offense honestly - I murmured to the prince. - I would take that as a compliment, cute innocent witch, fufufufu.- he teased.
After recovering from my blush, he was still on fire with his ranting. So I decided to suffocate it with my trashing around - Doll, I'm not stealing your man dah. - - Wha...- As I predicted, his voice died stunned. - Not this again...- groaned Grim recalling the joke Catfights between me and my ginger friend.
- This relationship is completely consensual. - I gestured, and perplexed but very amused Malleus nodded - See? And now, look at ya. - I returned to Sebek - Chasing after him, seeking attention - and with a click of my tongue I concluded - so desperate. - - You... Never stop to surprise me child of man. -
---
Earthquake magnitude 6.2 in the Isle of Sages Possible causes: tectonic plates moved by repeated sound waves with abnormal peaks of decibels. Location: Night Raven Collage.
---
They say that I'm a witch And that I weave a spell Well, I'll be a son of a I don't know what Well, let me tell you brother I'd rather be burned as a witch than never be burned at all (I'd rather be burned as a witch - Eartha Kitt)
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*Eh-hem so... What happened? - inquired Crowley. Both me and Ruggie despite the clear frustration of the headmaster, sat nonchalantly, being confident in our innocence.
~
I roamed my eyes on one of the topper shelves in the library holding on a ladder to reach them better. - What are you doing up there (Yuu)? - I heard a whisper from the ground. - Oh! Hi Ruggie! Just searching for my way home. What about you? - Maybe I could find some documents about magical transportation or alternative universes. - Ehmm okay(!?) Me? Same usual, Leona's chores. I'm taking some books for him or he'll just forget to do his research. - - Lazy ass... - I snorted reaching for another book. - Leona. That's who he is. *Shshshsh.-
His eyes then darted down. On the topic of asses. - *Eh-hem... Can you lend me a hand? I think I saw one of the books I need up there. - - Oh sure! Which one?- I responded. - There on the third, no no the fourth down,... Yep, A little more on the right...- - This one? - I glanced back. - No no the other one on the left. *Shshshhshs -
Yep, TOTALLY looking at the books.
* SBAM I jumped down. - AARGH DON'T HIT ME! - and neither of us expected the disaster after that.
~
- That's what you get looking at my boogie! - - YOU WERE TRYING TO THROW THAT BOOK AT ME! I can't believe you chicks! Thinking you have permission to use violence on men, am I right? - - NO I WASN'T! I just jumped down, You scared off yourself and hit the shelf on your own!... And don't deflect!!! You were the one scheming to... -
- SILENCE!!! - Crowley's strong voice covered both of ours. - Ruggie. - he called out sternly. The ears of the hyena were now flat waiting for the worse. - By "chicks" you mean,...girls? - he then trailed his eyes on me with that scary glowing gaze of his. Ruggie thought about it for a while and then smirked. - Yes. I meant girls. - he probably thought the Crow would get too distracted, so he could make a run out of his disaster. - That's quite an interesting predicament (Yuu)... Didn't I warn you to take secrecy? How is that this dear student know?-
- You... Didn't know, headmaster? - I blinked confused. - Know what? - I caught him unprepared. - *ps... What are you doing???- whispered-yelled Ruggie. Sure, he wanted for me to be scolded for HIM knowing, but he didn't expect... - I thought either Azul told you or you had noticed already. - I responded. - Aw. That's nice! It means they really did maintain the secret. - I reached the ahs blonde boy and patted his cheek. - I have such good friends! - - H-hey!It's because there was no advantage in telling anybody.- Embarrassed, he drove my hand away.
- (Yuu).- - Yes? - - EXPLAIN. NOW -
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Finished this series!!!! Ruggie was with Silver the less brought up in the "discovery timeline", so I thought it might've been nice to include them a little more with two mini stories (Silver's is in part 3).
Malleus, on the other hand no, he didn't need more timing. But my simping for him did.
I hope you had a fun time with lil old me! Wish you the best, 'till next time! ✨💙
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willbyersabyss · 9 months
Text
Mike is gay
Disclaimer: This is my personal interpretation and is not meant to start discourse. Anyone who calls it discourse will be blocked, thanks!
The biggest reason why people believe Mike is attracted to girls is because of his relationship with El, especially in season one. I don’t think he was genuinely interested in her at all. I think Mike was and has been experiencing a lot of compulsory heterosexuality. That’s not to say that Mike has been intentionally deceiving El all this time, a lot of his behavior was subconscious! That’s how socialization works! We aren’t always aware of the expectations being forced on us and this is especially true for heterosexual socialization. Now let’s see how the show hints at Mike’s relationship with El being a case of comphet:
We are supposed to believe that Mike fell in love with El when they met, but when we watch the first week they spent together, it’s pretty obvious that that’s not the case. Mike showed simple kindness to El when they first met because she was clearly scared and traumatized. Mike is a very protective person, as we learn throughout the show. He wasn’t being kind to her because he’s romantically interested, he’s just a protective person. 
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El is the only girl in the show that Mike shows “interest” in. It’s established before Mike’s crush develops that El looks like a boy to outsiders! We are also reminded of this after there are romantic hints between mlvn (when Troy is talking to the police). She doesn’t even look like a girl! So the only girl we see Mike with in a romantic context looks like a boy. Yeah that supposed attraction to girls isn’t looking great right now.
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Mike and Dustin are discussing how El got her powers when Lucas starts accusing Mike of having a crush on El. Mike didn’t say anything remotely romantic about her, he was just correcting Lucas that it’s okay to be weird! Also it’s interesting how they only compare El to male superheroes. Not only that, they compare her to the X-Men! Lucas believes Mike is interested in El right after they compare her to men? Okay.
Edit: Despite the deceiving name, the X-Men are actually not all men! There is a woman superhero with telekinetic powers that they were likely comparing El to. The choice to use the name X-Men rather than the actual character is an interesting choice, though!
Side note: I feel like Mike had similar views to Jonathan on normalcy in the beginning of season one, but that changes as people lead Mike to be with El. He thought it was okay to be different, maybe even cool, until his friends and family told him otherwise. Anyways!
Mike seems genuinely confused during this scene. This isn’t the typical “What? No way!” reaction that an embarrassed 12 year old would have when discussing a crush, Mike genuinely doesn’t understand why Lucas made this assumption. If you watch the scene, Mike’s tone isn’t defensive or embarrassed. If Mike had a crush on El at this point, why was he confused by Lucas’ assumption? This is definitely where Mike starts to mix up admiration for love. Lucas has a huge influence on how Mike views relationships. Since Lucas thought Mike had a crush on El, Mike must like her right? Mike starts viewing El in a different light after this interaction, beginning his comphet journey. 
Mike only starts to show signs of a “crush” on El after Lucas implies that he should. A boy being nice to a girl? Must be love! This is a huge sign of heteronormativity. Mike starts acting on these heteronormative expectations. He gives El a makeover to make her look like the ideal girl, he calls her pretty while acting out the “guy sees girl all dressed up and is shocked!” trope, and gives her special attention. Honestly I’m trying to find more romantic mlvn moments in s1 to help my point and there just… aren’t any. That’s it. He calls her pretty a few times and then they kiss at the end. 
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This line sticks out to me. El is the first girl that isn’t “grossed out” by Mike and this is why Mike likes her. He doesn’t like El, he likes the concept of El. Mike is a very insecure person who has been called ugly by bullies his entire life. When El, a cool superhero, shows interest in him, he feels like he must be cool by association. He’s been told that girls being attracted to him is a marker for importance and he finally has that. Mike doesn’t want girls to be interested in him because he wants a girlfriend, he just wants his insecurities to be relieved. Mike admires El’s super powers because she’s similar to the (male) superheroes he admires. His relationship with El is based on admiration and the desire to be desired rather than actual attraction. This is a common symptom of comphet (from personal experience). 
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Later on, El asks if she’s still pretty without the wig. Mike reassures her that she’s pretty and then he makes a face. What is this facial expression? Why does he look grossed out after calling El pretty? El starts to lean in towards him and he just stands stiff. He does this in later seasons as well, but I’ll get into that later. El is trying to kiss him (?) and he’s frozen. Why isn’t he leaning in too? It seems like he doesn’t want to kiss her. Interesting. 
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Mike and Nancy have a conversation about their new love interests. Nancy assumes Mike was acting weird because of Will and Mike thinks she’s been weird because of Steve. The thing is, they were right. Nancy was acting weird because of Steve! She was performing a big act of conformity at the beginning of the season. What was this conformity? Ditching her nerdy interests and trying to grow up by getting a boyfriend. Sound familiar? That’s a surprise tool that will help us later. Mike was being weird because he was grieving and looking for Will. Everything he was doing was to find Will, even hanging out with El all the time. They’re both right in their assumptions here while implying that they were wrong! 
Nancy, like Lucas, has a big influence on how Mike views relationships. When she assumes he likes El, he acts grossed out because Nancy denied his accusation that she likes Jonathan seconds earlier. He’s mirroring her because he admires her, whether he wants to admit it or not. We see him find her cool for breaking the lock just before this! He wants to be like his big sister. So now two people Mike looks up to have tried to get Mike to see El romantically. Mike is definitely internalizing these assumptions. Everyone thinks he likes her, so must like her, right? 
It’s interesting how Nancy implies Mike’s behavior around El is weird. It feels similar to…
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Another person who finds it weird that Mike is hanging out with a girl. Is this just Mike’s family teasing him about being nerdy, or is he lacking an interest in girls in their eyes? The people closest to Mike (Lucas, Nancy, Ted, and Karen) all find his behavior around El to be weird. I don’t necessarily think they suspect that Mike is queer, but from the audience’s perspective, this may be hinting at him being gay.
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This conversation is extremely queer coded as well. Karen talks about being more open while Mike is literally hiding someone in his closet! Mike is hiding a girl (who looks like a boy) in his closet. Is he hiding his lack of attraction to girls in the closet?
“All this that’s been going on with Will, I can’t imagine what it’s been like for you.” Is the beginning of this conversation. So what was going on with Will? Obviously that he was missing, but what exactly did the town think happened to Will? They thought he was killed either by a homophobe or another queer person. Karen seems to be fairly popular in Hawkins so she probably heard these rumors. On the surface, this just seems like a conversation about grief, but when you look closer, is Karen trying to spark a deeper conversation with Mike about these rumors and how they make him feel? If so, what does Karen believe Mike is hiding here? She obviously knows how special Will is to Mike and she might suspect that he is queer too. Maybe in the same way Will is...
Anyways, back to what Nancy said. So after Lucas teased Mike for crushing on El, Mike started to see El differently than before. He feels like he has to develop feelings for her because his friends are expecting it, so he starts to force his behavior to change around her. Instead of just showing basic kindness, there’s more of a tenderness in the way he treats her. He’s testing out Lucas’ theory! Once Nancy accuses Mike of liking El, Mike’s act of conformity gets pushed to its limit. He only tries kissing El after his conversation with Nancy. When El seemed like she was going to kiss him before, he wasn’t into it. Mike is trying to hide his lack of interest in girls by pushing himself towards the only girl that has shown interest in him because everyone is telling him that’s what he should do!
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And here we are. What is this? This is just… weird. Why did they have this said about what’s supposed to be a romantic couple? This isn’t the first time either. The boys said she was Mike’s cousin earlier. I know there’s a trope where characters call each other friends before getting together, but this is just a whole other level. 
El expressing that she sees Mike like a brother right before they kiss is not a good sign! Mike says that his relationship with El is different, but starts to backtrack. “It’s different… or I guess it’s not.” Um? I don’t think Mike views his relationship with El as familial at all, of course not, but this tells me that he only really sees her as a friend. If he was actually attracted to her, why would he even imply this at all? This also shows how he’s letting other people change how he views his relationship with El. He’s trying to say that he likes her until she implies that they’re more like family, and then he changes his mind. Mike is easily swayed by other people’s opinions when it comes to relationships (at least in season one). 
So I believe Mike mixed up admiration for El with romantic feelings and this was heavily influenced by others pushing him to be with her. Since El is really the only girl he shows interest in in the show (which I’ll get more into in a bit), this points to him being gay! Mike wasn’t purposefully using El to hide being gay, I don’t think he was aware of his queerness yet, but he was conforming to the expectations placed on him. 
Now that we’ve established that Mike’s feelings for El were not genuine, let’s get into the other evidence of him being gay:
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Boys only! This line feels like it has similar implications to Will’s “free of girls!” line. If Will wanting to be free of girls is a hint that he’s gay, then Mike’s “boys only!” serves the same purpose. The same goes for Will’s cluelessness about girls (Girls don’t play video games. Girls go to science camp?) Mike is clueless about girls the entirety of s3 and even agrees with the video game line Will said in s2. They’re clueless about girls because they’re gay. Of course, real teenage boys are often clueless about girls, but I’m thinking about this in the context of a TV show. What does this tell us about Mike? It could just be for relatability but I think there’s something deeper there.
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And here are a few shots of Mike looking disgusted or angry at the thought of showing attraction to girls. The first scene is where Dustin tells Mike he is going to flirt with a bunch of girls. Why is Mike making that face? Flirting with girls confuses and disgusts him, apparently. The fourth scene is where Lucas tells Mike to talk to El with ominous music playing in the back. Why is scary music playing when Mike is thinking about talking to a girl? That’s kind of gay. 
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Mike, like Will, showed no interest in winning over Princess Daphne while Dustin and Lucas fought over her. But Mike staying quiet doesn’t mean he’s disinterested, right? Nope! Princess Daphne foreshadowed Lucas and Dustin fighting over Max. Mike showed zero interest in Max. Even Will was (platonically) intrigued by her, but overall he was indifferent. Mike and Will have the same reaction to Max. They aren’t showing attraction to her, unlike Dustin and Lucas. Again, Mike and Will having similar reactions to girls points to their sexuality being the same. Mike’s reaction was actually more extreme compared to Will! He was trying to kick Max out!
"Awesome? You haven't even spoken a word to her." Funny coming from the person who claims to have fallen in love with a girl at first sight. But that's a topic for later.
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Mike didn’t want Max to join the party because he didn’t like the idea of his friends moving on from their more nerdy interests to get girlfriends. They were ditching Halloween to impress Max. Mike’s behavior towards Max in s2 is the same as Will’s behavior towards El in s3. Will didn’t want to move on from DnD for girls! We know Will is gay, so what does this entail for Mike? If Will’s annoyance towards his friends hanging out with girls was a sign that he’s gay, then we can assume Mike’s annoyance in s2 was for the same reason. Obviously, both Mike and Will have multiple reasons for their behavior, but one of those reasons has to do with them being gay.
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El tries to kiss Mike and, for a second time, he stands still. His eyes are wide and he almost looks scared? He’s not looking at her lips or showing any attraction towards her. Why is it that every time El tries to kiss Mike first, he’s like a deer in headlights? It’s almost like he needs to talk himself into kissing her and that’s why he doesn’t like when she does it first. Seems pretty gay to me!
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I feel like Mike started to pick up on his feelings for Will here. They felt the spark for most of the season, but the Snow Ball is when it really clicked for Mike. He started mirroring the actions of his friends and family from s1 by pushing Will towards a girl. Everyone did it to him so Mike thought this is what he was supposed to do! So why does it feel so wrong? Mike starts putting the pieces together and he’s scared of what he’s feeling. He complained about his friends growing up and moving on to get girlfriends the entire season, but at least he had Will, right? Then this girl takes Will from him too and now Mike is left in the dust. He feels like he has to do the same so he runs into the safety net of El to try and push his newfound feelings for Will away and be normal.
This kickstarts Mike’s behavior in s3. He’s going after a girl to try and be normal so he can be safe! He’s scared to acknowledge his feelings. Why isn’t Will doing the same? Mike is scared for both himself and Will. Mike has heard what everyone thinks about Will, so why isn’t Will trying to prove them wrong? I feel like Mike’s outbursts at Will are not only because of his repressed feelings for him, but also because he’s confused why Will can be so loud about not caring about girls while Mike is trying everything he can to force himself to like girls. They’re supposed to be “growing up” and getting girlfriends, but Will doesn’t want that and neither does Mike. Mike is trying to conform so he doesn’t face the same fate that Will has faced his entire life. It gets so bad that Mike starts to contribute to the struggles Will faces for not wanting to conform.
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The rain fight makes so much more sense in this context. Why was Mike so frustrated that Will didn’t like girls? He wanted Will to be conforming the same way he was because conformity is safe. Otherwise, Will was putting himself in danger. I’m not saying that Mike knows that Will is gay, but Mike has watched Will get bullied for exactly that so he expects Will to conform to avoid the bullying! Mike was advocating against getting girlfriends until Will seemingly got a girl at the dance, so when Will didn't even stay with that girl, Mike’s effort was for nothing. Mike thought he had no other choice but to force himself to like a girl and when Will shows that that’s not the case, Mike wishes that he could do the same. Mike takes his internal frustration out on Will because he wants Will to be safe instead of chasing after the things they both want but can’t have (playing games for the rest of their lives). 
And so we come to the conclusion that Mike was projecting onto Will during their fight. “It’s not my fault you don’t like girls!” Is Mike’s internal struggle being taken out on Will. “What did you think, really? We were never gonna get girlfriends?” And Mike thought exactly that in s2! He thought the party would stick together for a bit longer until Dustin and Lucas ditched them for girls. This tells us that Mike was projecting here because he had the same thought he’s accusing Will of. So if these lines are projections, that means that Mike doesn’t like girls. He has to be gay.
Let’s use that surprise tool I mentioned earlier! Nancy ditched her nerdy interests to get a boyfriend (Steve). That’s where Mike initially got it hammered in his head that growing up means getting a girlfriend and moving on from “childish” things. Nancy’s relationship with Steve is an act of conformity and we know this thanks to Barb who calls Nancy out on her behavior. Will is doing the same to Mike! The argument Nancy and Barb have (this isn’t you) is a small parallel to the rain fight. Mike is conforming because he has witnessed others do it and has been told to do so. He can be like his straight sister, right? 
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Once again, we have El initiating a kiss with Mike standing completely still. That’s the third time this has happened! If Mike was just surprised, why didn’t he start to kiss back? Or at least close his eyes? He had plenty of time to react. When El leaves, he has a strange expression on his face. The way his eyes dart around show that he’s realizing something, a realization in front of the closet with a lightbulb over his head. Mike thought that if he kissed El enough times, romantic feelings would eventually develop and his feelings for boys would just go away. This moment in Will’s room is when Mike realizes that those feelings are not going away. 
If this realization was just about Mike figuring out he’s attracted to boys, why is it happening after kissing a girl? Why is he standing in front of a closet while kissing El? His realization is not about liking boys, it’s about not liking girls. If Mike was realizing that he likes both boys and girls here, it would have happened after his talk with Will, not his kiss with El. He feels the need to hide in the closet because his repression is not working.
The Hopper’s letter sequence supports this as well. Mike is shown during these lines:
 “I feel like you’re pulling away from me or something.”
“I don’t want things to change.”
“So, I think that’s maybe why I came in here, to try to stop that change. To make things go back to how they were.”
El isn’t the one pulling away from Mike. We just saw her tell him she loves him! This line is foreshadowing events between seasons. Will doesn’t try to call Mike and they don’t have any contact. Mike tries to call, Will is pulling away. How is Mike changing? Of course, things are changing because the Byers are moving, but I sense a double meaning here. These scenes parallel the night they found Will’s body at the quarry. Mike feels like he’s losing Will for a second time because things are changing. Mike’s feelings are changing.
And this leads us into s4. Mike still attempts to repress his feelings by staying with El and it’s getting easier since she’s across the country. He doesn’t have to face his feelings for Will when he can’t see him!
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Now let’s talk about his room decor. He has a couple of buff men (well one is a dragon but still) and one woman. This may be an unpopular opinion, but I don’t necessarily think that room decor is always an indicator for sexuality. Nancy has posters of women in her room and as much as I love to hc her as sapphic, I think it’s more likely that she’s meant to be straight in the show. So, in my personal opinion, the woman on Mike’s poster isn’t hinting at his sexuality.
I do think the one way sign is important, though. I believe this serves a double meaning. It’s pointing at the closet, but it’s also hinting at Mike’s sexuality being one way. This sign points in the same direction as Mike’s triangle pocket that’s over his heart and always pointing at Will. Mike’s heart is not split between El and Will, it goes one direction. Will! A boy!
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Speaking of split, let’s talk about this. This line is commonly used as bi evidence, but I don’t interpret it that way. I think this was more foreshadowing who Mike pays attention to throughout the day. Yellow is Will and purple is El! We see Mike noticing all the details about Will being upset, but he doesn’t even pick up on El looking uncomfortable when Angela shows up. He was focused on Will more than he was El! If this line was about sexuality, why didn’t they make it blue and pink (the usual colors for gender) instead of yellow and purple? This feels more person specific rather than an overall read on Mike’s sexuality. And this could just be a double meaning but again, this is my personal interpretation.
Also this line is in past tense. “I kinda did a 70/30 split.” If this is a double meaning for his sexuality, it’s in the past tense. He tried to do a split and it didn’t work because there’s too much yellow! His attraction to boys overshadows his (nonexistent) attraction to girls!
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And now onto this load of bullshit. Mike lied. That’s pretty much a fact at this point. “I’m sorry I don’t say it more.” And he’s literally never said it to her face. “It’s not because I’m scared of you. I’ve never felt that way.” Lie. He was definitely scared of her a few times in s1 and possibly when she hit Angela in s4. But the most important lie here is that he fell in love with her at first sight. Hours after they met, he wanted to send her to a mental asylum so they could find Will. He only started to really care about her when he found out she was in danger and when she said she could help find Will. He called her a weapon and yelled “what’s wrong with you?” multiple times. That’s not love. If Mike ever had feelings for El, why would he feel the need to lie about when that happened? He could’ve said the Snow Ball or some other significant moment in their relationship (there are none), but he lied! He couldn’t name the actual moment he fell in love with her because it never happened. So if Mike never had feelings for El, that means he’s gay. Mike doesn’t show attraction to girls otherwise!
The climax of the monologue is the “you’re my superhero” line. Mike doesn’t even view calling someone a superhero as romantic. He calls his friends superheroes multiple times. Why the hell is that the climax when he doesn’t see it as romantic? And what kind of superhero? Every time Mike refers to El as a specific kind of hero, it’s a male hero. The X-Men and Superman. Other characters are perfectly capable of calling El “supergirl” or saying she’s like Wonder Woman. Why does Mike seem incapable of acknowledging his girlfriend’s femininity? Gay!
I didn’t really talk about how he shows attraction to boys because if you’re reading this, I assume you know that already. I’m just going to leave this here and it should be enough:
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And with that, I’m going to wrap this up here. There’s more evidence I could address, but I wanted to focus on the evidence that’s most significant to me! Mike has not shown genuine attraction to girls and his relationship with El is a form of compulsory heterosexuality. Also, yes the show will confirm his sexuality in some way. Mike doesn’t exist just to be a love interest. His journey through queerness is just as important as the currently confirmed queer characters. I think they’ll confirm it in a similar way to Will and Robin where it’s not explicitly said, but still obvious. Michael Wheeler is gay!
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0mysticmidnight0 · 22 days
Note
★HEY, HELLO HI AGAIN, SO UUUUUH, I'VE GOT A REQUEST- AN IDEA FOR THE PB&J YANDERE DUO SJSSSK★
★SO LIKE UUH- YANDERE PB&J DUO WITH A BORROWER!READER UURRH- THE TROPE WILL BE PLATONIC EEERH★
★SBSJSBS HERES THE PLOT (it's long)★
_____________________________________
| IN THIS ONESHOT- MIKEY HAD A LITTLE IDEA TO GET/MAKE SOME CLOTHES FOR [READER], BECAUSE, SINCE THEY ARE A BORROWER (and borrowers are like, 6 inches tall), THEY DON'T HAVE ANY ACCESS TO Y'KNOW, FANCY OR STYLISH CLOTHES. ANYWAY, SO HE INVITED DONNIE TO JOIN IN AS WELL- SO HE CAN INSTRUCT THEM ON WHAT COULD SUIT THEM MOST (since it's known by the fandom that he is the most stylish of the brothers, which I love bdhddh).
YEAH, THEY END UP HAVING A DRESS UP SESSION WITH THE READER, ALL SEEMS GOOD AND FUN!! HOWEVER, AFTER SOME TIME PASSES, [READER] GETS BORED/TIRED OF THE SESSION, AND MAYBE A LITTLE CREEPED OUT AS TO HOW THEIR FRIEND'S KNOW THEIR MEASUREMENTS-.
THEIR EXACT MEASUREMENTS THAT IS.
THEY ALSO FEEL A LITTLE SUFFOCATED (not literally), BY THE FACT THAT THEY GET TO CHOOSE THEIR OUTFITS FOR THEM, SHUNNING AWAY THE CLOTHES THAT ATTRACT THEM. (ahem, ahem Donnie declines most of their choices) NOT THAT THEY ARE NOT GRATEFUL FOR IT, BUT THEY KIND OF WANNA STOP NOW.
YEAH, THEY ALERT DONNIE AND MIKEY THAT THEY WANT TO LEAVE AND THAT THEY WANT TO GO BACK INTO THEIR HOME (aka, the sewer walls). HOWEVER THEY DON'T WANT [READER] LEAVING- SO THEY GUILT TRIP THEM INTO STAYING OR SOMETHING LIKE THATDBRJND.|
_______________________________________
★SGSHS, YEAH URH- THAT'S MY REQUEST FOR THE ONESHOTSBSB★
★IN CASE YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT BORROWERS ARE THEN YOU CAN EITHER SEARCH ON GOOGLE OR DM ME UH- YEAH★
★EEEEEEEERH BYE <3★
(sorry for any grammar mistakesbdjddj)
very interesting request.. I would have to guess you got this from one of your recent post where you had to write about borrowers!! But, it sounds fun! Reminds me of "The clothes don't make the turtle" ep
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Yandere Donnie and Mikey x Borrower! Reader -Mikey was hanging out with Donnie! and... by hanging out i mean he draws in Donnie's lab while Donnie works on a few upgrades. Mikey thought of drawing the reader but notices the lack of variety in clothing.. He decides to draw the reader in different outfits he think best suited them. He felt proud of his work so he showed Donnie. He was quite impressed and even had ideas for other outfits. -Donnie and Mikey went to a nearby wall on the sewers and knock on it. You walk out and they grab you and immediately run to the lab rambling about clothing.. You were confused but decided to go with it. -Donnie made a whole presentation about different types of clothes while Mikey hyped him up! You were watching in awe. Your fashion choices were alright but you were a bit interested in what these two had in store and a bit creeped out that they already knew your measurements, size, height and weight without you telling them.. -The three of you spent hours in the lab! having fun and a few laughs here and there! You found clothes you really liked!! until a few disagreements happened..
"That's a cute outfit.. BUT I THINK THIS ONE WOULD SUIT YOU BEST!" "This one is better!" "I know you may not be into this style but it is WAY better than what you wore before!" "Maybe pair it with something else- OH! I KNOW THE PERFECT THING!" "You can trust us Y/n!!" You told them that you were getting a bit suffocated with how they were treating your tastes and how "what they knew was better". You were also getting a bit bored. "Hey, guys.. i appreciate that you're trying to help me but i think i should go. I had some fun but i really wanna end this-" You were cut off by Mikey. "But we were having so much fun!!" Donnie tuned in. "We worked on these clothes for you for hours! Don't you think you should consider trying on a bit more?" Mikey chimed in. "We just wanted to make you happy.." putting on his signature please face. You sighed and agreed to a few more outfits.. Maybe one or two more wouldn't hurt.. right?..right?
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howlingday · 3 months
Text
ARC-THOLOGY
A collection of short Tragic Backstory (TM) tales requested by @noneatnonedotcom
Enjoy!
===============================
WHITE ROSE
Weiss and RWBY’s big day out! it's totally not an excuse for Weiss to buy ruby things she likes so she can make her smile.
Weiss: "I'm only doing this because there's things I want to get it's not like I'm doing it for you d-dolt"
Ruby: "SHE SAID THE LINE!!!"
..................................................................................
Weiss: I'm sorry, what?
Ruby: You said the line!
Weiss: What line? (Sneezes, Shivers) Am I the only one who feels really cold right now?
Yang: What? How's that possible? You're the Ice Queen.
Weiss: I'm aware of my nickname. What I'm not aware of is what Ruby is talking about.
Blake: The tsundere trope.
Weiss: The what?
Blake: The tsundere trope. A tsundere is a character who acts mean and aggressive towards others, yet has a secret desire for them that they keep hidden.
Weiss: (Rolls eyes) Oh, please. Besides, who would I tsundere at anyways?
Ruby: Well, there's me, and Yang, and Blake, and Jaune-
Weiss: No. No. No. And god no!
Ruby: Weiss! Don't be mean!
Yang: Yeah, wouldn't want ya to be too tsun-tsun, would we?
Weiss: WHAT DOES THAT EVEN MEAN?!
Ruby/Yang: TSUN-TSUN! TSUN-TSUN!
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RENORA SUPPORTS KING ARC
..................................................................................
Jaune: Ah... Thanks for hanging out with us on the roof, guys. We really appreciate it.
Nora: Do you, though? We're not getting in the way of your make-out session, are we?
Mercury: Haha! Yeah, are we~?
Pyrrha: (Blushing, Covering her face)
Ren: It's the least we could do. Team RWBEY said they wanted to go out for a girl's night out with just their side of the team, so Nora and I thought we could do something similar with our side.
Jaune: Well, I still appreciate it.
Pyrrha: So do I.
Mercury: Even if we're interrupting your kissing time?
Pyrrha: (Glares at him) Watch it.
Nora: Besides, we're your whistles!
Ren: Vassals.
Nora: Vessels, yeah! Anything for our king.
Jaune: ...What if I wasn't the king? What if I really was who I said I was and I wasn't any kind of royalty. Would you still follow me as your leader?
Mercury: Absolutely not.
Pyrrha: (Growls)
Jaune: That makes sense. I'm nothing special.
Mercury: Heh, and that is why I wouldn't follow you. You're nothing special. Heck, Cinder wasn't either, but she still acted like it. You should really stop putting yourself down so much.
Ren: Especially when you've already done so much for the rest of us.
Jaune: What do you mean?
Ren: When Nora and I left our village, it was after a Grimm attack, and we wandered until we were picked up by an orphanage. We'd been stuck at the hip since then, and I would sometimes think about who I am without Nora. Since becoming part of your team, I feel like we've both grown into our own. Nora's found other friends she can hang around with, and I've spent a lot of time self-reflecting on who I am without her.
Mercury: And what would that be?
Ren: (Looks to Jaune) A brother.
Nora: Aw~!
Mercury: Ugh... This is way to sappy. Can we light a bonfire up here?
Pyrrha: On the roof? I don't think-
Nora: Ooh! Yeah! Let's show Team RWBY what they're missing out on!
Jaune: No, no, we shouldn- ACK! NORA! PUT THAT FIRE OUT RIGHT NOW!
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SALEM AND JAUNE
Jaune and Salem debate the nature of heroism.
Their core arguments are as follows
Salem: "at the end of the day a hero is someone who wishes for others to suffer without the grimm your entire way of life would vanish"
Jaune: "no, a hero is someone who helps. it could be against grimm but just as easily it could be natural disasters, human corruption, or the existential dread of living. the thing that marks a hero is their humility and willingness to try to make things better. a true hero is someone who sees a sacrifice must be made and chooses themselves to pay that price"
Who wins the debate? And what does salem want out of questioning our young hero?
..................................................................................
???: So, you are the one everyone is talking about?
Jaune: Huh? Who-
???: (Flickers into view) I have to say, I'm impressed by what you and Cinder were able to accomplish what James could not.
Jaune: Cinder? How do you know Cinder?
???: I know a lot of people, dear. But there aren't a lot of people who know me.
Jaune: Ugh... You're as bad as Ozpin.
???: So I've heard. I'll take it as a compliment this time.
Jaune: So, who are you, and what do you want from me?
???: I will answer your question, but only one of them. I'll allow you the choice.
Jaune: ...What do you want from me?
???: Smart. You really are as dangerous as they say, aren't you?
Jaune: That doesn't answer my question.
???: No, it doesn't. ...Very well. I have a question for you, oh "king of Vale".
Jaune: Ugh... No... I'm not-
???: I know you're not the king of Vale.
Jaune: I... You don't?
???: No. I knew the king of Vale, and he was twice the fool you were.
Jaune: Wait, but I thought the king of Vale died a long time ago.
???: He did. Much longer than almost everyone can remember.
Jaune: Almost everyone...
???: And now for my question for you. Are you a hero?
Jaune: What?
???: Are? You? A hero?
Jaune: I... I guess? I mean, that's what everybody else tells me. But I was just doing what I thought was right.
???: What you thought was right... And what of that one fool? That... Bull Faunus who attempted to murder your sister. I have no doubts he thought he was doing what he thought was right.
Jaune: That's not the same. Adam was a terrorist who wanted to hurt people that weren't involved in his cause. He was just looking for a hostage for an easy get away after putting people in danger with his terrorist attack.
???: And because he failed, that makes him the one in the wrong. Could it be that if you were the one who lost that day, that if you were the one imprisoned by the victors that you would be the one who was wrong, and he would be the hero.
Jaune: No, he wouldn't.
???: How can you be so sure?
Jaune: Because threatening children is obviously wrong! Adam Taurus almost murdered my sister, scarring her for life because he wanted to force an ideal that only he believes in!
???: And you believe this difference makes you a hero, and him the villain?
Jaune: What I believe is that everyone wants to throw stupid labels at me when all I want is to just live a normal life without people harassing and threatening my family and friends!
???: And the Wyvern threatened your family and friends, did it not?
Jaune: ...It would have.
???: So you killed it because it WOULD have threatened your family and friends?
Jaune: I-
???: So a hero is someone who slaughters his enemies for the sake of a potential threat to those closest to him. Is that right?
Jaune: ...
???: I will take your silence as-
Jaune: No. That's not what a hero is. A hero is someone who is willing to risk their life to protect someone or something that can't protect themselves, even if that someone or something isn't aware of what's threatening them. A hero acts to protect, not destroy for glory.
???: ...
???: (Fades away) How interesting...
Jaune: Wait, where did you-
Yang: Yo, Vomit Boy!
Jaune: Huh? Yang? Wait, where did she...
Yang: You done hanging out in that alley, or what?
Jaune: Hm... I'll be right there!
Salem: (In her castle, Watching Seer) Yes... How interesting indeed.
---------------------------------------------------
CASTLE ON THE HILL
Turns out jaune inherited a castle. Like an actual freaking castle. Ozpin's been taking care of it and getting it ready for modern habitation oddly enough it was on the beacon property and left to him by the previous king Ozwald.
Ozpin: **sips coffee** "this should elveviate my bordom. dance puppets dance"
Glynda: "ozpin, did you let qrow spike your coffee again?
..................................................................................
Nora: Ren! Look! I'm queen of a real castle now~!
Ren: Nora! Get down from there!
Weiss: This castle is massive! It's even bigger than the mansion I grew up in!
Pyrrha: I think you're the only one in this group that can say that.
Ruby: Well, maybe not the only one. (Giggles, Points to Jaune)
Jaune: ...How many pitfalls does this make now?
Yang: I think that's the third one I managed to save your life from.
Jaune: Right. Glad to have you here, Yang. Without you, I surely would have fallen to my ten foot drop to certain death.
Yang: Hey, you never know. One fall could be your last one ever!
Jaune: ...I'm pretty sure Ruby survived bigger falls, but whatever. How much would renovating this cost?
Blake: (Tapping scroll) Considering current cost of construction contracts, and the amount of time it would take to plan, prepare, and execute a renovation, I'd say about five years and one hundred thousand lien.
Jaune: For this whole castle?!
Blake: No, of course not.
Jaune: Phew... For a second, I thought-
Blake: That's just for the central hall. Calculating the rest, it would take-
Jaune: Stop! Stop! I don't even know why Professor Ozpin even game me this stupid castle in the first place, especially since I have to be the one to foot the bill on all of it!
Nora: It's because you're the- WHOA!
Jaune: (Flinches at each crash)
Nora: (At the bottom of a pit) I'M OKAY~!
Yang: Well, it's gonna cost even more now.
---------------------------------------------------
PURRHA
It's time for a DATE NIGHT! watch as we spin the wheel of romance and end up on.... Blake and Pyrrha? that's a rare pare oh but they're talking about Blake’s fanfics about jaune and Pyrrha, what's this Pyrrha’s been commissioning them? well at least they have fun.... where's jaune? (not pictured jaune training with Nora in the gym to get better at hugging)
..................................................................................
Blake: So, what else are you and Jaune-
Pyrrha: ATATATA! Pumpkin Pete and Patty!
Blake: Right. What else are "Pumpkin Pete and Patty" doing besides working on their fourteenth kid?
Pyrrha: It's only six children right now, and I was thinking maybe a romantic evening out at the lake.
Cardin: Hey.
Blake: Uh-huh, and how much smut are you wanting in this one?
Pyrrha: It's not smut, it's tasteful lemon.
Blake: Pyrrha, the last scene you had me write was Pumpkin Patty railing Pumpkin Pete on a hotel balcony, with him crying "Pyrrha! Pyrrha!" which you told me was rabbit for "my love."
Cardin: Excuse me.
Pyrrha: But that's-
Blake: And while she's pegging him, Pumpkin Patty is shouting "Jaune! Jaune!" which you insisted was rabbit for "my beloved." Listen, Pyrrha, I enjoy a good nsfw as much as the next girl, but I'm thinking you're not really understanding the amount of effort that goes into-
Cardin: Hey!
Pyrrha: (Turns) WE ARE TRYING TO DISCUSS IMPORTANT DETAILS, WINCHESTER! FUCK OFF!
Cardin: Er, sorry to interrupt your date, but uh... I just thought I'd let you know your boyfriend is gonna throw his back out if his partner keeps swapping weights.
Pyrrha: What are you- JAUNE?!
Jaune: NoRA! Are you SURE this will WOrk?
Nora: HAHAHA! I HAVE NO IDEA!
---------------------------------------------------
WE’RE DOING A PRE-SEQUEL!
they're making a movie about jaune's life! they can't seem to decide on which version of his tragic backstory (tm) they wanna use though. walk us through each of RWBY’s and NPR’s versions of the story using a different genre for each character's narration.
(I find the idea of Weiss being a hopless romantic for jaune and Pyrrha really funny so Weiss’s should be a romance)
..................................................................................
Nora: Jaune, are you excited about the new movie coming out~?!
Jaune: What new movie? Ooh! Is it gonna have Spruce Willis in it?!
Nora: Mm... No, not that I saw. Why, do you think Spruce Willis could pull off a decent you?
Weiss: I think the bigger issue is a matter of physique. Spruce Willis is a man in his 40s, one who is both bald and physically peaked. Jaune... is Jaune.
Jaune: No offense taken...
Ruby: Spruce Willis probably wouldn't be that great for Jaune. Maybe someone more like... Spark M. Hill.
Weiss: Ruby, he's nearly sixty and his most prominent role now is as a voice actor.
Ruby: (Gasps) It's gonna be animated~?!
Meanwhile, at a meeting with the movie producers, or whoever it is that's creatively responsible for making movies.
"For the millionth and last time, it's not going to be animated!" Yelled a man in a designer T-shirt, featuring a special effects TV show character. "My vision includes real action with real explosions!"
"We don't have it in the budget for any kind of explosions." Calmly replied a man in glasses shifting his abacus to and fro. He didn't know how to use it. He just wanted an excuse to shift beads around like a toddler in a dentist's office. "We also can't afford a team of animators, either. They're almost as expendable as explosives."
"You mean expensive, right?" A woman in a business suit said. When met with silence, she returned to her coffee cup flap. She dressed way too formally for this meeting.
"Well, if we can't do action on such a high budget, how about a detective mystery?" Replied another woman, dressed not as formally with her leather jacket. "Jaune is supposed to be smart, right? Well, why not have him solve detective cases? Have him run around the city of Vale, scrounging for clues, only to realize he was the killer all along."
"...No. Just no."
"Alright, let's put it to a vote then." The man in the T-Shirt said, pulling free an empty water cup. "Maybe we can at least agree on something. Write what you want on this scrap of paper and then put it in the cup. Then I'l lask one of you to pull out a piece while looking the other direction."
The team did so and each wrote their choice and placed them into the cup. Once filled, the man in the T-Shirt rattled the cup around, then held it out to the formally dressed woman. Pulling out a strip of paper, they had their movie genre.
"Harem anime."
A silence fell over the room. One by one, everyone stood from their seats and left the room. Only the woman in the business suit remained, sitting in place as she stared at their movie choice. Looking up, she asked the empty room.
"What's a harem?"
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fanfic-lover-girl · 3 months
Text
I like Hiccstrid...but I have issues
So I watched How to Train Your Dragon about a month ago and I absolutely loved it! So much so that before I took the time to watch the other two movies, I basically know the plots for the remaining movies from all the fanfiction, Youtube videos and Tumblr posts I have read about it lol. I know I have issues when it comes to consuming media properly :). I still intend to watch the movies...I hope.
Anyway, I liked Astrid's character in HTTYD 1. She was a fully fleshed-out character and besides her opening scene, she never felt like a love interest character for the majority of the movie. She was the perfect Viking, everything Hiccup was not. She was pretty (because what love interest is not pretty **roll my eyes**) but she was angry and violent. She was perfect...until the romantic flight scene. When I watched the movie, I enjoyed the sequence and I found Astrid cute but the entire scene just felt kind of forced. And it marked the beginning of my issues with Hiccstrid, as much as I still found the couple enjoyable at the end of the film.
Astrid's bullying was not resolved properly
Astrid never bullied Hiccup the way the others like Snotlout did, but she was still complicit in Hiccup's ostracization. It's obvious she does not like him or have any fondness for him. However, at no point does she apologize or express any remorse for hurting him in the movie. She just suddenly likes him after one (amazing) flight? Hiccup just moves on from her ignoring his existence like that? No reconciliation??
Astrid's punching Hiccup is not sweet
As I have mentioned before in other posts, I find the trope of a female character expressing her love for a guy through violence to be disgusting. The only fictional couples I tolerate this are Jimmy/Cindy (Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius) and Helga/Arnold (Hey Arnold!). I don't mind Jimmy/Cindy because their fights tend to be verbal and argumentative in nature and Jimmy gives as good as he gets from Cindy. They both get a kick from riling each other up, Cindy a bit more than Jimmy. I don't know the Hey Arnold! show very well but I understand why Helga acts the way she does and Arnold is allowed to be angry when she hurts him. When she is truly being romantic and sweet with Arnold she does not hit him. She seems to mainly torment him when she is upholding her mask to hide her feelings. You can say that this is the case for Astrid too. She grew up as a Viking and Viking culture is violent. However, I hate that we are meant to see her hitting Hiccup as part of her love language. It would be fine if it were Tuffnut or Snotlout but Hiccup is not like other Vikings. He is a gentle person and he is not tough like his other counterparts. Astrid's hits hurt him and he expresses obvious pain. But Astrid gives him a follow-up kiss after each punch so it's all good? Not for me.
Hiccstrid felt kind of shallow
I think the relationship felt rushed. Astrid went from disdain to crushing way too quickly. It's like they missed a step in the relationship: friendship. The romantic flight scene should be the starting point where she reconsiders her opinion on Hiccup and maybe after a few more dragon training sessions she would appreciate Hiccup's growth. Maybe her ice queen character thaws over time as she gets to know Hiccup better in training. She laughs at his sarcastic quips. Maybe she begins to sit with him at meal times away from the others. Just small stuff to show their deepening friendship. However, Hiccstrid was not given this development because like many other action type movies the romantic relationship is given the backburner which leads to my final issue.
Hicctrid was not needed
I mentioned earlier that Astrid was not treated like a love interest until like halfway through the movie when we saw the romantic flight scene. Hiccup does not even spend time beyond the opening scene expressing attraction towards her. You can easily forget he has a crush on her. Because ultimately romance was not needed in this story. At all. When you really think about it, what did Astrid contribute to Hiccup and Toothless' story? What does Hiccup and Astrid's relationship contribute to the story? Astrid could have given the pep talk and helped rally the other teens to help Hiccup as a FRIEND, not a love interest. But of course, when the guy becomes a hero and saves the day he needs to get the girl of his dreams at the end. It would have been nice if the first movie focused on developing the Hiccstrid friendship and then developed the romance in the second movie, wrapping it up with their marriage in the third.
Anyway, this is not to say I HATE Hiccstrid. I still need to watch the other two movies before I can truly say whether this couple is truly couples' goals as many people claim. I think they look amazing together and they seem to have great chemistry in HTTYD 2. I think they complement each other in theory and Astrid would be a great help in helping Hiccup lead as chief when the time comes. But I don't love it enough to read fanfiction or watch many Youtube edits about them and at this point, I sometimes find Hiccstrid annoying to see in my fanfics unless it addresses my problems with the development of the relationship.
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iamthecomet · 3 months
Note
-flops down in your inbox and rolls around-
Happy the day after Christmas (not to date this ask lmao), I come bearing the gift of "and there was only one bed" style Dew/your ghoul of choice shenanigans.
So, set-up: Dew and -insert ghoul here- had to go away on some ministry business, maybe they went with a whole group of people or it's just the two of them alone, but either way they wind up having to stay a couple days longer due to the weather being shit back home, making it kind of risky to head back now as they'd be driving into a storm or something.
Anyway, they wind up having to move hotels since the one they're at is booked solid past their original check out date, and they wind up at a smaller hotel -paid for on the ministry's dime, because neither of them feel like they should have to given the circumstances- which leads to the whole, "and there was only one bed" scenario.
Originally, they both had separate rooms, it was a small enough group that the ministry was like, "Yeah, sure, have as much space as you need." but now they've only got one room, and, man, is it weird sharing a confined space with someone else, especially if the two are maybe not on great terms at the moment.
Maybe they fought or they're just not sure about each other yet so it's uncomfortable, but either way one of them is constructing a pillow barrier in the bed on day one... which eventually turns into them spooning on day three or four depending on how long you wanna drag it out for.
Added bonus: Since they're technically not working or on call for anything, they have time to do some shopping/touristy things they didn't get to chance to do on the initial trip, and keep getting asked if they're a couple, because they're carrying each others bags, giving opinions on outfits along the lines of, "Yeah, but it covers up your ass. You have a nice ass, you should flaunt it more." and, "Oh, shut it, you look lovely. Blue is a good color on you!"
Also sharing their food, holdings hands -"SO WE DON'T LOSE EACH OTHER IN THE CROWD!"- and watching other people on dates and going, "Aw, I wanna do that..."
Something, something, Dew doing cheesy romantic gestures to feed into the "joke" that they're on a date, getting the same cheesy romantic gestures in return as a "joke" and both of them catching feelings and nervously realizing that maybe they... they like that kind of stuff when it's that person doing it.
Anywho.
-flips onto my front and sleeps-
*tip-toeing around, trying not to wake you* You're giving me Aeon/Dew thoughts. Dew not so sure about the new quint ghoul. Being stuck with him on this trip to begin with has been frustrating and difficult. Trying to navigate his feelings about there being a new quint at all AND trying to make sure Aeon doesn't do anything stupid since he's still adjusting to life topside. (His glamor only slips once though, Dew has to give him that). And I think Aeon's inexperience is what leads Dew to be like "ok fine let's go do some stuff". Might as well take advantage of their time. But also show the new ghoul a thing or two. Let him buy himself some stuff he actually likes. But also, Dew is glued to him. He's not losing the new ghoul. He's not having that over his head. So they are attached at the hip. Whispering to each other and sitting close together at restuarant tables. Always touching. Less and less pillows in the barrier every night. You could even throw my favorite part of the "one bed" trope in there. Aeon shivering on his side of the bed. Curled up tight, but so cold he's shaking the bed and keeping Dew up. So, Dew just grabs him. Curls an arm around his waist and hauls him backwards, his back to Dew's unnaturally warm chest. Dew ramping up his heat little just to make sure the other ghoul stays warm.
He tells himself it's just because he can't have Aeon freezing to death on his watch--he doesn't want to get sent back to the pit. But really, it's just nice to have someone to hold.
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olderthannetfic · 3 months
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I think a lot of the lack of femslash criticisms also miss the fact that fandom emerges from canon and will reflect, for better or worse, what is already in that canon. So if we have a majority male cast, with the main character being male and the rival being male and the mentor-figure being male and the villains being largely male... I mean, just in terms of numbers and which relationships have the most emotional energy, fandom largely will have majority m/m. And genre fiction, which fandom tends to gravitate towards, is heavily biased towards male characters.
(And even when male side characters get a lot of shipping... usually they're fitting other common popular fandom tropes or they're essentially more fanon than an actual thing people ship-ship. You probably aren't going to be shipping the Female Love Interest™ with another side female character except in a Pair The Spares or background ship sort of way, but Those Two Guys are probably gonna get shipped and typically they're going to be dudes. And even those kinds of het or slash ships can come across as deceivingly popular when they actually aren't, because they're more like popular fanon so they pop up a lot in fics but only in the background rather than the main focus, and those are same ships I often see being brought up as "if you can ship two background men then why aren't you shipping this femslash ship!" wank alongside anomalies like Klux)
Even the Among Us fandom which has the gender-ambiguous characters often interpreted as male. Yes, from what I can tell m/m is way more popular but in terms of genre and setting which will influence how people write for it, it's mostly male characters. It's essentially The Thing In Space and The Thing had a male cast while Alien is notable for being an exception by having a female protagonist in that kind of space setting, and even then, it was still majority male characters in terms of raw numbers, all of which will influence fanfic writers and artists. Plus from what I've read there's often some kind of gender fuckery going on with the Imposter so m/m might even been entirely accurate for a lot of those fics. So while there are perhaps valid criticisms about the lack of female characters in those genres in general that fandom then reflects, it's unreasonable to suggest it's just fandom hating women. Plus everything we've already covered around how it's also related to what a majority queer women (and trans-people-who-were-AFAB) with potentially complicated feelings about female bodies find hot and fun.
But go to the magical girl genre and it's majority femslash, just like how even on ao3 any buddy-cop show with a male and female lead will primarily be het. And when there is a female relationship given the most focus, or when it's canon, the fandom will obviously be majority femslash even on ao3. And I get that it's frustrating when the genres you enjoy have a dearth of women in them or shittily written women, and I agree that we should do better with that, but it's not fandom's responsibility to do so (and it's not like there isn't an entire subgenre of fix-it fics that aren't "what if this female character was written well"). It feels kinda mean to say it, but if you want femslash right now you might want to look in different genres where the protagonist and the most significant characters related to them are all women, and one without a canon male love interest (or a really boring, blank slate one no one cares about).
--
I don't watch Xena for the dudes, definitely. Haha.
Re the Among Us thing, someone said a lot of the fic was clearly inspired by streamers anyway, so that's where the genders are coming from.
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azurlily · 10 months
Note
Hello, how are you? I hope you're alright (:
Is it possible to request an Azula x gn reader with an arranged marriage trope (both reader and Azula are aged up of course)? Both of them have feelings for eachother, but since Azula doesn't want to accept that they were married against her will and reader values morals like honesty and sincerity very much (those morals are of course humiliated by Azula on a daily basis lol) they need a bit of time to really find together.
I hope you like the request, please have a great day (:
Ooooo I like this!! I'm doing well! Better than before! I'd like to point put that this is the last month I'll do a specific reader type(shy reader, trans reader, mean reader, you get the idea).
ANYWAY I LOVE THIS IDEA THIS SOUNDS SO INTERESTING TO ME!! Sorry if I didn't get it exactly right!
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"I haven't done anything wrong! If you didn't want that old man to get hurt- oh- and you're crying...sorry?"
Azula doesn't know what too rough means. She also doesn't know what mean means. She assumes you cry because you're sad or angry, not because...of her. Okay, maybe she knows, she just doesn't want to admit it.
Azula sees your sincerity and honesty, she sees it as weakness at first. Slowly it becomes one of the things she loves about you the most. How lying is wrong, and hoe you want people to be happy. She sees it as something to protect. You don't see this type of thing often.
Azulas feelings blossom when you start bringing her things. It's your way of showing your love and interest in her. You bring her things she likes, or things you've been told she likes. There has been an occasion where she lied about liking something and you learned about it. You chided and scolded her for a few days.
"Yes, yes, yes, I'm listening. What we're you saying, uh-"
She finds herself falling in love with you. Wanting to watch you more and more often, seeing all the nice things you do. It's a complete contrast for her, and she knows it. That's why she likes it so much. Azula likes knowing something so different is more than willing to be by her side.
She does mention you and your family to her father. Wether you're an important figurehead or not, she wants to see you higher up. Azula wants a reason to be closer to you; her father acknowledging your family. Well- that's just an amazing reason. She does try and help your status, she wants people know you. Know how amazing and beautiful/handsome you are.
When her father and your parents have a meeting. They talk about Azula and your common interest in eachother. They talk and come to an "obvious" conclusion. The two of you should marry. Your family could help influence, and maybe a lifetime partner will help Azula be a bit more interested in in the things her father wants.
(Not like she isn't already)
They finalize everything before either of you know. They have everything signed and agreed upon, then wait some time. The closer the two of you are, the easier this will be.
Anyway this marriage is definitely not one that anyone else would have seen coming. Azula, on the other hand, knew. That's why she's been pulling away recently. She doesn't want to be married to you forcefully, even if you are cute.
Even though Azula has strong feelings about you, it takes a damn while for her to admit it. When the two of you are hidden in the darkness of her room. Her hands holding your own, her face much too close to yours. The warmth of it all, the love and kindness she'd rarely ever show.
It was all ruined when the marriage was announced. At first you were both dumbfounded. How could this have happened? Right under your noses?
Azula, instead of feeling a sort of happiness, being happy that her relationship with you is secure. Instead she's angry, how dare she be forced to marry you. Marry someone so kind, so truthful, so sweet. It felt like she was drowning in her own angry fire.
She goes from watching you talka bout something you were interested in, to glaring when you even mention love. Azula hates how weak your tears make her, she tries to avoid them. Her being a bitch all the time doesn't help.
Azula, during the wedding planning was nothing short of rude. You tries talking to her, giving her idea on how to make things more her style. She refused to listen. Why would she listen when her father wouldn't care in the slightest!?
"Mhm, yeah. Listen [Name], I understand you're sweet and you want this wedding to be about me, but I dont care."
Over time she's gone from being a bitch, to teasing you. While she doesn't like that she was forced into a relationship, she does like you. So it, in a way, evens out.
About three or four months into the marriage shes back to herself. She's back to pulling you into rooms with a cold glare...only to kiss your lips and walk away. She teases you when you see a hurt animal and run to help it.
Secretly though, she adores seeing you. She adores your truths, she adores how you value the real her. She adores every bit of you, especially when you give her a sweet smile and hold her hand. She makes fun and pushes you around(hopefully you know she doesn't always mean to be rude) but in reality, seeing you just makes her day.
Of course there is the darker side of things.
"Stop crying. I'm not apologizing, you know I'm right. So what if I lied!? I haven't hurt you."
That's what she doesn't understand. Why would you feel empathy for others? She could understand her, yourself, family(barely), even friends. She doesn't get why you'd feel back about someone that doesn't matter. These ideals of her strain your relationship. You fight, and she refuses to admit her wrongdoings. Anymore at least.
She needs time to understand she's done something wrong. You need time to calm down and see things from her eyes. She was forced into a relationship, no matter how close you two were. It was still against her will. Taking away her freedom, taking away her ability to choose you as her forever.
The two of your fight a lot, and you're both hurtful sometimes. That doesn't mean either of you loslve the other any less. It just means you don't agree. She takes time to learn you, see what to and not to tease you about. You take time to see what she sees, to see her fears and anger.
Your relationship does mend, it take a year or two, but it mends. And you two come out stronger than ever. I mean, it's not like either of you have the choice to leave the other.
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Sorry if you didn't like it. I tried, but I didn't fully understand what you meant. Also sorry it's short. I have a lot of Azula requests and I didn't realise how much yall like her.
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skz-streamer · 4 months
Text
Delivery Service
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Simptober Romance Tropes M-list
Pairing: Jisung (skz) x fem!reader
Genre: Fluff
Notes: I REALLY LIKED WRITING THISSS I HAD ALOT OF FUNNN :)))) I HOPE YOU LIKE ITTTTTTTTT<3333
-please read responsibly, and remember that this work is fiction and meant strictly for imaginative fun. the idols used in fics are more accurately face claims and personality outlines for imaginary characters, and should not be interpreted as factual representations of existing people
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
As a part time job in college you worked as a delivery driver
nothing to fancy, just delivering boxes n stuff to houses, resturants
whoever needed a package delivered
it was a good way to make money
you were on your last delivery of the day, delivering a new fryer to a fried chicken place, fried chicken sounded really good rn
maybe you would get some after dropping the package off
you pulled into the back exit of the restaurant and took the box out of the truck
it was heavy omg
in some kind of pick up attempt you stumbled down the ramp of the truck leaving the package behind and you tumbling down
well at least the package was safe
you felt someones hand on your back "you okay?"
you looked up
"yeah im okay, thanks" you replied
it was a cute guy, you assumed he worked here by the looks of his apron
he asked if you wanted help with the box, you agreed
thankfully the two of you placed the box inside the place without anyone falling
you thanked him and asked for his name
"jisung! but you can just call me Han, it dosnt really really matter" he blushed a little and you noticed it
ahhh he really was cute
"hey! you wanna eat something?" he asked
you nodded happily, aksing if he wanted to join you
so the two of you sat down at a small table in the backlit was closing time anyways so no customers
the two of you just talked about random stuff, studies, relationships, family
You realized that Jisung was really sweet and caring
he was a great listener (and gossiper)
you swear half of time just went into both of you guys bursting out in laughter
it was around 10 and you knew you had to leave
you thanked him for the food (he treated obviii) and said that you would buy next time
He smiled a the mention that there would be a next time
--------
The next time you delivered was about a week later
You were happy to meet Jisung again but when you showed up you realized he wasn't there, gladly they didn't order anything heavy so you took it inside yourself
Maybe he didn't work today
you left the place sad, you were looking forward to meet him
you waited for the day that the resturaunt would place another order, but nothing came in
You decided you would just go there, whatever
you didn't need an excuse to see him
When you showed up you saw him at the cashier's desk
you ran up to him smiling"heyyy!!!!" you said
he looked up from the register and immediately smiled
"hi! I missed you, my breaks in about 10 we can talk then if you want"
"sure!!!" you happily said, gosh why were you so giddy around him
When his break came around the two of you need up going to the dessert store next door
he mentioned that the shop wasn't doing too good and that it might shut down
you comforted him and told him you can always hook him up with delivery if something goes wrong ;)
he laughed and thanked you
and just like that the two of you exchanged numbers and recently had get togethers and meeting from now to then
Both of you became inseparable, you would stay at eachotehrs houses and binge watch animes, play board games, anything really
you just felt free around him, free to be yourself, free from your worries. it was nice :)
one day you decided to surprise him at work and you showed up to the shop, but it was closed.
you remembered him talking about the shop closing but you didn't think it really would
You texted him asking if he was doing okay
He replied back asking if he could stay at your place a little, everything at his was a mess
Apparently the owners of the chicken shop also owned that apartment that Han lived in, so when the shop went down so did hans apartment
You told him that he was more then welcome to stay at your place
So at about 11 in the night Han pulled up to your apartment
gosh your here late you said
he grumbled about packing and stuff but you could tel that overall he was happy to stay with you
you asked if he knew how many days he would be staying to which he responded idk
you let him know that he could stay as long and he wanted to :)
naturally, over the next few days the two of you had a lot of fun together
you even got a noise complaint once
------
It was late in the night, or rather early morning as the clock read 12:36am
the two of you were staying up binging new season of the show that you liked
he was sitting up while your head lay in his lap
him fiddling with your hair ever now and then and you drawing small shapes into his arm
That's when you knew, you caught feelings
you didn't want to make it awkward between the two of you but he was so perfect
you wished you could just stay like tis forever
you adjusted yourself and turned to the side
Han noticed this and grabbed the blanket from behind it, draping it over you
"thanks Hannie" you mumbled
Han blused at the nickname
you had never called him this, did it just slip out of your mouth?
You had already drifted into sleep and hadn't even noticed that you referred to him as 'Hannie'
Han placed his hand on your arm hugging you into him, admiring your soft breaths and smooth hair tickling his arm
That's when he knew
he was in love with you
but he didn't want to ruin your friendship
he too fell asleep with you in his arms
he would tell you soon, you would tell him soon
@anny-bah@eee5533@mixtape-racha@weedforthoughtz@ren0325@felixvsp@hwangrimi @sanriiolino @painstakingly-juno@herarcadewasteland@dabiscrustyfeet@kai-jilee@sungiesoonie@slvtty4channiee@revelaffee@buckys-pillow, @staygirl86 @chlodavids@jinnie-ret@bbygrlhannie@rebecca-johnson-28 @turtledove824@interstellarairwaves@yearofthetiger25@minhos4thkitty@fiqire@kpopmenace143@liknws@tinyelfperson@aaasia111@yangbbokari@hafsah-ali@sleepyleeji@skzhoes@yamaguchiwestad@leonswifesstuff@nappynapnaps
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hllfireclb · 1 year
Note
Hey there!!! I hope you got the request box open :D. I have an idea for a fluff. Reader is cold and her feet are frozen during winter. So eddie her BFF tries to warm her cold feet while they are watching TV on the sofa the thing is that he tells her that her feet need to be up in the air for blood circulation, but reader complains and decides to rub her feet on under Eddie's sweat. He realizes the position in which are. Eddie in his knees in front of her like in +18 way. He insinuates her which makes her shy out of sudden, eddie likes to meet with her hehe. I leave you out the rest, thank you for reading ❤️
This is so cute!! I am SO sorry that this took so incredibly long omg. I hope I didn‘t misunderstood the kneeling part? Anyway I hope you can enjoy this small fic!
Warm you up | Eddie Munson x fem!reader
Pairing: best friend to lovers Kinda? (Eddie Munson xFem!reader)
Warnings: fluff, mention of drugs, mention of smut so +18 kinda, best friends to lovers trope (hihi)
Word count: 848
English is not my first language, so I apologize for all kinds of mistakes! Feel free to send requests! feedback is always appreciated but please be nice! Don’t like? Don’t read! Enjoy the story
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It‘s a cold winter evening in Hawkins, Indiana. One of the coldest you‘ve experienced so far. Normally you don’t have a problem with the cold because you’re all cuddled up in your bedroom, millions of pillows surrounding you together with blankets and your heater turned on until you‘re sweating. Unfortunately that isn’t the place you’re in right now.
Right now you‘re settled on your best friends sofa, in his cold trailer, in the middle of the night. The air is filled with music and the smell of weed coming from the joint that Eddie smoked earlier that evening.
Normally this would be your favorite place to be in, like normally, but right now you regret that the two of you didn’t meet at your place. The temperature is way below zero and it feels like the trailer is freezing from the inside.
"Eddie it‘s too cold! My feet will fall off any minute" You whine out loud as you look up from where you’re lying right now, Eddie in front of you. He looks at you with a raised brow and the, usual smug grin, on his lips "Well that means it won’t smell like cheese in here ever again" he teases but you‘re not having it right now. Normally his stupid jokes would make you all giggly and cause you to blush but right now, you could slap him for any kind of stupid comment.
"Edward." You warn, glaring over to him and he lifts his hands up in the air, showing you that he doesn’t want to start a fight. He never would do that, the fear of losing you because of his cockiness is way too big.
The TV in the background fills the silence which lingers in the air, some horror movie you‘ve rented from FamilyVideo earlier still playing on the screen as you whine again.
Eddie shifts a bit, putting some pressure on his elbows to sit up and look at you "You know…I’ve heard that you should put your feets up if they are cold. For blood circulation, y‘know?".
The only answer he gets from you is another long, high-pitched whine as you shake your head dramatically, causing your best friend to let a soft sigh escape his lips, followed by a chuckle. A sound that makes you shiver all the time. He leans up further to get a better look at you, now resting on his hands as he kind of kneels in front of you. The position he‘s in gives you perfect access to see his tummy and happy trail when suddenly an idea pops up in your mind.
An evil idea.
He‘s about to grab your feet with one hand when you suddenly shove them under the fabric of his sweater, grinning at him when he gasps loudly. He definitely wasn’t prepared for the sudden contact of your cold skin against his burning hot skin.
"Y/n wtf!? Are you crazy!?" He yells out as he tries to shift away from you but when you lock your feet behind his back it‘s impossible for him to move anywhere but closer to you. That’s how he ends up leaning forward so that he’s fully kneeling in between your legs, slightly hovering above you, causing him to hold himself up with one hand.
"That‘s way better! Thank you Ed‘s" you simply give him an innocent smile, acting like he‘s not just a few centimeters away from your lips, acting like you can’t feel his hot breath against your skin and not hearing his heartbeat going a thousand miles per hour. The way your feet keep him in place, doesn’t make it easier for him too. Eddie‘s heart feels like it’s about to explode.
Of course he‘s been close to you before, you’ve cuddled a million of times by now, also shared a few soft kisses on the head of cheek sometimes, but being in between your legs while feeling your cold skin, makes him feel dizzy in so many ways. His body is covered in goosebumps and when tries to look at you properly, he just see‘s a sleepy Y/n beneath him. Eyes closed and hands touching his arm carefully. All the naughty thoughts Eddie had a few seconds ago are definitely gone now.
He‘s looking at you in pure awe. The way you feel so safe and comfortable with him, that you almost fall asleep under him, just because of his body temperature makes him feel special in so many ways. It‘s been almost 3 years and the poor boy still doesn’t know what he did to deserve an angel like you. Someone so amazing and adorable.
"I‘ll warm you up, don’t worry Sweetheart." He whispers against your skin when he slowly tries to get comfortable on top of you. Your hand finds it’s way into the messy curls of his faster than he expected, smiling into your well his shirt when he hears your soft snores above him. Next time you’re cold, he‘s definitely gonna warm you up again, doesn’t matter how ;)
masterlist
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the-owl-house-takes · 7 months
Note
So I think the worst take of the fandom is that all of the problems of the show would have been fixed had it gotten a full S3. That literally any problem the show had merely came from the shortening. This is... Well, just blatantly shows that the fandom not only doesn't understand how the animation industry works AND doesn't want to actually look at the narrative they did choose to focus on post the shortening call that were just... baffling.
So first let's establish how much of the show was affected by the Shortening. As a fandom, we found out about it during the hiatus between S1 and 2. This was at earliest, August 2020 since the S1 finale came out late August 2020. Dana has claimed two things that are important to this timeline. 1: The shortening was decided on shortly before the finale came out and 2: That the first episode affected by Covid, which would have been back in March/April, was Looking Glass Ruins. So we EXPLICTLY know that the shortening didn't affect the show until after S2 Ep 5.
BUT then we get into production schedules. Before S2 even BEGAN airing, we were told to stop campaigning for a full S3 because they had to get started on storyboards for the season and that was effectively the firm deadline. This means ALL of S2 was effectively done in script and storyboards by the time S2 aired. This makes sense to keep a weekly schedule and the like and most animation professionals will tell you they work MONTHS in advance of release, bare minimum.
This means, AT BEST, S2B was when the shortening really kicked in. And yes, S2B has pacing issues. It has issues in general and is when most people think the quality of the show dropped. The problem is that... The signs were always there. There's a reason why there's been a backlash because as people become disillusioned with the show, you have to ask what was driving so much before.
And a lot of that was potential. S1 is so good when you first watch it because it keeps teasing the idea that it's going to tackle things in a complex way. That it will explore concepts like Amity's abusive family, magic, fantasy vs reality, etc. like that. It's why the fandom was at its strongest during S1.
Unfortunately, the problem with presenting good ideas and then not executing on them, or completely gutting them is that those old parts are a lot harder to enjoy. As Willow was effectively not a character for half a season and then just suddenly was a jock, people began to realize the fact that she in the show is much more a plot device than anything else. They claimed "We're not doing the one kind act into friendship and forgiveness thing with Amity and Willow" and then literally did NOTHING with it until S2B and eventually DID just do the same trope anyways but now with less resonance than it would have had in Understanding Willow.
Not only that but even S1 didn't give a single shit about its worldbuilding. The First Day has Dana Terrace as a lead writer on it. If anyone knows the worldbuilding best, it should be her... So why is it that no one talks about multi-coven things being illegal? It's literally just used as meta commentary and so they entirely ignore the worldbuilding they have. Reaching Out is exactly the same, with Dana as the SOLE writer of that where Amity and everyone else treats joining a coven like going to college and not literally the word of the law.
But S1 couldn't even keep Wild Witches consistent. Half the time Eda can chill and not worry. She can go to a place funded by the EC like Hexide and not flinch for a second that Bump might call the guards on her despite that being kind of the ONE real rule to their society that makes it not just our world but with teeth. Then again, the show gives NO FUCKS about its own stuff, willing excising portions of itself that it finds cumbersome. Escaping Expulsion is BEFORE Looking Glass Ruins and yet it murders Luz's magical potential in its sleep and also discards Amity's family as easily disposable, despite how much the show claims her mother's influence is the reason why Amity behaved the way she did for all of... Three appearances? Because Amity's arc isn't actually good.
It shouldn't be surprising S2 would do this though when the writers already struggled to do anything with Luz's magic. If she's supposed to be learning and growing... Even S1 is shit at this and is repetitive. Not just with the at least three times we do "King has a minion!" B plot that isn't funny and doesn't do anything but also with its lessons. Luz theoretically learns to listen to Eda in the third episode and arguably the second as well. Then she gets her first glyph with the lesson, in theory. of not trying to take shortcuts to do magic and to not steal. And then in Adventure in the Elements, not even to impress Amity but because of her impatience, she steals something to take a shortcut to stronger magic. That is THREE episodes of the first TWELVE of the series. It usually takes most kids shows at least a LITTLE longer to be that bad at retreading its own lessons.
And the final part of this is that... S2 actually had to be effectively the exact same as it was for s3 to happen. You need the foreshadowing of the Collector for the Day of Unity. You need to FINALLY do something with Belos for the revelations of the Human Realm to happen and to do Luz's angst arc. You need Hunter to be at least 90% redeemed so he's there on their side during The Day of Unity, etc. like that. Then you get half a season in the human realm before coming back to the Isles for half a season, just like Amphibia did because returning home is the best mid-season finale you can have there. So any argument that a full S3 would have actually fixed issues with S2B is just... Wrong. The problems with S2B come with the fact that S2A wastes a FUCKTON of time on elements that don't matter.
Oh, and lest we forget that The Collector could have been cut. He had one appearance in a dream, that also doesn't make sense with his characterization, before S2B. In the fact, the crew has admitted as much. He was added AFTER the news of the Shortening because they always wanted to include a character like him so now that they didn't have the time for him... Cram him in anyways.
Could a show have EVER been saved when that's how they treat one of their two final antagonists? It's the sort of statement that just solidifies the idea that TOH didn't want three seasons. It wanted five... If not just to go on forever. To be the next monolithic show, even as it repeats character arcs, lessons and shrinks characters rather than expands them.
So no, the show isn't bad because of the shortening. The show is bad because the writing is bad.
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