#he’d call me gay and it’s fine cause he’s right | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

ninzied · 6 months

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kiss me once 'cause you know

in which alex sort of moves in and they don't talk about what it means. or: a cakegate never happened and then they become friends and accidental roommates au. for @rwrbmovie and @rwrbsource's rwrbweek: day 6 | kiss also on ao3. ~2k.

Of all the things they’ve been to one another—sometimes-rivals, reluctant allies, tediously cordial seatmates at international events—Henry never thought that he and Alex would end up being something like friends.

And yet here they are:

Henry, living his little gay life as Pez calls it in Brooklyn, running an LGBTQ youth shelter that’s two blocks away from David’s favorite dog park—

And Alex, earning his law degree at NYU and, apparently, looking up numbers of erstwhile princes (he’d phoned the shelter first, much to Pez’s utter delight) and asking if Henry wanted to grab a coffee sometime.

Henry had been baffled then, and, if he’s honest, even now he’s still not entirely sure he hasn’t missed something.

He brought it up, once. Many months into their—friendship?—after he was reasonably certain that it was a permanent thing, whatever it was.

Alex had shrugged. Tore off some more pita and dipped it into the labneh in front of them. “I wanted to find out if you were any less insufferable now that you’re, you know.” He glanced back up. “No longer royalty.”

“I see,” said Henry, with a customary roll of his eyes. “And what’s the verdict, then?”

Alex replied, around a mouthful of pita and a spectacularly shit-eating grin, “Jury’s still out.” His eyes were alight, either with mischief or the glow of the flickering candle between them, Henry decided he’d rather not think on too closely. “Guess we’ll have to keep seeing each other, just to know for sure.”

“Wonderful,” said Henry dryly, and Alex had laughed, and Henry had tried not to feel a certain type of way about it.

It all could be perfectly normal, you see, if not for the fact that Henry is, as ever, completely and hopelessly in love with the man.

It’s fine—really, it is—on most days.

Most days, they have dinner. Usually someplace obscure, where Henry can’t tell if the staff don’t know who they are or don’t care. Either way, they go where the food is generally excellent and where they know they won’t ever be bothered. Neither of them are public figures anymore, but maintaining some semblance of privacy seems to be an unspoken agreement between them.

Some days, when they’re meeting in Brooklyn, Alex follows him home.

There’s really no other way to describe it, because the first time it happened, Henry had literally turned right thinking Alex would go left back toward the Q; instead, he kept pace with Henry, chatting all the way to the stoop of his brownstone. Then, while Henry struggled to find the most casual way to ask if he’d like to come in, Alex was already striding inside like he lived there.

And, some days, it truly feels like he does.

Henry chalks it up to things like exam times at first.

When they aren’t talking, or watching Star Wars (bickering about Star Wars, more like), Alex is nose-deep in a textbook or furrowing his brow at yet another paper, pausing only to swig on a beer every time David barks at Paul Hollywood onscreen. As the semesters go on, the readings get longer, the papers more time-consuming, and some nights will turn into mornings where Henry finds Alex passed out on his couch and spooning the pillow that has the beagle embroidered in the center.

Henry tries his hardest not to notice nor to feel any particular way about it, but over time his living room is slowly but surely overtaken, resembling more and more the study of some kind of mad genius.

He finds Alex’s notes strewn all about, tucked into odd spaces and utterly illegible to him. Alex’s textbooks occupy every conceivable space but the shelves, some precariously balanced at the very edges of Henry’s furniture. This is how he almost winds up with a broken big toe, when David mad-dashes after a ball twice his size (“Indoors, Alex? For Christ’s sake”), and the largest bloody tome on constitutional law or some such very nearly takes Henry out as he’s walking by.

Henry lifts the book and places it much more securely in the center of the coffee table. It takes some finagling, because there are no fewer than three half-empty mugs of stale brew, one of Henry’s (tea, though, of course), a cluster of Henry’s pens because Alex can’t be bothered not to keep losing his own, and Alex’s glasses, which Alex had been searching for until he and David both got distracted by a new toy.

“You’re a menace,” says Henry.

“You love me,” grins Alex, not even looking up as he play-wrestles David and murmurs, “Good boy,” which is a very fortunate thing because Henry’s just flushed the shade of a tomato, he’s certain.

He mumbles an excuse about checking the oven—an entirely absurd claim to make, because if there are any legitimate issues he’ll simply have to come right back out and face Alex again. Alex has said he can’t be trusted in the kitchen, though from Henry’s point of view, anyone who eschews the metric system is the one who can’t be trusted.

“Remember it’s in Fahrenheit, babe,” calls Alex from the other room, and Henry promptly knocks his elbow into a stray spoon, sending it a-scatter.

That could be an absolutely normal thing to call a friend. Right?

Henry has no concept of how long he stands there, staring at the oven timer tick down. He ought to rationalize it away as best he can, but a very small, very stupid part of him wants to hope instead.

“Hey. Move over.” Alex is suddenly next to him, laughing as he nudges Henry out of the way with his hip. Henry stands frozen as Alex bends down, opening the oven door and giving the pan a testing jiggle.

“Needs a little more time,” he says, then glances at the spoon clutched in Henry’s hand. “Definitely too soon for that. Still gotta chill it overnight. Who eats cheesecake with a spoon, anyway?”

Right.

So, sometimes Alex bakes for them. Sometimes he cooks for them, too. Actually, he’s been cooking quite a lot, come to think of it. They don’t dine out much at all anymore.

It’s become increasingly difficult for Henry to not think about these sorts of things and wonder if they might mean something.

One morning, Henry comes down the stairs to the living room to find that Alex isn’t there.

He can’t actually recall the last time that happened, Alex not ending up spending the night. There’s never not some looming deadline that keeps him up at unreasonable hours, and even then they’re usually up later than that just talking to one another.

Last night Alex had definitely nodded off—refusing the spare room, as always—and he’d seemed deeply asleep when Henry, in a fit of madness or maybe he had a small stroke, who can say, had taken a blanket and tucked him carefully in before turning out the light.

Henry wonders if perhaps that was the thing to have driven Alex off in the middle of the night at last. He tries not to wonder what it could mean, whether it’s irrational for him to feel as devastated as he does, standing there, staring at the neatly folded blanket in front of him now.

Distantly, there’s a clang of something like metal on metal. It sounds as though it’s come from the kitchen.

Henry frowns. He hadn’t heard David come down the stairs after him. Which means—could it—

The clanging noise is followed by a low curse under breath, and Henry, God help him, Henry cannot breathe.

Alex is making breakfast.

He’s already dressed for the day, looking fresh-faced and several cups of coffee in judging from the trail he’s left behind on the counter. Henry ought to have noticed the aroma earlier, but the flat has smelled almost permanently of coffee ever since Alex took up unofficial residence here.

Here. He’s here. Alex is still here.

“Hi,” says Henry, still slightly dumbfounded.

“Morning, sunshine.” Alex shoots him a grin that feels like it’s pierced him straight from Eros’ bow, and Christ when did Henry get so maudlin? “I have a study group soon, but wanted to make sure you got fed before going.”

“I can feed myself, thank you,” says Henry, not terribly convincingly. Surely there must be a box of cereal here, somewhere, that can help him attest to that fact.

“Uh huh.” Alex tilts the pan of eggs onto a plate, adding several garnishes that Henry didn’t even know were in his kitchen’s possession. “Listen, I know you Brits are adverse to flavor, but don’t forget the hot sauce this time, okay?”

“You are determined to give me heartburn,” says Henry, not a little bit wistfully, because Alex truly has no clue.

“You know it.” Alex winks at him while loading the dishwasher. “Tea’s in the cupboard. Got the one you like from that bougie place in West Village, ‘cause that’s just the kind of guy I am.” He straightens, brushing off his hands, already on the move, always on the move. “We still on for the museum social?”

“Oh, yes,” says Henry, cheering considerably at the thought. He has his outfit planned and everything, down to the tie that Alex had gotten for his birthday last year. “Looking forward to it.”

“All right. I’ll see you tonight,” says Alex, and then he’s leaning in as he walks past, one hand cupping Henry’s jaw, his lips touching briefly to Henry’s cheek. Like it’s something he always does—like this is how they’ve said goodbye every morning, how they will say goodbye every morning—and this is it. Henry is simply done for.

It’s over so quickly that Alex is already halfway to the foyer before the thought occurs to Henry that perhaps he’s just imagined the whole thing.

The front door opens and closes. Somewhere he can hear David puttering around, nosing into his food bowl that Alex must have refilled earlier, and yes, it must not have been real. How else could he explain Alex making him breakfast, feeding his dog, kissing him and then walking away like everything hasn’t been utterly and irrevocably changed between them?

Henry is still standing there, trying to recall how to breathe, when the door opens again. And then Alex is there, standing in front of him, and Henry can do this. He wills himself to make it so.

Their eyes meet.

“Hey.” Alex hovers in place for a moment. His expression is fairly neutral, but he’s gone uncharacteristically still. Henry doesn’t think he’s ever seen him stand so still before. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to do that.”

Well. That answers that, then.

Henry struggles to swallow. “It’s all right,” he finally manages to say. It is, in fact, the furthest thing from all right. “No harm done.” Every harm has been done, actually, and Henry doesn’t know which part is worse—that Alex hadn’t meant to kiss him, or that Alex is saying he’s sorry he did. “I know you didn’t mean anything by it. We don’t have to—”

“No—Henry. That’s not what I’m saying.”

“It’s—” Henry swallows again. He can’t seem to recall how to put words side by side anymore. “No?”

Alex shakes his head. He takes one, then another, step closer. His eyes are bright with something that Henry almost doesn’t dare hope to read. Something warm. Something burning.

“I didn’t mean to do it like that,” Alex says. “Because it does mean something.” Henry doesn’t think he’s imagined the way Alex’s voice has cracked at the end. “It means everything, Henry, and I’d really like to do it right this time.”

“Oh,” says Henry, breathlessly. “Yes. Yes, go on then.”

Alex is already striding forward before he’s even finished speaking.

He takes Henry’s face in his hands, and then Alex’s mouth is on his, warm and hungry and wanting. Henry’s lips part, a soft groan escaping Alex’s throat as their tongues meet and slide together, and it’s everything that Henry never thought could be his until now.

His. Alex is his.

Henry buries his hands in Alex’s hair, gripping there in counterpoint to the way he presses his body up against his, trying to get closer. When they part, they’re both gasping a little, Alex’s forehead pressed against his as the air between them starts to settle.

“I’ve been wanting to do that for so long,” says Alex, voice low and heated all over.

Henry smiles. “Darling,” he murmurs, leaning in to kiss him again. “You have no idea.”

#rwrb #red white and royal blue #firstprince #rwrb fic #firstprince fic #rwrbweek #rwrbsource #usernuria #iuserzoe #(tagging you because one of the lines was inspired by your david gifset lol)

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frankenstein-ate-my-left-shoe · 1 month

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There's Such a Sad Love (Deep in Your Eyes) - Chap 3

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Eddie’s gonna kill him.

Not even exaggerating, he’s gonna kill Steve dead.

How hard is it to wake the fuck up? His dumb flat phone has been ringing for the last three hours!

…Okay, fine.. Eddie doesn’t know exactly how long it’s been ringing, but when you’re used to head-achingly constant quiet, any interruption becomes a nuisance immediately.

“Hello?”

“Fucking finally.” Eddie grumbles when Steve finally stirs enough to answer the phone.

“I’m sorry?” Steve says to the person on the other end of the line.

“I forgive you.” he grouses.

“No, no, I got that, but you were supposed to be here tomorrow, not today!” he struggles off the sagging air mattress and into his jeans, not even bothering to button them.

“Shit, shit, okay, yep, I’ll be here, I’ll—” His voice gets louder “Yes! Deliver! I’ll be here! Alright, bye.”

He tosses the phone onto the sagging mattress and scrubs his face with his palms, mumbling “Stupid fucking phone signal..”

Eddie follows Steve out the bedroom door and down the stairs into the kitchen.

He smiles to himself when Steve stops in the doorway; He’d worked all night to get the damn cabinets open again.

“Good morning, Mr. Ghost… Ms. Ghost? Ghost Friend.” is what he finally lands on, unfreezing from the doorway and grabbing a can of something from the fridge.

Eddie breezes past him a bit too close, just barely brushing against him. Steve shudders against the chill. “I’m not sure if that’s a ‘Hello’ or a ‘Get the fuck out of here’.”

In response, Eddie pushes the sleep-mussed fringe of his bangs back off his forehead.

Steve smiles. “Hello...” Then he seems to remember something, “Oh, hey, the delivery guys are coming with my stuff soon.” He pauses a moment, “I’m guessing you’re gonna try something, but can you please not cause any injuries at least? I don’t want any more ghost-y roommates.”

“Aw man, but I do!” Eddie groans.

Steve tilts his head to listen to the quiet of the house for a few seconds, then calls out again. “Can you make some sort of noise so I know you aren’t gonna kill anyone?”

Eddie rolls his nonexistent eyes, “Sure, handsome, anything for you,” and knocks his knuckles on the open cabinet door beside Steve’s head.

Steve startles at the noise, “Jesus fuck! I’d also like to not die today, thanks.” he says, adding on a grumbled “Give me a damn heart attack, why don’tcha..” as he starts back toward the front of the house.

A laugh escapes him and Steve falters, stopping a couple steps away and turning back toward the kitchen.

If his word meant anything, he’d swear that Steve looks right at him.

His laughter stutters to a stop, and Steve shakes his head minutely as if to shake off a thought.

‘Did he hear me laughing?’

“....No, he couldn’t have, it’s way too early..” Eddie answers himself.

He watches until Steve’s out of sight, then floats through the hallway wall and into the closet under the stairs.

It’s one of Eddie’s favorite places in the house; small and quiet, and the place he feels most..solid (the most real?)..no matter what time of year it is. It gives him time to breathe, ironically, and no matter how untethered he might feel after Halloween, he feels like himself again here.

He’s done some long, complicated ciphering about why over the years, and he thinks the stairs and closet are positioned right over where his bedroom used to be in his and Wayne's trailer. He can get his thoughts together here, can think the clearest.

There's some commotion from outside his closet, so Eddie pops his head through the door to watch Steve and the moving company travel back and forth between the front door and the rest of the house.

Looks like he was in the closet longer than he thought (There’s definitely a gay joke here somewhere, Eddie thinks to himself), the hired team of movers are here and already carting in boxes and pieces of furniture.

Steve is helping the movers for some reason, carrying boxes further into the house, and Eddie finds his way back to the man’s side without even thinking about it.

Suddenly, Steve yells, “Nope! I have to do some work on the place, so everything but the bedframe and mattress can go in here!” in response to some question Eddie hadn’t heard. “The master is up the stairs, last door on the right. That one big dresser with the mirror can go there, too.”

“Hope you have some help lined up after they leave, pretty boy. You know I can’t help you.”

“I think I do, actually. Some kids already asked to help with the house anyway, so.”

“...What?”

“What?” one of the movers echoes.

Steve sets down the box he was carrying (‘clothes’ according to the large marker letters on one side) and turns back to the mover, confused. “I’ll have help to move it all again after I’m done with the remodels.”

“That’s..great man, good for you.” he says, equally confused.

Eddie’s frozen. “Okay, what the fuck.”

Steve can’t help but help the movers; he carries in some of the unimportant boxes, and grabs up the important ones he’d labeled when he packed up everything. Which was also something he couldn’t help but do even though the company he hired would pack and unpack his things as part of the cost anyway.

One of the five man team asks him about putting his furniture in their respective rooms, at least.

“Nope! I have to do some work on the place, so everything but the bedframe and mattress can go in here!” he calls back, carrying the couple of boxes of clothes in his arms into the foyer to the right of the front door, “The master is up the stairs, last door on the right. That one big dresser with the mirror can go there, too.” he calls over his shoulder

“Hope you have some help lined up after they leave, pretty boy. You know I can’t hel...”

Steve huffs in irritation, why are they trying to talk to him while walking away? “I think I do, actually. Some kids already asked to help with the house anyway, so.” he calls back to where the voice seemed to be retreating to.

“What?” the mover asks, sounding closer again.

Steve sets down the box of clothes he carried in, and turns back to the man who’s looking at him like he’s grown another head. “I’ll have help to move it all again after I’m done with the remodels.”

“That’s..great man, good for you.”

“You’re the one who asked..” Steve grumbles to himself when the guy walks back out to the truck.

There’s not much in the moving truck, so while the team is bringing in the larger pieces, he borrows one of them to help him empty his little trailer so he can take it back that afternoon.

The crew is done within the hour, and Steve sees them off, following them down the drive and turning to head into town. He stops in at the deli across from Melvald’s for lunch, and heads into the one internet provider’s office in town to set up his services (which was as easy as flipping the proverbial switch to turn them on, very nice), then heads to the hardware store because of course there wasn’t already a washer and dryer in the house.

Getting delivery scheduled for his new washer and dryer ends up taking forever, and it’s already late afternoon by time he’s done, so Steve heads back out to the big box store for groceries, heads home to eat Joyce's leftovers, showers, puts some sheets on his bed, then (finally) calls Robin..

“Finally got interwebs hooked up?” her forehead says in lieu of a ‘Hello?’ (that’s the only thing he can see on his screen at the moment).

“Yep, didn’t take too long, luckily, and good news for me: apparently the people who built this place decided to put in fiber cords? Which is really good I guess?” he says, flopping down onto his mattress on his stomach.

“Uh, yeah, that’s real good Dingus; Fiber is still one of the better things for internet connections, so congrats! You lucked out.”

“Then the guy at the hardware store took forever to schedule my laundry shit to be delivered, so I’m out a washer and dryer until next week. Yay.” he deadpans to her forehead (still the only thing he can see).

“But you’re settled in better now, right? At least now you can get started on that DIY board you’ve been hoarding onto since you first saw the place.”

“That's true, that’s true,” he concedes, swapping his video call app out for the one that holds all his inspiration boards, “This place is going to be amazing once I’m done with it.”

“I thought you already thought it was amazing.”

“No, no, it is..it’s just..” he pauses, scrolling down the hundreds of ideas he’d saved for just this moment…all of them not quite right. Even the simplest color palettes he’d liked look drab and boring when he thinks about actually using any of them on the house.

“None of it fits anymore, does it.”

Steve snorts out a laugh, “None! How is that even possible? What the hell am I supposed to do now?”

“What indeed..how in the world are you supposed to start changing things if you don’t even know what color paint your ghost roomie likes? What if they start haunting you even more after you paint the dining room sage instead of mustard??”

“Right?! He likes metal music for fucks sake, I can’t paint my whole house red and black or whatever just so he doesn’t haunt the fuck outta me!”

Robin’s silent for a moment, then “Wait, backup. One, how do you know he likes metal music, and two, ‘he’? How do you know it’s a ‘he’?”

“Oh my god! So much has happened, listen,” Steve explains everything to her, shifting onto his back as he does.

He tells her about the kids (“You better take them up on the offer, Dingus, that’s a lot of help.”), the girl Max who said “He likes metal music.”, the way his speaker turned down on its own when he asked ‘Jeeves’ to, the damn acknowledging knock he’d heard when Steve asked the entity not to hurt any of the movers as they brought in all his stuff.. All of it.

“I even heard a laugh, Robin. A goddamn laugh! It’s definitely a ghost.”

“Okay. Yep. That’s it, I’m never coming to visit. Mm-mph. Nope. No way.”

“Oh yeah, and the Hawkins Chief of Police said it might be a murderer!”

“Ah! What?! Steve. Steven. Steeb. You need to move. Pack up all your shit and get the fuck back here.”

He only partially heard her; Now he’s focusing on trying to look up any murders here in Hawkins over the years.

“Are you listening to me, Dingus?”

“Huh–yeah, yeah of course I am.”

“No you’re not, I can see you thinking.” Steve hears her type something into her phone. “The Creel murders, a death by rabid dog, death to cancer…”

“Are you reading the same things I am?”

“...No?”

“Uh huh, sure–ah ha! Listen, listen, listen,” Steve exclaims, sitting up and crossing his legs in the middle of his bed. “‘Hawkins High cheerleader, 18, found deceased at Forest Hills trailer park. Authorities say she was found by a resident of the park along with another body late on the night of the 31st. There is no further information at this time.’.”

“....Holy shit..holy shit..Ah! Okay, I found some more, Halloween, 1986... Uh….” she trails off, mumbling along as she reads. “This one says it’s called the ‘Forest Hills Murder’, and that there was, quote, ‘one suspect, two bodies, and conviction for one count of second degree murder.’.”

“Second degree?”

“Means that it wasn’t planned beforehand.”

Steve hums in understanding, continuing to scroll. “Why are there no names! I want to know who my ghost is, dammit!”

“Maybe…you should go to the library? Does Hawkins have a library? Maybe they’ll have old papers or something.”

“Yeah, it’s basically smack dab in the center of town....Do you think I should go to the library?”

“I think you should go to the library.”

That night, Steve once again dreams of that vast black place. He opens his eyes to it, and instead of being scared like last time, he’s somehow…comforted by it.

The loud splash of water that comes from his right, however, makes him jump.

“Hi!” the girl with the ponytail says, bouncing to a stop in front of him.

“Uh, hi? I saw you last time, I think…Who are you?”

“I’m Chrissy!” she grins, her smile bright yet slightly crooked.

“Hi Chrissy, I’m Steve, uhm…what the hell is going on? Why are you in my dream?”

“I assume it’s because I died at Forest Hills.” She shrugs, as if it was the most benign news in the world.

Steve blinks at her in the darkness, takes in her uniform– “Oh my god, you’re the cheerleader who died! Are you–are you my ghost?” It’d be a surprise if Chrissy was a metal fan, but who’s he to judge? Maybe Max got the ghosts’ pronouns wrong?

Chrissy waves him off with a laugh, “Oh, no, I’m not,”

“Wait, are they the one who killed you? I better not be living with a murderer ghost..”

She looks appalled at that, “Absolutely not! Where on earth did you even get that idea?”

“I’ve only read a little bit about the–your case so far, and all it said was that there were two bodies.” Steve scratches at the back of his neck nervously. What kind of protocol is there for talking to a dead girl about her death? “Rumor has it that the second one was the person who killed you. That your boyfriend killed him right after…?”

The cheerleader is silent, gazing at him sadly.

“His name is Eddie.”

There’s a pull in Steve’s gut at the name.

“Who’s name, your murderer? Your boyfriend?” She’s fading into the darkness that surrounds them, and Steve knows he must be waking up. “Please, tell me!”

Chrissy’s mouth moves, but Steve’s already falling out of his dream.

Groggily, he reaches for his phone, 6:04am.

He huffs as he flops back against his pillows, but freezes in the next moment.

Out the door to his bedroom from where he’s laying, he can see part way down the hall and the last half of the staircase where it comes up to the second floor.

And what he sees glide up the steps onto the landing out of sight is what freezes him to his spot.

It was barely there, but there nonetheless. A shadow, just dark enough to be seen in the low light of the morning, the dark of it standing out against the pale cream of the wall next to the steps.

His heart hammers in his chest, his brain screaming ‘Holy shit, holy shit, he IS real, oh my god there’s a real life ghost in my house.’ at him (Wait, duh. You already knew this?? You heard the speaker lower on its own, you felt that cold breeze, heard that laugh?? He thinks, his thoughts rambling on without him.) when the shadow reappears, drifting into view in his doorway and it itself freezing under Steve’s gaze.

The shadow is still only just barely visible; not freakishly tall, Steve figures it’s about his own height, actually, and the edges of it flicker and move.

Heart still pounding, Steve speaks, his voice coming out in barely a whisper. “Eddie?”

As soon as the name is out of his mouth, the shadow disappears, looking both like it was swept away by an invisible breeze, and as if it dropped straight into the floor.

“Holy shit!”

After throwing together a whole two pieces of toast for breakfast, and leaving the strips of color he thought to pick up while at the hardware store out for his roommate with a note, Steve takes himself and the name Eddie with him to Hawkins Public Library.

His hopes of scouring old newspapers and records seem at least ten times more likely when he steps over the threshold and immediately feels like sneezing at the smell of the dusty old books around him.

He steps up to the front counter, “Good morning Mrs….” Steve leans in closer to read her name tag; ‘Claudia Henderson - she/her!’ is printed onto the plastic tag in permanent marker and punctuated with a fading yellow smiley face sticker “…Henderson—Henderson? Why does that sound familiar?”

“I’m not sure, hon–”

“HEY MOM!”

They both startle at the sudden yell, turning towards the noise; Dustin, that kid with the cap that had harassed him on his driveway yesterday, is running towards the front counter.

‘Ah. Henderson.’

Mrs. Henderson tsks at her son, “Dustybuns, this is a library! Use your inside voice.”

“Where’s th–Steve!”

Steve smiles at the kid, “Hey bud,”

“What’re you doing here?” he questions, then his face brightens exponentially. “Are you looking for stuff about ghosts?”

“Dusty, you know better than to ask that,” she chides, “What people are looking for at the library is no one’s business but their own.”

Dustin, however, chooses to ignore this. “It’s ghosts, isn’t it? Hang on, I know of a couple books that might help you!”

Both Steve and Claudia attempt to stop him, “Dusty, wait—!”, “No, I’m oka—”, but Dustin’s already disappearing between two tall shelves.

“Damn, he’s quick.”

Claudia sighs, “I’m sorry about him, hon, he just gets super excited about whatever thing he’s fixated on at the moment.”

“It’s alright, Ms. Henderson, I know he means well.” Steve says with a smile.

“Well, let’s get you settled then, you need a library card, I assume?”

“Yes ma’am.”

She gets him set up with a card (‘Harrington? Oh, you must be Patty’s grandson! Oh, I’ve heard so much about you; your gran and I were in the same knitting club, you know.”), then points out an empty table by one of the front windows he can use if he’d like. Where each section is, what their return policy is and about the book reserve program, then finishes with a warm “Let me know if you need any help, Steve dear.”

“Actually, can you tell me where you keep your newspapers?”

She hmms thoughtfully for a moment, “Well, that depends on if you want the actual papers, or if you would like to scroll through them on the microfilm…what are you looking for, exactly?”

“I’m looking for information on the house I just bought? I’ve been told there was a death on the property previously and I wanted to look into it if I could. Library seemed like the best bet.”

“Oh, that’s just terrible! Sure, hon, let's get you set up at one of our machines and you can scroll through whatever year you’re looking for,” she beckons him to follow to another long row of desks. There are a couple other people with name tags like Claudia’s sitting at the computers behind it. “Do you have a timeframe?”

“Mid-80s I think?”

“Let me see what I can find for you,” Claudia nods, sitting down at a large white machine.

She shows him how to operate the clunky device, then disappears through a ‘Staff Only’ door.

Steve’s alone at the machine for five whole seconds before Dustin finds him.

“There you are! Okay, here, these are my favorites on the subject,” he hands him a small stack of books with mostly dark covers, one even has a lenticular image of a fanged skull, “These are a couple that are more fanatical,” two more are added to the pile, “and these two are more scientific in nature.”

He keeps ahold of the last two, stepping to the side to reach for and slide a chair from another machine next to Steve’s. “Are they a poltergeist too? Are you trying to get rid of them? If so, I’ll need to pull some material on exorcisms too. Do you know why they would be sticking around? We need to figure out what their unfinished business might b—”

“Dustin! Dude!” Steve cuts him off with a laugh, “What happened to “Hey Steve.”, “Didja get unpacked already?”, “How’re your projects coming along, Steve?”...I just got here, my guy, lemme breathe for a second.”

Dustin rolls his eyes, “Did you figure out what colors your ghost likes?”

Steve rolls his eyes, “No, not yet. I put some out for him, so we’ll see if he decides to get rid of any.”

Claudia returns then, “Okay, here you are, sweetheart—Dusty! What’d I tell you about bothering Steve!”

“I’m not bothering him!” Dustin complains at the same time Steve says, “It’s been non-stop.”

The kid shoves at Steve’s shoulder, “Dude, shut up!”

He mimes nearly falling off his chair, “Do you see this, Ms. Henderson? I am being harassed in a public library.” he manages to say before breaking out into a grin.

“Shut up, asshole!” Dustin laughs.

“You shut up, buttface.”

“Okay, okay, settle down you two, Now Steve, do you have anywhere we can start? A date?” Claudia asks, loading up the first film in her small stack.

“I have one,” Steve nods, giving Dustin a final playful shove and reaching into his back pocket. “This article I found about the trailer park that used to be there?” He shows her his phone, open to the article from last night.

She scans it, then nods, scrolling on through the first film. “I say we check obituaries first, see if anyone sticks out? Then we can try birth announcements.”

“Would they have had an announcement printed if he was a murderer though?”

She looks at her son curiously.

“What?”

“Dustin is convinced there is a ghost on the property from the death there,” Steve explains as if he doesn’t already believe it himself, “And apparently the stories of the place include a possible murderer.”

“That’s why we need to figure out who it was so we can get him outta Steve’s house!”

“Well…” she gives them both another odd look, “Everybody has someone; this person’s someone may have had them printed as well.”

The first film ends up being the one they needed, for Chrissy at least.

“Here’s your cheerleader, Steve.” Claudia gestures to the machine’s screen. Half the front page of the Hawkins Post from November 1st, 1986 is dedicated to her.

The crooked smile, the bangs, the ponytail. “That’s her alright. It’s gotta be.”

Dustin squished in from Steve’s left to read the tiny text. “‘Chrissy Cunningham, 18, was found dead early this morning by local 440 chapter president Wayne Munson at his home in the Forest Hills mobile home park.”

“‘Wayne Munson.’, Who’s Wayne Munson?”

“Not sure, but he’s involved somehow. Write that down.”

“‘Police say they have one of two suspects in custody, the other was found dead alongside Ms. Cunningham.’.”

“That’s gotta be the ones, remember? She died and the boyfriend found the guy right after!”

From there, it’s easy to find the information for one Jason Carver.

“Is he the guy?” Dustin squints closer at the small yearbook picture. “Wait, if he’s the boyfriend, then he’s the murderer! Then who’s this other guy…?”

“What about Eddie, is there anything about anyone with that name?” Both Hendersons give Steve curious looks, “I was given that name from…a reliable source.” Very reliable.

“Why don’t we go back to that Wayne fella,” Claudia says, standing from the machine to move behind a computer nearby. “If it was his trailer she was found in, maybe the other person has something to do with him?”

She clicks into her computer and starts to type at an alarming rate.

Steve glances over to Dustin, who’s wearing a bewildered look. He turns around in his chair, “Thanks for helping with this, Ms. Henderson.”

“Yeah mom, I didn’t know you would be this interested in something like this.”

“Oh pshh,” she scoffs, “Who doesn’t love a good mystery? Now, read off that last name again?”

“Munson, M-U-N-S-O-N.”

“Let’s see…says here that Wayne was President of our Local 440 branch until…oh, 1986.”

“What’s that?” Steve and Dustin ask in tandem.

“The 440 is the local union! Some of those guys come through here twice a month for their book club.”

Steve takes the name to his phone, typing in ‘wayne munson + indiana’. “‘New UA President Elected!’, obituary, oh! There’s a birth here…and it has a paywall.”

Claudia rolls her eyes and mutters a low “Of course,” then louder, “Let's find it here then, what’s the date?”

He gives her the date, a Friday in mid June 1966, and she sets up the corresponding microfilm roll, scrolling into the birth announcements.

“Ah, here it is: ‘Beloved former Miss Indiana and Hawkins native Elizabeth Munson (ne’ Johnson) and husband Albert Munson welcomed a bouncing baby boy to the world this past Saturday. ‘I am just plumb overjoyed,’ Wayne Munson, Al’s older brother and well-known face of Hawkins’ local branch of UA 440 said Saturday evening. Both mother and little Theodore Munson are happy and healthy after their short hospital stay.’. That’s just lovely, I didn’t know Hawkins had a Miss Indiana!”

“But that’s Theodore though, not Eddie. Did she have any other kids?”

“Uhhh..” Steve draws out, typing ‘elizabeth munson miss indiana’ into his phone. “No, just the one son apparently..” He reads further, “Says she died in 1974 due to ovarian cancer.”

“Damn.”

“Poor Teddy..”

“Teddy?”

“Well sure, short for Theodore?” Claudia tsks sympathetically, “He was so young when she died..”

“Poor kid, I can’t imagine.”

“Wait! Teddy, Eddie!”

“Huh?”

“I dunno, maybe that’s your connection? Theodore to Teddy to Eddie. Maybe Wayne’s nephew is your Eddie?”

It took some more searching, but Dustin was right on the money; Steve finds the first mention of both names in a 1982 Hawkins High yearbook under a black and white picture of five teens in the book’s club section.

“‘Theodore “Eddie” Munson (far left), leader of Hawkins High’s newest club, Hellfire, with fellow sophomores Ronnie Ecker, Jeff Monroe, Frank Zuiwiski, and freshman Gareth Emerson.’.” Steve reads off. “‘The tabletop, pen-and-paper game Dungeons and Dragons (“D&D?” Dustin yells, attempting to pull the book from his hands, making Steve twist around in his chair to avoid him.) is the club’s main focus and is largely math based.’.”

Dustin pulls the yearbook from Steve’s hands as soon as he’s finished reading. “How did I not know Hawkins had a D&D club?!”

“Oh my god, my ghost is a nerd.”

“What the fuck?? What the fuck??”

Eddie had not expected Steve to be awake when he drifted upstairs that morning. Nor did he have any inkling that the man would whisper out a trembling “Eddie?” when he arrived at his door.

It’s only March, how in the hell can Steve even see him?

He sounded so scared too… damn it! He only just got here and now Eddie’s gone and ruined everything.

Instead of bright sparkling happiness or burning hot rage, a deadening, sinking, cold melancholy seeps into his core. The dreadful feeling sinks him further down into the house, all the way to, and into, the floor of his closet under the stairs.

Eddie stays hidden away while Steve shuffles around that morning and for two mornings after that. He’s aware of the living man’s movements through the creaks of the floorboards and hinges as he goes about his day each day, unpacking boxes and accidentally cutting his finger, shocking himself when he sets up his fancy-ass TV in the master bedroom, listens when he sings along to the Spoofy he’s been playing for Eddie and some of his own modern-sounding songs.

But Eddie doesn't make an appearance.

For three days, he wallows, alone.

Late into the night of the second day, well, early in the morning on the third, technically, the Moon reaches to him, asks him what is wrong.

It’s still dark outside, the sky just beginning to lighten, when he leaves his confines and breezes out onto the back balcony.

He notices belatedly that were are boxes and dropcloths littered around the great room as he passed through it; seems like Steve had been busy.

Again, the moon reaches softly to him, What are you afraid of? her soft hold on him asks, the encouragement bleeding through her glow over him evident.

“My heart may be dead and gone, but that doesn’t mean I want it broken.”

He regrets his words immediately, her amusement at his slip up skitters all along the planks of Steve’s balcony.

“Nononono no, not like that, he doesn’t–I don’t–He just…” why is he trying to lie to her? “Okay, so what if I have a big fat crush on him? ‘Ooh everyone look the lovesick dead guy’,” he mocks. “It’s not like jack shit can happen, so what if I do? It’s only a stupid crush anyway.”

Eddie listens to the sounds of the night as the sky lightens a couple shades more, the Moon’s continued amusement apparent to none but him.

Her jovial mood dies off after a shade or so more, then turns questioning once again, though tired, apparent from her low seat in the sky.

Eddie’s gut twists, “He could see me…Why can he see me already?”

The confusion persists, a new drop of encouragement comes and goes.

“I’m sure I scared him with the…” he gestures to the wispy all of him, “I don’t want to freak him out more…”

She grows exasperated with him; Eddie can picture his late Uncle’s good-natured eye roll and practically hear the fond tongue-click behind her new irritation.

“What? What’d I say?”

The Moon all but bowls him over with one more blast of encouragement before she disappears behind the trees and under her sister’s glow.

Eddie huffs out a sigh. Message received…

Eventually, later in the morning, the stairs above him creak with Steve’s weight, and Eddie listens to him hum as he passes outside his door toward the kitchen.

He’s there for a little bit, probably eating something? Then the sound of Dio filters down the hall to him.

Steve started the Spoofy for him again.

Soon after, the door into the garage opens and closes, and only after the garage door itself shudders to a stop, does Eddie leave his spot.

He wanders the house, taking in everything Steve had moved, or even torn off in his absence (“That wallpaper really was horrible, good on ya Steve.”), but eventually ends up back in the kitchen, thinking this time he’ll open a couple drawers for Steve instead of his usual cupboard fuckery, show him he’s back in action in a “Didja miss me?” type way, but stops short when he notices something laid out on the counter beside the speaker.

Color swatches.

There’s a couple shades of green, some blues, a deep red, and even a bright sunshine yellow laid out with a slip of lined paper.

Eddie eases forward, clipping into the countertop as he does, to read the note.

He stares dumbly at it for what feels like weeks.

Steve wants to know what he thinks? What Eddie would pick? Why? This is Steve’s house, why does his opinion matter?

‘It’s because he likes you.’ his not-actually-there brain tells him

“No the fuck he doesn’t, I’m dead. A ghost. I’m a nuisance at best.”

‘He knew your name.’

That happy sparking feeling returns, shooting through where his heart would be.

“He knew my name.”

Bright yellow flashes in his chest briefly.

How did Steve figure that one out?

‘He said your name.’ he thinks to himself, then the sound of Steve saying his name starts to cycle across his thoughts.

“Eddie?”, “Eddie?”, “Eddie?”, “Eddie?”....over and over again until it stops sounding like a real word.

“Eddie.” Steve says, his tone no longer questioning, but welcoming.

“Eddie.” Steve’s smiling this time.

“Eddie..” Steve’s happy to see him.

It takes him a handful of minutes each time, but he manages to flip over about half of the colors Steve had laid out.

“I must be outta my mind,” Eddie grumbles, glowing bright in the middle of the kitchen.

It took three days for Eddie to tell Steve what colors he doesn’t like.

He left the swatches alone until something was done to them but eventually, on the morning of the third day since he’d put them out (after more decisions about where he’d use each if they weren’t vetoed, deciding which room he’d tackle first (the kitchen), and getting the rest of his furniture and TV situated in his room), Steve comes downstairs to find three of the blue shades and one each of the green, red, and grays flipped over on the countertop.

He smiles down at them as he eats his bowl of cereal; he’s not sure where his ghostly roommate is right now, so he sets down his bowl, fishes a pen out of his junk drawer, and adds a line to his note

<- prev | next ->

i can't believe i didn't do this on the first part, but tagging everyone who was interested in reading the whole fic from my first post w this concept!! (i think some of you already found pt 1 though!!): @gothwifehotchner @puppy-steve @babydollbaron @a-bun-danceoflove @after-the-end-times @mightbeasleep @shapeofaperson @val-from-lawrence @madigoround @steviebats @nburkhardt @scoops-stevie @kas-eddie-munson @i-less-than-threee-you @milf-harrington @khalesprix @matchingbatbites

and also tagging those interested on the last part <3: @little-birch-boy

#steve harrington #eddie munson #steddie #steddie fic #steve harrington x eddie munson #eddie munson x steve harrington #st #stranger things #ghost!eddie #the party #steveddie #eddeve #stranger things fic #ghost fic #modern au #chrissy cunningham #ghost!fic #paranormal romance #noelle writes

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captainmalewriter · 2 years

Text

An Odd Trend Pt. 2

Check out part one to this series here!

Paulo was fucking around with Tiktok filters when he stumbled upon the Me & You challenge. He clicked on it and saw the filter description.

"Welcome to the Me & You challenge! Get ready to take getting to know other people to a whole new level! This filter will connect you to another person in live time. After a few seconds of conversation, just hit the button, and get ready for a once in a lifetime experience! Note: This is a beta version. We are actively fine tuning and fixing bugs as we find them. We thank you for your understanding!"

He read it over quickly. Paulo was not interested in getting to know some other person at all. But despite that, something about how the filter was presented was noticeably off. Paulo could see that plenty of people had done the challenge already, but nobody posted a Tiktok about it. Hundreds of users yet there wasn't a single trace of evidence about it.

Paulo turned to Google and other social media platforms to investigate. No matter how hard he searched, he couldn't find anything about the Me & You challenge anywhere. He double checked on Tiktok to make sure he didn't just make it up, but surely enough, there it was. Just waiting to be used.

"What the fuck is going on?" Paulo thought to himself.

He sat in his bed, staring down his phone. He tried poking around the internet again for more info, but still no luck. Paulo couldn't wrap his head around what he was seeing.

Could it be just some tech glitch? Did no one actually try the challenge? What's going on?

Paulo couldn't wrap his head around it. Then, after another while contemplating (and realizing he didn't have anything better to do anyway), he decided to take the deep dive. He turned on the filter, and within seconds, it connected and put him on a video call with some random stranger.

"Woah, you're cute," the other guy exclaimed at the sight of Paulo. "What's your name cutie? My name's Jack,"

"Thanks, you too, Jack," Paulo returned the gesture. "I'm Paulo. Do you know what's going on with this challenge?"

"I don't know man, I'm just bored at work."

"Damn... have you tried the challenge before?"

"Nope, this's my first time," Jack responded.

Paulo went quiet as he thought it over in his mind. He could hardly believe that he connected with another first time user. Was it a mere coincidence? Or- the more interesting answer, was it impossible to do the challenge twice?

"What's wrong, handsome? You seem tense."

Paulo forgot he was still on a live call. He looked at the guy in the screen, who was smiling at him. Paulo grinned, the bear seemed nice but not someone he was interested in. A thought occurred to Paulo then.

"Wait... is this some kind of gay dating scheme?" Paulo asked. Jack raised his eyebrow in response.

"How do you figure?"

"Well, think about it! What are the odds- I'm just assuming here, but what are the odds that two single gay guys would get paired together for some Tiktok challenge about getting to know each other?"

"Hm... Well..." Jack started as he leaned in closer to the phone. "An algorithm learns a lot about people. Your for your page is custom made, right? I don't doubt that had somehow to do with it," Jack explained.

Paulo laid back on his bed as he thought about it. Jack stayed quiet, just taking in Paulo's good looks while he had the chance.

Just then, the 🔄 button popped up on both men's phone. Paulo noticed it, and focused his attention on it. He heard an odd clicking sound as he scrutinized the little red button.

"What's this?" Paulo asked.

"Don’t know."

"Are we supposed to press this?"

"I did."

"Huh? Why would you do that?"

"Why not?"

"Well- what if it does something?"

"Too late now," Jack chuckled, much to Paulo's dismay.

Paulo hovered his finger over the red button. Truth be told, he'd rather hit the end call button. But then he remembered how this whole thing started, and decided he needed to see it through to the end. Paulo hit the button, causing the odd clicking sound to play again, and suddenly a flash of light came shooting out of his phone.

Paulo winced as he fell back from the sudden flash, knocking him down to the floor. His eyes were burning, and so was his forehead. He was panting for breath as he endured the wave of pain. Then, once it passed, he got back up. Paulo noticed how heavier he was, but brushed it off as nausea. He scratched his stomach as he sat down again.

What was that light all about?

Paulo thought to himself as he grabbed his phone. But just before he turned it on, he caught a glimpse of himself in the reflection of the little black screen. Staring back at him was the reflection of the hefty man he was just talking to.

Paulo leaned in for a closer look. Jack's reflection mirrored his every movement. Once Paulo realized what had happened, he let out a bellowing, blood-curling scream unlike anything he had ever done before.

"What the fuck is your problem, Jackson?" a man in a silver business suit stepped into Jack's cubicle. There he found Paulo hyperventilating and pointing at his reflection.

"Look at me! Look at him! That's not- What the fuck happened to me!?"

Jack's boss had to spent the next half hour just calming Paulo down. It was difficult, especially since Paulo kept screaming something about Tiktok and body swapping. In the end, after calming him down, Jack's boss sent Paulo home for rest. Clearly, Jack was delusional from working too many hours. Lost and confused, Paulo took the bus home, desperately trying to make sense of what had just happened to him.

***

Jack found himself in a tiny apartment filled from corner to corner with greenery after the disoriented head feeling went away. Jack recognized the bed frame, it was the same one that cute guy from not too long had in the background. Jack hopped off the bed and immediately noticed he had shed a couple pounds. But that wasn't the only change Jack noticed. He was darker skinned, lighter, and hairless now too.

"Holy shit! I swapped bodies!" Jack cried out. Jack could feel goosebumps run up and down his new arms. But after taking a second look at his body, along with making his new pecs bounce, he felt much more relaxed about the whole situation.

Jack already had an eye for Paulo, but now he got an exclusive first hand look at his latest eye candy. Just as Jack began to explore his new body, he got interrupted by an incoming FaceTime call. He promptly answered the call and saw it was his old body calling him.

"Heyyy, it's you!" Jack said enthusiastically. "What's up man, how's it going?'

"Don’t 'what's up man' me!" Paulo retorted. "How can you be so calm about this!? We just fucking switched bodies!!"

"Hey man... calm down, I'm right here, no need to yell..."

"I am calm!!" Paulo shouted. His brows were furrowed, causing deep wrinkles in his new, older face.

"Are you always this tense? You're too young for all this stress... and believe me, man, I know stress."

"Look, Jack, I didn’t ask for this. I was just bored and looking for something interesting- like you! I never thought this filter would switch my body!"

"Well, me neither! But how do you propose we switch back?"

"We just gotta do the challenge again, that should do the trick, right?" Paulo pleaded.

"What challenge?"

Paulo's face dropped when Jack said that. There was a brief moment of silence before Paulo spoke up again.

"Yo-you're kidding... right? The Me & You challenge, the one we just did together?"

Paulo kept talking about the Me & You challenge, but no matter what he said, Jack kept shaking his head in response.

“Look man, it seems like you’re having a really hard time here. I wish I could help- I really do! But I don’t know anything about technology.” Jack said.

“No!! I know you’re just acting! Drop the act and help me switch back, please!!”

“Whoa whoa,” Jack sat up. “I don’t like the way you’re talking to me. I was nice enough to answer a call from an unknown number and now I have some guy commanding me to do shit like he knows me!”

“But you do know me!! Jack, please! You gotta meet me halfway here-”

“Jack? Nah, man, you got the wrong number. I’m Paulo.”

“No you’re not!”

“It’s such a shame too, you’re kinda cute not gonna lie. If you were nicer, I might’ve down to meet up.”

Jack laid down on his stomach and shifted the camera to show off his new slim waist in black briefs. He wiggled his ass for a bit, even humping the bed to show off his new ass, all while Paulo screamed profanities at him through the phone.

“STOP THAT! THAT’S NOT YOURS!!” Paulo yelled.

“Anyway, I’m done here. Bye now~”

Jack hung up the phone while Paulo was still screaming himself purple. Jack let out a heavy exhale.

“Whewww... That guy really needs to learn how to chill out,” Jack took a deep breath. He then flipped over on his new bed, really taking in the feel of a memory foam mattress.

“Man, who knew acting would be so hard,” Jack said out loud. He laid there for a while longer, before he felt his new dick twitch against the fabric of his briefs. He looked down at his growing member, and a smirk spread across his face as he pulled down his briefs, ready and eager to get to know his new body and everything it had to offer.

***

Paulo stared at the phone screen in shock. He then slammed it down onto the bedside nightstand after it registered in his head what had just happened.

“NO! You won’t get away with this you fucking pervert!!”

Paulo then made repeated attempts at contacting his old body. Video calls, regular calls, texts, even emails, Paulo tried everything. But Jack did not respond to any of his attempts. Eventually, none of Paulo’s attempts of communication would go through the network, signaling that Jack had blocked him on everything.

“No no no NO...! You can’t do this to me...!!” Paulo was panting for breath.

“...The filter!”

Paulo then hurried to open Tiktok on his phone. He went straight to the filter list and scrolled, but he couldn’t find the Me & You challenge. He then hit the search button and typed in the name. The search didn’t return anything back. It was as though the filter had never existed.

Paulo slammed his fist into the nightstand. He threw the phone at the wall, then proceeded to trash Jack’s bedroom in a blind fury. All while he shouted until he was red in the face. He did not stop until he was physically exhausted. By the time he was done, Jack’s place was thoroughly trashed. Paulo then collapsed onto the bed, physically and mentally exhausted from the whole ordeal. He cried himself to sleep that night. The sounds of his endless sobs filled the house until sunrise.

Paulo did not wake up until well into the late afternoon. His eyes were filled with crusty tears and snot. Paulo got up from the bed, head aching from the surge of emotion he felt the day prior. He cleaned up all the gunk from his eyes and proceeded to stroddle to the bathroom. He took a good, long look at the new him in the mirror.

“Well... I guess it could be worse...” Paulo gave himself a weak smile. Tears began to swell up in his eyes again, but he quickly wiped them away. Instead, he stared himself down in the mirror until he didn’t feel strange anymore. Soon enough, he began accepting that he was no longer Paulo. He was Jack now, whether that meant for now or forever.

Regardless of how Paulo felt about the whole body swap, time kept marching on. Days, weeks, months had passed since Paulo and Jack swapped bodies.

Paulo continued his ritual of staring himself down in the mirror every single day for a couple of months. At first it started with just looking at his new body, but then he added onto it as the days went on. He started with giving his new body a compliment, then he practiced smiling and being grateful for his new body, and he continued adding new steps until he made all the way to flexing and jerking off naked in front of the mirror. Paulo had thought about fixing his new body to his personal liking, but after a while, he had come to sincerely appreciating Jack’s body in all of its glory and beauty. So in the end, he decided to keep and embrace his new life as a bear.

“Ah... fuck...!!” Paulo tugged at his new cock while admiring himself in the mirror again. His beefy pecs were bouncing up and down as his body jerked from pleasure. His old dick was definitely nothing to sneeze at at 7 inches long, but the added hair and girth Jack’s body had made jerking off even sexier for Paulo. He gasped as he climaxed, shooting puddles of warm cum all over the bathroom floor. He stood there panting, and took a deep whiff of his new musk before proceeding to clean up after himself.

“I wonder how Jack’s doing right now...” Paulo wondered to himself while cleaning. He would’ve turned 24 if he was still in his old body. No doubt Jack was living it up in his new body too, probably getting dicked down somewhere doggy style.

Paulo shrugged Jack off of his mind. He refused to think about his former life now after all the hard work he had put into loving and accepting the new him. After all, just as Jack was the new Paulo, he was the new Jack- an identity he had grown to cherish.

Check out part three to this series here!

#male body swap #male body switch #male body theft #body swap #body switch #bear #twink #age change #oddtrendseries

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jule1122 · 8 months

Text

Malex Fic - Fuck my way through college

Written for @rnmafterdark Day 3. This is chapter 1 of 2, but it can completely stand alone. Chapter 1 is mostly casual sex and chapter 2 will be more sex but with feelings.

This is a college AU I've been trying to write since I first heard the line "Fuck my way through college" from Glass Animal's "Take a Slice." Sex and sexuality are looked at and talked about with college levels of majority. There are references to Michael and Alex with others, but the sex scenes are between the two of them.

Additional Warnings: Alex sings a lyric from Green Day's "American Idiot" that contains a homophobic slur. It's not used as a slur, but the word is there. For the dubious consent - Michael sees Alex giving someone else a blow job, he enters the room and with Alex's consent jerks Alex off. The other person is not aware Michael is there until the end, but it not upset.

Fuck my way through college Chapter 1 on A03

Summary: When Michael's roommate hooks up with the guy who gives the best blow jobs on campus, Michael never expected it to be Alex Manes.

“You know what I want right now,” Michael says as he passes Chris the joint they’ve been sharing.

Chris glances over at the empty pizza boxes piled on the desk and sighs, “Wings?”

Michael hums in agreement. “Wings would be awesome, but I really want a blow job.” It’s not that being high makes him horny, exactly, but it does make him crave contact. He wants to kiss someone and hold them and then have them hold his dick in his mouth until he gets hard and comes.

“Been awhile?” Chris sympathizes.

“Too long,” Michael whines. He’d gotten all his gen ed requirements out of the way his freshman year and had breezed through with plenty of time for parties and sex. Now faced with demands of a double engineering major, he’s been unprepared for the amount of time his midterm projects consume.

“You still bi?” Chris asks as he hands the joint back to Michael.

If anyone else asked, Michael would be offended, but Chris shrugged off Michael’s sexuality confession with a casual “cool” when they were paired as roommates last year. Chris is easy going enough that he and Michael are still roommates and friends a year later. And in his defense, Michael isn’t sure Chris has ever seen him hook up with a guy, and his only attempt at a relationship has been an ill advised three weeks with Katie last spring.

Michael takes a long drag before answering. “Kind of a permanent state.”

“Just checking, cause I know a guy.”

“You know a guy?” Michael asks with a laugh. Michael isn’t sure why he’s even surprised. Chris knows a guy for everything - a guy who will write papers for you, a guy who can get you into all the good bars, a guy with keys to all the campus buildings. And now apparently a guy for blow jobs.

“Shut up, I’m serious. There’s this guy who is supposed to give A+ blow jobs. And he will blow anyone - gay, straight - he doesn’t care. If you have a dick, he’ll suck it.”

“You try it?”

“Nah. I know they say a mouth is a mouth, but I figured I’d have to picture tits or something to get off and that’s cheating.”

“You can’t cheat at orgasms,” Michael protests. “Anyway, sounds like an urban legend. The boogeyman and the blow job fairy.”

“I am not making him up,” Chris glares at Michael and snatched the joint out of his hand. “You know Conner, Miguel’s boyfriend?”

“Yeah.” He and Chris had some seminar with Miguel last year, and Michael vaguely remembers his boyfriend.

“Swears he was straight until this guy blew him. I heard Miguel sent him a fruit basket after they got together.”

“Now I know you’re making this up. No blow job is that good.” Michael holds up his hand when Chris starts to protest. “Prove it, call him right now.”

Chris visibly deflates. “I don’t actually have his number or know his name.”

Michael shakes his head in mock disappointment. “You owe me apology wings for getting my hopes up.”

Chris rolls his eyes, but picks up his phone. “Fine.”

A few weeks later, Chris runs up to Michael at a party, knocking two drinks over in his haste to reach him. “He’s here,” he says as he grabs Michael’s arm.

“Who?” Michael asks. He looks around, but doesn’t see anyone following Chris.

“The guy, you know,” Chris makes an obscene gesture Michael immediately recognizes. “I told you he was real!”

“He’s not fucking Santa Claus,” Michael rolls his eyes.

Chris pauses and blinks, “I mean he might, but forget that. I hooked you up. In ten minutes go to the upstairs bathroom, third door on the left.” “You’re an idiot.”

“I’m the idiot who is getting you laid.” Chris holds out his hand for a fist bump. “You are going to owe me so much beer.”

“Whatever,” Michael shoves at Chris’s shoulder, but he just dances away and joins a game of beer pong.

Michael is sure Chris is full of shit, and he intends to forget they ever had such a stupid conversation. But nine minutes later, he finds himself climbing the stairs and trying to ignore the way Chris cheers and winks at him as he goes by.

He sees someone leaning against the wall by the third door. They’re looking at their phone so he can’t see their face, but he likes what he can see - long legs in tight black jeans, big hands with fingers moving quickly over the screen, dark spiked hair, small gold hoop in his ear.

“Hey,” Michael says as he approaches. Whatever hope he had of seeming cool goes up in smoke as soon as the guy looks up. “Alex? Alex Manes?” he sputters.

The smirk that was on Alex’s face turns into a frown, and before Michael can react, Alex moves away from the wall and pushes Michael up against the door. “Is this some kind of joke?” he spits out. “You want to go back to Roswell and brag about how you got the resident queer on his knees? Well, jokes on you, I don’t care what you or anyone else says about me. You can’t shame me, Guerin.”

“What? No! That’s not what, I mean I wouldn’t,” Michael trips over his words as he tries to reassure Alex. He doesn't blame him for jumping to conclusions - Roswell hadn’t been kind to Alex. Michael doesn’t remember Alex ever saying he was gay, but everyone talked about it like it was a fact. The football team harassed him daily about it, making it clear that anyone who dressed like that, who had multiple piercings, must be gay. He and Alex never had any classes together, and Michael was too busy trying to fly under the radar and get the grades he needed for a scholarship, to talk to anyone outside Max and Isobel.

“So why are you here?” Alex continues to glare at Michael.

“Umm, this is kind of embarrassing,” Michael admits. He blushes when Alex raises one brow and waits for him to continue. “My roommate sent me up here for, you know,” Michael gestures at his dick and winces at how ridiculous he must sound. “I didn’t even know it was you.”

Alex takes a step back and gives Michael enough room to take a deep breath. He very obviously looks Michael over before asking, “And know that you do know it’s me?”

It takes Michael longer than it should to realize the blow job is still on the table. He’s not really sure what kind of response Alex is looking for. He’s tempted to tell him he’s even hotter than he was in high school. Michael’s pretty sure he’s added a tongue piercing to the earring and nose ring, and Michael’s discovering he really likes the eyeliner. But doesn’t think bringing up high school is a good idea so he blurts out, “I won’t tell anyone.”

“Whatever,” Alex rolls his eyes and pushes Michael aside to open the bathroom door. “Come on,” he pulls Michael inside when Michael doesn’t react, and locks the door behind him. “Condoms are mandatory, you can touch my hair, but not my neck. I’d prefer you keep your mouth shut, but if you have to talk, no ordering me around.”

Michael nods, he’s not sure starting off with a lecture is very sexy, but if what Chris said is true, Alex must have a routine. Alex crowds him against the wall and runs his index finger up Michael zipper before unbuttoning his jeans. He leans close and whispers, “I don’t have a gag reflex so don’t worry about being polite.”

Alex’s breath is warmth against his ear and while he’s slowly working Michael’s zipper open, Michael reconsiders just how sexy a lecture can be. Alex drops to his knees and pulls Michael’s pants down past his knees. Michael sucks in breath when he sees Alex looking up at him, gaze steady as he slides the condom on. “Ready?” he asks.

And if Michael liked Alex’s breath on his neck, it’s nothing compared to how it feels on his dick. Alex hasn’t really touched him, and he’s already getting hard. “Yeah,” he finally says once he realizes Alex is waiting for an answer.

“Good,” Alex winks before taking the head of Michael’s dick into his mouth.

Alex closes his eyes, and Michael wishes for a second he’d kept them open before Alex does something with his tongue that leaves him gasping for air. Michael has had his fair share of blow jobs, but nothing like this. He can’t even say exactly what Alex does that is so special. The tongue piercing helps, and Alex clearly knows how to use it.

But if pressed, Michael would say it’s the way Alex seems almost devoted to what he is doing. He keeps his eyes closed, and he seems almost as blissed out as Michael feels. No one has ever taken their time, or savored the experience, quite like Alex does. He starts by taking Michael deeper into his mouth inch by inch, licking and sucking as he goes. By the time he takes Michael as deep as he can, Michael is red faced and panting and ready to come.

Then he stops moving, just holds Michael’s dick in his mouth. Michael must whine or something because Alex pulls off and laughs. He starts with just the head of his dick again, taking him in just as slowly, but playing with his balls this time. When he stops again, Michael groans, “Alex, please.”

“Once more, ok,” Alex tells him.

Michael is honestly shocked he doesn’t come as soon as Alex’s lips touch his dick again, but he doesn’t. Alex goes even slower this time, lavishing attention on every inch of Michael he takes into his mouth like they have all the time in the world. He takes Michael deeper this time, so deep Michael doesn’t even know how he can breathe. Michael watches Alex’s face and silently begs him not to stop again.

He unclenches his fists and drops them to Alex’s hair, gently holding him in place. Alex makes a pleased sound and swallows around Michael’s dick while pressing hard against the skin behind his balls, making Michael come harder than he thinks he’s ever come before.

Alex doesn’t back off, sucks gently at Michael’s dick until he’s done and sensitive enough to push Alex back. Once Alex takes off the condom and walks to the sink to wash his hands, Michael slides down the wall and tries to catch his breath.

“See you round, Guerin,” Alex walks toward the door, giving Michael a judgemental look on his way out. “I wouldn’t sit on that floor for long if I were you.”

Michael half-heartedly flips him off. Sure, he should have pulled his pants back up before sitting down, but he still can’t feel his legs. He’ll get up in a minute, he promises himself, just as soon as he decides who gets the bigger fruit basket - Chris or Alex.

Michael doesn’t see Alex again until an end of semester party. He’s walking down the hall when some guy stumbles out of a bathroom right into him. The stunned look on his face and the way he can barely string the syllables together to apologize make him wonder just how high he is. Then he sees Alex come out of the same room, a satisfied smirk on his face, and it all makes sense.

Over the last few months, Michael had convinced himself that Alex was as hot or as skilled as he remembered. One look at him now, and Michael knew he hadn’t been exaggerating. Alex was gorgeous, in all black again, but this time his lips were red and shiny. It hit Michael all at once exactly why Alex looked like that and he went from pleasantly buzzed to desperately turned on in a second.

“Guerin,” Alex nods at him.

Michael knows he should respond, but all he can do is stare at Alex’s mouth and lick his own lips.

Alex watched him before laughing and jerking his head toward the open bathroom. “You want another go at it.”

More than anything, but Michael had assumed it was a one and done kind of thing. He didn’t even let himself imagine it happening again. “Is that allowed?” he finally blurts out.

“Don’t be a dumbass,” Alex rolls his eyes. He walks into the bathroom, leaving the door open behind him.

Michael follows quickly, not wanting anyone to get between them. He has his pants down before Alex finishes locking the door.

Alex takes in his already hard cock, and drops to his knees. “Eager aren’t we?” he teases as he rolls the condom on.

Michael doesn’t say anything, just tangles his hand in Alex’s hair and pulls him forward. He prepares himself for slow and thorough, but Alex surprises him by taking him deep right away.

Alex doesn’t close his eyes this time, just looks up at Michael as he sucks his cock. It’s fast and messy, and if Michael didn’t know Alex had just done this - just done it with someone else - he’d swear Alex was as desperate for it as he is. Alex carefully scrapes his teeth along his dick as he slides his mouth down, then takes him deep again before pressing his piercing along the underside of his dick.

He can’t stop staring at Alex’s lips stretched around his cock, and he’s trying so hard not to move he’s barely breathing. When Alex lets his cock slip from his mouth, Michael bangs his fist against the wall.

“I told you not to be polite,” Alex reminds him. He grabs Michael’s ass and tugs.

And, yeah, Michael can work with that. He waits until Alex squeezes his ass again to be sure he’s ready, and he thrusts carefully into Alex’s mouth. Alex moans around him and urges him to go faster, harder. Alex is still watching him, but Michael has to close his eyes. All he can hear is the sound of his dick moving in and out of Alex’s mouth. Alex moans again, and Michael thrusts even deeper and comes.

Pride keeps him on his feet, and he manages to get his pants back up while Alex disposes of the condom and washes his hands. “So repeats are a thing,” Michael says, wincing as soon as the words are out of his mouth.

Alex dries his hands and looks at Michael like he’s an idiot - Michael is becoming worryingly fond of that look. “I’m not Prince Charming working my way through campus looking for the perfect dick. I do this when I want and with whoever I want. You have a nice dick, and you don’t use it to try and prove you’re better than me, so,” Alex shrugs and smiles.

Michael can’t decide if he should preen over the compliment or find everyone who treated Alex like shit and punch them in the face. He blames his conflicting desires for what he says next. “I’m heading back to Roswell on Sunday if you need a ride or anything.”

Even sex drunk, Michael knows immediately he fucked up. Alex goes completely still, and while he’s still smiling, every bit of emotion is gone from his face. “The only time I will ever step foot back in the hellhole is to spit on my father’s grave.”

He’s out the door before Michael can think of a response.

Michael tries not to think about Alex - especially his fuck up with Alex - once he’s back in Roswell. He has a room in the Evans’ basement now, and he spends the first few weeks sleeping in and catching up with Max and Isobel. They’d hit a rough patch just before graduation when Isobel started having migraines so bad she blacked out. Michael had stayed close to her all summer while Max went on his road trip with Liz Ortecho then Max returned just in time for Michael to leave for college.

Just to be safe, Max and Isobel had both taken the year off after graduation. Things were better by Christmas, and they were all on solid ground by the time Michael came home for the summer. Max had gone on another road trip with Liz before starting online classes for Creative Writing and Literature. Isobel decided not to go to school, but was working as a waitress at the country club. When Michael questioned her choice, she’d ticked off her reasons matter of factly.

“The tips are phenomenal, Mom and Dad have enough clout that even the creepy members keep their hands to themselves, and I am making all the right connections.”

“For what?” Michael asked.

“You’ll see,” Isobel had replied with a gleam in her eye that had Michael thinking he’d come back one day to find Isobel was the youngest mayor in Roswell history.

Everyone is in a more festive mood this year, even though Isobel is pretty busy before the holidays, and Max is moping because Liz decided to spend her break in LA with Rosa instead of coming home. Mrs. Evans bribes them with extra cookies if they’ll hang the Christmas lights,and Michael knows it, he’s opening presents and stuffing himself on the enchiladas Mr. Ortecho brings to Christmas brunch.

He sees Jesse Manes a few days after Christmas. He’s walking through town in his uniform, and Michael realizes he’s never seen him out of uniform. Maybe that’s why Alex hates him so much. The military is still pretty conservative, and he can see how the whole gay thing would have been an issue for someone whose whole identity seems to be about his service.

After that, Michael can’t stop thinking about Alex. He tries to remember if they ever talked in school, and he can’t think of one time he even said hello to Alex. Michael wants to know why he hates Roswell, he wants to know what makes Alex laugh. He wants to know what kind of apology he’s most likely to accept, he knows Alex isn’t the type to just let things go. Michael remembers the way he looked at Kyle Valenti after Kyle became the world’s biggest douche - Alex can hold a grudge, especially when it’s justified.

The problem is, Alex was just as much of a loner as Michael was so there is no one to ask. He only ever saw Alex with Liz and Maria DeLuca. Liz is out of town, and Michael doesn’t know Maria well enough to just start asking questions about Alex. He almost asks Isobel what she remembers about Alex, but high school is still a touchy subject for her so he resigns himself to learning nothing.

The day before he heads back to school, he’s waiting for Max at the Crashdown when Mimi DeLuca stops by his table. Max told him that there are rumors about Mimi losing her mind. He says the cops have picked her up a few times wandering around at night, talking nonsense. She seems fine to Michael - still young and pretty enough to be the cool mom, and kind enough to be approachable.

“Michael,” she greets him with a smile even though they barely know each other. “Would you do me a favor and please say hi to Alex for us.”

“Umm, sure.” Michael can’t really tell her he doesn’t think Alex will talk to him again. And it’s not like what they were doing involved much talking in the first place.

Mimi leans down and pats him on the arm. “Just be patient with him. He’s never had much kindness in his life. I know that’s something you understand.”

Normally Miche would get defensive, but he can tell she doesn’t mean it as an insult, just a way to connect him to Alex which is what he’s been looking for. “Thanks,” he tells her with his own smile, even though he’s not sure what she means. Alex didn’t grow up alone with at best neglectful and too often violent foster families. But then he pictures Jesse Manes striding through town in his uniform and wonders.

Michael doesn’t understand how he went over a year without knowing Alex was at UNM because once he’s back on campus in January, he sees Alex everywhere. Well, not really everywhere, but he catches a glimpses of him across the quad and then he’s walking into Michael’s favorite coffee shop just a few minutes after Michael leaves. The third time he’s working the circulation desk at the library when Michael is killing time between classes, he decides to stop pretending he doesn’t want to talk to him.

“Hey,” he says when he approaches the desk. Alex just stares him down, waiting for Michael to say something else, and God, Michael really missed the judgemental way Alex looks at him.

Michael’s about to walk away and give Alex the win in their staring contest when he thinks of something to say. “Is this your first year here?”

“No,” Alex says slowly, his expression shifting to confused as well as judgemental. “I’m a sophomore just like you. We graduated together, remember?”

“Yeah, I know, it’s just how did I never see you before?”

“Big campus,” Alex shrugs.

“Big campus,” Michael repeats. He shoves his hands in his pockets and rocks back on his heels. This whole exchange is excruciating, and if it wasn’t negative a hundred outside, he’d wait out the half hour before his next class on a bench or something.

Alex sighs and takes pity on him. “My break is in ten minutes. There’s a gender neutral bathroom with a lock at the end of that hallway.”

Michael looks in the direction Alex is pointing at and nods before heading back to the table he was pretending to study at. This isn’t what he expected when he approached Alex, but he’s not about to let the opportunity pass. Ten minutes drag on, and as soon as Michael sees Alex leave the desk he gets up to follow.

Alex locks the door and walks toward Michael until he’s backed up against the wall. He takes his time undoing Michael’s belt and unzipping his jeans. By the time he’s done, Michael’s well on his way to hard. And even with the latex between them, the feel of Alex’s fingers sliding the condom up his dick has him shivering.

Without the background noise of a party, everything feels more intentional and intense. When Alex takes the head of his dick in his mouth, Michael can hear the sound he makes when he starts to suck. “Oh,” Michael says when Alex takes him deeper. He closes his eyes and thumps his head against the wall. Alex is getting louder, and if Michael has to hear him and look at him, this isn’t going to last, and he wants it to.

Alex shifts higher in his knees, he stops sucking for a minute, just holds Michael in his mouth. Then Michael hears the sound of another zipper, and he knows it’s not his, which means it must be Alex, and that means Alex is touching himself while he sucks Michael off.

Michael opens his eyes, but he can’t really see what Alex is doing. But he can hear him, can hear the sound of Alex’s hand moving while he jerks himself off. Alex is licking Michael’s dick again, pressing the piercing against the head the way Michael likes before sucking him down. He moans when Michael is deep in his mouth, and Michael doesn’t know if it’s from sucking Michael off or his own hand, but it doesn’t matter because as soon as he hears it, Michael snaps his hips forward - harder than he meant to - and comes.

Alex pulls off as soon as Michael is done, and Michael would be annoyed, but he can still hear Alex’s hand moving, faster and faster, until it stops and Alean moans - deeper and louder than before.

Michael knows he must look ridiculous - face red and condom hanging off his dick. Especially since by the time Alex stands up, his pants are done up, and he looks perfectly composed - not all like he just jerked off during his break. Michael throws the condom away and wipes up with a paper towel while Alex washes his hands. “I didn’t know you did that,” Michael says, gesturing toward Alex’s zipper.

Alex raises one brow at him and purses his lips like he’s trying not to laugh. “I do, just not every time.”

“You’ve never with me before,” Michael says, not sure why he’s pushing this.

“You’ve never been my first of the night before. Is it a problem?”

Alex’s expression starts to close off, and Michael rushes to correct him before he fucks up again. “No, I’m just glad you’re enjoying yourself.”

“That’s kind of the point, Guerin,” Alex shakes his head and walks off.

Michael waits a few minutes before heading back to his table and pretending to study. He waves at Alex on his way out, and Aex rolls his eyes, but waves too so Michael takes it as a win.

Alex doesn’t blow him every time he sees him in the library, not even weekly, and he doesn’t jerk off every time either, but it’s still the most regular sex Michael has ever gotten. He’s not sure if people can tell he’s getting laid or if he’s just more confident, but he’s hooked up with someone at almost every party he’s been to as well. Even Chris notices.

“What’s going on with you, man? You’re really crushing it with the ladies right now,” he says as they stumble their way back to the dorm after some frat party.

“I’m just that sexy,” Michael slurs with a laugh.

“If I didn’t just see you with two different girls this week, I’d swear you had a girlfriend, or boyfriend,” he adds on. “You weren’t even this well fucked when you dated Katie.”

“Just a run of good luck and my irresistible charm,” Michael insists.

Chris laughs so hard he falls into a bush. Michael helps him up and somehow they make it back to their room without any injuries.

Michael thinks about it the next time he sees Alex. He’s had more sex with Alex than anyone he’s ever dated,and he doesn’t know anything about him, except they went to high together and Alex hates Roswell. It makes him feel guilty, like he’s using Alex, and Michael knows he is using Alex, that Alex expects it of him, but he doesn’t like thinking of it that way.

“What’s your major,” he asks Alex the next time they hook up.

Alex just looks at Michael for a minute before finally answering. “Computer Science and Music Theory and Composition.”

“Huh,” Michael responds. Alex looks like a music major with the whole emo thing he had going, but Michael has a hard time picturing him sitting in front of a computer for hours.

When Michael doesn’t say anything else, Alex sighs and asks, “What about you?”

“Mechanical and environmental engineering.”

Alex narrows his eyes and studies Michael before saying anything. “Suits you.”

He’s gone before Michael can decide if that was a compliment or not.

A week later, Michael follows Alex out of the bathroom and catches him while he’s still in the hallway. “Do you like working here, the library I mean?”

Alex turns back and leans against the wall. “It’s easy, quiet. I make better money and tips at The Grind.”

“You work at the Grind? I’m there all the time, how have I never seen you there?” Michael’s starting to feel like the universe is conspiring to keep him away from Alex.

“I work the early shift, five to nine am. They pay more since most college students don’t like mornings, and the first few hours are pretty dead.”

Michael makes a face at the thought of working that early. “Yeah, the only way I’m up at five is if I haven’t gone to bed.”

“I don’t sleep much so it’s not a big deal,” Alex shrugs. “You work on campus?” Alex asks before Michael can follow up on the comment about not sleeping.

“No, I work at an auto shop off campus a few days a week. Pays not bad, and I get free tune ups which my poor truck desperately needs.”

Alex laughs. “Is that why your hands?” Alex holds up his own hands.

Michael looks down. He’s used to the permanent grease stains around his nails, doesn’t really think about them much anymore. He used to be embarrassed, but Alex seems more curious than critical so he doesn’t get defensive. “Occupational hazard. Even if I wasn’t working there, I’m always tinkering with something.”

“Life of an engineer,” Alex laughs again. “Well, I should get back,” Alex points back toward the desk and walks away.

Michael thinks it might be their new found rapport, but the next time Alex sucks him off, he comes so hard he thinks he might have an aneurysm. Whatever Alex did with his tongue is superhuman, and he means to ask him about it, but what he says insead is, “Why weren’t you at graduation?”

Alex doesn’t answer, just storms out of the bathroom without checking to see if Michael is decent.

“Fuck,” Michael exhales as soon as the door closes. He really fucked it up this time.

Alex won’t even look at him for the next two weeks, and then he’s suddenly gone - never at the library the same time as Michael. If Alex changed his shift or even quit just to avoid Michael, he must be more upset than Michael realizes. He thinks about showing up at The Grind to apologize, but that seems a little too much like stalking especially since he told Alex he’s never up that early.

Michael still looks for Alex around campus, and when he can’t seem to find him he sulks. He studies more than normal, and when Chris convinces him to go out, he gets drunk and fucks around with any girl he knows is only looking for a good time no strings attached. It’s never the same girl twice - if he learned anything from Alex it’s that he gets attached way too easily.

He sulks all the way through midterms before Chris decides it’s been long enough. “I know it sucks to get dumped, but it can’t be this bad,” he tells Michael when he finds him hiding in his bed one afternoon.

“I wasn’t dumped. I wasn’t even dating anyone,” Michael protests.

“Then what’s with the pouting and the half hearted hook ups? Looks like a broken heart to me.”

“There is no broken heart,” Michael insists. “I had a thing, ok. Like a casual acquaintances with benefits thing for a while, but it ended.”

“Did she fall in love with you?” Chris gasps, “No, you fell in love with her. Michael, that really sucks.”

“No one fell in love. I just said something stupid and pissed him off. Story of my life.”

Chris frowns. “Don’t be so hard on yourself. You just need to get back out there. Fuck another guy instead of just girls and forget about him. Hey, I could find the blow job guy for you again.”

“No!” Michael can’t imagine anything more embarrassing.

“Are you sure? Dane from my physics class hooked up with him last month and said he thinks he saw Jesus when he came. And Grant said the blow jobs he got from him this semester are the best he’s ever had. He actually has an alert on his phone so if someone spots him at a party he gets notified and can show up.”

No, seriously, no,” Michael cuts Chris off.

“Fine, but the swim team is having a party tomorrow, and you’re coming with me. We’ll find some hot guy to get you out of your slump.”

“There’s no slump. And since when do we have a swim team?”

Michael learns two things about swimmers Saturday night - they like the music loud, they are very comfortable hanging out half dressed. Two drinks in he wanders upstairs and tries to decide if he wants to hook up or just get stone drunk.

He walks past a half open door when he hears it. Some guy yelling, “Come on, come on, just like that. Give it to me,” between breathy moans. Michael moves to close the door, because no one needs to hear that.

Michael has to come closer than he’d like to reach the door handle, and that’s when he sees him. Alex is on his knees, some red headed kid up against the wall getting his dick sucked. He plans to shut the door, he really does, but he’s never seen Alex like this. Never seen just how his lips look stretched around a dick from this angle, never saw the stretch of Alex’s neck or the way he can see his tongue moving. Alex’s face is almost expressionless, and Michael can’t tell if he’s okay, but when he looks down, he sees Alex is hard.

The guy’s getting louder, and Michael remembers what Alex said about keeping his mouth shut. He’s not ordering Alex around exactly, but his tone is more demanding than begging and it’s starting to piss Michael off. Michael takes another step forward when he hears Alex make a noise. He moans and shifts a little and that’s when Michael remembers he’s hard, Alex is hard, but he’s not touching himself because he’s using both arms to hold this douche bag still.

Michael closes the door behind him and comes up behind Alex. He drops to his knees,and places his hand on Alex’s shoulder. Alex freezes. “It’s me, Guerin,” Michael whispers. Alex doesn’t respond but he relaxes.

Michael drops his other hand to Alex’s hip then slides it around to rest at the top of his jeans. He wants to touch, he’s already hard just thinking about it, but he needs Alex’s permission. “Can I,” he asks. “Is it ok if I touch you.”

Alex moans and his hips jerk against Michael’s hand, and he takes that as a yes. It takes both his hands and a bit of fumbling for him to get Alex’s pants undone from this angle. Once he gets them down, he can’t wait to get Alex’s dick in his hands. He’s hot and hard and slick already and feels perfect in Michael’s hand.

“Thank you,” he whispers against Alex’s ear. He wants to take his time, wants to get Alex close a few times before he lets him come. But he can tell the idiot Alex is sucking off is getting close, and he wants Alex to finish first. Doesn’t want anyone else to see him like this.

He tightens his hand around Alex’s dick and let’s him thrust into it. Michael uses his other hand to cup Alex’s balls, he wants to take them in his mouth and suck on them but this will have to do for now. He strokes the skin behind them, making Alex moan again. When he feels Alex’s hips stutter, he loosens his grip and toys with the crown until he comes.

Michael manages to get Alex’s pants back up and mostly fastened even though he’s distracted by watching the way Alex’s cheeks hollow as he finishes the guy off. Michael’s breathing almost as heavily as he is, and he wants so badly to grind into Alex from behind, but he knows he’ll come in his pants if he does so he keeps a small distance between them.

The asshole shouts when he comes, and brings his knee up, almost catching Alex in the face. He glares when he spots Michael. “Wait your turn like everyone else,” he complains.

“Maybe learn to shut a door,” Michael chastises him.

“Whatever,” he rolls his eyes at Michael. “If watching me get off is what gets you all hot and bothered, you can blow me later.”

“Dick,” Michael grumbles as he leaves. At least this time he remembered to shut the door..

He hears Alex laugh, feels him move away. When he looks back over, Alex has turned to sit leaning against the wall. He’s flushed and beautiful, and Michael wants him. “Can I kiss you?” he blurts out. “Do you do that?”

Alex rolls his eyes. “This isn’t Pretty Woman, Guerin. Come here.”

He holds out his hand, and Michael takes it, letting Alex pull him closer. He means to sit next to him, but somehow he ends up in Alex’s lap. Michael’s careful, tentative - first kisses are always awkward. But Alex threads his fingers through the curls on the back of Michael’s head and tugs him forward. He kisses like he sucks cock, intent and focused. When he drags his tongue piercing along the roof of Michael’s mouth, Michael moans and thrusts his hips against Alex.

Alex taps his leg, “Stand up and I’ll take care of that for you.”

“No,” Michael says forcefully enough that Alex leans back and raises his brows. “Just your hand,” he clarifies. “That’s enough.”

“Ok,”Alex shrugs. He pulls a small bottle of lube out of his front pocket while Michael shimmys his pants down to his knees.

He ends up kneeling next to Alex, and the angle is a little awkward, but he can keep kissing Alex so he doesn’t care. The first touch of Alex’s hand is cool and slick, and it takes some of the urgency away. Alex strokes him gently at first - fingers exploring, teasing. He kisses Michael the same way- tongue dancing in and out of his mouth. Michael whines, reaches for his dick with his own hand, but Alex pushes it away.

Thankfully, Alex takes the hint. He tightens his grip and strokes Michael firmly, He deepens the kiss, sucking on Michael’s tongue as Michael thrusts into his first. Michael moves higher up on his knees, chasing every bit of contact he can get. It all feels so good, then Alex bites at his lower lip and Michael comes with a gasp.

Alex wipes his hands on the carpet and makes a face. “This is why I prefer bathrooms. I could really use a sink right now.”

Michael looks around and realizes for the first time that they are in some kind of office or study room. He sits down next to Alex and tries to catch his breath. “You don’t have any hand sanitizer in your pocket?” He jokes. “You have everything else you need.”

Instead of laughing, Alex looks like he’s considering the idea. “I might have to start doing that.”

He starts to get up, but Michael stops him with a hand on his arm. “Hey, I’m sorry about before. It was none of my business.”

“It’s fine,” Alex brushes him off, but doesn’t get up. “I just don’t like talking about”

“Anything personal,” Michael fills in when Alex seems lost for words.

“Pretty much,” Alex agrees with a smile.

“Still, I”m sorry, and I hope you can get your shift back.”

“What?” Alex blinks at him, clearly confused.

“At the library. You don’t have to avoid me,” Michael feels really bad about that.

“You think I quit the library to avoid you?” Alex laughs. “I’m not fragile, Jesus. Most of their budget is for work study and since I don’t qualify, they can only give me so many hours. They just ran out of funding for the year.”

“That sucks.”

“Nothing I can do about it. I picked up another tutoring job, and they’ll bring me back for the summer.”

Michael has a lot of questions, but he settles on one he hopes is safe. “You stay here over the summer?”

“No where else to go,” Alex shrugs. He keeps talking before Michael can apologize again. “It’s not bad. Between the library and the coffee shop, I can work a ton of hours, and if I have enough saved I can take a few online summer classes.”

There’s a commotion outside the door - sounds like someone started some kind of drunken relay race. Alex makes a face and stands up. “I’ve had enough of people for one day. See you around, Guerin.”

He’s out the door before Michael can do more than wave in acknowledgment.

Michael doesn’t see Alex around, not for weeks, even though he’s looking. He still can’t bring himself to show up at The Grind when he knows Alex is working even though he wants to. Would Alex kiss him again, would he let Michael touch him? It feels like something changed between them, and Alex vanishes just when Michael wants to see what it means.

The weekend before finals, Chris insists they need to go to Francesco’s for dollar beer night. Despite the name, Francesco’s is a typical college dive bar - no one looks too hard at IDs and in return no one complains about the watered down beer.

Michael can hear the music before they even get to the door, and he remembers seeing some flyers around campus about a band night. “If the music sucks, I’m out,” he tells Chris.

“Don’t be a snob. No one comes here for the music.”

Chris pulls him through the door, and Michael comes to a complete stop when he sees the stage. Alex is up there - singing. He’s added a black leather jacket to his normal black jeans and Tshirt. His hair is spiked to razor points, eyeliner perfectly defined and his lips are red and shining like he just got done sucking cock. Michael can’t breathe.

He lets Chris drag him to the bar. But as soon as he has a beer, he’s pushing his way toward the stage, not checking or caring to see if Chris follows. Most people are crowded around the bar, staying within easy access to cheap beer, so he finds an open table just to the right of the stage.

Michael sits down and doesn’t bother to pretend he’s doing anything other than staring at Alex. Up close he can see the studded collar he has around his neck, the silver bracelets slipping down past the cuff of jacket, and the black polish on his nails.

It’s hot outside, even for May, and inside the bar it’s worse. Michael finishes his beer quickly, he’d get another but that would mean getting up and looking away from Alex. Instead he unbuttons the top half of the buttons on his shirt, pulls the fabric from his chest to get some air circulation. Alex keeps singing, doesn’t acknowledge Michael in any way, but Michael knows he’s watching. It makes him want to show off, keep Alex’s attention, so when he lets his shirt settle, he makes sure it falls to the side so one of his nipples is showing. Michael can see the amusement and desire in Alex’s eyes.

Alex’s band is good - they stick to well known emo cover songs. But Alex’s voice is the real star. It’s deep and sexy and, like everything else about Alex, goes straight to Michael’s dick. He’s so hard it’s all he can do not to touch himself right there. Michael knows he would do it too if he thought Alex could see.

Michael’s both relieved and disappointed when Alex announces their last song. On one hand he could watch Alex sing forever, but if Alex gets off the stage, Michael might be able to do more than watch. He can see the next band waiting on the other side of the stage as they launch into American Idiot. Alex is mesmerizing. Even the noise of the bar quiets some as more people stop to watch and listen.

Alex turns so he’s looking directly at Michael as he sings. When he gets to the line “Well, maybe I’m the faggot, America,” a chorus of cheers goes up across the bar. He winks at Michael and raises his middle finger toward the audience, smiling when some people respond in kind.

Michael can’t take any more of this. He's waiting at the edge of the stage before the song is even over. As soon as Alex gets off the stage, Michael grabs him by the arm and pulls him into the handicapped bathroom, quickly locking the door behind them.

“I’m going to kiss you right now, ok?” He barely gives Alex time to nod before his mouth is on his. Michael isn’t interested in gentle or finesse, he shoves his tongues into Alex’s mouth, rubs it around his piercing. He can't’ help thrusting against Alex, groaning when he feels Alex is hard too.

“That turn you on,” he pants, pulling his mouth away with effort. “Singing in front of all those people make you hard?”

“You make me hard,” Alex tells him. He slips his hand into Michael’s open shirt, rolling his nipple between his fingers, making Michael gasp. “Showing off, staring at me like you wanted to jump me right there on the stage.”

“I did, I would have if I didn’t think someone would stop us,” Michael confesses. He takes a breath and decides to go for it, ask Alex for what he wants. “Can I fuck you? Please.”

Alex’s eyes widen, but he nods and pulls a condom and lube out of his pocket and hands it to Michael.

“Always prepared,” Michael laughs. He sets them on the edge of the sink then freezes when he sees Alex shoving his pants down. He braces himself against the wall, ass out toward Michael. “God,’ he breathes. Michael reaches out and strokes the smooth, firm skin of Alex’s ass. He’s magnificent. He squeezes, kneads the muscles under his hand.

Alex moans, and Michael wishes he could take his time. He wants to touch and look, to lick and bite before he fucks him. But they’re in a public restroom on borrowed time. He gets his own pants down past his knees and puts the condom on. Once his fingers are coated with lube, he slips them between Alex’s cheeks. Michael spreads the lube up and down the crease of Alex’s ass, getting more lube when Alex presses back against his hand.

They both groan when he pushes his first finger into Alex. It’s been awhile since he’s done this to someone else, and he’s not sure how slow he needs to go. Alex isn’t fighting him though, he’s moving with Michael, and Michael adds a second finger.

“Like that,” Alex encourages him. “Deeper.”

Michael fucks Alex with his fingers, twisting and spreading them to open Alex up faster. He rests his head against Alex’s back, the scent of leather from his jacket surrounding him. He wants his mouth on Alex, but he remembers what Alex said about not touching his neck so instead he brings two fingers from his other hand to Alex’s mouth.

He presses his fingers to Alex's lips, moaning when Alex sucks them into his mouth. “Your fucking mouth,” he moans. “Your lips were so red and full, like you’d been sucking cock for hours. Is that what you did? Did you blow the band before you took the stage.”

Alex laughs and lets Michael fingers slip from his mouth. “Lip plumping gloss. But I like the way your mind works.”

“If we had more time, I’d ask you to suck me off after I fucked you,” Michael tells him just as he adds a third finger.

“Next time,” Alex promises as he pushes back into Michael’s hand. “Now get on with it and fuck me.”

Michael pulls his fingers out and hastily spreads some lube over the condom. He holds Alex’s hips still and pushes in as slow as he can. Alex is hot and tight and perfect around him. He wants to stay there forever.

“Move,” Alex demands.

Michael can hear Alex jerking himself off and he can’t hold back anymore. They move together, Michael fucking him hard and fast, trying to match the pace of Alex’s hand on his own dick. He comes a minute before Alex, feels Alex clench down on him when his own orgasm hits.

They wash their hands together in the sink,and Alex kisses him one more time before leaving. A quick, almost chaste kiss. “Have a nice summer, Michael,” he adds as he leaves.

Michael doesn’t see him when he makes his way back to the bar. He lets Chris buy him a few more beers before they head out and hit up another party. Alex isn’t there either so Michael lets the crowd and the drinks distract him from the thought of a long summer without seeing Alex again.

#rnmafterdark2023 #malex fic #rnm fic #my fic #college AU #casual sex

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anonymous-tals · 9 months

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THE DARKNESS FROM CRAZY EX-GIRLFRIEND IS SUCH A GOB SONG, OH MY GOD.

How did it take me this long to realize that??? It’s literally on my Gob playlist but somehow I didn’t process how perfect it is.

The Darkness:

In my life I've had so many men

But there's one I come back to again and again

We've been on and off for such a long time

And now he's back and I'm feeling oh so fine

He's the darkness

My first love, my true love

The darkness

He knows me better than anyone

He holds me close and whispers things that I don't want to hear

When I feel the butterflies of dread, I know the darkness is near

It’s, like, a perfect match to The Sound of Silence and how it’s utilized in the show. They literally both talk about darkness!

The Sound of Silence:

Hello darkness, my old friend

I've come to talk with you again

AND THEN, AND THEN, it gets even better.

The Darkness:

For so many years I've used the darkness to feel

But now there are things in my life that are actually real

I gotta make a choice, darlin' don't ask me why

So will I have the strength to tell the darkness

To tell Tyler Darkness

Goodbye?

(For context, she names the darkness Tyler(he plays drums and he wears guyliner))

THIS IS GOB WHEN HE FALLS IN LOVE WITH TONY.

Literally, Gob says, “Hello darkness, sorry, I’m taken.”

Actively exploding right now. /pos

The song very much so feels like what Gob would sing in season five, when Gob is at a point where he can’t deny anymore that he’s gay and that he loves Tony Wonder and the darkness is calling his name, telling him to come back, to hide again, to wallow in self hatred, and he’s struggling against it all throughout the season. He’s realized that, to quote the song, “there are things in [his] life that are actually real.” Tony makes him happy, being able to finally, actually be himself and be with a man makes him happy. And it’s hard cause he’s not sure he’ll have “the strength to tell the darkness…goodbye,” but he knows he has to make a choice(darlin’ don’t ask him why) and he chooses to tentatively continue things with Tony and AHHHHH, he told the darkness goodbye, HE TOLD THE DARKNESS HE’S TAKENNNNN.

Every day I cry./pos

Anyway, here are a couple other CXG songs that are literally Gob, because idk I feel like sharing:

I Could If I Wanted To

This song would, like, be in the future when Gob gets mental health help cause he’d definitely be like, “Pshh, I’m fine” about it:

Anti-Depressants Are So Not A Big Deal

And this is a Michael and Gob song that would take place post-season five and Gob living happily ever after with Tony, Michael’s the one singing:

I’ve Always Never Believed In You

Again, thank you, @kaitcake1289 , for showing me this show. The course of my life has been changed forever.

#gob bluth rebecca bunch coded moment #gob bluth #will arnett #tony wonder #ben stiller #blunder #arrested development #another day another arrested development essay written #crazy ex girlfriend

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astralbooks · 1 year

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Project Nought - Chelsey Furedi

Read: 18/02/2023

Rating: 4/5

Rep: brown gay main character, achillean main character, m/m relationship, East Asian non-binary side character, sapphic side character, Māori disabled side character who uses a wheelchair, brown side character, various other queer and non-white side characters including the villains

CW: medical experimentation, confinement, character death (both on page and in backstory), grief, misgendering (brief, not malicious, quickly corrected)

Review:

Ren, a teenager from the year 1997, wakes up in the year 2122 and is told he’s been pulled forward in time as part of a yearly project at New Zealand university. He’s hesitant to fully engage in life in the future at first, and just as he’s starting to relax into everything he and his new friends discover that not all is as it seems and that the giant corporation that has its fingers in every aspect of life might not be as benevolent as it first appears.

I liked the core four characters! Jia is probably my favourite, closely followed by Phoebe. The two of them together make up a textbook grumpy x sunshine couple, though I found the direction their relationship takes to be super interesting! They’re into each other, and they both know it, but they also both know that Jia’s in no position to be in a relationship right now, so they’re not together, they’re friends, and it’s genuinely fine. This approach is a pretty rare one and I found it really refreshing to read!

Mars, the secondary main character, is a total sweetheart. His enthusiasm for the mere concept of time travel is completely understandable, honestly I’d probably be just as hyped if I were in his position. He’s somewhat naive and initially has complete faith and belief in Chronotech, which does cause some trouble for the group, but he’s not incapable of admitting when he’s wrong and when the truth of the situation becomes clear he’s all in.

All things considered, I think Ren reacted to suddenly waking up over 100 years into his future very well. He has a life back home, and at the exact moment he was taken from he’d just made a discovery and a decision that had the potential to change his life massively, so it’s hardly surprising that he doesn’t quite manage to hit the ground running. He gets the hang of it all, though, and he handled every situation thrown his way over the course of the story about as well as could be expected. He’s a solid main character and I enjoyed reading from his perspective!

I would’ve liked a little more build up to the relationship between Ren and Mars. I liked the way it went after the point that they established that they liked each other, I just would’ve preferred a teensy little bit more build up and tension before their initial kiss. This is purely a personal preference, though, and I’d hardly call this a case of instalove. I just like my burns to be a bit slower than this one was.

The overall message of the story serves as a cautionary tale against allowing one company to monopolise all areas of life. Chronotech effectively controls all tech, has strong links in the police, and is even inherently intertwined with the university that Mars goes to, and with this level of influence in society comes a lack of oversight and an ability to exploit and hurt whoever they want without any fear of repercussions. The comparisons between this and the big corporations of today are unavoidable.

I figured out what was going on way before any of the characters did. Being able to predict where a story is going isn’t something that bothers me, I care way more about whether a story is well constructed than I care about its ability to surprise me, but it’s worth noting in case it might bother you. Something that does actually bother me is when part of a mystery is sustained solely through a character refusing to answer questions without a good in-universe reason for doing so, and that unfortunately did come into play a little here. They got it out of her in the end, but they were already allies so there was little reason for the delay other than to drip feed the reader some more. In the grand scheme of things this is a minor complaint, but it’s a pet peeve of mine and so it’s noticeable to me when it happens.

Overall, this was a fun read! The characters were likeable, there was a good balance of funny to serious moments, and the overall message is one that’s sorely needed in the present. If you’re looking for a quick sci-fi read then I’d highly recommend picking this one up!

Thank you to Clarion Books and HarperCollins for providing me with an arc in return for an honest review

#review #book review #project nought #chelsey furedi #books #booklr

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bisluthq · 5 months

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From my perspective I think I am just about done with Taylor after the interview. I have already stopped streaming her music and buying her albums. She came off as a spoiled, spiteful, vengeful person to me, and her bitterness hasn’t subsided. I suspect that is the cause of the failure of her relationship with Joe. I believe he saw a real side of her. She has to be in control of everything. Friends close to Joe called her “a piece of work.” Kim said the issue was never the b* word for them. It was Taylor lying that Kanye never called her. That is why Kim released the tape. Both parties in that phone call come off as phony. But in the end Taylor will continue to do what she has always done. She will take love songs written for others and change the narrative, probably out of spite, until the next guy receives the same treatment. I used to defend her, but no longer. The narrative never changes and I am frankly bored of it. I will listen to more creative artists.

lol I can’t disagree with this more strongly but maybe that’s because I’m also a messy, weird person whose “narrative” - it’s not a narrative it’s just life - changes depending on my mood and where we’re all at? Taylor is a messy person with messy thoughts and that’s why she makes great and deeply relatable art. Of course she changed who some songs are about in her head because like it’s about her actual real thoughts and not about some random dude??? I don’t get this take??? What do you want from her?? She’s not CNN lol she doesn’t have to report the objective truth. She can just say what happened to her in her opinion and like then look back on it and be like “wow this happened again and I can still apply it to my life” and that’s fine????

rep dropped shortly after my ex and I got together right and the whole “my reputation’s never been worse so you must like me for me” stuff really resonated with me because I was dealing with the fallout from homeless guy and my whole situation with bookstore girl and like all sorts of crap. I was not a catch but she liked me. Dress also sounded gay af which made sense to me at the time because I was in a gay relationship. When I listen to those exact same songs now I hear a new thing - I hear “is it cool that I said all that?” because I said some really intense stuff to my bf when we were just friends and just hooking up and he took it 100% on board like he dgaf and when I hear Dress I also know I’ve bought stuff specifically because I knew he’d like them idk. The same exact album applies to 2 of my relationships in different ways.

Enchanted has applied to like 50 million people like do you know how many times I’ve been enchanted to meet someone???? I can’t count all of them. That doesn’t mean I lied that I was enchanted when I met the first person I was enchanted with or lied when I met the cute redhead waitress the other day and felt mad enchanted like I was indeed enchanted. I was. If I’d written the song I’d apply it to all my situations where I felt enchanted because they’re my thoughts???? I can be enchanted many times????

I have a (published) short story that’s inspired by my ex but I read it recently and it suddenly applied to my current situation (the whole premise is “you’re not my first anything but I wanna be here and it makes it special” lol). I still like the story. I don’t much like my ex - she’s ok like she’s clever and she’s pretty and she’s a nice enough person but ffs the bad outweighed the good at the end - but I like my story about her and when I read it now I don’t think of her, I think of my current partner.

There’s no “narrative” - there’s just a lady living her life dude. Same as you and same as me.

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winderlylandchime · 4 months

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2/2 ‘oh those shows for sure wouldn’t exist without Queer as Folk. By the way, yesterday I watched that red blue movie and i was so confused cause there was no swearing and no dicks and no actual sex scenes. Cant decide if that makes it boring or what but fuck do i hate censorship, anyway back to the pretty boy’ ‘When was this filmed because Bri- Gale looks fine as fuck? Aged like fine wi- (Pulse was mentioned this second) oh…fuck nevermind, still pretty though’

And we are now at fan encounters part: Gale says people thought he was Brian ‘WHO thought he was bad at playing Brian? I will fight them right this second!’ Gale starts his not that guy speech ‘mhm tell them! Wait what is he saying? I feel like he’s just trying to hit word count. I feel like he’s talking to me. But i never criticized him, he’s perfect. It’s the writers that i have a problem with and if i ever see them, it’s on sight!’ Gale starts talking about the fan encounters *he moves his head forward and has wide eyes in shock* ‘wait what..he was harassed by guys? THE FUCK? Oh people were fucked in the heads back in the day.. still are but damn, i forgot about the celebrity culture in early 2000s’ Gale started to talk about how guys would ask him how he could even play Brian ‘oh i bet my ass if he wanted to he’d be able to argue with anyone. Id pay to see it. Not saying I want him to argue but itd be fun to watch him shut someone stupid down.’ Gale says he wishes he could go back and do it better ‘Excuse me? You were perfect! Fuck, who do i have to bully for them to give me a movie with older Brian? Imagine a movie and it starts with both of them together in New York. (He’s for sure getting your fic in the future)’ Gale mentions he hates that people make speculations about him ‘i feel like he’s talking to me. In my defense sweetheart, i just learned your name like a week ago. So sue me for thinking you were gay. (Me: ‘hes not talking about you, idiot) yeah, well, i felt attacked and you shut up, you knew and didnt tell me! Awww he’s proud of the show. I was worried for a second. He’s a good guy, i fuck with him…even if he’s *clears his throat* straight’ ‘People were mean to him about Bri Bri? I will burn this entire world down to the ground! How fucking dare they? I will fight everyone that has something rude to say to him or Blondie!’

‘Wait, is there Randy’s version too? Cause that dude mentioned Peter and Sharon. So did they all film these? Where are they? (I tell him that to my knowledge only Gale’s is out) oh COME ONNNN, I can’t fucking win with this show, can i?’ ‘Where is Gale now? Can you show me an interview from now? Or does he have IG? I am willing to start my account again for him’ I actually laughed at that and when i told him how removed he is from internet he went ‘GOR FUCKS SAKE! Theres no winning with this dude! Is he even still alive?’

And the final thoughts were:

‘Wow he is nothing like Brian, he’s so shy and introverted. A little fidgety so i feel like he’s not used of shit like this. He’s literally nothing like Bri Bri…’ me, sarcastically ‘its called acting, brother’ He looked at me like i was the dumbest person ever but also like he shouldve known this. And then immediately after that he called our mom and started the conversation with: ‘he’s straight mom! Straight! BRIAN! Can you fucking believe that shit? Wait let me send you the video’

And later after he sent that video and forced her to watch some of it. She facetimed him and went: ‘i weirdly assumed hed be like in the videos you sent but he seems really shy’ Him: ‘its called acting, mother’ *turns to me and raises his hands towards our mom like can you believe her for not knowing this*

He then notified everyone that the actor who plays his Bri Bri is actually straight and that he is shocked by the news. And then his friend told him he knew cause he googled him and my brother blocked his number for 2 hours cause he got offended.

By the way, yesterday I watched that red blue movie and i was so confused cause there was no swearing and no dicks and no actual sex scenes. Cant decide if that makes it boring or what but fuck do i hate censorship, anyway back to the pretty boy’ I AM DYING OVER THIS!

As Soph has said, Gale will use 100 hundred words to say something that should take 10. Love that for him and for us.

I love how protective your brother is over Gale and Randy, they really do deserve all our protection. People were awful to them.

It’s called acting. I’m so dead. Yes, he’s nothing like your brother’s beloved BriBri. But also, that’s a good thing? Brian is my best beloved blorbo but he’s not exactly the picture of mental and emotional well being (who is?) and I hope Gale is more comfortable with his emotions and with vulnerability. For his own sake.

I feel honored that you would recommend my fic to your brother! After he learns about the existence of fan fiction.

#ask winderlylandchime #dear sweet anon #queer as folk #a straight man watches qaf us 2000 in the year of our lord 2023

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musicfeedsmysoul12 · 1 year

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Names, News and Nominations

Summary: After the sports festival, things should be smooth sailing. Except, of course Izuku finds that it’s not true. The news of Sir Nighteye’s death is a hard one, but he’ll pull through as he and his classmates get ready for their internships! Even if they all seem eager to make him blush still!

ON AO3

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After school, Izuku headed to the principal’s office, where Nezu happily let him inside, the mammal’s eyes shining.

“I am eager to work with you later on,” Nezu said to Izuku cheerfully. “But ID here will be a good substitute for me.”

“You’re just saying that 'cause you taught me to,” snorted one of the people in the office.

Info Dropper, or Goblin Izuku supposed, did not draw the eye. They were average height and bulky with muscle but otherwise looked utterly plain. They wore a black face mask and circular glasses, which made their dark eyes seem wider. Their hero costume consisted of a dark jacket and a pair of blue jeans. Under the coat glinted a leather harness holding multiple items, a gun one of them. But only when you were close to them. Otherwise, they looked like any other person on the streets.

“Nice to meet you, kid,” Info Dropper said, bowing their head. “I’m Info Dropper or ID. Goblin while on duty in Otheon, but ID otherwise.” They motioned to the woman beside them. She wore all black, a turtleneck bodysuit, a trench coat and boots though some iridescent decals were on them. A visor with the same colouring as the decals covered her face.

“Hi! I’m Statistica or Elric Aria!” said the woman, bowing her head too. “ID here doesn’t use names or give theirs out due to their Quirk, so don’t be offended by any nickname.”

“Oh? I tried to search it up, but the Court doesn’t list Quirks for their members….” Izuku said slowly.

“It’s called Name Drop. I say someone’s name, chosen ones work too, and I know five random things about them I didn’t before.” ID explained. They closed their eyes with a shrug. “Doesn’t work on animals, so Nezu and I are friends.” Opening their eyes again, ID looked Izuku over. “Midoriya Izuku…” the words felt like a weight on his shoulders as their eyes glowed white. They blinked and hummed. “That’s interesting….”

“Stop messing with him!” Statstica said, smacking their shoulder.

“Bad sidekick.”

“You raised me for the past ten years. I ain’t scared of you!” Statstica sniffed. She turned to Izuku. “So we’re going to be leaving on Friday morning, so you know, with the agency plane. ID knows where your guardians live.”

“Oh, right! Aizawa-Sensei said you went to school together.” Izuku nodded.

“Yep. You’ll find that while most high school classes do end up drifting apart, it’s rarer for a hero class to do so.” ID remarked. “We bond deeper. I may not be too close with everyone, but we keep in touch.” They shrugged. “Plus, I dated Done for a few weeks before he figured out he was fully gay.” Izuku blinked at ID, who bulldozed on. “So we’re close along with BDSM. And I dated Sonic Man to…. Huh, did I date everyone but the Banana in that friend group…” ID stared at the wall as Nezu chuckled, stirring his tea.

“I believe you did,” he remarked.

“Eh.” ID shrugged. “Anyway, so we all bonded. So… we got off track. Right. You’ll be coming with us on Friday to Otheon, where I’ll be investigating some stuff. Kiddo here,” a pat on Statistica’s shoulder indicated whom they spoke about. “Will be doing physical training mostly with you. I’ll also be sparring with you, and we’ll sic you on Sonic Man’s brother to spar ten to one. I think… no, wait, Skeleton Muscles said he’d also talk to his old homeroom teacher. I spoke with my bosses, and they’re fine with another pair of hands given the cases he used to work.”

“…” Izuku turned to the only woman in the room helplessly.

“They mean that I’ll spar with you, and you’ll end up sparring with Inegnenium’s brother and then. Plus, All Might’s old teacher is probably coming. The Court doesn’t mind him along due to his own history of investigation.” Statistica chirped.

“...Skeleton Muscles?” Izuku asked.

“It’s impossible to keep a secret from me,” ID sniffed, sticking their nose in the air. “I know everything.”

“No, you don’t. They like to claim it, but they’re lying. No one is omnipotent… well, Nezu comes close.” joked Statistica. “But yeah. I think they say random names when bored.”

“Free entertainment,” ID shrugged. Izuku snickered, a little amused at least.

“So why have me come to the office?” Izuku asked.

“To update you. I’m busy the next few days helping track Stain,” ID explained. “Issue is my Quirk is random enough that it’s hard to track him with it, and he moves around quickly.”

“But Otheon is more important?” Izuku asked.

“A possible global terrorist organization is always more important than some serial killer,” ID said honestly. Izuku’s mouth dropped open. “I know, kid, I know. It’s essential and honestly personal for me to go at this.” ID shrugged. “I wanted to meet you and say your name to confirm you’re good before Friday.”

The door to the office opened suddenly, startling the group. Aizawa stepped in, Eri following him happily.

“Sup, Done!” ID said, sounding amused.

“Shut up, ID,” Aizawa said grumpily. “I’m here to ensure my ward is okay with you.”

“He’ll be fine. Casanova will have fun with us… Nah, that’s not a good one. Ah, Bait.” ID nodded.

“Bait?” Izuku asked, realizing what they were saying.

“It fits,” ID said. “Put you in a room, and your lovers will go crazy.” Izuku went red as Eri giggled.

“Hi, I’m Eri.” the little girl said softly, waving at ID, who blinked.

“Oh my god, she’s so cute!” Statistica said in a squeal.

“...Hi, kid,” ID said. Eri blinked, a pout forming.

“No! You call me… oh, it hasn’t happened.” Eri hummed. ID paused, tilting their head to the side.

“...Eri…” they said. Their eyes didn’t change. “...Aizawa Eri.” their eyes flashed then. They outright jerked their head back, eyes wide in shock. “Oh wow.”

“Wow, what?” Aizawa asked, glaring at the other hero.

“She’s got a temporal Quirk, right?” ID asked. Aizawa crossed his arms, waiting. Izuku looked at ID curiously. “Look, Bait here got hit by Cupid, whose Quirk is also temporal based. We saw the Unicorn in the future, meaning that the Quirk briefly touched her. It forced a bit of a Quirk evolution.”

“You got that just by saying her name?” Izuku asked in awe, going for his notebook to write it down. ID glanced at them and sighed.

“I’ll teach you coding later. But anyway, yes. It’s one of the bigger things I didn’t know about her before, so I got a dose of info about her Quirk and the knowledge it evolved recently. The rest I already know. I research everything before using my Quirk. Easier to narrow the margins. Unicorn here; I did get a dossier on. But temporal Quirks are rare enough that they get studied to hell and back. Superstrength is such a common thing that it’s not worth studying. So we know that temporal Quirks can react to one another in strange ways. Clock Eyes… Sir Nighteye reported a temporary increase in Quirk power after going against a villain who could see the future when they ate some sort of food. He could use his Quirk three times a day for two months.” ID said. Izuku wrote it all down, bouncing.

“I read about that. Wow, I didn’t think Matchmaker was temporal, but you’re right! It sees the future and shows us glimpses! So when Eri was shown, it attached to her?” Izuku asked. “What is happening now?”

“Well, apparently, she might know something from the future or at least can feel a timeline out.” ID said. “My Quirk said so… Aizawa Eri… oh wow, that’s cool.”

“Oh?” Nezu asked, leaning forward.

“She could already do it and knew she could, but it never stayed. Right Unicorn?”

“Uhuh,” Eri nodded. She hummed. “Will it stay? It kinda hurts….” Aizawa placed a hand on her head, frowning.

“Dunno. It’s possible the Quirk just woke up the paths in your brain so you can remember. Maybe you’ll go back to random bursts of information. Maybe you’ll end up only remembering each day. Temporal Quirks are weird.” ID said.

“Wouldn’t it make more sense if she could know something from the past rather than the future?” asked Izuku.

“Not necessarily.” Nezu voiced. “Time isn’t linear. As a great doctor once said: it’s more wibbly and wobbly than that. As well it’s a social concept. Eri may only be able to remove the years from something, but may be able to see parts of the future, experiencing it as memories.”

“... most of the class feel more protective of her than we should theoretically,” Izuku said. Eri winced, looking down upon hearing that. “Ah! Nothing bad about that!”

“My Quirk makes you,” Eri muttered.

“Nah, it’s just giving us the emotions we’d feel in the future,” Statistica said. “If I understand what the Quirk nuts are saying…” she looked between the group. Aizawa looked exhausted. He had already been dealing with Izuku and the many crushes on him. Adding a possible future seeing child who could rewind time did not make things easy for him, more so when she knew things about the future.

He made a mental note to stalk up on headache medication in the future.

-0-

“So… we have an omnipotent daughter now,” Yamada said as he glanced at Eri. They were back at the apartment, Yamada finishing some paperwork for his acceptance of Kaminari as an intern. According to Yamada, one of his sidekicks’ Quirks could let him direct electricity from an external source. The internship made sense with the reveal of Kaminari gathering electricity instead of producing it.

“A somewhat Omnipotent daughter,” Aizawa groaned from where he was going through some paperwork himself. He wouldn’t tell Izuku what it was. “It might not last.”

Eri shrugged at the looks she got, busy colouring at the coffee table where Izuku sat, working on some homework. “I dunno,” the little girl said calmly. “I know it makes me less nervous cause I remember being ten and tackling Dekiru and his wife during a game, but I know it hasn’t happened yet.”

“Which wife is that?” Yamada joked.

“Uravity,” Eri said, making Izuku groan. “Huh? Did I do something wrong?”

“Just embarrassed, Eri,” Izuku muttered. Eri reached out to pat his head. Izuku sighed. “Thank you.”

“Welcome, Dekiru!” Eri said happily. She went back to colouring. Izuku returned to his homework, finishing his math before pulling out his phone, which had been vibrating for a while.

Class 1-AAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Pichu: Okay if I’m gonna be the next Present Mic, Aoyama is gonna be the next Midnight… who is the next Aizawa?

Bass Boost: That Shinsou kid probably. Has the same vibe in the other chat.

Alien Queen: Hell yeah!

Office Supplies: I can see it. Also, should we have a chat with Midoriya in it and all of his potential spouses?

Dr. Dolittle: Adding them here?

YaoMomo: This is the class chat. I doubt sensei would be happy to add them here.

Rock HARD: plus like Bakugou and Mineta are in the chat.

Bass Boost: Mineta got removed like this afternoon and Bakugou has never, ever BEEN in this chat. Do they count?

Class Prez: I am willing to be in another chat with everyone.

Pichu: lol sorry but imagine like somehow Shigaraki managing to get into the chat

Alien Queen: that’s terrifying. Man might be able to go vigilante but right now he’s a villain o.0

Out of the Kitchen: I vote no. Unless the man goes through his redemption arch fast.

Frog: Would any of us actually be willing to be around him though? Redemption or not he tried to murder us.

Pichu: Ehhh… Grey area? Man apparently got manipulated by his overlord and can snap out of it.

Rock HARD: Forgiveness is MANLY.

Frog: even if forgiving people is good I don’t know if I can. Not unless he proves he changed you know? Like if he never attacks us ever again with intent to kill I mean.

Edgy Bird: If he truly wishes to change in the future and has shown he is willing to offer it then I would be willing to accept him as friend and not foe.

However if he perchance claims to change but goes right back to his normal behaviour then it is not change that drives him. Not out of habit but out of a true disregard for wishing to change.

Pichu: It probably is different for Tsu given she nearly got killed by him to.

Frog: True.

Gravity Queen: I just realized that we’re discussing an actual villain and not just some rando. And it’s getting heavy. So I vote we do make a chat for all of Midoriya’s potential lovers. If he’s okay with it.

Izuku blinked at the chat, surprised by the direction it took before texting back.

Small Might: I have no idea how to react to that. I mean… I guess it would be nice to talk to them. I didn’t see Shinsou or Monoma or Hatsume or anyone all day. We’re all so busy.

Small Might: though I only ask NO ONE FLIRT in the chat. I’m not near ready for that 😖

Pichu: No problem! I think Sensei would murk us if we did even if you’re terribly cute and we love your blush ❤️

Sensei: Extra classes seem to be just giving themselves out.

Pichu: Ha. I’m in danger.

Sensei: Make the chat but put an adult (not me) in it. So if anyone does make Midoriya uncomfortable we can know.

“Thanks, Aizawa,” Izuku said, glancing up at the man who snorted.

“The rat probably monitors the other chat. But I’d prefer an adult in this one,” he said.

“Chat?” Yamada asked.

“The hellions want to make a chat with Midoriya and everyone else he could end up with,” Aizawa explained as Izuku’s phone chimed with the announcement that he’d been added to a new chat called…

“Midoriya’s Harem and Adult Supervision?!?” Izuku squeaked. The adults looked at him before they began laughing.

It was pretty funny.

-0-

He felt tired. So tired as he sat there in the room with the TV playing. The bodies of the previous owners of the apartment were king gone, destroyed so they couldn’t smell. After fleeing the doctor, he’d been trying to figure out how to continue his plans. Shigaraki no longer seemed reasonable to follow with the future, showing how he could abandon the goal of All for One.

He needed to find a new Quirk. One that could help him survive. A healing Quirk would work, one he could use himself. Recovery Girl was out. He had heard of a young boy on Nabu discussed in the doctor’s labs…

“Breaking news: Dr. Anders, former hero and skilled surgeon, has declared he will be staying in Japan for the next few months as part of a task force being created by All Might to deal with the villain who injured him,” the broadcaster said. “His Quirk, Spirit Healer, enables him to heal any wound while preventing things such as cell degeneration which has led to wonders in curing….”

He lifted his head, watching the news. He felt a smile cross his face.

It seemed as if fate had delivered his salvation.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

Notes:

-MERRY CHRISTMAS!! Hope you guys like this double update!

-Hope you guys liked it! This 100% was because I wanted to introduce everyone, lol.

-Eri’s power will degrade as time goes on. She’s still going to be able to say random things that are a little weird. But yeah… look, this was fun to think of, and also I love Eri. But the cute little girl whose so shy and timid gets boring compared to a mildly Eldritch being.

-Group chat was 100% me setting shit up.

-As an aside: Bakugou would never talk in group chats, and you can’t convince me otherwise.

-Look… I don’t know if I CAN add Shigaraki without it being weird. Sorry.

-I wonder who is talking…

#bnha #bnha au #videos of the future #photos and videos #boku no hero academia #izuku midoriya #aizawa shouta #yamada hizashi #eri #oc: info dropper

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