#say that Charlie *clearly* needs help from the big boss of Hell himself? | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

bestpigeon · 2 months

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Any chance we can get a Lucifer x platonic sinner reader who sees the king of hell as a father figure? Perhaps reader was like Lucifer’s personal guard/assistant who arrived in hell over a century ago, and has been loyal to the Morningstar family, over the years seeing him less as his king but as a father? And during Lucifer’s mega depression time, always gave his best to cheer him up. Reader never admits it, as he feels he must know his place, and not overstep, but Lucifer starts to view reader as family too.

This is an amazing idea omg, thank you sm! Also, I did see your other request, this will be x platonic male!

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-A NEW FATHER-

Lucifer x platonic male sinner

Warnings - none?

Words - 1.2k

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I have been working for King Lucifer for a long time. Around a centry to be exact, so a long time. Im simply just a worker. I pass on messages and help Lucifer when he needs. Kind of like a personal assistant. When i first fell upon hell, i landed in a pickle. I landed and crushed, two out of multiple imps. They weren't pleased and started attacking me, Lucifer was quick to the rescue. I've been working with him every since.

Lucifer had just received a call from his daughter, Charlie, and is currently walking around his room rapidly. He's stressed, worried, excited, and clearly overwhealmed.

"Charlie wants to see me! but what if i mess up? oohh no, i can't. i have to impress her-" He says. He was basically talking to himself. i walk towards him in an attempt to comfort him.

"Sir? There's nothing to worry about, i can assure you, everything will be fine." I say as a hand moved to his shoulder. He sighs and stands sationary, finally. I smile at him, and he just rubs his forehead.

"Yeah - yeah, just dont want to embarrass myself, yknow?" He says, i think for a while before opening my mouth to speak, but i get quickly interrupted.

"ooh! what if you join me? Im sure Charlie would want to meet you, and you always help me calm down." He says as he moves to put both his hands on my shoudlers and pulls me down to his height. I didn't really mind the idea, but i didn't want to be a burden.

"i mean, sure? But i wouldn't want to get in the way-" I say before he shakes me rapidly.

"It'll be fine! Go get your stuff, " He says as he walks out the corridor and into his bedroom.

"My daughter wants to see meee!" He says as he dissapeares into his room. I smile and leave to go pack. I couldn't help but feel excited. i mean, I've always wanted to meet Charlie, and it's like a free vacation! Me and Lucifer have been close for a while now, so him picking me to come with him is understandable.

I pack my stuff and me and Lucifer leave together. He opens a portal and knocks on the front door to a hotel. I've heard Lucifer talk about this place a lot. He breags all the time that his own child runs it, and he's proud of her. I couldn't help but appreciate his passion and love for Charlie. I've never really had any type of parental figure, or at least we dont talk to me anymore. I dont even know where they are. they could be in heaven. Either way, i can't help but feel attached to Lucifer. Almost like he's replacing my father. He treats me with care, and i just can't help but feel like he's more than my boss, a father almost.

Of course, I'd never tell him that.

The door opens, and Lucifer walks in. He automatically hugs Charlie and looks around. I step in quietly and just observe. I make eye contact with Charlie, and i smile. I turn to her while Lucifer is on the ground talking to a cat.

"Hi, Lucifers told me lots about you Charlie, its nice to meet you." I say as i extened my hand out for a hand shake. She smiles widley and grabs my hand, and rapidly shakes it.

"Hi! It's nice to meet you!" She says with a big smile smothered on her face. It gets interrupted by Lucifer standing between us, putting a hand on each of our shoulders. He smiles widley at us. This trip is going to be fun.

-3 days later-

It's me and Lucfiers' third day staying in Charlies hotel. It's been quite pleasent so far. Appart from the Lucifer and Alastor tension. Me and Charlie have been hanging out a lot too, talking, walking, laughing. I enjoy being around Charlie, shes lovley, probably too nice to be hell, but i probably shouldn't judge a book by its cover. We are currently chatting in her office, mainly getting to know each other and sometimes throwing in a bit about how lucifers been.

"So, my dad saved you, and you've worked with him ever since? wow, you're really loyal." She says as she leans on her elbows on her desk. I smile at her and nod.

"Yeah, he treats me like a friend." I say, Charlie nods and sighs.

"Thank you for taking care of my father.. and are you sure you just see Lucifer as a friend?" She says as she tilts her head while keeping eye contact with me. I sigh and look down at the floor.

"Um, well.. i mean, he's like family to me? a father, maybe." I say. Charlies expression softens, and she smiles.

"That's okay! I mean, you being my brother sounds nice. Why dont you tell him? You're basically family to him anyway. He normally isolates himself." She says as she leans forward. We keep eye contact for a while before i smile and then nod.

"That.. dosent sound bad. I dont think he sees me as a son, though, so can we keep this a secret for now?" I say as i stand up. It was quite late and i needed some sleep. It's been a long day.

"Yeah, of course! Go get some sleep, todays been exahasting." She says as she waves at me. I smile and wave back before leaving and shutting the door. I get jumpscared but Lucifer, who appears around the corner.

"Hey! You and Char-Char seem to be getting along!" He says as he approaches me and puts a hand on my shoulder. I smile at him softly. He really is the best father figure i could ever ask for.

"Yeah, we have. Were good friends." I say. Lucifer smiles at me. He yawns, and i chuckle at him. I could see the eye bags under his eyes.

"That's great, and I'll see you tomorrow, goodnight, kiddo!" He says as he walks away.

"Night d- Lucifer." I say, quickly correcting myself as i go towards my room.

-Next morning-

I awake and walk out of my room. I walk into the lobby and grab water from the fridge. I see Lucifer and Charlie chatting on the sofa. I make eye contact with Lucifer, and in unison, we smile. "Morning," He says.

"morning dad" I say as i drink the rest of my drink. I didn't even notice what i said. Lucifers eye widened, and he said something to Charlie before approaching me.

"you- why did you call me dad? do you see me as a father?" He says as he taps my shoulder. I panic as i realise what i said. We just stare at each other in silence before i finally speak.

"uh- yeah..i didn't mean to, i didn't want to make you uncomfort-" I say before i get interrupted by being pulled into a tight hug. I gasp, and my eyes widen slightly. I look at Charlie, and she gives me a thumbs up.

"It's fine! You're like a kid to me, my kid! I dont mind, " He says as i hug him back. I smile and chuckle. What a father figure i have, huh?

Charlie approaches me and joins in with the hug.

"I've always wanted a sibling! And a brother, now i have both, how exciting!" She says with a smile. I chuckle, and so does Lucifer.

"And I've always wanted a son,"

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Thank you for the recommendation! This was a good one.

#hazbin hotel #platonic #x platonic!reader #lucifer x reader #hazbin hotel lucifer #hazbin hotel x male reader #hazbin hotel x reader #lucifer morningstar #platonic reader

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lifeandtimesoftrying · 3 months

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The overlords’ persuasion, the Morningstar’s power, and what this means for Charlie

Hazbin Hotel's been rotating in my head since the finale and I have capital-t Thoughts about the worldbuilding (and its implications). So!

Hazbin Hotel’s power system is fundamentally divided into two parts: the overlords, whose abilities are fully tied to and determined by their connections with other denizens, and the Morningstars/other Hell-born aristocracy, whose abilities are innate and unchanging. I think this is why Lucifer is incredibly powerful while not really having power, the overlords seem to be running the show, and Charlie’s character has a lot left to come.

(This got pretty long and there are spoilers, so I’m putting it under a cut!)

Lucifer doesn’t have much authority—the meeting to decide the fate of hell is attended by only the overlords, other demons repeatedly dismiss Charlie (often even using her relationship with her dad to do so), and when we do finally meet the King of Hell himself, it’s when he’s engaged in a hobby which he clearly has a lot of free time for. When Charlie needs large numbers of allies, it’s Alastor and Rosie who coordinate to get them for her, and Alastor is terrified of Zestiel but told Lucifer “fuck you” to his face. Lucifer doesn’t have any control over his subjects.

However, he is still incredibly powerful. He and Charlie, whose powers presumably came from him, defeated Adam, and in the finale sequence he conjured the foundation for a whole hotel without any strain.

The overlords function in the exact opposite way: their powers are gained through their various relationships with other people, and can be influenced as such. Most obviously, Carmilla Carmine explicitly tells Vaggie that the best way to fight is for love, but Rosie is powerful because of the ways she can provide for people and gain their loyalty. Alastor’s known to have bought souls to do his bidding, and the Vees are all themed around ways to influence people (pornography, TV, and social media), and at least one of them also has contracts for souls.

“Hell’s Greatest Dad” illustrates both the overlords’ and the aristocracy’s perspectives. Regardless of how authentic Alastor is being in his claims in the song, it can be assumed that he’s doing everything he can to convince Charlie to work with him, and Lucifer is doing the same. However, their approaches are polar opposites.

Lucifer’s persuasion relies on his innate abilities: he calls himself “the big boss of Hell himself,” and says that he can help “with the punch of a pentagram / I wap-bam-boom, alakazam / Usually I charge a sacrificial lamb / But you get the family rate.” This emphasizes both his familial (and unchangeable) tie to Charlie and his inborn abilities, which come up again when he says “there’s no substitute for pure angelic power.”

The reasons that Alastor cites for why he should be chosen are all based in the actions that he’s done for Charlie, and the resulting relationship that they have because of those actions. He emphasizes his consistency (“who’s been here since day one”) and reliability (who’s been faithful as a nun), both of which are good traits for an overlord to have.

I think this contrast is why Mimzy has to show up when she does: there is no way to resolve the argument about whether to choose that which has been built or that which you were born with. And that’s because of Charlie. Charlie’s dad was never mortal, but her mom was. None of the overlords have been called immortal, but many of them are confirmed to have been mortal. A large part of Charlie’s arc in season 1 is her learning how to connect with the people around her and get them to believe in her. She is, in many ways, beginning to function like an overlord would. With one major difference.

We know that Husk used to be an overlord, most likely one of gambling. Gambling is really three things: chance, skill, and being able to read other people without them being able to read you. And from what we know of overlords, getting that status requires all of those traits. Chance and skill exist in any field, but the ability to see past other’s facades without revealing your own hand is incredibly important here, to the point where it’s Alastor’s whole shtick—a smile is a way of staying in control.

But where overlords try to read those around them while keeping their own feelings hidden, Charlie always has her heart on her sleeve. When she goes to cannibal town, Alastor’s advice that she always smile quickly stops working, and only after she’s processed her feelings about Vaggie by talking with Rosie is she able to convince people to follow her.

But this is still only half of what she’s potentially capable of. We haven’t seen her try to battle anyone on her own and win—the closest we got was Valentino, but she quickly backed down from that. Since a second season is scheduled, my bet is that it’ll follow her learning the extent of her innate powers, and how to pair them with her connections to others—after all, she is the only character with both mortal an immortal lineages.

#hazbin hotel #hazbin hotel analysis #hazbin hotel meta #is it meta? eh hopefully #charlie morningstar #lucifer morningstar #i have so many thoughts about them #i freakin' love having thoughts #alastor #hazbin hotel alastor #the radio demon #jeez he's hard to tag #behold! an original post!

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wizkiddx · 3 years

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hiiiii !!! if you are accepting requests at the moment, can i ask something about reader and tom expecting a baby, one day while he’s drunk she sees him flirting with another women and when she confronts him he snaps at her and tells her he’s not ready for this “shit”. So they broke up and broke contact for months, until he shows in her apartment regretting his words and they talk but she suddenly at that moment gets into labor?!? I remember seeing a concept similar in a movie but I would love if you couldn’t bring it to life! Thank you so much in advance, appreciate your work a lot 🧸🤎

right so I loved this so much it has become a multiple parter and im not even going to apologise. so thanku so so much anon for getting me out a little rut!!!

summary: when toms caught out all hope looks lost - probs part 1 of 3 but it could get a bit longer too lol

warnings: serious angst, reference to abortion, cheating, a whole lot of swearing (im British sorry not sorry)

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“Hi babe, just to let you know Yamna’s invited me out for dinner this evening so don’t worry if you get home early and im not back! I love you x”

It was a spur of the moment plan, which was a rarity recently. The past 5 months since you’d found out, you could name barely 5 occasions you’d been out past 8 oclock- trading your heels for fuzzy slippers and dresses for massively oversized tops and joggers. It wasn’t how you had expected to be spending the summer before your 25th birthday but it was now your life. The rooftop bars, the wild nights, the get aways had all sort of been cancelled for… for the rest of your life.

Because an 8 month pregnant belly isn’t something you can ignore.

Sure…. it wasn’t the plan. Not the plan to be pregnant with your boyfriend of only 6 months, who at the time you didn’t even live with. But you were making it work. And now, you were just excited. It was the start of a new story with Tom, and you’d got past the phase of being sad and mourning your youth. Because the little bubba inside of you, she was pretty awesome and you really couldn’t wait to meet her.

So yes, you had been home alone eating ice cream from a tub when Yamna knocked on the door. She’d been one of your best mates for as long as you could remember so when she’d turned up unannounced with mascara smeared under her eyes you’d cancelled your plans of a pathetic alone evening. Her boss had just given her the sack - which was no surprise. He was a backwards tory old git who couldn’t handle the fact Yamna was a woman doing the job better than he could ever dream of.

So yes, you’d suggested going out to the fancy new bar down the road - to celebrate the fact she no longer had to put up with the arsehole. Obviously you couldn’t drink and neither did Yamna, but you go to a bar for the atmosphere - and the selection of mocktails they had was insane.

Your boyfriend Tom was already out, he said he had a meeting and then dinner with some execs he needed to shmoosh. Of course you didn’t mind, but he had been working a lot recently, in order to be able to have the time off when your baby girl arrives.

So after sending a little text and giving Yamna another hug to try and turn the evening from disappointment to celebration you walked out the door with a smile on your face. Maybe you could pretend, just for an evening to not be pregnant and whale-like?

///////////////////////////

The bar was just a 10 minute walk so it wasn’t long before the two of you were soaking up the atmosphere. It was all decorated in a rustic fashion, with old exposed wood and dangling lightbulbs from the ceiling and the drinks were incredible. The type that have dry ice or flames or some other sort of fantastical display of edible decorations. Even Yamna had perked up, especially when a guy from the table across had bought you both a round of drinks.

“I’m just gonna pop to the loo.”

“Do you really need the toilet or do you just want to parade infornt of the fit rich man who keeps looking at you?”

“ Is both an option?” You laughed as Yamna slipped off her stool, winking rather dramatically as she did so. She was unbelievable - but at least this way she wasn’t thinking about her work, or lack thereof, anymore.

Happily you sat scrolling though your phone, seeing that tom had messaged you with an okay, before flicking through instagram.

And that was where the happiness ended.

For in a hurried manner, with a face looking a lot more ghosted than when she left, Yamna took her seat again.

“Are you okay?” Immediately your worry took over, the way she was biting her lip and not meeting your eyes not helping.

“I um yeh-yeh. Just I think I saw Tom.”

“Tom as in my Tom?” Her almost guilty looking nod had your scrunching your eyebrows, why was it such a big deal Tom was inside?

“He didn’t see me I don’t think but er… he just looked pretty close to a girl and I-“

To be honest you stopped listening at that point, heart dropping out the bottom of your chest. Because it made sense, he had been so distant recently and even if you’d been lying to yourself that it were work - this seemed much more likely. Whilst nodding along, pretending to listen to Yamna, instead your attention was solely focused on fiddling with the promise ring he’d got you after the two of you decided to keep the baby. He’d been so committed, so ready for this unexpected news. He’d said he was in for the long haul.

“Y/n?”

“sorry I um… it’s probably just a work colleague he needs to sweet talk. I’ll um-I’ll just go say hello.”

“I’m coming with you.” She spoke astutely, very much forcing herself into the situation.

“No no I’ll… I’ll come back if I need you, just wait here.”

Her face was so grim and destitute, as much as you were pretending it was okay - you knew it wasn’t. Before Yamna could protest further, you slipped off your seat ( clumsily thanks to the elephant belly) and walked with fake confidence back inside.

It took you barely 3 seconds to hone in on Tom, call it mothers intuition. He was on a booth in the corner with 5 others on his table but none of whom you recognised. It was 2 other guys and 3 girls - the six all paired off in mathcingly initimate conversations. Apart from that you payed almost zero attention to the others, attention solely focused on your boyfriend and the girl he had his arm round.

She was everything you weren’t. She was skinny - you, as previously mentioned, looked like you had a beachball stuffed under your top. She was blonde with sleek and perfectly styled waves at the tips of her long her - yours was thrown into a messy bun due to the last minute plans.

Most importantly - right now she was wrapped in Toms arms, whilst you stood alone watching.

God knows what came over you, but with confidence you never normally had you marched up to the table, just waiting at the end. One of the men you didn’t recognised, arrogantly asked you ‘can I help you’ - but you completely disregarded it, eyes solely fixed on Tom. He took a moment more to look away from the leggy girl, but as soon as he did his eyes grew massively wide.

“Y/n I-I-“

“Fancy bumping into you, I thought you were out with work executives?” Frantically casting his gaze across the table, you could see the cogs whirring to try and come up with an explanation.

“No I-I was but then Charlie here came over, we used to be mates at school and-“

“Oh fuck off Tom., I cant deal with this right now.”

You didn’t even have the energy to listen to his clearly fake excuses as to why he’d landed himself in that situation. You also certainly did not have it in you to maintain the strong face, you could feel everything shattering inside of you.

Because it was so blindingly obvious by how he had acted. You’d caught him out and you both knew it.

And it fucking hurt like hell.

So you exited the bar as fast as physically possible, hearing the shouts of both Yamna and Tom behind you. You didn’t know what you needed in that moment - except that neither of them were the answer. Tom though, presumably the faster of the two, managed to catch up - grabbing your arm to make you halt in the road.

There was this moment between the two of you that time almost seemed to freeze. The two of you, in an otherwise pretty empty residential street, at 9:30 at night, in a moment that you would never have again. From your point of view, you saw the slightly bloodshot and bleary eyes, widened with panic and fear. For Tom he saw the floods of tears down your cheeks, which you hadn’t even noticed were freely streaming.

But in that moment there was, at least, the slightest bit of peace. The slightest bit of hope - that he could explain, that he had some ludicrous but valid reason for the situation you had walked in on. Just a smidgen of hope that this were recoverable.

But then he had to open his bloody mouth.

“Y/n I swear nothing-“

“That didn’t look like fucking nothing!”

“It was I swear! We just-“

“Tom this is your one and only chance. I don’t care if your off your face, if you don’t give my a miracle of a reason as to what the fuck THAT was - then I’m gone.”

“Don’t say that Y/n, you don’t mean th-“ He tried to grab your hand which you snatched away, like you had just scalded it on a hot plate. Like he had hurt you.

“I swear to god I’ve never meant anything more. So cut the shit.”

“FIne-fine! Um so we were at the meeting and then on the way out I bumped into George and hes been a good mate of mine for years.” All you did was hum, arms crossed and making sure you had a metre of distance between the two of you.

“So he said god you look like you need a drink and I agreed because its been stressful as hell recently.”

“Oh its been stressful; for YOU has it? I’m so sorry Thomas, has it been hard for you while i’ve been throwing my lungs up with morning sickness? Has it been stressful that I’ve been running on zero hours sleep because she kicks me all bloody night? ” Your words were laced in a posioned sarcasm, to which Tom just stammered to.

“Please just let me.” Given he was supposed to be fighting for you, he sounded pretty darn defeated already.

“I said yes to the drink.” He skipped out the bit that had angered you, to which you rolled your eyes at. “And one turned into two and more and then I don’t know-“

“Your going to have to try a lot harder than that.” You deadpanned, taking a small step further back still.

“I mean it! The girls were all his friends and we were just talking.”

“Just talking? All pressed up and arms round her?”

“Yes!” As indignant as he retorted, it didn’t not make up for what you had seen with your own eyes.

“Your such a bullshitter Tom!”

“God why wont you just listen to me?” He cried, wobbly doing a little 360 on the spot, in what appeared to be exasperation.

“Because your just spouting fucking lies! And you try and blame it all on poor little tommo being stressed which is-“

“I HAVE BEEN! Running round after you! I’m just tired of this shit!!! So kill me, for having one night of freedom!”

Tom was too deep in his angry lecture to take any notice of you. Which is why, once finished, he waitied, breath heavy and nose flaring. He was waiting for you to scream back at him. To give it back. He was too drunk to notice the change in your demeanor.

“I’m tired of this shit.”

It was just reverberating round your head. Again and again and again. He was tired of your relationship and you hadn’t even become parents yet. He was at his wits-end and the baby was still unborn. What the fuck was going to happen when baby arrived? Clearly there was no hope. It was dead. Your relationship was dead with no chance of revival.

Because he’d said it. Your relationship was shit, and nobody can put up with something they hate for that long. Not 18 years. Not while bringing up a child.

So with a new sense of dread and fear and complete and total isolation you uttered three single words before hysterically running away.

“Don’t follow me.”

Not now, not ever.

?to be continued?

~~~~~~~~~~gahhhh I hope u enjoyed! I also REALLY CANNOT THINK OF A NAME FOR THIS MINISERIES --> if anyone can think of something pls inbox me!!! ~~~~~~~~

tom taglist: @lovehollandy12 @hollandlover19 @thefernandasantana @hunnybunimdun @hallecarey1@cedricdiggorysimpp @msmimimerton @hollandfanficlove @pandaxnienke @crossyourpeter @thegirlwiththeimpala @tom-softie @sunwardsss @spiitfiiires @radcloudenthusiast @ladykxxx08 @prancerrparkerr @wildxwidow @Elishi03 @arctic-monkcys @Ownbauer13 @tomhollandlol

#tom x reader #tom holland imagine #tom holland fanfiction #tom holland angst #tom holland one shot #tomholland #tom holland #tom holland imagines #tom holland oneshot #tom holland x reader #tom holland fluff #tom holland smut #tom holland angst #angsty #pregnant!reader

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1dsource · 4 years

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Author Spotlight: lovelarry10

Don’t forget to show the author to leave kudos and comments to show the author love!

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Louis is a bit embarrassed when Harry picks on him from the stage, but when he's invited backstage after the show, he wonders what Harry Styles could possibly want with a single dad and his kid from Manchester...

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Talk to me, Lou.”

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“Then… I’ll try and guess. You’ve… got some stuff of Harry’s. Something of his to make it smell like him?”

Louis just nodded, eyes fixated on the floor. This was humiliating, but he knew Zayn wouldn’t stop until he found out what was going on.

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Are you kidding me right now?

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Why are you such a brat? Why can’t you just be happy for me for once?

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*****

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Just Let Me Adore You

Words: 26k

When Louis’ daughter presents him with a Christmas gift far beyond the price range of a four year old, he jumps to the worst of conclusions. He’s pleasantly surprised when he finds out how she isn’t as naughty as he thought she was, and who came to her rescue..

Part 1 of The Millie Verse

Always You

Words: 15k

“You think he’ll want to come?” Millie asked the question that had been clearly troubling her, and Louis just grinned, nodding. He knew it was right up Harry’s street, and that his husband would near-collapse from the emotion of being asked to something so important to Millie. “Really really?”

“I really really think he will,” Louis grinned, cuddling his daughter tightly again.

*****

Valentine’s Day is one of Millie's favourite holidays. It’s all about love, and boy does she love to love. She loves her daddies, she loves her auntie's and her grandparents. She even loves her new best friend, much to her Daddy’s worry. But this year is going to be extra special if her Papa accepts her question! Harry also wants to make this holiday special for his two loves, while Louis has his own surprise up his sleeve...

Part 2 of The Millie Verse

(Last update: 28/02-20)

Piece by Piece

Words: 168k

Now that his best friend Liam is getting married Louis Tomlinson needs help, and he’s finally admitted it. He can’t work and be the best dad to his disabled son Mason without it. That’s where Harry Styles comes in.

And so begins the love story of a lifetime.

Part 1 of The Mason-Verse

To Carry Love

Words: 21k

Picking up a few years after Piece by Piece, we catch up with the Tomlinson-Styles as they celebrate the arrival of Liam's first child, and make a few choices of their own...

Part 2 of The Mason-Verse

I Get To Love You

Words: 83k

A one night stand leaves Harry with a permanent reminder of the night he spent with a stranger.

Louis has no idea who the handsome stranger he took to bed is... until his friends make a shocking discovery.

A baby is on the way, and Louis and Harry have nine months to get to know each other before they become a family...

There You Are

Words: 82k

“How do you know I’ve got problems?” Harry asked, cocking his eyebrows at the man next to him, suddenly full of a deep desire to confess everything if it kept Louis’ eyes on him for the rest of eternity.

“Your eyes,” Louis said with a shrug. “They look a bit sad. I don’t like that. So go on, unburden yourself to your friendly neighbourhood stripper.”

“You’re not just a stripper,” Harry mumbled as he took another sip of his drink, mentally debating with himself over how to word what he was about to say before he figured he’d just say it in the simplest way possible. “I found my husband in bed fucking another man.”

****

*Harry’s entire life has fallen apart - in one night, his carefully planned future is suddenly uncertain.

Then he meets Louis.

You Are My Sunshine

Words: 17k

“Hi!” Charlie said, stopping at the end of the driveway of a small house and waving at the man. “Mornin’!”

“Well, you just made my day,” the man said, walking towards Charlie and Louis with a big smile on his face. “Thank you so much!”

“Bye!” was all Charlie returned with, and the man laughed, looking straight at Louis for a moment.

“Bye, have fun!” “

We will, thanks,” Louis replied with a smile, still a bit mesmerised by the stranger.

*****

Charlie is a happy little boy, he smiles and waves at everyone around him, making Louis the proudest dad. Charlie’s spark of personality and a well timed hello brings a stranger into his and Louis’ lives when they least expect it...

The Little Dog Whisperer

Words: 28k

Louis lives alone with his dog Clifford. When he spots a sign in the neighbourhood advertising dog walking services, along come Harry and his son Alfie into his life…

All I Do is Want You

Words: 31k

“Lou, if he knew how you felt, he might change how he feels?”

“And that’s the last thing I want!” Louis threw up his hands as he spoke, exasperated as he always was when it came to this particular topic of conversation. “I don’t want him to feel like he owes me something, or that he has to reciprocate my feelings, Zayn. He doesn’t feel that way towards me and I’ve come to terms with that, okay? You need to as well.”

“I would if you actually meant it,” Zayn mumbled in reply, barely ducking in time as Louis lobbed a cushion at him. “You know this isn’t healthy, right? That you can’t just keep fucking him because you’re scared you’re gonna lose him?”

Harry loves his best mate Louis. He especially loves the casual sex they indulge in. Trouble is, Louis’ in love with Harry. Surely it’s destined to end in heartbreak...

The Daddiest Place on Earth

Words: 23k

dilfs_atdisneyworld: Ooh he's popular. Is it me or has it got hot in here? #dilf #hothothot #gimme

louist91: What the hell? Why the fuck am I on a DILFs page again?"

dilfs_atdisneyworld: louist91, Hello! You're on here because you're a DILF. A dad I'd like to f...😜

Louist91: dilfs_atdisneyworld Oh my god. Fuck off mate.

***

Louis. Harry. Instagram. A whole lot of confusion and a whole lot of laughs...

I Knew You Were Waiting For Me

Words: 26k

Harry has been hearing his soulmates voice for years now, and he's just desperate to meet the person he knows he's meant to be with.

Louis has come to think that he's destined to never meet his soulmate.

A chance camping holiday with their best friends just might end in all of their dreams coming true.

How It Would Feel To Be Free

Words: 90k

"When's she due?”

“She said next month,” Harry replied quickly, ignoring the look of shock on Louis’ face. “How the hell am I going to tell my parents that I’m going to be a father, and to a baby born out of wedlock? It’s going to be some whole-ass scandal, Lou, and I can’t ... I can’t-”

“I’ll help you. Whatever it takes, Harry, I’ll be there for you.”

When Prince Harry unexpectedly becomes a father, his best friend Louis steps in. The masses believe the baby is Louis’, but all Harry wants is to tell the world the truth - about the baby and his feelings for Louis.

Waited All Year To Be Near

Words: 27k

“Your kids are so fuckin’ great, Lou, seriously. Like, Leo reminds me so much of you, and Molly is just bloody beautiful, that kid loves me, I swear to God.”

“Oi, not as much as she’s gonna love her Papa,” Louis chided, jokingly smacking Niall on the arm. “And Haz? He’s coping okay?”

“You know him, course he is. He’s wonder Dad, dunno how he does it. Misses you, though. He thinks we don’t catch the little touches of his wedding ring, or the way he glances at your photos whenever he walks by. But we do. He’s like… he’s strong for everyone else, but he needs you, Louis. He needs someone to be strong for him, too.”

****

Harry’s preparing for the holidays at home with his four children while Louis is deployed. All he wants is his husband home for Christmas. But Louis’ half a world away...

With The Strength To Carry On

Words: 113k

The American British Doctoral Exchange Program was the best thing that ever happened to Louis. It gave him a chance to start over and make a real difference in the world. He could focus on work and not be distracted by anything or anyone. When Harry Styles shows up as the new intern, he turns Louis' world upside down.

Harry Styles had one passion in life, and that was helping sick children feel better. Putting smiles on their faces made Harry feel like he was making up for past mistakes and losses. When he gets accepted to the American British Doctoral Exchange Program, he treats it as the chance of a lifetime to make a difference internationally. He didn't expect to fall for his mentor along the way....

or the one where Louis and Harry are doctors, and things happen.

Made From Love

Words: 14k

It's almost Christmas, and amongst the preparations, Louis' realised something about his husband Harry.

Harry, however, seems to be oblivious.

Louis' determined to open Harry's eyes and make him realise the real magic that's happening this Christmas...

I Don’t Wanna Hide Us Away

Words: 3k

It's the X Factor final, and Louis' excited to see Little Mix perform. As he sits back to watch, he's blissfully unaware of how his life is about to change...

The Pain Is For Pleasure

Words: 67k

“Louis, please. I promise you, you are so attractive to me. I love you, and I think you are the sexiest man I’ve ever been with-”

“But Harry, that’s the fucking problem! You haven’t been with me, have you?! You don’t want me in that way, it’s pretty clear…” He cut him off, feeling that he was about to say something he would later regret. “If there’s a problem, I wish that you felt you could have told me, rather than, well, this.”

“Louis, I-”

“Just leave it, Haz. I get it, okay?”

“No! You don’t, you have no fucking idea, Louis!”

Louis and Harry have been together for a few months. Everything is great, but there’s one question burning in the back of Louis' mind - why won’t Harry have sex with him?

Baby We Could Be Enough

Words: 74k

Harry Styles has always wanted a family, but his boyfriend doesn’t. When an unexpected pregnancy leaves Harry feeling alone and terrified, he feels he has no choice but to give up his baby. He finds a family with the adoptive parents, and maybe something more.

Louis Tomlinson and his wife, Jess, have been trying for a baby for years. Their hasty marriage after they first got pregnant has only led to a series of miscarriages that have put a strain on their already precarious relationship. When they meet a young man desperate for a home and someone to raise his child, Louis realizes that he may have been moving in the wrong direction all along.

Step Into The Light

Words: 13k

Harry’s filming his music video for his new song in the humid heat of Cancun, Mexico after dark.

Louis watches him with hooded eyes from behind the visor of his motorcycle helmet watching it all go down.

How far can Harry push his desire?

It’s Coming Home

Words: 14k

Harry hates football and is reluctantly dragged to Hyde Park to watch the semi-final. It’s not the football that catches his eye though, it’s the cute blue-eyed boy at the next VIP balcony...

Or the one where Harry and Louis are strangers who meet at the England vs Croatia semi-final match being screened in London and maybe find what it is they've been searching for.

It’s My Party (And I’ll Cry If I Want To)

Words: 32k

“Sorry, who are you?”

“Oh. Yes. I’m Harry, from Fabulous Frog? I did ring the bell a few times, but there was no answer, and I heard laughter so I thought I’d pop my head round…”

“Oh! You’re the party person! Wow, of course. I’m sorry, lost track of time playing with these monsters,” Louis said, hurrying over and shaking Harry’s outstretched hand. “Lovely to meet you. Did you want to sit out here rather than indoors? Seems too nice a day to waste inside, and I can watch the children.”

“Sounds fine to me. I hope I didn’t scare you, or them? Some people don’t expect a guy to turn up when they ask to speak to me...”

*****

Louis needs help planning the party of the year for his siblings. Party planner Harry Styles is the last thing he expects.

Look How Far We’ve Come My Baby

Words: 5k

Harry’s finishing up his tour in LA, and has a surprise planned for his boyfriend. He’s devastated when Louis can’t make it to the show, but little does he know, Louis has a little something up his sleeve...

Could You?

Words: 2.9k

It's Louis' final night on tour, and he has one more thing to do, the moment he's been waiting for.

It's finally here.

Clumsy

Words: 12k

Louis loves taking Clifford to the market every weekend. It’s their thing. But when Cliff manages to trip over a handsome stranger, on Valentine’s Day of all days, it might just be the start of something new and exciting...

Love Will Tear Us Apart

Words: 103k

“You ruined my fucking life, Harry. You stopped me living my dream because you’re a selfish bastard who couldn’t keep himself clean for five fucking minutes. You took away my independence, my freedom, my choices, Harry. And I hate you for that, I hate you!”

As he spat out the final words, Louis felt all of the fight go out of him. He slumped back into the chair, his heart racing his chest, his head beginning to swim. It was a familiar feeling, and one Louis didn't like. He looked up, finally meeting Harry’s gaze for the first time in a while.

“Out of everyone in my life, Harry, I never thought you’d be the one to hurt me. Not like this.”

A story of two halves.

Louis and Harry had it all - a career, friendship, and some of the best sex either of them had ever had.

But Harry ruins it all with one life-changing mistake ... and Louis is left to pay the price.

Spellbound

Words: 22k

Louis’ a shifter. Harry’s a witch. The only problem is, they’re hiding those things from each other.

Will they be able to keep their secrets hidden at the most spooky time of year?

Baby, Honey

Words: 7.3k

Harry's been talking about sex and babies on stage too much for Louis' liking, so he decides to give him what he wants...

Or the one with the aftermath of Harry's Detroit concert...

Strip That Down

Words: 7.5k

“You’re doing well,” came Louis’ voice, and Harry’s eyes flew open, craning his head to see Louis sat on the sofa across the room, legs crossed, hands resting in his lap as he sat there, an amused smile on his lips. “A bit of a wimp, but I guess it must hurt-”

“You guess? My legs are on fucking fire, Louis,” Harry retorted, his voice a little shaky still. The alcohol he’d been consuming all night was doing nothing to numb the pain, and the thought Louis thought he was a wimp wasn’t helping. “You have literally no idea how much this hurts.”

“No pain kink, then. I’ll bear that in mind,” Louis said smugly as Jesy walked back into the room, a fresh pot of wax in her hands. “Oh goody, here we go again.”

“Please don’t do my thighs, please-”

“Them’s the rules…” Jesy muttered as she started swiping wax over Harry’s left thigh.

*****

Offering to wax his legs as part of a bet wasn’t one of Harry's finer ideas, but if it has Louis ogling his thighs, who is he to complain?

I’m A Buff Baby, But I Dance Like A Man

Words: 10k

“Do not call me a ‘tiktokker’, Louis, I'm a dancer,” Harry said, using air quotes around Louis’ made up word with his fingers. “So have you changed your mind about TikTok?”

Louis gave Harry a wicked smile, their eyes fixed on each others. “No. It’s still shit.”

“Wanker.”

~*~

Louis despises the mere existence of TikTok. Unfortunately, his boyfriend Harry has decided that during quarantine, he’s going to become the latest TikTok dancing sensation...

Save A Horse, Ride A Cowboy

Words: 10k

Harry whimpered as Louis pushed himself up onto his tiptoes, grazing his ear lobe with his lips. His breath tickled Harry’s ears, and Harry swallowed, already anticipating what Louis was about to say.

“I’d like to ride you, cowboy…”

Harry's a barman at Flaming Saddles, a country and western themed gay bar.

Louis’ a customer who’d like to see if the tall barman is as good on the ropes as everyone says he is...

(I Can Show You How To) Slow Dance

Words: 15k

Louis feels nervous about asking his boyfriend Harry to his dance. Harry is quick to dismiss his worries and is determined to make it a night Louis will never forget...

A Lot of Fight Left in Me

Words: 139k

A few years after One Direction, Louis and Harry Tomlinson are happily married, have 5 year old twins and life seems pretty perfect. Their children have started school, and they're still in regular contact with their bandmates and best friends, Niall and Liam.

However, when their daughter receives some news they could have never expected, their whole world gets turned upside down. With a little help from friends and family and their love keeping them afloat they’re determined to take back their happiness, believing in the fact that love really is all you need.

You’re My Only Hope

Words: 12k

Harry and Louis have been hoping to start a family for a while, but it hasn't happened for them just yet. With the surprise arrival of a newborn baby on the doorstep at work, are their family dreams about to become reality?

Part 1 of A Life That’s Good

Tiny Dancer

Words: 8.9k

“Why are you awake at-” Harry craned his head to see the clock on his bedside table, cringing when he saw it was just six in the morning. “Six? Too early, love!”

“I’m too excited to sleep,” Hope confessed, giggling softly to herself. “My show is today and I want to get up and get into my leotard and my tutu and my ballet slippers."

*****

It's Hope's first ballet recital, and Harry and Louis are more than excited to watch their four year old daughter perform for the first time.

Part 2 of A Life That’s Good

Who You Are

Words: 10k

“Lou? What is it?”

“No idea, Haz. It’s addressed to us, lemme read it.”

Harry nodded and Louis’ tired eyes skimmed the words, eyes widening when he realised who it was from.

“Shit, it’s been forwarded by Social Services.”

Harry hurried to sit up at that, and the pair of them leaned in, trying to read everything, to work out what was going on.

“Louis… we can’t lose them…”

“They’re ours, Harry. Have been for years, darling. But this is about Oscar..."

~*~

Things are going wonderfully for Harry and Louis. Their family has never been stronger. When a connection to their son’s past appears out of nowhere, it makes them wonder what lies ahead for the future of their family.

Part 3 of A Life That’s Good

We Got Love

Words: 12k

Harry and Louis thought their family was complete. They were wrong.

Part 4 of A Life That’s Good

Follow Your Arrow

Words: 10k

“Come on, you can talk to me, you know. I won’t judge sweetheart. Or we can wait til your other dad’s home and we can-”

“No!”

Harry blinked, a little startled at the ferocity with which Hope had answered him then.

“No? Is it… has Papa said something to you?”

Hope’s hair dropped in front of her face as she shook her head again, biting nervously on her lip now. “It’s not him. I love both of you. I just… I don’t want him to be disappointed in me. I can’t tell him.”

*****

Hope has a crush, but she’s scared to tell her parents, especially Louis. Harry helps her figure out how to break the news to her other dad, who is ultimately nothing but wonderful.

Part 5 of A Life That’s Good

Summer Love

Words: 11k

"Papa! PAPA!”

"What, love?”

"You coming in?”

"Go on Lou,” Harry encouraged, knowing Grace had been waiting ages for her dad to come in the pool with her. “I’ll wait here. Might go and chat to Hope for a bit.”

"Okay,” Louis said, pecking Harry as he stood up. “No eating all my fruit salad, alright?”

"Can’t promise anything,” Harry said before he walked off, leaving Louis to walk over to the pool. He sat down on the poolside, letting his feet dip into the cool blue water, smiling at the sight of children splashing around, having fun with their family members. His daughter soon swam up to him, wet hands and arms resting on his warm thighs as she smiled up at him, her blonde hair plastered to her head.

*****

The Tomlinsons are off on a summer holiday before it’s time for everything to change...

Part 6 of A Life That’s Good

Right Here Waiting

Words: 5.1k

Louis and Harry are expecting a baby. Harry's heavily pregnant and nesting madly, determined to make their home ready for their baby.

The Boy With The Pearl Earring

Words: 14k

“I just… I loved it tonight. Being myself, wearing all this in front of the cameras. I know there’ll be people who hate it but I don’t care. I was me, Lou. I was Harry Styles for the first real time.”

“And you fucking smashed it, baby,” Louis grinned back, his hands around the small of Harry’s back now as he pressed in firmly, yanking them together as Harry stumbled, falling against Louis’ body.

~~~~~~

Harry heads home after the Met Gala to get ready for the After Party, but there's a surprise waiting for him...

We’ve Already Won

Words: 7.4k

Harry settles down at home with Clifford and Evie to support Louis on the X Factor, and waits for Louis to return home to his family.

Bigger Ain’t Always Better!

Words: 10k

Harry buys Louis a rather naughty birthday present, and they eagerly hurry back to Harry's flat, eager to try it out. Neither of them expect what happens next....

Don’t You Remember?

Words: 7.6k

Louis nearly broke everything - himself, his relationship, everything that meant anything to him.

But Harry never gave up on him.

Part 1 of Who Do I Run To?

Remedy

Words: 9.9k

"Are you coming back? I mean, are we done? Please don’t say we’re done Lou, you’re my everything, please-“ Harry held his breath as Louis stepped closer, taking Harry’s shaking hands in his own, running his thumbs over Harry’s soft skin. Harry felt calmer immediately at Louis’ touch, and longed for more, fingers itching to touch back. Harry inhaled as Louis stepped forwards and pressed a kiss to his cheek, the familiar scent filling his nose, surrounding him with love.

"I’m so sorry.” Harry’s heart fell at that, and he could do nothing but watch as Louis walked away.

Harry has to come to terms with Louis disappearing as he heads off on his first world tour, but he’s hopeful his boy will find his way home.

Part 2 of Who Do I Run To?

Wonder How I Ever Made It Through

Words: 9.6k

Louis loved his home and his neighbourhood. It made jogging more enjoyable. But when a boy with curly hair moves into a home down the street, neither of these men realise what changes are coming their way.

Or Harry and Louis realise that all they need to be strong is love.

Moments Stay When People Leave...

Words: 13k

Louis just shrugged then, his eyes shining with unshed tears as he looked back up at Harry, pain etched into his face.

“You could’ve just talked to me, told me how you were feeling? I just… I deserved more than you gave me, Harry.”

*****

Harry gets lost in the memories of the best relationship he'd ever had, and then threw away, breaking two hearts. He makes a decision just before Christmas, and can only hope Louis feels the same...

Feels Like Christmas

Words: 49k

Harry Styles has always loved Christmas - it’s his favourite holiday, but there’s always been something missing.

Louis Tomlinson has been running from his pain, and is determined to ignore the holidays once more, choosing to spend them in solitude.

When they meet - entirely by chance - it could be just what they both need this Christmas...

Part 1 of Make My Wish Come True

Fairytale of New York

Words: 9.3k

Harry and Louis fly to New York for their holiday. Harry has a few surprises in store for an unsuspecting Louis...

Part 2 of Make My Wish Come True

You’ve Got This Spell On Me

Words: 20k

Louis has been living in Florida for 3 years now, and loves his job working at Universal Orlando Resort, particularly in the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. He's on a countdown to finally head home to Doncaster, but the arrival of a curly-haired boy from Holmes Chapel throws Louis' last few weeks in the Sunshine State into complete disarray...

After All This Time

Words: 36k

"Look, I’m sorry. I just… we reckon you and Harry would be so good together. You just, I dunno, complete each other somehow? In a way that we all don’t. Sometimes, we watch the two of you and it’s like Harry and Louis against the world, like we could all disappear and you’d both be just fine as long you have each other.”

"Shit. God, I’m sorry, Li, we don’t mean to-”

"No! No, Lou, I’m not looking for an apology or whatever. I just… I wish you’d both see how good you’d be together. It’s nice, to watch you both actually, how easy things are between you. You cuddle, and touch each other, but at the same time, you can just sit in silence with each other, and it’s enough. I’d like to find that, someday, that’s all.”

Louis and Harry have been best friends since a fateful meeting on the Hogwarts Express seven years ago. With their time at Hogwarts coming to an end, their friends are determined to make them see that perhaps they've always destined to be more than just friends.

Prompted into reliving some of their most vivid moments at Hogwarts, Louis and Harry come to a startling realisation... that just maybe, after all this time, they're meant to be each others. Always.

Lost Without You

Words: 9.2k

Louis wants to see the world. Harry tells him to go.

Wasn’t Expecting That

Words: 3.8k

It's three days before Christmas, and Harry's nervously waiting for news. Surely it can't be bad, not again.

As always, Louis' right by his side.

You Bring Me Home

Words: 12k

After forgetting to do his homework, Louis Tomlinson was in a bind. He had to submit something but knew whatever he was going to write in the next hour was gonna be awful. By a stroke of luck, he finds a essay in the printer and submits it as his own. Little did he know it was written by his former best friend Harry Styles. After the essay wins in a competition will this push them further apart or bring them back together?

For You Are Mine

Words: 24k

“This is the most wonderful news. Congratulations. I had fifty wonderful years with my Lily before she passed, and every day I spent by her side was a joy. I wish you and Louis the very best, Harry.”

“He hasn’t said yes yet,” Harry said, laughing as Leon rolled his eyes. “I know, I know, but I don’t want to get too ahead of myself.” “You love him? And he loves you?”

“I do, and he does.”

“Then there are no worries to be had. Be secure in your love for each other. Go, go home and propose, begin the first day of the rest of your life.”

******

As Harry embarks on making one of the biggest decisions in his life thus far, he takes Louis on a journey of memories through his love of drawing.

I Will Answer All Yiur Wishes

Words: 11k

Harry has been begging Louis to let him get a cat for a while now, but Louis' always said no because they work, and it wouldn't be fair to leave a pet all alone all day.

But when their sixth anniversary comes around, he just might have a surprise for his boyfriend...

Mama

Words: 7.9k

"This is it, you know?” Harry said after a moment, filling the silence once more. “This is what happiness feels like. Real happiness. Like, I’m so content I could just stay here with you two forever. I’m a husband, and a Mummy. This, right here, is everything I ever wanted. I love you, and I love Amelie more than I ever thought I could love anyone.”

*****

Harry and Louis bring their newborn daughter home from the hospital, and experience the first twenty four hours of parenthood.

Hallelujah, You’re Home

Words: 2.1k

Harry takes his Louis to watch a final sunset on the beach together, one last time.

I Got Me An Appetite

Words: 4.9k

In the midst of planning their wedding, Louis and Harry spend the day in the countryside hungry for some much needed time together...

Strictly In Love

Words: 7.5k

Harry Styles is doing something he never thought he would do... taking part in another reality show, this time as a contestant in the 14th series of Strictly Come Dancing.

With a talented professional partner, a supportive boyfriend and fun songs to dance to, will the most uncoordinated member of One Direction be able to pull off the impossible and dance his way to the trophy?

#faaw #author spotlight #lovelarry10 #fic rec #hljournal #hlcreators #larry fanfiction

68 notes · View notes

just-honey-dewd · 4 years

Text

Angel’s comic commentary

Finally read the comic, and I've got a handful of things to say. This’ll mostly just be me listing out what this comic's canonically established alongside quite a bit of speculation. Feel free to update me on information here that's faulty.

Obvious spoilers ahead if you haven’t read it.

1. Angel and Val's relationship

It's established that Val is his boss and asserts that dominance on Angel in a very intense and toxic way. Comparable to a drunk abusive dad using his "gentle voice" on his son before erupting into terrifying fits of rage and almost resorting physical abuse -- only holding back because he doesn't want any evidence of abuse. Or in this context, he doesn't want his cash cow to risk any pointless bruising.

”Um.... I overheard you at the studio talking about how you didn’t have anyone to handle this deal.... with.... I mean.... Just thought it was an easy gig... I knew I could take em’ out easy and even scored ya both.” - Angel Dust

Angel seems to take initiative when it comes to handling mobsters and essentially meddling in Val's affairs. I speculate that this could be attributed to his background as a skilled mobster, as well as a desire to prove his worth in more ways than one. Not because he wants to suck up to his boss though. Rather, it seems like underlying self-worth issues coming into play.

Angel clearly has a lot of baggage with his past as a mobster, his rocky relationship with his family -- alongside heavily speculation of abuse from his dad and brother -- and a lack of healthy outlet. Which is why he's acting out and disobeying Val -- going out of his way to help him with jobs he's not even hired to do. Because before Cherri or the hotel, Angel went into the sex industry and "proved his worth" by being the most popular porn star in hell. But given the nature of abusive bosses, Val never treated Angel with genuine respect, only preserving him from danger which would probably feel patronizing to a person who could competently hold his own in battle. So Angel's next motive is to prove he can do more than just suck people's dicks to Val so he can earn his respect.

The relationship's basically a one-sided give and take affair. Angel gives, Val takes. All because Angel's misguided head feels he just needs to prove himself to people to earn a right.

2. Popular, but not "popular"

Angel is popular for his work, but the work itself is not generally respected in hell -- or at least in the capital.

This is evident in the pilot, and only gets further supported with the comic, as demons out in the street don't immediately walk up to him asking to do it with him. It seems he even gets recognized but glared at by some demons. It's surprisingly similar to the way general society looks at porn stars or strippers. Katie verbally shamed Tom for knowing who AD was, the guy Angel was with early in the pilot called him a slut, same was the other guy that stole his drugs, and Angel's punishment from Val was to stand out in the city streets and "make up for the time he missed filming".

Basically, Angel is popular, but not respected as a celebrity porn star -- he honestly stands out as a misfit most would look down on. Whether it’s more because of the nature of his profession, or hell’s lack of respect for anyone without a knife to their throat, is really anyone’s guess. I personally subscribe to the notion that it’s mainly the former, followed by latter.

So overall, this:

i) Further connects hell's civilization with ours in the aspect of how occupations/titles define reputation, and value to society.

ii) Confirms that Angel is famous but in not in the positively well-received sense.

iii) Confirms that the porn industry is a big thing in hell, but majority of the population won't acknowledge it's popularity or influence if they don't have to. Likely because of the risk of their reputation rather than any ethical dilemmas.

3. Angel's Payment Policy

He tells Charlie that his time costs money, and she agrees to it. But near the end of the comic, Angel almost walks out of the conversation without money, until Charlie drops him a wad of cash. So the payment policy is kinda loose depending on if whatever the time was spent on was interesting and worth it. Charlie and Vaggie literally gave him an epiphany by telling him that they believe redemption could be a possibility and that they (Charlie) see the potential for him to change. Pretty heavy stuff, so the payment was paid by Angel's interest itself. ̶C̶h̶a̶r̶l̶i̶e̶'̶s̶ ̶u̶n̶n̶e̶c̶e̶s̶s̶a̶r̶y̶ ̶s̶t̶i̶c̶k̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶h̶e̶r̶ ̶p̶r̶o̶m̶i̶s̶e̶ ̶w̶a̶s̶ ̶s̶i̶m̶p̶l̶y̶ ̶a̶n̶ ̶a̶d̶d̶e̶d̶ ̶b̶o̶n̶u̶s̶ ̶i̶n̶ ̶i̶n̶t̶e̶g̶r̶i̶t̶y̶ ̶a̶n̶d̶ ̶i̶n̶c̶e̶n̶t̶i̶v̶e̶.̶

4. Charlie's character

Charlie doesn't have a filter and doesn't know how to phrase things sensitively on the spot. For someone who refers to swearing as "problematic language", she doesn't know how not to come off as rude or offensive ironically -- "Inside of Every Demon is a Rainbow" is a testament to that.

Her conversation with Angel in the comic cements this as an intentional and integral part of her character. It's probably gonna become a reoccurring gag, source of conflict for the hotel, and/or a common source of entertainment for Alastor.

Additionally, she's a very physically affectionate person. Although already evident with multiple scenes from the pilot, the comic provides consistent show of it with the little head bump and cuddle with Vaggie, and that gentle hand on Angel's chest fluff. Fitting for the Disney Princess aspect of her personality.

5. Why did Angel agree to become a patron?

Because of his desire to prove his worth and value. He enjoyed screwing with the girls, but otherwise seemed indifferent about the redemption plan -- as anyone would. Only reason he ultimately decided to join was because Vaggie insisted on Charlie that he's not worth the effort, and he wanted to prove her wrong. It's a manipulative tactic to use someone's broken ego against them to get them to do what you want -- but in here, it was unintentional. Angel's insecurity of being seen as worthless took effect in his impulsive decision, not to mention that they made it clear as day that Charlie saw potential -- and by extension, worth -- to him. Vaggie represents the rational but blunt naysayers in his life that don't see shit in him, and Angel was determined to finally prove to them -- and himself -- that he's worth something. Worth the effort. Worth an ounce of respect. Worth helping.

And it's evident in the last 2 pages of the comic, that he's spent time reflecting on Charlie's words to him all the way home. Does he believe in her cause? No. Is she serious? Who knows. Does he have what it takes to be a good person? Not by a long shot!

But she saw something in him, something beyond the reputation and value predetermined for him on Earth, beyond the reputation he established in Hell even. For someone like her to exist in such a cruel and harsh reality and tell him she believes there's more to him than what he knows.... with those odds, it makes the redemption concept itself just a little less implausible. It's silly, that's for sure.

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monstaxvibes · 5 years

Text

Nicotine (2)

pairing: changkyun x reader

genre: teenage angst, bad boy au, drama

count: 1.6K

warnings: underage substance abuse, slight addiction, toxic relationship, violence, ADULT LANGUAGE

Inspired by the lyrics to the song Nicotine by Panic! At The Disco, Attention by Charlie Puth and the UK tv show, Skins.

******TRIGGER WARNING******

Includes drug abuse, underage intoxication, addiction, violence, and cursing. If you are triggered or not comfortable with these subjects, please DO NOT READ!

Also includes toxic relationships! If you or anyone you know is in a dangerous and toxic relationship, please reach out for professional help!

—————————————————————

In the smokey and strobe light haze, Changkyun watches her from across the room. Surrounding him is a crowd of girls who are trying way too hard to get his attention. Dancing sexily, rubbing up against each other, and whispering for him to pay attention to them instead. But it's useless. His eyes are only set on Y/N.

Set on her gorgeous smile and the way her tight skirt hugs her curves so nicely. On the sway of her hips and the sexy movements she makes as the DJ drops the bass. And on the way her face scrunches up as she laughs with the girls she calls her friends.

Little did she know that all of those slutty girls have tried to get with Changkyun behind her back. But he will never tell her that. He knows that he breaks her heart more than enough times by just being the guy he is. But he would rather die than ever tell her that the last bit of loyalty she thinks she has is indeed fake.

He adores her big heart and would kill anyone who would try to break or taint it. But her beautiful heart is not as it was the day he met her. Her heart is slowly becoming black, lifeless, and cold as stone. Most of it is his own doing. Surprisingly enough, she still has a little bit of her pure and beautiful heart left. The last thing Changkyun wants is for her heart to turn completely cold due to her so-called friends. Lying to the girl he loves to avoid hurting her is okay, right?

He doesn't know how long he can fake ignorance, but for now, it will do. Y/N is the first and only girl he will ever love. And Changkyun thought if he turned her more like him, that he might be able to keep her by his side forever. To fight this fucked up world together. But she’s not like the other girls. She has feelings, and she cares and loves way too much, and he’s never experienced someone like that before.

No one has ever cared about him. No one except, Jooheon. He’s like Changkyun’s brother. But the way Jooheon shows that he cares is unconventional. He uses any means to put Changkyun in his place, and it’s been like that for years.

They were both orphans and have been in and out of foster homes since they were little kids. One day, they both decided to run away and be strays since it’s easier than getting beat up by foster parents and other kids in the system. School was the small light at the end of the dark tunnel. They hoped that getting an education will get them out of the streets. But it turns out the educational system is just as fucked up as the foster system. It turned a blind eye to mental instability and was made to have kids like Changkyun and Jooheon fail.

When Changkyun found this out, he hated the world, and every stupid piece of hope even given to him. He turned to drugs to numb the pain but still desperately wanted to get out of the streets. He ended up dealing to get some money in his pocket and worked under a drug lord that expected the dealers to make a certain amount each week.

When Joo found out, he beat Changkyun up pretty severely, but he never said a word about it. Instead, he followed his best friend into that dark world and started dealing under the same drug lord. Changkyun now knows that Jooheon’s beating was just a way of showing him a taste of what was in store for the drug-dealing life.

Jooheon was always better than Changkyun in school and was extremely talented in music. Maybe he would have made it. But he left it all behind, just for Changkyun. They made a promise as kids that no matter where they go or what they do, they will do it together. They have no one else in the world but each other.

Jooheon is now an underground rapper when he’s not dealing at his raves. Changkyun sometimes joins him in the underground rap scene, but all the money is in dealing, and he would rather make money. Yet, he still finds himself writing raps in his free time. Maybe Changkyun would have made it too.....

Jooheon suddenly interrupts Changkyun’s private pity party.

“Bro . . . Why don't you tell her the truth?”

Jooheon knows everything between Changkyun and Y/N. He knows Changkyun’s true feelings. He also knows Changkyun’s been in love with her since grade school, long before he won her over in junior year.

“What’s the point of treating her like shit? I can't watch you ruin yourself and Y/N anymore!”

“Joo, you don’t understand. You can change for the girl you love. I mean, look at you now. You are leaving me behind, and you are becoming a better person for Alison. You stopped doing drugs, barely throw raves anymore, and you sent all your buyers to me. I can’t do that shit. I’m not smart or talented like you. I never was. I’m too bad of a person. I’m also bad for her. I cheated on her once to try to lose feelings, but that never worked. Now when I try to be with other girls, I think of her and how much I’m hurting her, and I can’t do it. I can’t touch them. After they try to kiss me and pull me closer, I shove them away and leave. And I always end up in front of her house. I always end up wanting her. Needing her. But I’m too fucked up to be good enough for her. But at the same time, I can’t let her go. Trust me; I want her to leave me. I want her to break my heart. But she won’t, and it angers me. She’s too kind, and that makes me want to keep her even more.”

Jooheon smacks Changkyun’s beer right out of his hands.

“Get your shit together, Changkyun! Stop with your drunk, whiny, dramatic bullshit and man the fuck up! Do you think it was easy to tell Alison I would do ANYTHING to become a better man for her?! Hell no! You and I are so deep into this drug business that leaving it will leave me broke and homeless again. But I’m doing it because I love her. Only her! I would do anything for her. Even if it means getting the shit beat out of me for telling the boss I want to leave. But it doesn’t matter because it’s for her. It’s for our future together. So man the fuck up and stop being so selfish. Cause if you don’t, someone's gonna take her right from you, bro.”

“No one would dare,” Changkyun scoffs.

“Well, it seems like it’s happening right now,” Jooheon says, nodding his head towards Y/N.

Changkyun snaps his head towards Y/N and witnesses his worst fear. The one thing he gets nightmares from.

With that beautiful smile of hers, Y/N slurs pure seduction to the guy whose hands are burning to touch her body. The body that Changkyun claims as his. The dark room and marijuana smoke make it difficult to see everyone's face, but he knows exactly who this guy is.

And he fucking hates him.

This wolf of a boy has had his eyes on Y/N ever since the friendship between Changkyun and him was destroyed. He wants her attention. He doesn’t want her heart. He hates the thought of her choosing Changkyun over everyone else.

The tall boy is wearing the grey and green school sweatshirt. His black hair flops over a thick, green bandana that covers his forehead. His malice grin is shining from afar. A smile clearly aimed towards Changkyun.

He is the one person who makes Changkyun burn with fury. The only person Changkyun would go to hell for so that he could drag him down into the fiery pits as well. The devil himself disguised in that fucking perfect, pretty-boy face.

Im Jaebum.

Changkyun rips himself off the couch, and his vision starts to go red. Jooheon holds him back and forces Changkyun to look at him.

“Do you know what you’re getting yourself into?! There’s no coming back from this Kyun,” he yells sternly.

All Changkyun does is glare in response, and Jooheon knows exactly what he’s chosen to do. He lets Changkyun go and whistles towards their crew. They all follow Changkyun from behind, preparing to face JB’s fucking pack of wolves he dragged along with him to the rave.

Everything happens so quickly, yet Changkyun sees it all in slow motion. When y/n hears Changkyun yell out her name, her eyes widen in fear as she stumbles over her words of explanation. Jaebum stands there, grinning with an evil, toothy smile. Fucking bastard.

Without a second thought, Changkyun watches Jaebum’s face momentarily scrunch up in shock before he takes a swing. Jaebum stumbles backward and spits out the blood that flooded into his mouth.

JB’s friends flinch to jump in, but Jooheon and his crew threaten them to stay back. It will be a fair fight, or the crew wouldn’t hesitate to take them all.

Despite Y/N’s screams, Changkyun grabs Jaebum and shove him into the glass table. JB groans and heaves in pain.

“WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU THINK YOU’RE DOING WITH HER, HUH?!” Changkyun screams.

Jaebum smiles with bloody teeth and starts to cackle like a maniac. Changkyun feels himself shaking with rage and swings again until he feels the other boy’s skin on his fist. Again and again and again until Jaebum shoves him away and throws his punches.

It makes Changkyun fall back, but he can’t help but smile. The stinging pain is finally something he can feel despite his constant numbness. The pain is tangible, and he can’t help but love it. He laughs and shrugs off his leather jacket.

“I’m just getting started, asshole.”

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fortunatowrites · 5 years

Text

Journey of the Mimic

Writing Prompt: A group of adventures return home to find out that their pet is missing. Their pet is a Mimic.

“What’s a mimic?” asked Charlie, the newest addition to the fateful band of adventurers.

She was a cleric and had decided to join up with this band of a fighter, barbarian, and mage when they came to the rescue of her city from an evil sorcerer.

“It’s a little hard to explain,” spoke the fighter known as Theobes.

Theobes turned his head to the half-orc barbarian, Grognock.

“Mimic is creature that change to objects. It look like chest, but full of teeth and a tongue.”

“Yeah, that’s good description,” spoke Annabelle, “Now where the hell did it get off to?”

The four adventurers were returning to their base, a small fort in the middle of some hill lands, and were now actively searching the place for a treasure chest that drags itself across the floor. After combing through their entire base, they finally concluded that the mimic was gone.

“I found these keys on the seat,” spoke Charlie.

“Oh great, the door was left open and the keys were left out,” Annabelle said angrily.

“Well, let’s just be glad only our mimic is gone?” asked Theobes, trying to hide his guilt.

“Alright, this could be a horrible situation and we’ve gotta fix it,” spoke Annabelle.

“Why’s that, boss?” asked Grognock.

“We’re just outside the city of Hillgrand, Grognock.” “They think we’re heroes,” spoke Theobes.

“They don’t know mimic from us.” “That’s a good point!” Theobes said excitedly. “Then we can immediately forgive whoever left the base door opened and unlocked!”

Charlie and Annabelle exchanged looks of disbelief before reaffirming they were going to find this mimic before it wreaked havoc on the city. As they got ready to leave, Charlie noticed a pool of blood seeping from beneath a closet door.

“Uh… guys?” she asked.

Grognock stomped over to the closet and put his hand around the doorknob. Charlie could swear she saw a sadistic smile on his face as he ripped the door open, destroying the doorframe. Inside there was a large wooden chest, blood dripping from the closed lid. It opened up to reveal a set of teeth and let out a small bark.

“Chomper is home!” declared Grognock as he pet the mimic.

“Thank goodness that’s resolved!” Theobes said, miming the act of wiping sweat away from his forehead. “Time for a deserved rest.” “Alright, crisis averted. I wonder how he ended up in the closet though.” “Maybe he chase rat.”

Some time earlier...

The sounds of a lock being undone clicked through the silent hall.

“Presto,” a voice declared.

Five unruly men and a large half-orc woman entered the base: a band of rogues. Chomper sat in the corner, absolutely still and assuming the usual shape of a treasure chest. Anticipation almost made him quiver as he watched his would-be meals wander through the base.

“Damn, look at that, Gabryell!” said a short man with tan skin and equipped with several swords.

Gabryell, a tiefling with red skin and a pair of short horns that poked out from under his hair, looked over at the large chest. “Wow, these morons just leave their valuables out for us. They’re just asking us to rob them, aren’t they, Saffron Double-Threat?”

They gave a surly chuckle and started walking over to the chest. They stopped short as another man ran in front of them.

“Guys, wait! What if they’ve got dogs here?” asked Demontooth.

He was a dependable fighter and great for their operations, but had the unfortunate downfall of suffering from a phobia of dogs. “Well I don’t smell any,” replied Gabryell with a sneer.

“You can’t smell anything at all!” declared Hantrus.

“Then I guess there’s nothing here!” joked Saffron.

Everyone but Demontooth roared with laughter. Hantrus lugged up some chains and set them on the ground. Looking at the feet of who he spoke to, he declared their next actions.

“Let’s be quick. Demontooth, chain up the chest. Double, let’s search for any guards. People or dogs. Gabryell, help him Demontooth with the chest.”

“Uhm, my eyes are up here,” declared Saffron. “Double-Threat,” spoke Arii Squawk, “Don’t give yourself to the reaper too soon. I need you still.”

The four of them stood at attention while the boss walked over to a chair and sat down. The fifth man trailed right behind her. “What do you require, mistress?” asked Wartdragon.

“Fill the wagon for the boys while I make myself at home.” “Right away, mistress.”

Chomper got ready to attack as Demontooth timidly approached the chest, watching for dogs. Unfortunately, he was faster and threw the chains on the mimic. It stunned Chomper and in his daze, he was chained up. He tried to morph away but there was magic on the chains, something to help move chests that had been magically sealed or locked. It also had the side effect of preventing Chomper’s shapeshifting.

As Chomper was carried out by Demontooth and Gabryell, he saw the rest of the rogues looking through the base. Set on the back of a carriage amongst other wares, Chomper could do nothing but wait. Chomper wasn’t intelligent enough to formulate big plans, but he understood that the base was his home and he didn’t like being taken away. That was also the home of his friends and he hoped the three of them would return soon. Unfortunately, they had recently set out and were in the middle of trying to survive the dungeon of a mad sorcerer.

About half a day later, the wagon was being parked back at the rogues’ base of operations. “Why does Wart get to stay behind with the boss?” complained Gabryell as he unloaded the cart. “You ever notice he’s missing an ear and fingers?” asked Hantrus.

“Yeah. Clumsy guy shouldn’t have blades, right?”

Saffron laughed before answering for Hantrus, “Dude’s got a gambling problem, idiot.” “So?” “So, he owes his life to the boss. He used to be a noble or some crap before he got himself into so much trouble. Now he’s been trained to be her living weapon.”

“Oh,” Gabryell said as he began moving the unloaded stuff inside.

Demontooth grabbed the chest and began dragging it in. “Where do you want this, Hantrus?” he asked, looking directly at the man. Hantrus, avoiding eye contact, turned his head towards Demontooth and pointed to a corner. “I’ll start cracking it open while you guys lay out the loot.”

It took some time for Hantrus to gather his thieves’ tools and return to the room with the chest. As he approached, suddenly Saffron called out. With a sigh, Hantrus set down his tools and went across the hall to their room. Chomper could faintly hear them conversing.

“Wow, that is an interesting relic. Demontooth, you’ll have to use your connections to find a fence to get a price on this. I’ll check it for anything special, just grab it when you’re done in here.” “How come Demontooth always gets to do this stuff?” asked Saffron. “Cause I grew up in an underground city, idiot,” retorted Demontooth. “Ah. Well I came from the desert and we did tons of trading there. My dad can tell us where to fence it.” “Fine! Both of you do it,” Hantrus said with a huff.

Returning to the room, Hantrus set the strange statue in the corner of the room. Gabryell shut the door to the loot room with a slam, yelling something about Saffron’s dad. Finally, Hantrus picked up his tools and began to remove the chains from the chest.

Suddenly, the chest had two eyes that stared directly into Hantrus’ eyes. Hantrus froze with fear and anger as there was nothing more in this world he hated than eye contact. “FOUL DEMON!” he cried and lunged forward to stab it with a lock pick.

Chomper’s mouth opened wide and Hantrus tried to scream with terror as he fell into the mouth. Nothing would be heard as Chomper’s large tentacle-like tongue wrapped around his head to silence him and pull him in. Chomper’s eyes turned to the statue. He used his tongue to grab it and fling it at the front door. Through sheer luck, he hit the door directly on the doorknob and in a critical spot, causing the door to break and swing open. The statue rolled away under the cart.

Gabryell threw open the loot door and ran into the room.

“The chest is gone!” he called.

Demontooth and Saffron came running out and looked around.

“Do you think Hantrus stole it?” asked Demontooth. “Impossible,” replied Saffron. “Clearly he took it to some fence, the lock must have been too hard. Look, he even kicked the statue over.” Saffron pointed to the relic that was laying on its side, near where the chest had been moments ago.

“Well, let’s go take care of that then.”

Saffron and Demontooth hopped in the wagon while Gabryell began walking over to a stable to grab a horse.

“Where are you going?” asked Demontooth. “I’ve gotta report to the boss.” “Just ride with us, we’ll go there after getting rid of this statue.” “Fine,I guess.”

The three of them began to ride into town. A few moments later, Saffron brought them to a stop.

“My dad says there’s an old trader here.” “Good lord,” Gabryell began. “He’s real, dammit!” shouted Saffron. “I’m the Double-Threat because my ghost dad is haunting me!” Demontooth just sat quietly and stared forward, hoping this wouldn’t take long.

“Fine, go follow Ghost Dad. Hope you don’t get killed in a back alley.” Saffron took the statue and walked off into the back alley. There was the sound of a scuffle and a scream. Demontooth and Gabryell looked at each other for a minute. “Dad, what do you mean you hated me? Oh god, no!” Demontooth jumped out of the carriage and ran down the alley. There was blood strewn about, a bloody knife, and the statue sitting on the ground. “Oh no,” Demontooth said as he looked around. “I think he really did get jumped and killed.” Gabryell pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration and stayed out of the alley. He fumed for a moment and then told Demontooth to just grab the statue and get out of here. When Gabryell went back for the statue, it was now the shape of a dog. He yelped and fell over. Frozen with fear, he quickly tried to draw his sword. It was already too late as Chomper’s tongue wrapped around his leg.

Gabryell ran down the alley upon hearing the screaming again and saw almost exactly what Demontooth saw the first time.

“I’ll kill you guys for this,” he called out as he grabbed the statue and ran. “Damn it... I gotta go back to the boss!”

Less than half a day later, they returned to the base. Gabryell picked up the statue and proceeded to go inside. As soon as he stepped in, Wart lunged out at him with a dagger. Instinctively, Gabryell backhanded him and kicked him aside.

“Oh. My bad, man.” “No… It’s okay,” Wart replied as he got up.

The boss came walking out from down the hall, swinging around a ring of keys.

“Looks like we should just upgrade by moving all our stuff to here,” she told Gabryell. “Where’s the other three?”

“Hantrus ran off with that chest,” he said slowly, judging Arii’s face as he talked, “Saffron’s Ghost-Dad got him and Demontooth kidnapped by some thugs while trying to pawn this stupid statue.”

“We’ll find them and make them pay,” Arii responded. “Hantrus will return with an opened chest, for sure.” “Where should I put this statue?” asked Gabryell. “Well, it’ll look out of place if they walk in and see it. I want to take them by surprise. Set it in the kitchen.”

“Yes, m’am.”

As Gabryell stepped into the kitchen, the statue had a tongue reach out and spill cooking oil. Unable to smell it, Gabryell walked right into it and slipped, falling on the stone flooring and cracking his skull. His scream of pain rang out and through the base.

Wart poked his head in to see the statue had taken the form of the chest again and was eating Gabryell. He screamed and ran.

“Arii! It’s a mimic!”

“Damn it all! We’ve got to kill it. It won’t fight us if we stick together.”

Wart nodded and ran besides her. She equipped her crossbow and they walked towards the kitchen. As they walked in, they simply saw blood and oil on the floor. They looked around as they investigated the kitchen, trying to spot anything out of place.

Suddenly, a chest with large spider-like legs fell from the ceiling onto Wart, knocking him to the floor. Arii pointed her crossbow at it and it skittered back into the main entrance room. Lifting Wart back to his feet, Arii chased behind it. They both entered the room but Arii immediately noticed the extra chair by the closet.

“Damn it,” she bluffed, “It must have gotten away. I’m going to hang my crossbow in the closet. Wart, grab a seat.”

“You want me to sit and relax, mistress?” he asked.

“Yes,” she growled. “But not in my seat.”

Wart began to walk towards the mimic and then he realized what he she meant. As she opened the closet door and turned her back, the mimic lunged at Wart. Quickly, he dodged out of the way as it stumbled across the floor, the legs skittering out from underneath it again. Arii whipped around and tried to shoot it, but it used its tongue to grab her arm and shake the crossbow away. Using her orcish strength, she pulled the creature and slammed it into the closet. Before she could free her arm, it bit off her hand. Ignoring the pain, she yanked her arm free of the monster and slammed the door. Using the keyring, she then locked the closet.

“Stupid monster!” she said cradling her wound.

Wart walked up to her and ripped off his shirt for bandaging. They wrapped up her arm and she handed him the crossbow. “Watch the closet. I’m going to get some medicine. Wait here, Wart.”

As she walked away from the base, an arrow thunked into her back. She turned back, more angry than surprised.

“My name is Elandrial Thorntree.”

He shot her several times and she collapsed in the doorway. Slowly unlocking the door and cracking it open, Elandrial saw nothing inside. The mimic was hiding. He quickly shoved Arii into the doorway and felt something pull her inside. Then he immediately shut and locked the door again. Throwing the keys on the seat, he then turned and left. As he walked down the road, he saw a band of adventurers returning home.

#short stories #creative writing #writing prompt #writing practice #free writing #short story #dungeons and dragons #mimic

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corbswrites-sometimes · 7 years

Text

Caffeinated Excuses

s/o to that one time @spacezeros told me there wasn’t a heartstopper fic on ao3 yet so i fucking came out of fic retirement back to Hell to write one i don’t? love it? but it’s alright. p short tho--2,468 words.

i even made an ao3 and sat on a waiting list for a week

wow heres that link in case the ‘keep reading’ doesn’t work for you mobile readers http://archiveofourown.org/works/11731188

who even am I

The first time Charlie had met Nick, it was oddly surreal, or, it was for Charlie at least. It was late August, and Charlie had picked up a part time job while he stayed in school to get his masters degree. When Nick walked up, almost immediately, Charlie couldn’t help but find him more attractive than he’d like to admit. He was about the same height as he was, but he looked a bit more built than Charlie was.

“Hello? Are you okay?” Charlie was suddenly snapped out of his thoughts as he saw the man on the other side of the counter looking at him, confused and a little bit concerned. Oh no. Had the man said something that he had missed?

“Yeah, I was just-erm- I just spaced out a bit.” Charlie forced out a small chuckle as he silently scolded himself for giving this stranger the most awkward first impression possible.

The man smiled back. “No, no, it’s alright, I get it,” he paused for a second as he made seemingly unbreakable eye contact with Charlie. Or at least, that’s what Charlie thought until the man broke away to look down at his shoes and continue, “Just a large iced caramel vanilla breve, please.”

“Coming right up! Can I get a name on that?”

“Nick.”

After that day, Nick showed up every morning monday through friday, always with a cheery ‘hi’ or ‘hello’ for Charlie. Charlie had grown used to seeing Nick show up in the mornings, at about 7:45, order his drink between friendly small talk with Charlie, give Charlie a too-generous tip, and be on his way. About two months into this routine, he had just finished bringing Nick’s drink to the pick-up counter, where he was patiently waiting, when he heard his coworker from behind him.

“Charlie, boss wants this new recruit to shadow me for a bit, go ahead and take a quick break,” he nodded, going to turn his head back to the counter.

He was surprised to see that Nick hadn’t left yet, and he was still standing on the other side of the counter.

“Looks like I made it here at the right time!” Nick said, a huge smile plastered to his face. Charlie could feel his stare linger at that smile for a bit too long. That being said, he didn’t understand what Nick’s comment was referencing. Had it been directed at someone else?

Nick seemed to spot his confusion and continued, “I wouldn’t have wanted to miss out on my favorite barista.”

Almost immediately Charlie could feel a smile form on his face that probably mimicked Nick’s. Feeling an unusual spike of bravery from himself, Charlie found himself asking a question he had been curious about for a while.

“So, Nick, where do you work?” Charlie began taking off his apron as he walked around the counter for his break, “Sorry, that is--if you don’t mind me asking, sorry--”

Nick waved his hand in dismissal as he began to lead Charlie away from the counter, “No, no, it’s fine, I’m actually a primary school teacher.”

Charlie’s face lit up. “Really? Well that would explain why you would need so much coffee.” Nick broke into a deep laugh that Charlie couldn’t help but join in on.

“Precisely. They’re not always little monsters, though. Then again, I just really like kids, so maybe I’m a bit biased.” he gave a soft smile that Charlie once again couldn’t help but to stare at for just a little too long. “Care to take a seat?” Nick quickly managed to get out, motioning at the booth they were now standing at.

Charlie eagerly nodded as they sat, and Nick decided it was his turn for a question. “Are you in school?” Again, Charlie found himself only able to nod. “What for?”

“I’m actually getting my masters in Classical Civilizations!”

“Oh, that’s like Greek and Roman civilizations, right? That’s actually what we’re going over with my class right now.”

“Really? That’s awesome. I just, I think it’s so cool. The way they valued the arts and learning and how much discovery was during that time period. And then the way they perfected their architecture in such a clean cut way, and--ugh, I’m sorry, I’m totally rambling,” Bringing his focus back to Nick, he was surprised to see him simply watching him, with the same soft smile that he had on earlier.

“No, don’t worry about it. I don’t mind it at all.”

After that day, Charlie had found himself unable to get Nick off of his mind. Every time he closed his eyes, he saw those big brown eyes and a cheeky smile that could light up a room. Soon, he had even started making Nick’s drink before he walked in, timing it perfectly so that it had just barely finished when he entered through the door. Charlie couldn’t believe his own schoolboy-esque crush on a man that he barely even knew. He was probably straight, anyways. Nonetheless, the crush continued.

Once, in late November, the first snowstorm of the year hit. It started about half an hour after Charlie had gotten to work from out of nowhere, and Charlie immediately groaned in regret of not dressing warmer.

The topic came up again as Charlie brought Nick his drink. “Awfully cold today! Did’ya remember a coat?” Nick asked cheerfully, gesturing vaguely to Charlie’s tee-shirt.

He shook his head, “I got here at six, the storm hadn’t shown any sign of existing yet.” Nick let in a loud, clearly overdramatic gasp that made Charlie’s lips curl up into a smile.

“What time do you leave work?”

“Well, it’s Tuesday, which means that I have a class I have to leave to walk to at 8:30.” Nick gasped a little too loud again, but this time Charlie could tell he wasn’t being purposefully dramatic.

“You have to walk? No. Absolutely not. I refuse to let my favorite barista catch a cold.” Before he had even finished talking, Nick had set down his breve and began pulling his jumper off over his head, offering it to Charlie.

“Take it,” Charlie hesitated. “Please.” With that and one of his smiles that made Charlie melt, he reached out and took the jumper.

“Thanks, but--but what about you?”

“All I have to do is jump in and out of a cab. I’ll be fine, I swear.”

That next day, Charlie had tried to return the jumper back to Nick, but Nick refused, telling him profusely to keep it. Eventually Charlie complied, and even though he feigned upset, he had put the jumper back on the second Nick had left, taking a second to bury his face in the fabric.

One day, as Charlie brought Nick his drink, his nickname made another recurrence. “And a tip for my favorite barista.”

“Y’know, now that I think about it, aren’t I really your only barista?” Charlie replied playfully, taking the money that Nick had held out.

“Actually, I’ll have you know that I’ve probably had every barista here that works on saturdays or sundays.”

Charlie could help but feel a twinge at his heart, as stupid as it was, he kind of hoped that he was Nick’s only barista. “I thought you only got coffee for work. Why stop in on the weekend?”

Nick’s smiled faded a bit, and he diverted his eyes to his feet, and Charlie suddenly got scared that he had said something wrong. Nick opened his mouth to speak, but closed it quickly again. Charlie felt himself wince. Oh no. He had definitely messed up. Before he got his chance to begin apologizing profusely for whatever he had said, Nick finally spoke up.

“You don’t work on saturdays or sundays, right?” Charlie slowly nodded, confused of where this was going. “That took me a couple months to figure out. Over those weeks I came at a bunch of different times to try and find your shift. “ Charlie felt a blush overtake his entire face as Nick finished talking.Once Nick had regained his soft smile, he slowly looked back up to Charlie, who saw that Nick’s face was just as blushed as his own. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Charlie.”

On valentine’s day, Charlie was relieved to have the perfect excuse. “So how’s your valentine’s day Nick? Do you have someone special?” He asked, all too casual, as he handed Nick his drink.

“Nah, my last date was with a man who never called me back, and even that was quite awhile ago.” Oh. Oh. Charlie did his best not to get too excited. “How about you, Charlie?”

“Nope, it’s been awhile for me too. I actually don’t think I’ve ever had a boyfriend for more than a few months.” Nick smiled a smile that Charlie believed was telling, but even if it wasn’t, he smiled right along with him.

“Hello! I’ll have my usual, please.” The voice echoed through Charlie’s mind one day as he questioned who it could have belonged to. He really hoped it wasn’t some customer that he had forgotten about, his mind just simply wasn’t in the right place today. The only ‘usual’ he knew about was Nick-- oh. He looked up to see the bright smile staring at him.

“Oh, oh no, I’m-- I’m sorry I guess I just didn’t realize what time it was and it’s not ready yet today, I’m really sorry Nick, it will be just a second.”

Before Charlie could turn to get to work, he felt a hand grab his wrist lightly, surprising him so much he almost flinched.

“Hey. Don’t worry about it. Are you--are you okay? You look tired?” Charlie quickly took his hand that wasn’t in Nick’s and brought it up to his face.

“Oh, yeah, sorry, my mind’s just having a rough day. It happens sometimes, I think.” Nick’s face immediately went into a pensive look, and Charlie almost wondered if he had said too much.

“How busy is it usually around this time?”

Charlie hesitated for a second, thinking about the question. “It seems like the 7am rush ended rather quickly since both my coworkers left, so I’d say that the next customer walks in anywhere from ten to thirty minutes from now.”

“Thirty minutes sounds like the perfect length for a power nap.” Charlie almost gave a chuckle before he realized how serious Nick was being.

“Here? What if someone comes in earlier than expected? How will I know when to wake up? Plus, it’s a coffee shop, maybe I won’t even get comfortable enough to fall asleep.”

Nick just smiled. “I’ll wake you up if someone walks in. And look, you can use the booth as a mattress, your apron as a blanket, and my lap as a pillow. It will work perfectly.” Nick looked down as he finished talking, and Charlie hoped it was because his face was also rapidly turning pink at his suggestion.

“No no, I couldn’t--I don’t want to make you stay longer than you want to.”

“Trust me Charlie, if I could, I would stay here for as long as possible.” Despite those words causing Charlie’s blush to grow even bigger, he still stayed planted where he was.

“Fine then. I guess, I’ll just sit here doing absolutely nothing for absolutely no reason for half an hour.” Nick teased, giving Charlie his famous cheeky grin.

“You little--” Charlie mumbled as he slowly shuffled his way over to Nick’s booth. He sat, but right before he had laid all the way down, he stopped.

“Are you sure that… this is okay.” All Nick had to do was nod and after a moment of hesitation, Charlie finally laid his head down. In no time flat, he felt himself drifting off. And it was definitely just his half-asleep instinct to nuzzle into Nick’s leg when he felt something playing with his hair.

It was a day early in June when Nick came in looking a bit… off, and Charlie hated it. “What’s up Nick, are you okay?” he asked, probably trying hard to make it seem casual as he gave Nick his drink.

“Yeah, I’m good it’s just that it’s the last day of the school year.”

“Oh, that’s a bummer. Are you gonna miss your kids this year?”

“Definitely,” Nick paused, and looked towards his feet like he tends to do, “Plus, now I have to come up with a new excuse to come here everyday.”

Again, Charlie felt the blush on his face as he tried to come up with a response. Before he could, Nick grabbed his coffee and turned to leave.

“It’s an important day, don’t want to be late, seeya Charlie.” he mumbled, trying to quickly speedwalk his way out the door.

Later, at the end of his shift, Charlie began closing up shop, when someone burst through the door. As Charlie turned, he saw a familiar brown-eyed face.

“Nick, I was actually just closing up shop, we always close up super early on fridays, but I can probably still whip something together for you.”

Nick had a puzzled look on his face for a second. “Oh--oh no, I’m not here for a drink, I’m--I’m here for you.” Charlie felt his face heat up as Nick kept eye contact.

“How--how did you know I’d still be here?”

“Oh I uh--I didn’t, to be honest. I just know that you told me that you worked a lot longer than usual on fridays since you don’t have classes on them. I wasn’t sure how late you stayed though, so I rushed over here the second school got out.” Nick stepped closer, so that they were an arms-width apart, and Charlie couldn’t help but look to the ground.

“Oh, well, what’s up? Why do you need me then?”

“Can I-- can I ask you a question?” Charlie simply gulped and nodded. He felt a cool, comforting hand on his chin that pulled his head up so that he was looking Nick in the eyes again. Instead of pulling his hand away, though, Nick let it rest on the side of Charlie’s head. Charlie did his best to avoid nuzzling into it.

Nick took a deep breath. “I’m… I’m not… imagining it am I?”

Nick hoped that he wouldn’t have to explain what “it” was, he hoped that Charlie would understand. And he did. Immediately Charlie looked Nick dead in the eyes. “No, at least I don’t think so but if you aren't sure th--”

Before he could even finish his sentence, Nick took his other hand and wrapped it around Charlie’s waist, and pulled him into a kiss that Charlie had felt like he had been waiting his whole life for.

Maybe it wouldn’t be so hard to find Nick a new excuse afterall.

#fanfic #narlie #nick nelson/charlie spring #my writing #NOT my characters #alice oseman #heartstopper #heartstopper webcomic #nick nelson #charlie spring #coffee shop au #older meet au #caffeinated excuse

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alexanderwrites · 7 years

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Thoughts Roundup - Twin Peaks: The Return, Part 13

“What Story is That, Charlie?”

Last week, when we were given an episode that was slow, withholding with its information, and for many, very frustrating, I wasn’t worried. I wasn’t worried, because I knew it was just a strange, brief detour and that we should focus on the journey rather than the destination. I also didn’t worry because I thought the next episode would be better, and thankfully I was right. I’m no Angelo Badalamenti, so I won’t toot my own horn too much but I think now, hours after watching it, I’m realising that I was very right, because this isn’t just a better episode, but is one of the all time best Twin Peaks episodes. It keeps that steady pace, but there’s an alchemy of all the ingredients that’ve made this season so great, which tonight forms a cohesive, exciting and deeply involving hour of television.

. It’s party time for the Mitchum brothers, and party time for the soundtrack producers who give us one of the wildest and weirdest cuts yet. I don’t know how to describe it other than it being a demented casino style nonsense song, and I might be wrong, but the percussion pattern sounds a lot like a sped up version of the drumming in The Bookhouse Boys, a track from the Season 1 soundtrack. It’s nice seeing Coop enjoying himself, and it’s funny how happy he has made the Mitchum brothers, Janey-E, and his boss. The fact that he can still manage this despite being a silent, largely unresponsive man who walks into glass doors, speaks to the innate happiness that Cooper has always brought people, only this time it’s accidental. People want him around, and I think it’d be quite a bittersweet ending if he does wake up and leave for Twin Peaks. Yes, it’d be satisfying for us, but Janey-E wouldn’t have her husband anymore, Sonny Jim wouldn’t have a dad, and The Mitchum Brothers wouldn’t have anyone to buy pie for. Before it becomes the Everybody Loves Dougie show, Anthony steps in to put an end to him, but even he can’t bring himself to poison Dougie to death! So Dougie-Coop has his sharp black suit, a black coffee and a piece of cherry pie. Whereas we once would’ve said “THIS will be what wakes him up!”, we’ve stopped expecting it and instead learned to enjoy the pleasure he takes in scoffing the stuff down. While it can feel melancholy when signifiers from his past edge him towards who he used to be, some of these episodes hint at the idea that maybe he’s happy where he is. We want him to get back to his old self, but do we want that for him or for us? He’s had the food and drink that he loves, he’s walking around amazed by everything, and even uncovered a considerable crime. Everything about him is there, really. And I’m beginning to feel like that’s enough for me. Then the Fusco Brothers attain a crucial piece of the puzzle that’d help get Cooper back home, decide to throw it out, and I laugh “FOR FUCK’S SAKE”. Dougie’s prints reveal that he was an FBI Agent and broke out of a maximum security prison, and away this is tossed because of its unlikeliness. It’s funny, really. Because it is unlikely, it is absurd, and that such an important fact has been discovered and thrown out immediately by the police is hilariously frustrating. I loved this moment, Eric Edelstein’s weird and distinctive laugh commenting on how ridiculous this all is.

. I love how adoringly Janey E looks at Cooper when she opens the car door for him. They’ve come a long way since she was angrily cramming him into the car, and it’s nice to see her not suffering the financial burden that the original Dougie left her in. Naomi Watts is really effective when painting Janey E as someone rediscovering feelings for her husband, and it’s actually kind of touching. And Sonny Jim’s Gym is so fucking bizarre. Why does it play music-box versions of Tchaikovsky? Why does it have a prison-style search light? Why anything? I love it.

Continuing in the lovey-dovey, not-so-bad-after-all vein of things, this season has had a lot of characters turn out to be not quite as awful as you expect them to be. The Mitchum Brothers showed a kind of generosity, Ben Horne is an altruist, and Anthony has a breakdown in front of his boss and Dougie, claiming he wants to be a better man. I mean, you can’t call him a good person just because he didn’t MURDER COOPER, but it’s nice to get a variety of technically bad people who, when it boils down to it, don’t really want to be that bad. It’s not such a bad world after all, hey?

. Actually yes it because fucking Doppelcoop is on the warpath again, and this time he’s getting what he wants via arm wrestling, just like Sylvester Stallone in Over the Top. And just like Sly claims himself to be in Over The Top, Doppelcoop is a machine, and the amount of control he displays in this scene is really quite frightening. “It hurts when you had my arm like this. Let’s go back to starting position. It’s really much more comfortable”, he says, arm-wrestling a boss of a bunch of bastards so that he can get to bad old Ray. He demonstrates that he has the entire arm-wrestle under his control, and can position his arm wherever he wants without exerting force. He can win, and kill, without trying. This is who Doppelcooper is, and why he is such a formidable force. He rarely exerts power, but when he does it is effortless and unstoppable. He will get what he wants, and every piece of his journey has been carefully manipulated and decided by him, and that’s what this scene shows. The gang watching on heavily resemble the spirits above the convenience store in FWWM, and I think this is a purposeful visual metaphor, a way to tie them visually to the evil that lurks upstairs. When Doppelcoop wins, he gets Ray and the scene that follows is an immensely satisfying one.

The ring that we’ve seen numerous times gets a visual explanation, sort of. Ray wears it when he is killed by Doppelcoop. It then disappears to the black lodge, where his soul shows up shortly after. It seems to say quite clearly that wear the ring when you die, and you end up on that famous zig zag floor, with fucking Mike. What a bummer he’d be to spend eternity with. Before Ray snuffs it, he talks about Phillip Jeffries, who sent Ray to kill Doppelcoop because he has something he wants, which is Bob, who is in hot demand this season. I’m glad to hear Jeffries mentioned again, and part of me still holds out hope that David Bowie filmed a super duper secret cameo before he passed away, but i’m not counting on it. Maybe the closest we’ll get to seeing him is that mysterious blinking box all those episodes ago. But, Ray claims that he was last seen at a place called The Dutchman’s, and this is all Doppelcoop needs to hear. Ray’s death feels big, not necessarily because he was an important character, but because they discuss Jeffries, the ring and Major Briggs, which all ties into the mythology of the show, a mythology which was also discussed last week with Albert. Now listen, i’m easily pleased when it comes to the Twin Peaks lore - say the words ‘lodge’, ‘blue book’ or even ‘Owl’ to me and i’ll begin jittering in excitement. I may even sick up. But this is more important and integral to the storyline that simply chucking out bits of lore, and that makes it so much fucking cooler. Doppelcoop is working towards it, the Bookhouse Boys are heading towards it and the FBI are heading towards it. The idea of them converging is too fucking exciting to process. So. Ray is dead (Nobody Loved Raymond), and Doppelcoop is on his way to either Twin Peaks via the coordinates that Ray gave him, or The Dutchman’s, wherever the hell that is.

. Tim Roth and Jennifer Jason Leigh are still driving around and i’m guessing, will hook back up with Doppelcoop soon. Their scenes are usually very short, but they’re both such great actors that i’m fine to just hear them shoot the shit for a couple of minutes.

. Back in Twin Peaks, Becky is still having domestic issues, and Shelly is still being a warm and kind Mum, telling Becky to get to the Double R and have some pie. It’s strange seeing her serving there all these years on, and strange seeing Bobby at the counter, especially because all the camera angles that used to capture the diner are absent, and we’re seeing the place in a completely different visual manner. It feels much more like a legitimate restaurant now, and this is developed with Norma discussing business options with who seems to be her boyfriend. So, no. She didn’t end up with Big Ed, and like Bobby watching Shelly and wondering what might’ve been, Ed watches Norma from a booth further down. He can see her clearly, but she’s a world away. There’s a deep melancholy in seeing Big Ed alone, things clearly not having worked out with either Norma or Nadine. The past, when things looked hopeful, feel like a million years ago, and everything has changed since then. Except for him. Bobby has grown up and become someone his father would’ve been proud of, Norma is franchising, Nadine has perfected the silent drapes. But Big Ed is still pining across the shiny tables for Norma like it’s 1990.

And Norma is trying to keep things as they are, too. She’s encouraged to change the name of the restaurant, but she wants to keep it as it is, the way people know it. It’s an argument that summarises the attitude of The Return: do you give in and listen to what you’re being told people want, or do you follow your gut and make choices you are passionate about, in the way that you decide? Thank god Lynch and Frost didn’t listen to anyone. Norma knows what the Double R means to the people of the town, and she knows how much people need it, as a source of comfort and of solace. And she can franchise, and have restaurants popping up that try to be the real deal, but there’s really only one Double R, and there’s only one Twin Peaks. And in these scenes, that feeling of solace and comfort feels close yet a million miles away: unmistakably warm, but shot through with that heartrending, small town melancholy. There’s nothing quite like it.

(A little thing I noticed about Bobby - he says he found his dad’s old stuff “today” - but they found his stuff several episode ago, and since then Bobby has been seen at night. So is this Double R scene not chronological, and is actually set a few days back?)

. The reason that the comfort of the Double R feels somehow distant, unattainable and kind of false is because of scenes like Audrey’s in this episode. We can’t sit in the diner and pretend everything is okay in the town, when we know a storm is brewing outside. The argument has moved on between her and Charlie, from being about what has happened to how Audrey feels. And how she feels is heartbreaking. Like she’s not herself and that she doesn’t know who she is, and Charlie’s reaction? Scorn. Condescension. Treating her like the teenager she was when we last saw her. The scene has moved away from feeling frustrating and into nightmarish territory, the wood panelling of the walls making the room feel like a cabin in purgatory, or a real life black lodge. And Charlie’s words become more vague, and more frightening. He speaks of ‘ending her story’, and the discomfort of this scene really brings into the question the dynamics between the two, who he really is, and where they really are. The scene develops an emotional core to the storyline, and we begin to desperately want Audrey to get out from between these two worlds that she’s stuck in, and to leave that horrible room. Like Big Ed, like Cooper and like so many others, she is trying to return, but is stuck.

. How they’ve managed to make the Palmer living room look more frightening than it did before is beyond me. Sarah drinks and smokes in the sickly darkness, watching a 15 second loop of an ancient boxing match which repeats ad nauseum, like the electric bear that spoke the words “Hello Johnny, how are you today?” endlessly a few episodes back. It feels nightmarish, and you want it to end. But it is stuck. Are we sensing the theme in play here again? The room feels angry and oppressive, and it’s reasonable to expect something evil and awful to materialise in it at any moment. But the horror is not Bob, or the ceiling fan, but the situation of Sarah: a woman who has lost everything, and whose life is full of dread and solitude.

. Nadine and Dr Jacoby’s interaction is lovely, and feels like a genuine moment between two old friends who haven’t seen each other for many years. Except one has an eyepatch and a silent drape running shop and the other sells golden shit shovels via his angry livestreams. The point is, it feels real, and Wendy Robie still beautifully imbues Nadine with that almost schoolgirlish nervousness and innocence. She is pure in her exuberance towards Jacoby and her drapes, and she seems star struck by her former doctor. I’m so fond of Nadine, and there is a moment that hints at a sadness or darkness in her past, when Jacoby remembers seeing her on her hands and knees in a supermarket trying to pick up a potato. “There was a storm that night”, he says, and she looks afraid, and sad. What happened to her? What happened to all these people in this town? What has time done to them, and why do they all have to live with such pain?

. And before we know it, we’re back at the Roadhouse, and this week we have probably the most divisive (read: unpopular) performer yet. Yes, it’s James Forehead Hurley, singing Just You and I. I can’t pretend to feel how i’m supposed to feel as a Twin Peaks fan and hate on this, because truly, I loved this moment. I loved it more than any roadhouse scene yet, and I have a big soft spot for James. The poor bastard had a rough time of it, and yes, he was a moody mope, but I feel for him. I was moved by seeing him received so well by the audience, and seeing him perform that song (which I will now have in my head for the next fortnight) made him look young and happy again, and I found it massively touching. It was a bittersweet moment of nostalgic melancholy, elevated by the image of Big Ed back at the Gas Farm, eating his Double R soup all alone.

There Ed sits, thinking about how things were, and how they are now. Or maybe it’s us that’s thinking about it. Because we can listen to old songs, and sit in the Double R eating cherry pie, but we know evil forces are on their way to town, and already exist there. There is a goodness too, in the log lady, the bookhouse boys, in Ed, Norma, and Nadine. But they’ve been through too much to have that innocence, and the questions that The Return brings us is how can we ever go back to the way things were? And how much power do we have to prevent the bad things from happening again? I’ve been thinking of the song Ohm by Yo La Tengo, where they sing:

“Sometimes the bad days maintain their grip Sometimes the good days fade...

But nothing ever stays the same Nothing's explained”

That feeling, that we might never get back the good days, and that it doesn’t always happen for a clear reason, is prevalent in tonight’s episode, which explores how the characters that populate the show feel. It might not be explained exactly what has happened, but as well as starting to piece together the mystery, Part 13 interrogates the deepest emotional wells of the show, and it results in a moving and beautiful episode that deftly blends darkly satisfying plot progression and emotional complexity (I know it’s weird to call an episode where someone is punched in the face to death “beautiful”, but i’m sticking with it).

“I’m not sure who I am, but I’m not me”

#twin peaks spoilers #twin peaks #twin peaks: the return #david lynch #kyle maclachlan #dale cooper

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fucknofortunato · 5 years

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Journey of the Mimic

Prompt: After returning from a quest, an adventuring party can’t find their beloved mascot: a pet mimic named Chomper.

“What’s a mimic?” asked Charlie, the newest addition to the fateful band of adventurers.

She was a cleric and had decided to join up with this band of a fighter, barbarian, and mage when they came to the rescue of her city from an evil sorcerer.

“It’s a little hard to explain,” spoke the fighter known as Theobes.

Theobes turned his head to the half-orc barbarian, Grognock.

“Mimic is creature that change to objects. It look like chest, but full of teeth and a tongue.”

“Yeah, that’s good description,” spoke Annabelle, “Now where the hell did it get off to?”

“I found these keys on the seat,” spoke Charlie.

“Oh great, the door was left open and the keys were left out,” Annabelle said angrily.

“Well, let’s just be glad only our mimic is gone?” asked Theobes, trying to hide his guilt.

“Alright, this could be a horrible situation and we’ve gotta fix it,” spoke Annabelle.

“Why’s that, boss?” asked Grognock.

“We’re just outside the city of Hillgrand, Grognock.” “They think we’re heroes,” spoke Theobes.

“They don’t know mimic from us.” “That’s a good point!” Theobes said excitedly. “Then we can immediately forgive whoever left the base door opened and unlocked!”

“Uh… guys?” she asked.

“Chomper is home!” declared Grognock as he pet the mimic.

SOME TIME EARLIER