#i'm stuck at home with them and i have no intention of risking it

[am-i-the-asshole-official]

WIBTA if I officially reported a coworker for indirectly interacting with me?

♊️ to recognize.

My coworker Frieda and I used to be friends but we didn't mesh together and we had the ugliest friend break up ever. What happened between us irrelevant to this AITA but both of us were assholes to each other but the people following our situation closely are telling me she's much worse, and I think so too. Some people even told me I'm NTA but could've handled it better.

We agreed to stop talking to each other and she was the one who's most vocal about not wanting to interact with me, but, she continued to harass me every once in a while, literally taking away the tools from me by force while I'm still using them (we are supposed to use them in turns), getting in my personal space for no reason to the point of 'accidentally' brushing her arm against mine, and literally trying to make me late to go home.

That last bit was was my last straw and I unofficially reported her to the manager, she got a stern warning to stay away from me but she wasn't punished. The manager told me stay away from her as well and (unofficially) report her again if she attempts anything.

Now, my Ex friend doesn't do anything terrible to me, except she keeps keeps commenting to other coworkers on the things I say. She doesn't say bad things, but she has no right to include herself in my conversations.

Example:

A coworker I'm friendly with mentioned her upcoming birthday, I was busy with work so I didn't say anything, but everyone else wished her a happy birthday.

She turned to me, since I was the only one who hadn't wished her a happy birthday yet and was like "hey OP, my birthday is next Thursday!"

I said "oh alright I'm bringing a gift for you."

She said anything, then Frieda freaking turns to her and says "yep, gifts are the most important!"

Dude. Like she didn't even bring it up because she was considering asking the coworker about what kind of gift she wants or anything, she just said it because I did.

Like, if it was just a one time thing I wouldn't care, but she's doing this often, like it feels she's purposely trying to talk to me in a roundabout way. It happening almost in daily basis.

Another example if you don't believe me, everyone was talking about coffee. Like a whole conversation about it. When one coworker commented he doesn't like coffee, I asked him if he likes tea and he said yes, then she chimes in and asks him how he likes his tea? Girl ya'll are talking about coffee leave me alone. Stop including yourself in my conversations.

One of the reasons I'm upset about this is that Frieda is a social butterfly while I'm socially awkward. I'm having a hard time interacting with coworkers as is, it feels as if she's constantly stealing the attention away from me and silencing me. I know she won't like it if I do the same thing to her and won't try, and I always butt out whenever she's talking to other coworkers. It's hard talking to the coworker that's sitting next to me if she's literally coming from across the room to talk to them, which is not wrong in itself nor do I think she's purposely doing it with the intention to steal them away from me, but it makes me struggling to talk to everyone else. But her literally butting in my conversation is the thing I'm actually upset about and what I plan to report her for.

Now, I know my manager told me to tell her if Frieda bothers me again, however, I don't want to do that. I know my manager is trying to be fair but she friendly with Frieda and won't actually punish her because it's unofficial and she'll just talk to her about it, it won't be satisfying to me which is why I'm thinking of directly going to HR and reporting.

By the way, HR doesn't have the power to fire her easily so it's not like I'm putting her in actual immediate risk, but an official complaint about her will be stuck in her profile and as per the law, once she get 3 official warnings she can be fired. I'm not exactly sure, but I think another coworker has reported her already for making a joke in poor taste so this will most likely be the second warning. She often gets in fights with people so I do think it's only a matter of time of it happening. I never get in fights myself but man does she really push people's buttons. In the span of 1 year at work she has already fought with 7 coworkers already (the one I know about anyway, could be more since I have no idea what she up to these days)

I feel I might be TA because I might be overreacting, as she's just talking to other people but I still want to report her. I'm making documentation already but debating whether I should do it or not. WIBTA if I report her?

What are these acronyms?

#aita #am i the asshole

[lastflowerofyourhouse]

ok so @arithmonym 's post about how abigail pent was in the process of annexing the fourth got me thinking. if jeannemary and isaac can see her intentions, then the people around them must too, right? i'm fairly certain isaac has at least one living parent, and there should be officials and advisors surrounding him to prevent exactly this sort of thing from happening. harrow cites the fifth as the biggest threat to the ninth multiple times. if abigail is trying to annex the fourth, the people around isaac know about it. so why have they allowed him and jeannemary to get so close to abigail and magnus? why are they taking that risk?

unfortunately, i'm visiting family right now and i don't have access to my copy of gtn, so i'm gonna have to work from memory here. i may edit in some corrections when i get home in a couple of days. but if memory serves, isaac is not the eldest child in his family. he's just the eldest surviving. and the fourth doesn't seem particularly careful with their heirs. isaac is thirteen and already talking about shipping off to the front. how old do we think his younger siblings are? eleven? eight? two? who's next when isaac dies young?

so many of the houses have dwindling populations. the sixth, the ninth, the second. and based on their famous propensity to eat their young, i doubt the fourth is doing much better. i doubt they have very long before they end up like the ninth, stuck with a child despot and no one to marry them to. it's happening more slowly than what happened to the ninth, but it's really not that different. they haven't pumped neurotoxin into the nursery, but they very much are killing their children.

the reverend parents took desperate measures to save their house. they did it to preserve the cultural identity of the ninth. like harrow says. getting annexed is a worst-case scenario, because it would be the end of everything they are. i think the fourth is in a similar situation. four for fidelity, facing ahead. i think that to pull back, to preserve themselves, to save their children and bolster their population, would be an unconscionable betrayal of their cultural identity. i think the idea horrifies them, as much as the idea of reaching out to the fifth horrified the reverend family.

it's just, that horror is pushing them in the opposite direction. the people around isaac and jeannemary are intentionally allowing the fourth to be annexed, because god forbid they simply stop sending twelve year olds to die.

#the locked tomb #tlt #tlt meta #isaac tettares #abigail pent #my post

[svtskneecaps]

ok the thing that is grinding my gears more than anything about the whole luffy thing is i keep thinking about what we could have gotten if the federation didn't re-kidnap luffy. like. ok.

right now, the federation has luffy. therefore, even if the islanders WANTED to, they CAN'T give luffy to the eye workers. they can't access the federation offices to get to luffy themselves, and the eye workers refuse to listen when the islanders try to explain this to them. the islanders are stuck.

NOW. imagine the islanders DID have luffy. imagine luffy has been puttering around with them the WHOLE TIME.

now they really have to have the conversation amongst themselves of DO WE GIVE LUFFY TO THE EYE WORKERS. nobody's really had this conversation to any serious degree since they CAN'T, it's just a hypothetical. in OUR hypothetical, it's REAL and it's PRESSING. do we risk the lives of our eggs to protect this eye creature? we don't know what its intentions are, we don't know if we can trust it. is it an extension of the big eye or is it just a silly creature? like, who's the first person to say, "fuck this thing, my egg is what's most important" ? WHAT WOULD THEY DO ONCE EMPANADA LOST A LIFE TO THE WORKERS? WOULD THEY NOW TURN IN LUFFY TO PROTECT THE REST OF THEIR CHILDREN? ARE THEY WRACKED WITH GUILT OVER THE FACT THAT THEIR INACTION WAS THE CAUSE OF AN EGG'S DEATH? because right now, it's the federation's fault that the eye workers are still fucking here. the islanders have no way to chase them off. but IF THE ISLANDERS HAD LUFFY? now em's death is their fault. WHO'S THE FIRST TO TURN THEIR BACK ON LUFFY FOR THEIR CHILD.

is em's death enough to make bagi turn her back on luffy?? LUFFY DREW HER WHEN ASKED WHO HIS FRIENDS WERE, luffy hung out with her and tina after the egg event and gave them a pretty boat and walked them home and he was green's Little Buddy bagi LOVES that fucking creature, NOW WHAT? when she KNOWS that her choice to protect luffy from presumed danger had been the cause of em losing a life?? they can't even be 100% sure if they NEED to protect luffy from the workers, if luffy's actually in any danger. like i don't personally think bagi would turn on luffy but I DON'T KNOW THAT AND I WANT TO. at the very least it would be so interesting to see her decision making process, if she struggles with the choice or sticks with her principles or WHAT. it'd be SO COOL.

and how do the EGGS react to all this? we know that phil wanted to protect luffy, and that chayanne was willing to come to his side, and i'm guessing bagi would want to protect luffy as well, but tallulah has already shown she HATES egg island and all reminders, and now phil wants to protect luffy? and then tallulah warms to empanada and then EM DIES TO THE EYE WORKERS BECAUSE THEY WOULDN'T GIVE UP LUFFY? i'm FEASTING. like what do em, sunny, and pepito think of the eye guys even?? would they ALSO be distrusting of luffy? and now how does that affect their parents' view on luffy?? what does LEO think???? she HATED the very IDEA of foolish even TALKING to em, sunny, and pepito and those were EGGS, now imagine it's this one eyed creature that looks so very like the one eyed freak that directly and PERSONALLY kept her and her dad separated and put her ENTIRE FAMILY in danger, NOW WHAT?

and NEED I REMIND YOU, if the islanders have luffy then all it takes is ONE person to decide that they're done with the eye workers threatening them and to throw luffy to the wolves no matter what the other parents say. would not be hard. THEN WHAT. ONE PERSON SAYS FUCK IT AND LUFFY IS GONE. WHAT DO ALL OF LUFFY'S PROTECTORS HAVE TO SAY TO THAT.

i'm frothing at the mouth at all the interpersonal drama this could have caused. tasty, delicious challenging of viewpoints.....

#qsmp #shut up vic #block game brainrot #instead we have pointless fights that take 30 minutes and have predictable outcomes WHAT WHO SAID THAT #in truth i'm feeling very frustrated but i tried not to make the tone of this post frustrated #bc like. the solution is easy yknow just Watch Something Else so that's what i've been doing #purg2 team game nights save me..... save me purg2 team game nights........ #anyway just some thoughts i've been having #lmk if this came out frustrated and not just idea spitballing and i'll put the tags on it

[softquietsteadylove]

Hello birdie 🖤✨

I've got something for the Life Interrupted AU.

Thena isn't feeling well lately and is considering to go back into this hellhole where she's getting drugged to unconsciousness. She's packing her stuff when Gil shows up. He's trying to talk it out of her.

(And I definitely didn't had this Idea because I'm stuck in one of those hellholes, lol)

✨🖤Hugs an Love🖤✨

"Going somewhere?"

Thena sighed, setting down one of her shirts and staring down at her bed. "I was thinking about it."

Gil walked further into her room, having just arrived. "Druig texted me. Really surprised me to hear from him, but he said you've been acting weird--wants me to 'talk to some sense into you'."

Thena let out a humourless chuckle. "I'm surprised he decided to entrust you with that task."

"Gotta say, I am too," Gil agreed quietly until he was standing behind her. "I have to agree--you seem a little anxious lately."

She had been nervous, jumpy, and Gil knew it. They hadn't been able to go out on a date in weeks because she felt on the verge of a panic attack at the thought of having to navigate crowds or risk running into someone. "Maybe...maybe I should consider-"

"Don't," he whispered, placing his hand gently over hers. Her bag was already half full. "Don't say you're going back to that place."

Thena squeezed her eyes shut, tears already burning the insides of them. "Where should I go, Gil?"

"Anywhere else," he concluded. He pulled her hand away from packing up as if she were sailing off into the horizon. He moved slowly and gently until he could sit on the chair in the corner of her room and look up at her. "Please, Thena, just talk to me."

When he was seated lower, she had no excuse not to look at him. But she stared down at his hands, holding hers so, so gently. "Druig and Makkari have been looking at places again."

Gil raised his brows. "That...that's good...right?"

It was. It was what she wanted. She wanted their lives to continue on after the ugliness of the last year. She wanted her brother to feel free to settle down and marry the love of his life. And he could do that without worrying about his sister, she was determined.

"He keeps asking me to see them," she admitted quietly, as if Druig had his ear pressed against the door and would be wounded by overhearing her. "He keeps picking rooms that he says can be mine--if I so choose."

"So," Gil prompted, giving her hands a little squeeze, "what's so bad about that?"

Thena shook her head, looking up around the ceiling of her room to keep her tears from falling. "I'm not some child he has to drag around with him. He should be choosing a home to suit him and his wife, not worrying about his burdensome sister."

"Come on," Gil whispered, his eyes drifting downward from the sheer weight of Thena's discouragement. "You know he doesn't think of you like that."

Thena sighed, pulling her hands from Gil's and plopping herself on the corner of her bed. She pressed them to her head, trying to keep them from shaking. "I know he doesn't. That is exactly the problem."

"Okay, so you don't want him worrying about you," Gil shrugged, turning in the chair to face her head on again.

Thena stared down at her knees. She wasn't wearing her work dress and stockings with a tight ponytail. But she couldn't bring herself to wear soft sweatpants anymore, opting for athleisure leggings and a cardigan at even her most comfortable.

"What else?"

She toyed with her fingernails. "I don't want to live here alone."

Gil nodded again, leaning back in the chair.

She hunched over herself more, despite her sore back. "It's not about the cost, it's...I can't be here by myself, thinking all these...things."

"Okay, so we'll find somewhere else for you," Gil leapt at the opportunity to suggest an alternative. He leaned forward again, even scooching toward the edge of the seat. "I'll help you look."

She smiled, although she still wasn't feeling the intent behind the action. "Druig offered the same. Even Makkari--but that's not the point."

Gil seemed to understand what she was getting at. And of course he did, it was Gil. He was sweet, and understanding, and he always seemed to know what she was trying to say, even if she didn't have the words. "You want to find a place for yourself."

She sighed, looking at her hands again. "I don't seem capable of anything these days."

Gil took her hands in his again, rubbing his thumb over her skin. "You know that's not true."

She wasn't as sure as he was. She never was--never had his confidence, or positivity. It was something she both envied and admired about him. She loved it about him. "Maybe-"

"No!"

She blinked, taken aback by his outburst. He was always so soft spoken, especially with her. She had never heard him so much as raise his voice. The only things he did loudly were laughing and sneezing.

"Maybe nothing!" he pressed, standing from the chair. "That place never did you any good. I don't think it does anyone any good! And I will not let you go back to that misery!"

Thena's eyes fluttered, her back straightening. Her heart began to squeeze at the sheer volume of things, but this was Gil--she was safe with him.

"Thena," he finally quieted again, kneeling in front of her. "You never have to go back to that place, okay? I don't care if you have a nervous breakdown--I'll take care of you. I'll take better care of you than they ever would in there. Just--just promise me you won't go back there because you're worried about burdening people."

She blinked, those tears she was trying to hold back finally falling. It was completely dark outside, her small bedside lamp offering minimal lighting. But it caught Gil's features in just such a way that made him seem so beautiful. "I don't want to go back there."

"Good," he nodded, turning her hand so he could press his lips to it.

"But," she gasped, her lip wobbling. She clung to him. "But what if I'm not me, anymore?"

"You're exactly who you need to be," he said without a hint of doubt in his voice. "You're Thena."

So completely unwavering, her Gilgamesh.

"You're my Thena," he repeated, softer this time, kissing the back of her other hand before pulling her up to stand with him. His hands slipped around waist to rest at her back. "That's all you need to be."

She wasn't sure who 'Thena' was, at times. At least, not as she knew herself before all this. Gil kept saying that the past year was a part of her, for better or worse. But she just wanted to leave it behind--to revert to the version of her that had existed before it all.

"Look," he whispered, still holding her so gently. "Maybe that's easy for me to say. I didn't know you before. But the Thena I know is pretty damn amazing."

She let another laugh, still not humoured in the least.

"She is," he chuckled, though, and he did mean it. He leaned closer, touching his forehead to hers. "She's this badass translator, works in a big, fancy office. She's actually pretty funny, if she's in a good mood. Kinda likes messing with me."

"I do not."

"Just a little," he contested, scrunching up his nose faintly. "But I think that side of her is cute. And she's tough--way tougher than she thinks she is. And she's an incredible sister, even when her brother is being a pain in our ass."

"Our?" she interrupted.

"Our," he confirmed, touching the tips of their noses together to silence her. "And I know he's just worried about you. That's why he keeps saying you can stay with them if you want. But I guess he doesn't really know it's stressing you out."

Thena sighed, dragged back into the depths of her problems like plunging into ice cold water. "How do I tell him?"

Gil skipped over that question, still busy holding her, almost swaying as his weight shifted from foot to foot. "So, this Thena--I mean, to me, she's the most incredible woman in the world."

"Gil," she sighed, trying to pull him from his reverent description of her.

But he nudged her head until he could kiss her lips, also gently. As gently as everything else about him. "She's the woman I love, plain and simple."

Oh, did she ever love him. She had gone from being someone who probably didn't really believe in love for herself at all to being head over heels for her sweet, gentle giant.

She sighed as she kissed him again, leaning up on her toes to loop her arms around his neck. Kissing Gil always made her feel more human--more grounded and real. It took away the buzzing in her head and replaced it with with a heavy and pleasant sedative that could spread through her veins.

Gil stayed close, his forehead against hers, lips still faintly puckered. "Better?"

"Hm," she sighed. She didn't need to explain herself--not to him. She ran her fingers gently through the hair at the back of his head. If only she never had to go to work, or take public transport, or go to house viewings where the realtor would look at her oddly. If only she could stay in Gil's arms every second of every day.

"Good," he sufficed to say, tapping his fingers against the back of her sweater. He moved his hand to her hip. "So, about this living situation-"

"Right," she sighed the heaviest she had yet (which was saying something).

"Hey," he nudged her gently, pulling her eyes up to him. "A unit in my building is going on the market for next month. It's the one above mine--sweet old guy is moving out to be closer to his grand kids."

Oh. Living that close to Gil--being neighbours?

"I can always ask him if he'd be open to a lease trade-off," Gil suggested, although he was unable to hide his excitement at the prospect in his smile. "What do you think?"

Being that close to Gil? Being his upstairs neighbour?

His smile wobbled faintly, turning sheepish as he looked away. "It's a little more modest than this place. But it's a one bedroom, and it's not a bad location. And-"

Thena stood on her toes, pressing her lips to his, even with a cliche 'mmwah' sound. He looked dazed after the firmer kiss, which made her smile genuinely for the first time that night. She leaned against him heavier, but he steadied her without a second thought. "I think that sounds perfect."

"Really?" he asked, beaming like a dog about to receive a treat with a wagging tail.

She took his cheeks in her hands, "it sounds wonderful, Gil."

"O-Okay," he laughed, sounding near hysteria. But he pulled her against his chest in his arms, even lifting her off the ground slightly as he spun them. "This'll be amazing, sweetie, I promise!"

He needed no promises. The thought of having him a mere flight of stairs away was already comforting, in a sense. And she had been to his flat plenty of times. He was right, it was in a good location, and it wasn't any further from her office than she was now, all things considered.

Gil set her on her feet once more. "I'll talk to him tonight."

"Don't get too ahead of yourself," she advised gently. It wasn't often she was able to offer a calming voice of reason these days; it felt familiar, even soothing. She toyed with some some stray hairs of his. "I may have to apply, like everyone else."

"Peh," Gil waved in dismissal again (making her laugh, again). "The old guy loves me. And that's before I tell him some sob story about wanting my girlfriend to move in so we can be closer."

Thena blushed softly, toying with the hem of her cardigan. Sometimes she had to remind herself that Gil wasn't just 'someone she was seeing', and actually the man she had known for more than half a year and had been dating for more than half that time, now.

"It'll be great," he whispered, pressing a kiss to her cheek. "We can carpool to work, I'll be right downstairs if you ever wanna talk--or cuddle."

"Gil," she admonished, but it came out as a light and air whisper as he kissed her cheek again, his five o'clock shadow against her skin.

He stopped nuzzling her just to look at her more solemnly. "You should tell Druig."

"It was your idea."

"Exactly," Gil made a face, shrinking somewhat. "He'll kill me."

Thena rolled her eyes, her spirits lifting by the moment. "It's not as if you're offering to shack up with me yourself."

He didn't laugh at her joke. He didn't even seem to realise it was a joke, just shrugged one shoulder. "I mean they're both only one bedroom units. Plus, I imagine you want some space for yourself for a little. Feel like you have some more control?"

Well, he was exactly right about that, as always. Although she hadn't expected his rebuttal to be that they would need a larger space if they were to live together. She just blinked, "precisely."

"So it's decided," he grinned again, and gave her another kiss for good measure. "I'll go talk to Karun, you talk to Druig. He really is worried about you."

"I know," she mumbled, feeling properly chastised. She unlinked her hands from behind his head and squeezed his forearms. "I'm sure he was desperate to call you."

"And I'm suggesting you move into my building instead of in with him?--he's gonna have my head."

Thena laughed genuinely for the first time that night. "Don't worry, I'll protect you from him."

Gil stared at her in a way that made her toes curl. He bent his head down to sneak into the crook of her neck under her jaw. "I know you will."

She shivered as he left a kiss on her pulse point.

But he left it at that, pulling away and standing to his full height again. It left her feeling chilly, needing to pull her cardigan tighter around herself. "Okay."

Thena nodded, letting him take her by the hand. She did have to talk to Druig--about everything. About moving and also about how she would be okay without him hovering over her shoulder. She would be okay without that hell hole and its medication and she would be okay even if she felt like this different version of herself, possibly forever.

Gil grasped the doorknob with his other hand, the door not fully closed and letting in just a sliver of light from the rest of the house. He held her other hand, giving it a squeeze. "Ready?"

She nodded, holding his hand tighter, just in case she needed it. But she smiled, "ready."

#Thenamesh Life Interrupted AU #I love this au! #and we love you Love! #Thena is feeling worse and worse about Druig moving out before proposing #he's all stressed about her staying with them #but stressed because she doesn't want him to stress #it's a lot going on #so Thena gets more withdrawn thinking about all this #and eventually Druig does the unthinkable #he texts his sister's boyfriend and tells him to get his ass down here and talk to her #they come out of her room #They're holding hands and Thena looks oh so besotted #Druig sits up from the couch holding Makkari like I already don't like this #Thena tells Druig listen she appreciates his concern and she'll come and visit all the time #but she's going to move into Gil's place #and Druig loses his everloving mind #he blows up about how it's too soon and they barely know each other and he doesn't trust Gil enough to let them shack up #and Thena lets him get it all out of his system before finishing saying: Gil's apartment........complex #Makkari: lol #Druig totally loses his steam and just goes oh...well I guess that's not so bad #because Thena knows how to break bad news to her little brother #Druig is still a little wary of it and he still tells Gil that if he ever thinks Thena is upset because of him #he's got a whole lot of hell comin' his way #but he's also a good brother and tells her he'll help her move and he's not going anywhere until she's settled #they haven't settled on a house yet anyway and he won't actually leave until Thena is settled #if she called and said I don't like it here Druig is like okay we're living in the townhouse forever #meanwhile Thena actually wants him to leave the nest so she and Gil can be cutesy flirty neighbours and carpool and have sleepovers

[finniestoncrane]

"You don’t have to do this! But I really like your prompt list 🖤🖤 please and thank youuu" - anonymous request

Hate In An Elevator, Dano!Riddler x Hero!Reader, word count: 1521

ok i had so much fun writing this request and i put in as much as i could!! it's dano!riddler but i went a little off-canon in that he's more of a nuisance at this point and not quite the cuddly domestic terrorist we know and love yet, so it's just cute and silly and eddie being a pain in the ass 💚 reader is (hopefully) gender neutral but if i'm mistaken pls let me know!

request info • prompt list • send me a request

minors DNI!! 🔞 sfw i guess, some language

“So do you want to talk about it?”

You looked towards him, unmasked now and surprisingly innocent, almost cute looking. But it didn’t do much to your attitude towards him, and how much he irritated you.

“Not particularly. And not with you.”

“Well, I do. At this point I’m not even mad that you tracked me down, or that you chased me into this abandoned building, or for trapping me in an elevator shaft where you set about pummelling me into the ground.”

“Oh yeah, well what are you mad at? Because you definitely have an attitude.”

“I’m mad because you thought it was appropriate to smash my face against the floor so hard that you managed to shift a hundred-year-old, rusted beyond repair, elevator shaft into the most inconvenient position possible.”

“Is that all?”

“So far, yes. You’re lucky you’re pretty or I wouldn’t be so calm.”

You were taken back by his compliment, how genuine it seemed. But it couldn’t undo months of having religiously watched him spew hateful vitriol on his little streams with his pathetic following of hyped-up loners. He irritated you, lived in your mind, gnawing at it constantly, and you were sure he barely gave you a second thought. He probably hadn’t known you had existed until this evening, when he’d felt you following him. Face to face for the first time, holding him to the ground, which then sank from underneath your bodies, trapping you both in this musty and confined space.

Admittedly, it might have been a better idea to wait until you had backup, but you wanted to prove yourself to Gotham, prove you were deserving of working alongside Batman and the GCPD. You could do just as much good as them. So you’d gone in early, risking everything. And now you were stuck, stupidly, with for all intents and purposes, your worst enemy. From the pack on your back, you produced an energy bar and opened it up, taking a bite.

“I’m hungry.”

You turned to look at him, narrowing your eyes.

“What do you want me to do about that?”

“I’m just letting you know, jeez! I thought maybe…”

“We’ve been in here for five hours. You can’t be starving yet.”

You rolled your eyes, sighing, turning your head away from him to stare out of the tiny gap between the roof of the elevator and the floor.

“I didn’t have breakfast…” He pouted at you, noticing it from the corner of your eye. “You know, food is fuel right. When you don’t eat, your body runs out of its glucose supply pretty quickly. And with low blood sugar, you’re useless. Sluggish, tired, weak. Maybe if we perked up our energy supplies we could have another go at trying to open the doors a bit wider? I think it would be wise for us to at least try. No?”

“Oh, I’m sorry, were you talking to me?” You bit off another piece, chewing loudly as you spoke. “Because I wasn’t listening.”

He snatched at the remaining half of the bar, stuffing it into his mouth greedily and smiling at you, all teeth with bits of food stuck to them.

“Gross.”

He giggled, tossing the wrapper at you.

“Don’t you have some sort of backup?”

“No. No one knows I’m here. And my alert signal only goes off if I haven’t returned home by 5am. The GPS will send my location to someone then, but no one is tracking it.”

“That’s stupid. What kind of ridiculous system is that for a vigilante?”

“It’s the kind that was cheap and easy to programme.”

“So…no one is coming for us? Good.”

You looked at him, trying to figure out what was going on in his head. You could swear there was a hint of blush on his round cheeks. He offered a small smile, taking his glasses off and fumbling with them. Was it sarcasm? Or did he have something more sinister planned? Either way, it would be unwise of you to let your guard down around him, even for a second, even when there wasn’t much he could really do to make the situation worse.

“You know, I’m impressed you actually solved my puzzles and found me here.”

“I…didn’t solve any puzzles. I followed you. You left puzzles?”

He looked at you, wide-eyed.

“I-Yes! I left so many! Are you telling me those were all a waste of time?”

“Must have been, because I didn’t notice them.”

“Maybe if you spend more time observing your environment instead of stalking me you would have.”

“Maybe if your little puzzles weren’t so convoluted and difficult, I would have been able to recognise them easier.”

“Well maybe if you weren’t so dumb, my riddles would make more sense.”

“Ok, do you ever shut up?”

You hated to show it, but he was really getting to you.

“OH, you’re cute when you’re angry!”

You lunged at him, pinning his back to the wall, palms on his shoulders. Your noses were pressed together and your combined heavy breathing fogged up his glasses. He looked afraid, but not enough. There was something underneath, a faint hint of pleasure, confirmed by the way he giggled under your show of strength.

Trying to keep your cool, you shook him once and threw him back, letting him go with a thud. He slid down the wall slightly, smile still on his face, and you curled into your knees in the opposite corner, trying desperately to stay as far away from him as possible. He let out an occasional giggle, or amused hum, but for the next hour you both sat in otherwise complete silence. You refused to give him the time of day. He was an irritant. A pain. And you hated him. But more, you hated yourself for being so stupid and careless.

“It’s colder now, huh?”

“Yep.” You hated to agree with him, but the temperature had dropped considerably the later it had become and you had been fighting back shivers.

“You could come and sit…closer if you wanted. I don’t bite.”

“Thank you, but I’d rather die of hyperthermia!” You shot him a nasty smile, but he edged closer to you anyway, and you didn’t have the energy to put up a fight. The heat was minimal, but nice all the same. You rested your head on your shoulder and closed your eyes, trying to think of what to do.

“You dozed off.”

“Wh-what? Where…Aw…”

“Sorry, I hadn’t noticed. You looked so pleasant, but I thought I better wake you.”

As you adjusted to your situation, your body stuck on the word ‘pleasant’. It was kind of creepy actually. In fact, his whole demeanour the entire time had been a bit off. The giggling, the jokes, the weird compliments. There was definitely something up.

Not once had he tried to escape either. He didn’t even seem that bothered about getting out of the elevator shaft. And it was so easy to follow him here, he must have heard you coming up behind him, either on the streets or through the empty halls of the building. And if the elevator shaft was so obviously broken, why had he been heading towards it in the first place?

“This was a trap.”

“Hm?”

“This. The elevator. It was a trap. For me.”

“Yay!” He giggled, face cracking into a wide smile. “You finally got it! See, I knew you were smart.”

“Oh no. Oh no no no no no no-”

“Yes! Do you think I didn’t notice you on my streams? Following me around? Coming to my place of work, well done on that one by the way, very clever!”

“So…why the trap then, Riddler? Not brave enough to kill a vigilante?”

“Not yet. And not one as pretty as you, at least.”

Your eyes were wide, unblinking as he explained how long he’d been aware of your presence, lurking, or so you thought, at the shadows of his life. How he’d been so pleased to finally have someone on his tail, like a little fan club. And the compliments kept spewing forth. You looked so cute. You were so pretty when you were trying to solve a riddle. Your motivation was unparalleled. You really knew how to dress for your shape with that little costume you picked. You made him feel like he wasn’t alone. He was a complete weirdo. But, embarrassingly, even if they were on opposite ends of the scale, your obsessions over each other were equally intense.

“Besides, we kind of need each other, right?”

You scoffed, eyebrows raised high as you questioned him, silently.

“We do! What is a vigilante without a criminal, and what is a criminal without someone to hunt them?”

You considered his words. He was right.

“I suppose, yes, I wouldn’t have much of a reason to do what I do without pain in the ass psychopaths like yourself.” You smirked at him.

“See, and you thought I was just an annoyance.”

“Oh, you still are buddy.”

“You heard it here first, folks! We’re buddies!”

“I hate you.”

“Well, I love you.”

#finnie writes #riddler #batman #riddler imagine #the riddler imagine #riddler smut #fanfic #the riddler fanfic #riddler fanfic #riddler x reader #riddler x you #riddler headcanon #ridler scenario #the riddler headcanon #the batman #dano riddler #q #dano!riddler #the batman 2022 fic #edward nygma #anon #friends being friends #edward nigma #edward nashton #the riddler fanfiction #the riddler

[magickkate]

Hi, I have a question. I am a beginner witch. I have just moved out of my parents home to the city. I have one other roommate. He is about 10 years older than me. But he is very emotionally manipulative. He is very much stuck in a victim mindset. He also considers the common spaces (kitchen, toilet, bathroom) to be actually 'his' spaces. They are not. He keeps all his dirty dishes in the kitchen. He hasn't cleaned those dishes in three weeks. Because of the space they take up, I'm unable to cook, and I can barely clean my own dishes. He doesn't clean anything. Mold has started to grow in some of the cabinets. The filter of the extractor hood is completely burned, and needs to be replaced. He leaves his dirty clothes on the floor of the bathroom. Despite all of this, he claims to be very hygienic and he has told me I need to clean my stuff otherwise there will be problems. Every time I bring anything of this up he goes into victim mode and gets defensive. He talks down to me because I'm younger than him.

I have also reason to believe he has come into my room without my permission while I was at university. He gets angry every time I get any normal necessities. He got angry when I got a doorbell for myself. Or when I got an air freshener (he smokes a lot. He says he only smokes outside, but the entire home smells like cigarettes). But in general, the way the common space is now, is simply unhealthy. He also lies a lot, and he doesn't keep his promises.

He has had a number of other roommates before me, and all of them have left. But I really need this space. I really don't want to go back home, because my father is verbally abusive. I feel emotionally unsafe around my roommate, and I would like to have some protective spells around so I could feel safer. Also to stop him from trying to emotionally manipulate me. Do you know any good protective spells for a beginner witch? I can't use fire.

First and foremost, thank you for sharing this with me. If you need to share further, my inbox is always open. I'm so sorry that you are dealing with this!

Second, I don't think this should be dealt with in a magical manner to start, especially if your safety is at risk at all. You said that he may be intruding on your space and is unclean (causing mold) which can be toxic!

Is there anyone you are close to (perhaps both in relation and location) that can help work this out with you further (i.e., close friend, family, landlord, law enforcement if necessary)? I don't know how I would be able to assist you with something like this being a figure on the internet. I want you to be safe.

So that's about all I can do regarding the mundane side of things, but let's look at the mystical side.

Wards are super important in cases like this. They are strong protective barriers that you can set up around a specific area like your room or designated space.

Here's a simple protective spell that you can perform as a beginner witch without using fire:

Salt Barrier Spell Materials needed: -> Sea salt or regular table salt -> Small bowl or dish -> Your intention and focus Instructions: 1. Begin by cleansing your space. You can do this by lighting some incense, using a cleansing spray made of water and essential oils, or simply by visualizing white light filling the room and dispelling any negativity. 2. Take the salt and pour it into the small bowl or dish. 3. Hold the bowl of salt in your hands and close your eyes. Take a few deep breaths to center yourself. 4. Visualize a bright, protective light surrounding you and your living space. You can imagine this light as a glowing bubble or a shield of energy. 5. While holding this visualization, infuse the salt with your intention for protection. You can silently repeat affirmations such as, "I am safe and protected in my home," or "Negative energies are repelled by this salt barrier." [please adjust this to whatever intention you feel is necessary for your situation. A spell is not about the ingredients, but about the intention you put into it.] 6. Once you feel that the salt is charged with your intention, sprinkle it around the perimeter of your room or apartment. You can also place small bowls of salt in the corners of the room for added protection. 7. As you sprinkle the salt, visualize a strong barrier forming, preventing any negative energy or unwanted influences from entering your space. 8. After creating the salt barrier, take a moment to express gratitude for the protection it provides. 9. Leave the salt in place for as long as you feel necessary. You can replenish it periodically or refresh the spell whenever you feel the need.

Here is another option that is confined to a jar, without salt around the room.

Jar Protection Spell: Materials needed: -> A small jar with a lid -> Salt (preferably sea salt or regular table salt) -> Bay leaves (dried or fresh) -> Your intention and focus Instructions: 1. Begin by cleansing the jar and its lid. You can do this by washing them with soap and water, or by wiping them down with a cleansing solution such as vinegar or alcohol. 2. Take a moment to center yourself and focus your intention on creating a protective barrier around your living space. 3. Fill the bottom of the jar with a layer of salt. Salt has long been used for its purifying and protective properties in various spiritual traditions. 4. Place a few bay leaves on top of the salt layer. Bay leaves are believed to have protective qualities and can help to ward off negative energies. 5. As you add each bay leaf, visualize a shield of protection forming around your room, preventing any negative influences from entering. 6. Continue layering salt and bay leaves until the jar is full, alternating between the two materials. 7. Once the jar is filled, seal it tightly with the lid. 8. Hold the jar in your hands and infuse it with your intention for protection. You can silently repeat affirmations such as, "This jar creates a barrier of safety and security around me," or "Negative energies are repelled by the contents of this jar." [Again, please adjust this to whatever intention you feel is necessary for your situation. As always, a spell is not about the ingredients, but about the intention you put into it.] 9. Place the jar in a prominent location in your room, such as on a shelf or bedside table. 10. Whenever you feel the need for extra protection, you can hold the jar in your hands and focus your intention on reinforcing the protective barrier it represents. This jar protection spell harnesses the power of salt and bay leaves to create a shield of protection around your living space. It's a simple yet effective way to ward off negative energies and maintain a sense of safety and security in your environment. Trust in the power of your intention and the natural properties of the ingredients to support you in creating a harmonious and protected space.

Remember, the power of any spell ultimately comes from your intention and focus. Trust in your own abilities as a beginner witch, and know that you have the capability to create positive change in your life and surroundings. Additionally, while protective spells can provide a sense of security, it's also important to address the practical aspects of your living situation and consider finding a long-term solution that ensures your safety and well-being. Whether that involves setting boundaries with your roommate, seeking support from friends or authorities, or finding alternative living arrangements, prioritize your own comfort and safety above all else.

Please reach out if you need to send another ask or send me a message in my DMs. Again, thank you for sharing your situation with me. I hope you are able to create a safe and healthy environment for yourself. 🤍✨🕊️

#queue the magick #ask #q + a #witchcraft #witch #witchblr #reference #magickkate #kitchen witch #green witch #sigils #witchy #witch aesthetic #witchy vibes #baby witch #witches #beginner witch #baby witch tips #college witch tips #witch blog #witch tips #witch community #witchcraft 101 #witchcore #witchcraft community #witchtok #witchy shit #witches of tumblr #witchyvibes

[cambria-writes]

crawling gasping heaving

somehow i made it i did it i actually wrote it before the end of the day and before i have to go to bed for work tomorrow holy shit i honestly didn't think i'd be able to do it

i didn't take the time to proofread this so i'm probably gonna be correcting the living daylights out of this tomorrow, but here you go!

rating: M, each chapter rated individually warnings: soft eddie, swearing, there's guns but no shooting, reader's going a bit off the deep end, a lot of essentially pointless rambling that may or may not eventually be foreshadowing, billy mentioned a singular time, typos bound to appear word count: 4,458

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𝕮𝖍𝖆𝖕𝖙𝖊𝖗 𝕿𝖜𝖊𝖑𝖛𝖊: ℜ𝔢𝔪𝔬𝔳𝔢 ℭ𝔲𝔯𝔰𝔢

“Y’know that’s actually kinda hot,” you cough, parroting what you’d been told when you had pulled out your set of lock picks.

Robin steps in before Eddie can say anything, and there’s a quick back and forth before Steve eventually replaces him in the driver’s seat, once the thing has been successfully hotwired. You let them figure out the rest on their own while you make your way to the back of the RV to sit on the bed.

‘Stuck in the back of a speeding trailer with the awning still attached after your childhood best friend hotwired it just like his male genetic donor used to’ wasn’t exactly how you would’ve imagined the latter half of your spring break to go. Then again, you hadn’t entirely anticipated dimension hopping, either, or having to deal with what might potentially be the end of the world. 

Nancy had briefly caught you up to speed before the lot of you left to hijack someone’s home—and you’re desperately trying not to think about that for too long—and the entire thing left a sour taste in the back of your throat. Not just the world-endy bullshit, but the fact that Vecna slash Henry slash One had access to something you weren’t sure you could do.

Fucking divination. 

You’re digging your nails into the palms of your hands when Steve peels out of Forest Hills at a speed the RV you’re all crammed in would consider breakneck. There’s so much you haven’t tried, actually. And the more you think about it, the more you think that maybe you should’ve taken the asshole up on his offer. Maybe you should’ve let the stupid lich king teach you. 

Beyond the regret, though, as little as it may be, there’s a lot of contemplation. Dustin, Lucas and Eddie are chatting away, concocting some harebrained scheme probably, and with Robin and Nancy up front with Steve, you’ve got some peace of mind to think. Because thankfully, unlike her brother, apparently, Erica Sinclair is capable of recognizing when someone shouldn’t be bothered.

The idea of a phylactery had occurred to you, originally, when Eddie first brought up the concept of a lich. That even if you tried to kill him, it would just be a matter of time before he came back. What would the phylactery be, though? What could he have attached himself to so wholly and completely that he’d be willing to risk using it as a respawn point? 

When you look up from where you’re sat cross-legged on the bed in the back, you open your mouth to call for Nancy. You barely mutter the first consonant of her name when you notice that she and Steve seem to be… discussing, pretty intently. 

“H-hey, Robin?” 

“Huh? Yeah?” Robin answers quickly, turning around and shuffling her way to you, quickly whispering apologies to the kids for getting between them. “What’s up?” She asks, letting herself fall heavily next to you. 

“You went to Victor Creel’s house with the others, yeah?” 

“Creepy abandoned mansion, yeah,” she confirms, nervously drumming her fingers against her thighs. “What about it?” 

“Was there anything like…weird about that place? Anything that stood out?”

Robin frowns and hums for a second, turning to look down at her feet. “Something that stood out, huh…” There’s another moment of pause before she slaps her thigh and points at you. “We found the clock! The one you keep hearing, it was right there in the main hallway.” 

“Okay yeah, that does stand out.” But not exactly the kind of thing someone would bind their soul to, you figure. Way too obvious and easily spotted. “Anything else? Something maybe hidden? Like, a lot better?” 

Robin chuckles but nods, letting her head fall back and crossing her arms as she thinks. 

“We kind of split up, so it’s hard to tell but I heard Steve screaming like a girl. Something about spiders?” 

“It was a god damn black widow!” Steve shouts from the front seat, and you can’t help but stifle your laughter. 

“A black widow, alright. Where was it, do you know?” 

“Yeah, it was on the second floor. In the bathroom, I think? It was like, hidden under a vent in the floor ro something.” You frown and open your mouth to ask another question, but Robin excitedly flaps her hands. “Oh, oh! And there was this freaky shrine in the attic with a bunch of jars with spiders in them too!” 

“Oh wooow,” you say, putting as much nasally sarcasm into it as you can. “Love that. Spiders. Awesome. Anything else?”

“I don’t think so, place was pretty run down. I mean no one’s lived there since the Creels were murdered and I don’t think ‘home to a demonic serial killer who pops your eyes from the inside out’ sells too well.”

“Yeah, probably not,” you mutter, bringing your thumb up to chew at the nail. 

Something related to spiders would be way too obvious as a phylactery, right? Anyone with any kind of knowledge about Henry would be able to guess something like that. And though the grandfather clock does feel like a decently significant item, too, that’s beyond obvious. No way that someone like Vecna would use that as a phylactery, either. It’s too flammable, anyways. 

You squeak in surprise when Eddy drops himself on the bed on your other side. Robin quickly excuses herself to move back up front with Steve. You’re about to pull her back and tell her to give him room, but when you glance ahead it seems like whatever discussion he was having with Nancy is over. 

“What was all that about spiders?” Eddie asks, letting himself fall back on the bed with his hands behind his head. “I thought you hated spiders.”

“Ugh, god do I ever,” you groan, letting yourself fall back onto the mattress as well. “I’m just trying to figure out like. If I was a lich that ended up in a parallel dimension, right? What would I choose as the one thing to bind my soul to and make sure I can respawn?”

“You’d probably have better luck asking Wheeler,” he replies, end of his sentence fading into a yawn. “She’s the one he gave his weird psychic visions to.” 

“And you’re assuming he has a phylactery to begin with.” Dustin has his has steepled in front of him on the small table, leaning out just a bit to be able to look at you. You left yourself up on your elbows to look back at him and frown. 

“There’s no way he’d be able to survive in that place for as many years as he has without dying,” you state, closing your eyes for a second to try and recall the small fragments of conversation you were able to catch when you were In Between with Eleven. “He took control of that thing, right? The thing you call the mind flayer? What if that’s what turned him into whatever the hell he is now?” 

“That doesn’t really matter,” Lucas pipes up, turning around in his seat and throwing his arm up against the back of the bench-like seat to look at you. “If we cut him off from the mind flayer, he won’t be able to do anything, right?”

“Yeah, and then all hell breaks loose, genius,” Erica scoffs, and you can tell without looking at her that her eyes are rolling. “If Vecna’s the only one keeping the monsters in check, we’re screwed if they all decide to do whatever they want.” 

You groan and let yourself fall back onto the bed Eddie pulls a hand from behind his heat to pat yours. 

“We’ll figure something out,” he says quietly, while the others continue discussing what to do about both Henry and the Mind Flayer. “You should probably take a nap while you can.” 

“I just got up from a nap like two hours ago!” you whine, kicking your feet. “I feel like all I’ve been doing is sleeping. I need to think while I’m awake. Shit gets weird when I’m asleep.”

There’s a beat of silence before Eddie turns his head to look at you with a brow raised.

“How weird are we talkin’ about?”

You groan again. “Being sucked into a weird not-dimension by someone else levels of weird.” When you turn your head to look at Eddie, you almost flinch at how close your faces are. You keep your eyes on his nose; nice, safe, doesn’t give any kind of weird impression. Right? Right. 

“That’s how you talked to their friend? Eleven?” he asks, quietly, and the breathiness of his voice makes you swallow thickly. You nod twice and clear your throat, turning your head back to look up at the ceiling of the RV.

“Y-yeah. Um, yeah she, uh, she said it was In Between. Whatever that means.” 

“Sounds more like dreamwalking to me.”

“You’re not wrong. Would be nice to know who was doing the walking though. Me or her?” 

Eddie shrugs, and somehow, without your realizing, he’s wormed an arm under your head and pulls you in. He’s extremely nonchalant about it, which you wish you could be. You try to lift yourself up on your elbows again, but he makes sure you can move, and in fact holds your head fast against his shoulder. 

“Sleep,” he said, an edge in his voice even though it’s nearly a whisper. “We’re going out of down to buy guns and traps. You need your rest.” 

With the rumbling of the RV, the constant bump and jostle of it, and the presence of someone warm next to you, you find that your eyes are starting to feel a bit dry and heavy. 

“Fuck you,” you grumble, but close your eyes and clasp your hands over your stomach anyways. 

“Sucks to sucks,” Eddie chuckles, and the last thing you register before falling into a light slumber is the feeling of fingers raking through your hair. 

You wake up to the sound of the RV door slamming open and Eddie jumping out of his skin next to you. Nothing much happened—Erica making a quip to her brother, Steve shouting, everyone on edge and holding on to the nearest stationary object while Steve puts the RV in drive and bolts out of… 

“Wha—where are we? What hap-happened?” you mutter, sitting up on the bed, noticing that you’d been scooted up to lie down on it proper rather than just half-laid at the foot of it. “Did you move me while I was asleep?”

“We saw Hawkins’ star basketball team,” Robin says quickly, moving past you on the bed and kneeling by the window to peek out. “They didn’t seem super stoked to see us and honestly seeing a bunch of white boy jocks out for blood in a military surplus store doesn’t give me good vibes.” 

“Military surplus?” You ask, sleep still fogging your brain as you rub at your eyes. “That’s where we are—were?” 

“Yeah, Dustin and I stayed in here while they shopped around,” Eddie explains shortly, and there’s a tightness in his voice you don’t like. He’s sat with his back against the wall, Robin fit snugly between the two of you before she climbs back off the bed. “Did you grab anything good?”

“Oh,” Robin starts, turning around to face you two with a grin that feels just a little bit unhinged. “We grabbed something good. Nancy found a shotgun and, get this.” She leans in, and if you weren’t in a literal ride-or-die situation with this girl, you’d be a little worried about the teeth showing in her grin. “She’s gonna saw the thing off herself. Nancy Wheeler, illegally modifying a firearm. Amazing.”

“Amazing,” you mutter back, scooting yourself up on the bed to put your back against the wall, and leaning over to let your head fall on Eddie’s shoulder. “You were right. I needed a nap. I think I need a few more naps, actually.” 

“You can probably keep napping until we get there,” he says quietly. And again, there’s a warm arm around your shoulders that keeps you fixed to his side. You don’t even notice when your eyes drift shut again. 

“Where… when we get where?” 

“Don’t worry about it, sweetheart. Just sleep.” 

Sweetheart? That’s a new one. You wish you could analyze the speed of your thrumming heart and the wings of the butterflies in your stomach, but again, you’re unconscious before you can make too much of it.

You’re sitting on the steps to the RV while Robin and Steve prepare, of all things, Molotov cocktails. Dustin and Eddie are off in the field to your left hammering nails into trashcan lids, and though you’re exceptionally doubtful of their efficiency—”Aren’t the nails just gonna pop right out the second something hits them? What’s gonna keep them from just popping out?”—they seem pretty content doing that. Max is holding onto the previously mentioned shotgun while Nancy is, indeed, sawing off the barrel as short as is probably safe to do.

You’re not doing anything at all. Rest, they said, you burnt yourself out for hours teleporting both yourself and Nancy out of the Upside Down, they insisted. Not that there’s much for you to do. Even looking off to your right at the Sinclairs, and to what even you can tell is a shit wrapping job from Lucas, you wonder what you place is here, right now. 

You take a particularly long drag from the one cigarette you were able to convince Robin to let you have. You’d agreed, if only verbally, not to get involved with any of the fighting. And that had been after you’d tried to argue with both Eddie and Dustin that acting as a decoy was a stupid idea. Stupid, dangerous, reckless, pick a descriptor. 

Roughhousing catches your eye, and you hear Dustin shriek about wedgies. You take another drag and hop off the steps. 

“Where’re you going?” Steve pipes up, making Robin turn around almost owlishly to be able to see you. 

“Something on my mind,” you say vaguely, waving Eddie down when he eventually looks at you. “DnD nerd shit I gotta run by him.”

“Ugh, have fun,” Steve says with a shudder, turning his focus back on the bottles in front of him and waving at Robin to pay attention. 

“I’ve got a bad feeling about this, Ed,” you say, once you’ve got him to follow you to the other side of the trailer. You keep walking a bit, though it’s more of a nervous pacing. “There’s no way this is going to be an ambush.” 

“You’re thinking about it too much man,” Eddie replies easily, hands in his pockets and slightly out of breath. “It’ll be fine.There’s no way he’ll see us coming.” 

“That’s the thing,” you say, a bit too loudly, rounding on him. You look around quickly before walking up to him and leaning over, clearing your throat and quieting your voice. “Did they tell you what happened with the mind flayer before? Two year ago?” 

Eddie frowns and shakes his head. “They mentioned something about one of their friends being like, possessed or something, but they didn’t really… explain anything.”

“Right, Will was possessed,” you reiterate, grabbing at Eddie’s upper arm. “By the mind flayer. Whatever Will could see and whatever Will knew, the mind flayer knew, too. That’s how—” You cut yourself off before you can mention Billy. Not my story to tell, you think bitterly. “That’s how all of them almost got caught. Will was leading the demodogs right to them. If El hadn’t come back in time they would’ve been screwed.” 

Eddie doesn’t speak, looks off in the distance. Slowly, he reached up to grab the hand at his upper arm to pry it off, but doesn’t let it go. 

“What are you trying to say?” 

“Max is cursed, Ed,” you whisper, balling your hand into a fist in his. “She’s cursed, and just last night he took a joy ride in Nancy’s head. I’m pretty sure he’s well out of mine, but can we really be sure that there isn’t some kind of—a fragment of him, in either of them?” 

You can see Eddie twisting his tongue in his mouth, clenching his jaw. It’s a possibility that makes for a very grim reality; one where nothing you do matters because there isn’t a way for you to keep anything secret. There’s no way anyone is going to want to exclude Nancy from what’s going on. Nancy wouldn’t want to be excluded, if the ferocious expression she had earlier was anything to go by. 

And Max…

When Eddie turns back to look at you, there’s something a little wild in his eyes. Different from last time. He looks… not feral, like this, with his hair all out of sorts and his knuckles bloodied and bruised. No, he just looks dangerous. You bite the inside of your cheek when you realize that maybe this is what everyone in Hawkins was seeing all along. Ridiculous to be scared of this Eddie; everything about him right now is about protecting people. 

Not an ounce of malice. 

“You got a backup plan then?” 

You take a deep breath and shake your head. “I haven’t been able to come up with something that makes sense, yet, no.” 

Eddie lets out a breath that’s almost a sigh and finally lets go of your hand. He lets himself fall down onto the grass to sit, cross legged, and gestures at the ground next to him for you to follow. You sit directly in front of him, hands on your knees, drumming your fingers on them. 

“What do we have so far?” Eddie asks. 

“We’re working under the assumption that Henry’s a lich,” you start, looking down at your hands to count on your fingers. “We know he’s a psychic kid, like Eleven. Nancy mentioned that he said something about keeping everyone he kills up in his head. Is power absorption even a thing?” 

“In ADnD? Sure,” Eddie answers, leaning back on his hands and looking up at the clouds. “There’s ways to take someone else’s abilities, so I guess it’s not impossible for him to have yanked the other kids’ abilities from them.”

You stay quiet for a moment. Max had also mentioned that Henry’s, his… whatever weird mind palace he has going on had the bodies of the three teens he’d killed all strung up. You can’t help but wonder if maybe the other people he’s killed are somewhere in that psychic sanctuary, too. You shake the thought out of your head and continue. 

“Right, okay. So he’s yanked abilities from kids before. He’s psychic, and somehow being shoved into the Upside Down turned him into a lich.”

“Or being in there long enough turned him into one.”

“Shit,” you mutter, bringing a hand to your mouth and frowning. “No, you’re right. Steve was choking on something when we got to your trailer in the Upside Down and I remember dreaming about them being in the tunnels. And Will…” You growl and wave your hand in front of you. “Doesn’t matter, point is that he’s acting like a lich so we should probably treat him like one. I’m still worried about the phylactery.” 

“When you were with Nancy, in there,” Eddie starts slowly, and he has the impression of someone who’s trying to describe a picture while he’s still putting the puzzle together. “When Vecna got in her head, you like, froze when you touched her. Did you, y’know?” He motions vaguely at his eyes and you snap your fingers at him. 

“Yeah, yeah! I did! I saw some of that!” you exclaim, slapping your knee excitedly. “Okay, okay wait. So I saw the house, and saw the spiders. Fucking hate the spiders,” you mutter under your breath, screwing your eyes shut and trying to recall more. “There’s… this weird shrine in the attic, for the spiders. There’s something—I know there’s something else there besides the jars but I can’t—it’s too, I don’t know. It was too out of focus, I can’t remember what it was.” 

You let the end of your sentence trail off and start tracing patterns in the grass. “If he has a phylactery, and I’m pretty sure he does because everything else is Dungeons and Dragons related, I’m pretty sure it’s got something to do with that shrine.” 

Eddie nods and frowns. “He goes up there when he hunts people, right? It would make sense if he kept it close to him there.”

“But here,” you say, putting your hand out in front of you and pointing at the back of your hand. “Or there?” You flip your hand over and point at the palm. 

Eddie looks enthralled until something seems to click in his brain. He leans back from where he had, at some point, gotten very invested in the conversation and leaned into you. You lean back, in turn, frowning at him. He shakes a pointed finger at you at squints. 

“You’re going somewhere with this and I don’t like it.”

“Yeah well I don’t like the idea of you attracting a swarm of bats with fucking Metallica but here we are, aren’t we.” You slap his hand away and lean back in. “Look, if you can find a way to get me that disgusting ‘double the caffeine’ soda, like as many as you can.” 

“I’m pretty sure dying of a caffeine-induced heart attack is the opposite of helpful, y’know.” 

You can’t help the bark of laughter that escapes you. “No! God, no, look. Doing the plane shifting shit is draining, right?” He nods. “Right. So I just figure—”

“No, nuh uh, that’s a shit idea,” Eddie cuts you off, crossing his arms. “There’s a reason you pass out when you do it too much. Your body can’t handle it.” 

“When I’m starved, sleep deprived and freaked out of my mind, sure!” You exclaim, throwing your hands up. You clear your throat before lowering your voice again. “Look, it’s a—not a theory, fuck, uh. It’s a hypothesis, okay? We don’t have time to test it, I just have to trust that it’s gonna work.” 

“And what exactly is your backup plan?” 

“While you’re distracting the bats with Dustin and not getting yourselves killed,” you start, placing your hands back on your knees. “And while the other bozos are busy trying to blast Vecna back to whatever hellscape he crawled out of, I go looking for the spider shrine here and torch it.” You pause, and hold your hand up when Eddie opens his mouth to speak. “And if it’s not here, I’ll just plane shift and get it in the Upside Down.” 

“M’hm, cool, there’s a problem with that though,” Eddie says, and flaps his hands at you to quiet down before he continues. “No, shush. Vecna’s gonna be in that attic when you go there. And then there’s Max.”

‘Let’s use me as bait’ Max. ‘It won’t matter if it goes wrong if it’s me’ Max. You swear under your breath and bite down on your lip. Vecna being in the same room you don’t really care about; provided that Sanctuary actually worked, there’s not much he can do to you. 

Once he’s in Max’s head though, you can’t control that.

“Not on my own,” you whisper, and when Eddie asks you to repeat yourself, you feel your face splitting with a grin. “I can’t do it on my own, I mean—look, no one’s gonna be able to convince Max not to be the bait. She’s cursed, that’s how it is, and we don’t know whether or not Vecna’s looking through her head. But once he’s in there,” you pause, standing up and starting to pace. “Once he’s hunting her, she said something about hiding in her own head, right? Like, in a happy memory or something. I’m gonna be honest with you, I don’t think that’s going to work.” 

“And you have the face of someone who somehow managed to come up with an even worse idea,” Eddie says, slowly pushing himself to stand up on his feet. 

“Right, okay, first of all, fuck you,” you spit, crossing your arms as you pace. “Okay, so scrap the idea of looking for the phylactery. For now. Eleven knows what’s going on, and I already ended up in that weird In Between place with her, right? So once Vecna starts hunting her I can just—”

Both you and your thoughts are interrupted when Eddie stalks over and grabs you by the shoulders. 

“Hey, stop for a second,” he says, quietly, to a point where it’s got you a bit concerned. “Look, I get—I don’t understand what it’s been like for you for the past three years, okay? But you have to stop for a second.” One hand goes to grab one of your wrists to pull your hand up into view. You frown at Eddie and look at your hand when he nods at it. 

You’re shaking like a leaf. 

“You’re trying to throw yourself at way too many problems.”

“I can’t do nothing—”

“And I’m not telling you to do nothing,” Eddie says, letting your hand fall in favour of cupping your jaw with both hands. “I’m telling you to use that giant brain of yours wisely. You don’t need to go looking for soulbound artifacts or fighting psychic wars,” he continues, a thumb coming up to rub at your cheek.

“What else am I supposed to do, Ed?” You whisper, bringing your hands up to grab at his forearms. His hands don’t move. “I-I’ve been having these nightmares for years, and all of a sudden I can—I can do all these things, and I just, I have to do something.” 

“And you can,” Eddie reassures you, and when he rests his forehead against yours, you can just barely feel his breath fanning over your cheeks. “Just, just stick with m—us, just stick with us.”

“And what, bail you out?” you huff, and Eddie snorts. 

“Yeah, yeah just be our getaway driver. Best one out there. You ever heard of a getaway driver that can dimension hop?”

You laugh quietly and shake your head. You don’t risk opening your eyes yet. 

“Yeah, no, not so much.” You breathe, clear your throat and lean your head back away from Eddie, “Okay. Yeah, I’ll stay with you and Dustin. Second anything goes south I’m getting us all out of there.” 

“Sounds good to me.” You get a finger pat on the cheek before you put a finger up. 

“I’m still gonna need that gross soda if I’m gonna survive shifting like, three people though.”

𝓣𝓪𝓰𝓵𝓲𝓼𝓽

@storiesbyrhi @anothermunsonsimp @alovesongshewrote @doratheignora

please let me know if you'd like to be tagged for future chapters!

#eddie munson #stranger things #eddie munson x reader #fanfiction #fanfic #eddie munson fanfic #eddie munson fanfiction #stranger things fanfic #stranger things fanfiction #eddie munson x you #slow burn #friends to lovers #but it's really #friends to strangers to friends to lovers #fix it fic #steve harrington #robin buckley #nancy wheeler #lucas sinclair #erica sinclair #dustin henderson #mention of billy hargrove #mention of eleven #ravenloft #i'm too out of my mind to think of the other tags my dude

[seaside-lovers]

🐙 The Emperor & Kate 🐯

Ship name/tag: 🐙 intertwined

Anniversary: March 17, 2024

F/O source: Baldur's Gate 3

My backstory: Being orphaned at a young age, I ended up being adopted and raised by a couple living in a small town. Unbeknownst to my parents who (unfortunately) were lycanthrope hunters, I had inherited this trait from one of my parents and gained the ability to turn into a weretiger in my teen years, being able to switch from a regular looking tiger to a humanoid looking tiger to my normal human look.

This leads to a crossroads where my parents don't want to leave me on my own; however, I risk being hunted if I am found out. Unfortunately, during a transformation, I am found by a fellow lycanthrope hunter and chased out of the village after they fail to kill me. I end up traveling my way to Baldur's Gate, hoping to start a better life there.

On my way there, I meet a witch who offers me shelter for the night. Her intentions are not the best, however; she can sense my lycanthrope form and wishes to turn me into a personal guard, using my humanoid weretiger form. She curses me, causing me to be stuck in my weretiger form permanently; I manage to escape and find myself unable to approach others without being attacked or causing them to run.

I finally make it to Baldur's Gate and spend a lot of time outside the city in the forest, setting up a shack and only going out at night to hunt. Thankfully, the local people finally get used to me and know I'm not a threat, so I can wander the town more freely, though I'm still cautious to not scare anyone or get myself killed.

How we meet: I happen to stumble across Emperor's old room; figuring since no one has been in this around for a long time, I decided to pocket some of the items when it confronts me, protecting its keepsakes.

First impressions: OH NO MIND FLAYER. A mind flayer suddenly appearing in front of me and telling me off for stealing its things sends me crashing onto the floor, scrambling to get away (and dropping its things in the chaos). I scurry out of the room and back into the secret passageway before seeing it approach me, gesturing me closer. It introduces itself and apologizes for startling me, explaining that this is its former home and it does not want its keepsakes getting taken.

I'm interested in the Emperor when I first meet it. I had sworn off romance by that point though I found myself attracted to it with its voice and demeanor being very interesting.

Getting closer: At this point, the story has started, and the Emperor spends a lot of time with the party, so I don't get to see it as much. However, it shows me how to access the Astral Plane so we can meet one another. We begin to talk during our time together, sharing our lives and interests. Discovering we both went through extreme alterations of our appearance and came to accept it, we bond over this shared experience.

Beginning our relationship: We get closer and I realize that I am starting to fall in love with it. This is stressful as I had sworn off romance long ago, assuming I wouldn't find love with my appearance... but The Emperor admits to me that it has also developed feelings for me. We never have a point where we declare ourselves a couple; it just sort of happens and we fall into a "relationship" without ever making it an official thing.

At this point in the game's story, The Emperor reveals itself to the party and encourages me to meet them so I can assist them and also spend more time with The Emperor. This leads to an awkward meeting where I basically tell the party that someone told me about their mission and I just wanted to see if I could help, no other intentions at all, of course not...

While I keep our relationship secret as best as I can, the romance scene happens between us and accidentally reveals our relationship to the party... whoops! Thankfully they don't really care too much about it though they avoid talking about it wherever possible.

Post-story, I return to my home in the woods, being able to visit Emperor more often now that it is not occupied with ending the cult.

Ship trope(s): None ATM

Aesthetics: None ATM

Our song(s): None ATM

Favorite forms of affection: Physical affection for both of us! We love to cuddle and just be close physically. Emp also likes spending time with me; it's nice to hang out and do something together without feeling the need to have a conversation.

Favorite kind of date: Just spending time together, especially in the Astral Plane where we can be alone, is our favorite kind of date.

Ways we comfort one another: Bringing each other down by talking through it helps us both comfort one another a lot. Just helping the other be realistic about a situation and not freak out/blow up over something, talking about it instead and mulling over solutions, helps bring both of us comfort. We care enough about one another to help solve each other's problems and that is a very comforting feeling.

What we love most about each other: I love Emperor's honesty. It can be brutally honest but it won't lie to me and I appreciate that greatly.

The Emperor appreciates my openess. I don't like to judge people immediately based on first impressions; I prefer to get to know someone and judge them based on their actions. It loves that about me as many people tend to assume it doesn't feeling anything since it is a mind flayer.

#🐙 intertwined #🐙 ship info #self ship #ficto #ship info #waves.txt

[kiss-my-freckle]

You're recent gif sets are brilliant. Such attention to detail. I'm just looking at the "I was worried about you..." How Elena walks towards Damon when she says this and how he reacts. He totally could have kissed her there. I think the swirling music takes away from some moments, so gifs are great.

So much fun!

I know you try to explain to fans, but I'm still on the fence that Stefan pushed Delena. His absence made it faster, yes? And no? He told her in Chicago that part of him was gone. I don't think he planned on coming back and being in love with her again. Yet he punches Damon (3x12) for kissing her (3x10)??

Can't wait to hear your thoughts on the books. I was not a fan. It's not just the writing, which is very YA unlike Twilight, it's the story. The only time in my reading history where the show was so, so much better than the books.

Well, Stefan's first technical push was leaving town with Klaus when he didn't have to. Damon was already cured, so it would've been easy to break their deal just like Elena did with Elijah. Stefan wasn't terrified of Klaus hurting him, he was terrifed of Klaus hurting Elena. His choice to leave town with Klaus and his refusal to come home when she begged him to was a straight-up denial of Elena's choice in the matter. What I'm saying is... this was one of those times when Stefan refused to respect Elena's choice. It didn't matter if she wanted to fight Klaus together or not, he wasn't allowing her to be part of it. She was supposed to die in Klaus' ritual, and he refused to risk Klaus trying to kill her for real.

Stefan's second push was killing Andie. He knew exactly what he was doing as he knew she was Damon's distraction from Elena. He didn't want Damon to be distracted anymore. He beileved that if Damon had Elena, he wouldn't bother trying to save him. It's the whole idea of giving Damon something to hold onto for the sake of letting him go. Stefan actuallly believed Elena could replace him.

Stefan's third push was telling Damon to take Elena home and keep her there. It was his way of not only giving Damon permission, but actually telling him to keep Elena company. It's one thing for Stefan to tell him to take her home. Quite another for Stefan to tell him to keep her there. Keeping her there requires keeping her company. Thus, Stefan's parallel to Katherine in 2x22.

Stefan was intent on being gone for good. Elena's survival was the entire reason he left town with Klaus. Even Damon was smart enough to know that Klaus shouldn't know she survived the ritual. He knew even before Stefan told him because they both knew she was supposed to die and she didn't.

Damon could've kissed her in 3x2, my 3x3 post will explain why he didn't as things tend to carry over from episode to episode. Stefan's absence made Delena faster, yes. That's why Katherine warned Stefan when they were stuck in the tomb together in season 2. She knows them better than they think she does.

Stefan had every intention of staying gone for good. However, when Klaus forcefully brings him back home, he feels he can pick up where he left off with Elena despite pushing Delena together. That's why he punches Damon in 3x12. Although I'd say the punch has less to do with Damon and more to do with Elena. He's bitter because she kissed Damon back, and he can't exactly punch her for it. As angry as Stefan is, he's just as much to blame for it. His quick return home isn't sudden entitlement, even if that's what he believes. Sometimes there is no picking up where you left off... which is the point.

[use-your-imagination98]

I'm gonna defend my fave for a second. I don't think Laura is purposefully ignoring Spencer's feelings on Nik. IMO, I think she believes that because Spencer is the one kid she did raise, he would be more like her: more forgiving of trash behavior. Is that right? HELL FUCKING NO. But I don't think she purposefully ignores him being angry and hurt by Nik. She has been his rock since basically day one. The writing sucks, but as a fan of both characters, I don't think Laura's intentions were to ignore his feelings. She never did. I just chop it up to plot point writing.

Secondly, when he was talking about his trip with Trina in front of Ebola, Laura and Kevin said that it was nice and were happy for him. What else should they have said? Should they have thrown him a party? Baked him a cake? Ebola is a flight risk. They want that baby near them and they know she is NUTS especially when Spencer talks about Trina in front of her. It's not that they feel bad for Ebola, just they are fucking scared she'll go nuts again and take Chunk.

Also, for those who say Laura should drop Nikolas for being a trash father... if she did, would you then say she's a bad mom for abandoning him and trying to bring him home to his kids? Because all my girl is trying to do is redeem herself from abandoning him 40ish years ago. She can't help it. And yet again, it's lazy writing because they aren't ready to bring back Nik full time, so she's stuck saying "oh he'll come around" because that's how they keep the "intrigue" regarding Nik alive. STUPID, STUPID, writing.

#general hospital #gh #laura collins #laura webber #kevin collins #spencer cassadine #esme prince #Laura needs better writing #and a life outside the Spencer/esme/ace trash #I got to defend my fave

[charcolor]

🖊 camille :)

thank you lovely kisses for You 💕💖💕💖

camille deblanc is fr*nch so kira and diana make fun of her for it. but not when she's in earshot because she has a venomous demon tail

camille's venom isn't actually lethal, usually. kira and diana don't have a way of knowing this but the lethality of camille's venom basically depends on her emotion and intent. if she stings you by accident then the worst that'll happen is like, you'll be kinda sore for a day. like when you get a flu shot. but if she has murderous intent you'll die pretty much instantly. fortunately she doesn't want to kill people very often.

her demon tail/wings/horns are from being basically a mutated prasedus. she's a magical girl like kira and diana, but she doesn't have as much magic energy, and she's stuck in her magical girl form. fortunately she looked more human when she was born (aside from her hands and feet. the most noticeable aspect of a prasedus is they have no pinky fingers or pinky toes) but once her visible prasedus attributes started growing in her parents were like. Euh ? Sacrebleu ! (i don't think french people actually say sacrebleu.) they tried asking doctors about it but eventually camille got so much anxiety over being a medical study that she ran away from home.

she met a human named ashwini while living on her own. (i haven't currently developed her much. side note i JUST realized it's pronounced ush-wee-nee? for some reason i thought the W was pronounced like a V. i'm so sorry girls named ashwini. anyway ashwini is an independent scientist) ashwini had been traveling abroad in europe, and for my own story purposes i'm making it easier for camille to leave france and go to live in rhode island. (my stories usually take place either in rhode island or nearby it cuz. yknow.) camille trusted ashwini because she didn't treat her like an anomaly, and just wanted to offer camille a safe place to survive, and maybe also work on projects to help make camille's life easier. over a decade or so they grew close and started dating and eventually got engaged.

ashwini worked on experiments to try to alleviate negative emotions. she made experimental medicines and tested them on herself, because she didn't want to risk hurting anyone with them. she made one medicine to attempt to simulate a utopian experience, her theory being that it'd help enlighten people into being better and lessen all the evils in the world. sorry if that doesn't make sense it was a bad idea. now she's in a coma. due to an overdose of this medicine and an excess of serotonin and dopamine, she is conscious on some level sometimes, but is trapped in severe hallucinations and can barely move. fortunately camille is able to take care of her and make sure she doesn't become mobile enough to hurt herself.

camille's mindset following this was that the search for a utopia is useless and will only harm people, her point of view being that evil has to exist, because without it it'll give way to even worse evils. so once she learned about kira and diana she's basically existed to oppose them. kira and diana are high schoolers so they don't understand this, they think camille is just an evil villain living in an abandoned laboratory for the sake of being an evil villain living in an abandoned laboratory. camille doesn't want to hurt them though, she just wants them to stop being so foolishly optimistic. (they're not though. neither side really understands the other.)

despite camille valuing her pessimism she still believes that ashwini will recover.

sorry if this sounds like poorly thrown together bullshit this is not a developed story. i've just got pieces. and characters

#drugs tw #fictional drugs but. jic #aimee's ocs #camille deblanc

[le-amazing-az]

Top surgery: *exists*

Me:

#but also #what money? #i have none #i'm not even out to my parents #i wish i were #maybe sometime this year #but not today #i'm stuck at home with them and i have no intention of risking it #trans pride #trans #nonbinary

[yanderecandystore]

I can request an order from Yandere M! Beldam with F! Reader. Where the reader and her friends go to live at the Pink Palace. (Coraline film)

I'm so sorry for making you wait, and for accidentally erasing the oneshot-

I had issues with this one. Not because of your request boo, but because of how I kept thinking about quantity over quality. I've made over 3,000 words worth of pure meaningless garbage- It felt so forced that I tried to redo it again.

Btw: THIS IS A REALLY LONG FANFIC AND ITS KINDA BAD, READ AT YOUR OWN RISK-

7,550 words, yes I'm really proud of it- Absolutely ✨stunning✨

TW/Tags: fake friends // reader is high-key touch/friendship starved // identity theft (I mean- It kinda is??) // kinda edgy maybe // based on Coraline movie yet neither of the characters are from the canon- // guess who is sad because of her fucked up :D ME! // Not accurate to the movie, but hey, it happens ;D // awkwardness galore! (Awkward social situations) // if you think any nicknames are intentional, is because they are 👀

Chapters:

(Chp. 1) (Chp. 2) (Chp.3)

🍭꒰⑅ᵕ༚ᵕ꒱˖♡🍮꒰⑅ᵕ༚ᵕ꒱˖♡🍰꒰⑅ᵕ༚ᵕ꒱˖♡🍮꒰⑅ᵕ༚ᵕ꒱˖🍭

Stitched together [Yandere!Coraline OC(?) X F!Reader - Fanfiction]:

You have been stuck in this car without being able to say a word for about three hours now. Vivian didn't want to admit she got lost in the fog, and Dominick wouldn't stop making fun of her for getting us all lost.

Richard has been pretty silent too. He didn't like the constant fighting and passive aggressive comments Dom and Vivi would make towards each other, yet he prefered to not be a bother and keep himself quiet while listening to music. Always the silent type.

And you? You were mentally cursing at yourself for forgetting to charge your phone so you could ignore the yelling and feel less bored throughout the trip.

After a few bumpy roads and a few hills that caused Vivian's car to have a hard time going up through, you guys finally got to the Pink Palace. Finally! After so long! Finally you can stretch your legs.

You four were in search of a new place to call home, a place that was "closer" to the local university so you and your group could have an easier time during the semesters, and you've decided that the Pink Palace Apartments would be the best (cheapest) option for four college students having to pay rent by themselves.

Even if the place was weird, old and creepy, it was the best option that you had found- Or more accurately, that Vivian had found. She was the one that decided to form this group in the first place, even if deep down, you four didn't know much about each other. Now you're all roommates and sharing a creepy house that probably needs lots and lots of repairs to be done.

You were feeling a bit awkward about this situation, to be completely honest, you were the odd one here, you're the one who doesn't have strong connections with the others. You met Vivian a couple of months ago, but it was by mere pure coincidence that you two had a couple of things in common, and even if it's really, really few things that made you two be able to form this friendship with one another, Vivian still called you over to be her roommate.

You knew why she called you, she called you because she needed one more person to be able to help her and her friends out with the rent. Yes, she did like you and considered you a friend, but not that close of a friend- She didn't know you that well, and honestly you also didn't know much about her either. You still appreciate that she offered you to come with her, since you were also looking for roommates to help financially.

You're at least glad it's Vivian who called you, and not a random person that you would have to call a roommate despite not knowing them well enough. Maybe you and Vivi will be able to get to know each other more now that you'll be living together.

But her other two friends? Well...

Richard was basically a brother of another mother to Vivian, of course he would come with her, but- Well, you don't know much about Richard. He seems like a cool and honestly pretty generous guy, yet he prefers to use few words instead of engaging in deep conversations with people. You wouldn't mind getting to know him more, but you're afraid you won't be able to find topics you two share the same view on.

And Dominick, oh Dominick! How time has sculpted you into a handsome man. While you have to deal with the sudden butt-cheek acne appearing from time to time, Dom seems to have gone through a heavy glow up ever since you last saw him.

Dom and you used to be childhood friends ever since kindergarten, but at the age of ten- Well, you were ten, Dom was twelve at the time- At the age of ten, you two had grown apart from one another. You had to change your school, change your neighborhood, change your friend group- Which ended up making you two distance yourself immensely.

You didn't really want this gap to form, this long distance between you two- Not only physically, but emotionally as well- But you never got time to tell him that you were moving, that you'll be away for a long time. You never got the chance to explain to him how your parents wanted to move out of the state you two lived in, and that changing neighborhoods was better than changing states entirely- You never got the chance to say goodbye, and that's what hurt Dom the most.

You just suddenly vanished, you couldn't communicate to each other by the phone or through the internet at the time. So you literally just disappeared without a trace.

Well, almost without a trace, his parents knew that your family was moving out, yet they didn't tell him because they thought he already knew about it. A couple of years later you two would be able to see each other briefly at a distance, it was so weird seeing each other change so much and still wonder "is that really the person I used to know?".

You wanted to talk to him, to apologise and try to get your friendship to be reborn- But you never got the chance to, you were too busy to be able to make time to talk with him.

Not only were you busy, but you also felt awkward about coming to his house and suddenly saying "hi! Remember when I just ghosted you for 12 years because my family kept travelling and changing homes? Can we forget about it and be friends again :D?". You never talked to him because you felt awkward about it, you felt too nervous about talking with him again, especially after you travelled so much- Each time you considered contacting him, you felt like a hopeless cause, and you created an endless cycle where you felt bad for taking so long to talk with him, but you also felt too awkward to talk with again.

Here you are [Y/N], in the same house as your ex childhood best friend- It's now or never that you'll be able to talk with him, and to be fair, if you keep delaying it, it'll only become more and more awkward!

"- So- Let's start by dividing tasks! We'll have to clean the entire house and also place our stuff in our rooms, so let's start this already!" Vivian yelled to call everyone's attention, trying to hype everyone to clean the house. She was just as tired from the trip as anyone else, yet it was better to start working earlier on than to let tasks start to pile on top of each other.

You four decided that it would be better to work in pairs, and to keep it from being agonizing- You all decided that everyone would occasionally switch pairs and work in the next area so that the cleaning would end much more faster.

It's been a long journey to get here, but luckily cleaning the house wasn't as annoying as it seemed. Sure, it has been time consuming but you had fun messing around with Vivian and making a couple of jokes with Richard.

Right now you were cleaning the last room in the house, the one you and Vivian would be sleeping in. And of course, you weren't doing this alone, and for your discomfort it was no one other than Dominick himself who was paired up to clean this room with you.

You two have been in dead silence ever since entering this room, and you were almost done unpacking your stuff when you decided that this was starting to get ridiculous. You needed to confront him now or never, [Y/N].

"- Dominick?" You half whispered, feeling extremely tensed and afraid of his reaction, but why?? There is literally no reason for you to fear him, this is just a conversation between adults.

For your miserable luck, Dom has not heard you talking, he was too busy taking care of the other boxes to be able to listen to your half-hearted whisper of his name.

"- D-Dominick?" You tried again, sadly this time your voice broke. The tension in this room felt so heavy, you now realized why you feel so afraid of him- Or more accurately, of his reaction-

Because you were afraid he would be mad at you and call you out for ghosting him for so long.

Dom turned around, looking over his shoulder with an emotionless stare. There was nothing like anger, or sadness, or happiness in his eyes, but there was a hint of confusion in his brow- As if he wasn't sure if what he heard was correct. The look on your face seems to confirm his suspicion though.

"- Yes?" He sighed as he put the box down and started to get himself comfortable- Turning around and crossing his arms as he laid against the dresser. You know when you're a kid and you go to talk with your dad about something you did? To tell him the truth about something he was already aware of, but he is more disappointed about you hiding it from him than about you actually doing something wrong? His whole body language reminded of that.

That was so specific now that you think about it, damn, your dad used to do that all the time-

"- Can we talk? Just for a bit?" You asked shyly, already admitting that what you did was wrong and kinda awful to your childhood friend.

He blinked twice, still holding an emotionless stare. He ended up shaking his head and softening his expression, curious of what you were going to say.

"- Sure, go for it." Dominick said as he continued to look into your eyes- Or at least tried to since you kept averting your gaze from his handsome features and attentive gaze. It's been such a long time since you've been able to be face-to-face with him, the frail little boy you used to know was now a massive man with little to no shame about showing his strong arms-

You could go on and on about how incomprehensibly dreaming he is, but this is no time to be distracted- This is serious, [Y/N]!

"- Well firstly- I'm sorry! I-I'm really sorry!" You bowed your head spitting hundreds upon hundreds of apologies in his face. Even after so many years have passed you still wanted to be his friend, you still wanted to keep contact with him, yet you just- You just couldn't! This feels agonizing and the fact his face isn't changing at all is making you freak out even more.

"- I should have talked with you when I got the chance, I-I really should have- I just felt like the longer it passed the awkward it would be, but I never wanted to cut ties with you so I kept delaying it and-" You were going on with your pathetic excuses when Dom decided to interrupt you.

"- [Y/N]." He spoke, softly yet somewhat coldly. His rough voice made you shiver, and although you felt more relaxed by telling him what happened, you still felt the tension in the air grow as Dominick thought about his choice of words.

"- I'm not, well, mad at you- I was never mad that you had moved to a different place-" He said while being completely honest, which caused you to sigh alleviated as a response- As you were glad that he wasn't mad at you, however, you haven't let him finish.

"- I was sad of course, that my best friend suddenly moved away, without ever telling me where or even saying goodbye-" He continued, this time filled with irony as to poke fun at the situation, although clearly still a bit wounded by it.

"- And to be completely honest with you, knowing the reason why you haven't talked to me for about twelve years is both liberating and disappointing." Dom finished, looking at you with an expression you couldn't really name. You felt the guilt eating you from inside out as you looked at his somewhat brokenhearted movements. The pressure of his own heart was making him exhausted.

"- But you know what, [Y/N]? I'm genuinely not mad at you, I'm not even sad anymore. It's a bit disappointing to discover that the reason you tried to avoid me was because you were feeling embarrassed-"

"- I-I didn't want to!-" You interrupt without thinking twice, feeling both embarrassed and insulted for being called out like this.

"- But it's understandable, you know that right?" He looked back at you, showing a half-hearted smile. He really did understand why you did what you did, it's a common mistake to let your insecurities dictate your actions, it was normal for anyone to feel like this would be a really awkward situation and that it would be better to just forget it and move on.

Neither you or Dominick have ever considered that possibility, though.

You couldn't bear to look at him in the eyes, you felt so- Awful! You just looked to the ground feeling annoyed about how this could all have been avoided if you talked with him earlier on. You feel ashamed for never taking enough courage to contact him again.

You stayed silent, not really sure about what to say next. Some seconds passed before Dominick decided to say something.

"- You used to be really short." Dom's voice was kinda… Sad. Gentle, but sad.

"- Y-You too?" You said laughing at your own embarrassment, you started to remember a couple of your precious memories when you were young. They were all very faint, shaky, blurry, but those memories were so precious to you.

"- I appreciate that you have decided to talk to me, hopefully it'll make our living experience less awkward?" Dominick said in a tone you assumed to be amusement. He wanted to make you feel less sad about this, less embarrassed.

"- It's been a long time ago, I honestly didn't expect you to remember me at all…." He said while getting up from the dresser and picking the box again.

"- …. Well, can- Can we be friends again?" You asked, while offering your hand to shake his. You considered offering him a hug but because it has been so long, this probably wouldn't end well.

"- …. You know, maybe you should have forgotten about me." Dominick said, turning head towards you as he picked the box and placed it under his left arm.

You were confused by his comment and even more confused about his expression. He was serious yet sad, but not enough to be described into a coherent emotion.

"- Listen, we haven't talked for twelve years ever since we were kids, I honestly was hoping you would have forgotten about it and just moved on. I wish I could have, but I kept feeling like it was my fault for you going away." Dominick said, fully honest again. He was so tired of this drama, it made him feel so sick to imagine that the only thing stopping you from talking with him was just- Embarrassment.

"- When Vivi told me you were coming with us, I was almost going to reject her offer because I thought we would end up arguing or fighting about it- Yet I still accepted it because well, Vivian is my friend and like I said I hoped you wouldn't remember me."

"- Listen [Y/N], I'm genuinely thankful that you decided to explain what happened to me, and although I don't feel any resentment towards you- I just don't want to be your friend anymore. We are completely different people now and I doubt we have anything to talk about- It's just- I would like to be a lot of things, [Y/N]." Dominick said while coming closer to your shaken form and putting his hand in your shoulder, before he could continue.

"- But being your friend is the last thing I would ever want to be, especially now. It's not easy being in the same place as you, or talking with you like nothing happened, but for the sake of our coexistence inside the house and for the sake of the others, let's just not talk about it."

"- I would prefer to keep my distance from you, I'm sorry for being so harsh but I hope you can understand where I'm coming from."

Dominick finished his speech as he bypassed you to reach the room's door. He walked out unceremoniously as you were standing there, trying to process all that he told you- Trying to comprehend what was hidden in his expression.

He was so straightforward it physically hurt you. You were hopeful that you would be able to talk to him and be friends again, to just start anew, and recap all that has happened between these twelve years.

But then again, that was only a foolish wish, you should have expected this outcome.

Of course he wouldn't want to be your friend, it has been so long that you two were probably completely different people now.

Well, almost completely different, as Dominick has found your attempt of regaining his friendship somewhat childish. Really stupid, [Y/N].

Now, you weren't one to cry about spilled milk- But today you felt so, well, vulnerable. You didn't expect him to be so honest about it, but you couldn't lie that indeed- He had a point.

You decided to give yourself a moment before heading downstairs, if there was any tear to spill, you would prefer it to fall down now than in front of the others.

After a couple of minutes of you unpacking your stuff you decided to finally head downstairs to the living room- And what you heard was all of your roommates hanging out and laughing, you felt like it would be good to get down there and join the conversation.

But as soon as you came into their vision, the laughter that was presently there started to fade slowly, Vivian seemed kinda glad you came over, yet no one really made any attempt to include you into the conversation. Not paying much attention to it, you decided to sit down and start making small talk, asking what they were doing right now.

You noticed that although Richard and Vivian were looking at you, Dominick was staring at the TV silently, yet you remembered that before you came along he was just as excited and talkative as the others. Still, you tried to ignore it, he was probably still thinking about what happened and maybe he wasn't ready to look at you in the eyes yet- You sure knew you couldn't look in his eyes right now, so maybe the feeling was mutual?

Vivian and Richard talked with you "normally", Vivian was the one to respond to the question as Richard just gave a bit more explanation about her answer.

"- Oh! Nothing really! We were just talking about Sam's party, right Rich?!" Vivian said excitedly as ever. You couldn't really match her energy at all, you almost wish you could know where all this energy comes from.

Sam… You feel like this name is a bit familiar, yet you can't really remember who this person may be. You assumed they were one of Vivian's friends, which thanks to Richard you got to confirm your suspicion.

"- One of our friends invited us over to their party, to "celebrate" us moving to our new house in a way-" Richard said, lazily, yet giving a welcoming smile towards you- His attention was soon stolen away once again by Vivian who sat next to him and decided to correct him.

"- Nah, Sam just likes finding excuses to throw parties- Remember when-'' Vivi went on about this Sam person and how they were kinda close- Probably closer than you two are- Who was Vivian's Party Friend™. Vivian and Richard started talking about past events involving this person, which by now you have learned that they're an old high school classmate of Vivian who was now Richard's classmate in college.

Richard and Vivian kept talking about this wild party animal and their adventures with Sam, while also including Dominick in the conversation here and there. Apparently they all knew this person, they were pretty good friends from what you can guess….. You feel… Oddly lonely hearing about these amazing things they all went through together.

Maybe you're just seeing things but- You feel kinda left out of the conversation, maybe you should try and get included again?

"- Sounds like Sam is a really cool person- Do you guys have known each other for awhile?" You asked Vivian, interrupting her from continuing one of her stories. You didn't want to be rude- Just- Not so awkwardly alone in a filled room.

"- Oh- Me and Sam go way back. I'm so happy that they live in the town nearby- It'll make it so much easier for us." Vivian answered you, although going back to her story with Richard.

"- Cool, when is the party actually?-" You couldn't finish asking before Vivian turned her head with a smile that reached ear to ear.

"- It 's today! Hmm…. Actually it's in two hours or so-" Vivian said excitedly, while also looking at the clock to guarantee she wasn't wrong. You could see Richard nod and when you looked around you noticed that Dominick wasn't looking at TV anymore, but was actually side eyeing you- He was curious.

You didn't really notice how shocked this revelation made you be when you left out a loud "what?" that made everyone look very confused.

"- … Hmm, you okay?-" Richard asked but his question was muffled by Vivian's louder and more outspoken voice.

"- What is it, [Y/N]? Is something wrong?" She asked while leaning her head to the side slightly, she was genuinely concerned something was wrong- As if you got hurt or something.

"- S-Sorry, I just- I didn't know there was a party today." You confessed, although to be fair- You were going to use other words to explain how ludicrous it sounds to have a party right on the day you guys move into town. You know that they were basically just going to see their friend, but come on, you at least expected them to warn you.

"- I just- Thought we were having movie night tonight, but it's alright!" To make matters a bit worse, Vivian had told you to bring some of your favorite movies with you because you guys were supposed to have a Movie Night tonight. But apparently she just completely forgot about it….

"- Vivi, did you not… Uhnm… Tell her about the party?" Richard asked Vivian shyly which caused her to have a visual shift in her thoughts, as her expression went from confused to panicked.

"- OH MY GOD I'M SO SORRY!!?!!? I'M SO SORRY [Y/N]! I totally forgot to tell you I'm so sorry!?!?" She started to sob, you knew Vivian was bad at remembering things but normally she never forgets about friend related events.

"- It's okay Vivian, don't worry about it." You tried comforting her. Hey, it was just a common mistake, it's normal. Maybe you could watch movies another night.

"- … Maybe a party wouldn't be so bad, should we get ready now? How long will it take for us to get there?" You asked, even though you weren't really mentally prepared to meet up a bunch of strangers, but hey! That's the best way to meet the locals!

You were expecting a response from, well, any of the three to be honest- Yet all you received was a look of surprise and… Embarrassment? Guilt?

After a moment of silence and a couple of shared glances between the three, Vivian spoke up.

"- You aren't coming with us, [Y/N]. Sorry, but Sam only invites people they know about, ya know?" Vivian said half-heartedly, she felt kinda guilty about saying that but not because you were getting excluded, but mostly because this whole situation was a bit embarrassing- If she had warned you earlier, neither of you would feel this- Awkward.

You couldn't lie that you felt kinda hurt about that. You understood that it wasn't her fault yet- Damn, this day feels so weird, you have been ignored for most of the day and had that moment with Dominick upstairs.

You couldn't lie that you were starting to feel really hurt and lonely in this place, despite the fact you were surrounded by your roommates.

Your "friends".

"- ….. Oh." It's all you could say after you realized how much time has passed between Vivian telling you the truth and you answering her.

"- I'm sorry, [Y/N]." She apologized once again, looking pitifully at you.

"- No! No, please, it's alright! I understand."

It 's okay. You understand. It was just a mistake. It happens. It's alright, [Y/N].

You kept telling yourself that as you continued to turn around in your bed, trying to sleep and forget about it.

It has been about three hours since they left, and it has been about three hours and a half that you've been trying to get your eyes shut and your mind relaxed. Were you feeling angry at them? Maybe- Were you feeling sad for being left out on your first day in this new house? Of course!

You didn't want to admit it but it was an inevitable truth! You physically felt this day going downhill the moment you woke up.

Jesus Christ have you been trying to not feel petty about it, but come on?! Who forgets to tell something like that to a friend?!-

Pfft- Yeah, "friend". You sometimes forget that you weren't exactly everyone's best buddy pal. Although you were really hoping to get to know them more, you kinda have a sour opinion about them already- And they probably have a bad impression about you too.

You managed to fall asleep and wake yourself up each time you closed your eyes. Your head was filled with thoughts and insecurities, you should know better than to cry over spilled milk, [Y/N].

It's just your first day, relax, try not to lose your head already.

…

You miss your home, your house, your family.

Before you could fall asleep once again, you heard noises coming from downstairs. You assumed it was just your roommates that could be back, yet after a while of rustling noises you started to think it was a thief- Making you instinctively jump out of bed, although quietly so that you could try and hear what was going on downstairs and prepare yourself for an fight with a house intruder or something-

But as you slowly opened your bedroom door to not cause any sounds you noticed a particular little fella munching on some cheese pieces that fell on the floor.

Firstly- You don't know how the fuck that cheese got there, you haven't eaten anything that would end up leaving cheese trails behind- You haven't eaten anything ever since you got here.

Although you did notice that the cheese trail made it's way into Dom's room though.

Secondly- Your rat companion although being kinda cute couldn't stay in this house, he needed to go. You wondered if the sounds you were hearing came from the rat, yet that wouldn't make any sense, why would he be all the way up here?

Then you realized- A rat infestation??? You knew the house was old and had a lot of stuff wrong with it- But rats???

While you were trying to think of a plan of action, the rat noticed your presence and went running away while still holding his little cheese piece, he ran down the stairs and you followed him without thinking twice about seeing where this little thief was hiding- And if there were more like him.

You ran downstairs following the little trickster, following him to the living room and seeing him squishy himself between a gap in the wall- The gap moved with ease letting him get inside the wall.

Although you felt like he could probably be deep inside the house, something in your gut told you to search for a way to open that wall, at least a little bit.

You noticed how there was a little door lock hole on the wall, and there was an interesting gap between this little box shape with the door lock and the rest of the wall- You instantly assumed to be a little door trapped underneath the wallpaper, maybe there was a tiny room with the rat in there?

You took a knife out of the kitchen and decided to follow the line that followed the door. You managed to cut it and open the door with ease, and when you did look inside you found-

You found…. A weird, tunnel inside. A colorful tunnel inside. It was so vibrant and magical, you felt yourself being called inside.

Inside the wonderful tunnel you saw the little rat making its way to the other side and entering the door that was at the very end.

Without thinking twice you followed the rat, crouching your way into the bouncy colorful goodness that the tunnel was.

To be completely honest- It was a bit uncomfortable, you were already too old to enter into small places like this one- But you still managed to crawl through to reach the other side, and what was waiting you in the other side of the door was-

"- Oh fuck off, you got to be kidding me." Was…. An exact copy of your living room?

Well, not exactly? It was inverted??

What the hell?? Why would anyone build a house with identical rooms? And how did you or Vivian miss this place?

It was cleaned and well kept, so you assumed maybe the boys had cleaned this area- Yet still, they would have warned about something like this before, right?

And… You had to get here by crawling to a tiny door that was unopened- Unless there is another way in here??

Your head was filled with so many thoughts, so many questions- But it all stopped when you heard humming sounds coming from the kitchen, and the delicious smell of an well-cooked meal!

You followed the sound and the smell and walked over to the kitchen, only to find the back of an already familiar individual.

"- Oh! S-Sorry Dominick, hmm- I didn't think you would be here-" You said sigh in relief that at least you weren't exactly alone.

He was busy cooking while humming a little song, you took a few steps closer and as you were about to ask him why was he here so late, Dominick had turned around giving you the brightest smile you haven't seen in ages.

While also giving you a small heart attack when you noticed the terrifying, black buttons sewed into his face in the place where his eyes were supposed to be.

"- [Y/N]! You're awake! It's so good to see you joining us for dinner. I was afraid you would sleep without eating anything." The person in front of you continued talking as casually as a close friend would. You felt scared enough to scream, yet he did have a point- You were starving and you didn't have enough energy to actually scream at the horrifying person in front of you.

"- W-Who are you? Where is everyone?" You were shaking and it was extremely visible, what were you supposed to do? Who or what is this person? Is this some kind of joke??

"- W-Well, I'm Do-Dominick. And you-u?-" He said, mocking your stuttering, if it wasn't for his uncanny smile and buttons you would have believed 100% he was Dominick just pulling a prank. The similarities in his overall appearance and voice and personality were making you feel more uncomfortable and startled than relaxed.

"- I'm joking, [Y/N]! You should have seen your face. I'm me, Dominick, duh- And the others are coming back very soon, I assume the party has ended by now." Dominick continued to focus on his cooking, the smell causing you to feel more and more hungry than terrified- But even if your mind wasn't working properly you still couldn't get over the fact something was clearly wrong.

"- I- I know you're not Dominick, Dom doesn't have… Bu- Bu-" You took a couple of careful steps closer to "Dominick", who was somehow attentively following your movements, the fact he was able to see you even without eyes (or well, buttons for eyes-) was starting to create a creeping feeling to form in your back. You really don't like how he is staring at you.

"- Bu-Bu-Buttons? I'm glad you like them, But my, my! You're shaking like a leaf today, are you feeling cold?" Dominick asked, although you couldn't really recognize if he was genuinely concerned or not.

"- I just- Haven't eaten anything ever since getting here… You should know that, Dominick." You took a seat in the table in the middle of the kitchen, as you were starting to trip since you were not only tired and frightened, but also really hungry all of the sudden. Still, you decided to provoke this guy for a bit, trying to get at least a better explanation than just "I'm Dominick". This must be the most well-crafted prank you have ever been victim of, or maybe you're having a wild dream, one of the two.

"- Hmm… Yes, maybe I should have known, I wasn't aware you were starving through the entire day- To be fair, I'm not exactly the same Dominick that you have come with to this house-" He confessed as he started picking an plate and putting some of what he was cooking in said plate.

"- Aha! So tell me already what you really are!-" You almost jumped out of your chair to face him, using all your strength to at least intimidate some sort of response from this- This freak!

But as you turned your head into his direction you got instantly shut off when you noticed how close he was to you even though he had made no sound when he got closer- He was so close to your face, he has enveloped himself around you in such a way that you couldn't even get up from your chair if you felt like running away- His right arm was placing the plate on top of the table in front of you, as his left hand was holding your chair. His face was simply so close to yours that you almost felt yourself getting sucked in those black, shiny yet horrifying button eyes. You can feel his penetrating gaze even when you move your eyes to the other side- Staring at him was like staring at the void, it felt discomforting not being able to read any emotion behind them.

"- I told you, I'm Dominick- Although maybe you can call me the Other Dominick, I'm your other best friend, silly." Other Dominick whispered in a very sweet and calm tone, causing you to not notice the hidden tone of persistence- Apparently he was getting a little too nauseous of this back and forth.

"- Although, I suppose you're not doing too well with your friends at the moment, but that's okay! I'll be your Dom, so please eat something, [Y/N]. You're going to pass out." With his left hand he gently pushed your chin to look at the plate in front of you, as he continued to whisper into your ear causing a shiver to go down your spine- Not because of the strange lack of personal space or the questionable choice of words- But because he knew that you weren't exactly friends with your roommates.

He somehow knew you weren't Dominick's best friend anymore, the thought caused you to get somewhat worried of your current circumstances- But not enough for you to actually get scared of him. You noticed that this whole situation felt a little too wild to be real, and to be fair- The real Dominick would never say something like that, even as a prank.

So maybe you were indeed having a crazy dream, maybe you got so overwhelmed by how awful today has been that your subconscious started to get some your worries and turned them into this crazy scenario you're having. That would be a good explanation for the buttons for eyes, or the slightly different outfit style between Dominicks.

This is what you get for sleeping without eating anything before bed, [Y/N]! You get weird dreams like this one- Being taken care of by a somewhat creepy version of your old best pal…

"- How- How did you know it?" You still decided to question the logic of this dream, feeling a bit skeptical that this situation might be… Real, somehow. This food does feel like something out of this world though-

[I'll leave the food to be ambiguous to whatever you may prefer it to be, how about the dish you love the most? Sorry for the cut in the narrative]

"- A little companion told me, although I don't know much of the details about it- Would you mind telling me? If you wish to share it, that is." And as if he was on cue, the same rat that was eating the cheese in front of your room has appeared squeaking for Dominick to grab him.

Dominick has grabbed his little furry friend and he took a seat next to you. You were surprised to see him playing with the rat, was Dom ever really interested in rodents?

You don't recall, but then again, it's just a dream, right? You sure think the little fella is cute despite being a bit big for a pet rat- Not that you're an expert or anything-

You considered his offer a bit before deciding to open up. Maybe if you said why you feel upset to your subconscious, it could help your consciousness to feel more- Prepared, to deal with such situations.

Even if he is probably not real, and even if you can't look straight into his eyes, you felt pretty safe being able to tell him how you felt left out. He told you a couple of times how things would be different now that you were here, since there was no way any of them would let you feel unwanted. He could be just a fantasized Dominick you created to appeal to your own little issues, but- You- You really did miss being able to talk with your best friend.

You didn't expect him to change the subject, but- He did. He started asking you about memories you two shared when you were younger, little things that made your heart melt while remembering them.

You ended up opening your mouth, and never shutting it off after that- Telling him about most of the important events that happened throughout your life, and telling him stories of the various places your parents used to force you to go despite you hating travelling so much- You wished you could have stayed and grow up in your hometown, maybe things would be a lot different.

He never told you about how his personal life has been, he only listened to yours which- Even if this may sound selfish- You did enjoy the fact you had someone openly listening to you ramble so much and for so long, although you would have preferred if this was a two-way conversation.

Still, you're having such a great time with Dominick- Or, well, Other Dominick. Dream or not, he was being so attentive.

The only thing that had put you a bit off was his eyes and his… Constant tapping with his nails. You didn't notice if Dominick liked to paint his nails, but Other Dominick wore them in black matte nail polish- And they were kinda long, and he had grown a habit of tapping them in surfaces like the table as his other hand would be busy holding the sleeping rat.

Such a strange interpretation of your Dominick- Yet, you really didn't mind this sweet talker-

Not- That you liked him that way- I mean- Yeah, he looks and sounds like Dominick, and Dom is already an attractive bastard-

Even though, a daring thought just crossed your mind- May you dare to think that this Dominick is…. A bit more attractive???

Jesus Christ, [Y/N]! What are you thinking?! He is your friend- Or your other friend?! This sure is the most confusing dream you had in a long time. Although it's funny to think about how tired you feel even in your dreams.

"- You're tired? It is pretty late already- I'm surprised none of them has shown up yet, maybe they stayed over." Other Dominick looked behind him as if to make sure no one was in the house, you wonder if he is talking about Vivian and Richard or, ya know, Other Vivian and Other Richard.

"- Are you okay? You look awfully red." He commented while placing his hand in your forehead. Cold. His hand was pretty cold and rough, yet you didn't mind it at all.

You… Were still having those disgusting thoughts about him, but you played it off as if you were just a bit sick-

"- Awn, you poor little thing- Here I'll help you get up stairs." He stood up and started helping you get up, taking you by surprise- This wasn't necessary at all but… You kinda didn't want to walk all the way upstairs, you felt like turning into mush when he almost pulled you bridal style.

"- N-No! No, it's okay Dom-" But because you wanted to be polite, you decided to stop him while also thanking him for the gesture. He petted your head and took your hand so you could follow him upstairs, while the other continued to hold the sleeping rat- You assumed he would bring him to his room, maybe he has a rat cage?

While he was holding your hand, making sure you wouldn't trip and fall because of how tired you were. You felt kinda like a kid being led by the hand of a parent, kinda pathetic how much you depend on his assistance, and to an extent- His company.

Were you this starved for a conversation and for some attention? Maybe, maybe you were. And well- It seemed like Other Dominick was willing to give just that.

Ugh, you really are tired- You're having stupid thoughts, and maybe even seeing things? Who knows, and who cares?

You don't think you do anymore, at least, not right now.

And you two reached the door of your bedroom, Dominick was heading to his own room when you called him.

" What am I doing? What am I thinking?" You questioned yourself, as you started to walk towards him, something in you was still unsatisfied by how uncanny this whole situation was-

How unrealistic, yet oddly real this whole thing felt. You needed to make sure that- Somehow this wasn't really a figment of your imagination, but what would you really gain with that?

Knowledge? Knowledge can be scary sometimes. What would you do with that knowledge? Would it be worth anything to you? Or would it make you feel even more scared of this strange situation? Of this stranger in front of you??

"- Hey!- Are you alright?" He was taken back by your sudden reaction- You had thrown yourself on him- Embracing him while also recognising that you should be careful to not disturb the rat in his hold.

"- …… Thank you for talking with me, and for- Cooking for me…." You were holding back your voice from cracking and showing how much you wanted to let your tears flood through your eyes- you had a bad day, yet he somehow made you feel better about it. It only felt right to thank him for helping you feel better, even if you still felt pathetic while doing it.

It's probably just your own subconscious that you're talking with, yet still- It did make you feel a bit better.

"- … You're welcome." It took him a moment to realize how truly naive you were- If not completely vulnerable by the lack of strong connections with those you think you care so much for. You don't need to thank him, really.

Still, it's a rather touching gesture. He'll remember that. He hugged you back with one arm, gently patting your back.

You eventually broke the hug, it was time for you to wake up already.

"- Goodnight, Other Dominick." You said playfully as you opened your door and started getting inside, you still weren't sure if you had to call him that. It felt really odd, yet very appropriate.

He gave you one last smile and goodbye before heading to his room. You sometimes swear you could have catched a different shine pass through his buttons, something like a hint of a hidden emotion coming out of the shiny black void that his button eyes were- Still, you didn't know what it is, so you just ignored it

"- Goodnight, [Y/N]."

🍭꒰⑅ᵕ༚ᵕ꒱˖♡🍮꒰⑅ᵕ༚ᵕ꒱˖♡🍰꒰⑅ᵕ༚ᵕ꒱˖♡🍮꒰⑅ᵕ༚ᵕ꒱˖🍭

#yandere #sheep's stuff #yandere oc #yandere x reader #yandere coraline #yandere coraline au #? #yandere coraline oc #yandere coraline x reader #yandere fanfiction #yandere fanfics #yandere monster #yandere monster x reader #yandere fanfic #yandere x f reader #special delivery request #special delivery fanfictions #special delivery fanfiction #sbsfhafhfahfsjsfjsfj #if you see errors tell me but like- #be patient with me please 👉🏻👈🏻 #i had a rough time XD #although it was really fun trying to come up with this #thanks anon #yandere m!beldam #m!beldam #choco stuff #yandere male beldam

[slightlyrebelliouswriter23]

https://matthewfairchildfanclub.tumblr.com/post/622613826051932160/okay-im-ranting-because-i-started-re-reading-the

What do u think about this? I'm kinda struck. I didn't read it that way? It didn't feel ooc to me? I am just stunned how many ppl agree with this because...thar entire thing was cardan and jude being dumb and sad and... Jude is a strong protagonist and ever scheming and persistent but she's...like human? She has feelings and is allowed to be sad??? Idk it's just strange to me

okay first thing's first: i'm not trying to start beef with OP (or anyone who agrees with OP). that is their opinion. they're allowed to have it. Jude and Cardan aren't real, but the person on the other side of that blog is.

second. i really only briefly skimmed the post because, honestly, it's the same argument i've seen everyone who doesn't like QON make. they think because Jude wouldn't burn down villages to get back into Elfhame after having her heart broken, she is, therefore, OOC.

let me tell you why i, personally, disagree with that statement. (TW: discussion of mental health and dissociation under the cut)

i'm going to split this into two parts. one is more anecdotal and the other is more character based.

as you point out, nonnie, Jude is strong. she is fierce, she is determined. but again, she is human. with human feelings. teenage human feelings, at that.

anyone who is not convinced Jude would feel pretty shit for a while after going through her first heartbreak is either too old to remember the rollick of teenage emotions mixed with the legless lord of young love, or they've simply never had their hearts broken before.

if the first, they're looking at Jude's situation with years of maturation behind them, years Jude doesn't yet have at that point. i think people forget this sometimes. Jude is just a teenager. and they probably want her to keep fighting because it's what they didn't do, but wished they had.

if the latter..... oh, my sweet summer child.

when i was young and in love (kind of) and then suddenly had everything ripped away from me within the span of a month, i honestly couldn't tell you what happened that summer. because i don't remember. i was backpacking but all i remember is sleeping well into the afternoon almost every day. lashing out at my friends for stupid shit. not eating. taking every chance i could get to isolate myself. being fine one moment, then in the next feeling like i was going to burst into tears out of nowhere. i had my first dissociative episode. it lasted for three days.

now, i'm probably not as scary as Jude. but i'd like to think i'm stubborn and spiteful enough to warrant some shadowy semblance. what i became was not who i or anyone else wanted or expected me to be. i wanted to be angry and rage and seek revenge, but i couldn't. people expected me to get over it, but i didn't. i was just stuck in this awful liminal place.

heartbreak isn't a single moment where your heart is shattered and then you immediately begin to pick up the pieces. that's unrealistic. heartbreak shatters you and then steals what's left away into a dense fog and laughs as you fumble around blindly on your hands and knees, searching for the lost pieces of yourself.

so, as nonnie pointed out, it is okay for Jude to be sad. it is more than okay. it's what we should expect.

okay, now on to my character based argument. to me, anyone who has this interpretation of QON has severely misjudged Jude's character throughout the series as a whole.

it's true, Jude might put on the facade of tough scary lady with sword–and sure, to a certain extent that is part of her. but Jude is not inherently wicked or menacing or unforgiving, even if she can be at times.

just because we can be a thing doesn't mean we are that thing. mere adjectives simply do not have the breadth to define us, your honours. we exist in multitudes, or however the fuck that Walt Whitman quote goes.

i'm not going to comb through the entire series for moments where Jude is not scary or menacing because, frankly, there are a lot. if you're not actively looking for the moments where she is terrifying, i think you'll see her kindness, her gentleness, even at times her grace, quite plainly.

i'd also like to point out that the times in which Jude is any of those scarier things are all when she is literally terrified for her life. it's a survival tactic. be scared or be the scariest thing in the room. easy choice from where i'm standing.

now in terms of Jude's exile, Cardan is a little dumb here, but not in the fanon himbo Cardan way. just in the normal "dude madly in love" way. by exiling her to the mortal world, he thought he was giving her what she wanted: safety and a clever riddle to solve. because she can't break, right?

he also sent her away for selfish reasons. her safety was more absolute in the mortal world and he couldn't risk losing her again. plus, he wanted to show off his cleverness, smug prick that he is.

but what Jude actually wanted were the things he promised her in his vows: to be the Queen of Elfhame, and, ultimately, him. she wanted a place to call home and Cardan by her side. he took the only things she truly desired in the world away from her by exiling. so yeah, homegirl has every right to be sad.

to close, i think people with this perspective of QON have the same view of Jude as Cardan once did, and it comes from a place of well-intentioned misunderstanding. he thought she could not break. so did the anti-QON crowd.

they were wrong.

–Em 🖤🗡

more thoughts on Emotional!Jude

more theories & analysis

#for legal reasons this is my opinion 😙✌️ #you don't have to agree w me #ahhhh this was a big long ramble more than actual analysis but whatever i'm tired and it's shark week #thanks for the ask nonnie!! 💜 #asked and answered #em answers #nonnie #tfota #jurdan #jude duarte #cardan greenbriar #holly black

[visbiscuit]

Our Pal is Doomed ( kyle )

2nd December

(full) 25 days of CHRIS-mas ,, My Masterlist

@wiypt-writes @what-is-your-plan-today

disclaimer. English is not my main language. If you notice any kind of mistakes, please tell me and don’t be mean :). I am giving a shot at this to try and improve my written English. Thank you for paying attention and have a biscuit for your kindness!

pairing. Pumba!Kyle x Timon,Fem!Reader

genre. fluff

short summary. Matty is completely smitten with Francesca. What about Kyle and Y/N? Where does this leave them? The trio is probably going to be forgotten if they do not do something and this cannot happen. This is how Kyle and Y/N try to stop love from blossoming, but it does anyway and not only between Matty and Francesca.

word count. 4049

warnings. best friends to lovers. underage drinking (don't do it!). fast-paced romance, some bad words. the last fluff work for a while, after this one-shot is smut time! did i use "can you feel the love tonight" lines? yes i did. do i feel ashamed? no i don't. i love disney, this is not the last, sort of, AU. the story has no correlation with the film whatsoever... i don't remember it, sorry (but not really)

you’re welcome to reblog, like and comment!

THE BEGINNING.

"Disgusting."

The leaves of the overgrown bush hid a boy and a girl who couldn't have been more than seventeen years old each, and who were desperately trying to hear what a young couple, not too far from them, was talking about. In fact, the bush didn't hide them very well, because they were definitely taller than it, but they had both crouched down so much that they became one with the dirty earth still wet from the rainy night. Kyle, that was the boy's name, had stupidly worn a light-colored trouser that had immediately become filthy. He could already imagine what his mom would say to him once he got home, he just hoped she wouldn't ground him for the end of his days. On the other hand, Y/N, the girl, had cleverly chosen camouflage pants that also came in handy for their spy operation.

"Ew, he's got that googly eyes," she commented with a snicker.

To her left, Kyle nodded vigorously. "So, you saw that too! He looks like a zombie."

"Only a blind man wouldn't see that Matty is completely smitten with her" Y/N's voice sounded disappointed in her friend's behavior. He was hiding the feelings he had for this girl from her. He was definitely afraid of being judged. "Where did this Francesca come from anyway?"

Kyle shrugged; he didn't know where this girl had come from either. Sure, she had a reputation at school, but not an important one to the point of knowing exactly who she was. The two had become suspicious when Matty had said he couldn't make it to their weekly D&D meeting. An impossible thing since he'd shown up even when he'd hit a fever of 104 degrees and risked mixing his two friends as well. So, it was an excuse and, of course, both Kyle and Y/N had no intention of confronting Matty. That's why they'd launched into a deadly chase that wasn't deadly at all since they'd followed him for only three blocks where he'd stopped to meet the reddish-haired girl. "I would never lose an afternoon together to be with a girl," Kyle commented, outraged by that betrayal.

Y/N gave him a couple of pats on the back. "I'm sure you would, it'll be years before you get a proper girl."

"Offensive"

"Yet it's true" then she shushed him with her gaze when she saw the, maybe?, couple shift and move closer to their bush. They crouched even closer until they could even see the ants and heard a couple of giggles from her and a completely enamored sigh from him. The words were unclear. "Come on K, let's go," she urged him. By now they were too close for them not to be seen, it was better to get away to make a foolproof plan.

Silently and after banging her forehead against Kyle's, they managed to leave without being seen and shook off the dirt stuck to their pants. The boy thought the only solution for his light-colored pants was to burn them so his mother wouldn't see them. They were no longer beige, but dark brown. "I don't understand why he acted that way."

"I can see what's happening," Y/N began. s

Kyle's gaze was confused. "What"

"And they don't have a clue" the girl's tone was bitter. "Don't you think so too, Kyle?"

The boy scratched the back of his head, embarrassed that he couldn't catch what his best friend was telling him. "Who?"

She slapped the same back of his head. "Matty and Francesca, of course! They'll fall in love and here's the bottom line - she sighed - Our trio's down to two."

"Don't even say that, Y/N!" he pointed his finger at her even though he knew how right she was. "Matty would never do such a thing...it would go against our oath."

The girl's gaze was hurt, but she smiled at her friend's attempt to downplay it. "It can be assumed, his carefree days with us are history."

Kyle was bewildered, walking even slower than he should have. Now the sun was setting and they were supposed to go home, but how could he go there and pretend to be calm? It had always been him, Y/N, and Matty together. The three musketeers they called them. They'd never been apart, but it sure seemed like their time was up. "What can we do?"

"We don't have to make them fall in love, simple as that," asserted the girl. "If we do nothing...in short, our pal is doomed."

#1 ATTEMPT

The school was the perfect place to put the first part of their plan into action. It was important to get them out of the way, but how to do that if Y/N and Kyle weren't even supposed to know about their secret love affair? Simple, the two of them had to be outsiders to everything. They were like spectators at a theatre premiere, their role was only to clap at times and give props to the main characters. That December morning, the main characters were not Matty and Francesca, oh no, they were Rick and Francesca.

Rick was the most popular boy in school, but also the one with the least desire to study in all the schools in town. To get promoted each year, he always relied on a circle of geeks who would complete every written test for him in exchange for favors they would collect at any point in their school careers. Y/N, fortunately, was in that little group and had finally asked the boy for the favor of the century: he would have to hook up with Francesca or he would never pass History. And as per the agreement, there he was, in all his teenage glory leaning against the wall of the building and with a smile so bright that even the sun could not compare.

When Y/N had pitched the idea to Kyle, he'd been concerned that it would make Matty suffer, but he'd realized it was a necessary pain. After quite a bit of reasoning, he'd become so happy that he'd hugged his best friend tightly as she turned into a stuttering red tomato. Just as Kyle had no experience with girls, Y/N didn't know exactly what it meant to be together with someone either. She, however, had chosen this path when she realized there was only one person she wanted to be in a relationship with. Too bad he only saw her as a sister instead of a possible lover. When she'd realized that, Y/N had cried every night in her bed at the thought that Kyle wasn't the least bit interested in her, but then she'd given up and gone on with her life as if nothing was wrong.

"Is this going to work?" her best friend's voice was closer than she expected and she jerked as soon as she heard it. His breath was warm on her ear in contrast to the cold December air. "Oh, I'm sorry," he trailed off. For a moment Y/N had hoped he would stay in that position.

Then she ran a hand over her shoulder to drop some of the snow that had fallen on it. "Of course it will work, it's my plan after all," she puffed out her chest, proud of what she had come up with.

"I helped a little too, come on" Kyle laughed, shivering a little from the cold.

Y/N shifted her gaze away from Rick and Francesca and looked at her friend with an arched eyebrow. "And let's hear it, what would you have done?" she asked, teasing him. Their friendship was like that, a little incomprehensible in the eyes of the girl who often couldn't tell if he was flirting with her or just joking around.

"Who accompanied you to Rick's? Without me you would never have gone, admit it," he poked her side with his hand covered in a thick glove. He did it two, three, four times, making her laugh more and more. He had discovered as a child that one of Y/N's weaknesses was tickling, and from then on, he had used it as a secret weapon. "Come on, say it!"

The girl raised her hands in surrender as she doubled over trying to stop that assault. "All right, all right. Without you I couldn't have done it!" she almost shouted, drawing the attention of a few schoolmates who were watching them completely confused.

Kyle bit his lip to keep from smiling and then took on a serious expression. "Good girl," he said and then looked into her eyes with an amused look. She returned his gaze without ever lowering it.

His eyes were crystal clear and expressed all the things he didn't want to or couldn't put into words. The problem was that Y/N, despite always saying when Kyle was an open book, couldn't read them. If she had, behind the amusement, she would have seen a more... sweet side that he reserved only for her. A gaze that occasionally moved to her lips for a split second as if contemplating what to do. Of course, it wasn't like the girl had seen this hidden desire. Oh no, she was too focused on keeping her own feelings from leaking out to notice how much his were in plain sight.

She didn't know how long they'd been staring at each other, but it was Matty's voice that distracted them. "What are you doing?"

"Nothing."

"Nothing at all"

Matty nodded, a smile on his face. "Uh-uh"

Y/N brushed her snow-soaked hair out of her face, embarrassed, and cleared her throat. "Uhm, di-did - she took a big breath - did you see the news today?" with a nod she pointed to Rick and Francesca.

"He must be asking her to help him with algebra." He was underestimating the situation.

Kyle adjusted his backpack and put an arm around his friend's shoulders. "I don't think so, Matty, I think Rick Wyler is hitting on Francesca. They'd be great together, wouldn't they?"

"Hmm, maybe, but she doesn't seem interested."

"What?" she shrieked. She turned sharply in time to see Francesca slap Rick's cheek and walk away at a fast, angry pace. "Two seconds ago they were so close!"

"You can tell Rick doesn't have a way with girls."

"Obviously."

Matty waved them off and quickly headed for the school entrance. It wasn't until then that they realized they were late and the bell had already been ringing for a couple of minutes. Y/N was really down in the dumps, but, indeed, Rick was a dumbass who had surely made some wrong comment. She sighed, disappointed that she had failed.

"Hey, don't make that face. It'll be for the next one," he encouraged her, then casually took her hand and dragged her toward the school. "We'll figure it out later."

She didn't hear what he said, she could only stare at their intertwined hands.

#2 ATTEMPT

"A spider, that's your plan."

"Don't be like that, young lady" Kyle scolded her, he had an empty little glass box in his hands. "After the resounding failure..."

"You said we weren't going to talk about it anymore."

"Sh, what was I saying?" he pretended to be thoughtful "Ah yes! Resounding failure of yours, you told me we would try to do it my way."

Y/N rolled her eyes and nodded. She knew very well the agreement they had made after getting out of school five days earlier. It had been her idea to ask Rick for help and she did not remember his stupidity, so, now it was Kyle's turn. Although she wanted Matty to remain part of the trio, she would certainly enjoy watching her other friend fail. But this wasn't a competition, it was a game, and to win they would have to stick together. Y/N had to leave her competitiveness aside, although it was very difficult for her. She returned her attention to the icy road and continued to follow Matty's car, in which there was also Francesca.

Once again, Matty had lied to skip D&D, and Kyle and Y/N had thought this would be a good time to implement the second phase of their plan...it wasn't well understood by the girl, since he had taken care of everything, however, it was still an important phase. She hoped. She had been driving for about twenty minutes already and had taken her cousin's car so as not to arouse suspicion. If she had taken hers, given the very bright color, Matty would have noticed right away and they couldn't risk being seen.

"So what did you do?" she asked him. She was completely kept in the dark. Kyle had never been good at keeping secrets from her, but this time he hadn't let anything slip. He had been smart and left no trace. "Come on, I can't take it anymore," she whined like a wayward child.

Kyle chuckled and placed a hand on her thigh, squeezing it as if to make her calm down. Of course, it had the opposite effect, causing the girl to skip a heartbeat and her breath to catch. Since he had taken her hand before entering school, the boy had increased their physical contact. She didn't mind at all, but she still had to get used to all the hugs, kisses on the cheek, and intertwined hands. "Matty is literally terrified of spiders," he affirmed. This was nothing new.

"And...?" she urged him to speak, almost missing a right turn in her desire to know. Meanwhile, Kyle's hand didn't hint at lifting from her thigh; in fact, he squeezed it at regular intervals.

"And I may have put a spider in his backpack."

The car the two of them were in swerved from lane to lane dangerously. Y/N was in shock. "So your plan is to give him a heart attack?" she yelled.

Kyle's eyes were filled with confusion. "I figured no one likes a coward."

"He's an arachnophobe, K! He could seriously have a heart attack!" she scolded him. "Call him right now and tell him."

"You want him to kill me?"

"Someone's going to die anyway, you better call him and sacrifice yourself!"

Kyle didn't have time to pick up the phone and call his friend that Matty's car pulled over to the right and the owner of it came screaming out of the car. He was scared out of his mind. Y/N also parked a little further away and covered her face with her hands. At least he wasn't dead from the scare yet. What she didn't see was how Francesca took the spider in her hands, obviously not poisonous, and carefully stroked it, and then released it into the tall grass. Both Matty and Francesca began to laugh at what had happened. They laughed so much that they sat on the ground and wiped their tears.

Meanwhile, the boy removed Y/N's hands from her face and showed her that scene. "Let's look on the bright side, Matty is still alive!" he tried to deflect the conversation.

If looks could have killed anyone, Kyle would have died instantly.

#3 (AND THE LAST) ATTEMPT

Music echoed through the walls of Rick Wyler's mansion. The night was young and all the kids who had been invited to Rick's older brother's birthday party had yet to arrive, Jack, Jake... something like that. What did high school kids have to do with a college kid's party? Absolutely nothing, but both of the Wyler brothers liked a party full of people and certainly, kids would never pass up an invitation to party with older people.

Y/N and Kyle weren't the party type, but Matty had invited them, and after being apart for quite some time, they weren’t going to turn him down. It had been a month or so since the spider incident and none of those involved had found out who had put the spider in the backpack. They had concluded that it must have gotten in during recess time in the yard, there was no other way. When Matty had told his two friends about what had happened, he had thankfully not noticed the girl's anger and the guilt in the boy's eyes, otherwise, he would have put two and two together and found out everything.

If the trio seemed to be getting closer and closer to breaking up, Y/N and Kyle were getting closer and closer. They had spent the last month in each other's company and those who saw them from the outside, including their mothers, would have sworn they were finally together. Clearly, that wasn't the case. Neither of them had been able to say their feelings out loud, but the way they moved had certainly changed. Kyle was always more careful when Y/N entered a room and always made sure to get into her bubble and Y/N, on the other hand, unconsciously always approached the boy. He to apologize to her for almost killing his other best friend had given her a bouquet of flowers every morning for a week. Each day the flowers were different and meant different things. Y/N had really enjoyed seeing the different meanings even though sometimes one flower could have a lot of them. Like roses. Roses also meant love, but that certainly wasn't the case with them. Right?

Even at the party, with a glass of spiked punch, the two of them were practically stuck together. Kyle was leaning with his back against the kitchen counter, absentmindedly listening to what some of his classmates were telling him, and Y/N was in front of him. Leaning against him. Her back against his chest. Her hair brushed against his body. No wonder Kyle was distracted. It was the first time they had been in that situation and it had all happened very naturally. Y/N had always thought that only patterns would help her get close to someone, but with Kyle everything was unpredictable, she couldn't calculate anything and she loved that. She didn't think about the consequences of her actions and let the wind show her what to do. She was never disappointed with the various outcomes.

But that night, they were there to risk it all. Kyle would be lying if he said he hadn't thought about the possibility of telling how he felt to Y/N that night, but they had promised themselves they would try one last time to save their friendship with Matty. If they didn't succeed, they would simply wait for Matty to completely pull away as they thought he would.

Y/N suddenly broke away from him. "It's showtime," she said as she watched Francesca make her way to the bathroom.

Before she could follow, Kyle wrapped his arm around her lower back and pulled her close one more time. He left a moist kiss on her cheek. "Come back victorious," he told her and then let her go.

Damn Kyle, now she wasn't focused at all.

The bathroom in Rick's house was gigantic, it looked like an airport public restroom. Rich people did the strangest things. What was the point of such a bathroom? Maybe it was useful during the parties the Wyler brothers had because then more people could go to the bathroom, throw up, and... nothing. They weren't doing anything anymore. Luckily, the bathroom was still scented. No one had gotten sick yet. It was the beginning of the night.

Y/N immediately caught a glimpse of Francesca's reddish hair. She was washing her hands and a bit of her face. She was visibly hot, something must have happened to make her blush because it was obvious from her look that something had happened to her. When her eyes met Y/N's from the bathroom mirror, she smiled with tight lips and nodded. She was in unfamiliar territory now; she didn't know what to do and her head was still at that kiss Kyle had given her. Damn Kyle.

"Y/N, right?" the other girl's voice was rougher and lower than she had imagined, but it had something sweet and friendly about it. "Y/N, Matty's friend?" she sounded more confident now, more like information than a question.

She nodded, "Yes, you're Francesca, aren't you?"

"Yes. I wanted to ask you something."

"Oh" Y/N hadn't expected that, after all they had never spoken to each other, what did she want from her? She had probably found out about what she and Kyle were trying to do and wanted to clear the air once and for all.

Francesca dried her hands. "I know this may sound weird, but I need some advice," she didn't wait for Y/N's response, but it was clear she could continue. "I know Matty is your friend and maybe you don't want to talk about these things...I really like him, but I don't know how to tell him."

She planned to tell her a lot of negative things about his friend, all the bad habits he had, the habit of smoking a cigarette every now and then, she wanted to tell her about how he cheated on almost every test and how many times he had run away from home to get something at the bar while underage. But Francesca's gaze was so lost and full of feelings that Y/N couldn't bring herself to tell her all those things. Instead, she empathized with her; after all, if they had said something negative to her about Kyle, her feelings wouldn't have changed. She cared about Kyle the way Francesca cared about Matty. She understood that now.

"Matty likes you more than you think. No need for anything elaborate, just tell him," she advised her with a smile on her face. "He's a simple person and very smart. I think he already knows how you feel about him" she winked at her.

Francesca tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and giggled. "I think so too, I can see it in his eyes" then she sighed. "Thank you, Y/N, that was the encouragement I needed. I hope you can confess your feelings to Kyle too" she waved goodbye to her and then walked out of the bathroom.

"Huh?" she too had managed to notice how she felt about the boy, only he had ham on his eyes.

Speaking of the boy, Kyle entered the bathroom with an inquisitive look on his face. "So?" he looked better than usual even though he was wearing a simple black t-shirt and jeans.

"I couldn't do it," Y/N confessed. "She's...so in love with him. We can't do this to him."

The boy let loose a smirk, as if he already knew what had happened in that bathroom despite not having been there, and shook his head. He walked over to her and took both of her hands between his, bringing them to his mouth and letting out a loud kiss. They both giggled. "This is why I like you."

"Huh?" again. "What?" she formulated her confusion.

"Didn't you notice?" he asked her rhetorically. It was so obvious she hadn't caught on. "You're such a knucklehead," he still had her hands in her and he brought them to hug him tightly. Instead, his hands wrapped around her face which had a completely entranced look on it. He smiled at her once more before printing her a tender and brief kiss.

They pulled away quickly, her eyes were still half-closed. "What are you doing, you finished already?" One of her hands quickly moved to the back of Kyle's head and drew him to her again. Her mom had always told her that when she kissed the right person, she would feel the fireworks. She didn't hear them, but she noticed that she couldn't hear anything anymore, neither the deafening noise of the music nor the chatter of the people outside. Was this love, then? Finding one's safe place in the world? Y/N's heart was pounding, her first kiss couldn't have been better. She felt her stomach full of butterflies and remembered the roses he had given her a few weeks before. He'd already declared himself then, in an implicit and unsure way. She smiled into the kiss when Kyle tried to bite her lower lip and make their tongues meet.

Matty, behind them, smiled contentedly and looked at Francesca. "Your plan worked."

#wiypt25daysofchrismas #chris evans x reader #chris evans #chris evans fluff #kyle the perfect score #jake wyler #christmas challenge #25 days of christmas #francesca #matty matthews #fluff

[bobohu4eva]

Pink Lace - Chapter 5

Characters: Baekhyun x Reader

Genre: College AU, stripper AU, fluff, smut, slow burn

Summary: Baekhyun, a philosophy professor with mysterious wealth, got himself completely fucked over a girl who can’t let him into her life.

Word count: 4k

Warnings: sex work, mentions of sexual assault, adult themes/situations, eventual smut

Tag list: @smolbeanmika @leave-me-in-the-summertime @totallynerdstuff @bbhmystar @nana-banana @kimyhappy @thegreatandi @geniusloey @deligxt @baekswifey @bbhyun506 @lovebuginlove @bellamendoza @baekyeonoreo @bobohumyonlyboo

Masterlist

After your conversation with Baekhyun Monday evening Tuesday was spent desperately trying to get Baekhyun off your mind, with little success. He’d asked you if you liked him like that, and you couldn’t tell him no. Hell, you knew in the back of your mind that the answer was definitely yes, you just couldn’t bring yourself to say it to his face. 

As much as you did like him, the prospect of starting something with a customer who was also your professor was still terrifying. What if you two got together and people found out? Or what if things started to go south and you were still stuck with him as your teacher? 

Despite your other schoolwork, and cleaning basically everything you possibly could, your mind just kept racing with every different possible scenario for if you did tell Baekhyun how you felt. And most of them were quite unpleasant. He could lose his job, you could make class absolute hell for yourself if things didn’t go well, and so on. Different possibilities played themselves out in your mind over and over, and there was little you could do to stop it. 

However the thoughts that stuck with you the most were the ones where things didn’t end badly. Thoughts of his arms around you, his comforting words whispered in your ear, and the gentle touches of his pretty hands on your skin. As much as you fought it, the attraction was there. 

The way your mind bounced between thoughts was stressful to no end. Every time you tried reasoning with yourself, you just thought about how good he made you feel when you were alone together. 

Baekhyun was always so willing to be vulnerable with you, it made you feel appreciated. He was so open about his feelings, and honest with his intentions towards you that it made it difficult to push him away. You wanted to be able to show him the same kind of vulnerability as well, but the possibilities if you did still frightened you too much. 

You knew you wouldn’t be able to go on like this forever, sooner or later you had to figure out what to say to him. 

Your essay was plaguing you as well. You’d tried to start it on several occasions, but Plato’s writing was so old timey and incomprehensible you didn’t even know where to start. It also didn’t help that every time you tried to start writing, all you could think about was what Baekhyun would think. The idea of turning a shitty paper in for him to read and grade made you feel sick. You knew you were shooting yourself in the foot putting it off but you just couldn’t bring yourself to start it either. 

“You’ve cleaned everything in the apartment. Twice. What’s with you today y/n?” Mia asked as she walked out of her bedroom and into the common area, finding you once again wiping down all the surfaces in the kitchen. 

“I’m trying to distract myself, was that not obvious?” You knew what was coming next. 

“Baekhyun still on your mind?” 

Yes. He was. In every possible way, good and bad, and you couldn’t stop it. 

“I think I do like him.” 

“See! I knew it!” You rolled your eyes at her. “Anything exciting happen yesterday? Did you decide to keep the money?” She asked, sitting down at the dining room table, you sitting down across from her. 

 “I’m keeping it, I tried giving it back but he told me some stuff and turns out he doesn’t need it after all.” 

“So he IS rich?!” 

“Yeah... although not from anything cool or fun. His rich parents died recently.” 

“Oh shit, that sucks. That must’ve been an awkward conversation.” 

“Not really. I don’t know why but talking to him is getting easier and easier. I even stayed after he told me I could go.”

“You really must like him then, damn. Can’t blame you though, he is hot.” You shot her an angry look but you both knew she was right. “So what are you gonna do about it?” 

“Do about what?” 

“You liking him. He obviously likes you a lot too, so what happens next?” 

“Nothing. He’s my professor.” 

The look she shot you next said something reminiscent of ‘are you fucking serious’.

 “Oh come on y/n this guy is hot, and rich, and super into you. Even if he is your professor you can’t pass up a fling at least.” 

“And when it ends? What then? Or if someone finds out he’s fucking a student? He’d lose his job and it would be my fault.” 

“No, it would be his fault, and he’s rich anyway so it wouldn’t even matter.” 

You thought back to your last conversation with Baekhyun, and what he said about his parents. Even if he did choose to risk it for you, the thought of him losing a job that meant so much to him still didn’t sit right with you. 

“It would matter to me. Either way I don’t want other students shit talking me either. If my classmates found out there was something between us it would be hell.” 

“All I'm hearing right now, is that you just need to not get caught. The semester is only 16 weeks, as long as nothing gets out while you’re in his class nothing too bad can happen. You just have to be careful.”  

You thought about it, and she wasn’t exactly wrong. As long as nothing got out while you were his student, nothing too bad could happen. 

“He won’t lose his job if people find out we’re together later on when I’m not his student anymore, right?” 

Mia shrugged. “He doesn’t hold any power over you anymore then so I don’t see why he’d get in any trouble. People might just think it’s weird since he’s older. How old is he anyway? He looks young.” 

“I’m not exactly sure... Somewhere around 30? Late 20s maybe? I should ask him.” 

“Yeah you should. I still have homework I need to do, I should get back to that.” She said before getting herself a glass of water and retreating back to her bedroom. 

~

The next morning you were exhausted. You hadn’t gotten much sleep because of everything that was going through your head. You wanted Baekhyun, and he wanted you, but there was still too much risk involved. But part of you kept thinking about what Mia had said as well. Could a fling really be that bad? 

You were nervous to see him too. You still hadn’t given him an answer to his question, and you knew you wouldn’t be able to dodge it forever. Lying seemed like a decent option, but you knew with how honest and vulnerable Baekhyun always was with you, you wouldn’t be able to bring yourself to lie to him. Especially when you did want something more with him, you were just scared. 

As philosophy class drew closer and closer you felt uneasy. You felt bad seeing Baekhyun again without giving him an answer, but you didn’t know how or what to say. You only hoped he wouldn’t press you for it. 

Class went by and you didn’t speak to him. He didn’t keep you after either, which was a relief. You had been hoping he’d at least go over some stuff that would help you on your essay, but you had no such luck, and you needed it done by midnight if you wanted any credit. 

When you got home you cursed yourself for procrastinating so much, but you had other homework too and you knew you’d be able to focus on that better, so you started it first. 

Eventually your mind got sucked into your physics assignment, and you forgot about Baekhyun and the essay, too focused on the task at hand. 

By the time you were done with your other assignments it was 8pm. Four hours until you had to submit your essay. One hour went by just reading and rereading the text you were supposed to write about. Another was wasted on an intro paragraph you kept deleting, because you still couldn’t understand the text. When 10pm hit, and you started to panic.  

You realized that you weren’t going to be able to do it. Your mind was now in freak out mode and you couldn’t concentrate anyway. Either the paper wasn’t getting turned in at all, or you needed to do something fast. In any other class you would’ve BS-ed  your way through it to turn at least something in, but you just couldn’t do that knowing Baekhyun was going to read it. You weren’t going to be able to submit it that night, but you needed to at least contact him and explain so he wouldn’t think you were stupid. 

By 10:30 you found yourself scrolling through your contacts, staring at his name. You’d thought about emailing him, but he probably wouldn’t see until morning and you didn’t have that much time. 

In hindsight you probably would’ve been fine to just send an email and try to get an extension, but the combination of anxiety over your grade and wanting to talk to him had his name in your phone looking better and better. 

So you called. 

Your nerves were on fire as you waited for him to hopefully pick up. Was this stupid? Would he even answer? Worst of all, what if he was disappointed in you for not being able to do the assignment?

After a few rings, he picked up. “Hello?” 

“Hi Baekhyun, it’s y/n.” 

“Y/n? Are you alright what’s going on?” You could hear the concern in his voice even over the phone, and you remembered why he gave you his number in the first place. 

“I- I can’t do the essay.” You felt your voice shake, before unloading all your grievances in one breath “I read the thing a million times and I still have no idea what it’s about and I put it off until tonight cause it was making me so anxious but I still can’t focus and now it’s too late and I don’t know what to do and I’m freaking out.” 

You heard him sigh. “Slow down, It’s okay, I know it’s a difficult assignment. Have you at least started?” 

“No..” You felt tears swelling in your eyes, threatening to spill and you’re sure he can hear it in your voice even over the phone. “Can I just skip this one? I tried to start it so many times but I don’t know how to analyze something I can’t even understand.” You choked out. 

“Y/n...” You could tell he was thinking of what to do. He probably shouldn’t give you special treatment, and you knew that but right now you hoped he would just give in. Unfortunately you had no such luck. “I’m sorry but I can’t let you just not do it. It would make it too obvious that I’m treating you differently than other students.”

“Then can you at least help me? Or give me more time? Please?” You begged.

“I’m still in my office. I can help you if you meet me here.” 

You felt your palms get sweaty and your heart beat faster at the idea of going to his office again after what had happened last time, especially this late at night and in such a fragile state. 

“O-okay. I’ll be there in 10. Bye.” You said, hanging up before he could respond.

Quickly you got on some shoes and drove yourself to the building his office was located in. Last time you’d been in there he’d asked you about your feelings for him, and now you had to go back. You told yourself to just focus on getting the essay done, but the thought still hung around in the back of your mind as you walked down the hall towards Baekhyun’s office. You felt jittery and embarrassed, but you needed to do this for your grade.

After taking a few deep breaths to ready yourself, you knocked on the door, and heard a muffled “Come in” from the other side, so you let yourself in. Baekhyun was sitting at his desk, which was covered in papers you assumed he’d been grading. Instead of the nicer clothes he would usually wear during lecture, he was just wearing a black t shirt and sweats now. 

“You know you scared the shit out of me when you called. I thought you were in danger or something.” He said to you as you sat down in front of him. “I really didn’t think you’d call me over school work.” 

“I’m sorry..” 

“It’s okay! I’m not mad or anything, just surprised. What part of the text are you having trouble with?” 

“All of it...” You felt your lip starting to quiver. “I’m sorry I know this sounds so stupid and you probably think I’m just trying to take advantage of how you like me but I promise it’s not like that.” You said, looking down and fidgeting with your hands, trying to hide the frustration on your face.

Baekhyun crossed his arms and leaned back in his chair, smiling. “I never said I thought that. I told you it’s not an easy assignment, it’s ok if you’re having trouble. Plato can be difficult especially for people who aren’t used to reading things that old.” 

“I should’ve at least started earlier...” 

“Probably, but it’s too late to dwell on that now. Let’s just try to go over the reading together, yeah?” You nodded. 

He moved his chair to your side of the desk before opening your textbook to the reading for the essay. 

“So the first thing that makes The Ring of Gyges so confusing is that you don’t really know who’s talking. Basically it’s a conversation between Plato and his brother Glaucon where they’re discussing justice, and it’s actually Glaucon speaking for most of it, not Plato.” 

You were listening to what he was saying of course, but you were still distracted by the proximity. Baekhyun was sitting right next to you now, arms almost touching. The only other time the two of you got that close was at the club. And you did not need to be thinking about that while he was explaining your assignment to you. 

“Are you following me so far?” 

Your eyes immediately shot up from the book to meet his, and you quickly nodded. Having him look you in the eyes again like that made your face feel hot.

“Glaucon argues that people only peruse justice for the benefits of it, and not because they actually want to be good people. He uses the example of a ring that grants it’s user invisibility, therefore allowing them to do unjust things like steal without being caught. He tells Plato a story about a man who finds such a ring and uses it do overthrow the king.”

You groaned. “It still doesn’t make sense though, what does some story about a stupid ring have to do with justice?” 

“Well, if you were given the ability to steal and deceive people for your own benefit, without ever having to worry about getting caught, wouldn’t you do it too?” You stayed silent. “Basically, what you need to understand is what Glaucon is arguing. He’s saying that doing good deeds isn’t a part of human nature, and everyone would behave unjustly if they knew they would never get caught. Therefore, justice is something people pursue not out of want, but out of fear of the consequences if they don’t.”  

All you could do was stare at him. It was infuriating how attractive he sounded while explaining it to you. 

“Do you have a bit of a better idea what to write about now? Remember it’s only two pages, so don’t stress too much.” 

You snapped yourself out of your thoughts. “Yeah, it makes a bit more sense now... do I still need to finish it tonight or?” 

“Friday. Just email it to me by midnight on Friday and I won’t count it late.” He said, smiling again. 

“Thank you for doing this, I’m sorry it was so late and everything.”

Baekhyun just chucked, “You know if it’s you I don’t mind. You could keep me here all night with questions and I wouldn’t stop you. But you understand now, right?” 

The way he was smiling at you now along with the closeness was making you slightly dizzy. 

“I think so, Glaucon is basically saying that injustice is better than justice then right? Because everyone would do unjust things if they’d always get away with it.” 

Baekhyun nodded. 

“So according to him the best way to live life would be to do things you know are wrong, but without being caught.” 

“Exactly. See, I knew you were smart, y/n.” A smirk had made its way onto his face as he spoke. 

You couldn’t help connecting what he was saying to what you were feeling inside towards him. You wanted him, and you knew it was wrong, but how could you deny it to yourself when it felt so right? 

“Baekhyun...” You asked, hesitantly. “D-do you think it’s okay to do things you know are wrong, as long as no one finds out?”

“I think it depends what you’re talking about.” He answered, now looking you in the eyes again with intensity. “I would never kill anyone, for any reason, even if I knew I could get away with it. But, if I really wanted something, I think I would take it.” 

You were hyperaware of how his eyes were now scanning your face, lingering on your lips. “Take what?”

A hand made contact with your thigh, slowly moving up until he stopped, right below the hem of your shorts. His thumb drew soft circles on the sensitive inner flesh, giving you goosebumps. 

“I know you feel it too, you want this, don’t you?” Baekhyun asked, now moving a stand of hair out of your face. He let his hand rest on the back of your neck, keeping you facing towards him. 

Your heart felt like it was about to short circuit from how fast it was beating. Your palms were sweaty and you could feel yourself shaking slightly. The way his thumb stroked your neck beneath your ear made you shiver, and you knew he saw. All you could do was stare back at him, dumbfounded. Any words you tried to get out stuck in your throat. He was right, you did want it. Now more than ever. 

“Tell me you don’t want this. Tell me you don’t want me to kiss you right now. I dare you.” He said, running his thumb over your bottom lip, eyes fixed on how it trembled beneath his touch. He was slowly moving your face closer his, but you didn’t stop him. 

Your silence told Baekhyun all he needed to know, and his lips quickly found yours. Immediately you let yourself melt into the kiss. You felt your whole body buzzing, finally getting what it had wanted for so long. His lips felt unbelievably soft against yours, moving in a slow rhythm as his other hand came up from your thigh to cup your face as well. You wrapped your arms around his neck and deepened the kiss, letting it become messier and more desperate. 

“I like you” you pulled away just enough to whisper “so fucking much.” You felt him grin into the kiss as your lips met again. 

He tasted like strawberries, and you felt high as your lips kept crashing together with more and more need. Your whole body felt like it was set on fire and simultaneously dunked in an ice bath, every nerve vibrating with want.    

When Baekhyun pulled your bottom lip gently between his teeth you let out a soft moan, and he started to lose it. He broke the kiss, standing up and pulling with him, before backing you up against the wall, a hand on either side of your head. 

“Sweetheart, don’t push me” He breathed, and started peppering kisses along the side of your neck, from under your ear down to your collarbone, sucking and biting on the way. 

Trapped between him and the wall, you felt weak and breathless. Your brain was in overdrive and you gasped at his ministrations, hands burying themselves in his soft hair.  His hands had traveled down to your waist, holding you against him tightly.

“Baekhyun” You breathed out, rubbing your thighs together as he sucked on a particularly sensitive spot. 

“Fuck, y/n. Don’t say that.” He forced the words out through gritted teeth.

His body pressed you into the wall, and your arms wrapped around him pulling him into you even tighter. He was completely consuming your senses and your knees felt wobbly from the intensity of it all. He was already smothering your entire front, but you tried to pull him even closer regardless.

You felt something hard press into your hip as his mouth covered yours again, and this time you shamelessly moaned his name into his open mouth. 

Much to your disappointment, Baekhyun immediately detatched himself from you, backing up until his back hit the opposite wall of the office. You could see how turned on he was by the outline of his dick through his pants and the pained look in his face. 

“Fucking christ...” He said, leaning his head back against the wall and closing his eyes. You just watched from the other side of the room. He kept his eyes closed and you observed as his jaw clenched and unclenched before you heard him continue. “You have to go. If you don’t I’m gonna fuck you on my desk and I won’t be gentle.” 

Your throat went dry at his crude words, but you couldn’t deny your own arousal. You walked back towards him, reaching out to touch his chest which was now rising and falling rapidly, but he grabbed you before you could make contact. His grip on your wrist was so tight it was almost painful. His knuckles were white, and you could see a drop of sweat trickle down the side of his face. 

His eyes bore into your own with a stare that warned you not to try anything more. 

“I’m sorry y/n but you have to leave. Not tonight. Not like this.” With his free hand he grabbed your belongings off his desk, shoving them into your arms. 

Still speechless, he opened the door and pulled you outside before going back in and closing the door behind him. You stood and stared at his office door for a minute, recollecting yourself and processing what the hell had just happened. 

Eventually your shaky legs began making their way down the hallway, back towards your car. You were pretty sure a janitor saw you as you turned the corner just down the hall from Baekhyun’s office. You kept your head down, trying to hide your face best you could while hurrying past. 

Once you were sitting in your car, you slumped into the seat, mind still in a daze after what happened in Baekhyun’s office. You waited for your breathing and heartrate to slow down before you drove away. 

Baekhyun left shorty after you as well, unable to concentrate on anything but the sound of you moaning his name. He felt terrible for throwing you out of his office but he’d meant what he said. He didn’t want his first time to have you to be in his office, purely fueled by pent up lust. He wanted to give you more than that. 

More than anything, he just couldn’t believe he’d gotten what he’d wanted for the entire summer. It didn’t seem possible, but now it had happened. And you actually kissed him back. It felt too good to be true. He felt himself once again struggling to sleep, but this time because he was too excited. This time, he didn’t have to keep himself up wondering, he knew he had you. He just couldn’t wait to see what would happed now.

You on the other hand couldn’t stop worrying about that exact thing as you stared at the ceiling above your bed. What would happen now? The thoughts weren’t fearful anymore, there was just too many of them to shut your mind down enough to sleep. 

You’d finally allowed yourself to give into him, and there was no more turning back. 

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